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 soft light of morning had started to rise over the large cliffs on the canyon, casting a crimson light over his face, the sun's petals transitioning into a warm tangerine glow as he opened his eyes and took a look around him. The air was cool and crisp against his skin, but the advancing heat of the day lingered behind it, warning him of what was to come. A rustling off to his side caught his attention as he turned his head, the huddled figure of Lyra still curled up to him sleeping soundly. He frowned and sat up, rubbing his face in confusion. They had sat above the canyons for hours into the night and although neither of them had barely spoken a word to the other after their conversation, the time had seemingly slipped away from them both. He was unsure of when he had fallen asleep, it had certainly not been his intention, but it had proven to be the most restful night he had felt in awhile.
He felt her body stir next to him once more, her soft voice calling out to him. "Tom…?"
"It's morning." He replied quietly looking down at her face, still cloudy with exhaustion. She took a deep breath and exhaled, her eyes partially open and squinted as she propped herself up on her arm, his coat still wrapped around her body.
"Morning?" She said sluggishly, looking around at their surroundings as she remembered the night before, a red heat creeping onto her cheeks when she noticed his coat draped over her figure. Lyra sat up quickly and rubbed her eyes, handing the coat off to him in embarrassment. "Here-your jacket…"
Tom took it from her and looked out towards the sunrise, watching the various shades of warmth fill the valleys below them.
"I lost track of time..." The words fumbled out of her mouth uncharacteristically, as she stood up and dusted her dress off, irritated at her carelessness. She watched him carefully, his attention still focused on the sky before them, the canyon filling with daylight.
"We should go…" She murmured calmly, her heart pounding heavily in her chest in anticipation for what the day might bring.
Tom ignored her words for a moment, aware of her unsettled behavior, her demeanor suddenly nervous and agitated.
"Do you really think he'll have answers for you?"
His reply caught her off guard and she felt her heart fall into her stomach, reminded once more of why she had come back to her home.
"I-I don't know. But it's my only option."
Tom stood up calmly and walked over towards her, placing his hand gently on her shoulder in reassurance.
She smiled faintly and closed her eyes, disapparating quickly from the cliffs. Tom took one last glance towards the horizon, admiring the peace and artistry of the canyon before him and turned around, quickly disappearing behind her.
They both reappeared inside the home, the living room still and quiet as Lyra let out a soft sigh. She looked towards the chair she had been sat in previously and glanced at the small black purse lying unattended in the chair, quickly retrieving it.
"Sani must still be sleeping...that gives me some time to read through the book a little further before…" She murmured to herself quietly, as she walked towards the hallway, turning around quickly to look at him.
"There's no point in looking through that book again Lyra." He said calmly, placing his coat down across the chair. "You know that."
She frowned and bit her lip, her eyes drifting to the floor defiantly. "There's still something I could have missed, besides-"
"No. There isn't." Tom said softly, walking towards her. "You came here because the language is beyond comprehension. If Sani can't help you, you're at another dead end." His eyes softened as he stood in front of her and murmured. "You're just anxious...that's normal. It's never easy to look outside our own capacities for answers…"
"I can't just sit here and wait...the anticipation will drive me mad."
"Shall I go wake him then?" Tom raised an eyebrow and looked towards her in amusement. The look on her face turned sour and she turned towards him.
"What do you think I should do then?" Lyra spat, waving her hand in the air angrily, starting to pace the floor.
Tom stared at her for a moment, a frown starting to form on his forehead. Last night, after their banter had come to an end and well after she had fallen asleep, his mind had continued to race, digesting all of the information he had suddenly uncovered. His curiosity about her past had been satiated, her history proving more interesting than he had ever thought-but there was still one small detail that continued to irk him and he wondered if he should broach the topic again.
"She might not be so congenial this time..." He thought to himself, wondering whether or not he should suggest a simple solution that had been floating through his mind.
