I never thought I'd ever get shocked again while at this Witchcraft School.Boy,was I wrong.Especially upon seeing that the walls were all covered with large, lurid pink flowers. Worse still, heart-shaped confetti was falling from the pale blue ceiling. Harry went over to the Gryffindor table, where Ron was sitting looking sickened, and Hermione seemed to have been overcome with giggles while I went to sit with Draco and the girls.

me:What's going on?

I said while wiping confetti off his bacon.　　Draco pointed to the teachers' table, apparently too disgusted to speak. Lockhart, wearing lurid pink robes to match the decorations, was waving for silence. The teachers on either side of him were looking stony-faced. From where he sat, I could see a muscle going in Professor McGonagall's cheek. Snape looked as though someone had just fed him a large beaker of Skele-Gro.

　　"Happy Valentine's Day!" Lockhart shouted. "And may I thank the forty-six people who have so far sent me cards! Yes, I have taken the liberty of arranging this little surprise for you all - and it doesn't end here!"

　　Lockhart clapped his hands and through the doors to the entrance hall marched a dozen surly-looking dwarfs. Not just any dwarfs, however. Lockhart had them all wearing golden wings and carrying harps.They look like some really ugly versions of Cupid...

Lockhart:My friendly, card-carrying cupids!They will be roving around the school today delivering your valentines! And the fun doesn't stop here! I'm sure my colleagues will want to enter into the spirit of the occasion! Why not ask Professor Snape to show you how to whip up a Love Potion! And while you're at it, Professor Flitwick knows more about Entrancing Enchantments than any wizard I've ever met, the sly old dog!

　　Professor Flitwick buried his face in his hands. Snape was looking as though the first person to ask him for a Love Potion would be force-fed poison.

me:This is blasphemy,I swear...
Draco:The only good thing Dumbledore could do right now would be to stop this atrocity and fire this idiot.
me:Urgh...tell me about it...It's getting worse and worse.
Jessie:I think it's adooorable!
Emma:Oh,yes!Valentine's Day is such a romantic day.
me:Just another pretext to spend time with your loved one or act like a love-sick puppy with your crush.
Jessie:That was so meaaaan.Raveeeen why are you so coooold?
me:You are like...what?12?And you want to have a boyfriend?You barely know your names.Being in a relationship means lots of things.
Emma:Like true looveee
me:That too,I guess...
Draco:Spare me the gibberish.We should go to class anyways.

As we went ahead of the girls to the dungeons,for Potions,I was suddenly stopped by a so called Cupid.

Cupid:Oi you,'Aven Black!Hold on!
me:Y-yes...?
Cupid:You have a special Valentine.
me:Wh-what?!F-from who?
Cupid:Anonymus.*clears throat* You brought me sunshine,/When I only saw rain;/You brought me laughter,/When I only felt pain.

And with that,it flew away,leaving me red cheeked and Draco chuckling besides me.

me:L-let's j-just go to class...

He continued to tease me with that poem,but never mentioned it to anyone else.I wonder who it is though.Has to be someone I'm friends with,right?I wonder who though...

---

During the evening break,just before dinner,I saw the Gryffindor table in a complete whispering chaos,and I easily found out that the boys' 2nd year bedroom had been ravished by someone.And between the more knowledgable ones-ahem-that diary had been also stolen.
Also,I found out later,upon hanging out with Harry,what he went through while 'chatting' with the erhm...possible memory of Tom Riddle.How he found out that he received that award after making sure that the then-headmaster Dippet would expel Hagrid and find him the culprit of the death of that muggleborn girl

...The death of a muggleborn girl...could that be...?

With that thought running through my head,I sprinted in Professor Snape's office,who was enjoying a cup of tea and reading the Daily Prophet.

