Author's Note: Enjoy!

Disclaimer: Harry Potter and all rights to it belong strictly to J.K Rowling.

I am simply having fun with my imagination.

...Tom sat on the couch in the deserted Common Room, and wiped a panicky tear that had surprisingly trickled down his cheek. Only Dumbledore was capable of doing this to him. Pfft...Love...

CHAPTER 15: THE DOWNFALL OF RUBEUS HAGRID

The warmth of April spread over the castle like a thick, wool blanket. The blazing sun stretched its wings across the clear blue sky. Colourful flowers blossomed across the grounds and the owls from the owlery screeched and hooted happily. It was indeed a very beautiful spring. But inside the castle, there was nothing but fear and terror.

The students barely left their common rooms anymore, except to attend classes and meals. The castle corridors had never been more deserted. Whenever Tom looked up at the staff table in the Great Hall, the teachers were immersed in hushed whispers with worried looks on their faces. All Hogsmeade visits had been cancelled for the rest of the year, and a 6 o'clock curfew had been administered to the students. It was simply impossible for Tom to visit the chamber.

He therefore spent most of his time in the library, revising for the upcoming OWLs. He had abolished all meetings for the remainder of term and had commanded his Death Eaters to stay out of trouble and study instead.

When the Easter holidays arrived, the Hogwarts students were given special permission to go home to their families. The castle quickly emptied and the only students that were left behind were Tom and his Death Eaters, and a couple of odd Hufflepuffs and Gryffindors and two small Ravenclaws. Oh, and the giant Hagrid of course, as he could not bear to part from his beloved pet, thought Tom.

Although he had been initially against it, Tom reluctantly accepted his Death Eaters' gifts. They had tried giving him things for Christmas but his initial response had been, "I don't do Christmas." This time however, he found himself to be quite interested in the things that they had presented him with. They had evidently been down to Knockturn Alley recently, though Tom was suspicious as to how they'd managed it. Rowle had given him more Imperious powder. Selwynn had gotten him a book about Purebloods. Rosier had gotten him a couple of skulls and Lestrange a shrunken head. But Avery's gift was peculiar of all. He had gotten Tom a notebook—almost like a diary—which had Tom's full name (Tom Marvolo Riddle) engraved at the back cover. He didn't see how this object would be useful to him, so he carelessly stuffed it in his school bag to please Avery who had been watching him unwrap it with an eager expression on his mouse-like face.

On the last day before the end of the Easter holidays, Tom went to the Restricted Section of the library and scanned the shelves. He cracked open Secrets of the Darkest Art by Owle Bullock, a large ancient looking book bound in faded black leather, and skimmed through the rusty pages. His heart stopped as he most accidentally came across that peculiar term again: Horcrux. He scanned the page and was delighted to find that it went into detail about the origin of this word:

Herpo the Foul was an Ancient Greek Dark Wizard. He is one of the earliest known Dark Wizards and his work is still a lasting aspect of dark magic to date. He is best known as the first wizard to hatch a basilisk. He is reputed to have invented many vile curses and was also the first wizard known to successfully create a Horcrux, perhaps having designed the ritual himself. Accordingly, he must have committed murder to split his soul. He is one of the earliest known Parselmouths.

A horcrux is a powerful object in which a dark witch or wizard has hidden a fragment of his or her soul for the purposes of attaining immortality. Creating a horcrux gives one the ability to anchor one's own soul to earth if the body is destroyed.

Immortality. Tom could feel the gleam in his eyes, the shimmering sparkle of delight. His heart beat rapidly of excitement and he couldn't help but smile. Immortality. This was the answer at last. The key to becoming the most powerful sorcerer in the world. But Herpo the Foul had already managed to create a horcrux. Perhaps, Tom would find a way to succeed him. Hearing footsteps somewhere in the distance, he hastily shut the dusty book and stored it back in its shelf, leaving the library with a new wave of inspiration.

Tom was determined to do well on his OWLs. He had studied every book he owned several times and was thoroughly confident he had all his notes memorized. He lent them to his Death Eaters to study as well, as it was crucial that they achieve acceptable marks so as not to look suspicious in front of Dumbledore.

