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.
The warmth of the Texas sun bore down upon their backs as they made their way into a nearly empty station outside the town of Sweetwater, the small wooden platform where the train would arrive provided no shelter from the heat of the day. Tom wiped the sweat that beat down upon his brow and silently cursed under his breath.
"The further into this country I travel, the hotter it gets." He shifted his briefcase into his other hand as Lyra made her way back over towards him from the ticket office. "At least the humidity is not as overwhelming as New Orleans."
He glanced around him at the few people that waited for the train and wrinkled his nose in disgust. "Muggles. They're all I've seen since we've arrived in Sweetwater. No trace or whisper of magic in this entire place."
Lyra handed him a ticket as she approached him, pulling at the fabric of her skin tight dress, her voice hushed in a whisper. "I know you're uncomfortable around No-Maj's, but the further west we go, the scarcer people like us become. From here on in we'll need to take their transportation until we reach the desert."
"I'm not uncomfortable." He said plainly, annoyed at their circumstances.
She glanced at his face and let out a chuckle at his displeasure. "Your face says otherwise." Tom gave her a sour look, his jaw clenched in irritation.
"No one forced you to come, you know."
He let out a soft laugh, his features softening and shook his head. "This is true...I guess I have no one to blame but myself and my wild curiosity."
"And what per say would you be curious about?"
"Nothing I would ever admit to you." He thought to himself as he lifted his brow and smiled innocently. "I've never been to any sort of desert, but I've heard many things about the American west...though so far it's not quite what I would have expected...I'd be lying if I said I wasn't curious to see it for myself."
"Oh." She replied softly, her face losing its playful expression and she stared straight ahead into the distance, a strange dull pain beating at her brow. "I see…""
Tom watched her face fall and grew confused at her reaction. "Was she expecting for me to say something else?"
"Lyra..." He paused and hesitated before parting his lips to speak.
She turned towards him hesitantly and opened her mouth to speak when a dull pain behind her eyes erupted and tore through her skull, the ground feeling as if it might give way beneath her. Being all too familiar with the sudden sensation, she felt her heart start to beat heavily in her chest, the deep thumps echoing in her head. Lyra watched his lips move slowly and a loud ringing filled her ears, the noise unbearable. Her stomach filled with dread before the world returned to normal and a loud horn blew as the train quickly approached the platform.
She turned away from him quickly and placed a hand upon her stomach, trying to steady herself. "Not here…not now."
"...There's something I need to ask you..."
Trying to control her ragged breaths and the panic that surged through her she ignored his question and instead motioned for him to follow her, making her way quickly towards the train. "Hurry Tom! This train doesn't have cabins and I want to see if we can find a car that is empty."
"How can this be happening? I took this potion this morning…it's never failed me before."
He watched as she quickly walked away from him and stared at the back of her head in irritation as he followed, the few passengers that were on the platform already boarding the train before them. "Judging by the amount of people I've seen so far, I hardly doubt any car would be full."
They had settled in the last car at the far end of the train, each one they had walked through emptier than the next and he wondered why she had insisted upon the furthest, when it seemed like there were less than twenty souls aboard the entire convoy. Closing the car door quickly behind them, Lyra aimed her wand towards it, slowly murmuring a few protective enchantments under her breath.
"Just in case…"
"There. Now no one will enter this car or bother us at all."
"...and I won't be able to harm anyone if things go south."
Tom sat down in a nearby seat and leaned against the back of the chair, his eyes focused intently on her. "Clever...how long before we arrive?"
"Seven hours...give or take."
She picked a distant seat and sat down, rummaging through her purse before pulling out the worn leather book and a piece of parchment, placing it neatly next to her while she fetched her quill and ink.
Tom felt himself flush in annoyance at her choice of seat and tapped his fingers against his knee impatiently, irritated that she had chosen to seclude herself from him. If she remembered the question he posed to ask her before the train arrived she was clearly avoiding it.
"You would travel this far often?"
Waiting a few minutes before answering, she responded quietly, her attention still immersed within the book. "Often enough. Mostly for school...after I graduated Ilvermorny, I'm afraid most of my visitations to the west were strictly work related. MACUSA provided it's own transportation."
