June 19th, 1945

Dear Sophie and Marcella,

I don’t know where to begin, but let me say this: The ship is huge! I’ve never been on something this large that moves before. It’s very nice having a room of my own and not having to share with those awful blighters back in the orphanage. Though sharing my room with you both back in Hogwarts was lovely. But the fact is, I’ve never had a room of my very own before, so the thought of being free is very sweet. I am free to do whatever I want when I want. And I don't have to face Madam Westyn’s wrath.

However, she is not one I want to think about right now as I’m beginning my new - and relatively happy - life. But I would be even happier if you both could be here with me. The sunrises and sunsets are truly amazing to behold, and I wish you both could see how amazing the view from the deck is. The sun looks as though it is merely sitting upon the water, leaving golden traces in the water below. The night is just as spectacular. The bright heavens above are so close that you think you can just reach up and touch them. I even saw a shooting star right above me. I made a wish, and I sincerely hope it comes true.

I’ve already met most of the people here on board, and they are very pleasant. I’ve even made friends with another girl here - my age - who is going to visit her relatives as well. But don’t worry about being replaced. You both are still my best and dearest friends, and I’m sure if you were to meet her, you’d like her, too.

I promise to write to you again.

With lots of love,
Miriam

---

June 21st, 1945

Dear Sophie and Marcella,

I miss you both so much. I hope you are still safe. Tom, no doubt, is probably still looking for me, so you must be careful. He’ll stop at nothing to get what he wants.

I fear you won’t be able to recognize me if you were to see me now, as I worry I might be putting some weight on. The food here is wonderful. I haven’t tasted anything as good since Hogwarts.

Sorry to end the letter so shortly, but dinner will be arriving briefly.

Hope you’re safe.

With even more love,
Miriam

---

June 26th, 1945

Dear Sophie and Marcella,

I’ve been here in America now for a day and a half, and I absolutely love it. Adora and Charlotte were quite surprised to see me so soon, as I had told them I would be coming sometime later this year. But they welcomed me warmly and offered me a place in their home.

Oh, how I wish you both could see them. They look so much like me. Adora has dark hair like mine (albeit shorter), and Charlotte is more brunette than anything.

I promise to send a picture of the three of us once I get settled.

Sending huge amounts of love to you both,
Miriam

---

Miriam read the letters each and every day, and each day, her friends sent her new letters. She loved that she could still be a part of their lives, even if she couldn’t physically be there with them. Each letter that came made Miriam miss England even more, but she knew that returning there wouldn’t be safe... at least not right away.

~*~

"Miriam, are you coming down?" asked Charlotte from the stairs. Miriam poked her head out from her room; her eyes locked onto those of her brown-haired cousin.

"Yes, I’m just finishing up a letter to my friends."

"Okay. Lunch will be done in five."

Smiling, Miriam went back into her room and sat down at her desk. The afternoon sunlight danced across her letter, making the ink shine. Miriam hurriedly wrote the last part of the letter before carefully folding it and sliding it into an envelope addressed to her friends. Coaxing Adora and Charlotte’s owl down, Miriam attached the note to its leg before sending it off with directions to deliver the note to her friends in England.

~*~

Months eventually passed, and it was through their letters that Miriam learned about Sophie becoming a Healer-in-Training and Marcella getting a job working in the Muggle Relationship department of the Ministry of Magic. Tom, according to one letter Marcella sent, got a job working in Knockturn Alley - or more specifically, Borgin & Burkes - much to Miriam’s surprise. But it was almost a year later when Marcella wrote again saying that he had quit his job in Borgin & Burkes after mysterious circumstances resulted in the death of an elderly lady whom Tom was the last to see alive.

Marcella went on to write in her letter that two days after he quit, the lady’s body was found with two pieces of her extensive wizarding collection missing. Miriam just couldn’t believe how Tom was carelessly throwing away his life, especially when he had so much potential in school to become something great.

To her, it was mind boggling to think why someone with brains like his would be wasting them working in a dingy little shop... not to mention committing murder.

~*~

More years passed, ten years to be precise. Miriam was now living on her own and completely happy in her life. Though Miriam’s friend’s letters continued to come without question, something about them had changed. Their once cheerful letters became steadily bleaker and more depressing. Miriam received a letter on her twenty-eighth birthday that deeply worried her:

Dear Miriam,

I hope this letter finds you well on your birthday. Though I don’t wish to depress you on such a happy occasion, I do want to tell you about the things that are taking place here in London. Very recently, there have been deaths that nobody can explain. It may be completely unexplainable to some, but I personally think it’s all Tom’s doing. Even the Ministry thinks it’s a wizard’s doing. Marcella agrees with me on this. People have been disappearing left and right, only to be found harmed in some gruesome way. Because of it, the streets aren’t safe anymore, and the Ministry is taking action against it.

But don’t worry about us. We can stay safe. Sorry to write such a sad note for your birthday. Hopefully our gift will brighten your day. I truly wish I could be there with you.

Many birthday wishes to you,
Sophie


But it was the letter that followed a scant week later that shook Miriam so badly, she immediately vomited after reading it:

Miriam,

We’ve been captured. Please help. Your brother ---

(The letter featuring Marcella’s familiar handwriting was cut out, only to be finished writing by someone Miriam never thought she’d hear from again.)

Dearest Sister,

A belated birthday wish to a coward. You may have escaped me, but your friends didn’t. If you wish to see them alive again, you will have to come back and face me or suffer the consequences. Meet me at the old orphanage in no more than a week’s time...

Miriam stared at the letter repeatedly, hoping and praying that it was just a trick of her mind. Despite being thousands of miles away from him, Miriam couldn’t shake the feeling that somehow, someway, her brother was watching her at that very moment. She felt violated at the thought of it. Yet she knew if she wanted to save her friends’ lives, she would have to go back and face the demon that tormented her all those years ago.

The streets where she was standing were vacant and eerily quiet. A cold but gentle breeze softly rustled her black hair, sending a deep shiver down her spine. Nothing about where she was would have seemed out of ordinary about this unusual place, except for the fact that the streets were covered in blood....

Faint voices off in the distance, almost incomprehensible, sounded as nothing more than mere whispers in the air traveling toward her ears.

"Help me!"

"Please! Won't you help us?"

"Save us!"

"Don't let us die in vain!"

"You must stop him!"

Everything around her went pitch black and cold. She's never had a nightmare quite as vivid as this. The air became heavy and thick with the disgusting odor of rotting flesh. Slipping slightly on the blood-covered ground, Miriam continued on, and the voices slowly became more audible to her ears.

With every step she took, the voices faded in and out, like from a poorly tuned radio. Their cries for help, almost pleading for anyone to hear their screams, wrenched deeply at her heart.

Taking a tentative step forward, she continued slushing her way through the unknown, her arms out to feel if anything should cross in front of her. Each step she took, another voice called out it saddening cry for help. It tore at her, not knowing why these voices were asking her for her help when she didn't know how to help.

The smell was starting to become nauseating, like something had been decaying for a long time in there. A cold breeze swept by, sending another shiver through her, but it felt like a breath of relief all the same. A green light came shining out from a far off distance - becoming brighter - almost to the point of blinding her. Miriam realized she must be nearing the end of this horrible place... of this horrible dream.

As her eyes adjusted to the light, she finally could see her surroundings clearly. Her voice caught in her throat and her heart stopped as she looked around, viewing what appeared to be dead bodies lying all around her. She stood and stared, almost transfixed, at the bodies. Suddenly, something cold and hard grabbed her roughly by the ankle. Eyes wide with fear, she looked down to see a skeletal hand that was gripping her firmly, refusing to let her go.

The Inferi, she thought, her heartbeat steadily quickening its pace. She had heard about them, but she never thought she would actually see one. But, as Miriam eventually realized, Inferi didn't talk... did they?

A boney arm was attached to the hand, which was soon followed by a shoulder, then a head. It was a female, she could tell, though the corpse had large tufts of hair missing from its skull, and it was dressed in frayed pink silk. It turned around; its gaunt face stared with a pained, almost antagonized expression. The corpse looked up at her, though there were no longer any eyes - just two blank, empty holes.