On the first day of exams, Tom sat at breakfast alone and carefully read through Spellman's Syllabary. He could feel Dumbledore's heavy gaze on him from the staff table, but did not dare look up to meet his clear blue eyes.

"I'm scared!" wailed a whiny first-year sitting across from him. "I don't want to go. I'm really scared that the monster will find me on the way there!"

"Don't worry!" hissed his friend sitting next to him. "You'll be fine! You've got to be brave!"

"I'm not brave!" cried the first one. "That's why I'm not in Gryffindor!"

"Calm yourselves," Tom instructed them just as Professor Beery passed by. "The monster will not attack you. You are safe. There is nothing to worry about."

Professor Beery had heard these words, as was Tom's intention, and chuckled under his breath.

"Such a good boy," he muttered to himself.

"Could…could you escort me to the bathroom?" asked the boy who was now in tears. Tom was still gazing after Professor Beery who had exited the Hall. "Uh, prefect boy?"

"What?" said Tom, now looking at the boy.

"Could you please escort me to the bathroom so that I'll be safe?"

"No," said Tom blankly, and he returned to his book and finished his food.

After breakfast, the fifth years waited around in the Entrance Hall while the rest of the students went to their classes. Everyone was either heavily immersed in mountains of notes or muttering incantations under their breaths and flicking their wands around. Soon, the doors to the Great Hall opened and Headmaster Dippet instructed the students to enter.

The four house tables had disappeared and were instead replaced with loads of single tables facing the front. A large hour-glass had been placed where the staff table usually sat. Professor Dippet motioned for the students to find their seats and himself approached the front and turned to face them.

"You may begin!" he called and the hour-glass turned itself upside down.

Tom glanced at the Herbology exam paper before him. There were questions on fanged geraniums and Chinese Chomping Cabbage. This was going to be too easy. He bent over his paper and began scratching away with his quill.

He had been right. The exam had been a joke, and the practical part of it that afternoon was just as anecdotal. He sat his Charms exam the following day and was thoroughly pleased with it as well. He'd excelled at the practical part, as predicted by Professor Flitwick, and astonished all of the examiners in the room with his Growth charm. Defense Against the Dark Arts was the exam he had been looking forward to the most. He'd answered every single question in the written exam correctly, and had mastered the Riddikulus spell as well as all the counter-jinxes and defensive spells. His Ancient Runes exam hadn't been quite so easy, but he was still confident he'd done well as he'd translated all the runes correctly.

By the end of the week, all that was left was Potions, Care of Magical Creatures, Transfiguration, History of Magic, and Astronomy. Tom permitted himself a break from revising on Saturday morning and decided to take a walk about the castle grounds. He thought long and hard about the Chamber of Secrets and how he was to go and seal it. Teachers were always everywhere and Dumbledore was keeping a firm eye on him. It was virtually impossible to do, yet absolutely necessary to achieve before the end of term.

The History of Magic exam on Monday morning was absolutely ridiculous. Tom knew the International Confederation of Wizards like the back of his hand and simply laughed at the question about the Warlocks of Liechtenstein. Care of Magical Creatures was a subject he cared not about, but that did not stop him from excelling at both the written and practical parts of the examination on Tuesday. Then, Wednesday came and it was time to sit the Potions exam. Tom knew very well that Professor Slughorn would expect him to achieve an Outstanding, and so he took particular care with his potion and was the first to finish. On Thursday morning, Tom sat his Transfiguration written exam, which was most difficult. He'd forgotten the definition of a Switching Spell and messed up some of the other crucial questions as well. However, he'd done brilliantly on the practical part of the exam as the examiners all applauded his excellent vanishing spell.

Finally, Friday arrived and with it came the last exam: Astronomy. Tom was the first to finish the written exam and spent the rest of the day revising for the practical which would take place that night. Just before heading up to the Astronomy tower at midnight however, he stopped Avery in his tracks and pulled him to a corner, keeping an eye out for the examiner who was leading the other fifth-years up the marble staircase.

"I have a job for you," Tom hissed at Avery, who looked somewhat frightened but concentrated hard.

