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.