1959

A/N What's mine is mine, what's not is not,

Please don't sue me for what I haven't got!

Credits are at the end. J

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1959

He slipped into the dungeons, nearly soundless, but she could hear him, she could smell him… He could never keep his presence a secret from her.

She did not bother to rise from the cot as he made his way to her cell.

"You didn't eat," he said, his low voice rumbling in greeting.

The witch propped her chin up in her hands and looked him over. "Poison is everywhere, lover. If you think that I will take a bite of anything that I've not seen you eat, first, you're mad."

"What do you want me to do, Angelina?"

Her blue eyes narrowed to slits. "Remember what you promised me, Tom?"

"MY NAME IS LORD VOLDEMORT!" he thundered.

"You made promises to me, darling, no matter what name you choose. What did you promise…" Her voice was hypnotic; her words caressed him.

"I promised that I would love you… I don't know if I can love anyone anymore. You've become a millstone around my neck!"

She laughed harshly. "You are weak, then, darling. You promised more, much more… And then you throw me to the dungeons… What next? Will you throw me to the Dementors for a little kiss?" The witch's voice dripped malevolence as she hissed, "Der Zauberer!"

He stepped back, not sure of what her words would translate to. "Afraid to speak in a tongue that I can understand, my Angel?"

"I'll put this in words you can understand, my lord… Oath breaker! You promise me, you swear to me that you will stay by my side, and you throw me down here in this squalor!"

She watched his eyes and his face. He was no longer the handsome young boy, but now a brutal man. Tom Riddle had become… the world, as well as its evils.

* * *

1946

Angelina sat in the bedchamber with the rest of the first year Slytherin girls. There was Louisa Zabini, Margareth Martin, and Madeleine Lestrange… The others, of course, weren't really important at this time.

Louisa, Margareth, and Madeleine were unpacking their hair ribbons and little girl trinkets, laughing and giggling.

Angelina was alone. She had no such toys and frippery to pull from her trunk. All that she had was a teddy bear and a locket from her father.

Zabini, Lestrange… Those names were so very familiar… Had those girls' fathers joined her own father's cause? Perhaps, but they, at least, were lucky enough to have their fathers still with them. Their fathers would be around to join the next Dark Lord in his uprising, but so would she.

Angelina, however, would not be just a blind follower, gratefully accepting the pearls of wisdom that dripped from the next master's lips. No, she would be the queen by his side, the fearless empress who rode into battle.

Angelina Grindelwald would be the force that brought the next dark lord to power.

Angelina shook her head, her blond hair swishing around her shoulders. That would all come in good time. Now? Now she had to study, and learn to be a powerful witch. Now was when she would make her father proud.

She went to bed early that night, and was one of the first to go to the Great Hall for breakfast. Tom joined her early on.

"Did you sleep well last night?" Tom greeted, taking in her pale face and her cold blue eyes.

Angelina frowned. "It doesn't sound the same in the dungeons. There's no sound."

The head boy grinned at her, his shiny badge shimmering under the sky ceiling. "There's no sound? None of your roommates snore?"

The Austrian witch wound her blond braid up in a bun and used a hairpin to hold it in its place. "That's not what I meant, and you know it. There are no crickets; there are no wolves… It's so very silent under the ground."

"I'll take you out to the edge of the Forbidden Forest after classes are over," Riddle promised. "Do you like snakes?"

She shrugged. "They're okay. I prefer spiders, myself."

"Big spiders?" Tom asked, tickling her tummy.

Angelina giggled and slid away. "Stop!" she protested, playfully swatting after him. Good one, Angelina… Act like a little kid, she berated. Tom's never going to take you seriously if you act stupid!

"So, what's first on your roster?" Tom asked, looking at Angelina's time card.

"Charms, it looks like…"

"We've got a great charms teacher… Grayson Arraghey is the best."

"She going to hold my father against me?"

Tom put an arm around her. "I wouldn't worry about that. Your father was a visionary. Some people just weren't ready for the message, yet."

Angelina laughed, a light tinkly sound that washed over the senses.

