Of Greatness and Grandeur

Chapter 3

The walk to the dungeons took longer than usual due to the first years tripping over themselves as they twisted their necks trying to see all of Hogwarts at once. At one point, Gareth Nott was so distracted by the Bloody Baron's sudden appearance that he walked directly into a suit of armour. Riddle gave a small sigh before waving his wand in a non-verbal reparo, quickly re-assembling the fallen suit.

With all he had to think about, Riddle had very little patience left over for incompetent first year students. Still, the Head Boy had responsibilities, and he had an image to maintain.

An image that could be potentially destroyed by Katarina Markova, if she decided to start telling people that she and Riddle had met before, at a gathering of Grindelwald's followers. Of course, it was unlikely that she would share that information, considering she would also incriminate herself in the process.

But how could he be certain she would behave logically? He had no idea why she was even at Hogwarts, much less whether she was a rational-decision maker. The girl was an enigma, and Riddle hated enigmas. He glanced furtively over his shoulder at the older students trailing behind.

"I'm beginning to think you're leading me on a wild goose chase, boys," Katherine teased, crossing her arms. "Surely it's not much further?"

"I would never lead you astray, Miss Morrigan," said Abraxas in mock-sincerity, taking Katherine's arm in his.

"It's just around the corner," Orion added helpfully, tagging along on Katherine's other side.

Walking behind them, Victoria slid a possessive arm around Charles' waist. He slung his arm casually over her shoulders.

Riddle approached a stone wall at the end of the hallway, and turned around, raising a hand to command the attention of the gathering crowd of students. "Listen up, Slytherins! The password for entry to the dormitory is 'Wolf's Bane.' If you forget the password, you may come to me, or another of the older students, for assistance. If you forget a second time, we will be considerably less likely to help you. You have to prove your worth in this House; no one will pull your weight for you."

Riddle turned to face the wall and quietly said the password. The wall slid apart, stone by stone, revealing a passageway into a dimly lit room beyond. Riddle strode through the entrance, followed by the gaggle of first year students. The rest of the younger students filed through, with the sixth and seventh year students bringing up the rear.

Katherine entered the Slytherin dorm last, having been delayed by her bantering with Abraxas and Orion. She surveyed the room, taking in the silver candlesticks and dark cherry-wood tables, bedecked with ornate carvings. Two staircases twisted upwards into the darkness, on either side of the main sitting area. In the back wall of this area, a fire flickered steadily behind an iron grate, it's warm light illuminating the faces of the first year students, who stood gathered around Riddle. Couches surrounded the group, filled with 6th and 7th year students, while the younger years crowded behind, forced to stand. It was clear that seniority held power in Slytherin.

"The staircase on the left leads to the girls' dormitory. Your room will have your name written on the door; one of the perks of Slytherin is that we each get our own room," said Orion helpfully. "And one of the house elves has probably placed your Slytherin uniform in your room by now."

Katherine was about to thank Orion when she was distracted by Adeline Greengrass, who was standing by one of the couches, frantically waving and hopping up and down.

Still arm-in-arm, Abraxas led Katherine in Adeline's direction. "We'd better get over there before she over-exerts herself," he smirked. Orion followed the pair, taking a few jogging steps to catch up.

Adeline shooed a pair of younger students off one end of the couch, clearing room. "What took you so long? Riddle's about to give the welcome speech to the first years," she said.

"That would be my fault. I was distracted by the excellent company," Katherine smiled apologetically, taking her seat on the couch. Abraxas sat next to her, with Orion perching on the arm of the couch. Celeste, Charles and Victoria were already seated on another nearby couch, while Antonin and Thaddeus had each scored one of the plush armchairs.

Gradually the voices in the common room dropped to a murmur, and then faded away entirely. Riddle stood in front of the fire, waiting for all eyes to face him.

"Congratulations on being sorted into the noble house of Slytherin. The Sorting Hat placed you in this house because it saw in you the seeds of greatness. It saw the potential to accomplish magnificent aims, and the ambition and cunning to achieve this potential. You should be proud to join the ranks of a house that has produced some of history's most successful witches and wizards. Among you may be this generation's most fearsome dueller, or most talented healer. Standing next to you may be a future Quidditch world champion, or expert botanist." Riddle waited, as the students glanced sidelong at their peers.

"Of course, not all of you will be so lucky. It is the nature of success that few can achieve it, while many remain entrenched in mediocrity, endlessly jealous of superior witches and wizards. In the other houses, these mediocre students will be comforted and coddled, encouraged to believe that this stagnancy is acceptable. Make no mistake. Mediocrity will not be tolerated in Slytherin. If you fail, you fail not only yourself, but your House, and Salazar Slytherin himself," Riddle said sharply.

"When you climb the steps to your dormitory tonight, and drift off to sleep, consider this: while you sleep, at least one of your peers will be working to claw their way ahead of you in this world. Are you going to let them?" Riddle paused, relishing the slightly panicked looks of the first year students.

"Welcome to Slytherin," he said, and began pushing his way past the younger students towards the sixth and seventh years at the back. As he approached the couch, Abraxas and Orion stood up like two soldiers standing to attention.

"Well, I think that speech probably scared them enough to keep them in line," said Abraxas, half-jokingly. "Hopefully this year's lot won't ruin our five year streak of House cup victories."

"It really was a great speech, Riddle," Adeline piped up, leaning forward from her spot on the couch.

