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.

"Sani?" Lyra pushed past the door and beckoned Tom to follow her inside, stepping through the threshold carefully, looking around the dimly lit house as she continued to call out. "Are you there?"

The familiar noises of a home could be heard as they walked through the front door, Tom closing it gently behind them. From a distant room he could hear the high pitched sound of a tea kettle whistling, the pipes rattling softly from inside the walls which intermingled with the cheerful melodies the wind chimes made outside. They had seemingly walked into what was the common area of the oddly shaped house, a worn looking dark blue sofa set against a pair of windows covered in transparent white drapes, the couch sunken in the middle, loose threads hanging off the sides of its massive arms. A strange rug that looked suspiciously like an animal's hide-which one he could not say-lay in the center of the room, directly before a roaring fireplace that filled the small home with a warm and inviting presence. Strange masks and baubles filled the walls, leaving hardly any space unfilled, the taupe clay clay underneath barely visible to the eyes. Tom watched as Lyra pushed past two oversized chairs to their right, opposite the sofa, following the shrieks of the tea kettle into the kitchen, a small dimly lit hallway to their left.

"It seems like no one's home." Tom said softly, following her into the next room, intently watching as she waved her wand over the kettle, removing it from a small fire. The kitchen was tinier than the living room had been, a small round table lay off to the side, barely large enough for an average sized family to have a meal on and the mismatched cabinets of all shapes and sizes that lined its walls were all crooked, oddly shaped and painted bright colors, a feature that for some odd reason brought a smile to his lips. It was nothing he would call beautiful or extraordinary, but it was far from normal and he admired its character.

Lyra leaned up against a small wash sink and tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear before walking across the kitchen towards a dusty set of olf drapes, pulling them aside slowly. As the ragged old curtains parted, the sun slowly began to pour into the room, illuminating the small specks of dust that floated through the air around them, glittering against a large window set deep into the clay wall. A large pane of glass stretched from ceiling to floor, its shape and size resembling more of a door than it did a window, revealing a breathtaking landscape that lay behind the house. Walking over to her side, he peered out from beyond the glass and looked out in amazement at the brilliant hue of the mountains before them, the sun starting to slightly fall in the sky, a deep sea of crimson and indigo starting to blanket its peaks.

"This is quite a view." He spoke softly as he continued to stare out the window, watching the sun start to set, the daylight fading from view.

Lyra rubbed her finger against the glass, wiping the dust and grime from its surface, frowning as she spoke softly. "The Sandia Mountains...I used to sit by this window for hours and just stare out towards them…"

"I can hardly say I blame you."

"The No-maj's call them the Watermelon Mountains because of the way the sunlight hits them at this time of day…" Lyra trailed off and let out a small sigh. "From the looks of it I don't think anyone has looked out this window in a while." She tapped her finger on the glass slowly and pulled the curtains closed behind her, shaking her head sadly.

"Well, well. The prodigal child returns home."

Tom knew the voice all too well and saw the flood of emotions race across Lyra's face as she prepared to turn around.

"Where is Sani?"

Cassian's tall figure leaned against the archway to the kitchen and smiled sourly at them as he spoke. "Dad-is in his room. I was just coming out to get him a cup of tea."

Lyra narrowed her eyes at him as he walked across the room, waving his wand lazily at the cabinet, while a mug appeared from out within its depths, the kettle pouring itself over it.

"Tea?" Lyra frowned. "He hates tea."

Cassian ignored her as he grabbed the cup. "He'll be overjoyed to see you, you know."

Lyra balled her hands into fists, irritated by his presence and the complications it would present for her reason to visit. "Why are you here?"

"I told you he wasn't doing well...I come here whenever MACUSA allows." He said quietly.

"You never said anything of the sort or mentioned it to me." Lyra said coldly, standing opposite him, the tension between them electrifying.

"Didn't I?"

Lyra stared at him angrily, the hatred rising in her eyes as he continued to speak.

"Oh that's right, you said never read any of the letters I sent you. Did it ever occur to you that perhaps one or two of those letters might have pertained to his health?"

She opened her mouth to reply, but he cut her off quickly. "Of course you didn't. But that's typical of you...the only person you ever think about is yourself."