me:You don't actually enjoy reading that,do you?
Snape:Better than nothing,I suppose.
me:You have a whole library at disposal.Well...a whole magical library,perhaps...
Snape:Did you come here precisely to recommend me a book to read,or with an actual reason?
me:Oh,yes!That's right.Ahem.Professor,is it true that the monster from the Chamber of Secrets is a Basilisk?
Snape:What made you come up with this conclusion?
me:It all fits.It's a serpent,so it can be controlled by a Parselmouth.Or...well...the Heir of Slytherin,obviously.
Snape:That is correct.
me:Okay,so,it's a Basilisk.So pretty much,if that thing were to attack us literally,we'd be damned.I mean,I and Harry could speak to it,but it won't listen if the Heir of Slytherin is there.
Snape:Obviously.
me:In the girls' bathroom from 1st there is a ghost called Moaning Myrtle.She was a student here,but for how long she's been haunting that ermh..toilet,I don't know.Could she be the muggleborn girl that died when the Chamber of Secrets was first opened 50 years ago?
Snape:I don't know how you got all that information,but I believe it is true.
me:Professor,you would be truly underestimating my detective skills.Also,let's not forget that my gut feelings are always true,for some reason.
Snape:You might be a seer.You will find out next year,if you decide to take up Divination class.
me:Um...I'll keep that in mind.Also,as I was mentioning THAT particular bathroom,on the floor was found T.M.Riddle's diary.Tom something Riddle.Umm...it is quite a long story to tell,but let's just say that the chaos from the Gryffindor's CR was caused by the ravished boys' dormitory and secretly,the thievery act of someone who stole that diary.Is This Tom Riddle maybe...Voldemort?
Snape:Might be.What made you think that?
me:Gut feeling.
Snape:*smirk*Listen to that gut feeling of yours,it's never wrong.

Suddenly,Dumbledore came in the room,telling us about the petrification of Hermione and a certain Penelope Clearwater,a Ravenclaw friend of Percy.The shock struck me like a lightning.She was in the library...Could she have found something crucial?A clue,that cause her to be attacked?With the exception that she's a muggleborn as well...
We must act fast before something even worse happens.Thus far,only petrification occured,but who says that next time there won't be a legit murder?
Clearly not my gut feeling.

------

The following 2 weeks have been extremely unpleasing and I tried not to stay around Draco anymore.Pretty much because he kept boasting about how he's so great for being a pureblood,about the 'Mudbloods' and the murders...I can't stand it.When we're alone,he doesn't mention these things,but when others are around..urgh...the condescending personality takes over,and it's extremely awful...So best avoid it at all costs.
That didn't help my shyness though,by the fact that I became more shielded and hidden in my own shell,so I find it hard to speak up again...
And with the whole rule with a teacher getting us to the other class,the CR or the hall room..well...I couldn't talk to Harry and Ron too much anymore...Just bits and bits while our meals.
This.Sucks.

After a long day,just before dinner,we heard McGonagall's frantic voice announcing everyone to go to their CRs,while teachers should go to their staffroom.There's been another attack..Wonder who...
I ran in that direction,finding all the teachers gathered around.Though surprised by my presence,nobody commented anything.I suppose that I'm prefered because I'm not as reckless or Harry,or perhaps the fact that Snape didn't shoo me away was enough to tell them it's okay for me to hear why they were so frightened.

McGonagall:It has happened.A student has been taken by the monster. Right into the Chamber itself.

Professor Flitwick let out a squeal. Professor Sprout clapped her hands over her mouth. Snape gripped the back of a chair very hard.

Snape:How can you be sure?
McGonagall:The Heir of Slytherin,left another message. Right underneath the first one. 'Her skeleton will lie in the Chamber forever. 

Professor Flitwick burst into tears.

Hooch:Who is it?Which student?
McGonagall:Ginny Weasley.We shall have to send all the students home tomorrow.This is the end of Hogwarts. Dumbledore always said. . .
me:*gasps*No way...That cannot be...

The staffroom door banged open again. it was Lockhart, and he was beaming.　　

Lockhart:So sorry - dozed off - what have I missed?

He didn't seem to notice that the other teachers were looking at him with something remarkably like hatred.

me:How can you be so ignorant at a time like THIS?!How dare you?Have you no shame at all?A girl...my friend...has been literally snatched from under our noses,and dragged into the Chamber of Secrets!She was at lunch just today,and now...this!

Snape stepped forward.　　

Snape:Just the man.The very man. A girl has been snatched by the monster, Lockhart,just as Miss Black stated in a rightful passive-aggressive manner.Taken into the Chamber of Secrets itself. Your moment has come at last.

Lockhart blanched.　　

