The Girl Who Loved Tom Riddle

by Heroine of the Valley

CONCLUDED!! And I fixed the lil problem with 10 and 11.

11. Sarah the Squib

The Girl Who Loved Tom Riddle 11

Sarah the Squib

Tom's fourth year at Hogwarts went pretty smoothly compared to last year.  He didn't have to worry about taking ten classes and remembering which lesson he had to go to. He was doing a good job keeping his grades up and at this rate; he'll become prefect next year for sure.  By the second week of December, they announced the approaching Yule Ball and boys started asking around for partners.  Alaric kept bragging he was going to ask Olive.

"Olive doesn't like you," said Tom.  "Maybe you should ask Myrtle Mason!"

"That is not funny!" Alaric exclaimed as Tom chuckled away.

As they went to the Slytherin Common Room after lessons, they found Olive chatting with her gang of Slytherin girls.  Alaric puffed out his chest, smoothed his hair back and strutted to her.

"Hey, Olive."  He said smoothly.

"What is it, Alaric?" she demanded.

"You want to go to the ball with me?" he inquired.

Olive snorted. "Don't be ridiculous—if you want a date—go ask Myrtle Mason!  You can hold her goblet glasses for her!"

Her gang went into a fit of giggles and Alaric's pale face went pink. Olive stood up and approached a chuckling Tom.

"Tom—if you haven't asked anyone yet—can we go to the ball together?"

Alaric's mouth dropped.  Tom smiled.

"I'd love to, Olive," he replied.  "In fact—I was just about to ask you."

"Riddle!" Alaric shouted. "You didn't say—"

"Sorry, Alaric," said Tom.

"Oh, don't worry, Alaric," Gwen Pritchard, a redhead from Olive's gang grinned.  "I'll go to the ball with you!"

Alaric looked over her judgmentally. She wasn't as pretty as Olive but he liked her gorgeous red hair and she flirted with him since their first year.  She always had a crush on him and let him cheat off her tests.  It didn't do much good because she wasn't the smartest cookie in the jar.

"All right," Alaric nodded.  "I was thinking of asking you too, Gwen."

"Great," she smiled.  "Can't wait!"

Giggling, the girls went to their dormitories.

--

Before the Yule Ball, Alaric presented some dark green robes to Tom. "Here, Tom. You can wear these. They were my dad's."

Tom didn't feel so comfortable about something Mr. Malfoy wore.  "Did he wear them the time he went to the Yule ball with my mother?"

"No, of course not," he answered. "At least, I don't think so." Alaric pondered.  "Why don't I wear them instead and you could wear my new ones?  My mom got me red—I hate red!"
"Okay, I like red," Tom picked up the red dress robes.  "One of my favorite colors anyway."

It worked out. Tom didn't have to wear something Mr. Malfoy wore probably when he went on a date with his mother and Alaric didn't have to wear something that wasn't his color.  Olive was looking beautiful in silky robes that matched the same shade of red of Tom's robes.  Gwen was wearing black.

"Shall we?" Tom said, offering Olive his arm.

"Oh yes," she smiled and clung to it like a magnet. 

The Yule Ball was going fine for Tom. He was there with a very pretty girl and he seemed to forget all his worries.  Tom was a very good ballroom dancer.  He wasn't sure where the skills came from. He was sure he never danced like this before.  He danced with Sarah a couple of times, but they didn't waltz or anything. Olive turned and looked around for her favorite person to pick on, Myrtle but she wasn't there.

"Looks like Myrtle didn't get a date!" she cackled. "Poor Myrtle!"

"She probably didn't have anything to wear!" added Gwen.

"Would you excuse us, boys?" said Olive, grinning at Gwen. "We need to use the little witches room."

"Certainly," said Tom with a nod and the girls went on their way to the bathroom on the third floor, believing that was where Myrtle was and indeed, when they stepped into the bathroom, they heard soft sobbing coming from one of the stalls and saw a girl sitting on the floor. 

Olive put her finger to her lips, hushed and knocked on the stall.  "Are you in there, Myrtle the Mudblood?"

"Who's that?"

"It's me—your good ol' pal Olive Hornby!"

"Go away, Olive!" Myrtle cried.

"What's wrong, Myrtle?" asked Gwen. "Couldn't get a date?"

The girls giggled and knocked pushed the door open.  Myrtle was sitting in her school robes, crying.

"You know, Myrtle," said Gwen, "the ball is in the Great Hall—not the girl's bathroom!"

"Leave me alone," Myrtle muttered.

"So, Myrtle the Mudblood didn't find a date?" said Olive.  "Or any decent dress robes? Tsk—tsk—well, it's hard to have wizard money if you don't come from a wizarding family!"

"My dad's a doctor," Myrtle muttered. "He does have money."

"So why didn't he exchange money then?" Gwen asked.  "Maybe because he's saving it to pay you into muggle college after Hogwarts because you can't get a real witch's job?  Hard to become anything in the wizarding world when you can't do a simple spell!"

"Hey, I hear they're hiring wait staff at the Leaky Cauldron," said Olive, "you can go there after graduation, Myrtle! But don't expect to get any good tips!  You'll be lucky to get even a Knut!"

Myrtle sobbed louder into her hands. "Leave me alone or—I'll tell Professor Dippet!"

"Oh, what's he going to do?" Gwen demanded.  "Take points away from our house?"

"All right, we'll leave you alone to your moping," Olive smirked.  "Because unlike you, we managed to get ourselves some partners.  We're with the two most handsome boys in Hogwarts—Tom Riddle and Alaric Malfoy—and they're waiting for us right now.  We'd better get going, shouldn't we Gwen?"

"Yeah," Gwen grinned, "wouldn't want to keep my partner waiting!"

"Bye, bye, Myrtle," said Olive and the girls left, laughing as Myrtle sobbed. "She's so pathetic—maybe if she washed her hair she could get a partner."