"You have no right-"

A series of coughs interrupted their fight as an old man entered the doorway to the kitchen, raising a tan wrinkled hand up to his face to wipe his mouth. Upon seeing Lyra, Tom watched the old man's eyes crinkle in delight, a warm smile spreading across his face as his opened his arms towards her.

"Can it be? Is that my Lyra back home?"

"Sani." Lyra said, smiling gently towards the old man before furrowing her brows. "I didn't realize-How long have you been like this?"

Cassian pushed past her and grabbed the old man gently. "You shouldn't have gotten out of bed, here let me help you-"

"Nonsense." Sani said as he shrugged Cassian's hand off his arm. "I may be ill, but I'm not dead. Besides-how can I get any rest with the two of you at each other's throats out here?"

"I'm sorry." Lyra spoke softly. "If I had known, I-"

The old man waved his hand in the air dismissively and looked behind her, finally noticing the extra person in the room."I'm not incapable of tending to myself. Ah. I see you've brought a friend."

Lyra spoke quietly and motioned to Tom. "Sani, this is Tom."

The old man gruffly nodded towards him and held his hand out as Tom moved forward to shake it. Sani held Tom's palm roughly for a moment, his eyes looking towards the ring on his finger strangely before Tom quickly retracted his hand, ignoring the funny look on the old man's face.

"Lyra's never brought anyone home with her before." He stated plainly as he made his way over towards the large blue couch in the next room, hovering above it stiffly before sitting down, a pained expression on his face. Cassian followed close behind and placed the mug of tea down next to him, motioning for the old man to drink. "Come to think of it, I've never heard her mention your name."

"Tom and I only met a little while ago." Lyra said, following him into the room. "I've been-showing him the country."

"So you're not from around here." The old man said curiously as he scratched his head, the long salt and pepper strands of his hair hanging loosely around his head, spilling over his shoulders. Looking down at the glass, Sani wrinkled his nose at the beverage and shook his head. "I hate tea. Fetch me some of the old firewhiskey I have in the cabinet over there."

"You know what the doctors said...you shouldn't-"

Tom watched as Lyra walked over to a wooden cabinet nestled against the wall and pulled out a small glass, setting it down before her as she reached back inside for a dark brown bottle, uncorking it as she filled up the glass generously.

"No. I'm afraid not." Tom said politely as he turned back towards Sani.

She walked towards the wrinkled old man and placed it in his hands, taking a seat in the chair across from him. Lyra reached into her own purse and quickly pulled out the potion Tom had brewed for her, taking a small sip before placing it back within the confines of her bag. Sani let out a small laugh at Cassian's frustrated and confused face, the latter sitting down reluctantly on the couch next to him.

"Lyra's been kind enough to escort me on my travels and her knowledge has been quite useful to me." Tom said softly, running his hand along the back of her chair.

"Well if it's someone knowledgeable you needed, then you certainly found the right person. Lyra's the brightest witch I know." Sani motioned to the chair next to Lyra and Tom could feel his eyes still upon him as he sat down beside her, watching his every move.

"Indeed." Tom said quietly.

"It's been too long Lyra." Sani said as he switched his focus towards her, taking a small sip from his glass. "I was afraid you'd never come back."

She crossed her legs carefully and weakly smiled. "I meant to visit sooner...I just had a few matters that needed to be handled first."

He placed his drink down before him and coughed once more, grimacing as he tried to catch his breath. "Although it gladdens my heart to see you, Cassian told me some troubling things...I've also heard you resigned from your post at MACUSA."

Lyra shot Cassian a filthy look before speaking softly. "Yes...It no longer could offer me what I needed."

"It disappoints me greatly to hear that. You worked so hard for so long, have you ever considered the possibility of going back in the future?"

"I don't think it would be for the best."

Sani shook his head sadly and muttered under his breath while he reached for his glass. "So much talent, so much time spent…all the effort...your mother would not be pleased."

The awkward silence between them continued on for a moment until Cassian cleared his throat and spoke. "I told Lyra when we last saw each other that the Magical Congress would welcome her back with open arms if she decided...but as you can see, it appears Lyra thinks her time is better spent elsewhere." He gestured towards Tom rudely.

Lyra looked towards him and clutched the wand in her lap, her hands shaking angrily.

"Now, now Cassian." The old man laughed heartily, motioning towards Lyra, "It' best you hold your tongue, remember the last time you got her all fired up?"

