Prologue
"You called for me, my Lord?" Avery tentatively stepped into the Minister's office.
"Yes, Avery," Tom Riddle said. "Come in." Avery sat in the chair in front of the desk. "I want to talk to you about Harry."
"Potter?" It was easy to hear the disgust in Avery's voice.
"I understand that you are one of the few Death Eaters that still have ominous feelings towards him, which is why I've called you here. It's been 6 months since I took power and it's been brilliant, to be honest. But something's been worrying me." He opened a drawer in his desk and pulled out a small sphere filled with white smoke. "I took this from the Department of Mysteries a while back. Have a listen." He placed the globe on the desk and tapped it with his wand. A misty bespectacled figure rose from the glass.
"The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches. … Born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies … and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not … and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives. … The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies…"
There was silence as the figure faded away.
"'Neither
can live while the other survives.'" Avery repeated. "What does
this mean?"
Riddle sighed. "It means I must kill Harry
Potter."
*
Outside the door was a trembling Neville Longbottom. He ran without stopping to the nearest fireplace.
*
So, firstly thank you to everyone who read The First Mistake. Without you, TSM would not be possible. TSM will be shorter than TFM but hopefully just as good.