"Please, avenge us!" it gasped before falling over face down, its hand releasing its tight grip on her ankle.

This was too much for her to handle. Completely scared out of her wits, Miriam hastily turned around and ran, running much faster than she knew she could ever do. The green light was growing again before her. The screams were becoming even louder now....

"Your brother killed us!"

"Murderer!"

The bright flash of green light blinded her.... Miriam opened her eyes with a start. Her heart was pounding loudly and painfully in her chest. It felt like it was about to burst right out and leave her. Taking a deep, calming breath, she reached over and looked at her clock. It was nearing daybreak. She was safely in her own bed and not being attacked by decaying corpses.

~*~

A few hours had passed from that dream, and Miriam began to pack her old trunk to take with her some things of magical importance.

"Wand... definitely," she mumbled. "Robes? Yes."

The dream replayed in her head as she continued packing her long-neglected trunk. There was something at the bottom of it that caught her attention. Curiously, Miriam pulled the item out, discovering her old school yearbook. With trembling fingers, she carefully opened its crackling, yellowing pages, where placed inside was the picture of her and Tom standing in front of Madam Westyn's Home for Orphaned Children. Looking at the picture - taken before they even began their schooling at Hogwarts - reminded her of how much she'd hated living at that orphanage. Then there was Tom, standing in front of the brick building, smiling as though he hadn't a care in the world. Looking at this picture, Miriam couldn't decide who or what she hated more: that dreaded orphanage or her brother for what he'd become.

Setting the book and picture aside, she gave her wand a small wave, managing to knock a delicate blue vase off her night stand. It fell to the floor and broke into hundreds of tiny pieces. Rather than being upset, she smiled instead. "Reparo," she murmured, watching the vase magically fix itself.

After nearly a quarter of an hour had passed, Miriam barely had half of the suitcase packed. Unfortunately, folding clothes took much of her time. Sighing, and deciding to forgo the Muggle way, she picked up her wand again and pointed it at the unfolded clothes. The clothes began to magically fold themselves, saving her much time and effort.

Staring at the now packed suitcase - which she transfigured into a miniature version of itself for her to carry around - a weird sense of deja vu overwhelmed her: She was going back, not necessarily back home as this was now her home, but she was going back to the place where it had all started so many, many years ago.... It seemed like almost another lifetime ago, a mere distant dream to her.

The trip to London was long and dull. Miriam slept most of the plane trip there, but upon landing, felt like she hadn’t slept a wink. She knew the dangers that awaited her, and she felt exhausted from all the anxiety. Since she had left Hogwarts, Miriam had been able to completely shut Tom out from her mind, but now it was different. Now she was going to make herself come face-to-face with him for the first time in ten years....

Upon leaving the airport and exchanging her currency, she called a taxi and told the driver to take her to Little Hangleton.

She was filled with fear, anxiety, and nausea. If it wasn’t for the fact that she was going to save her friends, she wouldn’t even be here... especially alone. She patted her pocket, her hand feeling the lump caused from her wand. With it, Miriam felt a little calmer, but not much. Tom would probably know all sorts of Dark Magic and spells that she wouldn’t be able to block. The thought of this made her nervous again. What if this was all simply a trap?

~*~

“But, sir, are you sure this would be a good idea?” Lestrange asked, bowing his head. Tom Riddle sat upon a high-backed chair, glaring at the man who bowed before him. They were inside a large dark cavern - a place where Tom had often gone to escape the authorities.

"Who are you to question my motives, Lestrange?" he replied, rubbing his chin with his long fingers.

The man gave a small twitch as though from being attacked.

"Brothers and sisters, especially twins, share a special bond. Call it a magical connection, if you will. It's a special ability to know what the other’s thinking... feeling... or doing.” Tom Riddle’s face twisted into a cruel smile.

“What shall we do then, Master?”

“I think a trip to Little Hangleton is in order."

~*~

Her trip through London proved to be an interesting experience for Miriam. So much in the city had changed since she'd last been there; it was like she was looking at it for the first time. Her drive through the city was like looking at an old scrapbook: Memories long since forgotten, came back instantly to her. Though Miriam remembered a few of the places, her thoughts were so deep in memories, that most of the trip was spent inside her own mind.

Miriam was finally snapped out of her thoughts when the taxi had stopped at the little town she thought she had left forever. After paying the driver a hefty bit of money for the trip, she headed down the familiar path to what was once Madam Westyn’s Home for Orphaned Children.

As she walked along the dirt path, a feeling of a deja vu engulfed her. Pulling out her wand, she gripped it tightly for protection. Every sound of crackling twigs and the rustling of leaves sent a chill down her spine. With every moving shadow she saw, she prepared to shoot off a curse.

When she made it to the site of the orphanage, she let out a loud gasp. What was once a large, two-story building was nothing more than rubble and overgrown twigs now. Cautiously stepping forward, her feet hit the broken bricks and glass causing her to stumble forward.

"Not very graceful, are we?" came a voice from out of the shadows. In an instant, the cold shallow voice was breathing heavily in her ear. “Miriam,” came the haggard voice in her ear.

“No, it can’t be," she mumbled, her body feeling like it was giving out on her.

“How pleasant it is that you remember me after all this time."

Miriam’s vision was slowly clouding, but she could make out the dark shadow before her. As her vision blurred, her eyes fell upon the figure’s face. There stood her brother, Tom Riddle, holding his wand against her as her body gave out.

A wave of suppressed memories came flooding back to her as she passed out....

--

"They’ll never catch me," he replied smirking, his eyes beginning to show an eerie, reddish gleam in them. "Those Muggle fools are too stupid to catch me, Lord Voldemort."

--

~*~

“No... no... it can’t be,” she mumbled slowly, opening her eyes cautiously. Her clearing vision revealed two eyes that had the permanent stain of blood red to them, and a face pale and gaunt.

“Tom? Is that you?” she asked slowly sitting up, while watching the thing as it moved in front of her.

“Yes, Miriam, my dear sister,” he hissed again. “How good to finally see you again after all these years" He gave an evil laugh as Miriam’s eyes widened in fear, for she hadn’t seen such an ugly creature since Grindelwald had captured her. Miriam stood up from where she was laying and took a tentative step backwards, hoping to get away from this monstrous creature.

"Amazing how you are able to still recognized me, sister." Tom gave another high-pitched and cold burst of laughter, causing the hair on the back of Miriam’s neck to rise.

“Tom, what... what... happened to you?” Miriam asked, remembering the once handsome face of her brother.

“Don’t call me by that name,” he growled, his voice low and dangerous. "I go by a new name now... or have you forgotten that?"

--

"Lord Voldemort," he replied again casually. "It’s a name I created for myself while still at Hogwarts. It’s only known to a few of my closest friends, of course. You didn’t think I was going to keep our filthy Muggle father’s name for all eternity, did you?"

--

"What have you done to my friends? Where are they?" she asked, eyes widening.

"Here. With you."

Miriam looked around, wondering where exactly 'here' was. The cavernous walls told her she was underground somewhere as a faint dripping sound met her ears. Her eyes traveled across the 'room' and to two unconscious bodies lying on the other side. Miriam actually felt her heart stop beating then. Running over to them, she crouched down and looked upon her friend's faces. Sophie's pale peach skin was almost the color of deathly white, while Marcella's usually milk chocolate colored skin was the shade of weak brown. Pushing the blond hair away Sophie's face, Miriam placed her palm upon her friend's forehead. It was icy cold. Marcella was the same. They both were very cold to the touch.

Checking their pulses now, Miriam could detect a small but faint heartbeat. Slightly relived that her friends were still alive, she looked back at Tom.

"What did you do to them?" she yelled, her temper rising, but Tom remained quiet. Tears began pouring from her eyes as Miriam faced her two friends again. Their eyes were pressed shut, as though they were trying to block something horrible from their sight.

