Unexpected Encounters | Tom Riddle

Tom sat at the desk in his room, the dim glow of a single candle casting shadows across the walls. The marked page before him seemed to pulse with its own dark energy, the words etched into the parchment holding promises both alluring and terrifying. He had stayed up long after the others had gone to bed, unable to sleep. Secrets of the Darkest Arts was more than a book: it was a lifeline. Its pages held the answer to the fear that had gripped him since he could remember: death.

Death had always been there, a silent specter in his life. From the moment his mother abandoned him to the orphanage to the times he had crouched in the rubble of Muggle London, planes roaring overhead and bombs reducing entire streets to ash. He hated how muggles created chaos with their inventions: bombs, rifles, warplanes, tools of destruction wielded without thought. They didn't hesitate to kill each other, like savages. And yet, he realized, he wasn't so different.

When Lilia almost killed him, Tom had felt that specter looming closer than ever. He had survived by playing it safe, by carefully hiding his darker ambitions from the watchful eyes of Dumbledore and the professors. Even his Knights had seen only glimpses of his true potential. But Lilia, she had not hesitated, not flinched. Her curse had cut through his defenses with the precision of someone who had fought for her life before. That duel had been an awakening. He was vulnerable, and he despised it.

He stared at the book before him. Horcrux. The word itself seemed to hum with power. Herpo the Foul had created one and lived for centuries, his name etched into history alongside the first basilisk. Immortality lay within reach, but the act required was unthinkable. He had already done the unspeakable: four lives taken by his hand. And yet, it hadn't worked. He sighed, pressing his fingers to his temples. The regret gnawed at him, a constant reminder of the weight he carried.

When he killed his father and grandparents, he had fallen to his knees, tears streaming down his face. He had hoped, naively, desperately, that his father might acknowledge him, might call him "son." But instead, Tom Riddle Sr.'s face had twisted with disgust, his rejection cutting deeper than any curse. Staring at their lifeless bodies, Tom had wondered if persistence might have changed things. Would they have grown to love him if he had tried harder?

Then there was Myrtle Warren. Her death haunted him in ways he didn't fully understand. He could still hear her trembling voice, her last words before she died: "I want you to leave me afterwards, Tom." He hadn't meant for her to die. The basilisk had obeyed his command, but he hadn't anticipated the cost. He had stood frozen, staring at her lifeless form, the glassy eyes that would haunt his dreams for weeks.

Love was a stupid thing. He told himself he was above it, that he didn't need it. But deep down, he craved it. His mother's love for his father had killed her. Myrtle, someone he had cared for more than he cared to admit, was gone. His father, whose approval he had longed for, was dead by his own hand. Love and death were intertwined in his life, inseparable, inevitable. And Tom hated how it made him feel. Weak, vulnerable, human.

He shut the book with a loud thud, the sinking feeling in his stomach threatening to overwhelm him. Immortality was the only escape, but could he truly take the final step? Could he sever his soul, knowing the regret and pain that already consumed him? He closed his eyes, exhaling shakily.

It was always death. No matter how far he ran or how much power he amassed, it was always waiting for him.

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

The following day, Angie came to the Malfoy manor. She was a tall woman, dressed in a gown of the finest silk and Lilia shuddered at the sight. She was the image of an elegant and poised woman who formed part of the elite.

"Lilia, it's your turn." She nodded at Evangeline's words and went inside the room that Angie had designated as her fitting room. All seven of them had been waiting outside to go inside, one by one. Lilia didn't understand why that was necessary. Couldn't they all just get their measurements taken together? Surely, there couldn't be anything else.