House: Horned Serpent

Class: Astronomy

Task 4 - Ganymede: Write about not fitting in with others.

Prompt: [dialogue] "Well, it's not like anyone understands me, anyways.", [Object] sword, [Word] hopeless

WC: 2,389

TW: None

"There is no good or evil, there is only power… and those too weak to seek it." (Tom Marvolo Riddle)

He'd never fitted in, but as he grew up he understood that he was too special to ever be equaled. Deep down, though, he hoped to find others like him. Even among those like him, he was way above them. Nature had been very generous with him as if it had tried to compensate for the things he lacked while just a baby. As there was no mother lullaby to chased away his fears at night, he'd learned to face them. Pretty soon he found out there was no use crying and he stopped. Later he'd discovered he'd never got things by begging and so he took them. He learned to depend only on himself.

As time passed by he started to enjoy his awkwardness. He started to do things others wouldn't be able to only to prove himself he was special. And he was special indeed.

At Hogwarts, he was the golden boy. Gifted with intelligence and ambition and above all with an appearance that would make any girl fall instantly deeply in love with him, Tom Marvolo Riddle soon became a model for most of his colleagues. He gathered around him different types of people. Some of them sought him for ambition. He hoped that his company would help them achieve glory and power. Others saw him as their protector. Too weak to act on themselves, rejected by society or simply hoping for easy victories they tried to hide behind his popularity. Yet none of them made him feel like he really blended in. There was no one in the entire world that would be able to understand him. So he carried on being the handsome dark-haired boy, the sharp-minded school prefect and the cunning leader of that estrogen group of people that later were to worship him like a god.

However, he wanted more. It seemed too pitiful for him to have his time of glory limited to a lifetime, be it a wizard life. He wanted to have time. A lot of time. He wasn't ordinary and because of it, he wanted to avoid the only thing that may relate him to any other human. He'd managed to learn and experience things others' minds would never guess. In a few years, he'd understood more than others could in a lifetime. Yet he never managed to unveil the secrets of death and it made him feel vulnerable. And he hated when he felt vulnerable. As he couldn't understand death he soon learned to fear it. Who doesn't fear it, though? Yet he wasn't going to be like others and wait for the inevitable. No, he spent nights looking for a way to evade it. He didn't care about the price.

He was so young when he first tasted the pleasure of power - the power over someone else's life. It was only a filthy mudblood and a scary-cat. As he watched her body touch the ground he felt no more pity one would feel while watching a cat playing with a mouse. Contrary, it made him feel invincible. He had the blood of Salazar Slytherin in his veins. He had a monster under his control and most important, from that day on he couldn't be killed.

Little did he understand that the one he defined as a filthy mudblood was more like him than any of his pure-blooded companions. She was an outsider. Clever, but not confident enough to speak her mind. Maybe powerful if she had ever dared to really try to reach her potential. Captive to a body that according to society's rules was ugly, but which was beautiful in its own way. A body full of youth and energy, all of it wasted on self-pity and doubts. A mind full of dreams clouded by the critics and accusations of the so-called smart ones, of shallow beauties that in less than half a century would be reduced to the same cruel destiny as any other human being - aging.

However, Tom Marvolo Riddle didn't bother with these thoughts. In his mind power was everything and whoever couldn't master it was doomed. He didn't have a second thought upon accusing another orphan like him of the crimes he'd committed. In fact, the success of his plan made gave him the satisfaction of an accomplished strategist.

It was almost dark, but Tom didn't feel like going back to his room. He wasn't happy about leaving the Basilisk behind, locked in the chamber of secrets who-knows for how long. He wished he hadn't had to hide anymore. Yet he was clever enough to know that being reckless wouldn't serve his purposes. No, he wouldn't risk being sent back to that orphanage even if that meant he had to part with the only creature that could actually understand him. He laughed at the irony that a snake, a creature that most people would define as a monster, was closer to him than a man had ever been.

In Slytherin's quarters, his colleagues were waiting to congratulate him. He knew that. They'd probably brought some cakes and some pumpkin juice, too. He thought. Abraxas Malfoy will most certainly brag about the gifts from his parents. Tom had always taken advantage of his so-called friendship with rich guys as they always share everything with him - money, sweets, books, and even family secrets. He had a thing for finding out the darkest secrets of the pureblood families whose young springs kept following him like puppies. However, having to listen to his stories about his parents had always brought him an unpleasant feeling. All his life he'd made up excuses for why his parents had abandoned him. He'd dreamt his father was a very strong wizard and one day he'd come to take him away from that horrible orphanage. Yet his father had been neither a wizard nor interested in Tom's future.

Tom looked for a place where he could be alone and the library seemed to be just what he needed. There would hardly be someone at night. Though, he had to be careful lest any professor should see him. He had an image to preserve and walking on the halls after the curfew wasn't the best recommendation anyway.

As he'd expected, there was no one at the library so he could spend as much time as he wanted, reading any book he wanted, without having to make up excuses for every single book he was curious about. He was going to study more about Horcruxes. There were just so many things he didn't know about them. Yet he soon changed his mind as he got distracted by a tiny light, shining in the darkness. His curiosity was high and so he took out his wand. With just some flips of it he attracted the little shining object to his hand.