He smiled towards Tom. "Sometimes I miss the sound of my wards in the house, but I certainly do not miss their bickering. Cassian once had the pleasure of being on the receiving end of a nasty little curse Lyra invented. I had to take him all the way to Texas to Saint Gryffd's Infirmiry. It took a month before they were able to finally get his vision back to where it was."

Lyra's mouth pulled upwards as she looked towards Cassian and the sour look that had spread across his face.

"I now know the other unlucky recipient of that spell…" Tom thought to himself as he was reminded of when she had used it in New Orleans, when she explained that she hadn't had to use it in a while and he tried to conceal his amusement.

"You shouldn't laugh...It was an awful thing you did and it was done in poor taste.." Sani scolded her gently before turning towards Cassian. "But I thought that it would have taught you a valuable lesson as well. Sometimes you need to know when to hold your tongue."

Cassian smiled bitterly and stood up, brushing the blonde hair back from his face with a tanned hand. "It's getting late...I'll go get dinner started."

His blue eyes rested on Lyra momentarily, a strange look on his face as he walked out of the room towards the kitchen.

Sani gruffly dismissed him, waving his hand in irritation and smiled at Lyra, letting out a small chortle. "You have no idea, the joy it brings me to see you again. We have much to catch up on."

Lyra frowned and looked towards the roaring fire, her head resting lazily against her open palm, her arm propped against the chair. "Yes we do-like your health. Why did you not tell me?"

Sani rolled his eyes and sighed as he took a sip of his firewhiskey once more. "What good would it have done?"

"I would have been here sooner." Lyra murmured, visibly upset by the news.

"I didn't want to burden you, besides...I suspected you might have had problems of your own."

She turned towards him sharply and narrowed her eyes. "And what makes you say that?"

"Two years is a long time."

"It's true. I've run into certain... complications." Lyra turned her head around to look towards the kitchen and narrowed her eyes, murmuring "But right now is not the place or time for that discussion. I'd prefer to keep my business between a few select ears."

Sani looked at her with a dark expression in his eyes and nodded gruffly, taking a sip of his firewhiskey. "Perhaps that is for the best."

"Your sickness. What is it?" Lyra redirected the conversation politely and started to tap her fingers against the chair impatiently, irritated not only at the current circumstances, but being left in the dark about his health.

Sani laughed and coughed violently, the smile still lingering on his face. "Does it matter?"

"Yes."

He sighed and sipped from his glass again. "There is no cure for old age Lyra. You don't get to choose when it's your time to go."

"I disagree." Tom thought, staring at the old man smugly.

"Is that what the healers told you?" Lyra asked carefully, his gaze avoiding hers as he continued to drink. She shook her head incredulously as she let out a small laugh and rubbed her forehead. "You didn't go to St. Gryffd's did you?"

The old man looked at her impishly as he stroked a hand through his salt and pepper hair. "Cassian sent a healer once. I didn't follow up."

He shied away from her capricious gaze, rubbing the stubble on his wrinkled chin. "I don't need to go to St. Gryffd's to know what it is that plagues me. I'm dying Lyra, plain and simple."

She stood up and slowly started to pace the room, her face visibly upset. "So you lied to Cassian. Does he know?"

Sani looked past her towards the kitchen and sighed as he shook his head. "I made up a few things, told him what I think that healerss would have recommended-all a bunch of mumbo jumbo. But no, I haven't told him. I do think he suspects but…" he trailed off. "Whether he chooses to acknowledge my mortality or not...that's his decision."

"You're a deceitful, stubborn old man, you know that?" Lyra looked at him for a moment, her expression unreadable and turned around quickly, walking back into the kitchen.

Sani smiled sadly and continued to sip on his glass, gesturing towards Tom. "Perhaps in grief, maybe those two will get along."

"I highly doubt that." Tom said softly, his eyes looking up towards the strange baubles and paintings in the walls, bored and indifferent.

"Do you have any siblings of your own? Of course, those two aren't related, but the way they bicker you would think they were."

"No. I grew up quite alone." Tom smiled falsely and looked at the old wizard, a feeling of disgust overwhelming him at Sani's acceptance of his demise and redirected the subject. "You speak about death quite plainly...you welcome it then?"

