I recommend you listen to this as you read this next section: This Mortal Coil- Song To the Siren: if you wish to get the full effect from this confusing chapter
The light was golden, flickering as if on fire, in fact. It cut channels through the sky as it dawned on a horizon. From an angle, one could catch a glimpse of the light as it glowed around dust particles. If one watched carefully they would see the particles smile in contentment as they floated through the atmosphere. One could be resentful towards those moments, those moments that were so carefree and pure. Moments that could get washed away in the heavy ways of life, lost in the abyss of ignorance.
There was a shutter disturbance, an intake of breath, followed swiftly with a sigh of resignation.
Voldemort frowned.
The light was filtering in and one would have to squint to make out anything. Eyes would be closed, a hand lightly placed across them to aid the mind back into sleep. No sleep would return, not after then. Laughter would wake one; the sweet tones would whisk anyone from the realm of the beyond. Movement would be next, a roll of the mind and they would wake, stepping from the morning and into the hellish turn that would haunt any girl of her age.
From a distance it seemed like a memory, a flash of events that weren't really imprinted enough to make out properly. In fact the ink of the colour would flow through the scene and elude anyone who was prying. There was a kitchen, with a table and chairs to one side. On a chair a young man would sit in the same seat every morning and devour what was placed in front of him. If one would enter the young man would not glance. He would not look up and take her in for one very last time. She would wonder if he knew, if he had known it was her last, would he of looked? The girl smiled as she took him in. His brown eyes were rounded and still kept him young, gold hair fell across his brow and cheek bones flowed in handsome ways. Those who knew him would know why there were bags under his eyes.
The door down the hall drifted open; the young girl looked longingly at the boy before moving on and casting the scene to the back of her mind, where it would reside forever. Her foot steps were slow as she made her way towards the morning light that was still blinding.
A routine carried her as if she were really there, but it was a dream, only a dream would be this beautiful. Spring leaves would rustle in the air and sunshine was alight all under its touch. There was a white path, a path of pavement that led the girl on. Sweet smelling flowers met ones senses and the girl would take breath, of course she would always stop by the roses, for their sent would rest her mind and keep her pace steady. Her path had to be steady.
Endless houses would reside on her right and dark tarmac would score the roads where cars drove little. The neighbourhood was safe, nobody, not anyone would expect darkness to tarnish their door steps. None the less, it had.
The wind was a warm breeze that warmed a smile and cooled a thought. It drew clouds across the sky with tender hands, and brushed pollen from flower tips. The girl sneezed but the sound was distant and there was no-one there to bless her. Walking in a daze of thought, the young girl moved onwards until she reached an over pass. Taking her time and easily missed the signs, the girl moved under the bridge and stopped on the other side. There she would usually wait for her friend. The girl with the red hair would run towards her from the road alongside the bridge, she would grin at her as she pushed her long hair up into a messy pony tail. She wasn't here today and the girl waited in wonder as she strived to remember her friend's name. The struggle caused a frown to grace her face and the first claws of cold dread dug their way in.
Moving on with her route she realized that something was amiss, but answers would not be found here. So instead she made her way towards the park, her pace quickened and her eyes darting, failing to acknowledge that the scenery looked almost fairy tale-like. At the centre of the park there was a gazebo, painted in pristine white, with flower boxes and benches to sit upon. This memory would normally be filled with happy voices and laughter. The place had a magic feel to it, as if one could sit and watch the world go by and not age a day. Today though, there was something very wrong.
There were flowers, in fact there were piles of them, surrounding the gazebo and stopping anyone from walking there. With the flowers there were messages written in smudged ink, alongside photos of a girl with gold hair and large brown eyes. The girl frowned at the photos, what had happened here? Stepping forward further the girl could make out some of the messages. They were mainly addressed to someone named Beth, but who was that? Why did something stir within the girl as she heard herself say,
"Beth..."?
The girl glanced inside the gazebo and gasped as she saw its ruined state. The benches were shattered and some of the railings had been pushed out of place. There were scorch marks that darkened the white and rose petals from the flowers stirred as the girl watched in awe. Her mind was blank as she took in the scene. Why couldn't she remember?
Upon closing her eyes the image drained from around her and morphed into a dark room with dark wooden floorings. An echo of weeping caused her to open her eyes and look around. She gasped in recognition and with a gut wrenching scream she realized what had happened to her. The images of her path flickered in front of her and suddenly she couldn't breathe. The girl tore at her throat and wailed in anguish as she saw the red headed girl kneeling while weeping at the foot of the gazebo. She grasped at her hair as she bent in on herself and let out whimpers, the young man, her brother, stood glaring up at the gazebo as he let one tear fall from his face. Finally her last moments shattered across her mind and the girl let out a long scream of misery as she cast her arms outwards and tilted her head towards the ceiling, trying her best not to see her blue form in front of her, forgotten in the shadow of the night.
Voldemort opened his eyes.
