Thank you for reading! I don't own any of Harry Potter! Please let me know if you enjoy! Updates every Saturday!
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Harriet blinked at the open, bronze door before she cautiously stepped forward and climbed through it.
She carefully slipped down and found herself standing on a large, stone walkway, lined with serpent heads on either side.
Harriet glanced at the statues before she looked straight ahead to marvel at the cavernous room's high ceiling.
The eerie, stone statue of a man with his mouth open in an "o" shape would have been unnerving if she hadn't noticed a boy standing at its base.
His Hogwarts robes were clearly visible, though Harriet could not quite make out his house crest from the distance.
"Harriet Snape………we meet at last." The boy called in a smooth voice.
Harriet squinted and asked, "Are you Tom?...Tom Riddle?"
"I am indeed." The boy's velvet voice answered, "Come forward, Harriet….and let us have a better look at each other."
Harriet stared at Tom as she drew a deep breath.
Her heart raced in her chest while she gathered the punch-soaked folds of her soiled dress in her hands and walked forward.
The soaked soles of her shoes slapped against the walkway's wet stone as she approached her friend.
Harriet's heart lifted with every step she took.
Draco was nothing more than a villain.
Tom had been there for her, supported her, helped her, comforted her since the first night she had written to him in the diary……..
Tom Riddle was a real gentleman.
Tom Riddle was the boy she could trust.
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The Great Hall was thrown into an uproar after the Yule Ball came to an abrupt, chaotic conclusion.
Each student present partook in either nosy gossip, hateful laughter, or sympathetic statements.
While the other staff members apprehended Crabbe, Goyle, and Draco, Dumbledore stood at the front of the room and silenced the crowd's chattering to restore order.
Outside of the Great Hall, Severus and Lily rushed to find Harriet.
"This way!" Severus cried to Lily.
His black robes billowed behind him as they followed the trail of punch droplets down one corridor and then another.
Lily frowned as she trailed after her husband through the halls, up the stairs, and eventually straight to the girls' lavatory on the second floor.
Severus came to an abrupt halt outside the entrance with a frustrated scowl on his pale face.
"I'll go! I'll go in and get her, wait here, Sev!" Lily cried as she brushed past her husband and entered the girls' bathroom.
Severus shifted on his feet nervously while he stood in the hallway and waited for Lily to return.
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Inside the lavatory, Lily scanned the room for any sign of her daughter as she called out, "Sweetheart?...Harriet, are you in here, darling? It's mum, I've come to check on you."
The sound of a choked, mournful sob from the last stall at the end of the room caught Lily's attention.
"...Sweetheart?" She frowned.
As the sobbing continued, Lily hurriedly walked towards the stall and called out, "Oh, darling, mummy's here, mummy-"
She fell silent when she opened the stall door and found the ghost of a girl not much older than Harriet curled on the toilet, weeping bitterly.
"Moaning Myrtle!" Lily gasped in surprise, expecting to find Harriet instead.
"GO AWAY!" Myrtle roared at Lily before she settled back into her previous position, "This is MY toilet! Can't you see I'm upset?!"
Lily remembered the irritable ghost from her own school days.
"Sorry to bother you, I was only looking for my daughter!" Lily snapped back, "You haven't happened to see her, have you?"
"Why should I tell you anything?!" Myrtle snarled, "All you've done is barge into my favourite weeping spot and make demands!"
Lily forced herself to calm down as she nodded at Myrtle and lowered her voice, "Myrtle, please, I am very sorry I startled you. You suffered a terrible fate here, I know…..It was quite tragic."
"Yes……" Myrtle sniffed as she wiped her eyes with a transparent hand, "...It was."
"It must have broken your mother's heart." Lily frowned with genuine sympathy as she gazed at the ghost, "Surely you can understand I'm not eager to share her pain?"
Myrtle sniffed as she glanced up at Lily.
"My little girl's missing." Lily frowned, "Can you help me?...At all?...Please?"
Myrtle sniffed again before she launched herself into the air for a languid swirl as a gentle moan of woe escaped her lips.
Lily watched her float back down to her toilet before she sighed and shrugged, "Alright……I saw a girl come in a little while ago. She had a lovely dress……" Myrtle said before she smirked, "Or at least she had…..It had been absolutely ruined by something red….Anyway, she spoke some strange words by the sink and then……she disappeared."
"She spoke some strange words by the sink and disappeared?" Lily asked incredulously while she looked across the bathroom.
