“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