Magical Fables !
One Shot No. OO3 :
The Heir's Defeat
[ Tom Riddle's take on the climax of the Chamber of Secrets ]

At long last, I finally saw him. The boy that has haunted my thoughts far too long, the boy that I despise the most, the boy I want to kill and destroy—he was here.

He walked slowly through the emerald gate, cautiously. His wand was raised, as if that would save him from death. From me. His eyes, barely open, darted quickly around the room. Fear radiated off of him like light from the sun, unmistakably strong and potent.

I have spent a lifetime in that diary lying in wait. Time ticked one second after another until a day became a month. The months added up to years, and it all led up to this moment. I couldn’t wait to finally strangle him until the breath was squeezed out of his lungs, until my sweet revenge was done. For so long, I have been patient. Here comes my reward.

I watched as his eyes finally found what they were looking for, watched as he sprinted to that stupid redhead lying on the floor, dropping his wand onto the stone floor. He patted her face, voice desperate as he cried out her name.

“You are too late,” I said, stepping out from behind a pillar. “She will not wake.”

His eyes were saucers, brimmed with shock and terror, and he stared at me as if I was some unusual thing, as if I was a rabid animal or cold-blooded monster. “She’s still breathing,” he said.

“She won’t be for long,” I replied.

Scrambling up onto his feet, he shielded the girl’s body with his own. His wand lay forgotten on the floor. “Tom Riddle,” he said. “How are you here? Are you a spirit?”

“I am a resemblance,” I said, smirking as he took a few steps towards me, “a memory secured in that book.”

“We need to get Ginny out of here. Help me, please.”

I walked a few paces to the side and picked up his wand. It was light in my hands, powerful. How foolish of him to think that I, the great Lord, would help him.

“Come on, Tom. Let’s get out of this place.” He extended his hand towards me, as if he expected me to just hand over the wand.

I could have laughed at his stupidity. “You’re not going to need this anymore.”

“What are you talking about?”

“It will be no use for you.”

“We don’t have time for this,” he said, still not understanding. “This place is dangerous.”

“I have waited a very long time for this day,” I said.

He stopped at that, watching me carefully. Slowly, his eyes widened once more. This time, it was in realization. His voice came out in a whisper. “You know how she got here, don’t you?”

All the waiting was worth the look on his face as I told him everything. I spoke about the Weasley girl, how Ginny Weasley was the heir of Slytherin after me, how she agreed and adhered to all my requests. I spoke about the giant Hagrid, how I framed him for all my endeavors. The boy believed my killing of those mudbloods was for sport, and while it was true, it would be more enjoyable to witness the moment the boy who lived became the boy who died.

“So you are a follower of Voldemort,” he said after a few seconds of silence.

I couldn’t stop the laughter that came out of me, the deep rumbling from the back of my throat. He still didn’t get it. How stupid could this boy be?

“My name is Tom Marvolo Riddle,” I said, using the wand to trace the letters in the air. I watched as they rearranged themselves, a smirk on my face. “I am Lord Voldemort.”

Suddenly, there was a quick flash. There was a bird, a phoenix. It carried an old sack in its talons, and it dropped it in the boy’s hands before landing on his shoulder.

“Looks like the headmaster must be very concerned for you,” I said, “so concerned he sent you a useless phoenix and an old hat to protect you.”

He didn’t say anything at that, and I could see the gears turning in his small head. He was planning something, but I’ve had enough small talk. It was time for something a bit more adventurous.

Turning towards the statue at the center of the chamber, I grinned. “Converse with me,” I hissed. At once, the mouth of the statue shifted. It opened like a door, releasing the most beautiful creature known to any man: the basilisk.

“Put an end to Harry Potter.”

I looked back at Harry, only to see that he was looking anywhere but the eyes of the snake. So he wasn’t completely dumb, after all.

The basilisk slithered out into the open, and Harry started running like the coward he was. It wouldn’t be long now. Harry Potter would become stone, and victory would be mine.

Then, the phoenix took flight. It went towards the basilisk, and in a bout of courage, it pecked out its eyes. Dark blood ran down its scales.

“No!” My voice echoed through the chamber as anger overtook me, but the phoenix wasn’t done yet.

It flew towards Harry with the hat once again in its talons. The boy caught the hat and pulled out a sword from the inside of it. Not just any sword either—I realized with a gasp—it was the sword of Godric Gryffindor.

Before Harry could do anything, the basilisk struck. It bit down into his arm, and his scream was music to my ears. The sword clattered onto the ground, useless as blood trickled down his arm, staining his hands red. Then, Harry moved. He grabbed the sword, narrowly dodging the basilisk’s second strike. Gritting through the pain, he stood up and thrusted it up into the snake’s mouth.

It was like slow motion the way it fell onto the ground, lifeless. A majestic creature like that, dead within seconds. No matter, though. The boy had been bitten. The poison would kill him, and there was no escaping that.

Harry pulled out the basilisk fang stuck in his arm. The phoenix landed beside him, and I laughed at the way it cried over the wound. But then, the wound began to close, and I cursed myself. How did I not see it before? Phoenix tears healed everything.

My knuckles turned white and I tightened my grip on the wand. It looked like I would have to do this myself.

Harry then retrieved something from his pocket: a journal. My journal.

“Don’t do it, Harry,” I said.

I barely took a step before I felt the throbbing sensation in my stomach. Harry had stabbed the journal with the basilisk fang. There was a blinding pain in my chest as I watched him do it again. It stung, sending shocks through my whole body. A thousand needles pricked at my skin. I fell onto my knees as black ink exploded out of the pages. My body was crumbling into ashes.

“No!” I gasped, clutching at my heart, but it was no use. The damage was done.

“This is not over yet, Potter!” I breathed my last words before fading away.

Credits !
Author: OliviaPotter2010

Next Up
[ Lockhart's Take on the Climax of CoS ] 👉