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.