Child of the Forest and the Ocean
Chapter 14
Harry screamed inside his mind, a scream of pain, loss, and desire for revenge. His eye sockets glowed a bright green. Tendrils of green and white energy wafted off his body, shattering the spell and letting his scream echo off the walls.
The demons laughed until the building began to rumble. Large cracks split up the walls, sending dust and bits of concrete flying. Branches shot out wrapping around demons.
Howls of agony filled the air the moment the wood touch the demons. Black smoke flowed out of red skinned bodies, sinking into the wood and causing white flowers to emerge, decorating the tree's green leaves.
Harley leaned over to Zatanna as the sulfur stench in the air lessened, "What kind of tree is that?"
"Dogwood," Zatanna replied, her shoulders relaxing as the heaviness in the air lifted.
"How can Dogwood do this to demons?" Harley asked as more demons were sucked inside the wood, causing more white blossoms to bloom.
"The Dogwood tree was supposedly cursed by God after the crucifixion of Christ. Apparently, the story is true, and the demons don't like the power of the creator."
An animalistic scream of rage drew their attention.
They turned just in time to see Harry run forward, the silver Trident in his hand crackling with green energy. Pipes burst overhead, raining water down. With a sweep of his Trident, Harry lashed out with the water, causing it to whip through the air with the force of a freight train.
It flew towards Tala and Tannarak. Tala dodged, but Tannarak was too slow.
The web caught him in the stomach sending him flying backwards. He slammed into the far wall. Concrete cracked under the impact and blood burst past Tannarak's lips as the water hardened into an ice sheet that froze him fast to the concrete.
"You killed my mother," Harry snarled at Riddle his muscles straining against the fabric of his clothes as he pulled and more energy from the earth.
"Impressive bit of magic and technically," Tom Riddle said jumping back to avoid a stab to the stomach, "your mother's not dead, she's just trapped in the underworld, or hell whatever you prefer to call it."
With a howl Harry spun, bringing up his right leg in a kick.
Tom Riddle wrapped his arms around the leg, picking Harry up and throwing him across the room. "Stand down boy. I don't want to kill you."
Tendrils of kudzu sprouted from the filthy ground to catch Harry. They gently lowered him to the ground. "Now you don't want to kill me, what about sixteen years ago when you killed Harry Potter?" He thrust his hand forward, water floated up from the blood on the floor, coalescing into needles that flew towards Riddle's face.
"That was nothing personal. I just needed the Potter Family magic." Tom answered with a wave of his hand, causing the needles to evaporate.
Harry lashed out with his magic, grabbing a hold of the lights and pulling their energy towards him. "Why?" He hissed stretching forth his hand.
"Your mother wasn't the only one trying to resurrect her family."
Bright yellow energy exploded from Harry's hand, flying forward, and blackening the filth on the ground beneath it.
Tom Riddle crossed his arms, an oval-shaped red barrier flickering in the air before him.
The energy slammed into Tom Riddle's barrier. The sound of cracking glass echoed across the room as he was pushed backwards.
Slamming the butt of his Trident into the ground, Harry summoned black briars that wrapped around Tom Riddle digging into his flesh and causing crimson droplets to splatter on the floor.
The blood hissed burning holes into the concrete as Harry made his way forward.
"This won't hold me for long," Tom commented as Harry stopped before him.
"It doesn't have to," reaching his hand forward Harry placed his hand on Riddle's head and lashed out with his telepathic power.
At the last moment, Riddle pushed his own memories forward, causing both to freeze as their minds connected.
–XX –
Harry found himself standing in a small town. Rough log buildings with thatched roofs stood all around him. People lined the muddy Street off to his right, staring at a shaft of wood with kindling piled at its base.
According to the information flowing through his brain, he was in a small town in Wales in the mid-1600s.
Two men in black trousers walked down the street, their coats swaying in the breeze, the short hair tasseled by the wind. Each man held the child by an arm, there buckled shoes sinking an inch into the mud as a misty rain coated their wrinkled skin.
