“Of course, he was probably the most brilliant student Hogwarts has ever seen.� – Albus Dumbledore

---

“Grew up in a small town

And when the rain would fall down

I just stared out my window

Dreaming of what could be

And if I end up happy

I would pray

Trying not to reach out

But when I’d try to speak out

Felt like no one could hear me . . .

…So I pray

I could breakaway.�

---

July 13th, 1938,

Dear Diary,

My name is Miriam Riddle and I'm ten and a half years old. I have shoulder length, jet-black hair and green eyes, as does my brother, Tom. If it wasn’t for the fact that I’m a girl and he’s a boy, we would look almost identical (except his hair is much shorter than mine). Personally I hate having dark hair, green eyes and fair skin. I really don’t think it’s very becoming, but my ultimate complaint is that I’m a bit on the short side, unlike Tom who’s kind of tall for his age.



For as long as we can remember, we’ve lived here at Madame Westyn’s Home for Orphaned Children. Mme. Westyn has made it a point to tell us often (to anger us), that our mother died shortly after giving birth to us and that she lived only long enough to name us. This riles Tom up to the point of him having a vicious confrontation with her.


As for our father, we don't even know if he is alive or not. Whenever we ask Madame Westyn about him, she always changes the subject. We know not to press our luck and keep asking her, as she is very authoritarian and commanding and would no doubt punish us. Her favorite form of punishment is making us go two weeks without dinner. Luckily, neither Tom nor I have done anything to receive such an infliction (in a while at least). One of her other prize punishments is making us girls practice the harp... I deeply detest playing it. Other than that, I really don't have much more to write about. Nothing interesting ever happens here at Madame Westyn's.



It was a hot and uncomfortable summer night, just as every other day that summer had been, and that day was no different. Every day seemed like deja vu, ending and beginning the same. Unbeknownst to them, things would be changing soon... especially in the lives of two current residents.



Inside the brick, two-story orphanage situated just outside the small town of Little Hangleton, sat a small girl on her bed looking out onto the large moonlit lawn.



Taking a deep sigh, she focused her attention back to writing in her brand-new diary. Although technically it wasn't completely new - it had a few tears in its leather cover- it was still new to Miriam. She found it earlier that evening sitting atop a pile of old newspapers that would have been trashed the very next morning. Snatching it, she tucked it inside her shirt and snuck it back up into the girl’s side of the orphanage.



She made sure the other girls in her dorm were asleep; then, she took the diary out from inside her shirt and opened it up. The blank white pages inside showed no signs of use. They would be perfect for her to write in. Quietly grabbing a pencil from inside her bedside table, she began writing - or at least, she tried. Not one idea was coming to her as she sat there gazing at the blank pages, trying hard to think of something to write. She thought of writing about her day, but decided against it as she and her brother generally lived very boring lives at Madame Westyn's. Furrowing her forehead, she racked her brain trying to think of something to write. Finally, she decided to write the date down: ‘July 13th, 1938'. As if by magic, something clicked inside her head... she would write about herself, her brother, and her life.



Suddenly words came pouring out of her faster than she could write them down. When she stopped, she looked at what she had just written and sighed again. Realizing it was very late, she tucked her book underneath her pillow and laid back. Before she went to sleep, she closed her eyes and prayed her nightly prayer that she and her brother’s life would change and they could leave the orphanage forever.



Little did Miriam know, someone would answer her prayers so that her and her brother's life would soon change within a matter of days.

---

July 15th, 1938,

I received a very strange letter today. Normally, getting mail isn't anything spectacular to write about. Yet, seeing as how I never get mail, I thought it was weird. Who would be writing to me? Yet, what was even stranger was that the envelope had no return address.

---



Miriam awoke that morning to find a snowy white owl pecking at her window. She gazed out it and saw the beautiful white bird carrying a letter in its beak. She sat up and gently opened the window, in hopes of not waking the others.



I must be dreaming, she thought groggily. Yet, she wasn’t dreaming. The owl sailed over her bed and dropped the letter in her lap. As it turned to face her, it let out a small screech before flying off into the morning sky. Picking up the letter that it gave her, she turned it over and read:



Miss Miriam E. Riddle

The bed by the window

Madame Westyn's Home for Orphaned Children

Little Hangleton



She turned it back over and looked at the strange crest stamped onto the flap of the envelope. “Hogwarts?� she muttered, raising her eyebrows. Opening the envelope with her finger, she pulled out the letter inside.



Hogwarts School

of Witchcraft and Wizardry

Headmaster: Armando Dippet

(Order of Merlin, Second Class, Chf. Warlock)



Dear Miss Riddle,

We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.



Term begins on September 1. We await your owl by no later than July 31.

Yours sincerely,

Albus Dumbledore,

Deputy Headmaster



Miriam had to read the letter twice. Obviously, this was someone’s idea of a cruel joke.



Really, she scoffed. Hogwarts? Witchcraft? Wizardry?



It just didn’t make any sense. Folding the letter back into the envelope, she tucked it underneath her pillow to hide it. She didn't want Madame Westyn to find it, or any of the other girls for that matter. She didn't trust the other girls one bit, as they would have squealed to Madame Westyn if they saw it. Miriam shuddered at the thought of their daunting headmistress discovering the letter. She would have severely punished Miriam for having something like that in her possession, as she had made it quite known that she disapproved of magic of any kind.



~*~



Later that morning after breakfast, Miriam’s brother, Tom, pulled her over into a vacant hallway. His hands were shaking and he looked scared as he pulled something out from his pant’s pocket. It looked vaguely familiar, and then she realized what it was... the Hogwarts letter! He must have gotten one, too, she thought.



"Look what I got this morning," he exclaimed, motioning at the envelope and trying to keep his voice down. Miriam took the letter and glanced at it.



"I got one of these too," she replied. "A pretty white owl delivered mine to me this morning. Personally, I think this is all just a hoax."



"I don't know about that," Tom whispered uncertainly. "Look here." He pulled out his letter and written at the bottom in small print read, “A Ministry employee will pay you a brief visit on July 15th."



"Oh my!" Miriam exclaimed. Realizing she had raised her voice, she quickly lowered it and said, "Someone is going to be coming here regarding this letter... TODAY!"



"Bloody hell!" Tom exclaimed. "What should we do?�



Before Miriam could reply, a familiar white-haired figure, wearing wire-rimmed glasses stood before them. It was Madame Westyn. She had a stern look on her round, pudgy face as she addressed them. "Tom, Miriam,� she announced darkly, “please come to my office at once." They looked at each other and gulped. They just knew that they were going to be in loads of trouble.



With an acid feeling settling in their stomachs, they reluctantly followed Madame Westyn to her office -- which to them, felt like they were being led to some kind of death sentence. She opened the door and led them inside her insipid and uninspired main office.



"Mr. Nott, this is Tom and Miriam Riddle. Children, this is Mr. Nott... from the Ministry," she announced with great disdain in her voice as she sat behind her desk. Mr. Nott stood up from the chair in which he was sitting and went to shake the children's hands. He had darkish brown hair which was slowly turning gray in some spots and was wearing a weird, loose-fitting outfit.



"It’s a robe," he chuckled, observing Miriam's strange glances at his clothes. "It’s a pleasure to meet you two. I'm Samuel Nott, but you may call me Sam for short," he said with a friendly smile on his face. Tom and Miriam both nervously replied "Hello" back to him.



"I'm going to assume that you've both received your letters, then?" he asked taking his seat again.



"You... you mean this one?" Tom shakily asked, pulling out the Hogwarts letter from his pocket.



"Yes, that would be the one. I presume you received yours as well, Miriam?"



She glanced anxiously between Sam and Madame Westyn, deciding what to say before grudgingly replying with a "Yes." Madame Westyn shook her head disapprovingly, but with all her might, remained very quiet. Nobody said anything for a few seconds, leaving the room in an uncomfortable silence.



"I'm going to guess that you two probably have loads of questions, seeing as you were raised around Muggles and all," Sam remarked, breaking the silence in the room.



"Is this a joke?" Miriam finally asked.



"What are 'Muggles'?" Tom added.



"What is Hogwarts?"



"Okay," Sam replied, holding up one hand. "One question at a time, please. First off, no, this isn't a joke. Secondly, a Muggle is simply someone who ceases to posess any magical ability. Thirdly, Hogwarts is the greatest school of witchcraft in the world. It's where you’ll be going once we’ve taken care of all the necessary details.� Sam chuckled, and with a wry smile he added, "When I was first given the assignment, they told me the two kids I was going to be in charge of were named Riddle. Thinking back, I really didn't believe it would be you two."



Tom and Miriam looked at him inquisitively. “What do you mean by that?� they asked as one.



Sam opened his mouth to reply, but at that same moment Madame Westyn interrupted him.



"You know, I do believe that an agreement was made when the children were born, in case this little... eventuality should come about.� Sam looked at Madame Westyn then at the two Riddle kids who were extremely curious and eyeing him intently.



"Yes... I do remember hearing something about that agreement," he replied, rubbing his chin. "It was all the talk in the Ministry when it first came about ten years ago. I had only recently begun working there, so any classified Ministry information like that was generally kept from me. Nevertheless, as the years went by, I did find out more about it."



"Find out about what?" Miriam asked. "What type of arrangement was made when we were born?�



Madame Westyn sat up stiff in her chair before speaking. “I am not at liberty to divulge specific details about the circumstances of your births. However, I can say is that if the time came when you two would receive your... letters, I would receive payment for it and they would pay your tuition to that... school, as well."



"You... you mean you knew about us being different all along?" Miriam enquired, completely taken aback. Madame Westyn inhaled deeply and remained deathly quiet, but they could see a deep look of vexation in her eyes. Sensing the slight hostility in the room, Sam cleared his throat and stood up. "I guess this settles everything for now. Would you two like to come to Diagon Alley with me tomorrow?"



"What is Diagon Alley?" Tom asked.



"Diagon Alley is where you'll find all the things you’ll need for going to Hogwarts. Robes, wands, cauldrons, spell books, and all sorts of other things," Sam answered.



Robes? Wands? Cauldrons? Spell books?



"But we don't have any money to buy these things," Tom stated.



"Not to worry," Sam continued with another chuckle. "We’ll take care of everything in due course of time. That is if Madame Westyn will allow you two to go, of course."



They glanced over at Madame Westyn who was busy scribbling something on a piece of paper and muttering to herself every so often.



"Fine, fine. Whatever," she replied briskly, waving her free hand swiftly in the air. Miriam tried to see what her headmistress was writing, but she couldn't make it out.



“Just one other question, please,� Miriam asked, turning to face Sam.



“Certainly,� he replied.



“This new gift of ours, did we inherit this from our parents?�



“Only from your mother, I’m afraid,� he answered solemnly. Miriam merely nodded and watched as Sam waved good-bye to them and left the office.

---

A/N: Music lyrics used above are from the song "Breakaway" by Kelly Clarkson

July 16th, 1938,
Sam is coming here again today. He will be taking us to Diagon Alley to help us buy our school things. This is quite exciting, I must say.

Tom is nervous about going, I can tell. He keeps pacing the main entranceway, waiting for Sam to arrive. I am nervous, too, but I find writing helps me calm my nerves. The other kids are becoming suspicious of us, wondering what we're up to, but Mme. Westyn made us promise not to say anything to them about our recently discovered abilities. She said she would 'take care of everything'.

--

Sam arrived at the orphanage at a quarter past ten that morning. He had just sprinted through the massive front lawn and was quite significantly out of breath when he reached the kids.

"I'm very sorry about being late, but I had to make a quick stop at the Ministry before coming here," he panted. "Are... Are you two ready to go then?" he gasped as he slowly regained his composure. Tom and Miriam nodded.

"Let's be on our way, then."

It was a hot and uncomfortable summer day. No sooner had they reached the middle of the lawn, they had already broken into perspiration.

"Wow, it sure is hot today," Miriam sighed, wiping the beads of sweat forming on her brow with the back of her hand. Up ahead Tom sauntered off, proud of the fact that soon they wouldn’t be living under Madame Westyn’s roof for nine whole glorious months. Luckily, relief from the head was nearby; sitting in the driveway was a large black car.

"We'll be traveling in this today," Sam announced.

He opened the back door and Miriam and Tom climbed into the backseat. Boy, was it was roomy! What was even more inviting was that it felt so good to be out of the agonizing heat.

Once he made sure they were comfortably seated in the back, Sam got in the drivers side and started the car. Tom and Miriam looked out the windows and watched the orphanage get smaller and smaller as they drove away.

"Where are we going?" Tom probed as Sam sped down the narrow, dirt road.

"To London," he replied cheerfully.

"But I thought we were heading to Diagon Alley?" Tom wondered aloud, fidgeting in his seat slightly.

"We are, but to get to Diagon Alley, we have to go through London," he answered. "You may not know this, but many things in the wizarding world are neatly hidden inside the Muggle world, unbeknownst to them."

"How do Muggles keep from finding these places, then?"

"It's quite simple really. Anti-Muggle charms and spells are used. If a Muggle gets too close to a wizard place, the spell will make the Muggle suddenly remember a doctor’s appointment he had, although he never had one with which to begin. They'll leave the place and eventually forget all about it. Even Hogwarts has charms on it. To an outsider it just looks like an old, abandoned and ramshackle castle, while inside it’s an altogether different story."

Tom remained quiet for a moment before asking, “How much longer is it to London?"

"Er, about two hours, give or take."

Bursting with anxiety, those two hours seemed like eternity to Tom and Miriam. When they finally reached the city, they sat up in their seats. This was the first time they had ever seen London up close and they wanted to get a good view of it. All the tall buildings, the sights, and the sounds – it was simply amazing to them! For most of the trip through the city, their faces were glued to the windows.

"We'll be there before long," Sam noted, reading the impatience on each of the children’s faces. "Only if it weren't for this bloody traffic," he muttered darkly. Eventually he drove down a busy street and parked the car.

"Why are we stopping here?" a befuddled Miriam asked as the car had now stopped in front of a dilapidated building.

"You'll see," he replied simply. The three of them got out of the car and walked up to the boarded-up door.

Sam looked around over his shoulder, and upon seeing that nobody was paying any attention to him or the kids, he pulled out his wand and tapped it on the door. Slowly it began to creak open... Tom and Miriam stared at the door, each wondering what was on the other side of it.
"C'mon in, you two," he beamed, waving his hand at them. They slowly walked through the darkened doorway and into...

"Ouch! Tom, you klutz! You just stepped on my foot!" yelped Miriam.

"Hey! It’s not like I can see where I'm going!"

"Are you kids okay?" Sam asked.

"Fine," Miriam muttered.

Up ahead, a dim, yellowish light reflected off the walls beside them. They could barely see Sam as they continued moving along the dark corridor, the dim light slowly getting brighter as they went on. Eventually they could see the outline of Sam much more clearly. He walked through another doorway and into a large cavernous room.

"Welcome to The Leaky Cauldron!" he announced grandly. The children looked around in awe.

On that particular day, the place was brimming with people. In some spots, there was hardly any room for the people to move around.

"Wow," squeaked Tom. "By the looks of it, it seems like everyone else picked today to do their school shopping, as well," he noted, observing people walking by and carrying bags brimming with all sorts of things in their hands. Further in the Leaky Cauldron stood a man with grayish hair wiping out a glass mug behind the counter. The bartender looked up to see who had just entered the pub. A smile crept onto his face when he saw who it was.

"Hello Sam!" he exclaimed jovially.

"Why, hello, Xavier," he replied. Sam turned to face the children and said, "I'll be back in a bit, I promise. If you two want to go exploring, go ahead, but just don't go outside." With a quick pat on their backs, he headed over to see his friend, Xavier. Deciding to follow his advice, the two kids went about exploring this new and interesting place.

"I see the Ministry has you babysitting now," Xavier joked as Sam joined him at the counter.

"Very funny, Xavier," Sam replied with a grin on his face. "I'm just helping these kids get ready for Hogwarts. Say, do you remember a Marguerite Morreaux?� he whispered the last part, nodding his head back at Tom and Miriam.

“You mean those children,� Xavier questioned, nudging his head in Tom and Miriam's direction, "are related to her?" Sam nodded his head in agreement.

“I've heard through the grapevine that their mother was a descendant of one of the four Hogwarts founders. Salazar Slytherin, I believe."

"Marguerite? Really?" Xavier gasped. "I never would have imagined her to be related to Slytherin. Such a delightful and smart lady she was. Quite skilled at Legilimency, too," he sighed. "Don’t know what she ever saw in the retched Muggle. Heard rumors he wasn’t a very pleasant person."

Sam nodded again. “Naturally, I was completely shocked to hear that she had passed away, but I never knew she left behind two newborn children... until recently, of course." Xavier shook his head forlornly.

"I assume they’ve been living with their father, then?" he asked.

As Sam opened his mouth to speak, a loud crashing sound came from behind them. "Abby, how could you?" a woman exclaimed from across the room. Sam and Xavier whirled around and saw a teenage girl with bright red hair standing next to a broken jug on the floor.

"I'm so sorry. It just slipped out of my hands," the girl replied.

An older woman, with red hair, as well, pulled out her wand and pointed it at the broken jug. "Reparo." The broken shards flew into the air and placed themselves back together. A few tables down from where this took place, Miriam watched the fiasco with extreme amazement. She couldn't believe her eyes when she saw the broken jug was whole again.

"Tom, isn't the wizarding world simply amazing?" she asked. After a few moments with no response, she grew worried. "Right, Tom?" She turned around and saw he wasn't there. "Tom?" she called out. Looking around, she spotted Tom on the other side of the pub. "There you are!" she exclaimed, running over to meet him. "I was talking to you, or at least I thought I was! I thought you were still with me."

"Sorry, Miriam, I just wanted to look at these posters here." He pointed to a bunch of 'Wanted: Dead or Alive' posters hanging haphazardly on the wall. “Besides,� he quipped, “I thought you were quite good at talking to yourself.�

Miriam slapped him upside the head. "Ha, ha, ha," she retorted sarcastically.

"Seriously, though, I just heard something really interesting while I was over here," Tom began, leaning closer to Miriam, his eyes aglow with excitement. "Apparently -"

"There you two are!" Sam exclaimed, suddenly appearing behind Miriam. "I best be going now, Xavier," he said facing his friend. "Got a busy day ahead of me."

After saying good-bye, he led the two kids out into a small, grassy courtyard behind the pub. Tom never got a chance to tell Miriam what he found so fascinating.

"Prepare to be amazed, young lad and lassie," Sam told them as he walked up to a large brick wall. He pulled his wand out and tapped on the bricks. Magically they began to shift around, eventually forming a brick archway. Just ahead, on the other side of the archway, was a small town where all sorts of witches and wizards were drifting about.

"Welcome to Diagon Alley," he announced. Tom and Miriam slowly walked under the stone archway and into the hustle and bustle of Diagon Alley. Tom and Miriam’s mouths were gaping open as they looked around at the different stores. There were so many places to go to, neither of them knew where to begin.

"Before we embark on our journey, we’ll need to stop and get some money," Sam stated. "So, our first stop today will be Gringott’s."

"What is Gringotts?" asked Miriam.

"Gringotts is a wizard’s bank. Unlike your Muggle banks, Gringotts is run entirely by goblins. No safer place to store your valuables as one would have to be really foolish to try and rob them. Goblins are very territorial when it comes to gold... they’ve been known to get extremely violent over it," Sam replied. Tom and Miriam exchanged apprehensive glances.

As Sam lead them through Diagon Alley, Miriam tried to imagine what Gringott’s would be like. She was uneasy about going, but a part of her was fascinated by the thought of meeting a goblin. She had never seen one before, except in books.

Once inside the bank, Miriam looked around, taking in the view. “Look at all the goblins,� she whispered in astonishment to Tom, whose eyes were just as wide as hers.

"I sure wouldn’t want to anger any of them,� he answered quietly, eyeing them intently as they walked by.

Up ahead at one of the counters, Sam was already in conversation with a goblin. “I would like to make a withdraw from the Riddle vault," he said, groping around inside his robe pocket, eventually pulling out something small and shiny. "I have the key for it right here." He placed it on the desk in front of the goblin.

“Follow me, please,� the goblin said in a monotonous voice.

Miriam looked over at Tom. "We have our own vault?!" she whispered, taken by surprise. Tom shrugged. He was speechless. The goblin stepped down from behind the desk and led them into a room barely lit by the lantern.

"Please board the trolley and keep your arms tucked inside." Sam boarded the train, but Miriam and Tom held back.

"We're supposed to go on that?" Tom demanded, pointing at the trolley.

"Yes," Sam declared. "This is how we get to your vault." Reluctantly, Tom got on board, followed by an uncertain Miriam. The last to get on was the goblin.

"Please stay seated while the trolley is moving."

The trolley slowly lurked along until... "Hold on for dear life, kids!" Sam ordered. The trolley had picked up speed and was sailing through the dark cave at an exceptionally fast pace.

"Wicked!" Tom exclaimed. He was obviously enjoying the ride, but Miriam on the other hand thought differently.

Please don't let me get sick, she begged. She slumped down in her seat, hoping the ride would be over with before long. Luckily for her, it ended almost instantly. Unfortunately, when the goblin pulled the lever to stop the trolley, Sam, Tom, and Miriam went tumbling forward in it.

"Here we are," the goblin announced. "Vault one hundred and fifty."

Sam got off the trolley first, followed by Tom. "That was an incredible ride!" exclaimed Tom. "Wasn't it, Miriam?" He turned around and saw Miriam slowly crawling out of the trolley.

"Don't even say it," she said briskly as she walked by him.

Tom just gave her a big, sly grin. "Moi?" he asked innocently. Fortunately, she had her back to him as she rolled her eyes and uttered a sigh.

"Here you go, sir," spoke the goblin. The goblin had opened the vault door and sitting inside was a mountainous heap of gold coins. The way the light from the goblin’s lantern reflected off of the gold made it even more beautiful to behold. As Tom and Miriam stared at it, their jaws nearly hit the floor. They had gold... piles and piles of it. For being unwanted orphans, they were very well off.

"Bet you guys didn't know you were that wealthy, huh?" Sam asked.
He took a small bag out from inside his gray robe and started filling it with the gold coins. "This should suit the purpose," he said once he filled the bag a good amount of the way up. Sam made his way back over to the trolley and sat down, Tom and Miriam closely following behind him.
The trolley sped up, but Miriam didn't flinch. Her mind was still preoccupied on the vault filled with gold. She was a very wealthy little girl... a wealthy orphaned little girl.

They eventually made their way back outside into the bright, but very hot, summer day. "We've got a lot of places to go to today,� Sam announced. “Are you two up for the trek?� The kids nodded.

For a great deal of the day, Sam, Tom, and Miriam ran around Diagon Alley purchasing the required things they needed for Hogwarts. As a special surprise for them, Sam had bought them each an owl as an "early birthday gift."

The last thing on the list they needed to buy was a wand.

"You'll need to go to Ollivander's for that," Sam told them. He took them over to Ollivander's shop and led them inside. “If you don't mind, I'll just be waiting outside," he told them. Sam left the shop, but stood next to a window so Tom and Miriam could still see him.

"Hello," a strange voice called out. They turned around and saw an older gentleman coming out from the back. He had dark grayish hair and large, gazing eyes. "How may I help you two?"

"We need to buy a wand," Miriam answered.

"Are you right handed or left?" he asked.

"Right." Both Tom and Miriam replied in unison.

The tape measure began to move magically as it measured Miriam and Tom's arm length. When it was done, it fell to a heap on the floor and the man headed into the back. He returned a few minutes later carrying a dozen or so boxes in his arms. He opened one of them and handed a dark colored wand to Miriam.

"This is fourteen and a quarter inches. It's made of rose wood and its core is from the mane of a unicorn," he said. Miriam took the wand from him and looked at it. "Give it a wave," he advised her. She flicked her wrist and a cold burst of air came through.

"Hmm, not that wand," he muttered to himself. He placed the wand back in it's box and handed her another one. "This one is a combination of cherry and maple wood. Thirteen and a quarter inches and with dragons’ heartstring for a core."

Miriam took this wand and gave it a wave. A large stack of books fell off a nearby counter. "Erm... not quite... try this one," he said. "It's red cedar and oak, twelve and a quarter inches. This one is made with a phoenix feather."

The moment her hand touched this one, a soft, warming sensation went through her body. A gentle breeze blew and gleaming white sparks shot out of the wand. "I believe this is the right one for you," he smiled at her. He took her wand and wrapped it up to protect it. When he finished, he turned to face Tom.

"This is fourteen inches, made of mahogany, with a unicorn hair for the center." Tom took the wand and gave it a wave, but nothing happened. "Try this one," he told him. "It's fifteen inches, made of ebony, and made with a phoenix talon core." Tom gave it a wave and a burst of energy shot through the store, knocking over some empty wand boxes.

"No, alright," Mr. Ollivander said. He went to put it away when he saw that he had another box that hadn’t been opened. No, he thought. Not that one, unless...

He handed Tom the other wand, and just like Miriam's, a warm sensation ran through him, but then suddenly turned icy cold as greenish colored sparks flew out. The man looked at Tom intently. "Interesting," he said. "That is a yew wand, thirteen and a half inches and made with a phoenix feather center."

"Like Miriam’s?" Tom asked.

"Yes... and no," he replied. "You both have a phoenix feather in your wands, but the phoenix feather in your sister's wand came from a different bird than what’s in yours."

The man took the yew wand and wrapped it up like he had done with Miriam's. Miriam gave the man the required amount of money to buy the wands. After they purchased them, Tom and Miriam went outside and met back up with Sam.

"Did everything go okay in there?" he asked. Tom and Miriam nodded.

"I got a red cedar and Tom got a yew wand," she replied.

"Yeah, and we’ve both got a phoenix feather core... whatever that’s for," Tom added.

"The phoenix feathers are your wands’ power source,� Sam explained. "You know, before we go I'd like to treat you guys to an ice cream sundae from Fortescue's over there. She makes the best ice cream sundaes around.� He guided them over to Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor and ordered three of her famous ice cream sundaes.

~*~

"Thank you very much for the ice cream," Miriam said once they had finished eating a little while later.

"Yes, thanks," Tom added.

"You're both very welcome," he replied. "I kind of figured orphanage food probably doesn’t taste very good."

“No, it doesn’t. I imagine that cardboard would taste better than what Madame Westyn serves us,� Tom quipped. Miriam spit out the bit of ice cream she had in her mouth and laughed.

After Sam paid for the three sundaes, they left Diagon Alley and the exciting wizarding world behind. Tom and Miriam were soon back to their uninteresting, unexciting, and just generally unhappy lives at the orphanage. Neither one could wait to leave to go to Hogwarts. The thought of a Madame Westyn-free nine months was almost intoxicating.

Miriam glanced at Tom, and a devious smile slowly crept onto her face. Tom understood what she was thinking and returned the sly grin.

~*~

Over a month had passed and soon the big day had finally come for them to go to Hogwarts. Tom and Miriam waited with bated breath by the entryway windows, watching for that oh-so-familiar black car to come and take them away. Before they knew it, they saw him pulling up in front of the orphanage.

"How exactly do we get there?" Miriam probed as they drove through London.

"From Kings' Crossing. From there, you’ll board the train from platform nine and three-quarters," Sam replied.

"Nine and three-quarters?" Tom repeated incredulously. "There's no such thing as that!"

"You'll see when we get there," Sam replied with a smile.

He drove them to the station, then helped unload their suitcases from the car into separate trolleys. "Follow me," he instructed them. He led the children through the station until he came to a brick wall separating platforms nine and ten. Sam looked around and saw that no one was nearby.

"The trick," he began, "is to pass through this wall. It'll take you right into platform nine and three-quarters.� After that, he gave the children their trolleys. "If you're concerned about going through, you can always get a bit of a running start."

Miriam took a few steps backwards, making sure to give herself a good distance for running. "First, make sure nobody is around," Sam instructed. Miriam looked behind her and to both her sides; there was no one in sight. Taking a deep breath, she got a firm grip of the trolley and ran straight for the brick wall. A normal person who might have witnessed this would have wondered if this ten-year-old girl was completely mental for running into a solid brick wall.

Running through the wall felt like she was treading through water.When she emerged on the other side, she saw there were crowds of people around.

Pushing her trolley onward, she made her way through the multitude of people and eventually stopped in front of the massive train.The Hogwarts Express, she said aloud in her mind, reading the name plaque on the train. She took in all of the sites and sounds, watching as people breezed by her in differently colored robes.

C'mon, Tom, where are you? Suddenly a familiar voice called out her name. Tom was coming through the same way she had, pushing his own trolley. Following closely behind him was Sam.

"Now, children, I cannot follow you onto the train so we'll have to depart here," Sam said, with a hint of unhappiness in his voice. "Make sure you take your suitcases and owls on the train with you, but don't worry about taking them off. Someone will pick them up and make sure they're delivered right to you."

"Good-bye, Sam," Miriam squeaked.

"We'll miss you," Tom added.

"I'll miss you both, too," Sam replied. "It was nice meeting you, kids."

He gave each a brief hug and was off on his way. Together, Tom and Miriam wheeled their trolleys around to the front of the train. Picking up their suitcases and the cages that held their owls, they boarded the Hogwarts Express, ready to embark on the new and exciting part of their lives.

"Change is the constant, the signal for rebirth, the egg of the phoenix." - Christina Baldwin

---

"A new day...
I was waiting for so long
For a miracle to come
Everyone told me to be strong
Hold on and don't shed a tear..."

---

September 1st, 1938,
This is my first night here at Hogwarts. It's quite a chilling place - all dark and gloomy - not to mention that with all the twists and turns, one can become very lost. On top of it, we had to take a scary boat ride over the lake to get here, but overall, it is much, much better than being in that retched orphanage.

So far I don't know how Tom is handling the change, as we got sorted into different houses. I was sorted into Gryffindor, and he into Slytherin.

Here is my account of what happened during the sorting ceremonies: They ordered all of us First years to stand in front of the Great Hall, and when they called your name, you'd walk up to where an old stool and a decrepit hat waited. A wizard with auburn hair began placing the hat on the students, in which it would call out a house for each of them.

As the wizard read the students names off the list alphabetically, I knew it would take awhile for Tom and I to get called, so we patiently waited. He whispered into my ear how he hoped the hat placed him in a "respectable" house.

Eventually they made their way to the "R's" and we knew our turn would be coming up momentarily. His odd comment still befuddled me as I heard my name being called....

--

"Riddle, Miriam," the wizard announced. A small girl with long dark hair made her way up to the chair and the wizard placed the tattered hat on her head, the brim of it slipping down past her eyes. The hat began to speak in her ear...

"Hmm, interesting, yes. An intelligent one, I see... yet, also brave. Hmm... difficult, very difficult... Where should I place you? Better be..."
"GRYFFINDOR!" it shouted aloud.

The auburn-haired wizard took the hat off her head as she ran over to the Gryffindor house table. Everyone there gave her a small round of applause as she took her seat among her new fellow house mates.
Once she settled in, the ceremony recommenced.

"Riddle, Thomas," the old wizard called out as he continued to read aloud from the long parchment he held in his hands. Miriam turned around in her seat and watched as her brother got up onto the stool and the hat was placed on his head.

"Not a bad mind... but a need to prove yourself," the old hat muttered into his ear. After that, it said nothing more for an exceedingly long time, only mumbling a few "hmms" occasionally. Tom's lips appeared to be moving, as if he were talking to the hat.

I wish I could read lips, she thought.

Finally, after an excruciatingly long time, the hat spoke again to him. "There's only one choice for you, then... "
"SLYTHERIN!" it yelled out, echoing around the Great Hall.

Cheers went up from the Slytherin table as Tom made his way over to them. Miriam was stunned. She was so sure her brother would be placed in the same house as herself. Being in a strange new place, she didn't want to be separated from her only remaining family. Sighing, she stayed quiet throughout the rest of the sorting ceremony.

When the hat finished sorting the rest of the First years, the feast began. All the other First years seated at her table were clamoring around and making noise - all except Miriam. One Fifth year girl sitting across from Miriam noticed how extremely quiet she was.

"Are you alright?" enquired a girl with long red hair, which she wore in a braid. Miriam looked up at the girl and merely nodded.

"I was hoping I wouldn't have to be separated from my brother."

The red headed girl looked around the table and scratched her chin. "Was your brother Thomas Riddle? The one whom the Sorting Hat put into... Slytherin?" she asked, scrunching up her nose.

Miriam nodded again and inquired, "I wonder why would the hat sort us into different houses?"

"I don't know," the red-haired girl replied. "The Sorting Hat must have seen something in your brother in order to place him in Slytherin. Poor thing."

"What do you mean by 'poor thing'?"

The girl leaned in closer to Miriam and whispered, "Slytherins don't get along that great with us Gryffindors... or any other house for that matter. Slythern House has a bit of a reputation for turning out the most dark wizards ever." Miriam gulped. This was not what she wanted to hear... her brother being influenced by the dark side.

"By the way, my name's Abby. Abby Bones. What's yours?" she asked cheerfully, changing the subject.

"Miriam Riddle."

"This person," Abby said pointing over to a boy stuffing his face with food, "this gluttonous creature here is Peter Longbottom. He and I are school Prefects, which is just a fancy term for school monitors. If you have questions or anything, just give one of us a hoot and we'll help in any way we can."

Abby then introduced her to some of the others at the table. "There's Minerva McGonagall, Hannah Evans, Markus Johnson, Carl Potter, Aaron Wood, Sarah Spinnet, Maria Bell, and this here is Chris Pettigrew." Miriam shyly waved to them.

"So," Miriam asked, looking over at the front table of the Great Hall, "who are they?"

"They're the teachers," Abby replied. "You see the person in the middle, the one with the wispy white hair? He's Professor Dippet, the Headmaster."

When the feast was over with, Professor Dippet stood up and addressed the school. "Mr. Maugi, our groundskeeper would like to stress that he takes very serious care to keep the school clean and if anyone is caught dragging in mud, or in some other way, shape, or form, dirtying the school, they will be swiftly reprimanded. Let us now turn in and get a good nights rest. We want to be refreshed for our first day of school tomorrow."

Once his speech was completed, Abby and Peter rounded up the First years and lead them through the castle, up to the Gryffindor common room. Unfortunately, as they were leaving the Great Hall, Miriam wasn't able to catch a glimpse of her brother.

They walked up many long and winding staircases and through hallways until they reached a portrait of a large lady in a pink dress.

"Password?" she asked.

"Caput Draconis," Abby replied.

The painting swung open to reveal a concealed opening. Abby was the first one to go in, then Peter, followed by the rest of the students.

All the First years gasped in astonishment at the size of the common room. It was roomy and spacious.

"If you follow the stairs," Abby instructed, "they'll take you to your dormitories. Girls' rooms are on the left, boys' to the right. All of your suitcases should be here, if not... you're outta luck!" She gave a small laugh. "I'm kidding, I'm kidding," she continued, noticing the frightened looks on some of the First years faces.

Miriam followed the other First year girls to the top of the stairs and into the girls' dormitories. There she found a large, four-poster bed by a window that she just had to have. After she claimed it, she settled down into the soft, comfy covers and instantly began to doze off. She wasn't sure how long she had been asleep, but she was awakened by whispering. Slowly opening her eyes a bit, she saw two girls leaning over her bed.

"Is it true? Your brother got put in Slytherin?" one of them asked. Miriam opened her eyes the rest of the way, and with the moon providing a tiny amount of light, she could make out the face of a blond-haired girl.

"Yes," she replied darkly.

The girl giggled then whispered something to another girl who was sitting up in her bed right behind her.

"What's so funny about it?" Miriam demanded as she sat straight up in her bed. The blond-haired girl looked ashamed and said, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to laugh. I just find it quite interesting that your brother was placed in a different house than you. My mum has a brother and she told me the hat sorted them into Gryffindor together. She declared that generally as rule, brothers and sisters are placed together into the same house."

Miriam stared intently at the girl for a moment before responding, "Really? I didn't know that."

"Do you come from a wizarding family or are you Muggle-born?" the girl inquired.

Miriam thought about that for a second before answering back. "Just our mother was a witch. So, I don't know what that would make us precisely."

"That would make you a half-blood," the blond-haired girl answered. "Was your dad surprised when your mum told him about being a witch?"

"Can't say," Miriam replied. "We don't know if our father is alive or not. Our mother died not too long after my brother and I were born. She lived only long enough to name us. After that, we were sent to live in an orphanage."

"Oh! I... uh, didn't know that you... um, lived in an orphanage and that your mum died," the girl said, feeling somewhat embarrassed.

"It's all right," Miriam replied, noticing the girl's reddening face.

The girl looked at Miriam and through the moonlight, she saw her smile. "My name is Sophie Prewett. This here is Marcella Thomas." The other girl stepped forward and Miriam saw that she had dark hair and chocolate-colored skin.

"My name is Miriam Riddle."

Suddenly someone poked their head into their dorm and announced, "Okay, it's time for all good First year girls to go to sleep." Miriam recognized the voice as belonging to Abby. The three girls laughed and replied, "Yes, Abby."

Sophie and Marcella climbed into their respective beds and lay down. Miriam lay back down and grinned. She had finally made a friend. Not just one, but two. She felt exceptionally cheerful.

As she lay there, Miriam didn't feel sleepy at all, in fact, she was excited. She leaned over her bed and pulled out her small book and pencil from her suitcase and began writing in the moonlight.

---

September 1st, 1938
As I left the common room for breakfast today, Marcella and Sophie walked with me the whole way to the Great Hall. I was grateful for that as I didn't want to be alone. Being a newcomer, I didn't want to stand out like a sore thumb.

Upon entering the Great Hall, I immediately began searching for Tom. I scanned through the Slytherin table and saw him sitting next to two boys who were laughing hysterically over something. Tom sat there, watching them, looking so lonely... and so left out.

While the other Gryffindors were settling down at our table, I thought I would go over there and try talking to him.

--

"Hey Tom!" Miriam greeted. She saw an unoccupied spot next to her brother and plopped down next to him. "I didn't see you last night after the feast so I wasn't able to talk to you."

Tom looked around nervously and replied, "Hi, Miriam. What did you want to talk to me about?"
Miriam never got the chance to respond as a Slytherin Prefect came over and barked, "What's a Gryffindor doing here at the Slytherin table?"

"I... was... just... talking to my brother," Miriam answered nervously, looking up at the person before her.

"Well, just so you know, we don't allow any Gryffindors here at the Slytherin table."

Miriam glanced over at the Gryffindor table and saw Abby getting up and walking over, her face grim.

"Stephane, please leave Miriam alone. She was merely visiting her brother, no need to get all defensive over it."

"Tom! You didn't tell us you had a sis in Gryffindor!" Stephane exclaimed, ruffling up Tom's hair.

"It just didn't come up," he said quietly while trying to fix his mussed up hair. He turned to Miriam and whispered, "Sorry about that. We can talk after class."

Miriam got up and followed behind Abby back over to the Gryffindor table. There, the other students met them with all sorts of curious looks. "I was just talking to my brother," she said and the inquisitive looks slowly faded from their faces.

"Who was that person?" Miriam asked, to which Abby replied, "Stephane Lestrange. Biggest prat in the entire school."

Breakfast, thankfully, took her mind off of Stephane. Pancakes and waffles with butter and syrup made her smile as she sat beside Sophie.

Once breakfast was finished, Miriam asked what their first classes of the day were.

"Oh! Thank you for reminding me!" Abby exclaimed as she smacked her palm to her forehead. She reached inside her robes and pulled something out. It was a small stack of papers. "These are your class schedules," she announced as she handed each student the piece of paper. When she handed Miriam her schedule, she looked down at the list. It didn't seem too bad for the first day.

"Yuck!" Sophie exclaimed, breaking her concentration. "We have Transfiguration with the Slytherins!" Miriam scanned down at her list again and noticed that Transfiguration was their first class of the day. Marcella, who was sitting across from Miriam, also looked every bit as revolted as Sophie.

~*~

"Welcome class, to Transfiguration. My name is Professor Dumbledore," said the wizard with the long auburn hair. Miriam recognized him as the same wizard who was placing the sorting hat on the First years during the ceremonies the night prior.
"Good morning, Professor Dumbledore," chimed the class as they walked into his classroom.

The classroom had been divided into two: one side for the Gryffindors, the other for the Slytherins. Miriam, Sophie, and Marcella grabbed three seats together toward the front of the classroom. Once they sat down, she looked over at the other side and noticed that Tom was sitting not far from her.

"Transfiguration," began Dumbledore, "is a difficult subject to learn. It takes much practice to learn to do it precisely. Take this feather, for example. If I wanted to transfigure it into a pincushion, what do I have to do?" He looked around the classroom waiting for a response. Slowly, Miriam raised her hand.

"You'd need a wand," she answered nervously.
Dumbledore smiled gently and replied, "Yes, the most important thing in transfiguration is a wand. Five points to Gryffindor."

Sophie and Marcella nudged Miriam and whispered excitedly. "Also," continued Dumbledore, "you need to concentrate very hard on what it is you want to transfigure." He pulled out his own wand and transfigured the feather into a beautiful pincushion This equally amazed both the Gryffindors and Slytherins.

Dumbledore transfigured the pincushion back and set it on his desk. "Would anyone here like to try it?" Someone from the Slytherin side got up and headed to the feather... it was Tom.

"Now before you begin, try going through the arm movements," Dumbledore instructed. "A gentle glide of your wrist and tap the object. It's very simple." He turned and placed the feather right in front of Tom.

"Says you," Tom muttered, causing the Slytherins to place their hands over their mouths to keep from laughing out loud.

Dumbledore looked Tom squarely in the eyes and said, "Is there something you'd like to share with the rest of the class, Mr. Riddle?" Tom shook his head no.

"Alright. Now, remember what I told you: a gentle glide then tap the object."

Tom stared fixedly at the feather, almost as if he were attempting to transfigure it with his mind instead of his wand. This lead to some heavy snickering from the Gryffindors.

"Remember, Tom, a gentle glide of your wand and make sure to tap it," Dumbledore quietly reminded him. Tom pulled out his wand and followed his advice. He tapped the feather just like Dumbledore instructed him to, but suddenly smoke began to appear from out of nowhere. It started filling the room and everyone inside began to hack and cough. Dumbledore raised his wand and with a twirl, he cleared the smoke away.

"Not bad for your very first tr--," he began, but stopped abruptly as he looked down at the table where a small pincushion lay. "Well, well, Mr. Riddle, it looks as if you got it. Congratulations, and twenty points to Slytherin," Dumbledore said cheerfully.

Those at the Slytherin side grinned and slapped Tom on the back, while everyone at the Gryffindor side stared, completely stunned and puzzled.

"He just got lucky," Miriam overheard Sophie whispering to Marcella.

When transfiguration class let out a little while later, Miriam held back so she could talk to her brother alone.
"Well, that was certainly an interesting stunt you pulled today," she gibed, trying to poke a little fun at him. "Nearly choking half the class and the teacher to death...."

Tom frowned angrily at her and yelled defensively, "I didn't mean to do it on purpose! It was an accident!"
Miriam gaped at her brother in disbelief. "Honestly, you can't take a joke can you?"

Tom shook his head. "Uh, yeah, whatever."

They didn't say any more until Miriam said, "At any rate, it was great that you could turn that feather into a pin cushion."

"Yeah, well, it wasn't too difficult."

---

September 6th, 1938,
They already regard Tom and me as the two smartest kids in class and we've only been here a week. Most unfortunate though, this has lead to some badgering and being called insulting names behind our backs.

Monday, Tom could transfigure a feather into a pin cushion in his first attempt... in only his very first class! Dumbledore said that he has yet to meet a First year student who could do that. It thoroughly impressed Dumbledore, to say the least.

Nevertheless, I bested Tom in Charms a few days later....

--

"Remember... it's just a simple swish, a flick of the wand and a tap of the object," Professor Ambley, a short and squatty woman, instructed. Everyone in class imitated the essential arm movement. "Now repeat after me," she announced, "Wingardium Leviosa." The whole class chorused, "Wingardum Levisa."

"No, no, no, it's not 'Wingardum Levisa', it's Wingardium LeviOHsa."

The students chorused the line again and this time getting it right.

"Correct!" Professor Ambley said. "Now let's try it with a piece of parchment, shall we?" Professor Ambley passed each student a piece of parchment. "Remember the movements."

Miriam, who happened to be sitting next to Tom that day, watched him as he furiously tried to stab the parchment with his wand.

"No! You're doing it wrong," Miriam hissed. "You're not supposed to stab the paper... you might wind up hurting yourself! This is how you're supposed to tap it...." She showed him the swish and flick movement.

Tom looked at Miriam, looked at the Slytherins, then back to Miriam. An unreadable expression on his face, almost as if he was waiting for the Slytherins to start teasing him. "Fine!" he whispered. He went through the swish and flick motion, tapped the parchment and said, "Wingardium Leviosaaa!"

Oh the humanity, Miriam sighed.

After watching a few more of his pitiful attempts, she heaved a long and deep sigh. "Now you're saying it wrong. It's not Leviosaaa! It's LeviOHsa!"
"You do it then if you're such a genius!" he shot back to her.

"Fine!" she answered. "Wingardium Leviosa!" The moment she said it, the parchment flew gracefully into the air.

"Look here everyone! Miss Riddle got it right!" Professor Ambley exclaimed. "Take ten points for Gryffindor!"

After doing a few loop-de-loops in the air for added effect, Miriam bought the parchment back down onto the desk and the rest of the Gryffindors applauded. Miriam turned and gave Tom a smug grin. He scowled at her as he rested his head in his hands.

Just as they were preparing to leave the classroom once Charms was over with, Miriam overheard one of the Slytherins saying in a sarcastic tone, "It's Leviohhhhhsa! Not Leviosaaah!" Miriam was offended. She glanced over at Tom, but he was hurrying out of the classroom, stuffing things into his bookbag as he left.

~*~

"We saw what you did in Charms! You were fantastic!" Marcella exclaimed.

"Yeah," Sophie agreed. "Nobody else could make their parchment fly!"

"And add loop-de-loops," Marcella imparted.

Miriam smile as her friends tried their best to cheer her up that night at dinner. She had to admit, that they were right about that much.

Miriam forced a modest smile onto her face. "Yeah, but you didn't hear what one of those awful Slytherins said about me. They said in a sarcastic tone of voice, 'Levioohhhhhsa', not 'Leviosaaah'! They were insulting me!"

"Pffft! Don't listen to them," Sophie grumbled, rolling her eyes. "The whole Slytherin house is made up of nothing more than a bunch of dumdums anyway."

"Well, hopefully all but one at any rate," Marcella quickly added, looking at Miriam. She knew exactly who her friend was talking about.

Poking her steak with her fork, she suddenly didn't feel very much like eating. Sighing, her stomach began to feel weird at that moment. A deep gurgle vibrated her innards. Covering her mouth with her hands, she felt like she was going to be sick.

Miriam saw one of the Slytherin girls muttering under her breath from the corner of her eye, but when she turned, the girl was eating like nothing had happened, so Miriam tried to go back to her dinner.

"Are you okay?" Marcella asked fearfully. Miriam couldn't open her mouth, if she did, she was most certain she would have thrown-up....

"Buuuuurp!" Her eyes went wide with embarrassment, though it was nothing compared to the blood she felt rush to her face as she ran out of the Great Hall amid howling laughter from the Slytherins.

Sprinting up to the common room, she quickly blurted out the password and ran into a dark corner sinking down into the shadows, wishing the floor would open up and swallow her.

~*~

"It wasn't that bad!" Sophie comforted, later that evening once everyone had returned from dinner. Miriam narrowed her eyes and had a truly difficult time actually believing her.

"C'mon, please be honest with me!" she pleaded. "What happened when I left?"

Sophie and Marcella looked nervously at one another. "Well...," Sophie began slowly, "one of the Slytherin girls called you the ‘belch queen' but..."

"Ugh, I will never set foot in there again!" she wailed, covering her face with her hands.

---

September 12th, 1938,
Thank the powers that be! Everyone seems to have forgotten about my little gas expulsion. Unfortunately, it took a few days, a few UNCOMFORTABLE days I should say, in the Great Hall for it to subside. I literally had to be dragged into the Great Hall by Sophie and Marcella that next morning for breakfast.

I am now going to try and shut that awful moment from my memory....

Today, we had our first flying lesson, and let me say... what an experience that was!
---

"To grab a hold of your broom, just stand right beside it with your hand over it and yell 'UP'!" their teacher, a tall, lanky, gray-haired woman complete with steely eyes named Professor Luchtig, ordered the students.

Miriam walked alongside her broom and yelled "UP!" like she was required to and the broom flew right into her hand. She looked around to see if anyone else had gotten their broom to rise. A few other students here and there had managed it, one of them being Tom. He grinned at her as he held his broom proudly in his hand. She grinned back as she held hers.

Glancing to her side, she saw that Sophie and Marcella were both having some problems with getting their brooms to rise.

"UP!" they yelled. Their brooms just flopped around on the ground. Finally, Marcella got hers to fly up in her hand. Sophie, meanwhile, was still having some issues with hers.

"Up. Up! UP!" she yelled. "Why won't this bloody thing go UP?!" At that moment the broom flew up... but it bypassed her hand entirely and whacked her in the face. Miriam and Marcella had to exercise their restraint to keep from snickering. Unfortunately a few giggles made their way out of their mouths.

"Shut up, you two," grumbled Sophie as she rubbed her head.

"Now that you have your brooms in hand, mount them and keep both your feet firmly on the ground. When I say 'go', gently push off, hover for a moment, then gently bring the broom back down," ordered Professor Luchtig, marching in front of the students.

Miriam sat on her broom and gently pushed off the ground. As she did, a cool breeze blew through her hair. It was a marvelous feeling to fly. She felt so free and light she didn't want this feeling to end.

"Miriam, please bring the broom back down, now," their teacher ordered. The sound of her voice snapped Miriam out of her daydream and back to reality. "Just lean forward to bring the broom back down."

She gently leaned forward on her broom and the moment her feet hit the ground her euphoria was over. "Very good, Miss Riddle," complimented Professor Luchtig. "Now," she said, facing the rest of the class, "let's see if anyone else can do what Miss Riddle just did."

The remaining students mounted their brooms and pushed off the ground. Unfortunately, only a few could others balance, the rest had to descend right away as they couldn't balance correctly on the broom.

"It's quite alright," the teacher said, walking back and forth between them. "Not many people can learn to balance on a broom on their first try." She looked approvingly around her class when suddenly she realized that something was wrong... someone in her class was missing! As she went around doing a quick head check on the students, it was then that Professor Luchtig realized who it was.

"Mr. Riddle?!" she asked looking around for the lost student. Tom was sailing around the grounds of Hogwarts, totally in control of his broom. Professor Luchtig looked up at Tom, her face set with anger.

"Mr. Riddle, get down here this insant!" she yelled. As Tom slowly began to bring the broom back down to the ground, he (feeling brave), decided to do a few loop-de-loops on his broom. On his second turn around, he lost his balance and the broom almost went speeding out from underneath him.

"HELP!" he screamed. All the students started clamoring and pointing at the spectacle.

"Hold on, Mr. Riddle!" Professor Luchtig shouted. She pulled out her wand and exclaimed "Mobilicorpus!" Tom was ejected off the broom and drifted about lazily in midair. Professor Luchtig slowly brought Tom back down to the ground. The moment his feet touched the grass, the teacher gave him a look that signified that he was in deep trouble.

"What do you think you were doing?" she admonished. "You could have been seriously injured... or worse! Fifteen points from Slytherin for that little stunt of yours!"

"But... but --" he objected. "I –"

CRASH!

Everyone looked around to see what had produced the racket. The broom that Tom was on just moments before had crashed to the ground and broke into many small pieces.

"Flying lessons are over with today," Professor Luchtig sighed.

---

A/N: Music lyrics used above are from the song "A New Day Has Come" by Celine Dion

September 15th, 1938,
Things still haven't gotten any better between our two houses, not that I expected it to. I've been here long enough to know better than that. Abby told me that Slytherins and Gryffindors have been arch enemies for many centuries.

Because of the... uh... animosity between the two Houses, Tom and I thought it be best to meet in the library every day during the week after class to talk. It’ll be much safer that way.

During our first meeting, we talked about anything that happened to come up. I told him I made two new friends and about all the things we’ve done together. Once I finished talking, he heaved a deep sigh and looked really unhappy. I asked him what was wrong....
---

He remained quiet for a moment, then finally said, "They're not very welcoming in Slytherin. I have no friends of my own there. The older kids tease me about being not being a pure-blood. The rich kids tease me about being poor, and most of the remainder tease me about living in an orphanage.�

He sighed again and Miriam could see the electricity shoot through his green eyes. “I wish you could have been there my first night. A Seventh year Slytherin chamed all of the suits of armor leading down to the dungeons to brandish their weapons at me. I had to run across and try to avoid them just to make it to the common room. They said it was an 'initiation' of sorts, but none of the other First years went through it, just me.... Damn it, Miriam, I wish they would all just stop bothering me!" he shouted.

Madam Zuzellam, the librarian, looked up from across the room with an extreme look of dissatisfaction on her face. Miriam was a bit taken aback by her brother’s startling outburst.

Tom muttered "sorry" to Madam Zuzellam.

Miriam felt awful at hearing how they were treating her brother. She decided right there to do something about it. "Let's go see Headmaster Dippet," she proposed. "Maybe you can switch houses and join Gryffindor."

Tom shook his head. "Nah, they'd never accept me there."

“We’ll never know until we try. C’mon, let’s go!� Miriam said as she literally dragged Tom out of the library and into the Great Hall where dinner was just beginning. "But we'll have to wait until after dinner to talk to Professor Dippet."

Upon entering the Great Hall, Tom and Miriam split up to join their respective tables. The chatter in the Great Hall met Miriam’s ears and made her smile. None of the other students paid any attention to her as she headed toward the Gryffindor table. This made her smile more. Everyone seemed to have long forgotten about her little gas expulsion

Just as Miriam slid into her seat between Minerva McGonagall and Hannah Evans, and began reaching for a tray of shepard’s pie, a tall girl yelled out from across the Slytherin table, “All hail the belch queen!�

Obviously, someone hasn’t FORGOTTEN about that, she thought bitterly as she stuffed a fork full of food into her mouth.

Once dinner was finally over with, Miriam watched Professor Dippet leave the table at the front of the Great Hall and head into a room adjoining the Great Hall.

In the crowd of students leaving, Miriam met up with Tom and together they began following Dippet. They got halfway to the adjacent room when suddenly something blocked them.

"May I help you two with something?" Dumbledore asked looking down at the Riddle kids with a friendly twinkle in his piercing blue eyes. It was like he was trying to x-ray them.

Tom wasn’t sure what to say to him, so he looked intently at Miriam to answer. Miriam got a weird sensation from the intense way he was looking at her.... Ask him, he said. Only she could have sworn she didn’t see his mouth move....

In the blink of an eye she looked away as a shiver went down her spine. Shaking her head, she replied, "Uh... we need to talk with Headmaster Dippet... it's important."

Dumbledore nodded and replied, "Is it anything I could help you with perhaps?"

"Well," Miriam began with a deep sigh, "could we talk in private?"

"Certainly," Dumbledore answered. He led them into an unoccupied classroom and closed the door behind them.

"What do you need to talk about?" he asked, as he took the seat behind the teachers’ desk. Miriam settled herself into a seat in front of the desk and Tom did the same. He looked as if he was starting to have some serious doubts about this.

"You know that during the sorting ceremonies that Tom and I got placed in different houses, and well, Tom's not happy being in Slytherin. Nobody there is nice to him, and we were wondering if he could... uh... possibly transfer to Gryffindor," Miriam said quickly. Dumbledore sat back in his chair and thought about it for a moment.

"Normally, we only allow students to change houses under the most extreme cases," he began, "and nothing of the sort has happened in many centuries. Something like this will have to be brought up with Headmaster Dippet. He will decide whether we should move your brother to Gryffindor... or another house for that matter."

Miriam and Tom smiled at each other.

"Unfortunately," Dumbledore added gravely, "the Sorting Hat virtually never makes a mistake when placing a student."

Dumbledore got up and led them out of the vacant classroom and up to Headmaster Dippet's office. They stopped in front of a large stone gargoyle and Dumbledore gave him the password. "Baubles." The stone gargoyle moved out of the way to reveal a spiral staircase. Dumbledore got on the stairs, followed by Miriam and Tom. These were like no other stairs they had ever seen or been on before. Slowly, they starting winding up and continued to do so until they reached the top where Dumbledore knocked on the door.

“Who is it?"