Sprout:That's right, Gilderoy.Weren't you saying just last night that you've known all along where the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets is?　　
Lockhart:I - well, I -　　
Flitwick:Yes, didn't you tell me you were sure you knew what was inside it?
Lockhart:D-did I? I don't recall -
Snape:I certainly remember you saying you were sorry you hadn't had a crack at the monster before Hagrid was arrested.Didn't you say that the whole affair had been bungled, and that you should have been given a free rein from the first?

Lockhart stared around at his stony-faced colleagues.

Lockhart:I - I really never - you may have misunderstood -
McGonagall:We'll leave it to you, then, GilderoyTonight will be an excellent time to do it. We'll make sure everyone's out of your way. You'll be able to tackle the monster all by youself. A free rein at last.

Lockhart gazed desperately around him, but nobody came to the rescue. He didn't look remotely handsome anymore. His lip was trembling, and in the absence of his usually toothy grin, he looked weak-chinned and feeble.　　

Lockhart:Very well...'ll - I'll be in my office, getting getting ready.

After that,the teachers wore a look of sorrow,but at least got rid of Lockhart from there.Each had teacher had to make sure their students were in the Common Rooms and tomorrow first thing in the morning we will be taken home.
Not today.This is just the moment I've been waiting for.

me:*smirk*Just give it a few hours.Everything will be back to normal.I can promise you that.
McGonagall:What are you talking about,Miss Black?Is there something you know that you would like to share with us?
me:Let's just say...What if the person was caught...if it all stopped...
McGonagall:What do you mean?Black,do you know mean you know something about these attacks?
me:*looking at Snape*No,professor.Not at all~*smirk*

With that,I dashed off to the 1st floor bathroom,only to find Lockhart being threatened by Harry and Ron.

me:Let me guess.He was packing up ready to leave?
Harry:How did you...?
me:You have to be stupid not to know.
Ron:Raven,the monster is-
me:A Basilisk,obviously.It would only take half the number of neurons you have to decipher that.
Ron:You knew?!
me:Well duh.It was too easy to put 2 and 2 together.I mean,the diary,what you guys told me,the muggleborn girl and so on.Hagrid would never hurt a fly and whatever monster it was,it wasn't a spider.It was a reptilian.A Serpent.A Basilisk.One that can only be controlled by a Parselmouth.In this case,more specifically,THE Heir of Slytherin.*smirks* Bet you don't even know who Tom Riddle is.Oh dear,such a  hero,he has an award.Puh-lease.He's as much of a hoax as Lockhart is.
Harry:So the entrance to the Camber of Secrets is...
me:Exactly this sink.Myrtle can confirm it.

With that,I looked at each faucet and found one with a tiny snake on it and said "Open",which hopefully was in Parseltongue,not in common language...That would have been embarrassing.
Upon speaking the snake tongue,the sinks divided,leaving behind a great tunnel to..erhm...I guess the Chamber of Secrets.Pretty neat.Gotta give Salazar brownie points for being so inventive.

Harry:How come you found all this information before us?
me:Never underestimate the resourcefullness of a Slytherin.Also,I managed to delegate you pretty easily to search info.And let's not forget who my House teacher is.*ahem* Lockhart,if you would be so kind as to assure our landing is not fatal *push him in the tunnel* Thank you very much.

After hearing a thud and a groan,we proceeded in jumping in the tunnel too.It was safe...relatively speaking.

Harry:We must be miles under the school.
Ron:Under the lake, probably.　　

It was so dark,all 3 of us muttered the Lumos spell and it dimly lit up.

Harry:Remember,any sign of movement, close your eyes right away ....

But the tunnel was quiet as the grave, and the first unexpected sound they heard was a loud crunch as Ron stepped on what turned out to be a rat's skull. Harry lowered his wand to look at the floor and saw that it was littered with small animal bones.

Ron:Harry - there's something up there -

We froze, watching. Harry could just see the outline of something huge and curved, lying right across the tunnel. It wasn't moving.

Ron:Maybe it's asleep.
me:It's a Snake Skin...

 Lockhart's hands were pressed over his eyes. Harry turned back to look at the thing, his heart beating so fast it hurt.Very slowly, his eyes as narrow as he could make them and still see, Harry edged forward, his wand held high.The light slid over a gigantic snake skin, of a vivid, poisonous green, lying curled and empty across the tunnel floor. The creature that had shed it must have been twenty feet long at least.

