Chapter 37
NOTE: This is a translation of a Chinese HP Fanfiction by 墨玉绿
BETA: the brilliant and awesome AzulticSerpens
parseltongue
November, 1941
Autumn was most people's favourite season. It was a season when the temperature hovered around cool and comfy, when the humidity felt just right, and when yellow and orange foliage brightened their moods, so that even the most tedious classes passed faster.
"Well, well, does anyone care to try this question?" Professor Slughorn, who was flabby enough to give a good-sized walrus a run for its money, stood on a podium as he pointed to the question on the blackboard. The man held up a small vial of opaque liquid with a distinctive mother-of-pearl sheen. The man cast a hopeful glance toward Tom, who was seated near a corner.
However, much to Slughorn's disappointment, his favourite pupil didn't raise his hand. Tom's head was hidden behind his book, seemingly like he had dozed off.
"Tom, you try." Slughorn pointed, thick moustache trembling.
Tom looked up. His eyes were clear and bored as he scanned the tube in Slughorn's hand. "That's Amortentia, sir, which is... I believe, a part of our sixth-year curriculum."
At the mention of Amortentia, some Gryffindor boys began smirking suggestively. They winked and whistled at some girls who sat behind them.
"Yes, quite right... Of course you are not expected to study love potions until sixth-year, but—" Slughorn waved to quiet them down. Then, he called Tom up to front of the class. "Come up, come up."
Tom frowned, but quickly hid his annoyance behind a polite smile. Under the curious gaze of the fourth-year Slytherins and Gryffindors, he stood up calmly and walked to Slughorn's side.
"Very good, very good. Now, Tom, smell this and describe its scent to everyone." Slughorn instructed genially, thrusting the potion under Tom's nose. Then, the potions professor winked at Tom playfully.
Tom didn't even have to inhale to notice the dangerous nature of the Amortentia. At once, a most seductive scent rose from the potion and filled his nostrils. The boy's deep eyes darkened as the alluring scent pulled at him like a deadly Sirens' song. He narrowed his eyes and immediately tried to suppress his sudden urge to grab the tube and breathe it in slowly and deeply.
"I smell fresh parchment, sir," Tom's face was calm and sincere, as if he'd only ever tell the truth.
"Ah, so you love to read, as expected... Anything else?" After Tom shook his head, Slughorn shrugged toward the disappointed class. "And here I thought that Tom might've discovered a perfume of a lovely young lady. But— Alas, it wasn't meant to be. Back you go, Tom."
Slughorn raised the small glass tube above his head, so everyone could see the odd, spiraling steam rising from the potion. His walrus-like moustache quivered as he spoke.
"This is the most powerful love potion in the world. Its purpose is in its name and needs no explanation, I'm sure... It's supposed to smell different to everyone — according to what attracts you. For example, if you love to swim, you might smell the sea. Or... say... if a girl likes young Tom over there—" he winked at a blushing girl in the first row, "— she might smell the shampoo in Tom hair."
"Amortentia doesn't really create love, of course. It is impossible to manufacture or imitate love. No, this will simply cause a powerful infatuation or obsession. Its effect, thankfully, is temporary. See the vial in my hand?— This much will only last twelve hours."
Slughorn stroked his handle-bar moustache. He beamed at them, looking rather like a scheming fox (albeit one with a large, perfectly round face).
"And this— ladies and gentlemen — is what I shall be offering as a prize in this lesson. One small vial of Amortentia for whoever can brew the best Swelling Solution before the class is over. So one of you, if you happen to win, can use it to create a perfect date... Or, conversely, it can help you obtain that perfect date you've always wanted."
As soon as Slughorn said that, all the girls' eyes lit up.
Slughorn laughed boisterously. "Pay attention, strapping young lads. Your time starts now—"
The Swelling Solution was the most difficult potion found in the fourth-year textbook, which was why Slughorn decided to encourage them with a reward. Although it was meticulous work, Tom's attention wasn't focused on the potions ingredients in front of him.
He was still thinking about that dangerous, seductive scent.
Of course, he hadn't smelled fresh parchment at all. No. Tom didn't love to read. Tom only enjoyed using the power that he had learned from books. Power, not knowledge, was his pursuit.
Tom had smelled the scent of power rising from the potion — the smell of expensive old leather that symbolized power and privilege; the smell of sulphurous gunpowder that spoke of strength and destruction.
But... the scent, that tempted him the most, was something else entirely. Something unexpected, yet just as distinct mingled with the other two. It smelled familiar... a crude mixture of coppery blood, sulphurous explosives, and salty sweat and tears. He had tasted this scent once— during the Blitz of London, when he had gnawed on that man's neck, clung onto that man's body, desperately tried to seal that man's scent into his own veins.
Harry's scent. Dying, desperate, dangerous, yet so warm and enthralling.
Merely the memory of that scent was enough to lure Tom's mind into dark, sinful territories.
Tom stirred the potion bubbling in his cauldron, lost in thought.
He pursed his lips; pure obsidian eyes seemingly mesmerized by the swirling, opaque liquid in front of him.
