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 from J.K Rowling's world except for my o/c's and my own story line itself.

Lyra let out an exasperated sigh, making her way back onto the street from the shop, hearing the door lock behind her as she watched the sun start to set in the sky. She looked down towards the golden box in her hands and slowly opened her purse to slip it inside.

"I'm glad all that's over. That turned into more of an ordeal than I had thought it would be, but at least my inkling was correct."

She placed her hand into her pocket and ran her fingers alongside her original wand, grasping it tightly as she made her way down the street. It still didn't feel right to discard it or simply retire it, it had proven useful to her for many years and although her new wand suited her considerably more than her original ever had, she still felt a strange loyalty towards it.

"Perhaps in time…" She thought as she wandered aimlessly through the streets of Rue du Merveilles. The day had been daunting and her mind drifted off endlessly as she walked, reminiscing upon many subjects she wished it would not.

As she walked, lost in her thoughts, a delicious smell caught her attention from a small stand up ahead and she felt her stomach rumble in response.

"I can't remember the last time I ate something…I should if I want to keep my strength up."

Walking up to the small cart, she smiled slightly at the short, stout wizard that stood behind it and picked out a few items from the assortment that he sold, handing him a few dragots.

"I suppose it's about time I headed back to check on Tom...I want to act quickly on this lead before she decides to vacate that spot as well."

Carrying the two bags of food carefully, she pulled out her wand and stepped down a side alley, disapparating into thin air.

Tom narrowed his eyes in concentration as he continued to practice a spell silently in his head, focused on the glass of water before him and watched as it started to tremble and shake. He repeated the spell once more verbally, waving his hand in a light fluid motion.

"Confringo!"

The cup shattered immediately, shards of glass lay on the floor in pools of water as he slowly twitched his fingers towards the debri, muttering quietly.

"Speculus Reparo!"

He watched as the glass shards slowly lifted themselves off the floor and floated towards each other, the cup mending itself and becoming whole once more. Tom smirked at his success, but felt his smile start to fade as he heard clapping and turned around to find Lyra leaned against the doorway.

"Well done Tom."

She closed the door behind her softly as she crossed the room, his eyes stalking her every movement as she placed one bag down onto the table and walked towards him, holding the other bag out and motioned for him to take it.

"I figured you'd be hungry so I brought you dinner. I noticed all the other meals I sent for you are still...untouched." she glanced at the table, the bags of food piled atop each other in a large heap.

"I wasn't hungry." He said softly as he reluctantly opened the bag to peer inside, wrinkling his nose at the strange scents that accosted him.

She shrugged as she reached into the bag and pulled out a morsel of food, placing it into her mouth. "It's muffaletta...very delicious actually. You should try it."

Tom remained silent as he sat down on the bed and placed the bag beside him, continuing to stare at her emotionlessly.

Lyra looked at him as she placed another bite in her mouth and put the bag back on the table, tapping her fingers impatiently on the desk. "You stayed in your room."

"You told me I should if we were to continue on." He said disdainfully, narrowing his eyes.

"I did."

"You didn't believe I would."

"I believed that you would make the decision that best suited you." She said softly as she turned her attention to the open window, watching the moon ascend into the night sky.

Tom flexed his jaw as he thought quietly to himself. "The decision that would best suit me involves a situation that no longer requires you, but of course that isn't possible. I didn't have a choice."

He watched her carefully, thinking of a response. "Self vindication is useless to me, if I were to tell her something she'd want to hear, it might prove more beneficial."

"I believe I owe you an apology for my foolishness. I'm S-"

"There's no need to apologize." She interrupted, shaking her head gently. "I'd rather move past it."

She sat up quickly and grabbed her bag. "But-I will need us to be on the same page moving forward. Today I finally struck gold and I was able to locate someone who could help us both."

"And who might that be?"

Lyra smiled wryly at him as she walked over towards the door. "Tomorrow all will be revealed. For now, eat and rest up. You're going to need your strength."

"I've rested enough." Tom said softly as he stood up from the bed.

Lyra sighed as she crossed her arms. "Fine. I suppose I could tell you now, being that you've proven to me I can somewhat trust you."

"Somewhat?"

She let out a soft laugh as she placed her bags down once more on the table and placed a hand on her hip. "Yes, somewhat. You can hardly expect me to fully trust you, when I know nothing about you."

"I did everything you asked." He said, narrowing his eyes.

"Yes, yes. But that's not how trust works Tom. This only proved that trust is a possibility, nothing more."

"I saved your life, twice if I recall. I would think that on its own should merit at least a small amount of trust." He said silkily.

"As I recall you saved my life once-" She said as she rolled her eyes. "...and I wouldn't have needed it at all if you had just listened to me and not taken nightly strolls through wendigo infested woods. You did provide me with a bit more time and self control with your generous donation to my potion, although I do remember it coming with an underlying agreement." She tapped her chin playfully.

"Everything seemed to work out well for you in the end."

"Coincidentally, it has...but I also saved your life the other night, so if I were to tally the score right now, I'd say we're pretty even."

"So then how can I prove to you that you can trust me?"