"Myrtle the Mudblood can't even hold her wand the right way," Gwen shook her head. "What's with all these mudbloods at Hogwarts?  Why did Dippet allow them to infest this school?  There's got to be a way to get them out!"

"There is," Olive said with a nod, "there is…"

After giving Myrtle a hard time, they came back to the Great Hall. Olive took Tom by the arm.

"Hi, Olive, you want to dance again?" he asked.

"Can we go outside for a while?" she inquired.

"Sure," he replied as Alaric took his date to the dance floor.

Tom and Olive stood on the balcony.

"I was getting hot in there," she said, fanning herself.  "Are you enjoying yourself? I know I am."

"Time of my life," Tom answered.  "I don't know how it can be better."

Olive grinned and wrapped he arms around him.  "I do?"

Tom grinned back. "Oh?"  He put his arms around her waist and bent his head down to meet his lips with hers. 

--

The Yule Ball was one of the best times of Tom's life and Olive and Tom became a couple after that.  They walked around to their classes' together holding hands; arm in arm or with their arms around each other.  Tom was enjoying this so much attention, having a girl interested in him this like this that her nearly forgot his promise to Sarah.  He promised to look into the Kwikspell Course for her.

"You want to go outside and walk by the lake, Tom?" Olive asked after having lunch. "We still have a while before Defense Against Dark Arts…Dale's such a bore anyway."

"Sounds great, Olive," Tom said, "but I have to go to the library."

"Library?" she inquired with a giggle. "What for?  You're brilliant enough as it is!"

"There's something I had to look up," Tom explained. "I'm sorry, we'll do it again sometime, okay?  I'll meet you in class."

"Oh, all right." She groaned and Tom left the table.

There had to be another way than the Kwikspell Course to help Sarah become a witch and develop her powers. There had to be some hidden in her somewhere.  Could he bring those powers out somehow?  He looked at each book in the library having something to do squibs and he took notes. He found something very interesting.

Some squibs had a mind link with certain animals, mostly cats.  Cats were able to determine magical people.  He remembered the times he went to town with Sarah on his back, stopping at the pet store. Sarah had some kind of thing going on with the cats. They had been sleeping gin the window but when Sarah came up to it, they woke up and meowed at her.  Sarah could speak to them the same way Tom could speak to snakes.  So Sarah really did have some magic powers but they very weak. Tom could help make those smaller.  He made a small note of this and checked his watch.

His lunchtime was almost over. He had to get to Defense Against Dark Arts. Perhaps his professor would know about helping a squib train up their powers.

While his professor was explaining about different types of curses, Tom raised his hand.

"Professor Dale? I have a question."

"Yes, Tom?"

"Is there a way you can make a squib become a wizard or a witch?" he asked.

Alaric turned in his chair and looked at Tom as if he went mental.  So did the whole class.  Professor Dale nodded.

"Yes, with the Kwikspell Course," he answered.

"Yeah, I already knew about that," Tom said impatiently, "but what is there another way, besides Kwikspell?  Can you use a spell on a squib to make their powers come to the surface?"

Professor Dale did not answer right away.  He raised his eyebrow.

"One of my friends at the orphanage is a squib, Professor," he said. "I gave her the Kwikspell course and she's learning it at the orphanage now, but is there something besides Kwikspell that can help a squib use their powers? Turn them into a real witch or wizard?"

"How close are you with this squib?" Olive asked, eyeing Tom suspiciously but Tom didn't listen to her.

"Yes," said Professor Dale, "there is.  With Dark Magic, of course.  You can't do it from something you'll learn in this classroom. There is a Dark ritual dark wizards and witches used to bring their family members born with no powers and make them stronger.  Some wizards practiced this on muggles, but can be highly dangerous and painful for both the squib or muggle and the magic individual performing it.  For it to work properly, the wizard or witch performing the ritual would have to be very strong in the first place. It sometimes takes more than one wizard.  Some wizards and witches—wishing to become stronger than they already were—would go under this dangerous procedure. It's a practice wizard folk do not practice anymore.  They discontinued this centuries ago."

"What did they do, Professor?" he asked. "How do they do the ritual?"
Professor Dale sighed and paced the room.  The Slytherin students started to find this interesting as well.  Professor Dale stopped pacing and folded his arms. 

"I don't know the details," he said.  "I've never seen it done.  But the wizards would place the squib or muggle or wizard seeking more power on a sort of alter, like a long table.  They would chant different incantations and give the individual the blood of a strong animal to drink.  You've studied animagi in your class transfiguration class last year, haven't you?  Well, it's kind of like becoming an animagi.  It takes a long time—years even—the individual will go under many dangerous transformations until they are no longer recognizable."

Alaric grinned, "cool."

"Now," said Professor Dale, "back at the subject at hand."

"Thank you, Professor," Tom nodded. "That will be all." He looked down at his notes and wrote ritual down.  Tom had to learn more about the ritual if he wanted to help Sarah become a real witch.

--

Tom's nightmares got worse. The dark wizard would not leave him alone.  He taunted him many times.

"Why, half blood? Why waste your time on the squib?" he demanded.  "Why don't' you look for the Chamber of Secrets?  Focus on yourself becoming greater and greater.  It's your destiny, Heir of Slytherin."

"Sarah is my friend," Tom said.  "I want her to be a witch so she can learn magic."

"There is a way you can make her a witch."

"How?"

"Do the ritual," he said simply. 

"But it's dangerous," Tom argued.  "It takes a long time.  It will hurt Sarah. I don't want to hurt her."

"Oh, but if she's strong," said the voice, "she will be able to withstand it. Besides, she will have you there to give her the strength she needs.  Start small by opening the Chamber of Secrets.  Learn all you can about the Dark Arts.  Your best friend Alaric has a lot of Dark Arts items.  You do remember, don't you?"

"Yes I do," he replied.

"The only way you'll help Sarah is if you become me, boy."

"No, I don't want to become you," said Tom. "If I do the ritual, it will be like cheating."

