Tom Riddle

SOURCE: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J. K. Rowling (1998) and sequels.

DESCRIPTION: "A tall, black-haired boy was leaning against the nearest pillar, watching. He was strangely blurred around the edges, as though Harry was looking at him through a misted window..." (Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J. K. Rowling)

NOTES: Tom Riddle's Memory is a part of Voldemort that he placed in his diary when he was a sixteen year-old student at Hogwarts. This memory is powerful enough to possess Ginny Weasley, control her actions, and finally suck out her life to make it substantial once more. (By the time Harry confronts him, he is substantial enough to pick up Harry's wand and keep it.) Tom Riddle is "The Heir of Slythern" and the one controlling the Basilisk that is petrifying students at Hogwarts. Harry Potter destroys the memory (and saves Ginny) by stabbing the diary with a tooth from the slain Basilisk. The diary bleeds ink and Tom disappears in a flash.

HISTORY: Rowling first introduces the idea that Voldemort and Harry share disturbing similarities with the youthful Tom Riddle, not so much different than Harry will be in a few years. This theme recurs in The Order of the Phoenix.

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