A.N.: Thanks to Anamarie V for beta-ing!

A.N.: I find myself strangely obsessed with the bad guys. So I´ll post here several One-Shots about the Dark Side, each with another main character, to be read separately or as a joint portrait.

Memento Mori

He was alone. Wormtail was scurrying around somewhere, but he couldn´t really be counted. The rest had fled as soon as he had allowed them to.

The boy had escaped. Again.

There was some prophecy, he had heard about it long ago. Of course he did not believe in such foolish concepts as fate and destiny. The one with the power...

It was ridiculous, really. The boy had no power at all. It was just like Dumbledore to believe in this future-telling nonsense. Power –the boy had lain writhing in pain on the ground before him tonight. He had not shown any sign of being more powerful than the average fourteen year old.

Sure, there was courage –how typically Gryffindor!- and defiance and determination, but nothing beyond that. The boy had escaped because of the unlucky coincidence of brother wands, for Merlin's sake!

It would almost have been better if the stupid boy had some powers. At least it wouldn't leave him in the awkward situation to explain why a totally normal boy –a fourteen year old! –could have escaped. Again!

He had seen the doubt in some of his follower's eyes tonight. The doubt if their Lord was as strong as he had been thirteen years ago. And the ambition, the calculation, to take his place if he wasn't. Most of them were Slytherins, after all. He had shown them that he was truly back, that he was again the most powerful amongst them, and the pain would keep reminding them that disobedience was no option.

But the boy had escaped a-- It really always came back to Potter. He rightfully should have died on their first encounter, or at least on their second, even the third... but tonight had been the fourth! Like a cat with nine lives, the boy simply wouldn't die.

Not that he was particularly fond of killing –he knew some of his Death Eaters killed just for the sake of killing- but he generally took only those lives that were necessary. Killing was a means to an end in his opinion; sometimes he would even regret having to take the life of a worthy opponent, someone who could have earned a high place in his ranks if they only had chosen the right side. Of course, most were just a nuisance to his plans, worthless fools whose death was no loss, or Mudbloods whose mere existence was a disgrace and threat to the old, true ways of wizardkind. They deserved neither mercy nor pity; he did what he had to.

The boy, naturally, knew nothing about that. With Dumbledore in the school, the students would, of course, learn nothing about the danger that Muggles posed for wizardkind. Generations of students that had no idea. It was high time that Dumbledore lost his influence and some proper morals and principles were taught at Hogwarts.

He had an aim and the wizarding world would be thankful when they realised what he had done for them. When their world was clean again, when he had installed the old order again, when Muggles were put into their rightful place again. Pure wizarding families would be aware of their superiority. There would be no Muggle Protection Laws and such stupidities, no wizard in fear of Muggles, suffering from them, no wizard under the influence of Muggles, no wizard compelled to bear their presence. Yes, he had an aim, and, in the end, wizardkind would realise that he had done it for the best of them all.

He stood at his Muggle father's grave and swore he would achieve his purpose. TOM RIDDLE. His Muggle father.

Buried like his own Muggle heritage, his Muggle roots. It was his past that lay buried here, for he was Lord Voldemort now.

And yet –TOM RIDDLE. On a marble gravestone. A gravestone. It had been his name once, when he was as young as Potter was now. The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord...

And Tom Marvolo Riddle, Lord Voldemort, did something the wizarding world did not believe him capable of.

He trembled slightly.

"Wormtail!" Maybe it was time to find out the rest of that prophecy.