Riddle's Plea

Unwanted Visitor*

(Vienna. October 31st, 1943)

    Vienna. The dark voice wakes me from my sleep, and I sit up quickly, hissing from the ache of my freshly healed ribs. I look about the Hospital Wing, looking for any sign of the figure who had spoken, but coming up empty. It's all in your head. I look to the clock, taking note that it was now a new day, Halloween to be specific, and the castle was eerily quiet. Tom had brought me to the Hospital Wing, dropping me onto a bed, and leaving me to be coddled by Madame Ducane. He left without a word, and didn't ever return. I let out a sigh, sitting up in the bed, and pulling the itchy blankets off of me. Madame Ducane had fixed the three broken ribs that Tom had given me, but saving my life in the process. Despite my ribs being healed, the Matron practically forced me to stay the night and gave me a lecture in the process. Vienna. 

    I sit up straighter at the sound of the voice, scanning the room again for any signs of movement. "Whose there?" I ask, grabbing my wand from the bedside table, and shifting my legs off the bed. I stand up gingerly, walking towards the end of my hospital bed, wand at the ready and listening for the voice. The only sounds I hear are the light snores coming from the Matron's office and sleeping quarters. In the corner of my eye I see movement in the far corner of the room, and turn quickly to the moving darkness. I take steady steps towards the corner of the room, not making a sound, and breathing heavily. "Lumos." The end of my wand lights up, and I turn that light to the empty corner. It's your head playing tricks on you. I let out another heavy sigh, turning back around, I scan the room one more time. "Nox." The light disappears and I begin walking back towards my bed. A torch along the wall suddenly lights up, the bright light from the blazing fire makes me squint as I look at it confused, before my gaze falls upon a figure standing in front of me, and I scream. 

    He stands before me, his black cloak billowing around him, almost as if it's apart of the darkness itself. The fire from the torch casts a shadow upon half his face, lighting up the features that were the same...but different. I find myself backing into the wall behind me, pointing my wand at the monster before me, my eyes glued to him. "This is a dream...a nightmare." I whimper out, my heart pounding furiously in my chest, and tremors racking my body. The Dark Lord holds up both of his hands in front of him, showing me that he doesn't have his wand, and trying to calm me. "It's not a dream Vienna." His voice is no longer a hiss, but it stills sends chills throughout me. "I'm not here to hurt you." He states calmly, taking a step forwards his hands still in front of him. "What are you doing here?" I ask him, my voice rising in octaves and the absolute panic seeping in. "I'm here to talk Vienna." I regard him carefully, taking notice of his strange appearance, and my mind spinning. "What happened to your nose?" I find myself blurting out, and mentally slapping myself for such a stupid question. The Dark Lord chuckles at my not-so-subtle question. "You." He says cryptically, and my eyebrows practically raise to my hairline from his words. "What?" He chuckles again at my obvious confusion, and takes another step forwards. "You coming back to this time," he begins carefully, "my quest for you is working." 

    I suck in a breath in surprise at his words, and push myself off the wall. "It is? But I haven't done anything." I say to him, taking a cautious step towards him, and my wand now resting by my side. "Yes you have Vienna. You're already planning on taking a big step." My confusion increases at his words, and I rack my brain for what he could be talking about. The Chamber of Secrets. Realization dawns on my face, and the Dark Lord smirks. "There you go." I regard his appearance again carefully. His nose was no longer that of a snakes, and he had more color to his skin. The veins that once covered his bald head were no longer visible, and I could see the stubble of his regrowing hair. "How are you here?" I ask him, watching his every movement carefully. "The potion I gave you. It gives me access to be able to visit, but only for a limited amount of time. It takes  powerful magic to be able to do so." He says, no hint of a lie is present in his face, and I nod my head in understanding at his words. 

    "I have to stop you from opening the chamber." I state, relaxing just a tiny bit, trying to clear my brain and calm my beating heart. "You don't have to stop me Vienna. You know what you need to do." His words send panic flowing through my veins again, and I find myself searching for words. "Y-you want me.. to kill...the Basilisk?" I stutter out in shock, pointing a finger to myself. "You have too. The death of the Ravenclaw girl gave me what I needed to create my first horcrux." He states calmly, and causing the room to spin in front of me with the mention of Myrtle Warren's death. "How the hell am I supposed to do that?" I had fallen back into the wall, and was in the process of curling up into a ball. "You know how Vienna." His cryptic answers were beginning to make me angry. "Why come all the way back here to only give me cryptic answers and not help me at all?!" I half-yell to him, throwing up my hands in exasperation, and causing my ribs to ache. "Because you already know what you will do Vienna. You just need some...motivation to do it, and I believe you seeing me now, seeing my changes in appearance, will give you that motivation." He answers me truthfully, and I take in his appearance again. I nod slowly at his words, and begin to stand up again. 

    "I died today. Now you want me to get myself killed again?" I ask him, the disbelief filling my still spinning head. "I'm not a cat, I don't have nine lives." He chuckles at my words and looks at me calmly. "I may have had something to do with what happened today." My heart stops with his words, and anger floods my body. "You...tampered with the first years card game..." I begin, pointing my finger at him and watching him nod slowly. "You caused that first year boy to get thrown into the lake..." He nods again at my words. "YOU KILLED ME?" The anger explodes and I point my wand at him again. "Vienna. I had to put you into a situation where my past self would save you." He says calmly, putting out his hands again to show me he means no harm. "And what would have happened if you wouldn't have saved me?" I ask him, wand still pointed in his direction. "From the moment I met you, I knew you were different Vienna." He begins, looking at me with...sadness? in his eyes. "You are probably the only thing I've ever known to make me question my own beliefs. You're powerful Vienna. If it would have been anyone else, I would have let them drown." With his words, the torch extinguished and the room was left in blackness again. "Incendio." I quickly say the spell, causing the torch to relight once again, and am left with confusion filling my veins. "Are you alright dear?" The matron was sticking her head out of her office, eyeing me up and down to check for any injuries. "Yes I'm fine." I say, breathing heavily and sweat rolling down my back. "I just had a nightmare is all."