Inception: Rise of the Heir

Tom Riddle disappeared for 10 years. Where did he travel and what did he do during his absence? This is my feeble attempt at a Tom Riddle backstory, right before he rejoined the world officially as Lord Voldemort.

DISCLAIMER: I own nothing except for my o/c's.


Lyra cursed softly as she grabbed her stomach, wincing as she poured another ingredient into her cauldron, stirring the potion as she grit her teeth in pain. The longer she spent on her feet, the more misery she was in.

Sharp pain lanced through her stomach once more as colorful spots flashed in front of her eyes, her whole body shaking from weakness. Her delicate fingers balled themselves into fists out of irritation, her already pale knuckles turned white and trembled. She had stood for hours, mixing, chopping and mashing ingredients for the potion, adding them slowly and making notes in her book as she changed and swapped out certain elements, trying to make the potion more effective. The monotonous work had taken a toll on her body and she was growing increasingly frustrated as she had progressed, exasperated with her body's unwillingness to keep up with her mind.

Feeling her insides roil and turn in anger, she suddenly grabbed the glass that stood on the table next to her and threw it against the opposite wall, screaming as her chest heaved heavily. She closed her eyes and rubbed her forehead as she tried to compose herself.

"Everything has to be brewed perfectly…" she thought as she looked back to the book and skimmed her eyes over the page that now had scribbles and marks written angrily all over it. "If I don't time things out correctly and precisely, this will be a waste and I'll have to start all over again. My body is slowing me down.."

Lyra looked to the small window that overlooked her room and closed her eyes as the light from the sun shone into her room, signaling the beginning of a new day.

"Another day wasted." she thought bitterly as she leaned her weight against the table next to where she stood, slowly bending over to rest her palms out before her on the dry cracked wood of its surface, her head bowed in concentration.

"I don't even know if this potion will work, but it's the only option I have right now...If only I could figure out what happens to me when I lose myself I might be able to pinpoint how to control it."

She grimaced once more as her thoughts fled back to Tom and what he could have witnessed. "It's already too late to hide my ailment, but maybe if Tom told me what he has seen I could get an inkling as to what I'm dealing with here, I might be able to stop this. I need him to tell me."

She rubbed her stomach tenderly as her figure hunched over the table, it did little to cure her aching wounds, but it helped enough to give her momentary respite from the pangs of pain erupting from her stomach. She uncorked the Wiggenwald potion and took a long drink from the bottle as she placed it down once more, wiping her mouth.

"This healing potion has lost its potency. In order for me to heal as quickly as I need I would have to brew another one, which I can't do at the moment. I can barely mix the ingredients for Homenum Hobus without my body giving out on me, let alone prepare another set of ingredients. Even if I could, the hearth isn't big enough for both. I would have to throw away everything I've done so far-"

Her thoughts were interrupted as she heard a gentle knocking on her door. Grabbing her wand quickly she pointed it at the door as it slowly opened.

Her eyes narrowed as she saw Tom enter her room and close the door quietly behind him. His face was calm and collected. She felt her anger rise once more, outraged that he would enter her room without permission. Last night had been a different matter entirely, she could forgive that, but today was another matter entirely, she would not condone his entering whenever he pleased.

Although they had already been together for some time, she was still unaccustomed to travelling with company and had been so consumed with her task at hand, she had completely forgotten to bar the entrance to her room with a locking enchantment.

"You shouldn't be out of bed." He said matter of factly as he glanced in her direction, closing the door behind him. He looked at her while she pointed her wand angrily at him, his attention then slid to the broken glass scattered across the floor, the contents of what had been inside smattered against the wall as it trickled down and pooled onto the floor.

"Is this how you treat someone who has just saved your life?" he spoke calmly as he took a few steps towards her, his eyebrow slightly raised in amusement.

"Get out." she hissed at him through her clenched teeth, cringing as she felt a new wave of pain tugging at her insides.

"Or you'll do what exactly?" he said arrogantly as he pulled his own wand out. "You can barely stand. I'd be surprised if you could even hex me properly in the shape you're in."

Lyra's face contorted with anger as she tried to raise her wand over her head. She cried out in pain as her body suddenly folded out from underneath her, defeated from the strain she had put on it.

Tom took another step towards her as he spoke softly. "I told you you needed rest. Doing all this is counterproductive to your health. Whatever you're trying to do can surely wait."

She held her hand out towards him to stop him, as she turned her head. "I don't need your help."

She slowly raised herself up once more on her feet, breathing heavily as she made her way over to her bed, sitting down carefully as she looked out the window.

"I don't have much time Tom. Every moment I waste here on this bed is detrimental to-"

"To what?"

She turned her head towards him as her eyes searched his, silently pleading. "I need you to tell me what you saw the other night."

