So, this is how the great Tom Marvolo Riddle perishes, Tom thought, his arms screaming in protest and legs shaking from the exertion as he fired spell after spell from his wand. Saving these brats barely younger than I am, yet so unable to utter a simple Protego. Casting a wordless and wandless Bombarda Maxima in his left hand and a clear shield with his wand, Tom skid out of the shield before it fully formed, watching in amusement as girlish screams erupted within it. Honestly, can't they see the spells are ricocheting and not hitting them? Tom scoffed, masking the fear and panic bubbling within him uncertainly.
He didn't want to die.
"Carpe Retractum!" Tom casted before conjuring a short silver dagger and barely wincing as one of Grindlewald's followers was pulled in and pierced in the leg. He groaned and fell back, Tom barely sparing him a glance before walking over him and quick firing stunning spells.
"Professor Riddle!" someone yelled from behind the shield charm. Losing focus, Tom glanced back before his eyes widened, registering the sickly green shade of the Killing Curse and dive rolling out of the way. Snarling, Tom slashed the air with his wand, smirking as the caster who almost killed him clutched his dominant arm in pain. Stunning him quickly, Tom wasted no time in getting to his feet, levitating a rather heavy looking set of armor and slamming it into the nearest cluster of Grindlewald's lackeys.
The battle had been going on for nearly three hours, and Tom could feel his magical core slowly but surely depleting. Tom blamed it on Dumbledore, hiring incompetent teachers that have never duelled to save their skin. Ever. In a time of war, no less! Against Tom's better judgement, his spells grew in power and in difficulty as his ears started ringing and his heart started hammering more wildly against his ribcage. Was this really how he was going to die? In Hogwarts, supposedly one of the safest places in Magical Britain, practically duelling every single one of Grindlewald's pawns while maintaining a strong shield all the students and disgustingly clueless professors who were too busy cowering in fear to battle.
Well, the actually useful professors were upstairs battling Grindlewald himself. Tom was left alone to fend for himself and manage to protect most of the children in the Great Hall full of a massive swarm of maroon and white at the same time. A couple of whispered spells from Tom's wand broke off a good portion of the Ravenclaw table and he swung it around, batting away the cloaked men nearest to him. He levitated the heavy piece of furniture towards the group inching towards his shield and used it to hurtle them across the Great Hall, a few bones cracking as they hit the stone walls at a very painful and rapid speed.
How long did it take for a team of five extremely powerful wizards and witches to subdue one wizard? Dumbledore was there for Morgana's sake! What the hell were they doing? With a flick of his wrist, a stunning spell was sent towards a rather tall and big bloke in maroon and white velvet. Tom was getting angrier as his enemies seemed to multiply by the second, and he could feel his magic simmering just below the surface. He breathed heavily, sweat trickling down his neck as he kicked an attacker in the groin before sending him to sleep.
Dumbledore is a bloody idiot! Tom raged, all other emotions fading away before sending three rather mean blood boiling hexes towards three blonde girls. Ignoring their screams he subdued them before Tom saw it.
He saw a flash of blonde hair and blue eyes on top of the staircase.
Tom wasn't a professor for nothing, he of all people should know composure was key. But after battling for three hours, with the threat of death looming over his head as he was beginning to register his many injuries, and with the way he was disregarded and told to practically babysit professors twice his age rather than being helped defend practically three fourths of the student bdy for more than three hours, he was just about ready to snap.
And snap he did.
His silver magic shot out everywhere, bouncing from his shields and hitting all the remaining Grindelwald supporters successfully. His cold, freezing fury seemed to be the reason why the whole hall's temperature seemed to have dropped more than twenty degrees as streaks of silver flashed blindingly, tearing the whole place apart. Windows cracked and the Ravenclaw table was thrown aside, tapestries destroyed, cutlery and armor sent to the floor crashing with horrendously loud clanging and banging. Taking a deep breath of air, he exhaled slowly before laying murderous eyes on the only opponent left standing.