He stared at her emotionlessly, his dark eyes watching her carefully as his insides roiled. "These cat and mouse games are infuriating. She's toying with me."

"I barely know you enough to decide on how I feel. You know a great deal more about me than I do about you and as I said earlier this week, that bothers me."

"I already told you-"

"-That you were raised in an orphanage, yes." She said, her eyes unreadable. "But compared to what you know about me, that seems almost trivial."

He frowned as she raised an eyebrow at him, then looked away as she dug through her purse, placing the tip of her wand inside and summoning a bottle of wine as well as two glasses. She poured them carefully and held one out to him as he stared at the glass.

"Forgive me if I don't feel like drinking." He said bitterly, the bile in his throat rising as he remembered what had happened the last time he drank.

She shrugged and placed his glass down beside her.

"Perhaps this is the perfect opportunity to let me take a glimpse into the man standing before me, so I can finally have a grasp on who I've agreed to let accompany me on my increasingly frustrating journey."

"I hardly see how anything about my life could be of interest to you." He said as he crossed his arms. "-And if you're looking for secrets, I'm afraid I don't hold a candle to anything as dark as you've been hiding."

Lyra slowly sat down in the small wooden chair as she crossed her legs and raised the glass to her lips. "I hardly doubt that, but I suppose not everyone can be as blessed as I am. In time we shall see."

Tom, amused by her wit, let out a small laugh as he walked closer towards her and stared out the window, raising his arm against its frame.

"You are certainly relentless. I almost find myself willing to oblige out of sheer amusement."

"I consider persistence to be one of my greater qualities." She said softly as she sipped on her wine. "But perhaps if I start with an irrelevant question, it might not be so difficult for you."

He looked towards her and waved his hand for her to continue. "If this is what it takes to make her feel complacent, then I should let her get on with it and we can move past this annoying curiosity of hers."

"You are legilimens are you not?"

Her question caught him off guard and he found himself looking at her sharply, his curiosity piqued. "What makes you believe that?"

"The first night we met. I felt you try to penetrate my mind."

Tom narrowed his eyes for a moment before he smiled and spoke softly. "Unsuccessfully. But I thought I had been rather gentle."

"Gentle?" She laughed incredulously. "It felt like a snallygaster was digging around in my skull. I had a headache for at least a day afterwards."

Her tone suddenly became serious. "Never do that again. I don't take well to attempted violations of my privacy."

"My apologies. My intent was never to cause...pain." He emphasized the last word softly as he restrained himself from smiling. Truthfully, he had not cared whether or not his actions had caused her pain and the idea of her discomfort tugged at the corners of his mouth. He looked at her once more and frowned "Sometimes I cannot help myself...But I must say I've never encountered someone as exceptionally gifted at occlumency as you. Most find the practice to be unnecessary."

Lyra smiled as she looked down at her wine. "I find most people to be ignorant dolts. I believe if you have a strong mind, you should defend it just as equally."

"We agree on something at least." He thought as a moment of silence passed between them, looking out towards the smattering of stars that loomed in the sky.

She stood up from the chair and walked over to him, standing quietly at his side as she followed his gaze out the window. "I must admit though, I'm quite jealous of your talent. No matter how hard I have tried over the years...legilimency was always somewhat unattainable for me. How did you manage it?"

He mulled over the question in his head, deciding that his response would cause him no threat.

"I have to confess I've never had to try. The ability manifested itself in me from quite a young age."

"Remarkable...how young?...Fifteen?...Sixteen?-"

"Nine." He said abruptly.

"That's extraordinary Tom! Nine years old...How I envy-"

"I thought I had gone mad." He said softly. "I woke up one day to hear everyone else's voice in my head. I had no control over it...I used to sit in my room with my hands over my ears, screaming for them to stop, to leave me alone. I didn't understand any of it. Of course, no one could help me, instead I became the focus of ridicule."

"I-I'm sorry." Lyra said as she cleared her throat, uncomfortably. "That was insensitive of me to say. I could only imagine how terrifying that could be to a child."

Tom stared blankly out the window as he continued. "I eventually did learn how to control it, on my own...and when I did, no one dared to mock me ever again...I made sure of that."

Lyra let out a small laugh and sipped her wine, replying sarcastically "What did you do? Threaten to tell others what made them wet their beds at night?"

Tom turned towards her, his dark eyes raking over her face, as he felt suddenly compelled to divulge to her what he had never expressed to another soul.

"The orphanage would occasionally take us to the seaside on holiday and after waiting a length of time, I decided that this was the exact moment to enact my revenge. I convinced two of the children I despised most to follow me down the cliff into a nearby cave, it wasn't difficult, I only had to prey on their cowardice to goad them into chasing me. I waited until we were far enough inside, where no one could hear their screams, to unleash everything they deserved upon them, to make them suffer. It was so easy to break their minds, to terrify them beyond their wildest dreams and once I was finished, they never spoke a word again. Not to me, not to anyone."

Lyra remained silent as he finished, watching as his eyes bore into hers waiting for a reply. She placed her glass down on the table, digesting the pitiful tale as she smiled reassuringly. "Seems like they got what they deserved."