Her laughter was cut short when another girl sat beside them.

The older girl smiled radiantly, her black curls gleaming about her shoulders. "Good morning, handsome," she greeted.

"Hey, beautiful. Did you sleep well?" Tom asked, leaning over and giving the other girl a kiss on an ivory cheek.

"I'd have slept better with you," she cooed.

Angelina narrowed her blue eyes into slits and glared.

"Angelina, this is Sally, my girlfriend…" Tom turned to Sally. "Sally, you remember Angelina Grindelwald from the sorting yesterday?"

Sally narrowed her heavily made up eyes. "Right. The psychotic murderer's daughter."

At that moment, Angelina wished that she'd learned how to use some of the deadly curses that her father had used on his enemies. "Mein vater würde können mich abgestorben ehe man sich versieht! Das Miststück!" Angelina rose to her feet and stormed out of the Hall. Only later did she realize that Sally would have no clue as to what she said.

The child sighed. A perfectly good rant, wasted. She would have to remember to scream, "My father would see you dead before you can say 'knife.' Bitch!" in English, next time. Of course, the effect was lost in English.

* * *

1959

"Why do you do this, Angelina? Why?" the dark lord pleaded, stroking her face tenderly with his large hands.

Her blue eyes darkened. "You touch me as though you care, yet moments before, you tell me that I am a millstone. You have me, darling! Why don't you just admit that you need me?"

"I'm the master! I'm not supposed to need anyone!" he thundered.

"You need me," she whispered. "I helped you get here. You wanted me, needed me at your side when you were plotting. You won't get much farther without me."

"I'll conquer the world! You'll see!"

* * *

1946

The woods were a brilliant mixture of greens and browns and reds as the fall leaves scattered about the edge of the Forbidden Forrest, swirled about into piles raked up by Hagrid. Her black robe was covered with flecks and crumbs of dried leaves; her blond hair had fallen out of the braided topknot, and was now slipping out of its braid.

The witch looked like a ragamuffin child that slipped out of the orphanage, rather than the heiress of Grindelwald.

She and Gregory Fairchild, another first year Slytherin, were rolling around the leaves acting like two juvenile delinquents. Angelina enjoyed every second of it.

"Angelina?" Gregory asked, not taking his eyes off of her for a second as she collapsed into the pile of leaves.

"What?" she panted, winded from their horseplay.

"I know it's a long time away, but… but would you come home with me for Christmas?" the dark haired boy whispered shyly.

Angelina remained silent, biting her lip and pondering.

Gregory's face fell; his eyes focused on the leaves, rather than the little girl that he'd been playing with.

Crunch, crunch, crunch… Footsteps grew louder and closer the shadowy figure approached.

A bit of fading sunlight illuminated the encroaching human, revealing his identity.

"Tom!" Angelina cried, her face splitting into a wide smile.

He smiled at the little girl, watching her straighten herself up and dust off the bits of dried leaves that clung to her.

The child ran towards him, picking up speed and launched herself at him.

Angelina heard Tom's rich laughter as he wrapped his arms around her. In hindsight, she realized that it was a perfectly childish behavior on her part, but there she was, up in Tom Riddle's arms, clinging to him like a little monkey with her arms and legs around him in a death grip.

"Did you have fun?" Tom teased, not prying the child off of him.

Angelina smiled. "Yup. Gregory just asked me if I'd go home with him for Yule break."

Riddle's face hardened. "I thought… Well, I thought you'd stay at Hogwarts' with me."

Her heart leaped in her chest. He wanted her to stay with him?

He then picked up where he left off. "I mean, you don't have any family left, either…"

She felt her hopes dashed against the rocks. Of course, Angelina… He's dating that stupid Sally girl. Why would he want you? Angelina squirmed a bit until she felt herself sliding down his body. She stepped back a bit once her feet were firmly on the ground.

"I'll… I'll stay," Angelina promised hesitantly. I'll stay for you, Tom… I don't want you to be alone on Christmas. Besides, it's not like Papa will be there to celebrate the solstice with me…

Tom smiled, pleasure written across his face. "I knew you wouldn't let me down, Angelina."

