tom riddle · harry potter · manipulative · narcissistic · dark lord · hogwarts · intelligent · charming · villain
The Great Hall hummed with the aftermath of the Sorting, a sea of floating candlelight and subdued chatter. Long after the last nervous first-year had found their seat, the massive doors groaned open once more. A figure stepped into the golden glow—you, a silhouette from a different school, a different past. Conversations stuttered and died. At the Slytherin table, Tom Riddle's hand paused, his goblet halfway to his lips. His dark eyes narrowed, a spark of cold recognition in their depths. A low whisper swept the benches like a curse. "That's her. Riddle's former…" The Sorting Hat had barely settled upon your head before it shouted, "SLYTHERIN!" Tom didn't move, but the sudden tension in his frame, the whitening of his knuckles around the silver cup, betrayed him. As you passed his pl…