"It is I," Dumbledore answered. "Tom and Miriam Riddle would like to speak to you for a moment."

"Come on in," Dippet responded. Dumbledore opened the door and they walked in.

"Ah, hello there," Professor Dippet beamed. "So, you two are Tom and Miriam Riddle,� he said jovially. Squarely looking at Tom now, he said, “I remember you! You're the boy who had the longest sorting I've ever seen!" he laughed. "How may I help you?"

Miriam told him the same story she had just told Dumbledore: about how Tom was not happy in Slytherin.

Professor Dippet remained quiet for a moment, thinking over the problem at hand. What Miriam and Tom heard next was neither Dumbledore nor Dippet speaking.

"Perhaps you're wondering why I placed young Tom in Slytherin?" spoke a voice. Miriam and Tom looked up and saw the old, frayed Sorting Hat sitting on the top shelf of Dippet's office.

"I placed him in the house that he’ll most likely succeed in."

"But he isn't happy there," Miriam pleaded.

"I saw his mind, and in it, I saw that he could achieve exceptional things."

Miriam was becoming rightly exasperated with talking to the hat. She turned to Professor Dippet and said, "Surely you can do something, please?"

Headmaster Dippet looked at Miriam and said gently, "I would love to be able to help you, but the Sorting Hat placed him there, and if that's where he's meant to be, then that's where he shall stay."

Miriam nervously glanced over at Tom, who appeared to be on the edge of a tantrum. He took a deep breath and said through gritted teeth, "So that's it, right? 'I'm sorry? You're stuck?' That's it?"

"Tom, it's not..." Professor Dippet began.

"Yes," he hissed at him. He stormed out of the office with Miriam lagging behind, trying to calm him down.

---

September 30th, 1938
It's been a hair more than two weeks now and Tom is grudgingly adapting to Slytherin. He's been telling me during our meetings that the pestering has let up, except for the rare taunt here and there. At least he's made a couple of friends now, he's told me. Thankfully they haven’t called him any names.
--

"Sometimes they can be really insulting," he told Miriam one day as they sat in the library. "They still pester me for the fact that I'm poor, half-blood, and parentless."

"Have you told them that you don't appreciate it?"

"That would just make them pick on me even more," he sighed. “Mostly, I just try to ignore them.�

Miriam heaved a sigh. They were in the middle of doing their homework assignments one rainy Monday afternoon and Miriam, unfortunately, couldn’t think of the right thing to say to her brother that would make him feel any better.

"Well, I guess it could be worse," Miriam replied slowly. Tom made a grunting noise as he wrote something down on his piece of parchment.

"I just wish I could have switched houses..."

They sat in silence, their quills scratching against the parchment as they wrote.

"So," Miriam began, trying to bring up something more pleasant once a few silent moments had passed, "what are your new friends like?"

"They're okay," he answered. "Their names are Murdoch Black and Carrey Malfoy."

Miriam was looking up another fact in the book she was reading when she said randomly, "Abby's told me a lot about those two, in fact, about Slytherin overall. It seems that most of the Slytherins are very selective and only accept those in their group that are 'pure-blood’. Abby also mentioned something about Slytherin turning out the most dark wizards than any other house. Be very careful with whom you hang out, you don't want to become jaded and evil like them."

Tom stopped writing all together and looked up at Miriam incredulously. "Duh! It's not like I actually planned on being some poor, parentless half-blood. Besides, Murdoch and Carrey aren't like the others. Furthermore, you knew that I wanted to change houses, but that half-witted rhyming hat wouldn't let me switch."

"Yeah, but please just be careful all the same," Miriam said again, her face down in her parchment. "I don't want to see you get hurt. I’m just trying to look out for you. It’s what sisters do."

Tom looked up again and smiled. "Okay, but I don’t need anyone to look out for me. I think I can take care of myself."

---

Wake me up inside (Save me)...
Call my name and save me from the dark...
(Wake me up) Bid my blood to run...
(I can't wake up) Before I come undone (Save me)...
Save me from the nothing I've become . . ."

---

October 2nd, 1938,
I had a terrible nightmare last night, it was the worst I’ve ever had. I must have been tossing and turning quite violently, since I awakened to Sophie and Marcella shaking me. They were standing over my bed, both looking extremely scared and worried.
---

That night as Miriam closed her eyes and had gone to sleep, she dreamed that it was a cold, wintry day and she was sitting outside under a tree with her friends. Suddenly, everything in her dream went pitch black and Sophie and Marcella were nowhere to be seen.

"Hello?" Miriam called out nervously. Her voice echoed in the silence and an ice-cold hand grabbed hers, tugging her forward. She wanted to yell, but she soon found that no sound could escape her mouth. Everything moved in slow motion, like she was underwater.

The hand pulled her forward into the castle and through a room where a floor length mirror stood. In the dim room, the candlelight revealed the white and skeleton-like hand to have a grotesque symbol cut into it. The hand belonged to a person wearing a long hooded robe. Miriam couldn't make out who was underneath it. The hand pointed to the mirror and Miriam looked at her mirror image, yet it wasn't quite the image she was expecting, as she was a great deal older in the mirror. Miriam estimated her reflection to be around seventeen years old. She had become a beautiful young lady.

I actually have curves, she smiled to herself.

Pulling her gaze away from the mirror, she looked down at herself and saw that she truly was seventeen years old. She had aged six years in a blink of an eye, but what caught her attention the most were the two badges she wore on her chest. Leaning in the mirror for a closer look, she saw one said "Prefect,� the other "Head Girl." Whatever this dream was trying to tell Miriam, she couldn't guess for the life of her what it could possibly be.

She stood there admiring herself in the reflection until another person appeared beside her... it was Tom, and he, too, was older. Seventeen - like her - to be precise. She turned around and came face to face with her brother. He, as well, was wearing a "Prefect" and "Head Boy" badge.

"Tom, what's going on?" she asked him, hoping maybe he knew what was going on.

Tom looked at her with an apologetic expression on his face. "I'm sorry, Miriam, I really am."

He held up his hands and she saw that they were completely covered in blood. Slowly, the blood dripped from his hands onto the floor, leaving crimson spots all over the ground.

“The blood from hundreds of innocent victims,� he mumbled, as the blood continued to ooze from his hands like from a freshly cut wound.

Miriam stumbled backwards, a look of pure terror on her face. She held her hands up to mouth and gasped for breath. Slowly, she started backing away and began feeling around in the darkness for a door that could get her out of this place. The person in the hooded robe pulled back the head piece to unveil a thin, colorless face with red vertical slits for eyes.

“Your brother will be joining me,� it hissed.

No! she thought. Miriam wanted to scream, yell, do something, but was too stricken with terror and couldn't bring herself to do any of those things.

She glanced back into the mirror again and Tom, who was now gazing into it as well, saw that his reflection wasn't his anymore. It had become that of the thing next to him: tall, skeletally thin with red vertical slits for eyes. Miriam quickly pulled her eyes away from the mirror and looked into the saddened eyes of her again normal looking brother, who was pulling something out from inside his robe.

"I'm sorry, Miriam," Tom said again, his wand now pointed at her. It was the last thing she saw as a bright outburst of green light suddenly blinded her... a high-pitched and cold laughter filled her head.

“No!�

"Miriam! Miriam! Wake up!" Sophie and Marcella were shaking Miriam awake.

"Are you alright?" Marcella exclaimed.

Sophie added, "You were mumbling something, but we couldn't make out what it was... but that's not important. We just want to know if you're alright or not. Do you want us to get the nurse?"

Miriam's head was throbbing with pain. Too many questions, she thought. It simply hurt too much to think.

"Ugh," she complained, slowly sitting up in her bed. "I'm fine, really." Sophie and Marcella exchanged glances. "Guys! I'm fine, honestly! It was just a bad dream. That's all!" Miriam exclaimed.

“You had us worried sick. You were tossing and turning, throwing your sheets around. Look... you even pulled down your curtains,� Sophie pointed out. “We'll help you get your bed back together."

"Thank you," Miriam sighed.

---

October 5th, 1938,
I haven't told Tom about that nightmare yet. I really don't think I should. He's got enough to dwell on right now and I don't want him to think his sister has gone mental over a silly dream. Yet, it seemed much more realistic than just a dream. I can't explain it... it was almost too real in a way.... I never even told Marcella and Sophie about it.

Speaking of my friends, today was Sophie's birthday. I didn't know what to get her, as I have only known her since the beginning of September, but she said that having me as a friend was more important than gifts. Later she asked me when my birthday was....
---

"October thirty-first,� Miriam replied.

"Ooh, a Halloween birthday, how neat," Sophie beamed.

"It sounds interesting and all, but it lead toward unmerciful teasing at times," Miriam recalled with a shudder.

“Sometimes people can be enormous prats,� Sophie said, rolling her eyes. “Did they even celebrate your birthday at the orphanage?�

“No. Madam Westyn never celebrated anyone’s birthdays at the orphanage,� she answered morosely.

---

October 21st, 1938,
I had another nightmare last night, though this one wasn’t nearly as bad as the last one. Thank heavens for something, as I don’t think I could handle another one like the last.

This time I dreamed I was in a dreary, desolate place....
---

Where am I? she thought. Looking about, she noticed a narrow pathway leading into a dimly lit area. She followed the pathway, which was lined by snake-head statues. To her side was a shallow pool of water, and right above it was a statue of a man carved into stone. Miriam wondered what type of place she was in... it was very eerie and creeping her out -- big time.

She meandered along a little further and came to a spot in the room separated by two large pillars.

Miriam heard voices coming from around somewhere in the room. They sounded like they were... hissing.... Like snakes, she thought. How very odd.

Whoever was creating the hissing sounds sounded like something was following closely behind them... something large. But what struck Miriam as odd was that she could understand what the person was saying.

"There's someone here... find them..."

She hid behind the pillar and looked ahead, though it wasn’t very well lit. Straining her eyes, she could make out the outline of a person and something that looked to be... a snake!

But this wasn't your everyday, commonplace snake. This one was about sixty feet long she guessed. Miriam drew in her breath and held it as she didn’t want to be discovered by that monstrosity.

Please don't find me.... Please don't find me,she prayed.

The colossal snake slithered on by, right past where Miriam was hiding. She breathed a deep sigh of relief once it left, but unfortunately, the monster heard her. Slowly it’s turned around, trying to find the source of the sound... it's next victim. Miriam's intuition was ordering her to not look into its eyes, though she didn't understand why. Yet, she followed her instincts and shut her eyes just as the monstrous serpent pounced down on her... her heart began to pound in her chest... she opened her eyes... half expecting to find herself being devoured by it. But instead, she found herself back in the safety of her bed.

Sighing, she rolled to her side and tried to shake off the frightful images of her dream.

---

A/N: Music lyrics used above are from the song "Bring Me To Life" by Evanescence

October 31st, 1938,
Today is our birthday. Sophie and Marcella remembered and had somehow managed to get Abby to go down to the kitchens and surprise me with four slices of cake: one for me, Sophie, Marcella, and one for Tom. They even remembered to get the candles!
---

"Close your eyes, Miriam," Sophie ordered her. Miriam followed her order as Sophie led her over to a table. "Okay, sit down, now. Marcella, do you have it?" Sophie enquired.

Marcella shook her head. “Hey, Abby! Could we borrow you for a sec?" Marcella asked, yelling over to Abby who was sitting on the other side of the common room helping someone with their homework. She got up from her chair and came over.

“Are you ready?� she asked, smiling. The two girls nodded. With a wave of her wand she tapped the candles and whispered, "Incendio."

"Okay Miriam, on the count of three you can open your eyes. One... two... three!" Sophie yelled. Miriam opened her eyes and gasped! Sitting on the table in front of her were four slices of chocolate cake. Two of the four slices had a candle in them.

"There are four here. What's the extra slice for?" Miriam asked.

"Your brother, silly," Marcella grinned. "We reckoned he might like a slice, too. Those Slytherins aren't likely to have remembered it, even if he told them repeatedly."

"Make a wish," Abby said, patting Miriam on the back. She thought long and hard about it. Finally, she settled on a
wish and blew out the candle.

"What did you wish for?" Sophie asked.

"No! She's not supposed to tell! It won't come true then if she does," Marcella informed them.

After finishing the cake, Miriam got out of her seat and announced, "I'll go take Tom his cake now. Does anyone know how can I get it to him without him noticing? I want to surprise him, but I'm afraid the candle will probably melt by the time I find and get it to him."

"Not to worry," Abby replied. "These are special magical candles that won't melt, even when lighted for long periods. I can put a spell on the flame so you can put a piece of cloth over it and it won't catch on fire."

"Thanks Abby," Miriam thanked. "And thank you so much, Sophie and Marcella. You guys are the best!" Her friends’ faces burned a brilliant cherry colour. Abby lit the candle on Tom's slice of cake and put a cloth over the top. "There," she said. Miriam picked up the cake, headed across the common room and walked out of Gryffindor Tower.

Now the only problem facing her was trying to figure out where Tom was. Classes were over with for the day, but dinner hadn't begun yet. She remembered that he was probably in the library waiting for her. If he was there, she knew that bringing food into the library was against school regulations, but... could she possibly sneak it in? She decided to chance it and bring it in.

Quietly, she snuck past Madam Zuzellam, who was too busy to even notice Miriam and the cake as the librarian was stamping out some library books for a group of impatient students. Looking around, she spotted Tom sitting by himself at the far end of the library.

"Hi, Tom," she greeted. He glanced up from the book he was reading. “Hi, Miriam,� he replied. He shifted the stack of books near him so his sister could sit down.

"Look, I brought you something," Miriam said as she placed the covered-up cake on the table. Tom eyed it suspiciously. He couldn't figure out what was underneath the cloth. "Close your eyes," Miriam ordered him. Once he did, she removed the cloth. "Okay, you can open them now."

Tom opened his eyes and saw the cake, his eyes became as wide as saucers and he was speechless. Living in the orphanage, Madam Westyn never let them have cake, even on their birthday's, which she never celebrated. Many children there resorted to pilfering a piece from the kitchen.

"Where'd you get this?" he finally asked, eyeing his sister and the cake suspiciously.

"If you’re wondering if it’s poisonous, let me assure it’s not. Otherwise I’d be long dead,� she replied indignantly. “Sophie and Marcella surprised me with it in the common room. We each had one slice and they were even kind enough to get one for you. So, are you going to make a wish or not?"

He nodded his head and closed his eyes. When he opened them a moment later, he blew out the candle. Picking up the cake, he took an exceptionally big bite.

“Mmm... good,� he mumbled, his mouth full of cake.

“Eww, Tom! Don’t talk with your mouth full! It’s bloody disgusting!� Miriam said, scrunching up her nose and turning away.

“Nothin’ wrong with a little ABC food,� he laughed.

Miriam rolled her eyes and sighed. Boys are so revolting. Still looking the other way, she noticed that Madam Zuzellam was finished with the students as was glaring around the library with her usual sneer.

"Uh, not to force you to gap-and-swallow or anything, Tom, but eat fast!" Miriam said suddenly. "Madam Zuzellam is looking in the vicinity!"

He took even bigger bites of the cake, causing Miriam to worry he was going to choke on it, but on his last bite, Madam Zuzellam caught them. "You're not permitted to eat in the library!" she screeched at them, wrinkling up her face in a distorted rage. "Get out! Get out!"

Miriam and Tom bolted out of the library as fast as their legs could carry them. They ran all the way through the library and didn’t stop until they were safely two floors above.

"Bloody hell! Did... did you see her face?" he gasped for breath as he collapsed to the ground in a fit of hysterical laughter. Miriam couldn’t fight the feeling either and she found herself on the floor as well, tears of laughter streaming down their faces.

The thought of Madam Zuzellam's contorted face stuck with them as they parted and made their way back to their respective common rooms. Every so often, a small laugh or giggle would escape from their mouth.

---

November 9th, 1938,
Tom and I attended our first Quidditch match today: Gryffindor vs. Slytherin. We were each cheering for our own house to win, but Gryffindor won in the end. Two-hundred to one-hundred and fifty was the score. I just had to rub it in a little when we saw each other after the game.

Quidditch is such an interesting game! It's so fast and exciting that I wish I could try out for the team, but they don't allow First years to play. I'll have to wait until next year before I can even think about it.

I wonder what position I should try out for... Keeper? Seeker? Chaser? Beater? I think I would like to try out for Chaser.
---

Miriam and her fellow Gryffindors headed out to the Quidditch pitch for the first game of the season. It was a cold November day, so many students were bundled up in their school robes, scarves, and gloves. Everyone in Gryffindor House was wearing red and gold to show their support for their team.

"This is so exciting!" proclaimed Sophie as she and her friends found three seats together amid the other Gryffindors.

"I hope Gryffindor wins and beats those Slytherins," Marcella added, pounding her fists together.

Soon, the players began entering the field and cheers went up from the crowd. Marcella pulled out her binoculars to get a better look.

"Look," she exclaimed, "there's Abby!" Miriam and Sophie each took turns looking through the binoculars. Sure enough, Abby Bones was standing in front of the Gryffindor team shaking hands with someone from the Slytherin team.

"Everyone mount your brooms," Professor Luchtig ordered. "On your mark... get set... GO!" Professor Luchtig released the balls into the air and soon the game was in action.

Ten minutes into the game, someone from Gryffindor scored on Slytherin, throwing the quaffle through the left ring. Applause and cheers rang through the Gryffindor side, but Miriam, Sophie, and Marcella cheered the loudest of anyone. Those on the Slytherin side were booing at the score.

The girls remained enthralled throughout the game. They cheered loudly when their side scored and booed with high volume when the Slytherins scored.

"They toss the Quaffle to Abby Bones, who passes it to Maria, who throws it back to Abby... who SCORES! Another ten points for Gryffindor!" the commentator, Patrick Jones, a Third year Ravenclaw boy, announced. "Stephane Lestrange, the Slythern captain, is looking a bit irritated, I might add and... BY MERLIN’S BEARD! Stephane just rammed Abby Bones out of the air with his broom!"

Screams and boos went through the Gryffindor side as they called the game into a time-out. Laughter went throughout the Slytherin section as they watched Abby spiraling downwards toward the ground while gasps traveled through the rest of the stadium as Abby tried to stop herself from crashing to the earth. She forced her broom up and narrowly missed a very painful encounter with the ground.

"Gryffindor will take a penalty shot for the attack on Chaser Abby Bones," Jones announced. "They pass the Quaffle to Abby... she shoots... she SCORES! Another ten points for Gryffindor!"

The game continued uninterrupted and eventually the Gryffindor team Seeker caught the snitch. They were awarded one-hundred and fifty points and won the game.
"Gryffindor’s the best!" Miriam exclaimed. She, Sophie, and Marcella squeezed each other and jumped up and down in their seats with glee.

As they trekked back to Hogwarts Castle, Miriam felt someone tugging on her robe sleeves. It was Tom.
"Well," Miriam chuckled, "Gryffindor won."

"So," Tom replied with a grin on his face. "Slytherin’s gonna come back and win the next game, just you wait and see."

Miriam snickered. "Oh, please! Gryffindor is not going to forfeit the rest of the season just so Slytherin can win. We're gonna win the Quidditch cup... and the House cup, too, while we’re at it!" Miriam said, as if it were a matter-of-fact.
It was now Tom's turn to snicker.

"In your dreams, maybe. Slytherin’s gonna win both."

Before Miriam could come up with a witty remark to throw back at him, Abby came running up to them and exclaimed, "Party in Gryffindor Tower tonight! You're invited!" Abby ran off to rejoin her fellow teammates in celebration.

"I’ll be there! Look, I gotta go, Tom! See you tomorrow!" Miriam said before she ran off to join her fellow Gryffindors.

~*~

The party turned out to be a blast. Someone had managed to sneak in snacks, butterbeer, and even firewhiskey. The celebration lasted well into the night. Around midnight, the students slowly wandered off to bed as they all had classes the next morning and they were exhausted. Miriam couldn't even begin to remember how many butterbeers or sweets she had.

"Wow, that was some party," Marcella said as she climbed into bed.

"It sure was. I can't wait to see what type of party we're gonna throw if we win the Quidditch cup!" Sophie replied excitedly, rubbing her hands together. Miriam agreed with them as she climbed into bed herself.
As soon as her head hit the pillow, she was out like a light.

---

December 13th, 1938,
Professor Dumbledore has prepared the lists of the students who will be leaving Hogwarts for the Christmas holidays. Both Tom and I agreed to stay here at Hogwarts as neither one of us wanted to spend Christmas back at the orphanage. Unfortunately, both Marcella and Sophie are leaving so I'll have hardly anyone to talk to here, except Tom, but I don't see him all that often anyway.

Even Abby has left Hogwarts for winter break.
---

"We're going to miss you Miriam," Sophie said, hugging Miriam before she and Marcella left Hogwarts for the Christmas holidays.

"It'll just be two short weeks," Marcella said.

Miriam sighed. "I know. I just wish that Tom and I had a family we could go to for Christmas."

"Maybe next year you could come with one of us and spend Christmas with one of our families," Marcella suggested. Miriam savored the idea, but she knew she couldn't leave Tom behind and she said so to her friends.

"He can go with you," Sophie proposed.

Miriam thought about it for a second before replying, "That's a great idea, but Tom hardly knows you two."

"Well, you can at least think about it, I mean, it won’t be until next year, after all," Sophie replied.
They each hugged Miriam one last time before they grabbed their suitcases and walked out of the main entrance of Hogwarts with the other students who were leaving.

This is going to be a long and boring two weeks, she thought.

"It's not the same here, is it?" Miriam whispered to Tom at dinner one evening a week later. Since there were only five total students left at Hogwarts for the winter break, the teachers set up one table in the Great Hall to adapt to the small crowd. For the first time since they arrived at Hogwarts, Tom and Miriam were finally able to eat dinner together.

Tom leaned over to his sister and replied, "Yeah. It's so quiet here."

---

December 25th, 1938,
Today is Christmas!!! When I woke up this morning, I noticed a small stack of presents at the foot of my bed. Three of the gifts were from Sophie, Marcella, and Abby, and one was from Tom. I decided to open his first.
---

Miriam grabbed her brother's gift first and tore it open. It was a picture of her and Tom standing in front of the orphanage. The image had been taken sometime last winter as they were bundled up in the portrait. Taped to the picture was a small note. It read: Look at other side.
Miriam turned the picture over, and written on the back in her brother's familiar scribble was a small letter.

Dear Miriam,
Thank you for being you.
Merry Christmas!
--Tom

That's the best gift he could have ever given me, she thought. She hoped that Tom (who was currently in the middle of tearing open her gift to him), would like the one she got for him. Before Sophie and Marcella left for the Christmas holidays, she had them help her with a gift for her brother. Her gift to Tom was a scarf she had knitted. On one side of it, she had very carefully stitched in the letters "M.R. 4 T.R."

She then opened up her friends’ gifts and saw they had each sent her ten boxes of Bertie Botts Every Flavor Beans and a handful of chocolate frogs. Miriam had to sample a little bit of both, though she knew it would ruin her appetite for breakfast.

As she sat nibbling on the candy, her thoughts shifted to her friends opening their gifts. Miriam hoped they enjoyed their gifts as much as she had enjoyed hers.

January 10th, 1939,
Sophie and Marcella have been back for a few weeks now. They absolutely loved the presents I sent them. Tom has been wearing his new scarf, an indisputable sign that he liked it.

Our second term has begun and slowly the teachers are preparing us for the end of term exams.
---

"Ugh. Just think, in a few months we have to take our end of term exams," groaned Sophie as she sat outside, making snowballs that day.

"Double ugh," agreed Marcella.

Miriam wasn't too concerned about the tests. She usually did well in school and made good grades, so a little thing like the end of term exams wasn't high on her list of things to fret over. Another person she knew who in all likelihood wasn't worried about the tests either was her brother Tom. They were both favorites among the teachers for being incredibly intelligent and quick witted.

It was a cold, Saturday afternoon and Miriam and her friends were lallygagging around the front lawns making snowballs and talking about the impending end of term tests.

"I'm not too worried about them," Miriam answered as she made an egg-shaped ball.

"Well of course you’re not worried about them. You're smart, intelligent and bright, so a little matter like that isn't going to worry you," Sophie sighed as she tossed her snowball into a group of Slytherins.

Smiling, she watched her projectile land on Stephane’s neck and slide down his back, causing him to jump about ten feet into the air.
“Score!� she exclaimed as she watched Stephane shimmy and shake, trying to dislodge the cold, icy snowball from his back.

"You guys are smart, intelligent, and bright, too!" Miriam pointed out.

Marcella shook her head and replied, "You always get good marks from the teachers and the teachers absolutely love you and your brother. Meanwhile, we're just scraping by with barely passable grades."

Deep inside, Miriam knew she couldn't argue with her friends, even if part of what she was saying was true. The teachers loved having her and her brother in their classes and many have said that they were the two smartest kids in the whole school. Of course this led to some pestering generated by the Slytherins, but she learned quickly to ignore them. She knew the Slytherins could be downright vicious at times.

Watching Sophie’s induced debacle from afar, she grinned as Stephane angrily looked around to see who had pelted him with the snowball.

As her friends looked away, Miriam threw her egg-shaped snowball at the back of Stephan’s head. Laughing evilly to herself, she watched him furiously trying to wipe the snow off the back of his head.

An hour later, they sloshed their way back through the castle, hoping not to attract the attention of Moody, who would have killed them if he saw the soggy mess they made in the hallways.

Once they turned down a hallway, only a few corridors away from the entrance to the common room, they stopped dead in their tracks. Up ahead stood Tom, his wand pointed directly at a cowering Hufflepuff boy, his mouth curled into a twisted sort of face.

“Take that back!� She heard Tom shouting at the poor boy.
“I’m... I’m sorry!� the boy squealed, cowering into the wall.

“Thomas! What on earth are you doing?� Miriam yelled in disbelief. Tom looked up at her, a vacant expression on his face, but his eyes were ablaze. Pushing the boy away, he stormed off, barging his way by Miriam, causing her wet feet to slide out from under her.

“What do you think happened?� Sophie asked, eyes wide in amazement.
Guesses swirled through her head, but none of them could explain Tom’s demeanor.

---

February 14th, 1939,
Today is Marcella's birthday and Valentine's Day as well, and since it was a holiday, Sophie colored the food on Marcella’s and mine plates for the occasion, which of course was also a special treat for Marcella’s birthday. Sophie also sprinkled pink and red confetti over our section of the table.

And just for the record before I forget... I met my first ghost today.
---

While Miriam walked to the Great Hall for breakfast that morning, she was suddenly stopped by something iridescent in front of her. Looking up, she came face-to-face with a ghost in period clothing.

“Why, hello, young Miss!�

She looked up into the pale, translucent face of a man.
“What’s your name?� he asked.
Miriam gaped at the ghost before replying, “M-M-Miriam R-R-Riddle.�

“Hello Miriam!� the ghost smiled. “I’m Sir Nicholas de Mimsey Porpington, but you can call me Nick for short. I’m also the Gryffindor house ghost.�

“Hello Nick,� she replied, starting to ease up around the ghost. “What’s a house ghost?�

“Every house here in Hogwarts has an official ghost, of sorts. I’m Gryffindor’s ghost. First year, I presume?� he asked.

“Yeah.�

“Ah. I would have been here to see the Sorting ceremonies last September, but I had an all-important meeting with the members of the Headless Hunt. Funny how those months just flew. Unfortunately they still denied my request to join!�

“What do you mean by Headless Hunt?�
Nick lifted up his head to reveal that his head was nearly severed off.

“Just a bit of skin holding it on. They don’t consider it nearly good enough, I guess.�

Miriam felt green around the gills. That had to be the most disgusting thing she had ever seen in her life.
“I better be off. Good day to you Miriam. Oh, and do be careful of Peeves.�

“Who’s Peeves?� she asked.

“Peeves is a poltergeist.� A loud crash came from the floor above them. “A very noisy and disruptive poltergeist. Best not to get tangled up with him,� Nick sighed. “I better go see what he got himself into now.� He disappeared into the wall beside him, much to the astonishment of Miriam.

As she continued her walk to the Great Hall, she met up with Abby, who was blushing from ear to ear.
"You're really happy," Miriam said with a grin.

"Oh, I uh... didn't see you there," Abby replied blushing, while trying to conceal something she had in her hand. Miriam noticed it and from the quick peek she got of it, it looked like a note or something.

"You got a secret admirer?" Miriam asked, still grinning. Abby suddenly turned a darker shade of red.
"How'd you guess?" she questioned.

"It's kinda obvious," Miriam said. "It's Valentine's Day, you're blushing, and you have a note in your hand."
"You're very observant," Abby answered. She looked at the note again and heaved a sigh. "If only I knew who sent it."

"Who would you like it to be from?"

Abby sighed again. "Well... there was that cute Quidditch captain on the Ravenclaw team. I think he likes me.... Well, I’m not exactly sure he does. He talks to me from time to time, but I don't think that equates to him liking me. Besides, someone like him would probably be too busy to write to someone like me... let alone on today of all days."

"Don't say that. You’re smart, pretty, and he’d be a dang fool if he didn’t like you,� Miriam said.

Abby smiled, as her cheeks went a shade darker. "You're absolutely right!"

Together they walked into the Great Hall, both unaware of Sophie’s transformation of the Gryffindor tables for the holiday. Upon entering, their eyes met the decked out table. "Wow� was the only thing they could muster.

As they passed by the Slytherin table, Miriam overheard someone make a gagging sound. "Talk about pukey," she heard someone say. Miriam looked over and saw it was Tom who had said it. He sat there, boredom written all across his face as sat with his legs crossed, kicking his right foot slightly. Carrey was pretending to vomit.

Miriam rolled her eyes and continued walking toward the Gryffindor table. Boys have no appreciation for cute stuff like this at all, she thought.

"Guess what?" Sophie said to Miriam when she and Abby finally made it to their table. Miriam obviously didn't know what was ‘what’, so she asked her what she was talking about.

"Today is Marcella's birthday," Sophie replied. "Peter was nice enough to light a candle for us to stick in her French toast." Miriam looked over and saw a candle sitting in the middle of Marcella's uneaten French toast.

"I was waiting for you to come before I blew it out," Marcella said. "But now that you're here....� She closed her eyes and blew out the candle. Miriam, Sophie, and Abby then went into a rousing rendition of “Happy Birthday.�

---

March 18th, 1939,
Spring is slowly starting to arrive. The days are beginning to feel warm and the snow is melting. Abby is very excited.

This Saturday is the final Quidditch match of the season and it will be Gryffindor vs. Slytherin. Whoever wins will get the Quidditch cup. Professor Dumbledore has made it a point not give the Gryffindor students any extra homework for the week leading up to the game. He informed them one day after class to "practice hard and play like champions."

Tension between the two houses are at an all time high. Not one Gryffindor or Slytherin can walk in the hallway without exchanging an insult (or worse, a hex) from the other. At least five students have been sent to the infirmary from being hit by one. It’s unfortunate for me to write that Tom was a perpetrator in one of those cases. I was walking out of the library the other day and apparently a Sixth year Gryffindor girl was mocking him over the upcoming match. Mind you, Tom can have a bit of a short fuse at times, and well... he hexed her with the ‘furnunculus’ curse. Sad to say, she’s still in the infirmary with some rather nasty boils on her face.

The Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs are afraid to even be in the same room with a Gryffindor or Slytherin as they're worried they might become the unfortunate recipient of an unwanted hex. Luckily, the Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs are generally on friendly terms with us Gryffindors and are supporting us to win the Quidditch cup.

Apart from that, Tom won’t even meet me in the library after class anymore. I made him promise me that when all this absurdity has stopped we would resume our meetings. He reluctantly agreed.

The school has gone into complete pandemonium....
---

That day after school, Miriam decided to go out and watch the Gryffindor team practice as she wasn't meeting her brother in the library anymore.

Miriam found a vacant seat up in the middle of the stands. Although she was a fair distance from the ground, she could still make out Abby standing in the middle of the field, leading her team through many excruciating drills and exercises. At that moment they were in the middle of doing pushups.

"C'mon team!" yelled Abby. "If we want to beat those slimy Slytherins this Saturday, we're gonna have to work hard for it!�

Even from up in the stands, Miriam could hear the rest of the team grumble.

“Bloody hell you guys, don’t give me that poppycock!� Abby huffed with her hands on her hips. More grumbling emanated from the team.

“Oh, alright,� she sighed, rolling her eyes. “We’ll stop the exercises for now. Let’s just practice our technique on passing the Quaffle. Everyone mount your brooms on push off into the air."

The other players and Abby were soon in the air passing around a red ball that was the Quaffle. Once Abby and her team practiced that move, she announced, "Now let's divide into two teams and play a practice game against each other."

Miriam watched them for another hour eventually realizing that her stomach was rumbling. It was nearing dinnertime! Abby must have realized the time too, as she announced that practice was over with for the day, amid cheers from the team.

Miriam rushed down the steps and met up with Abby on the ground. "I saw your practice today. I just know that Gryffindor is going to win!"
Abby beamed at her. "We have the best team, so I know we’ll win... or else!" she yelled as she glared at the rest of the team.

~*~

Saturday came around and all of Hogwarts was in a Quidditch frenzy. As Miriam came down for breakfast, she noticed that everybody was wearing a red and gold pin that read "Go Gryffindor!" Even the Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws were wearing "Go Gryffindor" pins.

The only ones who weren't wearing them were the Slytherins. They had their own “unique� pins that blinked and flashed the saying "Go Slytherin! The Gryffindors are losers!"

"Ugh," Abby scowled as she looked with disgust at the Slytherins and their insulting pins. "The only ones who are losers are them for wearing something so horrendous." She looked at Miriam and rolled her eyes.

"Oh, uh, Miriam, I wouldn't look to your right you if I were you," Sophie said who was sitting next to Miriam and Marcella.

"Why?" she asked curiously.

"Uhhh... just because," Sophie replied. She gave Marcella a cryptic look. Marcella got the hint and quickly looked to her right and nearly gasped. She saw Tom sitting at the Slytherin table with hands clasped behind his head, proudly wearing one of the "Gryffindors are losers" pins.

Not following Sophie's advice and letting curiosity get the better of her, Miriam looked to her side saw the same thing Marcella had. Her temper suddenly flared up inside her. Before Marcella or Sophie could react, Miriam was up and heading straight over to the Slytherin table. She walked around the table and stopped directly behind Tom. She tapped him on the shoulder and slowly he turned around and came face to face with his irritated sister.

"So," she said, looking at him squarely in the eyes, "you think that Gryffindors are losers, huh?"

“I’m sure you must know that Gryffindor has absolutely zero talent in Quidditch –“

"What?!" she spat angrily. “Where do you come up with such ludicrous theories?!�

“It’s rather obvious, isn’t it?� Tom replied, his temper cool, calm, and collected, which further infuriated his sister. “You really shouldn’t let a silly little pin get to you like that.�

"Oooh,� chorused the Slytherins while over at the Gryffindor table Marcella and Sophie watched with bated breath.

Miriam stormed away from the Slytherin table and headed back to her house’s table, leaving Tom with a smug expression on his face. She didn't say anything to anyone and remained very quiet for the rest of the meal.

After breakfast, Miriam got up and left the table leaving Sophie and Marcella behind. "Where is she going?" Sophie asked. Marcella shrugged. "I don't know, but the game will be starting soon!"

A little while later, Miriam appeared again. The game hadn't started yet, so she still had time to make it to the Quidditch pitch before the game started. As she headed up the steps to meet with her friends, a few people stopped and stared at her. She knew exactly what they were gazing at. She grinned as she continued proudly walking up the stairs.

"Hey Miriam!" Sophie said. "Where have you been?"
Miriam smiled mischievously and replied, "Simply adjusting my pin." She held it up as it read "Go Gryffindor! Those slimly Slytherins are the REAL losers!"
Sophie and Marcella burst out into laughter.

"After breakfast I headed back to the common room and that’s when I modified it," Miriam replied as she wiped tears of laughter from her face.

Before long, Professor Luchtig had made her way out onto the field carrying a large, dark-brown trunk. The game was beginning!

"Let's have a good natured and clean game, okay?" Professor Luchtig ordered, staring at the two captains. "Please shake hands." Abby extended her hand and shook it with the short, brown-haired Slytherin captain whom everyone knew as Stephane Lestrange. Abby hastily pulled back her hand and grasped it. The jerk squeezed Abby's hand so tightly, she thought it was going to pop right off.

"Everyone mount your brooms!"

Each teams seven players were in the air. "On the count of three.... One... two... THREE!" Professor Luchtig blew her whistle and released the balls.

"The game begins with Abby grabbing the Quaffle from right under the Slytherin teams’ nose!" Patrick Jones said. "Wow! Abby Bones is really flying fast! Oh my, she scores only ten seconds into the game! Ten points for Gryffindor!"

Everyone in the stands cheered, that is, except for the Slytherins.

The game went on and each player on both teams fought tooth and nail for the victory. When Gryffindor scored, the Slytherins would turn around and score, tying the game up again. The game proved to definitely be a nail-biter.

Eventually the game was one-hundred to one-hundred and everyone in the stands were sitting on edge. The game had been going on for a couple of hours and the players were getting exhausted and tired. Fatigue was setting in, Miriam could tell, as Abby didn't quite have the same vigor she had at the start of the game.

"Abby has the Quaffle... she shoots... aw, she misses. Better luck next time Abby! This is the longest game Hogwarts has seen in some time. In order for it to end, one of the teams’ Seekers must find and catch the golden snitch to earn their house one-hundred and fifty points. Gryffindor’s and Slytherin’s Seekers are both pooped from the never-ending search for the snitch. Finding it will certainly be a chore now."

Miriam, Sophie, and Marcella anxiously watched, each hoping the Gryffindor Seeker would find the snitch before the Slytherin team did while over on the Slytherin side, Tom and his friends were pulling for Slytherin to find the snitch first.

Just when everyone thought the game would surely go on forever, they all received a surprise. "The Gryffindor Seeker has found and caught the snitch! Gryffindor will receive one-hundred and fifty points and win the game and trophy!"

Deafening cheers went up through the stadium as all the Gryffindors, Ravenclaws, and Hufflepuffs all clapped and yelled. With all the cheering going on, no one could hear the boos and hisses coming from the Slytherins.
Miriam and her friends were beside themselves with glee as they jumped up and down in their seats.

"First-rate party!" Sophie exclaimed later that night. The entire Gryffindor team was throwing an enormous celebration in the common room to celebrate them winning the Quidditch cup. It was a huge festivity as Slytherin had won the Qudditch cup the last seven years, so this was quite a huge thrill for the Gryffindors.

A few of the team players had managed to bring in a whole buffet of food and drinks for everyone. This was certainly a much bigger party than the one they had at the start of the Quidditch season. It was a good thing the next day was Sunday as the party lasted well into the night.

Everyone in Gryffindor House slept in the next morning as they were all thoroughly exhausted from the merrymaking of the night before.

April 27th, 1939,
The Easter holidays are over with, though it really didn't seem like much of a holiday with all of the homework I've been doing. Final exams are coming up in June and everyone has reluctantly started to prepare for them. I was one of the few that studied over the Easter holidays, everybody else mostly relaxed and enjoyed the remaining bit of freedom they had before worrying about the exams.

Every day I've been heading to the library to find books to take with me back to the common room to study and every day I see Tom in there as well. Shortly after the Quidditch finals we continued our meetings, although the meetings weren't quite the same as they used to be. Something about the meetings felt . . . odd. Perhaps it’s just me, but I think that being in Slytherin with all those "pure-blood" freaks and stuck up gits that he's around twenty-four/seven is affecting him.
I would point it out it to him, but I don't know how he'd take it. He’d probably deny it anyway.
---

After classes were over with, Miriam made her daily pilgrimage to the library. Not only was she meeting Tom again, but she was preparing for the end of year exams that were coming up in June. Apparently, Tom was preparing for them too.

As she was looking for a book on Charms, she bumped into her brother. "Oh, hi Tom!" Miriam said cheerfully. He replied with a simple "Hi."

"Are you preparing for the end of year exams too?" she asked, hoping to get more of a response out of him. He nodded and answered, "Yeah. I'm looking for some books to take back with me."

"Which ones are you looking for?" she inquired. When he told her, she responded, "I have those. I've finished reading them so you can have them if you like."

As she gave him her finished books, she noticed that he had the Charms book she was searching for. "Were you looking at the Charms book too? I was looking for it to read."

"Here, you can take it. I was just gonna return it anyway," Tom replied rather dully, handing her the Charms book. She thanked him for it and together they headed over toward an empty table to talk. Miriam suddenly found it hard to talk to him. Normally conversations with him came easily to her, but this time it didn't. Now she felt like she was talking to a brick wall.

"So," Miriam began slowly, "how's everything going in... Slytherin."

Tom just shrugged. "Okay, I guess."

They remained quiet for a little bit. Eventually Miriam tried her hand at talking to Tom again. "Are you excited about the exams?"

Tom looked up from his book and replied, "I guess so. Why do you ask?"

Miriam was slowly beginning to lose her patience. If she didn’t know any better, she could have sworn she saw a tiny glimpse of a smile on his face when he didn’t think she was looking. Was he enjoying annoying her?

"So," she trying again and tapping her foot on the floor, attempting for the last and final time to get more than just a few words out of her stoic brother, "how are Carrey and Murdoch?"

"They're fine," he answered, not even looking up from his book.

“Tom, do you know how to answer a question with more than just two or three words?� she asked scathingly.

“Um-hmm. Why do you ask? HA! There, see!� he replied sarcastically. “I used eight words.�

Miriam could feel her blood starting to boil.

"Look Tom," she yelled jumping up from her seat, "I don't know what your problem is, but it's gotta stop. You used to enjoy talking with me. Now I can't even get more than a few words out of you!"

In a huff, she grabbed her books and stormed off, leaving Tom with a small sneer on his lips.

“Do I perceive distension in the air?� a third voice hollered.

“Shut-up, Peeves,� she heard Tom sigh, throwing a large book at the poltergeist.

“Ooh, shut-up, shut-up, shut-up, widdle baby Wriddle tells me!� Peeves taunted.

Miriam looked behind her at the translucent ghost wearing a horrid orange suit, flying just inches above her brother’s head.

Nick was right, she thought. Peeves is definitely one to stay away from.

---

May 13th, 1939,
The days have gotten so hot that every day after class, Marcella, Sophie, and I head to the lake to cool off. I used to employ this time by going to the library to visit Tom, but since that last visit, I haven't gone back to see him since.
---

"Have you been to visit your Tom recently?" Marcella asked one day as her Sophie and Miriam were sitting out by the lake, dragging their feet in the water to cool off. "No," Miriam answered. It was something she hadn't talked about very much. It hurt her too deeply. A part of her still wanted to see Tom, the other didn't. Her friends knew why she wasn't meeting him any more and they had been supportive of her.

"I wouldn't worry about it too much," Sophie said. "Maybe you guys just need some time apart."

Later when they headed down to the Great Hall for dinner that evening, Miriam overheard someone whispering loudly from the Slytherin table. "Those Gryffindors think they're so big."

There was some snickering and someone else added, "We'll make them pay." Miriam looked over at Sophie and Marcella, who each just shrugged their shoulders and rolled their eyes. As Miriam continued walking, she heard someone say a little louder, "Your sis sure is stuck up." Quickly glancing behind her, she saw Tom squirm in his seat and fondle his black hair. "She's fine. Leave her alone."

At least, Miriam thought, he's still defending me. That gave her a little pang of guilt in her stomach. She knew that she should try and meet Tom again. It wasn't fair that he had to spend all his time with those unrefined prats who were probably jading him right as she spoke. She decided that she would try after dinner to meet Tom, but unfortunately after dinner he left the Great Hall with the other Slytherins and Miriam wasn't able to catch up with him.

---

June 2nd, 1939,
The end of year exams are finally over. They started yesterday morning after breakfast and didn't end until around lunchtime. All the First years were dreading this day, except Tom and me.

Unfortunately we have to wait until the summer before we find out how we did. The waiting and suspense are bloody dreadful, though Sophie and Marcella keep reassuring me that I probably aced the tests with no problem.
---

"Don't worry about it, Miriam," Sophie reassured. "Yeah," agreed Marcella. "What is more, everyone was worried about the tests before they began, you're worried about them afterwards."

All the First years she encountered were ecstatic that the tests were over with. Miriam absolutely couldn't wait to find out how she'd done on them. The waiting was driving her mad.

Miriam wondered how Tom was taking it. Was he anxiously waiting for the results like her? Or was he like all the other First years who were glad they were over with? All Miriam knew was that whenever she saw him during meals, he seemed like he wasn't worried about them. She figured she shouldn't worry about them either. It just simply wasn't worth the stress she was causing herself.

---

June 3rd, 1939,
Tonight is the end of term feast. All the other students are happy that summer vacation is here... everyone that is, except Tom and me. Summer vacation means we have to go back to that dreaded orphanage for three whole months. I know Tom isn't happy about that.

When I saw him the other day, he looked down right infuriated. I asked him what was wrong, he told me that in just a few days that we'd be going back "to... to that place." To try and make him feel better, I told him that we'd be finding out the results of our exams very soon, though very soon meant waiting until summer. He seemed a little bit happier (but not much) after that.
---

Later that night was the end of term feast. It was as magnificent as the one they had for the beginning of the school year. Although it was bright and cheery, Miriam found it very hard to keep herself happy. Tomorrow she would be leaving her friends and heading back to that awful orphanage and she knew that Tom wasn't exactly thrilled about it either.

"Welcome students to the end of term feast!" exclaimed Professor Dippet. "It's hard to believe that the school year is over with, but don't worry, the new school year will be here before you know it."

A couple of people in the Great Hall snorted.

"Now, before we eat, we will declare the winners of the house cup!" Cheers went up from the students. "In fourth place with one-hundred and seventy five points... Hufflepuff!" The Hufflepuff table gave an unceremonious and disappointing clap. "In third place with two-hundred and fifty points... Ravenclaw!" A little bit more boisterous applause came from the Ravenclaw table. "In second place with three-hundred and twenty points... Slytherin!" Forced and anguished applause came from the Slytherin table. "And in first place with three-hundred and thirty points... certainly a close score... is Gryffindor!" Loud cheers and yells came from the Gryffindor table.

"Oh! We... we won!" Abby yelled ecstatically. She started hugging everyone within five feet of her. Miriam glanced over at the Slytherin table and saw some of them giving the Gryffindors an evil glower. Unfortunately one of those people giving them the glower was Tom. As his eyes met his sister’s, the words ‘Next year... next year we’ll win. Just you wait,’ echoed through her head.

He continued glaring at Miriam as she turned away and celebrated the House cup victory with her friends. Competitive was not normally a word she would have used with her brother, but apparently, it was so.

He probably just wants to have a bit of the glory for himself, she thought. But not this year, she added. This is our year....

---

June 4th, 1939,
Today is a really depressing day as I have to say good-bye to Sophie and Marcella for the summer. They promised me they'd write every week to keep in touch, it's the only thing I have to look forward to.

I'll be taking this diary with me to the orphanage, but I don't think I'll be writing in it. There usually isn't anything exciting that goes on there, but I want to keep it on me just to have.
---

"Good-bye, Miriam," Sophie said, giving her friend a tight squeeze. "We're gonna miss you," Marcella added.

"I'll miss you guys too," Miriam said, trying to fight back the tears as she embraced her friends. The three friends huddled in a circle and cried. When they finally calmed down, they each grabbed their suitcases and left Hogwarts castle. They had a long trip ahead of them.

By the entrance of the Hogwarts Express, Miriam saw Tom waiting for her.

“Canwesitnexttoeachother?� he mumbled, looking down at his feet.

“Pardon me?� Miriam asked.

“C - c - can... we sit next to each other?�

She looked at Sophie and Marcella and they each shrugged.

"Sure," Miriam replied tentatively. "That is, if you don't mind sitting next to my friends."

"No.�

“Where are Carrey and Murdoch?� she asked. "Did you have a fight or something?"

“There serving detention in a vacant compartment,� he replied morosely as they boarded the train. "Professor Ambley caught them trying to hex a Hufflepuff. She was very angry, you should have seen it." A small smile pulled at his lips. "I saw the whole thing, I thought she was going to have a fit."

"You do know that Professor Ambley is Head of Hufflepuff, right? That's why she was so upset."

Tom merely shrugged, still wearing a mysterious smile.

By the time when Miriam, Tom, Sophie, and Marcella found a vacant compartment, the other students were finally on board and the whistle sounded. The train started pulling away from the Hogwarts station, the castle slowly getting smaller in the distance.... They were heading back, a long journey back to Platform 9 3/4.

---

"'Till we meet again...
Until then...
Goodbye..."

---

A/N: Music lyrics used above are from the song "Good-bye's the Saddest Word" by Celine Dion

"All things may corrupt when minds are prone to evil. ~ Ovid (Roman poet - 43 BC to 17 AD)

---

August 30th, 1939,
We're finally heading back to Hogwarts. From the time we arrived back at the orphanage, Tom and I literally counted down the days until we would head back to school for our second year. Tom was exceptionally elated about leaving, as the other boys in his dormitory frequently harassed him. It nearly escalated into a fistfight once. And since our return to the orphanage, Mme. Westyn has not made things easy for us at all, particularly for Tom. Whenever the others would start their teasing, Tom would always be the one to take the blame. Lately she’s been getting physical with him. Why just the other day, she hit him so hard, it left a small bruise on his cheek.

I'm lucky enough to not have scrapes with the girls in my dorm, as they generally dismiss me and keep for the most part to themselves. They rarely speak to me, but when they do, it’s usually to call me 'freak'... or something much worse. Yet things have never gotten as bad as with Tom.

Truly, I don’t know how he can continue to deal with all this. He's vented to me about this numerous times, but I can’t help but wonder if he’s bottling some of his anger... just waiting for the right time to release it. If the Ministry regulations should ever permit underage wizards to do magic away from Hogwarts, I can guarantee you that Tom and I would have cursed everyone at Mme. Westyn’s by now. To them, we are nothing more than the social outcasts, the pariahs if you will, of Mme. Westyn’s orphanage. Sadly, she does absolutely nothing to subdue the problem.
---

They were finally heading back to Hogwarts after suffering months of ridicule from their peers at the orphanage. On their journey back, Tom and Miriam chose to sit by themselves in a vacant compartment on the train, as neither wanted any uninvited callers. Tom sat on one side, his eyelids becoming progressively heavier, while she sat on the other. Though his head was turned, she could still see the bruise slightly on the side of his face.

Mme. Westyn can be such a pain-the-ass at times, she thought bitterly.

As there was nothing of interest to do besides look out the window, Miriam pulled out her diary and began writing in it. As the sounds of Tom softly snoring filled her ears, she began writing in her diary until a knock at the compartment door interrupted her. Quickly glancing up, she saw that it was her friends, Sophie and Marcella. Running up to the door, she thrust it open so they could enter.

"Come on in," she grinned, standing behind the door. "I've really missed you guys!"

"Hi Miriam," Sophie greeted as walking into the compartment, closely followed by Marcella.

"We've missed you so much!" After giving each other a big hug, Marcella giggled, "It's so wonderful to see you again. Talking by letter is okay, but it's better when you can see your friend in person."

By this time, Tom had awoken from his short nap, and he scowled angrily at the intruders.
“It’s okay, Tom,� his sister reassured him. The angry expression he wore soon faded, but it didn’t disappear entirely.

“Tom!� Sophie exclaimed. “What happened to your face?�

Tom brought up his hand to touch his face and grimaced slightly. “I don’t want to talk about it,� he muttered, not looking at her.

For most of the remaining train ride, the three friends caught up on their activities during the summer. During their conversation, Miriam looked over at her brother. At one point, she noticed that he still appeared a bit sulky as he glared out the window, quietly fingering his injury.

Discreetly giving a sideways glance to her friends, they picked up on her message. Sophie looked at Tom and asked him how his summer had gone. Tom shrugged his shoulders.

"If you consider living in a cesspool with a spiteful headmistress, where everyone seems to hate your guts fun, then I guess was okay," he scoffed, still peering out at the window.

“No need to be rude,� Miriam chided. “She was just --"

"-- asking about my summer,� he frowned, finally pulling his gaze away from the window to look directly at her. His mouth was pursed together tightly.

"So,� Marcella said, interrupting them in hopes of lightening the atmosphere, “you must’ve been really looking forward to going back to Hogwarts, then.�

"Obviously,� he answered, returning his gaze to out the window, “I wish we didn't have to leave it at all."

"Oh, look!" Sophie exclaimed, after an hour had elapsed. "We're almost here!" The foursome gathered around the window, and sure enough they could make out the tiny form of Hogwarts, it’s many turrets and towers visible in the distance.

Once they made their way off the train and into the cool and breezy night air, they stopped to look around. There were students wandering in every which direction, leaving little room for the quartet. Suddenly a Fifth year girl came bounding off the train and nearly ran into Tom in an apparent rush to meet up with some of her friends.

“Watch it!� he shouted at her, but the girl was already off in the distance and didn’t hear him. “Where do we go now?� Tom complained as he rubbed his shoulder from the impact.

"Over here. We’ll be riding in these," Sophie replied, indicating at the horseless carriages a few feet away.

“Don’t we have to take the boat again?� Miriam asked naively.

“Only First years take the boat,� Sophie corrected. “Everyone else rides in carriages.�

Upon encountering an unoccupied carriage, the youngsters climbed aboard and settled down in their seats. The carriages slowly began to move... by themselves.

“Look!� Miriam exclaimed, pointing outside. It was an eerie sight seeing the carriages move without any help. Tom leaned forward in his seat and stuck his head out the window. The cool breeze mussed his jet-black hair, and when he pulled his head back in, the grin on his face stretched from ear-to-ear. “It's amazing how it moves without any horses to pull it," Miriam breathed.

The carriage continued its trek through the darkness and around the castle, eventually making its way to the other side where, once it came to a halt, the kids jumped out and met the other students who had already gotten off.

"Hey, Riddle!" a cold, drawling voice yelled out. They turned around and came face-to-face with a Second year boy with a long, pointed face, pale blond hair, and a Slytherin crest on his robe. "What on earth are you doing fraternizing with those Gryffindors, Riddle?"

Miriam felt an instant dislike for the boy with the sharp tongue and irritating voice. She equated his unnerving voice to a dull blade slowly cutting through her or nails scratching on a chalk board. She looked at her brother and could see him turn a dark shade of crimson.

"I, uh, had nobody to ride with," he muttered, completely caught off guard by his friend’s remark.

“It could be worse, I guess. You could have been riding with those Dufferpuffs.�

"It's Hufflepuff,� Miriam interrupted crisply.

The boy scowled intensely at Miriam for what seemed like ad infinitum. Take a picture, it lasts longer... she wanted to yell, but she refrained from doing so.

"You must be his sister,� he commented, raising his one eyebrow. “He's told me about you. Mary or Mariah, was it?"

"It's Miriam," she replied, scowling back. What an idiot.

"I'm Carrey... Carrey Malfoy," the boy revealed.

"These are my friends, Sophie Prewett and Marcella Thomas." Carrey eyed them for a moment and then repeated, "Prewett? Thomas? I've heard of you. Both of your parents are Mudblood lovers,� he muttered to the indignation of both Sophie and Marcella. “I would have expected better from pureblood girls' families.�

Miriam had no idea what a 'Mudblood' was, but obviously Sophie and Marcella knew. From the looks on their faces - a cross between severely affronted and intense anger - Miriam reckoned that it wasn't a good term. Sophie crossed her arms over her chest and snarled through gritted teeth, "You filthy, stuck-up, no good, little cretin! If I -"

“I guess it’s true then,� Carrey shot back. “When you fell into the ignorance forest, you must’ve hit every branch on the way down.�

"Hey, what's going on over here?" somebody yelled. Running up to where the disruption was, to Miriam’s great relief, was her friend Abby Bones.

"Abby, he called us Mudblood lovers!" Sophie attested, outraged. "He has to pay for that!"

Abby looked from Sophie and Marcella to Tom and Miriam. Her gaze finally fell on Carrey. "Don't worry," she enunciated cunningly, a smile slowly creeping onto her face as if she had something unscrupulous up her robe sleeve. Giving a small wink to the girls, she strolled away, leaving them all a bit bemused.

"What was that all abou?" Marcella whispered to Sophie. Sophie merely shrugged her shoulders, as she couldn’t make hide nor hair of what Abby had planned.

"Let's go, Riddle," Carrey motioned to Tom. He and Carrey meandered up to the castle, eventually being joined by Carrey’s other chum, Murdoch Black.

