"Dark magic fill the air,

Do this deed,

Rip and tear!

Make me immortal for ever more,

Make me live for years to come,

Separate my soul's core!"

Tom chanted the words over and over in English 9 times. Then he chanted them in Latin:

"Magicae nigrae replete aere
Hoc facto,
Rip et dilacerant!
Deduc me in aeternum immortale est,
Fac me vivere annos,
Separate core anima mea!"

Tom could feel himself growing warmer. No... Not him... his soul! But he kept chanting, ignoring the soon burning pain. As soon as he said the last word in Latin for the 9th time, he fell to the floor screaming. He was glad that no one could hear him this far under the castle. How mortifying would it have been if someone had actually found the great Tom Riddle crying and pleading? He would never live it down!

Tom panted as the burn kept getting hotter still. How long would he have to stay like this? Tom forced his eyes open and what he saw actually made him stop screaming. A glow had arisen from his body and seemed to be pouring into the diary next to him. He scrambled back as the ghost of the mudblood he had just killed came shooting out of the diary, screeching and screaming at him. She rushed at him, looking like she was going to kill him!

"Please! No!" Tom cried, convulsing on the floor as the girl came nearer. "I – I just want to prove I'm powerful! Please!"

The girl exploded into what seemed to be ash but as it landed on Tom, it cut his skin. He yelled and thrashed for hours, almost wishing he hadn't performed the spell. Almost. He knew he would powerful once this was over! That was the last thought Tom had before he fainted.

When he came round, the burning was still in Tom's soul. But it wasn't as bad. He sat up slowly, hissing in pain. He spotted the diary and grabbed it, greedily looking at it and feeling the power thrum through it.

He remembered the pain and the ghost mudblood and scoffed as he remembered pleading to her. "I was in pain!" He told himself over and over again, "I didn't want to make it any harder!"

Tom got up and looked down, noticing blood all over his used to be crisp white shirt. He shrugged and siphoned the blood off of it before calling to the king of the serpents.

"Take me back up." He ordered the basilisk and sat on its back as it slithered up the chamber. Tom climbed out of the hole, staggering slightly. He grabbed hold of the nearest thing but recoiled when he realised it was the hand of the dead mudblood. Had no one found her yet?

Tom dragged himself back to the Slytherin common room, hissing in pain with every step. Natasha Greengrass asked if he was ok and he snapped, "I'm fine! Just leave me alone!"

Tom collapsed on his bed, surprised. He was always charming to the ladies, especially a Slytherin like Natasha. But Tom was in a foul mood that night and he knew why. The horcrux.

Tom stashed the diary in the bottom of his trunk where no one could find it, deciding to give it to Lucius Malfoy. Malfoy had graduated 5 years ago and had married Narcissa Black. He would look after the diary. Lucius had rooms even he wouldn't go in! Tom, of course, had been in them all and had to admit some rooms had given him nightmares for months! So he would hide the diary in there until it was time to use it.

Tom had a shower, hissing and complaining at the burning still in his soul. He knew it wouldn't go away for a long time yet. But he would learn to live with it. He got into bed and fell asleep out of weakness.

That night was the night Tom Riddle made his first horcrux.