Salazar stared at the locket in front of him. Rowena's gift for his wedding. It was made of gold, with a snake made of bright green emeralds glittering on the front, forming the letter "S".
It was a beautiful artifact, but knowing Rowena, there must be more to it. Like everything Rowena ever made, this was a riddle. He still hadn't found out how to open it, and was wondering what she had concealed inside.
He gazed at the front of the locket again. In the flickering candlelight, the serpentine S almost looked like a living snake. And then Salazar understood. Of course, this was how Rowena had made sure only he could open it.
"Open" he hissed, and the locket sprang open. He saw two faces appear, one on either side of the locket. On the left side, his beloved Adelina, the woman whom he had wedded yesterday. On the right side, he saw Rowena, who had become like a sister to him. She was the closest thing to a family Salazar had had over the past twenty years.
So that was what the locket did. It showed him the two people dearest to him. What a thoughtful gift from Rowena. This way, they would in a way be with him on his long travels, which took him as far as Baghdad or even India.
Content with himself for having solved the riddle, he closed the locked and put it around his neck, and returned to his wife.
Tom Riddle was clutching the locket in his fist. Finally, it was his. It had always been rightfully his heirloom. How sick he had been of feigning sympathy for the old hag. But now, she was dead, and Salazar's locket was in the hands of the rightful heir.
He had turned the cup into a horcrux. Why the cup, and not the locket first? Because he was curious. Curious what secret powers his ancestor's artifact would hold. The old bat didn't know, she only wanted it as a part of her collection.
He knew at once how to open it. He had seen similar snake-like ornaments at Hogwarts, when he had found the chamber of secrets. "Open" he hissed. And the locket opened.
What Tom saw were two blank mirrors, with his own face staring back at him in disbelief. Was something wrong with it? Had Mr. Burke sold a fake to the old bat? Where were the powers it was supposed to have?
The thought that something was wrong with him, and not with the locket didn't occur to Tom.
"Open" Harry hissed, but Ron only heard a strange noise. The accursed Horcrux that had almost ripped their friendship apart lay open before him. He held the sword of Gryffindor in his hands, ready to strike.
The locket hadn't lost its old power, and thus, it made images of Harry and Hermione appear. But the part of Voldemort's soul that resided within it twisted them into Ron's worst fears.
They looked more beautiful than in reality, making his ordinariness stand out even more. They mocked him, telling him how he was always overshadowed. And then they kissed. Had he missed his chance? Of course Hermione would prefer Harry over him, who had run away.
This was too much for Ron. He smashed the sword down at the locket, and it was broken in two, and the apparitions disappeared.
Ron took the broken remains of the locket in his hand. The Horcrux was gone. He had saved Harry from drowning tonight. He had destroyed the Horcrux. He was just as much a hero as they were. How he could ever have believed the lies that the Horcrux had told him was beyond him.
In that moment, Ron could easily forget that half of the Horcruxes were still waiting to be found.