Thoughts

Tom's thoughts were still drawing up blank with the word that had started to drive him mad. He had searched everywhere, every page of every book in the Hogwarts library, including the forbidden section. He had checked the book in the Ravenclaw commons, really not too hard to get into if you knew the right answers, which hadn't been much help since every bloody book was on philosophy or unnecessary stuff he didn't need to know. He tried to ignore it, giving up on finding information until he was able to check the book stores in Diagon Alley, but for some reason he couldn't, no matter what he did he was itching to find out what it meant and what it had to with immortality.

He heard or rather felt the sweat-drenched Gryffindor quidditch players tumble in from practice. He swore it felt like a stampede every time the hungry lions wrestled into the grand hall for lunch, as though the food would run out if they didn't get to it fast enough. There was a heavy thud next to him as Maria fell on to the bunch in a tired slump. They only sat together at lunch due to how most students chose not to go to the great hall for lunch on the weekend.

" Sup Tom " Maria huffed as she practically inhaled any food she could get her hands on. He looked at her in a mixture of awe and disgust at the sheer amount she was able to swallow down without choking or stopping. She caught him staring and stopped with her mouth hanging wide open, showing what used to be chicken. She quickly snapped her mouth shut and swallowed with a sheepish grin.

Tom rolled his eyes and returned to the book in his hands, it was a book he had found tucked away in the darkest corners of the forbidden library, but so far the only information he had gotten from it was how to play catch with a hippogriff. Why it was in the forbidden library in the first place, he had no idea but he had a fair guess it was to hide it from people who would be dumb enough to try it. He looked to his left when he heard Maria munching loudly on a pumpkin pasty while simultaneously trying to stuff a slice of pumpkin pie in her mouth, yeah he knows just the type of people that were the reason of the book being forbidden.

" Ahhhh that hit the spot," Maria sighed and leaned back slightly with a satisfied smile, she noticed Tom's stare and raised her eyebrow at him in question. He shook his head and turned back to his book, but was once again disturbed by Maria loudly sighing and tapping her fingers against the table at an unknown beat. Maria noticed Tom giving her a side glare and nervously smiled. She was quiet for 5 minutes before he felt her leg shaking up and down rapidly, he sighed in annoyance and snapped his book shut with a thud.

Maria flinched back at the thud and looked up at the brunette curiously.

" Don't you have anyone else to go hang out with," Tom asked, his annoyance with the Gryffindor showing clearly on his face. Her face fell and she quickly mumbled a small sorry and looked away, forcing herself to keep still.

Tom felt a tickle in his chest and quickly hid his growing smirk in his reopened book. He felt the tickle more and more, and it always appeared when he saw those poor, sad little eyes, needless to say, the feeling was addicting.

" OI ROWEN WHY YOU LOOKING GLUM HUH, TAKE ANOTHER BLUDGER TO THE FACE," Fleming Potter had a playful grin on his face as he screamed at the top of his lungs, waving over his teammate. Maria's mood immediately lightened up as she stood on the bench and shouted back.

" IT WAS ONCE YOU TWA- SORRY PROFESSOR MERRYTHOUGHT," If looks could kill than Maria and Fleming would've been dead ten times over judging by the murderous glare from the defense against the dark arts teacher. Both Gryffindors quickly sat down, not wanting to risk their already low house points.

Tom scowled at how easily Maria went from being quiet and still to being back to her old behavior. The girl really was way too energetic and loud for him. He stood up abruptly and left the Great hall, face devoid of any emotion even as he heard the loud voices of Maria's other friends stopping her from following him.

He immediately made his way to the 7th floor, before slowing down at the sight of Dumbledore coming down the hall. He nodded to the professor as he passed him, his toothy smile dropping immediately. As soon as he got into the room of requirements he threw his book against one of the many large Slytherin tapestries and let out a frustrated scream, then frowned because of the voice cracks ruining it.

Tom took a deep breath, trying to calm down his angered state. He then made his way to one of the many bookcases and skimmed the titles, long fingers running across their spines. He finally found a book that had piqued his interest, quickly pulled it out and made his way to one of the many plush couches littered across the room. Flipping through it he tried looking for valuable information rather than simple history.