Ron:Blimey...

There was a sudden movement behind them. Gilderoy Lockhart's knees had given way."Get up," said Ron sharply, pointing his wand at Lockhart.

Lockhart got to his feet - then he dived at Ron, knocking him to the ground.Harry jumped forward, but too late - Lockhart was straightening up, panting, Ron's wand in his hand and a gleaming smile back on his face.

Lockhart:The adventure ends here, boys!I shall take a bit of this skin back up to the school, tell them I was too late to save the girl, and that you two tragically lost your minds at the sight of her mangled body - say good-bye to your memories!"

I swear,if he tries to use a spell on us,he better not use Ron's destroyed wand..He raised Ron's Spellotaped wand high over his head and yelled, "Obliviate!"The wand exploded with the force of a small bomb. I flung my arms shielding my head and ran, slipping over the coils of snake skin, out of the way of great chunks of tunnel ceiling that were thundering to the floor.When the falling rocks stopped,I looked around,only seeing Harry in the darkness.

Harry:Ron!Are you okay? Ron!Ron:I'm here!I'm okay - this git's not, though - he got blasted by the wand.
me:That's for the best.

　　There was a dull thud and a loud "ow!" It sounded as though Ron had just kicked Lockhart in the shins.

Ron:What now?We can't get through - it'll take ages ...
me:Try to move the rocks from the path until we return,okay?Harry:Wait with Lockhart. I'll go on.... If we're not back in an hour. . .....Ron:I'll try and shift some of this rock.So you can - can get back through. And, Harry -Harry:See you in a bit

　　Soon the distant noise of Ron straining to shift the rocks was gone. The tunnel turned and turned again. This never ending tunnel was making us more and more anxious,not knowing what to expect.
The fear of unknown was great.Would the Heir be there?Is Ginny still alive?Will we be getting out back alive?As in,all of us?
After a while,we got in front of a circular door,decorated with many snakes.Such Slytherin pride.There was no need to pretend these stone snakes were real; their eyes looked strangely alive."Open, " I said in the same low, faint hiss.The serpents parted as the wall cracked open, the halves slid smoothly out of sight, and Harry, shaking from head to foot, walked inside.

 Towering stone pillars entwined with more carved serpents rose to support a ceiling lost in darkness, casting long, black shadows through the odd, greenish gloom that filled the place.　
Our hearts were beating like they were in a marathon as we stood listening to the chill silence. Could the basilisk be lurking in a shadowy corner, behind a pillar? And where was Ginny?　
With great caution,we raised our wands at ready,trying to prepare for a potential sneak attack or ambush.But that was not the case.　
As we drew level with the last pair of pillars, a statue high as the Chamber itself loomed into view, standing against the back wall.There,on the wet cold hard ground,was laying Ginny,looking lifeless.Please don't be dead...Harry sprinted to her side,dropping on his knees,muttering her name

Harry:Ginny - don't be dead - please don't be dead -

 He flung his wand aside, grabbed Ginny's shoulders, and turned her over. Her face was white as marble, and as cold, yet her eyes were closed, so she wasn't Petrified. But then she must be...

Harry:Ginny, please wake up...
me:She still has a pulse though...

All of a sudden,a smooth soft velvety voice was heard from behind us.
                                                              "She won't wake,"

　　Harry jumped and spun around on his knees and I peered over my shoulder.There was a young boy,around the age of the Twins,black longish hair,dark eyes,tall,with a cold yet respect inducing aura radiating with him.He wore Slytherin robes and wore a vague smug expression.His name,Tom M. Riddle.

Harry:What d'you mean, she won't wake?She's not - she's not -?
me:She's alive,I told you.Tom:But only just.

　　Harry stared at him. Tom Riddle had been at Hogwarts fifty years ago, yet here he stood, a weird, misty light shining about him, not a day older than sixteen.

Harry:Are you a ghost?Tom:A memory.Preserved in a diary for fifty years.
me:Ghost are more see-through...

　He smirked at me and pointed toward the floor near the statue's giant toes. Lying open there was the little black diary Harry had found in Moaning Myrtle's bathroom.