"Welcome it...no. But-" The old man shrugged. "I've lived a full life. What more could one like me ask for?"

"There's always more to ask for." Tom thought to himself, pulling a wrinkle out from the fabric of his pants. "By your definition, I suppose you'd be right."

A loud noise came from the kitchen and Tom stood up quickly, looking towards the door.

Sani waved his hand and motioned for him to sit down, coughing softly in between his words. "Those two-" He cleared his throat. "-need some time to themselves I think. Now Tom-if you would indulge me, I've never been overseas. Your accent-Is London as dreary as they say?

Lyra leaned up against the wall, her better judgment screaming at her from inside her head, telling her to turn around and leave him to his own devices. A world where her and Cassian interacted minimally was a less complicated and frustrating place. "Still...it's not right for the old man to take advantage of him or lie to him." She sighed and tried to place her animosity behind her for the moment, walking towards him. Lyra observed him carefully as he waved his wand over the pot on the stove, leaning over the sink miserably with his shoulders slumped.

"He's lying to you, you know."

"I know."

She bit her lip awkwardly. "How long have you known?"

Cassian remained silent as he clenched his hands tightly against the sink, his knuckles turning white before he let go.

"A month or so."

"It was wrong of him to lie to you."

"It doesn't matter."

"To me it does, you know I don't take kindly to being lied to. Have you talked to him at all?"

He turned around to face her and grabbed a towel that hung next to the sink, wiping his hands against it. "And what would be the purpose of that? It would change nothing."

Lyra sighed and walked towards him, waving her wand over the various vegetables that lay on the counter, a knife rising into the air as it began to slice through them slowly. "To give yourself closure."

"I don't need closure."

"You sound like me." Lyra smirked as she took the vegetables and threw them into the pot next to him, the water boiling and spitting as they fell in. She frowned as she looked towards him. "Sani knows how upset you are and I think deep down it hurts him...and I can see it bothers you as well."

"And you're not affected by this at all?" He said angrily as he, threw the towel over his shoulder and waved his wand towards a heap of ground meat that flew into a nearby pan, sizzling against it's hot interior.

"Death is natural." Lyra shrugged as she watched him cook. "We all have to accept it when it comes..."

"I think you are the coldest person I've ever met." Cassian said as he flicked his wand over the stove, adjusting the fire underneath.

"I'm a realist." Lyra said softly as he ignored her, still tending to the stove. She let out a soft sigh and frowned. "We both knew he wasn't going to be around forever. Listen, I know we didn't leave off on great terms and I know how much you despise me-"

"I don't despise you." He said flatly and turned around to look towards her. "My feelings are still the same as when you saw me last."

She tried to ignore his piercing blue eyes as they raked over her and wrapped her arms around herself. "Regardless, we should try to be civil to each other as long as we're underneath the same roof. I don't want to upset him-"

"How considerate of you." Cassian said sarcastically, as he waved his wand towards the cabinets, the glasses and plates drifting out from within the doors and neatly arranging themselves along the table.

"Cassian…"

"I think the time for civility has passed don't you?"

Lyra remained quiet and watched as he flicked his wand towards the stove, the pot of dinner levitating over towards the table, hovering gently above while a spoon filled up every bowl to the rim.

"Cassian why are you making this so difficult?"

"I'm being difficult? Since we were children I've done nothing but try to gain your favor. And you've done nothing but reject me."

A deafening silence passed between them as she started again, running a hand through her hair. "I didn't come in here to fight with you, I came in here to talk about Sani's-"

"One day you'll change your mind and you'll understand where I'm coming from. You'll see."

"I won't ever see anything the way that you do and you need to stop deluding yourself into thinking-." She started, her voice starting to become angry.

"You never let anyone close to you." He argued, his voice becoming louder. "After all this time, after everything I've tried-"

"I've never needed anyone close to me, least of all you." She hissed, walked towards him, her face starting to turn red. "Did you really think the way you treated me when we were children would ever make me want to be around you?"

He let out a bitter laugh and waved his wand, the table still continuing to set itself. "We were children Lyra. Surely you must have known that all my teasing-"

"You made my life miserable." Her voice softened, unwilling to let Sani or Tom overhear their conversation. "You made jokes at my expense whenever you could, tried to consistently ruin all my studying at home, made sure all of our other classmates ostracized me as well. Do you know how that felt?"