"But you do like to cheat, Tom. Don't deny it. You get a thrill out of cheating."

"I never cheat!"

"Oh, yes you do. Deny it all you want. But you cheat when you don't know the answer.  You are a smart boy, Tom, but you can't do everything. When you don't know the answer—you cheat."

Tom gasped. "No…"

"The Kwikspell may help her hold her wand," the voice said offhandedly, "but it won't give her the real power of a sorceress—look half-blood."

Tom looked and there sat Sarah looking at her Kwikspell Course and studying hard.  Tom smiled.

"She's a hard worker, just like a real Hufflepuff," Tom said.

"Yes, because she has Hufflepuff blood in her," the wizard crooned. "You can make her a real Hufflepuff if you do the ritual. It's too early for that now, but you have to study everything about the Dark Arts.  Start now, boy."

"I'm not going to do it."

"I'm getting impatient," he said. "I will not wait any longer."

"I told you time and time again," Tom shouted. "I'm not going to be you!  I'm Tom Marvolo Riddle!  I'll become a great wizard. I'll be the Minister of Magic but I will not become you!"

"Not even for Sarah? Not for your friends?" he inquired. "Think about your friend Alaric. He's getting impatient too. He wants to see the Heir of Slytherin get to work."

"I don't' want to," Tom muttered.

"Why look for the Chamber of Secrets then?" he asked.

"I just wanted to know the legend was true," he replied.  "It's not real and I won't find it.  Just a legend."

"But I've told you before, boy. It is no legend. You have to keep searching. It might just be right under your nose."

Tom folded his arms.  "I'm not going to get myself involve din the Dark Arts.  You can't make me."

"Is it because you're afraid you'll get caught?"

"Maybe I am."

"Afraid of Dumbledore?"

"He's my Transfiguration Professor," Tom said hotly.  "It's you I'm afraid of."

"Oh, well, I thought you would succumb to me Tom," said the voice, "but I suppose you just need another day to think about it.  You may be safe during the day, dear boy, but I'll come where no one can help you. I'll be hiding here in your dreams...in your head…you cannot get rid of me. Time to wake up, Tom. You need to prepare for your O.W.L's if you want to be prefect next year."

--

Tom woke up and jumped. "My O.W.L's!" he exclaimed. "I almost forgot!"

Tom grabbed all his stuff and hurried to the library to go over his notes and books. He had to be prefect next year. If he didn't make he wouldn't know what he'd do.  He knew he had the potential.  Tom had the Slytherin blood.  He had the potential too.

On the train ride home, he talked to his friends Alaric and Olive about the O.W.L's.

"I know I did terrible on mine," Olive groaned.  "There was too much for me to remember.  How about you, Alaric?"

"I'm sure I'll do fine," he answered surely, leaning back with a grin.

"You cheated, didn't you?" Tom demanded, turning.  "How are you supposed to learn if you don't' do the work yourself?"

"Hey, you cheated too," Alaric muttered, sitting up.  "I saw you looking at that Ravenclaw's notes."

"I was checking my work," Tom insisted.  "She let me borrow them."

"Cheating," said Alaric.

"Checking."

"Cheating."

"Checking."

"Yeah, sure, Riddle, whatever you say."  He rolled his eyes. "And I know you stole those notes too. Naughty, naughty."

"I didn't steal them," Tom groaned. "I borrowed them."

"Yeah, when she didn't know," Alaric insisted. 

"Well…you probably just have a bad influence on me then," Tom said, "because I don't usually cheat."

"It's just easier that way."

--

Tom came back to the orphanage, looking for Sarah.  He heard piano playing in the den. He came around the corner and knocked on the wall for her attention, but she was busy playing for the piano.  Tom paused and waited for her to finish playing the piano.  After her song was over, Tom walked closer to the piano, clapping.

"Bravo, Sarah!" he exclaimed.

Sarah gasped and turned around. "Tom!"

Tom stopped. Sarah looked different than the last time he saw her. She was the same short and skinny girl with pigtails when he left last year.  Now she grew a foot taller and her hair, instead of pigtails, was back in a braid.  Her skinny body seemed to fill out a bit in more places than one, giving her once skinny frame curves.  She started to fill out in her chest.  Sarah was now thirteen and little Sarah wasn't so little anymore.  Little Sarah was growing up and suddenly, for that small moment, Tom didn't think of her as his little sister anymore. He thought of her, as a girl becoming a young woman.

Sarah stood up. "Hello, Tom. It's so good to see you."  Sarah walked up to him and hugged him. Tom was a little taken back and was a bit afraid to hug her.  Not only could he see the difference in her appearance, but also he could feel it when he hugged her. What happened to the sweet little girl he knew?  Tom started to think of her as a younger version of his girlfriend Olive Hornby.

"S-Sarah," he said, pushing her back and looking her over. "You've, you've grown!  I know you were growing a little taller the day I left but—It seemed I missed a lot."

Sarah blushed slightly.  "Yes, I know.  I'm in the middle of a growth spurt. I need start buying new dresses. My old ones are getting too small."

"Wow," Tom was still in shock.  "I hope the boys aren't giving you too much trouble. Especially Patrick and Ned."

"Oh, Ned's been adopted!" she exclaimed.

"Really?"

"Yeah," she said.

"That's hard to believe," Tom said. "Who would want him?"

"Very desperate people," she answered with a giggle.

"So, you've been looking over your Kwikspell Course, haven't you?"

"Oh, yes, Tom!" she cried.  "I was just taking a small break. Practicing the piano.  It helps me relax."

"You're quite the piano player," he said. 

She smiled. "It's good to have you back, Tom. I've missed you."

"I've missed you too," he said awkwardly.  He patted her shoulder.  Sarah becoming older—was going to take some getting used to.

--

One summer day, Tom and Sarah were outside on the porch drinking lemonade and Tom was helping her with her Kwikspell Course.  Because Ned and Bobby were no longer around, Patrick had to pick on Tom all by himself.

"Well, what do we have here?" Patrick inquired. 