Harry:You've got to help me, Tom.We've got to get her out of here. There's a basilisk ... I don't know where it is, but it could be along any moment .... Please, help me -

This was way too funny.After all that he learnt thus far,he really thought Tom Riddle was going to HELP him?No wonder he's not a Ravenclaw...

Me:*laughs*Harry...you really think...Tom Riddle is going to...help you...save Ginny?

　　Riddle didn't move. Harry,confused and sweating, managed to hoist Ginny half off the floor, and bent to pick up his wand again.He obviously couldn't think rationally while being under the preassure of a friend dying.　　

                                                 But his wand had gone.

    Harry:Did you see -?
　He looked up. Riddle was still watching him - twirling Harry's wand between his long fingers.　
"Thanks," said Harry, stretching out his hand for it.　　
A smile curled the corners of Riddle's mouth. He continued to stare at Harry, twirling the wand idly.

Harry:Listen!We've got to go! If the basilisk comes -Tom:*calmly*It won't come until it is called.

　　Harry lowered Ginny back onto the floor, unable to hold her up any longer.

Harry:What d'you mean?Look, give me my wand, I might need it -
Riddle's smile broadened.
Tom:You won't be needing it.
Harry stared at him.
me:Harry,don't you get it?
Harry:What d'you mean, I won't be -?
Tom:I've waited a long time for this, Harry Potter and Raven Black.For the chance to see you. To speak to you.

Harry:Look-I don't think you get it. We're in the Chamber of Secrets. We can talk later -Tom:We're going to talk now.

Said Riddle, still smiling broadly, and he pocketed Harry's wand.
Harry stared at him.

Harry:How did Ginny get like this?

Tom:Well, that's an interesting question.And quite a long story. I suppose the real reason Ginny Weasley's like this is because she opened her heart and spilled all her secrets to an invisible stranger.
Harry:What are you talking about?
me:The diary,Harry...
Tom:*smirks*'My diary. Little Ginny's been writing in it for months and months, telling me all her pitiful worries and woes - how her brothers tease her, how she had to come to school with secondhand robes and books, how-...how she didn't think famous, good, great Harry Potter would ever like her . . . .

All the time he spoke, Riddle's eyes never left Harry's face. There was an almost hungry look in them.

Tom:It's very boring, having to listen to the silly little troubles of an eleven- year-old girl.But I was patient. I wrote back. I was sympathetic, I was kind. Ginny simply loved me. No one's ever understood me like you, Tom .... I'm so glad I've got this diary to confide in .... It's like having a friend I can carry around in my pocket . . . .

Riddle laughed, a high, cold laugh.

Tom:If I say it myself, Harry, I've always been able to charm the people I needed. So Ginny poured out her soul to me, and her soul happened to be exactly what I wanted .... I grew stronger and stronger on a diet of her deepest fears, her darkest secrets. I grew powerful, far more powerful than little Miss Weasley. Powerful enough to start feeding Miss Weasley a few of my secrets, to start pouring a little of my soul back into her. .
Harry:What d'you mean?

Tom:Haven't you guessed yet, Harry Potter?You are rather slow,compared to Black over here.Perhaps a Gryffindor can never outsmart a Slytherin. Ginny Weasley opened the Chamber of Secrets. She strangled the school roosters and wrote threatening messages on the walls. She set the Serpent of Slytherin on four Mudbloods, and the Squib's cat.
Harry:No...

Tom:Yes.Of course, she didn't know what she was doing at first. It was very amusing. I wish you could have seen her new diary entries ... far more interesting, they became ....Dear Tom, 'I think I'm losing my memory. There are rooster feathers all over my robes and 1 don't know how they got there. Dear Tom, l can't remember what I did on the night of Halloween, but a cat was attacked and I've got paint all down my front.Dear Tom, Percy keeps telling me I'm pale and I'm not myself. I think he suspects me... There was another attack today and I don't know where I was. Tom, what am I going to do? I think I'm going mad... I think I'm the one attacking everyone, Tom!'
me:You gotta admit it's quite funny...

Harry's fists were clenched, the nails digging deep into his Palms.

Tom:It took a very long time for stupid little Ginny to stop trusting her diary.But she finally became suspicious and tried to dispose of it. And that's where you came in, Harry. You found it, and I couldn't have been more delighted. Of all the people who could have picked it up, it was you, the very person I was most anxious to meet . . . .
Harry:And why did you want to meet me?