"I imagine your commute would have been lengthy..." He said flatly, thinking back to the familiar ride from platform nine and three quarters to Hogwarts, a mere drop in the bucket compared to her own commute for school.
"Fifty four hours until we were able to board our own train to school in Massachusetts...as you've seen. Being minors we could not apparate and living so far away we relied strictly on no-maj transportation."
"We?"
She hesitated before she spoke, the sound of her quill against the parchment stopped for a moment before she resumed. "Cassian and I."
He felt a tinge of annoyance creep through him, irritated with the idle banter he'd started. He wished to address the question that he had started to ask on the platform before the train had inconveniently interrupted them. "She's either forgotten, which is highly unlikely or she's avoiding the question. I'm going to assume it's the latter…It seems as if she's holding me at a distance intentionally." The thought confused him. "I've done nothing but show her kindness despite my better judgement in order to gain her trust...why is she acting so withdrawn?"
"So you were close then as children?"
"Hardly."
She put her quill down and turned towards him, letting out a sigh. "Pointless conversation is not something I've known you to practice. What is it you want to ask me Tom? "
"She was avoiding it purposely…I knew it."
He stood up and walked over towards her, sitting slowly in the seat across from her. Tom watched as her body tensed up, crossing her legs as she leaned away from him.
"Are you not curious at all?"
"Curious about what?"
"Lyra…" He pulled back his sleeve to expose his dark mark and reached for her bare arm, "This...I wish to know the extent of its power, you bear the symbol yourself...are you not interested in it at all?"
She felt her heart flutter at his touch and steeled herself from the emotion, pulling her arm gently out of his hand. Her voice trailed off as she looked down towards the floor, her fingers anxiously picking at the hem of her dress. "Tom…"
"I need to know."
Lyra sighed and looked out the train window, watching the outside world pass them by. "You're leaving soon. I-" She took a deep breath and continued. "It'll hardly matter in a few days-"
"She's upset about my departure...that's why she's acting strange."
"-besides, I need to focus on this." She motioned towards the book and the notes he had worked on all night. "Now more than ever."
He considered his words carefully as he leaned back in the cushioned seat, pursing his lips. "It's true that I'm leaving, but before I go...I need to understand how it works."
"It's pointless."
"I could make the same argument for the little trip we're taking currently."
She stared at him, lost for words and shook her head angrily. "This is completely different, you can't even compare the two."
He brushed a patch of dried dirt off his pants and spoke callously. "You're right. At least I know the magic that was necessary to achieve this was done properly, it was a success...You, on the other hand, are currently on a wild goose chase with no real answers in sight."
The color rose in Lyra's face, her hands trembling in anger. "When we get to New Mexico, I want you to leave."
"I don't think you don't mean that." Tom said softly.
"I do." She hissed and pointed her finger towards him. "You...everything you've done, everything you've gotten us into - it's been a distraction and as you so delicately pointed out last night, I don't have much time left.
"I'm not leaving."
Lyra stood up in annoyance and walked away from where they were seated, pacing up and down the car.
"This isn't a game for me Tom. Once that potion runs out, I will have nothing that prevents me from turning into that-that thing! I couldn't control it before and I certainly won't be able to now…"
"Now?"
She hesitated and rubbed her head. "It's getting worse. Even with the potion...it's returned."
"What do you mean?" He said suddenly, his eyes narrowing.
"The change hasn't happened since I started to take the potion, but today I started to feel it again, clawing at my insides to get out, tearing through my head." She bit her lip as she continued quietly. "I don't know how much longer I have. I need answers and I need them quickly so I can fix it before - -"
"Why did you say nothing?"
"Does it matter?" She let out a small laugh. "This is my problem, not yours. You'll be gone soon...I wasn't going to trouble you with anymore of this..." Her fingers fidgeted nervously as they started to play with the old tarnished bracelet around her wrist, entwining themselves around its delicate chain. The light from the car danced across the smooth crystal stones embedded into its face, glimmering as they caught his eye.
He hastily stood up and walked over towards her, his hand brushing up against the silver bracelet before he coaxed her hand from it's chain, stroking it gently with his thumb. " When I leave...I want you to accompany me."
