Inception: Rise of the Heir
After the murder of Hepzibah Smith, Tom Riddle disappeared for ten long years. He sank deeper into the Dark Arts & pursued knowledge that others could only dream of, consorting with the darkest members of wizarding society. With his eyes set on North America, he has no idea that the magic he so desperately seeks will shape his life & his inevitable future for years to come. TomxOC
DISCLAIMER: I own nothing except for my o/c's and my own storyline.
"I suppose there's no point in delaying it any longer." Lyra thought to herself as she stood outside the adobe house, raising her wand slowly. After Sani's burial she had wandered around the now deserted home for what seemed like an eternity, taking her final looks at the place in which she had spent most of her life.
Tom had insisted once more on coming with her, but his good mood had not returned since their earlier conversation and he continued to maintain his silence, watching her from afar. He had let her wander the empty hallways of her home and had instead stood outside in the unforgiving sun, waiting patiently for her to pacify whatever sorrow she had still felt. If the circumstances were different she might feel aggravated by the lack of conversation but given the days sombering events, she had grown to care less and less about his frigid disposition as the day continued to unwind. Living in the shadow of someone else's emotions would not do her any good and if he could not express his feelings properly then it was not her concern.
Lyra looked towards the sun that had started to set in the distance before her and grimaced, her wand still pointed towards the clay house. It was almost impossible to make something of this size simply disappear and Sani's cultural traditions demanded that it must be removed permanently. There was only one option left, it must be destroyed.
"Incendio." She murmured quietly as a few red sparks soared from the tip of her wand towards the house, crashing atop the spanish tiled roof and through the windows she had left open specifically for this reason.
"The air circulating through the house should do most of the work."
She watched as the red sparks started to settle into the residence, angry orange flames starting to lick at its interior. Within moments the only home she had ever known had become an inferno and Lyra continued to look on as the small wooden windows and doors started to fall to the ground, charred and glowing.
"Now for the rest." Raising her wand once more and flicking it quickly, she watched as the walls of the adobe house suddenly collapsed, the roof cracking and crumbling to the ground like a deck of cards.
She felt a small lump start to form in her throat and cleared it swiftly, trying to suppress the emotions that threatened to undo her composure. At once she felt confused by the barrage of emotions, for she could vividly remember the years in her youth where she had dreamed of leaving this place to forge her own way into the world and now that she had been tasked with tearing it down, the feelings of anguish and nostalgia overwhelmed her.
Lyra felt herself still frozen in place as if she were glued to the ground she stood upon and through the plumes of smoke that lay heavily in the air around her, she could hear the sound of gravel cracking underneath quiet footsteps, a familiar presence waking her from the moment. Tom placed his hand slowly on her shoulder and squeezed it as the clouds of smoke bellowed around them, her eyes still staring off into the distance, the charred remains of her past scattered across the desert floor.
"We should go." He said softly, watching as the sun finally dipped below the horizon. "You've done everything you promised you would."
A small cloud of ash floated through the air like a feather, landing softly atop of her arm. Her inward trance suddenly broke at its appearance, moving it carefully off her arm with her wand and she nodded her head in agreement, taking one last look towards where the house had once stood.
"Yes. It's time I think."
He stood stone-faced as she turned around towards him, her hand held out uncomfortably as he reached for it, the both of them disappearing from within the billows of smoke with a loud CRACK.
Lyra sat in front of the small fireplace and pushed herself farther into the big overstuffed chair seated before it, sipping gently on a glass of dark red wine. After they had left the ruins of her childhood home, she had apparated them into a large vast valley, setting their tent up against the canyonside. Almost immediately Tom had holed up within his quarters, without a further word or glance in her direction and she found herself grateful for the continued solitude, the silence necessary to clear her head. For the first time in a long while, she felt no desire or longing to open a book or feel her quill scribble across parchment and instead found herself blankly staring into the flames before her.
There was now only one task ahead of her and the weight of it's importance started to lay heavily on her mind as it had so many times before today, the stress crushing her, body and soul.
"Where to even begin…" She thought quietly as she sipped her wine, tapping her fingers against the arm of the chair. "I know the spot well, I've returned to it more times than I could count before I gave up completely...the entrance is no longer there. Why should this time be any different?"