"Well then?" She asked him once more in irritation, summoning the small potion bottle from her purse and taking a small sip. His eyes glanced at the emerald potion in her hands, the vial almost empty as he frowned and let out a small sigh.
"The cave. There's still something I don't quite-"
"I already told you about the cave." She said in agitation, her head shaking dismissively. "There's nothing more I can do about it…"
"Perhaps there is nothing you can do about it for a reason."
She corked the small bottle back up and looked towards him, tilting her head in curiosity. "Go on..."
"What can you remember about the cave?"
"Everything I know I've told you. I don't see why you would think that I would be hiding-"
"I think there's something missing Lyra." He frowned. "Nothing about your experience adds up."
She snorted and folded her arms across her chest."And what exactly do you think you can do about that?"
Tom paused and chose his words carefully. "When MACUSA interrogated you, did they say anything about your memories or recollection of the event?"
"No." Lyra said as she leaned against a wall and closed her eyes, rubbing her temples in pain as if she were reliving the ordeal all over again. "They didn't say anything. They just continued to humiliate me by rummaging and sifting through my mind like some sort of-"
Her eyes opened sharply and looked towards him, a realization dawning across her face. "You want to pick through my head."
"I might be able to find something that they missed-"
"No." She said coldly, a flush of anger rising in her cheeks. "I've told you before, I don't appreciate others trying to muddle around inside my mind. After what I went through I'll never do that again."
"I can't help you if you don't let me."
"I'll not be violated in such a manner. I-"
"Now, now, what's all the racket?"
They both turned towards the hallway as Sani appeared, looking towards each of them curiously as he made his way towards the kitchen.
"You're awake." Lyra said softly, giving Tom a dirty look before walking towards the other room, leaning against the doorway.
"That's the thing about being old. You wake up at the crack of dawn…" He waved a wrinkled old hand towards the kettle on the stove, a flame jumping to live underneath it. "...and you go to bed as soon as the sun sets." Sani let out a small laugh and started to cough, gripping the counter top to steady himself.
"You should sit.." She said as she walked over towards him, placing her arm under his, walking him slowly over towards the couch. "I'll take care of breakfast."
Sani grumbled under his breath as she helped him carefully sit down and shook his finger towards her in frustration. "I'm not an invalid. I'm perfectly capable of doing things myself."
"I know." She smiled slightly at him and walked towards the kitchen, waving her wand delicately as the kitchen sprang to life, pans starting to assemble themselves atop the oven as the food flew out from the fridge. Eggs neatly cracked themselves over a small griddle as bread toasted itself, the house alive with delicious aromas. "But it's the least I can do to thank you for your hospitality."
The old man let out a raspy laugh and shook his head. "You speak as if this wasn't your home."
Lyra sighed and shook her head. "Sani, it's-"
"Yes, yes. It's been a long time. But time tends to not matter as much when you're as old as I am...and I'm afraid I'll always look at you as the same little girl I brought home to live with me years ago. My home will always be open to my wards. Besides-" He pointed a gnarled old finger towards the hallway. "-your room is still the same as you left it. I would have moved a few things around if I needed to, but...it didn't feel quite right to me, fiddling around with all of your stuff."
Her eyes softened as she looked towards him. "Thank you-"
"Though I'm sure you would have noticed if you actually spent the night here." He continued loudly and frowned, casting a filthy look towards Tom.
"I'm sorry." She responded quickly as she tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear and shook her head. "It was my fault. I...lost track of time." Lyra quickly disappeared once more into the kitchen, the soft sound of dishes clanking against the counter from within.
Sani snorted and let out an inaudible mumble, once more casting a cynic look in his direction. He could feel waves of suspicion and displeasure roll off from the old man towards him and narrowed his eyes in mutual aversion.