"After the exam, you are to go and distract Dumbledore. I don't care how you do it, just make sure he does not see me sneaking off, understand?"

"Yes, sir," nodded Avery. "But may I ask…?"

"I have to go and seal the chamber," Tom replied and, noticing the last of the students heading up the stairs, he let go of Avery and quickly joined them.

Just before climbing the stairs however, he turned round and spotted the oaf Hagrid making his way towards the dungeons, no doubt to visit that filthy hairy beast of his. What a miserable oaf. Tom only wished he could come up with a way to get rid of him. He was just as filthy as the rest of the mudbloods in this castle.

Tom's star chart looked perfect just half an hour into the exam. He decided that it would look too suspicious if he handed it in early, so he merely pretended to check his answers for the next hour and a half. Finally, at 2 o'clock in the morning, the examiner announced that time was up and the students put away their telescopes and turned in their examination papers. Tom gave Avery a small nod and was off.

He darted through the dark, deserted corridors, always checking that no one was around. Finally, he'd reached the girl's bathroom and pulled out his wand. He hissed "Open" in Parseltongue and the sinks began to move. However, just before he could climb in through the tunnel, he heard a muffled sound in one of the stalls.

"Who's there?!" cried the trembling voice of a frightened girl.

Tom froze.

There was no denying that he had most certainly not expected this. He could hear the basilisk slithering through the tunnel and before long, it appeared from out of the hole, peering around. Tom hissed at it and it hissed back.

"You're a boy!" gasped the girl from the stall. "GET OUT!"

Tom heard the click of a lock and the stall door burst open. The girl glared at him, and for a fraction of a second, Tom thought he'd saw some recognition in her eyes...like she knew who he was. But before she could say or do anything else, her brown eyes met the big yellow ones of the basilisk, and she instantly turned pale and fell to the floor. Tom hissed at the basilisk to go back down and fall asleep. The basilisk bowed its head and disappeared back through the tunnel. Tom muttered in Parseltongue for the sinks to return to their places, and the Chamber was officially sealed.

Then, glancing at the girl's lifeless body on the floor, he pulled out his wand and fumbled around in his bag. He retrieved the diary that Avery had gotten for him, flipped it open, and leaned down next to the girl. He began muttering the incantation that he'd read in Secrets of the Darkest Arts. The process took all of twenty minutes but when Tom was finished, he knew it had worked because the diary in his hand vibrated for a few seconds and then went still again. Pleased, he put it back into his bag, fixed the Hufflepuff tie around the girl's neck so that it was not hanging recklessly, straightened up, and left the bathroom.

It wasn't long before the girl—Myrtle had been her name—was discovered by a student and reported to the teachers at once. The teachers cried in shock as they gathered in the bathroom and led Myrtle out. They alerted her family at once, as well as the Minister of Magic who was completely distraught at this news.

Tom sat in his dormitory, not speaking to any of the other Slytherins about the night's events, as no one seemed to know yet. After his dormitory mates had fallen asleep, Tom pulled out his diary and examined it. His very first horcrux. He had achieved it at last. He was now one step closer to his mission. The horcrux had given him a new sort of affection for Avery. His gift had been most useful after all. Tom held the diary close to his chest, disregarding how this would look to a watcher. This diary contained a piece of him—a piece of his soul. He would guard it as he guarded his own life…with particular care.

The following morning, the entire school had found out about the previous night's events and the panic and fear was greater than ever. Tom had distinctly watched his professors cry together with mourning students. Myrtle had apparently been a third-year mudblood girl, a very annoying one, but kind at heart. She had been crying in the bathroom that night because Olive Hornby had teased her about her glasses. Poor Hornby was overwhelmed with guilt and had to be taken to the Hospital Wing to receive a Calming Draught.

Soon, rumors began to fly about the castle that Dippet was going to close down Hogwarts and the students were going to be sent home for good. This worried Tom a great deal and he wasted no time in going down to the Headmaster's office to confirm these rumors. He did so on Tuesday night, four days before the end of term. He knew that Myrtle's parents were due to arrive at the school the following day. As they were muggles, it had taken a bit longer to reach them and make arrangements for their arrival.

