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.
Tom groaned as a sharp pain awoke him from his unconscious state, his head pounding with each dull throb. He could feel the cold sweat that lay across his forehead as a bead of condensation slowly trickled down his forehead, to his cheek and finally rolled off his chin. He tried to open his eyes, his lids still heavy and caked with dust from his forced slumber. Lifting his head up gently, he attempted to make out his surroundings and growled in frustration when he realized his eyesight was still hazy and blurred. Through his muddied peripheral, he could tell he was no longer in the bar, but somewhere else, dark and unfamiliar.
"Where am I?" he thought as he tried to move his arms towards his face, growing irritated with the salty perspiration that kept running down his forehead into his eyes. He frowned when he realized his arms were not responding and he was unable to move. Another wave of pain erupted from his skull followed by a short series of sharp stinging pulses that overtook him as he tried to focus on what little he could make out in his near vicinity. The room was circular and appeared to be dimly lit, with candles afire across every part of the dark chamber, if it had walls, he could not make them out in the blackness. Large column-like arcs encompassed the entire perimeter, made of old dark stone and draped in dark red fabric that hung like canopies from the ceiling. If not for the pillars of candles carefully placed upon the ground he would have not been able to make out the intricate tapestries mapped out on the floor before him, leading to an elaborate golden chair, empty and unattended.
"The wine." He thought angrily as he tried to move once more, breathing heavily as his pursuits proved fruitless. "It was poisoned. I should have known. How could I have been so foolish?" The empty bar, the strange bartender, he should have been more aware of his situation instead of acting so brazen and arrogant.
"You can keep trying to move, but you'll just continue to exhaust yourself." A deep smooth voice spoke to him.
Tom raised his head up and tried to look around the room, anxious to see where the voice had come from and narrowed his eyes as a pale blurry figure made its way out from the black depths beyond one of the archways. He stepped into the light and stood behind the golden chair, a long pale hand running across its elaborate back as he sauntered closer into view.
"Where am I?" Tom demanded, his voice full of venom. He winced as the strange pain spread through his body like wildfire.
The figure walked around the chair, his footsteps inaudible as he sat down softly, crossing his legs. Tom stared at him through pained eyes and from the voice could tell that this man was not the same one who had poisoned him earlier, but someone different. His clothes, although blurry and untextured appeared more lavish, his hair seemingly shorter and neat, but his pallid complexion and golden eyes were similar to the first, striking and salient.
"Not that you will need the information after your purpose has been served, but you are in my home, Maison De Germain." The man spoke in clear english, waving his hand in the air as he motioned to his surroundings, but his thick accent and pronunciations were familiar to Tom as he looked up sharply.
"You're french."
The man laughed and snapped his fingers, Tom watched as another pale figure stepped forward from the darkness to his left and bowed to the man, handing him a goblet of something before stepping back into the darkness.
"How many are in the room with us?" He thought anxiously as he tried to peer into every dark corner.
"I was french in a past life, many moons ago." The man said as he smiled, sipping on his glass. "But now, I consider myself to be quite - how do you say- patriotique? I have grown quite fond of my life here in America. But your accent has caught my attention too, and I wonder if we have left our countries behind for the same reason, my young English friend."
Tom struggled to keep his head up, his neck strained from his body's lack of response. "My reasons for being here are not your business. Who are you and why am I here?"
The man stared at Tom carefully before he continued. "I have many names. None of which you have likely heard or will hear again." He smiled as the candlelight flickered off his strangely white teeth, stroking the rim of his glass with a long pale finger. "But to most I am known as Germain."
"And why have you brought me here." Tom hissed through his clenched teeth, trying hard to ignore the continuous stabs of pain that rolled through his head.
"For a man who is in no position to make demands, you're certainly cavalier. You are here because you chose to be here." The man said silkily as he sipped from his glass, his golden eyes staring hungrily at Tom.
"I did not choose to be here-"
"Ah, but you did." Germain said as he snapped his fingers, handing off his glass to another colorless figure that stepped out from the shadows only to step back into the darkness once more. "I did not coerce you into my home, you came inside of your own volition."
"I did not choose this." Tom said as he stared at the man venomously.