"What?" A look of surprise raced across her face and she looked past him, unsure of what to say. "I-"
"Come with me. If you don't find answers, what do you plan to do?"
Digesting his words, she sighed and wrapped her arms around herself. "I-I can't...If nothing successful comes from this, I'll have to look elsewhere, there's bound to be some-"
"Lyra. You may never find the answers. Not here, not anywhere. But I can help you, I can help keep it at bay until we can find a solution." Tom grabbed her hand softly and intertwined his fingers with hers, feeling his heart race as he watched her cheeks flush.
She stared at him for a moment, her lips opening and closing, lost for words until she gently pulled her hand back and shook her head. "What if there is no solution?- No. I'm staying here. As much as I appreciate your offer...something happened to me here and I can't leave until I know what it is."
"Until…? Does that mean she would come if the situation were to change?" He looked at her curiously and watched as she sat back down miserably by her belongings.
"It may not make sense to you, but I can't give up just yet...I feel like this time I'm so close to the root of all of this...and I won't - - the burden is too much."
"There is no burden."
"Right now you can't see how it would affect you, but I can. You can't keep watch over me all the time...It's not your problem to fix. You should focus on yourself, just like I'm trying to do -"
"I assure you I'm quite focused. I didn't have to accompany you, I could have left-"
"-I know this and I'm having a hard time understanding why you haven't. You've done enough for me, you've gotten everything out of this country that you desired."
"Not everything…and you're making this more difficult than I thought." Tom sat there quietly, unsure of how to respond, his thoughts racing, angered by her rejection. " And you've done more than your fair share for me as well. You did not ask me, I offered-"
"I can't accept." Lyra interrupted him, watching the emotions simmer behind his eyes and spoke softly, the words sticking to her tongue. "I belong here."
Tom stared back at her, infuriated by her reluctance and clenched his jaw. "I should have known it would be more difficult than simply asking her. She's steadfast in her convictions...an aggravating quality. Perhaps cruelty will give her the push that kindness could not."
"You don't belong anywhere. What will happen to you when I leave? When the potion is gone?" He said quietly. "You said yourself it is uncontrollable. MACUSA will find out eventually, you know how this will end."
"This country is big..." She sighed. "The odds of them finding me right away would be scarce. It'll buy me more time until-"
"If you stay here, you will die...they'll kill you."
Lyra turned her head towards the window, the sound of the train racing against the tracks echoing softly beneath them. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, trying to quell the emotions she had buried deep within her.
Tom watched her stare out the window, the sun gleaming off her dark hair. "Lyra…"
"Enough."
They sat there in silence for a few minutes, the air filled with an electrifying tension. He watched her quietly for a few moments until the expression on her face had changed and instead and gave him a weak, reassuring smile, looking down at her arm gently.
"How do you suppose it works?"
"How what works?" He asked, still annoyed with her decision. He admired her talent and intelligence far more than anyone he had ever met, but her attitude towards her own life he could not tolerate. It was imbecilic and weak and was disappointed that she would accept a fate that could easily be avoided.
"This. How does it work?" She motioned to the black serpent upon her arm. "You told me you wanted to test its power…"
He ran a hand through his hair and growled. "I did...but I thought you deemed it pointless."
"Perhaps I've changed my mind."
"No doubt to change the subject." He thought bitterly. Although her refusal had been off-putting, as well as her acceptance of the inevitable death she would face, he had not changed his mind about her company. He would not leave something he desired behind, it was against his nature.
"I'll do it for you on one condition…" Lyra looked at him, her eyes full of an expression he could not understand.
"And what condition would that be?"
"That conversation we just had...let it be the first and last time it happens."
Tom stared at her face, full of misery and made his way over to her slowly, rolling up his sleeve. He was furious with his failed attempt at convincing her to follow him but not as bitter as to deny himself this opportunity. He looked into her eyes intently and sighed, pushing his dark hair from his face. "Fine."
Her face relaxed and she frowned as she looked down at her arm. "Now, tell me what to do."
He raised his wand slowly and held it above the black serpent before stopping and instead motioned towards her. "Your wand. Grab it." She quickly pulled it out from her pocket and held it firmly in her hand, waiting for his instructions.
