39 Sunday Night
Noelle lay her back flush up against the wall, sucking in air. She'd kept running until she made it fully back into the castle, past the locked door and everything. Now, she stared around at the twisting halls around her and was trying to remember desperately the way to return to her dorm.
After she had caught her breath once more, she pushed off from the wall and began walking. "I think it was a left and then a right, right, straight?" She took several turns before stopping again. "No… That's not right…"
She turned to go back and found that the halls behind her looked nothing like the ones she had come through. She scanned her surroundings in alarm. Were the halls changing? How on earth had the Weasley brothers found their way then?
She supposed that if that secret door were to remain that, the school would have some form of added protection on it. Not that that helped her now any. For a long time, she stood there with her head in her hands, trying to think her best course of action. Then, she felt a pull in her gut.
Looking down the hall to her right, she saw a familiar golden looking griffin, its wings curved within a circular stairwell. Dumbledore's office. She furrowed her brow in confusion. Though it had been known to change locations occasionally, as far as she knew, it was always found at the top of the grand staircase, by some form of magic. But now it was here, right in front of her. Now she was convinced that the halls she'd left behind were no more.
Walking towards the one thing she felt familiarity to, she laid her hand on the metal griffin. Suddenly, she heard a thought that was not her own.
"This vision may be more influential to him than some of the rest…"
She pulled her hand off and looked up the stairwell. Had that been Dumbledore? She looked again at the griffin. Perhaps the metal had conducted his thoughts? She walked forwards into the stairwell to see if she could look up any further and was startled as it began to move around her. The stairs were beginning to climb, bringing her along with them, as the griffin spun to the same movements.
Noelle, never having been this way before, held tight to one of the wings, alarm running through her body. She imagined Dumbledore wouldn't be very happy to see her out of her dorm so late, let alone wandering the halls. She closed her eyes as she reached the top for what she was sure would be an admonishment.
But, when it didn't come, she peeked out and saw his office. Her mouth widened as she gazed around. The back wall had tall bookshelves, lined with books. His desk, though a bit messy, had many a magical artifact lined up, as well as several notebooks and quills. She spotted his phoenix, perched on a wooden stick, and the sorting hat, watching her from the top of a shelf.
She looked for the professor and found him at the corner of the room. And then, she had to stifle a laugh, for, the professor and Harry Potter were both leaned over, with their faces in what looked to her like a large birdbath. She threw a hand up to her mouth. What were they doing?
She stepped closer, feeling the draw by her curiosity. Though brazen, she was soon rewarded for her efforts. As she drew closer, an illusion opened up around her.
No, not an illusion she decided, but a memory, a vision.
She found herself standing in the hallway of a small two-story building, the walls made of brick. The vision around her was hazy, yellowed, warm, and bright in all the wrong places. That was how she knew it was a memory. That, and the fact that a younger Dumbledore stood ahead of her, talking to an older woman.
"I must admit to some confusion on receiving your letter Mr. Dumbledore. In all the years Tom's been here, he's never once had a family visitor." She began, walking up the stairs. Noelle hurried to follow them. "There have been incidents with the other children. Nasty things." The woman paused, looking at Dumbledore earnestly.
On seeing the state of the place, and hearing the woman mention other kids, Noelle assumed this was an orphanage. The woman must be the matron. But then, why was Dumbledore here of all places?
She knocked on a door and pushed it open. "Tom? You have a visitor." She backed away to let Dumbledore enter.
"How do you do Tom?"
The vision flashed forwards and Dumbledore sat with a boy. This room was darker and put Noelle instantly on edge. She rubbed her arms, relieved that neither of them seemed to notice her.
"You're the doctor aren't you?" The boy asked.
"No. I'm a professor."
The boy never once smiled, slouched in his chair. "I don't believe you. She wants me looked at. I think I'm… Different."
"Well, perhaps they're right." Dumbledore nodded.
"I'm not mad." The boy protested.
"Hogwarts is not a place for mad people," Dumbledore explained. "Hogwarts is a school. A school of magic." He sucked in a breath. "You can do things can't you Tom? Things the other children can't…" He let the question trail off.
"I can make things move without touching them. I can make animals do what I want without training them. I can make bad things happen to people who are mean to me. Can make them hurt… If I want." He narrowed his eyes. "Who are you?"
Noelle shivered. This boy was terrifying. Calm but with a presence of evil, not just from his words, but seemingly his entire being. Why was Dumbledore speaking with him? Telling him about Hogwarts?
"Well I'm like you Tom."
Noelle wanted to grab the headmaster's shoulders and protest. "No you are not! Can't you see there's something wrong with this child?"
"I'm different." He continued.
"Prove it." The boy answered haughtily.
Dumbledore, without even moving, lit the wardrobe in the room ablaze. Noelle leapt back, the flames dancing just out of reach.
"I think there's something in your wardrobe trying to get out Tom." Dumbledore said calmly.
The boy walked past Noelle, the air cold around him. He opened the wardrobe and pulled from it a box. The flames instantly went out. The child went to his bed and laid it down, opening it and emptying its contents. Several toys fell out onto the bed.
"Thievery is not tolerated at Hogwarts Tom. But at Hogwarts you'll be taught not only to use magic, but how to control it. Do you understand me?"
Dumbledore went to leave the room but paused at the child's next words. "I can speak to snakes too. They find me… Whisper things. Is that… Normal for someone like me?"
Noelle shivered. Now she knew. This boy… Was Tom Riddle. Voldemort. She scrunched her eyes shut tight. She had to escape from here.
As if her wish had been granted, the vision began to collapse around her. The objects and people disappeared into plumes of smoke and she opened her eyes this time to Dumbledore's office once more.
Quickly, Noelle bolted for the stairs as Harry and the professor straightened, pulling their heads from the water. She didn't stop until she'd run out of breath completely and had to stop to suck in more. And when she did, she found she was at the entrance to her dorm.