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.
Chapter revised 4/7/2020
The inside of the speakeasy was dark, Tom wrinkled his nose as swirls of smoke billowed and floated through the air, making his eyes water as he made his way from the doorway towards a ramshackle table in a dark corner. Small dim lights hung crookedly on iron rods attached to the ceiling, barely illuminating the dark and dusty room. The air was painfully stale, he couldn't tell whether it was from the smoke, or the fact that the bar probably hadn't seen any sunlight for as long as it had existed. Towards the back of the bar was a small stage upon which a band was playing, their lead singer crooning and singing to the gloomy melodies they made. Tom had never been fond of bars and had only frequented a handful of them in his life out of necessity, but the atmospheres from which he was accustomed were very different from that of the bar he had just walked into.
As he approached the vacant secluded table, he kept a firm grip on his suitcase and the other hand tightly wrapped around his wand as he felt the eyes of strangers on his back. A few men seated at the bar slowly puffed on cigars as their eyes continued to follow him, watching him carefully as he sat down. He heard them mutter among themselves and laugh in his direction as he raised his wand carefully below the table, prepared in the case of an altercation. They turned back around slowly, losing interest in him as a fresh round of drinks arrived before them.
Tom relaxed his grip on his wand slowly as he placed his suitcase on the worn, wooden table before him, tapping his finger in anticipation. As soon as he was sure all the attention on him had ceased, he raised his wand to the strange, intricate golden lock shaped like a set of two intertwined snakes and whispered something in parseltongue. The two snakes slowly uncoiled and a small burnished clasp revealed itself from behind them. He pressed down gently on the fastening and raised the top of the suitcase, searching through his few belongings.
He pulled a map and two books from the belly of the case and placed them neatly beside him on the old worn surface of the table. As he went to close the suitcase, a gleam of gold caught his eye, peering through an old woolen sack resting from inside the luggage. He rubbed his fingers gently against the rough fabric and felt the bulkiness of the cup that lay within. He closed his eyes as he heard screams and the whispers coming from inside the bag, his horcruxes speaking and calling out to him in a way only he could feel or understand. The sensation he got from the made him warm, sending electric sparks up his arm.
"Extraordinary..."
He smirked as he removed his hand, shutting the suitcase gently so as not to attract anymore attention to himself. Tom ran his fingers through his dark hair, pushing the stray strands back that were always falling into his eyes and face. He picked a small folded piece of parchment which contained a map of the United States, he cocked his head in concentration as he started to read all the notes he had scribbled upon it, days and weeks before he had actually landed in the country. As it lay before him, he tapped his finger on one of the small notes he had made, and quickly picked up one of the books he had placed onto the table entitled "A Magical History of North America", opening it calmly to a bookmarked page. He continued to read quietly, alone in his dark corner for a few minutes until a voice, both small and deep, broke his concentration.
"What'll ya be havin'"
Tom lowered his book and looked down towards the dingy floor, where a grumpy looking house elf stood, glowering at him while wiping a cup clean.
"We ain't running a charity here, either order a drink or get movin!" the elf said again, less friendly than before, his eyes narrowed.
Tom, irritated with the interruption, tried to remain as collected and polite as he possibly could and spoke softly "Wine please, red if you have it."
The house elf nodded gruffly and clicked his fingers, a glass quickly floated over to the table, followed by a dusty old bottle of red wine that uncorked and poured itself right in front of him, after it had finished the elf clicked his old gnarled fingers again and the bottle returned from where it came.
The house elf, hearing Toms foreign accent cocked his head slightly "English eh? We don't get too many of you people round' here, when we do, you folks is always up to nothin' good." Giving Tom a suspicious look he turned around and shook his head, slowly returning to his spot behind the bar, swiping the same cup clean as he grumbled to himself.
Tom continued to read for another hour or so, jotting down notes on the wrinkled scrap of a map, completely immersed in the book he was reading. If he was to be honest, he wasn't quite sure where he should begin to look for the magic he so desperately desired, he was unfamiliar with the country and everything was spaced out much further than he anticipated. He had narrowed down his long list of destinations to only a few select territories, in a neat and distinct order of importance to what he thought he would find.
As people came and left the bar, he casually would glance above his book to see who walked in. He had never much been a person who longed for social interaction, he had rarely feigned any interest in starting conversations with most people, but he did like to be aware of his surroundings at all times.