"Go away, Patrick," Sarah muttered, jumping up.

"No, I don't think so," said Patrick.  "You've been avoiding me, Sarah."

"What's going on here?" Tom demanded. 

"Oh, Patrick thinks we're a couple or something," she said offhandedly.

"Yeah, that's right," Patrick said.

"Patrick, I don't think you're her type," Tom muttered. "You leave Sarah alone."

"Oooh, palying big brother again, are we?" he questioned.

"Shut up."

"So, you think Sarah is a freak too, huh?" Patrick asked.

Tom reached for his wand.

"No Tom!" Sarah shouted, grabbing his arm. "Don't let him get to you.  He's not worth it. Patrick will always be a jerk. He'll never grow out of it. Let's go for a walk, all right?"

"Okay," Tom mumbled.

"I'll be here when you get home, pumpkin," said Patrick.

"Get a life, Patrick," Sarah muttered.

Tom and Sarah left the orphanage and went for one of their usual walks in the park.  Sarah was getting to big for him to carry her on his neck or shoulders and he wasn't sure if holding her hand would make people think they were a couple or brother sister or what so he just walked beside her with his hands in her pockets. He never felt so uncomfortable around her before.  But at the same time, he still enjoyed her company and wanted to be near her as much as possible. 

"What's the matter, Tom?" she asked. "You're awfully quiet."

"Oh," he said.  "I was just wondering if I'll become prefect next year."

"Don't worry, Tom," said Sarah.  "I think you'll be prefect.  You're a good student and you try hard."

Tom bit his lip.  He didn't just work hard. He cheated. It was because of Alaric.  Alaric cheated all the time and Tom somehow just got mixed up in it. Alaric really was a bad influence on him but they were still best friends anyway.

Sarah took a wrong step and a snake's head popped out of its burrow just feet away from where Sarah was.

"A snake," she gasped.

"Sarah, don't move," Tom instructed.  "It'll bite if you move." Tom walked forward to the snake and started speaking in Parseltongue. Sarah looked on in surprise. She never noticed Tom do that before.

The snake lay flat and Tom picked it up.  "It's okay…it said you only scared it."

"How did you do that?" she asked.

"What?"

"You just…talked to it!" she gasped.

"Yeah."

"Did they teach you that at Hogwarts?" she inquired.

Tom shook his head. "No. That sort of thing they don't teach at Hogwarts. I'm a Parselmouth.  I can speak to snakes.  Something I was born with.  Not a lot of people can do it."

"Wow, Tom," she said.  "That's amazing.  I wish I could do something like that!"

"You kind of do," Tom insisted. "Remember the cats?"

"What do you mean?"

"You have this thing with cats, Sarah," he replied. "You can talk to them, the same way I can talk to snakes.  I've read that cats have this ability to decipher magic people and the cats knew you were a squib.  I think that's one of the gifts you have."

"A lot of people talk like cats," she said.  "All you have to say is meow, meow."

"But I've seen you, Sarah," he insisted. "You do more than just making the sound a cat makes.  You speak…in a different kind of language."

"But I don't' realize it."

"Yeah, I don't' realize I'm speaking in Parseltongue when I'm talking to snakes," he said, "but I do.  I think it only works when I'm looking at a snake.  People hear Parselmouth but they don't know what I'm saying. They say its like a snake hissing…but there are words."

"Weird," said Sarah.

"You can touch the snake if you want to," he said.  "I told it you weren't going to hurt it."

Sarah paused.

"It's okay, Sarah."

"Well, all right," she stepped to Tom and held her hand out to pet the snake's head. "Wow…I always thought snakes were slimy. But he's actually pretty rough."

"Actually, this one is a she," Tom corrected.

"Oh."

Tom put the snake back in her hole.  "Come on. I'm a little hungry, aren't you?"

"Yeah.  Maybe the school post will come soon."

"Me too," Tom said.  "The waiting is making me crazy."

--

Tom got his letter for his fifth year at Hogwarts and the record about his owls.  He was kind of nervous about opening it.  What if he didn't make it?  Tom would be crushed.

Taking a breath, he opened the letter.

Dear Mr. Riddle,

Congratulations!  You have made it as a prefect for Slytherin House. 

Tom gasped and couldn't read the rest of the letter. He was so excited. 

"I made it," Tom mumbled, "I'm going to be a prefect!" His silver prefect pin fell from the letter. He picked it up and ran to find Sarah outside going over her Kwikspell Course.

"Sarah! Sarah!"

"Tom, what is it?" she asked. 

"Sarah, I did it," he said.  "I'm going to be prefect this term!"

"Really?" she gasped. "Oh, Tom, that's wonderful! Congratulations! I knew you could do it!"

"I'd better go owl my friends," said Tom, "or maybe I should surprise them on the train.  What do you think?"

"Surprise them," she answered.

"Yeah, good idea," he said.  "I think I'll buy new robes at Diagon Alley when I get your wand.  I can sell my old robes if I have the money."

"Oh…well, you don't need to get my wand," said Sarah.  "Just get your new robes and things you'll need."

"But Sarah, I want to share the wizard world with you," he insisted.  "I want you to introduce you to my friends.  I can sell a few things."

"Well, all right. But I don't want to be a bother."

"It's no bother, really," said Tom. "I'm tired of buying my stuff all by myself.  It's boring."

"Well, all right," she said.  "If you're really okay with it."

"I'm okay with it, trust me," he said. "You should come—who knows—you might find your aunt and uncle there and they can adopt you!"

Sarah grinned.  Finding her magical aunt and uncle would make her day. 

--

Tom was dreaming about the Dark Wizard again.  "So, you're going to be a prefect this year, half-blood, congratulations.  But you're not even close to what you're going to become. This is just the start."

"I wish you'd leave me alone," Tom mumbled.  "I don't want to become you, okay?"

"Let's start this year with a bang," said the wizard, laughing, "shall we?" he took out his wand and shot the Leg Locker Curse on him. Tom's legs came together and he fell down.