"...Like many others who have entered these walls." Germain said as he got up from his chair slowly. "I do not search out anyone from beyond my doors, but I cannot refuse my family fresh blood when it so willingly walks into our home."
Tom felt his mouth dry up as the man approached, his mind suddenly racing. "Everything makes sense now..the lack of sun in the street...the figures in cloaks...the bartender with his grey skin and his eyes like liquid gold-"
Germain converged on him with a speed that was both graceful and predatory and put his pale hand on his shoulder, his long nails uncomfortably digging into Tom's flesh through his shirt. He flashed a broad smile towards him, the light gleaming off his teeth, which had begun to grow long and pointed.
"-and the teeth." Tom thought as he made out the sharp fangs resting inside the man's mouth.
"How dare you keep me here bound and drugged, I will not fall victim to some lowly vampires' scheme to satiate his repulsive appetite. You'll live to regret this." He said through his clenched teeth as he tried to look towards his hands, searching desperately for his wand. His stomach burned angrily as he realized that neither his wand nor his suitcase were still in his position.
The vampire Germain chuckled softly as he pulled Tom's wand from his pocket, running his ashen hands over its stem. "You are no threat to me without this piece of wood. The words on your tongue will burn and fall like ash to the ground without this-" He waved the wand in front of Tom mockingly. "-Although I must say I am tempted to give it to you, I'm curious to see if you could even perform magic properly in your current state, I doubt it, but it would at least provide me with some amusement."
Tom bowed his head slightly, knowing the vampire had spoken the truth. He tried for a moment to practice what Lyra had taught him on the train, mustering all the strength he could feel in his body as he tried to perform a wandless spell, but it was no use. His body was too weak and debilitated from the poison to even cast properly.
Germain leaned over and spoke softly into his ear, Tom turned his head away in disgust at the metallic smell of blood on his breath. "I do appreciate your résoudre of course. But it is all in vain you must know, for why would a spider ever let a fly as ambrosial as you out of its web?"
Lyra walked towards the fountain hastily cursing under her breath. The task of finding rooms for them had proven to be more difficult than she had thought, she had forgotten that they had arrived on the cusp of St. John's Eve and during this time of year many flocked there to revel in the various parties and events that would be held across the city in less than a week.
"That was absolutely absurd, I'm running so late." She thought as she made her way through the crowds and towards the fountain, irritated that the undertaking had made her more than twenty minutes late. She tried to shake her annoyance as she approached the large structure, craning her neck trying to see if she could spot Tom's dark figure against the crowd. She frowned when she arrived at where they had last spoken, surprised at his absence.
"Strange…" She thought as she walked around the fountain peering into the sea of people, her eyes raking over the iron benches placed around the monument and into the nearby storefronts. "He's not here…It doesn't seem to fit his personality to be late."
Lyra sighed as she leaned against the fountain, her eyes focused on the streets before her. "But it IS like him to resent being told what to do…" She smoothed the wrinkles of her dress out as she placed her purse next to her. "He's probably trying to test my patience."
Crossing her arms in front of her she watched as people passed in every direction, feeling her heart drop anxiously everytime a man walked past that resembled him. She felt her anger rise as the crowds started to dwindle, signaling how long she had been waiting for him to arrive and grabbed her purse furiously. "So be it then. I'm done waiting for him, I'll go off on my own, I can't spend all day wasting precious time waiting for him to show up, I don't have that luxury."
Walking around the fountain angrily, she cursed him under her breath and turned to walk down the street opposite her, when an idea slowly crept into her mind. She bit her lip and stared down the decrepit street to her right, narrowing her eyes at the crumbling sign that read "Rue du Rouge".
"No. I specifically told him to avoid that street. There's no way he would disregard my warnings again after the wendigo almost killed us both in Salem." Lyra shook her head dismissively and continued to walk past it, picking up her pace. She had gone almost a block down the road until she realized her pace had paused once more, a tugging feeling rising in her gut.
"You know how arrogant he can be. What if he did go down Rue du Rouge?"
She turned around and walked hesitantly back up the block, her eyes focused on the gloomy and forlorn street, a nagging feeling settling its roots deep into her stomach.
"If I don't atleast explore the possibility, this feeling is going to follow me around like a dark cloud the rest of the day."
She sucked her teeth, irritated that she even cared and pulled out her wand. "Appare Vestigium."
