Tom Marvolo Riddle

5th June 1992

Headmaster's Office

"A few years ago, I saw a school teacher visiting a prospective student living in an orphanage in post World War 2 London." I continued the yarn I was spinning. "What was interesting was that the teacher was Professor Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and the boy was named Tom Riddle." At this Dumbledore sat straight with a very serious look, but he still didn't interrupt me.

So I went on. "Naturally at 9, I knew who Dumbledore was. So I paid attention to this story. By now I had discovered that if I really wanted, I could follow a particular dream without letting a new one take its place. Something about that boy did not feel right. No, scratch that, I had a very bad feeling about him. Tom had a very high degree of control over his magic. He could move objects with his mind and manipulate small animals to do his bidding.

But it was not his abilities, rather his personality that spooked me. Tom had an unusually cruel bent of mind. He would use his powers to hurt other orphans. After getting into a fight with another boy, he killed that boy's pet rabbit and hung it from the rafters. He traumatised two other orphans into losing their voices. He would also steal from other orphans and hide their things in his cupboard, like trophies."

Everyone looked horrified at the boy's actions. Of course if they knew the boy was voldemort-in-training, things might have made more sense.

"Professor Dumbledore realised that Tom had stolen from other children, and reprimanded him. But he didn't know about Tom's other deeds. Regardless, he decided to keep an eye on Tom in school, and soon Riddle arrived at Hogwarts.He was sorted into Slytherin House. The very next evening, he discovered that the founder of his house, Salazar Slytherin was famous for being a parselmouth, a trait that Tom shared."

Once again, everyone was floored by this new piece of information. I turned to Harry.

"A parselmouth is someone who can talk to snakes, Harry," I said. As panic began flooding his face, I held his shoulder and reassured him, "In the multiverse, there are numerous ways to talk to animals, including snakes. The only reason parseltongue is famous, or rather infamous, is because Salazar turned it into a bloodline ability. Someone who doesn't know a single spell, but shared his blood could talk to snakes. I know you are a parselmouth, Harry. But rest assured, it's not because you are descended from Slytherin. You will soon understand why it is so."

I turned back to the others. "At Hogwarts, Riddle was seen as poor but brilliant, parentless but so brave, a school Prefect, a model student. But it was all an act, a facade to hide his true personality. Almost all the Hogwarts' staff was taken in by his false charm, all except Dumbledore, who always remembered the unsettling behaviour Tom had displayed at their first meeting.

Over time, Riddle gathered a gang of Slytherin thugs, who gravitated towards a leader who could show them more refined forms of cruelty. Riddle claimed that they were his friends, but in truth they were little more than servants and he their lord. Riddle had already discovered that his father was a muggle and it was his mother, Merope Gaunt from whom he inherited his magic. Disgusted with his muggle heritage, he fashioned a new name for himself." I pulled out my wand and used the 'Flagrate Charm' to write the words 'TOM MARVOLO RIDDLE' in mid-air. I give a flick and the letters rearranged themselves into 'I AM LORD VOLDEMORT'.

There was a great disturbance in the force....er, I mean in the room. All the adults stood up and kept looking at the fiery letters with wide eyes. Harry, Neville and Hermione looked horrified. Dumbledore alone kept sitting calmly. The portraits had long ago given up any pretense of sleeping and were now in animated discussion.

"The dark lord was a half-blood?" Snape said disbelievingly. Poor guy! To find out his stuck-up boss who he believed was Nobility was actually the same as him. Or even worse than him, since Tom's mother was basically a squib.

"Unbelievable," said Professor Flitwick, shaking his head. "To think those blood purists would just follow someone whose father was a muggle!"

"Ahem....may I continue?" I asked. Everyone looked like they had a thousand questions, but they kept their silence and took their seats. "Lord Voldemort. It was how these followers begin addressing him. Almost all of them became the first Death Eaters. During his 5th year, Riddle discovered Slytherin's fabled Chamber of Secrets, and using his Slytherin bloodline through the Gaunts, he gained control of a thousand year old basilisk left within."

Cue, another sharp intake of breaths. Snape looked even paler than usual. McGonagall clutched her chest saying, "A basilisk!? Inside the school?" while Flitwick murmured "Merlin's Beard!" Dumbledore looked unusually serious. My parents were holding each other's hands. I gave them a assuring look and continued.