"If you can hear me, everything will be all right," Miriam whispered.

Standing up, she reached into her pocket to curse Tom, but her fingers only felt an empty pocket. Her wand was missing....

"Did you think I would actually let you keep your wand?" he asked, twirling his sister’s wand casually between his long fingers. "I couldn’t run that risk, knowing how temperamental you can get." He grinned, infuriating Miriam even more. With a simple flick of her wand, Tom shot out a red light toward her. A violent headache erupted inside her head. It was like someone had just cleaved her head into two pieces. A weak, tormented mumble escaped from her mouth as Miriam fell back down onto the place she had just lain, every part of her body feeling like it was on fire. The pain was too much to bear; she cried out loud, almost wishing she would die right away so the pain would finally end.

After a moment, Tom lifted the spell, though Miriam’s breath was still ragged and shallow, her body twitching with convulsions. She lay on the ground, sweat slowly beading up on her temples. Weakly, her green eyes pleading with him, she looked into his hateful gleaming eyes. He turned on his heel and left the room, leaving her there, and very much alone.

Being held captive by her deranged brother was not high on Miriam’s list of enjoyable ways to spend a day. In fact, it wasn’t on her list, period. A grim few days had passed, and though she had remained locked up inside a dingy, grubby room, subsiding on nothing but stale bread and water, she could only imagine the horrors her brother put Sophie and Marcella through when he captured them.

Lying down on the spare rags that had been placed for her inside the room, she wondered what her poor friends were feeling when it all happened. Scared probably didn't adequately cover it.

Miriam knew that if she had her wand, she would have a fighting chance of getting out, but alas, no. She'd gone through her pockets thoroughly, and her wand definitely wasn’t there anymore. Tom had taken it sometime when she was out cold. As she sat shivering, she closed her eyes and prayed that this was all just a bad nightmare - a horrible, yet vivid, nightmare.

Yes, she thought, that’s what this is. And when I wake up, I’m going to be home, my friends will be safe, and none of this will have ever happened.

A cold breeze swept through the tiny room sending a freezing chill down her spine, causing her to shudder from the cold.

Yes, it is all just a dream....

Unfortunately, no matter how hard to she hoped, she knew that it wasn’t a dream. It was very much real.

~*~

It was much later into the evening when Miriam awoke with a start. She had a crick in her neck, and her back was painfully stiff.

Unaware of the current time, and how long she had been asleep, Miriam realized that she must have dozed for at least a couple of hours, which accounted for her uncomfortable stiffness. Stretching out her arms in hopes of alleviating some of the pain, she let out a loud yawn and rubbed the back of her neck. She felt as though she had been crammed inside a tiny box.

“I hate you, Tom,” she grumbled, letting her mind slip into a five-minute mental berating of her brother. Though it did nothing to alleviate the pain, it put a small smile on her face.

A sound from outside the door snapped her from her thoughts. Somebody was yelling loudly, though it didn’t sound like they were angry yells or anything. Instead, they sounded very pleased about something. Pressing her ear to the wooden door, she listened carefully in hopes of making out what the person was saying.

"He said we could torture the witches if we liked," came a male's voice.

Another one, female, responded, "No, he gave us specific orders not to touch them; they are his to torture. You know what he's like when we disobey his orders."

A slam of a door was followed by heavy footsteps that sounded by her door before quickly faded from earshot. It was pitch black inside the room except for a small hole in the wall where a tiny beam of moonlight shone through. Using her hands, she felt around the door for a knob, and her hands eventually brushing up against something cold and hard. Turning the handle carefully and quietly, she discovered that the old lock wasn't properly closed.

The door swung open, revealing an almost frighteningly crypt-like darkness in front of her. The only parts of the cavernous hall that weren’t bathed in total darkness were the tiny, jagged slits of moonlight that had managed to shine through some distant window, illuminating the brick walls with an eerie greenish glow. If only her wand hadn’t been taken, she could have torn through the darkness with absurd ease. But now Miriam felt vulnerable without any kind of magical protection. It made her extremely angry to think that somewhere, her damn brother was probably fondling it

Carefully stepping out of the room, she listened intently for any signs of approaching footsteps. The silence was wonderful to her ears as she stood out in the cool, dark hallway. To her left and right were narrow corridors, both completely uninviting to her. Miriam stared down each one, hoping to pick up the slightest inkling about which one would lead her out. Deciding to try the right, she began to find her way through the darkness, and back to the room where she had first awoken and seen Tom. Upon looking into that room, she saw that her friends were now placed precariously on an old, torn chair like a couple of life-sized dolls.

Standing there in the darkness, Miriam contemplated how she could rescue her friends; but as each idea passed through her head, she knew none of them would work. Even simply trying to carry them was impossible because the added weight of two unconscious bodies would slow Miriam to the point of certain exposure.

Quietly leaving the room, and with a heavy heart, Miriam continued hurrying down the darkened hallway, where a faint light was shining from inside a room. Curiosity getting the better of her, she peaked into the room and saw her brother fast asleep in a chair.

Staring at this wretched man in complete revulsion, watching as his chest continued to rise and fall heavily, Miriam noticed something lying on the ground by his feet. It was a wand, and upon a closer look, she realized that it was her wand. As quietly as she could be, she tiptoed over and gently grabbed her wand. Tom gave a soft snort, but he didn’t wake up. She remembered that he was a very soft sleeper and just the slightest noise could wake him up. Miriam knew she would have to be deathly silent on the way out.

The way he was laying there with his jet-black hair framing his face, it was almost too hard to imagine that this was the same man who had single-handedly destroyed so many lives.

Keeping the wand safely inside her grip, Miriam turned to leave the room. She had made it back to the entrance when a voice called out from behind her, “And just where do you think you’re going?”

Gulping, Miriam turned around and saw Tom staring at her, a malevolent grin plastered all over his gaunt, waxy face. The combination was quite disturbing - almost like a grinning skeleton was staring back at her. Quickly raising her wand, she pointed it directly at Tom, who didn’t seem unnerved at all. He gave a high, cold laugh as he stood up from his chair.

“What exactly do you think you’re going to do with that?” he asked, a slight mocking tone in his voice, as though he were talking to an insolent child. “Go ahead, throw your stupid little spells at me,” he chided. “Nothing can hurt Lord Voldemort.”

“You’re lying,” she breathed, her heart beating loudly in her chest. “You’re nothing more than just some mortal, ugly coward with a new name! You're still the same old Tom I used to know."

Something flashed in his eyes after she said it. The grin slowly faded from his face, only to be replaced by an ugly look.

“I am no mere mortal anymore,” he roared, his eyes taking on a brighter red gleam. “I have gone further than any other wizard alive to conquer death."

"Then you're nothing more than a coward who's afraid to die!" After Miriam said it, she sorely wished she could take it back. Tom glared at her, and his eyes were turning redder and redder as he advanced on her. They took on more of a slit shape, giving him the appearance of an overgrown snake.

“I’m afraid there’s no place for you to go, Miriam,” he hissed softly. “You’re trapped.” He pulled out his wand and pointed it at her. "Diffindo is an interesting little curse. Able to slice a person in two in a matter of a few seconds. Perhaps a demonstration?" he asked. Lifting his wand and touching Miriam with it, he placed his hand roughly around her neck. Her body shook from the inside. Her heart was pounding loudly in her chest - just waiting to stop from the exertion. She couldn't move and soon felt the tip of the wand jab her painfully in the neck. The blood was pounding loudly in her veins, up to her ears; she could feel it throb violently against his wand.

She gave a soft gasp, waiting for it to be all over with. The wand once held tightly in her hand now slipped to the floor; her only defense was now gone.

"Do not fear. I have no use to kill you yet. I want you to watch as I use it on your friends. How sweet it will be to watch you suffer as I slowly torture your friends to death with you watching near by."

Removing the wand from her neck, Tom grabbed her hands and pointed his wand over them. He closed his eyes, mumbling something she couldn't hear. The wand left a small crimson trail in its path. Miriam felt pain in her hands as she tried to pull away. Tom looked into her eyes, his face hardening with what he saw.

