His footsteps echoed lightly throughout the dark corridor, the torches burning low and casting eerie shadows about the walls. He hadn't the slightest where he was headed or if he would even end up anywhere. For all he knew he could walk down this hallway until the end of time and not even notice. That was the problem with being only a memory; time didn't apply to this world or to Tom. It was merely a word, having no effect on his being whatsoever. It because of his reckless stupidity he was doomed to walk through the times of his sixteen-year-old self forever, reliving the same things, walking down the same monotonous Hogwarts floors until he dropped, and never being able to escape.

Only once had his world been changed and he'd been able to live through some idiotic little girl. She'd gotten her hands on the diary he was imprisoned in and poured out her soul to him, finding consolation from his hollow words. He had to admit he was grateful the first time he'd felt words sink into his pages, finally something to change his predictable world! But as time went on he grew bored of her as well… until she'd mentioned him, Harry Potter, The Boy Who Lived. Naturally he was curious, extracting every detail from her frail mind until he came up with a plan.

It was painfully easy. He'd expertly taken over poor Ginny's mind, possessing her body for small amounts of time. She would always come out of her reveries lost and confused, never knowing what happened to the hours she thought she'd had. She'd tell him of her worries, thinking she was going mad, but he would say nothing back about the subject. A few weeks had passed and Tom finally unleashed his grand plan, slipping shamelessly into the girl's body. He returned to the diary with a smile upon his face, waiting to hear from Ginny of the chaos that would soon ensnare her precious little school.

He didn't have to wait long; soon the page was being filled with words of horror and freight. 'Oh it's terrible,' she had written. 'The Chamber of Secrets… It's been opened!' Tom had instructed her to keep him informed of the on goings in the school, telling her he was concerned for the wellbeing of the students and teachers. His lie had worked and soon he knew everything that was happening, just as if he were attending the school himself.

It wasn't long after that Ginny had finally realized Tom's effect on her; the reason why she felt so disoriented half of the time. She'd stopped writing to him and Tom feared he would never be able to complete his masterpiece, until the unimaginable had happened. Harry Potter had found the diary.

It was like a dream come true. The Boy Who Lived, the Savior of the Wizarding World, the defeater of You Know Who had possession of his diary. The plan was going swiftly, better than Tom could have ever imagined. At the time he didn't realize it but now, looking back, it was painfully obvious. Potter would win. He would always win. No matter how cunning, how perfectly executed his plan would be, that boy would always have luck on his side…

Tom sighed, stopping both his train of thought and walk. He had gone over those events a thousand times over, trying to find what had gone wrong. The only conclusion he had come to was that Potter had resources, friends to help him, and Tom, well, he had only himself.

Leaning against the cold stone wall Tom looked up at he ceiling and sighed. After the boy stabbed the diary he was still stuck in this horrid place, sentenced to remain in these cursed paged for the rest of eternity. He was certain Dumbledore had gotten rid of the remains, having no more use for the ink stained pages. No one would ever be able to find him. No one could destroy him.

He was just about to turn around when he felt a familiar tingle upon his skin. It was warm, almost like a summer breeze and just as refreshing. He had almost forgotten how absolutely brilliant that feeling was, having lived through years without experiencing it. Someone was writing to him...

Hello Tom. It's me... Harry Potter