"During that year, there were a series of petrifications, a result of indirect eye contract with the basilisk. It ended with the death of Myrtle Warren, when she looked directly into the beast's eyes. The Board of Directors decided to shut down the school and Riddle realised that he would have to return to the orphanage, a place he absolutely hated. So, he decided to shift the blame and framed a fellow student, Rubeus Hagrid and his pet acromantula, Aragog. The then-headmaster Dippet believed Riddle; Hagrid was expelled and Riddle received a trophy for Special Services to the School."

Everyone turned to look at the portrait of the previous headmaster, who decided to feign sleep to escape their accusing eyes.

"After that, Riddle continued to spiral downward. The following summer, Tom killed his father and his grandparents, and framed his mentally unstable uncle for their murders. When the school year began Riddle started working on making himself immortal. Eventually he chose horcruxes."

Dumbledore stood up so fast he might as well have jumped from his seat. "Are you sure, Mr. Carter? Horcruxes, plural? He made more than one?" Dumbledore asked desperately.

I think he might even have tried to use a legilimency probe, not that it would work with my glasses on. Everyone seemed to be confused at Dumbledore's extreme reaction, although they must've picked up that it was an important topic.

"Positive, professor. Riddle had found out about horcruxes in the Restricted Section and even how to make one. However, he wasn't satisfied with just doing what other wizards before him had already done and create only one. In his 6th year, he went to Professor Horace Slughorn and asked him what would happen if someone made seven of them."

Dumbledore sat down heavily on his chair. "Seven?" he repeated, dazed. "Dear Merlin! He made seven of them?"

"Six, actually," I corrected him. "He decided to make six horcruxes and in addition to his own part, it would be a total of seven which he considered the most powerful magical number. He made three of them while still at Hogwarts, two while working at 'Borgin and Burkes' and he unwittingly made the final one on the day he was defeated."

Dumbledore sat in silence, for once at a loss for words. Suddenly he looked intensely at Harry, particularly at his forehead. "No," he lamented, finally understanding the mystery of Harry's scar.

"Yes," I countered. "But, not to worry. I can take care of it." At this, Dumbledore returned his focus on me.

"Excuse me," said dad, drawing our attention. "What exactly is a horcrux? I think we'd all like to know at this point?"

I looked at the Headmaster and although he seemed incredibly uncomfortable, he still answered. "A Horcrux is an object in which a dark wizard or witch has hidden a detached fragment of his or her soul in order to become immortal. As long as the receptacle remains intact, so too does the soul fragment inside it, keeping the maker anchored to the world of the living even if their body suffers fatal damage. It is considered to be the most terrible of all Dark magic, because its creation requires the performance of the greatest form of evil. Murder, cold-blooded murder of innocent life." He turned away from their horrified gazes and addressed me.

"And you say you know about these objects and where they are, Mr. Carter?" he asked.

"Indeed I do, Professor. I know what they are and I know where they are. With my help, Voldemort will be completely vanquished within 2 years at most." At this, the Headmaster visibly relaxed. "However in return for my invaluable service, I want a few minor favours from you."

This time, everyone gave me scandalised looks. Oh, honestly! They would be in so much hot water without me. I ask for a couple of small favours, and they look at me like I'm war profiteering. The nerve of these people!

"What? Don't look at me like that. You have no idea how much pain and suffering and death I have spared you from. I didn't just see the past, you know?" I berated them.

Everyone looked at me incredulously, and Professor Flitwick said, "Mr Carter, are you saying you saw what's going to happen in the years to come?"

"Not in our reality, not in our time." I said. "As I told you, I can see across the multiverse, but I have never seen anything from our world. The world I was talking about was very similar to ours with one glaring difference. Both of my parents were killed by Death Eaters in the last war." I turned around to face the shocked looks on mom and dad. Man, today must be an emotional rollercoaster for them. "As a result, I was never born. In other words, an alternate world.

If I hadn't stopped Voldemort today, his spirit would've escaped and in three more years, he would've resurrected, more powerful than ever." I said, turning to Dumbledore. "And even you with your 'special wand' would not have been able to stop him."

Dumbledore's eyes widened briefly at the allusion to the Elder wand, but he regained his composure almost instantly. "I am more interested in knowing how exactly you managed to stop him."

"Oh, it wasn't too difficult." I said, feeling a little smug. "As they say, knowledge is power, and I have learnt quite a few things from the multiverse."

"I had a rough outline of tonight's events. Even without me there, Harry would've stopped Quirrel. Although he would've spent 3 days in the infirmary unconscious and would've missed the final Quidditch match. Also Voldemort would have escaped." Harry looked at me horrified, as if he couldn't decide what would've been worse - missing the match or Voldemort escaping.