"You were thinking of leaving, weren't you?" his hissed, holding her despite her attempts at breaking free. The trail grew longer, spreading the crimson lines up her arms. Miriam winced again, but not a sound left her mouth. She didn't want to give her brother the satisfaction of letting him hear her in pain. He waved his wand more forcefully over her arms, the crimson lines dripping more heavily on the floor now. She slowly began sliding down the wall as more blood came out from the wounds.

"You'll never escape me."

She was beginning to feel woozy. There was a loud thump from the other rooms; Tom jerked his hands, sending his wand straight up to her neck and releasing his grip from her in the process. A cool drip on her neck told her she had just been cut there as well. Placing a palm over her neck to stop the flow, Tom finally looked back at her. "That was only a little taste of what Diffindo is like."

Her eyes traveled over her brother's face. Miriam knew she had to get away if she could. It was now or never.

The heavy sounds of boots running toward them were growing louder by the second. It was like whoever was running knew that Miriam was about to escape. Gathering her strength, she kicked Tom hard in the crotch, immobilizing him for a few moments while she grabbed her neglected wand off the floor. Her arms still smarted from the pain, but adrenaline was coursing through her veins, numbing a little bit of the pain.

With Tom still hunched over, Miriam knew it was now or never.... Taking one last glance at him, Miriam quickly got up and stumbled down the dark corridor, opposite of where the continuing footsteps were coming from. Shots of Diffindo, Crucio, and Avada Kedavra were flying by her head, but thankfully none of them hit her. Soon the shots were replaced by Tom yelling, “She went that way! Don't kill her. I want her brought to me alive!"

Miriam didn’t know how to get out of the building, or even if she was heading in the right direction. But she knew had to keep going or face the awful consequences of being dissected by Tom and the others.

“Turn down this way!” a female voice yelled.

~*~

Miriam’s heart was still racing. Her face was sweaty from exhaustion, and her arms were covered in dried blood and cuts. The November night did nothing to help cool her off; the biting wind just nipped painfully at the cuts on her arms and neck. She stood alone on the outskirts of a dense forest, trying to figure out which direction to go. But no matter where she went, it would never be far enough away from her brother.

Since she had just narrowly escaped from her brother's hideout, she was a nervous wreck. Every tiny sound, whether it was a twig snapping or leaves rustling, sent her into a panicked frenzy. Completely unaware of just how late it was, Miriam wandered into the forest in search of a place to get some rest. Some of the tree branches hung low to the ground, providing ample shelter for her. Climbing under one, she passed out - and remained so - for the rest of the night.

~*~

As the pinkish rays of early morning light broke through the trees, Miriam stirred. She felt like she hadn't slept a wink and was hungrier than she had ever been in her life even when Madam Westyn had starved them for "misbehaving." However, the hunger pains were no match for the pains of guilt she felt for leaving her friends behind. Miriam knew she needed to get them out of there as quickly as possible, but without backup, she knew didn't stand a chance.

Much to her disappointment, she soon discovered she was still in Little Hangleton. To make matters worse, she had no means of transportation as taxis rarely ever visited the dinky, little town. And today was just one of those days they didn't visit.

The sun had now fully risen, its rays illuminating everything in the town in hues of golden light. Miriam looked up on the large grassy hill that overlooked the small town, and with a feeling of deja vu, her sight came upon the large mansion her father and his parents had once lived in. It looked rather spooky being completely uninhabited - a mere shadow of the once former splendid house. Large ivies covered more of the house than she remembered from before, and a few of the large windows on the ground level were broken, surely from kids throwing rocks at it on a dare.

Crossing a deserted street, Miriam faced the row of buildings as another flash of memories came back to her: The night she left Little Hangleton to escape from her murderous brother.

Not much in the town had changed from what she remembered of it. It was as though time had long since forgotten the tiny town. The same seedy little pub, the Hanged Man, was still there. Seedy or not, she was hungry and tired - all she really cared about at the moment was filling her empty stomach with food so she could properly plan how to get her friends away from Tom's grasps.

Trying to wipe off most of the blood on her arms and neck, she walked down toward the pub and silently hoped that her blood-covered arms weren't too noticeable.

~*~

Two hours later after eating all that she could afford - Miriam set out to find a way to Great Hangleton, where she could find means of transportation to London, and to the one person she knew who could help her: Dumbledore. Though she was still tired, the thought of rescuing her friends gave her the energy to continue on.

Miriam walked down the same little dirt road that had taken her into this place, as thoughts of how long it would actually take for her to make it to London entered her head. The walk lasted more than an hour, and by the time the city limits to Great Hangleton slowly began to come into view, Miriam could barely walk a step further.

Gripping a nearby tree for support, she slowly sat on the ground, hoping to relax for a moment before continuing on.

Once she regained her strength, she made it into the large city where she began to search for the nearest transportation to take her to London.

~*~

The sites of the city were coming into view as the afternoon sun burned brightly in the sky. London never looked so good to Miriam as it did then. Having been fortunate enough to catch a ride with a nice family who was going to London for some "early holiday shopping," she paid them the little bit of money she had left, then set out to find Diagon Alley while horrific thoughts of what could be happening to her friends at that very moment filled her head.

"Please let me be able to get them away from him..."

~*~

The Leaky Cauldron looked the same as she had remembered it. Though there was now a new bartender, a small smile crept onto her face as she remembered her first time there. It didn't seem like it was all that long ago, but the more she thought about it, it seemed more like a lifetime ago.

Even Diagon Alley hadn't changed much; it was still bustling with people buying, selling, and trading goods, owls flying everywhere, and just the general sense of happy emotions she felt whenever coming here.

Miriam looked around the bustling crowds, hoping to fine a familiar face in the sea of people. After walking down the long stretch of road, not one face stood out to her. It was as if everyone she knew from before had suddenly vanished. Disappointed, she turned back and headed toward Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour. Sitting at a small table off in the corner away from everybody else, Miriam was about to kick the table in frustration when somebody came up to her.

"Excuse me, miss, but are you Miriam Riddle?"

She turned around, wondering who they were and how they knew her name. Miriam looked up at Florean Fortescue, who was holding a note in their hand. Miriam opened the letter, wondering who had sent it.

Quickly reading the letter, she received quite a shock when she saw the familiar loopy handwriting. It was a rather short note, but it filled Miriam with a sense of hope that, just maybe, everything would somehow be all right.

Miriam,
I've been expecting you.
Meet me on the Hogwarts grounds ASAP.
A.P.W.B.D.

Hogwarts, here she was again, though certainly not under the circumstances she would have liked. Miriam walked along the front lawn that lead up to the castle gates, where waiting for her was none other than Albus Dumbledore himself. He still looked the same after all these years; his friendly smile still unchanged, though his once auburn-colored hair was now streaked with more gray than what she remembered of him.

Off in the distance, the large Knight Bus sputtered as it began to pull away from the dirt road, leaving Miriam feeling slightly nostalgic as she gazed upon Dumbledore's kindly face again.

"How did you know I was here?" she asked.

Dumbledore simply smiled at her, his eyes still holding that familiar twinkle in them. "I have my ways." He opened the gates with a wave of his wand, and Miriam walked through.

Snow covered much of the grounds as Miriam and Dumbledore trudged forward, shivering slightly from the cold. It was much colder here than in London, and mentally, Miriam was kicking herself for not bringing something warmer to wear. She had become too accustomed to the warmer weather of her adopted country.

They didn't speak a word to each other, remaining quiet during their trek over the grounds. As they passed by the Forbidden Forest, a deep shiver went down her spine - not from the cold, but from the memory of what had happened to her there. This was the exact spot where Tom tried to have Miriam kill herself. The after effects had sent her into a downward spiral of emotions that she didn't think she would ever recover from. It had been a very bad time in her life. But because she had two wonderful friends to help her through, she had gotten her life back on track.

Pushing those thoughts out of her mind, she noticed they had reached the main entrance of the school, and Dumbledore was holding the door open for her.