Lyra reached over the arm of the chair slowly and grabbed the bottle of wine she had opened earlier, pouring herself another glass. As she continued to sip, she felt her mind grow hazy, a welcome change from the anxiety that had plagued her for most of the day. It was not often that she drank and even rarer that she let it dim her senses entirely, but given the recent circumstances, Lyra felt that one night of indulgence, could do no harm.
"Is that a wise decision?"
The silky voice unnerved her as she turned her head, watching as Tom came into view, walking around the large chair next to her own, leaning his dark figure against it. His sudden appearance had caught her off guard, she had not heard footsteps or any sound that had alerted her to his presence. It was something he often did and she knew that despite how many times it happened, she would never grow used to it.
"What I do is not your business." She spoke icily, trying to ignore him as he took a seat in the chair next to hers. He let out a soft cough as he crossed his legs and she felt herself grow increasingly irritated by his company.
"I disagree. Everything you do now is my business...or have you forgotten what we both agreed to this morning."
She pursed her lips carefully and savored the wine once more before replying. "I haven't forgotten, although your disposition as of late has led me to believe that perhaps you were maybe thinking twice about your offer."
He remained silent at her response and she felt her heart skip, overjoyed at her verbal victory. Lyra continued to sip at her wine and stared into the fire as the stillness between them continued, finding herself becoming more and more vexed by his mute behavior.
"I'm going to find the cave tomorrow." She said suddenly, regretting the words as soon as they fell from her lips. The alcohol she had consumed had blinded her judgment and she quickly put the glass down, acknowledging her mistake.
"We've already discussed that it's unwise for you to go alone."
His reply provoked her and she felt herself sit up suddenly, turning towards him in anger.
"I can do whatever I please."
"Fine."
Unprepared for his response, she stared at him strangely and cocked her head in confusion. It was not what she had expected and she had instead bolstered herself for another argument. She felt her body relax at his reaction and rubbed her finger absentmindedly against the soft leather of the arm chair. "You won't challenge my decision then."
Tom kept his eyes focused on the fire before them and ran a hand through his dark hair, avoiding her gaze. "No. I refuse to challenge you. If that is what you wish, then I won't interfere. After your demands earlier it's hard for me to see why I should put forth any effort at all to help you if all you can think to ask of me is a swift end for your suffering"
Lyra sucked in a deep breath and shook her head. "You are misconstruing what I asked of you."
"Am I?"
"Yes. I asked you if there was no solution for my condition in time...if it got worse -"
He sucked his teeth and leaned his head into the arm of the chair angrily as she continued.
"I don't understand why the thought of this is so bothersome to you -"
His head suddenly whipped around towards hers, his voice high pitched and condescending. "I'm angered by the fact that you felt the need to ask it of me at all. From where I stand it feels as if you've already given into doubt and failure, which to me is as good as hammering the nails down into your own coffin. I have no patience for defeat of any kind, whether from outside forces or from within your own mind."
He turned around towards her and hissed "If this is how you choose to think I can already see the outcome of your situation and you are as useless to me as -"
"Tom. I'm just trying to be realistic." Lyra spoke softly as she turned away from him, exasperated by his reaction. "To pretend that everything will be fine...it's just foolish. Digging my head into the sand will not help -"
"- And I'm telling you to be anything but realistic. Where have those ideals gotten you?"
Lyra rubbed her forehead and leaned her head into the soft cushion of the chair. "Why do you care so much?"
He observed her carefully for a moment, the anger slowly fading from his expression and rolled his eyes as if he were looking for the right words to say. "To strive for success despite the challenges that face you is not foolish. To persevere in order to craft a society that benefits your way of life is not an intangible fantasy. You need to grow past your weakness and learn to overcome it or live with it."
"That doesn't answer my question."
She watched him narrow his eyes towards her, seemingly annoyed with her persistence before relaxing, his expression softened.
"You ask me why I care. To be truthful Lyra...I don't understand it myself. I've tried to figure out why more times than I care to admit. But what I do know is that I see something in you that I recognize in myself...and as much as I've tried to depersonalize those similarities, I can't ignore them. "
She shook her head in disbelief, turning away from him and he let out an agitated growl, waving his wand as a few pages of parchment whizzed into his outstretched palm. "How many witches and wizards do you know that could do this?"