Gellert Grindelwald smirked, twirling his wand in his hand. "And I thought Albus Dumbledore was the most powerful wizard of the century." Tom watched him in faux calm, his anger letting him see the world with much startling clarity. "Do they honestly think so highly of themselves that they didn't ever consider me finding a way in?"
"What do you want?" Tom's whispered words reached everyone's ears as the whole hall fell silent in awe of the handsome DADA professor's raw power. Students stared wide eyed, lips sealed in fear but eyes wide in desperation and anxiety. Grindlewald simply walked down the steps, never breaking eye contact with eyes that flashed crimson.
"I originally came to take care of Albus, and perhaps make it to the cover of the Daily Prophet. However, I seem to have come across a conundrum, a conundrum with potential no less." Coming to stop ten meters away from him, the Dark Lord grinned madly. "I can offer you anything you would ever want."
"No, you can't," Tom bit out, a ball of fire forming in his hand as he spoke. "No one can." He flicked it towards the Dark Lord, before sending bolts of lightning to his head. The German dodged the fireball and threw up a shield. Tom felt a twinge of satisfaction after his thunderbolt managed to shake and crack the protective barrier. Sending another pair of bolts directly at the Dark Lord's head, Tom flung a silver streak of light towards the shield, watching the wall of protective magic disintegrate completely. One of the lightning bolts struck the man and he fell to his knees in surprise. Tom, unwilling to cast an Unforgivable at Hogwarts, held up a shield surrounding his body as he marched forward, silver chains springing from his wand and wrapping themselves around Grindlewald. A flurry of spells were thrown at him, and Tom wasn't inhumanly quick as to dodge them all.
Tom looked down at his body, only now registering his wounds from the battle he fought almost alone against the maroon-clad idiots and the fresh slash from his left shoulder to his right hip. His body ached, but he paid it no mind as he kicked the Dark Lord in the face. Grindlewald growled at him, breaking free of the chains and lunging towards the younger man with the intent to kill. In Tom's weakened state, Grindlewald should have found it easy.
But Tom was no ordinary man. Grindlewald uttered an intestine ripping hex Tom easily identified and blocked. He sent an identical purple ball at the other and shot a temporary yet painful tongue shrivelling curse at him as well. Grindlewald easily deflected them, and sent a very small but powerful hurricane towards Tom who in his efforts to banish it, suffered a carefully aimed Reducto that only managed to hit his left side as Tom attempted to dodge. Thrown against the wall, Tom took a moment to breathe and wipe the blood away from his lips, his anger and frustration building inside until he was hissing old Parseltongue spells instinctively, watching shallow yet incapacitating wounds to open in lightly tanned skin, thick and glowing bonds wrapping themselves around muscled arms.
The Dark Lord was lifted in the air and then slammed into the ground before Tom's hand grabbed his collar to stare directly into his hateful eyes. "Stay away from Hogwarts," Tom spat, as his moment of clarity began escaping, his body beginning to shut down and his vision getting blurrier and darker by the second.
"Make me," whispered Grindlewald, very much in a similar state, the smell of burning skin disgusting Tom as he raised his yew wand and pointed it to Grindlewald's forehead.
"Avada Kedavra!"
It wasn't Tom.
The last thing Tom saw before he blacked out was a panic-stricken Dumbledore, his long wand aimed at the person who had bloody saved the school and perhaps the Wizarding World, at him.
Tom was furious, and managed to curse at the old man one last time before Tom Riddle knew no more.
"I hate you, so much."
HPTR
"… Did his eyes just flicker?"
"I'll be damned, I think they just did!"
"Hurry, get the boss! Oh, Merlin, I can't believe it worked!"
Tom didn't know where he was, and usually this would send him in high-alert. But right now Tom felt terrible and couldn't muster enough strength to properly open his eyelids.
Thus, he fell back into peaceful, dreamless slumber.
HPTR
"His name is Tom?"
"Yes, Tom Marvolo Riddle," a familiar sounding voice answered, sorrow in his words. "He is eighteen years old, a smart, powerful lad. Keep him with you at all times, my boy."
"Yes, Headmaster."
