Before He Was Voldemort (A Tom Riddle Fanfiction)

Chapter 29: Glimpse of the Monster

February, 1944

Rarely was Tom ever afflicted by dreams and nightmares. When he slept, he slept with the ease and composure in which he carried himself when he was awake.

So it came as a troubling shock when he started having a repetitive dream that replayed in his sleep every night for a week straight. To his dismay, they continued to feature the one person Tom confidently believed was finally free from his thoughts. But like a stubborn parasite clinging to its host, she somehow remained entangled in his life.

* * *

The dream always began in the same sequence. Tom could smell and feel the dampness in the air before he opened his eyes, revealing the dimly lit and cavernous Chamber of Secrets. Despite its gloominess, the chamber brought him a great reminiscence of when he first opened it almost a year ago. Oh, the pride he felt for being able to control the Basilisk that lurked within, fulfilling the great Salazar Slytherin's quest to eradicate Muggleborns from Hogwarts by setting the beast loose on the school. Unfortunately, the one casualty that almost had Hogwarts closed down thwarted his plans.

Tom still had faith someone in the future would carry on Slytherin's noble work.

But what was he doing in the Chamber of Secrets now? Wasn't it unsafe to enter now that Dumbledore was suspicious of him?

"Tom, there you are!" came a familiar voice at the end of the long chamber. Tom could barely make out the figure running towards him.

Footsteps slapped loudly against the wet floor as the figure- a girl, Tom realized- sprinted down the path. He began walking forward, trying to get a better look at the girl. Tom briefly acknowledged the massive sleeping form of the Basilisk as he passed it, its body coiled around so its head rested on top. Not even the dead body of the Mudblood girl- who laid gruesomely next to the Basilisk- murdered in the girls' bathroom a year ago bothered him as he continued on. That's when he was able to recognize the girl's face as she neared.

Tom realized with a start that it was Corinne.

She finally reached him and leapt into his arms, the impact causing him to lose his balance on the slippery floor and fall backwards, landing flat on his back with Corinne on top of him. She giggled, raising her head from Tom's chest to gaze down at him, brushing her nose against his. A strange fluttering feeling erupted inside him.

"I've missed you," Corinne whispered, her hot breath tickling Tom's face, causing him to shiver. The way she was looking at him, her eyes dancing with want in the darkness of the chamber, her body pressed flush against his, was driving him mad with each passing second.

Tom couldn't stop himself from grasping the back of Corinne's neck and closing the little space that was left between them, capturing her lips hungrily with his. She responded with the same eagerness, her tongue immediately darting out to taste him. Tom let out a deep groan when Corinne's fingers wove themselves in his hair, tugging ever so slightly. His hands found her lower back, pulling her impossibly closer. Whatever was happening, Tom did not want it to stop, no matter how much he told himself that this was wrong.

"Tom," said Corinne, breaking apart to look down at him again, her eyes still closed in bliss. "I lo-"

Before she could finish, Corinne opened her eyes, her face contorting in horror as she let out a terrified scream.

She scrambled off of Tom frantically, stumbling and slipping to get away from him. "Please don't kill me!" she begged, holding her hands out in front of her as though Tom were going to strike her. "I-I'll do anything, just please don't kill me!"