Dark Magic

Ginny

We landed harshly on a pile of bones after, what felt like, forever of falling into the chamber. We must have been a hundred feet underground. Nobody would be able to hear us if we needed their help. Harry quickly lifted me up from the ground, which I thanked him for. My backpack remained around my shoulders, as I adjusted it for comfort. 

The bones surrounding us could have been any type of rodent; but no human bones, thank goodness. It looked as though we had fallen into an old salt cave that I had seen in a documentary once, at the orphanage; due to the calcium growing from the ceilings that had solidified over hundreds of years. The dripping of the pipes was distracting, as we ventured deeper into the caves.

We soon passed, what looked like, a sleeping Basilisk; over 50 feet long. Fortunately, it was the shredded skin of said creature; our fight was not meant to happen yet, but I sensed it was shortly approaching. We travelled until we came across a vault door. It was covered in metal snakes that worked as the lock to the entrance. Harry stepped forth, before muttering 'open' in Parseltongue. 

The vault let out a loud bang, shifting like the first entrance to the chamber. A metal snake appeared, encircling the vault as the other snakes recoiled away from it, allowing the door to open. We shared a short glance, looking to one another for some reassurance, before making our way inside.

The Chamber of Secrets was an immense fortress; a long, stone pathway lead us to a wall that had been carved into the face of Salazar Slytherin himself. On either side of the floor was water, and numerous tunnel exits that the Basilisk had been using to travel around the school. Six serpents looked onwards towards our path ahead, adjacent to one another with their reptilian mouths wide and ready to strike. Although they were made of stone also, I felt as though one of them could come to life and be revealed as the true Basilisk at any given moment.

At the end of the pathway, there was a figure laying motionless, on the ground. Our walking pace turned into a sprint, as we closed the gap between ourselves and the body. My knees gave way, as I laid eyes on "Ginny?" Harry gasped from beside me, as I reached for her wrist and found a pulse. "She's alive." I sighed in relief, my eyes welling at the thought of having to tell Ron his sister had not made it.

Harry began to shake her, begging her to open her eyes and wake up.

"She won't wake." A voice spoke from the shadows. A boy emitted from the side of the chamber; he must have been a sixth year, and he donned a Slytherin uniform but I definitely did not recognize him-and yet, something seemed extremely familiar about the black haired, dark-eyed student.

His gaze left Harry, and averted onto me as a look of confusion appeared in his eyes. "Who are you?" He began to stalk towards us both, Harry standing in front of me protectively before the student could reach us. "Tom? Tom Riddle? What do you mean she won't wake?" Harry stuttered, looking concernedly to Ginny and then back to the boy he had mentioned the diary belonged to; the diary that contained a memory-not a person.

"She is still alive, but barely." He reassured. I took a step forth, as my brother stayed beside me. "What are you?" I queried, to his amusement. He smirked, "A memory-preserved in a diary for fifty years. And you are?" He raised an eyebrow.

I remembered what Snape had said; the name 'Potter' was a famous one. "Emerald." I answered simply, not feeling comfortable to extend my hand for this memory to shake. There was something extremely odd about Tom Riddle, that gave me a great feeling of unease. 

It was as I glanced down at his hand, however, that I found he had somehow attained Harry's wand. I clasped my hand over the back pocket of my jeans, grasping my wand tightly. "We're leaving, Harry." I instructed firmly, as we knelt down to carry Ginny from the chamber.

Tom outstretched his wand, ready to cast a spell to prevent us from leaving. "I'm afraid I cannot let you do that. You see, as Ginny Weasley grows weaker...I grow stronger." My eyes widened at the revelation, as I glanced down to find Tom's diary beside Ginny's limp body. My suspicions were shortly confirmed.

"Yes, it was indeed Ginny Weasley who opened The Chamber of Secrets."

"It was Ginny who set the Basilisk on the Mudbloods and Filch's cat."

"Ginny, who wrote the threatening messages on the walls."

Harry shook his head out of disbelief. "But, why?"

I forced myself up from the ground, narrowing my eyes towards Tom, "Because he made her do it." I spat, causing him to smirk once more. "There's something about you, Emerald-you remind me of myself. Silvertongued." He spoke, as though it were some sort of compliment.

I scoffed, "I am nothing like you!" I tried to contain my anger, which only amused him even more. 

"As I'm sure you must have gathered, the power of the diary began to scare her. She tried to destroy it in the girl's bathroom. And then, I should find it with you; the very person I was most anxious to meet." His attention diverted onto Harry's.

"And why would you want to meet me?" My brother questioned. 

"I knew I had to meet you; face to face if I could. Only, I knew it wouldn't be safe to open the Chamber again whilst I was still at school and I decided to preserve my sixteen year old self in a diary, what with Dumbledore keeping a close eye on me after Hagrid got expelled for 'releasing the creature.' That oath couldn't control the Basilisk if his life depended on it!" He chuckled lightly at his own joke. 

"You'll never live up to the man that Professor Hagrid has become. So where are you now, Tom!? I haven't read about you in any books-you can't be too important." I argued, defending the teacher that had only ever been kind to me; and now he was in Azkaban, suffering for an occurrence he was falsely accused of fifty years prior.

His eyes lit up at my questioning, as he knelt to my level and began to speak sinisterly, "Voldemort is my past, present and future, you see." He turned away from us both, using Harry's wand to spell out his full name.

Tom Marvolo Riddle

He waved the wand, as the words became jumbled and moved around one another, creating a new word entirely. For Tom Marvolo Riddle, was an anagram for;

I Am Lord Voldemort