"This old man...he doesn't like me...something bothered him last night when he saw my ring and I can feel the hostility radiating off him like heat. If he's figured out what it is, I'll have to ensure that my business doesn't leave this home, whether Lyra likes it or not. But before such drastic measures are taken, it would be better to try and probe his mind. Perhaps I would be able to see just what he knows or suspects…"
Without looking towards Sani, he coaxed his mind to reach outwards, whispers and hushed murmurs echoing softly from out of the old man's subconscious. Staring lazily off towards the side of the room, he tried to push invisible walls apart, preparing to plunge headfirst into the wizards thoughts. Before he could act, his concentration was interrupted suddenly by the sound of Lyra's soft footsteps entering the living room once more, three plates floating effortlessly behind her. He glared at the back of her head, annoyed by the inconvenient disturbance.
"As for why I left last night...I've been unsettled lately...There are things on my mind that are-rather complicated.."
"Yes...about that..." Sani said as he grabbed the levitating plate, stuffing a piece of dry toast into his mouth eagerly.
A loud whistling could be heard from the kitchen as her head snapped around, her voice murmuring quietly "I'll go get the tea-"
"No." Tom said, his irritation fading as he placed a hand on her shoulder, guiding her towards the chair. "I'll take care of it."
"Perhaps it is better to tread lightly around the old man...give him no reason to inquire any further about my business." He thought silently to himself, disappearing from the room.
Lyra watched as Tom turned the corner and placed the plate in front of her nervously, thinking of what her next words should be. "I don't want to divulge too much at first...start with the book and go from there. If he can't understand or translate the language, then there will be no reason to trouble him with my problem."
"Sani-I found a book...a rather odd book...and I was wondering if you could help me to understand what it says."
"You came here-for me to read you a book?" Sani said, raising an eyebrow while his voice dripped with cynicism. "My dear-although I feel honored, you're more versed in these matters than I am, I hardly see how-"
"I'm not versed in this language." Lyra said, her mouth tightening as she continued. "Which is...problematic for me."
He shook his head gingerly, his eyebrows raised. "If you can't read it, I hardly see how I-"
"It's not just any book." Tom interrupted them as he joined them from the other room, walking over towards Sani as he gently placed the hot cup before him. "Lyra, show him."
She cast him a dark look and hesitantly reached for her purse, summoning the old text from within, the golden insignia on its clasp gleaming in the sunlight. The papers Tom had narrated were folded neatly into its old binding, sticking out past it's leather cover. Lyra held to book hesitantly in her hands for a moment before leaning towards him, handing it off into his outstretched fingers.
"Where did you find this?" He said as his fingers gently grazed the cover, bringing the book up to his face as he lifted it gently, staring at the strange golden clasp.
"I bought it…from a bookstore-for Tom actually..." Her face flushed at her last statement and her eyes lowered slowly to the floor, her sentence trailing off uncomfortably.
"Hm.." He said curiously as he unfastened it, opening the book carefully, removing the parchments Tom had written upon and placing them next to him, flipping open to the first page.
"I tried to decipher some of what could be written inside...but I'm afraid it's quite unintelligible." Tom said softly, taking a seat in the chair next to Lyra.
"Not entirely-" She said as she stood up and walked over towards Sani, placing her finger against the page, her finger trailing the mark she had recognized. "This symbol...I recognize it...from one of your old books you used to let me read as a child. Navajo in origin I believe."
Sani's face wrinkled in confusion as he looked at the rune underneath her finger, reaching out towards the table carefully. Lyra looked towards the tea and picked it up gently, placing it closer to him.
"I fail to see why all of this is so troubling to you-"
He sucked his teeth and shook his head in annoyance. "Not the tea, put it down. My glasses...right there" He pointed with his finger towards an old pair of thick spectacles that lay upon the table. "I'm afraid my eyesight isn't quite what it used to be."
Her cheeks flushed in embarrassment, she quickly retrieved the glasses and gave them to him, standing nervously over his shoulder as he put them on over his large nose, his eyes skimming the page.
"I can't explain it right now." She said softly, rubbing her bracelet.
A few minutes of silence passed between them before he spoke, shaking his head in frustration.
