Back at it again with a new chapter!

Finally getting everything rolling!

Sorry for the wait. I have a new child! I am happy to announce that my daughter was born recently. She is adorable, and my son is already getting along with her well.

Last night he even gave her a kiss before he was tucked in ;,)

Anyways. I am back. Sort of. I cannot promise regular updates, though I will try my hardest to get into a routine. However, I can promise that this story still has a long ways to go, and I'm going to be driving it the whole way.

So let's not waste anymore time!

—0—

Tom smirked from his place in the girls mind. She was progressing incredibly well for a mudblood. Hell, she was progressing well for a pureblood, which was a testament to her magic.

This child was special. That he could tell. From the moment he began organizing her memories (And getting rid of the one's that she didn't need) Tom could see that magic itself practically adored this child. So much so that it was also influencing her. She wanted to learn and learn and learn, until there was nothing left to learn.

Hermione Granger had already created her own spell! Tom had no doubt that she was a prodigy. What made everything worth it was the memories of another child. One even more gifted than her.

This child was one that stoked the fires of envy within the muggleborns mind. She was simply not as dedicated, not as knowledgeable. Tom could of course, see why.

Merlot Scortwit was a magical among magicals, much as he himself had been. Runes and alchemy at the age of a first year? It was practically unheard of. And from what else he could glean from the tidbits within her memories, the girl also dabbled in dark magic. Granger would never compare with the rate she was progressing at, and even if she ever did, the brief flashes of this other girls magic proved that she wouldn't ever come close to surpassing her.

Still, this was the perfect position. Envy was negativity, and it would nourish him. With the power he was slowly gaining, he could twist the girl to his desires. He could meet this girl and prevent her from rising to his own level of power. Returning would be hard enough, with Dumbledore there to face him. Another dark lord would make everything harder, especially if he wanted to regain power…

As the girl slept, Tom silently pushed her from her own body, filling in as her eyes snapped open.

The blood red windows of the forbidden soul narrowed as the girls mouth twisted into a smirk. Tom gingerly ran his hands over the girls face, feeling his new features, taking in how real it was.

Physical form once more…

Tom grinned, but he knew not to be too loud. He could see the girls wand nestled within a wooden box, lined with velvet. Oh how it must love her. To cherish that wand in such a way. To honor it. Tom picked the wand up in his signature hold, between his thumb, index, and middle fingers, keeping the other two fingers curled behind the magical focus as magic raced through the girls body.

It was practically divine.

The wand in his hnds was made of smoky blown glass, with runes etched along its surface. The grip was made by petrified owl feathers, which twisted around the lower inches of the wands body, before flaring out gently, like the petals of a flower. It was a beautiful wand… a true musicians weapon. Meticulously crafted and carved. This wand was one of a kind.

"Wunjo, Nauthiz… Uruz. Interesting." Tom ran a finger over the runes. "Such beauty… You will do well."

The wand shuddered as Tom turned it downwards. Walking to the center of the girls bedroom, he swished the focus carefully, knowing that any magic that was too powerful would be seen by the ministry, and knowing that he did not yet have complete control.

Relief spread through the horcrux's mind as the center of the room became a bit bigger. Tom waited, ministry owls took five minutes to be sent, in day or night.

Five minutes passed quietly. Tom grinned, the expression of wicked glee foreign on the face of his new body. Without wasting another moment, he took the wand and pulled it in a circle along the floor, drawing out the desired shape. With a few more flicks, runes became present around the circle. Tom held the wand in the palm of his hand and gave a hiss, causing the wand to spin and point at a closet door.

Within the closet was the girls potion supplies, which was perfect for this ritual. It was one to forcefully absorb the magic in a given area, and since the girl was muggleborn, the ritual would barely be noted by the ministry's ritual detectors. Of course, it would cost her all of her potion materials, and maybe a few live rats… but it would be worth it.

Tom quickly layed out what he would need. A rat (Which was needed. He just didn't know if he had to do the ritual more than once.) Absinthe, Ginseng, Acacia, Newt Eyes, Beetle Shells, and a strand of the girls own hair.

Surprisingly enough, the girl had a much more broad array of potion ingredients than he had expected. It was good, especially because it meant he could actually brew some potions when he needed.

Still, he had to act fast. The moon was rising in the sky, and the soul of the girl who's body he inhabited was growing restless. She wouldn't mind one bit of what he had planned for this evening.

Or maybe she would. But that wouldn't matter. He would be too powerful for her to resist.

As the moon grew high in it's cradle in the clouds, Tom brought the glass wand to the palm of the girls hand, and began the ritual.

—0—

Arthur Weasley sat up as a whistling echoed through his ministry office. In the chair next to his office door, Bill was slowly coming to, shaking his head in order to set his vision straight.

"Wha's 'at?"

"The DMD, it's going of Bill! It's a muggleborn to be sure. Goodness gracious. We'd better get a move on."