He... was in love with Harry?
It seemed like the only logical explanation.
As he reached his conclusion, the young Dark Lord curled his lips with disdain, dark eyes angry and mocking.
Love? — He had no use for such a pathetic sentiment. Love— praised by poets and artists as eternal and beautiful— was, in reality, the most fragile and untrustworthy thing in the world. It would only weaken him, dragging him down like some commoner.
He would never forget how, at the Orphanage, the fat nanny had spoke about his mother, along with gossips gathered in village — oh, heavens, everybody knows —that his mother was a pathetic, whimpering woman abandoned by her own husband.
Love, family... such would only end in betrayal.
Selfishness was the reality of human nature. Love and other frivolous sentiments would never stand a chance against true power, status, and wealth. How many families were torn apart over a simple piece of paper with some number on it? How many husbands and wives turned on each other in a blink of an eye, their vows sold for the right price? How many passionate young couples, who had promised to love until the end of the earth, ended up falling out because [of] the temptations and stress of real life?
Love?
No... All that Tom Riddle needed —desired — was absolute power! Only power, magic, authority and prestige were true, and they would serve his purposes well... As for love? — HA!
Tom gave a sardonic smile, tucking all of his rotten core inside the facade of a most courteous and respectful young man.
"Alright. Time's up," Slughorn clapped his hands, as a few girls sighed with disappointment.
Slughorn walked around the class, inspecting everyone's cauldrons. He stopped beside Tom, pulling out a stirring rod to check the viscosity of his potion. The professor nodded to himself, but he didn't seem very satisfied.
"Well, Tom. Although your work is the best out of anyone here, it is still not up to your usual standard."
Even though the silly old man had some obvious flaws, there no doubt he was one of the most skilled potion masters in the world.
Tom nodded politely and didn't let his annoyance show. "You're quite right, sir. I got distracted while... working. Added a bit too much wormwood, I'm afraid."
Slughorn was placated once Tom admitted his mistake. He took the small glass vial from its rack and handed it to Tom. Then, the man's smile turned amicable, "Here you are — not that you need it, young man. What girl could turn down your invitation?"
Tom pocketed the Amortentia, his eyes sweeping over the hopeful girls in the first rows. The youth smiled brightly, his face handsome and radiant like the summer sun. "Thank you, sir. Actually, it would be my honour to spend time with any... such lovely ladies."
The soft fringes of his hair fell in front of his eyes in a perfect and casual style. His pure black eyes glinted with a devious confidence.
Ah, yes... Emotions like love were useless... except as tools of manipulation.
Tom shut the door to his dorm room. He glanced at the bed of his roommate. Again, it was empty.
Ever since the day of the welcoming party, Ovidius avoided him like the plague. Except for the mandatory curfew at night, the scrawny boy never lingered in the dorm room.
Not that Tom cared. Actually, he preferred it like this, with Ovidius smartly staying out of his way.
The young Dark Lord loosened and threw off his silver and green tie. He caught sight of the tip of a tail poking out of his pillow. He sighed.
"Come out right now, Nagini."
"No," Nagini whined, curling into a ball even though the pillow case was way too small to hide her body. "Tom is mean. I've crawled all the way from London to see you and you don't even greet me?... I won't tell you what I saw, then. Meanie—"
Tom striped off his shirt, revealing the young and muscular body underneath. Although he looked rather slender from afar, the youth had grown into a powerful young man, with compact abs and muscles that were more practical than visually prominent. His body was streamlined and beautiful like that of a powerful cheetah, elegant lines that hid an unexpected explosive power.
Tom was in a good mood. He had just figured out his little hormonal problem, so there was no point in avoiding it. The thought of power and authority cheered him up greatly, and now Tom was ready to tackle this issue of... his distraction — this distraction that he had obsessed over ever since he was a little boy.
"What did you see?" Tom asked curiously. He dragged Nagini out of the pillow case, his eyes dark and mysterious like the deepest reaches of space.
"Hh... I'm not saying! I ain't telling you how Harry vanished!" Nagini huffed. She was still mad at Tom for ignoring her earlier. As her serpentine body grew longer and wider, she had also gotten smarter and developed a personality; but, unfortunately for Tom, her personality ended up rather childish and capricious.
Harry had vanished?! — Tom tensed at the news.
"Vanished," Tom repeated the word sharply. His eyes dimmed suddenly. Although the black colour of his pupils remained pure and glistering like night sky, something in them had shifted suddenly — the darkness had changed in an indescribable way, expanding outward, brooding and angry and hopeless like black holes that sucked away all light.
Harry was his!... And his belongings couldn't have just... vanished!
Nagini was a magical creature. Although she was no expert in spell-casting, she knew what Apparition and Floo powder were — so when she said vanished, she meant something completely out of the ordinary.
Nagini flicked her tail, quite content now Tom's attention was focused entirely on her. "Yes! Yes! He spun that hourglass thing of his, then— poof— he vanished."
