Basilisk Born: A Matter of Fate
Fate decided to alter the death of Tom Riddle, The boy who was a memory. But if Ginny
and Harry survive, whose life does the diary take to resurrect the memory?
I own none of these characters, the setting or fate. But the sick twisted imagination all
mine.
The Basilisk lunged, and Harry shoved the sword into the gaping mouth. The
point pierced the soft flesh of the mouth, but pain lanced up his arm as one of the long
dagger-like teeth dug into his arm.
The basilisk let loose a long, earsplitting shriek as it danced its death throes. Both
Harry and Tom winced inwardly, but turned their attention back to their own
confrontation.
If either, though, had stepped back from the situation, they would have been
fascinated how close any of them could have easily been to being crushed by the massive
coils sporadically lashing about the chamber. Or had they known about the influences of
chance and luck on the situation, or even that of fate or a ambivalent deity, on the merest
of fractions, they would have set down their weapons and watched where the snake
would come to rest.
As it were, Tom Riddle was too busy watching in hatred down the length of
Harry's wand as the boy in front of him was miraculously healed by phoenix tears. Harry
Potter was too busy being healed and fighting the effects of basilisk venom. Fawkes was
too busy healing (for a bit longer than he should have, but that seem inconsequential at
the time). Ginny Weasley was too busy lying in a coma at the feet of Salazar Slytherin
due to the drain of life by the diary. The diary, moved around earlier by the tail of the
blind basilisk, simply lay as a conduit for Tom Riddle, soaking up the easiest life source-
which, at the time, had been Ginny's.
But, oh, that was about to change.
Remember fate? Well, it seemed that fate had seen this scenario play out before,
and was quite bored with it. It was time for this repetition of history would go a little bit
different- or a lot different, depending on your view. In the matter of what fate changed,
it was so miniscule it seemed pointless.
It just moved the diary three inches left, and the basilisk final resting place a foot
forward.
The head of the basilisk fell on the open diary with a resounding bang. The
diary's spine was crushed, and the venom ate into the pages. The lifeblood of the
immortal monster gushed into the flattened diary.
Tom dropped to his knees as his life house fell under the dying beast, grasping his
head as pain shot through his body. It was obviously the end for him. Without the diary,
the body he had worked so hard to create with the little girl's life force would disappear,
taking his existence with it.
Harry watched on in sick fascination as the boy had been a memory mimicked the
death throes of his giant pet. But his attention was wrenched away as the once near death
girl next to him shot up, very much alive. She opened her mouth to say something, but
fell silent as she was drawn to the writhing sight in front of them. She sucked in her
breath in horror and buried her head in Harry's robe.
Slowly it dawned on Harry that something wasn't right. If Ginny was
reawakened, her life was out of the diary's clutches. But Tom was still visible in front of
them, as clearly defined as any living person. Slowly the elder boy's convulsions died
away, and he collapsed with a wet smack onto the cold floor. The wand skittered out of
the limp hand, resting a mere foot away from where they sat dumbstruck.
Cautiously Harry stood, and picked up his wand, never taking his eyes off the
limp body. Was he dead? No, despite the lack of movement, the chest rose and fell
every few seconds, albeit raggedly. Harry peered closer, attempting to catch a sign of
how the past of Voldemort had survived.
Suddenly Tom turned his head to stare at his nemesis, but the movement seemed
to be too much for him, and he again went limp in a dead faint. But in that brief moment,
Harry found the answer he was looking for. Tom's left eye was not the green-red cold
orb as the right one had; it was yellow and elliptical, with a transparent film clouding it.
It looked like the giant ruined eyes of the basilisk must have looked before Fawkes's
attack.
The pieces fell into place. The diary had brought Tom to life with basilisk's
death.
Ginny crept over and nudged her former captor with a foot. The rocking
sensation turned his head, and she squeaked, jumping back. She looked to Harry and
then pointed at the neck of Riddle. There were miniature scales starting under his ears,
growing larger before disappearing under his collar. "He's…he's like a snake, Harry!"
Harry wanted to responded, but a low rumble spoke before him. Dust and pebbles
began to rain down on all of them. Harry squinted up at the ceiling in time to dodge a
larger stone as it crashed to the ground. "The chamber is collapsing! We've got to get out
of here!" And he began to head for the exit.
Ginny went to follow and stopped. "Harry!" She turned to look at the
unconscious boy beside her. "What about him? We can't just leave him! It'd
be…murder…"
Harry hesitated. She was right. He sighed, and waved his wand. "Mobilius
Corpus!" The limp body rose, and Harry and Ginny ran out of the chamber, Riddle in
tow.