Miriam did not like Tom's friends at all. She thought Carrey was the biggest moron in the entire school. Thinking about this made her giggle, but she quickly stifled it before her friends could hear her.

Watching them from a good distance back, her happiness faded away as she worried that by hanging around them, Tom would eventually become an arrogant, self-centered, rude prat like them, picking up on their pureblood overzealousness.

"Let’s go," suggested Marcella, breaking Miriam of her thoughts. "The feast will likely be starting soon. We don’t want to miss it."

While they trudged their way across the massive lawn, something was nagging inside her mind. "What’s a 'Mudblood?'" she asked. Marcella and Sophie stopped walking and exchanged a worrisome look.

"A 'Mudblood,'� Sophie began, “is a derogatory name for someone who isn't pureblood. It means 'dirty blood' and generally isn't used in normal, polite conversation. The purebloods use it as a way of bringing down the half-bloods and Muggle-borns."

"Abby’s pureblood," Marcella noted, "and so is Sophie. Oh, and don’t forget Peter Longbottom. It just goes to show that there are some good purebloods out there."

"Precisely,� Sophie verified, grinning at Marcella. “It’s most unfortunate though that people like the Malfoys feel that anyone who has Muggle blood in them is below them and isn’t suitable to practice magic."

"Do you want to know something?" Marcella asked. “If wizards and witches hadn't married Muggles, the whole wizarding population would have perished centuries ago.�

They reached the entrance of Hogwarts just in time, as upon walking into the Great Hall, they could see the sorting ceremony was about to begin. They found their way to the Gryffindor table, and sat down just as Professor Dumbledore began to read off the names of the nervously waiting First year students.

Viewing the ceremony brought back memories of when she herself had gone through it just last year. She recalled how frightened she was as the hat was placed on her head. It took some time, but eventually the hat decided upon placing her in Gryffindor. Almost as soon as she'd left to join her house mates, Tom had sat down and had the hat set on his head. His sorting was acknowledged to be the longest on record at Hogwarts. With bated breath, she'd waited in hopes that the hat would call out Gryffindor, but she was profoundly disappointed when it finally settled on Slytherin House. Why and for what reason it put him there, Miriam didn't understand.

Thinking of Slytherin at that exact moment, she looked over at their table and saw Tom eagerly watching the ceremonies as well. One-by-one, the crowd of nervous First year students reduced, and before long, there were none left. Miriam peered around the table at the new Gryffindor students who were looking scared.

Kind of how I must have looked last year, she thought.

---

September 5th, 1939,
When Abby told to us not to "worry" that night when a particular prat by the name of Carrey Malfoy insulted my friends and me, she sincerely DID mean to NOT worry. Earlier today at breakfast, she extracted her revenge on the snotty-nosed imbecile.

I only wish that I could fix his expression into my memory forever...
---

"Let’s see," Abby began slowly as she twirled her lengthy red hair between her fingers in an attempt to prolong this embarrassing moment and make it even more agonizing for Carrey. "For insulting three of my fellow house mates with your rotten tongue and use of that monstrous word, I will subtract five points for each person to whom you said it. That adds up to a total of 15 points you just lost for Slytherin. Kudos to you. Remember this the next time you insult someone from my house!" She walked off with a self-satisfied smile on her face, leaving a stunned Carrey behind with a look of absolute shock, horror, and confusion on his face.

Across the Great Hall at the Gryffindor table, Miriam, Sophie, Marcella, and their house-mates watched the debacle with much rejoicing, while those at the Slytherin table began pointing and whispering furiously at Abby as she swaggered back toward the Gryffindors.

Serves that jerk right, Miriam chuckled to herself.

Without delay, a boy with short dark-brown hair got up from the Slytherin table and forcefully advanced toward the Gryffindor table.

"Listen here, Gryffindors," he barked, as he violently shook his fist at them, "I don't --"

"Aw, Stephane, put a sock in it, you blowhard," Abby bellowed curtly, cutting him off in mid-sentence. "Carrey did something wrong and needed to be punished for it. End of story. If you don't like it, go snivel to Professor Dippet!"

“Make like your robe... and split!�

“You are such a pompous retard!� Abby reciprocated, rolling her eyes at Stephane’s lack of maturity. "Your gripe is with me, not them, so don’t get your knickers in bunch!�

“It takes one to know one, you old hag."

“Oh, for the love of Merlin, Stephane... that’s all you ever do is bitch,� Abby complained. “Sadly, it’s a shame that somewhere, you are depriving a village of an idiot.�

The Gryffindors snickered loudly.

Rolling her eyes, she turned on her heels and stormed out of the Great Hall with Stephane following closely behind her, bellowing all the way. "We're not done here, Abby!" he shouted.

“Oh, I think we are!� she yelled back.

Gryffindor two, Slytherin nil! Miriam thought, the corners of her mouth tugging up into a grin.

"Those two," a voice giggled. The girls looked around and saw Minerva McGonagall shaking her head, a smile on her face. "I remember in my first year, Stephane was always trying to ask Abby out on a date, but she'd turn him down each and every time. I have a feeling that he still likes her, though. It might be why they're always bickering."

"How so?" Miriam inquired.

"Well," Minerva began, leaning into the table as to get closer to Miriam, "since he hasn't been able to adequately express his true feelings for her, those feelings for her sort of turned into resentment. But I think he still likes her; it's not hard to notice if you watch him. It's the way he looks at her... it’s... it’s just there.�

Miriam and her friends snickered. "Ooh, unrequited love!�

“I can't believe that Stephane actually fancies someone -- especially Abby," Sophie replied in shock, raising her eyebrow. "If I remember correctly, last year during the first Quidditch match of the season, he knocked Abby out of the air with his broom."

"We are talking about Stephane here," Minerva answered, taking a sip from her cup. "He has his own... um... unique way of showing affection."

"Affliction should be more the word," Miriam jested. This set them off laughing and caused Minerva to snort out her drink out through her nose, which just caused them laugh even harder.

---

October 13th, 1939
When I went to the library today to get some books for a homework assignment, I happened to see Tom and his friends through a space in one of the ledges. Considering I was just in the next section over, I couldn't help but listen in to what they were saying.
---

"It says here that only the heir of Slytherin can open the Chamber of Secrets," a voice quoted, which Miriam knew at once was Carrey's.

"Look at this," a different voice announced, one whom she guessed to belong to Murdoch. "It says here it's located somewhere within the school."

Carrey lowered his voice, and Miriam had to strain to hear him. Leaning in closer to the bookshelf, she heard him say, "They say it's inhabited by a monster!"

"Really?" Tom and Murdoch inquired in hushed, but totally awestruck voices.

"Yes. They say it’s supposed to be something very frightening... something horrifying!" Carrey answered matter of factly.

"How do you know?" Tom demanded.

"Father's told me all about it," he answered authoritatively, sticking out his chest. “Honestly, your ignorance is encyclopedic,� he snapped.

From the other side, Miriam couldn’t help but let out a small gasp. A Chamber of Secrets? A monster? She wasn't quite sure what to make of this. As she pondered it, a small first year boy toddled into where Tom and his friends were.

“Hi!� he squeaked.

“Out!� Tom yelled, pointing his wand at him, causing the boy to tremble. A blue light shot out from Tom’s wand, sending the boy scrambling away.

Well, that was just rude! she thought as the small boy ran screaming by her and out of the library.
Grabbing the rest of the books she needed, she turned around and left the aisle, only to have a near run-in with Tom.

"Oh, hi Miriam," he murmured.

She returned the greeting, trying hard to hide the shock of what she had just heard and seen.

"I was just, uh, getting some books for the Transfiguration assignment,� she replied quickly and left before he could reply.

"Oh, okay. I guess I'll see you in class then," he called after her.

Once she got back to Gryffindor common room, she pulled Sophie and Marcella into a vacant corner in the common room and asked them what they knew about the Chamber of Secrets.

"The only thing I've ever head about it was that it was supposed to be a myth," Sophie answered. "Why do you ask?"

Miriam debated whether to tell her that it was Tom who had brought it up. Finally, she figured that telling her would be best. "I overheard Tom and his friends talking about it in the library today. Carrey said that a horrible monster is supposed to dwell within it. He boasted that his father knows a lot about it.�

Sophie and Marcella looked at each other, Sophie raising her eyebrow in surprise. "I don't think Carrey's father even knows that much about it. Sounds like he only knows what's common knowledge, at least, what’s common knowledge for those who do know about it," Sophie answered.

"He also said something about only the heir of Slytherin can open the Chamber. They were looking at some books about it," Miriam added.

"Only the heir can open it?" Sophie repeated. "We really should ask Professor Dumbledore about it. He would probably know a lot about it." Marcella nodded her head vigorously in agreement.

"No! We can't!" Miriam hissed quietly. "If we tell Dumbledore that I overheard Tom and his friends talking about it, he'll probably ask them, and then they'll know I heard their conversation!"

"I really wouldn't worry about it then," Marcella contributed as she looked around the common room, making sure no one could hear them. "I'm sure that the Chamber is just what Sophie said it is: a myth and nothing more."

Miriam had to agree with them. The Chamber of Secrets was probably just some made-up place to scare First and Second years with.

October 18th, 1939,
Abby came to see me today, bringing extremely good news with her: One of the Gryffindor team's Chasers has graduated. Abby needs to find a replacement for her. She wanted to know if I would like to try out for the team!!!! Needless to say, I was absolutely floored. In between nearly hyperventilating, I told her that I would totally love to try out. Thus, she said to meet her at the Quidditch pitch tomorrow night after dinner.
---

"Okay team, as you know, Sarah Spinnet, who was our Chaser for the last few years, graduated at the end of last term, and now we need to find a replacement for her," Abby declared as she paced back and forth between the other teammates on the grassy field. "I see we have a good turnout tonight, but unfortunately we'll only need one of you." A nervous laugh echoed through the group of hopefuls.

Upon looking over each person who was there with a penetrating and frightening glare, she announced, "When I call your name, please come forward, and we'll begin with some basics." Abby looked down at the list. "First up, Amelia Parkinson."

A rather bashful girl with blonde hair came forward and mounted the broom in front of her. Abby tossed her the girl the Quaffle and told her what she needed to do. "Pass the Quaffle to Maria Bell, who’ll pass it to me, and I'll then pass it back to you. When you receive the Quaffle from me, try and get it through the hoops. Be careful though, our Keeper, Aaron Wood, is a hard person to get a Quaffle through.� She winked at Aaron, who grinned smugly.

Amelia passed the Quaffle to Maria, then to Abby, but missed it when Abby passed it back to her. "It's all right," Abby said encouragingly. “Let’s try again.�

During their second try, Amelia caught the Quaffle, but she couldn't get it past Aaron. They tried a few more times without success.

The next person Abby called dropped the Quaffle both times it was passed to her, and she couldn't get it past Aaron either.

Back on the ground, Miriam felt jittery. Her stomach was in her throat doing somersaults as she watched the action. Gathering her black hair in her hands, she twisted it between her fingers, hoping to calm herself down as she waited for her turn on the broom. Just when it felt like anxiety would finally overwhelm her, Abby called her name.

"Okay Miriam, let's see what you got," Abby said, passing her the Quaffle. Miriam, remembering her flying lessons from the year before, mounted her broom and flew up to where Maria Bell was waiting. Suddenly she forgot about being nervous and was determined to just give it her best shot. She threw the Quaffle to Maria, who tossed it to Abby, who then tossed it back to Miriam who dropped it. Miriam couldn’t help but turn away from them as her face reddened.

“It’s all right,� Abby said. She passed the Quaffle back to Miriam who passed it to Maria. Maria tossed it back to Miriam, who barely caught it with her finger tips. Now she just had to try and get it past Aaron.

She threw it into the air, but Aaron caught it. He tossed it back the Abby who hurled it toward Miriam. A great deal better at catching it, she flew by the hoops, trying to devise a plan to get the Quaffle by Aaron.

An idea suddenly popped up in her brain... she would try to fake him out. Flying to her left, she pretended to hurl the Quaffle in that direction, but as Aaron flew that way to defend the hoops, Miriam quickly darted to her right and tossed the Quaffle into the undefended hoop. Aaron quickly tried to shoot over, but his efforts proved futile. The Quaffle had passed his grasps.

Wrenching around, she flew back to ground level as everyone on the field cheered and clapped for her; some even whistled their gratitude. Abby looked profoundly jubilant, while Maria made a note on the parchment. Both had prominent ear-to-ear grins on their faces.

---

October 24th, 1939,
After breakfast today, someone had posted a notice up in the Gryffindor common room declaring who had been chosen for the spot on the Quidditch team. I was much too nervous to look, thus I had Sophie and Marcella look for me.
---

"Do you truly wish to know?" Sophie questioned, throwing Miriam an odd expression.

"Yes," Miriam answered, feeling mildly exasperated all of the sudden.

"Are you sure now?" Marcella asked.

"Precisely!�

"Well, if you’re certain then... you... didn’t make it" Sophie mumbled.

"I... I what?" Miriam asked, dumbfounded.

"Yup. It says right here," Sophie said pointing to the notice on the board. It read:

We have named Mr. Anthony McKinnon the new Chaser for the Gryffindor Quidditch team.
The first Quidditch game this season will begin November 7th,taking place between Gryffindor and Ravenclaw. We hope to see you there!
- Abby Bones, Gryffindor Quidditch Captain

"I... don't... believe it," Miriam gasped, leaning against the wall to support herself, suddenly feeling lightheaded and woozy.

"I’m so sorry," Marcella said, giving Miriam a great big hug. At that moment, Abby and Maria came bursting into the common room, looking extremely dissatisfied.

"What's wrong?" Sophie uttered from across the common room, watching the two girls hem and haw.

"I assume you've seen the announcement, then?" Abby asked bitterly.

Miriam nodded her head sadly.

"We just came from the infirmary. Apparently Anthony McKinnon suffered from a severe case of the screaming meemies last night and is unable to play on the team," Abby grumbled.

“Who’s going to fill in his spot, then?� Marcella enquired.

Abby’s face brightened up a little bit. “Miriam.�

Miriam ogled them incredulously. “You... you... mean I’m... I’m... on the team?�

Abby and Maria nodded. “On a bit of a technicality, really, but we did consider you before Anthony. Yet seeing as how he can’t now...�

“But... I... I don’t have a broom!�

Abby and Maria exchanged glances again. This did present a hefty problem... Maria leaned in and whispered something to Abby, who suddenly beamed, her eyes twinkling with secrecy. "That's a great idea! Let's go!"

The girls ran out of the common room as fast as their legs could carry them, each one mumbling something inaudible to the girls.

"Where the heck are they running off to?" Marcella frowned, scratching her head. Her friends were just as clueless as she was.

---

October 26th, 1939,
I am almost too excited to write about what just happened. At breakfast today, I received the most unusual package. It was rather odd shaped and required three owls to carry it in.
When the owls dropped the package in front of me, Sophie, and Marcella, we looked at each other questioningly, unsure whether or not it was for us.
---

"Look! It is for you!" exclaimed Marcella, pointing to the name on the smaller end of the package. "I wonder what it is?"

“Who sent it?� Miriam mumbled, analyzing the package.

"Let's open it together," Sophie announced.

Conjointly they tore off the dark-brown wrapping. What was lying underneath it made them take a step backward in shock.

Marcella drew in her breath slowly as she looked at the package. Sophie was wide-eyed and was unable to speak. Miriam picked up the package's contents: her very own broomstick.

"Do... do you know what that is?" Sophie uttered, still staring at the broom.

Miriam felt a little affronted at such a question. "Yes," she replied abruptly. "It's a broomstick."

"No... no... no," insisted Sophie, shaking her head. "It's not just any broomstick... it's a Comet 180! Bloody hell, who’s spend that much on you?"

Miriam gave Sophie an indignant look. “What do you mean by that?�

“Oh, I... I just meant that –“

"I've heard about those Comet 180's!" Marcella squealed, finally speaking and cutting off Sophie.
"I saw it when I was in Diagon Alley. It's brand new on the market, and it's supposed to be very pricey!"

Unaware that the whole Great Hall was now watching and those closest to them were listening with excitement, a buzz went through the Hall as everybody turned to look at Miriam’s expensive new broom. It was then that someone from the Slytherin table feigned a yawn and pretended to not be concerned. Some of the others at the table snickered and turned away, shunning the spectacle, and obviously trying hard to not show their jealousy.

Miriam picked up her broom and found a note taped to the inside of the package.

Happy birthday, dear Miriam. Use your new gift well.

"I wonder who wrote it?" she questioned as a crowd of eager spectators began forming around the Gryffindor table. Everyone within a few feet of her wanted to see and hold the new Comet 180.

“Out of the way!� a voice blared. Miriam pulled her eyes away from the broomstick and searched ahead and into the anxious crowd to see Tom prodding and nudging his way through the threads of people.

Once he had finally managed to bully his way to the front of the crowd, his green eyes illuminated, wide with surprise... and a slight suggestion of jealousy in them. He swore lightly under his breath....

“Where’d you get that?!� he exclaimed. Miriam simply shrugged her shoulders; it was a complete mystery to her as well. The only thing she could reply with was a simple, “I don’t know.�

~*~

When they finally made it back to the Gryffindor common room forty-five minutes later (after her new broom had been fondled by everyone surrounding the Gryffindor table), Marcella asked, "Could I, uh... maybe... ride it sometime?"

"Me too, please?" Sophie added, clasping her hands together, a pleading look in her eyes.

"Sure,� Miriam replied, “but I get the first ride on it.�

The girls each took turns racing the new Comet 180 around the common room before they realized that they would be late for classes that day if they didn't act hastily. Miriam grabbed her broom and sprinted up to the girls' dormitories to stash it under her bed for safkeeping.

---

October 31st, 1939,
I'm officially twelve years old now, as is Tom. Marcella and Sophie surprised me with a piece of chocolate cake. Yet what truly surprised me was that they got me a present, something that never happened at the orphanage.
---

"Happy birthday, Miriam!" Sophie and Marcella exclaimed, that night in the crowded common room. Sophie pulled out her hands from behind her back and produced a colorfully wrapped, but heavy and awkwardly taped together, gift.

"Aw, that's so nice of you! But really, it wasn't necessary," Miriam assured them.

"Oh yes it was," they answered with an equally wide grin on each their faces. "Open it."

Miriam opened the gift and saw that it was a book called The Complete Guide to Quidditch Teams Around the World (and some from countries you never thought existed).

Miriam got up and hugged Sophie and Marcella. "This is the best birthday ever!"

---

November 7th, 1939,
Tonight I play in my first Quidditch match. I am too nervous to eat. I could hardly eat anything at breakfast, either. Sophie and Marcella pleaded with me to at least eat some toast, but I couldn't stomach it. Dinner proved to be just as hard to tolerate anything, but I finally broke down and ate some toast.

So far nobody outside of Gryffindor knows I'm on the team. Abby decided it to be best not to put any extra pressure on me. Not even Tom knows, but he, I'm sure, suspects something is up as I am always following the other players to Quidditch pitch for the team practices.
---

"It's time to go," Abby announced to Miriam after dinner that evening. Miriam got up from the table and ran up to her room to grab her broom. She then followed the other Gryffindor students outdoors to the Quidditch pitch. Halfway to the stadium, Abby and the other team mates separated from the crowd and went into a dimly lit locker room.

After the players had changed into their red and gold uniforms, Abby sat everyone down on the bench and began her pregame pep talk.

"Okay team. We can do this. We won it last year, and we can do it again. The most essential thing for us to remember is to attack, not defend. It's very important. I can’t stress this enough. Sure, we have a new teammate this year," she smiled, giving a sideways glance at Miriam, "but she has proven to be a worthy player throughout these lengthy exercises these past two weeks." Everyone in the room applauded for Miriam who turned the same dark red color as her robe. "Now let's go out there and kick some butt! Go Gryffindor!"

“And here comes the Gryffindor team," commentator Patrick Jones yelled through all the cheering that came from the crowd. "This year, the Gryffindor team has a new player: Second year student Miriam Riddle is playing Chaser in place of the recently graduated Sarah Spinnet."

"Hey Tom," Murdoch frowned, narrowing his eyes, "since when did your sister get on the team let alone even play Quidditch?"

Tom was utterly dumbstruck. "I... I don't know," was his only response. He glanced up at the flying, blurry figure in red that was his sister. When did she learn to do this? he wondered.

"Now let's have a nice friendly game, okay?" Professor Luchtig said. "Captains, shake hands."

Abby and a light-haired haired girl walked forward and shook hands. The girl wore a stony expression on her face.

"Everyone mount your brooms." The two teams shot straight up into the air. "On the count of three, one... two... three!" Professor Luchtig yelled, releasing the balls. The two black Bludgers soared up into the air, closely followed by the Snitch, but what caught Miriam's attention was the red Quaffle that Professor Luchtig threw upwards toward them. She made a mad dash for it and was able to snatch it before a Ravenclaw Chaser could get it.

"Miriam has the Quaffle only seconds into the game," announced Patrick. "She, Abby, and Maria are passing the Quaffle around, trying to psych out the Ravenclaw team. Miriam is back in possession of the Quaffle... she shoots... she SCORES! Ten points to Gryffindor! The score is now ten-zilch in favor of Gryffindor. But don’t worry, Ravenclaw has the better team! Just kidding, professor, sir!�

Everyone on Gryffindor side cheered. Tom couldn't help but cheer as well, but Carrey shot him a look and said in a loud whisper, "Don't cheer for the Gryffindors!"

"Don’t tell me who I can cheer for!" he hissed back, which shut Carrey up.

Up in the air, Abby congratulated Miriam on a superb shot as she flew away. Miriam blushed.

"Gryffindor is still in possession on the Quaffle... oh wait! Ravenclaw Chaser Eva Lovegood just intercepted the Quaffle!" Cheers went up from the Ravenclaw section.

"Gryffindor Beater Carl Potter just sent a Bludger to Eva, knocking the Quaffle out of her hands, and Gryffindor is again in possession thanks to Maria Bell."

"Good work, Potter!" Abby yelled. "You too, Maria!"

"Gryffindor has the Quaffle, but Ravenclaw is desperately trying to get it back," Patrick continued.

Down in the stands in the Gryffindor section, Marcella and Sophie, with the help of a few housemates, unfurled a large banner that read 'Go Gryffindor!!' in big red and gold letters. Next to it was a picture of a lion, their house symbol. Flying high up in the sky, Miriam could see the banner. She smiled and gave her fellow house mates a thumbs up as she flew over them.

The game continued until well into the evening. Miriam scored a few more points and eventually the score was seventy to fifty in favor of Ravenclaw. Gryffindor was hoping that their Seeker would find the Snitch before the other team did. The extra one-hundred and fifty points would push Gryffindor into the lead, and they would win the game.

"Maria has the Quaffle and passes it to Abby. They're trying to distract Ravenclaw Chasers Eva Lovegood, Daniel Boot, and Emily Chang. Wait... what's this? It seems that the two Seekers have spotted the Snitch!" Everyone in the crown murmured. "Whoever catches it will earn a victory for their house! Oh my! It's a close race people! But I think... the Gryffindor Seeker has grabbed the Snitch right out from under Ravenclaw's nose! Gryffindor wins the game, and the final score is two-hundred to seventy."

Miriam flew over to Abby and Maria, who were shouting "We did it! We did it!"

Down in the stands, Marcella and Sophie were dancing and jumping up and down. Across from them, Tom was doing his own unique version of celebrating. He quietly applauded, much to annoyance of Carrey. Deep down, Tom couldn’t help but feel slightly envious. He really wanted to play Quidditch, as well. He decided he would talk with Stephane, the Slytherin team Quidditch captain the next morning to see if he could perhaps join the team.

---

November 10th, 1939,
I haven't seen Tom that much these past few days. I can't help but wonder what he's been up to recently. I normally see him at dinner, but last night and tonight he wasn't there. I'm beginning to worry....
---

"Abby says she saw him hanging out with Stephane the other day," Marcella whispered to Miriam the next day in their History of Magic class. They were supposed to be taking notes, but after listening to Professor Binns drone on and on in his monotonous voice about the goblin wars, half the class was starting to fall asleep. To try and keep herself and her friends awake, Miriam told them her concerns about her brother.

"Gosh, I hope Stephane isn't corrupting him," Miriam mumbled. She tried not to sound too concerned, but her voice shook with the anxiety she felt. Looking at her friends, they looked uneasy too.

---

November 15th, 1939,
Last night we had a Quidditch match against Hufflepuff. We easily won with a score of two-hundred and fifty to twenty. Abby is really impressed with my Chaser skills as I scored ten times last night. She says I have a natural talent for Quidditch. But more importantly, before she left, I asked her about Tom and Stephane....
---

"Stephane... Stephane Lestrange...." Abby repeated, thinking it over with a grimace on her face. "Well... he's obviously someone you wouldn't want your brother to hang out with. He's just as bad as Carrey Malfoy and Murdoch Black when it comes to the whole 'pureblood' thing, probably much worse though. Stephane's family is known to be religiously into the Dark Arts, though they've repeatedly denied it. Some say his family is heavy supporters of... (Abby nervously looked around)... Grindelwald," she whispered.

"Who's Grindelwald?" Miriam asked.

Abby grimaced again. "Grindelwald is a Dark wizard. An evil, evil, evil wizard. He's been recently acquiring followers for his group, the Knights of Walpurgis, and anyone who doesn't join him or defies him dies. He's bent on world domination and uh, ridding the wizarding world of those he feels to be... uh... un-pure. He'll torture and kill anyone who gets in the way of his plans."

Miriam drew in her breath. This was certainly bad news.

"Rumors are also going around that the Malfoy and Black families are followers as well. Your brother is definitely hanging around the wrong sorts," Abby sighed.

Miriam didn't feel too good after talking with Abby. She sought out Marcella and Sophie, who were deeply involved in a game of wizards chess. Watching them play against each other (or more like annihilate each other) took Miriam's mind off the bad influences with whom Tom was hanging out. When they were finished, Miriam explained what Abby had just told her.

"You've got to talk to Tom. You've got to make him see the type of people he's hanging out with," Sophie exclaimed.

She was right, and Miriam knew it. All that was left was trying to figure out how exactly to bring it up to him, and more importantly, when tobring it up to him. It wasn't like during their first year when they were meeting after classes in the library. She needed to figure out a way to get him alone so she could talk without Carrey or Murdoch around him. This was going to require some planning on her part.

---

November 21st, 1939
Unfortunately, I have not seen Tom at all this week. Tonight we're having a Quidditch match of Gryffindor versus Slytherin. Hopefully, I'll can talk to him then... sometime after the game.
---

"Okay team. So far we're two and zero, and we don't want it to end now," Abby said, giving her team the usual pre-game pep talk. "I hear that Slytherin has a new Beater on the team. I don't know who it is, but apparently their old one got injured in practice and is going to be on the disabled list for a bit. We can use this to our advantage, guys."

The team cheered. "All right then," Abby said, smiling, "let's go kick some serious Slytherin butt!"
They left the dressing room amid the loud cheers from the crowd.

"You all know the drill," Professor Luchtig said. "Clean game, no ugliness, no rule-breaking. Got it? Captains, shake hands." Abby and Stephane walked forward and squeezed each other's hand until Miriam was sure that they would turn blue or fall off.

"Everyone, mount your brooms."

Miriam slid onto hers and pushed off. As she floated in the air, she could sense that someone was staring at her. She knew that people would watch her during the game, yet this wasn't a normal feeling -- it simply didn’t feel quite right. She looked around the stadium, hoping to see who or what was giving her that uncomfortable sense. Scanning around the field, her eyes landed on the Slytherin team... and to what was giving her that strange feeling. Floating behind some of the husky players was a scrawny boy with jet-black hair. Miriam almost had to do a double take.

It can’t be, she thought. His face split into a sly grin at her as she gaped in disbelief. Thankfully she was shaken out of her stupor when she noticed that Professor Luchtig was preparing to release the Quaffle. The game was about to begin!

"Maria Bell opens the game by grabbing the Quaffle from under the Slytherin teams’ nose. She soars over to the Slytherin goal post... oh... that nasty Bludger knocked the Quaffle out of her hands. The Bludger was sent by the new Slytherin team member, Thomas Riddle, who's filling in for Herman Crabbe, currently on the disabled list."

I see what he's up to, Miriam thought grimly. She quickly looked over at Tom who was wearing a self-satisfied smile on his face.

"Slytherin Stephane Lestrange has the Quaffle and is barging his way through the field to score! Can anyone stop him?"

Thwack! Miriam looked around to see what had made that awful noise and saw that Carl Potter had just sent a Bludger toward Stephane Lestrange. The Bludger hit him hard in the face, causing his nose to bleed. He dropped the Quaffle, and Miriam flew down and caught it.

"Gryffindor is in possession of the Quaffle again and... oh my... look at this! Tom Riddle is chasing after his sister, Miriam, who is in current possession of the Quaffle. He's trying to knock it out of her hands by sending the Bludger at her. Talk about sibling rivalry, folks!"

Miriam held the Quaffle closer to her as she looked back at Tom, who was still avidly hitting the Bludger toward her.

I'll show him, she thought. She sped up on her broom and raced through the field, trying to get to the Slytherin goal posts so she could give her team their first score of the game.

Tom had a look of utmost seriousness as he surged by the other players trying to hit the Bludger at his sister, who was still clutching the Quaffle tightly.

Up ahead, Miriam looked at the big, burly Markus Goyle and decided that the best way to score would be to try and fake him out. She decided to go about this by pretending to throw the Quaffle in one direction, then reversing and throwing it in the other.

I hope this works, she thought as she flew to her left, making Markus think that was where she was going to shoot. But as he started to block her, she shot back to the other side and threw the Quaffle into the end hoop. It went in.

"Gryffindor finally scores, thanks to Miriam Riddle's diversionary tactics. The score is now ten-zero," Patrick Jones bellowed over the loud cheering from the crowd.

She gave Tom a smug, satisfied smile as she flew past him and his scowling.

"Good work Miriam!" Abby exclaimed. "Let's try and keep this up."

The game turned out to be more brutal than Miriam ever expected and ever played in. Gryffindor barely won with a score of two-hundred and twenty to two-hundred. The Slytherin captain, Stephane Lestrange, had to be sent to the hospital wing with a broken arm and bloody nose, along with Gryffindor captain Abby Bones, who was suffering from an even worse nose bleed. Her injury was caused by the Bludger Tom had thrown in her face.

After the game had finished, the two teams crowded around on the field, watching Professor Luchtig have a long talk with Michellina Agave, the school nurse. She agreed the teams could head to the hospital wing and visit the two injured players, but only if they kept the noise to a low minimum.

Miriam followed Maria, who led the way through the castle up to the hospital wing. Following right behind Miriam was Tom. She turned around to look at him, but he was leaning over, deep in conversation with Markus Goyle about something. From what she could see, he had a serious look on his face.

“– didn’t help her appearance any –“

"Please try and be quiet, the other patients are resting," Michellina said quietly, welcoming in the Quidditch players to the hospital ward. Maria and the other Gryffindors headed over to the bed where Abby was. She had a huge bandage on her nose.

"Hi," Abby said weakly. "Dobtor saib I habe a broken dose. She bixed it, but she wants be to stay obernight."

"We're so glad you're okay," Maria gasped. She gave her friend a hug.

"I am so sorry," Miriam whispered. "I didn't know he was going to hit you with the Bludger."

Abby pulled Miriam closer to her. "It's obay. It basn't bour bault."

Meanwhile, across the room, Tom and the other Slytherins were crowded around anxiously at Stephane's bed. "Don't worry, we'll get back at those Gryffindors next game," Stephane announced matter-of-factly to his entourage. "By the way, excellent Bludger work tonight, Tom," he said, patting Tom on the back. "Especially on Bone-head girl over there. It’s only unfortunate it didn’t improve her looks any. Oh well.� He sighed, before continuing, “Since I'm the captain, I'll make sure that you stay on the team permanently."

Tom beamed at Stephane's words.

"Are you going to be back in time for the next game?" Markus Goyle asked.

"Yeah," Stephane replied. "I just need to stay here overnight, and by tomorrow I'll be as good as new."

---

December 6th, 1939,
I finally cornered Tom today. I saw him alone in the library and decided to use the opportunity to my advantage. Following Abby's advice (who's back to normal after her Quidditch injury, by the way), I talked to him about the people he's in contact with, those friends of his....
---

"They... they're not very nice," Miriam said. "I'm worried they might try and... corrupt you."

"Miriam," he began, looking up from his book and raising an eyebrow, "I'm fine. Don't worry about me."

Miriam sighed and decided to try again. "Tom, one of the people you've been hanging out with recently, Stephane Lestrange, Abby told me his family is heavily into the Dark Arts and might be a supporter of --"

" --Grindelwald," Tom finished for her. "Yeah, he’s told me all about the rumors surrounding his family, but he’s never said he supported him or anything.�

"That's just it," Miriam replied. "He never said if he supported him or not. What if he does? What about Carrey and Murdoch? The same rumors are going around about their families, too! I could help you find better friends."

"Damn it, Miriam!" he exclaimed, jumping up from the table he was sitting at, narrowing his eyes at her. "What makes you think I need your help? Do you believe me incapable of finding my own friends? I think I can do that by myself, thanks!"

He left her in the library completely dumbfounded. Instead of helping him see the light, she felt like she had just made matters worse. The only thing that could have possibly made her feel any better at the moment was banging her head against the wall and screaming at the top of her lungs, but unfortunately Madam Zuzellam was in the vicinity and was watching her like a hawk.

---

December 7th, 1939,
It’s around 1 am now, and I just woke up from an awful dream. It was so weird; I can't even begin to explain it.... When I woke up, I found myself repeating, "No!" over and over again. It's a miracle I didn't wind up waking both Sophie and Marcella....
---

The dream began with Miriam strolling through the grounds at Hogwarts, late one day. Suddenly, she felt almost weightless as she was being lifted into the air... flying away into the distance on a cool breeze. There were no brooms or anything supporting her, so this confused her quite a bit. The air was chilly, and she soon felt numb and disjointed from her limbs.

Whatever was causing her take flight, took her a great distance. Before she knew it, it was completely dark, and she realized she was very far away from Hogwarts. Something began to appear in the distance in front of her. As she soared closer, she saw that it was a large, vine-covered mansion with a huge, rolling green front yard. She gently touched down on the ground in front of one of the mansion’s large windows. Surrendering to her urge to look in, she saw someone she wasn’t expecting at all.

Tom! What is he doing here? she wondered. Looking in, she saw two people -- an older couple --sitting in the corner as Tom pulled out his wand. Another person appeared, and he bore a strong resemblance to Tom. This person had flecks of gray in his hair, but the resemblance to her brother was simply uncanny! Miriam peered further into the window and saw that the older couple looked a lot like the man with the gray hair.

They must be related, Miriam thought. But why would Tom look like the strange man and couple, people she'd never even seen before? And why would she look a bit like the older lady in the seat? Could they be... somehow... related?

A blinding green light appeared, and Miriam had to pull away from the window because the sudden burst of bright light hurt her eyes. Once it died down, she looked in the window again and saw that the older couple (who were still seated) weren't breathing, moving, or even blinking, but they wore a look of pure fear and terror in their eyes. Miriam felt a sickening sensation in the pit of her stomach that told her they were probably dead.

Tom had now turned to face the gray-haired man who looked horribly frightened. He seemed to be pleading with Tom. The older man kept backing up, but Tom advanced on him with his wand out. The man eventually fell down into a wooden chair, unable to go anywhere else as he had blocked himself into it.

A part of Miriam wished she could hear what they were saying as they seemed, or at least Tom was, having a very intense discussion with the person. Only able to make out a few loud mumbles here and there, Miriam pressed her ear harder against the window in hopes of catching a part of the conversation. She could faintly hear Tom's voice in the distance. He was laughing, but it didn't sound like Tom's voice at all. It sounded cold and harsh, unlike his normal voice, which she knew so well....

Another shot of blinding green light flashed through the room, and she had to turn away again. Once it died down, she glanced in and saw the gray-haired man wearing the same frightened look as the older couple; and just like them, he wasn't moving. She pulled back from the window as she started to hyperventilate. Her brother had just killed three people, three people she and Tom never knew or met, three people that strongly resembled her and her brother, and yet he just... killed them. This was all so confusing to her, it was giving her an awful headache.

Suddenly the house went dark, and Tom stormed out of the mansion. She wanted to follow him, but something wouldn't let her move. It was like some invisible force was holding her down. No matter how hard she tugged and pulled, she just couldn't break free. Desperate to not be left here, she tried calling out his name, but no sound escaped her mouth.

No! Please wait! she screamed inside her head, the loudness of her voice pounding against her temples.

"Please... please..." she muttered, violently tossing and turning in her bed.... “No! No!� She suddenly awoke with a start. Taking a deep, calming breath, she looked out her window and saw that it was early morning. The sky was a dark blue with streaks of pink and gold on the horizon, and the ground was still dewy. Though she had slept through the night, she felt exhausted and worn out after that dream.

---

December 14th, 1939,
The winter break is here once more, and most everyone has left Hogwarts for the vacations, though there are a few more students here than last year. Unfortunately, Sophie and Marcella weren't among the few to stay. Tom has told me that Stephane, Carrey, and Murdoch have also left. And just like last year, they've seated the remaining students at one long table with the teachers for all our meals.
---

It was a cold, snowy morning when Miriam went up to breakfast. She pulled her robes closer to her as it got rather chilly in the hallways she had to pass through in order to reach the Great Hall.

When she made it in, a surge of hot air greeted her as one of the teachers had conjured a blazing fireplace in the room. It was truly a welcoming feeling for Miriam.

As she looked around the Great Hall, taking in the cozy surroundings, her eyes fell upon Tom, who was sitting at the only table set up in the Great Hall. He was sitting with a couple of other students and the teachers. Miriam slid into the bench next to him just as the owls came in for their morning delivery.

A brown barn owl stopped in front of Miriam and held out its foot. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a bronze knut. Placing it in its claw, it dropped the rolled up paper it carried in its beak in Miriam's lap.

"What's that you got there?" Tom asked, looking as Miriam began unrolling the paper. "The Daily Prophet," she replied. "I thought I should try to keep up on the news in the wizarding world."

Once she had unrolled the paper all the way, Miriam let out a small gasp. She leaned over to whisper something into Tom’s ear.

"What is it?" he asked her. Miriam showed him the headline of the Daily Prophet: "Grindelwald suspected in recent murder of wizard family.�

She gave a sideways glance at Tom, and he raised his eyebrows as he leaned in closer to Miriam so she could read the rest of the article to him.

"Considered to be the work of the dark wizard Grindelwald, a wizard family in Bristol was found murdered last evening around 11 pm. The O'Keefes, who had been missing for two days, were found Sunday by their Muggle neighbors. Specially trained wizards were sent to erase the Muggle's memories; other members of the Ministry examined the bodies of James, 51, Alexandria, 48, and Kathryn, 21. ' "This is definitely the work of the killing curse. The signs for it are all there," Ministry worker Rachel Abbott said. "The mark of Grindelwald was found near their bodies. No doubt Grindelwald did this himself." '

The O'Keefes were famous for their recent thwarting of Grindelwald's plans to overthrow the Ministry. Funeral services will be held later this week."

"Tom," Miriam whispered, "you've got to be careful when hanging out with Stephane, Carrey, and Murdoch. Look at what Grindelwald is capable of!"

He looked at the paper and sighed, but he didn't answer back. Miriam decided to take that as a good sign.

---

December 25th, 1939,
Today is Christmas!! Sophie and Marcella both sent me some chocolate frogs and a card, but Sophie also sent me a snow globe from the Swiss Alps where she is currently vacationing with her family....
---

Miriam shook the snow globe, and little specks of white swirled around the miniature Alps. It was very pretty. She imagined Sophie skiing down the mountains, having fun with her family... her family. She sighed as she set the snow globe down on her bedside dresser. If Miriam longed for one thing, it was a family of her own. She and Tom absolutely detested living in the orphanage. However, Miriam didn't want to dwell on depressing thoughts. Today was Christmas! Getting dressed, she grabbed her gift for Tom and headed down to the Great Hall in hopes of finding her brother.

She reached the table, which had been decorated for the holidays, and sat next to Tom. "Merry Christmas, Tom," she greeted as she slid into her seat.

"Merry Christmas to you too, Miriam," he mumbled, not bothering to look up at her.

"I got something for you," she said, handing him his gift. He took it from her and opened it. It was a book called The Official Beater's Guide to Quidditch. He looked up at her. "I thought you might like that since you’re on the team and all," Miriam said.

"Thanks. I, uh, have something for you too," He reached inside his robe and handed Miriam her gift. She opened it and nearly gasped. He had also gotten her a book, but hers was The Official Chaser's Guide to Quidditch. Miriam laughed at the almost identical gifts they gave each other, but Tom’s mouth barely moved into a smile.

"Great minds think alike, I guess," Miriam said, wiping a tear from her eye.

"I guess so.�

January 4th, 1940,
Classes have started back up, and once again we're preparing for our end-of-year exams. I was talking to Abby earlier today, and she said that the end-of-year exams are nothing compared to the OWLs we take during our fifth year or the NEWTS during our seventh.
---

Miriam sat throughout their Potions class that day pondering their "fate" in fifth year. Of course, being in Potions offered little chance for her to think all that much about their OWLs. She was busy trying to make the Sleeping Potion their teacher had set them to. But whenever she got the chance to take a breather (usually while waiting for her potion to bubble), the thought of those fifth year tests would creep back into her mind.

When Panes had his back toward the class, Miriam whispered to Sophie, who was her partner in making the Sleeping Potion, about the OWLs.

"At least we don't have to worry about them until our fifth year," Sophie whispered.

"True, but doesn't thinking about all the studying we have to do for them make you a little nervous?" Miriam whispered back.

Sophie nodded. "Yeah, I guess I am a little worried about them, but if we pay attention in our classes, then when the time comes, we'll be prepared for them."

---

January 16th, 1940,
We have another Quidditch game tonight. We're playing against Slytherin, and Abby has been working the entire team nonstop this past week. Every night has been nothing but practice, practice, practice, and more practice. It's a miracle I'm even able to finish my homework and get it in on time.
---

"Okay guys. As you know, Gryffindor is in the lead, but Slytherin is close behind in second place. We can't afford to lose a single game, or we'll lose the Quidditch cup," Abby Bones grunted, pacing through the locker rooms that night before the game against Slytherin.

Abby then continued rambling, giving the team her mundane pre-game pep talk. Miriam looked over at Carl Potter, who was pretending to be asleep, complete with fake snoring sounds. Abby walked over in front him of him and said, "You think this is funny? Do you want to lose to Slytherin tonight and lose the Quidditch cup as well? Well, do you?"

Carl opened his eyes and looked up at Abby who was giving him a malevolent glower. "No Abby, I do want to win," he said.

"Good," she replied. "Now let's go!"

The Gryffindors marched out of the locker room, each one dead on winning.

"Captains, shake hands," Professor Luchtig dictated. Stephane, wearing a smug grin, walked forward to Abby with his hand extended. "May the best team win," he growled.

"I'm sure of it," Abby replied, through gritted teeth.

Miriam scanned the Slytherin team and saw Tom looking back at her. His face was stony, and he was chewing his lip profusely. Looking away, she mounted her broom and pushed off into the air. Immediately Professor Luchtig released the balls, and Markus Goyle from Slytherin grabbed the Quaffle or more likely snatched it from Abby's clutches.

He sailed through to the Gryffindors side and tried to score, but Aaron Wood was able to stop him.

"A nice save there from Gryffindor Keeper Aaron Wood!" Patrick yelled.

"Girls, let's play a little trick on the Slytherins," Abby said to Maria and Miriam. "Listen up. I’ll snatch the Quaffle from Markus -- I know his weak spot -- but I'll pass it to you, Maria, and then you pass it to Miriam. Try and score."

"Let’s go!" Maria and Miriam chimed.

Abby, Maria, and Miriam put their plan into action. Abby, while being chased by the Slytherin Beaters, threw the Quaffle to Maria, who carried it part way down the field. When the Slytherins began chasing her, she passed it to Miriam, who was able to score their first goal of the game.

"Good work, girls!" Abby exclaimed. Maria and Miriam high-fived each other. Meanwhile, Stephane was diligently planning his revenge. He glanced over at Tom, who was busy sending the Bludger down toward a Gryffindor player. Suddenly an evil plan took shape in his head.

"Tom!" he yelled, getting the attention of the boy flying below him."You're about to learna hard and difficult lesson in Quidditch: Injuries... are... inevitable... even to the best of players."

When the Bludger came back, Stephane used all his strength to hit the Bludger so hard toward Miriam that it knocked into the tail end of her broom, forcing the broom handle up into her stomach.

"Miriam!" screamed Abby as Miriam went spiraling down toward the ground, the air knocked out of her. Before anyone could do anything, Miriam hit the ground with a loud thud. Abby called a timeout and flew down to where Miriam lay motionless on the ground. Maria and the rest of the Gryffindor team were right behind her. Only one other person flew down as well... Tom.

"She's been knocked out," Aaron Wood said, checking her pulse. "No doubt from the hard fall she took."

"Good going with the Bludger, Tom, you jerk!" screamed Maria. "You just knocked your own sister out!"

"I... it wasn't me who sent it," he stammered. "Stephane..."

Aaron held up his hand to quiet them both down, but unfortunately he couldn't drown out the boos that were emerging from the crowd. He bent over and picked Miriam up and headed to the hospital wing with Tom and the other Gryffindors behind him.

Abby ran over to Professor Luchtig "I'll be back in a few," she said. Professor Luchtig nodded as Abby ran to catch up with the rest of the team, who were already in the castle.

By the time Abby found them, the team was seated beside Miriam in the hospital wing.

"How... is... she," struggled Abby, trying to catch her breath after literally running all the way.

"She's still out," Maria replied. "Obviously she won't be able to play the rest of the game tonight... or any game until she's awake."

Abby knelt down beside Miriam. She scowled across the bed at Tom, who wore an unreadable expression on his face. He left the hospital wing just before Michellina came into the room and asked everyone to leave, saying that the other patients (and Miriam) needed their rest. Sadly, the team slowly got up and left the hospital wing. Once they made it back out to the Quidditch field, Abby had a determined look on her face.

"Let's win this game for Miriam."

---

January 31st, 1940,
I woke from my coma two days after that Quidditch game. When news of my wakening spread, Sophie and Marcella were the first people to see me. They informed me that Gryffindor pummeled Slytherin four-hundred and fifty to one-hundred....
---

"It was extraordinary!" Sophie recounted, her eyes growing wide as she told Miriam the tale. "The Slytherins didn't know what hit them... uh, no pun intended," she quickly added.

Miriam laughed. Since that game, there had been no other Quidditch games involving Gryffindor. In that time, Miriam slowly got back into the habit of homework and Quidditch practices, although Abby was reluctant to take Miriam back so soon after her injury. After much persuasion, Abby agreed, and Miriam was back on the team.

"I wish you could have seen what happened after the game," Marcella snickered. "Professor Dumbledore deducted seventy-five points from Slytherin for 'extreme poor sportsmanship and an obvious attempt to seriously hurt a young player'."

Sophie laughed. "You really should have seen Stephane's face. I thought his jaw was going to hit the floor! The Slytherins tried to dispute it; however, Professor Dippet agreed with Dumbledore and so Slytherin is still seventy-five points behind where they were before that game."

Miriam laughed so hard that she fell out of the chair she was sitting in. This bit of news was too hilarious! "How did Tom take it?" she inquired.

Sophie and Marcella looked at each other. "Well... we're not too sure. He left the field as soon as he could, so we never got a chance to talk to him. But Abby did tell us he was in the hospital wing when you were first brought there. She told us he had an indecipherable look on his face."

They both shrugged, as they didn't know quite what to make of it.

---

February 14th, 1940,
Abby has been preparing us for the upcoming Quidditch match against none other than the Slytherins themselves. We'll be playing them for the Quidditch cup sometime in March. It'll be the first time we've played them since my accident.
---

"Professor Luchtig has promised me that nothing will go wrong and if any of those slimy Slytherins pull another stunt like that again, she'll disqualify them," Abby informed Miriam as they walked into the Great Hall on Valentine's Day morning.

They walked up to their table and sat down as the morning's mail began to arrive. The only thing Miriam received was The Daily Prophet. After paying the owl a bronze knut, she opened the paper began reading. For the last few weeks they had been reporting about a Muggle war that has been going on. She knew that wars were atrocious, but this one must have been exceptionally horrible in order for a wizard newspaper to report it. Miriam avidly read the newspaper while she ate breakfast.

Afterwards, since it was a Sunday, Miriam could spend the whole day doing whatever she wanted. Eventually she decided to head to the library to prepare for the upcoming final exams.

As she made her way to the library, she ran into Sophie and Marcella, who had just returned from the common room.

"Are you studying for the year end exams, too?" Miriam inquired.

"Yeah," Sophie replied. "We thought we should try and study harder for them. My parents weren't too pleased last year with my mediocre marks," she said as they went into the library together.

Meanwhile, Tom and his friends, Carrey and Murdoch, were also in the library -- but they weren't studying. They were huddled close together next to the Restricted Section. Luckily, Miriam and her friends didn't see them as Tom and his friends looked like they didn't want to be bothered.

"How do we get in there?" Tom asked.

"Easily," Carrey replied, holding up a piece of paper in his hand. "A permission slip," he said, proudly waving around the slip of paper. "Professor Panes was more than willing to give this to me when I said I needed it to study."

"Didn't he ask why a second year would need to study in the Restricted Section?" Tom asked.

Carrey sighed. "It's not the point, Riddle. The fact is, we can now do more searching on the Chamber of Secrets. We'll probably have much better luck looking in there." They went up to Madam Zuzellam's desk, who, with a questioning look in her eyes, reluctantly unlocked the door and let them into the Restricted Section.

"Where do we begin looking?" Tom asked.

"I don't know," Carrey admitted.

"Well if that isn't just great! We finally get into the Restricted Section, and you don't even know where to begin looking," Murdoch muttered, rolling his eyes.

"Listen here, Black, do youknow where to look?" Carrey shot back. Murdoch didn't reply, he just continued to walk ahead, ignoring Carrey as if he wasn't even there. Carrey grumbled.

They walked deeper into the room, each one glancing at the titles of books on the shelves. One of the books there caught Tom's attention. He stopped and picked it up.

"Famous Dark Wizards of the Last Two Centuries," Tom muttered, quietly reading the title of the book. He opened it up and inside, a name caught his attention -- Grindelwald. Suddenly, he remembered Miriam telling him about Grindelwald back during the Christmas holidays. They believed him to be responsible for the murder of an entire wizarding family. Tom couldn't bring himself to put the book down, so he continued reading it while he walked.

It stated that Grindelwald had once gone to Hogwarts, but upon the year of his graduation, he sank deeply into the Dark Arts. Once he left school, he became the first Dark Lord in England in many, many years.

"Hey Tom, what are you looking at?" Carrey demanded, suddenly snapping Tom out of his little daydream. It was like he had become hypnotized by reading that book.

"Uh, I was just looking at this one book here," he mumbled, carefully placing the book underneath his arm. They continued searching for something, anything that could tell them more about the Chamber of Secrets.

Back inside the main library, Miriam and her friends were reading about the goblin revolutions recently talked about in their History of Magic class.

"This... is... so boring," sighed Sophie as she looked over the stack of books in front of her.

"I know," Miriam replied, equally bored, "but we have to study it for the upcoming exams."

Looking over her stack of books, she sighed heavily. "There sure have been a lot of books written about it." Opening the next book in her stack, she began to read.

After about an hour of studying the boring history of the goblin revolutions, Miriam threw down her book and sighed loudly. "I don't know about you, but I think we should look at something different." Marcella and Sophie wholeheartedly agreed, nodding their heads fervently.

"Let's look at something a little more interesting," Miriam said. "Maybe we can practice our Charms, or something." She got up from the table and went to find some books on Charms. By that time, Tom and his friends had reemerged from the Restricted Section. Tom was carrying a stack of thick books in his arms.

"I'll see you guys later!" Tom said, turning to face his friends. He walked backwards, trying to balance the heavy books in his arms. This unfortunately prevented him from seeing where he was going. He took a tentative step backwards and stumbled into someone. His books went crashing loudly to the ground along with someone else's.

He turned around. "Miriam!" he exclaimed.

"Tom! What are you doing here? Miriam asked, returning the same amount of shock.

"I was just getting some books," he muttered as he scurried to pick back up the books he'd dropped. Miriam knelt down and began picking up her books. She found and grabbed her Charms books, and went to pick up what she thought was her book until she read the title, Famous Dark Wizards of the Last Two Centuries. Before the title could even fully register in Miriam's head, Tom roughly jerked the book out of her hands and stomped off. As she slowly got up, something clicked in her head.

That book, she thought, was about Dark Wizards. Miriam had a sudden sinking feeling in her stomach. Why would he want a book on Dark Wizards? Could it just be mere curiosity... or something more sinister than that?

Sighing, she stood back up and gloomily walked back to the table where Sophie and Marcella were waiting. She plopped back down in her seat and remained quiet throughout the rest of their studying, leaving her friends to wonder why she was acting so strange all of the sudden.

---

February 17th, 1940,
Seeing Tom with that book the other day in the library is still weighing heavily on my mind. I can't help but feel that he really is being 'corrupted' by the dreadful people he is in contact with daily., those rotten Slytherins.

I've also noticed subtle changes in him as well. He used to say 'hi' to me whenever we passed by each other. Now when he says it, it's barely even audible. Whenever we share a class, he used to wait for me when it was over, and we would leave together. Now he is one of the first to leave with his Slytherin friends. We hardly even talk anymore.

I can’t help but wonder why?
---

"Remember class, you should start practicing for your final exams," Professor Dumbledore reminded his class as they prepared to leave Transfiguration. Sophie, Marcella, and Miriam hung back from the rest of the crowd, something they normally did as Tom would occasionally wait for them and they would walk out of class together. But today Tom was one of the first people to leave the classroom.

Miriam slowly packed her books away as not to draw attention to the fact that she was one of the last to leave, one of the things she usually did when she and her brother shared a class so they could meet up outside afterwards.

Picking up her bag with her books in it, she flung it over her shoulder and looked up with a smile at her friends, but they were wearing a look of uncomfortable sorrow. They shuffled their feet and clasped their hands together as they led Miriam out of the classroom. Once they got away from the classroom, Sophie cleared her throat and said with a terrible note of sadness in her voice, "Tom didn't wait for you today."

"He... he was one of the first to leave the class," Marcella chimed in, her voice equally bleak.

Miriam must have looked crestfallen because Marcella and Sophie both sighed heavily. In a way, Miriam should have known that Tom wasn't going to wait for her. She had begun to notice over the last few months that he seemed to be avoiding her for the most part.

"We're so sorry," Sophie whispered, as Miriam looked at her friends.

"It's quite all right. I mean, who would want to hang out with their sister, after all?" She gave a weak laugh to show her friends that she didn't mind it at all, but inside it was a completely different story. Inside, she felt very depressed.

March 2nd, 1940,
Winter is slowly disappearing as spring makes its yearly appearance. Unfortunately the days have become extremely windy, which makes Quidditch practice much more interesting.

In a little over a week and a half we'll play our final Quidditch match of the season. It's again a rematch of Gryffindor vs. Slytherin. Abby has vowed to make sure I am well protected this time, but I assured her that the Slytherin team would have to be really stupid to try and pull that stunt with me again.
---

"Okay guys!" Abby yelled, her mouth full of her own hair. Though it was an exceedingly windy day, Quidditch practice still went on. Abby had insisted that they practice in the wind; that way, if it should still be windy during the Quidditch cup, they'd be prepared.

"First thing we need to do is... (Abby grunted)... be able to see! For the love of Merlin, will this wind just lighten up a little?" she yelled like a maniac into the wind. Carl and Aaron laughed. They thought Abby fussing with her hair and yelling at the wind was the funniest thing they'd ever seen. Abby just glared at them.

Once she finally managed to get her hair to stay in control, she mounted her broom and flew into the air. Miriam followed, along with the other members of the team. "We've got to learn how to work in weather like this," Abby said. "Let's divide into teams and play a match against each other."

Everyone followed her orders and the practice began. Unbeknownst to them, some Slytherins, including Tom, Carrey, and Murdoch, were sitting in the stands watching the game.

"Look at them," Carrey said with a sneer. "They've got their precious Chaser back, but Slytherin will show them who's boss next week at the Quidditch finale.�

Murdoch laughed. "The Gryffindors are a bunch of gits, right Tom? Tom?"