"My dear boy," said Armando Dippet after Tom had explained his situation to him. He looked very distraught and exhausted. There were bags under his eyes and a kind of surreal sadness. "You must see how foolish it would be of me to allow you to remain at the castle when term ends, particularly in light of the recent tragedy…the death of that…poor…little…girl."

Dippet picked up his wand, conjured a tissue, and blew his nose into it.

"You will be safer, I think, at your orphanage. As a matter of fact, the Ministry of Magic is even now talking about closing the school. We are no nearer locating the—er—source of all this…unpleasantness,"

"Sir," said Tom, carefully levelling his voice. "If the person were caught—if it all stopped—"

"What do you mean?" cried Dippet, who was now looking at Tom with concern. "Riddle, do you mean to say that you know something about these attacks?"

"No, sir," said Tom. "I was just wondering… I don't want to return to the orphanage for good. I have learned so much here at Hogwarts and I'm just desperate for the situation to resolve itself."

"I don't see how it will," sighed Dippet. He glanced up at the clock on the wall and blew his nose again. "You should probably return to your common room now. I have to meet the Minister of Magic and he will be arriving here shortly…along with…Myrtle's, er…parents."

"Yes sir," said Tom, rising from the chair opposite the headmaster's desk. "Good night, sir."

Once out in the hall, Tom's mind raced for a solution. He could only think of one possible way out of this. He would have to turn someone in. Someone would have to take responsibility for these attacks. Otherwise, they would surely close the school. But if someone did come forward, would the school indeed remain open? He thought about maybe commanding that Avery come forward and take full responsibility of these events, when, turning the corner, Tom stopped dead. Several wizards were carrying a body covered in sheets. Their heads were bowed and they did not even seem to notice Tom as they passed by him on the stairs.

"Riddle!" called a voice that always made Tom's heart jump. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and turned around to face Professor Dumbledore.

"Come," said Dumbledore.

Tom approached him.

"It is not wise for you to be wandering around at this late hour, Tom," said Dumbledore, firmly.

"Yes, sir," said Tom. "I was just wondering…I had to see for myself if the rumors were true."

"I'm afraid they are, Tom," said Dumbledore, glancing after the procession of wizards. "They are true."

"About the school as well?" said Tom, closing his hands behind his back and glancing up at Dumbledore with a worried look. "I don't have a home to go to. They wouldn't really close Hogwarts, would they professor?"

"I understand, Tom," said Dumbledore, sadly. "But I'm afraid, Headmaster Dippet may have no choice."

"Sir, I'm…I'm desperate," continued Tom. "If this person was caught, then the school would not have to close, would it?"

Dumbledore frowned at him.

"Is there something you wish to tell me, Tom?"

"No sir, nothing!" responded Tom, screwing together the most innocent look he could manage.

Dumbledore narrowed his eyes at him from behind the half-moon spectacles, and then nodded.

"Very well then, off you go."

"Good night, professor," said Tom and he turned away from Dumbledore.

On his way to the dungeons, Tom wrestled with the idea that had crossed his mind while talking to Dumbledore. This was surely the only way out of this mess, and the oaf completely deserved it. Pulling out his wand, Tom changed course and instead approached the hidden door at the end of the long corridor. He glanced back once to make sure that no one was around, and then flung the door open.

Hagrid, who had been talking to his filthy pet over in the trunk, jumped a few feet back. The trunk closed and Hagrid stared at Tom with a frightened expression.

"Good evening, Hagrid," said Tom, pointing his wand directly at him. "I'm sure you understand why I have to do this."

"No!" cried Hagrid. "No, I know what you're thinking. B-but…it wasn't him. Aragog never killed no one! NEVER!"

"The dead girl's parents will be here soon," declared Tom. "The least Hogwarts can do is make sure the thing that killed their daughter is slaughtered."

"But surely," gasped Hagrid. "Surely ya don't believe it. It wasn't him, I tell ya. It wasn't!"

"Monsters don't make good pets, Hagrid," said Tom, simply. "Now, stand aside."

"No!"

"Stand aside, Hagrid."

"NO!"

Tom pointed his wand at the trunk.