Anger was coursing through him, and it was an effort to keep his voice steady.

Tom:Well, you see, Ginny told me all about you, Harry.Even some things about you,Raven.
me:About...me?
Tom:Your whole fascinating history.

His eyes roved over the lightning scar on Harry's forehead,to my skull scar on my neck and his expression grew hungrier. 

Tom:I knew I must find out more about you, talk to you, meet you if I could. So I decided to show you my famous capture of that great oaf, Hagrid, to gain your trust -
Harry:Hagrid's my friend.And you framed him, didn't you? I thought you made a mistake, but -
me:And you finally get it...　　

Riddle laughed his high laugh again.

Tom:It was my word against Hagrid's, Harry. Well, you can imagine how it looked to old Armando Dippet. On the one hand, Tom Riddle, poor but brilliant, parentless but so brave, school prefect, model student ... on the other hand, big, blundering Hagrid, in trouble every other week, trying to raise werewolf cubs under his bed, sneaking off to the Forbidden Forest to wrestle trolls ... but I admit, even I was surprised how well the plan worked. I thought someone must realize that Hagrid couldn't possibly be the Heir of Slytherin. It had taken me five whole years to find out everything I could about the Chamber of Secrets and discover the secret entrance ... as though Hagrid had the brains, or the power!Only the Transfiguration teacher, Dumbledore, seemed to think Hagrid was innocent. He persuaded Dipper to keep Hagrid and train him as gamekeeper. Yes, I think Dumbledore might have guessed .... Dumbledore never seemed to like me as much as the other teachers did ......

Harry:I bet Dumbledore saw right through you.
Tom:Well, he certainly kept an annoyingly close watch on me after Hagrid was expelled.I knew it wouldn't be safe to open the Chamber again while I was still at school. But I wasn't going to waste those long years I spent searching for it. I decided to leave behind a diary, preserving my sixteen-year-old self in its pages, so that one day, with luck, I would be able to lead another in my footsteps, and finish Salazar Slytherin's noble work.Harry:Well, you haven't finished it.No one's died this time, not even the cat. In a few hours the Mandrake Draught will be ready and everyone who was Petrified will be all right again -

Tom:Haven't I already told you that killing Mudbloods doesn't matter to me anymore? For many months now, my new target has been -you.

　　Harry stared at him.

Tom:Imagine how angry I was when the next time my diary was opened, it was Ginny who was writing to me, not you. She saw you with the diary, you see, and panicked. "What if you found out how to work it, and I repeated all her secrets to you? What if, even worse, I told you who'd been strangling roosters? So the foolish little brat waited until your dormitory was deserted and stole it back. But I knew what I must do. It was clear to me that you were on the trail of Slytherin's heir. From everything Ginny had told me about you, I knew you would go to any lengths to solve the mystery --particularly if one of your best friends was attacked. And Ginny had told me the whole school was buzzing because you 2 could speak Parseltongue ....
~~So I made Ginny write her own farewell on the wall and come down here to wait. She struggled and cried and became very boring. But there isn't much life left in her .... She put too much into the diary, into me. Enough to let me leave its pages at last .... I have been waiting for you to appear since we arrived here. I knew you'd come. I have many questions for you, Harry Potter,Raven Black.

me:I swear I feel kind of sorry that you have to speak so much just to state the obvious...
Tom:*smirks*I knew that you would find out rather easily about the whole ordeal,Raven.Ginny told me that you were a Slytherin.Said how you managed to get information from everyone without them realizing.The true resourcefulness and cunning of a Slytherin.I must say,I'm rather proud.
Harry:Enough.What questions do you want to ask?Tom:Well...how is it that you a skinny boy with no extraordinary magical talent - managed to defeat the greatest wizard of all time? How did you escape with nothing but a scar, while Lord Voldemort's powers were destroyed?

　　There was an odd red gleam in his hungry eyes now.

Harry:Why do you care how I escaped?Voldemort was after your time ......
me:Ermh...You just might be wrong here...
Tom:Voldemort...is my past, present, and future, Harry Potter . . . .
me:His name...is an anagram...

