January 18th, 1941,
Right now we’re preparing for our Defense club. The teachers have moved all the tables in the Great Hall, and they have put a long platform in their place....
---
“Today we will learn how to disarm our opponents by using the Expelliarmus spell,” Professor Williams announced.
“Miss Riddle, Miss Tikhonov, would you two please come up?”
Miriam and another girl about her age with reddish-brown hair climbed up onto the platform.
“Now remember what we practiced on our last lesson: bow to your opponent, then raise your wand to your side,” Professor Williams instructed. Miriam and Estell followed the professor's instructions and then, slowly raising their wands into the air, walked away with their backs toward one another.
“Now remember, we’re only disarming, nothing else,” Professor Williams reminded.
Miriam raised her wand, but before Estella could react against it, she yelled, “Expelliarmus!” Estella’s wand flew straight out her hand and into the air as applause filled the Great Hall.
“Very good, Miss Riddle,” congratulated Professor Williams, as he motioned for Miriam and Estella to prepare to practice the disarming spell a second time.
“Try it again, and most importantly, try not to procrastinate. Your opponent will gain the advantage over you if you do.”
Estella and Miriam raised their wands again. Estella opened her mouth, “Expelliar““
”Expelliarmus!” Miriam shouted. As it had done before, Estella’s wand shot out of her hand and into a complete arc. Her face flustered at having been beaten for a second time.
“First-rate, Miss Riddle,” Professor Williams proclaimed as Miriam hopped off the table to rejoin her cheering friends.
“That was so amazing!” Sophie cried.
~*~
The minutes slipped by, and soon Miriam heard Professor Williams calling her brother to join them on the platform.
“Let’s see if you’re as good as your sister,” he said.
“We shall see, sir, if I am better than her.”
Tom got up onto the platform and watched as his opponent joined him. Off from the distance, Tom’s opponent looked vaguely familiar.... Oh no! It’s Henry!
“Mr. Diggory, Mr. Riddle, we’re merely exercising our disarming spell and nothing more, all right?” Professor Williams told them. Tom and Henry both nodded their heads. “On the count of three, then... one... two... three!”
Henry and Tom bowed toward one another and began to walk away. Tom looked silently over his shoulder at Henry who had his back toward him. A look of absolute determination spread across his face. Slowly he turned around on the balls of his feet to face Henry, whom in Tom’s opinion was making a pitiful attempt at trying to look intimidating. He raised his wand... Henry did the same.
Oh! I can’t watch! Miriam covered her eyes so she didn't have to see her brother and her boyfriend square off against one another, even if it was only a simple disarming spell. A part of her wanted to cheer for Henry, but the other side was rooting for Tom.
“Expelliarmus!” She looked up and saw Tom with his wand raised high and Henry’s wand flying five feet in the air.
“Outstanding work there, Mr. Riddle!”
After a second outing, which produced the same results, a laughing Tom rejoined the Slytherins who were cheering and patting him on the back. Tom looked back at Henry and shouted, “You’re not as bad as people say ““ (Henry began to blush, thinking he was receiving a compliment from a Slytherin) ““ you’re worse!”
Tom’s gibe sent the Slytherins into fits of laughter.
February 7th, 1941,
Something truly bizarre happened to me in Divination class today....
---
Professor Sanderson was giving a boring lecture to the students on the importance of the position of Venus in conjunction to Mars in the wintertime. Miriam was finding it hard to keep awake and listen to the drivel. Resting her head on her chin, her eyelids felt like they had weights pulling them down. They seemed to get heavier eavier and heavier... Listening to the lecture was like being under the influence of a strong tranquilizer....
No, she sighed inwardly. I... I must stay... yawn... awake. A moment later she heard a peculiar voice, and although the voice was exceptionally faint, she could still make out bits and pieces of what it was saying, and it wasn’t Professor Sanderson....
"“ will rise above, to destroy... will rise...." The room she was in suddenly became dark and hazy. The strange voice began speaking to her in a foreign language.
"“ evolabit... destrere... evolabit...."