Whispers broke out amongst the crowd as they parted. Their shoes dug small divots in the muddy ground. The hems of women's dresses became caked in mud, but they didn't seem to notice. Their eyes were locked on the small boy walking between them. "Which," they whispered over and over.
The boy ignored them, keeping his eyes locked on the pole of wood in front of him as his bare feet left imprints in the mud.
The smell of wet earth filled the child's nose. A rotten tomato splattered against the side of his face, causing him to stumble sideways, but he kept his head held high.
He may not show it, but the boy was so terrified that Harry's hands trembled through their connection. It took everything he had not to pee himself.
The boy stepped up onto the wood, causing it to shift under his weight almost making him fall. The boy placed his hand on the pillar at its center and leaned his back against it, keeping his face stony even as his heart hammered in his ribs.
A man stepped forward his curly white wig swaying slightly in the wind.
"Thomas you have been accused of being a witch. Speak the truth and maybe God will have mercy on your soul."
Tom said nothing. The man spun on his heel and spread his arms wide, his coat flaring out around him. "The accused speaks nothing in his defense. What say you good people?"
"Burn the witch," started out as a small whisper through the crowd until it became a scream.
Tom stared at the people begging for his blood rage burning through his veins. 'How dare they bay for his blood, just because of what he was reading?'
With a flourish, the man spun around, throwing a torch onto the pile of wood. Flames burst to life around him, but Tom smiled even as the heat seared his skin. His dark eyes burned red, causing people to scream and take a step back.
"You are fools," he chanted in a guttural language that made Harry cringe. The fire winked out, but the people around him screamed as their bodies began to burn. Tom stepped off the wood, walking through the town as its people writhed on the ground.
He glided his fingers across their foreheads, causing their eyes to glaze over as he pulled knowledge from the brains and finally allowing them the peace of dying in a comatose state.
As the last of the villagers collapsed to the ground, Tom stomped towards the man who threw the torch, red energy rising off his body like steam. The man backed away, his brown eyes wide with fear. He held up an ornate silver cross, "Get back from me demon."
Tom wrapped his fingers around the cross, and with the force of will caused it to melt over the man's hands. His screams tore through the air, but Tom ignored them and leaned forward. "I'm not a demon. I'm what you people made me."
In a blur of motion, Tom slammed his fist into the man's sternum, a loud crack echoed through the air and the screams cut off abruptly. The man's body flew backwards, going through the wall of a building.
With the last of his attacker's dead, the curly dark haired youth collapsed to the ground and screamed before vomiting. Red flames consumed every building, reducing them and the bodies in the streets to ash within moments.
Oily black smoke caused Harry's mouth to water unpleasantly, the smell of burning flesh reminding him way too much of pork.
Time sped forward. Two hundred years passed with in the blink of an eye. During that time, Tom had found himself some incredible teachers Mordru and Morgan Le Fay just to name a few.
Tom, who had now taken up the surname Riddle because of the riddles in his past, strode down a dirt road as he headed towards London.
A feminine scream rent the air, causing him to blur into motion.
He came upon a woman, struggling with some heavily armored men.
"Come on pretty lady," said one, a long dark beard dangling off his chin, "give us a kiss."
"A lady of the house of Lestrange does not kiss pigs," the curvy wavy dark-haired woman replied.
"Wench," the man spat, raising an armored hand. The woman's purple eyes widened in fear.
Tom Riddle thrust his hand forward causing the men to freeze, a red energy of power outlining their bodies. "I think it's time you leave," with a wave of his hand, their forms melted into pigs that squealed in fear and ran off into the forest.
Sticking his hands into the pockets of his dark green wool jacket, he started forward.
A cool wind tugging at his white shirt, bringing with it the scent of rain and wild grass. He stopped a foot away from the woman, his buckled shoes together. "Are you alright my dear?"
The woman stared at him, ignoring the fact the neck of her red dress was torn, revealing an undignified amount of skin. Her purple eyes grazed up and down his form, the porcelain skin of her face pulled back in surprise.
"You're a sorcerer," the words brushed passed pale pink lips.