Bill stood up and caught the cloak that Arthur tossed his way, swinging it onto his shoulders in one fluid motion. "It's giving a direction?"

"Oh yes. With a reaction like this it's also bound to be close!" Arthur held up a square cut diamond, which spun at a rpid pace at the center of his palm while letting out a high pitched whistle. "Come now William! The artifact must be here in London!"

With a wave of his wand, the wall of the office melted away, and the two sprang from an old alley wall. With not a moments hesitation, they were off. Making their way north, towards the Horcrux of Lord Voldemort.

—0—

Tom grinned as the wand settled into his hand once more. This body was practically buzzing with power. Perhaps he was wrong… Maybe this girl could rival the other…

No matter. She was under his control. Now… he needed to enact his plan to gain a real body.

With a gentle push, the girls bedroom door slid open. He was rather jealous as he quietly snuck down the hallway, towards the staircase. He had never had a home like this. He had never had a family…

Something snapped his attention away from his thinking. There was light shining up from the staircase. He could hear the girls parents talking.

Creeping down the stairs, Tom stuck to the blind spots. As careful as could be, he leaned around the stair bannister and peeked into the kitchen.

"I'm worried about her Mark. She's so… withdrawn."

"We agreed that we would wait this next year out. Maybe she's just being challenged more?"

"It's like she isn't there… I don't recognize her some days." Hermione's mother sniffed. "Last week I found her mixing plants together with salt and some strange white powder, muttering creepily in latin as she looked out of the window."

"Perhaps we will speak to the headmaster then… he did say to talk to him if we had questions."

"That won't be necessary."

It caught the two adults off guard, to hear the voice of their daughter speaking so… melodically. He could see the way they froze as they heard him speak through her, none the wiser as to her possessed state.

"Hermione dear, what are you doing out of bed?" The girls father asked. Tom didn't answer, instead choosing to look between both of them.

"That's a beautiful tiara, dear." The girls mother smiled gently, trying to ascertain why she was awake so late at night. "Did you make it at Hogwarts?"

"I am not powerful enough to make something like this." Tom sighed. "It is a tool."

"A tool for what?" The father asked.

"For changing my past." Tom smiled, watching as the two were filled with fear. Their eyes widened and their faces went white as he raised the glass wand.

"Legillimense."

—0—

"It seems so… peaceful…"

Arthur shook the haze of clarity away. "It prepared… This is worse than I thought."

Bill nodded, rubbing his forehead as he shook the feelings away as his father had done. "Damn… that's strong."

"I remember that feeling… Damn… we were right about the ring…"

"The ring?"

"We had intel that a horcrux could have been hidden in the ancestral home of Voldemort… we found one, which I took care of. But there was this feeling. Back then, we dismissed it as wards, but now…"

"It's a compulsion…" Bill whispered. "One strong enough to make everyone around it feel calm."

"That way, it's easy for it to be taken, and worn…" Arthur sighed. "It has someone, there's no doubt about it."

"Do you think that-"

Bill was cut off as the front door of the house opened, and a little girl walked out, dragging a trunk behind her. The young mans father tensed beside him, and he let his wand fall discreetly into his hand.

The girl looked up, her eyes gleaming red in the night. "Oh… wizards?"

Arthur raised his wand. "The diadem Bill. Get it."

Bill raised his wand, just to be blasted back by a wave of force. He looked back to see the girl holding a wand made of glass.

"Not aurors then, Moody trains his better. Cursebreakers?" The girl raised an eyebrow as Arthur flicked his wand, wordlessly hurling a ball of pitch black magic towards the possesed body. It was a spell that made the back of Bills neck tingle. One he didn't recognize.

"Ah… now that is a particularly nasty spell… I see then. You did find Belatrix's then. Interesting." The girls lips twisted upwards. "Of course… Arthur Weasley! How could I forget your face."

"Twelve years you bastard, I never forgot those eyes." The man hissed, hurling two more spells from his wand.

"Strong… just how I remember. To this day you are one of the only ones to come close to me." The girl smiled, returning a spell of her own, which Arthur deflected.

"I remember what that one did to Peris. You think I would let it hit me?" Arthur spoke, stepping into a duelling stance. "You will go no further you abomination."

"Have at thee then."

Bill had never seen his father fight, though he had heard stories. His mother had always told him that his father learned the dark ways so that he wouldn't have to. He became a monster to kill monsters. He could never have imagined that he was like this.

Spells flowed from the mans wand faster than Bill had ever seen. Arthur twisted and stepped in a way that avoided each spell that was thrown his way, quickly closing the gap between himself and his opponent.

And the spells… each one wreaked havoc on the surroundings. A tree on the side of the road collapsed inward on itself. A part of the ground melted away with a hiss, and a nearby house burst into flames.

"CHARLIE! BRING UP PRIVACY WARDS AND MINIMIZE DAMAGES!" Arthur shouted, firing a number of stunning spells in a random order as he backpedaled. The girl chuckled from within a cyclone of shadows, twisting the night into a curtain around herself.