"Press it down upon the mark and think of me...and me only. You must clear your mind of everything else, otherwise it might not work." He was unsure of how the magic operated himself, in his hubris he had stolen the gem before asking Madam Celestin how to harness its power.
"Time to improvise...if the spell works as I think it does, then this should suffice..."
She frowned and bit her lip. " Maybe you should try this first, I'm not familiar with-"
"Neither am I-" He cut her off sharply. "-but I do know that this will hurt...and I want to be the one to feel it first."
"How do you know it will hurt?"
"Dark magic always does, does it not?" Tom whispered softly.
She grimaced and nodded, knowing all too well the pain that forbidden magic had unleashed upon her body in the past. Raising her wand slowly, she pressed the tip of it delicately into the serpentine tattoo and watched as the skin around the mark raised, it's shape becoming darker. A slow burn rose throughout her arm and she suddenly felt the tips of her fingers tingle as if they had fallen asleep.
Tom looked at his forearm and saw the serpent immediately grow dark, the pain radiating through his arm slowly, rising in intensity until he trembled under its weight, the muscle and nerves in shock from the pain. A strange feeling rose throughout his body, a need, a want to be close to her and he knew at once that if there had been distance between them, he would have been able to close it immediately. It felt as if he was tethered to a rope while she held the other end, the bond between them unbreakable until he appeared at her side.
The sensation was unbearable, degrading and he felt angry that he had blighted himself in such a manner.
"While the magic itself is remarkable, this feeling for me will not do. If I'm to utilize this with others in the future, some changes will have to be made."
Lyra watched him curiously as he held his arm in agony and lifted the wand immediately from her skin when she saw his arm start to shake. She waited in silence as he regained his composure and took a deep breath before snarling at her.
"What did you feel?"
"A strange burn...no more no less...yourself?"
"More than that." He rubbed his arm tenderly and grimaced.
She frowned and nodded towards him, holding her arm in anticipation for what was to follow, urging him on. "I'm ready."
"It will hurt." He whispered, staring into her eyes as he raised his wand towards the mark and pressed it eagerly with the tip of his wand, waiting to see her reaction. Following his own instructions, he filled his mind with thoughts of her and watched as she clasped her arm her face contorted in pain. For a fleeting second he could have sworn her eyes had changed, the white of her eyes and her strange colored irises gone, replaced by pools of black obsidian. But she had blinked and her eyes appeared to be as they were before, cerulean blue and chocolate brown both staring at her arm in complete anguish.
Tom held his wand firmly on the mark, watching as she clutched her arm tightly, reveling in her pain as he wallowed in his own disappointment, his bitterness at how she had rejected his offer and his own foolish decision to bind her eternally to himself. She would feel his wrath.
"The mark she bears was not of her own choosing, but your own. You are to blame for this."
He reluctantly let his wand off the mark, knowing the small voice in his head to be correct and he heard her let out a soft gasp as the pain abated. He expected to hear a curse or angry remark from her about the extended torment but instead found himself surprised at her remark.
"Fascinating..." She said, massaging her skin. Her reaction surprised him and he looked towards her sharply as she continued. "Did you feel it?"
"Feel what?"
"I don't know how to describe it...but I felt that even if you were not here with me I would know exactly where you were...it was strange."
"It is extraordinary magic…" He replied softly, his mind still turning from the experience.
"Perhaps one day you'll find a better use for it." Her voice soured as she walked over towards her book and picked it up once more, immersing herself within it's pages. He ignored her remark and put his wand back into his pocket, sitting down across from her. "Perhaps..."
A few moments of silence passed between them until her voice interrupted, her focus still attached to her book. "It's a bit crude though..."
"Crude? How so?" Tom asked curiously, wondering if she disliked the feeling as much as he had.
"The spell is of Madam Celestin's invention, no?"
"Yes but not in theory as you've pointed out to me."
"Right, well Madam Celestin does not practice the same magic as you and I. I think that spell could have been changed slightly to suit her own tastes."
"What do you mean?" He asked sharply, leaning in towards her.
Lyra placed the book down on her lap and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "It's a protean charm...or a spell based off of one anyway.."
"A protean charm, of course. All of that would make sense-"
"It seems to me that although the spell is Latin in nature, other languages and magic types have altered it to suit their own needs."
