Chapter 3
Riddle Manor
Tom Riddle, aka Lord Voldemort, was sitting in his study going over documents and plans in order to remove Dumbledore from power. The old mad had been a thorn in his side ever since he left Hogwarts, even before so. He didn’t know what it was but something had seemed off about the man since he walked into the orphanage all those years ago to deliver Tom his letter. The aged wizard had an aura about him that screamed danger, and being no stranger to abuse and pain, that feeling always put Tom on edge. Add that to the fact that the headmaster was so stuck in his own ways and close mindedness that he was never able to see any viewpoint that was anything other than his own. The man never looked farther than the tip of his nose and always seemed to make it his mission to decide what was good and bad.
After the defeat of Grindelwald, the wizarding world had placed the man on a high pedestal and had no intention of removing him. It was after the first war that Albus took to placing any and every aspect of their world into the category of Light and Dark. Although he had no proof yet something told Tom that it was Dumbledore who had come up with the restrictions placed on magical creatures. Going so far as labeling them Dark and dangerous. The thought made his blood boil as one of his best friends was a werewolf and there was nothing dangerous about him. For as long as Tom had been friends with Fenrir he was able to get an inside look at what it took to be a werewolf. There were no psychotic killing sprees or rabbit wolves walking around hunting innocents in order to bite them.
There had only been a handful of instances where bites were given and only a couple of them had been as a result of a werewolf being “mad.” Even then it was dealt with by the British Were Council and the cases had been handled. Most weres that were born into their creature forms are taught at an early age that fighting the transformation and growth of their creature leaves the bond between human and creature fragile and weak. Disregarding it all together leaves said creature feral and almost uncontrollable which was why whenever pups were born, Fenrir always spent days teaching and guiding the young ones on what they would need during their first transformation. Every month for every full moon Fenrir spent time with the pups while their parents had their own sanctity to transform, and when everyone was together they hunted and bonded as a pack, both in their wolf forms and as humans.
Not only had Dumbledore branded them as otherworldly and made them outcasts in their own world, he attempted at every turn to get rid of the old ways of pureblood families. While there was a clear separation of Light and Dark purebloods, that didn’t mean they were all bad or all good. You had families like the Potters who were completely Light and had fought to get rid of old transitions and then there were notorious Dark families like the Blacks and Malfoys who had no qualms about being ostracized due to their firm beliefs. Then there were families like the Longbottoms who, despite having had a long line of Gryffindors, had no problem delving into light and dark spell work.
Somewhere along the line, people began to associate Light magic with good and Dark magic with bad- Dumbledore included. The headmaster had no problem with being outwardly prejudiced against those who did not hold the same beliefs as he did. Additionally, he was always throwing Slytherins into the dark while always holding Gryffindors on a high pedestal. He had done it when Tom was in school, but it was always small things that could be thrown under the rug like giving an extra point or two to Gryffindors for meritocracy. Said bias only increased over the years after Tom had graduated and moved to making the world see that the old ways were not all bad and should be preserved in addition to including traditions of muggle born witches and wizards.
Being the child of a pureblood witch and a muggle man, Tom understood the importance of including both aspects in the world as he was equal part pureblood and equal part muggle. He understood muggles more seeing as he spent a large part of his life in the muggle world, and as he grew up he strived to learn more about pureblood history and the ways of the wizarding world. It came to a point in which Dumbledore, and people like minded, painted him and people who agreed with him as blood supremacists, when that was never the case at all. Tom wanted to make a difference for those who live in their world and those who seek to be a part of it. That included being able to discuss old traditions, whether one agrees with the practice or not, but having a course in school curriculum that would allow developing witches and wizards the ability to comprehend what those traditions were for and how they could be used if done properly.