' Found it' he smirked as he started to read the page,

"An adequately Imperiused being is placed under the caster's total control and may be directed to do anything the caster wishes, including crimes such as murder, political corruption, embezzlement, and so on. Also, whilst under the caster's control, the curse may also endow the victim with whatever skills that are required in order to complete the task at hand, such as increased strength or allowing them to cast spells far above their level."

' This changes everything,' Tom thought to himself, this spell could be his ticket to all his goals. Why they hadn't taught them this yet was beyond him. He focused back onto the text, hungry for more information on the spell,

"After the Wizards Council was reformed into the Ministry of Magic, tighter restrictions were placed on the use of certain kinds of magic. The Imperius Curse was deemed by the Ministry to be dark magic, and, along with the Cruciatus and killing curses, were declared "unforgivable" in 1717. The use of any of these three curses on a fellow human being would result in a life sentence in Azkaban unless there is sufficient evidence that the caster did so under the influence of another's Imperius Curse."

And that's why he hadn't heard of the curses, they were one-way tickets to Azkaban. He shuddered at the thought of the dementors, Tom had only read about them and was convinced to never seek one out. But why were they deemed unforgivable? What was the full history behind the curses? And the biggest question is; was there a way he could cast them, without the ministry knowing?

Realizing how late it had gotten, he quickly packed up his belongings and a couple of books and left the room, making sure no one had seen him leave. Questions were running through his mind like crazy and he didn't even know where to begin solving them. He was walking down the 1st-floor hall near the staircase leading to the Slytherin common rooms when he heard it.

A familiar set of voices coming from just around the corner, in an empty hallway not frequently checked by prefects.

" So what exactly did Mama say," Tom's eyes widened as he peered around the corner, seeing just who he thought he had heard. Maria stood leaning against a wall, arms crossed over her chest. The twins were next to her, both sitting on a window ledge, long legs swinging back and forth. Her oldest brother stood in front of them, and like Maria, was leaning against the wall with his arms crossed.

" Well she didn't say much, only that father's current location is classified and until the situation with you-know-who is contained, Hogwarts is the safest place to be right now," Dimitrius replied, keeping his voice calm and collected, and his expressions neutral.

" What about Christmas break? And spring break?" Orion asked, his voice sounding more like an insecure child than a teen. Dimitrius looked away, trying his best to hold his emotions together for his siblings. This time Maria spoke up, the third year already placing a well-crafted grin on her face.

" We'll just have to make the best of it here, besides at least now we won't have to spend Christmas dinner hiding our cheeks from Aunt Lydia," The four shuddered at the thought of the chubby fingers constantly reaching out to pinch one of their cheeks. She noticed her brothers still held a sad aura around them and quickly spoke up once more,

" And besides, it's not like Hogwarts isn't amazing during the holidays, the headmaster really goes above and beyond each year," Maria spoke in an informative tone, the twins shrugged, letting out loud yelps when their older brother gave them hard head rubs.

" No matter the case, we'll be together which is what matters in the end," Dimitrius grinned, the siblings shared a smile before quickly saying their goodbyes and trotting off in different directions. Tom quickly hid when he heard Apollo and Orion pass him, letting out a sigh of relief once he heard their retreating footsteps.

He quickly began his journey to the Slytherin common, the conversation making his thoughts heavier than they already were. As he entered he immediately noticed Malfoy and Zabini lounging on the couches, Zabini holding a book in his lap while Malfoy chattered on about something.

" And have you seen that hair, ughhh it must be a crime to look that perfect like wh-," Abarax's rant was cut short by the sound of Tom clearing his throat. The blonde flushed red at the sight of him and quickly shook his head when Tom gave him a weird look. The brunette raised his eyebrow and asked Marcus what Abarax had been ranting about this time.

" Nott, she wore her hair a different style today," Zabini smoothly replied, Tom, rolled his eyes, missing the look of gratitude Abarax shot Marcus.

" You heading up already?" Abarax asked,

" Yes, and I would advise you do as well, maybe then you wouldn't look like you're constantly fighting off a fever. " Tom sneered, making his way up the stairs and ignoring the two friends getting up to follow him.

As he lay in bed with his thoughts running rampant through his mind, he could feel a headache begin to form.

' I really need to write all this down somewhere,'