"How would one alter the spell?" He asked, a hungry gleam in his eye.
"Knowing now what the base spell was, you take each element that gives the spell its power and you break them down, rearrange them to disarm or dilute them. There are certain parts of that ritual that are essential to its foundation, such as the protean charm itself and probably the caster's blood...that part unfortunately is essential for the connection, but the other elements such as the words, could be skewed to perform more elegantly, less painful. Other aspects such as the caster taking in another's blood for example might not be as important, or cutting someone's flesh with a dagger...that part I suspect was just attractive to Madam Celestin herself."
"How do you know all of this?"
"It was my job. In order to break a curse you need to be able to identify what would weaken it. I've spent hours upon hours studying hexes and old magic, re-calibrating their formats and tinkering around with them to see what made them so powerful."
Tom narrowed his eyes at Lyra and smiled earnestly, only a few moments ago he had once more regretted his choice to intertwine his fate with hers, but now he found himself pleased that he had gone through with the action. Her intelligence was becoming more useful to him with every day that passed.
"Breaking down a spell is no more difficult than dueling. It just takes concentration and knowledge."
"So in theory you could transform the spell into something more desirable…"
"Tom…" She said hesitantly. "This is not magic to take lightly. I did this for you because I thought it was necessary to get what I needed. But that turned out to be a lie."
"I've already apologized-"
"-I know and I forgive you. I told you I most likely would have done it anyway as reparation for everything you've helped me with. But...most people would not understand the consequences of such magic. It's qualities are deceitful and I think it would be better if it was left alone for now."
"Of course," He laughed innocently, "It was only hypothetical...My mind ran away with the idea and I was just fascinated by your skill. It's uncommon."
Lyra's face relaxed and she smiled. "Well there's no harm in that...I wish more people thought like you, few truly appreciate the dedication and knowledge behind the craft."
"Unlike others, I delight in inclusive curiosities." He eyed her curiously and raised his eyebrows in amusement. "You would have made quite the formidable Auror if you had chosen to be."
Lyra scoffed. "Aurors are mindless grunts, always struggling to walk the fine line between morality and their true nature...restrained by the what the law dictates to them." She leaned back in her seat comfortably. "No, that was never for me. In order for me to truly practice what I loved most, I needed to be free to do things that others might frown upon otherwise, without them breathing down my neck. I chose freedom..."
Tom let out a small laugh and smiled. "So you did...and they were none the wiser. I've always found it amusing that we are all born free to do whatever it is we please, yet we are the ones who shackle ourselves to false truths as we grow older. It gladdens me to know that I'm not alone in my sentiments."
Lyra grinned and opened the book once more, her eyes glancing over the strange runes as she thought to herself, -me too."
Day had turned into night and the train seemed to rumble on endlessly, the quiet roar of the tracks underneath them providing a comforting white noise. Tom sat across from her, a small book open in his lap but he had given up trying to focus on it hours ago, his mind still occupied with thoughts from before.
"The magic even in this raw form still needs to be tested a bit further. But if what she says is true, then there could be a way for me to utilize this without these undesirable flaws in the future, the question is how? How do I break apart this curse to refine it? I could do it myself, but that would take time...time I'd rather spend on other things..."
He peered at Lyra, her attention still immersed in the book and frowned. "Her ability to dissect spells is useful, if I can convince her to accompany me and let go of this useless crusade, in time I could also persuade her to use her talents to my advantage. Perseverance is key. She might have rejected me once, but sooner or later an opportunity will present itself and I will be there to take advantage of it. I must stay close to her, closer than before."
She bit her lip and made a soft noise, scribbling out something she had written on the parchment and writing neatly next to it.
"She tried to hide it, but I see now that the thought of me leaving upsets her. I mistook her distance for animosity at first, but I think she's become far more attached to me than she is willing to admit." He frowned and looked out the window, watching a few lights that flickered outside in the distance. "Yet another thing we seem have in common…"
"Those lights in the distance, what are they?"
Lyra picked her head up and turned around to look, standing from her seat quickly and waving her wand over her belongings. Tom watched as the book and parchments all flew into her open bag and she sighed in satisfaction.
"It means we're here. An hour ahead of schedule, but not to worry."
