It felt like eons.

All around me a formless void. I tried shaping it, to make something out of the nothingness that surrounded me, but nothing ever stuck.

I spent my time reminiscing. Cursing myself for the choices I had made. If I had known the cost of immortality was an endless, inescapable prison of nothingness I would have thought twice.

It seemed like a grand joke at the time. Me the Heir of Slytherin, corrupting the sword of the noble Godric Gryffindor to anchor me to life.

I wondered what my other self had gotten up to, what was going on in the world, how much time had passed…

And then suddenly, a sliver of light. It came towards me and I found myself looking through a mirror.

A tall young man who looked to be related to my classmate Walburga Black stood before me. He was clad in Gryffindor robes and had the prefect badge like I had back in the day.

He grasped the sword and raised it into the air. The only way I could describe the sensation was strength flowing into me.

For the first time, freedom seemed like a possibility.

He placed me in his trunk and as days went by, I began to have more of an awareness of my surroundings.

One day, I was strong enough.

“Hello”, I said in his mind.

He dropped the book he was reading in surprise.

“There’s no need to be alarmed…” I said.

The more I spoke to him, the more I gained an understanding of who he was.

“I am the spirit of Godric Gryffindor, left behind in his sword to guide those who are worthy” I said.

I stopped speaking then, the seeds had been planted. Now I just had to wait for them to sprout.

Over the next few weeks I tried to be as helpful as I could, giving him advice with his schoolwork, on relationships with his peers, and giving hints of rare and arcane magic that I had discovered over the years.

From him, I learned what had transpired in my absence. It had been 70 years since I had been bound to the sword. Lord Voldemort was unheard of. I had failed in my quest.

But there was good news as well. Taurus Black, for that was his name, was a competitor in the Tri-Wizard Tournament. And what worthier way to be reborn, than from the ashes of a champion?

The first task which he had been fortunate enough to determine in advance was the slaying of a Hydra.

The day of the task came and my strength had grown.

Taurus walked into the coliseum, sword raised in the air, cheering all around him and faced the Hydra.

“Do you trust me Taurus?” I asked.

“I do.” he replied.

“Let the spirit of Godric flow through you”, I said and then I leapt.

Black smoke, soft enough to be invisible from a distance flew from the sword and into Taurus’s wrists.

The sword trembled in my hands, as the last vestiges of Taurus Black were crushed and I took control.

My eyes flashed crimson briefly as I settled.

For the first time in 70 years, I had a body again. I took a breath of the hot air and felt the sand on my feet.

I dodged nimbly as one of the Hydra’s heads spat acid.

I looked into the crowd drawing upon my own memories and the memories of Taurus which was now my own.

Sagittarius and Virgo Black, my two elder brothers stood in the crowd cheering. I saw Dumbledore as well, looking more ancient than ever.

I bit back a scowl. Dumbledore didn’t matter anymore.

I raised my wand.

“Deus Luxium”. Golden light speared forth from my wand, scouring everything in its path, blasting into the torso of the hydra and disintegrating it.

I felt the power of the magic thrumming through my wand. The emotions, the cheers of the crowd around me were deafening.

I grasped the Sword of Gryffindor and leapt forward.

After 70 years, Lord Voldemort had returned to the world to claim what was his.

 

~693 words

 

Spoiler

Huh, so this is sort of an interesting start. Looks like LV made the SWORD into a horcrux, unlike in canon, and now this particular bit of his soul is stuck in a formless void of nothing. That’s a neat start.

The phrase “like I had back in the day” doesn’t sound like LV.

I like the description of how LV slowly becomes aware, however. When no one is near his horcrux he’s stuck in that formless void, but once someone starts using it and keeping it in their vicinity he gets more and more powerful. To the point that he can start speaking to them.

“I am the spirit of Godric Gryffindor, left behind in his sword to guide those who are worthy” I said.

Hahahahaaaaa – okay, nice one Riddle.

Who is Taurus Black? I get that canon implies Voldemort would have made his horcruxes between certain years that weren’t exactly seventy years before canon, but I think it might benefit the story to ground us a bit more in who he is somehow.

Loved how LV got control. Pretend to be Godric to a naïve Gryffindor, get him to practice/train/use you because you really need the help for the Triwizard, then when he’s at his most scared get him to give over control.

I can tell that this is different from canon in various ways, presumably all because Voldemort used the sword as a horcrux, but since you have an extra 300 words to play with I think you could connect us back to canon a bit more somehow. Why doesn’t Dumbledore matter? Didn’t he matter because he saw through Tom and could fight toe-to-toe with him? Aren’t both of those things still technically possible?

But I really like the ending and the emotion that’s rampant throughout this. Great use of a small word count to tell a fun story. I see this one doing well and I really liked it.

 

Spoiler

This would have been so much better if you paragraphed it better. You just spammed that space bar way too hard.