"Cistem Aperio!"

The trunk burst open and the ugly, hairy spider crawled out and ran out of the room and down the corridor.

"ARANIA EXUMAI!" Tom bellowed after it but the spell merely hit the wall and the spider escaped.

"RUN, ARAGOG! RUN!" bellowed Hagrid, but Tom turned round and pointed his wand at him.

"I can't let you go, Hagrid," said Tom. "They'll have your wand for this. You'll be expelled."

Hagrid turned pale and looked absolutely terrified. Tom pointed his wand to the door.

"After you!" he declared, and Hagrid slowly made his way out of the room. Tom followed him from behind, still pointing his wand at him as he instructed him where to go. Soon, they reached the Headmaster's office and Tom knocked three times on the door. Hagrid stood beside him, sobbing. Tom pocketed his wand just as the door opened and Dippet frowned at him.

"I thought you were already asleep!" he said. He noticed Hagrid crying and his frown deepened on his old, tired face. "What's happened?"

"I regret to inform you, professor, that I neglected to reveal this information sooner," said Tom.

"What do you—come in, both of you."

Tom and Hagrid entered the office and spotted the Minister of Magic, a few other unknown wizards, and Professor Dumbledore, all gathered around Dippet's desk.

"Tom," Dumbledore.

"Professor," said Tom, bowing his head.

"Now, tell me what this is all about," said Dippet, closing the office door.

"Professor Dumbledore warned me about this early on in the year," said Tom, glancing once at Dumbledore and then at Dippet. "And he was right… I did know something about these attacks but I was afraid that if I told, that my friends at Hogwarts would not accept me anymore. You see, they're almost like my family."

"That's understandable," said the Minister of Magic.

"Well," continued Tom. "I found out about Hagrid's pet long ago and I warned him about it but he wouldn't listen to me."

"It's not true!" wailed Hagrid. "It's not!"

"Silence, Hagrid!" barked Dippet. "Continue, Tom."

Tom bowed his head once.

"Well, I had seen it happen for myself. I had seen Hagrid instruct the monster to kill that girl."

Dippet glared at Hagrid who continued to sob.

"Calm down, Hagrid," said Dumbledore, putting a gentle hand on his shoulder.

"No, Dumbledore!" cried Dippet, furiously. Dumbledore took his hand off of Hagrid and bowed low to the headmaster. Dippet rounded on Hagrid.

"You, boy," Hagrid stifled a sob and look up at the professor. "Do you have an illegal pet?"

Hagrid nodded.

"What is it?"

"An acromantula," answered Tom from behind Dippet.

Dippet turned to look at him.

"A what?"

"It's a large spider," said Tom. "I've read about them in Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. They are meant to grow to tremendous size and feed on human flesh."

Dippet shuddered and then glared at Hagrid again.

"Is this true?"

Hagrid met Tom's eye, sobbed again, and nodded.

"Where is it? WHERE IS THE BEAST?!" barked Dippet.

"H-he's gone," cried Hagrid. "Aragog left."

"Now, now, Professor Dippet, let's just calm down," interjected Dumbledore. "I'm sure we can sort this out quietly."

"We already have!" snapped Dippet and he marched over to his desk, fumbled around in the drawers, and retrieved a piece of paper. He began scribbling in it and then thrust it at Hagrid.

"Sign here," he muttered.

Hagrid wrote his name on the piece of paper.

"Hand it over," said Dippet, holding out his hand.

Hagrid hesitated, let out another sob, and then shakily took out his wand and gave it to Dippet. One of the other wizards in the office pointed his wand at Hagrid's, muttered a spell, and Hagrid's wand snapped in two. Pleased, Dippet disposed of the pieces and gave the other wizards instructions to summon reporters from the Daily Prophet. Tom caught a few words like "I can't believe it" and "Finally the truth comes out", but was too distracted by the look that Dumbledore was giving him. It was the mother of all accusatory. It was as if Dumbledore could see right through Tom's mind. Tom had done a fair bit of reading over the last few years and had practiced Occlumency on his own time, so he knew that if Dumbledore tried to look into his mind now, he would be able to resist him. Still, he did not like that look one bit. Dumbledore put a hand on Hagrid's shoulder again, so as to silently tell Tom "I know what you did." Tom looked away.

