Again, things had gone from bad to worse. Hermione was petrified, and they lost Dumbledore and Hagrid. With Brooklyn, Tom Riddle still haunted his dreams.
Madam Pomfrey had closed all visits to the hospital wing, fearing as though the attacker would come back and finish them off.
Some of the things that now irritated Brooklyn was Malfoy. He began strutting about the school like he owned the place since Dumbledore left, and even had the utter nerve to say that Snape would make a better Headmaster, making him want to pound the brat, though it wasn't in his nature to hurt young ones younger than 20, if you don't count Marcus Flint.
Dumbledore will return, I know he will, Brooklyn kept saying to himself constantly.
He hadn't been able to sleep for three days straight, scared that Tom would come back and use him to hurt more of his friends again, along with trying not to touch that horrid diary, keeping it secure in his saddlebag ever since Hermione was attacked. He had pretty much become paranoid central at this point.
What can I do, Goliath? I don't know if I can last much longer or pull myself away from Tom's control! Brooklyn thought sadly, gripping the bench as he sat at the table with Harry and Ron the next morning, having no appetite again. He had lost weight over the past few weeks because of this, and when he looked into the mirror this morning, his features weren't so pristine anymore: bags under his eyes, and his skin was quite pale, no longer its beautiful red.
Okay, I'm seriously starting to look like a zombie right now, eurgh! He thought, shuddering as Brooklyn took a towel, trying to wash himself with the comforting warmth of the water, though it didn't do much. He made his way down to eat, despite the fact he probably wouldn't be able to again.
Then Harry remembered that Brooklyn wanted to tell him something.
"Brooklyn? Did you have something to say from last night?" Harry asked, noticing how somber and sleep deprived his brother looked. His head jerked up, as he remembered his vow to Hermione. Gaining what courage he had, he took a breath and was about to speak, when McGonagall interrupted with an announcement.
"There's good news. Professor Sprout has announced that the Mandrakes are ready to be made into the draft that will revive those poor people in the hospital wing! And let us all hope that this year will end with catching the culprit!"
Cheers rose up from the table, but Brooklyn remained quiet. Even though he was about to tell Harry, he just couldn't ignore that fierce look in McGonagall's eyes. She wouldn't show the culprit mercy, no matter who it was. He gulped nervously.
Brooklyn got up from the table, sneaking his way out while Harry and the others were distracted, pushing the door open and running out, wanting to get away.
Guess it is just me against him now. If I reveal myself being the one attacking everybody, who knows what will happen! Brooklyn thought, his head throbbing again as he hid himself in a broom closet, leaning against the back wall of it, and shutting his eyes, wondering what he was going to do now.
But that's when something different sparked inside him in just a few minutes. He was tired of hiding! Whatever happens to him, Brooklyn knew he had to finally stop Tom Riddle before he killed anybody.
He pushed the closet door open and stormed back up to the common room, where he yanked out the diary, eyes glowing fiercely as he wrote, determined to give Tom a piece of his mind.
Hello, Tom, I've come back.
Welcome back, Brooklyn. You couldn't avoid me forever... I enjoy you writing to me.
Hah, I won't fall for flattery from this guy, now! The gargoyle thought savagely. Baring his teeth, he wrote his piece.
You're finished, Tom, and you misunderstood what I said. I've come to say that the people will soon be unpetrified, and when they catch us, you won't be able to hurt anybody else, because I will turn this diary in, and myself!
You sure you really want to do this to yourself, Brooklyn? You can get your little title revoked, lose the trust of your brother, and live the life of a lowly criminal, the one who attacks Mudbloods.
But he didn't care anymore. Even if it meant living his life on the run or in Azkaban, Brooklyn would risk his very soul to keep Riddle from possessing anybody else.
No, you don't scare me, bastard! I will do this, and you can't stop me!
Oh, can't I?
Suddenly, Brooklyn felt his body seize up, the worst pain he ever had making him curl up tightly onto his cot. He gritted his teeth tightly, trembling, as Tom's terrible laugh echoed in his head. He was suddenly able to hear his voice speaking to him, making his heart throb in fear from this new revelation.
"I am in total dominance of your mind, pitiful gargoyle, you are in no position at all to escape from me. I am now able to speak with you in your head, not just in the diary. But since I'm being a merciful friend, you shall be forgiven for your little temperamental outburst. Come with me, I have one more task I want you to do before you earn the little surprise I have in mind."
The gargoyle felt his pain subside, just enough for him to be able to sit up a bit, shaking as he crouched over, hugging his knees to his chest, fear of him making his heart race.
"Wh-where are you going to take me? And what else are you going to use me for?"
Tom chuckled again in that horrible smooth voice.
"It is just a small task, nothing to be afraid of. I won't give away my surprise."