"Hourglass?! As in that pendant he wears around his neck?" Tom asked. The overhead lights cast a soft glow on his face, yet it only made his fathomless expression seem more gloomy and bleak. His hisses were quiet and his tone didn't change, yet the question sent a chill down Nagini's spine.
"Yes, yes. He was sssssitting in his study, then he sssspun the thing, then he was gone."
Tom had seen it many times— the silver hourglass that Harry wore around his neck.
From the first day they met, Harry had always worn the pendant. Tom had examined it once, when Harry was asleep. It was small, intricate, made of silver and engravings of runes that he couldn't read. Tom had thought it was some sort of protection gear, a charmed object like Abraxas' family ring, which held anti-detection charms.
Suddenly, Abraxas' words popped into his mind— "if my pet dares to disobey, then it shall be punished, demoted, become no more than a disposable toy."
The dark-haired boy turned and walked toward the bathroom.
No matter pet or toy... that which belonged to Tom Riddle, were his forever! And Tom wasn't fond of losing his belongings— not even ones that tried to leave; and definitely not the one that had just vanished.
By the time Tom finished his shower, it was eight o'clock in the evening.
The youth flung a towel over his shoulder and let water drip down his hair. Droplets rolled down his naked chest, leaving wet marks on pale, smooth skin.
"Nagini," Tom dabbed his face dry. "How did you get into the castle?"
The serpent's body now ran a meter long. There was no way she could've slithered along a corridor without attracting attention.
Playfully, Nagini rolled over on Tom's bed. "I crawled along shrubs in the Forbidden Forest. Then I climbed up through Hogwarts' pipes."
Tom paused. That was... interesting.
"Yay! Pipes!" Nagini tried to describe the amazing maze-like structure to Tom, but her vocabulary was very limited. "Lots and lots of pipes, here, inside the walls of Hogwarts. Lots and lots and lots! Thick and wide and long pipes everywhere!"
Tom tossed the towel aside, then buttoned up his shirt. His eyes flashed.
He made sure his robe was impeccable and neat before stepping out of the room.
Pipes... Maybe he had been over-thinking it.
"Tom, are you waiting for someone?" A voice interrupted Tom's careful examination of an empty hallway.
Tom cursed under his breath, but, by the time he turned around, he was all smiles. "Good evening, Professor Dumbledore."
The wise old man wore a robe of colourful celestial patterns, long auburn beard almost to the ground. Compared to the kindly Headmaster seventy years later, this Dumbledore was vigorous, sharp, yet equally persistent.
Dumbledore winked at him. "It's almost curfew, Tom."
Due to his friendship with Harry, the transfiguration professor had paid close attention to the boy. And, in doing so, he had formed some opinions about Tom Riddle. But, also due to Harry's influence, this Dumbledore wasn't as suspicious of Tom as he should've been. This time, he wasn't given such a clear glimpse of Tom's true nature.
"I know, sir... I'm just going to meet a friend before heading back," Tom replied politely; his smile flawless.
Dumbledore's piercing blue eyes watched him from behind half-moon glasses. Although the professor's expression wasn't accusatory, nevertheless, Tom felt like he was being interrogated.
"Ah, Tom, my child. I hope you don't mind me saying this... Your friend has an odd sense of humour, for choosing to meet—" The old man scanned the hall around them. Wrinkles folded around his eyes as he smiled benevolently, although his gaze remained unwavering. "— in front of the Girls' Lavatory?"
Tom looked surprised. "Oh! My bad. I am supposed to meet him in front of the History of Magic classroom. But... I must've taken a wrong turn somewhere. It's those blasted stairs, sir. They are always moving! "
Albus Dumbledore stood by the window of the first-floor hallway, watching the boy's retreating steps. He was lost in his thoughts.
For over half-a-century, he had accumulated wisdom and learned to read people. Although young Tom was a hard one to crack, Dumbledore was still able to see through — although somewhat vaguely —the boy's disguise. The boy's eyes glinted bright with greed and ambition, which, in itself, was not a cause for concern. After all, ambition was the root of all Slytherins. But... what did worry him was the depth of that ambition, clever eyes with an insatiable fire, just like the eyes of an old friend.
He had the same eyes as Gellert— with the same eagerness; the same fake smiles; and the same undeniable charisma that could burn so dangerously.
Dumbledore rubbed his long and crooked nose. Suddenly, the jovial man seemed dejected.
But... that boy wasn't Gellert. There was still someone very important to him... someone that could ground him, calm him, love him. The old man recalled the man with the kind green eyes— vivid and beautiful like the most precious emeralds.
TN:
This is another very important WARNING! Read it please.
So... unfortunately, bad things happen in the future (of this fic) and there will be NON-CON/DUB-CON element later (in about chapter 80). I won't give spoilers, only to say this particular chapter gives strong hints on what's to come.
So due to the mature subject, I think I will only post the latter chapters on AO3 ( that's from chapter 80 and onwards). I'll give notice when/if we get there.
Again, please heed the warning. Thanks.
P.s. I'm really busy right now. So I can't promise regular updates anymore. I'll try, but...