Lyra brought the wand up to her mouth and slowly blew on it, the particles of gold dust settling into the ground and shook angrily as she saw an illusion of Tom walking into the mist before her. She felt her stomach drop as she followed the mirror image of him quickly into the fog, half-knowing where it could possibly lead her.
"Damnit. I hope he's not where I think he is. If so, I might already be too late."
She summoned her cloak from her purse and threw it around her quickly, pulling the hood far over her head to conceal herself as she glanced at the ramshackle storefronts, feeling all the warmth slip from her face as the sun disappeared. Walking past a few hooded figures who turned towards her suspiciously, she felt her heart pound steadily in her chest as she continued to follow the golden dust down the street, cursing him once more under her breath. She followed the apparition until it led her to a dark and secluded bar at the end of the street, Tom's golden shadow walking through the door and disappearing.
"Of all the times I wished I was wrong…" She muttered, reaching into her purse quickly and pulling out a small flask filled with a creamy milk-like liquid. Popping the cork off and holding her nose, she drank it quickly and gagged, the taste of garlic burning her esophagus as it trickled down her throat.
"Here goes nothing..." Lyra thought as she walked towards the heavy door and pushed it open, her wand held steadily before her.
"If you release me, I could give you whatever you desire." Tom said sedately as he tried to maintain his composure, despite his heart beating wildly in his chest.
The vampire laughed as he walked around him and paced slowly back to his chair, gently sitting down. "You cannot offer me anything that I do not already possess and if I let you go, you'll try to kill me, of that I am sure."
Tom growled as he tried to move his body once more, exerting what little strength he had left.
"No. Your fate has been decided and although I have enjoyed our little talk, it is time for all of this to come to an end." Germain said softly, lazily raising his hand in the air as he motioned towards him. "Come my children, it is time for you to feast."
He watched in anguish as a multitude of pale and blurred figures emerged from the darkness, their glowing eyes staring at him hungrily under black hoods as they approached.
"What should happen to me if my body expires here?" Tom thought back to his horcruxes grimly as he watched the vampire horde. They could protect him from death, yes, but not from bodily harm, this could not happen to him, especially here, so far away from his home. He closed his eyes as he tried to think of a way out of the situation as quickly as he could, his mind racing, when he suddenly heard the door beside him blast apart, shards of wood and metal flying through the air as they landed in front of him.
He watched through blurry eyes as a female figure walked towards him, her voice calm and familiar.
"Call your followers off, Germain"
"Lyra? Could it be? But how?" He thought as he tried to follow her voice, wondering how it was that she had found him.
"Tom are you alright?" Lyra said as she made her way towards him her wand pointed at the vampires before them. She knelt down before him and watched as his head slumped down towards his chest sharply. She snapped her fingers in his face desperately as she tried to keep his focus. "Tom, wake up. Nod if you can hear me."
She watched as he weakly held his head up and nodded slowly. "Good. Can you follow my fingers?"
He groaned as he tried to make out her face, another wave of pain radiating through his skull. "No."
"Ah. Ms. Leroux...my slippery old friend." Germain said softly, his golden eyes resting calmly on her face as he flashed her a dangerous smile.
Lyra stood up as she turned to face the vampire. "What did you do to him?"
Germain laughed at her as she looked at him angrily. "We did nothing more than serve him a drink. You know the rules set in place that allow us to feast on those who enter our domain willingly."
"By a drink you mean poison. And I know the rules." She raised her wand calmly. "But you know as well as I do that it is illegal for you to drink wizards blood."
The vampire shrugged as he stood up from his chair and motioned for the others to take their place back towards the shadows. "Sometimes we must do what is necessary in order to sustain ourselves."
"MACUSA would be quite interested to hear that you no longer abide by their laws." She said as she stood in front of Tom, defensively. "If I remember correctly, the only reason you are allowed sanctuary here without persecution, is because you promised them you would not turn your appetites towards us."
"And I kept my promise-more or less." He smiled as he walked towards her. "Politics aside, what am I to do when my family is hungry and a meal as tempting as this walks in through our doors." Germain said as he eyed them both, pacing back and forth. "It is not my fault your friend was careless."
Lyra stared at the vampire and narrowed her eyes. "I'm not leaving without him."