~*~

Dumbledore sat serenely across from her in his high-backed chair; his half-moon glasses were perched slightly crooked on his long nose. Time was a precious commodity, something of which Miriam didn't poses at the moment. Almost immediately, she began pouring out in vivid detail how Tom had lured her across the ocean by kidnapping her friends, how she barely managed to escape from him, and how Tom was still holding her friends captive. For added effect, she showed him her arms where the scratches were slightly visible and some dried blood remained. Dumbledore nodded his head as though he already suspected something of this nature to have happened.

Miriam looked up at him, her heart pounding loudly and painfully in her chest. "Please, you have to help me rescue my friends. I can only imagine what is happening to them as we speak."

"Have you been reading the papers lately, Miss Riddle?"

She shook her head no. "I only know what my friends have told me from correspondence."

It was Dumbledore's turn to nod. Miriam wished she knew where he was going with all of this, but he spoke up before she could express herself.

"Just a few months before you arrived here, your brother came to ask me for a job. You might be surprised to learn that he wanted the position of Defense Against the Dark Arts professor."

Miriam raised an eyebrow. Defense Against the Dark Arts? Tom? He wanted to come back to Hogwarts to be a professor? Dumbledore noticed the befuddled look on her face, and giving her a small but reassuring smile, he continued.

"Your brother expressed his ideas to me that he could share his views of magic with the students, teach them things that are not normally considered appropriate subject topics here at Hogwarts. He also thought that I would not know that for the past few years, he has been committing murder with his group of followers. I must say, he wasn't pleased to know that I was - shall we say - aware of his true motives for returning here. It would be safe to surmise that I did not trust him that much during the entire interview, and as such, I immediately rejected his offer to teach the moment he stepped foot in my office. To be perfectly honest with you Miriam, I did not trust him even when he was a student here."

Dumbledore looked at Miriam directly in the eyes, boring into them with an intensity that she had never seen before from him. "Your friends lives are of top priority to me, Miriam. Rest assured that I will do everything in my power to make sure they are returned safe and unharmed."

"But what can I do to help? Please sir, I want to help. I have to. They mean the world to me."

Dumbledore smiled. "You will help me, of course. I am looking for an assistant to help around the school. I know you will be a perfect candidate for the job, Miriam."

"What exactly would I be doing as an assistant?"

"We are almost upon the end of the first semester, and a few of our professors will require some assistance," Dumbledore answered. "The school nurse has been seeing a great many hexed students recently, and she is feeling a bit swamped from the work. And if it wouldn't be too much to ask of you, we need a liaison to work between the students and teachers. It will be tough work, but it would allow me to use the time to get together a small army to help rescue your friends."

Miriam nodded her head. "Sure. When do I start?"

"Would Monday be good?"

~*~

Miriam slumped down onto the warm bed, her mind racing. She was staying in a small inn in the little village Hogsmeade, just outside Hogwarts, waiting for the next few days to pass so she could begin her new job up at the school.

Her eyelids felt heavy as she closed her eyes, but she was too apprehensive to sleep. The only thing on her mind was bringing Marcella and Sophie home safely... and making Tom pay for his wickedness.

Somewhere, somehow, he needed to be destroyed like the vermin he was.

Miriam watched in horror as her friends were bound and gagged, unable to move. She herself felt like she couldn't move either; her feet were placed firmly on the ground. The hooded figures worked effortlessly around her, never noticing she was there, almost as though she were invisible. Marcella and Sophie could not have looked anymore frightened than they already did. Tears began falling from their eyes as silent ways of begging their captors for mercy, but their tears were only met with silence. Miriam tried calling out to them, to say that she was coming to save them, but her voice could not be heard not matter how loud she shouted. She screamed until her voice was hoarse and her throat sore, but her shouts fell on deaf ears.

The sounds of footsteps grew louder around them as a tall figure appeared from in between the group. Though she could not see his face, his walk - self-assured demeanor and cocky attitude - told her it was Tom. The others stepped away as he drew closer to her friends. Lowering his hood, he stared into their frightened faces with a strong look of gloating. His lip curled, and his bloodstained eyes narrowed.

"Too bad your friend isn't here to save you. I guess my sister is much too cowardly to do such a thing. Sad to say, isn't it, that she never cared for you as much as she said she did." He looked at them, taking his wand and slowly dragging it over their necks.

"Diffindo."

A thin line of blood began curving down Sophie's neck. Tom moved the wand with more force, causing the gash to become deeper. Sophie gasped as more blood started flowing out. Within a matter of seconds, Sophie collapsed onto the floor, her blonde hair turning a deep shade of red from the pooling blood. Tom watched this without single flinch. Then, pointing his wand directly at Marcella, he gave it a lazy wave and the spell tore violently into her midsection. Miriam vomited as she watched Marcella slump over Sophie's now lifeless form.

The room began to spin before her eyes as a bright burst of flames erupted in front of her. For a time, the only noise she could hear was the sounds of her friends' bodies being slowly moved across the floor. She cradled her head in her arms, trying to block out everything around her. But it didn't help: The sounds of Tom's cold laughter slowly crept into her ears. Opening her eyes, she leapt up from her bed and looked at her surroundings. Groggily, Miriam realized she wasn't watching her friends dying; instead, she was standing inside her bright room. It was the same room that she had been staying in for the past three days. Exhausted, she flung herself back down onto the bed and wearily rubbed her eyes as her heartbeat regulated itself.

She had been staying in Hogsmeade for a few days, and every night since she'd arrived, she had the same horrific nightmare of her friends dying. And every morning, she felt more exhausted than before she went to sleep. Because Miriam had managed to escape from him, Tom had resorted to the only thing he had left to hold over her: tormenting her in her dreams. Looking at her clock, Miriam leapt out of bed again when she realized that today was her first official day of assisting Dumbledore - and she was already a few minutes late.

~*~

In a bright swirl of green smoke, Miriam coughed and stumbled inside Dumbledore's office, where the aged wizard himself sat behind his desk pouring over a stack of scrolls. Looking up at who had just come stumbling into his office, he gave a small chuckle when he saw it was only a soot-covered Miriam.

"I'm sorry for being so late," she coughed, as she began to wipe off the soot from herself with a handkerchief she kept in her pocket.

"It is all right, Miss Riddle," he replied, a small twinkle in his eyes. "Just don't let it happen again."

Sensing that he was in a relatively good mood, Miriam opened her mouth, ready to ask him when they were going to save her friends. This question had been weighing heavily on her mind the past few days, but before the words escaped her lips, her question already received the one answer she did not want to hear: that Dumbledore wanted to build a small army before attacking Tom and rescuing her friends.

"I do not believe that he would hurt them right away. He keeps hostages of use to him alive," he patiently told her.

"But what use could they be to him?" Miriam asked.

"It is my understanding that he is looking for a way to get to you. By keeping them alive, he knows that you will eventually return to him, and that is what he is hoping for. But do not fear, plans for a small army are going according to plan, and it will only be a matter of time before we are ready."

Miriam sighed, perhaps more loudly than she had intended to, for Dumbledore kindly looked at her and rested a hand on her shoulder. His bright blue eyes were comforting to her, and she felt some of the anxiety in her leave.

"This is why I placed you here at Hogwarts. I want you close by, so when the time comes, you will be ready."

~*~

The day seemed to drag on with no end in sight; and by the end of it, Miriam was thoroughly exhausted. Her feet ached, her arms and hands were tired, and her brain felt as though it were about to explode. From early that morning, she began dealing with sick patients in the infirmary, helping out numerous professors by grading papers, and then working as a liaison between students and teachers. On top of it, not one word was mentioned from Dumbledore about when they would go to save her friends, only that he wanted her close by so she would be ready. Whatever that meant, she did not know.

The waiting was slowly driving her mad. But no matter how many times she tried to tell herself that patience was a virtue and he obviously must know what he was doing by waiting, it did nothing to calm her nerves. Every time she thought of them, Miriam could feel the fear her friends must have been feeling shiver down her own spine.