He put down his glass, which seemed to always refill when it was close to empty, much to his chagrin. He had decided to slow his sips, lest it refill again, he had never enjoyed the feeling that followed after prolonged alcohol consumption, he preferred to be alert at all times. His pale slender fingers rested on the wooden table top, as he continued to flip through the pages of the book, tapping his fingers impatiently, as if waiting for something, anything to pop out on a page and strike him. As he reached for the glass beyond the book another voice, this time heavy with a New York accent and raspy, as if the owner had smoked its entire life, spoke to him. Tom lowered the book as a plum of cigar smoke wafted over and into his face.
"Let's see what your readin' here? A History of North America and...what else? Hm, Dark and Ancient Magic of America. That book might make people think ya ain't up to nood good."
Tom closed the book as his eyes met anothers from across the table, small, black and beady, belonging to an old goblin dressed neatly in a suit. He hadn't heard the seat scrape across the floor, or footsteps to alert him to another presence watching him, the goblin appeared to have formed out of thin air. He had been prepared for this, in fact this is what he had been so anxiously awaiting from the moment of his arrival. He knew at some point a foreigner or stranger in his bar would peak the goblins interest, he remembered Lestrange complaining about how his father had to wait around for hours before the famed owner of the bar decided to show himself. Criminal underlords didn't make appointments and showed up when they pleased.
"Just some research I'm doing for-" Tom said in a quiet voice as he was interrupted by the Goblin who sat across from him.
"And British too! I shoulda known, I can usually spot you people a mile away with your fancy robes and noses up in the air, I got nothin' but trouble last time one of you walked in unexpectedly around here..."
The goblin eyed him suspiciously as he puffed on his cigar, holding it in his sharp pointy teeth and rubbing his chin.
"Names Gnarlak." the goblin said as he flicked the ashes his cigar on the floor of the speakeasy. "I run this bar and I make it my business to know everyone's business in here. Whether they like it or not."
Gnarlak motioned behind him to the grumpy house elf, who was still cleaning glasses behind the bar. "Frank doesn't trust ya. He's been watchin' ya since ya' got here, told me we might have some trouble with the young Brit in the corner."
His black beady eyes followed Tom as he continued to take a sip of his wine. As he placed the glass back down on the table he replied softly "I'm not here for trouble. My name is Riddle sir...Tom Riddle. You see I just decided to stop off here quickly to rest my feet from traveling and those books are just a bit of light reading for me." He smiled at the goblin politely, hoping to charm the creature as he had so many others, a fail safe he had learned to use in difficult situations when magic wasn't an option. But the goblin didn't seem to be phased by any act of politeness, nor did he seem interested in pleasantries. Instead he sat in front of Tom, eyeing him carefully for a few moments as he puffed on his cigar.
Gnarlak snorted as his response. "Light reading..Yeah, right. Nice try kid." The goblin clicked his fingers and before Tom could grab the map, it appeared instantly in the goblins hands.
Tom pushed his chair back angrily, his wand clutched firmly in his hand, aimed towards the Goblin who had stolen the map from him, reading it intently.
"Relax kid. I ain't gonna hurt ya." Gnarlak smirked as he looked over the map in his hands, glancing at what Tom had written, his eyes rising towards Toms as he slowly laid the map down in front of him. He snorted and shook his head, clicking his fingers as a drink of firewhisky on ice appeared in front of him.
"Good luck with that kind of trip, Riddle...was it?" He raised the glass up to his brown leathery lips as he took a giant sip and puffed once again from the cigar.
Tom gathered his things into his suitcase, getting angrier as the goblin continued to speak said in an icily cold voice "I'm perfectly capable-"
He got up from the table, reaching towards his suitcase and stopped as the goblin started to cackle.
"Calm down kid, I ain't finished talkin' yet. What I was sayin' is good luck with that kinda trek without some kind of guide." He finally took the cigar out of his mouth and put it out in Toms wine glass.
Tom cautiously looked at the goblin and snorted, the arrogance displayed clearly across his face. "A guide? I of all people have no need of that."
"Look. You ain't never been here before Riddle and I looked at what you got goin' on there. I ain't saying you can't go to those places. You can, but it's gonna be one big waste. Let me learn you a little somethin' on the good old USA."
Gnarlak motioned for him to sit down once more, Tom sat down slowly, trying not to seem eager, he knew the goblin in front of him was about to tell him the exact information that he had come for. He had not originally intended to travel or seek guidance from anyone in this country, but after countless nights of studying and reading books on the North American wizarding world, he realized he could not access the information he so desired on his own. His dark eyes focused coldly at the creature in front of him.
"Now, I ain't used to your country Riddle and I don't know how things are over there across the big blue pond, but here in America, we don't like strangers." He took a sip again of the firewhisky. "And we certainly don't like people nosing around in our business that ain't got no need to be. You ain't gonna learn nothing on your own and you're gonna get yourself killed that way, or even worse, caught by MACUSA. Then you'll wish you had been killed."