"You asked me for help and I gave it to you!" Myrtle grouched as a hateful scowl formed on her face, "I can't tell you what I don't know!"
Lily nodded with a heavy sigh as she glanced at the ghost and replied, "Right, thanks, Myrtle, I appreciate your help."
Moaning Myrtle kept her angry scowl as she floated out of her stall.
The ghost followed Lily overhead while she walked to the sinks and began to examine each one from the basins to the mirrors.
More than a half a century after her death, Myrtle still did not understand the exact cause of her demise.
Neither she nor Lily knew they should have been looking at the sides of the faucets for clues.
Lily concluded her meticulous inspection and returned to Severus in the hallway, but the carved serpent on one particular silver tap had completely escaped her view.
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As Harriet came closer to Tom Riddle, he frowned once he saw her gaunt expression and ruined dress.
"Oh, my dear Harriet……" He tsked, "What have you let them do to you?"
"I……" She sniffed before she bravely spoke, "I haven't let them do anything. It was a cruel joke and I was stupid enough to fall for it, that's all."
"How many times must I tell you not to doubt yourself?" Tom asked with a smirk. His expression shifted to a charming smile as he reached a hand towards her and ordered, "Come to me…..and I will erase the sorrows of the night."
Harriet frowned as she continued on her path, but as she went, Tom raised his wand.
A blinding, bright light slowly gathered at its tip.
As the light became unbearable to look into, Harriet placed a protective hand over her face in hopes of shielding her eyes while a soft whisper echoed past her.
Once the light faded, she lowered her hand.
She hadn't remembered continuing her steps, but somehow, she stood directly in front of Tom.
Harriet no longer felt dampness pressing against her skin.
Her green eyes widened as she glanced down and saw the beautiful gown that had replaced her ruined dress.
Emerald green with silver embellishments here and there, the elegant bodice gave
way to a full, voluminous skirt any member of royalty would have been happy to wear.
Harriet had never seen such a grand dress.
As she glanced up and finally got her first close look at Tom Riddle, her cheeks turned pink.
He was devastatingly handsome, with dark eyes, and thick, rich curls that framed his elegant face.
His skin was without blemish and the palm he offered her was tapered and smooth.
"Take my hand, Harriet." Tom requested as his smoldering stare burned into her soul, "Take my hand and I will make you a princess…..I will make you my queen."
Harriet drew a breath as she reached out and grasped Tom Riddle's palm.
His hand was warm and his fingers soft as they folded over hers while he helped her onto the small platform where he stood.
Draco only wanted to use her, to hurt her, to take from her, but Tom wanted to give to her, Tom wanted her……..Harriet was confident she had discovered those truths.
She stood with her hand in Tom Riddle's, as an equal next to him in the place designed for Slytherin's heir.
Harriet gazed deeply into his dark eyes that glowered at her from their sockets.
Tom inclined his head ever so slightly as Harriet slowly did the same.
His original plan had been much different, but as they drew closer together, teenage Tom Riddle and Harriet both closed their eyes.
He splayed his fingers over her waist as their lips pressed together in a surprisingly tender sweetness.
Harriet had never been kissed before, but as she and Tom shared a bit of affection, she instinctively cupped his face as she finally united with the boy who had stolen her heart.
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Far away from the castle, while his younger self entertained his unknown enemy, Voldemort conducted yet another meeting, albeit with his lower-ranking followers.
As the band of Death Eaters listened to their leader continue his speech while he paced in front of them, he stopped suddenly.
Voldemort's expression went from one of malicious joy to a mask of blatant shock as a sharp pain echoed through his body the instant his younger self pressed his lips against Harriet's in a gesture of genuine admiration.
The Death Eaters glanced at each other worriedly for a moment while the Dark Lord hesitated.
A dry gasp left Voldemort's lips as the pain sharpened while Tom and Harriet pulled away from each other and exchanged smiles of sincere happiness and heartfelt…….sentiment.
"My lord…….?" One Death Eater asked with a frown.
Unbridled rage shot through Voldemort as the pain began to ebb.
Seeking an outlet for what he failed to understand, Voldemort lifted his wand, looked at the Death Eater who had dared question him and shouted, "AVADA KEDAVRA!"
Gasps rang out as the man fell to the ground dead while Voldemort turned his back on the crowd and covered his face with his long, pale hands.
The Dark Lord was not accustomed to feeling love, in fact, the Dark Lord was not accustomed to feeling at all.