A shadowy image filled her head. Whatever it was, it was coming toward her with its pale hands extended outward.
"“ evolabit... destrere... evolabit...." The voice seemed questionably familiar... it was her own voice speaking these words!
"“ evolabit... destrere... evolabit.... Evolabit... destrere... evolabit...."
Miriam kept repeating the words over and over again, no matter how hard she tried to stop. A malevolent, inhuman laughter filled the air around her as coldness swept through, giving her the feeling of being trapped underwater.
“Ser... servatis a periculum...”
The shadowy figure grew bigger and bigger as it came toward her. Frightened, she tried to more, but couldn't... her feet were confined to the ground.
“Servatis a maleficum...”
The words became louder, vibrating within the confines of her head. Her temples and her brain, painfully pounding, felt as if they were going to explode....
"Miriam...."
Something touched her shoulder... it was a hand... it was shaking her from the dream. Gasping for breath, she opened her eyes, unaware that she had even fallen asleep to begin with. Startled, she looked around to see the person who had touched her shoulder. It was Professor Sanderson. Sophie and Marcella were standing beside her, both looking pale; the rest of her classmates stared at her anxiously.
“Dearie, are you all right?” Professor Sanderson asked worriedly, pressing her palm to Miriam's forehead. Miriam mumbled something indistinguishable as her head was still throbbing madly.
“Miss Riddle, I did not know you could speak Latin.”
“I -- I can’t,” she replied hoarsely, finding her voice as the pain in her head lessened.
“Really?” Professor Sanderson asked, quite shocked. “I may be a bit rusty, but you just said, in perfect Latin I might add, ‘evolabit... destrere... evolabit’: ‘will rise above, to destroy’.” Loud murmurs rustled through the classroom. Professor Sanderson continued. “Do you know what else you were mumbling? ‘Servatis a periculum, servatis a maleficum’, or in English, ‘Save us from danger, save us from evil’.”
“What do you think you're getting at?” a student asked, wide-eyed and scared.
“What kind of game are you playing?” a second one enquired. The rest of the class began asking the same thing.
“QUIET!” bellowed Professor Sanderson. She turned to face Sophie and Marcella and said gently, “Would you two please take Miriam to the infirmary?”
The girls nodded and together they helped Miriam down from the Divination tower and into the infirmary.
~*~
“It looks to me like Miss Riddle is simply suffering from exhaustion,” Michellina explained, after a thorough examination of Miriam. “Just make sure she gets plenty of rest tonight.”
That night, Miriam and her friends went to be early as to follow the nurses’ advice for plenty of relaxation. Unfortunately, Miriam found it hard to fall asleep that night. She tried writing in her diary, which usually put her to sleep, but this time it proved useless.
“I give up,” she sighed, slamming the book shut. Maybe I could walk around or something....
Pulling out her sweater and skirt, she slipped them on and then headed down to the common room. Although she’d be breaking many school rules by wandering around at night, she decided to risk it anyway. Stepping out of the portrait and into the cool night air, she stood in the desolate hallway and shivered. It was a still bit nippy at this time of night.
Where do I want to wander off to? She decided to head to her left and the upper part of the castle. Having only been up there for Divination, she wanted to explore the rest of that portion of the castle.
Eventually she passed the staircase that lead to the Divination classroom; further down was another hallway. As she slowly made her way down the hall, she noticed there were many doors to either side of her. Opening one door, she saw it was only a broom closet. The next door she opened contained a bed.
What an odd place for a bedroom, she thought, raising an eyebrow. Closing the door, she approached a third. Quietly opening it, the door revealed a small, vacant room. She walked in and looked around. Nothing of any interested was there... except...
This looks vaguely familiar, she thought. What had piqued her interest was a mirror sitting in the middle of the room. She tried to think why it seemed so familiar to her, but nothing came to mind, when suddenly...
