Skeletons in my Closet | 𝗌𝗂𝗋𝗂𝗎𝗌 𝖻𝗅𝖺𝖼𝗄

Before Year 1- All the Stories Are True

1970 Jan

After years, I opened my eyes. My surroundings were unfamiliar, a window on the east side and a door on the north. The bed I'm in is facing south. The walls are painted a steel gray, and the floor is a plush rug. A cabinet I assume to be the dresser sits opposite to the window.

    My entire body ached as I sat up. I groaned as I stood and went to the window. It was night, so there was no light streaming through. The street was bare and the buildings had sparse light squares scattered on them.

    The last time I had viewed the world was in 1938. I looked down at my body and realized I was actually wearing clothes. A tattered purple PJ set hugged my body. I decided it would be a good idea to change. I stripped down, leaving the undies on.

Padding over to the dresser, I noticed a necklace on top of it. It was a jeweled serpent necklace. I opened the top drawer and beheld the most diverse variation of clothing. Shirts and pants in every color of the rainbow. A note was on the clothes. I picked it up and read, pick to your liking.

    I grabbed a blue v-neck tee and white Bermuda shorts. I glanced at the necklace again, but decided against wearing it. I turned the handle on the door, and gasped at the sight.

    The house I was in was huge. Marble columns went all the way to the ceiling and there were at least three levels. A man was standing only ten feet away from me, and smiled when he saw me.

    "Finally awake, are we?" The man took another step forward, I took a step back. "Right. You want to know who I am and where you are, don't you?" I nodded my head. The man continued. "I am your brother. Tom. Tom Riddle is my name. And yours." I gaped at the man who claimed to be my brother in shock. Ava. It came out barely audible. "Sorry, I didn't catch that." He looked at me with a definite question in his eyes. It seemed like he was genuinely curious. So I told him.

"Ava," I said more clearly. "So you're my brother." Now that I could focus around him, I realized we had the same nose and mouth, and our skin tones were exact. Our face structure was identical. We could totally be twins, if only our eyes would be the same color. He had brown eyes, and I had pale blue eyes. Tom seemed to be around my age. Only he looked the part while I was stuck as a ten-year-old.

"Your eyes." I knitted my eyebrow in confusion. "Our mother had dark brown eyes, and so did our dad," my brother explained. He also had stubble on his lower face. I shrugged my shoulders. "They're beautiful. Like you." I blushed wildly, and Tom grabbed my hand. "There is no need for that. I am your brother and can compliment you all I want. I want to show you something."

"Lead the way." He smiled and led me down the stairs to what looks like the wine cellar.

"You can drink anything in here, as long as it's not too much." My eyes widened, and I opened my mouth to protest, but he put his finger on my lips to quiet me. I immediately shut my mouth. He was making a heartfelt effort, but I liked him anyway.

"You can stop doing whatever it is you're doing. If you're my brother, then you don't honestly need to keep doing this." I glanced at him. His expression changed to one of relief.

"I figured I would have to smother you with attention, but you're better than expected." We both smiled and went back to my room. Tom looked around and noticed the abandoned necklace. "You didn't put it on." His face looked sad, so I went over and hooked it around my neck. The smile returned to his face. The necklace was moderately pretty, the way it caught the light, and the sparkle of the gems. I could like this. I smiled back, and went to sit beside the brunette.

"Ava." I swiveled my head to face him. "You will be attending Hogwarts this coming year. You will be under an alias."

"Why? I thought I was me." He chucked, and replied, "No one can know who you are; my sister." I waited for him to continue. I actually liked this plan.

"Your name will be Selene Yaxley. You are a descendant of wizards. The Yaxleys are a pure blood family." He looked at me, and I acknowledged him to go on. "No one can know this. No slip ups. Do you understand?" I quickly nodded my head.

"How am I alive?" Tom got up off the bed, and left the room. I could barely think straight. I never knew I was a wizard. How in the world was I alive? I just asked the only person I could, and he left.

Tom walked back into the room carrying a wand. "You were under a sleeping curse. Fortunately, I was able to break it before the spell was finalized." I thanked him for waking me up, even though it had been thirty years ago. He put the wand on the dresser, and left the room.

A month passed, the only times I saw Tom was when I left my room for meals, and to get more clothes. I found out it has been thirty years since I had died.

He is the nicest person I've ever met. My old family was crazy, to say the least. They treated me horribly. Thank goodness I was killed by a drunk driver. I couldn't live like that anymore, but now I've found my real family, a caring brother who would do anything for his blood. I was home, and I was happy.

My adoptive mother was a partier, always drunk and paying no attention to anyone or anything but dad. Dad was better, always giving me little chocolates when I got good grades, but he did have his bad days. My adoptive little sister hogged everything, so I hardly ever got anything of my own. When I did it was normally clothes and necessities, never jewelry or electronics. My life was boring, I sat in my room with nothing to do, every so often kicking a ball I had taken from the garage.

One day, four months later, in June, Tom approached me before I was to go to the mall. "Time for more rules." I looked at him and nodded.

The living room was empty, so we sat there.

"Your appearance will be easily noticed by Dumbledore, the headmaster. I will change it." He paused before leading me to the bathroom. My appearance began to change. My eyes were still blue, and my hair went from brown to blonde. My skin tone, and everything else changed. I was a completely different person.

I truly looked different. Every feature on my face had changed, and my skin tone was a tad bit darker.

"The school year will start in September, which is in three months. The reason I changed your appearance now is for you to get used to the new look. And for goodness sake, wear the necklace. Please!" He threw his hands in the air, before he left me alone again. I chuckled, went back to my room, and put the damned thing on. For some reason, I felt safe wearing it.

I returned to my room, and saw the wand sitting on the dresser. Tom told me about them, they were sussed to harness a person's magic and set it on something else. I gave the wand a flick, and a ball of light sprung from the tip. I immediately dropped it, and covered my eyes.

I walked over to the bathroom door, locked it, and picked up the wand again, and whispered the unlocking incantation, alohamora, and the bathroom door unlocked. I smiled and put the wand down. I was ready to be a witch. Now all I needed was the school acceptance letter, and the supply list I needed.

    The wand I am to be using is Fir, has a Dragon Heartstring core, and is 11 ⅓ inches. It is a perfect fit for me.

    A few hours later, Tom called me and told me we were going for dinner.