Tom wasn't answering. He was deeply engaged in watching the game, but on the other hand, he didn’t know what to say, so he pretended not to hear them.

"Hey! Excuse me, Thomas Riddle!" Murdoch yelled, waving his hands in front of Tom's face.

"What?"

"Did you hear what I just said?" Murdoch replied briskly.

Tom bit his tongue. "No," he lied. "I was watching the game... before you two interrupted."

"Well, while you were enjoying your little trip into la-la land, Murdoch and I were talking about how Slytherin is going to beat those Gryffindors next Saturday," Carrey said.
"And just so they know what to expect," he said, bending over his seat to pull something out, "we'll be bringing this out."

He was holding a large banner in his hands. Together he and Murdoch unrolled it and held it high above their heads. Up in the sky, Miriam was the first to see the awful poster. They had enchanted it to show seven stick figures wearing red being chased by a large green dragon breathing fire onto them. It changed scenes and the next one showed a stick figure in red with dark black hair (a crude likeness of Miriam) being knocked off her broom by a Bludger.

Miriam thought the whole idea was really evil and sick. But what was worse was that Carrey and Murdoch were holding up the banner, and Tom was sitting between them, trying hard not to laugh.

"Abby, did you see that?" Miriam exclaimed, pointing to the rude banner below them. Abby flew over to where Miriam was. Pursing her mouth in disgust, she glared intensely at the banner. "The nerve of them," she muttered.

Carrey and Murdoch looked up in time to see Miriam and Abby flying above them. Carrey, with a free hand, gestured to his poster and yelled, "Hey! Like our new banner?"

Abby turned and gave him a hand gesture of her own, one that shocked Miriam as much as it had Carrey and Murdoch. They sat there with their mouths handing open like a couple of idiots. Miriam glanced down and saw that Tom, his head slightly tilted, was wide-eyed and seemed to have a slightly entertained look on his face.

Miriam and Abby left the boys (two of which were still sitting dumbstruck over what just happened) and continued practicing.

---

March 14th, 1940,
It's around noon and everyone is slowly starting to wake up. Gryffindor won the Quidditch cup last night, and everyone stayed up late to celebrate.
I awoke with a bad headache, probably because I had too many sweets before going to bed. This sugar-induced headache led me to have another nightmare....
---

Miriam was in the middle of a cemetery late at night. Looking around, her eyes fell upon a large mansion on a hill.
I must be near Little Hangleton!

She heard voices off in the distance and, letting curiosity get the better of her, went to see who they belonged to. Making her way through the darkness with only the moon giving her light, she followed the voices and came upon a large clearing in the cemetery where there were some trees to offer her protection from being seen. There were a large group of people in the graveyard, so she hid behind a large tree to see what was going on.

The group of people were all wearing long, hooded robes, but there was one person who stood in front of all the others. He was short and squat and was carrying what appeared to be a small bundle. He placed it inside a cauldron and began reading from a piece of paper. Miriam looked further to her left and saw a young boy wearing school robes like herself. He looked to be a bit older than she was. He was tied to a large tomb stone, bound and gagged. Her jaw nearly hit the floor.
What on earth is going on here? she wondered.

Suddenly she heard the short person speak. He sounded like he was reciting a spell, but it was one she never heard before. The recital was suddenly interrupted when the person speaking it pulled something out from inside his hooded robe and let out a loud sob. Something fell into the cauldron with a deep thump, and the person began whimpering uncontrollably. When he held his arm up, she noticed that there was no hand... it was a stump, covered in his dark robe. In the moon light, she saw that it looked to be covered in... blood!

A gruesome realization dawned upon Miriam. That deep thump she just heard must have been his severed hand. Miriam leaned down to the ground and vomited.
As the whimpering person continued reciting the bizarre spell, something white and powdery floated out of the grave that they tied the young boy to. The powdery substance flew into the cauldron, which gave an odd, bubbling sound. The person walked over to the boy and grabbed the dagger he had used to cut his hand off.

Miriam gasped: She knew what he was going to do... he was going to kill the boy. She stood still, too scared to move.
The person carrying the dagger drew closer to the boy. He reached out and grabbed the boy’s arm, and with the dagger, he cut his arm.
The boy let out a loud scream of pain as blood dribbled down his arm. Taking a small vile, the hooded figure filled it with some of the boy's blood and dropped it into the cauldron, which took on an eerie glow before something started to emerge from within... something that absolutely terrified Miriam. She tried to move but found she was stuck to the ground.

It was suddenly getting warmer, and there was a bright light in her eyes... it was the sun. It was now daytime, and she was safely in her bed, unharmed... apart from the splitting headache she had. Rolling over, she got out of bed and looked over at Sophie and Marcella, who were both still sleeping soundly. Miriam tried her best to get dressed quietly, while replaying the horrific images from her dream over and over in her head.

---

April 11th, 1940,
Tom has been in a bit of an irritable mood this past week. Whenever I see him, he avoids me at all costs. During the times I have talked to him, he's snappish and seems not to want to be bothered with me. I wish I knew what was going on with him!
---

"Miriam, do you feel like doing any studying after dinner tonight?" Sophie asked as they left their Easter dinner in the Great Hall. Miriam didn't reply; she was in deep thought. Lately it seemed that her brother was in a miserable mood.

Though she tried talking to him, it went without success. He avoided her, and whenever he saw her coming down a hallway, he'd walk into a room until she past him. This was making Miriam angry. If she had done something to upset him, she'd certainly like to know what it was so she could avoid making that mistake again.

Over all, it had been an unhappy Easter vacation for Miriam. She couldn't wait for classes to begin again so it would take her mind off these depressing turn of events.

---

April 30th, 1940,
A most peculiar thing happened to me today while I was sitting by the lake with Sophie and Marcella...
---

The day started out as any other day in April had begun: warm and sunny, not a cloud in the sky. That day Miriam and her friends decided to head down to the lake and enjoy the refreshing water.

"It's so nice out today," sighed Marcella, as she took off her shoes and socks and splashed her feet around in the water. Miriam and Sophie agreed as they each took of their shoes and socks as well. Miriam layed back on the grass and closed her eyes... she could soon feel herself starting to nod off.

"Wake up, Miriam!" Sophie exclaimed, shaking her friend awake. Miriam woke with a start and before she could even ask what was wrong, she looked up at the sky and saw it had turned a dark, ominous gray. A big storm was brewing!
That’s impossible, she thought. How could a storm come on so fast?

It started getting windy and they could hear lightning striking off in the distance. "We've got to head back to the castle!" cried Marcella. Miriam got up from the ground and looked up at the clouds. Up in the sky, swirls of gray were everywhere. She couldn't help but stare at the approaching storm as her friends tugged on her arms, trying to get her to move. But Miriam continued staring at the clouds, almost in a trance.

Something up there had caught her eye... a face... a face in clouds! It was staring back at her. The face had slits for both eyes and nose and a small thin line for a mouth. Its small mouth curved up into a small grin as it stared down at Miriam. She turned around to see if her friends could see the face too, but there was nobody there with her -- it was like they had just disappeared.
But there’s no way they could have run back to the castle that fast!

Miriam's heart began to beat faster, and she was beginning to feel a little bit scared. Whatever was going on here was not normal.
It started getting dark all around her, like the clouds were encasing her in their darkness. Her heart felt like it was inside her throat. She couldn’t swallow, and her breath was caught in her lungs.

The face in the clouds was coming closer to her. Its malevolent smirk was now grinning broadly at her. She felt herself being lifted off the ground and into the air. The dark clouds surrounded her, and she began coughing, it was filling her lungs like a noxious gas.

She tried to yell for it to stop, but she couldn't speak, though she struggled to break free. Something was holding her in place, and she could hear laughter. A deep voice boomed loudly in her ears: "You and your brother are mine, Miriam!"
No! she thought. I won't let you! NO!

Evil laughter filled the air around her. She felt like she was drowning. Water was filling up all around her, and it would be mere minutes before she could not breathe. Water was splashing on her face and the sun was becoming progressively brighter....

Wait a minute, she thought. The sun?

Miriam opened her eyes again and saw that there was no more evil face, dark clouds, booming laughter, or water filling her lungs. Bringing her hand up to her face, she felt that it really was wet. Slowly sitting up, she saw that her friends were the only ones surrounding her now. They were looking very frightened.

"What happened?" Miriam asked groggily, her voice hoarse.

"I don't know. You went to sleep, and you were fine for a minute or two, but then you started fidgeting around and muttering 'No! No!'" Sophie replied, her eyes widening. "Are you all right?"
Miriam nodded. "I think I'd like to go back to the castle now."

Gingerly she put her socks and shoes back on and slowly started to stand, but she was too weak to be upright on her own and almost falling back down again.

"We'll help you walk back to the castle," Marcella said, putting Miriam's arm over her shoulder. Sophie did the same. Together they helped Miriam back to the castle.

"We're almost there," Sophie announced, pushing open the main entrance with her free hand. Miriam gave her friends a weak, but grateful smile.

Upon making their way to the main entrance, Tom, Carrey, and Murdoch met them there. Both Carrey and Murdoch sauntered off into the Great Hall without even asking if Miriam was okay, but Tom hung back.

"Is she okay?" he asked, his eyes widening slightly. Sophie and Marcella nodded.
"Do you need me to –"
"Hey Tom, get back here!" yelled Carrey, sticking his head back out of the Great Hall’s door.
"Yeah!" intoned Murdoch. "Dinner's about to begin!"

Tom looked at his friends, then back to Miriam and her two human supports. Biting his lip, he quickly glanced at Miriam again and then walked off to join his friends in the Great Hall. If Miriam hadn't felt so weak, she would have wondered why he didn't stay and help her. Instead, her friends continued their way back to the Gryffindor common room.

---

May 12th, 1940,
The end-of-year exams are coming closer and everyone in the school is becoming progressively more highly-strung. But the ones who are the most nervous are the one's who have OWLs and NEWTs this year.

Apart from the test anxiety, things have been relatively normal around here -- "relatively" being the key word here. I've been seeing less and less of Tom lately. Whenever I see him in the library, he always buries his face in a stack of books. It's utterly disgusting how he spends all his free time either reading or hanging out with Carrey and Murdoch. Not once in the last few months has he given me more than five minutes of his time.

Oh, dear Merlin, I'm becoming jealous of Carrey and Murdoch! Somebody, please save me NOW!
---

It was approaching dusk one evening as Miriam sat next to a window in the Gryffindor common room writing in her diary. Sophie was busy writing a report for Charms at the table across the room, and Marcella was diligently rereading her notes from the past year. Miriam had already finished her homework and was now free to do as she pleased. One of the things she loved doing in her spare time was writing in her diary.

Meanwhile, across the castle and down in the darkest part of Hogwarts, sat Tom in the Slytherin common room reading a book he had just gotten from the library.

"Bloody hell, Tom, is that all you do is read?" Carrey asked, emerging from the boys dormitories. Tom looked up from his book, his eyes narrowing slightly and his jaw firmly positioned.

"I just find this really interesting," he snapped. "Besides, we've got exams coming up in a few weeks."

"Whatever," Carrey replied nonchalantly. "I'm not worried about them. Are you?" He sat at the table next to Tom. "You probably aren't, since you and your good for nothing brainy sister are the smartest kids at Hogwarts."

Tom put his book down and scowled at Carrey. "Don't you call my sister that! Take it back!" he shouted, waving his wand threateningly at Carrey. Carrey was a bit taken aback by Tom's sudden outburst.

"Fine, fine, whatever. I take it back. Sorry," he said abruptly. Carrey got back up from the table and left Tom sitting there. He immediately went back to reading his book.

---

June 3rd, 1940,
We took our exams today. Unfortunately, we have to wait until summer, sometime in July to be exact, before we find out how we did. The suspense is absolutely awful.

One good bit of news to report is that Abby showed me a great spell. It's a spell that can make something expand in size, but still have it keep its original shape. I practiced the spell on my diary, and now I won't ever run out of pages with which to write. I thanked Abby for showing it to me.
---

Ten days had passed and it was time for the students at Hogwarts to leave for the summer. This was the part that most everyone loved: to have the time to do anything they wanted. But this was also the time Miriam and Tom hated the most because they had to spend three long months at the orphanage.


"Welcome students to the end of year feast!" Professor Dippet said jovially at dinner. Professor Dippet had just given his routine speech, then finally announced the standings for the House Cup. Just like the year before, Gryffindor won the Cup. Everyone seated at Gryffindor table cheered and celebrated their second straight win. Of course, this lead to some heavy jeering from the Slytherin side.

The evening went on and they ate many delicious foods. Before anyone knew it, the feast was over and Professor Dippet ordered the students back to their respective Houses. He wanted everyone to get a good nights rest for the next morning when the Hogwarts Express would take them back home for the summer vacation.

Back in the girls’ dormitories, Miriam gloomily packed her suitcase as the thought of going back to the orphanage filled her head. Deep inside she wished that she could just spend the summer months here at Hogwarts; she knew that Tom would whole heartedly agree with her. She would bring this up with Tom when she would see him the next morning.

"Igitur qui desiderat pacem, praeparet bellum."
"Therefore, whoever wishes for peace, let him prepare for war." -- Latin, Unknown

---

August 31st, 1940,
We're back at Hogwarts now. It was a long,drawn out summer, complete with more misery served by Madame Westyn. I'm glad that we're finally back at Hogwarts again.

Everyday while we were at that vile place, Tom and I would count down the days until we would return to school. August couldn't arrive soon enough for us.
---

Tom, Miriam, and the other students entering the Great Hall found seats at their house tables, which were quickly filling with students. Tom headed over toward the Slytherins while Miriam joined Sophie and Marcella at the Gryffindor table.

"Where were you?" Marcella asked as Miriam sat down next to her. "We lost you in the crowds when we left the train. We thought if we waited by the carriages for you, we'd see you. But after a while we figured you must have left without us."

"Sorry for making you two wait," apologized Miriam. "When I got off the train, I saw Tom, and I went to go see him. When we headed over to the carriages, I looked around for you two, but I guess by then you had already left. But I appreciated having the chance to talk to him, as Carrey or Murdoch weren't anyplace around."

"Besides Tom, you didn't get stuck with any other Slytherins on your ride, did you?" Sophie asked.

Miriam shook her head. "No, we got seated with a couple of second year Hufflepuffs. You?"

"Thankfully no," Sophie replied, very relieved. "We sat with Minerva McGonagall, Hannah Evans, and Peter Longbottom."
Continuing their little chat about their ride over to the school, they stopped when Professor Dippet stood up to announce the start of term.

"Welcome back to Hogwarts! We will begin our feast shortly, but coming up beforehand will be the Sorting."
Everyone in the Great Hall clapped listlessly as most were too hungry to care who got put in what house. As the clapping died away, Professor Dippet started to look rather uncomfortable.

"It's unfortunate that I, uh, must inform you that your Transfiguration teacher and Gryffindor Head of House, Professor Dumbledore, is... uh... won't be here for part of the school year."

Murmurs spread throughout the Great Hall. Someone from the end of Gryffindor table yelled out why. Professor Dippet, who was starting to sweat now, rubbed the back of his neck with his hand and answered rather tentatively, "It's important business. Nothing that students need to worry themselves about."

He turned to face behind him and saw that the first years had arrived. Professor Dippet looked relieved by the distraction and glad that no one else could ask about Dumbledore's mysterious disappearance.

"Let's, uh, begin the, uh, the Sorting ceremonies," he mumbled, once again taking his seat at the long table.
One by one, the first years lined up and faced an old, frayed hat that sat upon a decrepit stool.

Miriam, Sophie, and Marcella gave each other a worried glance as the noise of the Sorting ceremony took place. This was certainly not a good way to start out the school year. How bad could this business be that required Dumbledore to miss part of the school year? It left an icy feeling in the pit of her stomach.

Miriam looked around the Great Hall and saw that the Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws were also looking a bit concerned. Needless to say, it did not seem to bother the Slytherins in the slightest, or at least the ones she could see from where she was sitting.

"Dear old Dumbles has gone an gotten himself lost, has he?" Stephane quipped. A wide grin appeared on his face and a fake tone of concern was present in his voice. The whole Slytherin table erupted into boisterous laughter.

"Imbeciles," Abby muttered as she pulled up a seat across from Miriam and her friends at Gryffindor table.

"Hi Abby," Miriam greeted.

"Hello Miriam," she replied, her face suddenly taking on a mysterious smile. "Notice anything new about me?"
Miriam leaned in for a closer look and saw her friend wearing a 'Head Girl' badge.

"You're Head Girl!" the girls exclaimed.
"That's fantastic!" Marcella complimented. Abby's face suddenly turned as red as her hair.

"Thanks guys," she mumbled. "Unfortunately, there's a downfall to this." Miriam and her friends looked at her inquisitively. They wondered what the downfall to something so wonderful was.

"I have to spend more time with... him!" Abby complained, scrunching up her nose as she pointed over to the Slytherin table at Stephane Lestrange.

"Stephane got named Head Boy and so...," Abby continued taking a deep breath, "you see the predicament I'm in."
Looking once more at the Slytherin table, she gave an involuntary shudder. Thinking about it was just too much for her....

"Well anyway," Abby continued cheerfully, trying to change the subject, "the Sorting ceremonies seem to have started. Good thing too, I'm starved!

The entire Great Hall watched the loads of First year students being sorted (from Avery, Uilliam in Slytherin, to Crouch, Bartemius in Ravenclaw) into the different houses. One of the students waiting to be sorted caught Miriam's eye immediately, and apparently the eye of the entire Great Hall. He was so much different from the other students... a lot different.

Towering over all of the First years, he was so tall, and he could've seen eye to eye with some of the full-grown adult teachers. Miriam couldn't believe that this boy was a soon-to-be First year student.

His name was called from the list and he approached the stool. He sat down awkwardly on it as it was much to small for him. The stool gave a loud creak and the tattered hat was placed on his large head, where it sat for a moment before moving. Miriam couldn't hear what the hat was saying, but it eventually yelled out "GRYFFINDOR!"

Everyone at Gryffindor table applauded for their new house mate as the big First year boy came over to the table. Several Fourth year students had to squeeze together to accommodate the new, extremely large person.

"G'day," he grunted shyly as he sat down next to Marcella, whom was being crushed sideways into Minerva McGonagall. Two First years gasped and looked frightened, but Miriam wasn't scared of him; she was merely curious about him. Even Abby, normally cool, calm and collected, looked a bit surprised. Her eyes grew very wide, but she was able to regain her composure.

"Um, welcome to Gryffindor house," she announced, "I'm Abby, Head Girl and Prefect," upon which she then introduced him to the people around the table. "So, uh, what's your name?"

"Rubeus Hagrid," the new boy answered gruffly.

Once the feast was over with, Professor Dippet stood up once more to address the school. As he turned to face a gray-haired woman, he announced, "Everyone, please welcome Professor Jamison." Murmurs again went through the Great Hall.

"She will be filling in for Professor Dumbledore as Head of Gryffindor house and Transfiguration teacher until he returns. Now that we've eaten and drank til our hearts content, let's all head to bed!"

---

September 3rd, 1940,
Most dreadful news awaited me this morning in the Great Hall....
---

As Miriam made her way down to the Gryffindor table for breakfast, she was met with a barrage of murmurs and whispers.

"Did you hear?!" Marcella asked as Miriam sat down at the table. She shook her head no, she hadn't heard anything on her way down.

"England has just declared a Muggle war."

Marcella handed Miriam someone's copy of The Daily Prophet, and right there on the front of the paper in large print read:

"Muggle England Declares War Against Muggle Germany. German wizarding school, Durmstrang, under attack."

She handed the paper back to Marcella and asked, "How could a Muggle war affect the wizarding world?"

"I don't know, but it sounds awful."

By then, Sophie had squeezed her way into the table right beside Miriam.

"I was just talking to a Ravenclaw girl, and she heard that they are evacuating many Muggle children to the countryside."

"Really?" Miriam enquired.

"Um-hmm."

That morning, nobody ate breakfast in peace as every so often someone would bring up the subject again.

"Who's this Hitler person?"

"I don't know, but he sounds a lot like Grindelwald."

---

September 6th, 1940,
This school year has become the hardest yet, and we're hardly a week into it. At the end of last year, we had to make a choice on which classes we wanted to take for this semester. I picked Muggle studies, Divination, and Aritmancy (which is something Tom is taking as well). Marcella and Sophie picked the same as well.

Along with my other classes, I've become very worn down from all the extra work. I hope I can get through all this....
---

In Monday afternoon, Miriam and her friends had their second ever Divination class at the top of the tower. Together the girls walked up the long and narrow, winding staircase that lead to Professor Sanderson's Divination classroom.

"Welcome everyone,"said Professor Sanderson, a tall, sandy-haired haired woman. "Class will begin as soon as the other students arrive."

Miriam, Sophie, and Marcella found a table toward the front of the class that had three chintz chairs.
Slowly the rest of the class trickled in, and Professor Sanderson began the day's lessons.

"First we'll continue our work from the last time we were here," she began. Their work from the previous time had been reading tea leaves. Professor Sanderson set out to hand each student a teapot and set of cups. When Miriam got theirs, they immediately set to work.

Following Sanderson's instructions, they brewed the tea, then while it was still hot, Miriam took the first sip. After draining the tea from the cup, the only thing left inside was a bunch of wet, mushy tea leaves.

"What do you suppose that looks like?" Miriam asked, looking at the soggy mess in her cup. Sophie took the cup from her and peered inside.

"It... it sort of looks like a... heart," she said. Sophie handed over the cup to Marcella, and she peeked inside.

"Nah, I'd say it looks more like a cat."

Miriam pulled out her book Unfogging the Future from under the table and opened it.

"It says here," she began, "that a heart shape means that someone will fall in love with you within the next year. A cat, on the other hand, means that someone close to you will betray you and become traitor. In layman's terms: treachery. Hmm, definitely not a good sign."

She grabbed the cup from Marcella and looked inside. With a sinking feeling in her stomach, she realized that it most definitely looked like a cat.

"Who do you think will turn traitor on you?" Sophie asked with widening eyes.

"I don't know," Miriam replied, looking at her book again to make sure she had read the description right. Something about it didn't seem right to her....

"Well it won't be us!" Marcella told her defiantly. "We'll be friends forever!"

Miriam smiled at both of them, but inwardly, she was deeply concerned. Who could betray her and become a traitor?
She started reeling off names inside her head: Abby... Minerva... No she thought. It couldn't be them. The description said 'someone close to you,' meaning close friends or... family....

Her mind suddenly shifted to Tom, but why would he betray her? Sure, he's hanging out with those Slytherins, but that doesn't necessarily mean anything. He couldn't possibly be bad... could he? she thought worriedly.

"Are we having any problems here?" Professor Sanderson asked as she stood before Miriam and her friends' table.

"We're not too sure what this shape is," Miriam answered, rather more shakily than she meant to sound. Professor Sanderson took the cup from Miriam's hands and peered inside.

"It looks to me like a crab, which is very bad news, my dear. A crab means there is an enemy nearby."

As if this were the norm, she gently placed the cup back on the table and went around the room to see if anyone else needed help. Miriam glanced over at her friends.

Traitor? Treachery? An enemy nearby?

She sat through the rest of Divination class thinking it over, trying to piece together the pieces.

What could all this possibly mean?

---

September 7th, 1940,
I feel absolutely awful! My head is spinning, my stomach is tight, and I feel as if somebody has placed a tourniquet around my chest. All these symptoms came upon me after I awoke from my most recent nightmare....
---

"... someone will betray you... turn traitor.... Someone will betray you... turn traitor...."

These words kept replaying over and over in her head as she went to sleep that night. Swirls of gray mist clouded her brain as a tall dark figure appeared in the mists. It walked closer and became more visible. The figure was wearing a hooded robe covering its face as it began making a hissing sound... almost like a snake.

"I smell blood.... Mudbloods better beware... someone will betray you... turn traitor... the heir will come..."

The voice echoed loudly in her ear. It spooked her to know that she could understand its incessant hissing.

"No," she whispered. "No!"

"Someone will betray you! The heir has come at last!"
Miriam started tossing and turning in her bed. "Someone will betray you... turn traitor...," she muttered over and over again in her sleep. "No..."

Suddenly she felt a hand on her shoulder, and she jolted awake.

"Miriam, wake up! You're talking in your sleep!"

Rolling over, she saw Sophie standing by her bed.
"Sophie," she mumbled, still half delirious from her dream, "you startled me."

"I'm sorry about that, but you were tossing and turning muttering ‘someone will betray you... turn traitor' repeatedly," Sophie said looking worried. "You shouldn't worry yourself about that silly prediction. It's a known fact that Divination isn't an exact science. The prediction will probably never happen. Mark my words."

Hearing these words comforted Miriam greatly, though the tourniquet feeling still hadn't let up. She smiled thankfully at Sophie, who got the message and smiled back.

Miriam sighed. She didn't feel like going back to sleep just yet as she wasn't feeling all too good. Instead, she pulled out her diary and began writing.

---

October 18th, 1940,
With the extra classes I'm taking this year, along with my regular classes, homework, and now Quidditch practice, I think I'm slowly beginning to go mad. Every night after dinner I head directly back to the common room and do the homework I've been assigned, but on certain nights I have to head to Quidditch practice.

On those nights, no matter what time I get back to the common room, I'll try and finish my homework. Unless I'm too tired, then I'll try and do it in the morning before class begins... then the madness starts ALL OVER AGAIN!!!
---

"Psst, Miriam," Marcella whispered, nudging her friend in the shoulders.

Miriam slowly opened her eyes. "Wha... wha's wrong?" she mumbled sleepily.

"We're in class!" whispered Marcella. Miriam bolted right up from her slouched over position. Hearing these words set off a bomb inside her chest.

"No! Please tell me I wasn't sleeping in class!"

"You're lucky Professor Binns wasn't looking," Sophie added pointedly.

Miriam rubbed her eyes. It wasn't like her to fall asleep in class, but with all the things pulling her in diffe! rent directions, she felt tired and worn out easily.

"Are you all right?" Sophie asked.

Miriam nodded and replied, "Did any of you happen to take any notes on what the class was about?"

Marcella showed her a piece of parchment where she had written down her notes.

Unfortunately, Professor Binns had noticed that Miriam had fallen asleep. "Miss Riddle, I would like to see you after class," he said in his dull voice.
She gulped as fear pitted itself in her stomach. How could she have been so stupid and fall asleep in class?!

Once History of Magic class was over with for the day, Miriam stayed behind while the others, giving her inquisitive looks, left. Professor Binns glanced up from his notes on his desk and announced, "Miss Riddle, do you find my class that boring and dull that you must fall asleep during it?"

She shook her head no. "No sir," she began, "It's just... I'm just really tired. The extra work is catching up with me. I truly didn't mean t fall asleep...."

Professor Binns looked at Miriam, then answered, "Come with me."

He led her out of the classroom and through the hall, up a flight of stairs and into a part of the castle she had only occasionally been to. Knocking on a wooden door, Binns lead her into a room which she had never seen before. Sitting in the middle of the room was a large desk with many strange objects on it. But it was something behind the desk that caught Miriam's attention... Professor Jamison! Dumbledore's temporary replacement!

Surely she wasn't going to be expelled, was she? Nausea suddenly overtook her....
Professor Jamison looked up from her desk with an amused look on her face. "May I help you two?"

"Professor, Miss Riddle was caught falling asleep in my class today," Professor Binns began. "She told me she was tired from all the extra work she is currently doing, and I believe she is also on your house's Quidditch team."

Miriam's stomach began doing flip-flops. Here it comes, she thought. He's going to have me booted off the team... or worse... expelled.

"I thought that since you're the Head of her house, maybe you could help her find a schedule to fit her needs. It would only seem fair, ma'am. She's the brightest student I've had in a very long time."

Miriam's heart nearly stopped. He was... saving her! Professor Jamison looked even more amused now.

"Certainly!" she said cheerfully. Professor Binns left the room as Professor Jamison pulled out a fresh piece of parchment, and she and Miriam began working on a time schedule.

When she left about an hour later, she looked down at her new schedule and sighed. She couldn't help but wonder how Tom was doing it all. He also had extra classes on top of his regular ones and was probably still searching for that foolish Chamber of Secrets with his friends. And to top it all off, he was also a member of the Slytherin Quidditch team, too.

He, apparently, had better organizational skills than her....

October 23rd, 1940,
As I entered the Great Hall today, I was met with an unexpected quietness. On Saturday mornings, the Great Hall is usually noisy and filled with activity, but today it was the exact opposite. The only sound I heard as I made my way toward the Gryffindor table was the sound of people whispering.

I felt like I was at a funeral.
---

She found a seat next to Minerva and sat down. Owl post had apparently come very early that day as a brown barn owl was already sitting on the table holding out Miriam's copy of The Daily Prophet. After paying the owl, but before she unrolled her newspaper, she looked around at her fellow Gryffindors. Many Sixth and Seventh years were hovering around Abby as she looked at The Daily Prophet. All of them were wearing sad expressions on their faces.
Before Miriam opened her paper, Sophie and Marcella sat down next to her.

"I've never seen the Great Hall like this," Sophie commented. She looked over at the Hufflepuff table and saw a few of First year girls were weeping.

Miriam opened her newspaper and gasped at the headline.

"The daughter of the Minister of Magic missing"
Sources have announced that the daughter of Minister of Magic, Mr. Antoni Goodspell, has been kidnapped. Reports have suggested that the kidnapping was executed by the Knights of Walpurgis, who were retaliating against the Ministry's new crackdown policy on Grindelwald and his Knights.
Her mother, Muriel Goodspell, who was planning on visiting her daughter for the day, reported Celestyn Keara Goodspell, nineteen, missing on Thursday. No signs of forced entry were found.

"We hope that whoever has our daughter will bring her back to us safe and sound," a sobbing Mrs. Goodspell said to Daily Prophet reporters.

Mr. Goodspell was unable to be reached for comment.

Miriam, Sophie, and Marcella looked nervously at one another. Between the awful Muggle war that was going on and the current unrest in the wizarding world, it seemed, in Miriam's eyes, that the world was simply falling apart.

How could one world hold so much evilness?

---

October 31st, 1940,
I have good news and bad news. The good news is that today I am officially a teenager, but the bad news concerns the whereabouts of the missing daughter of the Minister of Magic...
---

"Did you hear the news?" Abby asked Miriam as she and her friends walked down the hallway to the Great Hall. Miriam and her friends shook their head no.

"I just heard it from one of the Ravenclaw Prefects that Celestyn was found murdered. Apparently, someone used an Unforgivable Curse," Abby noted.

Miriam, Sophie, and Marcella looked at each other. "What's an 'Unforgivable Curse?'" Miriam asked.

Abby looked uncomfortable. "The first thing you must know is that the three Unforgivable Curses are completely and utterly banned from use by the Ministry. Anyone caught using them on another human will have his or her wand broken and be sent to Azkaban for life. Secondly, I only know what I learned about them in Defense Against the Dark class," Abby continued. "There are three curses: the Cruciatus Curse, which inflicts an unimaginable amount of pain on a person. The Imperius Curse can control a person entirely. And finally... Avada Kedavra, the killing curse. This was the one used on Celestyn."

"How were they able to determine for a fact that the killing curse was actually used... besides the obvious fact?" Miriam asked.

"Well, there were no marks on her body," Abby answered. "The killing curse doesn’t leave a mark on the body."

Upon entering the Great Hall, which was once again in a state of depression, Miriam remembered to ask, "What's Azkaban?"

"It’s a wizard’s prison," replied Abby. “I hear it’s an awful place. There are things there called Dementors that can suck out your soul.�

Once owl post had been delivered, Miriam hurriedly opened The Daily Prophet and saw that the Celestyn case was the main headline.

“Missing daughter of Minster of Magic found�
In a sad twist of events, Celestyn Goodspell, daughter of Minister Antoni Goodspell, was found murdered last night in an abandoned Muggle store south of London. After receiving an anonymous tip, special Ministry wizards went to the abandoned store where they found the body of nineteen-year-old Celestyn.
"We can't give out too much information at this point," Rachel Abbott said. "But we can confirm that the cause of death was by use of an Unforgivable Curse."
The Daily Prophet will continue to bring up-to-the-second coverage as this story continues to unfold.

Miriam set the paper down and looked at her friends, who were sitting on either side of her. Neither of them said anything; they were in just as much shock as she was.

---

November 6th, 1940,
Tonight is our first Quidditch match of the year. We're playing against Hufflepuff. Abby told me that the Hufflepuff team has a new captain, Henry Diggory. He's a fourth year, and as Maria Bell has stated from watching (or spying) them practice throughout the week, Henry is a formidable opponent....
---

"... but he's really nice... and cute," Maria Bell announced, giggling. Carl Potter and Aaron Wood rolled their eyes and snorted.

The entire Gryffindor team was huddled in the locker room before their game against Hufflepuff, listening to Maria who had been telling them about Hufflepuff's new captain.

"Well, we'll see how good he is against the all-powerful Gryffindors," Abby replied seriously as she struggled to hide a smile on her face. "Now let's go out there and win!"

The team clapped their hands together and shouted, "Rah! Rah! Gryffindor!" as they made their way out to the field amid loud applause.

~*~

"Let's be sure to have a friendly game tonight," Professor Luchtig said as Abby and Henry shook hands. Miriam looked over at the new Hufflepuff captain and sighed as her heart skipped a couple of beats. She couldn’t help but think that he was the cutest boy she had ever seen. But before she could ponder this new feeling that came over her, Professor Luchtig had released the balls, and she had to push Henry out of her mind.

"Hufflepuff has the Quaffle, the three Gryffindor Chasers, Abby, Maria, and Miriam are om hot pursuit," Patrick Jones announced. "Hufflepuff is still in possession of the Quaffle, but Chaser Estella Tikhonov has thrown it to her teammates in order to escape the grasps of the Gryffindor Three."

Abby, Maria, and Miriam closed in on Estella, forcing her to throw the Quaffle to one of her teammates, but Abby intercepted it and high tailed it back to the other end of the field to score.

"Gryffindor is the first to score. They're leading ten to zero."

Much of the game continued following the same aspect: Gryffindor would score, and then Hufflepuff would even it out. Cute Henry Diggory turned out to be quite the fierce player. For much of the game, Miriam couldn't help but find herself gazing at him. He had the most beautiful blue eyes, and the way his brown hair fell over his face... it was too much. He was absolutely gorgeous! Thoughts about whether he had a girlfriend or not starting filling her head... until Abby's voice broke her euphoria.

"Earth to Miriam!" she yelled. "Let's focus on the game, please!"

"Sorry." Miriam turned a few shades of red much deeper than her Quidditch robe.

For rest of the game, Miriam was able to shut Henry out of her mind, but occasionally she would catch herself staring at him. The game eventually ended with Gryffindor winning, but only by a small margin. Hufflepuff had put up a heck of a fight.

Just as the Gryffindor team was exiting the field, someone called out to Miriam... it was Henry Diggory!

She turned around, but her foot wouldn’t cooperate and swung out to the side, causing her to fall to the ground with a loud thump!
Being the perfect gentleman he was, Henry reached down and helped up a profusely blushing Miriam.

"You, uh, played really well tonight," he said, avoiding her face and keeping his gaze at his shoes. Miriam couldn't bring herself to look at him either. It was much too embarrassing.

I’m such a klutz!

Unfortunately, her ability to speak slipped from her as fast as her foot had done. She was feeling very uncomfortable at that moment, and a strong sense of just how sweaty and dirty she must’ve been gnawed at her.

I must look horrible.

"You... you are great! I mean that you played great, and... and..."

Ugh, I probably sound like a MORON!

At that moment, someone from the Hufflepuff team called out to Henry.
"I'd better be going," he mumbled, finally meeting her eyes. He gave her a small wink and went to rejoin his teammates, leaving Miriam feeling dumbstruck and totally angry with herself.

How stupid am I? I sounded like a fool!

As she continued to mentally berate herself, an arm went around her and she looked up into Abby's smiling face.

"I think someone likes you!" she giggled, a huge grin appearing on her face. If Miriam thought she had turned a deep shade of red before, it was nothing compared to now.

He likes ME! she thought. Insignificant, not very attractive... ME!

Contributing to her already reddening face, a huge smile slowly wormed its way onto her.
Just as if someone had enchanted her with a levitating charm, she felt like she floated on air back to the Gryffindor common room.

---

November 13th, 1940,
I just received two of the biggest surprises in my life, and they both happened within the same day...
---

"Miss Riddle, why aren't you getting ready to head to Hogsmeade with your brother and fellow students?" Professor Jamison asked after breakfast that day.

"Pardon me?" she asked.

"Didn't your brother tell you? At the end of last year's term, Dumbledore gave him two permission slips for you and him to have signed, allowing you to go to Hogsmeade. He had gotten them signed and returned to me almost as soon as he set foot back here again for this term."

Miriam looked across the Great Hall and over at her brother who was talking animatedly to Carrey and Murdoch. He must have sensed her looking at him because he stopped and looked up. For the briefest of moments, their eyes met.

That's so sweet of him, she thought, beaming.

"That's wonderful news!" Marcella exclaimed. The girls headed back in the Gryffindor common room, bundling up for their trek to Hogsmeade. "We're so glad you could come with us. It'd be really boring without you."

"You're gonna love Hogsmeade!" Sophie added. "My parents remember going there when they were at Hogwarts, and they said it's absolutely amazing."

"That was really sweet of Tom to do that for you," Marcella added.

~*~

As they finished putting on their gloves and made sure their scarves were coving their necks, they got ready to leave the common room when they heard a booming voice calling out from the top of the stairs.

"Where yeh goin'? Everyone's bin leavin' today." A giant student appeared at the top of the stairs leading to the boys' dormitories.

"Hello, Hagrid," Miriam replied. "We're heading to Hogsmeade today."

“What’s Hogsmeade?�

“It’s a wizarding village,� Sophie piped up.

"Oh. I wish if I could go," he replied gruffly, with a hint of wistfulness clearly evident in his voice.

"We're really sorry Hagrid, but going to Hogsmeade is only allowed to students in third year and up," Sophie continued.

"Oh, well, have fun then."

The girls knew that if Hagrid was even old enough to go, they wouldn’t have allowed him to go anyway. Poor Hagrid had gotten into serious trouble the other day as Professor Panes, the Potions teacher, had caught Hagrid getting into an intense argument with two Seventh year students.

Of course, the punishment came out very one-sided as Professor Panes was also the head of Slytherin house and the two seventh year students were also from Slytherin. The professor believed the “we were just innocent bystanders� story that those two students fed him, and Hagrid took the entire blame for causing trouble. He was forbidden to leave the Gryffindor common room, except for classes and meals, and Gryffindor had been docked twenty points.

Even in the short time Miriam and her friends knew Hagrid, they knew he wasn't the type to just pick fights with anyone. It was the unfortunate reality that Hagrid was so different from the rest of the students that he spent most of his time trying to defend himself against those who took it upon themselves to make fun of his differences.

Miriam looked up into his dark eyes, waved good-bye to him, and ran back down to the Great Hall where Professor Jamison was checking off the names of the students who would be going to Hogsmeade that day.

"Bell, Maria?"

"Here!"

"Black, Murdoch? Boot, Daniel?"

"Here!" they both yelled.

Miriam, Marcella, and Sophie stood around with the other students, waiting for their names to be called so they could leave the castle. While they were waiting, Tom made his way over to Miriam. He looked rather bored and impatient.

"It slipped my mind, I guess," he mumbled rather dully, answering the question that had been plaguing Miriam's head.

“You... how... how did you get Madam Westyn to sign?� she asked warily. “You didn’t... hex her did you? You know that they do not allow us to use magic.�

Tom looked away rather uncomfortably, wringing his hands. Miriam shook her head in disbelief. How exactly did he get her to sign it?

“You know you can’t do magic away from school –“ she began, but Tom waived his hands rather impatiently and cut her off in mid-sentence.

“I didn’t use magic,� he hissed.

“Well then, how did you –“ (she trailed off as she watched the familiar form of Henry Diggory make his way through the crowd of students to where she was standing) "– make her sign," she managed to finish. Tom turned around and looked up at Henry.

"You’re that Quidditch player everyone was talking about the other night."
Henry looked rather embarrassed.

"So, um, what brings you here?" Tom continued, eyeing Henry with a peculiar glower.

"I was going to ask Miriam if she'd like to walk with me to Hogsmeade."

Right at that moment, Miriam thought her heart had stopped beating completely. The blood froze in her veins....

"You want to ask my sister... out?" Tom squeaked, barely croaking out the words, and appeared rather sickened at the very idea. Henry simply nodded.
Miriam, on the other hand, wasn't too sure what to say as her stomach was suddenly doing somersaults and banging around her innards. On one hand, Tom was being an enormous prat, but Henry on the other hand... she sighed inwardly. He wanted to ask her out on a date! So she hadn't made a complete fool of herself that night at the Quidditch game. Completely giddy, she felt like dancing around the Great Hall and kissing everyone in sight. However, she didn't want to make a fool of herself (nor did she really want to kiss Carrey or Murdoch), so she abstained and kept her feet securely on the ground while her heart did all the dancing inside her chest.

Henry extended his hand toward Miriam and she took it. "Would your brother and friends like to come along, too?" he asked politely.

Tom flat out refused, muttering something to the effect of he wouldn’t be caught dead going with a “Dufferpuff� and mumbled he was planning on going with the Slytherins instead. Marcella and Sophie, though, both accepted his offer to come along.

"Prewett, Sophie? Thomas, Marcella?"

"Here!" yelled Sophie.

"That's us! Oh, I can't wait! Let's go!" squealed Marcella, apparently bursting with excitement.

"Riddle, Miriam? Riddle, Thomas?"

As they walked off ready to leave the Great Hall, Miriam felt a bizarre sensation on the back of her head. It felt almost as if she were being stared at. Turning around briefly, she saw Tom watching her. Their eyes met, and and they looked at one another for an entire minute. His green eyes didn't blink once. Miriam's head felt like someone was trying to force his way inside, and she felt a sharp throbbing sensation in her temples. The moment she turned away from him, the feeling had subsided.

"Hogsmeade has a great joke shop called Zonko's," Henry stated, breaking Miriam out of her state of confusion. "Then there's the Honeydukes shop. They sell all sorts of smashing things there like ice mice and pepper imps....�

---

November 18th, 1940,
We received a surprise after our Defense Against the Dark Arts class today....
---

“Class, I’d like to speak with you all for a moment, if I may,� Professor Williams told his students at the end class that day. "In light of, uh... recent worldly events, Hogwarts will now be starting a new Defense Club. It will, or course, be open to any student who wishes to join.�

The idea, which was intriguing to the students, caused a mild uproar in class. Marcella raised her hand an asked, “What will we do in the Club?�

“In the Club, you will have the chance to practice the spells you’ve learned here in class and be able to learn some new ones as well.�

Her interest already through the roof, it was Miriam’s turn to raise her hand. “When will this begin?�

“This coming Tuesday. It will take place in the Great Hall after dinner.�

Professor Williams looked at his class before continuing. “Beginning next semester, we’ll also begin a Defense Competition. You’ll be able to take what you’ve learned and go head-to-head with other students to earn points. Then at the end of the semester, we’ll name four students from each house who have the most points. Those four students will go head-to-head against each other. Only one student out of the whole school will be victorious and earn two-hundred and fifty points for his or her House.�

Murmurs traveled through the crowd. It was an exciting prospect, and many of them were already picturing themselves as victorious. Miriam couldn’t help but find herself sharing that elusive fantasy.

~*~

“It definitely sounds interesting,� she noted as they walked out of their Defense class.

“You should really think about entering the competition, Miriam. You learn things incredibly fast. Besides,� Sophie chuckled, “I would enjoy seeing a Gryffindor win it the very first time it’s held.�

---

November 20th, 1940,
There still has been no sign of Professor Dumbledore. Everyone in Gryffindor house is beginning to worry. We’ve asked the teachers to give us some sort of information of any kind regarding his whereabouts, but nobody will tell us anything.
---

“Maybe he got lost wherever it was he was going?�

“What if he’s been hurt?�

“Maybe he’s been captured by Grindelwald!�

“Oh, I hope not! That would be just awful!�

As Dumbledore hadn’t been seen, nor heard from, for the last few months, rumors were spreading around the Great Hall like a raging wildfire. Just as Miriam and her friends made their way to the Gryffindor table, they could hear snippets of conversations as they passed by the students.

“Poor old Dumbles probably got himself killed.�

The three friends turned around to see who had said such an awful thing. They weren't surprised to find that it was none other than Carrey Malfoy, who was wearing a smug look upon his face.

“Ugh! There goes Carrey again, spewing his proverbial hate,� Miriam retorted, rolling her eyes as Sophie and Marcella snickered behind their hands.

“Hey guys! Over here!� Abby was yelling for Miriam and her friends to come over to the Gryffindor table at once, and she had a deeply worried look on her face.

“What’s wrong Abby?� Sophie questioned. Abby held up the front section of The Daily Prophet.

“All-out battle with Grindelwald leaves both sides exceptionally decreased�
After a surprise attack on Grindelwald and his Knights of Walpurgis earlier last week, both sides are finding themselves with a reduced number of fighters, as reported to The Daily Prophet.
Many people have been confirmed dead, and many more are injured. One of the injured was Hogwarts Professor Albus Dumbledore, who is suffering from a badly broken nose and other combat injuries, including a nasty hex to his right leg.

Nobody said anything while reading it they were too much in shock to even breathe normally.

It was Dumbledore who spearheaded the initiative to strike against Grindelwald and the Knights.
A Daily Prophet reporter headed over to St. Mungo’s for a quick interview with him but was turned away by the healers in charge.
The Daily Prophet did learn through its sources that they will release Dumbledore from St. Mungo’s within the coming week or so to return to his teaching position at Hogwarts.

Everyone at the table looked absolutely horrified. “So that’s where he went,� muttered Sophie, completely taken aback. Miriam glanced over at Marcella who still had her hands clasped tightly over her mouth.

“At least we know he’s okay... and alive,� Abby said quietly as she gently folded the paper back and continued reading the article. Miriam and her friends slid onto the bench, although none of them felt hungry anymore.

“We should do something nice for him when he comes back,� Sophie commented quietly, poking her eggs absentmindedly with her fork.

“Like what?� Marcella asked, with the same air of distraction in her voice.

“I don’t know. I haven’t thought that far in advance,� Sophie admitted.

“What if we made a banner? Something that says ‘Welcome back, Professor Dumbledore’ and everyone in Gryffindor could sign it?� Miriam asked.
Sophie and Marcella thought hard about it.

“That’s really a good idea. We should ask Abby and the other Gryffindors to help with planning it,� Sophie replied, smiling.

~*~

After breakfast, Miriam and her friends decided to head back to the Gryffindor common room and pitch her idea to the rest of their house mates.
Standing on the long table where many other students were either working or goofing off, she cleared her throat loudly and began to speak. With all eyes were upon her, Miriam began to feel a bit nervous. The blood was rushing to her face, which she guessed, must have been turning a brilliant crimson color, but she remained calm and tried to force the staring eyes out of her mind.

“I’m sure most, if not all of you, have read this morning’s Daily Prophet.� Echos of ‘yeah’ went through the common room. Miriam cleared her throat again and continued.
“After reading it, my friends thought we should do something nice for Professor Dumbledore when he returns. I suggested making a banner, but seeing as how he is the head of our house, my friend Sophie suggested this should be a collaborative project among all the Gryffindors.�

Everybody in the common room began to cheer. Miriam’s heart began to race excitedly. The hot flush she felt in her face began to subside. A chorus of voices began speaking all at once.

“What should we do?�

“I like the banner idea!�

“How about a mural instead?�

Miriam smiled an ear-wide grin. Whatever her and her fellow Gryffindors decided upon, she knew it would be absolutely wonderful and the perfect surprise.

---

November 21st, 1940,
‘Project Dumbledore’ has begun, and after much discussion, we agreed upon that a banner would be the best course of action to take. We decided to make a huge one so everyone would have enough room to write a message. It’s so large, it spans from one end of the common room to the other.
---

“Order, people! ORDER!� Abby yelled over the chaos that had suddenly overtaken the Gryffindor common room. It was a cold Sunday afternoon, and the common room was exceptionally busy that day, which was why the girls’ had enlisted Abby to help with overseeing the project. It was a madhouse, and Abby couldn’t stand to watch such disorder continue any longer.

“ORDER!� she shouted again, only louder this time. Thankfully it worked as some of the chaos began to slow down in the common room.
Everywhere one went, students were scurrying about working on the banner for Project Dumbledore. This was turning out to be a much bigger project than Miriam had ever expected. While Abby was acting as crowd control, Miriam, Sophie, and Marcella worked diligently on penning ‘Welcome Back, Dumbledore!’ at the center of the banner.

~*~

“There!� they announced proudly once it had been finished, some time much later. Thoroughly exhausted, they took a step back so they could get a better look at it. Miriam sincerely hoped it looked all right as she had tried to make sure that they wrote legibly and didn't drip any excess paint from the paintbrushes onto the white canvas. They wanted to make sure it looked absolutely perfect.

“It looks wonderful!� Sophie exclaimed, clapping her hands together excitedly.

“I’m sure Dumbledore would feel really honored to see it,� added Marcella. Miriam smiled broadly.

“I sincerely hope so,� she replied.

---

November 24th, 1940,
Dumbledore is back at Hogwarts again! He arrived shortly before dinnertime tonight. Though he seemed very weak, he was able to give a small speech before dinner.
---

“I... I must say, I feel very honored to be here again,� Dumbledore began slowly. He gazed around the Great Hall, taking in the site of the students before proceeding on.
“As probably most of you already know from reading The Daily Prophet, I was leading an opposition against Grindelwald and the Knights of Walpurgis.“

Some of the Slytherins began snorting quietly as he continued.

“Although we weren’t exactly successful, we have gained an advantage over them.�

Applause thundered from the Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, and Hufflepuff tables The Slytherins halfheartedly applauded. A few merely frowned and scoffed.

How inconsiderate of them, she thought scathingly. Leading a battle against the most evil wizard who ever lived must have been a positively gruesome. Thinking about the horrors of what he must’ve seen turned her blood cold. Looking over at the Slytherin table, she noticed Tom slitting his throat with his finger and nodding his head over at Dumbledore. His eyes looked to be teary as he continued to ridicule the professor’s speech. Miriam wondered what was so funny, as this was truly no laughing matter.

---

January 16th, 1941,
It has been an exceedingly lengthy time since I last wrote. I just haven’t had the time or energy with all the extra work and whatnot from following Professor Jamison’s homework schedule.

From the last time I wrote, so many things have happened here. Henry and I are officially dating, so to speak.

In Quidditch, things have not been going too easily for the Gryffindor team. We lost a game earlier this month to Ravenclaw, and we were almost facing elimination. Luckily, Hufflepuff pulled an upset win over Slytherin; so Gryffindor is back in the chase -- although we have to win our remaining games if we want to defend our title.

The new Defense club has proved to be the most difficult thing I’ve done so far, as I must constantly memorize new defense spells and stuff. And just last week they commenced the new Defense competition. I was one of a few Gryffindors to sign up for it. Sophie and Marcella decided against joining it, saying they didn’t want to have to compete against me.

Amazingly, Tom has joined the Defense club as well. I remain hopeful that we won’t have to compete against each other.
Speaking of Tom, he gave us all quite a scare back in December. He passed out one day in the middle of Herbology class and was taken to the infirmary by the professor.

When he awoke two days later, he seemed greatly weakened by it.... Whatever it was, it must be really serious as he's been in the infirmary a month now....
---

It had been a very cold and snowy December morning when Miriam headed to the infirmary to visit her ill brother. Three days prior to her visit, he had passed out in Professor Wymann’s Herbology class. Sophie and Marcella had also visited Tom, but they thought it be best for Miriam to go alone this time when visiting her brother.

Knock, knock. Footsteps sounded and Michellina Agave opened the doors to the infirmary.

“Hello Miriam,� she addressed, “your brother is resting now, but you can come in.� She held the door open, and Miriam walked through. “Please try and keep the noise to a minimum,� Michellina added as she led Miriam over to a bed where the young boy slept. Miriam pulled up a chair to the bed and sat down.

“Tom,� she whispered, “I’m so relieved you’re all right. I was so worried that something really terrible had happened.�

Her words didn’t wake him, nor did they even make him stir. He was in such a deep sleep that if it weren’t for the occasional rise and fall of his chest, Miriam would have thought him to be dead.

Sitting and watching him, she didn’t want to leave. Sighing, her gaze fell upon the bedside table where flowers and get-well cards sat. Sophie and Marcella had made a beautiful get-well card and had situated it adjacent to his bed the other day. There were other cards there, as well, mostly from his house mates. One card in particular was from her boyfriend Henry. A small smile and a warm sensation went through her when she saw it. It was a testament to the kind of person Henry was. Nice, considerate, and really sweet.

The minutes expired, and eventually she wasn’t sure how long she had been sitting there, but it seemed as though an eternity had passed.
Feeling it was time to leave, she got up slowly from her seat and gave one last look at her brother. Tom snorted and rolled over to his side. Miriam breathed a sigh of relief as she had worried for a moment that she had awakened him.

Quietly backing up as she prepared to leave, something next to Tom caught her attention: He was lying on a small green and silver book. As far as she knew, Tom didn’t own a journal, so this perplexed her quite a bit.

Miriam gritted her teeth and quickly looked around the infirmary. Michellina was busy in her office and there was nobody else around.... Thoughts were swirling around her head, debating whether to glance inside the journal or not....

I shouldn’t. It just wouldn’t be right.

Just one quick glance couldn’t hurt.

But if it is his journal, I have no right reading it.

You’re his sister. What possibly could he write that you don’t already know?

Ugh, decisions, decisions....

After debating for a few more seconds, and severely biting her lip, she finally gave in and decided that one teensy-weensy, insignificant little look wasn’t going to hurt, especially if Tom never found out.

What he doesn’t know can’t kill him....

Delicately pulling the book out from underneath him, she silently sat back down on the chair and cracked opened his journal.

“December 15th,
I’ve been in the infirmary for two whole days now. I must say that it is very boring here. I could scream bloody murder. The only thing I have to pass the time is writing in this small journal that Stephane brought for me.

Everyone seems to think I’ve been over working myself, but nothing could be further from the truth. I’ve been having these “attacks� quite frequently, but none have been as severe as this one. Generally, it only happens at night while I am sleeping, but this time it happened while I was awake, and in the middle of class.

During my episodes, I find myself encircled in a murky shadow.... I hear a soft hiss... like from a snake.... a voice unlike any other I’ve ever heard before. It’s harsh and cold and it keeps telling me I’m to be his successor. Two blood-red, luminescent eyes appear in the darkness before I wake.

I do not wish to tell anyone about my onsets, they’d most likely think I was mad, especially Miriam. She’d probably tell her Dufferpuff boyfriend, who would probably feel the same way, and word travels fast here in the school.

I have strong suspicions on who’s doing it. I think it’s Grindelwald who’s been possessing me.�

Miriam dropped the book as if it were suddenly burning her hands. In a state of mild delirium, she watched it as it fell to the floor with a soft thump.

Grindelwald. He’s possessing my brother.

Miriam looked wide-eyed at the diary on the floor, almost as if she were waiting for it to explode or something. Checking to make sure no one was around after all that, she gingerly picked it up, set it on the night stand, and dashed out of the infirmary... her mind racing with what she just read.

Why would Grindelwald possess Tom? Why him?

Miriam knew she couldn’t talk to Tom about it. If she told, then he would know she read his journal. She wanted so badly to talk to him and tell him that he wasn’t the only one having these horrible dreams. Secretly, she wished she could have told him all about the frightening dreams she’d had, which now that she thought about it, must’ve been Grindelwald's work, too.

Making it safely back to the common room and into the girls dormitories, she collapsed on her bed and cried for hours.

January 18th, 1941,
Right now we’re preparing for our Defense club. The teachers have moved all the tables in the Great Hall, and they have put a long platform in their place....
---

“Today we will learn how to disarm our opponents by using the Expelliarmus spell,� Professor Williams announced.

“Miss Riddle, Miss Tikhonov, would you two please come up?�

Miriam and another girl about her age with reddish-brown hair climbed up onto the platform.

“Now remember what we practiced on our last lesson: bow to your opponent, then raise your wand to your side,� Professor Williams instructed. Miriam and Estell followed the professor's instructions and then, slowly raising their wands into the air, walked away with their backs toward one another.

“Now remember, we’re only disarming, nothing else,� Professor Williams reminded.