Fate decided to alter the death of Tom Riddle, The boy who was a memory. But if Ginny
and Harry survive, whose life does the diary take to resurrect the memory?
I own none of these characters, the setting or fate. But the sick twisted imagination all
mine.
The Basilisk lunged, and Harry shoved the sword into the gaping mouth. The
point pierced the soft flesh of the mouth, but pain lanced up his arm as one of the long
dagger-like teeth dug into his arm.
The basilisk let loose a long, earsplitting shriek as it danced its death throes. Both
Harry and Tom winced inwardly, but turned their attention back to their own
confrontation.
If either, though, had stepped back from the situation, they would have been
fascinated how close any of them could have easily been to being crushed by the massive
coils sporadically lashing about the chamber. Or had they known about the influences of
chance and luck on the situation, or even that of fate or a ambivalent deity, on the merest
of fractions, they would have set down their weapons and watched where the snake
would come to rest.
As it were, Tom Riddle was too busy watching in hatred down the length of
Harry's wand as the boy in front of him was miraculously healed by phoenix tears. Harry
Potter was too busy being healed and fighting the effects of basilisk venom. Fawkes was
too busy healing (for a bit longer than he should have, but that seem inconsequential at
the time). Ginny Weasley was too busy lying in a coma at the feet of Salazar Slytherin
due to the drain of life by the diary. The diary, moved around earlier by the tail of the
blind basilisk, simply lay as a conduit for Tom Riddle, soaking up the easiest life source-
which, at the time, had been Ginny's.
But, oh, that was about to change.
Remember fate? Well, it seemed that fate had seen this scenario play out before,
and was quite bored with it. It was time for this repetition of history would go a little bit
different- or a lot different, depending on your view. In the matter of what fate changed,
it was so miniscule it seemed pointless.
It just moved the diary three inches left, and the basilisk final resting place a foot
forward.
The head of the basilisk fell on the open diary with a resounding bang. The
diary's spine was crushed, and the venom ate into the pages. The lifeblood of the
immortal monster gushed into the flattened diary.
Tom dropped to his knees as his life house fell under the dying beast, grasping his
head as pain shot through his body. It was obviously the end for him. Without the diary,
the body he had worked so hard to create with the little girl's life force would disappear,
taking his existence with it.
Harry watched on in sick fascination as the boy had been a memory mimicked the
death throes of his giant pet. But his attention was wrenched away as the once near death
girl next to him shot up, very much alive. She opened her mouth to say something, but
fell silent as she was drawn to the writhing sight in front of them. She sucked in her
breath in horror and buried her head in Harry's robe.
Slowly it dawned on Harry that something wasn't right. If Ginny was
reawakened, her life was out of the diary's clutches. But Tom was still visible in front of
them, as clearly defined as any living person. Slowly the elder boy's convulsions died
away, and he collapsed with a wet smack onto the cold floor. The wand skittered out of
the limp hand, resting a mere foot away from where they sat dumbstruck.
Cautiously Harry stood, and picked up his wand, never taking his eyes off the
limp body. Was he dead? No, despite the lack of movement, the chest rose and fell
every few seconds, albeit raggedly. Harry peered closer, attempting to catch a sign of
how the past of Voldemort had survived.
Suddenly Tom turned his head to stare at his nemesis, but the movement seemed
to be too much for him, and he again went limp in a dead faint. But in that brief moment,
Harry found the answer he was looking for. Tom's left eye was not the green-red cold
orb as the right one had; it was yellow and elliptical, with a transparent film clouding it.
It looked like the giant ruined eyes of the basilisk must have looked before Fawkes's
attack.
The pieces fell into place. The diary had brought Tom to life with basilisk's
death.
Ginny crept over and nudged her former captor with a foot. The rocking
sensation turned his head, and she squeaked, jumping back. She looked to Harry and
then pointed at the neck of Riddle. There were miniature scales starting under his ears,
growing larger before disappearing under his collar. "He's…he's like a snake, Harry!"
Harry wanted to responded, but a low rumble spoke before him. Dust and pebbles
began to rain down on all of them. Harry squinted up at the ceiling in time to dodge a
larger stone as it crashed to the ground. "The chamber is collapsing! We've got to get out
of here!" And he began to head for the exit.
Ginny went to follow and stopped. "Harry!" She turned to look at the
unconscious boy beside her. "What about him? We can't just leave him! It'd
be…murder…"
Harry hesitated. She was right. He sighed, and waved his wand. "Mobilius
Corpus!" The limp body rose, and Harry and Ginny ran out of the chamber, Riddle in
tow.