"Why are you doing this to me?" Tom said, trying to get up.

"Because you're weak. You need me."

"I'm not as weak as you think," said Tom, using the counter curse to get back up.  It was strange. They both had the same wand.  "How about a duel?  I'll show you. I'll get you out of my head once and for all!"

The dark and unknown wizard laughed.  "So you wish to duel with your future self, now don't you?  Well, boy.  You may be quite the dueler, but I am more experienced than you." They pointed their wands at each other. "Go ahead…do your worst!"

"Expelliarmus!" Tom exclaimed, but the Disarming Charm didn't seem to be working. Tom tried again. "Expelliarmus!  EXPELLIARMUS!"

He laughed again. "That spell won't work on me, boy!  Crucio!"

"No!"

The Crucaitus Curse hit Tom like a cannon ball and threw him to the floor, shaking and screaming.  Tom wanted to shout at him how it was so unfair to use one of the Forbidden Curse like that but his insides felt like they were coming apart. The wizard loomed over him.

"Thought you could stop me with the Disarming Charm?" he demanded.  "Ennerate!"

Tom stopped screaming and he looked up at him. "That wasn't fair…how come…I couldn't disarm you?  Was it because…our wands were the same?  Or because…you really think you can win?"

"Because as much as you want to deny it," said the wizard, "you do want to become me. You didn't put enough power in that spell, you lousy, pathetic halfblood!"

Tom reached for his wand but the wizard stepped on his hand.

"I am losing patience," he said.  "You are not living up to your potential.  Your mother knew you would be Heir of Slytherin.  She foresaw you killing your father and you are going to do it.  Salazar Slytherin went through all that trouble to build that Chamber of Secrets and you are going to find it!  You are going to open it, let the creature out and kill all the unworthy to learn magic. You are going to open it.  That creature is waiting to feed. It's been down there for centuries!  Salazar Slytherin did not make that Chamber of Secrets so you can just think it was some tale.  You are the Heir of Slytherin. It is about time you start acting like it!"

 "I don't want to do it," Tom muttered.  "I don't want to!"

"You haven't a choice! You have the power!  Now use it!"

"I may have the power," Tom hissed, "but I don't have the desire!  Let the creature die for all I care.  I could get caught!  I will not take the risk!"

"I have ways of changing your mind!" he said evilly, turning around and pointing to a familiar girl. It was Sarah.  He pointed his wand at Sarah.  "Do it…or she dies."

"We're in a dream here," Tom said, "It won't even be real."

"I'll torture all your friends if you won't do it."  He said.  "You know what will happen to Sarah if you don't?  She'll continue to live as a squib, a useless, worthless squib with no powers.  No one will want her.  Not her father or her wizarding family.  Your friend Alaric will desert you.  He's only being your friend because you're the Heir of Slytherin you know."

"That's not true," Tom muttered.  "Alaric told me so. He became my friend because he thought I was smart."

"If you're smart, you'll do as I say.  Your pretty catch of a girlfriend will leave you for your best friend Alaric."

"No, Olive wouldn't do that," Tom insisted. "She wouldn't. She doesn't even like Alaric."

"But Alaric has more ambition and he's not afraid to show it. He has money and power.  And you…you're the Heir of Slytherin but you don't want to use that to your advantage?  The Heir of Slytherin wants to become the Minister of Magic? Oh, we can do better than that, much better!"
"Minister of Magic will be fine enough," Tom spat.  "I'll be happy as Minister of Magic."

"Yes…and what would people think once they find out you've become Minister of Magic because you cheated to get there?"

"What makes you think I'll cheat?" Tom demanded. 

"You have cheated on your O.W.L's," he reminded.  "Don't say you were just checking your work. You wanted to become prefect since you came to Hogwarts and you'd do anything to get there."

Tom bit his lip.  "I—I—I would be crushed if I didn't get it.  I just cheated a little. Only a little"

"I am growing restless. It's time for you to use your power to your advantage.  Are you sure you'd rather sit at a desk twiddling your thumbs and sending a bunch of owls or would you rather rule the world?"

"That's crazy. I'd be chasing a dream."

"If you do what I say, you'll be living it."

Tom shook his head.  "I really don't want to."

The wizard turned and waved his wand over three people, Sarah, Olive and Alaric.  "This will be your future, Tom, if you don't become the greatest wizard in the world.  Alaric and Olive will betray you and run away together. Sarah will leave the orphanage and you will be the Minister of Magic, sitting at your desk all day, wondering where all your friends went to." 

He made them disappear.

"It's a lie."

"It will happen."

"Sarah will still be there for me. She's not like that."

"Where would she go? Who would want to take care of a squib? She'll never become adopted. No muggle family will take a girl that speaks to cats and a wizard family doesn't want to take care of a dead-beat witch.  She'll become a singer on the streets.  No one will want her…but she'll still have her voice."

"Sarah…."

"You care for Sarah, don't you?"

"Of course I do."

"And you want to keep your friends, do you not? You don't have many friends."

"No…not until I got to Hogwarts."

"You and your friends will suffer unless you live up to our potential. You don't want to let that happen, do you?"

Tom rubbed his hands together, thinking. Was this a trick?  He didn't' want to lose his friends but he didn't' want to become a killer either.

"You were born to do this."

"No, I'm not a monster.  Monsters are not born. They're created.  You're going to turn me into something I'm not."

"Ah—something Dumbledore said in your class, isn't it?"

"I like the subject of Transfiguration," Tom explained.

"But Dumbledore scares you."

"You scare me."

"Afraid of yourself now, Half-blood?" he started to walk around him. "Afraid of what you'll become? You should be proud!  You should be excited!  You should be honored!  Face your fate!"

"I don't want to."

"Need more convincing, don't we?" he raised his wand at Tom. "Crucio!"

As Tom dropped to the ground and began shaking and screaming, the Dark Wizard put the same curse on Sarah, Olive and Alaric.