"You weren't kind either." Cassian retorted. "You took every opportunity to shun me and pretend I didn't exist. How do you think that felt? You and Sani were all I had in the world-and I never encouraged anyone to treat you badly, you did that yourself with your attitude and your inability to let others in."

He leaned against the sink and sighed. "When we started working together, I finally thought you were opening up to me, not much, but I thought all my efforts were finally paying off. That we were taking a step in the right direction...and then suddenly it all changed."

Lyra frowned and shook her head. "You know why it changed Cassian."

"It didn't have to be that way."

"It didn't. But you chose to protect your own reputation rather than stand up for me." Her eyes hardened and she clenched her jaw. "I will never forgive you for that."

"There were only three of us in that cave Lyra...and we were told to report back to MACUSA before we did anything. We shouldn't have entered and you specifically defied your orders based on your ego. You placed us all at risk."

She remained silent and glared at him venomously.

"You can't even take responsibility for your own actions." He continued, starting to walk towards her slowly. "I don't blame you for Hughes death, in the end no one did, but you act as if-"

"Do you not think I don't feel guilty for what happened? My failures weigh on me quite heavily, despite what you think." She spat. "Not that you would care, you seemed to have no problem sliding right into my position when I left."

"You resigned and left the department scrambling around, you knew full well no one else was qualified for that position-" He started to argue when Tom appeared in the doorway, looking at Cassian coldly before turning towards Lyra, a hint of concern in his eyes as he noticed the tension between them.

"Is everything all right?"

"Everything is fine." Lyra said as she looked towards him, visibly upset and trembling with anger.

"Dinner smells wonderful." Sani said as he appeared behind Tom, the old man ignoring them all as he hobbled over to the table, his eyes glazed over from the firewhiskey he had indulged himself on. "Everyone sit down before it gets cold."

"I'm afraid I don't have much of an appetite." Lyra replied coldly as she walked briskly out of the room, a loud crack echoing out from the common area, signifying that she had left.

Cassian threw the towel angrily into the sink as he turned to follow her. "I'm going to find her-"

"You'll do no such thing." Sani bellowed from his seat, his temperament changed. "You'll sit down at this table and you will leave her be, you already caused enough problems today."

Growling and finally obeying his father's orders, Cassian walked over and sat down in a seat next to him, staring at his plate disdainfully.

"Sit Tom." Sani motioned to the seat across from Cassian and continued to eat, shoving small spoonfuls into his mouth.

Tom reluctantly accepted the invitation and sat down, eyeing the meal Cassian had prepared, trying hard to appear outwardly gracious-Inside, he felt he would rather starve than partake in any meal the man had cooked.

The silence between them last for a few moments until Cassian broke the ice, his voice cold and angry. "So where do you plan on staying while you visit?"

Tom gave him a polite grin and looked down at his food, moving it around the plate in disgust. "Lyra has a tent that is quite accommodating, I think we plan to-"

"You'll do no such thing." Sani exclaimed in between mouthfuls of food. "There's plenty of room in the house. Lyra can take her old room and you can stay in the guest room next to Cassian."

Tom opened his mouth to disagree, but the old man raised his hand, signaling the discussion was over. "I'll not have Lyra sleeping outside like a common animal."

"Perhaps you'll feel differently once you know what it is that plagues her." He thought in amusement, understanding now why Lyra had avoided her childhood home, Sani seemed nice enough outwardly but his demeanor and gruff personality reminded him of sandpaper.

"What did you say to upset her boy?" Sani looked towards Cassian, his voice still agitated.

Cassian paused for a moment, chewing on a piece of food carefully before looking down at his plate once more. "The events at MACUSA that led to her departure. But I didn't purposely bring it up-"

"You should have known better. It's a delicate topic." He said, his mouth full of food. "Has she mentioned any of this to you?" Sani pointed at Tom with his fork.

"I can't say that she has said much...she seems to be quite reluctant whenever it's brought up in conversation" He replied, trying to hide his eagerness to discover more about her past.

"A terrible mess all of it." Sani shook his head and continued to eat. "She hasn't been quite right after that fellow died, I think she took it quite personally."