Just hearing that made him stand up sharply, growling. "I won't go with you! You can't make me! And I won't take your stupid orders anymore!" He thought defiantly, talons digging into the palms of his hands, eyes glowing white, but then he began to feel sick and almost blacked out again. Brooklyn collapsed up against the wall, sweating and moaning, trying to fight it as hard as he could, Tom purring sickeningly at him in his brain again.
"You can't win against my power, Slave. It was your choice to write in my diary, and I will never release you. I can make you do whatever I desire, perhaps... even... make you kill your precious little brother."
Brooklyn's blood froze. No! Please no! I don't want to hurt Harry! He cried in desperation, feeling sick at the idea of his own body being made to kill the one who saw him as family.
"You have one only option now: Come with me, or else your brother meets his Mudblood mother thanks to his murder from his 'loyal' gargoyle friend!"
He shut his eyes tightly, the tears coming. He knew then that Tom was right about it all. If he tried to escape this, Harry could die. His heart tearing to pieces, Brooklyn nodded, allowing Tom to take control over him again, a great weight of sadness threatening to crush his heart.
"Yes, that's good, Brooklyn, there was no way you can get away from me knowing your brother's life is at stake. Now come with me and bring the diary with you. I promise it won't be much longer..."
Brooklyn felt his puppet self-stand, taking the diary in his hands. It was like he had some terrible disease in his very veins, that made him do wicked things Brooklyn didn't want to do. His feet began to move, dying for anybody, even Snape now, to find him and somehow get him away from Riddle, feeling scared of where Tom was going to take him to.
His body continued to walk unwillingly along the empty corridors of Hogwarts, no thanks to Tom. Brooklyn felt more questions springing in his head at his enemy.
"You mentioned earlier that I put too much of myself into you. What do you mean?"
"Now that's a question worth answering. It was because of you writing in me, revealing your little secrets and problems that you were able to speak Parseltongue at the Dueling Club. I fed off of your silly emotions, so that I had been able to grow powerful enough to take you to play with for myself. Even now, your own soul is drifting away. Eventually, you will be nothing but an empty forgotten shell of a once mighty gargoyle warrior everybody used to love..."
The red gargoyle had cold realization hit him at why he had been looking not like himself recently, so pale, and tired. Tom was stealing his life essence every time he had blackouts! This now was even worse than Coldsteel possessing his body! His hands sweated from the thought, as he asked another question.
"There's one other thing you haven't told me, Tom. I need to know how that girl died. Tell me right now, and no lies, I mean it!"
"How about I show you instead? You won't be able to tell anybody, anyway. Just relax and let me show you how it happened..."
Brooklyn felt his eyes glazing over from the unwanted sleep, shoulders slumping, floating away into velvety darkness, though his legs kept walking...
...
Suddenly, Brooklyn was standing in the girl's bathroom, hearing a familiar girl's cries. It couldn't be- Moaning Myrtle? He thought in disbelief.
Then a boy with black hair came in, and Myrtle opened the bathroom stall, her eyes wet from crying.
"What are you doing here? You're not a girl!"
Brooklyn watched as the boy simply smiled, turning to the sink and spoke Parseltongue. Myrtle's eyes widened as the sink opened, the terrible serpent rising up from the hole.
Myrtle screamed, as the serpent's yellow eyes made her body seize up, then fall to the floor, dead.
Brooklyn's eyes rounded, terrified at what had happened. Tom had just murdered a young girl! That's when Tom spotted him, smiling sinisterly.
"Y-you murdered her! How dare you? She did nothing!" Brooklyn screamed in fury, pointing his talon at Tom in accusation. Tom kept that smile on his face and staring with his haunting eyes right into Brooklyn.
"She was just a stupid little Mudblood, nobody special, Gargoyle. I had to dispose of her. Wake now, we've come to our destination..."
...
Brooklyn was snapped awake, eyes rounding as he found himself completely out of Hogwarts altogether, in a terrifying looking chamber with snake heads lining the corridor, all leading to a giant statue of an ancient, bearded wizard, Salazar Slytherin himself.
He was gasping and shaking at the intimidating statue that almost looked alive, glaring down evilly at Brooklyn, who was trying to back away and escape this terrible place, but Brooklyn felt frozen, his head forced upward to look up at it. Tom had completely taken him, and he was terrified out of his mind.
"I enjoyed your assistance very much, Brooklyn... but I'm sad to tell you that my use for you is slowly nearing its end..."
Before he could ask Tom what he was talking about, Brooklyn felt a sudden sharp pain striking his chest. Moaning out loud, he crumpled to the floor, his body twitching feebly, he could barely lift his own head, starting to feel so weak...
Through his hazed and blurred vision, Brooklyn could see somebody coming toward him, unable to make out who it was at first.