He looked at her as she searched his face for any sign of what he could be hiding from her and relaxed his face innocently. He wasn't willing to divulge what he had learned about her, not yet.

"I'm unsure of what you mean." he said as he blinked quizzically, his emotions outwardly disguised by his guiltless face.

"Don't lie to me Tom."

He put his hands in his pockets as he leaned up against her wardrobe, looking down at her arrogantly.

"What did you see?" She said as her voice shook, trying fervently to hold her temper in.

"What did I see? I saw a dying woman barely clinging to life. I saved you." He said softly as he broke eye contact with her and lazily stared out the window. He was enjoying watching her squirm, watching her anger rise up in her cheeks as he denied her what she had wanted to hear. "But if I would have known how angry it would have made you, I might not have wasted my time."

"Could it be possible that she doesn't know what becomes of her when she undergoes her changes? Is this why she's so desperate to find out what I know?" he thought to himself as he looked at her nonchalantly.

Lyra eyed him suspiciously as she let out an exasperated sigh. She was getting nowhere and her strength was fading. Although she had vowed to herself that she would make him tell her what he had seen, she knew she did not currently, in her condition, possess the strength in order to make him comply.

"I'll have to try a different method then."

She pulled herself into bed weakly as she stared up into the ceiling.

"I'm sorry that you feel that way Tom, do not mistake my agitation for ingratitude. That was never my intention...perhaps I've projected my anger and frustrations onto you wrongly." She said gently as tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

"You'll feel better once you've healed and you'll realize that this is all folly." He said softly as he ran his fingers lazily over his wand.

"That being said, I do want to tell you how grateful I am for your concern of my well-being and because of my own personal reasons as well as your safety, I don't think it wise for us to travel together any longer."

Lyra turned her head towards him as she watched his eyes flicker with anger, the rest of his face impassive as he tried to contain himself.

"Your far too weak to travel by yourself...I think it wiser for me to-"

She cut him off and she shook her head. "As you said, I'm in need of rest and it will be a long time before I think I will be able to travel once more, I think it best you go on alone so I don't waste anymore of your time. I myself know how precious time can be."

Tom stood up as he grasped his wand tightly, taking a step towards her. His eyes caught her attention briefly, as a violent gleam of red flashed across them.

"Good. Now I have his attention." she thought as she watched his face flush in anger.

"You agreed-" He started. Lyra raised her hand slowly as if to silence him.

"I know what we had agreed upon Mr. Riddle. But as I am not on retainer and there has been no monetary exchange, I am not obligated to fulfill it. Unfortunately, I have taken you as far as I can due to unforeseen circumstances. I can't endanger you or myself any longer."

He stared at Lyra with an expression she couldn't quite place, his eyes rigid and cold. His wand still grasped tightly in his hands.

"You-You actually think you could hurt me?" he sputtered out, his voice indignant and full of disdain. "You have NO idea of the power I possess, the things I could do to you if I wanted-"

"Ah. There's that anger that lurks right beneath the surface. This is the real you Tom, the violent man behind the soft words and gentle disposition." She thought as she kept her demeanor calm and collected, staring up at him smugly. He was playing right into her hands.

"And you do not know what I am capable of Tom, nor do I...and that is exactly my dilemma." She said softly as she let out a sigh.

She looked towards his wand and raised an eyebrow.

"Are you going to kill me Tom?" She propped herself up on the bed slowly and stared at him, a look of amusement dancing in her eyes.

He stood before her seething, clenching his jaw tightly as he raised his wand towards her. The words he so desperately wanted to say were on the tip of his tongue.

"It would only take a moment...a simple incantation and this could all be done and over with. You've done this before for lesser reasons. Show her what it is you are exactly capable of."

"Have you ever killed a person with your bare hands? Or have you always let your wand do your dirty work for you?" Lyra twirled her wand around her fingers as she looked up at him, a small grin tugging at the corners off her mouth.

Her words caught him off guard as he opened his mouth to reply.

"And why would I ever have to use my hands for such things?" he spoke vehemently.

"She's testing you. Do not give in to her." He tried to collect himself as he lowered his wand slightly, his face still flushed and resentful.

"I thought you of all people would understand. Power."

He scoffed in anger and held his wand rigidly.

"Let me tell you this, it takes far more willpower to kill someone with your bare hands. You can see the fear in their eyes, you can feel their delicate bones underneath your hands and you can feel the life slip away from underneath you as they grow cold beneath your fingertips. You really have to mean it…and when it is finished, you feel what it is you have done radiate through your entire body...because you and you alone did it."

She eyed him arrogantly as she continued.

"To me that is power. True unadulterated willpower."