It was a tiny box, delicately engraved with letters he couldn't decipher. In fact, they looked more like symbols than letters. It was those symbols that emanated a red light, strong enough to make the box noticeable in the darkness and which guided him to find it. Inside the box, it was a necklace with a red pendant. It looked like the petal of a red water lily only it was made of scented wood. Anyway, it copied so vividly the freshness and the arches of a real petal that one could easily mistake it for a petal. It even imitated the drops of water so vividly that Tom had a double glance before touching it for fear not to ruin it. Something inside told Tom it wasn't an ordinary jewel and so he wanted it. Quickly, he put the box in his pocket and headed towards his room, hoping that his roommates were already asleep.

He muttered some words as an answer to his roommates' questions and he started to prepare for the night. Back in his bed, hidden behind the curtains, he studied the box more carefully. He couldn't figure out which language the letters were in. He tried different spells, but none of them offered him a clear translation. It resulted in a mismatch of words that made no sense. One kept repeating, though - sword. Then, suddenly the box started to shine again, brighter and brighter until the entire room was covered into a red light. Then, the room started to spin around faster and faster and he felt his body caught into a whirlpool. The next moment he was sucked inside the box and then he landed on a cold, rocky floor.

My wish is to have a lot of friends. It's just….why I really bring calamity to other people? That won't be… As long as I have hope in my heart, there will be one day when there will be friends to accompany me. (Hu Qian Gu)

Little Bone was completely alone. She was powerful. The most powerful creature among the immortals. She was the ruler of a strong army that would obey her commands. Yet she was still alone. Without friends. Without love. Initially, she'd thought she had the entire world. She had had her Shifu. She had her friends. Now, everything was gone. The ones who'd loved her had died for her. The one she loved wanted her dead. The one she'd relied upon had chased her away. She'd done nothing. She'd only wanted to have a simple life. To cook peach soup every day and eat with his Shifu and then listen as he played the harp or train and study. To laugh with Tang Bao and Quin Shui and play with her Big Sister. To talk with Dongfang and take care of the flowers and her Shifu.

Yet she'd never fitted in. From the very start, she was different. No matter how much she'd tried she'd never seemed to blend in. She had no training. She was so weak, so naive, but she welcomed the hard work. She welcomed it more than anyone else. In her mind, she'd imagine that one day she would be strong enough so she would be just like her other senior brothers and sisters. Later, she wanted to be powerful so she wouldn't cause shame to her Shifu. Ni Mantian had always criticized her for being too stupid and weak. She'd never asked for any of this. The desolate energy. The power. The war and chaos it created among the sects. They could have it if they wanted it. They never understood her. Not even HIM, the man she'd sacrificed everything for.

Little Bone was on the edge of desperation. She let her body fall on the cold floor as she didn't have the strength to stand. She wished she could cry. Once she'd thought she didn't have tears. How wrong she'd been. She'd cried so much. She cried until her eyes would burn and dry, letting her feel dizzy and unable to think rationally. Now, she could not even find the strength to cry. The revelation that Bai Zi Hua had feelings for her and yet he would rather cut his skin from his arm than admit it left her feeling hollow and cold. As soon as her fury diminished, she realized just how lonely she was. He was gone and she was sure he'd never come back.

She lay down on the cold floor, her marvelous red dress spread all over the place making her look like a huge poppy flower. She put the Sympathize Life Sword in front of her and, distracted, she started to walk her fingers over its surface. It was so cold and so did she feel inside. She would change all that power for a moment of happiness. Just one moment and then she would be happy to die….

"Well, it's not like anyone understands me, anyway." She thought. "No matter what, they will keep imagining the worst about me. Maybe they are afraid. Most of them are. Yet some are just too greedy. It's not me that's dividing them, but their own obsessions and sins. There's never going to end."

Tom started to study the surroundings. It looked like a cave. A big, magic cave. Flames dance under the stone floor. He could see the lava through the crack in the ground It was the perfect depiction of Hell.

Tom walked for a while without meeting a single soul. He passed by a huge throne and he stopped there for a while. He liked the throne. It seemed suitable for a ruler. A mighty ruler. He was tempted to try it. Just to sit there for a moment. A single moment. However, he didn't dare to. Not yet, anyway. He was clever enough to control his impulses. One day he would have a similar throne. But it wasn't yet his time.

So Tom went on studying the cave. Then, he came face to face with her. Well, she didn't notice him as she was too caught by her own thoughts. She seemed a magnificent marble statue. Her white face shone in the light of the fire. She seemed so hopeless. Beautiful and hopeless. He imagined she must be a prisoner. He wondered who her captor was. Judging by the place, whoever ruled over it must be some type of monster. So, it was no wonder she was so sad.

Eventually, she lifted her eyes and met his. Instinctively, she took the sword and stood up, her posture mighty and cold. Gone was the vulnerable girl...