Charles appeared from the crowd of younger students. "Yeah, Riddle, it was one for the ages," he said, flopping down onto the couch next to Adeline.

"It's important to make clear to the first years how things operate in Slytherin as soon as possible," said Riddle, earning knowing looks from the older students around him. Riddle looked at Katherine. "What did you think of my speech, Katherine? I hope I made it clear that some people may find Hogwarts to be a rather challenging environment."

To Katherine, the threat couldn't have been clearer if Riddle had pointed his wand at her throat. Although her chest felt tight, she raised her gaze to meet his, holding steady eye contact. "Not to worry, Riddle. I have always been the kind of person who relishes a challenge."

Riddle looked sharply at her. "Some challenges are best left undisturbed"

Just then a young blonde girl appeared, perhaps in 4th or 5th year. She was clutching a textbook to her chest, and nervously shuffling her weight from side to side. "Um…Tom? Hi, I don't know if you remember me, but –"

"Jaqueline Carrow, isn't it? You dropped your books outside the History of Magic classroom last year, and I helped you pick them up," Riddle smiled at the girl, suddenly sweet as honey.

The girl now appeared even more flustered knowing that Riddle remembered who she was. "Oh! Yeah…that's me. Thanks for that, again, by the way. It was really nice of you to help me."

"Jacqueline, was there something you needed?" Riddle prompted her gently.

"Yes, sorry! I was wondering if you might be able to help me with an ancient runes translation. I was supposed to finish it over the summer, but I got stuck, and then I forgot about it, and it's due tomorrow, and I really need to do well this year, and – "

"I'd be happy to help," said Riddle.

"Really? Wow! I mean, thank you…" Jacqueline blushed cherry red, and lifted a hand to tuck a strand of hair behind one ear.

"We could meet tomorrow afternoon in the common room if that works for you?" Tom inquired.

"Yes, of course! I'll be there," she said. Smiling broadly, Jacqueline retreated back from the circle of older students and climbed the steps to her dormitory.

Adeline sighed slightly, and brought a hand to her heart. "That was so nice of you, Tom, to help a younger student like that."

Riddle smirked, clearly pleased with himself. "It's important to enable success among the younger students; you never know when their particular skill set will come in handy in the future. Speaking of which, Katherine and I should speak alone."

Riddle turned his gaze towards Katherine. "I have some advice to impart on you, given my position as Head Boy." Riddle's tone made it clear that no one else would be welcome at this conversation, and that attendance for Katherine was not optional.

Katherine brought a hand to her heart, mirroring Adeline's movement from a few moments before, but with a subtle note of mockery. "I would have loved to chat with you any other night, Riddle, but I'm just so tired from the trip here and the feast, I'm going to have to decline." Katherine feigned a yawn, and rose from the couch.

As she walked past a seething Riddle on her way to the girls' dormitory, she paused to lean in close, placing a hand on his chest. Tilting her head upwards so that her lips were close enough to his ear that he could feel her hot breath, she murmured, "I'm no fool. We can talk tomorrow, in public."

Katherine gently pressed her lips against his cheek; an act so commonplace and casual in Europe, and startlingly forwards anywhere else. Riddle's breathing paused ever so slightly, and he remained very still.

Katherine turned towards the stairs, one hand lingering briefly on his chest before dropping to her side as she sauntered away. Halfway up the stairs to the girls' dormitory, Katherine cast a glance back over her shoulder. "Goodnight, everyone. Thank you for a lovely first night," she said. Turning back around to climb the remaining stairs, Katherine grinned with satisfaction. Several of the Slytherins were staring slack-jawed after her, while Riddle stood where she had left him, looking undecided between feeling angry or amused.

Once Katherine had disappeared up the stairs, Riddle stormed out of the common room, muttering something about having prefect duty under his breath.

Abraxas was the first to break the silence that followed. "Well, that's certainly a first. A girl who refuses an offer to spend time alone with Riddle, and then kisses him goodnight…" he marvelled, seeming equally confused and impressed.

"It's not as though he kissed her back," huffed Adeline, crossing her arms and sinking back into the couch.

Abraxas reached over and chucked her under the chin. "Relax, Addie. Riddle's not the type to fall head over heels for a beautiful girl. If he was, he'd be head over heels for you."

Adeline blushed, lips curving into a shy smile.

"Or for me!" Celeste piped up, resulting in a glare from her sister. Celeste shrugged. "Well, we do look alike."

Orion cleared his throat to get their attention. "As much fun as it is to debate Riddle's type, I think there may be something more important to discuss…" He ran one hand nervously through his thick black hair before continuing. "Someone needs to warn Katherine not to mess with Riddle, or she's not going to make it to the end of the week. We've all had six years to learn not to cross him; she's has no idea what he's capable of."

Charles learned forward on the other couch, resting his elbows on his knees. "Look, Katherine seems like a great girl and all, but what Riddle does with her is Riddle's business. I think we can all agree that interfering with Riddle's business normally doesn't go too well."

"Just let it be, Orion," Antonin chipped in from his armchair. Thaddeus nodded his agreement.

Orion sighed, and turned his palms upwards in surrender. "I guess she's on her own. I just hope she knows what she's doing."

AN: What do you think, does Katherine (or Katarina) know what she's doing? And how will her conversation with Riddle go tomorrow? Please review!