Hey there everyone! So I have been initially using this account because I did not want to post my writings...I wanted to send reviews out to everyone to show my support for writers on this site! However, I wanted to post this story I had been working on and see what everyone thought! This is a preview of the Prologue and based on the reception it gets I'll definitely keep posting! So, if you like please let me know! It is much appreciated! Thank you! :)


"The Lord God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground—trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. But, you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it, you will certainly die."

~Genesis 2:9-17


August 23rd, 1958

The hot sun beamed upon young Asteria as she sat in the freshly cut grass by the small lake that was exclusive to her guardian, Clara Savoie. The unusual girl seemed unaware Clara was watching her like a hawk, her arms crossed and the expression upon her face was distraught.

Mrs. Savoie had been married to a very wealthy steamboat owner and had been imparted with a Creole style mansion located in the countryside of New Orleans, Louisiana.

The young widow was suddenly left alone in an enormous empty home, surrounded by shaded trees that towered over her rooftop, darkening the light that came through the glass windows. The echoing of the fountain stream was the only sound of excitement to be heard.

Her husband's death a very much unexpected event to say the least, and the only thing her husband hadn't given her yet was a child. The one infatuation the woman's heart had longed for when they married just a short year ago, none of the riches and sites entirely captivating her.

She had been denied the blessing of offspring, never to have a living reminder of a moment she and her late husband had shared. Children that would unknowingly imitate the way he talked and laughed.

Never would she know if they would have had a dashing boy, who resembled him much more than herself.

Or a girl, who would have his twinkling green eyes instead of her dark brown.

When Mrs. Savoie had finally built up the courage to visit the orphanage in town, she knew the moment she saw Asteria sleeping soundly in the crib that was placed in the Matron's room, the baby was the one for her.

"May I?" she had asked, her arms extended to hold the child. Her white cheeks suddenly had flushed pink in excitement.

Marie La Bauve, or just "Madame" as she taught most locals and orphans alike to call her by, had nodded slowly in response. The old French woman's bright blue eyes seemed to dull as she took the child softly by her hands, the wrinkles under her eyes growing as she carefully placed her in Mrs. Savoie's arms. A strange feeling had jolted through the older woman's body as she stared coldly at the infant. The intense feeling could not be described with words, she felt that the life was literally being sucked out of her. Death seemed like it was making haste.

"Ze child haz been touched...by somezing...dark. Are you sure you want thiz one?" she had protested, firm that the child must stay locked away from the world.

The young blonde woman had merely shook her head vigorously as she bounced with the baby lightly in her arms, the feeling of life spreading like a waterfall flowed through her veins. The older woman's warning going unheard.

Clara now stood in silence as she watched her daughter through the full sized, glass window. Over the years she had begun to notice particular oddities with the child.

For starters, the girl seemed to enchant people in many ways they could not explain. Some people felt the life being sucked out of them when they came into contact with her, while some felt a new burst of life like none other.

When Asteria got slightly older, certain objects began to disappear and later reappear. When asked if she had stolen them and put them back at another time the raven-haired girl would always insist it would disappear into thin hair if she did not like it. And then come back unharmed later when she forgot about it.

Clara bit her lip and twirled her blonde hair with her finger anxiously as she watched the now ten-year-old child pluck the newly tidied lawn, creating a pile of the aggressively torn grass.

That was another question on its own. Asteria always had this impulsive need to ruin things once they were placed in order. She always found the need to destroy things she found to be an "annoyance", as she would state.

Mrs. Savoie sighed, swiftly closing the curtains as she gave up observing the girl for the day.

Meanwhile, Asteria finally looked up from her torture of the plants. The tan girl smirked as she felt accomplished with the ruin she had created. Her golden eyes spotted a field of dozens of dandelions. She dusted her blue dress off as she ran towards the weeds, giggling as she uprooted a handful.

"What entrances you so much by killing nature?" a voice suddenly asked.

Asteria felt the soft flower like weeds fall out of her hand as she froze, too afraid to turn and see who was behind her. The foreign sound of his accent also had frightened her.

"Don't be afraid child, turn to me." the voice ordered softly.

Asteria slowly turned, her dark hair flowing in the wind softly as finally took a good look at the man who now towered before her.

The child found herself mesmerized as she saw how handsome this man was, his looks made it easier for her to calm her fears. The man ran his hands through his own dark hair, his gray eyes meeting her golden ones.

Asteria suddenly felt a smile grow across her face the longer she stared at the man, her grin was as childish as she actually was. She bent down to pick up the disregarded dandelions, letting out a giggle as she blew the bundle of weeds in the stranger's face.

"They're burdens...weeds...why shouldn't I kill it?" she finally answered, now feeling unbothered by the strange man as she took a seat on the ground.

He flashed a devilish grin as he took his own place next to the girl, plucking his own dandelion. The man then proceeded to grasp the root of the weed by the tips of his fingers. Within seconds, the bothersome plant was burnt to crisp in a blink of an eye.

Asteria's eyes grew wide as she watched in awe as the blackened ashes fell out his pale hands.

"Why did you kill it like that?" she blurted, taken by the intense method of ridding the world of a weed.

"Same reason as you, my child." he answered smoothly.

She shook her head in fury, "No-no, you burnt it!"

The man laughed, "True, but...we both accomplished our same goal of destruction, no?"

Asteria pouted, finding herself defeated by the man's logic. However, what the girl had failed to realize was when she blew the white dandelion to nothing, she only allowed it to prosper.

"Tell me, child, what is your name?"

"Asteria Savoie…" she muttered, resorting back to the grass picking.

He nodded, "And how old are you, Asteria?"

"Ten...but, what's your name?" she pressed with an eyebrow raised.

"Tom Riddle…" the man answered with another chuckle.

Tom couldn't help but continue to allow this child to amuse him, he figured it was the fact that she unknowingly inhabited some of the most dangerous magic known to wizardkind.

Or perhaps it was because she exemplified the same lust for power and chaos as he did?

Whatever the reasons that allowed him to tolerate this child, it now opened a new sense of opportunity for him. He had come to New Orleans as soon as he graduated Hogwarts due to the many rumors of dark and different magic being inhabited there. His determination and curiosity had certainly gotten the best of him and pushed him to great lengths to drop off the grid, cutting everyone and everything he knew off.

Much of his research and findings came to lead to one most extraordinary births that had been reputed in the wizarding world of America. There had been such gossip of a child that when she was born she was touched by Death himself...while already being born for the purpose of Life.

Tom was never one to be impressed, but when he heard of such odd happenings he could not resist seeking this child out. He knew that if he could grasp hold of this child, teach and guide her to follow the same path he walked on, she could very well be the key to his eternal life.

"Tell me, have you ever made anything disappear? Reappear?" Tom asked, breaking from his deep thoughts.

Asteria's smile only widened at this question. Almost like she hoped the subject would be brought up.

"What are you some kind of voodoo man?" she teased in her sweet southern drawl, not fully ready to admit he was on the right track. "Witch doctor?"

Tom crinkled his brow in confusion, unfamiliar with the terms she was using.

"What strange names you use in this country…" he muttered, "I am a wizard, and I'm positive you are a witch."