House: Slytherin
Category: Themed
Prompts: Diagon Alley
Characters: Albus Dumbledore; Tom Riddle
World: AU (Alternative Universe)
Word count: 936 (Excluding Author's Note, but including entire Short Story and Title)
Summary: Power has always been in his mind, even at a young age. When Albus Dumbledore comes to visit Tom Riddle, he discovers a whole new side of Voldemort through his beloved pet, Nagini.
Rating: T
As always, enjoy
-Carolare Scarletus
Destiny in Blood
"Tell me of the boy you killed, Tom," Albus pressured the boy as they settled down in the tiny, ratty room. The dusty curtains were drawn closed, and there was a deafening silence stretched between them as they stared at each from across the room. Tom was one of his subjects, a patient that after a short visit just last month, had grown on him. Albus marveled at the complexity of the case and how calm and collected the boy was after sending his beloved snake to kill an innocent passerby. He couldn't bring himself to be angry at the boy, although he was curious as to why he did it. "What did he do to you?"
"He was bothering me," Tom said, defending himself now. He looked up and Albus almost fell into those pitiless orbs. The panic, the mere desolate resounding juncture of his rage that lit up in his eyes.
"What was he saying?" Albus pressed.
"He didn't say anything." Tom fiddled with the torn fabric of his blanket. "He was doing something that I didn't like."
"What was he doing, then?"
The boy didn't seem like he wanted to answer. Instead, Tom tilted his head in a fashionable manner that made Albus' blood run cold. It was then he heard a noise. A sick, wailing sound that pierced the air so unexpectedly that Albus nearly shot out of his skin. Tom's eyes blazed with the unsheltered sheen of blood. Albus stood from his chair, and walked over to where the wardrobe sat. Hesitating for only a second, he looked back to where Tom was. He had stood up, too. His eyes burned with the passionate timber of a well-kept fire.
"Don't open that."
"What would I find if I do?" Albus countered determinedly. When the boy didn't answer, he pressed again. "Tom, I asked you a question."
"Something awful…"
"What is it Tom?"
The boy shook his head, looked away from the Headmaster and said nothing. Albus took this as a sign to open the wardrobe. Delicately, he raised his hand. The wardrobe shook as he wrapped his fingers forcefully around the worn, old doorknob. Slowly, he turned it and when he opened the door, he found something so surprising he had blinked his eyes several times to make sure he wasn't imagining it.
Inside the wardrobe was a small, scaly creature.
When Albus looked up, Tom was there. His hands were stretched out in front of him and before the Headmaster had time to object, Tom was already in his mind.
"I told you not to look," Tom's voice echoed as Albus fell into the memory.
Diagon Alley wasn't the safest place to be. The moon cast a ghostly glow upon the buildings, illuminating the faces of the small alley with scriptures of dark images. As Tom Riddle made his way down the cobblestone way, he walked past an interesting building whose door had been torn from its hinges and its windows broken in with a blunt object. There was a symbol carved into the wooden frame, which looked strangely like a skull being consumed by a snake. While he wasn't at all impressed by the disastrous state of the building, it was the low hiss that issued from its ancient framework that appealed to him the most.
Tom wasn't supposed to be out this late at night. Ever since the incident at the cove, Ms. Cole prohibited any form of freedom. But when a long chain of darkness reached out to him, Tom, like any curious child, grabbed it and was escorted into the deserted house.
As he explored the building, he came across an old woman whose face was hidden under a shrine of undisturbed darkness.
She looked up at him. "I have been expecting you."
"Who are you?" he demanded. "What is it that you want?"
"You are destined for great things, Riddle," the woman said in a low hiss.
Immediately, Tom recognized the voice. "It's you, isn't it?" he inquired. "The voice I keep hearing."
The old woman let out a breathless laugh. "Why, yes. It is!"
"Why is it that you're only allowing me to see you now?"
"I've been waiting."
"Waiting for what?"
"To see if you were worthy of my gift." The woman cackled, and for the briefest moment, Tom saw the true face that laid underneath her garb. Her hideous face was pale and covered in countless cuts. "And you are, Riddle. You are worthy."
"What are you saying?"
"Would you like to see what I have for you?" the woman asked. Before he could answer, she reached into her ratted robes and took out a small pearl-like object. "This is yours."
"A chicken egg?" Tom looked at the gift in disgust. "What am I going to do with an egg?"
"Marvelous things," the woman whispered. "You desire power, young wizard. And, this beautiful creature is going to help you achieve it."
Tom looked at the egg then back at her. Slowly, he reached out his hand and took it, feeling the weight of the dormant creature inside in his palm. The snake's energy was being transferred to him through the thin membrane of the shell, and for a moment, he felt the powerful surge of magic seep into his pores. He lifted his gaze to the woman, but she had disappeared. Alone and tired, he fell into a heap and slept. His dreams were filled of the cries of the innocent and bloodshed, but one image remained true through it all.
A single bolt of lightning streaked across his path of darkness.