Tom Riddle grimaced as he noticed the bottom one was split. "That I am," he took a step forward, causing the woman to take a step back. "It's alright. I just want to heal you."
Reluctantly, the woman allowed him to cup her face. The skin of her lip in the would-be bruises faded within moments, even the dress she wore pieced itself back together.
Once he finished, he took a step back, allowing his hand to drop to his side where his fingertips brush the fabric of his brown trousers.
The woman eyed him for a solid minute, before inclining her head. "Thank you for my rescue."
"it's not a problem. I couldn't very well allow those men to do what they were planning to you."
"So, what are you doing here sorcerer? We don't see many sorcerers around here, and my family is the only one with any real power in the art."
Tom cocked his head to the side, "If you have power, why didn't you use it on those men?"
The woman's lips turned down, "We are surrounded by enemies, and any magic we do must be done in secret, or we will burn."
Tom inclined his head, the image of his own near burning flashing through his mind. "I have come here to make a life for myself, and maybe find out a little about my past."
"Well since you saved my virtue, I am obliged to help you," she took a step forward offering her hand for him to kiss. "I am Bellatrix Lestrange of the house of Lestrange."
Gripping her hand lightly, Tom dipped his head allowing his lips to brush her slender fingers, "I am Thomas Riddle," of the house of unknown, he replied his lips curling upward.
Bellatrix giggled and the world shimmered again.
The birth of their daughter, Delphini blurred passed Harry as well as the laughter and love of her childhood.
Time slowed down, and Harry found himself outside a two-story log cabin. Rain rolled off its tiled roof, but a steady stream of smoke belched from the stone chimney built into its left side.
The sound of hooves drew his attention. He turned to find a man on a large black stallion galloping towards the cabin, the rain never hitting his dark armor thanks to an invisible bubble around his body. Long blonde hair poked from beneath a horned helmet, flowing over his shoulders.
He may not have liked what Riddle did to his mother or him in the past, but at this moment he felt dread settle in his stomach.
The man's light blue eyes stayed locked on the cabin as he pulled his horse to a stop.
He jumped down from the horse, his metal boots impacting the ground with a thud. "Come out Bellatrix," he boomed, "you can't run from your destiny any longer."
The door to the cabin opened, Tom stepped out, water running down his shirtless lanky frame, turning the rim of his Brown trousers dark. "My wife has already told you she has no interest in marrying her cousin, Rodolphus," Tom began closing the door behind him, "now leave."
Rodolphus drew his sword from the scabbard on his back and stepped forward, the golden etchings in his armor glowing. "I will no longer allow you to dirty Bellatrix with your presence," his lips twisted, "it's shameful enough she's already bore your spawn."
Tom flexed his fingers, a curved blade of pure red energy formed in his hand. "Bellatrix has made her choice. I will not allow you to take her freedom from her." He ran forward, his bare feet slapping the ground.
They met five feet away from the house.
Rodolphus's blade clashing with Tom's only to be cleaved into. As the two halves fell to the ground, Tom stepped into Rodolphus's guard slicing his blade across Rodolphus's stomach, sending blood and intestines splattering the ground.
Rodolphus fell to his knees, his gloved hands trying desperately to keep his organs in his body.
Tom leaned down, his eyes burning crimson, "You should have never tried to break up my family."
Rodolphus coughed, blood spraying past his lips and staining his teeth red. "If I can't have her," he rasped, "No one will."
A scream exploded from inside the house, Tom spun on his heel sprinting inside.
The world shimmered, but not before Harry heard a bloodcurdling broken scream.
–XX –
Harry stepped back from Riddle, his eyes locked on to the man's face, "You wiped out entire magical families, absorbing the souls of every member in an effort to try to find some way to bring back your wife and child."
Tom raised his shoulders, "I would do anything to have my family back." He thrust his hand forward. A twister of air caught Harry in the chest flinging him backwards.
Flipping in midair, Harry through his trident like a spear. Only to watch it pause in midair and melt into a puddle of molten silver.
Landing on the ground, Harry ran forward, tree bark covering his body with each step. He thrust his fist forward spikes sprouting from his knuckles.