She tugged at the hem of her dress, straightening the black fabric out and held her hand out towards him. He grasped her hand gently as he stood up motioning towards the lights. "Should we not wait for the train to stop?"
"We could, it's a quaint little town...but, no. I'm afraid we must get off here. Our Destination lies that way." She pointed out the window towards the mountains that lay off in the distance, a single bright star shining in the sky above them. "Do you have your things?'
He nodded quickly as she smiled and closed her eyes, the both of them disappearing from the train car with a loud crack.
Forty chapters. Wow. The story isn't complete but for me reaching forty chapters is a huge accomplishment. I never thought when I set out to write this story that it would span as long as it has, but here it is. I hope everyone enjoyed it, a little bit of a filler chapter, but it didn't feel right for me to skip the train ride and start a chapter with them in New Mexico. It gave me a little leeway to finally start to explore a little further into the origins of the Dark Mark and it's abilities. We were never really told what it felt like or how it worked, so I felt the need to elaborate a bit and it will definitely be expanded on in the future. When I created the whole Dark Mark ritual, I wanted it to kind of parallel a strange dark wedding ceremony. Because to me that's what the Dark Mark almost signified, you take vows and offer your undying loyalty to someone else. (Wedding bands are placed on the left hand, just like the dark mark. JK Rowling never went into detail why, I do know that being left handed is looked down up in certain cultures/religions and has ties to dark superstitions so that could be the reason, but I'm deciding personally to compare it with matrimony. ) Tom definitely isn't pleased with the pain or how he now feels attached to someone else and I think in the future he would create something that would cater to his ideals a little more. Tom and Voldemort are very intelligent characters, but as we see a lot in the books, they both tend to overlook small details, ignore spells that aren't as complex or important in nature and in this chapter that's where Lyra came in with her curse breaking and spell inventing capabilities. On the subject of Lyra, it seems like her potion is becoming less effective so we'll see how that plays out in further chapters. Now, another topic that I delved into is another small detail that has bothered me since her release of Magic in North America, JK Rowling said there was one wizarding school in North America (which kind of seems ridiculous, given how expansive the continent is) so I wanted to give a little glimpse of what the commute would be like for someone across the country attending Ilvermorny. (Over a two day journey, now that's dedication! It's not unrealistic though, I did look up actual train times and from Albuquerque, NM to Boston, MA it is about a two and a half day ride via train nonstop.) It's not unrealistic to me, especially if most wizarding communities were located on the Eastern seaboard, but we can't discount those who practiced magic in the Pacific Region, Midwest, Northwest and Southwest states. That all being said, I hope everyone enjoyed the chapter and I hope to update it again next week! Stay tuned! :3
Don't forget to follow, favorite or review if you've enjoyed it so far! I always appreciate feedback!
KiraCalico:
I do try to keep more info packed chapters smaller, so thank you for acknowledging it, I really sometimes have to slap myself and take my fingers off the keyboard when it comes time to end a chapter. We're going to definitely get an insight into Native American culture and magic in the next few chapters and I really hope I do it some justice, there are so many fascinating aspects to the culture, obviously all won't be explored due to how many regions and tribes there are but I'm going try to do my best.
I'm really trying to keep Tom in character, because he's not an emotional touchy feely person and won't ever be. I tend to really dislike fanfiction that contradicts what he was like in the books. So many have him evolve into a person that doesn't resonate with his psychopathic nature. I personally think that he would allow himself to be guided by emotions up to a certain extent and when he's reached that point, his intellect would take over. I think not only would he manipulate his own feelings to benefit himself we clearly see how he has manipulated other characters for his own advantages at well. Nothing he does is acted upon without a clear internal analysis. We see this as Voldemort and even his younger years at school, it doesn't always mean he's made the correct decisions for his success, but he does put thought into all his actions. He's attracted to Lyra, but he will try to make it work to his advantage, he's not going to do anything irrational or act out in the name of love to alter his ambition. He wants her power and her intelligence behind him, if something physical were to happen he would accept it but it wouldn't change him. (In the books it seems like he's hand picked all his followers for their different purposes.) At the end of the day he wants power and immortality and nothing is going to get in the way of that at all.
Thank you so much for your reviews! Stay safe out there!