He spoke softly as he eyed her from where she sat. Her eyes were defiant and ablaze with an emotion he recognized in himself, her hands trembling as she ran them through her hair excitedly, as if she were mad.

"I see no difference."

She looked down towards her own wand and held it loosely in her hand, tapping it gently against her outer thigh as she focused on him once more, her eyes staring into his.

"I understand ambition when I see it Tom and I would never condemn a person for how they went about achieving it. I know what it is you seek, it's not difficult for me to imagine why a wizard would travel this far and go through such lengths. I could feel the dark magic radiating off you from the moment we met. I don't have to pry into your affairs to know what it is you want. Your aura feels like death Mr. Riddle, I would know, it has been my bedfellow for quite some time now."

He lowered his wand again slightly as he spoke gently. "You know nothing of what I've done, what I have accomplished, what I desire..."

She spoke calmly as she looked behind him and out once more into the daylight. "I don't care what you have done. It makes no difference to me. I could only surmise what you've accomplished and I'm sure many would be jealous of your pervasive knowledge.. I myself have dabbled extensively in the dark arts and I understand the thirst for more."

He looked at her, still enraged at her bold words and with her decision to break their agreement.

"You see Tom I do not fear death, but I know that you won't kill me."

His jaw flexed as he stared at her coldly, his voice threatening as he closed the distance between them.

"There are other ways to get what I want." He quickly raised his wand once more as he stood before her, holding his wand under her chin, watching as he pressed it into the soft flesh of her throat.

Lyra let out another soft laugh as she continued to look into his eyes, daring him to act on his emotions.

"You could torture me, yes. I'm sure you'd enjoy that very much. But I can assure you Tom that I would never tell you anything and in my body's current state, I'm not so sure I wouldn't die before you even got anything useful from me."

He lowered his wand from her flesh hesitantly as he considered her words, realizing she was right.

"Damn her."

Her eyes bore into his, her gaze confident and unwavering. Her blue eye shining brilliantly as her brown one flickered warmly against the light that reflected against it's dark surface.

"You won't hurt me because you know as well as I do that you still need me."

She stared up at him smugly as she stood slowly, placing herself before him. "However...I would be willing to rescind my withdrawal if you give me what I desire...but that of course is up to you."

"And what is it you desire?" he said as his eyes flickered from her strangely mismatched eyes to her lips before he looked away.

"I know exactly what she wants. But if I tell her what it is I know, then I will never be able to hold this knowledge over her to force her to take me where I wish. But if I do not, then this trip may as well be wasted."

Her voice interrupted his thoughts.

"You know what I want, Tom. I'll give you a few days to contemplate my proposal, until then your rooms will be paid for and your board kept. Now if you don't mind, I find myself craving the rest you keep telling me I need."

She turned away from him as she waved her hand carelessly, opening the door for him, signaling that their discussion was over.

He turned towards the door angrily as his mind raced.

"Wait." She said as she pointed her wand towards her desk, he watched as two small packages wrapped in brown paper floated towards him.

"What is this." he spoke indignantly, the expression on his face unreadable as he looked towards her.

"I'd almost forgotten…. I purchased these for you a few days ago before our little mishap."

He stared at the small parcels as they floated before him, unsure of why she had purchased him anything at all. He unwrapped the small white ribbon that held the paper together and stared in confusion as his eyes raked over the books that he now held in his hands.

"Gifts…? But why?" His brow wrinkled in confusion as he continued to stare at the literature he had been given. His rage subsided as a strange feeling slowly replaced it, one he was unfamiliar with.

"Consider it as a thank you." Lyra said as she ran her hands through her hair once more, biting her lip as she tried to look away in unease. "You seem to enjoy reading as much as I do...so I thought that maybe-"

He stepped forward to leave the room as he paused and turned his head, his brown eyes staring in hers once more as he spoke gently.

"Moonstone dust."

She looked into his eyes once more, a puzzled expression on her face as she tried to understand what he had said.

"What-?"

"Moonstone dust would be far more effective than staghorn caps…" he trailed off as he turned his head once more and quickly left the room.

Lyra tilted her head in confusion, but he had left the room before she could even reply. Her eyes softened as she closed the door and wrapped her hands around herself, letting out a sigh of exhaustion.


So this was definitely a more interactive chapter, going forward in the story from this point on there will be a lot more conversation and interactions between the two of them. I predict I SHOULD be able to post another chapter soon as my job has now closed due to the worldwide pandemic of covid 19 going on. Nothing to do but write and write. Hopefully you guys enjoyed this chapter, I tried to keep tom in character...I do try to base his personality on more of the chamber of secrets Tom Riddle rather than the characteristics Lord Voldemort would have portrayed. He's still secretive and outwardly reserved, but I do think that he would OCCASIONALLY slip up when it comes to his true personality. Review, Follow & Fav!