"Can you help me out with my transfiguration homework?" Angelina asked hopefully. Of course, she'd done her transfiguration homework, turning matchsticks into needles, and it had gotten an A, but her needle wasn't shiny. It was more of a dull shade than the perfect shiny metal that it should have been.

"Didn't Dumbledore tell you that you were doing well?" Tom countered.

"Yes, but it wasn't perfect."

"I can't tonight. Tonight is the Halloween Ball."

Her eyes narrowed. "You're taking Sally?"

"Angelina, she's my girlfriend," Tom explained impatiently. "Of course I'm taking her."

"When you finish school this year, the two of you will fly off into the sunset and live happily ever after?" she sneered.

The wizard raised one black eyebrow. "I have plans for my life. Sally does not fit in them."

Angelina was only slightly mollified at that statement.

* * *

1959

Erratically, the dark mage threw any loose object he could find. Various pieces of pottery shattered on the cobbled floor.

"Tom! Listen to me," she pleaded. "You can do anything you want to. You can rule the world. But you would enjoy it so much more knowing that you have me at your side, rather than having me shoved in a dungeon somewhere, far away and forgotten…"

His green eyes flared and turned ruby red for an instant, then reverted back to the usual emerald color. "I… Angelina, you…"

Angelina refused to step back. "Shh," she whispered, stroking his cheek. "Obey your destiny. Remember that you used to have pleasure."

"I… don't… need… pleasure," he protested feebly.

The witch gave a low chuckle. "Of course you don't, darling… That doesn't change how much you want it…"

* * *

1946

She heard that little bitch talking to him, using the low, hushed tones reserved for the intimacy of two lovers. She strained her ears, struggling to hear their every word.

"…Why do you put up with her?" Sally whined.

"She's special," Tom answered firmly. His tone left no room for argument.

"She has a crush on you," the dark haired witch rebutted. "I don't understand why you put up with her mooning over you…"

"Sally," he murmured pleadingly. Angelina caught a glimpse of him stroking her cheek with such tenderness, her heart was breaking.

"Do you have some kind of thing for little girls or something?" Sally sulked, her beautiful Cupid's bow lips drawing into a pout.

"She's a cute little girl, Sally. That's all. She's a child." His voice was silky smooth, a gentle caress.

"Then why do you keep her around? I never get any time alone with you… It seems like the little brat is always hanging around."

Tom sighed. "Angelina is alone. Her parents are dead. Professor Dumbledore killed her father, for God's sake! Don't you think that's bound to mess up a kid's head?"

The little girl's hands balled up at her sides, hidden in fists within the folds of her robe. How could he betray her like that?

Sally sighed. "Can't she find someone else to trail after?"

"How many people do you know of that will befriend the vanquished Dark Lord's daughter?"

A pair of delicately manicured hands flew up in the air in frustration. "You know, darling, pity for the sparrow with the broken wing fades. In the end, all you're left with is guilt, and that damned sparrow still has the broken wing."

Angelina's blue eyes began to water; a single tear rolled down her face. She bolted, rattling a bookcase as she rushed past.

Riddle jumped to his feet at the sound and caught a glimpse of the little girl rushing out of the Slytherin dungeon. "Angelina, wait!" he cried, chasing after her for a couple of steps.

The knight slid back over the hole in the wall, covering the sight of her retreating form.

"Damn!" Tom swore, throwing his transfiguration book against the wall.

* * *

1949

Angelina curled up at the base of a tree, feeling the hot, scalding tears running down her face. Sobs shook her tiny body; the miserable sound muffled by a fist in her mouth. How could you? How could you do this to me? You treated me like I was special, and I'm only a pity case? I'm just a little girl?

The rough material of her robe scratched her face as she wiped away the tears.

Crunch, crunch, crunch… Footsteps approached her, moving faster as she tried to hide herself away from the interloper's gaze. Solitude was all that she wanted, but it didn't look like she was going to get it.

Can't they just leave me alone?

Closer… Closer… Closer, still, the entreating footsteps came.

