Tom Riddle was in his four poster at Hogwarts, staring at the ceiling. He couldn't sleep, although it was not for lack of trying. He had done his best, but sleep did not want to come that night. Something within him was calling him away, away from his bed and common room. The mysterious voice told him that something was in the castle that would answer all his questions. What questions would those be, he asked himself. It wasn't that he didn't like the Slytherin house, quite the contrary. For the first time he had true friends. He exemplified all points of the Slytherin house, and he was a parselmouth, a trait prized above almost all. Sometimes, however, he felt that he was out of place. All of the other boys would get elaborate care packages from home while he, Tom Marvolo Riddle, would receive nothing.
Finally giving into the voice and deciding that sleep would never come, Tom got up. He grabbed his invisibility clock, which he kept underneath his mattress. It was amazing that he had one, as rare as they were. The cloak was one of the few things that he had of his mother's.
Carefully, Tom padded through the sleeping Slytherins, and out the suit of armor, which was the entrance to the Slytherin common room. Cowering under the cloak, Tom began to wish that he had his overcoat with him. Hogwarts did get cold at night; it seemed even cooler that night, maybe because if was December, or maybe because of what was going to happen.
Tom wasn't sure where he was going, but he continued to walk aimlessly around the castle. Only once did he run into Flich, although Nearly Headless Nick seemed to be everywhere that night. Just like those Gryffindors to be nosing in other peoples business. They wouldn't be such a bad lot if they kept to themselves.
He turned a corner quickly, not bothering to walk softly. Something inside Tom told him that this was a corridor not easily excisable to the rest of the school, and also that something great was here. Great, maybe terrible.
He began to quicken his pace, and found in front of him, not more then fifty feet, Professor Dumbledore. He was walking out of an empty classroom, shaking his head, muttering to himself.
Tom flattened himself against a wall, hoping that the transfiguration professor, who seemed to know everything that went on in the school, would somehow not notice him.
Dumbledore didn't; he seemed too preoccupied with his thoughts to even notice where he was going, and tripped slightly while passing Tom. Engrossed, Tom walked towards the door which Dumbledore had just exited. He opened it carefully, and found an empty classroom. Curiosity mounting, Tom stepped inside.
The room was abandoned, with chairs and desks stacked high. It looked like it had not been used for years; a thick layer of dust covered everything in sight. Tom meandered through the stacks, trying to find what drew Dumbledore's attention.
He was just about to give up, when a glimmer of light caught his eye. Cautiously, Tom walked towards the light, which seemed so out of place in the blackness of Hogwarts at midnight.
A mirror stood there, reflecting nothing. It was obviously an old mirror, with an ornate wooden frame. An inscription at the head read 'Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi.' Tom stood confused for only a moment until he figured the riddle: I show not your face but your hearts desire.
Your hearts desire? What did he, Tom Marvolo Riddle, desire above all else? His first thought was his mother, or at least a family, one that he could talk to. His next was the more probable: his being head boy, passing the NEWTS with the highest scores since Salzar Slytherin had written them himself, and going on to hold a position of power.
One quick glance at the mirror told him that he was wrong. He saw himself standing in a deserted field, a graveyard. He stood tall, wand raised and cloak drawn, while hundreds bowed to him, each with their cloaks drawn. He saw himself laughing, though not for joy but for fear. The minions- his minions- cowered. Then, he raised his wand, and shot an image into the sky. An image that all would fear when they saw it, because Tom Marvolo Riddle was powerful, more powerful then the strongest of them.
How long he stood there Tom did not know, but it was quite early in the morning when he finally pulled himself away from the mirror, and trudged begrudgingly towards the Slytherin common room. He decided that he would return, to search for a way to bring himself to the power that was shown to him in the mirror.
That will be me, he decided. I will be so powerful that all will fear my name. That day will come, and in the near future I will find the answer to what I am searching for.
Disclaimer: Everything (characters, setting, place, ect.) here, except for the story and the plot itself, belongs to J.K. Rowling.