Germain tilted his head back and laughed as he stared at her. "How I've missed that steel resolve of yours. What will you give me if I let him go?"
"This." She let out a frustrated growl as she summoned a large bottle sealed in wax from her purse and held it guardedly in her hand.
"What is that?" He asked humorously. "I do not drink wine, you know this."
She heard the vampires looming around them in the darkness laugh as he mocked her and scowled. "It is not wine. It is wizards blood-my blood. Perfectly preserved and still warm. Just as fresh as what you would have taken from him." She nodded in Tom's direction. "Probably more than what you would have originally gotten...I know that once a person succumbs to death, their blood is useless to you."
The vampire eyed her suspiciously as she rolled her eyes and tossed it to him. "If you don't believe me, see for yourself."
He caught the bottle carefully as he felt the warmth of its contents radiate through the wax and into his cold fingers.
"You can call me many things Germain but I have never once lied to you, I've helped you more times than I can count." She said softly.
He stared at her carefully as he sauntered back over to his seat. "This I know to be true, but what if I refuse your offer?"
Lyra narrowed her eyes as she muttered an incantation under her breath and watched as her wand filled the entire room with an intense bright light. Germain hissed as he covered his face, his skin smoking as he retreated into the darkness.
Tom looked away as the light blinded him, confused as to what was happening. "She knows this monster?"
"Put it away! Put it away!" The vampire screamed from the shadows as she smiled and shook her wand to end the spell, listening to the hisses that threatened them from every direction.
"If you refuse my offer, I will blow a hole into your home large enough for the entire sun to shine in and I will sit here and watch as your whole legacy turns to ash."
Germain looked at her with disdain. "You wouldn't dare."
"You know that I would. And I'm sure MACUSA wouldn't mourn your passing."
He sat before her, his eyes ablaze with anger, glaring at her wand. "You leave me no choice but to accept your offer. Take this man and leave. But you must promise me that if I allow him to leave this place alive, he must not seek retribution."
She nodded in agreement as she smirked. "You have my word Jacques de St. Germain. No harm shall befall you or your family after this day from my hand or his." The vampire let out a half laugh as he raised his eyebrows skeptically. "Your words are always so binary. Tell me what it is you've already done to cause me harm."
"I'll need his wand back first." Lyra said as she held her hand outstretched hand towards him, watching as he held the small piece of wood in the palm of his hand. She summoned it quickly and caught it as she closed her fingers around it, tucking it safely into her cloak. She looked around and spoke once more "My friend had a suitcase as well. Where is it?"
Germain rolled his eyes as he motioned for it to be brought forward as another one if his pale companions emerged from the darkness, carefully placing it at his feet. "Take it. It's just as well. We couldn't unlock it despite our combined efforts, it seems your friend has secrets he wishes to keep hidden. Now. What is it you have done?"
She summoned the small case to her hand and grabbed it carefully, trying to ignore the vampire's words, as she bent down towards Tom, placing one of his arms around her neck, lifting him up off the chair he had been slumped in. He winced in pain as he felt her arms supporting his body, his vision becoming increasingly blurred as he felt his body grow weaker.
"I need to get him somewhere safe so I can brew a draught to reverse all of this." She thought as she nodded her head in the undead creatures direction. "I'm sorry to tell you that you'll have to find someone else to run your tavern, I'm afraid the last barkeep you had wasn't quite as capable as you thought."
Germain growled with rage as he stood up and Lyra watched as the rest of the vampires slowly edged out from the darkness, walking and crawling towards them from every direction of the chamber. She raised her wand quickly and held onto Tom as she started to disapparate with him, leaving the room with a loud "CRACK!"
Well this one was a lot of fun to write, Vampires are an important myth in the culture of New Orleans culture and it's hard to go anywhere in the French Quarter without running into an advertisement for a Vampire Tour or something of the sort. I think if America had vampires, their largest number would definitely be in New Orleans. The lead vampire Germain is actually based on a true character in history, Jacques de St. Germain who has quite a cloud of mystery surrounding him, definitely a fascinating read if you want to look it up and read about it!
Another cliffhanger in this chapter! Hope you all enjoyed it as much as I did writing it, next chapter soon to come! Please review, follow or favorite if you enjoyed! Stay safe everyone!