He tossed the parchments over towards her and watched as she read it, her eyes growing softer as she recognized her own handwriting.
"It was only guesswork." She murmured quietly handing the pages back to him. "I've no idea how to actually harness the power of a Horned Serpents Gem."
"Lyra, this is nothing short of brilliant." He said softly. "The most accomplished witches and wizards have achieved success based on guesswork." Lyra let out a sigh and listened as he continued. "Your ingenuity has proved to be invaluable in certain situations that might have otherwise proved disastrous -"
"Situations you got us into." She replied snarkily before softening her tone. "But...as I recall when it comes to my own problems, I can't quite seem to rectify any of them without outside help."
"Lyra you need to place your pride aside -" He stopped momentarily as she let out a sarcastic chuckle.
"I hardly think that you're the right person to lecture me about pride."
He clenched his jaw in frustration as he tried to ignore her slight, continuing on. "- The real question is not why I care...but why you don't. I sense fear and self doubt in you...things that were not there before. Don't let something like this get in the way of what you could achieve."
"You speak about my condition like it's something that can be so easily forgotten." She murmured softly, resting her head against the side of her chair. "You've seen the monster I become. How could I ever push it from my mind. I have tried everything I could think of to rid myself of this and despite my 'brilliance', here I am. The same. Unchanged...worse than before."
"If we go out tomorrow and the day yields no results then you'll have to learn to find a way to deal with it. Stop letting it control your life."
"Easier said than done." She thought and watched as he stood up. Thinking back to what he had said. She furrowed her brows and looked up towards him. "We?"
"Did you really believe I would let you go wandering around to find some illusory cave all by yourself? That's not what was agreed upon."
Lyra felt the corners of her mouth pull slightly up and pushed a few loose strands of hair away from her face, trying to distract herself as she stuttered. "Well…I had decided - you just seemed so angry - I figured -"
"Do us both a favor and try not to slip out in the middle of the night or before dawn to avoid me." He grinned and let out a soft laugh as a surprised look shot across her face. "You're not as unpredictable as you think."
Lyra smiled at his dry humor, something he rarely showed even on his best days and stood up from her chair to stoke the dying fire in front of them. As she leant over to grab the poker, the sleeve of her dress exposed her wrist and she watched as Tom's attention turned from her face to her bracelet, the fire light dancing across its surface.
"I think you're the only person who's ever noticed it."
"Noticed what?"
"My bracelet. It's the second time today."
Tom shrugged his shoulders. "The light caught my eye."
Lyra chuckled and shook her head. "You would think it was as interesting as that ring you used to wear."
For a moment she thought she could see a flash of red flood his eyes and quickly tried to shake the notion off, it was only the wine playing tricks on her.
"A family heirloom. Too gaudy for my taste."
"Is that why you've taken it off?"
Tom moved towards her quietly, his voice almost inaudible. "Sani expressed his dislike of it, so I removed it to make him feel more comfortable."
She let out an exasperated sigh and shook her head. "He was always a minimalist I'm afraid. He thought items like jewelry to be unnecessary...something that only greedy people concerned themselves with. He felt that way about a lot of things. Don't feel too badly, he acted strange when he saw this as well."
"Would you mind if I held it?"
"You already looked at it earlier...I doubt it's changed any."
"Yes, but I'd really like to see it closer if you wouldn't mind...before it looked as if a stone or two was coming out of the setting...I wouldn't want you to lose any more of them, there's only so few left."
Her eyes full of suspicion, Lyra hesitated for a moment before nodding her head in agreement, taking it off and placing it gently into his outstretched palm. He raised it up towards his face and glanced at it carefully, rubbing his thumb over its old worn surface. Tom felt her eyes on him as he continued to stare at the bracelet, picking it up gently to turn it over. Without warning, he heard her squeal and jumped away from where she had stood as the hearth suddenly spit a few fiery embers onto the hem of her dress, the fabric bursting into flames.
Cursing loudly and pointing her wand down towards the floor, she quickly extinguished the rogue fire at her feet and sucked her teeth in exasperation, looking at the damage it had caused.
"That's enough fun for one night I think…" She thought to herself, waving her hand angrily towards the fireplace before them, putting it out for good.
"Here."