Tom smacked his arm upward with the back of his hand, causing the spikes to dig into the ceiling. Gray dust fell between them.
Jumping back Harry opened his mouth. Six black thorns flew through the air.
Leaning his head to the side, Tom stepped in close. Wrapping his arm around Harry's neck, he hoisted him off the ground.
"I really must thank you and your mother for sending me to the underworld. If you hadn't, I never would've found my mother and I would've never gained the knowledge I need to resurrect my wife and daughter."
Harry raised his free arm, but Tom Riddle slammed his free hand into his shoulder, making it pop out of its socket. Harry's scream echoed off the walls.
"Let him go", Zatanna screamed flying forward, her eyes glowing a whitish purple. She flung her arm out. A purple energy chain with a mace attached to the end of it whipped towards Riddle.
Riddle twisted using Harry's body as a shield.
The mace slammed into Harry's back. The sound of cracking bone rent the air and blood splattered the ground.
Harry released an agonizing scream. His eyes slipped out of focus, and his head lolled forward, casting a shadow on the upper half of his face.
"No," Zatanna whispered her eyes wide, her energy mace fading out of existence.
Tom tossed Harry's body aside.
Blinking forward, he slammed his fist into Zatanna's armor, causing it to shatter like glass. His fist went on to punch through her stomach and out her back. Blood burst past her lips and her eyes became glassy.
Flinging her body beside Harry's, he turned to his parents, who were surprisingly being held off by the pale blonde. "We accomplished what we needed to here. It's time to go."
Nodding, Tannarak and Tala shimmered out of existence.
Tom thrust his hand into the air, making a fist. Arkham Asylum rumbled and began to crumble into sand.
With a wink towards Harley, he disappeared.
Harley raced over to Harry and Zatanna.
Their glassy eyes stared unseeing at the ceiling. Their blood pooled together on the ground. Green and purple energy danced over the two.
Harley knelt beside Harry's head as leafy cocoons began to envelop their bodies, pulling their mixed blood back into them.
Sand rained down on Harley, causing her to scream. "Harry, you need to get us out of here."
In a purple and green flash, the trio disappeared just as Arkham became a giant pile of gray sand.
–XX –
Tom, Tala, and Tannarak appeared on a building in Metropolis directly across from Lex Corp towers.
Lex Corp.'s large glowing yellow letters blocked out the stars in the night sky while its tall stature shielded them from the wind that twisted around most of the buildings.
"Why here?" Tom asked rubbing his fingers together to conjure a piece of chalk.
Tala and Tannarak glanced at each other as Tom moved to the four corners of the building, drawing runic symbols on the concrete. "We thought it would be safer to be as far away from Arkham as possible."
Tom nodded, moving back to the center of the roof.
Drawing a Triquetra on the ground, he drew a small Phoenix in each one of the symbols open spaces. Stepping back, he reached into his pocket removing a red jewel. Tossing it on the ground, it shattered, releasing a dark red smoke that smelled of herbs and oil.
When the smoke cleared, two skeletons in 16th-century finery lay in the center of the Triquetra.
Stepping between the two skeletons, Tom knelt down, running his hand over their skulls tenderly. "Soon my loves, we will be together again. Our family will be whole."
Straightening up, he stepped back. With a wave of his hand a woman and her young daughter shimmered into existence on the rooftop. The woman's glazed brown eyes focused on the three of them before flicking down to the skeleton, with a scream she jumped back, pulling her blonde haired daughter with her. "Where are we, who are you people?"
As the daughter's gray eyes snapped into focus, Tom offered them a sad smile. "I'm sorry ladies, but I have waited centuries for my family to return, and sacrifices must be made."
With a gesture gashes appeared in their throats, sending blood flowing down their pale T-shirts and tight black yoga pants. Their hands flew to their throats even as they crumpled to the ground, desperately trying to stem the flow of the life-giving liquid.
Tom closed his eyes and spread his arms wide. Red energy flowed from his fingertips, sinking into the runes at the four corners of the roof, turning them black. Purple beams shot into the sky pulling dark clouds over the building. Thunder boomed, lightning flashing from cloud to cloud like frogs jumping from Lily pad to Lily pad.