Her back stiffened when the footsteps halted beside her.

"What did you hear?" his familiar voice pressed as he sank down to the ground beside her.

"Abstand halten," she whispered.

"Angelina, please… I can't understand you when you start speaking German," he said, his voice cajoling.

Sapphire blue eyes, red rimmed and wet from tears, peered up at him. "Stay away."

"Talk to me," he commanded, his tone gentle, but not to be denied.

"Why? So you can go back to Sally and laugh about the stupid little girl?" she spat.

"I've never, ever called you stupid. Impatient? Demanding? Of course. But what else would one expect from a princess?"

"Or a damned crippled bird?"

"Sally said that, not me. I don't need Sally Cummings to speak for me."

"You don't need Sally Cummings at all. She's not good enough."

"Jealous?" he countered.

"Using good taste. She's not smart, she's not special, she's not anything! Yet, you still waste your time with her."

He sighed. "When you are older, you will understand what I see in Sally."

Angelina laughed mockingly. "I know what you see in her. She has… How do you say… die wichtig weiblichen Brüste."

"What?"

She held her hands far out in front of her chest, indicating what she thought was so very amazing about Sally Cummings. "I hate this. You make me so angry that I forget my English… She has a big chest, and that is her charm."

"You're too young to know these things."

"I'm not blind! And I'm not a little girl!"

He put his arm around her. "Angelina, I don't have anyone. I grew up in an orphanage. I always wished that I had a sister… I wished that she would be just like you. It never happened, of course. But at least I found you, and you're the sister that I always wanted…"

A look of horror stretched across Angelina's face. Sister? No, Tom, not a sister… I love you! And you're meant to be with me!

"Don't look at me like that… I hate it when you're not happy. This is the only place that I've ever enjoyed being, and I don't want to see it ruined for you," he murmured gently, stroking her cheek with the backs of two fingers.

"I see you and hear you and that… that… thing talking about me behind my back, discussing what a pathetic child I am, and you expect me to be happy?! Have you gone mad?"

"You aren't pathetic. It would be sheer stupidity to look at you as anything less than strong. You… You will be a very important asset to someone some day."

I'll be an important asset to you, she thought stubbornly. You'll need me if you ever want to be the master.

He lowered his voice to a confidential tone. "Angelina, I have a secret that I want you to know…"

That got her attention. Angelina peered at him suspiciously, waiting for him to continue with his little confession.

"The name that my mother gave me is Tom Marvolo Riddle. Tom for my muggle father that abandoned us before I was born… He left us as soon as he found out that my mother was a witch… Marvolo for my grandfather… Riddle is the surname of that filthy muggle bastard that left my mother to die of a broken heart." Riddle was shaking with rage; his antipathy for the muggle half of his heritage was etched in his face. "When I rise to greatness, I will not have the stamp of that bastard in my name. I have a new name for myself."

Angelina sat up, filled with anticipation.

Riddle sucked in a deep breath and announced proudly, "My name is Lord Voldemort."

Her blue eyes smoldered; a cat-like smile curled her lips. "Voldemort… French… Flight from death."

"I'll never die, Angelina. I'll live forever," he declared.

With your queen by your side, she vowed. You'll rule the world, you'll have your immortality, and you'll have me with you.

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Thanks for the reviews, guys. I recognized a bunch of names from Antonia.

Nermalie, thanks so much for being my beta.

Amy: I know, I know, it took me long enough, but here's more.

Sunshine: You know you want me.

Candace: All things are related in these. Everything that happens to Antonia is contingent on how this turns out.

Rushumble: Thank you, thank you very much.

Morrighan: She's different, but what else would you expect from Fraulein Grindelwald? There's still more Descent to come, but there are a few more things that I have to write first, before I can give Antonia the wrap up that she deserves.

Tessie: I had bigger and better things in mind when I started writing for Angelina than I did for Antonia.

Debra, Jenny: Thanks a bunch, hopefully, more will be coming soon.

Everyone else: Please review? ff.net doesn't have a hit counter anymore, so I have no way of knowing if anyone else read it or not unless you just say something…