"You couldn't beat me then Weasley, what makes you so certain that you can beat me now?"

"You have sat doing nothing for twelve years!" Arthur roared, smoke flowing from his wand and turning into a massive spider. "I have only gotten stronger."

For the first time since the fight began, the horcrux began backpedaling, having no spells that would del with whatever Arthur had summoned.

"What magic is this…"

Arthur bared his teeth in a feral grin, which cast his face in shadow as the area around him burned. "Even if it wasn't yours, I found a Horcrux."

The girls eyes widened, before gleaming as she conjured a deep purple shield. The spider smashed into it and crumbled to ash.

"How…"

"Bellatrix's spells can be countered." The horcrux grinned. "Now, my turn!"

Artur hastily erected a shield as a dozen curses flew at him at once. The girl twirled the wand in her hand so fast that it sang on the air. Bill shouted as one slipped past his father defenses and hit him, spinning him around one hundred and eighty degrees, which in turn shattered the concentration that fueled his shield, allowing a curse to nail him right in the bac of the head.

The horcrux grinned and set its sights on Bill. "Your turn."

Bill stumbled back, managing to dodge several curses before one struck his wand hand. He hissed as he dropped his wand, his skin withering away before his very eyes.

"Painful, isn't it…" The girl spoke from above him. Bill wasn't even aware he had fallen to his knees, nor was he aware he was screaming. "It's a spell I found in the libraries of Alexandria. You know how they hid the library just as they did ther wizarding alleys of course… It withers the skin and spreads through the body. You have at most, three days to live. Of course… you'd have more if you knew the correct spells… or had my right hand."

Bill continued to scream as his arm continued to wither. The horcrux shrugged. "Oh well. A waste of what could have been… I will spare your suffering."

The tip of the girls wand glowed green, before she was blasted away by a wave of force.

"You stay away from my son."

Arthur Weasley stoon, blood dripping from his mouth, his hand outstretched.

"Wandless magic? Impressive." The horcrux rose back to its feet. "But your son is dying. How long do you think he will last?"

Arthur grit his teeth. "Accio Bill Weasley."

The young man was yanked over to his father, who waved a hand over his arm. The withering slowed to a crawl and Bills screams turned to wimpers.

"Get up son." Arthur spoke hoarsely, spitting out a glob of blood.

Bill rose to his feet, clutching his arm. "We have to run dad…"

"If we run, then he will come back."

"Bold of you to assume I'd let you run." The girl smirked, raising her wand.

Arthur looked between the girl and his eldest son. "Bill… Go back to the Burrow."

Bill blinked. "What?"

"The burrow. Tell Molly what happened. Go to the attic." Arthur nodded. He could see his wand on the ground, but picking it up would leave him open, even done witha summoning charm. "It can fix you, and if it can't… Ron can."

Bill blinked. "Ron?"

"Do not underestimate your brother, Bill. Oh, Molly will despise him… but he has a gift."

The horcrux cast a series of spells, which Arthur quickly deflected, throwing Bill behind him. "GO! Tell Molly I'm sorry. Tell them all… I love them."

"I'm not leaving you."

Arthur winced as his shield buckled. "I'm sorry son…"

With a flick of his hand, the shield fell, and his wand flew into his sons jacket. Bill's eyes widened. "NO!"

"I love you bill. Portus."

The wand glowed blue, and so did Bill, before he was whisked away by magic. Arthur turned hgis attention back to the Horcrux, raising his hand to the dark soul.

"Have at thee."

And the world went dark.

—0—

Merlot woke up in a sweat, her heart racing. A flicker of movement caught her eye and she whipped around, wand sailing into her hand.

"Woah!" Scortwit caught her hand, his wand lighting. "Hey… you're okay. I'm here."

Merlot nodded, her heart still pounding. "Where… where's Charlie."

Scortwit sighed. "He got news from his family. Something has happened."

Merlot winced. "I know…"

"You do?"

"The connection… it's there. Just like with Quirrell…" Merlot shook her head. "I know what happened."

"You know what happened?" Scortwit sat down on her bedside.

"I saw it through his eyes. It was him… Charlie's brother was injured, and his father… his father is gone."

Scortwit sighed, rubbing his temples. "This doesn't bode well… I have half a mind to pull you from Hogwarts."

"Please… don't do that." Merlot wetted her lips. "Could I just have a drink of water?"

Scorwtit frowned, but nodded. "Yes, you can. Would you like to come and get it? We can sit by a fire?"

"I would like that…" Merlot nodded.

"I would like that a lot."

—0—

Okay, once again, I apologize for the time it took to get this out, and sorry for ny grammar mistakes. We finally have the start of everything, and it will continue to build as we go.

That is of course, until the chamber.

So of course, leave a review, even if it's correcting my grammar or telling me how i need to update more. They keep me going.

Until next time, Adios.