For a moment she had forgotten about his presence and his possession of her bracelet and she looked towards him, watching the jewelry dangling off the edge of one of his outstretched fingers. Lyra took it back carefully and placed it back upon her wrist, pulling her sleeve over it protectively. "Satisfied?"
His eyes seemed to be immersed deeply in thought, his finger rubbing his chin before he looked at her once more, finally acknowledging that she had spoken.
"You should rest." He said softly, ignoring her remark. "Today was long and you'll need your strength for tomorrow."
No sooner than the words escaped his lips, she watched him cross the tent quickly, disappearing into his room before she could even speak, the door quietly closing behind him.
"Odd." Lyra thought, shaking her head in irritation as she shot a filthy look towards the hearth. It had been an unpleasant end to an unpleasant day and although she hated being spoken to like a child, she knew that Tom was right. Sleep was something she desperately needed, something that would hopefully give her release from the troubles of the day. Making her way towards her bedroom quietly she gathered up her belongings and sat down upon the bed, thinking about the conversation that has just transpired between them.
"I still don't think my concerns are overblown...but perhaps his words hold some inkling of truth. I have let the seeds of doubt and fear become so heavily ingrained in my mind...before I would never have let my emotions control my actions...or dictate my future."
Lyra lay back gently into the bed, tapping her fingers against her chest absent-mindely. The day had brought about a great many changes to her life, signifying the end of any attachments she had held to her past and in its stead it had also presented her with a new purpose, a new path to follow that might lead to a better future. For the past few months she had begun to drown in her fear and doubt, finding herself grasping desperately at straws as she tried to hold onto her past, onto what had used to feel normal to her. But she now realized that was exactly the mistake she had been making from the beginning.
"Nothing about my life was ever normal…" She mused. "Even without this curse...I was never entirely allowed to be myself or be happy…why am I trying so hard to reclaim a life that never brought me anything but pain?"
She raised her arm up above her face and trailed the dark mark upon her skin, closing her eyes. "I have an opportunity now to perhaps be both and I would be a fool to let it pass me by."
Taking a few deep breaths, she sat up once more and reached for her purse, opening it and muttering a summoning charm under her breath until what she had sought floated gently into her open palm.
"My wand." She shook her head, correcting herself carefully. " - Mother's old wand."
Ever since that night in the bayou, she had kept her mothers wand hidden inside her purse, it's use no longer necessary, for she had found another that had suited her needs without hesitation or setback. Running her fingers along its stem, she found that she no longer found comfort in its touch, the feeling of the worn wood in her hands now foreign and strange. "That's because it never truly belonged to me." She thought morously, placing it down beside her on the bed, cradling her head between her hands.
It was all her mother had left her and because at the time she had lacked the wealth or money necessary to procure another, she had been forced to treat it as her own, in time growing accustomed to it's reluctance to perform the magic she preferred. Over the years she had grown fond of the finicky wand, even using it for spells she knew she could perform more effortlessly without it, because of her own sentiment and attachment. But things in time had changed, as they do and she now wondered why its presence no longer gave her the comfort it once had.
"Because you no longer need what the wand signified." A small voice in the back of her mind replied. "You've grown past it."
"Have I?"
A flood of images raced through her mind, each one fresher than the next and she felt her face grow red at the last, Tom's unexpected embrace and her own reciprocation. Lyra brushed her lips with her fingers, her mind faraway until the small nagging voice in her mind snapped her back to reality. "That part of your life is over and it's time to embrace a new chapter. You know what needs to be done."
Looking towards the wand once more and picking it up gently, she let out a soft sigh. "I need to let the past go."
A look of resolve spread across her face as she quickly summoned a piece of parchment and quill, her hand scribbling across the page furiously before folding the paper up and summoning her robe. Whipping it over her shoulders, she took one last look at the room and left it quickly, walking towards the tent's entrance. Stopping beside the small table that still had her glass of wine resting atop it, she placed the folded piece of parchment against the bottle and looked over her shoulder towards Tom's room. Watching the faint glow of the light from underneath his door, she pulled the hood of her robe over her head, quickly leaving the warm confines of the tent and disappearing into the cold night air.
Tom sat down onto the bed as he slowly ran a hand through his dark hair. Reaching into his pocket and feeling the cool touch of metal against his skin, he pulled the small bracelet from his pocket and felt the corners of his mouth tug up into a grin.