Tom snorted again, knowing what he had in his suitcase fully protected him from death. He had several items in place to secure his immortality.
"So how am I to find a guide if everyone keeps to themselves?" Tom said calmly. "I'm not familiar with anyone in this country who-"
"A normal witch or wizard would be useless," Gnarlak said "Not any joe off the streets is going to be able to take you where you wanna be. You need someone special, someone who they trust and who is experienced in these kinds of affairs."
"And where exactly would I find this person?" he said softly. He traced his finger along a large crack in the table as he looked up curiously at Gnarlack, cocking his head. "From what you've just said, I would have to find such a person, given my lack of resources that seems impossible..."
Gnarlak clicked his fingers and another cigar appeared in his hand. He lit it and smirked letting off clouds of smoke from between his lips. "It just so happens, I know such a person Mr. Riddle."
Tom raised an eyebrow and opened his mouth slightly to speak. "Well then-"
Gnarlak smiled and interrupted him once more. "It's going to cost you. I don't give out any of my contacts for free. That's bad business."
"Name your price." Tom said quietly in a low voice as he stared stubbornly into Gnarlak's eyes. He had been prepared for this moment, after Lestrange's stories. This goblin did not seek money in exchange for his services, he was already independently wealthy, he instead valued rare and illegal magical items he could repurpose on the black market. And it just so happened Tom had something of extreme value.
"I can pay anything you want." Tom lied. He of course had brought a small amount of money, but it was no great fortune, just the remnants of his pitiful salary he had earned working for Borgin & Burkes.
The goblin laughed and said "Money is useless to me, I got more money than you'd ever dream of kid, I'm looking for something unique, something special, something hard to come by. I doubt you got anything that I want."
"Perhaps I may have something that might be of value to you." Tom said softly, unclasping his suitcase and reaching in, pulling out another woolen bag. He laid it on the table and pushed it towards Gnarlak. The goblin eyed the bag skeptically as he opened it and raised his eyebrows in surprise, his eyes dancing with greed. The goblin reached eagerly into the bag and pulled a long sharp tooth carefully from the bag.
"Basilisk fangs and more than one" Gnarlak said as he clapped his hands together in delight.
"So, do you accept?" Tom said sharply, growing weary of the goblins presence. He was starting to become impatient.
"You drive a hard bargain Mr. Riddle. Now I won't ask what a young guy with you is doing with a bag of these babies, but it's quite unusual."
Tom remained silent and continued to stare at the goblin.
Gnarlak smirked. "All right Mr. Riddle, you got yourself a deal." He waved his hand and a piece of parchment appeared in front of Tom, with just a lone address written on it.
"Just remember kid, this ain't gonna be cheap so be prepared. All good things come with a hefty price tag."
"I'll manage." he said slowly getting up from the table. "This visit has been...productive."
"Three taps to the brown brick." said the Goblin, as he took a sip of his drink, his hand resting on the bag containing the basilisk fangs. "That's how you get in."
Tom nodded as he grabbed his suitcase and made his way towards the door, the bar noticeably dark and empty, he suddenly realized that heand Gnarlak had been the only patrons left in the bar. As he reached for the handle the goblin spoke one last time in a loud and raspy voice.
"You're pretty young and you seem to be about the right age. You went to Hogwarts right?"
Tom nodded as he kept his eyes focused on the door before him.
"I remember years back reading about that girl who got killed in the school. Did they ever figure out what killed her? We don't get much international news on this side of the pond. From what I hear, it's like she saw somethin' that scared the life right outta her."
"It's been a long time." said Tom, a cold shiver radiated down his spine. "I believe they did."
"How bout' that?" the goblin chuckled as he stroked his hand along the outline of the woolen sack.
He paused and left the bar, slowly closing the door behind him. As he disregarded the old goblins last words, he looked down at the paper and smiled. So far everything was going according to plan.
I absolutely had a blast writing this chapter, and especially the ending where Gnarlak seemingly called Tom out for the basilisk fangs. (I'd like to think that someone involved in the wizarding black market would at least have an extensive knowledge of rare beasts and creatures.)
Please review and tell me what you think so far, trying my hardest to write new chapters and content, this story is probably going to turn out way longer than i had anticipated. Thanks for reading this far, stay tuned for the next chapter! Please add it to your favorites, review & follow to stay tuned!
***Because I feel my writing has evolved in the past year, I've been going through old chapters and re-writing them slowly to make the story flow a bit smoother.