Beth watched steadily as the man with the shadow face turned to acknowledge her. Red eyes looked at her carefully and for a while the evil within was absent. He did not move to sneer at her misty form, in fact he seemed to quietly study her as she tried to grasp the concept she had stumbled upon. Finally resolving her mind, Beth managed a weak glare at the man before her.
"Mr. Riddle," the man across from her scowled but remained silent, "you, were the one that brought the darkness." The man stared at her and let a small smile tug at his lips.
"You are not so young anymore, girl." He said softly and Beth bristled at the title but brushed it aside. They remained silent for a while before she spoke again,
"Why must you do it?" she watched him hungrily and the tall figure dressed in black raised his brow and turned slightly to look out at the sky as the sun set behind a rise of trees.
"Why ever not." He muttered darkly, causing Beth to shiver involuntarily. "You had your cause, your purpose has been served and yet," he glanced at her again, "you remain." Beth felt an anger rise within her,
"I was eight years old!" The man cut across her,
"Age means nothing to me child, innocence is something destroyed at birth." Beth felt her breathing increase, her chest heaved and she struggled to keep the emotion out of her voice,
"I had a family! I had a life that was stolen from me!" The dark man chuckled bitterly and he spun around quickly to face her, not fazed about how close he was from her pearly white face.
"You think that matters to me?" Beth recoiled but studied the man as he spat the words at her, his eyes flashing dangerously,
"Surely once you had a family?" she asked quietly and noted the surprise in the man's eyes as he let her question sink in. He ignored her which only fed her curiosity. He turned away from her and walked across the study to a desk where he sat and looked into the fireplace, the flames reflecting and dancing in his eyes. There was a long moment where they both simply gazed at the fire and let the questions rest but Beth remembered his face as she had fallen from her path, he had seen something too.
"Do you see them all?" she asked suddenly and he looked up at her with a frown, "I mean, do- do you see all their stories? The paths of the ones you kill?" The man looked away from her and did not answer for a while,
"The path of a muggle is far stretched from the path of a wizard, girl." He paused and glanced at her before continuing, "In your death you saw much of what many would miss, I was merely intrigued, as I am by many paths." Beth looked at the man in wonder, he was riddled with darkness and yet he still had the thirst for knowledge as any other person would. Suddenly the man across from her did not seem as much of a threat.
"Is that why that boy resides in a prison? Because you were 'merely intrigued'?" The man looked at her darkly and stood from his chair.
"The boy is another matter, he is mine." Beth glared at him and spat,
"He is prisoner of nobody, you may do as you please but he remains aside from you, even if he shares qualities with you." The dark man looked sharply at her when she spoke.
"This why he is my prisoner child, you know nothing of the state. How can a mere child even begin to comprehend the balance that connects the boy and I?" he glared at her as if she was an issue, an obstacle in his way. Beth felt her hair swirl around her in a flurry of emotion,
"Never underestimate the depth of a child Tom, for we both know you were one once." The man stalked around the desk to confront her,
"You know nothing, nothing of anything in this matter. You are a foolish muggle that happened to be of use for a short time. Do not forget your place." Beth watched him carefully as his face flickered for a moment and revealed something more human than what stood before her,
"What's happening to you Tom?" she said quietly, her voice barely containing her anger. The man almost radiated fury as he glared at her with hate in his blood red eyes,
"Do not call me that, who are you to even utter that name? You foolish girl, nothing of what I am can be related to that filthy muggle name!" Beth drew back, smiling. He was indeed a dark person, but he was not without woe.
"You're changing, into what I cannot understand, but there is something that has morphed within you. You're becoming less like a monster. Oh not in the way that you've lost your edge, but in the way that means you're containing this abyss of hate and fury in a human. You're reverting back to what you were and it's not just your face that will change. I warn you now Mr. Riddle," Beth paused to take in the monster before her "Once you contain that monster in your young flesh, you may not be able to find a way back." The man hissed at her and glared, sending shivers down her spine.
"I need not return." He said darkly as he watched her with gleaming eyes, all the while gripping a bone white branch of energy.
"Oh but you will Tom, for those paths will continue to haunt you no matter what form you take."
And with that Beth let herself faded from view and cast away the face of her killer, instead she let her mind wonder and rest upon the image of her golden haired older brother as he sat in the kitchen, eating nothing on his plate and staring into the darkness of despair from which he could not escape.
I'm sorry for another strange and short update, I want to write longer chapters, but I can't draw out this unique scene any more.
You must be pretty confused. Well this chapter is supposed to be about discovering what children can really understand, especially in death. I'm sorry it's a bit lame and not much happens but I really wanted to get the idea across that Voldemort isn't that indestructible, that even a child can pick away at his exterior and get a glimpse at what made him the monster he was.
If anyone has any questions about this chapter, feel free to message me.
GAHHHH I'M SORRY ABOUT HOW SHORT THIS CHAPTER WAS!
There are some hints towards the end as to what will happen next and what Voldemort is planning.
Excuse the mistakes, It's 3:30 AM here and I just wanted to get this chapter out as quickly as possible.
I really appreciate my reviewers, you have my thanks
~JadedHowl