"The Game"
By:shadowkat678
Disclaimer: I don't own these characters.
Life, Tom mused, was just like a giant game of chess. There were the kings and the queens, the rooks, the knights and the bishops, and then there were the simple pawns, all these parts with their proper place and value. Not to mention the hands that moved them.
He was those hands.
Like an expert, Tom would shift the pieces about the board, sacrificing as needed, while always retaining a several step lead on his opponent. He was the mastermind, the puppeteer, the leader. The others, his pieces, believed themselves to be going about of their own free will, never realizing that Tom was manipulating their every thought from within the shadows.
Yes, it was simply a game, and he was the player who could never lose.
Having been at it so long, it was impossible for him not to be an expert. The way he went through the ranks at that forsaken little orphanage, manipulating them all with the fear he so easily placed. That was his testing ground, and he'd excelled, passed with flying colors. When he got to Hogwarts, it only became that much more intriguing. No longer was he the bully, but a loving, responsible boy with a tragic background, showing the world an empathetic nature he never truly had. Again he took on a part, and without ever letting on to his true nature. They were clueless, just as clueless as everyone else.
At first, his housemates mocked him for his halfblood status, but before the end of his first year he had their respect, by the end of second their loyalty, and by the end of third he had installed within them a healthy level of fear. The teachers were all wrapped around his little finger, and everything seemed to be falling together perfectly before him. Nothing could go wrong.
Yet, it wasn't enough. He had to do something bigger, something grand.. His mind was too sharp for such easy challenges, too great for such meaningless tasks. Things were growing far too dull, and so the level had to rise. Yes, he would pull off the impossible. All fourth year was spent planning how and preparing, and it was in fifth when he put his carefully crafted strategy into motion.
He'd first learned of the legend while sitting in the common room, overhearing an older student try to scare a first year mudblood. The Chamber of Secrets, home of a monster left behind by Slytherin himself. Of course, he was intrigued. How could he not be? So he researched, he bribed, and he gathered information from various sources. Finally, he located the chamber, and, though he wouldn't admit it, it was partially by luck. It was only with a frustrated cry of "open" that the entrance was revealed.
Finally, he was receiving a challenge worthy of his skills.
So he went down, and there found his most powerful piece yet. A creature who's gaze could kill, the reflection which petrified, and he sent out to do with it what his ancestor had started.
Riddle planned his course, all the while careful to seem no more than a concerned student trying his best to stop whatever tragedy was plaguing the school. But something went wrong. Finally, it seemed he went too far, that the school would be closed and his hard work lost, that he would have to return to the orphanage. The death of a first year Ravenclaw had the school in hysterics, searching harder than ever to find the culprit and prevent more deaths.
So, he helped them and sacrificed another pawn, giving them a culprit with the halfbreed.
His love for unusual and strange creatures was well known, so no one would think twice when they heard of what happened, that, despite his innocent intentions, it was the half giant who let lose a monster. Once again the young man went down, locking the serpent back in the chamber and framing Hagrid, who was expelled and left Tom in the clear, now a hero.
After that, he'd quieted down for sixth year, hoping to throw off any suspicion, but then came the greatest challenge yet: immortality. Seventh year was the year he won for good. No longer would he be Tom. Voldemort would be born with the death of Riddle, a new persona whose life would never end, and death couldn't beat him in the game they played played. He was the mastermind, the puppeteer, the player moving everything to their needed spots. He was fate. He was God. The challenges would go on and continue until the whole world would be wrapped within his game.
Yes, he thought. Life really was like a game of chess, and he truly was the unbeatable player...
A/N: Yep, new oneshot. After finally updating I thought it might be safe...
This was written for the House Cup 2015. On another site. This year, the theme was games. Put a little twist, but it works, right?
Feedback, constructive criticism, or a simple hello is, as always, appreciated. XD