The heavy silence in the Slytherin common room was broken only by the crackling of the hearth. Snape had swept from the room, dragging the last of the defeated prefects behind him like a storm cloud pulling its thunder. Every eye was on me, a mixture of fear, respect, and a dawning, electrifying excitement. I stood calmly in the center of the makeshift dueling arena, my breathing even, my expression unreadable.
I glanced at the corner where Malfoy and his two cronies were still magically suspended, unconscious. With a lazy flick of my yew wand, I released them. They crumpled to the floor in an ignominious heap.
"Zabini," I said, my voice quiet but carrying with an unnatural clarity to every corner of the room. "See that they get to their beds. And make sure Mr. Malfoy has a comfortable pillow. He's had a rather… trying evening."
Blaise Zabini, who had watched the entire spectacle with the wide, terrified eyes of a man witnessing a god being born, scrambled to obey. "Yes, Tom. Right away."
The use of my first name was not lost on anyone. It was a subtle, yet profound, shift. I was no longer 'Riddle', the Muggle-born upstart. I was Tom, the undisputed leader. As my new lieutenants dealt with the vanquished, I allowed myself a moment of private satisfaction. A cascade of emerald-green notifications, a triumphant symphony of light and text, scrolled through my vision.
//MAJOR ACHIEVEMENT UNLOCKED: The Serpent's Coup// You did not bow to the established order. You did not yield to tradition. You faced the collective power of your House's authority and shattered it, forging a new hierarchy from its ashes. [Reward: +1,500 Achievement Points] [Reward: +5,000 Study Points]
//NEW TITLE ACQUIRED: [Uncrowned King of Slytherin]// Type: Passive Title (Equipped) Effect 1: Grants a +30 bonus to all [Intimidation], [Persuasion], and [Leadership] checks against members of House Slytherin. Effect 2: Unlocks House Command ability [Serpent's Decree]. You may issue one binding order per week to any non-prefect Slytherin student. Refusal may result in a temporary magical penalty.
My Achievement Points balance soared past 2,000. Enough to summon two more SS-Rank tutors. The thought was exhilarating. But it was the title that truly mattered. It was the System's official acknowledgment of what I had just accomplished. I had seized power.
My gaze swept over the assembled students. I saw the calculating respect in the eyes of the older students, the undisguised admiration in the younger ones. I had broken the rules, yes, but I had done so in the most Slytherin way imaginable—through a demonstration of superior power, ambition, and cunning. I had proven myself more worthy to lead than those chosen by the professors.
Daphne approached me, her own eyes shining with an intense light. "Tom," she breathed, her voice a mix of awe and a sliver of fear that only made her more captivating. "You were… magnificent."
"I was merely establishing a more efficient system of governance," I replied smoothly, the faint, calculating smile returning to my lips. "The old one was clearly broken." My words were for her, but they were loud enough for everyone to hear. It was a statement of purpose. A declaration of my new reign.
Meanwhile, in the Headmaster's office high above, the gargoyle sprang aside to admit a furious Severus Snape.
"He must be expelled!" Snape snarled, bypassing all pleasantries as he stormed towards Dumbledore's desk. "This is not mere rule-breaking, Albus! It is a coup! He dueled six prefects, including a seventh-year, and defeated them all. He has declared himself the 'Uncrowned King' of my House! His arrogance, his thirst for power… it is him. It is the other one, all over again!"
Albus Dumbledore sat calmly, his fingers steepled beneath his long, crooked nose, his blue eyes twinkling behind his half-moon spectacles. He listened patiently until Snape's tirade ran out of steam.
"Lemon drop, Severus?" he offered gently.
Snape looked as if he might hex the candy bowl. "Do not treat this lightly! The boy is dangerous. His control, his tactics… they are not the skills of a first-year. He used advanced Transfiguration and non-verbal spells with a proficiency that even I found… unsettling."
"Indeed," Dumbledore said, his voice soft but resonant. "It was quite the display."
Snape froze. "You… you saw?"
"The portraits are most informative, my boy," Dumbledore said with a serene smile. "And Mr. Burke's memory, which you so kindly brought to me just now, was crystal clear. Young Tom is, without a doubt, the most magically gifted student to walk these halls in a generation."
"Gifted? He is a menace! A carbon copy of—"
"He is not," Dumbledore interrupted, his voice losing its whimsical edge and taking on the quiet authority that few ever defied. "He is a boy who found himself in a hostile environment, surrounded by bullies who judged him for his birth. He saw a flawed power structure, one based on seniority and favoritism rather than merit, and he dismantled it. He did so publicly, bound by rules of his own making, and under the supervision of a professor. It was ruthless, I grant you. But it was not chaos. It was… order. His order."
Snape was speechless. He saw a dark lord in the making; Dumbledore saw a brilliant, if problematic, politician.
"But the name, Albus! The face! The power!" Snape insisted, his voice a strained whisper.
"The past casts a long shadow, Severus," Dumbledore said, his eyes filled with an ancient sadness. "But we cannot allow it to blind us to the present. This boy is not the Tom Riddle you knew. He has friends. He shows kindness, however pragmatically. He has not, to my knowledge, tortured any of his fellow students for pleasure. He merely… defeated them in a duel they accepted."
Dumbledore stood and walked to the window, looking out over the dark grounds. "I have made many mistakes in my long life, Severus. My greatest, perhaps, was failing the first Tom Riddle. I saw his darkness and I met it with suspicion and distance. I will not make that mistake again."
He turned back, his blue eyes piercing. "Watch him, yes. Guide him. But do not push him away. Do not give him a reason to become the monster you fear. He has made his first move on the chessboard of Hogwarts. I think it is time I made mine."
He looked towards the enchanted ceiling, a thoughtful, calculating expression on his own face now.
"I believe it is time for Mr. Riddle and I to have a little chat."