Tom Riddle

Tom Riddle and Voldemort

"Tom!"

Harry Potter shot out of bed. His messy black locks were plastered to his head with sweat and his breath was ragged. He grabbed his glasses from the small table next to his bed.

He threw off the blankets and padded to the staircase to the Gryffindor common room. He grabbed the Muraders Map to avoid any teachers on his way to Dumbledore's office.

The coast was clear and he walked across the castle to the stone gargoyle that guarded the entrance to the headmaster's office.

"Acid pops."

The stone gargoyle spun around and revealed the staircase. He took the staircase up and right before he knocked on the door he heard a voice from the inside.

"Come in Harry."

Shaking off his amusement at the headmaster's uncanny ability to tell exactly what was going on at all times he entered the office.

"Ah Harry my boy. What seems to be troubling you?" said the wizened headmaster. His eyes were twinkling behind his half-moon spectacles. He was still dressed in his day robes, powder blue with silver tassels.

Harry briefly considered just telling the headmaster that it was nothing, just a false alarm, but then he remembered the terrified look on that girl's face and the way Tom's hand was clenched so hard that they turned white when he saw Grindelwald holding her.

"I had a dream and I think it's a memory." Harry said. "There was a girl there. She had dark hair and blue eyes and she was wearing Gryffindor robes."

"Ah. I believe you are referring to Miss Evangeline Whitney." Dumbledore said as he opened a drawer in his desk. He found what he was looking for and placed it on his desk and beckoned Harry to come look.

There was a picture of the girl from his dream. She was smiling at the camera and turning to laugh at whatever her companion had told her. Harry's eyes widened as he saw that her companion was none other then Lord Voldemort.

He was telling her something and smiling at her. His arm was thrown over her shoulders and he seemed genuinely happy.

'No.' he thought 'This is Tom Riddle, not Voldemort.'

He glanced back up at the professor and seeing Harry's confusion Dumbledore decided to explain.

"There were certain accepted truths about Hogwarts. Tom and Miss Whitney were one of them. They were the best of friends. They met at Kings Cross. Miss Whitney was on her way to the platform when she came across Tom. Her parents had left her there and Tom had walked to the station from the orphanage by himself. She helped him find the platform and they shared a compartment on the Hogwarts Express. When they got to the castle and were sorted Tom was sorted into Slytherin and Miss Whitney into Gryffindor. They didn't care about house rivalries and the student body just learned to accept it."

He sighed. "Tom disappeared in the middle of his sixth year."

Harry's head perked up in interest.

"We found Miss Whitney just outside the wards trying to get in. We asked her again and again what happened, but she just kept telling us that she didn't know. Tom returned in the beginning of his seventh year, but Evangeline did not. Tom was different, darker. No one knows what happened, just that Tom Riddle disappeared and Lord Voldemort returned in his place."

Harry pondered this in his head. It was safe to say that he was shocked. He thought that Tom had just been evil. He had given no thought to if he was ever just another student.

He had a question about the story. "But Professor what happened to Evangeline?"

The twinkle seemed to disappear from his eyes. "I don't know Harry. No one does."

____________________________________________________________________________________

Harry plopped down on the bench at the Gryffindor table. Hermione looked at him in concern while Ron was oblivious, more interested in stuffing his face then paying any attention to his friend.

Wrinkling her nose in disgust, Hermione turned her attention to Harry who had taken to shifting his food from one end of the plate to the other.

"Long night?" she asked. She spooned some fruit on to her plate while keeping a carful eye on her friend.

He grunted and ate the sausage that he had been playing with since he sat down.

"I had a dream last night." he said before taking another bite of his breakfast.

Hermione's eyes widened in fear when she interpreted what he meant. However Ron was not as observant.

"Well mate it was just a dream. Don't see what you're so upset over." he said before shoveling more food into his mouth."

Hermione rolled her eyes at the lack of intelligence and concern Ron was showing, but continued to eat her breakfast, sensing that Harry it wasn't the time or place. Harry though, didn't seem to agree with that sentiment.

"It was about Tom Riddle while he was at Hogwarts."

Hermione sighed, but put her fork down and readied herself for another day with no breakfast.

"There was a girl with him, she was a Gryffindor. They were walking along the wards when the girl crossed over them. Riddle followed her and saw her with Grindelwald. He had her in a chokehold."

He either ignored or didn't notice Hermione's horrified gasp.

"It was awful. He was so angry and scared for her and she was terrified. Tom made Grindelwald let her go; in return he had to go with him instead."

Hermione was trying to wrap her head around the amount of information Harry was providing them.

"Harry, you need to tell—"

"Dumbledore?"

At her frantic nod he continued.

"I already told him. The girl's name was Evangeline Whitney, she and Riddle were best friends. Dumbledore said that she wouldin't tell anyone what happened and that no one has seen her since the end of her sixth year. Riddle came back for his seventh year and he was darker. Apparently Tom Riddle left and Voldemort took his place."

Hermione was left speechless while Ron continued to stuff his face, oblivious to whatever Harry was accounting.

Harry sent a frosty glare at the red-headed boy. Did he take anything he said seriously anymore?

He sighed and reached into the pocket in his robes and pulled out the picture of Tom and Evangeline that Dumbledore had let him keep. He silently slid it across the table to Hermione.

She gazed wide eyed at the picture. It was the first time she had ever seen a picture of Tom Riddle while he went to Hogwarts and it was impossible to think that that carefree and happy boy became one of the darkest wizards in history.

Harry noticed her struggle to equate the two, so he told her how he managed.

"It's easier to think of them as two separate people."

Hermione looked at him in confusion.

"Tom Riddle and Lord Voldemort."

Her eyes lit up in understanding and she handed the photograph back to Harry.

He safely tucked the picture in his pocket and stood up.

"Come on, we need to get to get to Potions." he said as he grabbed his bag.

Hermione rolled her eyes at him. "I still don't agree with using that book." she said.

Harry groaned. "Hermione it's a textbook not a bloody weapon."

She sighed, but let the subject drop. It was pointless anyways, Harry was always to stubborn yo listen to reason.

They left Ron in the Great Hall and hurried to get to their class.