"I will not stop until you give in!"

This was the worse dream Tom ever had.  He couldn't get out of it. It felt so real.

"Stop!" Tom shouted. "Stop!"

"Do you yield? Will you face your fate?"

"Yes…"

"I didn't hear you."

"YES!"

He took the curse off him.

Tom looked up at his friends. "Take the curse off my friends.  I don't want to hear them scream anymore. Please.  I'll do what you want…just…stop invading my dreams, please…"

"So we are agreed?"

"Yes.  I'll do anything you want.  You win."

"Oh, I knew you would succumb to me, boy," he said, waving the wands over his friends. Tom crawled over to them and picked Sarah up in his arms.

"Just who are you anyway?" Tom inquired. "You said you're me."

"Yes, but I go by another name."

"What is it?" Tom inquired. "Who are you?"

The wizard reached out his hands and pulled down his hood.  Tom screamed.  The man had the face of a snake and red eyes.  He looked so inhuman.

"No…this is what…I become?"

"Yes," he answered.  "And I fashion myself a new name…a name to drive fear into others…people will fear to even speak it." He lifted his wand and wrote Tom's full name in fire. Tom watched closely as the letters started to rearrange themselves.

I AM…

--

"Tom, wake up!" someone was shaking him. 

"Huh—what?"

"We were going to go to Diagon Alley today, remember?"

It was Sarah's voice.

Tom opened his eyes and looked at her. Finally, he was able to get out of that dream. But why did he have to wake up after he made that deal with the Dark Wizard?
"Tom, are you all right?" she asked.

"I'm all right."

"Are you sure? Are you nervous?"

"No, I'll be okay."

"You look awfully pale and sweaty," she reached her hand to him but got up.

"I'm fine, Sarah."  He said firmly.

"Oh," she mumbled.  "All right.  I'll be waiting for you downstairs." She started for the door and he called to her.

"I'm sorry, Sarah," he sighed. "I had…a bad dream. I keep dreaming the same dream over…something's different every time. There's this wizard chasing me, following me and talking to me. He wants me to do a lot of bad things."

"Who is this wizard?" she inquired.

"He says he's me," he replied. "I started having these dreams before my third year. They got worse. Just now, in my dream, the wizard did something to me and I said that I'd do what he wants me to do.  You woke me up until he told me his new name."

"Oh, Tom," she said.  "It was only just a dream. You don't have to do anything you don't want to do."

"Yeah, yeah, I hope that's all it was," Tom nodded. "Just a dream.  Well, let's go to Diagon Alley then, shall we?"

Thinking he'd probably loose Sarah if they used floo powder, Tom took her to Diagon Alley through the underground.  He showed through the Leaky Cauldron.  Sarah stopped and looked the place over.

"Sarah, what's the matter?" he asked.

"I've been here before," she said. 

"You've been to the Leaky Cauldron?"

"Yes, a long time ago," she replied. "When I was little.  My mum worked here as a waitress." She walked to one of the empty tables.  "I remember sitting here as she worked."

"Then Sarah," said Tom. "You'd probably have a family vault. Your mother must've left money for you!"

"But don't you need a key?" she asked.  "My mum never left me a key.  I think my aunt and uncle have it."

"Let's go and look for them," said Tom. "You don't need to stay at the orphanage anymore, Sarah.  I know they're here somewhere. Did you have a cousin?"

"No, I don't think so," she answered.  "If I did, I don't really remember. It hurts to remember."

Tom started to think her aunt and uncle used memory charms on her. But why?  It didn't' make any sense.  Sarah was a witch. Her powers were probably very low and she didn't make anything happen when she was scared and angry. Was it probably because they knew she was a squib and they didn't want to frighten her when they used magic?  That was the only explanation. They already knew Sarah was a squib. Wizards and witches showed their magic when they were young kids.

Tom always knew he was different when he hit the age of four or five.  That's when his powers started to shine through.  That was the same age Sarah was when she came to the orphanage. The whole time Sarah was at the orphanage, she didn't do anything.  But Sarah got angry at all. The only time she got angry was when Bobby and the others were being mean to Tom.  Sarah wasn't scared all the time either. For a little girl, she was pretty brave.  She looked scared when she first got here and she was too sad over the loss of her other to talk or eat, but even then, she didn't make anything happen.  Her relatives probably all knew this.  They could tell Sarah was a squib so they must've used Memory Charms on her.  But why didn't they give her a chance to use her powers?  Maybe if they took her in, they could help her.  Tom started to think he shouldn't let her aunt and uncle take her in. The more he thought of it, her aunt and uncle abandoned her the same way her father did.  Her father left her mother and daughter because they thought they were witches, at least he knew Sarah's mother was. Sarah's family members left her and her mother because her mother made an honest mistake, married a muggle and had a squib girl. Her family didn't want to have the burden of raising a squib so they didn't' come to her funeral and didn't take her in. That wasn't right.  Not right at all.  Poor Sarah deserved to be in a home. She still had family. Tom didn't.  Tom had second thoughts about searching for her aunt and uncle.  Tom would have to take care of her instead.

"Come on, Sarah," Tom took her hand and opened another door leading out of the pub.  "Wait until you see."

Tom walked to the small alley and tapped his wand on the bricks. They pulled away and opened up to show Diagon Alley.

"Wow," Sarah breathed.  "This is where you go to buy your things?"

"Yes, it's really something, isn't it?"

Sarah squeezed his hand.  "Let's go buy my wand."

"Okay.  Let's stop at my vault in Gringotts and see what I've got left.  I can still sell a few things."

Tom and Sarah went to Gringotts.  Tom looked at all the vaults, wondering which on her aunt and uncle's vault would be.  They probably had plenty of money. Sarah really enjoyed the cart ride and she was quite upset when the ride was over.

"Well, here's my vault, Sarah," he said, getting out.

"Oh, the ride is already over?" she pouted. "I was having so much fun."