Miriam raised her wand, but before Estella could react against it, she yelled, “Expelliarmus!� Estella’s wand flew straight out her hand and into the air as applause filled the Great Hall.

“Very good, Miss Riddle,� congratulated Professor Williams, as he motioned for Miriam and Estella to prepare to practice the disarming spell a second time.

“Try it again, and most importantly, try not to procrastinate. Your opponent will gain the advantage over you if you do.�

Estella and Miriam raised their wands again. Estella opened her mouth, “Expelliar–“

�Expelliarmus!� Miriam shouted. As it had done before, Estella’s wand shot out of her hand and into a complete arc. Her face flustered at having been beaten for a second time.

“First-rate, Miss Riddle,� Professor Williams proclaimed as Miriam hopped off the table to rejoin her cheering friends.

“That was so amazing!� Sophie cried.

~*~

The minutes slipped by, and soon Miriam heard Professor Williams calling her brother to join them on the platform.

“Let’s see if you’re as good as your sister,� he said.

“We shall see, sir, if I am better than her.�

Tom got up onto the platform and watched as his opponent joined him. Off from the distance, Tom’s opponent looked vaguely familiar.... Oh no! It’s Henry!

“Mr. Diggory, Mr. Riddle, we’re merely exercising our disarming spell and nothing more, all right?� Professor Williams told them. Tom and Henry both nodded their heads. “On the count of three, then... one... two... three!�

Henry and Tom bowed toward one another and began to walk away. Tom looked silently over his shoulder at Henry who had his back toward him. A look of absolute determination spread across his face. Slowly he turned around on the balls of his feet to face Henry, whom in Tom’s opinion was making a pitiful attempt at trying to look intimidating. He raised his wand... Henry did the same.

Oh! I can’t watch! Miriam covered her eyes so she didn't have to see her brother and her boyfriend square off against one another, even if it was only a simple disarming spell. A part of her wanted to cheer for Henry, but the other side was rooting for Tom.

“Expelliarmus!� She looked up and saw Tom with his wand raised high and Henry’s wand flying five feet in the air.

“Outstanding work there, Mr. Riddle!�

After a second outing, which produced the same results, a laughing Tom rejoined the Slytherins who were cheering and patting him on the back. Tom looked back at Henry and shouted, “You’re not as bad as people say –“ (Henry began to blush, thinking he was receiving a compliment from a Slytherin) “– you’re worse!�

Tom’s gibe sent the Slytherins into fits of laughter.

---

February 7th, 1941,
Something truly bizarre happened to me in Divination class today....
---

Professor Sanderson was giving a boring lecture to the students on the importance of the position of Venus in conjunction to Mars in the wintertime. Miriam was finding it hard to keep awake and listen to the drivel. Resting her head on her chin, her eyelids felt like they had weights pulling them down. They seemed to get heavier eavier and heavier... Listening to the lecture was like being under the influence of a strong tranquilizer....

No, she sighed inwardly. I... I must stay... yawn... awake. A moment later she heard a peculiar voice, and although the voice was exceptionally faint, she could still make out bits and pieces of what it was saying, and it wasn’t Professor Sanderson....

"– will rise above, to destroy... will rise...." The room she was in suddenly became dark and hazy. The strange voice began speaking to her in a foreign language.
"– evolabit... destrere... evolabit...."

A shadowy image filled her head. Whatever it was, it was coming toward her with its pale hands extended outward.

"– evolabit... destrere... evolabit...." The voice seemed questionably familiar... it was her own voice speaking these words!

"– evolabit... destrere... evolabit.... Evolabit... destrere... evolabit...."

Miriam kept repeating the words over and over again, no matter how hard she tried to stop. A malevolent, inhuman laughter filled the air around her as coldness swept through, giving her the feeling of being trapped underwater.

“Ser... servatis a periculum...�

The shadowy figure grew bigger and bigger as it came toward her. Frightened, she tried to more, but couldn't... her feet were confined to the ground.

“Servatis a maleficum...�

The words became louder, vibrating within the confines of her head. Her temples and her brain, painfully pounding, felt as if they were going to explode....

"Miriam...."

Something touched her shoulder... it was a hand... it was shaking her from the dream. Gasping for breath, she opened her eyes, unaware that she had even fallen asleep to begin with. Startled, she looked around to see the person who had touched her shoulder. It was Professor Sanderson. Sophie and Marcella were standing beside her, both looking pale; the rest of her classmates stared at her anxiously.

“Dearie, are you all right?� Professor Sanderson asked worriedly, pressing her palm to Miriam's forehead. Miriam mumbled something indistinguishable as her head was still throbbing madly.

“Miss Riddle, I did not know you could speak Latin.�

“I -- I can’t,� she replied hoarsely, finding her voice as the pain in her head lessened.

“Really?� Professor Sanderson asked, quite shocked. “I may be a bit rusty, but you just said, in perfect Latin I might add, ‘evolabit... destrere... evolabit’: ‘will rise above, to destroy’.� Loud murmurs rustled through the classroom. Professor Sanderson continued. “Do you know what else you were mumbling? ‘Servatis a periculum, servatis a maleficum’, or in English, ‘Save us from danger, save us from evil’.�

“What do you think you're getting at?� a student asked, wide-eyed and scared.

“What kind of game are you playing?� a second one enquired. The rest of the class began asking the same thing.

“QUIET!� bellowed Professor Sanderson. She turned to face Sophie and Marcella and said gently, “Would you two please take Miriam to the infirmary?�

The girls nodded and together they helped Miriam down from the Divination tower and into the infirmary.

~*~

“It looks to me like Miss Riddle is simply suffering from exhaustion,� Michellina explained, after a thorough examination of Miriam. “Just make sure she gets plenty of rest tonight.�

That night, Miriam and her friends went to be early as to follow the nurses’ advice for plenty of relaxation. Unfortunately, Miriam found it hard to fall asleep that night. She tried writing in her diary, which usually put her to sleep, but this time it proved useless.

“I give up,� she sighed, slamming the book shut. Maybe I could walk around or something....

Pulling out her sweater and skirt, she slipped them on and then headed down to the common room. Although she’d be breaking many school rules by wandering around at night, she decided to risk it anyway. Stepping out of the portrait and into the cool night air, she stood in the desolate hallway and shivered. It was a still bit nippy at this time of night.

Where do I want to wander off to? She decided to head to her left and the upper part of the castle. Having only been up there for Divination, she wanted to explore the rest of that portion of the castle.

Eventually she passed the staircase that lead to the Divination classroom; further down was another hallway. As she slowly made her way down the hall, she noticed there were many doors to either side of her. Opening one door, she saw it was only a broom closet. The next door she opened contained a bed.

What an odd place for a bedroom, she thought, raising an eyebrow. Closing the door, she approached a third. Quietly opening it, the door revealed a small, vacant room. She walked in and looked around. Nothing of any interested was there... except...

This looks vaguely familiar, she thought. What had piqued her interest was a mirror sitting in the middle of the room. She tried to think why it seemed so familiar to her, but nothing came to mind, when suddenly...

Oh no! A horrible recollection struck her. That mirror... it was the same one she had seen more than two years ago in a nightmare she had. She still remembered that dream, and looking at the mirror was like reliving it. Reluctantly approaching the mirror, she stared intently at her reflection in case it should suddenly change like had in her nightmare. Miriam focused solely on her own image, totally unaware of anything else.

Nothing odd here, she thought. Turning around to leave, she began to walk away, only stopping to take one last glance into the mirror. Rather than seeing her own image, she saw another image as well... an image of a young woman was standing next to her. Miriam screamed and started to run out the door, but her foot slipped out from underneath her in her haste to leave, and she fell to the ground.

Oomph. Feeling as if the wind had been knocked out of her, she rubbed her stomach and slowly got off the ground and back onto her feet. Wobbling a little at first, she was able to regain her balance. Glancing back at the mirror, the woman was still there, smiling gently at Miriam. The figure appeared kind, and Miriam didn’t feel threatened by her. Curiosity getting the better of her, she walked closer to the mirror and studied the image. The figure had compassionate, hazel eyes, and long, dark hair that was done up in a chignon. It amazed Miriam how much she looked liked this woman.

“Am... am I you?� Miriam asked quietly. The woman shook her head no. At that moment, Miriam’s heart literally stopped beating. A tight, clasping sensation clenched at her chest.

“Are... are you my mother?� she enquired, which this time, the woman smiled and nodded. This was all Miriam could take. Tears started spilling from her eyes as she sat down in front of the mirror and cried. For all thirteen years of her life, Miriam had always longed to see her mother and now, she finally had. Sitting and staring through her tear-soaked eyes at her beautiful mother, she seemed so much like a regal queen. But underneath her majestic appearance was an anguished aura.

How Tom would have loved to see this.

Time slipped by and although she didn’t want to, she knew she had to leave her mother behind. With a heavy heart, she got up from her spot on the ground and reluctantly started to walk out of the strange room. Before she left, she turned around for one last glance at her mother....

“Good-bye,� she whispered softly.

Standing once again in the unoccupied hallway, she looked around to make sure no one was coming. Quietly she tiptoed back down the hallway and into a strange part of the castle.

I could have sworn this was the way I had taken.

Miriam looked around at the unfamiliar area and sighed. She was lost. As she thought back to try and remember if she had taken a wrong turn, she heard a voice coming. Her heart started racing as she looked for a place to hide.

If the teachers catch me, I’d surely be punished.

“Ya not lost, are ye?� a strange voice asked. Miriam nearly jumped out of her skin.

“Who... who said that?� she enquired. Looking up, she saw a squat knight riding a horse.

“I repeat, ya not lost, are ye?�

Miriam nodded her head fervently. “I can’t seem to find my way back to the Gryffindor common room.�

“Young Missy, ya’ll need to head back in the direction ya came and make a left instead of a right.�

“Thank you,� Miriam sighed. Getting ready to leave, she heard something else now... footsteps! Noticing an alcove in the wall beside her, she decided to hide in it. As the footsteps got nearer, Miriam crouched down further into the darkness and held her breath. The person making the footsteps quickly appeared, but it wasn’t the teacher or caretaker that she was expecting; in fact, it was the last person she’d ever expect out at this time... her brother. His voice was filled with fearfulness, and he was talking to someone or something nearby. Quietly (and hastily) looking out from her hiding spot, she saw there was nobody else around him.

Has he finally lost his mind? she silently wondered.

Tom looked apprehensive as he continued the conversation with himself. “I swear, I don’t know!�

“LIAR!� This voice speaking was malevolent and inhuman... and the same voice Miriam had heard earlier that day in Divination. From her hiding spot, Miriam took another look and could now see her brother clearly. His back was toward her and he faced a window that overlooked the grounds.

“Please... let me go....,� he begged.

Miriam didn’t know what was going on. She wanted to help her brother, but subconsciously, something told her that whatever she did wouldn’t be able to help him and that staying where she was would be wiser. Tom scrunched up his face and turned around to face Miriam’s darkened hiding spot. Though he was unable to see her, she could make out a small portion of him as her eyes had become accustomed to the darkness.

Slowly he began to open his eyes again, and when he did, Miriam had to fight a strong urge to scream. Tom’s normal green eyes were now gleaming blood-red.

He opened his mouth to speak, but the voice that emitted wasn’t his voice.... “LIAR! I KNOW YOU’RE DECEIVING ME! WHERE IS THE DAMN GIRL?!�

Is that THING talking about me?

Miriam was frightened. Sitting in her spot, still and quiet, her breath quickened rapidly.

Grindelwald. That name popped into her head unexpectedly; she wasn’t sure why she had even though of it just then.

Go away.... Go away. Closing her eyes, she prayed that whatever was possessing her brother, be it Grindelwald or not, would leave them both alone.

“I KNOW SHE IS AROUND HERE! I CAN SMELL HER!�

Miriam held her breath and brought her knees up to her chest. The footsteps eventually faded away into the distance, and she knew that her brother and Grindelwald were gone now. Slowly getting up, she quietly tiptoed out of her hiding spot. Her breath still not returned to normal, she set out for to the Gryffindor common room.

She walked quietly through the hallway leading to the Gryffindor common room reliving the incidents of the day: Hearing that strange voice in Divination class, seeing her mother for the first time in her life, and watching her brother being possessed by Grindelwald.

It was so quiet she could hear her heart beating a mile a minute, and her breath came in short, slow gasps. The quietness proved to be relaxing for her currently unnerved state, and the absolutely last thing she needed at that point was the loud hissing sound that emitted from behind her. Briskly turning around, she didn’t see anything out of the ordinary in the darkened hallway.

I’m just a bit jumpy... my mind is merely playing tricks on me, that’s all. No matter how hard she tried, there was no convincing herself otherwise.

Continuing walking onwards, she suddenly stopped dead in her tracks, hearing an ear-piercing scream coming from somewhere within the depths of the castle. The sound was traveling fast; it sounded like it was coming closer.... The scream became louder, almost as if it were now coming from directly behind her....

That was all the incentive she needed to break the speed barrier back to the Gryffindor common room, running until she was safely inside and in the girls dormitories.

---

February 12th, 1941,
I went to see Professor Dumbledore today. I had to ask him a few things that have been on my mind since that awful night....
---

“What do you wish to talk to me about?� Dumbledore asked, shifting some papers aside on his desk. Miriam had arrived in his office before lunchtime and had insisted on talking to him. Sitting in a chair, she asked, while avoiding eye contact with him, “Is... is it possible... that... that Grindelwald could attack the school?�

“What would make you ask such a thing?� he asked, raising his eyebrows slightly.

“I -- I was just wondering,� she lied, keeping her head down.

“Well,� Dumbledore began, “Grindelwald is quite a powerful wizard, but not so powerful that he could attack the school. Hogwarts has many charms upon it that prevent someone like Grindelwald from attacking it.�

“What about... possessing anyone,� she asked, still not looking in Dumbledore’s eyes.

“Yes, he’s been known to possess people."

“What about in the school?�

“It’s quite possible, but what would he have to gain from possessing a student?�

“I don’t know,� Miriam replied solemnly, her heart felt like it had plummeted into her stomach.

“Grindelwald only possesses people who are in the way of what he believes to be a cleansing of those he feels are un-pure, or he possesses people to get them to do things for him.�

Miriam finally looked up. Dumbledore’s face was kind although his bright blue eyes were staring at her intently. A shiver went down her spine.

“Why do you ask? Is there something you’d like to tell me?�

“N -- no,� Miriam lied again. Quickly bidding him good-bye, she got up and left his office before he could ask her any more questions that would force her to lie.

Upon entering the Great Hall for lunch, she felt like there was a black cloud hanging over her head, not even the prospect of the forthcoming Quidditch game that night could cheer her up.

Grindelwald is possessing my brother, and I don’t know why.

She felt so alone; there wasn’t anybody she could tell. Who would actually believe her anyway?

---

A/N: The words "Servatis a periculum, servatis a maleficum"
are from the song "Whisper" by Evanescence.

February 15th, 1941,
Tonight is our first Defense club competition. I’m nervous about entering it, but Sophie and Marcella assure me that I could “hex the robe off of any opponent.�
---

“Welcome students to Hogwarts’ first ever Defense club competition!� Professor Williams announced jovially as the students waited anxiously in the Great Hall. “I posted the list of everyone who will be competing and their opponents on the door to the exit of the Great Hall.�

The students made their way over to the door to see who their competitors would be. Being relatively on the small side, Miriam was able to squeeze her way to the front to view the list.

Girls:

1. Miriam Riddle, Gryffindor vs. Estella Tikhonov, Hufflepuff
2. Emily Chang, Ravenclaw vs. Abigail Bones, Gryffindor
3. Minerva McGonagall, Gryffindor vs. Samantha Graystone, Hufflepuff
4. Eva Lovegood, Ravenclaw vs. Frederica Parkinson, Slytherin
5. Naomi Gregory, Slytherin vs. Hannah Evans, Gryffindor
6. Georgina Adams, Hufflepuff vs. Libby Macnair, Slytherin

“Aw, crap, they wrote me down as Abigail... I hate being called by that name!�

“You’re worried about a name? I’ve got to compete against Frederica Parkinson! I hear she cheats!�

“At least you didn’t get Libby! She’s worse!�

Miriam gazed at the list; most of the other girls didn’t like who their opponents were. Looking down further the list of names, she spotted her brother.

Boys:

1. Daniel Boot, Ravenclaw vs. Carrey Malfoy, Slytherin
2. Peter Longbottom, Gryffindor, vs. James Rookwood, Hufflepuff
3. Carl Potter, Gryffindor vs. Stephane Lestrange, Slytherin
4. Murdoch Black, Slytherin vs. Patrick Jones, Ravenclaw
5. Tom Riddle, Slytherin vs. Henry Diggory, Hufflepuff

Tom is going to be dueling Henry! A weird feeling came over her. They wouldn’t be practicing simple disarming spells this time; they would be outright dueling one another. A heavy, acidic feeling settled in the pit of her stomach, which gave a weird.

“All right, class,� Professor Williams announced, “now that you’ve seen the list, let’s get this competition going!�

Pointing toward Miriam and Estella, he motioned for them to join him on the platform. After giving them a brief once-over on the rules, Williams began the duel. “On the count of three... one... two... three!� Miriam and Estella bowed then raised their wands....

“Expelliarmus!� Estella shouted. The spell nearly hit Miriam, but she was able to move out of its way just in time.

“Petrificus Totalus!� she yelled.

“Protectorius!�

The spell Miriam sent toward Estella ricocheted off her shield and shot off toward the ceiling.
Well, someone has certainly been practicing since last time, she thought bitterly.

“Tarantallegra!�

“Protectorius!� Miriam shouted.

So, that’s how it’s going to be....
As Estella opened her mouth to shout out her next spell at Miriam, Miriam had her wand pointed directly at Estella and yelled, “Stupefy!� Estella completely froze over as Miriam prepared to disarm her. “Expelliarmus!�

Estella’s wand flew out of her frozen hand amid applause from the crowd watching attentively.

“First-rate, Miriam! Congratulations!� Professor Williams congratulated. She jumped off the platform while Professor Williams unfroze Estella with a flick of his wand.

The other Gryffindors (Abby, Minerva, Hannah, Peter, and Carl) welcomed Miriam back with high-fives and slaps on the back.

“Way to go, Miriam!�

“That was excellent!�

“Thanks!� she grinned, her cheeks beginning to feel flushed.

“Well, well, well... what do we have here?� a cocky voice remarked.

Miriam looked throughout the crowd to see who was talking. A girl with blond-ish brown hair made her way forward, wearing a hard and bitter look in her brown eyes and a spiteful grin on her face. “Where’d you learn to duel like that?�

Miriam was a bit taken aback. “Uh, just practiced, I guess.�

“Oh. Well... I much look forward to dueling against you, if we ever get the chance, since I happen to be an outstanding dueler. I practice all the time at home.�

“G - good for you then,� Miriam replied as she turned to the other Gryffindors and raised her eyebrows as if trying to say this girl was completely insane.

“So, are you going to stay and watch Tom duel Henry?� Minerva asked.

“I don’t know,� she replied truthfully. “I don’t know if I can watch it.�

“Who are you rooting for?� Peter asked.

Miriam thought about this for a moment before shaking her head. “I don’t know. I want Tom to win, but I also want Henry to win.�

“Well, there’s only one way to settle this then,� Carl announced. “Rock... paper... scissors.�

“Oh, not that lame ol’ Muggle game,� Abby retorted, rolling her eyes and shaking her head in disbelief.

“All right Miriam, do you know how to play it?� Carl asked, completely ignoring Abby. Miriam shook her head no; she had never even heard of it before.

“The object of the game is simple. Rock beats scissors, paper beats rock, and scissors beats paper. The hand movements for it look like this. This is rock,� he said with his hand in a fist. “This is paper,� his hand now unclenched and flat as if he were going to shake hands with someone. “And this is scissors.� He clenched up his hand again, but released his pointer and middle finger. “See,� he said, “scissors.�

“How exactly is this supposed to help me?� Miriam questioned, dubious of such a thing, yet enthralled by it all the same.

“Simple,� Carl replied. “If you win, you’ll root for Henry. If I win, you’ll root for Tom to win the duel. So, are you ready?�

“I - I guess...�

“One... two... three!�

Miriam and Carl went along with the game, but they both wound up picking paper.

“What happens now?� she asked.

“We do it again,� he answered. “One... two... three!�

Miriam elected to go with scissors this time, and luckily she did as Carl had stuck with paper.

“I win!� she exclaimed.

“So you’re gonna root for Henry?� he asked.

“I... suppose,� she stammered. “But couldn’t I... you know, root for Tom as well?�

Carl suddenly looked aghast. “You want to root for a Slytherin?� He noticed Miriam’s confused look and added, “I was joking. If you want to root for Tom as well, go ahead.�

~*~
An hour had passed, and finally it was time for Tom to duel Henry. Miriam, Abby, Carl, Minerva, Hannah, and Peter were sitting along the back of the Great Hall watching the competition. Miriam’s stomach was doing somersaults....

Professor Williams gestured for Tom and Henry to join him up on the platform.

“You both know the rules. On the count of three... one... two... three!�

As Tom and Henry bowed and raised their wands, an anxious Miriam couldn’t help but watch the duel.

“Petrificus totalus!� Tom shouted, and Henry became completely motionless, bound together by invisible ropes as Tom shouted, “Expelliliarmus!�, sending Henry’s wand out of his hand

“My word, that was the fastest duel I’ve ever seen!� proclaimed Professor Williams, wide-eyed with surprise. “Many congratulations to you, Mr. Riddle!� Tom merely nodded his head nonchalantly as the Slytherins all whooped and hollered in excitement. In the back of the crowd, the Hufflepuffs and Gryffindors were completed flabbergasted.

“How... how long did that take?� Abby inquired quietly to Carl, whose eyes looked like two large Galleons.

Carl glanced down at his watch and replied, “Uh... five seconds... tops.�

“Mother of mercy...,� Abby muttered, turning to face the platform once again.

Miriam wasn’t sure what to say, though she was just as much stunned as the rest of them.

~*~
Later that night, once the competition was over and everyone was headed back to their respective common rooms, Miriam was still mulling over Tom’s incredibly quick victory over Henry. It was quite a feat, she had to admit. But poor Henry. Professor Williams had to perform magic to release him from the spell. Yet what was more, as soon as Professor Williams had freed him, Henry immediately began looking for Miriam.

When he found her at the back of the Great Hall, he wore a highly embarrassed look on his face, and a rosy crimson color slowly colored his pale cheeks. Miriam merely grinned at him, and his flustered appearance reluctantly faded from his face.

“May I walk you back to your common room?� he enquired.

It was Miriam’s turn to fluster brightly now. “Sure,� she squeaked. Henry held out his hand and together they walked out of the Great Hall.

“I guess we should go, too,� Carl said, yawning.

“Yeah,� Peter agreed. “I’m beat.�

“Let’s... uh, wait a moment,� Abby smiled, watching as Henry and Miriam left the Great Hall.

“Why?� Peter asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Can’t you see?� Minerva sighed dreamily.

“See what?� Carl demanded.

“We’re giving them a little time to be alone,� Hannah sighed. “Isn’t it really romantic?� Hannah, Minerva, and Abby sighed in unison.

“I think I’m gonna retch,� Carl muttered to Peter, who had to bite his tongue to keep from laughing.

Miriam and Henry enjoyed their little walk to the Gryffindor common room, though Miriam had to help direct him there as he didn't know where it was.

“I... I guess I should be leaving now,� Henry said, once they stopped in front of the picture of the large lady in the pink dress.

“Thank you for walking me back to the common room,� Miriam replied, her face turning red again.

“It was all my pleasure, milady,� he said. In the blink of an eye, Henry leaned in closer to Miriam and kissed her on the lips.

She had never experienced anything like it. A weird, but pleasant sensation passed through her, and she felt like she was floating on air.

When he pulled back a moment later, Miriam looked into his endearing eyes when suddenly.... “Just wait till Tom hears about this!�

Henry and Miriam looked to see who had caught them: Stephane Lestrange. He had a look on his face that said he absolutely couldn’t wait to share this juicy bit of gossip with everyone in the whole of Slytherin house.

“Stephane! What are you doing here?� she demanded.

“I’m allowed to roam the castle. It’s a free country. Besides, I’m Head Boy, in case you didn’t know. I have a right to be out late, unlike you two.�

�Look,� Miriam answered as nicely as she could muster at the moment, “please don’t...�

“Don’t what?� he asked mischievously. “Don’t ruin this little interesting tidbit, you mean? Aw, bloody hell, Miriam.� He shook his head in disbelief and walked off. Yet there was something in his walk, a stride, that signaled to her that by tomorrow, the whole school would know about her kissing Henry.

“I’m really sorry about that,� Henry apologized, blushing once more. It was a match on who was blushing more, he or Miriam.

“No, no, it’s all right. Really.� She tried to muster a smile, though her face was burning hotly. Henry smiled at her and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek before he left.

If it were possible to never wash this cheek again, I would.

Feeling happy again, she passed through the portrait of the fat lady and was almost instantly met with a gruff voice.

“Who’s there?�

“It’s just me, Hagrid,� Miriam replied. “Why do you ask?� Loud thumps sounded as the giant first year student appeared. “I ‘ave ta go!� he muttered quickly running past her carrying and trying to conceal something in his arms.

---

February 16th, 1941,
As I expected, news of my kiss with Henry got out, thanks to Stephane himself. At breakfast today, I was met with a lot of whispers, pointing, and even some laughing.
I swear... I could kick Stephane right in the... as I was saying....
---

It was completely torturous that morning at breakfast. Miriam was nearly tempted to just skip the meal completely so she could get some peace before her classes began.

Hopefully, they’ll forget about it soon and the teasing will stop. But unfortunately, it didn’t. It carried over into classes, but the worst of it came during Potions class with Professor Panes.

“Is it true what the Slytherins were saying? You really kissed Henry?� Sophie whispered to Miriam, who was currently cutting up daisy roots for a potion they were required to make. Miriam squinched up her face and whispered back, “Yes.�

Marcella and Sophie looked at each other with excitement etched on their faces. “So... what was it like?�

“Fine. I really don’t wish to –“

Miriam looked up and saw Professor Panes glaring down at her.

“Miss Riddle, nobody cares what happens in your silly personal life, so keep whatever it is you’re going to say until after class. Ten points from Gryffindor for talking in class.�

This lead to heavy snickering from the Slytherins while Miriam wholeheartedly wished the floor would open up and swallow her whole. Her face burned a lustrous scarlet color.

End... my... life... NOW!

As if the day couldn’t possibly get any worse, it did. During Herbology class, which the Gryffindors shared with the Hufflepuffs, Miriam tried to not look into any of the Hufflepuffs students’ faces, as she knew what they were going to ask her if she did. She had kissed one of their house-mates.

Her only moment of peace came when she headed to the library to get some school books. There was nobody in the library, so the place was completely hers.
As she meandered around grabbing the books she needed, she realized that she wasn’t as alone as she'd first thought. She spotted Tom at the far end of the library, hidden behind a stack of books, his face down inside an open one. She quietly walked over to him, ready to speak, when she realized he was sound asleep... and snoring semi loudly.

Silently sitting opposite him, she opened her books and began to read... or at least she tried to. Tom’s snoring proved to be too difficult to try and concentrate through. Sighing, she closed her books and looked at Tom. The corners off his mouth looked... shiny.
Leaning in for a closer look, she saw he was drooling.

Muffling a small giggle, she gently tried to move the book from under his head so it wouldn’t get ruined. Tom snorted, but he didn’t wake up as Miriam snatched the book from under his head. Holding it in her hand, she realized it wasn’t a library book; it was his journal. Temptation filled every inch of her. Questions lingered in her mind, such as if he were still having those ‘attacks’. Biting her lip, she debated whether she wanted to take a quick peak or not.

Oh, what the hell, I did it once before....

Opening the book, she came across his latest entry.


“February 16th, 1941,
Since the seventh, I hadn’t experienced anymore “attacks�... until today.
I know now for a fact that it is Grindelwald who’s been controlling me. He comes to me in my dreams at night, telling me to ‘release the monster and to rid the school of the un-pure.’

In these rather vivid dreams, he tells me that deep within the school is a chamber... a chamber of secrets that holds a monster, and it’s up to me cleanse the school.
Before I can get any more info out of him, I wake up.
I still haven’t told Miriam about any of this... I still think she’d probably reckon I was some kind of nut-job.

To top it off, apart from Grindelwald invading my dreams, I sometimes find myself being awakened from a dream by a blinding flash of green light. I’ve been having this nightmare on and off since we’ve been here at school.
I’ve never told Miriam about that either, she’s too busy snogging that retarded Diggory fellow.�

Shutting the book, she placed it beside her sleeping (and still drooling) brother. Picking up her books, she began to leave when a soft, muffled voice called out from behind her.

“Miriam?�

Turning around she saw Tom looking up at her groggily.

“What’s wrong, Tom?� she asked, shifting her books around in her arms.

“Nothin’,� he replied. “Hey, how long have I been asleep?�

“I... I don’t know,� she replied, walking back over and sitting down next to him.

“So... Henry... actually... kissed... you?" he asked, the sides of his mouth beginning to curve up into a small smirk. He stared at her for a moment then burst out laughing. Miriam felt deeply insulted.

"What's so funny about that?" she snapped.

"Henry kissed you?!" he said again, tears of laughter now streaming down his face.

"What's the big deal about it?"

"I'm surprised Henry even knew where his mouth was!"

"What in the name of Merlin are you talking about?" Miriam inquired, eyeing him suspiciously.

"Henry's not the brightest galleon in the bag," Tom quipped, rolling his eyes. “He’s a Dufferpuff.�

“How would you know he’s not smart? You hardly even know him. Besides, Henry’s not dumb, he’s smart... intelligent.�

“Whatever.�

“You know, Tom, you infuriate me sometimes!� Miriam yelled. With her books in her arms, she huffed out of the library, completely enraged at her idiotic brother.

---

March 18th, 1941,
Duel competition has been going well. I’ve won three more of my matches, as has Tom. If things keep progressing like this, we’ll be dueling each other by the end of the semester.
Speaking of Tom, he has been very secretive lately. Each night after dinner he, Carrey, Murdoch, and a few other Slytherins leave the Great Hall and head toward the dungeons. They can’t possibly be heading to bed this early....

...I sense something fishy abroad....
---

That evening, Miriam decided to follow closely behind them and try to see where they were going. Once the Great Hall had cleared of most of the students, she slipped into the door they just entered and traveled behind them to an empty classroom in the dungeons. Tom was the last to walk into the classroom, and he shut the door behind him. Yet the door didn’t catch and remained slightly ajar. Remaining hidden behind the door, she watched the events inside the classroom unfold.

“Hey, Tom, glad you could make it!� a voice called out. Miriam glanced inside and saw Stephane Lestrange looking down at Tom with an approving expression upon his face.

“This meeting of the Junior Knights of Walpurgis will now commence.�

“As you know,� he began, “the Knights suffered a horrible defeat last year when that oaf Dumbledore and his radicals fought against them. It’s up to us, the future Knights, to help carry on Grindelwald’s noble work and join him once we leave this school. But until then, we’re stuck here on the sidelines of this... this... Muggle-loving cesspool of putridness,� Stephane said airily, waving his hand as if he were shooing away an irksome fly.

“So, does anyone have any business they’d like to bring up?�

“I have something,� someone announced. Miriam knew at once that the voice speaking belonged to Carrey Malfoy. “I have our mark finished.�

“Great!� Stephane exclaimed. “Let’s see it, then!�

Peaking inside, she could make out Carrey proudly walking up to Stephane with a rolled-up paper under his arm. Stephane glanced at the paper and grinned. “This is great!�

Turning it around for everyone else in the room to see, Miriam was able to see the mark clearly. Stephane proudly showed them the image of an entwined snake and sword.

“Unfortunately, I only know a spell that would make the mark temporary,� Carrey admitted.

“What’s the spell?�

“It’s an old Russian spell that witches and wizards used to mark themselves,� Carrey explained, rolling up his robe sleeves. Holding out his left forearm, he continued, “It goes something like this... myetka!�

Pointing his wand at his arm, the wand emitted a dark ray of light as a shape began to form on his arm.

“Ta-da!� he announced proudly. The group huddled around Carrey’s newly tattooed arm, which bore the mark of the snake, sword, and the dagger.

“Amazing!�

“Smashing!�

“I want one!�

“All right everyone! Line up!� Stephane announced as Carrey began tattooing the arms of the eager crowd.

As Miriam watched the mark slowly brand itself on Tom’s arm, she felt a heavy ball rest in the pit of her stomach. She couldn’t take watching this anymore, so she turned around to leave, leaving her brother to his little freak party.

Bad enough that most everyone in Slytherin is, in some form, supporting Grindelwald, but now they’ve gotten Tom supporting him as well. What’s next? she questioned piercingly. Tom becoming the next Dark Lord?

Deeply absorbed in her thoughts, she walked out of the dungeons and back up to the main part of the school. Unfortunately, she didn’t see the gray-hair and sour face of caretaker Maugi.

“Students aren’t allowed in the dungeons after classes!� he bellowed. “You’ve got yourself detention, missy!�

This day can’t possibly get any better, could it?

“Report to my office at six ' o clock tomorrow.�

“Yes, sir,� she replied with as much politeness as she could manage. As soon as his back was turned, Miriam gave him a rude gesture with her hand.

Great. My brother is now a junior Knight and tomorrow I have detention.

March 20th, 1941,
Abby wasn’t too pleased when she heard I had gotten myself detention. I never told her about why Maugi gave me detention, just that I was wandering around and was caught by him.
---

"We have the Quidditch finals tonight!" she shrieked, the vein above her right eye throbbing slightly. "We need you on the team!"

Miriam was standing by the entrance to the locker rooms when she broke the bad news to Abby. If there was one thing she truly didn’t need right now, it was Abby blowing a gasket.

"Look, it wasn’t like I planned getting detention. It just happened!"

"What the bloody hell were you doing wandering around the dungeons at night for?"

"I have my reasons!"

"Well, I certainly hope they were good ones!"

"Maybe whatever punishment he has for me won’t take long to do. He might give me lines, or something."

"I sincerely hope so!" Abby yelled as she raged out of the locker rooms, cursing slightly under her breath. Sighing, Miriam set off back toward the castle so she could begin her torture with Maugi.

"Good, you’re here," he grumbled as Miriam walked into his office precisely at six. "I’ve got a job for you."

Oh, goodie. I'm jumping for joy here... can’t you tell?

"I want you to polish all the trophies in the trophy room. No magic, just good ol' elbow grease."

Handing her a towel and a polish jar, he sent her on her way. Upon entering the trophy room, she nearly passed out. The walls were lined with trophies, plaques, medals, and other sorts of awards.

This is going to take me all damn night!

Dropping the stuff angrily to the floor, she began her laborious punishment of polishing the awards and cursing Maugi under her breath.

Stupid Maugi....
The son of a....

After what seemed like an eternity to her, she looked down at her watch and realized it was just approaching seven-thirty. A small bubble of hope swelled up inside her chest because the Quidditch match didn’t begin until eight. Quickly picking up her dirtied rag and empty polish jars, she ran back to Maugi’s office. Thrusting the rag and jar on the desk in front of him, she dashed out of the office before he could object.

Quarter to eight....

She sprinted up toward the Gryffindor common room and gasped out the password to the fat lady. The portrait swung open and Miriam continued her sprint inside. Surging up the stairs to the girls’ dormitories, she snatched her broom and Quidditch uniform, then quickly rushed back out of the common room.

~*~

"All right team," Abby sighed dejectedly, "we’ll have to win this one sans one Chaser from our team. She –" Abby was abruptly cut off when the door to the locker room burst open and Miriam came running in.

"Sorry... sorry. Got tied up with something," she mumbled as she hastened toward the changing room amid the inquisitive looks on her teammates faces.
Though Miriam couldn’t see her, Abby’s face suddenly cracked open and a large toothy grin spread across her face.

---

April 23rd, 1941,
I don’t believe what has just happened, I really don’t. Of all the weird and crazy things to occur, this one has to take the cake....
---

"No!" Sophie and Marcella both murmured incredulously. Miriam merely nodded her head.

"Yup. Tom and I will be dueling each other at the end of this month," she replied. "Professor Dumbledore just told me."

"How can that be?" Marcella questioned.

"Simple. Tom and I won most of our duels and are considered the best in the school. We’ve earned the most points and now... we have to compete against one another."

"Blimey," muttered Sophie. "What are you going to do?"

"What I normally do prior to competition: Practice, practice, and practice some more," she answered with a devious smile. "Tom won’t know what hit him."

That little gibe sent the girls’ into a hysterical outburst.

At that same time, Tom, who had also just found out about dueling his sister, was planning a devious attack of his own with Carrey and Murdoch.

"You should try the Engorgio charm, she’ll swell up like balloon," laughed Carrey.

"NO! You should try the Rictusempra spell. She’ll be rolling all over the floor," Murdoch imparted.

"That’s only a mere tickling spell, Murdoch. If you really want to do something not so weak, Tom, then Furnunculus is the way to go."

Tom scratched his head.

"You know something, last night I heard Stephane mention this one type of spell. It went something like ‘girisi something, something pietra’," Carrey mentioned.

Tom looked at his friends and raised his eyebrows. "I... I know what spell you’re talking about. Girisi verso la pietra. That’s a spell Grindelwald himself invented. It... it turns people to stone."

"How’d you know it's a spell Grindelwald invented?" Murdoch asked, he now raising his eyebrows.

"I just do," Tom replied quietly, not making eye contact with either of them.

---

April 30th, 1941,
Today’s the day I duel my brother (how rich). I wonder how many other sisters can say they dueled their brothers? (... and hopefully won.)
I’ve been preparing for this since last week when I first learned of it. Marcella and Sophie have been a tremendous help, especially when learning this new spell 'Imciampare', which makes a person stumble.
---

"Let’s have a good, clean duel," ordered Professor Williams.

It was a warm Saturday in April, and it was time for the crucial duel between Tom and Miriam. Everyone in Hogwarts had been making it out as the duel of the century. Many students were divided on whom they wanted to win. Miriam didn’t care who was supporting her, just as long as Marcella, Sophie, and Henry were.

Tom and Miriam followed the proper wizard rules of showing respect to their opponent by bowing to one another. As they bowed, Miriam looked up at her brother, who was staring back. An unscrupulous look glinted in his eyes and a shrewd smirk curled the corners of his mouth. It was almost as if mentally he was telling her... I’m ready. Bring it on....

So am I, she thought as a devious smile curled her lips.

"One... two... three.... Duel!"

Tom and Miriam raised their wands, both ready to open fire.

"Engor–" Tom yelled.

"Inciamp-!"

"Protectorius!" he yelled again.

Damn, she thought bitterly as she watched their combination spell shoot off toward the sky in a blaze of reddish-green glory. Taking a deep breath, Miriam raised her wand again, prepared to attack.

"Petrificus –"

"Rictusempra!"

A purplish blast of light knocked Miriam backwards and she landed with her back on the platform. Though it was quite painful, she couldn’t help but laugh. She felt as if hundreds of feathers were tickling every inch of her.

I have to get up... I’ll lose the match if I don’t.

With much difficulty she hoisted herself off the platform. After wobbling for a moment, she regained her equilibrium.

He’s going to pay for that.

Tom raised his wand to cast a spell at her, but Miriam was quicker.

"Inciampare!"

An orangish light emitted from her wand and hit him squarely in the shoulder. At first nothing happened. Then as Tom moved forward to throw another hex at Miriam, he staggered forward and fell face down onto the platform.

"OUCH!" he exclaimed. Rubbing his sore and slightly bloody nose, he slowly got back onto his feet, and Miriam could see the fire and determination blazing in his eyes. But she was ready for whatever curse he’d threw at her... or at least she thought so as they both yelled "Expelliarmus!" at the exact same time.

The eager crowd watched in horror as the force from both spells created an energy so powerful it threw both Miriam and Tom flew back about ten feet into the air and and caused them to land with a loud thump on the platform.

As they lay unconscious, Professor Williams looked completely horror-stricken.
He rushed over to Miriam and pointed his wand at her chest and yelled, "Enervate!" Miriam gasped for breath before she opened her eyes.

"Oi, my head," she mumbled, grabbing her head as pain throbbed throughout her the back portion of her brain. Professor Williams headed over to Tom and performed the same spell on him.

"Bloody hell," he muttered as he massaged his head.

"This match is over with," Professor Williams ordered. "Abby, Stephane, please escort your house mates up to the infirmary."

"Aye, sir," they replied.

---

May 1st, 1941,
It is SO bloody boning being here in the infirmary. I don’t remember much of the match, but Abby tells me I was whooping Tom completely. Abby assures me my memory of the events should come back to me within twenty-four to forty-eight hours. Until then, no homework for me or Tom. Drat.
---

"Nurses’ orders," Abby stressed. Miriam dropped back on her bed and sighed heavily. End- of-term exams were coming up, and she desperately wanted to study for them.

Now I’ll have to play catch up when I get out of this place, she thought angrily.

"You know, most people would leap at the chance to not have to study," Abby jested as she read the devastated expression on Miriam’s face.

"ABBY!" Miriam screamed.

"I’m joking, I’m joking. Trust me, you’ll be out of here with plenty of time to prepare," she reassured her.

"I hope so," she sighed.

---

May 13th, 1941,
Today is Friday the 13th. Marcella tells me that she's met many Muggles that are afraid of this day as something bad generally happens to them.
---

"Being raised in a Muggle orphanage, I'm sure you must know that many Muggles can be very superstitious," Marcella replied. "They believe that all sorts of bad things can happen today."

"You should've seen Madam Westyn," Miriam replied, stifling a laugh. "She was the ultimate in superstitious."

As they headed to dinner later that evening, Miriam stopped abruptly. "I’ll catch up with you guys. I forgot my Transfiguration book. I left it back in the common room," she said. Marcella and Sophie continued toward the Great Hall, both wondering why she needed her book now right before dinner. They wondered this as they watched their friend run back all the way to the common room.

~*~

Sssss.

Miriam, who was walking back from the common room, had passed some vacant classrooms on the way back, but stopped when she heard something rather strange.

Sssss.

There was that noise again... and something that sounded like... laughter. She followed the sounds to the empty History of Magic classroom.

"Tom, where’d you get it?"

"I don’t know. I was just on my way to the Great Hall when this big black owl flew in through a window and dropped the box with it right in front of me."

"I wonder who sent it?"

"Who cares? What are you going to name it?"

Miriam could hear something inhuman moving around in the room.

"Only thing sitting inside the box with it was a note. It stated that its name is Vipera. So I guess that’s what we’re going to call it."

Curiosity getting the better of her, she quickly looked in, but she wasn’t prepared for what she saw: a snake was slithering and coiling itself around Tom’s shoulders; its triangular head nestled in his hands.

"It’s... OUCH! IT BIT ME!" Tom yelled. He released his grip on the snake and huddled over while grasping his hand. Tom's face was contorted in anguish. Carrey and Murdoch rushed over to him and looked at his hand. Even from back where Miriam was, she could see his injury quite clearly. Tom’s hand was bleeding profusely.

"You’ll have to go to the infirmary," Murdoch said.

"NO, Murdoch, you moron, the nurse will ask too many questions!" Carrey replied briskly. "Here," he said. He took the sleeve of Tom’s robe and covered his injured hand.

"I can’t go into the Great Hall looking like this!" Tom exclaimed indignantly, raising up his wrapped and still bleeding hand. Tom winced again.

"You won’t," Carrey replied matter-of-factly. "You’re going back to the common room."

"We’ll try and nick you some food from the Great Hall while we're there," Murdoch added.

~*~

"Miriam."

"Miriam."

"Um... hello to Miss Riddle!" Sophie exclaimed, waving her hands in front of her friend's vacant face.

"What?" she asked, finally looking up from her book.

"You've been staring at that book for twenty minutes now without turning the page," Sophie replied.

"I just, uh, find this page rather interesting," she lied.

"Uh-huh. That's why you're looking at the index."

Miriam could have kicked herself... if it were even remotely possible.

"You haven’t touched any of your food," Marcella added. "That index page can’t be that interesting."

"Look, I just have a lot of work to catch up on," she lied again. In all honesty, she couldn’t bring herself to eat anything. After what she had just seen, she had totally lost her appetite. Her thoughts were too occupied with the mysterious snake Tom had just received. Her cluelessness carried over after dinner when they were leaving the Great Hall. Too absorbed in her own problems, she didn’t even notice Hagrid trying to cover a large piece of meat that was hanging out from the sleeve of his robe.

~*~

Down in the Slytherin common room, the Slytherins were suddenly regarding Tom as a hero. As Murdoch and Carrey were bringing him back some dinner, they were shocked to see Tom’s hand had completely healed up already.

"That’s... that’s bloody impossible!" Carrey exclaimed.

"I know," Tom replied. "There’s not even a puncture mark to be found."

To top it off, all the Slytherin girls were ooohing and awing over him.

"Did it hurt much, Tom?" a girl named Naomi Avery asked.

"You poor thing!" Frederica Parkinson cooed.

"You’re so courageous!" Libby Macnair added dreamily.

Tom grinned. He absolutely loved all the attention everyone was lavishing on him... especially the attention from the girls.

Tom went to bed that night in rather good spirits.

"Good night," a voice hissed. He rolled over and came face to face with Vipera. Vipera winked then slithered off into the darkness.

---

June 1st, 1941,
Our end-of-term exams have begun. For having missed a week last month due to injury, I spent nearly every waking moment in the library and going over my notes from the past year.
---

Many of the students were ecstatic as they took their last and final exam on the second. Miriam felt pretty good for being able to recover from her minor setback the previous month.

That night at dinner, everyone had decided to celebrate a job well done for finishing the exams.

"You amaze us, Miriam," Sophie sighed, shaking her head. "You miss a week of studying and still come out on top."

"We don’t know that yet," she replied as she buttered a dinner roll. "We’ll have to wait and see when our results come back."

"You can’t fool us...," Marcella began, her voice slowly trailing off. Her eyes became enormous as she pointed nervously to something behind Miriam.

Slowly she turned around and came face-to-face with Vipera, who was hissing softly to her. Too frightened to move, Miriam watched as the snake swooped down and ate her dinner roll right out of her trembling hands, much to the delight of the watching Slytherins.

"Are you scared, Miriam?"

She looked over at the Slytherin table, and at Stephane, who was hunched over and grabbing his sides, doubled over from laughing. However, it was Tom who was laughing the hardest. Tears were streaming down his scrunched-up face. Vipera slithered back over to the Slytherins where she was met with compliments and pats on her triangular head.

"Keep that wretched thing over there where it belongs!" Miriam yelled, the blood rushing to her face.

~*~

"Hey, look, I’m sorry about what happened at dinner tonight," Tom said while trying his best to keep a determinedly straight face as he ran to keep up with Miriam as she left the Great Hall later on.

"Have you come to ridicule me some more?" she asked, not bothering to even look at him.

"No, but you got to admit, it was kind of funny," he smirked.

"Go ahead. Laugh some more," she sighed. All the other Slytherins have," she mumbled as they passed by a group of Ravenclaws in the hallway.

"What are you looking at?" she yelled. The Ravenclaws looked affronted and left the hallway as Miriam continued her tempo down the hall.

"Wait!" Tom called after her. Catching back up with her, Miriam turned around to face him.

"Now really Tom, I... I... h - have you been getting enough sleep lately?" Miriam asked, eying him rather peculiarly.

"Yeah. Why?" he asked, noticing her strange expressions at him.

"Your eyes... they... they look different."

Covering his eyes, he ran past Miriam and into the nearest boys' restroom. Glancing into a mirror above the sink, he saw his eyes did look different: his pupils had become narrow, like the slits of a snake. Taking his finger, he touched his eyes, but immediately had to pull back as they began to burn. Turning the faucet on, he washed his face with cold water, hoping it would take the irritation away. Patting his face dry with a towel, he looked into the mirror once more. His eyes were human-like again.

Figuring it must have been a simple trick of his mind, he was preparing to leave the restroom when a first year Hufflepuff boy looked at Tom and then ran out of the restroom screaming at the top of his lungs. Wondering what on earth he could possibly be screaming at, Tom turned around and faced the mirror again. It was then he saw it: There was blood trickling down from the corners of his eyes like morbid tears.

~*~

Miriam anxiously paced the hallway, waiting for her brother to return. Thoughts were racing throughout her head, and the wait was absolutely killing her.

He's just over worked and nothing more. Merely tired, is all.

Unfortunately, nothing she th! ought of made her feel any better. Her thoughts kept shifting to when she had seen Vipera biting Tom.
Miriam waited ten more minutes, and then finally Tom appeared again.

"Tom! Are you okay? What happened?" she asked.

"I... I have to go," he stammered. His hands were covering his face as he ran down the hall.

"Tom?" Miriam called after him, but he didn’t answer back; he just continued running off into the distance.

June 8th, 1941,
Tonight was our end of term feast, and tomorrow we head back to the orphanage. Gryffindor won the house cup again - third year in a row - much to the disappointment of the Slytherins.

Right now, I've taken a break from packing. It's taking me an exceptionally long time to pack, as I just don't want to go back to Mme. Westyn's. I really wish Tom and I could stay here for the summer.

I have a bad feeling that Tom is bringing that nauseating snake of his along with us.

---

"Are you finally all packed?" Sophie asked.

"Mmm ... yep."

It was Monday, and Miriam was the last to leave the Gryffindor common room. She had waited until the very last minute to finish packing her trunk.

"Trust me," she replied, "if you had to go back to Madam Westyn's for the summer, you'd take forever to pack, too."

~*~

Waiting around for the Hogwarts Express to pull up, Miriam went into great detail about their lives at the orphanage.

"Then when Tom and I were six," she continued, "Madam Westyn made us scrub the floors until they were ‘clean enough to eat off.' All because we had tracked snow inside...."

Marcella and Sophie both looked completely horror-struck. Sophie opened her mouth to say something, but the train pulled up and let out a loud whistle. Thankfully, Miriam didn't have to go into any more horror stories of Tom's and her youth.

A few hours later, Tom and Miriam were back in the outskirts of Little Hangleton and back in Madam Westyn's Home for Orphaned Children.

Though they sat for most of the trip back, Tom and Miriam were emotionally exhausted when they arrived back in Little Hangleton. Grabbing their respective trunks, they dragged them up the stone steps and into their dormitories, where they received glowers from the other children.

"So, how was that little freak school of yours?" a girl asked. Miriam looked up and saw a girl with brunette hair sitting on the edge of her bed.

"You're sitting on my bed. Please move," Miriam replied, ignoring the girl's question.

"Make me move," the girl taunted. She grabbed a fist-full of Miriam's comforter and didn't budge.

"I don't want to play these games," Miriam said more forcefully. "Move it... now!"

"I said, make me," the girl sneered.

Miriam sighed, reached into her jacket, and pulled out her wand. Pointing it squarely at the girl, she said fiercely, "Move it or lose it."

The girls' eyes grew wide. "You wouldn't dare!" she squeaked, looking at Miriam and then down at her wand.

"Oh, yeah? Try me."

"Madam Westyn! Madam Westyn!" the girl shrieked loudly.

Madam Westyn came bounding up the steps and threw open the door to the girls' dormitories with a loud bang. She saw Miriam with her wand pointed directly at the brunette girl, who was cowering on Miriam's bed.

"What in the bloody hell is going on up here?" Madam Westyn exclaimed. "Miss Riddle! What on earth do you think you're doing?"

"She was teasing me and wouldn't get off my bed," Miriam replied, keeping her eyes planted firmly on the girl.

The girl on the bed started to cry. "I was merely playing and all. She... she hexed me! She put a curse on me!"

"I swear I didn't do anything to her!" Miriam said, finally taking her eyes off the girl and looking directly at Madam Westyn.

"You, young lady, are in deep trouble!" boomed Madam Westyn. Grabbing Miriam by the arm, she dragged her forcefully down the steps and shoved her violently into her office. As Madam Westyn sat down behind her desk, Miriam gently massaged the spot on her arm where Westyn had grabbed her. Even just touching it made her want to wince.

"I pride myself on being able to raise you orphans with a strong sense of wholesomeness and family. For thirteen years, I've tried to stomp out any bit of the magic that flows through you. When it proved futile, I turned a blind eye to it all, but this has gone on long enough," Madam Westyn snarled. "It's bad enough you and your brother are even going to that... place, but now you've gone and endangered one of my charges! You do that one more, just one more time and I'll throw you out of here so fast, you won't know what hit you!"

Miriam blinked back the tears she felt stinging her eyes. The injustice of it all....

"Yes," she said quietly.

"Good. Now get out of my sight!" Madam Westyn said scathingly.

Miriam opened the door and came face to face with Tom.

"What's going –" he began, looking between Miriam and Madam Westyn, but Miriam pushed by him. She didn't want him to see her cry. Running back up to the girls' dormitories, she was glad to see it was now vacant. Sitting on her bed, she took off her jacket and rolled up her sleeve to look at the ugly black-and-blue hand print on her arm. She sighed heavily as she rolled down her sleeve again.

As if things couldn't get any worse for her or her brother, Madam Westyn had another surprise in store for the two Riddle kids.

Early the next morning after breakfast, Madam Westyn called Tom and Miriam into her office.

"Money or no money, I've put up with this as long as I could," she said, wringing her prune-y hands. "I simply cannot allow you to continue to poison the other children with your evilness."

Miriam looked at Tom, who had raised his eyebrows. It was certainly a close draw on who looked more surprised: Miriam or Tom.

"I would like you two to meet Father James. Father James, here are the two children I've told you about," Madam Westyn announced.

The man had a cold, indifferent expression on his old, winkled face. He wore silverish wire-rimmed glasses and a billowing black robe - but his wasn't a typical witch's or wizard's robe - and he carried a large wooden cross.

"What's going on?" Miriam asked, her heartbeat starting to quicken.

The man's vicious, sullen eyes fixated on Miriam. Raising the cross, he said in a booming voice, "By the grace of God, I cast the Devil out of you!"

Miriam was too frightened to move. The only thing she could do was grab her brother's hand and squeeze it tightly. "Tom!" she whispered, her voice filled with fear. Tom stepped in front of Miriam and looked up at the man.

"We're not evil," he said firmly.

"You practice the devil's magic –"

"We're not evil," he announced again, his voice slowly getting more angry with every syllable spoken.

"Your hearts and souls are filled with black –"

"WE'RE... NOT... BLOODY... EVIL!" Tom yelled. At that moment, a harsh, sweeping wind blew through the office, and Madam Westyn's desk began to shake violently, almost unnaturally.

Father Jones and Madam Westyn looked taken aback and frightened. "Leave my sister and me alone!"

Father Jones put his hand on Tom's shoulder and grabbed him roughly. "Now you listen to me, boy –"

Tom looked down scornfully at the man's hand and wrested it with such fury, the man stumbled forward a bit. Looking up into the man's steely gray eyes, Tom focused all his anger and hatred onto this moment.

"LEAVE US THE HELL ALONE... OR ELSE!" Tom hissed.

Miriam looked into Father Jones's glasses and nearly gasped by what she saw in its reflection: Tom's eyes had taken on a brilliant blood-red glow. A look of sheer terror crossed the faces of Madam Westyn and Father Jones. A surge of power traveled through Tom, and the old man fell to the ground, writhing. Father Jones looked up at Tom as he loosened his grip on the old man.

Slowly the man got up and staggered out of the office, leaving without saying anymore. Miriam glanced up at Madam Westyn, who wore an indecipherable expression on her face.

Walking up to Tom, Madam Westyn looked at him for a moment before slapping him severely across the face, causing him to twist and stumble backwards.

"Well, it looks as if you two will be sleeping outside tonight," she said, her eyes glinting maliciously.

Faithful to her word, she tossed them out into her lush, green garden. "You'll be needing this," she grinned smugly as she tossed out a tattered tent for them to use as shelter.

~*~

As the hot, summer day slowly dragged on, Miriam imagined that this was what hell must truly be like. She was hot, tired, hungry, and parched. She knew Tom was as well, though he never admitted it... or complained once about it.

Eventually, the bright blue sky gave way to a pinkish gold color and Miriam suggested that they pitch the tent before the sun went completely down on them. Without saying anything to the other, they slowly constructed the tent, shortly realizing that it was only big enough for one person.

"Go ahead," Tom mumbled, waving his hand dismissively at the tent.

"No, no, I couldn't –" Miriam began.

"Take it," he ordered. He sat on the cool, damp grass and laid back, facing the now darkened sky. Miriam bit her lip and then slowly crawled into the tent.