"She did mention a death...and that she misjudged the situation, but that's all she divulged." Tom said quietly, putting his fork down while he wiped his mouth politely-an empty gesture, because he hadn't in fact eaten anything. "I thought it would seem-inappropriate-if I pried into her business any further."

"A misjudgment in an understatement to say the least." Cassian said arrogantly, seeming pleased at Tom's ignorance of the subject.

"Now Cassian-" Sani began.

Cassian turned his dark blue eyes to the old wizard and raised his hand to quiet him, turning his attention back towards Tom with a gleeful look in his eye. "Father, since Tom's been spending so much time with Lyra lately, it's only right for him to know how reckless and arrogant she can often be. You know what happens when her predilections and ego take hold of her senses…"

He took a long sip of water and crossed his legs as he leaned back into his chair, pausing as if he was thinking of where to begin. "About two years ago, MACUSA had started to investigate a case, you see a lot of No-Maj's had started to disappear from a small town in the desert and no one could understand why, there was however one survivor…a No-Maj."

He sighed as he continued, his expression unreadable. "Naturally MACUSA questioned the man and afterwards wiped his memory-which I would have to say was a tremendous favor to him, because the way he talked-you would have thought he had gone mad. Ranting and raving about a cave filled with demons and strange voices and all sorts of crazy nonsense." Cassian sipped his water and continued. "So MACUSA decided that we should go and investigate where the man had been found-it took us days of searching before we had even located the cavern, three wizards searching 50 miles of mountains, valleys and canyons-you could only imagine the difficulty. Eventually after the fifth day, I discovered what I assumed to be it's location and told Lyra."

He frowned and shook his head. "She should have sent an owl to MACUSA before we had even stepped foot inside, but...Lyra being as-stubborn-as she is...felt that we should investigate despite our orders. In her eyes she assumed it would be like any other case we had been assigned and didn't want to waste days in the desert waiting for a response."

"You disagreed then with her choice." Tom spoke silkily, taking a sip of water himself, still engaged by the story.

"I didn't voice my concerns, if that's what you mean." Cassian replied, his voice icy at first but softened as he continued.. "Lyra is indeed a talented witch...more skilled and resourceful than any I have ever met...so I did not outwardly oppose her, I trusted her judgement. But it turned out to be a mistake and the results were disastrous."

"So the mistake then lies with you as well, to put all the blame on her shoulders would be unfair.."

Sani let out a soft laugh as Cassian narrowed his eyes at Tom's comment. "I suppose when you put it that way. Then yes, I myself should have claimed partial credit for the blunder."

"But you didn't. What happened after you entered the cave?"

Cassian clenched his jaw at Tom's response and glared at him before continuing. "At first glance we all thought it to be a fool's errand. The cave itself outwardly did not appear any different than one you would encounter in the desert or mountains. It was barren and dark, but there were no voices...no creatures...no spells or curses of any kind to be found. It should have been left at that. But Lyra...could not let it go." He cleared his throat and spoke softly. "She advised me to wait at the entrance to the cave, to deter anyone from the vicinity, lest another No-Maj stumble across us accidentally and she and Albert started to descend into its belly, down into the unyielding blackness."

"Albert?"

"Albert Hughes, another member of our department. Nice fellow...he was retiring you see, it was supposed to be his last job for the Magical Congress, well before…"

"He died." Tom finished his sentence nonchalantly, his finger tapping impatiently on the glass before him.

"Yes. And about thirty minutes after the cave is where everything went array."

"What happened?"

"That's the thing…" Cassian continued slowly, his eyebrows furrowed, his knuckles turning white as he grasped his glass tightly. "None of us remember."

"You don't remember?" Tom asked skeptically, a hint of amusement in his voice.

"I remember a strong gust of...something...rushing towards me and I blacked out...when I awoke, all I can remember is Lyra and Albert lying next to me at the entrance to the cave, unconscious...She awoke when I did, disoriented and confused...Albert-did not wake."

"So Lyra remembers nothing as well?"

Cassian shook his head gently. "Nothing. In fact when we left the cave it seemed to all but vanish behind us…it's location we could no longer recall the farther we went, until we eventually forgot its coordinates completely."

