Prologue

May 29th, 1993

The Chamber of Secrets

Mary raised the sword high above her head, holding the hilt with both hands to get the best leverage, as the basilisk once again lunged at where she stood above the bust of Salazar Slytherin's head. She thrust her arm forward and put as much strength into her blow as she physically could, knowing that she didn't have much left in her.

The shiny blade cut through the sinew and bone of the roof of the creature's mouth and emerged from the top of its skull, covered in blood. Mary pulled her arm back in shock as the crook of her elbow burned with a bone aching pain that caused her to stumble and fall to her knees. The giant snake dropped like a rock, its body writhing frantically, in those fitful moments before death took it.

Blinding pain wracked her body as she climbed down the stone wall, hoping that she had enough time left to save Ginny from Riddle.

"You're running out of time, Potter." The shade of Voldemort smirked in amusement, looking down at his hands and arms that were becoming more corporal by the second. "Nothing can save you now."

"Wake up, Ginny." She weakly shook the younger girl's shoulder. "Please wake up."

Tom Riddle took in a deep breath and closed his eyes in bliss. "So close."

Mary looked down at the diary that was the culprit behind her current predicament and picked it up. The moment her blood and venom coated fingers brushed the cover, Tom Riddle let out an ear piercing shriek that echoed in Mary's very soul. His face was blistering and burning, chunks of ash fluttering into the air.

Shaking her head from the daze, she stared down at the way the supple brown leather seemed to wilt and blacken where the venom had touched it. In a crazy burst of inspiration, Mary yanked the fang from her arm, ignoring the cold sweat that swept over her face, and slammed the tip of the sharp ivory tooth into the cursed book.

Black blood seeped from the seams, pooling on the floor like water. Riddle screamed out in agony again, seeming to crumple inward on himself as golden burning cracks appeared on his person. Glowing red eyes lifted, meeting hers just as his body exploded into a burst of orange light, knocking Mary back a few feet and into a stone wall.

This is it , Mary thought as she lay on the cold stones, her vision fading and body failing while the darkness dragged her under.

Mary opened her eyes some time later, feeling oddly weightless and pain free, something that immediately set her on edge. Dark trees hovered over the path she lay on, giving her a slight view of the stars above. The hair on her arms stood on end as a cold prickly feeling ran up her spine. What worried her was the fact that she clearly recognized where she was.

The Forbidden Forest! She thought in fear. Aragog and his children could be anywhere, waiting to pounce! How on Earth did I end up here?

Standing quickly, she brushed her sticky hands over her filthy bloodstained robes - not taking her eyes off of her surroundings -, in fear that something would sneak up on her.

Light footsteps echoed in the distance, sending her spinning in place and ducking behind a hedgerow. A young boy - probably a seventh year -, wearing torn Muggle clothing, stepped quietly along the path leading into the deeper, more dangerous parts of the forest. He was shrouded by a silvery cloak and grasped a small golden ball in his hand. She watched transfixed as he placed the Snitch against his lips and whispered softly. His words were muffled by the light breeze, and Mary wondered why he was talking to a Snitch while walking through the forest. It didn't make any sense.

In a fit of Gryffindor bravery, Mary stepped out from her hiding place and loudly cleared her throat, but the boy gave no sign of having heard her.

"Hey!" Mary called out to him. "Are you okay? You shouldn't be out here. It's dangerous."

He kept walking as though he hadn't heard her.

She ran in front of him and blocked his path, but he simply walked through her, sending chills running up and down her spine.

"Wait!" Mary cried desperately. "Please!"

He stopped and turned around, but he wasn't looking at her. His wide fearful eyes travelled from left to right as he spoke in hushed tones.

"Who are you talking to?" Mary wondered aloud.

"You'll stay with me?" The bespectacled boy pleaded with the empty air.

Mary searched the area once more and found no other signs of life, but the boy kept talking. For all the crazy ideas her mind had come up with, the only one that made sense was that somehow when she was destroying Riddle's diary she had ended up trapped in the damned thing.

Maybe he's one of Voldemort's victims. Mary wondered critically as she kept pace with the older boy. Maybe we're both trapped here.