"By blood spilled you were taken from me, by blood forcibly taken you return to me."
The mother lurched forward, her ash blonde hair flying out in front of her soon followed by her daughter's. Their blood flew forward as if pulled by a magnet. The moment it touched the Triquetra, the symbol burned white.
Energy crawled over the skeletons like electricity growing nerves in its wake.
Glancing at the mother and daughter, Tom grimaced as their forms became emaciated, their tight yoga clothes hanging off them like circus tents.
Tom turned back, just as blood vessels finished growing and flesh started at their fingertips. Within moments, skin had finished, his wife's wavy dark hair burst out of her skull, flowing out around her like a crown. Soon, his daughter followed suit, her hair a mass of elegant curls.
He leaned forward anticipation burning through him.
Both sat bolt upright, breath exploding out of their lungs for the first time in centuries. Behind them, the captured mother and daughter fell into ash, leaving behind a pair of dusty yoga clothes.
Bellatrix Riddle rose to her feet with dignity and grace as the symbols painted on the roof vanished in a puff of sulfurous black smoke.
Her light blue dress flowed around her as she twisted taking in her surroundings. She took a step forward, her bare feet gliding along the concrete, her purple eyes locked with her husband's. "Thomas, where are we? The last thing I remember…"
Tom stepped forward. Grabbing her by the back of the head, he slammed his lips into hers in a deep kiss while running his fingers through her wavy black hair.
After what seemed like an eternity, they broke apart, Tom keeping one arm wrapped around her waist. "Don't worry about the past my love, it's over now. We are together again, that's all that matters."
Delphini glanced around her, the fierce wind whipping across the rooftop nearly blowing her bonnet off her head, "Daddy," she said her voice small and scared from the city noise echoing around her, "Where are we?"
Kneeling before his daughter, he placed his hands on the shoulders of her gray dress, his eyes shining with warmth and love. "We are in the future my darling."
"The future," his daughter gasped her dark eyes so much like his own wide.
A smile tugged at her father's lips. "Yes my darling, the future."
"As sweet as this is," Tala said stepping forward, her auburn hair flowing to the side like a flag in the wind, "we have other things to do."
The male Riddle rose to his feet, "You're right, mother. We have accomplished our goal, we need to leave."
"Yeah, about that," Tala stepped forward driving a silver knife into her son's stomach.
Tom gasped his legs nearly giving out on him as warm blood flowed down his waist. "Why?" He rasped.
"Oh my foolish boy," Tala said running her hand down his cheek, her red eyes glittering, "do you really think we would just help you gain all that power over the past two hundred years just to resurrect your family?"
She shook her head, "Foolish, everything from your birth to your resurrection has been planned for centuries."
"Then why," Tom asked, his dark eyes shimmering, "Why do all this?"
Smoothing out her curve hugging red dress with one hand, Tala patted his cheek with the other, "Because it takes a coven of three to merge hell with earth."
"I will never help you."
A twisted smile spread across Tala's face, "You don't have to, and we are bound by blood that means we can tap into your power."
With a snarl, Tom Riddle thrust a bloody hand forward. Red lightning slammed into his mother, throwing her backwards in a cloud of smoking fabric. Flicking his hand towards his father, dark red almost black spikes flew through the air, nailing him to a wall.
Spinning on his heel, Tom stared at his wife, memorizing every one of her delicate features, but grimacing at the fear he saw in her purple eyes.
"Tom, what's happening?"
"No time," Tom snapped cutting her off, "you need to get help." He thrust his hand forward, his wife and daughter. The two people he had spent centuries trying to resurrect began to shimmer and fade away, "tell the justice league of my mother's plan."
"No," Bellatrix screamed, purple lightning dancing around her fading fingers, don't you dare send me away dammit, I can fight."
Tom offered her a pained smile. "I know you can my dear," his eyes flicked to their daughter, "but right now you have something more important to protect, I love you both."
With those words, the Riddle females faded away.