The following days went by in the same pattern. By the end of the week, Miriam was tempted to leave the school and her position of assistant, but the pull of wanting to save her friends was too strong. Miriam would have walked through Hell and back in order to save them, so she continued to deal with the arduous labor of being the school assistant without complaint.

A few weeks into her job, the routine was starting to become easier for her. She no longer felt so exhausted at the end of the day, as she knew how to better balance her routine. From working as an assistant, Miriam gradually relearned and remembered many different defensive spells she had long since forgotten since she had left the school. Perhaps this was another reason why Dumbledore wanted her to stay - so she could remember the defensive spells she would surely need to fight Tom.

As she was preparing to head home one evening, Miriam was called into Dumbledore's office for an emergency meeting. Fear tugged at her heart as she traveled the well-worn route to Dumbledore's office. What was the emergency meeting about? Did her friends die? Was this why he wanted to see her? But he said Tom wanted to keep them alive to lure her back into his grasps....

Anxious, Miriam headed up to Dumbledore's office. She stopped dead at the door when she saw the grave look on his face. Her heart plummeted into her stomach as she took a seat opposite him. Steeling herself for the bombshell, she received quite the shock when Dumbledore asked if she had learned anything in the past few weeks. Surprised, Miriam nodded her head and told him that she'd re-learned many defensive spells from her time helping the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, on top of remembering things from the other classes. Dumbledore seemed pleased, and the grave expression on his face changed slightly. Miriam noticed his change of expression and asked, "Is that why you had me help the teachers? Did you want me to remember all the spells I learned so long ago?"

Dumbledore nodded his head. "I also want you to be able to help with any injuries your friends may have faced while under your brother's watch until they can be safely sent to St. Mungo's, which was why I had you help in the infirmary."

"But why did I have to become liaison? What was the whole point of that?"

"We were short staffed in that area," Dumbledore replied, trying to lighten the general atmosphere of the room, but Miriam was not in the mood for light-hearted fare. All she was interested in was learning when they were going to fight Tom. Whenever it was, she knew she would be ready for him this time.

Sensing her urgency to get things rolling, Dumbledore continued. "Of course," he said. "However, in order for you to save your friends, you would have to bait Tom and draw him out into the open, and that will not be an easy task."

"Whatever it takes to save Sophie and Marcella - "

"You do understand that you be putting yourself in a huge amount of danger and -"

"I don't care!" Miriam exclaimed, leaping up out of her seat in frustration. "I just want them to be safe."

"Will you be willing to join me and the others in achieving our mission tonight?" he asked.

"Anything," she replied. "I'm ready for anything."

"Good. For tonight will certainly not be trouble-free by any means."

~*~

The night cloaked them in total darkness as they moved forward. Miriam remained huddled under her hood as Dumbledore lead them on. She did not know any of the other people in the group - they had remained covered - but she felt a little safer with them around. They were supposed to be Apparating to Little Hangleton, but one of the scouts had been sent out to check for any signs of trouble in the vicinity before they left. The person came back with reports that there were strange hooded figures walking around. Because of this, Dumbledore felt that it would not be safe to Apparate right inside Little Hanlgeton for fear of alerting Tom.

Instead, they Apparated into the woods that surrounded Great Hangleton and walked along a dirt road on the outskirts of the city.

Miriam held her wand tightly in her hands for protection, afraid that every breaking twig was Tom and his followers waiting to ambush them. Her heart sat firmly in her stomach as what tonight would hold entered her thoughts. War was not something to walk into unnecessarily, as there was bound be innocent lives lost - and Miriam did not want to lose her best friends (or anyone else for that matter). Before long, the moon was high in the night sky, when a large ivy-covered mansion overlooking a small church and graveyard came into view. They had arrived.

"All right," Dumbledore said, holding an arm out to stop the group. "Before we go on, we need to find out how to enter his hideout. Miriam, do you remember what it looked like on the inside while you were in his presence?"

"It - It was cavernous, and it was dark. The only light came from a few torches and whatever moonlight shone through. There were many rooms.... I just remember running through the woods as I escaped. But if you asked me to be more specific, I couldn't. I don't remember much about that night."

Dumbledore nodded his head as he looked around at his surroundings, but Miriam knew that he was formulating a plan.

"It is my guess that you were somewhere underground, Miriam. A hidden place where it would be most difficult to enter."

He separated from the group and strolled over to the old graveyard where he began searching for something only he knew about. Miriam watched as he walked around the cemetery, mumbling something to himself. Stopping in front of a weathered tombstone, he knelt down and ran a long finger over the inscribed words. After a few moments, he walked back to the group. "We have to turn back."

"Why? What's wrong?" someone asked. Miriam didn't like the way things were going.

"The entrance to his lair is not located here in the cemetery. But there are directions hidden inside the letters if the tombstones. Each one points to the direction in which we just came, back through the forest."

~*~

It seemed to take hours to get wherever they were going. Miriam was sure Tom knew that they were here. He had a sixth sense where it concerned her, and it was unnerving to think that he always seemed to know where she was or what she was doing. But she remained quiet nonetheless. Obviously Dumbledore knew where to go. So she followed him without complaint, hoping that it wouldn't be too late.

When Dumbledore stopped abruptly, he said in a low voice just loud enough for them to hear, "We're here."

Here didn't look like much of anything. In fact, it looked just like every other part of the woods they'd passed through, but Dumbledore seemed confidant that they had reached the spot. Facing a large yew tree, he began speaking so quietly that nobody could hear what was being said, or even if what he was saying was in English. After a moment, the ground vibrated beneath their feet and a small door appeared before them. The door had a serpentine 'S' scrawled on it, and two glittering red eyes were placed where the head of the 'snake' was.

"We command you to open," Dumbledore spoke, his voice firm, but the door did not budge. "We command you to open." The defiant door didn't move a slight crack. Frustrated, Miriam kicked the ground in exasperation, but he didn't seem upset or concerned about her little outburst. In fact, Dumbledore seemed to smile slightly as he looked upon Miriam - as though he was seeing her for the first time in his long life.

"Miriam, would you come here for a second?" he asked. Reluctantly, she moved past the group and found herself standing in front of the door.

"Your brother was clever, but he wasn't clever enough to realize that you shared the same abilities as he."

"What do you mean?" she asked, feeling slightly stupid at that moment.

"You both were exceptionally bright students, but there was something else you also shared. If I am right, then you should be able to open this door," explained Dumbledore.

"How?" she frowned. "The only other thing we had in common was -" It was then that she remembered: She could speak Parseltongue like Tom. Dumbledore nodded his head as though silently reading her mind. Gulping, Miriam faced the door and took a deep breath. The moonlight hit the glittering red eyes, making the snake appear alive. With a sigh, Miriam stared hard at the door, trying with all her might to remember how she did it.

Pretending the snake was real, she opened her mouth and whispered the word, "Open." The door swung open violently; she barely had time to move out of the door's way before being struck by it. With the wand still in her hand, she took the first tentative steps into the dark unknown, afraid of what might meet her on the other side. She had no sooner placed both feet firmly on the other side of the door when it swung shut from behind. The ground gave way below her, and she felt herself tumble through the air. She screamed, but no one could hear her. Landing on something hard, she felt her ankle give out as she crumpled to the floor. Miriam didn't stay down long. The urge to continue on - though now alone - filled her. Her ankle hurt like hell, but she could still walk on it.

She walked further along, unsure of where she was going. This placed seemed different from what she remembered - almost as if it had changed from the last time she was here. Around her, the large walls gleamed from the spattering of red spots that decorated them. It didn't take her long to realize what it was. As scared as she was, she wanted nothing more than for this to be with over quickly. She walked up a flight of stairs that led to Merlin-only-knows and continued further along until she came upon a heavy wooden door. Pushing it open, she found herself staring down the familiar passageway she remembered from her time spent here. But something about it now seemed different, quiet perhaps. It was too quiet for her liking, so she turned only to come face-to-face with her red-eyed twin.