With a heavy sigh, Tom placed all of his papers in a neat arrangement on his desk before walking over to his alcohol cabinet and pouring himself a stiff glass of brandy. He sank down into the cushions of a high back chair and looked into the fire. It was on tiresome nights like these that he wished he could be with his family. He would be able to sit back, relax after dinner in a comfortable silence with his son and his lovers while his grandson slept away in his lap and his familiar at his feet. Speaking of the snake, Nagini had left to go hunt hours ago and had yet to come back. He knew he need not worry too much about her as there were times when the python would hunt all night and come back during the early hours of morning. Its just for some reason tonight felt different. He had no need to call for her as there was nothing to do, but a part of him missed her company. She had a sharp wit about her and an even sharper tongue that made her perfect as his familiar.
The cackling of the fire was calming and the silence was nice if he admitted it to himself, but there was something about the manor that was lonely at times. He blamed it solely on the fact that he had not yet moved his family into his home yet. He didn’t have a particular reason as to why he had offered his son and his wife and husband to move in with him when they got married, but they had been adamant about staying at Malfoy manor. The rejection stung a bit but he understood their need for their own space even though they could have a separate wing, something that he argued in his case. No matter, he still visited them often and most times when he was home by himself it was like a sanctuary of solitude which was needed to get away from the chaos of politics and his family from time to time.
He looked up as the door to his study creaked open. He didn’t need to see Nagini to know it was her. She moved with agility and grace while being completely silent. She slithered up to his chair and coiled around the back until her head rested over the top and onto his shoulder. Tom pet her head before letting his nails scrape gently over her scale which was something she always appreciated.
Have a good hunt today, my sweet?
Hunt was...interesting to say the least.
Oh? He asked with a raised eyebrow. Nagini boobed her head in a resemblance of a nod.
Yes. Nagini met tiny human.
You let someone see you? There was disbelief in his voice.
Tiny human saw me first, and smelt bad. Smelt like sadness, filth, and pain. Tiny human also taste like Master’s magic.
The last statement caught him by surprise as he had no idea as to what that could mean.
What exactly does that mean?
The snake huffed. Master has brain, should use it.
Tom rolled his eyes at his familiar. Nagini.
Tiny human has master’s magic in head. Smells of darkness and like master. Tiny human also smells of bad magic.
Nagini you are aware that not all dark magic is bad, correct?
She huffed again, and Tom was certain that if she could she would roll her eyes at him for what she deemed as stupidity.
Nagini knows that. Master said so. Bad magic makes tiny human smell of pain and despair. Bad magic stays around Tiny Human’s wrists and hurts him. Bad magic sucks magic from tiny human and makes him frail and weak.
Were you able to see what it was? The man asks, already having an idea of who the snake was talking about. There was only one person in the world who could have a piece of him inside of him; particularly in his head.
She shakes her head. Nagini could not see it, but could taste it. Tastes of spoiled rat and sewage. And feels very bad.
Tom sighed. Tonight was not the night for him to deal with another Harry Potter problem. The boy, just like his leader had become a prickling thorn in his side as well and it had been aggravating him as of late. He had to admit though that he could hardly fault the child completely for being a pain as he was well aware that he was as much of a pawn as anyone else who came into contact with Albus Dumbledore. Potter had one distinct difference about him and it was that he was viewed as the savior of their world. A child who was destined to defeat him. Tom let his head fall back onto the back of his chair. He suddenly felt incredibly tired and there was a slight throbbing behind his eyes. He raised his hands to rub at his eyes.
Master...
He looked at his familiar. She sounded somewhat spooked by whatever it was that she was about to say.
Tiny human told me to tell you message. Kill him if you plan to do so. Tiny human says he may not make it through summer.
It felt like someone had thrown a ice cold bucket of water into his stomach. Ever the composed wizard, he couldn’t deny that the child’s world left him with a feeling of unease. But one thing about him was that when it came to survival the worst thing you could do is not trust your gut, and right now Tom’s gut was telling him that there was more to that message that it let on. And he was going to get to the bottom of it.