It was evening time and we had all just finished our first supper and my sister and I were getting ready to head back to our dormitory when I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned and quickly noticed the shaggy brown hair, small glasses, and cute smile that I so adored whispering to talk to me privately. It was Harry. He seemed uneasy and had many questions ready to spill out of his mouth. "You have to help me, Parvati!" he said. He was determined to know why Voldemort was the way he was and if he was always such an evil Wizard. He wanted to know why Ravana had reincarnated into Voldemort and what exactly my family had to do with all of this. But most importantly he wanted to know why Vishnu himself reincarnated as Harry and what he intended to do. I wanted to tell Harry everything, but I was worried for the safety of not only myself but my family too. Deep down I knew I could trust him and I owed him an explanation, so this is where I began.
"Long ago, in his past life, he-who-shall-not-be-named was Ravana and he was the king of Lanka. Like most kings, he wanted to be the most powerful. There once was this thrilling battle between Rama and Ravana in which Rama took all ten of Ravana's heads. To no one's surprise, this killed Ravana and Rama made sure to bring happiness to all of the world. Rama was the light in the darkness and wanted life to stay this way. Soon after Ravana's death Yama, the lord of death, came down to collect Ravana's body and take it to be examined by the jury for his destiny in the afterlife. During his examination, things were not looking up for Ravana for he was not reaching Moksha also known as the unity with gods as a soul is released from the cycle of death and rebirth. Lord Yama had noticed that Ravana had only used up six out of his seven rebirths since his curse from Vishnu. He could only be granted this last rebirth if he used it wisely to spread no evil and do good on earth. Many years later Ravana had reincarnated as a young boy named Tom Riddle".
I could quickly see the worry begin to spread over Harry's face for he understood that this story would quickly take a dark path. "Tom was a very smart and good child although he did not come from the perfect background. I explained. He had lost his family at a young age and was soon orphaned. One day he was called to attend the school of Hogwarts by Dumbledore himself. Tom was ecstatic and couldn't believe that he possessed such powers. Deep down the soul of Ravana knew this was his time to execute his plan to spread evil once again. He was seen as a charismatic, innocent, and dedicated young wizard, but no one was prepared for what was to come. Tom's plan consisted of turning his soul into a snake named Nagini, which would lead to Adharma....yes the opposite of Dharma". This was only the beginning of Tom's plan and he would take everyone's trust and love for him and turn it into a ploy against everyone to gain immaculate evil power.
I glanced over at Harry and noticed him wince in pain and touch his hand to his forehead. I instantly knew Ravana was trying to get to him and I knew he was no longer the only one listening.
Author's Note: I want to focus my storybook on the Indian Epic of Ramayana. In this case, I based my story on the known battle between Rama and Ravana. I thought that this would be important because it was a good transition into how Ravana got the last chance to rebirth after his death and how he used it in evil ways. I also incorporated Lord Yama because he was the one who took Ravana's body for examination and decided to give him one more chance to do good in his next life. I added a little back story of Tom Riddle's life which was partially true, partially not. He was an excellent student at Hogwarts but the part about his family added trauma in which made him the perfect candidate for Ravana to reincarnate into (since he was vulnerable). I also want everything to be from Parvati's perspective telling stories from the past and soon incorporating how her family ties into all of it.
Image Information: Image of the dark Lord Voldemort by Warner Bros.
Bibliography Laura Gibbs, TINY TALES FROM THE RAMAYANA Part A, Cite