In the Shadow of the Serpent

Long before Harry and his friends were born, Tom Riddle and his sister Miriam attended Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. In a diary written by Miriam, she recounts the events of their seven years at Hogwarts . . . and how her brother eventually became corrupted by the dark side.

He handed Tom the other wand, and just like Miriam's, a warm sensation ran through him, but then suddenly turned icy cold as greenish colored sparks flew out. The man looked at Tom intently. "Interesting," he said. "That is a yew wand, thirteen and a half inches and made with a phoenix feather center."

"Riddle, Miriam," the wizard announced. A small girl with long dark hair made her way up to the chair and the wizard placed the tattered hat on her head, the brim of it slipping down past her eyes.(...) "Riddle, Thomas," the old wizard called out as he continued to read aloud from the long parchment he held in his hands. Miriam turned around in her seat and watched as her brother got up onto the stool and the hat was placed on his head.

"The blood from hundreds of innocent victims," he mumbled, as the blood continued to ooze from his hands like from a freshly cut wound.

Miriam and Tom bolted out of the library as fast as their legs could carry them. They ran all the way through the library and didn’t stop until they were safely two floors above.

"Take that back!" She heard Tom shouting at the poor boy. "I'm... I'm sorry!" the boy squealed, cowering into the wall.

"They're fine," he answered, not even looking up from his book. "Tom, do you know how to answer a question with more than just two or three words?" she asked scathingly.

"It says here that only the heir of Slytherin can open the Chamber of Secrets," a voice quoted, which Miriam knew at once was Carrey's. "Look at this," a different voice announced, one whom she guessed to belong to Murdoch. "It says here it's located somewhere within the school." Carrey lowered his voice, and Miriam had to strain to hear him. Leaning in closer to the bookshelf, she heard him say, "They say it's inhabited by a monster!"

A part of Miriam wished she could hear what they were saying as they seemed, or at least Tom was, having a very intense discussion with the person. Only able to make out a few loud mumbles here and there, Miriam pressed her ear harder against the window in hopes of catching a part of the conversation. She could faintly hear Tom's voice in the distance. He was laughing, but it didn't sound like Tom's voice at all. It sounded cold and harsh, unlike his normal voice, which she knew so well....

"

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.

She handed the paper back to Marcella and asked, "How could a Muggle war affect the wizarding world?" "I don't know, but it sounds awful."

Miriam dropped the book as if it were suddenly burning her hands. In a state of mild delirium, she watched it as it fell to the floor with a soft

"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..."

As Miriam watched the mark slowly brand itself on Tom's arm, she felt a heavy ball rest in the pit of her stomach. She couldn't take watching this anymore, so she turned around to leave, leaving her brother to his little freak party.

Figuring it must have been a simple trick of his mind, he was preparing to leave the restroom when a first year Hufflepuff boy looked at Tom and then ran out of the restroom screaming at the top of his lungs. Wondering what on earth he could possibly be screaming at, Tom turned around and faced the mirror again. It was then he saw it: There was blood trickling down from the corners of his eyes like morbid tears.

Still half-asleep, she began to rub her eyes, but they immediately began to sting. Grabbing her blanket she wiped whatever was in her eyes out, but she wasn't prepared for what her now-clear eyes saw:

"Just do it!" he yelled. Miriam gazed at her brother in amazement. "Look," he said, more quietly this time, "pack your bags and meet me downstairs at midnight tonight."

Miriam heaved a sigh and then left him to his two ridiculing friends. But the thought of her brother using such a derogatory term like Mudblood sent shivers through her and turned her blood cold.

"I didn't know you were a... a..." Miriam looked at her friend while she desperately tried to spit out the rest of her sentence "-a

By this time, it was around midnight and the Christmastide celebration was nearing its end. Most of the crowd was gone from the Great Hall and only a few stragglers remained. Sophie and Marcella were nowhere to be seen, and Miriam figured they had gone back to the common room without her. Stifling a yawn, she decided to head there herself as it was getting very late on this emotionally draining day.

Miriam innocently shrugged her shoulders as she continued on with her clever ruse. He yawned and rubbed his eyes. "Maybe I better... just..." He didn't get the chance to finish his sentence as he fell off his chair and onto the floor in a heap. Miriam looked behind the desk and saw Tom fast asleep (and snoring heavily) on the floor. "Good night and pleasant dreams, dear brother," she said smirking as she pulled something else out from inside her robe....

"Why are you trespassing on our land?" a black centaur asked, pointing a bow directly at Miriam. Her ability to speak seemed to have left her at that moment. "I - I... we... you see... we were just -"

Something unforeseen was preventing her from diving in after them. The man's once smiling face twisted into a bit of a scowl; his once shining eyes took on an eerie gleam.

Sam followed her glare to his arm and the strange mark... he hastily pulled his sleeve down when he realized what she was looking at. "Nothing, nothing!" he stammered. "Just a... a... burn I got... nothing important."

Miriam strained her eyes, trying to read what he had written on the page.

He looked absolutely furious and malevolent, but the thing that frightened her the most about him were the tears of blood trickling from his eyes and down his face, leaving crimson trail marks over his cheeks.

"Honestly, sir! Aragog never killed her! He's not like that! I swear! He never killed her!"

She could barely see straight, tears were starting to sting her eyes. Holding the knife, she brought her fingers up to the blade, letting it slowly cut her fingers. Not wanting the whole common room below to hear her cry out, she bit her tongue. Though it kept her from screaming, it unfortunately only contributed more pain onto herself.

Her head was hurting as she tried to ignore his commands.... It was difficult, much too difficult... but she had to try.... Concentrating was taking all her energy....

Almost as if he knew she was watching him, Tom turned to face her. She received quite a surprise when, as she looked into his green eyes, they took on an eerie blood-red gleam. A hint of a sneer tugged on his lips before she turned away.

"She needs to go to the hospital wing," Panes announced as he lead the greatly weakened Marcella out. Tom slowly made his way over to his grief-stricken sister, who was going into shock. Tom leaned over and whispered softly into her ear, "How does it feel to almost kill your best friend?"

Her friend was right... this was the beginning of something new. But no matter how much she tried to think positively, the nagging thought of Madam Westyn's loomed in the back of her mind. She was only seventeen, still a minor in the Muggle world, and still under Westyn's guardianship until she was eighteen. Her birthday wasn't for another four months.... Another four months of pure hell....

"Avada Kedava!" A second green light shot out. "I grow weary of playing these games with you, sister!" A third light shot out. Each one was getting closer and closer to Miriam.