"Harry?" He whispered in a soft voice, feeling himself growing weaker every second, as the person knelt down beside his weak form, smiling. It was a handsome teen boy wearing Hogwarts robes. Yes, he had the unkept black hair and green eyes, but there was no scar, and he didn't wear glasses.
"Guess again," sneered the teen, and Brooklyn figured it out in icy terror, his nightmares now becoming real.
"Tom!" He croaked, the fear rising up in his chest, shaking all the more, while Tom stared down at him.
"Yes, but I am now known by another name, Lord Voldemort."
"Wh-where am I?" He choked, hardly able to lift his head up, lying there as limp as a rag doll.
Tom smirked at him cruelly. "Haven't you figured it out, by now? You're in the Chamber of Secrets."
This can't be happening! Brooklyn screamed inwardly, as breathing became a difficult challenge, while Voldemort held up Brooklyn's head to look into his eyes with his somewhat almost solid but still transparent hand.
"Foolish one. You were dumb enough to trust me for being a therapy diary, and look where this has brought you, right at my feet, like a little puppy."
Brooklyn gave Tom a hard stare, using his small strength to pull his head away.
"No, I still won't be owned by you! I just couldn't believe I called you a friend, Tom Riddle!" He grunted, looking anywhere but at his tormentor.
But Tom continued on mocking Brooklyn ruthlessly, his dark eyes gleaming, watching his victim with hunger in them that sent more chills down Brooklyn's spine. Tom seemed to be eager for him to die.
"Poor weak naïve, Brooklyn, so far away from his family, unable to find a true love of his own. I honestly don't see how Goliath even chose you to be the next leader, when you so easily fell under my power. It's rather pathetic to me. And I was no friend."
Brooklyn felt hot anger in his veins, trying hard to block out Tom's mockery, struggling with what he had left inside him to stay alive, to fight.
"Ugh... Ha-Harry will find me, Riddle! My brother will come and stop you! I j-just know it!" He panted painfully. It was now hurting even more just to speak, his body growing even more limp.
Tom paced, as though he were getting impatient for Brooklyn to die. "He might, he might not. But soon, in a few more hours, I shall be strong enough to be able to take care of your brother whether he does find us. And while I showed you little Miss Myrtle's passing, I made you write your own little farewell message, His Skeleton Will Lie In the Chamber Forever, to lure Potter to me." He said, spitting out Harry's name like poison.
Brooklyn felt tears of despair and hopelessness leaking from his eyes. He was unable to wipe them away because of his lack of strength, imagining his brother's reaction to learning of him going missing, and finding his body here.
"Such a shame for Hogwarts to lose their noble guardian, who falls for a brilliant young wizard's words in a simple little book." Tom said, while the chamber came in and out of focus in front of Brooklyn, slowly feeling himself losing the battle.
"But in time, your soul will merge with mine. You will be dead, and I will once again rule the entire Wizarding World."
"No... no!" Brooklyn gasped in a shaky voice, starting to have terrible images in his head of what this demon human could unleash onto this magic world that was just starting to accept him, and he didn't like it at all.
Tom knelt down next to the dying gargoyle, and Brooklyn felt him taking a hold of his hand with that cold near transparent one, making him grimace from his touch, squeezing his eyes shut, and swallowed down the bile that almost made him throw up.
"It is nearly over for you, Brooklyn of Wyvern. After you, Potter and the Wizarding World are taken care of, perhaps I can stop by your little home of Manhattan and meet your loving family. It would be a pleasure for me to see them in person," purred Tom. This wasn't good news for Brooklyn, who attempted a weak growl of defiance and hatred at Tom to defend his loved ones.
"S-Stay... a-away fr-from my family, M-monster!" He grunted weakly, starting to not be able to feel his own body anymore, the black spots growing bigger and bigger, not wanting to imagine Voldemort killing his family, especially Hudson and Angela. Tom let loose a high cold laugh, his green eyes turning devil red.
"You're unable to stop me, Brooklyn. It was quite stupid of you to tell me where your precious family lived. When I see them, I will tell them it was all your fault for their demise, because you put too much trust into me. And now, it is time for you to meet your fate and perish. Voldemort always wins."
Brooklyn's cheeks hit the cold wet stone floor, still holding that diary in his right hand, feeling everything disappear into nothing, his breathing coming to a slow stop, the chamber fading away, as his soul flowed into the darkness of the cursed diary. The last thing he saw was Voldemort's terrible red eyes stabbing into his broken guilt ridden heart.
It was all now an endless dark tunnel, but there was no comforting light waiting at the end of it. One thought echoed in his mind: I failed... I failed...
Brooklyn didn't even know now if Harry or anybody would be strong enough to be able save him from this... regretting everything, hating himself for not being able to tell Harry about his trouble quick enough... and unable to apologize to everyone for everything he had done... dying alone...