"Well, you can ride it on the way back," he said, holding his hand out to help her out of the cart.  Tom opened the vault and entered the vault to pick up the money he would need.  It was getting quite bare.  He found some divination items he overlooked when he first came here.  There was the box of dark items.  He wondered where they came from. He didn't know his mother studied the Dark Arts.  Maybe it used to belong to his grandfather. 

Tom scooped some coins in a bag for Sarah and he made one for himself then took the box of Dark Arts items.  He wasn't sure what they were, but he knew where he could go to find out. 

"Sarah, this is your bag to buy your wand," he instructed handing her the bag of Galleons, Sickles, and Knuts.

"Okay."  She took the bag and he picked up the box and went back out on the streets of Diagon Alley.

"You know what the coins mean, right?" Tom inquired.

"I sure do," she replied proudly, "the gold ones are Galleons, the silver ones are Sickles and the little ones are Knuts.  I remember you telling me."

"Good girl," Tom said, kissing her forehead without thinking.  "You can get a wand at Ollivander's." He pointed at the wand shop.  I'll be right back, okay?  Meet me right here when you're done getting your wand. Don't go anywhere."

"Okay." She walked into the wand shop and Tom walked up to Knocturn Alley. Tom would get his new robes with her later. He didn't want to bring her in this place with him. The wizards and witches there looked really creepy and he tried to make eye contact and did not answer to the hags asking if he was lost.  He knew it would scare Sarah.

He stepped into Borgins and Brukes and whom should he find there but Alaric with his father.  Alaric was pleased to see him finally walk into Knocturn Alley and Darien looked as if he wanted to tell him to get lost.

"Hi, Tom," said Alaric.  "Found the way to Knocturn Alley, huh?"

"Don't' talk to him, Alaric," his father scolded.

Tom cleared his throat and stepped closer to the counter.  Alaric noticed the silver badge on his robes and gasped.

"Tom!" he exclaimed. "You made prefect!"

"What?" his father inquired, "let me see."  He grabbed Tom by the collar and looked the badge over.  "Well, you've gotten lucky, boy.. I never would've guessed a half-blood like you to be a prefect. Alaric came close on his O.W.L's; he could've been prefect. He deserved it."

"Father, let him go," Alaric muttered.  "Tom wanted to be prefect since our first year."

"So you let him win, didn't you?" Darien demanded. "You let your half-blood friend here become prefect?  I expect more from you than that."

"That's enough," Tom hissed, pulling Darien's hand off him.  "I made prefect.  If you don't like it then that's your problem.  I'm not going to give up my badge if you paid me, Mr. Malfoy."

Darien's eyes narrowed and his lip curled into a sneer.

"Yeah, see?" Alaric inquired.  "I don't care if I didn't make prefect.  At least my best friend has and I can be there to help him with his prefect duties if they get too hard, right, Tom?"

Tom shrugged. "Okay, sure."

"Let's go, Alaric," Darien said.

"Fine.  Bye, Tom. See you on the train."

Tom turned to the old man behind the counter.  "Excuse me, I found these in my mother's vault but I don't know what they are." He placed the box down and opened it up.  "Could you tell me?"
"Hmm, let's see now," he picked up a magnifying glass and picked up a ball with weird writing all around it.  "Who was your mother?"

"Carrie Star," Tom answered.

The man gasped and dropped the magnifying glass.  "Carrie Star?"

"You knew her?"

"Yes, she used to come in here all the time with her father!" He exclaimed.  "Her father, Marvolo Star worked in the Disposal of Magical Creatures Department.  He was really big on Dark Arts.  I remember this ball here—she got it here when she was about your age."

"Did my mom like the Dark Arts much?" Tom inquired.

"Not as much as her father," he answered.  "She was more into divination.  We do have some divination items here.  And this Ouija board…she got this here too."

"Well, I'm not too big on divination," said Tom.  "I'd like to sell it back."

"All right then.  Let's see now," he looked the times over and took out a quill, "a galleon for the ball…"

Tom nervously tapped his hinges on the counter as the storeowner tallied the items.  The shrunken heads seemed as if they were staring at him.

"I'll give you seven Galleons and four Sickles."

"Okay, thanks."  He said, taking the money and putting it back in his bag. "Do you have any books, sir?"

"First time in Knocturn Alley, eh?"

Tom nodded. 

"Well, I don't have books here," said the storeowner.  "Just shrunken heads and things…but there is a bookstore down the road--The Bloody Bookstore. Go ahead and walk around.  There's a nice place to eat here too."

"Okay, thanks," he mumbled, walking out of the store.  He just wanted to find a book and get out of there.  Maybe he'll find a good book about runes in this place.  Runes became his favorite subject and he knew that runes were used in the Dark Arts.  He went to The Bloody Bookstore and looked around for a book on ancient runes.

"Tom?"

Tom turned and there was Olive.  "Hey, Olive."

"I thought that was you coming in here!" she exclaimed, rushing over to him. "I was just on my way to Dark Delights for a bite—care to join me?"

"That sounds great, Olive," he answered. "Let me just buy this book here."

"Wow," she said, looking at the title. "You really like Runes, don't you?"

"Yeah," he answered and he took out thirteen sickles for the book.  "My favorite class.  I'm really good at it."

Olive took his arm and walked with him outside to Dark Delights.  "They have only the best things here.  Of course, you can't buy what you need for school here, but there's still a lot of wicked stuff!"

"I know," said Tom. 

She looked at his prefect badge. "Oh, Tom! You made prefect!"

"Oh, yeah—great huh?"

"That's what you always wanted," she crooned, rubbing her head on his arm.  "I'm so proud of you!"

As they stepped to Dark Delights, Tom stopped. "Oh no…I forgot about Sarah!"

"What?" Olive asked.

"I left Sarah at Ollivander's," he said anxiously.  "To get her wand and that was a while ago—she's probably waiting for me and wondering where I am—sorry, Olive. We'll need to do this another time."

"Who's Sarah?" Olive demanded, folding her arms.