"While we were in the Potions challenge room, which Hermione solved brilliantly by the way," I said looking at her, as she blushed from the praise. "I applied a disillusionment charm as well as another advanced invisibility spell upon myself. I followed Harry and positioned myself behind a pillar on Quirrel's blindside. As Voldemort was about to make his big reveal, I used a spell that doubled the pull of gravity on him. Distracted, Quirrel was not able to guard himself against my lightning spell that destroyed him.

Then came the fun part. As Voldemort's wraith tried to escape, I used an artifact I created based on what I had seen in another world. In an parallel reality, two of Merlin's apprentices, Veronica and Balthazar used an artifact called 'The Grimhold' to trap the spirit of Morgan Le Fay."

Everyone drew a sharp breath at the mention of those legendary names. I brought forth the doll and removed the transmutated cover. The hooded figure with the snake-like face was there for everyone to see.

"If Voldemort had escaped today, in three years when he would've resurrected, all those Death Eaters that escaped justice would've flocked under his banner. A year later, Azkaban would've fallen when the dementors would've joined him, and his most loyal servants would've returned to his service.

His army would've grown as the giants, werewolves and the Acromantula colony in the forbidden forest would've joined him. And finally, five years from now, with your death..." I said, looking at the Headmaster "...Voldemort would've taken over the Ministry, Gringotts and Hogwarts. Muggleborns would've been rounded up and treated in the same way the Nazis treated the Jews. Harry and his friends would've eventually, with great difficulty and sacrifice, defeated him. But in the meantime, thousands of innocent lives would've been lost."

A sombre silence descended upon the room as everyone contemplated that terrible vision.

"Very well, Mr.Carter. You have given us much to think about. I will consider any requests you make in light of your valuable assistance. Now, the hour is late. Why don't you and your friends get some rest after such an eventful night? We'll discuss the measures necessary to be taken against Voldemort's horcruxes in a few days." Dumbledore said, dismissing us for the night.

"Of course, professor. In the meantime, I'd like you to hold onto this," I said, pushing the sealed Grimhold towards him. I didn't want any friction between us by trying to keep it on me. Besides, I've already given them the cliff notes of what would happen if Riddle got out. If he still did, then it's no longer my problem.

I said goodbye to my parents, as Harry handed over the Philosopher's Stone to Dumbledore. Mum and dad embraced me and said they were proud of me, and that alone made up for all the hassle tonight. My friends and I left the Headmaster's office and made our way to the dormitories, escorted by professors Flitwick and McGonagall. They were being awfully quiet, and I understood. All the bombs I dropped tonight, it was a lot to take in.

"I am sorry, guys," I said again, as we came in front of the portrait of the Fat Lady. "I wanted to tell you, trust me I did. But I had no choice."

"Why not, Ben?" said Hermione, testily. "Do you think we would've blabbed in front of Quirrel if you had told us the truth?"

All of them, even McGonagall and Flitwick looked at me for a response.

"You wouldn't have had to. Tell me, do you know what legilimency is?" Harry, Hermione and Neville shook their heads, while McGonagall and Flitwick looked surprised. "Legilimency is a magical art that allows you to view the thoughts and memories of your target. Voldemort is considered by many to be one of the most powerful legilimens alive," I explained.

All of them looked stricken. "Voldemort can read minds?" asked Harry.

"In a manner of speaking. Do you remember how at the Welcoming feast, your scar started hurting when you were looking at Professor Snape?" I asked, to which he nodded. "Do you remember sitting directly beside Professor Snape was Quirrel, whose face was turned away from you, his turban turned towards you?" I watched as horror set in his face.

"That's when I knew that anything I told you or those close to you, could make its way back to Quirrel, since you could not protect your minds from him. It takes years to form the most basic mental shields through occlumency. So you see, I had no choice but to keep quiet and look out for you from the shadows," I said, looking apologetically at my friends.

"Get some sleep. We've had a long day. Now that Voldemort is out of the picture, there is no more need for this cloak and dagger stuff. The hard part is over, it's all rainbows and unicorns from here on." I assured them with a smile.

I said good night to Harry and Neville, and made my way to the Ravenclaw dorms with Hermione and professor Flitwick. Once in my room, I didn't even bother changing my clothes. I took off my jacket and my shoes, and crashed into my incredibly soft bed.

I had finally completed the most important part of my plan: capturing Voldemort at his weakest. All that was needed now was to collect the soul fragments and destroy them. With no Voldemort, those pureblood pussies will have no one to rally behind. And almost all the Death Eaters that escaped justice will be dealt with at the Quidditch World Cup. A wide smile broke out on my face as I closed my eyes. I love it when a plan comes together.