Oh no! A horrible recollection struck her. That mirror... it was the same one she had seen more than two years ago in a nightmare she had. She still remembered that dream, and looking at the mirror was like reliving it. Reluctantly approaching the mirror, she stared intently at her reflection in case it should suddenly change like had in her nightmare. Miriam focused solely on her own image, totally unaware of anything else.
Nothing odd here, she thought. Turning around to leave, she began to walk away, only stopping to take one last glance into the mirror. Rather than seeing her own image, she saw another image as well... an image of a young woman was standing next to her. Miriam screamed and started to run out the door, but her foot slipped out from underneath her in her haste to leave, and she fell to the ground.
Oomph. Feeling as if the wind had been knocked out of her, she rubbed her stomach and slowly got off the ground and back onto her feet. Wobbling a little at first, she was able to regain her balance. Glancing back at the mirror, the woman was still there, smiling gently at Miriam. The figure appeared kind, and Miriam didn’t feel threatened by her. Curiosity getting the better of her, she walked closer to the mirror and studied the image. The figure had compassionate, hazel eyes, and long, dark hair that was done up in a chignon. It amazed Miriam how much she looked liked this woman.
“Am... am I you?” Miriam asked quietly. The woman shook her head no. At that moment, Miriam’s heart literally stopped beating. A tight, clasping sensation clenched at her chest.
“Are... are you my mother?” she enquired, which this time, the woman smiled and nodded. This was all Miriam could take. Tears started spilling from her eyes as she sat down in front of the mirror and cried. For all thirteen years of her life, Miriam had always longed to see her mother and now, she finally had. Sitting and staring through her tear-soaked eyes at her beautiful mother, she seemed so much like a regal queen. But underneath her majestic appearance was an anguished aura.
How Tom would have loved to see this.
Time slipped by and although she didn’t want to, she knew she had to leave her mother behind. With a heavy heart, she got up from her spot on the ground and reluctantly started to walk out of the strange room. Before she left, she turned around for one last glance at her mother....
“Good-bye,” she whispered softly.
Standing once again in the unoccupied hallway, she looked around to make sure no one was coming. Quietly she tiptoed back down the hallway and into a strange part of the castle.
I could have sworn this was the way I had taken.
Miriam looked around at the unfamiliar area and sighed. She was lost. As she thought back to try and remember if she had taken a wrong turn, she heard a voice coming. Her heart started racing as she looked for a place to hide.
If the teachers catch me, I’d surely be punished.
“Ya not lost, are ye?” a strange voice asked. Miriam nearly jumped out of her skin.
“Who... who said that?” she enquired. Looking up, she saw a squat knight riding a horse.
“I repeat, ya not lost, are ye?”
Miriam nodded her head fervently. “I can’t seem to find my way back to the Gryffindor common room.”
“Young Missy, ya’ll need to head back in the direction ya came and make a left instead of a right.”
“Thank you,” Miriam sighed. Getting ready to leave, she heard something else now... footsteps! Noticing an alcove in the wall beside her, she decided to hide in it. As the footsteps got nearer, Miriam crouched down further into the darkness and held her breath. The person making the footsteps quickly appeared, but it wasn’t the teacher or caretaker that she was expecting; in fact, it was the last person she’d ever expect out at this time... her brother. His voice was filled with fearfulness, and he was talking to someone or something nearby. Quietly (and hastily) looking out from her hiding spot, she saw there was nobody else around him.
Has he finally lost his mind? she silently wondered.
Tom looked apprehensive as he continued the conversation with himself. “I swear, I don’t know!”
“LIAR!” This voice speaking was malevolent and inhuman... and the same voice Miriam had heard earlier that day in Divination. From her hiding spot, Miriam took another look and could now see her brother clearly. His back was toward her and he faced a window that overlooked the grounds.
“Please... let me go....,” he begged.
Miriam didn’t know what was going on. She wanted to help her brother, but subconsciously, something told her that whatever she did wouldn’t be able to help him and that staying where she was would be wiser. Tom scrunched up his face and turned around to face Miriam’s darkened hiding spot. Though he was unable to see her, she could make out a small portion of him as her eyes had become accustomed to the darkness.