It had not been an easy feat, trying to figure out how to acquire the bracelet without her knowledge and he felt a bothersome twinge in his chest when he thought about his deceit but he knew it was best to keep her in the dark about certain matters until his suspicions were confirmed.
"Ridiculous how small and insignificant it seems." He thought to himself as he placed it upon his nightstand, slowly unfastening the top button on the collar of his shirt. He grabbed his wand and picked the bracelet up off the table's surface with its tip and stared at it curiously. Of all people, he knew that an item's appearance could be deceptive, sometimes hexes and curses lingered below their innocent surface, created to intentionally inflict pain upon others. His horcruxes proved to be examples of such hidden magic and he was not as ignorant as others to take such artifacts lightly.
It had taken him hours to construct a perfect plan to separate her from the small trinket
but unlike what he had done in the past to rob others of their valuables, this time it was not for his own personal interest, but hers.
Her interruption earlier had come as an unwelcome surprise and it was no lie that her words had indeed upset him, but he also knew that her disruption had provided him with a window, that with a cold demeanor and harsh words, he could buy himself more time uninterrupted to transfigure a near perfect replica. There were slight differences of course - he had only glanced upon the bracelet momentarily, but he knew that unless she sought them out, the imperfections would remain unnoticed.
Switching the bracelets had proven to be more difficult than he had originally intended, he had not thought that his request would be bothersome to her and if it were not for his quick thinking and a rogue charm to provoke the fire, he might not have found the opportunity. Tom took the bracelet from off his wand and rubbed the center jewel carefully with his thumb, clearing some of the dirt that had settled across its surface. He stared at the small insignia that lay underneath its surface and rubbed his chin.
"Strange...What does 'B' stand for...what is the significance?"
He placed the bracelet careful down upon the wooden surface and pointed his wand in its direction. If there were any curses or spells placed upon the small bangle, it was only a matter of time before he found out what it was hiding.
"If it's hiding anything at all."
The cool air whipped through her hair as she appeared onto the cliffs of the canyon, the night wind howling in her ears. She looked to her right and watched the moonlight dance across the surface of Sani's grave, the night sky reflected against its amber facade. Kneeling down next to it, she started to pick at the dirt beside it slowly, forming a small hole in the ground. Carefully pulling the old wand out from her pocket, she rubbed it gingerly before placing it into the dirt, watching as it finally slid through her fingers one last time.
"It's only fitting that it stays here...with the rest of my past."
Cupping her hands delicately, she moved the scattered and dry earth until the wand was completely hidden from sight, the final piece of her former life buried beneath the surface of the canyon. Letting out a soft breath of relief, she felt as if a small weight had been lifted off her chest and looked around her carefully as she stood to get up.
"I should go. I don't want Tom thinking I ran away in the middle of the night to do something reckless, like he assumed I would." The thought made her smile as she shook her head and stared off into the distance, watching the clouds shroud the Moons light. Without warning she felt a bolt of pain strike her backside, the little electric-like currents spreading across her body like wildfire and she stumbled to her knees, unaware of what was going on. She was used to excruciating discomforts and had grown familiar with the agony of her transformation, but this was new and unfamiliar, something different entirely. A voice could be heard as her senses started to blur, her vision and hearing growing more obscured as the moments passed and the last thing she could feel was her head hitting the ground violently as the world faded around her.
Ah! Finally! Took me a few tries to finally figure out what I wanted to include in this segment of the story and I think it came out exactly how it needed to.
So Lyra and Tom finally hashed out some of their differences and it ended up with Tom giving her a 'pep' talk of sorts. To me it's not really OOC for him because like how he persuaded and beguiled others, he groomed them into seeing things from his perspective. (We all know how charming he could be.) For a while now we've really seen Lyra suffer and become doubtful of her future and it seems like Tom's talk really kind of gave her the little nudge or reassurance she kind of needed. She's finally cut off all ties to her past to embrace her future, whatever it may be.
It'll be interesting to see if there's anything actually nefarious going on with Lyra's bracelet or if Tom is just grasping at straws, either way we get to see a little more of how deceitful and manipulative he really can be. ;]
As for Lyra at the end of the chapter, you're just gonna have to keep reading the next few chapters to find out what's going on!
Also remember to add the story to your favorites, follow and review if you like it! :)