Horcruxes were given clear instructions: find a target, gain their trust, drain their magic, and take control of their body. Once they succeeded, they were supposed to reunite with Tom.

That's exactly what this Horcrux was trying to do but he was experiencing a dilemma. He didn't anticipate that he'd encounter another Horcruxes under unusual circumstances.

Hogwarts Express Train 1965

"Watch your step."

The little girl looked up to see a teenage boy with pale skin, and dark hair. He was so tall that she had to crane her neck back to see his face. He smiled kindly at her.

"Excuse me. I need to find a compartment." She told him.

"Come sit with me." he said. The boy opened the compartment door and gesture her in.

She went inside, dragging her trunk behind her, and sat down on the bench.

"My name is Tom. What's yours?"

"Melissa."

"Honey bee," said Tom.

"Excuse me?"

"Melissa means Honey bee. In Greek mythology, Melissa was a nymph. She nursed Zeus until he was old enough to challenge his father, Cronus, and claim his rightful place as the king of the gods."

"That's interesting. I never knew the history of my name. How about your name? Is it related to mythology too?"

"No," he said with obvious distain, "Tom is a very common name. Not unique like yours." He said with a smile that didn't reach his eyes.

Melissa smiled back politely. Since he appeared to dislike his name, she decided to change the subject.

"What's Hogwarts like?" Melissa looked down nervously. "I've never been there before. It seems scary."

"There's no need to be frighten. Hogwarts is a safe and magical place."

"That's what my arrière-grand-mère says - I mean, my great grandma. She said I will be safe. The guardian will protect me."

Tom's eyebrows rose with curiosity. "Guardian? What about a guardian?"

"My grandma told me there's a guardian that lives beneath Hogwarts' dungeons."

Tom stood up from his chair and grabbed Melissa's shoulders so fast she gasped in surprise. His face was twisted with ugly rage.

"You're hurting me." Melissa whimpered.

Tom's expression turned neutral. He slowly released her, but remained in her personal space.

"Sorry…I...lost myself for a moment there." he said in a gentle tone.

Speechless by his sudden aggressive behavior Melissa merely nodded.

"The train has stop. You should get on your way." Tom grabbed Melissa's trunk. "Let me carry that for you."

Chamber of Secrets 1995

The terrified screams of a young witch echoed throughout the chamber. She swallowed one last breath before she fell on the stone floor with a loud thump. Silence followed as Tom Riddle strode to her unconscious form. He smirked in triumphant for he had accomplishing his mission.

"Thank you." a voiced whispered into Tom's ears, which startled him.

Tom whipped back and searched his surroundings for the source of the voice.

"Who said that?" he asked.

"I did."

Tom turned to the owner of the voice. It belonged to the witch he witnessed died seconds ago. She was standing before him, very much alive. Her lips spread into a sinister grin. It was uncharacteristic on her angelic face.

"Who are you?" he questioned.

This was not the weak, helpless teenage witch from before. For him to become corporal, a life had to be exchange.

If she was gone then what was this thing.

"Don't you recognize me?" She asked him casually.

Tom scoffed. This person – whoever it was – may look and sound like that girl but it was not her.

"What a pity." She said.

An invisible force suddenly grabbed Tom. His arms were spread and his body lifted a foot off the stone floor.

…

The creature wearing the girl's skin kept Tom as a prisoner inside the Chamber of Secrets. Her constant administrations of drugs made him unaware of time. His body was fully nourished by food she forced fed to him. But his new muscles were weakening from being restricted by the chains attaching him to a bed. He was an invalid.

While he was alone his mind wondered. What had happened to the girl that caused her to change? It all started after she died. She was dead. He saw her take her last breath with his own eyes. Suddenly, she was alive and different. Evil.

A thought occurred to Tom. Perhaps, it was not a ghost but something else entirely, a creature or an entity of some sort.

The only explanation that he could think of was that the real girl was dead and a ghost had taken possession her body. Could she be possessed by a ghost? There were ghosts floating all around Hogwarts, but he'd never seen one possess a student or a teacher. If that wasn't the case, then what was wrong with her?

Tom thought back to his past interactions with the girl and the information he knew about her. Honey was a seventeen year old witch, born from a wealthy pureblood family. She was naïve and soft-hearted. Her timid behavior hailed from being hospitalized for seven years. Previously, she was a mute with a body riddled with scars. She was treated by numerous skilled Healers that were able to cure her of her physical disabilities. There are no traces of deformity on her skin.

Cured, her parents enrolled her in Hogwarts in year five to complete her OWLs. She wanted to live the school life for three years, make friends, graduate, start a career, and possibly a family of her own. Her dreams have ended with her life.

Who knows what the parasite inside her dreams of?

Becoming a doctor, maybe? With the way she held her syringe -

The truth of her identity hit him hard and made him laugh bitterly at his stupidity.

…

"You're one of the young ones aren't you?" Tom said confidently the next time she visited him.

"I'm disappointed it took you so long to figure it out." She or rather he answered without missing a beat. "Age seems to have diminished your intelligence.

"I don't dwell in dreams, unlike yourself." he countered.

Tom figured this Horcrux had to be from his younger years. He was fearful of doctors as a boy. He was confused when his magic started to manifest. The other children knew he was different. They often mocked him because of his peculiar behavior. Their words caused him to develop nightmares of being dragged to the insane asylum, where he'd be chained to a bed, and subjected to torture. That was before the magical world was revealed to him. He wiped away all of that ridiculousness from his mind until now. The other Horcrux recreated all of his old nightmares.

"What are the odds of us choosing the same girl?"

"Karma might have played a role."

She sounded so amused that it stroked Tom's curiosity. "Care to elaborate?"

"You'll find out in due time."