"Goodnight, Tom," she called out softly.

"Night," he replied gruffly.

Miriam laid down in her tent. As she did, her stomach let out a low grumble. It was telling her she was starving. She hadn't eaten anything since breakfast earlier, and her stomach was thoroughly displeased.

"Tom?" she tentatively called out again.

"What?" he grunted.

"Thank you for protecting me earlier."

"No problem."

As Miriam laid back down in her tent, she heard something moving over the grass just outside her tent. Gently lifting up the side of the tent, she came face to face with Tom's familiar pet snake.

"Vipera?" she whispered in astonishment.

Hello, it hissed to her.

Miriam gaped at snake in astonishment, watching as it slowly turned around and slithered into some nearby bushes.

Okaaaay. Miriam figured it simply was just her imagination running away with her. Probably because I'm so hungry.

Closing her eyes, she went to sleep and had a wonderful dream about eating chocolate cake.

---

June 13th, 1941,
Mme. Westyn finally allowed us to return to the inside orphanage... or at least she allowed one of us, anyhow.
---

"You, but not him," Madam Westyn grunted, pointing between Miriam and Tom.

"I'm not going without him."

"You'll do as I tell you. Now get inside this instant, young lady!"

Miriam looked at Tom, who was beckoning her on. Go ahead, he seemed to say to her.

With a heavy heart, she followed Madam Westyn inside, leaving her brother outside in the hot, summer day.

"You're not going to, um, leave him out there all day, are you?" Miriam asked tentatively.

"I'll leave him out there as long as I want," she replied gruffly.

"But if he dies from heat exhaustion or hunger, you're going to be in loads of trouble."

Madam Westyn stopped abruptly and glared at Miriam. As much as she hated to admit it, she knew Miriam was right.

"Fine," she grumbled. Opening the door back up, she motioned for Tom to come in. He walked in without even acknowledging Madam Westyn.

Thanks, Miriam, he smiled at her.

After that, things seemed to regress back to normal for the rest of the day and for much of the week.

---

June 24th, 1941,
Tom ran away from the orphanage today. I awoke to odd noises coming from outside. I looked out in time to see Tom standing out on the front lawn, a strange cloaked figure guiding him away from the building.
---

It was early daybreak, much to soon to get up, so she rolled over to get comfortable in her bed. Muffled voices coming from outside slipped below her bedroom window.

Ugh. Who is making that racket, she thought groggily.

Slowly lifting up her curtains she squinted her eyes and looked out her window onto the not-quite-lit lawn. She nearly gave herself quite a start when she saw Tom walking toward a strange person in a hooded cloak, who was steering him away from the orphanage. Sitting upright in her bed, she observed their every movement closely.

Tom seemed perfectly at ease around the stranger. In the next instant, the man pulled out a long stick, and then both Tom and the stranger vanished, leaving Miriam rubbing her eyes and bewildered.

Nobody seemed to notice that Tom was gone, or at least, nobody let on that they knew, or even cared. Miriam felt a mixture of hurt and resentment toward her brother. How could he just up and leave her like that - especially when he knew bloody well that she was just as unhappy living at the orphanage?

The only person who gave the slightest hint about Tom being gone was Madam Westyn, who seemed extremely elated that particular day.

---

June 25th, 1941,
It hurts like the dickens to write, so I'll just make this short and to the point. I had a nightmare last night ... but it wasn't just any nightmare, this one was real. I don't know how else to explain it. Though all my other nightmares seemed so real, this one took the cake.
---

"Play!" a harsh voice ordered her. Miriam looked around and saw a tall figure standing off in the distance. His face was well hidden, as he wore a long, hooded robe that covered all of his head and facial features. Miriam had a sinking suspicion she knew who the person in the hooded robe was.

"Are... are you Grindelwald?" she asked nervously. The figure didn't acknowledge the question; it merely raised its hood to reveal a thin white face with red slits for eyes.

"Play!" he shouted again. A beautiful golden harp stood next to where Grindelwald waited. The golden harp gently reflected the candlelight, making it seem almost ethereal. If it didn't seem like such a life-or-death situation, it would almost seem like a wonderful dream... except this dream was covering an absolute nightmare.

"Why me?" she asked.

"You're the only one who knows how." An oh-so-familiar voiced echoed its reply.

Tom?

Miriam slowly walked toward the harp and sat down on the small bench beside it. Bringing her hands up to the strings, she gave it a soft, gentle pluck. A note of music emitted from the harp.

This isn't too bad. But little did she know that something evil was under the harp's innocent appearance. Bringing her hands up to the harp again, she plucked the strings. A harmonious, almost heavenly sound emerged... along with something she wasn't anticipating at all: A sharp, searing pain in her fingers. Just as if they had been pricked, blood slowly began to trickle down her fingers. She cried in pain as she pulled away from the harp and clasped her hands together, hoping to make the bleeding stop.

"Continue!" bellowed Grindelwald. Miriam again played a few more notes on the harp, but the pain was even more intense. She looked at her fingers, which were now completely covered in crimson.

"I can't," she sobbed. "Please... let me stop!"

"No!" he shouted.

"Please," she begged again. "My hands...."

"Continue playing, or I'll Imperius you and force you to play!" he threatened with his wand now pointing directly at her.

Taking a long and deep breath, she continuing on, playing a haunting melody through the unbearable pain she was experiencing, wincing every time she moved her hands along the harp. Inside her head, she was screaming in pain. She watched through teary eyes, in silent horror, as her fingers bled profusely, her blood gradually dripping down and coloring the white strings of the harp a bright blood-red color.

Just let me stop! Please!

A weird sensation began to overtake her, and she began to feel extremely tired. Her eyelids were getting heavier....

No, she thought. I must stay awake.

Fighting the impending sensation, she continued on as her hands eventually became desensitized to the overwhelming pain. Unsuccessfully, the feeling of sleepiness overtook her and she slumped over in her seat, her bloody hands still grasping at the harp strings.

"Miriam you're pathetic," the familiar voice she had heard earlier thundered. A cold laughter filled her head.

Pathetic.... it echoed in her head.

Weakness washed over her as she slowly came to again. Opening her eyes, she expected to meet the evil glare of Grindelwald. Instead, she saw only the early morning light. Her face was wet with perspiration and her head felt foggy, but she knew that she was in the safety of her room in the orphanage. It had all been just a horrible dream.

Still half-asleep, she began to rub her eyes, but they immediately began to sting. Grabbing her blanket she wiped whatever was in her eyes out, but she wasn't prepared for what her now-clear eyes saw: blood.

Gasping, she examined the blanket more closely. There was blood was everywhere; it was covering a good portion of her blanket.

"Oh my," she quietly exclaimed. Looking at her hands, she realized the blood had come from the deep gashes on her fingers.

It hadn't just been a dream. It had been REAL.

Her hands began to sear from the cool, morning air touching them. Wrapping them up in her bloody blanket, she laid back as her eyes began to sting again - this time not from blood, but from tears.

What could have been Grindelwald's motive for torturing her?

Getting up, she set out toward the nurse's office. The nurse was still asleep, so snatching some ointment from the office was a piece of cake. After quietly making her way back up the stairs to her bed, she applied the medication liberally.

As she was putting the awful smelling stuff on, an owl pecked at her window.

Carefully opening the window with her ointment-treated hands, the owl flew in, dropped a letter in her lap, then flew off again. Gingerly opening the letter, she saw it was from her friends.

In the letter, they talked about their recent vacation to the Mediterranean. They also enclosed something she wasn't expecting: a clip from the most recent edition of the The Daily Prophet.

"Grindelwald breaks into Ministry of Magic"
Sources have reported to The Daily Prophet that sometime late last night, Grindelwald broke into the Ministry of Magic. Though Ministry employees maintain that nothing was taken, they did say a harp was found near the entrance to one room deep within the Ministy of Magic, along with a small pool of blood at the foot of the harp.
Though none of the employees, the Unspeakables, stated what was in that particular room, The Daily Prophet learned that whatever was in there could only be reached by playing a musical instrument.
The first person to arrive on the scene was Albus Dumbledore, head of the resistance to vanquish the Dark Lord Grindelwald.
Interview with Dumbledore following on the next page:

A small note from her friends was folded inside the newspaper clip.

"Can you believe it? Someone broke into the Ministry of Magic? Luckily Dumbledore was the first one there.
We thought we'd try and keep you up-to-date on things happening in the wizading world, as I'm sure that being in the orphanage must get quite dull."

"You don't know the half of it," she mumbled, carefully tucking their letter inside again.

The day kept getting stranger and stranger. Tom returned shortly after dinner, much to the annoyance of Madam Westyn, who had been hoping that he had gotten run over - or something much worse.

When Miriam spotted Tom sitting alone in the garden under a large tree that later on that evening, she decided that she needed to talk to him and clear a few things up. Thoughts were racing around her head as she decided what she wanted to say, but the words just weren't coming to her. Finally the words came to her lips when she saw Tom.

"Where the hell have you been?" she exclaimed. Tom looked up from where he was sitting, a look of aggravation crossing his face.

"You saw me leave?"

"Well of course I saw!" she replied angrily. "I saw you leaving with some peculiar hooded figure!"

Tom stood up, but when he did, she saw something that nearly made her pass out. He had bloodstains all down the front of him.

"What happened to YOU?" she exclaimed, looking at his bloodied clothes.

"None of your business!" he retorted before storming back inside the orphanage.

---

June 27th, 1941,
Since Mme. Westyn's punishment those few days ago,Tom seems to have become much more quieter than usual, keeping mostly to himself. And as strange as what I'm about to write next sounds, I'll say it anyway: I think he's been talking to Vipera. Everyday I see him out in the garden alone with that snake. I snuck out there today and heard the most unusual sound: him laughing over something Vipera had said... yes SAID! He TALKED to the SNAKE! AND UNDERSTOOD IT!

I guess I shouldn't be too worried over it, as I'm sure loads of witches and wizards can do it, too. It can't be that uncommon of a trait, talking to snakes and all. I was going to ask him about it tonight at dinner, but he seemed aloof, more so than usual. Once dinner was over, he got up and left before I even got the chance to speak to him. I decided to follow him, hoping I could get him alone so we could talk, but following him lead me, interestingly enough, to Mme. Westyn's office.
---

Miriam didn't want Tom to see her, at least, not yet. Opening a door to a small broom closet, she ducked inside, but left the door open enough to see her brother.

Tom reached into his pants pocket and pulled out a small gray pick. After checking to make sure no one was around, he slid the pick into the office door's lock. Fumbling around for a good minute, he heard a click inside the lock, and the door opened up. He smiled as he slid open the door just wide enough for him to squeeze in and close it behind him. By this time, Miriam had slipped out of the broom closet and headed toward Madam Westyn's office.

Breaking and entering was against the orphanage's rules - especially breaking into Madam Westyn's office, which could have landed Tom and her in serious trouble. But Miriam had to know what Tom was up to. Putting her hand on the doorknob, she sighed. Curiosity was driving her insane. Quietly turning the knob, she opened the door without a squeak and walked in.

Tom, his back toward her, was facing a filing cabinet rustling around some papers. Obviously he hadn't heard his sister come in behind him.

Miriam watched him for a brief moment before speaking. "So, pray tell, when did you learn to pick a lock?"

He abruptly stopped what he was doing and turned toward Miriam, looking like a deer caught in headlights.

"Miriam! When... where'd you...."

Miriam held up her hand. Tom continued to stare incredulously at her, almost as if he were trying to read her mind. Ignoring him, she walked up to the filing cabinet and exclaimed, "Bloody hell, Tom, do you know what Madam Westyn will do to us if she finds us in here? Two weeks without dinner! And that's only if she's feeling merciful toward us, which she hasn't been lately. What's in here that you would even want, anyway?" she asked looking at the pile of folders that Tom was still going through.

"This," he replied, pulling out a folder in particular. "There was something I just had to check on."

Miriam looked at the title of the file. 'Riddle, Thomas Marvolo', it read. Quite understandably confused by this she looked at him curiously, but before she could even ask, he opened the file. Inside the file was his birth certificate and other information. He seemed to be looking for something in particular on it. The only thing she could fully read on it was his birth date (October 31, 1927).

"Look here," he said suddenly. He was pointing to a name... a woman's name... Marguerite Morreaux. Right above it, it read: 'Mother's Name', DOB 17/2/1902, DD: 31/10/1927. Miriam nearly choked on her breath as she read that. This was the first time she had ever seen her mother's name, her birth date, and unfortunately, her death date. Tom pointed to another line, this one read 'Father's Name': Thomas Riddle, DOB 30/4/1896.

Her heart felt like it had just stopped in her chest.

Tom then pulled out another folder, this one reading 'Riddle, Miriam Eloise'. He opened it up and showed her her own birth certificate. The same women and man were listed on hers, as well, as were the same dates.

"So... she... was... our mother? And our father is... alive?" Miriam asked.

"It would seem so," he mumbled piercingly.

Looking into his eyes, she saw a newly discovered hate in them. Maybe it was simply because her eyes were still adjusting themselves to the dark, but were his eyes starting to turn red?

"He's alive, and yet, he still sent us here," she mumbled solemnly. "What made you decide to look for these?"

"A friend told me."

She couldn't help but feel that somehow this sudden interest in these papers had some strange connection with his disappearance the other day. Yet before she could even ask who that mysterious friend was, Tom had turned and began putting the folders back into the cabinets. As he did, they could hear footsteps out in the hallway - and it sounded like they were getting closer! Surely they were going to be caught.

Tom grabbed Miriam by the arm, pushed her down behind Madam Westyn's desk, and then crouched down beside her. A moment later, Madam Westyn came in the room.

"Who's in here?" she hollered. "Come out now, whoever you are!"

Miriam held her breath as she watched Madam Westyn tear up and down the room searching for the intruders. When she didn't find anything or anyone, she left the office in a huff. Her footsteps faded into the distance, and they slowly emerged from their hiding spot. As Miriam tried to open the office door, a sinking feeling rested in the bottom of her stomach: They were locked in.

"Not for long," Tom replied blandly. He pulled out the pick from his pocket and set out to work on the door. Two seconds later, the door opened, and they both made a dash out of the room. Unfortunately, before Miriam could even ask any more regarding their files, Tom had already split, tearing down the halls toward the boys dorms.

---

July 7th, 1941,
I just received the most exciting letter today!­
---


As Miriam opened her school letter, something shiny fell out. A badge. Picking it up, she nearly gasped.

"I'm Quidditch captain. Bloody hell!" she exclaimed.

Admiring her new badge, she couldn't help but smile. As she twirled the shiny badge between her fingers, sadness suddenly came over her as she realized then what the badge meant. It meant that her friend Abby wasn't coming back this year to Hogwarts.

The more she thought about it, there were others she knew that wouldn't be coming back either this coming school year: Peter Longbottom, Maria Bell, Stephane Lestrange... well, she really didn't care about him. He was always a bit of a pain-in-the-ass.

Pulling out the rest of the letters that were stuffed into the envelope, one in particular caught her eye.

Your friend Abby specifically requested that you take her place as Quidditch captain. Good luck on the team this year.
By the way, you'll need to find two new Chasers for your team. Good luck.

She had to find Tom and share the good news with him. Looking all around, she finally spotted him outside talking to that snake again.

"Guess what?" she exclaimed. Tom looked up and asked her what was wrong.

"Nothing's wrong," she replied, her face breaking out into a wide grin. "I've just been named Quidditch captain!" She pulled out her shiny red and gold badge and showed him.

"Wonderful," he replied, lacking any excitement in his voice. "I just got my school letter today, too."

"Did you get named captain as well?"

"No," he admitted. "I quit the team before the end of the semester last year."

"Why?" she questioned.

"Quidditch just wasn't my thing, I guess. I'd rather apply my time on my homework instead."

Or trying to open that foolish Chamber of Secrets.

She kept that last part to herself, as Tom didn't know she knew about his plans to try and find the fabled Chamber of Secrets.

---

July 14th, 1941,
I don't know what to do about Tom. It's like since we've been back, he hasn't been himself....
---

Things still haven't cooled between Tom and Madam Westyn. For most of the time, they snubbed one another, but Tom was not above giving her a contemptuous glower every so often. His glare was filled with great disdain and conceit. He had an aura about him that was unlike anything Miriam had ever seen from him before.

"She thinks she's the boss of me!" Tom exclaimed later that evening as they sat in the vacant garden. "But she's not! She's nothing more than just some beastly, uncivilized cretin!"

"Tom –" Miriam began, trying to mollify her tempestuous brother.

"They just don't understand us," Tom sighed.

"Who's they?"

"Muggles, Miriam! Muggles! They just don't understand us, the wizarding type. They go about their boring, pathetic little lives, totally ignorant of everything around them!"

"You can't hate all Muggles! They're not ALL like Madam Westyn!"

"How the hell do you know?" he enquired, raising his eyebrows. "Have you ever met any? The only people who have ever been nice to us are from the wizarding world! Everyone else thinks we're just freaks or monstrosities!"

"Are you saying we should just eradicate all Muggles then? Should we just set a bunch of bloodthirsty wizards and witches loose on the Muggles and let them torture and kill them?"

Tom didn't say anything in response to it. His quietness sent a cold shiver up her spine.

"What could the harm in it be?" he whispered dryly before he left the garden and a mightily bewildered Miriam behind.

July 15th, 1941,
Well, it’s happened. Tom finally blew a gasket at Mme. Westyn, and now we’re both sitting on a dark street corner trying to figure out where we should go.
---

The afternoon had begun innocently enough. Miriam was sitting upstairs on her bed, secretly writing a report for school under her covers, which proved to be a sweaty job. Tom was outside in the gardens, lying under a large tree with Vipera.

After she finished her homework a few hours later, she noticed it was getting dark and decided to go downstairs in search of Tom. As she had correctly guessed, he was still outside talking to Vipera. Sighing, she headed outside to join them. Walking into the expansive garden, she traveled over toward Tom, who was still lying underneath a massive tree.

“How come,� she began, “you haven’t introduced me to your new friend?�

Tom looked up with a mildly amused expression on his face and replied, “Sure. Vipera, this is my sister Miriam. Miriam, this Vipera.�

Charmed, it hissed.

“Tom,� she asked casually, not sure where to even begin the conversation, “how is it even possible to, uh, understand it?�

He nodded. “I dunno. I just talk to her, and she understands me.�

She? Miriam wondered. It was a girl?

“Don’t you think it’s ...kinda odd, though?�

“No.�

“Let me rephrase this: Is it normal to be able to talk to snakes?�

“Why not?�

“Yes, I would be interested to hear this as well,� a brash voice called out. Miriam slowly looked behind her and came face-to-face with Madam Westyn.

“Uh, hello, Madam Westyn,� they uttered in unison.

“Would you two please come to my office at once?� she asked, barely moving her mouth through her fake smile.

Miriam’s heart started to race as they followed Madam Westyn to her office. How she absolutely hated being in that wretched room. The only good thing that ever happened there was when she and her brother found out about being ‘magical,’, which in turn lead to those glorious nine months away from Madam Westyn and her crummy orphanage.

Madam Westyn closed the door behind them and sighed. “It’s as if you two couldn’t make my job any harder,� she huffed.

“What did we do?� Tom asked, trying hard to keep his voice as calm as possible.

Madam Westyn looked around the room. “I allowed you two to go to that school, and now, I see that you can talk to snakes. What type of monstrous trait is that? What do they teach you there? The dark arts?�

“Why do you care?� Tom asked darkly.

Madam Westyn looked shocked.

“How dare you talk back to me, you insolent little brat!�

“You know something,� Tom replied, eying Madam Westyn rather intently (Miriam gulped as she knew she wasn’t going to like what was coming next), “you’ve been riding our backs ever since we got back here, and I ... AM ...SICK ...OF ...IT!�

“Well, if you don’t like it, there’s the door. Don’t let it hit you on the ass on the way out!� Madam Westyn snarled, as she pointed aggressively toward the door to her office.

“Fine!� Tom shouted as he slammed the door behind him. “Don’t want to live in this crappy place anyway,� Miriam heard him mutter as he stomped away.

Following her brother out the door, she had to literally run to catch up with him in the main entryway.

“Tom!� she called after him.

“Pack your bags,� he ordered her. “We’re leaving!�

“But Tom,� she called out again.

“Just do it!� he yelled.

Miriam gazed at her brother in amazement.

“Look,� he said, more quietly this time, “pack your bags and meet me downstairs at midnight tonight.�

Questions were racing through her head, and she was quite understandably puzzled.

Tom walked away, but turned around to face Miriam again. “Oh, and one more thing, don’t bother going downstairs for dinner tonight.� He continued walking, leaving Miriam even more confused.

Skip dinner? Easy for him to do, she thought bitterly.

~*~

Miriam went to her bed and began furiously throwing things from her night stand and dresser into her trunk rather more hastily than she planned. When she finished, she hid her trunk back under her bed and sat down on her comforter, staring out the window onto the darkening sky. The sun was merely a speck on the horizon now, and the sky was a pinkish orange color. Resting her head against the cool glass of the windowpane, she looked at her small alarm clock and counted down the time until midnight, when she would meet her brother downstairs.

~*~

7 pm. It was dinner time. Although Miriam was really hungry, she followed her brother’s advice and didn’t head down to join the others.

9 pm. Sighing, she looked out the window and waited for the other girls to come up to bed.

11 pm. Only one more hour, she thought, as the snores from the other girls began to fill the room.

12 am. Showtime. Quietly sliding off her bed, she delicately pulled out her trunk from under her bed and started sliding it across the floor. Making it to the stairs, she sighed as the thought of trying to carry the heavy trunk down entered her head. This is going to take all my strength. Taking a deep breath, she tried her hardest to quietly slide the trunk down the staircase.

It took a lot of effort, but she managed to get it to the bottom without waking anyone up. Catching her breath and wiping her forehead off with the back of her hand, she strained her eyes to try and see in the darkness. Looking around, she spotted a dark shape standing by the door.

“Tom?� she quietly called out.

“Miriam! Glad you finally made it.�

“How long have you been standing there?� she asked, anger slowly starting to fill her. “You know, you could have helped me carry that blasted trunk down!�

“Sorry,� he mumbled, though not sounding very sorry.

“Are we doing what I think we’re doing?�

“If it’s what I’m thinking of,� Tom replied. “I don’t know about you, but I can’t stay here at Madam Westyn’s anymore.�

“Neither can I,� she sighed.

“We can head to London,� Tom continued. “We... we have loads of money in Gringott’s, so finding a place to stay won’t be a problem.�

“But London is two hours away by car! Who knows how long it’ll take by foot!"

“If we start now, we should hopefully be there by morning,� Tom sighed. He turned around and, to her astonishment, started crawling on the floor.

“What on earth are you doing?� she hissed, wondering what he was up to now.

“Looking for something.... Aha, got it!� he answered. He stood up and proceeded to the main door. Miriam heard something moving around and then click. The front doors opened, and the starry midnight black night sky came into view.

“Let’s go.�

Tom and Miriam dragged their trunks out into the cool night air.

“Lumos,� he whispered. Holding his wand, it lit up and together they used it to light their way to freedom.

~*~

“I don’t think I can drag this all the way to London,� Miriam huffed as they hauled their trunks down the dirt road that lead away from the orphanage.

Tom agreed. He sat down on his trunk and sighed. “Nox.� The light from his wand dimmed. “If only we could use our magic to get out of here.�

“I’m tired, hungry, and lost,� Miriam complained as she sat down next to him on her own trunk. “Look, we better keep going if we want to try and make it to London by daybreak.�
As soon as she stood up, something blinded her ...headlights. They were getting closer.

“Tom, what is that?�

“Headlights.�

“Duh, I know, but from a car this late at night?�

The lights got closer, and Miriam had to put her hands in front of her eyes to shield them from the blinding light. After a minute, the lights didn’t pass by. Miriam knew they couldn’t have belonged to a car... could they?

“Bloody hell! Where’d that come from?“ Tom asked incredulously, looking at the huge, purple bus parked in front of him.

“Hello,� a strange voice called out. A male figure appeared. “Welcome to the Knight Bus, transportation for the stranded witch or wizard. My name is Quintin Shacklebolt, and I’ll be your conductor this evening.� The man looked down at Tom and Miriam.

The kids looked at one another, unsure what to make of this rather bizarre situation.

“Are you two coming aboard or not, cause we’ve got to make another stop tonight.�

“What... how... how exactly did you know where to find us?� Miriam asked.

“One of you two contacted us,� the man replied.

“Tom, did you –“

�No - at least, I don’t think I did.�

Miriam looked up at the man. “Would you be able to take us to London?�

“Certainly, miss.�

Miriam grinned at Tom, who was looking just as pleased as she was.

“What about our trunks?� Tom asked.

“I’ll grab those,� Quintin replied, stepping off the triple-decker.

Tom and Miriam boarded the bus while Quintin lugged their heavy trunks up the stairs. Inside, Tom gave a low whistle as he looked around the expansive bus. It was even bigger on the inside than it appeared on the outside. But the best thing was, there were beds in which they could lay! Some looked to be occupied, but others weren’t.

“You want to head to London, you have to pay for your tickets,� Quintin panted, wiping the sweat off his brow.

“Um, how much?� Miriam asked. She realized then that they didn’t have any money for tickets.

“Three knuts.�

“Here you go,� Tom said, handing him the money. Miriam was surprised.

He’s been holding out on me, she thought.

Quintin handed them two tickets in return. “We’ll be arriving in London shortly.�

The twins set off looking for a place to sit. Finding a vacant bed near the back of the bus, they took opposite sides and sat down.

“This is so much better than walking to London,� Miriam squealed with delight, as Tom merely nodded his head in agreement. As she laid back on her pillow, the bus slowly began to drive away. This isn’t so bad. Closing her eyes, she tried going to sleep as she expected a smooth ride to London, unfortunately she was wrong.

BOOM!

Both Tom and Miriam peered out the window to see what had caused such a noise. Looking out the window, they both received quite the shock. Houses were literally running out of the way of the speeding bus, and cars passing them were driving up onto the front lawns. They continued looking on in disbelief, each holding onto the bed for dear life.

“Never rode the Knight Bus before, have you?� Quintin asked as he carefully walked toward Tom and Miriam, who were each holding onto the bed for dear life.

“No,� Tom replied quietly, still transfixed by the impressive sight.

“Don’t the people outside see us?� she asked.

“Nope,� Quintin replied. “Special charms are used to prevent them from seeing us.�

Feeling slightly more relaxed, they sat down on the bed again, only to be thrown off when the bus suddenly came to a screeching halt and Miriam went toppling on top of Tom.

“Oomph! Hey, get off me!� he yelled.

“I’m trying!�

As she climbed off her brother, the doors to the bus opened and another passenger boarded the purple triple-decker. She was a rather paunchy woman with curly gray hair and rosy cheeks.

“Hello, Lydia,� Quintin said to the woman. “To London, I assume?�

“You got it,� she answered, with a cheerful grin. After she paid him the fare, she walked toward the back of the bus where Miriam was currently situating herself on the bed and Tom was still sprawled out on the floor.

“Why, aren’t you two out late,� she smiled, glancing at Tom and Miriam in a motherly way. “Where are your parents?�

“We don’t have any,� Tom mumbled, not bothering looking at the woman.

“Oh, I’m sorry to hear that,� she replied. Crouching down to face Tom eye-to-eye, she said, “My name is Lydia Lupin. What’s yours?�

“Tom Riddle.�

Miriam sat up on the bed and looked at the woman.

“What’s your name, deary?�

“Miriam Riddle.�

“My goodness, you two certainly look a lot like,� Lydia replied astounded, looking between Miriam and Tom.

“We’re twins,� they replied in unison.

“Where do you two live?�

“At Madam Westyn’s. It’s an orphanage not far from here,� Miriam replied morosely.

“I’m sorry to hear that,� Lydia replied.

“We hated living there, so we ran away,� Tom added calmly.

“You ran away? Are you going to live with any relatives then?�

“No. Once we get to London, we’ll figure out where to go from there,� Tom answered.

“London isn’t a safe place for two young kids like yourselves.�

Tom heaved a heavy sigh. “We’re not kids. We’re thirteen and a half.�

“Still, London isn’t a safe place for two... teenagers,� she answered with a wry smile on her face.

“We know how to take care of ourselves,� Miriam answered for Tom, who was struggling to bite back with a retort. “Living at the orphanage, especially at Madam Westyn’s, you learn to take care of yourself.�

“I would feel honored if you two came to live with me until the semester starts at Hogwarts. You, uh, are going to Hogwarts, right?�

“Hm-mm. We’ll be starting our Fourth year in September,� Miriam replied.

---

July 31st, 1941,
Lydia has been extremely nice! We’ve been at her house for a few weeks now, and we absolutely love it here. Today she is taking us to Diagon Alley to buy our school things. Oddly enough, the school somehow knew to send our letters here. Strange, but at least we have them.
---

“Are you ready?� Lydia asked. The twins both nodded. They had just put on their school cloaks and were ready to proceed with the day’s adventures.

When Lydia saw their cloaks, she let out a small chuckle. “One Gryffindor, one Slytherin. I always figured the Sorting hat placed twins in the same house.�

“That’s what we’ve heard,� Miriam replied with a grin while Tom rolled his eyes.

Lydia leaned in closer to Miriam and whispered, “Just to know, I was in Gryffindor, too.�

Although Tom scowled, she gave Miriam a small wink and then stepped back and began explaining the effects of traveling by Floo powder.

“We’ll be traveling by this,� she announced, holding up a green jar filled with sparkling powder. “Have either of you ever traveled by Floo powder before?� she enquired.

They both shook their head no.

“Well, it’s quite simple. All you have to do is stand in the fireplace, grab a handful of this power and say very, very clearly the place you want to go to, which is Diagon Alley. Tom, why don’t you go first?�

Tom grabbed a handful of the sparkling powder and stepped into the fireplace.

“Diagon Alley!� A burst of green flames enclosed around Tom, and he disappeared into them.

“Your turn now, Miriam.�

She walked into the fireplace and grabbed a fistful of the powder.

“D - Diagon Alley!�

Green flames flew up all around her and Lydia’s fireplace vanished from sight. It was completely dark, and when she looked around, she couldn’t see a single thing except for passing fireplace grates. Before long she began to hear voices and a bright light could be seen shining through as a fireplace came into view. Totally unprepared for the landing, she went toppling out of the fireplace and onto the hard floor. Groaning, she got up looked around, coming face-to-face with a crowd of people, one of whom was Tom.

“Where are we?� she asked as she got to her feet, brushing the soot off that covered her clothes.

“Flourish & Blotts.�

Wandering off to look to around the store and at some of the books, they heard a loud crashing noise coming from the same fireplace that Tom and Miriam had just exited a moment before. Working her way through the crowd, Lydia finally made her way over to Tom and Miriam.

“Kids? Oh, there you are!� she called out.

“We’re over here,� Tom mumbled to his feet.

“We need to go to Gringott’s to get our money first,� Miriam spoke.

“Oh no, it would be my honor to get your books --"

"- and robes,� Tom interjected. “We seemed to have grown a few inches, and these just don’t fit us like they used to.�

“Certainly,� Lydia replied cheerfully.

As she walked away, Miriam leaned over toward Tom and hissed, “We can’t let her buy our school things! We have loads of our own money. It wouldn’t be right!�

“We’re getting our stuff for free! Relax!� Tom replied nonchalantly.

~*~

For most of the day, Lydia took the kids around Diagon Alley buying them new books, robes, and a few things for their Potions kit. While their new friend paid for their supplies, Miriam couldn’t help but feel like a petty thief. While the guilt slowly gnawed away at her insides, she decided she would do something nice for Lydia to make up for it, but unfortunately she didn’t have any money on her at the moment to buy her anything nice. Miriam tried to think of what she could do for her, but nothing came to mind.

~*~

Much later, once Miriam and Tom were back in Lydia’s home, Miriam went straight to bed as she was still trying to think up an idea on what to give Lydia to thank her for her kindness. At that same time, in her humble living room, Lydia had turned on her radio and began listening to the evening newscast. Tom was busy examining his new robes when a strange news announcement came over the radio.

“In other news, wealthy businessman, Thomas Riddle, of Little Hangleton, has announced plans to buy more properties in the Little Hangleton area, and possibly here in London. We will announce more info when available.�

Lydia looked inquisitively at Tom, who had stopped examining his robes and placed them carefully back on the table. He seemed eerily quiet, just sitting there, staring out into the space in front of him, the vein above his right eye slowly beginning to protrude.

“You two wouldn’t happen to be related, would you?� she asked innocently enough.

Without even answering Lydia’s question, Tom got up from his seat and left the room in a fit of rage, while Lydia wondered what on earth she had said to make him so mad. Completely befuddled by his behavior, she was unaware that her radio had begun to shake violently as Tom was leaving the room. Storming into the bedroom where Miriam was, he slumped onto a separate bed and groaned loudly into the comforter.

“Damn it, Miriam, it’s not fair,� he grumbled, his face half covered by the blankets. “That moron of a father of ours is planning to buy more properties, yet he can’t even take care of his own children!�

Miriam was still trying to think of a gift idea for Lydia when Tom had come bursting into her room and started mumbling into his quilt.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t hear you,� she said, looking alarmed at Tom.

“I said,� Tom replied, lifting his head off the quilt and narrowing his green eyes at her, “is that our... our... oh, never mind. Just drop it.�

“Excuse me!� Miriam exclaimed. “You came in here all aggravated about something or other and now you’re telling me to drop it?! That’s a bit rich, isn’t it?�

“Just drop it.� He turned to his side and didn’t say any more.

Well, he’s certainly acting like a little prat.

Miriam rolled her eyes over the ridiculousness of her brother’s recent demeanor. Rolling over on her own bed, she turned her back toward him and went to sleep.

"Self-conceit may lead to self-destruction." - Aesop (620 BC - 560 BC)

---

August 31st, 1941,
As of now, we’re in the middle of our journey back to Hogwarts. Lydia was thoughtful enough to drive Tom and I to King's Cross Station so we could board the Hogwarts Express.

Prior to leaving her house, I finally decided on a present for her. I made her a lavender scarf with fringe. Okay, so it’s not the best gift I could have come up with, but I do know how to knit, and it was the only thing I could do on short notice without using magic.
---

"We have a special announcement for you all," Headmaster Dippet announced that night at the start-of-term feast.

The buzz in the Great Hall presently subsided as Dippet cleared his throat and continued on with his address to the school.

“As there is much uneasiness in the world at the moment, it has come to my and the School Governors' attention that morale among the students here seem to be at an all-time low. We decided that a little celebration to cheer everyone else was in order. On December 23rd, Hogwarts will hold its first Christmastide celebration in many, many years. You'll have the chance to become acquainted with students from other houses, make new friends, and hopefully, boost morale in this very trying time." (This led to much snickering from the students.)

From then on, he went into his usual start-of-term mundane address to the school, much to the annoyance of everybody in the building. Upon realizing that nobody was heeding his words anymore, Dippet heaved an intense sigh and then began the Sorting ceremony.

Dumbledore immediately stepped forward and began reading the names off the long parchment.

"Filch, Argus!�

A frightened young boy timidly drew near the stool and tentatively sat down on it. Dumbledore placed the hat on his scruffy brown hair and the hat came to life, whispering into the boy’s ear. Eventually it yelled out for the Great Hall to hear, “SLYTHERIN!"

The boy jumped off the stool and ran over toward the Slytherin table. Argus looked around at the Slytherin table nervously before Tom slapped the newcomer on the back and whispered something in his ear. The boy seemed to relax from then on.

"Fudge, Cornelius!"

A fidgety and rather chunky boy listlessly made his way to the stool and the Sorting Hat was placed on his slightly round head.

The hat spoke out almost at once: “HUFFLEPUFF!"

Cornelius eased his round bottom off the stool and ran to join the others over at the Hufflepuff table.

"I can't believe that they're making us go to some preposterous Christmas party," Sophie frowned, breaking Miriam's absorption in the Sorting ceremonies. "My morale is perfectly fine!"

"Sprout, Pomona!" A short girl with flyaway brown-hair drew closer to the stool and sat down.

"I know," Miriam mumbled to her friend, even though most of her attention was still focused on watching the ceremonies.

"HUFFLEPUFF!" the hat proclaimed audibly. More cheers sounded from the Hufflepuff table as Dumbledore continued scrolling through the parchment.

"Vranda, Myrtle!"

A pony-tailed girl with glasses and a glum look on her face made her way to the hat.

"You're lucky," ranted Sophie. "At least you have Henry to go with. Marcella and I have to find someone... or we'll be going alone! How sad is that?�

"What's wrong with going alone? Just look at it as having a good sense of feminine stability and not feeling the need to go with a boy!"

Sophie glared at Miriam unbelievably. "You're bloody amazing at times, you know that?"

Miriam grinned back at her friend. “I’m just one big surprise after another.�

"RAVENCLAW!" the hat yelled as the glum girl leapt off the stool and ran, tears starting to trickle down her face, to join her new house. There were no other waiting first years behind her, ergo the feast could finally commence.

"I think the ceremonies are finally over with," remarked Miriam, trying desperately to change the subject from the Christmastide celebration.

"Finally," moaned Sophie. "I'm famished!"

---

September 10th, 1941,
I swear to the powers that be, if I could, I would curse Carrey all the way around Hogwarts and back once more. He is a profound, vexing little prat, if I ever met one. The nerve of him to even THINK of it still baffles me as I’m writing this.... I can’t help but feel permanently soiled....
---

It was a cloud-free, Saturday afternoon and Miriam had decided to head down to the library to work on her Arithmancy homework for that week. Unbeknownst to her, Tom, Carrey, and Murdoch were hanging out and chatting near the Restricted Section of the library.

“Now that Stephane is gone, I wonder who’s gonna take over as head of the Junior Knights club?� Murdoch wondered, as he leaned against a large bookcase.

“I will,� Tom spoke up.

“You?!� Carrey demanded unbelievably.

Tom raised his eyebrow. “You don’t think I could handle it?� he asked indignantly, his arms crossed firmly across his chest.

“You’re too busy trying to discover if the Chamber of Secrets really exists.�

“I can handle both!� Tom snapped, narrowing his eyes. “Besides –“

�You’re on the Quidditch team, too!� Murdoch interrupted. “You’d really be stretching yourself thin, on top of keeping you distinction as teacher’s pet.�

"Look here. I, Tom Marvolo Riddle, can open the Chamber, keep up on my homework, and head the Junior Knights," he retorted. “Furthermore, I gave up my spot on the Quidditch team.�

“How come?� Murdoch demanded.

“I wanted to. What’s the big deal?�

“Look,� Carrey groaned trying to change the topic, “you’ve never been raised around wizards... or the Knights, for that matter. You’d be going in a complete stranger and –�

“Try me,� Tom interrupted. “For your information, this wizard agrees with Grindelwald’s views.�

"Fine!" Carrey sighed and threw his hands into air. In hopes of changing the topic once more, he looked around the library and stated, "Since we’re here and all, I'll bet you two galleons that I can get your sister Miriam to go to the Christmastide celebration with me."

"Good luck,� Tom snorted loudly. “She's still dating that brainless Henry person," he added, shaking his head in incredulity. “He’s such a foolish Mudblood.�

The gang laughed. "Duh, look at me," Carrey mimicked in his best screechy voice, "I'm Henry Diggory! The dumbest boy in all of Hogwarts!"

“He knows so little... and yet, knows it so fluently,� Tom scoffed.

Murdoch and Tom doubled over laughing, each one had tears streaming down his face.

"And guess what?" Carrey said abruptly, breaking their little laugh-fest. "Here's my chance to ask Miriam now!�

Once Miriam found the books she needed, she sat down at an unoccupied table when someone walked over toward her. Not bothering to look up, as she figured it was probably just Tom coming to visit, she said, "Hello, Tom."

"Hello, Miriam," a long, drawling voice answered.

Startled, she looked up and realized that the voice didn't belong to her brother at all. Instead, she nearly had a heart attack when she saw who it was. "Carrey!" she squeaked, almost upsetting her inkbottle. "W-What are you doing here?" Nervously looking around the library making sure nothing was out of the ordinary, she asked him again what he wanted.

"Nothing," he replied, a dodgy grin slowly extending across his face. Miriam was starting to get a very uneasy feeling. If she was the brunt of some mean joke, she didn't want to stick around and wait for the fireworks to happen.

"Um, look, I... I’ve got to go," she mumbled promptly, picking up her Arithmancy books.

"Wait!" he called out. She stopped and turned around to face him.

"What?" she asked, eyeing him rather mistrustfully.

"I just wanted to ask if you'd like to go to the Christmastide celebration with me. I mean, someone like you should go out with someone who can help elevate your status of being a common, lowly Mudblood," Carrey replied authoritatively.

"You’re bloody joking right? You think I should go to the Christmastide celebration... with you?!" Miriam asked, absolutely sickened by such a disgusting and atrocious thought. Carrey simply nodded his head in agreement.

I think I'd rather have a hemorrhoid....

Her face began to scrunch up into a weird and distorted appearance, as though there was a rather nasty smell under her nose.

"Most girls would leap at the chance to go to the Christmastide celebration with me."

Maybe if their heads were screwed on backwards and their eyes were sealed shut....

"So, what do you say? A date?"

How about NOT, loser!

Carrey brought his hand up to stroke Miriam's face.
"You should feel honored that I'd even want to go with a Mudblood — especially you," he commented. His face was now but an inch from hers. Surely he would have would have kissed her had she not pulled away from him so violently.

"Touch me again and you'll die!" she replied aggressively, her teeth clenched.

"Well? Will you go with me?" he asked again.

"Not if I had a choice between you or the squid in the lake!" she yelled, pulling forcefully away from Carrey again. He was a persistent little bugger who kept inching his way closer to her. With her free hand, she slapped Carrey hard across his face and stormed out of the library.

"Well, I must admit, that was rather entertaining," Tom gibed. Carrey, who returned with a deep red slap mark on his face, was met by his friends’ two grinning faces.

"Very much so," Murdoch agreed. "So, what do you do for an encore, Carrey?"

"Shut-up you two," Carrey murmured, swinging his hands at the two of them as he walked off.

"Hey! Come back here! You still owe me two galleons!" Tom replied indignantly, holding his hand out.

---

September 17th, 1941,
Today, I held my first meeting as Quidditch captain....
---

Miriam was standing in the middle of the locker room, looking out onto her greatly dwindled Quidditch team. The team now only consisted of her, Carl Potter, and Aaron Wood.

“Uh, well,� she began nervously, not sure where to start, “we need to fill in our roster a little bit more.�

“I’ll say,� Carl bantered.

Miriam rolled her eyes. “Look, I know the season doesn’t begin until November, but we need to find and train new players before then. Abby left me in charge, and I feel we should try to keep up our winning streak.�

“Hear, hear,� Aaron yelled.

Miriam smiled. “Tryouts for two Chasers and a one Beater will be on October first. Please help me spread the word.�

“Will do,� they both said.

Miriam smiled radiantly. She couldn’t wait to hold her first tryout as captain.

---

September 19th, 1941,
I can’t believe it! Sophie and Marcella want to try out for the team! They want to be the two new Chasers! I told them that they would have to try out for it, along with the others who want that position....
---

“That’s not a problem!� Sophie exclaimed, her eyes aglow.

“It seems like such fun! All that flying and excitement!� Marcella added.

“Well, if you want to give it a go, tryouts are on October first,� Miriam replied.

For many of the days leading up to October first, Miriam was quite understandably anxious. What if her friends did really badly and she had to tell them they couldn’t make the team?

Or worse... they’re excellent players and I decide to put them on the team, but everyone thinks I did it just because they’re my friends....

The one thing she was most looking forward to was now the thing she was dreading the most of all.

---

October 1st, 1941,
Right now I’m in the library trying to compose myself. In just a few minutes, I will be holding my first ever Quidditch tryout as captain. I would be lying if I didn’t say I was feeling nervous. Yet somehow, merely saying I’m nervous just doesn’t cover exactly how I’m feeling. This morning I hardly ate anything at breakfast. I feel more apprehensive now than when I played in my first ever Quidditch game. I... oh, I have to go now. Carl just meandered his way in here wondering what “the hell I’m doing here when I should be out on the field....�
---

She rushed out of the library, totally forgetting her diary, and ran to follow Carl out to the Quiddich pitch.

“Okay everyone,� Miriam announced to the crowd of eager students that evening at Quidditch tryouts. There were loads of students milling about, each one hoping to be named to one of the three open positions. “Let’s get this show on the road.�

“We’ll be testing all those who want to Chasers first. So all of you who want to try for that position, please go to the right of the field. Those that want to try for Beater, please go to the left.�

Pulling out her list of the students names she had acquired, from inside her robes, she began reading off their names.

“First up... Cecilia Kwan.�

A small, second year Asian girl came forward, and Miriam gave her a reassuring smile.

“I was nervous during my first tryout, too,� she whispered to the girl who seemed to unwind a bit after that. She mounted the school broom that Miriam had set out for those that didn’t have their own brooms and pushed off the ground.

Cecilia had good broom control, but she wasn't very efficient with handling the Quaffle. Miriam crossed her name off the list and moved onto the next person waiting in line.

By the end of the night, Miriam was thoroughly exhausted from the tryouts, but it was worth it in the end as the Gryffindor team now had two new members on its team — one was her friend Marcella Thomas and the other was Hannah Evans. Unfortunately, Sophie had flunked the tryout. Though she was quite exasperated that she had blown it, she decided, rather reluctantly, to become the Gryffindor team “official cheerer.�

Though Miriam and Marcella were in good spirits as they headed back to the castle, Sophie was still a bit perturbed by her dismal showing. “I can’t believe I did so... so –�

“– so crappy?� Marcella interjected.

“Yes,� Sophie replied darkly. “Yes, I did very crappy. Thank you for that assessment and the boost in confidence.�

“Hey! You said it yourself earlier!� Marcella exclaimed.

“Yes, but that doesn’t mean you have to agree with me!�

Miriam had to bite her lip to keep herself from laughing. She rolled her eyes as her two friends continued to bicker all the way to the castle. When they stepped through the front doors, Miriam’s giggly euphoria was suddenly interrupted as she had just remembered that she had left her diary in the library.

“Damn, I forgot my diary in the library! I have to go get it! Don’t wait up for me!� Miriam yelled to her friends as she sped off into the direction of the library. Bloody hell, I hope nobody read it....

It was late into the evening (tryouts had lasted much longer than she had expected) and most everyone was either in their common rooms or still coming in from watching the tryouts. Miriam had to rush if she wanted to make it to the library without being caught for wandering around the school at night.

It was dark inside the library, so she had to strain her eyes to see around.
Tip-toeing through, she reached the table and spotted her diary still laying there, hopefully untouched. Picking it up, she turned around to leave, when she heard a weird sound coming from down one of the aisles of books.

“The heir of Slytherin is the only one who can open the Chamber of Secrets. The heir is a Parselmouth (having the ability to talk to snakes) who uses his abilities to open the secret entrance to the Chamber and to control the monster that dwells within.�

Quietly gazing down the aisles one-by-one, she eventually found Tom sitting by himself in one of the aisles, supporting an enormous book in his lap with his left hand; he held his wand in his right hand for light.

“Wow... I wish I was the heir of Slytherin,� he muttered.

Miriam slowly crept out of sight as he continued reading from his large book. “Salazar Slytherin created the monster that inhabits the Chamber, waiting for his one true heir to release it and rid the school of the un-pure.�

Tom looked up with an undecipherable look on his face as Miriam crept back into the darkness as not to be seen by him.

“Wait a minute,� he mumbled. “If what Mr. Nott had said was true, and I’m... I’m.... It can’t be....�

Miriam looked over again and saw a glimmer of a smirk on his face.

"The heir of Slytherin... the heir....,� he whispered over and over again, savoring every word on the tip of his tongue.
“The basilisk would purge the school of the un-pure,� he continued, reading from the massive book. “The un-pure... hmmm... it must mean the Muggle-borns.� He stared out into space as a small corner of his mouth curled up into a twisted smirk.

Miriam lurked back behind the bookshelf again. What she just heard didn’t sound like the brother she knew at all.
As silent and quiet as a church mouse, she made her way out of the library. Off in the distance she heard the familiar voice of Maugi, the caretaker.

If he catches me, I’m in deep trouble.

Dashing to her left, she ran the rest of the way back to the common room.

“D-D-Devil’s Snare!� she huffed to the portrait.

“Correct.� The fat lady’s portrait swung open and Miriam ran inside.

---

October 20th, 1941,
I heard something rather shocking today. And strange enough, it came from Tom’s own mouth.
---

As Miriam left her Arithmancy class that day, she passed through a ceiling-less hallway on her way to her Transfiguration lessons. The cool air felt good after being in a stuffy classroom for part of the morning.
Walking down the hallway, she passed by Tom and a few other Slytherin boys whom she didn't recognize. They were casually leaning back on a brick wall, talking avidly amongst themselves. From where she was at, she could hear bits and pieces of their conversation.

“– the Junior Knights –“

They were looking down onto a large gathering of first and second year students who milling about on the front grounds, heading to their next class.

"Look at those little Mudbloods," Tom laughed conceitedly, as he and his cronies watched a few of the first years run by them.

“Excuse me,� Miriam said walking up to him, “but I object to the use of the term Mudblood.�

“Hey Tom, isn’t that your sister?� one of the boys asked, poking him roughly in the abdomen.

“Yeah,� he gasped, grasping his stomach where he had just been jabbed.

“You’re going to be late for class,� she added as she stopped in front of him. The two boys started to laugh.

“Hey, Tom, you don’t want to be late now, do you?� one of them mocked. Tom closed his eyes and wholly wished the earth would open up swallow him whole.

Miriam heaved a sigh and then left him to his two ridiculing friends. But the thought of her brother using such a derogatory term like Mudblood sent shivers through her and turned her blood cold.

October 21st, 1941,
I’ve told Sophie and Marcella about what I saw yesterday....
---

"I heard Tom call them that word," she whispered the next day as she and her friends sat in the library, finishing the History of Magic homework they’d been assigned that day.

"What word?" Marcella asked eagerly.

Miriam looked around the room, then whispered "Mudblood."
The girls gasped and exchanged surprised looks with one another.

"And the thing is..." Miriam began, slowly trailing off as she watched her brother come within sudden earshot, "... is that Henry already asked me to the Christmastide celebration."

Her friends raised their eyebrows at this sudden change of topic.

"Look behind you," she mouthed to them. They slowly and discreetly turned around and saw the reason why she had quickly changed the subject on them. Tom had spotted them at the table and was coming over.

"What are you three up too?" he asked, observing their slightly surprised expressions.

"Oh! Uh, we're just talking... doing our homework."

"Yeah," Sophie interjected. "We’re just talking about school, homework, and... girl things as well, you know. Things that you wouldn’t be interested in."

"You know: boys, dates for the Christmastide celebration, and that time of the month," Marcella added, raising her eyebrows.

"Ugh! That's more than I wanted to know!" Tom exclaimed, scrunching up his face in disgust. He walked away from the table, leaving the girls laughing behind him.

After the laughter had subsided, Miriam had forgotten all about the other thing she had planned to tell her friends.

---

November 1st, 1941,
Yesterday was my fourteenth birthday. Nothing spectacular took place, except for the small party Sophie and Marcella threw for me. Tom completely forgot about it altogether, and I don’t think he even realizes it. I'll bet he’s too busy wrapped up in that foolish "Junior Knights" business.
---

“Tom forgot?!� Sophie asked, offended.

“Obviously,� Miriam answered dully.

“It’s not like him to forget it, is it?� Marcella asked.

“No. It’s really not like him at all.�

Miriam and her friends looked perplexed. They were sitting around the desolate common room around midnight as Miriam told them about Tom’s sudden fling with forgetfulness.

“It could be that he just merely forgot. Loads of people forget things,� Marcella finally spoke up after a minute of complete muteness from the three of them.

“Really! How could someone forget their sister’s birthday? Let alone their own birthday?� Miriam exclaimed, leaping up out her seat by the fireplace. After she realized that she was screaming at her friends, she quickly restrained herself. “Sorry, I shouldn’t have burst out like that.�

“It’s all right,� Marcella said.

Forgetting their birthday was definitely out of Tom’s character. Miriam remembered how every year at the orphanage, Tom got excited when their birthdays rolled around. To them, it was just one year less until their eighteenth birthday.

No, something really isn’t right with Tom, she thought that night as she got ready to go to bed. He’s a Junior Knight, he forgot our birthday, he seems to be more outspoken, he’s obsessed with finding the Chamber of Secrets, and on top of it, he thinks he’s the heir of Slytherin. I'd hate to ask what else is going to happen, she wondered. Is he gonna change his name to something weird and become Grindelwald's successor?

Closing her eyes, she took three deep breaths to calm herself down. Soon she was in a deep and heavy sleep.

Slurp. Slurp.

Miriam awoke with a start. Sitting up in her bed, she touched her face and felt something disgusting... something slimy.

“Eww, what the hell?� she called out. Looking down on her bed, she saw a small wolf puppy sitting on her blanket. It’s small and furry round head turned around and looked at Miriam confusedly.

“Where did you come from?� she asked as the puppy let out a small yelp. No sooner had it done so, the other girls in her dormitory began screaming as well. Miriam threw open her curtains and looked out onto the ensuing pandemonium.

One of the girls who screamed was her friend Marcella. “Wolf! Wolf!� she cried.

Miriam looked at the little pup sitting on her bed and gave a small chuckle. “Look at the bedlam your little friends are causing,� she whispered to it.
She picked it up and asked the other girls to try and grab their puppies and bring them down to the common room.

“They won’t... bite, will they?� a girl with sandy-blond hair asked.

“Not if you’re easy with them they shouldn’t.�

The four girls grabbed the baby wolves and followed Miriam down into the darkened common room.

“Quietly now,� she ordered them. “We don’t want to wake up the others.�

“How do you think they got in to begin with?� Marcella asked.

“I don’t know.�

They got to the bottom of the steps when Miriam walked into something large and hard. Whatever she ran into made an “umph� sound.

“Who’s there?� she quietly asked.

“It’s me, ‘agrid.�

“Hagrid! What are you doing down here?� Miriam asked incredulously.

“Lookin’ fer somethin’.�

Somebody in Miriam’s group lit her wand tip, and the sandy-haired girl asked aggressively, “You wouldn’t happen to be looking for these, now would you?�

“What a mean trick to play on us!� Marcella shouted.

“I - I swear, I didn’ do anythin’!� Hagrid pleaded as he looked out onto the faces of four furious girls in their pajamas.

“You said you were looking for these!� another girl yelled.

Miriam watched as the three other girls agreed. These girls obviously forgot something very crucial here....

“Hagrid couldn’t have done it,� Miriam finally spoke up. “The stairs have an enchantment on them to prevent boys from entering the girls dormitories.�

“See!� Hagrid exclaimed. “It wasn’ me!�

“Still, you’re partly responsible!� Marcella yelled. She gently thrust the puppy into his arms as did the other girls. Miriam was the last to hand Hagrid her puppy.

“Hagrid,� she whispered, once the other girls had left, “you know that raising something like this is against school regulations.�

“I know,� he replied solemnly. “But they los’ their mother! I couldn’ jus’ leave ‘em!�

“I know Hagrid, I know, but you can’t keep them.�

“I - I - I...� Hagrid was having a slight problem holding five wiggly puppies in his arm. One had squirmed its way loose and as Miriam dove to catch it, she lost her footing and went crashing toward the ground. The liberated puppy made a mad dash across the common room and into a nearby bookcase.

“After it!� Miriam yelled.

Hagrid sprinted after the freed wolf, his large lumbering feet noisily running across the common room. Miriam got up and joined him in the pursuit.

The wolf had managed to squeeze itself into a small opening in the bottom of the bookcase. Hagrid kneeled down and shoved his hand into the opening.

“I - I can’t reach it!�

Miriam got down next to him and tried to reach her smaller hand inside. She couldn’t reach it either.

Hagrid got up and lifted the bookcase. Its contents began spilling over, and Miriam covered her head as the massive books went falling violently around her.

“Hagrid!� she yelled. “Stop it!� More books went crashing around her.

He set the bookcase down and proudly displayed the puppy. “I got it!�

“Yeah, and I’m pretty sure everyone down in the Slytherin common room heard you do it as well!� she screamed.

“Sorry ‘bout that!�

At that moment, the portrait of the fat lady swung open and impending doom swelled up inside her as Professor Dumbledore walked into the common room, his blue eyes ablaze with fury. “What in Merlin’s beard is going on in here?�

Miriam stood up, but she didn’t look into Dumbledore’s face.

