Chapter #52 – Birthday Presents

The morning of August sixteenth, Tom woke and suddenly felt like it was Christmas instead of summer. At the foot of his bed was a pile, the biggest pile yet, of presents. There were just over a dozen presents there. There were also two cakes. One was from Lena and the other was from the professors at the school. He set the cakes aside carefully then tore into his presents. He got an assortment of things. Crinis sent him a broom servicing kit, though he did not know why. He was sure that Crinis knew that that broom sitting on top of his trunk rarely got used. Tom was not much on flying, but he did get to do it every once in a while. He got a bag of candy from Nathan like he usually did, with all his favorites in it, especially Bertie's Botts. But the thing that he certainly loved the most was from the person he knew would send him a book, and they were good books at that. Lena and her father had gotten him a three-book set called The Majesty of the Dark Arts. He would have to start reading that soon.

After that, he started eating the cake that he had gotten from the professors. It was very good and he did not care that cake would be his breakfast. As he ate, though, a present that he had missed somehow caught his attention. It was only wrapped in plain brown paper and tied with a small cord. He set the cake aside and picked it up. There was no note attached so he guessed he would have to open it to see who it was from.

Inside was what looked like a book, but when Tom opened it he found that everything was very neatly handwritten. Though he could swear that he had seen that handwriting before, he could not quite place it. He flipped through the pages and realized that this was a grimoire, a journal that wizards kept their research in and particular spells they liked. Though Tom had not yet started one, he did not yet think that he needed to.

When he looked at the inside cover, he suddenly knew whom it was from. In the untidy scrawl that he was used to was written "study hard and study well." It was from Grindelwald. He stared at the journal for a while, not really believing that he had been sent this by the Dark wizard. Could this mean that he was interested in Tom being his student? That would be a wonderful thing. He smiled and set it aside, sure that he would study it hard and well.

***

That afternoon, Tom got permission to go to Hogsmeade as a birthday treat, but was told to be back by sunset. He was sure that he would be finished with everything he was going to be doing by then, though. But it was to be one very exciting day for him…and he had a feeling that it was all going to go perfectly. So, dressed in one of his best sets of Muggle-looking clothes, he headed to town alone.

He ate a late lunch at the Three Broomsticks and had a wizard version of "Happy Birthday" sung to him by the proprietor and the few customers that were there. Though he had had plenty of cake earlier that day, he gladly accepted a small, free one from the pub's owner for dessert. After that, he wandered around Hogsmeade to see if there was anything that he wanted to buy, but he did not feel like getting anything else. He had all his supplies for his classes and his trip to Diagon and Knockturn had been enough shopping for him. But he was really only wasting his time until it got a little darker, so he could sneak to his father's house to give himself the birthday present he so desperately wanted.

As the sun was dipping towards the horizon, Tom knew that it was time to go. Though it was about dinnertime, he was not hungry yet. He had too much excitement running through his body to feel hungry, and having the late lunch had been part of his plan. He walked to the edge of town, acting like he was heading back to the castle, but took a slight detour. He went to the spot he had found that was very good to Apparate from because if was slightly off and no one could really see you unless they were really looking for you.

This was it. He closed his eyes and thought of where he wanted to go. He said the incantation in his mind, which he had taught himself to do, and which most wizards did. The lightheadedness washed over him and he suddenly found himself in a graveyard, right by the yew that he had often stood under while he was making his plans the year before. He looked up at the house on the hill and smiled evilly then started up the hill towards the stately home.

Reaching the top of the hill, he looked around. He did not see any of the hired help that he knew worked there. That was good. He crept up to the house and looked into all the windows on the ground floor. Through one set of them he looked into the dining room where his father and grandparents were just finishing dinner. He watched them for a moment then they rose and left the room. He walked around the house again, trying to see if they were still downstairs, hoping they had not retired for the night this early. Then he saw them sitting in the drawing room having an after-dinner brandy. He smirked. As he watched his father light a cigarette, though, he felt extremely disgusted. Such a bad habit…

Apparating into the room, the occupants looked at the teenager in shock. He saw his father stand, staring at him in disbelief. His eyes turned nearly blood red in his anger and hatred and in the glorious thought this man would soon be dead. "Hello, Father."

The elder Tom did not need the boy to have said that. He could tell the instant he had appeared that he was Dana's son. There was so much resemblance…and one of those evil witches as well. He clinched his fists, nearly cracking the glass he had in his left hand. "I have no son."

"I thought that you would say that." Tom drew his wand, which made the terrified look even more pronounced on all of their faces. A twisted smile came to his face. "And you would be right, too. Avada Kedavra!"

With a blast of green light, his father fell to the floor a lifeless heap. As soon as he fell, Tom heard his grandmother stifle a scream. He turned his wand to her and said the Killing Curse again. She slumped onto the sofa she was reclining on, her brandy snifter falling to the floor and breaking. His grandfather then started at the boy, though the elderly man did not know what he was going to do if he actually reached the teenager. He was not as strong as he had been in his youth. But a third curse hit him and he fell to the floor beside his son.

Looking at the three corpses, he smiled – an expression that held both his ecstasy at his first kills and his growing cruelty and darkness. It had been so easy. No screaming…no twitching…just death. And he liked such results. No one had heard, he was sure. He put his wand back into the coat he was wearing as he laughed slightly – cold and dark. He had waited years for this night and now it was done. All his ties to the Muggle world were severed. But he had not finished with the Muggles yet. And he would not be finished with the Muggles for a very long time either.

Tom then Apparated back to the spot he had come from in Hogsmeade. The sun was nearly to the horizon. The clouds seemed tinted with blood the way the sun's light was reflecting from them. The coming night seemed so welcome at that moment, for he was tired, though he had not done all that much that day. He walked past the gate with the two winged boars flanking it. He went up the carriage path, hands in his pockets, thinking about what he had just done. He smiled again. And it was all thanks to Professor de Nuit that he was able to kill his father and grandparents. She was such a wonderful professor…

*********

To my reviewers –

demon horse 900 – yes, he skipped…yes, Tom's going to be a murderer…you doubted he would ever become one? He's basically already killed one person (Myrtle) though it was indirectly…and the Dark Lord should not be used as an exterminator…and I'm sure he'd prefer to kill you than the bugs anyway…:-P

CheshireCat283 – ^_^ and thanks for beta'ing for me…though I think I say that way too much…

Liv – well, I couldn't have Lena be Head Girl…that'd be a bit too Mary Sue'ish, you know…I try to keep Lena as little Mary Sue-like as possible, though I don't know how I'm doing…but Tom's not going to give the Hufflepuff a hard time, he'll be too busy to do that…he's got NEWTs coming up and getting ready for post-graduation and a few other things to worry about so there won't be too much time to annoy her…

Lady Snake – don't worry, you'll get more chapters…just be patient…and don't tell me you can't be patient…you have been so far…

lord archimonde – didn't master the Killing Curse till he was 22?! What the…*shakes head*…he's not even going to be in England in my fic when he's 22…and I don't think Rowling thought he was either, as that she did say he had "disappeared after leaving Hogwarts" in the second book…it said in the fourth book that the kid sneaking around the Riddle House was a teenager (which means Tom could have been slightly younger or older than 17, but still, not 22)…