Chapter 51: Chapter 51: Tom Riddle!
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"The Chamber of Secrets was reopened. Dumbledore kept a lot of it silent, but Thomas kept us informed. It was then that he found out that he was a Parselmouth."
….
"What?" Aries interrupted. "How?"
"We don't know. Dumbledore thinks that Voldemort transferred some of his powers the night he was destroyed."
"Did he discover how or why?" Cassiopeia asked. Aries and her exchanged a silent look. This was a serious matter that she would have to research.
"No, but Parseltongue is how he learned that the monster was a Basilisk. Dumbledore was removed after the Governors got wind of Hermione's petrification. Somehow no one died, they only got petrified."
"Anyway Thomas and Ron went down into the Chamber with Gilderoy Lockhart. A failed memory charm wiped his memory but it left Thomas separated from Ron. That was how he found Ginny and Tom Riddle." A chill went up Aries' spine. No, it was not possible.
"Riddle told Thomas how he had started with wanting to kill muggleborns, so through a diary he had left he possessed Ginny, but then Thomas became his new target. He made her leave messages on the wall and petrify people."
"You see it was only an imprint of Tom Riddle, not the actual person himself. The diary was cursed and it possessed Ginny. The next part. . . I could never forget. We saw the whole thing in Dumbledore's pensieve."
Aries' Legilimency picked up on Sirius' strong emotion and it pulled him in. He was back in the Chamber of Secrets. A young Thomas stood over Ginny, who was unconscious on the floor.
A handsome sixteen-year-old wizard began to write in flames until it formed a name: TOM MARVOLO RIDDLE. A flourish of his wand and it rearranged to form a sentence Aries could not believe: I AM LORD VOLDEMORT.
"Voldemort tried to summon the Basilisk but somehow it was just gone." Sirius continued.
"Thomas figured out that it was the diary that needed to be destroyed and the flash of a phoenix dropped a dagger before him. Thomas thought it was Fawkes."
"Somehow he connected that the ghost of Voldemort was tied to the diary so he grabbed the knife and stabbed the diary. It freed Ginny and destroyed Voldemort. Sometime after the knife just disappeared, we still don't know how."
"The diary." Aries interrupted again, letting a hand slide to his left wrist where the knife Sirius spoke of rested against his arm. "How did Ginny Weasley come to have it?" Sirius hesitated for a moment.
"Malfoy." Sirius said hesitantly. "Lucius Malfoy gave her the diary. We wanted to take it before the Wizengamot, but Dumbledore seemed to think we would not be able to charge him." The news infuriated Aries, but he controlled his emotions and motioned for Sirius to continue.
"His third year was actually uneventful. We always joked about how some Death Eater would break out of Azkaban or something but it never happened. Then this summer came and Thomas started having weird dreams."
"About what?" Aries forced himself to concentrate. The image of a young Voldemort, the former Heir of Slytherin, was burned into his mind. Salazar Slytherin's portrait would have much to answer to, as would Lucius Malfoy.
"Voldemort. And Wormtail." Sirius said with worry. "Voldemort killed an old man somewhere we have yet to find, but Thomas said the snake ate the old man afterwards. Poor kid couldn't sleep for a week without Dreamless Sleep Potion." That only confirmed Aries' suspicion. Somehow, they were sharing dreams, but how?
"Thank you, Sirius." Arius said at last. "I think that's enough for today. I have much to think on, and you and Remus have a lot of catching up to do."
"I expect you to make our meeting on time Mr. Lupin." Cassiopeia said as she broke her silence at last. "We have much to do before this summer."
….
Aries could not help the speed with which he walked through the halls of Hogwarts. He cast his protective charms as he entered the bathroom entrance to the Chamber of Secrets.
The discoveries of the morning were still fresh in his mind and he needed answers. Sirius had provided more than he could have hoped and his loyalty to House Black was now assured, but Tom Riddle was his next problem.
His footsteps echoed loudly in the Chamber before he entered Slytherin's study. Salazar was on the far wall as always, reading some painted book as the black snake curled around his arm.
"You knew!" Aries shouted, his voice laced with accusation.
"Knew what exactly?" answered Salazar sarcastically.
"Tom Riddle is Voldemort." Aries answered tersely. "My predecessor is the man who killed my father."
"I thought you did not blame the Dark Lord for that?"
"Not blaming him is different than wanting vengeance!" Sparks were flying through the room as Aries struggled to control his anger.
"I understand why Voldemort killed him and if I had been in the same position I would have done it as well but it does not mean I won't tear his soul into oblivion should he ever return."
"Ah, I see." Salazar gave him a critical look. "Yes, Tom Riddle eventually became Lord Voldemort sometime while he was at this school though he sealed the Chamber until you came eight years ago."
"To be honest, I do not think Tom is the Heir anymore. There cannot be two Heirs. Regardless of the fact that you are most decidedly not his son, my guess is that when he was destroyed he lost his right to be my Heir and thus it was passed to you."
"How or why is of little concern. The magic of this Chamber, the magic of this portrait, and the magic inside you recognize you as the Heir. This Chamber, the House of Slytherin, and all their secrets belong to you, Aries Black."
That gave him some comfort and he regained control of his magic. "So tell me, why does it matter if Voldemort or the Heir of Slytherin killed your father?"
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