The Sunrise of My Heart

Poor Mrs Weasley was clearly upset after Percy left. The rest of the holiday was rather glum after that disastrous visit from the world's least favorite ginger. It was a few hours after that Remus came to me with something clearly on his mind.
"Something you want to talk about, Moony?" I used his old school nickname out of habit, causing him to give me a small smile
"I was actually thinking you should go home. Especially after what you told me this morning. I know your mum would love to spend Christmas with her daughter, and you never know how much time left you'll get to spend with her."
"This is true," I agreed. "Even if I'm wrong and she's not in danger, I still have my curse to worry about. And I do want to spend Christmas with her. I would like to go home, now that you mention it. Do you think Ginny will mind?"
"I'm sure she'll understand. I'll go tell Molly and Arthur that you want to go home and we'll arrange for you to leave soon."
I smiled. "Thanks, Moons. I just feel bad for not thinking of it myself. I was so wrapped up in this whole Adrian thing, I sort of forgot how to use common sense."
Before long, I was packed and ready to go home. Mr Weasley and Remus accompanied me to my house so they could sure of my safe arrival, and then they bid me farewell. I dragged my luggage inside, dumped it in the front entry, and ran to hug my mom. On the way, I nearly tripped over my cats and beautiful dog, but I managed to keep my balance.
"Mom!" I yelled, hugging her tightly when I saw her in the living room. "Did you miss me?" She smiled and eagerly hugged me back the way only a mother can.
"Of course I missed you, Riley. And I'm ecstatic that you'll be spending Christmas evening with me."
"Me too. But I am sorry that I didn't come home sooner. I should have come home at the beginning of the holiday."
"Don't worry about it. You're here now, that's all that matters. Now how do you feel about a Christmas chicken for dinner? I wasn't in the mood for turkey or ham.
"Sounds fine to me. You know how much I love chicken."
The rest of the night was truly wonderful. I spent a great time with my mom, enjoyed good food, and felt truly careless for the first time since realizing who the roses were from. My mom always knew how to cheer me up.
Going back to Hogwarts filled me with joy, but I was also still worried about the safety of my mom. I finally told myself that everything would be just fine and I put aside my worries. When I did get back, I allowed myself to get fully immersed in my studies again. My personal life might have been a little messed up, but my teachers weren't gonna cut me any slack just because I was worried about my past life's twin brother coming to kill me or a loved one. Other than that, things at Hogwarts were roughly the same. Hermione wouldn't come anywhere near Ron I'd Lavender was around, Ron was snogging a girl he couldn't stand, Harry was preparing to defeat Voldemort with the help of Dumbledore, and Draco was ignoring my existence. Same old, same old. I tried not to imagine what my life would be like under "strange" circumstances. I had a feeling it would involve talking animals and sweet Slytherins.
The night after most students arrived back at the castle, Harry had a super secret meeting with Dumbledore. It was after this meeting that he came looking for me despite the late hour. He seemed to have something rather troubling on his mind.
"Hey, Harry," I said with a smile. "Bit late for a chat don't you think? Most people are in bed by now."
"I saw on the Map that you were walking around in the Great Hall. Thought I'd come and talk to you a bit."
"What about? You clearly have something specific you want to say or you'd have waited until morning to talk."
"Do you know what a Horcrux is?"
"Unfortunately, Harry, there are things that even I don't know. I have never been a dark witch in any of my lives, and therefore have always been unacquainted with dark magic of most sorts. I can tell you that it's evil. Only someone very cruel indeed would have a Horcrux. Sorry I can't be more helpful."
"It's fine," he said, still seeming preoccupied by something.
"So what else is on your mind?"
"It's something that Dumbledore said to me. He told me I could discuss our meetings with you because you might be able to add personal insight on things."
"And?" I asked, knowing where this must be going.
"Who were you before you were Roxanne Dove?"
I sighed softly and looked at him. "I was a girl named Amanda Valentine. I attended school here and was placed in Ravenclaw."
"And how long ago was this?"
"A little over fifty years ago. I was quiet and not very social. The life before that, I had endured a rather grisly death, so I chose to focus on my studies as Amanda. Having a social life usually led to particularly sad deaths, so I chose not to have one that time. I did, however, have one friend of sorts. He was quiet and intelligent, and we would spend hours in the library doing our homework together. Half the time we didn't even talk, we just sat by each other and worked. The system worked well for us. He had other people that he spent his time with, of course, but he would often slip away from them to come and study with me in the library."
"You were friends with Tom Riddle?" Harry asked incredulously.
"Ok first of all, it's not like he carried around a sign that said 'Future evil dark wizard: Death Eaters only.' And second of all, I'm not sure if friend is the right term. We were on friendly terms, but the only time he really opened up to me about himself was literally like five minutes before he murdered me. He gave this big speech about his dreams and ambitions, and then he attacked me. I think he's got a few issues."
"What did he say about his..... Dreams and ambitions....?"
"Psycho babble about purging the world of Muggles and Muggle borns, and something about living forever. That part was less coherent and less aimed at me than at himself. Like I said, he had some issues. They appear to have only gotten worse since his destruction 15 years ago."
"How did he do it?" Harry asked softly.
"I'm not entirely sure about all of it. I remember eating dinner, feeling really tired, and then waking up in the Chamber of Secrets. Not exactly my ideal place to be. Ever. Anyways, he told me all of these crazy plans, and I told him to let me go and that he was mental. So then he hexed me and let that damn basilisk eat me. It was not fun."
"So you died twice in the Chamber of Secrets?"
"Right you are, Harry. And both times I totally didn't see it coming. The second time, it was the year before he set the basilisk on the school. He had written a note from me saying I could no longer stand being overlooked by the world, so I had run away to Wales with a boy who made me feel special. No one had ever paid much attention to me, not even my parents, so everyone just let it be. Dumbledore was probably the only one who suspected foul play, but of course he couldn't prove it. He asked me later, when I was Roxi, what had really happened. I believe he felt a bit guilty for not having protected me better. But really, there was nothing he could have done."
"So can you tell me anything about Voldemort? Does he have any weaknesses?"
"His greatest weakness is his inability to understand things beyond his search for power. It leaves him ignorant about many things. How you can use that to your advantage is for you to figure out. Dumbledore could probably come up with something."
"That didn't seem very helpful."
"Too damn bad. I'm going to bed. G'night, Harry."
"Night, Riley."