Tom brought his hand to his mouth and started to stroke his bottom lip gently with his thumb, digesting the story Cassian had told him. "Interesting…"

"MACUSA questioned us for weeks afterwards...we were subjected to all sorts of enchantments and questioning but we simply couldn't remember anything that had happened, or where the cave was located. Many went out and searched our routes , the same wilderness we had all traversed...and it could never be found again."

"And this doesn't bother you?" Tom asked curiously, taking a sip of water once more.

"It did...but when I asked MACUSA to look into it further than they had, they refused. No-Maj's had stopped disappearing and because of Lyra's misjudgement, they faced plenty of heat from Albert's family. The case was deemed inconclusive and the paperwork was neatly filed away, never to see the light of day again."

"You don't find it suspicious you remember nothing?"

Cassian shrugged and pushed his plate away. "Strange things tend to happen to you, when you make your career out of exploring cursed tombs, handling dark artefacts...tinkering with spells that no normal wizard would dare touch…"

He motioned towards Sani and raised his brows, as if trying to re-enforce his conclusion. "Do you know that I once met a wizard who had been cursed to believe he was a glass of water, a nasty side effect that had been a result of him touching a cursed object. Poor man...I think he's still at St. Jouges... "

He stood up from the table and waved his wand over it, watching as the dishes emptied their contents into the trash and washed themselves in the sink, neatly filing away into the cabinets until they were needed once more. "My point is-that perhaps that curse was placed there on purpose in addition to whatever killed Hughes and knocked us all unconscious. When we entered that cave, this was always going to be the end result."

Cassian continued to ramble. "To be fair, I tried to explain to Lyra that no one at MACUSA blamed her for his death, because in the end we would have been ordered to enter anyway and his fate would have been sealed regardless. But...it seems the preliminary and final interrogations that she had to face before she was acquitted of any responsibility got under her skin more than I had thought."

"Hmph." Sani growled as he shook his head. "I've always said it's not good to enter places you have no business being in. There are places that are far older than we can even imagine, with things that are better left alone."

"If you had it your way, I'd be out of a job." Cassian said in amusement.

Their conversation was interrupted by a soft tapping on a window above the sink, an owl frantically trying to enter. Cassian opened the window carefully and they watched the owl fly in, dropping a letter into his hands before quickly flying off into the night once more. He ripped the envelope open, reading it quickly before shoving it into his pocket.

"It would appear I'm being called back to New York." Cassian said irately as he walked over to Sani, patting him on the shoulders. "I know I said I would stay a few days, but I'm sure you'll manage now that Lyra and Tom are here."

"So soon?" Sani said, his gruff voice rife with disappointment. "You've only just arrived, no matter I suppose…"

Tom noticed the subtle sarcastic emphasis Cassian had placed on his name and smiled politely towards him. "Although I've accompanied Lyra here, I'm afraid to say I'll be departing in two days' time. My time in North America is sadly, coming to an end."

He watched Cassian's handsome face suddenly light up, a grin of enthusiasm tugging at his lips. "Well then Tom, I must say it's been quite the pleasure meeting you, although I do have to confess, I think Lyra will be quite disappointed to see you leave."

"If she is, she has not expressed such sentiments to me." He responded politely.

"Ah...well then, no surprise there. Lyra has always been quite impervious to feelings of contrition. I wish you all the safety in your travels." He nodded and turned to leave, disapparating quickly from the room with a sudden crack.

"If there is one thing in America I'm sure to not miss, it would certainly be the back of that man's head." Tom thought to himself, silently cursing the lack of opportunity he had to deal with him properly. "No matter, if he's as bumbling of a fool as Lyra makes him out to be, I'm sure his job will be his undoing one day-"

"Care to sit down and talk with a lonely old man?"

Sani's comment broke him from his thoughts as the old man beckoned for him to follow him into the next room. Tom smiled and welcomed the opportunity, wondering how much more of Lyra's past he could uncover without her knowing, before she returned.

Long Chapter, I KNOW. But once again, there really wasn't anywhere I could cut it off appropriately and then have it seem to short. Lot's going on here and we finally get the backstory on what happened to Lyra while she worked for MACUSA thanks to Cassian just flat out being an asshole. If you guys enjoyed this chapter, please review, follow or add it to your favs! It's such a motivator! Next Chapter will be posted in about week! (Or maybe less, I know I usually post on Monday's but this chapter was so dialogue and information heavy, it took me a tad longer.) :3