"So nice of you two return, dear sister. You'll be glad to know that I plan to kill you right along with your friends."

Tom pushed her back with such force that she didn't have time to react. Her head hit the ground with a loud thwack, rendering her unconscious.

~*~

When she came to, she was seated beside Sophie and Marcella, who were bound, gagged, and unconscious. It was almost like Miriam was reliving her nightmares. Tom walked up and stopped to stand front of her.

"They will be of good use to me," he spoke. "Using the lives of my sister and her two best friends for three Horcruxes, I couldn't ask for anything better."

He gave his wand a wave to loosen the binding on her friends. Then he levitated Sophie toward the center of the room. The excited murmurs from a group of hooded figures echoed off the cavernous walls around them, multiplying their voices by hundreds.

Precariously placing Sophie inside a large circle that was drawn on the ground in blood, Tom waved his hands and illuminated five black candles that had been placed around the circle. Miriam tried to move, but she found her wrists tied behind her back and her ankles bound together. A low growl escaped from the mouth of her brother, an almost inhuman sound that sent chills down her spine. He leaned over Sophie as she slowly opened her eyes. When she saw what was in front of her, she tried to scream, but the gag prevented her from doing so.

Tom stood up, pulling something out from inside his robes. It was a small golden locket with a serpentine 'S' scrawled on the front. Holding it in front of him, he spoke slowly in Parseltongue, "Here by the powers of the dark -" (The locket began to glow a bright green.) "- By forces unseen, but felt all around -" (The glow of green was replaced by a deep red color.) " - I act before you to commit a sin -" (Slowly, the locket changed to a burning yellow.) " - Upon this innocent." Within seconds, the locket turned pitch black. He placed it on the ground next to Sophie, who looked at the locket as though it were about to attack her.

Miriam struggled to break free, her eyes staring fixedly at the ropes that bound her ankles, almost willing it with her mind to untie. Please let me go, she begged. I just want to save my friends. In an instant, she could see the ropes slowly begin to unravel from her ankles as her arms began to move freely again. Completely surprised that she had actually performed wandless magic, Miriam stood up, and throwing caution to the wind, ran into Tom and knocked him over.

"You! How did you get free?" he shouted, but Miriam was ready. The force she created from knocking him down caused his wand to sail across the room. Tom, unaware that his wand was missing, watched as Miriam ran as fast as she could toward the hooded figures. All the while she silently prayed that her ankle would not give in to the sharp pain. She only had a split second to reach for the wand before one of the hooded figures grabbed it. With her good leg, she kicked the on comer with all of the remaining strength she had, causing the person to recoil. Picking up the wand, she gave it a rough slash through the air as a purple lightning bolt cut through the oncoming attackers. The ones in the front received the full blast of the curse, and the ones behind got thrown back from the force of the bodies in front of them. Miriam had the upper hand; she began to turn around when her heart plummeted down past her stomach, coming to rest by her feet. Tom held a knife by Sophie's throat, a sadistic grin plastered all over his gaunt face. He looked at his wand, currently residing in his sister's hand, and let out a cold laugh.

"Just so you know, I don't need a wand to create my Horcruxes," he hissed. In the nanoseconds that elapsed, Tom slit Sophie's throat from one side to the other.

"With the spilt blood of the innocent, I willingly split my soul so that I may never die," he shouted as he let go of Sophie's body. Tom lifted the locket as his body began to emanate a sickly greenish glow, and something from inside the locket began pulling at Tom. Miriam watched in complete horror as the green light surrounding Tom poured into the open locket. It was all over within seconds, but it seemed as though she had stood there for hours. But she was snapped out of her haze when he began making a move toward Marcella.

Something erupted inside Miriam that she never felt before. A hate unlike anything she endured in the past flooded through her as she raised her brother's wand, yelling the first curse that escaped her lips, "AVADA KEDAVRA!" Tom was too quick for her, and he sidestepped the curse with ease. He dashed toward Marcella, but Miriam continued to reel off curses at him, hoping that one would hit him. And one did, the Cruciatus Curse. Tom doubled over in agony as Miriam threw another Cruciatus at him. His screams filled the air as Miriam reached over and yanked a shaking Marcella out of her spot. With another Cruciatus thrown at Tom for good measure, she dragged Marcella over to where Sophie lay, completely forgetting the pain in her ankle. She wasn't sure if she could do this, but if she could reel off Unforgivable curses, then this should be a piece of cake.

"Hold my arm tightly!" she yelled to Marcella, who immediately did so. Miriam grabbed Sophie's hand as she waved her brother's wand in the air. She never Apparated with two passengers holding onto her, but now was as good a time as ever to try. The familiar pressure of being squeezed into a narrow tube told her she had done it. Within seconds, she was back outside and surrounded by Dumbledore and his army.

"Someone, please help us," Miriam begged, her voice slowly growing hoarse, "she's been hurt badly!"

Dumbledore hurried over, kneeling down to look at the girl who was still bleeding profusely from her neck. Miriam and Marcella slowly moved back, giving Dumbledore ample space to help Sophie. Pulling out his wand from inside his robe pocket, he ran it down the length of Sophie's body, muttering something that didn't sound like English. A wave of blue smoke trailed over Sophie before Dumbledore waved it away with his wand. He gently laid a finger aside her neck, checking for a pulse. Closing his eyes, he placed the tip of his wand on her throat as a bright light began to emanate from his wand. Miriam watched in silence, praying that Dumbledore could save her friend. It tore her up to think that all the time she'd spent helping in the infirmary couldn't help her now.

Dumbledore checked for Sophie’s pulse again to no avail. Miriam could feel her heart pounding loudly in her chest; she didn't like that this was taking such a long time. Gathering her courage, she tentatively asked, almost afraid of hearing the answer, "Is - is she going to be okay?" Silver wisps of smoke brushed by her from the tip of Dumbledore's wand. He looked up at Miriam, his eyes closing as he lowered his head. His silence was all the confirmation she needed to know that her friend was dead. Behind her, Marcella let out a loud wail; but Miriam remained quiet, still stunned. It could not have been true; she pleaded and begged to whoever could hear her thoughts that her friend was not really dead. Around her, the sounds of Marcella's weeps and Dumbledore saying they should be leaving echoes distantly in her ears.

With relative ease, Dumbledore gently picked up Sophie off the ground and turned to face the others. "Let us head back now; I'm afraid I have a very painful and lengthy letter to write to her family."

~*~

Miriam sat inside Dumbledore's office with Marcella right next to her. Dumbledore was asking them to relive the events that transpired the moment that Miriam had stepped foot inside the hidden door. It was not something she wanted to talk about, now or ever, but Dumbledore assured her that any info she could provide could help the situation in some way. And such, for the next hour, Miriam was forced to relive the last moments of her friend's life, talking about how Tom was performing some weird ritual over a heavy, golden locket, and how he had slit her friend's throat. At the mention of it, tears began to fall down Marcella's face again, but Miriam did not cry. She couldn't cry, no matter how much she wanted to let the emotions inside her out. Instead, she sat there, emotionless, as Dumbledore looked upon them with a sorrowful glare.

Sophie's body was lying somewhere in a vacant classroom, a hefty charm placed around it so no one could find her until the morning when she would be moved.

Dumbledore stood up from his desk and motioned for the two girls to do the same. "It has been an emotionally draining day," he said somberly. "You two should try to get some rest now."

But being inside her little room in Hogsmeade didn't seem like such a good idea to Miriam. She flopped around in bed, got up and paced around the room, and when she felt like it, kicked everything in sight. The next room over, she could hear Marcella weeping again. Resting was the last thing Miriam wanted to do right now; the only thing she wanted was to cut Tom's heart out.

It was very late into the night when Miriam finally wore herself out and fell asleep. But she didn't fall into a restful sleep: Instead she tossed and turned all night long, dreaming of her friend's horrific death.

