Summary: Why did the Dark Lord turn so Dark? Sure, he wasn't the kindest person as a child, but how did he go from Tom Riddle to Lord Voldemort?

Her name is Kaityln Figg.

A/N: Oh, Merlin (I say this phrase because I am secretly a witch), thanks for reading this story. I really, really, really hope you like it. And review. :)

Disclaimer: I don't own that bag of chips that is spilling out onto my seat in my car…er, oh yes I do. What I meant to say is that I DON'T OWN HARRY POTTER!

Chapter One: A Stolen—Then Returned—Diary

"Come here," called Lila, waving me over to her corner of the Slytherin common room discreetly. I hurried over to her, glad to have an excuse to leave Abraxas Malfoy—did that guy understand that not everyone cared about his advanced knowledge of the Dark Arts?

I went to sit beside Lila, my best friend, on one of the green chairs but she pushed me to the side before I could touch the chair. "Stop, Kait!" She cried as I straightened and smoothed my robes. It was only then that I noticed the tiny black notebook partially concealed under a silver pillow on the chair.

"What is this?" I demanded, sure I had seen it before. "Isn't this…" I trailed off, realizing just whose diary this was.

"Yes!" Lila grinned at me, and after shooting a look over her shoulder to make sure none of our housemates were paying any mind to us, pulled it up to examine the cover with me. In the corner was a name written in silver letters: Tom Riddle.

"Oh, Merlin, please Lila. Tell me you did not steal this from Tom's dorm!"

"It was a brilliant plan, Kait. See, I got sick during History of Magic and Professor Binns wasn't paying any attention to us whatsoever, so I just went back to the dorm to rest. Except, when I got back, I was feeling better. No one was here—no one at all, I promise!—and so I just hurried up to the sixth year boy's dorm. The diary was right on his nightstand, in plain sight. And you know that Tom has the Slug Club meeting later, so he'll only be back after supper. We'll have put the diary back long before then. Admit it: I'm a genius!"

"No, you aren't!" I want to strangle the idiot girl, even if she is my closest friend. "There is no Slug Club meeting. Why else would I be back here so early?"

It takes Lila a moment to fully comprehend what I just said, but when she finally does, she gasps in horror.

"But… I was just going to take a peek. And now…but we've got to get it back! Oh, please help me, Kait!"

I wish I could just tell her to do it herself, that I don't want to get in trouble just because she didn't think ahead. Most of the other Slytherins would do just that.

Of course, I almost wasn't put in Slytherin, so I'm a tad different.

"Ah, who do we have here? Kaitlyn Figg…? From a long line of great purebloods, all placed in the House of Salazar Slytherin," whispered the Sorting Hat in my mind.
"Yes, that's true," I answered proudly. "I'm from the Great and Noble House of Figg. And I'll be the next Slytherin." I was so sure.

"Ah, but will you? There are many students who, like you, could do great in many of the Hogwarts Houses, but you most of all. I can see…two different paths for you."

I felt myself freeze under the thin old hat, and then I was crying out, "No, no! I couldn't be in anything but Slytherin."

"But you could, Kaitlyn, I see that. Your reason for wanting to join Slytherin is that your family has all come from there. But, while you would amount to something…powerful, in Slytherin, imagine Gryffindor! Loyalty, bravery, kindness. These are the traits that define you even now."

"I can't be in Gryffindor. I'll be disgraced if I'm in that horrid House. Please. I will try so hard in Slytherin."

"But try to be what?" Asked the Sorting Hat. "Powerful and cunning? Or smart and good?"

"Please." It was a quiet plead, but of course the hat heard it.

"Well, I can see that you wish for it to be this way. For now-though you may not always feel that way. Anyways, I will put you on your path in…SLYTHERIN!"

I led Lila up to the dorm staircases and was just passing the first years dorms when a tall, dark-haired man came rushing down the stairs.

"Oh, Merlin!" He cried as he crashed into me. It was none other than Tom. I could feel Lila stiffen beside me. "Kaitlyn, I'm sorry. But I have to go…must've left it in the library…researching…er, hey, what are you doing going up the boys staircase, Kaitlyn?"

"And me!" Lila popped around me and flipped her hair back, pouting up at Tom. "I'm being naughty too, Mr. Riddle." She winked and I pinched her arm. "Eek!"

"Ah, getting up to mischief, are you, Kaitlyn?" Tom asked. As usual, he completely ignored Lila.

Which, judging from how she was acting now, was probably for the best. I was pretty sure that if he showed any more attention to the hopelessly in love girl, she might just combust.

I shrugged, feeling slightly awkward. "Well, we'll just be…uh…"

"Wait!" Tom grabbed my arm. "I wanted to ask you something…will you go for a walk with me? Tonight, after supper?" He shot me a flashy white grin.

"What kind of a walk?" I asked slowly.

"Well, I was hoping for a walk that was more of a date than a…er, walk.

I was reluctant: Tom was extremely popular at school…which would seem like a good thing, but someone as well-liked as the guy practically had a fan girl of girls who wanted to date him, one of which was Lila.

Ever since third year, Tom had been asking me out. And I always said no because it was a highly known fact that any girl who became Tom's girlfriend was instantly targeted by his wannabe girlfriends. I was already slightly disliked—because he asked me out so often—and I didn't want to create even more animosity, especially with Lila.

But Tom was really nice… "Alright," I found myself saying, much to the surprise of both me and Tom. Tom smiled at me and I found myself grinning too. He then started down the stairs. "See ya!" He called over his shoulder.

When he was out of hearing range, Lila spun to face me. She was wearing a very bitter expression. "Why would you do that to me?" She cried. "You know how I feel about him…and then you go ahead and throw yourself at him! And he falls for it," she adds in an angry afterthought.

"Lila, it's not that…" I clench my hands into fists so that I don't explode at her. Throwing myself at him? "I didn't want to hurt his feelings."

"Oh ya," Lila said sarcastically. "You couldn't possibly let Tom Riddle feel bad, huh? Who cares about how your best friend—your only friend here at school—feels, right? I don't want to hear it. And you can take this back up there." She thrust the diary at me and then rushed downstairs.

Unfortunately, this was a common occurrence with Lila. While she could be fun and nice sometimes, the girl had some serious jealousy problems.

Slowly I tromped up the stairs to the wooden door marked "Fifth Years" and pushed it open cautiously. I poked my head in first, and when I determined that no one was inside, hurried to the bed that was obviously Tom's.

While the other boys' spaces were piled high with Quidditch supplies and books and chocolate frog wrappers, with unmade beds and robes strewn about, Tom's was immaculate. Every book was stacked neatly in a small bookcase and his trunk was sealed tightly, with no robes hanging out of the edges.

I gently set the diary on the bedside stand and, for good measure, placed a loose paper—the only loose paper in Tom's area—on top of it. I doubted that Tom would be fooled, but in case it was his diary he'd been looking for earlier, he might just think he'd hadn't looked hard enough.

Then, I scurried back to the common room.

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I really hope you liked the first chapter. Please, please, please (x1,000,000,000) review. Whenever I get reviews, I jump up and do a happy dance. You wanna be the cause of my happy dance, don't you? (On second thought, maybe you don't…it's slightly scary.)

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