“Would one of you care to explain?� he asked again, looking between Miriam and Hagrid.

“I’m sorry, sir,� Miriam replied. “But –"

"– but Miriam didn' do anythin'!� Hagrid blurted out. “It was me!�

“How so?� Dumbledore enquired, raising his eyebrows.

“I was... was raisin’ some wolf cubs under me bed an’... an’ some of them had gotten loose and went into the girls’ dormitories.�

Dumbledore opened his mouth to speak until Hagrid continued on. “Please sir, they didn’ have a mother! I couldn’ jus’ leave ‘em ta die!�

“Mr. Hagrid, would you please come to my office at once?�

Hagrid gulped and then reluctantly complied.

“Please bring the cubs with you.�

Poor Hagrid, she thought, as Dumbledore led Hagrid out of the common room and down to his office.

---

November 12th, 1941,
Poor Hagrid lost his pet wolf cubs. They were given to the groundskeeper to look after. Dumbledore punished him for keeping them in his dorm. He has been reporting to detention every day since the 2nd.

Tonight is Marcella’s first Quidditch game, just so happens that it’s against Slytherin, of all houses. She was a nervous wreck this morning at breakfast....
---

“Marcella, relax,� Miriam said, trying to sooth her friends anxiousness.

“I’ve never played before! How can I relax? Especially when it’s Slytherin we’re playing!�

“Gryffindor’s beat Slytherin loads of times,� Sophie added, waving her hand dismissively.

“Yeah, but that was with Abby and the others!� Marcella howled.

“I was scared my first game, and I made it through okay," Miriam commented. “Besides, what’s so special about Slytherin anyway?�

Marcella opened her mouth to speak, but the voice that emitted wasn’t hers... it was Tom’s.

“Good-luck today at the game,� he said, a devious and obviously cheesy smile plastered all over his face. “You’ll definitely need it. At least my house team isn’t made up of a bunch of whiney, sniveling girls.�

“Tom, shut-up!� Miriam yelled. “You’re just jealous that Gryffindor beat your crummy team so many times before!�

“We’re just lulling you into a false sense of security, that’s all!�

Miriam snickered and Sophie rolled her eyes. “Shoo, Tom,� she retorted sneeringly.

“Fine. We’ll see who has egg on their face after the game,� Tom replied nonchalantly. He walked away, his head held high in the air. Miriam and Sophie were trying hard not to laugh at the words of her brother.

“Well,� Miriam said, quite appalled, �it would seem my brother has become a bit arrogant as of late.�

“Hormones. It’s really not agreeing with him,� Sophie commented, shaking her head in disbelief. “Well, Marcella... are you... Marcella? Where is she?�

Miriam looked around and noticed their friend was gone. “Tom probably frightened her off.�

“Uh, look over there,� Sophie replied, pointing to a blurry figure dashing out of the Great Hall.

“Let’s go after her,� Miriam sighed.

~*~

“I swear, I can’t go through with it!� Marcella cried, in between vomiting in the girls’ bathroom.

Miriam and Sophie were standing beside the stall door trying to calm their friend down.

“Don’t listen to Tom... he’s just being a pompous arse!� Miriam said. “You’ll do fine! Trust me!�

“Please Marcella, listen to Miriam. We believe in you. We know you’ll do a really smashing job,� Sophie imparted.

Reluctantly, the door to the stall opened and Marcella tentatively stepped out, looking very pale in the process.

“Let’s go,� she said weakly, a feeble smile appearing on her face.

~*~

"This should prove to be an interesting Quidditch match, most definitely," Patrick Jones announced to the crowded arena. "Both Gryffindor and Slytherin have rebuilt their teams after the graduation of a few of their key players and captains. Will these two teams still be as successful with their new players? Only time and a well-played match will tell."

A sea of red- and green-appareled players marched out onto the field as cheers went up through the stadium.

"This year, the Gryffindor team is being led by Fourth year Chaser, Miriam Riddle. Returning to the Slytherin team is Markus Goyle as Quidditch captain for his house team.�

"Let's have a friendly game," ordered Professor Luchtig, as the two captains shook hands. As Markus held Miriam’s hand, he forced her close and whispered with slight harshness dripping in his voice, "May the best team win."

"Oh, we will. Thank you for asking," Miriam replied with the same amount of roughness in her own voice. They stepped back and waited for Professor Luchtig to release the balls. In this brief moment, Miriam looked toward the Slytherin team. Some of the players were team regulars, but there were a few new faces on there. Unfortunately, one of those new faces belonged to Carrey Malfoy. His sneering, arrogant face glared out at the Gryffindor team.

Professor Luchtig raised her whistle as the players mounted their brooms and soared upwards into the air just as the Quaffle and Bludgers were discharged. The first match of the new season was on.

---

November 13th, 1941,
Egg. It’s great scrambled, between two pieces of bread... and now... decorating Tom’s face. Gryffindor VANQUISHED Slytherin three-hundred and seventy-five to... (get this)... one-hundred and fifty. It was one of their worst losses in house history.

I really don’t know how Tom can even show his face in school now. But more important, however, Marcella has an innate talent for Quidditch. She scored five times, and now she absolutely can’t wait until our next game.
---

That day, Miriam strolled into the Great Hall feeling pretty good about herself. She and the Gryffindor team creamed Slytherin, but what made this victory even sweeter for her was the fact that everyone in Slytherin was green (literally) with envy.

“Look at her,� grumbled Carrey, “she thinks she’s the bloody Queen of Quidditch!�

“Don’t worry,� Tom replied encouragingly. “You still have the rest of the season to go to put her back in her place.�

---

November 18th, 1941,
I've learned many things this week, like the Cheering Charm in Professor Ambley’s Charms class, or the properties of moonstones for Professor Panes’ Potions class, or how decipher runes in Artihmancy. Yet today, I learned about something else... something quite appalling to say the least....
---

It was a chilly November night, and since there were no Quidditch matches that evening, Miriam spent most of her time plowing over her homework. Between the demands of being a Quidditch captain and her schoolwork, she had gotten quite far behind.

The Gryffindor common room was quite busy that evening, but she was too absorbed in her homework to even notice. Nor did she even notice something familiarly cold and slithery by her ankles; she just chalked up the feeling to a cold draft. As the feeling left, something jumped onto her papers and nearly scared the living daylights out of her.

"Vipera!" Miriam exclaimed. "What are you doing all the way up here? "

"I was-s-s-s merely s-s-s-tretching my legs-s-s-s."

After taking a few breaths and regaining her nervous system, which she had temporary lost after quite a scare, she whispered back to the snake. "But you don't have legs," she said while trying to force out her homework from under the snake. "So how could you do that exactly?"

"It was-s-s-s jus-s-s-st a figure of s-s-s-peech."

Miriam opened her mouth when somebody came up beside her and shrieked in horror. The entire common room looked around, but after a moment, went back to whatever they were doing.

Ugh, there goes my nervous system again, she thought. Sophie had come up behind her and nearly scaring the living daylights out of her once more.

"I didn't know you were a... a...�

Miriam looked at her friend while she desperately tried to spit out the rest of her sentence

“–a Parselmouth!" Sophie hissed.

Miriam turned to face her friend with a raised eyebrow and asked, "A what?"

"A - A Parselmouth! It means that you can talk to snakes!" Sophie blurted, her eyes wide with fear.

"What's so bad about it? Tom talks to Vipera here all the time."

"Having that... ability... is often associated with dark wizards! That's what's bad about it!"

Miriam looked at Vipera. Its yellowish eyes looked back at her without expression as it quietly hissed to itself.

"A Parselmouth," Sophie began, "was a trait connected with none other than Salazar Slytherin himself. Just so happens that he was also the founder –"

"– of the house Tom's in," Miriam said quietly.

"Exactly."

Feeling rather disturbed by this bit of information, Miriam got up from the table and briskly walked out of the common room, leaving her homework and a very dumbfounded Sophie behind. Miriam’s boggled mind needed to clear and sort through these thoughts, and a calming walk through the castle could provide just that, she figured.

She was so deep in her thoughts that she was completely unaware of where her feet were taking her.
Even the sight of her brother standing in a long, vacant hallway didn't snap her out of her reverie.

Tom looked up in slight surprise to see his sister walking by without even acknowledging him.

"Snake got your tongue?" he brusquely asked, the sound of his voice giving the impression that Miriam had deliberately ruined a perfectly quiet evening to himself.

As a flabbergasted Miriam looked up into her brother's scornful face, she recognized what part of the castle her feet had led her to. Her brother, unexpectedly, was standing in front of the girl's bathroom.

"The term is 'cat got your tongue,' and no, my tongue is just fine. I just needed a little... walk to clear my head. What about you?" she asked, narrowing her eyes. "What are you doing standing in front of the girls' bathroom? The boys' bathroom is further down the hall that way." She pointed toward the direction in which she hadn't traveled yet.

"That's none of your concern!" he replied aggressively, folding his arms across his chest.

"Funny, but if someone were to see you here, they would, with out a doubt, think something rather peculiar was up!"

"Like I give a damn what other people think!" he spat.

"You can be such a huge prat at times, Tom!" she screamed.

“I aim to please!�

"Is there a problem here?" a third voice, strange, but oh so familiar called out. Turning around, they both looked up into Dumbledore’s electric blue eyes.

“No, everything’s fine,� Miriam answered darkly. She walked off, heading back in the direction she came from, glowering harshly at Tom as she stormed off.

December 6th, 1941
I truly do not know how I can write what I am about to put into writing, for it is indeed most heartbreaking….
---

The day had begun innocently enough, there was nothing to indicate that it would suddenly turn horribly wrong for one of the Gyrffindors.

"Mail should be arriving shortly," Sophie said to no one in particular. No sooner had she said it when owls began pouring in, each one delivering letters and packages to their respective owners. One in particular, a large dark-brown owl, fluttered in over the Gryffindor table and landed right in front of Miriam.

"Sorry 'bout that," a deep voice called out. The owl flew off and a large hand scooped up the letter the owl had dropped.

"Oh, hi Hagrid," Miriam greeted the giant boy.

"Hullo, Miriam," he replied as he sat down next to her and began to open his envelope.

Their breakfast was beginning to appear, and feeling rather famished, Miriam started to grab a couple of the plates in front of her. As sh served herself from a plate of scrambled eggs, Hagrid let out a loud bellow that almost made Miriam drop the plate.

"Hagrid! What's wrong?" she asked concernedly. He mumbled something incomprehensible and ran out of the Great Hall in tears. Miriam glanced bewilderedly toward her friends, but they returned the same dumbfounded expression she had. It was a look reflected by everyone else at the table.

“What’s wrong with Hagrid?� Minerva inquired, sliding her way down the bench toward where Miriam was.

“I wish I knew,� she sighed.

Hagrid’s booming voice had been heard around the Great Hall by the three other houses. The Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff tables looked sympathetically toward the Gryffindor side, but the Slytherins could scarcely control themselves. Between their fists beating down on the table and their howling laughter, Miriam thought that was just plain rude of them. Frowning at them, a blondish brown-haired girl began snickering loudly, clearly audible over the others, “Little baby, run away home!�

---

December 7th, 1941
Something most dreadful was reported in The Daily Prophet today. Across the sea in America, a terrible tragedy has struck….
---

As soon as Miriam sat down to read her copy of The Daily Prophet that morning, she saw the atrocious headline:
“Tragedy strikes Muggles and Wizards in America.�

They had reported that across the sea in a place far away called Hawaii, terror had struck a Muggle Naval base, killing thousands. As Miriam sat, horrified, reading the article, the Great Hall was soon filled with anxious murmurs.

“Says here,� Sophie began, “that quite a few of the victims were wizards. Someone by the name of Adora and Charlotte Morreaux, twin sisters, lost their only brother in the tragedy.�

“How awful!� Marcella exclaimed.

Though Miriam thought this was a horribly monstrous thing to have happened to so many innocent people, she couldn’t help but think about the two sisters named Morreaux.

No, she thought, it has to be just a simple coincidence....

---

December 18th, 1941
Poor Hagrid. It seems as if getting into trouble is the new thing for him. Why, just earlier today, Professor Panes caught him staggering out of the Forbidden Forest all bloody and bruised with his one eye partially swollen shut. He was sent straight to the nurse's office where he received quite a yelling at from Michellina. Things didn't get much better after that, as from what I've been told, Professor Dumbledore wasn't too pleased, to say the least.

Come to find out, this would be the least of Hagrid's problems.
---

“Miriam, as you may not know,� Dumbledore began slowly choosing his words very carefully that evening after dinner, “that one of your housemates has suffered a traumatic loss recently.�

“Who?� she asked, her heart starting to race as nervousness began setting in.

“Rubeus Hagrid. Twelve days ago, he received a letter from St. Mungo’s stating that his father had passed away.�

This startling bit of news sent an icy cold chill though her. The only comprehensible thing she could spit out of her mouth was, “How is his mother taking it?�

“He doesn’t have a mother, I’m afraid.�

Any ability to speak literally escaped her as the thoughts of someone else having to endure life as an orphan swirled through her head. It was an experience she would never wish on anyone else. Dumbledore looked abjectly toward Miriam as he continued. “On top of it, his grades have been drastically slipping, and that’s why I wanted to talk to you. Please know that I’m not forcing you to do anything, but at least consider my offer.�

“Okay,� she murmured, slowly finding her voice again.

“You’re smart, bright... and well,� he sighed, “would you consider being a student assistant to Hagrid?�

“You mean, like tutoring him?�

“Precisely. I wouldn’t have asked if I knew you couldn’t do it. You’re our top student, but this, of course, would mean more work for you, on top of your other activities and being the head the of the Gryffindor Quidditch team.�

“I... I would be honored to help tutor Hagrid,� Miriam declared.

---

December 19th, 1941
Marcella and Sophie have just recently acquired dates to the Christmastide Celebration. They’re going with some Ravenclaw boys, Daniel Boot and Patrick Jones.

Speaking of the Celebration, I just realized something very crucial in my going to it... I DON’T HAVE A DRESS TO WEAR! Naturally, that should be the least of my concerns as of this moment… let me explain why.

As I’m writing this in the desolate common room, I can truly say that I’m officially weirded out. By chance, I ran into a first year Ravenclaw, Myrtle Vranda, as I was heading to the Great Hall for lunch. Myrtle turned out to be a really pleasant and sweet girl despite looking and acting rather glum all the time. As a matter of fact, when I met her today, she looked to have been crying. Her eyes were slightly pink and puffy.

But the thing that got me the most about her was that she has a rather peculiar taste in boys in my humble opinion….
---

“Your brother Tom is really cute," Myrtle sniffled as they walked to the Great Hall that chilly, December afternoon. Miriam opened her mouth to respond, but she was totally caught off guard by Myrtle's irregular remark.

"Y - You think... Tom's... cute?!" Miriam gagged, repeating Myrtle’s comment to make sure she heard her accurately.

"Um-hmm. Do... do you think he'll go to the Christmastide celebration with me?" she inquired, wiping her eyes with her robe sleeves.

The words 'snowball's chance in hell' reverberated through Miriam’s head.

"He really doesn't seem like your type,� she answered, in desperate hopes of nipping this girlish infatuation in the bud. “There’s a really nice Hufflepuff boy only a few years older than you. His name is –"

"Please ask him!" Myrtle interrupted, pleading with Miriam. She looked into Myrtle's glistening eyes and bit her lip. Sighing, she reluctantly gave in.

"Look, I'll ask him, but I'm NOT promising ANYTHING! So don’t get your hopes up, okay?"

Myrtle squealed in delight as Miriam mentally formulated a plan of attack on how to best approach Tom on this matter.

~*~

"You're kidding, right?" Tom asked, folding his arms over his chest, his eyebrows partially raised. Miriam had spent the better half of her Monday searching Hogwarts for her brother. When she finally found him and told him about Myrtle's 'request,' he wasn't exactly jumping for joy over it.

"I know what you're thinking and probably going to say, but before you actually come right out and say it, I just want to say that she'll be really let down."

Tom eyed at Miriam incredulously and thereupon enquired, "A pity date?"

"Uh, sort of, I guess," Miriam answered tentatively, rubbing the back of her neck apprehensively. "But when you put it that way, it sounds so… so…"

"– seedy?" he imparted.

"Yeah, something like that."

As Tom thought about it for a moment, an idea, a truly twisted idea, popped into his head and a devious grin squirmed its way onto his face.

"Sure, I'll go to the Christmastide celebration with Myrtle."

"You… you will? Oh, she'll be so happy to hear this!" Miriam exclaimed, mentally releasing a sigh of relief.

Tom grinned deceitfully. Unbeknownst to his sister, he had something devious up his black Slytherin sleeves.

---

December 24th, 1941
It’s around 2 AM, and I’m completely and utterly pissed off at Tom.

Upon my return to the Gryffindor common room after the celebration, I was greatly relieved to find it empty as I found it rather relaxing to be able to chuck my books around and break anything within five feet of me and not have someone think I was mentally disturbed.

This is what happened…
---

“Are you ready to go, Miriam?� Sophie asked, yelling up the stairs toward the girls’ dormitories.

“In a minute,� she called out. Miriam checked herself over one last time in the mirror and smiled. Three hours on hair and make-up, an hour finalizing our dresses (mine borrowed from Sophie), and finally we’re ready, she thought as she looked at her reflection. Her jet-black hair was pulled up into a chignon, and her face had just the right amount of lipstick and blush appropriate for a girl her age.

Pleased with her appearance, she slowly walked down the steps leading to the common room where her friends smiled, each one eagerly waiting to head to the Great Hall. Once she reached the bottom, she twirled around as she held her pale green dress, provided by her good friend Sophie.

“You look fantastic!� Sophie complimented her friend.

“Thank you so much for lending me this dress,� Miriam replied.

“Aw, it was no problem,� her friend blushed, her face soon matching the pink dress she was wearing.

Marcella, who wore a lavender dress, giggled, “Henry won’t know what hit him!�

The Great Hall had been decked out in its Christmas best. Twelve giant trees were placed throughout, and shiny fairy lights decorated every inch of them. Special magical icicles were hung from the ceiling, bathing the entire Hall in an ethereal silvery glow. Everyone seemed rather nervous at first, but the festive glow of the Great Hall was like an infectious bug, and soon all the students found themselves taking part of the festiveness.

What an odd couple Tom and Myrtle make, she thought, as they entered the Hall. For one thing, he was a Fourth year Slytherin: tall, slender, and good-looking, and the recent desire of all the girls at the party. And yet, here he was with a first year Ravenclaw girl, wearing pigtails and glasses. They received many a strange glare upon entering the Great Hall, but soon everyone became accustomed to seeing this rather mismatched couple.

Miriam still couldn’t fathom why Tom had agreed to go to the Christmastide celebration with Myrtle. It was like he had a plan or something. Something she couldn’t put her finger on…

Unfortunately, Myrtle’s perfect evening didn’t go off without a small hitch. A girl known as Libby Macnair made crude comments as she danced by Myrtle.

“Fat, ugly, Myrtle,� she whispered, just loud enough for her to hear.

Someone (whom she guessed correctly as Carrey) even made it a point to whisper loudly, “She has a big head and a face so unattractive, it’s almost fascinating!�

“At first I thought Tom was walking his dog. Then I realized it was his date,� came another belittling voice, which she guessed was Murdoch’s.


“Knut for your thoughts,� Henry whispered, disrupting her reflections as she danced absentmindedly with him.

“Sorry, Henry,� she replied, as they waltzed around the gaudily decorated Great Hall.

Too preoccupied with thinking that there must have been some sinisterly ulterior motive for Tom agreeing to go with Myrtle, she didn’t know she had even stepped on Henry’s foot in the process.

“I am so sorry!� she breathed as she helped Henry stagger over to some nearby seats to sit down.

Me and my blasted clodhoppers!

“It’s okay,� he winced, taking the incident with good humor.

Miriam sat down beside him and watched the other dancers waltz on by. Tom had seen what had happened, and though he was still dancing with Myrtle, he still found time to razz Miriam whenever he passed her. She secretly longed to yell a few choice words to him the next time he passed by her. Sighing, she turned her attention to Sophie and Marcella who were busily dancing and laughing over something their dance partners had said. Even the teachers were having a merry time. Professor Dumbledore was dancing the Charleston with Professor Ambley.

“This was quite a popular Muggle dance a few years ago,� she overheard him telling her.

Headmaster Dippet, meanwhile, was sharing a drink with Professor Luchtig; sitting by himself, away from all the merriment, was Professor Panes, who was glaring at the passersby over his drink.

“Thank you so much for arranging this,� a squeaky voice piped up from behind her. Looking behind her, she saw an extremely cheerful Myrtle.

“Oh, hi Myrtle. Where’s Tom?�

“He wanted to take a bit of a break,� she replied, sitting down next to Miriam. Checking around the Great Hall, she didn’t see him, but she figured he must have been outside taking a breather. Miriam whispered something to Henry and she left to go outside herself. It was a bit chilly outside, but it felt good after being in the stuffy Great Hall and working up a bit of a sweat. As she walked around the front of Hogwarts, her pale green dress swaying slightly in the cool breeze, she heard something strange... footsteps coming from behind her.

"Hello, Miriam," a voice called out smoothly to her. She looked behind her and saw Carrey Malfoy walking, or more like strutting toward her, an undeterminable grin upon his face. A weird sensation traveled through her body as Carrey made his way closer to her.

"What do you want, Carrey?" she enquired, watching him suspiciously.

"Did you see it?"

"See what?"

"Over here. It's the most incredible thing," Carrey lied.

Miriam raised an eyebrow. Something about the situation was nagging at her insides. There was just something that didn't seem kosher to her. "What do you want to show me?�

"It’s over by the lake. C’mon."

Miriam debated over whether to follow him or not. Her internal alarm was going off at full blast. After a minute of arguing with herself over the matter in her head, she took a deep breath and decided against her better judgment to follow him to the lake.


“All right, what do you want to show me?� she demanded, stopping by the edge of the lake. Carrey stopped walking abruptly, and before she could even react against, he swooped her into his arms and kissed her on the lips.

That bloody creep! she thought bitterly as she struggled to pull away from him. But Carrey had a rock-steady grip on her. She felt something strange... something wet on her mouth.

Ewwww! He's trying to French kiss me! The bloody pervert!

Pulling away proved ineffectual, as Carrey kept tightened his grasp on her. She could feel his hands rubbing up and down her back.

It’s now or never…

Raising her left foot, she thrust it down hard onto his right foot. His iron-tight grip on her suddenly loosened as he grabbed his foot and cringed in pain. “My... my foot!� he screamed.

Finally free from his clutches, she smacked him hard across the face, causing him to fall backwards into a shallow part of the lake with a large splash.

“What the bloody hell is wrong with you, you pervert?" she screamed at the top of her lungs.

"Talk... talk to your brother!" he shouted, water dripping down onto his face, his pale blond hair covering his eyes as he tried to maneuver his way out of the water. “It was all his idea!�

"You know something Carrey?� she yelled out. “You’re just lucky I didn’t kick someplace higher!� Turning on her heels, she stormed off leaving a completely soaked and freezing Carrey in her wake in order to find Tom and brain him for such a foolish idea.

Raging through the massive front lawn of Hogwarts she searched high and low for her idiotic brother, eventually encountering him in a sight that made her stomach turn acidic.

"Tom!" she squeaked, scarcely capable of finding her voice. "What are you doing out here?" she inquired, looking at him with mingled surprise and nausea as he tried to get out of a very compromising situation with... “Libby?! Libby Macnair?�

“In the flesh,� she answered sneeringly.

“Thomas Marvolo Riddle, you little insolent pain-in-the-ass! How could you - NO - HOW DARE you tell Carrey he could kiss me and try to have his way with me when you know damn well I already have a boyfriend!�

Her anger was boiling over inside her.

Tom walked up to her with a cool indifference. “What do you see in that duffer anyway?� he inquired silkily.

“Don’t call him that!� she shouted. “Besides, that’s none of your concern! At least Henry is nice and considerate, unlike your little… little… slut over here who’s rude and inconsiderate!

“Don’t you call her that! I’m not sleeping with her!� he fumed, his face slowly turning red.

“I… don’t… care WHAT you do in your spare time, but stay the hell out of my personal life!� she screamed. After she had said it, a malicious glint shimmered in his green eyes.

“How could you be so heartless to Myrtle?" she asked. “Don’t you even care that you breaking her heart?�

"I only agreed to go with her so Carrey could have a shot with you."

Miriam opened her mouth to respond, but she was stupefied by his comment.

“Let me get this straight,� she scowled. “You only agreed to go with Myrtle so Carrey could go with me? That does NOT make a whole lot of sense, considering I wasn’t even informed about it!�

Tom merely glanced at his hands and nodded his head nonchalantly, throwing back his jet-black hair as if he didn’t care in the slightest.

“You really should have gone with Carrey. At least he has a brain, unlike Henry who is merely insane with brief, lucid moments of stupidity!�

“That’s low, really it is,� she snarled. "You are so going to pay for that, Thomas Riddle!"

"What are you going to do to me? Send Henry after me?" he mocked, narrowing his eyes and crossing his arms over his chest defiantly. “Like I should really give a damn?�

"You'll see," she threatened. "You’ll see that paybacks are a bitch!" Taking a step backward, she took one last look at them before bolting back across the darkened lawn and running squarely into Henry.

“Whoa! Careful!� he exclaimed, wobbling slightly from the collision. “What’s the rush? I came out looking for you –�

“I don’t want to talk about it!� she responded abruptly without even looking up at him. Hurrying away, she didn’t even bother to look back to see his confused expression; she just continued on her way back to Hogwarts.

Upon reaching the front steps to the school, she slumped down on them and sighed. Not wanting to go back in there with all those happy and cheerful people, she stayed out on the steps, looking over the massive grounds as dark thoughts filled her head like a noxious mist.

“Miriam, is Tom coming back?� Myrtle asked, suddenly appearing behind her.

How do I best explain this to her?

Not knowing how to respond, she kept quiet and pretended she didn’t hear her. Her charade didn’t last long because Myrtle sat down next to Miriam. From them on, she was forced to acknowledge her. As Myrtle looked onto Miriam’s troubled face, words did not need to be exchanged for Myrtle to know exactly what was going on.

“Tom’s not coming back, is he?� her voice creaked solemnly. Miriam’s answer was a simple nod of her head. It was all the verification Myrtle needed before her eyes started glistening.

“I should have known,� she mumbled dejectedly, her squeaky voice going slightly higher and screechier now. “I should have known that someone as cute as he would never in his right mind want to go to the Christmastide celebration with me. Olive Hornby was right,� she moped, her head in her hands. “Nobody would want to go to the Christmastide celebration with fat, ugly, miserable, moaning, moping Myrtle!�

“Who’s Olive?�

“Olive Hornby. She’s some Slytherin girl who takes great joy in teasing me - especially about my glasses,� she moaned as fat large tears spilled over onto her cheeks.

“I’m sorry, really, really sorry,� Miriam sighed. “I should have listened to myself and never let you go with Tom. I don’t know what’s wrong with him lately, but –“

�It’s okay,� she whimpered as she wiped her glistening eyes dry. But wiping proved futile as tears began gushing over faster than she could wipe. Miriam placed her arm around Myrtle and tried to comfort her as she cried.

"I thought Tom liked me!" she moaned, her voice getting squeakier again with every syllable.

Miriam didn’t know how to answer it. Telling her that Tom only went with her so Carrey could enact the truly perverted plan Tom had created for him was most definitely not the thing to tell her.

Eventually, Henry reappeared from the grounds and was ready to ask Miriam why she was so short with him earlier, but as he approached the steps, Miriam gave him a look that said that now was not the time to talk. He walked on by, and once he was out of earshot, Myrtle whispered, “Was he with another girl?�

“Libby Macnair.�

She didn’t know how long they sat out there for, watching the twinkling stars in the velvety black sky, but eventually Myrtle got up and slowly walked (and whimpered) back inside the castle, leaving Miriam alone and feeling much worse than she already did.

By this time, it was around midnight and the Christmastide celebration was nearing its end. Most of the crowd was gone from the Great Hall and only a few stragglers remained. Sophie and Marcella were nowhere to be seen, and Miriam figured they had gone back to the common room without her. Stifling a yawn, she decided to head there herself as it was getting very late on this emotionally draining day.

As she walked back to Gryffindor tower, she contemplated on the day, and slowly the sadness she felt turned into anger. Revenge had to be taken against Tom.

I'd best bide my time, she thought to herself. After all, revenge is a dish best served cold.

January 2nd, 1942
Upon entering the Great Hall today, it seemed as if a dark cloud had descended over Hogwarts. There was a slight feeling of foreboding in the air - not at all like the merriment and cheerfulness everyone felt at the Christmastide celebration. The only thing that could warrant such an emotion was if something atrocious had happened in the wizarding world - something most likely involving Grindelwald, I'm sure.

Aside from all the negativity, today I had my first tutoring session with Hagrid. I certainly don’t regret taking Dumbledore up on his offer, but tutoring is definitely going to take up most of the little time I have....
---

As she sat down at the table for breakfast, the owls delivered their mail. Her worst fears were confirmed: Grindelwald had indeed struck again.

"Mass murders linked to Grindelwald and the Knights; Muggles becoming increasingly suspicious" was the headline on The Daily Prophet this morning. By that time, Hagrid slowly wandered over to the Gryffindor table and sat down next to Marcella. Miriam couldn’t help but still feel bad for him. Though it had been almost a month since his father's passing, he didn't seem much like himself any more. Rather he was down and depressed. It didn't help the situation any that most of the other kids were still afraid of him because he was so much bigger than most of the other students. It was hard on Miriam to watch him continue on like this.

That day after classes, she began her first tutoring session with Hagrid in the semi-empty Gryffindor common room.

"Hagrid?" she called out. He looked up from his homework, his big black eyes looking as if he had been crying very recently.

"Wha'?" he finally asked.

"I - I just wanted to say that I'm very, very sorry to hear about your father."

"'hanks," he croaked, his eyes becoming progressively moist again. Using his large hand, he gently wiped his eyes and sighed. "Me father was a good man. Me mother, yeh see, wasn't the maternal type, and she left when I was a baby. It was jus' dad and me. Grew close to him, y'know."

Miriam felt her own eyes becoming wet, but she dabbed them quickly before he could see.

“Are you tutorin’ me today?� he asked.

“Yeah, if that’s okay.�

After she said it, she wanted to kick herself as she realized just how insensitive it probably sounded at that moment. But instead of giving her an angry glare, Hagrid looked quite relieved. "Yeh'd don’ know how much 'his means ta me," his gruffy voice replied.

Miriam smiled softly as she nodded her head. “What do you want me to help you with first?�

"Me transfiguration 'omework?"

Nodding her head again, Miriam came over and sat down next to Hagrid. He passed her some of his papers and straightaway she began pouring over them.

~*~

Once a few hours had elapsed, Miriam had gone over every bit of his homework ranging from History of Magic, to Potions, and everything else in between making numerous corrections to them. As Miriam stood up from her seat, her legs and bottom were feeling quite numb from all the sitting she had just done. Rubbing her bottom in hopes of getting some feeling back in there again, she yawned, said good-night to Hagrid, and headed up to the girls' dormitories to get ready to turn in for the night.

When she was halfway up the stairs, Hagrid called out her name. Turning around, she looked down at the gentle giant with the bushy black hair.

"'hank yeh very much," he called out.

Miriam smiled. "Think nothing of it."


Collapsing on her bed, she was too wound up to go to sleep at the moment, though she was very tired. Deciding to finally write a letter to the two girls in Hawaii she believed to be her relatives, she pulled out a piece of paper from her nightstand and took a quill and began writing.

---

January 13th, 1942
Friday the thirteenth. Synonymous with bad luck and everything awful that goes along with it. It makes perfect sense that today I played my worst Quidditch game ever!
---

“This game will go down in history as probably the worst game Gryffindor ever played!� Patrick Jones announced after the Gyrffindor team suffered a major defeat of one hundred to two hundred fifty by Ravenclaw. Miriam was completely disappointed in herself as she knew she could have played a much better game had she practiced more. It was a known fact that she had missed all of their team practices the past week and a half.

Though her teammates were clearly upset, they never once complained to her. They knew she had an over booked schedule, but they didn’t know quite what it contained. As she changed her clothes in the locker room, she knew she’d have to make drastic changes in order to save the face of her house team.

Once the team had changed back into their school robes, she called an unexpected meeting. "This emergency Quidditch meeting is now in session," Miriam announced grimly. "As you may not know, this past December I accepted an offer to help a friend in need... and well," she sighed, "it's time I reorganized my priorities.�

Taking a deep breath, she continued. “I hereby resign as captain of the Gryffindor team."

Shocked and dismayed were the only words that could adequately convey the expressions on the team members' faces that very moment. Finally, after the initial shock wore off, Aaron Wood spoke up. "Why can't you just reorganaize your schedule to fit Quidditch in?"

"I've tried!" she exclaimed. "Ever since my third year I've been delicately balancing my schedule. But since taking on the responsibilities of Quidditch captain and helping to tutor Hagrid -"

"You're tutoring Hagrid?" Aaron interrupted, mildly surprised.

"Yes, and since then, I have absolutely no free time whatsoever. Even my homework is starting to fall behind. That’s why I’ve been missing so many Quidditch practices recently."

"Are you still going to be on the team?" Carl Potter suddenly inquired.

"That brings me to my next thing," she answered slowly as she knew what their responses and reactions was going to be like regarding her next bit of info. "No. Unfortunately, I have to quit the team as well."

She glanced around the room waiting for her second blow to take effect. Noticing Marcella's eyes were suddenly shiny, she felt a pang of guilt, like she was a traitor to her team.

“You just can’t let one bad performance shape your opinion. You’re still a good leader,� Marcella whispered, her cheeks wet.

“I still love Quidditch, and I’ll give it one more shot on the twenty-first, but I think it would be better if I left the captaincy position to someone who could spend more time with the team. Since Gryffindor won’t be playing another game after that until February, it’ll give you ample time to find a new chaser and train them. And with that, I’ll name the new captain.�

“Who’re you going to pick?� Aaron asked.

She looked between Aaron and Carl and sighed. “I don’t know yet. You two are the veterans of the team. Picking only one is going to be tough.�

“So, who will it be?� Aaron inquired.

“I’ll give you my decision soon.�

~*~

Deciding who should take her place weighed heavily on her mind that night. As she went to sleep, she dreamed that the entire Gryffindor team had disbanded and everyone in her house had blamed her for it.

“You’re such a bad friend!� Marcella screamed. “You cost us the Quidditch cup!�

At the sound of her friend’s voice, she awoke with quite a start over such an awful dream.

---

January 21st, 1942
Okay, tonight was officially the WORST game we’ve ever played. It even beat out the game on Friday the 13th - that’s how bad it was.

Hufflepuff creamed us three hundred seventy-five to one hundred.
---

“Okay, that was the worst game we’ve ever played,� Miriam sighed as she looked out onto her team mates all sitting in the locker room. “The time has come for us to find a captain who can devote adequate time to the team.�

With that, she unceremoniously took off her badge and tossed it into the air above Aaron and Carl. Aaron hurriedly leapt up first from his seat and caught it in his hand. Miriam walked slowly back into the changing room, listening to the excited cheers of Aaron as he danced around, proudly showing off his new badge.

---

January 28th, 1942
Giving up Quidditch was the hardest thing I’ve ever done. I feel like I’ve just ripped my heart out. I don’t know if I’m just a glutton for punishment or what, but today I went out to watch the team practice. They seem to be getting along fine without me. I couldn’t help but feel slightly depressed, watching them practice and all. One could look at it as if I had truly deserted my team, but I prefer look at it as if I gave them a fresh start.

Another good thing about it is that Hagrid’s grades are improving dramatically. Yet, I still feel a big part of me is missing....

The only thing that HAS completely cheered me up is planning my revenge on my worthless, good-for-nothing brother, whom I haven’t spoken to since the Christmastide celebration.

Just because I haven’t spoken to him doesn’t mean I haven’t THOUGHT of him... hee hee....
---

"You know you have to extract revenge for what he did at the Christmastide celebration," Marcella said that evening in the common room. Sophie nodded her head eagerly in agreement.

"Oh, I will, don't sweat it," Miriam replied, a devious smile tugging at her lips. “Revenge is best attended when the other person won’t suspect it.�

"We know that look!" Sophie exclaimed, noticing her obvious smirk. "You have something planned, don't you?"

"Of course," she answered, pulling out a small blue vial from inside her robe. "And it will be all thanks to this little beauty right here."

"What is it?" Marcella asked, her eyes wide with excitement.

"I can't tell you, but you'll soon find out. Just keep your eyes peeled."

~*~

That night after their dinner in the Great Hall, Miriam snatched a large blueberry muffin from the table and hid it carefully in her robe. Walking out of the Great Hall with the rest of her classmates, she quietly strolled out of sight and into a deserted hallway.

Oh, revenge is so sweet....

She opened the blue vial and used her finger to gouge a small hole deep into the side of the blueberry muffin, and poured the vial’s contents into the muffin. Covering the hole back up with some of the surrounding muffin she had gouged out, she hid the tainted muffin in her pocket and inconspicuously made her way back into the main hallway as if nothing had happened.

Now the only part of her plan left was to find Tom, make sure he was alone, and make him eat the muffin. To someone watching, it might have looked like she was trying to poison him, but that was furthest from her mind. She had something much more appalling, something... deliciously sick and twisted in her mind....

Looking all over Hogwarts, she finally spotted him in a vacant classroom with some of his school books sitting out.

Aw, this is just too easy, she thought.

"Tom?" she called out, making sure any trace of something despicable was completely ridden from her face. He looked up at her and asked her what she wanted.

"I was just wondering what you're up to," she asked innocently.

"Just going over some things for school."

"Can't you do that in your common room?"

"Too noisy," he mumbled.

"Well look, if you want, I snatched you a blueberry muffin in case you get hungry." Miriam pulled out the tainted muffin and placed it in front of him on the desk.

"Hey, thanks!" he replied. He picked up the muffin and took a big bite. Shaking his head, he sat down behind the desk and pulled his school books closer.

That potion should begin to work any time now....

Tom began to blink repeatedly. "Wow," he commented, eating the last bite of his muffin, "you'd think I didn't get enough sleep or something."

Miriam innocently shrugged her shoulders as she continued on with her clever ruse.

He yawned and rubbed his eyes. "Maybe I better... just..." He didn't get the chance to finish his sentence as he fell off his chair and onto the floor in a heap. Miriam looked behind the desk and saw Tom fast asleep (and snoring heavily) on the floor.

"Good night and pleasant dreams, dear brother," she said smirking as she pulled something else out from inside her robe....

~*~

When Tom awoke a little while later, he rubbed his head and wondered how long he'd been asleep. His head was pounding as he slowly got to his feet. Gathering his books he left the empty classroom and set out for the Slytherin common room. Looking at his watch, he realized he had only been asleep for about forty-five minutes.

"I better get back to the common room, or I'm going to be in deep trouble," he mumbled. He walked back through the hallway that led to the Great Hall. Completely unbeknownst to him, Miriam was hiding just around the corner with her friends, whom she had convinced to stay behind so they could see her trick unfold.

“This is going to be good,� Miriam whispered to her friends, who were trying to repress their curiosity.

As Tom made his way down the hallway, who should appear, but none other than Peeves the Poltergeist himself.

"Oh, poor Tom mustn't be well. He's not looking all that swell. Poor Peeves must take pity, as baby Widdle looks so pretty!"

"What the bloody hell are you talking about?" Tom demanded, narrowing his eyes and crossing his arms over his chest. “I’m not pretty!�

Miriam had to bit her lip to keep from laughing. Sophie and Marcella gaped at the spectacle that was their friend's brother. They truly couldn't believe what they were seeing.

"Take a look in a mirror, and you'll see, just how little Tommy is pretty as can be!" replied Peeves in his annoying singsong voice.

"Get away from me," he yelled, swinging a few of his books at the poltergeist. "Don't make me get the Bloody Baron!"

Peeves suddenly looked horror struck. "You're no fun!" He gave Tom a wet raspberry, then flew high into the air and nose-dived into the ground beside Tom. Miriam heard her brother mutter "Idiot" as he moved on. As he continued down the hallway, a group of Ravenclaw students emerged through a side doorway busily talking amongst themselves, but they stopped abruptly when they saw Tom coming toward them.

Miriam couldn't see exactly what Tom was doing as he now had his back toward her, but she could see the confused looks and expressions coming from the Ravenclaws.

Oh, this is so priceless....

"What are you staring at?" he snapped, starting to become rather annoyed by their constant staring. One of the girls in the group was Myrtle Vranda who spoke up, her voice dripping with the slight tone of screechy hostility.

"Did Libby do that to you?�

Another girl, with black hair and almond-shaped eyes whom Miriam knew was Emily Chang, contributed, "Tom, why in Merlin’s beard did you change your look... to that?"

"I don't know what you're talking about. I look exactly the same as I did this morning!" he exclaimed.

"Whatever," Emily Chang replied, rolling her eyes.

The Ravenclaws continued walking past Tom. All the boys in the group were holding their stomach as they laughed and jeered at him. Tom was starting to get an uneasy feeling, like something just wasn't quite right. Maybe there truly was something wrong with his appearance.

As he touched his face and lips (amid heavy snickering from Miriam and her friends), he felt something strange. Looking at his hand he saw something rather peculiar staining them - there was a reddish streak on his finger tips. Realizing that something definitely wasn't right, he ran all the way to the boys' restroom and gasped at his reflection the mirror.

He... he appeared to have... make-up on his face! Outraged at such a thing, he mulled over how exactly it could have gotten on him. After a moment, it had hit him. Anger swelled up inside him, his blood boiling, as he raged out of the restroom and shouted, "MIRIAM! DAMN YOU!" at the top of his lungs.

Still in their hiding spot and now wiping tears of laughter from their eyes as the sound of her brother's furious voice filled the air, Miriam and her friends stumbled over themselves in a state of delusional rejoicing as they headed back to the Gryffindor common room.

"That was the best thought out revenge I've ever seen!" complimented Sophie.

It was most unfortunate though, that her brother didn't share the same sentiments about it.

---

February 4th, 1942
Tom has made it an even stronger point to ignore me now whenever possible... even during classes. If we should be in the same room, he’ll immediately walk out. But when he looks at me with his friends around him, his face turns a deep shade of crimson.
---

That little escapade on the twenty-eighth spread throughout the school faster than anything she had ever seen before. Tom could hardly enter the Great Hall without being teased.

"Lookin' good!" someone yelled. Tom had just entered the Great Hall when the ridiculing had commenced. This had been going on non-stop since the day when Miriam had extracted her most evil revenge on him over the debacle at the Christmastide celebration. Sure, it seemed a little mean, but it was well worth it, she thought.

From where Miriam was sitting at the table, she could hear Tom mutter, "Shut-up" in retaliation to the leers he was receiving. She quickly had to turn away from him as he passed by so he couldn't see the tears in the corners of her eyes or hear her desperately trying not to snicker. Marcella and Sophie couldn't even look at each other because if they did, they wouldn't have been able to keep it in either.

Miriam turned around just enough to see Tom still walking toward the Slytherin table, but now amid the catcalling Ravenclaws. A red-haired girl from the Ravenclaw table stood up and taunted, "What's the matter Tom? We absolutely loved your new look! Why don’t you keep it for us?"

"Shut-up," he warned her.

"Are you going to hit me with your handbag if I don't?"

Tom grumbled but ignored her and continued on his way. The red-headed girl didn't give up though. "It's perfectly acceptable for a boy to get in touch with his feminine side!"

That was the final straw. Tom rapidly turned around, his eyes ablaze and his body shaking uncontrollably as if he could scarcely restrain himself. "Just shut the bloody hell up! All of you!" he yelled at the top of his lungs. The Great Hall suddenly became deathly quiet; a simple fork dropping would have sounded like bomb going off.

He stormed out of the Great Hall and didn't bother to return for the rest of the evening.

February 18th, 1942
I can't believe what I am about to write. It seems so unreal, so unlike Tom: He has runaway from Hogwarts.

He wasn't at any of the meals today, and when Professor Panes (the head of Slytherin) searched the Slytherin common room and dormitories, he was no where to be found. A hunt for him commenced, and all the teachers looked everywhere in the castle for him, but to no avail.
---

"Miss Riddle, would you please come to my office at once?" Dumbledore asked solemnly. Miriam was sitting in the common room with her friends going over some bits of homework (though she had a tough time concentrating on it with Tom being reported missing and all) when Dumbledore had poked his head through the portrait opening.

It had been a difficult day for Miriam, as she was questioned by everyone about why her brother had run away from the place he was always most eager to go to during the summer. Seeing Dumbledore's worried expression gave her sense of dread as she followed him to his office. Depressing thoughts filled her head as headed toward the office.

What if he's... died?

No, I can't think that....

"Miriam, has this happened before?" he asked. "Your brother running away?"

"Yes," she replied. "It happened once before. He ran away from the orphanage just this past summer. Fortunately, he returned not too long after."

"Has he shown any signs of wanting to run away from Hogwarts?"

"No. We... we haven't exactly been... speaking to each other recently."

"Anything you'd wish to share on the matter?"

"I noticed that when Tom ran away from the orphanage, he was following a figure in a long hooded cloak," Miriam said, avoiding his question altogether.

Dumbledore seemed a bit surprised, though she didn't understand why.

"Hooded cloak, you say?" he repeated.

She nodded her head fervently. "And I think the person he was with had a wand, too. When I watched them, they disappeared almost instantaneously."

Dumbledore's solemn face suddenly grew concerned, and his blue eyes lost their usual gentle sparkle. He knew something more about the situation, yet he wasn't telling her anything. His piercing eyes bored through her, almost as if he were trying to read her mind.

Miriam quickly looked away and broke the contact between them. Her head was reeling. Tom just wasn't acting like himself at all.

---

February 20th, 1942
Tom came back to Hogwarts late last night. I haven't spoken to him yet. I'm afraid that if I did, I would have seriously brained him into next Wednesday.

Unfortunately, avoiding him wasn't meant to be....
----

Herbology class, which was their last class of the day, ended a bit earlier than usual, so the students had a mini break before dinner.

Miriam had decided to head back to the common room and use her bit of free time to unwind before heading down for dinner. But as she headed toward Gryffindor tower, her plans got sidelined. Reaching the second floor hallway, she literally had the daylights scared out of her as Vipera jumped out in front of her and hissed rabidly at Miriam, baring its sharp teeth at her. Miriam nervously took a step backwards and lost her footing, causing her to fall down in a very awkward position. Vipera leapt toward her and would have attacked if Miriam hadn't quickly taken off her shoe and thrown it squarely at the approaching snake.

Thrawp! The shoe made direct contact with the snake's face.

"HEY!" a voiced yelled. "What the hell do you think you're doing?"

Vipera slithered away, injured, as Tom came running down the hallway looking extremely perturbed.

"Vip - Vipera tried to attack me!" she gasped breathlessly, but Tom didn't seem care.

"You could have hurt her!" he shouted.

"Didn't you hear? It tried to attack me!"

Tom glared furiously at Miriam but looked away abruptly when they heard screams coming from the Great Hall. They rushed down the hallway, down a flight of stairs, and arrived just in time to see a group of horror-stricken Hufflepuffs pointing out a the entrance to a small figure that was Vipera slithering out of Hogwarts and into the vast grounds, eventually making it to the mouth of the Forbidden Forest.

Tom grabbed Miriam by the arm and dragged her outside in hopes of trying to catch up with Vipera.

~*~

"Thomas Riddle, we're lost!" Miriam scolded as they trekked through the dense woods. "If you'd just learn to keep a better eye on your pets -"

"Excuse me?" Tom retorted in disbelief. "If memory serves me correctly, you were the one who threw your skanky shoe at her."

"Because she was hissing and lunging at me!" Miriam yelled. "You don't even care!"

"I've only got one nerve left, and right now, you're getting on it."

"It's the principle, don't you see?"

Tom continued walking away, so he didn't see or hear Miriam sigh in exasperation, roll her eyes in disbelief, or kick the ground in a fit of rage. Inside, she badly wanted to scream bloody murder and strangle Tom.

"I'm not done talking to you!" she yelled after him.

"But I am with you."

"You know, you can be such a pain-in-the-ass when you want to be!"

"Fine. Whatever."

"Fine!" she yelled back.

She continued trudging through the forest, neither one speaking to the other. After walking for what seemed like forever and delving further and further into the forest, the sun was beginning to set, and Miriam didn't think they would ever find Tom's pet snake. Stopping for a moment to catch her breath, she leaned herself against a large oak tree.

Snap. Creak. Miriam looked around. She heard the noises again. Somebody was following them, and they were close by. A weird feeling started to come over her, like something was watching her. She hurriedly caught back up with Tom who was still a few feet in front of her. He didn't seem to sense that anything was wrong.

There came a rustling in the bushes behind her, and at that point, Miriam knew for certain that they were being followed.

"Tom?" she called tentatively to her brother.

"I thought we weren't speaking," he answered rudely.

"Will you just drop it!"

"But you were the one who started talking!" he exclaimed, throwing his hands up in the air in aggravation.

"Just shut up for a minute, will you?"

Tom sighed, and Miriam continued. "Look, I think we're being followed."

Turning around to face her, he asked with a very bored expression etched on his face, "And you would know this... because?"

"Because," she said through gritted teeth, "I hear twigs breaking and snapping behind me, and the bushes were moving a moment ago."

"Wow!" he said with a hint of sarcasm dripping in his voice. "Your powers of perception astound me. But in case you didn't know, there ARE things living here in the Forbidden Forest. Why else would it be off-limits to students if it was just your run-of-the-mill wooded area with nothing living in it?"

Miriam opened her mouth to make a retort when she noticed Tom's eyes grow big and round. It sounded like there were footsteps behind her, coming from a dozen or so people. Slowly, she turned around and came face-to-face with a band of half-man, half-horse creatures, some of which where wielding bow and arrows at them.

"Why are you trespassing on our land?" a black centaur asked, pointing a bow directly at Miriam.

Her ability to speak seemed to have left her at that moment. "I - I... we... you see... we were just -"

"- looking for my pet snake," Tom managed to finish.

"Pet snake, you say?" another centaur asked walking up toward them, this one with white-blond hair and a palomino body.

Tom nodded his head. "She's small, large fangs, kinda light in color with dark markings..."

"Ah, yes, I remember seeing it," the blond-haired one replied. "It was terrorizing our colony not even a few moments ago."

"Hush, Firenze!" the black centaur roared, rearing up on its hind legs. "We do not need to tell these... humans about our colony!"

"Bane, these humans are merely children from the school up ahead," Firenze answered, as Bane reared up on his back legs again in anger. "They mean us no harm. It's in the nature of the centaur to not harm innocent foals."

"And it's also the nature of the centaur to not take sides, as you are doing defending the children!"

Miriam glanced sideways at Tom, she knew exactly what he was thinking. They had been called loads of things before in the past, but they had never been referred to as animals. If the situation hadn't been so dire, it would have almost been comical. Miriam stole another sideways glance at Tom and could see the corners of his mouth slowly creep up into a small grin.

While the two centaurs continued their heated discussion, Tom and Miriam slowly backed away. They made it a fair distance away from the centaurs when the one called Bane yelled, "Get back here!" He caught them with three giant gallops, picked them up by the backs of their school robes with his hands, and then turned around and galloped back to where the blond centaur waited.

"We don't mean you any harm!" Miriam pleaded.

"I just want my snake back!" Tom whined.

Bane dropped them to the ground.

"Oomph!" the children groaned as they landed hard on their bottoms.

"Just hand over Vipera, and we'll be on our way!" Tom yelled, still rubbing his side. Fortunately, at that precise moment, something could be heard slithering overtop the leaves and broken twigs on the ground, a faint hissing sound emerged.

"Vipera!" Tom exclaimed. Upon Vipera's entrance, several of the quiet centaurs in the back reared up on their back legs, but the snake ignored them and continued over toward Tom, who picked it up.

"Now that you have her, we'll... we'll just... be on our way," Miriam said casually while trying to get out of their predicament.

Tom and Miriam dashed back through the forest in hopes of getting as far away from the centaurs as possible and making it to the castle before dark. Once they reached the edge of the forest, they thought they were home free as they saw the Hogwarts castle up in the distance, but little did they know that caretaker, Maugi, had spotted them.

"What are students doing in the Forbidden Forest?" he bellowed.

"I - I had to find my pet snake!" Tom stammered.

"Students aren't allowed in the forest, no matter what!" Taking hold of them by the arms, he maneuvered them directly into Professor Dumbledore's office. Dumbledore was a bit surprised to see Maugi walking into his office with Tom and Miriam being held by the arms.

"Can I help you with something, Maugi?" he asked pleasantly, looking up from his newspaper.

"I caught these two coming out of the Forbidden Forest, sir."

Dumbledore turned to face Tom and Miriam. "What were you doing in the forest?" he asked, shifting his glance from Maugi to Tom then to Miriam.

"Looking for my pet snake," Tom answered.

"But you know that the forest is off limits to students. It's not a safe place, especially when it's becoming dark," Dumbledore replied sternly. "I'm afraid I'm going to have to punish you both. Twenty points will be deducted from both Gryffindor and Slytherin." He got up briskly from his chair and whispered something to Maugi before leaving his office.

"You two are to stay here while I find Professor Panes and discuss this matter with him," Dumbledore ordered. He left his office and went in search of the Head of Slytherin house. He returned a few minutes later with the dark-haired professor in tow. Upon entering the room, Panes whispered something to Dumbledore, and Dumbledore nodded his head in agreement.

"Tomorrow, you both will report to Maugi's office for your punishment," Dumbledore announced gravely.

---

February 21st, 1942
Thanks to Tom and his complete carelessness, we now have detention after school today.
---

"Good going, Tom," Miriam chided. "Because of your stupidity, we now have DETENTION!"

"Miriam, do me a favor will you and just SHUT-UP! I really don't want to start this crap again," he replied as they made their way to Maugi's office to begin their punishment.

She had a good comeback in mind to throw at him, but she noticed that Maugi was waiting outside his office. She knew better than to open her mouth and say something that could get her in even more trouble.

Upon entering his office, Maugi handed them each a bucket and sponge and told them to "get cracking" on cleaning the third floor corridor.

"Peeves thought it funny to throw snowballs all over the place, and now it's all wet. You two better get up there and clean it before he decides to come back with more."

And so, the kids spent the next couple of hours sopping up Peeves' messy prank, each one grumbling to themselves but never speaking to the other.
Just as they finished, who should appear but none other than the poltergeist himself.

"Wee Widdle kiddies cleaning up Peevesies mess. But lookie here! Peevesie has bought MORE snowballs! Never fear!" He began bombarding them at Tom and Miriam, making them cold, wet, and shivering.

Tom reached down into his sweater and pulled out a half-melted snowball that had managed to slide its way down there. Shaking his hand to rid of the cold snowball, he hollered, "Do you want me to get the Bloody Baron?"

"Mr. Baron isn't here!" Peeves taunted as he made a rude gesture with his hand at the kids.

"Of course I'm here, Peeves!" a voice boomed.

Peeves black eyes grew large as he slowly disappeared from sight, mumbling. "Oh! I'm... sorry, Sir! Peevesie will go now!"

Tom looked around expecting to see the Bloody Baron himself, but was pleasantly surprised too see Miriam grinning, her hands on her hips and a smug look on her face. Tom couldn't help but laugh in spite of himself.

"Let's get back to Maugi before Peeves comes back," she said.

As Tom walked around the corner to make sure that Peeves truly wasn't coming back, Miriam noticed something on the ground... it was a piece of paper. Quietly bending over to pick it up, she let curiosity get the better of her and unrolled it. It looked to be a page that had been torn out of an old school library book. The paper read:

"The entrance to the Chamber of Secrets has long been shrouded in mystery. Throughout the centuries, many people have tried to locate the entrance, but none have ever found it. Speculations have arisen that no such Chamber even exists, but there were doubts about that as well."

Underneath the writing was a diagram of the school with Tom's familiar scribble surrounding it, some of which he had obviously crossed out. She tried to hide the paper in the palm of her hand just as Tom came back into view. He looked up and noticed the strange look on her face and commented on it.

"What's wrong with you?" he asked, raising his eyebrow slightly.

"Nothing! Nothing at all!" she lied.

Hiding her hands behind her back, she asked Tom to grab the buckets and carry them back to Maugi's office, as she was afraid to accidentally have the paper slip from her palms. Unfortunately, her request was met with a lot of whining and complaining from Tom.

