Tom Riddle always had eyes for praised things, he liked to collect trophies even if they didn't belong to him. He thought just being praised and valued meant it was his.

Although he only thought about material things, he also collected people who seemed to have some kind of value to him, not like the sentimental kind but something that would benefit him.

Even the older students tend to look up to him, he was eerily superior and everyone who interacted with him felt like he knew more than they could ever learn.

Maybe, this fueled his thirst for power and glory even more but then again, in his four years at Hogwarts, no one actually challenged his position, that was until Morsia arrived.

Although No one really talked that big about him being defeated by Morsia, thinking she was his equal. Defeating him didn't earn her the title of superior yet, that's how much impact he had on his fellow mates.

He felt like he was being challenged, all these years he was grooming himself to be the best among his peers but now that there was someone better than him didn't nudge his ego, but the fact she only just started wizarding school unlike him.

Morsia and Tom had to meet Professor Slughorn regarding the prefect's duty.

They were already late to the meeting since Tom had trouble locating her and later found that she was wandering near the forbidden forest as Ogg, the gamekeeper tried all his might to make her stop entering the forest.

She was all smiles and giggles as she annoyed Ogg but her expression turned dark when Tom called her out.

'If anyone should be mad, then that's definitely not her', he thought to himself.

The walk to Professor Slughorn's office was long, as the duo remained silent and exhibited a cold aura toward each other.

"Hello Professor, we're here," Riddle greeted him and smiled at the rest of the prefects who seemed to be waiting for them to arrive.

"You took your time Tom, It's okay we were about to begin," Professor Slughorn shook his head.

"We would have made it early if Tom didn't have a date with the book termites," Morsia lied smiling wickedly at the bewildered Tom.

"Oho! I know what you mean!" Professor Slughorn cracked up.

"It's about the upcoming Quidditch obviously," Prof. Slughorn started.

"I'm not very confident about this year's quidditch team sir," Lestrange shrugged, he was both team captain and a sixth-year prefect. To think that they chose him for both leadership roles meant he was very capable.

"Why do you think so?" Prof. Slughorn raised his brows.

"Well, the teammates are all not so athletic," a tall brunette girl backed him up, she was standing beside him indicating that she was the sixth-year perfect.

Morsia had only seen once or twice in the Slytherin common room, even then she was a very quiet girl who didn't hang out much with others.

Upon glancing at her, she smiled at Morsia, she didn't seem like a bad person.

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"Ms. Black, are there any quidditch players from the sixth year?" Prof. Slughorn asked her curiously, thinking that having older students might help.

"Umm, Unfortunately, No sir," she shook her head looking disappointed.

"You forgot him," the Slytherin head boy, pointed at Lestrange.

"Of course, excluding the captain! Don't act like a smart-ass Orion," She rolled her eyes annoyed with this indifferent dude.

"Ms. Black, Now, don't run over your cousin like that," Prof. Slughorn chortled.

"How about the fifth years?" he added looking at the direction of Morsia and Tom.

Tom wasn't paying any attention. After all, he found Quidditch boring and useless. His mind was filled with how to get a note from Professor Slughorn so that he can access the restricted section of the library.

"We got Fernsby," Tom replied, collecting himself quickly.

Morsia didn't bother involving herself with them. Tom glared at her, noticing how she looked out of place as she gazed into the distance through the window.

"Fernsby is a good player, isn't she?" the head girl had found her perfect time to speak up.

"I know, she is probably one of the three skilled players," Lestrange quoted looking all serious.

'This dude really takes this stupid game darn seriously' Riddle disgusted upon him.

After concluding that, their team's win is based on luck, they all departed with heavy hearts except of course Tom and Morsia, they were relieved that the meet was finally over.

"I mean, what's the big deal about this?" Morsia randomly rambled on their way back to their lunch break.

"I know right" Riddle absent-mindedly replied her.

Just then they realized it and looked at each other for a brief moment before Tom tore away the eye contact and went his way to the library.

Getting a signed note from Professor Slughorn was easier than he thought, all he did was say along the lines that he wanted to know about some creatures for the care of magical creatures class as he was lacking knowledge in that field.

"Of course, Tom, you'll have to learn about them!" Professor Slughorn had told quickly grabbing a small parchment paper and signing it for him.

Tom Riddle smirked at the influence he had on people.

Since it was lunch hour, there were no students at the library except for the librarian.

"Howdy Riddle!" he greeted him.

"Hello Sir," Tom smiled as he handed the signed permission note from Prof. Slughorn not wanting to have a small talk.

"Oh! For sure," the librarian nodded as he let the way for Tom to follow at the back of the library which was separated from the rest of the section with a rope.

His heart pounded with each step he took toward the restriction section of the library.

He wanted to know all of the knowledge it hid within, and he wanted to know them immediately.

Leaving him be, the librarian walked over to his desk to the front.

Tom Riddle's eyes pried along the dimly lit bookshelves.

"Lumos" he lighted his wand for better clarity although it wasn't that dark.

There were lots of books that piqued his interest but didn't comply and only looked for what he wanted -- to know what a basilisk was.

'The name sounds sort of familiar,' he wondered out loud.

He grabbed a book that quoted, "Majestic Magical Creatures Of All Time".

The book was Heavier than it looked which prompted it to slip out of his hand and dropped with a thud.

'Darn it.'

Just when he took the book from the ground, he noticed a lonely book with a midnight blue spine and shiny velvet black cover, which seemed to have been hexed with a self-cleaning charm as it looked good as new.

The spine read, // Secrets of the Darkest Art//

Clearly, this grabbed all of Tom Riddle's interest and was enough to divert away from the purpose of why he was here.

Riddle had always thought the wizarding community is restricting itself from becoming their full potential. he always wanted to explore the unknown capabilities of being a wizard. Even if it costs danger to others, he didn't care.

He turned away the pages, it went from well-known dark arts to the most intense things about summoning the Inferi.

His eyes locked in a particular page, he felt his heart fill with desire, a strong one that engulfed his entirety.

//Horcruxes: A path to immortality//

His eyes widened and his mind started memorizing whatever his eyes scanned.

He wanted to achieve glory, something that should last longer than any wizard has ever had, and that meant he also wanted to be an exception from death, a stopping point to all achievements and power he could attain.

He was drunk with this new knowledge as he read through the explicit ritual for making a Horcrux.

'Interesting' he smirked.

"Are you planning to kill me, Riddle?"

A calm familiar voice beside him wiped that smirk off his face.