　　He pulled Harry's wand from his pocket and began to trace it through the air, writing three shimmering words:　　

                          TOM MARVOLO RIDDLE　　
Then he waved the wand once, and the letters of his name rearranged themselves:　
                           I AM LORD VOLDEMORT

"You see?" I whispered.

Tom:It was a name I was already using at Hogwarts, to my most intimate friends only, of course. You think I was going to use my filthy Muggle father's name forever? I, in whose veins runs the blood of Salazar Slytherin himself, through my mother's side? I, keep the name of a foul, common Muggle, who abandoned me even before I was born, just because he found out his wife was a witch? No, Harry - I fashioned myself a new name, a name I knew wizards everywhere would one day fear to speak, when I had become the greatest sorcerer in the world!

　　Harry's brain seemed to have jammed. He stared numbly at Riddle, at the orphaned boy who had grown up to murder Harry's own parents, and so many others ....

　"You're not..", his quiet voice full of hatred.
Tom:*snaps*Not what?Harry:Not the greatest sorcerer in the world.Sorry to disappoint you and all that, but the greatest wizard in the world is Albus Dumbledore. Everyone says so. Even when you were strong, you didn't dare try and take over at Hogwarts. Dumbledore saw through you when you were at school and he still frightens you now, wherever you're hiding these days -

　　The smile had gone from Riddle's face, to be replaced by a very ugly look.

Tom:Dumbledore's been driven out of this castle by the mere memory of me!
me:Not quite true..
Harry:He's not as gone as you might think!

He was speaking at random, wanting to scare Riddle, wishing rather than believing it to be true　　Riddle opened his mouth, but froze.　

　Music was coming from somewhere. Riddle turned around to stare down the empty Chamber. The music was growing louder. It was eerie, unearthly; Flames erupted at the top of the nearest pillar.　　A crimson bird,a Phoenix, piping its weird music to the vaulted ceiling. It had a glittering golden tail as long as a peacock's and gleaming golden talons, which were gripping a ragged bundle.
　　
A second later, the bird was flying straight at Harry. It dropped the ragged thing it was carrying at his feet, then landed heavily on his shoulder. As it folded its great wings, Harry looked up and saw it had a long, sharp golden beak and a beady black eye.Majestique...　

　The bird stopped singing,gazing steadily at Riddle.

Tom:That's a phoenix.
me:Well spotted.
Harry:Fawkes?
Tom:And that -...that's the old school Sorting Hat -

So it was. Patched, frayed, and dirty, the hat lay motionless at Harry's feet.
Riddle began to laugh again. He laughed so hard that the dark chamber rang with it.　
　"This is what Dumbledore sends his defender! A songbird and an old hat! Do you feel brave, Harry Potter? Do you feel safe now?"

　　Nobody answered.

Tom:To business.Twice - in your past, in my future - we have met. And twice I failed to kill you. How did you survive? Tell me everything. The longer you talk...the longer you stay alive.
Harry:No one knows why you lost your powers when you attacked me.I don't know myself .But I know why you couldn't kill me. Because my mother died to save me. My common Muggle-born mother.She stopped you killing me. And I've seen the real you, I saw you last year. You're a wreck. You're barely alive. That's where all your power got you. You're in hiding. You're ugly, you're foul -

　Riddle's face contorted. Then he forced it into an awful smile.

Tom:So. Your mother died to save you. Yes, that's a powerful countercharm. I can see now ... there is nothing special about you, after all. I wondered, you see. There are strange likenesses between us, after all. Even you must have noticed. Both half-bloods, all of us orphans, raised by Muggles. Probably the only three Parselmouths to come to Hogwarts since the great Slytherin himself .We even look something alike ... but after all, it was merely a lucky chance that saved you from me. That's all I wanted to know.

　　Harry stood, tense, waiting for Riddle to raise his wand. But Riddle's twisted smile was widening again.I was staring at Tom,expecting to see his next move.Despite always stating "us",he is more fixed on Harry,rather than on me.I wonder if it's because of our Houses...

Tom.Now, Harry, I'm going to teach you a little lesson. Let's match the powers of Lord Voldemort, Heir of Salazar Slytherin, against famous Harry Potter and Raven Black, and the best weapons Dumbledore can give him . . . .

Sounds like a great way to start a dramatic showdown,and to expect your demise in a pretty gruesome way.Wonder if my slyness can save me again...