Ariadne's Thread ⭒ h. potter

In the Chamber

Ariadne's relief subsided as the panic set in. "Harry, Harry, get out of here! It's you that he'll want!"

"Very clever, Ariadne Black," Tom said, an almost proud look on his handsome face. But even then, he did not take his eyes off of Harry. "Yes, Harry Potter. Ginny Weasley told me all about you, about your great feats." His eyes shifted to Harry's lightning bolt scar hungrily. "I have longed to meet you, Harry Potter."

"Tom Riddle," said Harry, as realization dawned. "You framed Hagrid. I thought you'd made a mistake, but you're the Heir."

Tom laughed again, that high cold laugh. "I can admit, even I was surprised by how well that plan worked. Who would have believed that oaf Hagrid could have the brains to be the Heir of Slytherin? The power? The blood? But only that Transfiguration teacher, Dumbledore, believed him. He kept a close eye on me after that, and I knew that I couldn't open the Chamber again while at Hogwarts. But I wasn't about to allow my years of research to go to waste. I left behind a diary, preserving myself in its pages so that one day, I could lead another in my footsteps and finish Salazar Slytherin's noble crusade."

"You haven't," Harry said. "No one's died, Riddle. Not even the cat. In just a few hours, the Mandrake Draught–"

"Haven't you been listening, Harry? Killing Mudbloods doesn't matter to me anymore. For months now, my new target has been – you."

Harry and Ariadne stared at him.

Tom continued, still keeping his hungry eyes on Harry. "I wanted it to be you, Harry. I knew you'd go to any lengths to solve the mystery, after all Ginny had told me about you. And when I heard that you could speak Parseltongue..." Tom narrowed his eyes, curiosity flashing violently within them.

"Only Ariadne here figured it out first, didn't she? It really is a shame," Tom tutted, "that she needn't have come down here to die. I made Ginny Stun here and drag her down. Ginny cried the entire time and became very boring, but she became too weak to struggle. There isn't much life left in her, I'm afraid. And as she gets weaker, I get stronger. Strong enough to meet you at last, Harry Potter. I have many questions for you." He stepped closer to Harry.

"Leave him alone!" Ariadne yelled. Tom whipped his head towards her, furious at the distraction. He held an arm out, less blurry now than ever before. "Silence!" he yelled, and suddenly, Ariadne was choking on air. She wanted to bring her hands to her neck, but they were still tied behind her back. Ariadne attempted to speak, but no sound came out.

Harry looked furious. He needed to get Riddle's attention back on himself. "Get on with it, Riddle! What do you want to know?" he spat, fists clenched.

It worked. Riddle turned back towards Harry, shifting instantly back into a pleasant demeanor.

"How is it that you – a skinny boy with no extraordinary magical talent – managed to defeat the greatest wizard of all time?" Ariadne scoffed, though it came out more as a choke. Tom ignored her. "How did you escape with nothing but a scar, when Lord Voldemort lost everything?"

"Why should you care about Voldemort?" Harry asked.

"Voldemort is my past, present, and future, Harry Potter," he said, putting on a charming smile. At least, it was supposed to be charming.

Riddle held out his arm, this time in Harry's direction. At his wordless guidance, Harry's wand, ineffective against the half-human Riddle, flew out towards Tom. He began to trace it through the air, writing three words that looked as though they were written by fire in the air.

TOM MARVOLO RIDDLE

He waved the wand once, and the shimmering letters rearranged themselves.

I AM LORD VOLDEMORT