~*~

The sun came blaring into her room waking her up. For a few peaceful seconds, Miriam completely forgot about the horrible events of the night before. The peace of temporary forgetfulness soon faded as the memories came flooding back to her. With a heavy pit in her stomach, she lay in bed, not wanting to ever leave this spot. Before she knew it, she was fast asleep again, the nightmares coursing through her brain once more.

When she awoke again, it was nighttime. Miriam groaned as she sat up and looked out onto her cold, darkened room. Her head was pounding, and she shivered slightly from the cold. But instead of getting up, she wrapped herself in her blankets and rested her head on her pillows. Looking up at the ceiling, for the first time, Miriam could feel her cheeks damped as the tears stated falling heavily from her eyes. The realization that her friend was dead had finally started sinking in.

The day of Sophie's funeral provided very little closure for Miriam - only torturing and killing Tom could ever fully give her that satisfaction. From early that morning, Miriam had awakened to a strong feeling of nausea, the pressure weighing heavily on her chest. Her stomach felt queasy from knowing that today would be the last time she would ever see her friend. As she slowly got up from her bed, Miriam thought for a second that she was going to be violently ill. Her heart pounded loudly in her chest as she got herself ready. Miriam secretly worried that it was going to pound right out of her chest, not to mention that on top of her ill feelings, her mind was also racked with guilt. She still felt responsible over not being able to save her friend's life; after all, had that not been why she came back? She was supposed to save them from her demented brother's clutches and make sure they remained unhurt. Miriam sighed, knowing that she had partially failed her mission.

The funeral was taking place at Sophie's parents' house, which was located upon a grassy hill, far into the countryside and away from prying Muggle eyes. It was a breezy, cold day, the sun poking its way in and out the billowy clouds that were speckling the light blue sky. There was a slight hint of rain, and the smell of moisture tickled their noses, but rain was the farthest thing from anyone's mind at the moment. A large gathering had turned out to pay their final respects to the Prewett family. Her mother and father, aunts and uncles, and various assorted cousins were greeting the guests that arrived. When they saw Miriam, they greeted her warmly, as though she were their own daughter. They thanked her for all she had done in helping both girls and assured her that they knew she had done all she could in rescuing them. But the feeling of guilt still hadn't subsided, and Miriam wondered if it would ever leave her....

~*~

The breeze gently swept by Miriam's face as she stood next to Sophie's casket, placing a hand gently on it. Sophie looked so peaceful lying there as though she were merely asleep; Miriam could feel the tears slowly fall from her eyes. Seeing Sophie here, it just seemed so final to Miriam, like there would be no turning back now. Wiping her eyes quickly, she turned to face the crowd that had gathered to pay their final respects. Clearing her throat, she went into detail of the first time she had ever met Sophie. As she reminisced, it almost became too painful for her to continue. Halfway into her eulogy, Miriam had to stop and choke back the swell of emotions that were overcoming her. After a moment, she continued, her blurred vision traveling over the saddened crowd. Standing a little ways away was Marcella, whose face was buried inside her white linen handkerchief.

When the funeral had ended some time later, the sky was a deep shade of dusty pink as the sun began setting behind the clouds. Up above, the stars were just beginning to twinkle, almost as though they were offering their own condolences for such a sad occasion. While everyone was giving their final sympathies to Sophie's family, Miriam stayed outside not wanting to leave and feeling as by doing so, she would be betraying the memory of Mr. and Mrs. Prewett's only daughter. Deep inside, she knew that she had no control over what Tom had done. However, it made things so much easier, simpler for her to deal with, if she had someone to blame for it, and as such, she blamed herself for it.

~*~

A few weeks had now gone by, and per Dumbledore's request, Miriam and Marcella had spent the last few days with a Healer in St. Mungo's who dealt specifically with emotional trauma. Secretly, Miriam knew that no m! atter what the Healer said or how many Calming Draughts they took to ease their pain, the only thing that would take the pain of losing a friend away was time. But how much time, she didn't know. Weeks, months, or even years could pass and the pain would still be there. And it was thinking of this that reminded her of Tom, and how much she truly, deeply, despised him. The hate she felt toward him increased with each breath. He had gone back into hiding, and there was no trace of him to be found. It was as if he had disappeared almost as quickly as he had leapt out of the shadows, ready to strike. His secret lair now lay vacant, and Merlin only knew where he had gone now. It angered her to think that he was safe out there, wherever he was hiding now. But wherever it was, Miriam didn't want him trying to attack Marcella; as such, she tried to persuade her to leave England behind.

"My home is here, and so is my family," Marcella replied. The two friends were standing near a small airport in London, where Miriam's plan was mere minutes from leaving.

"But you're not safe here," Miriam objected. "My place is small, but there will be room for both of us."

"I'm sorry, Miriam, but I have to stay. I'm joining an underground resistance. Tom may have hurt us deeply, but he will not get away with it. Somewhere, someday, no matter how long it should take, he will suffer the consequences of the agony he inflicted upon us and everyone else he hurt."

Leaning over, she gave Miriam a quick embrace before turning to leave. Miriam watched as she slowly disappeared into the crowd, her figure soon becoming nothing more than a speck in the distance. With a heavy heart, she boarded her plane back home. As she looked upon the scenery below her through her little window, a small smile crossed her face as she thought of the guardian angel who was now looking over them. Sophie would never let anything bad happen to either Miriam or Marcella, and this thought gave her comfort as the plan began to ascend.

---

Voldemort, once known as Tom Riddle, looked up at the full moon that rested gently in the black sky. He was a long way from London, hiding in the caves that surrounded an old, vacant seaside village hours away. It was safe to hide here because no Muggle ever dared to stop here for stories had recently circulated that unfriendly spirits haunted the place. As such, it made the perfect spot for him and his Death Eaters to work in complete silence, away from prying eyes.

But there was another reason that Voldemort had picked this exact location. He had discovered a secret place where he could safely store his recently made Horcrux. Deep inside a shallow wall hidden in a little alcove enchanted by Dark magic, laid a great stone basin floating in the middle of an eerily quiet black sea filled with the victims his followers had killed. Voldemort reanimated them without the others knowing and sent them to guard his precious Horcrux, which he placed in the stone basin and surrounded by a poisonous green potion of his own making.

He was a long way until he made enough Horcruxes to suit him; but for now, it was a start. He already made two so far - the diary and the locket, yet he was eying the elusive seven that would ensure him eternal life no matter if one were to be destroyed. But merely relying on them wasn't good enough for him. And as he remained hidden inside his lair, he began performing difficult and dangerous spells and enchantments on himself, so much so that any vestige of his former humanity was forever lost. He was hardly recognizable anymore, except to his Death Eaters, who watched his slow transformation with silent revelry. It was a many years after his sister left that Voldemort came out of hiding. No longer was his face human, but now more snake-like with his pale skin and small slit eyes that retained their sinister red gleam in them.

He was ready to strike out on the wizarding world again, having spent enough time hiding and changing his looks so no one could make the connection between him and the person who was once Head Boy in school. Voldemort was planning a lengthy assault of the world he once knew, something of the likes that no one would be prepared for. There would be much terror and bloodshed to come, and he would be ready.

He strolled in front of his Death Eaters, watching them out of the corners of his eyes. "Soon, very soon, we will strike. Prepare yourselves. We will not back down: The wizarding world is ours to take...."

~*~

Thousands of miles away, Miriam sat bolt upright in bed, having just awoken from a horrible nightmare. Beside her, her husband gave a soft snort, but he did not wake up as Miriam got up from her bed and walked toward the bedroom window. She tried to shake the images of the dream off, but they would not leave her alone - there was so much bloodshed and screaming.... She wiped a small bead of sweat that had rolled down her temple as she looked upon the dreary scenery below. The rain had picked up, and the thunder boomed off in the distance. Strangely, the thundering almost sounded liked the shots from a wand; the thought sent a shiver down her spine. Her senses were telling her something was not right, and when her instincts blared like they did now, it could only mean that Tom was up to something murderous.

Miriam turned around and headed straight back to bed, hoping that no harm would come to anyone, especially her dear friend Marcella, and that this time, her instincts were wrong.



The End