Slowly he began to open his eyes again, and when he did, Miriam had to fight a strong urge to scream. Tom’s normal green eyes were now gleaming blood-red.
He opened his mouth to speak, but the voice that emitted wasn’t his voice.... “LIAR! I KNOW YOU’RE DECEIVING ME! WHERE IS THE DAMN GIRL?!”
Is that THING talking about me?
Miriam was frightened. Sitting in her spot, still and quiet, her breath quickened rapidly.
Grindelwald. That name popped into her head unexpectedly; she wasn’t sure why she had even though of it just then.
Go away.... Go away. Closing her eyes, she prayed that whatever was possessing her brother, be it Grindelwald or not, would leave them both alone.
“I KNOW SHE IS AROUND HERE! I CAN SMELL HER!”
Miriam held her breath and brought her knees up to her chest. The footsteps eventually faded away into the distance, and she knew that her brother and Grindelwald were gone now. Slowly getting up, she quietly tiptoed out of her hiding spot. Her breath still not returned to normal, she set out for to the Gryffindor common room.
She walked quietly through the hallway leading to the Gryffindor common room reliving the incidents of the day: Hearing that strange voice in Divination class, seeing her mother for the first time in her life, and watching her brother being possessed by Grindelwald.
It was so quiet she could hear her heart beating a mile a minute, and her breath came in short, slow gasps. The quietness proved to be relaxing for her currently unnerved state, and the absolutely last thing she needed at that point was the loud hissing sound that emitted from behind her. Briskly turning around, she didn’t see anything out of the ordinary in the darkened hallway.
I’m just a bit jumpy... my mind is merely playing tricks on me, that’s all. No matter how hard she tried, there was no convincing herself otherwise.
Continuing walking onwards, she suddenly stopped dead in her tracks, hearing an ear-piercing scream coming from somewhere within the depths of the castle. The sound was traveling fast; it sounded like it was coming closer.... The scream became louder, almost as if it were now coming from directly behind her....
That was all the incentive she needed to break the speed barrier back to the Gryffindor common room, running until she was safely inside and in the girls dormitories.
February 12th, 1941,
I went to see Professor Dumbledore today. I had to ask him a few things that have been on my mind since that awful night....
---
“What do you wish to talk to me about?” Dumbledore asked, shifting some papers aside on his desk. Miriam had arrived in his office before lunchtime and had insisted on talking to him. Sitting in a chair, she asked, while avoiding eye contact with him, “Is... is it possible... that... that Grindelwald could attack the school?”
“What would make you ask such a thing?” he asked, raising his eyebrows slightly.
“I -- I was just wondering,” she lied, keeping her head down.
“Well,” Dumbledore began, “Grindelwald is quite a powerful wizard, but not so powerful that he could attack the school. Hogwarts has many charms upon it that prevent someone like Grindelwald from attacking it.”
“What about... possessing anyone,” she asked, still not looking in Dumbledore’s eyes.
“Yes, he’s been known to possess people."
“What about in the school?”
“It’s quite possible, but what would he have to gain from possessing a student?”
“I don’t know,” Miriam replied solemnly, her heart felt like it had plummeted into her stomach.
“Grindelwald only possesses people who are in the way of what he believes to be a cleansing of those he feels are un-pure, or he possesses people to get them to do things for him.”
Miriam finally looked up. Dumbledore’s face was kind although his bright blue eyes were staring at her intently. A shiver went down her spine.
“Why do you ask? Is there something you’d like to tell me?”
“N -- no,” Miriam lied again. Quickly bidding him good-bye, she got up and left his office before he could ask her any more questions that would force her to lie.
Upon entering the Great Hall for lunch, she felt like there was a black cloud hanging over her head, not even the prospect of the forthcoming Quidditch game that night could cheer her up.
Grindelwald is possessing my brother, and I don’t know why.
She felt so alone; there wasn’t anybody she could tell. Who would actually believe her anyway?
A/N: The words "Servatis a periculum, servatis a maleficum"
are from the song "Whisper" by Evanescence.