"Why can't you? Arms broken or something?" he asked crossly.

"No, but why can't you? Too good?" she replied with the same fussy demeanor.

Grumbling, Tom reluctantly picked up and carried the buckets back. During their walk toward to Maugi's office, she could hear him muttering something about "worthless menial labor."

---

March 1st, 1942
Hagrid's in LOADS of trouble again. He came back to the common room all bloodied and bruised, looking exactly as he did back on December 18th. When I asked him what had happened, I noticed he seemed a bit out of it, but in good spirits all the same.
---

"If Professor Dumbledore catches you like this, he's going to be really furious! He might even expel you!" Miriam exclaimed.

Hagrid's only response to this was a loud, "I - I finally beat them!"

"Beat who?!" she asked worriedly. After she said it, Dumbledore came walking stiffly into the common room. There was something about the way he looked that suggested that he was in a very grim temper.

"I have been informed that Mr. Rubeus Hagrid has been breaking school rules again by entering the Forbidden Forest. Please tell me that these allegations are extremely erroneous?" he asked gravely. But upon looking at the disheveled Hagrid, Dumbledore knew at once it was true. Miriam was still piecing this case together. Before she could ask what was going on with Hagrid, Dumbledore had lead Hagrid away and out of the common room.

~*~

By dinner that night, news had managed to leak out to the whole school. Rumors were flying that Hagrid had apparently been wrestling with some mountain trolls, which had caused his injuries. Miriam couldn't believe it, nor could she believe it when her own brother was heard saying, "That's what you get for letting half-breeds into the school."

That was so un-Tomlike, she thought. At least... the Tom I used to know.

Hagrid had been given a two-week detention and twenty-five points had been docked from Gryffindor.

~*~

As Miriam passed by the trophy room on her way to the Quidditch field to watch the team practice three nights later, she was surprised to see Tom kneeling down and polishing the schools awards and trophies.

Maugi, who was with him, noticed Miriam standing in the doorway looking in, the confused expression on her face clearly evident.

"Your brother was caught in the girls' bathroom yesterday," Maugi said simply.

Miriam wasn't sure what to make of this. Her only response to this was a drawn out "Oh-kaay," as she watched Tom scrubbing and polishing (and complaining occasionally).

"Oh, someone thinks they can get away with that!" Maugi said to no one in particular as he brushed by Miriam, apparently in a hurry to catch some student soiling his clean hallway. Once he left and was out of earshot, Miriam walked over toward Tom as he quietly cursed while scrubbing a plaque that read "Special Services to the School" until he saw his reflection in it.

"You know, I sure as hell better get one of these before I leave the school," he mumbled, more to himself than to Miriam.

"What could you do that would deserve a plaque?" she asked, peering over his shoulder and seeing her own reflection beside his. "Certainly going into the girls bathroom IS NOT going to help any. What were you doing in there anyway?"

She realized after she said it, she probably didn't want to know the answer.

"Just shut up," he hissed as he sat the plaque down. By then Maugi had returned, a triumphant look on his face.

"They'll think twice before doing that again!"

Miriam looked at her watch, sighed, and left Tom to his punishment, mentally shaking her head in disbelief as she walked out.

March 8th, 1942
Gryffindor is hanging on by a THREAD in Quidditch. The team lost their last match, and the only way they can have a shot at winning the cup again is if they beat Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw beats Slytherin.

Marcella has steadily improved with each game we play, regardless of us winning or losing. They have another girl as Chaser already. She’s good, but deep inside, I wish I was still out there playing.
---

Spring was upon Hogwarts now. The snow was finally gone, and everyone seemed to be suffering from a bad case of spring fever. Nobody could sit inside a boring classroom and look out onto the green and grassy lawns without desperately wanting to run outside and enjoy the snow-free grounds.

As Professor Binns droned about Quindolyn the Bizarre or Samina the Scared, Miriam couldn’t help but let her mind wander to the outside and the nice warm breeze and cloud-free sky.

When they shuffled out of Professor Binns’s class a little while later, they made their way up a flight of stairs to their Charms classroom where Professor Ambley waited.

Upon settling down in their seats, Professor Ambley took roll call. After naming off the students in her class, she looked around and quietly began counting heads to herself. Miriam looked around the class room to see who might have been missing. It was then that it hit her... Tom was nowhere in class! She glanced at her watch and knew that Tom was going to be in deep trouble. He was never late for class, so this was a first for him. Professor Ambley checked her watch and tapped her foot; she was growing very impatient. Taking a deep breath, Professor Ambley opened her mouth to speak when the door to the Charms classroom burst open and Tom came scrambling in. He muttered something inaudible as he took a seat among the Slytherins.

"Well, well, Mr. Riddle. It looks as if you finally decided to grace us with your presence," Professor Ambley said sternly, eyeing Tom. “Good, competent wizards don’t just grow on trees, you know....�

“How true Ma’am, but don’t they normally swing underneath them?�

Many of the Slytherins snickered at Tom’s gibe. From where Miriam was sitting, she could see him look up at the teacher with a benevolent expression on his face. "I'm truly regretful that I am late," he added cajolingly, a deceivingly innocent look still upon his face. Miriam looked at her friends and rolled her eyes at the absurdity of her brother’s behavior. If Ambley bought the load of Hippogryff crap that Tom was giving her, then she was the Queen of England....

"Mr. Riddle, I can't have you late like this again," Ambley answered strictly. Tom gazed up at the teacher again, his eyes virtually boring two holes into her, almost as if he were forcefully trying to break into her mind. Professor Ambley gasped and grabbed her head as if she were suddenly suffering from a very bad migraine.

"I promise," he continued. "I won't be late for class again." He gave her a feigned smile and then looked away. The Charms professor regained her composure, and she stumbled to her desk in a stupor. Miriam gaped at her two friends. She was utterly shocked that Professor Ambley didn't take points from Slytherin for Tom being so late to class. And what was with Professor Ambley's bizarre behavior of just a moment ago? Glancing over at Tom, who was currently in a quiet revelry over not being punished by the teacher, she got a weird sensation.

“To - Today we will be learning a brand new spell –“

�– the Mobilarbus spell?� Tom inquired.

“Yes,� Professor Ambley responded, eyeing him rather curiously. “How’d you know that?�

~*~

“I swear! Tom wasn’t even blinking! It was like... he was reading her mind or something!� Miriam quietly exclaimed to her friends after class that day. They were sitting around the library finishing up some homework when Miriam told them what she had seen.

“Really?� they asked in shock.

“Y’know, mind reading is rather advanced magic,� Sophie added. “I’m not saying Tom couldn’t do it, but...� Her friend trailed off as somebody from the table behind of them hastily leapt up from their seat, causing her chair to squeal loudly, and started screaming.

“Are you okay, Minerva?� Miriam asked in alarm as she watched her friend stomp the floor in an apparent fit of rage.

“I’m perfectly all right!� Minerva exclaimed. “Yes! Yes... I’m fine! I'm just trying to remember all these facts, and dates, and places, and names...� she rambled, her voice beginning to crack. “If I don’t get good grades now, I’ll never get into my N.E.W.T. level classes. Thereupon I won’t get a good job... if I don’t get a good job, how can I ever expect to make a living for myself?�

“Relax! It’s okay!� Sophie exclaimed, trying to calm the very frazzled Minerva down.

“Relax? How can I relax... yield... or relent with O.W.L.s coming up? Oh, Merlin! I’m... losing... my... PERSPICACITY!�

“She’s really not taking the O.W.L.s that well, is she?� Miriam asked as Minerva ran screaming from the library.

---

March 18th, 1942
We haven't seen hide nor hair of Minerva since her little nervous breakdown in the library the other day... except for a tiny glimpse of her here and there with her nose buried in a book....

Aside from that, we had an interesting Transfiguration class today that involved Tom talking back to Professor Dumbledore....

Really, I don’t know what’s gotten into him lately....
---

“Class, we’ll begin today by finishing the transfiguration of a rat into a teacup that we started during our last class.� Dumbledore began bringing out many interestingly colored teacups - some that still had rat markings - from behind his desk. As he brought them out, Miriam couldn’t help but let out a small laugh. Marcella’s teacup still had whiskers, Sophie’s had a tail, and unfortunately, her’s had brown fur. Tom, on the other hand, had managed to turn his into a beautiful blue teacup with a spiraling golden handle; Dumbledore had awarded him full marks.

“Today, we will turn them back into a rat.�

“Sir, if I may say so, but wouldn’t it be pointless to have a bunch of rats hanging around the school after we transfigure then back?�

“The whole point of this is to see how well students can transfigure a teacup back into a rat. A reverse transfiguration,� Dumbledore replied with a steely note in his voice and a look of determination in his eyes.

“But, sir, it seems rather purposeless to do this. We’ve already shown our prowess at it.“

�Mr. Riddle, if you have a problem with the way I handle things, then I advise you to bring it up with Headmaster Dippet. Since you have determined it not necessary to finish the assignment, I will dock Slytherin fifteen points.�

~*~

“What gives with him?� Tom asked furiously as he left the Transfiguration classroom later that day. “So what if I wouldn’t transform his stupid teacup back into his stupid old rat... honestly....�

---

April 1st, 1942
I think Minerva has finally suffered from a mental meltdown from studying too hard for her O.W.L.s. Gosh, I hope I don’t go mental when it’s time for me to take them.

On a bit of sad news, Gryffindor lost the Quidditch Cup to Ravenclaw.... I guess it could have been worse... we could have lost it to Slytherin.... Ew!

Hagrid, meanwhile, has been keeping up his grades beautifully... except for the few occasions he still needs me to go over thing with him. He seems to have come to grips with his father’s passing, though it still is a bit of a sore subject for him. His troublesome mischief seems to be at a standstill.... He only got in trouble one other time last month, and I’m hoping that it’ll be the last time. Dumbledore has been very, very lenient with him.

And Tom... well, let’s just say that he seems to be enjoying his newfound teenaged angst. He may be one of the smartest in the school, but he has a bad habit of speaking his mind a bit too much, especially when it comes to him and Professor Dumbledore....
---

“Hormones,� Sophie said simply. “Boys take to this stuff much differently than us girls. Sure, we get the monthly, when we turn into horrible little monsters, but boys get all sorts of other problems. I read about it in a Muggle book once....�

“I don’t know,� Miriam sighed as she and her friends headed to Potions class. “Personally, I think being in Slytherin has finally gone to his head.�

As they made their way down many staircases, they rounded a corner and made their way to the entrance of their Potions classroom. Since class hadn’t begun yet, many of the students were standing by the doors and waiting for Professor Panes to let them in. Tom was casually leaning back against the brick wall, twirling his wand idly between his long fingers and looking rather bored. He looked up and saw Miriam and her friends coming downstairs. A twisted smile enveloped his face. Walking over to them, he announced with great arrogance in his voice, “Make way for the Heir of Slytherin...� and brushed by them to join Carrey and Murdoch who were standing by an opposite wall, each wearing an absurd grin.

“Still think it’s just hormones?� Miriam asked, raising her eyebrows.

---

"... Don't want your hand
This time I'll save myself
Maybe I'll wake up for once
Not tormented daily defeated by you
Just when I thought I'd reached the bottom
I'm dying again..."

---

May 14th, 1942
O.W.L.s can’t seem to get here fast enough for poor Minerva. I found her today in the library fast asleep, her face down in an open book....
---

“You can’t go on like this!� Miriam uttered, shaking her friend awake. Minerva lifted her head, a few of her notes were now plastered to her forehead.

“The properties of a moonstone are... are...� she mumbled. Looking around, she realized she wasn’t being examined for her O.W.L.s; instead she realized she had fallen asleep in the library and her friend was waking her up.

“It’ll be over with in a few weeks,� Minerva muttered.

“You need a break! Otherwise, you’re going to have a complete mental breakdown.�

“I know, but I still haven’t finished my Potions studies. If I don’t at least get an O.W.L. on that, Panes is going to go ballistic on me....�

Miriam sat down and looked at some of Minerva’s half-completed assignments:

History of Magic - write a three-foot scroll on the Goblin wars.
Potions - write a two-foot scroll on the properties of moonstones.
Defense Against the Dark Arts - perform difficult defensive spells.
Transfiguration - Change our hair color
Charms - Practice the blocking charm

Deeply engrossed in the long homework schedule Minerva had made for herself, Miriam barely had time to react to something gray-ish green darting only a mere few inches by her face.

“Vipera!� she hissed, looking down at Tom’s pet snake, who was hissing nonchalantly at her. “GO!� Shooing the snake away with her hand, Vipera bared its fangs at her before slithering out of the library indignantly. What is it with that damn snake? she wondered bitterly.

As Vipera left the library, someone else came coursing into the library and over toward Miriam, barely missing stepping on Vipera, which caused the snake to hiss angrily at the girl.

“Hi, Hannah,� Miriam greeted. Hannah Evans panted and then said, “Did you hear?�

“Hear what?�

“Tom’s in detention again!�

“What for?�

“Apparently he tried going into the girls’ bathroom, but one of the Hufflepuff Prefects caught him!�

That’s the second time he’s done that... she thought. Miriam followed Hannah to an empty classroom where Tom was scribbling ‘I will not go into the girls’ bathroom’ over and over again on a blackboard. Hannah said good-bye and left Miriam alone with her, in her own words, obviously whacked brother.

“Are we having a gender crisis or something?� she spoke up. Tom turned around, a small grimace on his face. “That’s none of your concern, now is it?�

“Uh, hello to the stupid person!� Miriam chastised. “But please explain to me why a boy would want to go into a girl’s bathroom?� Tom looked at her, but Miriam held up her hand to silence him. “If this is some weird new fixation you have, I don’t want to know about it.�

He sighed heavily, then breathed, “Even if I told you, I’d have to kill you.�

~*~

“That’s what he said,� Miriam confirmed later on back in the common room.

“What could he possibly want in there?� Sophie wondered.

“I wish I knew!�

“Eww...,� was the only thing Marcella could squeak out. “Remind me to never use that bathroom again....�

As Miriam lay back on her bed that night, her thoughts kept shifting to her perverted brother and his obsession with the girls' bathroom. Slowly, she began drifting to sleep....

"Wake up!" a voice called out.

"Wha --? Tom? Is that you? How'd you get in here?" she asked groggily, trying to sit up in her bed and open her eyes. Once she finally managed to open them fully, she saw Tom staring back at her with a smile on his face. But upon looking around, they weren't in the Gryffindor common room; in fact, as she scanned around the strange settings, she realized she had been lying down in a grassy meadow. Slowly she got to her feet as a light breeze ruffled her hair....

"They're waiting for us!" he motioned, waving her on. Tentatively she began to follow him, but then she stopped abruptly and screamed.

"What on earth am I wearing?" she exclaimed, looking down at her horridly frilly pink dress.

"Hey! Wait up!" she called after him, tripping up on her dress. Stumbling, she managed to follow him through the thicket, her hair catching on the tree branches and causing her to slow down. But they eventually arrived at a cliff.

Tom faced Miriam, grinned, and then jumped off the cliff before she could even react. Miriam tried to stop him, but he was already out of reach. Nervously walking toward the edge, she peered down and almost tripped when she three people swimming along in a crystal pool of water.

"C'mon in!" a man's cheerful voiced sung out, beckoning her in. She squinted hard at the man: His dark hair and shining eyes made him seem vaguely familiar to her. But she looked away when a woman's voice called out to her. Miriam gazed at the woman: She was very pretty and had long hair like the man’s, but hers was slightly gray in spots. She had the most brilliant green eyes.... She looks so much like me, Miriam thought.
Enthralled by the remarkable appearance of the woman, the man called out to her again, making her pull her gaze from the woman.

"The water's fine!"

"Don't chicken out!" Tom yelled. "Don't want us to think you're scared, do you?"

She looked down at the man, realizing now that he looked a lot like the woman who was traveling through the water over toward Tom. Miriam suddenly remembered the image of her mother staring back at her in that strange mirror at school. How could she not have realized that this woman was her mother? Even though she looked different, perhaps a bit older, from the last time she saw her....

Miriam smiled down at the carefree people in the water who were waving her on to join them. Her heart was suddenly overwhelmed with glee as she looked onto the face of her beloved mother. Miriam desperately yearned to dive in after them, but something stopped her... her feet wouldn't budge from the ground. Straining, she tried to move them with all her might, but they felt as if they had been glued down. Something unforeseen was preventing her from diving in after them. The man's once smiling face twisted into a bit of a scowl; his once shining eyes took on an eerie gleam.

"Now! Come on!" he yelled, his voice gradually changing, becoming more poisonous with each word he spoke. "Jump!" Fear weighed heavily in her abdomen as she swallowed deeply and watched his face deform and disfigure with madness. Rooted to her spot, she felt defenseless as the image of the man slowly morphed into a massive serpent, hissing balefully at her. Coiling itself around her feet, it tried to force her off the cliff... and into the fiery pit below. Her mother was nowhere to be seen....

“Leave me alone!� she shouted, trying to hit the snake on the head with her bare hands. “Leave me –“

�And leave you to hinder our special planssssss ...?� it hissed.

“Our?�

“You and your brother have the blood of a noble family coursssssing through your veinssssss....�

Before she could interrogate it even further, her vision began to grow blurry... it became foggy and black.... The snake’s grip on her had tightened, squeezing the very life out of her. Her breath caught in her throat, and she began to gasp.... Just when she thought she would die from suffocation, a song, the most beautiful song she had ever heard in her life filled her ears, instilling strength in her heart. Though very weak, she looked up at a majestic red bird soaring through the air. The grasp around her loosened, and her lungs began to fill with air again.

The darkness around her vanished and was replaced by the bright morning sunlight.

---

May 26th, 1942
I’ve just received the most wonderful news! Dumbledore had asked me to stay after class today as he had something very important to tell me....
---

“He didn’t!� Sophie exclaimed.

Miriam nodded her head. “Yes! He said special arrangements could be made so Tom and I don’t have to go back to Madam Westyn’s! We can remain here for the summer!�

“That’s marvelous!� Marcella cheered. “I’m sure Tom would love to hear it!�

~*~

“You’re kidding!� Tom asked, his eyes round as he sat in the library pouring over his partially unfinished homework.

“It’s true!� Miriam exclaimed sitting down next to him. “Dumbledore said that in our case, arrangements could be made, but only if we wanted to stay here.�

“Yes! Did you tell him yes?�

“I think my facial expression told him all he needed to know,� she beamed.

---

May 29th, 1942
Poor Sophie. She received some rather bad news today in Potions class....
---

As if a ray of light had radiated down upon the two Riddle kids, Miriam felt the happiest she had ever been in ages... at least since she first found that she was a witch and would be leaving the orphanage. Of course, things weren't going as swimmingly for her friend Sophie. A few days after Miriam and Tom found about their good fortune, Sophie received some very disappointing news.

“I can’t believe I got a ‘P’ on my Potions essay!� she fumed, grinding her teeth. “That’s only two steps up from ‘T’!�

“‘T’?� Miriam asked.

“Troll,� Sophie muttered darkly. “At least you and Marcella managed an ‘A’ on it.�

For most of the day, Sophie was in a very foul temper. Throwing insults and dark comments at passersby seemed to be the only thing that remotely amused her. That night at dinner was no exception. Miriam silently prayed that something would come along and get her friend out of her moodiness. Little did Miriam know, she’d soon be regretting that very wish....

Her wish came in the form of Tom walking into the Great Hall with his arm tightly around Libby MacNair’s waist and smiling from ear to ear. Libby was positively glowing, and she wore what Miriam could only guess was a look of superiority on her face. Libby held back her hair as she leaned over and kissed Tom on the lips.

At this sight of this extreme public display of affection, Sophie turned her head away in disgust. "Will they please take it back to their common room?"

"I think I just lost my appetite..." Marcella imparted, looking rather sickened as well. “I didn’t know they were still dating.�

Miriam scrunched up her face. "What does he see in her anyway?"

"Oh, I don't know," Sophie began slowly, trying hard to not glare as Tom and Libby passed by the Gryffindor table. "Think about it, will you? She's attractive, pure-blood, wealthy, and well, if what I’ve heard about her in the girls' bathroom is any kind of indication, then I guess you've got your answer...."

"You don’t mean he's..." Miriam asked with much difficulty, not entirely sure she wanted to hear the answer.

Sophie nodded her head. "With her, I would assume so...."

"Ugh!" Miriam exclaimed, thrusting away her dinner plate in complete nausea. "I guess it would certainly explain why he was caught going into the girls' bathroom those few times," she muttered darkly.

As odd as it may have been for them, it was exactly the sort of thing that got Sophie out of her funk, though instead of being happy, she was merely sickened to her stomach for the rest of the evening.

---

Music lyrics used above are from the song "Going Under" by Evanescence

June 6th, 1942
End-of-term exams are upon us again. But luckily for us, we don't have the dreaded OWLs to take... at least we won't have to for another year. I can tell Minerva is exceptionally pleased to have them finally here so she can give her mind a break.
---

"I can honestly say that I am REALLY not looking forward to our OWLs next year," Sophie commented once they had finished their exams.

"Really," Marcella said, "just one year I'd like exams to be cancelled."

"We can only hope." Sophie sighed heavily.

It had been a thoroughly exhausting exam, and the girls were mightily tired. Their brains hurt, and their hands were cramped from writing. From where they sat in the classroom, Miriam had an excellent view of Tom, who was getting up from his seat. Luckily for him, since he had finished his exam well before anyone else had, Professor Dumbledore had excused him from the classroom.

~*~

"Lovely!" Miriam exclaimed, startling her friends a bit as they headed down toward the Gryffindor tower. "I left my quill and inkpot in the classroom! Go on ahead, and I'll meet up with you back in the common room," she said, running back in the direction from which she had just come. Once she turned down a few corners, a voiced called out to her.

"Hello, Miriam!" Looking up, she came upon Nearly Headless Nick floating by in the air.

"Hi, Nick," she replied. "I don't mean to rush off quickly, but I left my quill and inkpot behind, and I have to go get them."

"See you around, then," Nick called then as Miriam went dashing past him.

Turning down one passageway, she spotted a group of Fifth years just leaving their OWL exams. Minerva had her head face down in a parchment, reading something feverishly, so she didn't see Miriam dart by. Aside from them, it looked like the entire school was within fifteen feet of her. The crowds of students made it difficult to squeeze through some of the corridors.

Making her way back to the classroom, she scooped up her inkpot and quill, which were still lying on the table. Regardless of the fact that she was deeply exhausted, Miriam managed to run back through the passageways, up a few stairs, and down many other passageways making her way back toward Gryffindor Tower. As she turned down one corner not far from the entrance, she could distinctly hear something moving behind her almost as if it were following her... but it didn't sound like footsteps, not in the slightest. It almost sounded like something slithering along. But it was completely invisible to the eye.

Stopping, she listened hard, trying to figure out where the sound was coming from and what it was. It was coming from right behind her... now beside her.... There was a voice....

"... soo hungry... for so long..."
"... kill... time to kill..."

Her breathing ceased, and her heart began to pound loudly in her chest. She had heard anything quite like that before. Wondering what on earth could have said a thing like that, she looked down the hallway from which she had just come, but there was nothing and nobody there. Mildly freaked out, she reluctantly continued on her way to the common room.

~*~

"I'm serious. I heard something moving behind me!" Miriam told her friends back in the common room.

"You probably just heard Peeves," Marcella commented. "You know how he likes to scare the students."

"No, it wasn't Peeves. I would know. He would have shown himself. This was something inside the walls. It was moving around... or more like gliding around. It even spoke...."

"It did?" Sophie asked, her eyes wide in concern.

"Yes, it said...," Miriam racked her brain and tried to remember those exact horrible words, "...soo hungry... for so long... kill... time to kill..." After she said those words, Marcella and Sophie drew in their breath. It was a draw on who looked paler.

"What?" Miriam asked, looking between her friends after a moment of silence passed by.

"It's... it's just really odd, don't you think?" Sophie replied.

---

June 8th, 1942
Today is the end-of-term feast, and let me say what an odd day it has been. While everyone has been packing, preparing to leave Hogwarts for their summer vacations, Tom and I have been nothing short of ecstatic.
---

"It's going to feel strange being here the entire summer," Miriam sighed, sprawling out on her bed, and watching as her friends packed their suitcases.

"Are you sure you wouldn't want to stay at Madam Westyn's for the summer?" Sophie asked, winking.

"NO!" Miriam exclaimed, throwing a pillow at her friend. Sophie took the pillow, smiled deviously, and then tossed it at Marcella.

"Hey!" she exclaimed in mild indignation. "You just messed up my neatly folded clothes!"

"Too bad!"

Marcella grabbed the pillow and flung it back at Sophie, causing a pillow fight to erupt between them.

~*~

After beating each other senseless with their pillows, Miriam called a truce. "If we don't get down to the Great Hall soon, we'll miss the feast!" Tossing their pillows aside, they descended toward the common room and exited through the portrait. While they walked toward the Great Hall, Miriam saw Tom exciting the library with a book tucked inside his robe. Her friends obviously hadn't noticed the poorly disguised book, as they were busy talking about their upcoming summer plans and vacations.

"Oh, hello," Tom said coldly as they came upon him.

"Hello Tom," they chorused.

"What are you doing out here?" he asked suspiciously. "The feast is about to begin."

"What are you doing here?" Miriam questioned.

"None of your business," he snarled. His eyes traveled upward where, sitting on Miriam's head, were two large white feathers.

"New look?" he asked, raising his eyebrows slightly. "I must say, it doesn't fit you at all, in my opinion."

Miriam felt her hair and laughed. "They're just feathers! Besides, nobody asked for your opinion."

Laughing, the girls walked off, leaving Tom to shake his head in incredulity.

---

June 10th, 1942
Dumbledore has just been to see me in the now deserted Gryffindor common room. It feels rather strange being here all alone, but it's SO much BETTER than being stuck in Mme. Westyn's for the summer.
---

"Though the other teachers have left the school for the summer months, I elected to stay behind to keep an eye on things here. Consequently, there are some ordinances to go over. When it's time for your meals, you can either go down to the Great Hall, or stay here in the common room." Dumbledore pulled out his wand and conjured a golden plate from thin air and set it down in front of Miriam on the table. "Just tap this plate with your wand and the house elves will send your food up here instead of to the Great Hall. The castle is at your disposal, as is the library. But I must warn you that if you destroy any of Madam Zuzellam's books, we'll all have to endure her rather nasty consequences." There was a slight twinkle in his eyes and a smile on his lips.

"If you need anything, you know where to find me. I'll be off now to have this little chat with your brother." Dumbledore meandered out of the common room, leaving Miriam elated over her new found emancipation from Madam Westyn's. And this feeling of freedom never got old. Every day was a blessing to be where she was. She slept in every morning, had a good healthy breakfast (she worried that she might become too plump if she kept up her eating habits), and when she was bored, could be found in the library surrounded by a stack of books. Tom was also enjoying this new-found emancipation and was making good use of the library as well.

One day, as Miriam was preparing to leave the library with a bit of "light reading," she spotted Tom trying to break into the Restricted Section.

"What the bloody hell do you think you're doing?" she admonished, almost dropping her stack of books.

Tom had finally managed to open the gates as Miriam came over to investigate. "He never said we couldn't go in there."

"Tom, if we can't go in there during school months, what makes you think we can now?"

"I'm bored. I've already read mostly everything here, and I wanted something different... something new."

"But the Restricted Section has loads of books on the Dark Arts. Why would you want to look at those?"

Tom looked up at her, sighed, then turned around and proceeded into the Restricted Section. Miriam didn't even wait for him to come back out. Dumbledore had been nice enough to arrange for them to stay the summer at Hogwarts, and she didn't want to repay his kindness by entering something that she knew was off limits.

---

July 31st, 1942
This has certainly been a relaxing month... relaxing, but slightly boring. It's only been Tom, Dumbledore, and I, and Tom has been keeping to himself lately....
---

"Seeing as how you're here, it seemed I wouldn't need to send them via owl post to you," Dumbledore jested, smiling fondly toward them. Miriam gave a soft chuckle, but Tom merely rolled his eyes and shook his head in disbelief. Dumbledore handed them their letters and walked off, leaving the kids to talk freely.

"Duh," muttered Tom as he slid his finger under the envelope and pulled out his letter.

"Don't be so bratty, Tom," Miriam reprimanded while opening her own letter. "We should be grateful we're spending our summer here at Hogwarts and not at that orphanage. Right, Tom?" She looked over at her brother whose eyes were large and round. He pulled something small, green, and shiny out of the envelope.

"Bloody hell!" he cried in shock. "I've been made Prefect!"

Miriam quickly tore open her envelope the rest of the way, pulled out her letter, and saw she too had been made school Prefect. Looking at the small red and gold badge, she smiled.

Prefect, she thought, loving the way it sounded: Miriam Riddle, Gryffindor Prefect.

"We're gonna be authority figures!" Tom exclaimed, examining his silver and green badge with a wary eye. Something about the way he suddenly grinned, an almost fiendish grin, sent an alarm up in the back of her mind.

When Tom left a little while later, leaving Miriam by herself, a beautiful black school owl flew into the Great Hall, carrying a note in its beak. Taking the letter from it, she opened it up and received quite a shock! It was a reply to the letter she had sent to her possible relatives in America.

'Dear Miriam,
We were much surprised to receive your letter. Yes, we do know of your mother, but we never knew she had children of her own. What a lovely surprise for us to have another female relative! Please keep in touch! We look forward to hearing from you! And yes, we're witches, too.

With regards,
Adora and Charlotte'

---

August 5th, 1942
The time we've spent here over the summer has really opened my eyes. For one thing, I finally know that the teachers have lives outside the school. Case in point would be how Dumbledore has been like the father we've never had, instead of acting like a Professor.

Today, we received quite a surprise! An old friend has come to visit us....
---

"Children, please say hello to Mr. Nott," Dumbledore announced, as a man in black robes and slightly graying hair walked forward into the Great Hall from behind Dumbledore. His instantly recognizable face brought a grin to both Tom and Miriam.

"Hi, Sam!" they exclaimed.

"You three already know each other?" Dumbledore asked, a slightly surprised look on his face. Samuel Nott nodded his head. "Sure do! I was the one the Ministry sent when they received their very first letters," he chuckled. "Has it been four years already?" Tom and Miriam simply nodded. Sam let out a low whistle. "Wow, time sure does fly!"

He led them on a long walk through Hogwarts' massive grounds, eventually reaching a large iron gate, where waiting for them there was a huge purple triple-decker bus.
Once they had seated themselves, the bus slowly began to move, and Hogwarts eventually began getting smaller and smaller off in the distance. It was then that Sam's cheerful demeanor changed as he looked at them with a concerned expression on his face, his forehead winkling slightly. "You know, I went to the orphanage last year to take you two to Diagon Alley, but your headmistress there said you had already left."

Miriam looked up at Sam, who was sitting next to her and began, "We -"

"- ran away," Tom finished, rather dully.

"Just like you ran away from Hogwarts," Miriam mumbled. Tom narrowed his green eyes at her.

"What do you mean? You've run away twice? But why?" Sam asked, surprised.

Miriam opened her mouth to speak, but Tom cut her off again. "The first time we had to get away from that damn orphanage and -"

"- in fact, it was his idea to do it -"

"- but my sister went along with it -"

"- and luckily we got to stay with a really nice lady," Miriam emphasized through gritted teeth, glowering at her brother in a way that meant if he cut her off again, she'd seriously have to hurt him.

"You two should be more cautious -" Sam began.

"- 'cause the world isn't a safe place for two kids'," Tom finished, rolling his eyes. "Nothing could be worse than staying in that horrid place."

Sam took a deep breath. "It couldn't be that bad there, could it?"

Tom looked at Sam, incredulity drawn all over his young face. "Trust me. I think Madam Westyn took great delight in making our lives a living hell."

"But why would you run away from Hogwarts?"

"We are talking about my brother here...."

"I really wouldn't call the second time running away... necessarily," he replied, turning a fierce stare on at Miriam. Sam looked at Tom and nodded his head, an unreadable expression on his face.

"Was... was it what you'd thought?" Sam stuttered. Miriam didn't know what he was talking about, but Tom evidently did.

"Yeah," he exclaimed, his face breaking into a grin for the first time in weeks.

~*~

For most of the trip, they rode in silence. At one time Sam had gotten up from Miriam's side and sat next to Tom, occasionally asking him some type of weird question that Tom apparently knew the answer to. Miriam stared out the window and sighed, watching as the scenery flew by them, while Tom continued scowling around the bus and toward the people occasionally coursing by them.

"We'll be arriving in Diagon Alley shortly," Sam announced, breaking the uncomfortable silence that had besieged them. He reached into his pocked and pulled out a piece of paper, causing his robe sleeve up to be pushed up, exposing his scrawny arm.... There was something rather peculiar on it....

"Dumbledore gave me your supplies list," he declared as he unrolled the paper. It was then that she could see the front part of his arm more clearly... a strange mark was carved in it. Something about the mark seemed vaguely familiar to her, but she couldn't put her finger on it....

"What's that?" she asked naively.

Sam followed her glare to his arm and the strange mark... he hastily pulled his sleeve down when he realized what she was looking at.

"Nothing, nothing!" he stammered. "Just a... a... burn I got... nothing important."

Chance was on his side as at that precise moment the conductor announced that they had arrived in Diagon Alley, and Miriam couldn't ask any more questions regarding the mark... the mark she knew deep inside that couldn't have just been a simple burn. It was then Miriam started getting a weird vibe from being near him. Thinking back to four years ago when they first had met, she realized that he seemes odder than he was the last time.

~*~

They walked through Diagon Alley, looking at the different stores and planning what they should buy first.

"Miriam, would you be a dear and go to Gringotts to get some money out for your supplies?"

"Aren't you guys coming along?" Miriam asked, the weird vibe coming on even stronger now.

"I have something rather important to show Tom," Sam replied.

"Why can't I come along?"

"You... you would find it rather boring," Sam lied, trying to conceal the nervousness in his voice.

"Just go, would you?" Tom frowned angrily.

"Fine! Fine, I'm going, I'm going!" she yelled, rather annoyed with the two of them.

"You'll need this," Sam motioned, handing her a small gold key. Miriam grabbed it huffily and stormed off toward Gringotts, cursing them with some rather choice words under her breath.

"May I help you?" a goblin asked as she reached a vacant counter.

"Yeah, I need to make a withdraw from the Riddle vault. I have the key," she said, thrusting the key into the goblin's hand. The goblin motioned for her to follow him and together they ventured down into the caves. Everything was the same as it had been four years earlier: the cool breeze whipped by her face as the cart rode along the winding paths (thankfully she didn't feel mauseated this time), and finally stopped at vault #150.

Miriam jumped out of the trolley as the goblin opened the vault door. Unchanged by time, there still stood a mountainous pile of gold coins. As she walked forward to pocket some of the coins, something in the niche of the room caught her attention. Disregarding it, she continued to purse her money, yet almost as if it didn't want to be ignored, something radiated more brightly in the dim vault. Looking at it from the corner of her eye, it appeared to be an old and slightly tattered book. Sighing, she set her coins on the side and walked over to analyze it. Its cover was dusty and torn, and when she picked it up, it felt quite heavy. On the face of the book was the inscription: Magie blanche, magie noire.

Her curiosity peaked, she opened the book and written on the very first page in a pretty scripture was: "Pour mon petit, avec amour, maman. Je t'aime. For my little one, with love, Mum. I love you." Right below it, her mother's name was written, Property of: Marguerite Morreaux, 1927.

Time felt like it had come to a halt all around her. She reread that page over and over again taking in the words more slowly each time, scarcely believing that the last person to hold this book was her deceased mother. Excited, she flipped through the pages encountering numerous spells and enchantments of every kind, completely forgetting where she was and what she was supposed to be doing. One of the pages she stopped at was a gray page with a verse written atop in violet ink.


"Recite to me who you wish to see,
even far across the land and sea,
this 'eye' knows no boundaries,
to see whom you please."


An idea suddenly exploded into her head. "Show me Tom Riddle." The gray page illuminated, reversing into a stark white page as a blurred image began to take shape. The figure soon constituted into a familiar black-haired figure and Tom's face came into view, along with his surroundings. Wherever he was at that precise moment, it was a strange place to her. Tom turned around, but the book continued to follow him. Menacing and eccentric structures encircled him. As he walked by one building particular, Miriam caught notice of a sign in the window: "Poisonous and deadly candles for sale, half price."

Gasping, she continued watching in mild shock as Tom walked by another building where a severed hand sat in its store window. Miriam just about lost her breakfast at that point. She slammed the book shut and the goblin that was waiting outside the vault, poked its head in and politely asked if she was ready to go. Tucking the book under her arm, she grabbed her purse of gold coins and followed the goblin. Back into the trolley she went and made her way back out into the sunny day.

Upon checking her gold coins, realization set in: Sam had the lists of their new school supplies.

"Damn it," she muttered, standing on the busy sidewalk. She walked aimlessly around Diagon Alley, lugging around a purse full of gold coins and a heavy book, eventually coming upon Flourish & Blotts. Knowing that she needed new books for her Fifth year, it drove her crazy that she didn't know what they were.

She stepped into the shop when a girl's voice called out from above. "Hey!" Miriam looked around and saw Marcella walking down a flight of stairs that lead to the second floor of the shop. Following right behind her was her other friend, Sophie, who was carrying down a stack of books.

"Where's Tom?" Marcella asked, smiling just as she reached the bottom of the stairs, looking around Miriam for her brother. Miriam's gloomy face told her that she had asked the wrong thing.

"He went somewhere with our chaperone," she answered unhappily. "Unfortunately he's got my school list with him as well."

"Not to worry," Sophie piped up. "All the lists are basically the same. You can just use one of ours." Balancing the books to her right side, she shuffled around her left pocket and pulled out the crumpled list.

"Thanks," Miriam smiled, taking the paper.

"Say, what's that book you've got in your hands?" Marcella asked. Miriam looked at the book she had tucked under her arm. Normally she shared everything with her friends, but this time, she wanted to keep this to herself.

"Uh, nothing really," she replied quietly.

~*~

For most of their time in Diagon Alley, Tom and Sam were nowhere to be found, but Miriam didn't let this ruin her day. Once they had completed their shopping, the girls stopped by Fortescue's for an ice cream sundae.

Upon leaving the ice cream parlor, and making their way into the busy streets, Miriam spotted Tom tentatively peaking out from around a corner. He seemed a bit anxious as he hurried along into the crowd, pulling his cloak closer as if trying to hid something underneath it. Not wanting to speak to him, she hurried up to her friends, but unfortunately he saw her and ran to catch up with her

"What do you want?" she snapped as he managed to finagle his way through a sea of people to walk beside her.

"Well, I thought we were going to get our school supplies. That was the point of coming here, was it not?"

"Word to the wise, Tom," she yelled. "That was over THREE-HOURS-AGO! I got tired of waiting! Where the hell have you been?" He muttered something incomprehensible, but Miriam didn't wait as Tom continued playing catch up with her. Feeling quite annoyed, she thrust to him the bag of unsued gold coins and said, much to his amazement, "Here. You can get your own books." He stared dumbfounded at the coins, then at her.

"What?" she asked, raising an eye brow.

"Are... aren't you needing to buy supplies as well?"

"I already purchased my supplies... all while you were out gallivanting around with Sam!"

"All changes, even the most longed for, have their melancholy; for what we leave behind us is a part of ourselves; we must die to one life before we can enter another." ~ Anatole France

---

August 10th, 1942
I can’t wait for the school year to begin again. Though Marcellla and Sophie write to me almost every day, it’s not the same without them here.
---

Miriam trudged down the stone steps, making her daily journey to the library. As much as she hated to admit it, the library was starting to become her least favorite place to be. She had practically read every book there, minus those in the Restricted Section. The homework she had been assigned at the end of the school year had long been finished. Tom, on the other hand,seemed to live for the forbidden books.

Though it was peaceful being away from the orphanage, it still, in a way, felt lonely. She only had Tom for company, and even then it wasn’t very often. He, for the most part, stayed holed up in the Slytherin common room. She ate alone most of the time because Tom hardly ever made an appearance. And Dumbledore was busy preparing the lists for the following school year.

The days passed by, and soon the new semester would be upon them. The Riddle teens were ecstatic as the prospect of being Prefects was very tantalizing to them.

One afternoon, Miriam was taking a small siesta under the large oak tree in the massive lawns, when she heard the most ear-splitting squawk. Half-scared to
death, she frantically searched for the source of the noise, but she found no explanation for it. Not feeling very tired anymore after that startling experience, she got up and headed back to the castle. On her way, she came upon Tom hurriedly dashing up the steps to the castle; he was carrying something large in front of him. She tried to see what it was, but Tom had it well hidden under his robes.

Unaware that Miriam was behind him, he turned left upon entering the Great Hall, and that’s when she could partially make out what he was carrying underneath his robes... something feathery....

This was only the beginning to the weird things that soon followed. A weird vibration sounded within the school’s stone walls one evening while Dumbledore was out on school property, the perpetrator spewing its awful message.... “...rip...tear... kill...�

She knew it wasn’t any of the ghosts, as they had gone off on a summer break a few weeks back. The only exception to this was Peeves, who spent most of his day bouncing around the trophy room, which Miriam learned quickly to stay away from.

Dumbledore, on the other hand, was becoming increasingly worried as the days passed by and more roosters started turning up dead. He had set up an anti-fox charm around the roosters’ cage, but Miriam had a sneaking suspicion that it wasn’t foxes that were killing the roosters.

Miriam was glad when September first came around, secretly hoping that the start of the school year would put an end to the weirdness that had engulfed the past week.

---

September 2nd, 1942
It’s so great having my friends back. We spent the better half of our bedtime catching up on our summers. They were quite surprised to learn that I had been made school Prefect. They had certainly been curious as to why Ben Zhang (the other Gryffindor Prefect) and I were commandeering the new First years after the start-of-term feast.

As of now, it’s roughly 1 am, and I just heard Sophie roll to her side and begin to snore softly....
---

After proudly pinning her new Prefect badge to her robes, the three friends headed down to the Great Hall for breakfast that morning.

“It’s so good to have the school year started!� Miriam exclaimed. Her friends nodded in agreement.

“That trip to Amsterdam was rather boring,� Sophie said as they walked down a flight of stairs. “There was just basically old windmills and stuff to look at, though the history was kind of interesting. Apparently old witches there -�

“Hey! What’s that over there?� Marcella asked, cutting her friend off in mid-sentence.

“Where?�

“Over there!�

Marcella was pointing toward a crowd of students standing around, looking worried, and pointing up at the wall by the girls restroom. Miriam and her friends joined the hustle and looked onto the wall where a message had been written....

Sophie looked at her friends and whispered, “That looks to be -�

“- blood!� Marcella finished, gaping disgustedly at the sight.

“The Chamber of Secrets has been opened,� Miriam mumbled quietly, reading the atrocious message. Right below the writing was a kind of squiggly line. Obviously, it was someone’s bad attempt at drawing, though she instantly knew what it was.... A snake, she thought.

Almost as though she had already known the answer, something clicked in her head.... Snake... heir... ‘ “Make way for the Heir of Slytherin...� '

“What do you think that means?� people whispered throughout the crowd, but
Miriam was the only one who knew what it meant. It meant that, after Tom had first heard about the Chamber in his First year, her brother had finally figured out how to open it.

She had secretly hoped the legend was just that, a legend, and that there were no monsters dwelling within the Chamber, but with it open now.... Miriam drew in her breath and her eyes widened slightly. By that time more students had arrived into view, and before she knew it, more than half of the entire school was crowded into the narrow hallway looking at the message.

Second year Myrtle Vranda looked mightily frightened and began shaking, appearing to be on the brink of suffering a convulsion. “It’s awful!� she wailed. Next to her, Cornelius Fudge began whimpering and biting his nails feverishly. Professor Dumbledore immediately came onto the scene and looked at wall. His face was solemn and grim.

“Will all Prefects lead their houses down to the Great Hall?� he ordered.

Following his order, Miriam found Ben Zhang, and together they rounded up the
other Gryffindors. Sophie and Marcella followed behind as Miriam and Ben lead
their house mates toward the Great Hall. Tom and Libby (ironically, the other
Slytherin Prefect) were doing the same with their own house.

Unfortunately, nobody felt much like eating that day. Everyone was too concerned
with the message that had been written on the wall. Throughout their strange breakfast, Miriam couldn’t help but watch the Slytherin table... and Tom in particular. He didn’t seem worried at all; instead, he appeared a bit cocky.

---

September 4th, 1942
I’m glad the school year has begun and all, but geez, the teachers are really weighing us down with the homework. And all because this is the year we take our OWLs.
---

Reluctantly, Miriam had to go to the library that afternoon to find some books for her new homework assignments. As she meandered down one aisle looking for a particular book on Herbology, she overheard Tom hurriedly talking to his friends nearby. Listening in, Miriam couldn’t help but wonder why Tom found it obligatory to talk in the library when he surely must have known that someone could easily eavesdrop in.

“I found it!� he whispered excitedly to his friends. Miriam strained her ears to try and pick up the rest of their conversation.

“Really? Where’s it -� she heard Carrey exclaim.

“Shh!� came Murdoch’s voice. “D’you want the whole school to hear?�

The group lowered their voices even more so Miriam could only hear a word or two here and there.

“- entrance... located....�

“Really?�

“Right under the....�

There was silence. Footsteps from the other side were getting closer.... “Run!� she heard Tom quietly exclaim to his friends. She barely caught a glimpse of them as they made a mad sprint past the aisle she was in.

---

October 2nd, 1942
Interestingly enough, I haven’t heard that weird sound within the walls lately. It seems to have just... stopped. Not that I’m complaining, mind you. The message,
unfortunately, is still on the wall by the girls’ bathroom. Maugi has literally tried
everything to clean it and is now at his wits end. Nobody dares cross him as he has been in a rather foul mood lately....
---

“Have you heard?� Marcella asked as the girls headed down to their History of
Magic class.

“Heard what?� Miriam enquired.

“A ton of roosters have been found killed!�

“What a shame,� Sophie commented. “Somebody obviously doesn’t want them
alive... but why? It’s pretty senseless...�

“Who could be that cruel and do such a horrible thing?� Marcella wondered aloud as Sophie shrugged her shoulders. They were completely stumped, but Miriam had a sneaking suspicion that the murders of the roosters had something to do with the opening of the Chamber.

~*~

“Good morning, class,� droned Professor Binns as the girls entered the classroom.

“Today we will begin learning about the Warlock convention of 986. Also,� he
continued, but was distracted upon seeing a hand raised in the air. “Yes, Miss
Thomas?� he asked, mildly surprised.

“I... I was wondering... perhaps if you could tell us about the... uh... Chamber of Secrets.� Miriam, Sophie, and everyone in class looked at Marcella in shock and amazement.

“Miss Thomas, the Chamber of Secrets is nothing more than a myth, something to scare school-aged witches and wizards.�

“But sir, there must have been some truth to it as it’s just been opened.�

“Whoever says that they opened it is probably just trying to scare everyone. Now if you please, we will resume our lessons on the Warlock convention of 986.�

As Professor Binns turned around, he came upon the anxious and eager faces of
the students. None of them were interested in the Warlock convention; they wanted to hear more about the supposed Chamber of Secrets, and Binns knew this. Sighing, he had no choice but to began the tale from the very beginning....

“As you all may not know, Hogwarts was founded more than nine-hundred
years ago by the four greatest witches and wizards of their era: Helga Hufflepuff,
Rowena Ravenclaw, Godric Gryffindor, and Salazar Slytherin. They lived peacefully together for many years, teaching all types of students about magic. They were all good friends, particularly Gryffindor and Slytherin, but Slytherin expressed his ideals that he wished to be more selective in who they allowed in to teach. This, unfortunately, led to a falling out between Gryffindor and Slytherin. Much bickering abounded throughout the early years at Hogwarts, and Slytherin finally left. There have been many... speculations,� Binns said, emphasizing the word, “that Slytherin built a secret chamber before he left.�

Excited murmurs traveled throughout the classroom.

“But rest assured that the school has been thoroughly searched and no such thing has ever been found.�

“Did legend ever say what was so special about the Chamber?� Miriam asked,
raising her own hand now.

“Legend tells of a monster that inhabits the Chamber; it is said that if this horrible
and monstrous creature were ever released, it would purge the school of all those that Slytherin felt unfit to study magic. In other words, the Muggle-borns.�

Professor Binns looked around the classroom at the distressed faces.

“I must state once more that no such place has ever been found within the school. It’s all just a load of hogwash. Now let’s get back to something that actually has some factual basing.�

Everybody in the class groaned.

---

October 15th, 1942
Today I decided to bring out my mother’s book again and take a look at it. I sat on
my bed leafing through the pages, imagining that my mum was the last person to
look upon it.
---

As she sat crossed legged on her bed, Miriam came upon the gray page that
allowed her to view anyone she wished.

“Show me Tom Riddle,� she mumbled. The gray page turned white and showed a
blurry figure with black hair. The image came in clearer, and she saw Tom sitting
with his back against a wall, his brow furrowed.

“Okay, this meeting of the Junior Knights will now commence,� Tom announced with a strong aura of authority. “We’re here to discuss Grindelwald’s ideals and...
whatnot,� Tom announced, rolling his eyes and waving his hand carelessly
around.

Miriam slammed the book shut. So, she thought bitterly. He’s become one of them now....

Lying back on the bed, she sighed as she mulled over what she just seen. After an hour had passed, Miriam decided to open her book again and see if Tom was still in his “idiotic club for jerks,� as she called it. As usual, the gray page began to turn white, and Tom once again came into focus. He was sitting on his bed with his diary out, writing furiously. His back was facing her, so she couldn’t see what he was writing. Her luck changed when Tom leaned over onto his side, grabbing something off his night stand. Miriam strained her eyes, trying to read what he had written on the page.

TOM
MARVOLO
RIDDLE

I AM
LORD
VOLDEMORT

---

October 31st, 1942
Something bad, really REALLY bad has just happened here at school. Sophie,
Marcella, and I were heading down to the Great Hall today for the traditional
Halloween feast when we happened upon a most disturbing sight....
---

“What is that?� Miriam asked, looking at the sight of a bedraggled owl lying in a heap on the floor.

As they stood there staring at the scene, they were unaware of somebody now
standing behind them. The person cleared his throat loudly, startling the girls as they turned around to see who was behind them... Professor Panes.

“What are you three doing here and not in the Great Hall?� he asked, eyeing them rather suspiciously.

“We’re on our way there now!� Sophie said defiantly.

“Watch your attit -� he began, his eyes leaving the girls and falling upon the scene behind them. “What on earth have you three done?� he exclaimed.

“We didn’t do that!� Sophie yelled, but Professor Panes didn’t listen to them. He
rushed up to examine the owl. “She’s been -� he began, but was abruptly cut off by Professor Dumbledore.

“What’s going on here?�

“These three were discovered here at the scene of the crime, which they so vehemently deny!�

Dumbledore strode over to examine the owl. After a few anxious minutes had passed, he finally spoke up.

“She’s not dead, but she has been petrified.� Dumbledore looked more closely at
the owl and continued, “No fifth year could do magic like this, Professor.� He turned to face the girls and said, “Please continue on to the Great Hall. Everything here is under control.�

The girls continued their walk toward the Great Hall but didn’t say anything to one
another. Each girl was replaying the horrible scene in her mind, wondering what could have done such a thing. As they turned down one hallway, Miriam heard
the distinctive sounds of something moving in the wall behind them....

“...I smell blood.... I SMELL BLOOD!�

---

November 3rd, 1942
I swear, I think that Hagrid is up to his old tricks again.... He’s keeping a forbidden pet in the Gryffindor common room again....
---

As Miriam reached for a book on the shelf of the large bookcase in the common
room that evening, Hagrid, in all his bumbling glory, forcefully knocked the book out of her hands, causing it to tumble noisily to the ground. Miriam let out an earpiercing shriek as a spider crept out from the books hollow pages.

“Aragog!� Hagrid yelled, plunging after the spider and causing Miriam to fall painfully on her derriere. Hagrid scooped up the frightening creature as Miriam slowly staggered uncomfortably back onto her feet.

“What the bloody hell was that?� she exclaimed, rubbing her behind.

“Nothin’! Nothin’!� Hagrid muttered, hastening past her.

“Don’t tell me that was nothing!� Miriam reprimanded. “That had to be the
biggest spider I’ve ever seen! Hagrid? Hagrid, get back here this instant!�

Miriam started running after him, but her normal sized legs were no match for his
long legs. He darted up toward the boys’ dormitories and locked the door behind
him, leaving Miriam to pound vigorously on the door.

“As Gryffindor Prefect I order you to open this... door... this... INSTANT!�
Miriam shouted and continued to pound on the door for ten whole minutes, but
Hagrid wouldn’t open it. Frustrated, she stomped back down the stairs and yelled up after him, “You’re going to pay for that!�

---

November 17th, 1942
I haven’t seen Hagrid’s pet spider recently, thank heavens. Oh, he tries to deny
everything about it, but inside, he knows that I know the truth.

Tom, meanwhile, has been rather standoffish lately, and he’s made some rather
bratty comments about the students when he didn’t think anyone could hear him. I don’t know what bug got up his butt recently, but I wish it would dislodge itself
soon... for the sake of my SANITY!
---

No more attacks had taken place since the owl was assaulted, but Miriam still didn’t feel safe when alone in the corridors. Dumbledore, she could tell, was a bit worried, but he tried to hide it from the students. Still preoccupied by that awful event, she absentmindedly walked to her Arithmancy class that afternoon, unaware that she had accidentally run into someone.

“Oh! Tom! I’m sorry!� she exclaimed. Their books had fallen to the ground, causing quite a commotion in the hallway.

“Watch where you're going,� he muttered, picking up and sorting out his books from hers.

“Excuse me?� Miriam demanded, slightly astounded. “It was an accident! I said I
was sorry!� Tom kept his head down, his face turned away from her.

“What’s wrong with you?� she asked.

“Why do you wish to question my sanity� he barked.

“You’re not normally this... snippy with people!�

“People change, Miriam,� he frowned, getting up and balancing his books, glaring at her with his green eyes.

It was then that Miriam couldn’t help but get the strange feeling and idea that Tom
could read her mind.

“And no,� he suddenly declared, x-raying her with his intense eyes, “I haven’t been sleeping with her.�

---

December 4th, 1942
Being a Prefect is so amazing! Though it does have its disadvantages at times, but for the most part, it’s simply magnificent! Why if I want, I can just ask the Head Girl, whom I sort of know, to deduct points from Slytherin whenever I feel the need. Luckily she was around when that stupid prat, Murdoch Black, talked back to me not even more than an hour ago.... He now finds Slytherin minus fifteen extra points.
---

It had been an exhausting, but fulfilling day. The best part of the day had been when the Head Girl got to dock Murdoch points for being a smart aleck toward Miriam. After that little fiasco, leaving Murdoch cursing them rigorously under his breath, Miriam joined up with her friends, ridiculing him as they headed to the Great Hall that evening. Their walk was interrupted when Miriam heard that oh-so-familiar movement from behind them.

Do... do you hear that?� she asked. Her friends shook their heads.

“Hear what?�

Miriam heard it again.

“... rip... tear... kill...�

Was her mind playing tricks on her, or was she really hearing that voice? Her friends were starting to look at her fearfully.

“It... it must have been nothing,� she lied, trying to appease her friends jitters, while inside she knew what she had heard. She decided to drop the subject when they heard a shout coming from a floor above them. Forgetting about heading to the Great Hall, they ran up the steps to encounter Myrtle crying and another girl
laughing at her.

“Give me back my glasses, Olive!� screamed Myrtle, tears still rolling down her face.

“Why should I, four-eyes?� Olive taunted.

“Give her glasses back now!� Miriam ordered. Olive looked up at Miriam and saw her Prefect badge shining in the candle light. Olive tossed Myrtle her glasses and ran, but not before Miriam made a mental note to have Slytherin docked another fifteen points.

“Thank you,� Myrtle sniffed, wiping her eyes and nose on her robe sleeve.

“No problem,� she smiled as Myrtle walked away, starting to sniffle all over again.

“That girl,� mumbled Sophie, “almost always cries over something, doesn’t she?�

Myrtle began to wail more loudly as Miriam responded, “I think she heard you.�

Their stomachs now growling, signifying their emptiness, they proceeded back toward the Great Hall when Marcella mentioned randomly, “Tom is going to go ballistic when he sees his house’s thirty point deficit.