Saviour of Magic

The Chamber of Secrets

He was standing at the end of a very long and dimly lit chamber. Giant statues of snakes were on both sides. The ceiling was lost in the darkness and there was an odd greenish glow to the entire place. Ancient lighting charms and torches illuminated a large statue two hundred meters from his position and he could see from so far away that Ginny Weasley was lying down in front of it. He slowly walked towards her, idly looking around for the Basilisk. He reached the girl, bent down and shook her arm.

"Weasley, wake up."

"She won't wake," said a soft voice.

Harry immediately stood up and took his duelling stance in record time. His eyes narrowed when he saw a tall black haired boy leaning against a stone pillar. The edges of his body seemed to be blurred, but otherwise, he looked quite solid. And he was also holding a wand.

"Who are you?" asked Harry quietly, still not having moved from his stance.

"Tom Riddle," he said quietly.

"Voldemort!" breathed Harry, his eyes wide in shock. "You're responsible for these attacks? But I checked - I thought for sure that you were not in the castle."

"Oh, so you know who I am?" Riddle smirked. "Good, very good, Harry. That ensures that I have your attention."

Harry saw that Riddle was gripping Ginny's wand. What in Merlin's name was he? This was not the Voldemort he had detected last year, was he? How did Voldemort circumvent the enchantments on the map?

"What are you?"

"A memory," said Riddle quietly. "Preserved in a diary for fifty years."

"Don't test my intelligence," snapped Harry, sounding annoyed. "You are not a mere memory."

"True," Riddle nodded, looking amused. "I know that you are far from stupid, Harry Potter. Ginny has told me all about you; about how you got yourself accepted into the accelerated program, about how you won the Under-13 International Duelling Championship, everything. Most impressive, I must admit."

"I'm glad you think so," Harry said curtly, his brain worked overtime, thinking about what in their surroundings he could use against Riddle.

"I have waited a long time to meet you, Harry Potter," said Riddle softly, eyeing Harry hungrily. "So long ..."

Harry's eyes fell on the diary that was held in Ginny Weasley's hands. Several memories came slamming into Harry's mind, but this time he was ready. He created a pocket in his mind, trapping the memories within so that he could view them later.

"Why did Weasley open the Chamber?"

"Oh, figured it out, have you?" said Riddle, smiling broadly. "It's not like she had a choice. Stupid little Ginny has been writing in my diary all year, telling me all sorts of things. Things she had never told anyone else. I grew stronger as she poured her fears and secrets into me day after day. She began pouring her soul into me and that was exactly what I needed. Slowly I grew stronger, Harry, and I began ordering the attacks on the Mudbloods in the school."

Riddle's eyes had a red tint to them now and Harry watched the boy, his face still impassive. He needed an opening to attack.

"But of course, my initial plan took a backseat once Ginny told me your fascinating history," said Riddle, his eyes not leaving Harry's face. "About how you survived a Killing Curse at the age of one and managed to actually reflect it back at the caster, namely me. So I wanted to know more about you. I was quite stunned when Ginny told me that you were a Parselmouth so that increased my desire to find you, to talk to you ..."

"And did you think I would have been interested in talking to an alternate version of my parents' killer?" spat Harry.

"I knew that you wouldn't talk to me, Harry. That's why I thought I could make things more interesting. But before that could happen, someone had discovered my secret. Your little girlfriend discovered the existence of the basilisk and how it was using the pipes concealed in the school to launch its attacks. If Greengrass ran off to the Ministry, it would be nearly impossible for me to talk to you, so I decided to eliminate her. Of course, she is a smart girl, I will give her that. When she realised that there was a possibility of an attack, she took the necessary precautions. If not for that stupid hand-held mirror, she would have died, just like I wanted her to."