"I've got to go, see you at school!" he cried.

"But Tom, who the hell is Sarah?" he said after him. "Tom, wait!  Auuugh! Boys…"

Tom ran out of Knocturn Alley and back to the spot in Diagon Alley where he told Sarah to wait for him. But she wasn't there.

"Maybe she didn't get her wand yet," said Tom. He went to Ollivander's and she wasn't there either.  "Excuse me, Mr. Ollivander?"

"Oh, hello there, Tom," Mr. Ollivander nodded, "how is that wand working for you?"

"Just great, sir," Tom answered. "I sent a girl named Sarah to get her wand—she's about this tall—got strawberry blond hair?"

"Oh, yes, Sarah," Mr. Ollivander scratched his chin, "Just gave her wand about ten minutes ago.  Nine inches, unicorn hair, willow.   It really seemed to suit her."

"She just left—did you know where she went?" Tom asked nervously.  "She's not where I told her to wait for me."

"No, sorry, Tom. I haven't."

"Well, thank you, sir," Tom stepped back out of the shop and went around the street.  "Where could be Sarah be?  Did someone just…take her?"

Tom got scared and angry at the same time.  He told Sarah to wait for him. That's not like Sarah to disobey.  She never been here before. She could've gotten lost. What if she went to Knocturn Alley?"

Tom stepped into Flourish and Blotts. Sarah wasn't there. Thinking Sarah might have been hungry, he went to the ice cream shop and she wasn't there either.  Where was Sarah?  Tom asked around for her, going on explaining her appearance.

"Excuse me, ma'am? Have you seen a girl in muggle clothes walking around here?

"No, dear, I haven't…"

"Sir—have you?"

"No."

"There you are, Tom!" Olive came rushing out.  "Now who is this Sarah person? Have you been cheating on me? If you have, Tom Riddle…"

"No, Olive," Tom insisted.  "She's lost—I can't find her—you haven't notice a little girl walking around have you?"

"What little girl?" she inquired.

"Remember me telling you about the squib girl at my orphanage?"

"Yes…so?"

"I brought her here to get a wand," he replied.  "I told her to wait for me by Gringotts but she wasn't there!  If something happens to her, I'll never forgive myself."

"You seem to think highly of this girl, don't' you?"  Olive demanded.

"She's my only friend at the orphanage," Tom insisted.

Walking out of the Magical Menagerie, holding a custard colored fur ball in her arms, was Sarah.  "Hi, Tom!"

"Sarah!" Tom shouted, rushing to her.  "I told you to wait for me!  Do you know how worried I've been?"  He grabbed her by the shoulders.

"I'm sorry, Tom," she mumbled.

Olive walked over to them, arms folded, eyebrow raised and wondering about their relationship.

"I just wanted to get a pet," said Sarah innocently, cuddling the Puffskein.  "I saw a girl with one of these, they were so cute so I asked her where she got it and she told me I only had to go to the Magical Menagerie…I hurried to buy this Puffskein and I was just on my way back to where you told me to wait for you."

"Sarah, why didn't you just wait for me?" he demanded hotly, almost scaring her.  "We could've gone to the Magical Menagerie together!  You know how I felt when I came back and I didn't see you there?  I panicked, Sarah. I thought something awful happened to you!"

Sarah frowned and tears welled up in her eyes. "I'm so sorry, Tom.  Really, I didn't mean to make you mad at me."

Olive smirked, thinking that Tom was going to send her packing. Instead, Tom sighed and hugged her.

"What the?"

"It's all right, Sarah," he insisted. "I'm not mad at you.  Just try not to frighten me like that again, all right?  I was so worried about you.  I'm just happy you're okay."

"Yeah, I'm fine," she insisted.  "You want me to leave?"

"No, no, Sarah," Tom said. "We can continue looking around Diagon Alley if you still want to."

"I do."

"Let's hurry then, all right?"

"But—Tom—what about our date?" Olive inquired.  "We were going to Dark Delights."

Sarah looked at Olive and back at Tom.  "Tom, if you want to be with your friend, I can just go back home."

"No, Sarah," Tom said sternly. "We'll go back home together. I don't want to risk you getting lost."

"Tom?" Olive took his hand. "Our date, remember?"

"Sarah, why don't you go into Flourish and Blotts?" Tom inquired.  "You can check out a book. I'll be right there with you, okay? I'm just going to talk to my friend Olive."

"His girlfriend, Olive," insisted Olive proudly, her arms around Tom and narrowing her eyes at Sarah.

"Well, all right," said Sarah and she started to walk to Flourish and Blotts.

"Tom, why did you bring a squib here?" she demanded.  "She doesn't belong here!"

"Olive, would you leave her alone?" Tom asked wearily, "She's just a kid."

Sarah stopped, looked at Tom and Olive over her shoulder, frowned and continued back toward Flourish and Botts, the humming Puffskein in her arms.  Just a kid, she thought.  That's what he thinks of me, a kid.

"So?" Olive inquired.

"Olive, you don't' understand," Tom explained, "Sarah's like my kid sister, that's all.  You're the girl for me.  I'm just showing her around Diagon Alley so she can see what it's like and then she'll stay at the orphanage.  It's not like I'm taking her to Hogwarts with me."

"Well good," Olive said playfully, circling her arms around his neck, "because I want my prefect boy all to myself!"
Tom smirked.  "Well, I'll see if I can manage it, all right?"

"All right," she said. "Go ahead and go…I think Sarah the Squib's waiting for you."

"I'll see you on the train," Tom explained. "We'll have plenty of time to talk later, okay?"  He kissed her on the cheek and went into Flourish and Blotts, to finish shopping with Sarah.

"Hi, Sarah," Tom said, walking over to her, "Did you find anything you liked?"  He patted her on the head.

"Yeah," she answered kind of stiffly. "They have nice books here—but what do I know—I'm just a kid."

Tom frowned as Sarah walked away from him and out the door.

To Be Continued