They walked further into the dense forest, seeming to follow the path at a snail's pace. Every few minutes the boy would look up to the canopy where dark shadows swam against the sky and Mary wondered what the odd creatures were. She was so focused on them that she had lost sight of the older boy until a familiar voice caught her ear.

"HARRY!" Hagrid boomed. "NO!"

Mary ran forward, searching for her first true friend as fast as her legs would take her. Who's Harry? She thought as she dodged limbs and briers, her heart clenching at the sound of Hagrid's heartbroken pleas.

Mary stumbled into the clearing, gasping loudly while trying to catch her breath, but the plethora of people surrounding her paid her no mind. They couldn't see her either.

The boy, Harry, stood to one side, back ramrod straight as he faced a tall bald man with glowing red eyes and a slit for a nose. The thing smiled slightly as it raised an odd looking pale wand and pointed it at Harry.

"Harry Potter," It said to the boy.

Mary hissed at the familiarity of the surname and ran toward the boy, stopping beside him to take in his features. Potter? A relative of her father's, maybe?

"Voldemort," Harry responded shortly, showing no weakness or fear.

The red eyed being stared at Harry with a mocking sneer on his lips, but she could see the indecision and wariness in the being's eyes. "The Boy Who Lived."

He used the moniker with disdain heavy in his tone. Mary was the Girl Who Lived , Voldemort was supposed to be after her, not this innocent boy. Her heart almost stopped as she was forced to watch the way the others in the clearing made no move to help Harry. A dark haired woman with large eyes cackled quietly, rocking back on the heels of her bare feet.

Harry didn't flinch or move, but stood with stoic resignation as the most feared wizard in the world stood before him.

Mary tried to push Harry away, but her hands slid right through him. She screamed loudly in his ears, but he never heard her. Tears ran down her face as she struggled with the reality that there was absolutely nothing she could do. Death was coming closer and there was no escape. There was no hope or time. It was simply the end.

"No." Mary shook her head, her hand passing through Harry's arm once again.

Voldemort moved at the same time Mary did. As he raised his wand, she stepped in front of Harry. The top of her head barely reached his shoulders, but it was the best she could do.

The spell flew forward and Mary closed her eyes as the green light engulfed her. The spell lifted her off of her feet and slammed her back onto the cold ground. Her head spun with the impact, but that was the least of her worries.

Memories that were not her own overwhelmed her. Good, bad, mundane, no memory was filtered out as she watched the life of one Harry James Potter flooding through her mind, burning into her subconscious as though they were her own. They clawed into her brain, burrowing in, burying themselves so deep they were blurring her own view of reality.

Hermione's screams echoed off the walls as the dark haired woman held the silver knife over her bleeding arm.

Cedric Diggory's dead eyes stared up at the cloudless sky.

George pleaded with his twin to come back as Fred lay motionless in his arms.

A tall hulking figure hovered over the body of Lavender Brown.

"No." She fought against the unknown, her heart breaking at the onslaught of devastation and pain. " NOOO!"

The green light of the Killing Curse blazed behind her eyelids and Mary sat straight up choking for breath. The air seemed far too thin and spots danced before her eyes as she struggled to make sense of what had happened. She clutched her head in her hands and tried to quell the sensation of hammers accosting her skull from the inside.

Deep breaths. She told herself. And sad as it was, it took her a few moments to be able to calm her breathing enough to draw in a lungful of air. She let out a sigh and leaned back against the fluffy pillows, trying to gather her composure enough to open her eyes.

Mary scrubbed at her face, trying to wake herself from the nightmare that didn't seem to end.

With a sigh she opened grit filled eyes and was grateful for the dim lighting, but was completely confused as to her whereabouts. The room she was in was bare other than the bed she laid in, a small bedside table and a comfortable looking armchair. It didn't look like the infirmary at Hogwarts, or at least not any room she'd ever been in before.

Feeling like a newborn colt, she swung her legs off the side of the bed, and had to lean heavily against it just to take a few shorts steps.

"Where am I?" She whispered in a slight panic, as her legs gave out beneath her.

Mary crumpled to the floor in a heap as the darkness once again dragged her back down.

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