"Very well," said Dippet, turning to Tom again and holding out a hand for him to shake. "I am very proud of you Tom for coming forward. I understand how difficult it must have been for you but you've certainly made the right choice. This business is finally over and we can all finally breathe again."

The other wizards in the office nodded in agreement. The Minister of Magic grabbed a few signed sheets of paper, pulled Hagrid with him, waved goodbye to all, and disappeared with Hagrid behind the emerald green flames in the fireplace.

"I suggest you go to bed, Tom," said Dippet. "You've had a long night."

"Good night, professors," said Tom, quietly.

"Not a word to anyone, understood?" said Tom, peering over at all of his Death Eaters. They nodded in unison. "Not a word," Tom repeated.

"So he's really gone, then?" said Lestrange in a small voice.

"Yes," said Tom. "Rubeus Hagrid has been expelled from Hogwarts for good. I watched them snap his wand in half."

"Wicked," said Rowle. "I can't believe we got away with this."

"Well, believe it," said Tom. "I promised you I'd take care of all of you, didn't I?"

"Yes, sir!" they exclaimed.

On the last day of term, Professor Dippet made a lengthy speech about the year's unpleasant events. He beamed as he told the staff and students in the Great Hall that the culprit had been caught, that Myrtle will always be remembered, and that they were finally safe to continue studying at Hogwarts. He made quite a scene in calling Tom to the front of the hall and handing him a silver medal for Special Services to the School.

"This will be displayed up in the trophy room with your name on it, Tom," said Dippet, happily. "We could not thank you more for helping us to achieve peace and safety at last."

Tom smiled slightly as the whole of the school applauded for him, the Slytherins being the loudest.

Dippet went on about how all the petrified students in the hospital wing had been successfully revived and were now well and happy again. The school exploded with cheers at this news. The Slytherins looked rather smug but Tom did not show any reaction to this news. He'd known that sooner or later this would happen. But the only thing that was important to him now was that he had finally created a horcrux. Myrtle had given him that. He was a bit sad he could not thank her, seeing as how she was dead.

The house cup was awarded to Slytherin again that year, though apparently the Gryffindors had beaten them in every game at Quidditch. Still, Tom's remarkable achievements in class earned the house a good 500 points by the end of term, and Dippet had awarded him 60 points for Hagrid's capture alone.

The mood around the castle had brightened considerably with the return of the petrified students, though there were still a few odd students who were either mourning Myrtle's death or sad about Hagrid's expulsion. Still, the end of the year arrived with bright spirits and the students gladly helped each other onto the Hogwarts train the next morning, promising to keep in touch over the summer.

Tom shared a compartment with Avery, Lestrange, Rowle, Selwynn, Rosier, and Davis. They discussed the year's events and their plans for the following year. Rowle had stupidly suggested that they open the chamber again the following year to finish the job, but Tom had shot down this suggestion at once.

"Don't be stupid," he snapped. "Or you'll live to regret it."

He winced slightly at the pain on his left arm but quickly covered it up with a cough. His arm had been bothering him all morning.

"Yes, sir," said Rowle, looking down at his feet with shame.

The train pulled into King's Cross station very soon, and together, the Death Eaters crossed the barrier into the muggle world. They parted ways and Tom reluctantly made his way back to prison. Mrs. Cole was standing at the front steps, waiting to greet him.

"You've grown so big, Tom!" she exclaimed as he joined her at the door. "So big, indeed!"

"Right," said Tom, blankly.

"Well, your room is all ready for you downstairs," said Mrs. Cole, nervously.

Tom eyed her with a small grin on his face.

"Thank you," he said simply and retreated to his room.

Once alone, he put away his things and sat on the bed. He pulled out the diary that was now a horcrux and smiled down at it. It was absolutely beautiful. He would guard and treasure it for all eternity, seeing as how now, he was definitely not going anywhere. His arm was still aching, though it felt sorer now than before. He rolled up his sleeve and examined it. There was a very, very faint scratch on his arm now. A very faint scratch indeed.