His eyes softened at her response and he felt a small pang of delight rise in his chest at her reaction. She let out a small sigh as she spoke once more, her fingers trailing the rim of her glass.

"Madame Celestin. That is who we are going to seek out tomorrow."

Her sudden change of heart disarmed him. "And you're sure she will be able to help us both?"

"Hopefully. I'm afraid our chances come down to luck and her mood. When we go we'll need to present her with a gift. If she likes it, then hopefully she will entertain our requests."

"A gift?" Tom said, puzzled at the statement.

"Gris-gris." Lyra said matter-of-factly, pacing about the room. "A small bag filled with offerings, herbs, stones, amulets, rare ingredients…at least three items must be inside." She waved her hand in frustration.

"Why is a gift necessary?" He said, unable to wrap his mind around the concept.

"It is the tradition here. New Orleans magic is not like other magical practices."

"Do you have anything of value that might persuade her?" He asked as he came up behind her, placing a hand on her shoulder gently.

Lyra tried to ignore the flutter in her chest as she bit her lip. "I'm unsure of what to choose. If the gift is not valuable enough, we will be refused. If the gift is overtly contraband in nature it might be too straightforward about our intentions and will do us no favors either."

"That is a predicament." He said as he ran his hands through his hair, thinking carefully. "I did not come all this way to be rejected…"

"I've already got two of the items somewhat figured out." She said as she placed her hand on her chin, rubbing her lip softly with her thumb. "Graveyard dirt from a native american burial ground. Not exactly rare, but rare enough to be uncommon around here."

"And the other?" Tom said as he looked towards her sharply, trying to imagine why she kept graveyard dirt in her stores.

"Locks of hair from a hide-behind." Lyra said, the displeasure evident in her voice. "Not contraband, but extremely difficult to come across. They're hard to subdue, let alone kill. I had hoped to save them for the future but I suppose I don't have a choice but to part with them."

Tom nodded as he watched her resume her pacing. A reluctant thought entered his mind as he watched her pull the emerald potion from her pocket and take a small swig, before capping it up and placing it back into her dress.

"Perhaps if I took another stone from the locket...as much as it aggravates me to part with anything of such importance, I cannot walk away from this country empty handed. If this works it will all be worth it."

"I will take care of the last gift."

Lyra looked up at him sharply. "How?"

He looked away from her as he half-lied. "The potion ingredient I gave you in Salem...I-have a small amount left. I had originally intended to keep it for myself, but due to the circumstances, it might be put to better use on this."

She bit her lip again as she sighed. "You don't have to do this. We can find something else. I don't know whatever that was that you gave me, but it's proven to be extremely useful, the antidote I brewed you to counteract the poison was made with that same ingredient."

"How?" Tom looked towards her, fighting the urge to rip the locket from his neck to inspect whether she had meddled with it or not. The anger within him stirred as he tried to figure out if she had found out his secret.

She mumbled, lost in her thoughts as she ignored his reaction. "There was a small amount left in the vial you gave me, rather than stumble around with probabilities I just used what I knew would work."

The rage inside him evaporated quickly, replaced with a strange perplexion. "She knew that ingredient is the only thing that prevents her from becoming a monster. Why would she foolishly use it on me instead of saving it for herself…"

He pushed his confusion to the back of his mind and spoke firmly, redirecting the conversation.

"There's no other choice. I refuse to be denied access to the knowledge I desire over something as trivial as this."

She nodded hesitantly "If you're sure…"

"It's settled."

"Well then, with all that figured out, I suppose it's time for us both to rest before we set out tomorrow"

He nodded stiffly.

"I'll see you in the morning, Tom."

Walking over towards the table, she grabbed her purse and paused as she passed him, turning around to place her hand softly on his shoulder.

"We will get what we both want. One way or another."

The familiar sensation he had denied for so long bloomed in his chest once more as she gave him a half-hearted smile and walked away, opening the door silently and closing it behind her as she took her leave.

Chapter 30! I had originally intended for this chapter to involve a little more , but once I started writing I couldn't stop and for continuity purposes I had to end it somewhere. I didn't bother to write what Lyra experienced in the wand shop because inevitably we all know how that goes. Anyway, this is my take on what Tom would have done to little Amy Benson and Dennis Bishop. He was an extremely talented legilimens and it manifested naturally in him just like his ability to speak with snakes. We always wondered what made him so odd, why children didn't like him and why he thought Dumbledore was coming to take him to the loony bin. If someone was a natural legilimens they would be able to pick up on others' thoughts easily (like Queenie!) and as a child who can't control it I would imagine that would be hellishly frightening and cause him to lash out angrily and strangely as well. We know how cruel Voldemort/Tom Riddle really was and we are shown even as a child he still dished out his own version of justice to those that had wronged him. That being said I had to address him trying to invade her mind in an earlier chapter, she did notice and sat on it for a while until it was appropriate to bring it up.

Anyways thank you all for the new followers and favorites this week! Hopefully the next chapter will be up soon and as usual for all my new readers, please follow, favorite and review, it brings me such joy to see others enjoying this as much as I have! xx