The Heir of Slytherin

[Phoenix in the Ashes]

Arsenio sat in the back of his Transfiguration class, twirling his quill around around around between two of his fingers. Dumbledore was trying to teach them some sort of advanced spell for ripening unripe fruit.
Apparently it was more difficult that it sounded.

The practical work got started and everyone got their wands out in front of them, and started casting the spells on some very, very green bananas.

"Porosco!" he said enthusiastically. Not surprisingly, nothing happened.

After ten minutes of the same, the professor came wandering around the class and as he passed Arsenio's table said two things to him quietly. The first was:

"It's Borosco, Mr Parkinson."

The second:

"At precisely 10:34 this evening, you are to proceed to the dungeons. You are to enter the third abandoned room on the left from when you enter the main corridor down there. You will watch and wait by the door inside. If nothing happens before midnight, you can safely proceed back up to your dormitory and report as so to me tomorrow.
If, however... if you happen to see a fellow student walk past your door and directly into the fourth room, you should simply call my name clearly, but not too loudly, and I will appear before long.
But whatever you do, don't confront him. Do not approach him."

After Dumbledore said all this, he disappeared back to the front of the room.

It was strange; Arsenio was sure the Professor didn't actually say out loud the second half of the message. He had just... looked at him.

Arsenio Parkinson was quite sure at that moment that Albus Dumbledore was without a doubt the most powerful wizard alive, bar Grindelwald.

[Q.Araignee]

On his second try, Tom mastered the spell- nobody was surprised, least of all Professor Dumbledore. So he dutifully made various notes about the 'Borosco' spell- it's uses, how it changes when the pronunciation is incorrect, the precise wand movements...it was all very dull.

Eventually Tom decided, after about ten minutes, to start making notes of a different kind. He cast a Charm on a fresh piece of parchment so that it would show only his notes from the last piece, and began to write- notes about Arsenio, Dumbledore and Artus in the language only he knew inherantly well.

He glanced up to see Dumbledore correcting Arsenio's ridiculous pronunciation- when suddenly, what seemed like the smallest of breezes made the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. No one else had reacted, but both the boy and the teacher had odd looks on their faces that disappeared almost immediately...but not before they had been recorded on the parchment. That feeling made Tom very uneasy, especially when he thought about what he had planned tonight. He slipped the second parchment underneath the first, and waited for the end of the lesson to come.

[Phoenix in the Ashes]

Arsenio was quite sure who the boy was that Dumbledore had referred too.

First he had asked him to spy on him - and now he was asking him to break school rules and go down to the dungeons late at night.

He was worried - very worried - about what Tom Riddle could do to him if he found out.

He peered anxiously at the pale boy sitting to the far right of him.

[choki]

Artus left the spider on the desk. His buddies looked curiously over once Professor Binns started his long narration on the Hogwarts founders. Artus mouthed the word "homework" and his friends laughed silently.

The history lesson was never an interesting one. The story of the famous founders has been repeated over and over again. Artus wondered if Binns had remembered he had taught them not less than a hundred time.

[Phoenix in the Ashes]

After Transfiguration, Arsenio went off to the library to do some basic research on the origins of the use of centaur hair in potions. An essay on it was due in two days, and he had already disappointed Slughorn enough.

Not like Riddle, he thought. Riddle was always Slughorn's favourite - he had him wrapped around his little finger.

[Scarlet Lioness]

Mervanai's day was pretty average really.

Potions was boring, as usual...Slughorn favoured Riddle, as usual, Dumbledore payed no attention to him in Transfiguration, as usual.

Mervanai sighed as the bell for the end of class rang.

Another day gone, another day where Hufflepuff's are simply ignored. They don't expect much from HUfflepuff's...well, we'll see about that. Thought Mervanai as he sat down to Dinner. I'm going to change their ways of thinking...I'm going to do something outrageous...no...cunning, brave and smart. I'll show that I am not supposed to be a Hufflepuff...yes. Good plan, Mervanai...Now where are Joke and Kay...


He set to work in his mind to think of a plan which will succeed in this little...mind-game. Yes, that's what it was...a simple mind-game to be played with the teachers at this 'school' where people are supposed to be treated equally...well if that was true. Why put us in seperate houses?

He snickered to himself. His plan would be brilliant

No, not my plan...I'm brilliant

With that thought, he ate his baked potato, smiling to himself every so often.

[Phoenix in the Ashes]

After the library, Arsenio headed up to Charms on the 4th Floor.

[choki]

Artus and his Gryffindor buddies made their way to the Great Hall for dinner, grumbling along the aisle, separating the houses of Gryffindor and Slytherin.

"I can't believe Binns gave us a 10 foot long essay about the Founders!" said Jeffrey.
"Arghhh, why did we take up History of Magic?" Brandon lamented.
"Well, that is because you said you didn't want Divination," Artus added, "anyway just do what we always do..."
"What?" John finally spoke with great curosity.
"Hit the books..." The boys groaned. It was going to be yet another long night spent in the library. Artus noticed a few empty benches around a certain lonely gigantic boy. Giving a sigh as despite of all his talks about house unity, the poor boy was still being outcasted.

He walked up to the boy and patted his back.
"Hagrid! How's your day?"

[Phoenix in the Ashes]

Charms could not have been more dull. It was a theory lesson, and he spent all the session copying notes on rare spells and enchantments.

There were certainly some strange ones...

[Q.Araignee]

The lunch bell finally rang, and Tom left the classroom to head for the Great Hall. He needed some time to think through his plans and options- but that would not be given until after his final lesson when he went into the Library.

With the thought of that lesson coming up, Tom groaned inwardly. How he loathed a double lesson of Defense Against the Dark Arts with the Hufflepuffs. He did the work well, it's true, he just intensely disliked doing it. To put off the time until he had to go, Tom served himself a small bowl of steaming hot stew and began to make his way through it. All the while, his eyes scanned the people around- they caught sight of Artus trying to ingratiate the school idiot into a friendship group.
If only they knew...

[Phoenix in the Ashes]

The back of the book of 'Rare Spells and Enchantments' couldn;t open. Arsenio had finished his notes early... and spent the time until the end of class trying to force the book open.

It wouldn't budge. He wondered if there was something in it that the teacher didn't want the class to see.

[Scarlet Lioness]

DOuble Defence with the Slytherins next...God I hate that class...it's bad enough having Potions with them...

Mervanai sighed.

He finished his Lunch, grabbed his stuff and headed to Defence.

He stopped by the Hospital Wing on the way and peered through the window on the door....There they are...wonder what happened to those two.

[Phoenix in the Ashes]

Arsenio prodded the boy next to him.

"Can you open the back of the book?" he whispered.

The other boy looked oddly at him and tried it.

It wouldn't open either.

[Scarlet Lioness]

Mervanai liked Defense Against the Dark Arts...it was the only class he didn't need to concerntrate much on as his parents had made him read up on the suject all his life.

He walked in and sat at the front of the sunny classroom.

[Phoenix in the Ashes]

Arsenio assumed from this that all the books were the same. He put up his hand.