"Navajo...yes..and I see some other symbols here derived from other tribes." He pointed with his finger. "Cherokee, Iroquois, Apache, Sioux...to name a few. And a few other characters that I don't quite understand…"
Lyra frowned and grabbed Tom's parchments, unfolding them quickly. Another alphabet is written within this language as well, Tom deduced what could possibly be vowels…" Her finger trailed the paper before handing it off to him gently. Sani looked over the pages as Lyra sat back down into her seat, crossing her legs nervously.
"Well?"
Sani sighed and placed the book down, taking his glasses off as he rubbed his eyes in contemplation. He looked towards Tom and narrowed his eyes, motioning towards the parchment. "You did this?"
"I did." He replied softly, looking towards Lyra.
"Remarkable…" Sani gruffly murmured before turning his attention towards her. "I may be able to translate parts of this for you...certain pages…" He mumbled and picked up the book once more shaking his head. "But I have to ask once more...why is this so important to you? What is it you hope to find?"
Lyra looked at him silently, her face distant and transfixed on the old book in his hands. "Answers."
He frowned and rubbed the stubble on his face looking towards them with uncertainty. "I'll try my best."
"Is there anything I can do to-"
"I need silence...and a parchment and quill."
Nodding quietly, Lyra summoned her ink set and a few pages of blank parchment, placing them down besides him neatly. His old eyes crinkled as he smiled at her, placing an old wrinkled hand upon her own. She returned the gesture and gave him a soft pat on the shoulder, motioning towards Tom to follow her.
"I'll be down the hall if you need me."
Sani grumbled to himself as Tom sat up front his chair, following her into the dark and quiet hallway.
"It seems as if you might finally find some of the answers you were looking for."
Lyra nodded as she stopped in front of a door, turning the handle and opening it quietly. "I can only hope. I told you if anyone could read that book, it would be him."
Tom watched as she entered the small room, the light pouring in from a small window set against a bare wall across from them. Lyra gently placed her purse down upon a small bed and sat upon it gently. The comforter was made from a tightly knit cotton, the edges decorated in scalloped lace, a stark contrast in comparison to her black and revealing attire. He couldn't help but grin at the ridiculous contradiction before him.
"It hasn't changed a bit." She said flatly as her eyes traced the room, walking over towards a small bookcase in the corner, filled with stacks of old literature. The walls themselves were bare, and across from the bed lay a small child sized desk, the wood upon it surface old and worn, riddled with imprints of marks made from a quill, the result from endless nights of studying. A small photograph in a simple frame lay perched atop the desk, with a beautiful but severe looking woman staring down carefully at a young girl, dressed neatly with her arm wrapped tightly around a book, the other hand pulling anxiously at the woman's dress, smiling happily.
Tom walked into the room quietly and over towards the photograph, picking it up gently. "Your mother?"
Lyra turned towards him and grimaced, looking at the photograph in his hands. "Yes."
"You look like her." He said softly, placing it back down.
She made her way over towards him and ran a finger absent-mindely over the small frame, the dust collecting underneath its tip. "I suppose."
Rubbing the dirt from off her finger, she reached for her purse and took the potion out from within, taking a small sip before placing it down upon the desk. "Do you have any photographs of your mother?"
He felt a sharp pain of anger stem from within him and replied coldly. "No...she died right after I was born."
Lyra's face turned towards him and her eyes softened. "Oh."
"I should leave. You need some time to yourself I think…and I have my own interests to attend to." He turned from her quickly, walking past the door, closing it softly behind him. Letting out a soft sigh, she sat down on the bed and stared off into the distance, her eyes falling upon a short stack of texts that lay next to the bookcase.
The question had been innocent enough, he could hardly blame her for asking. But deep within him, old flames of rage and resentment billowed to the surface. He grabbed his suitcase angrily and pulled out a few scraps of parchment, spreading them across the desk. Reaching for the book he had last opened, he found his bookmark page and waved his wand over it, immersing himself into the texts.
"Corpo Seco...what does that mean?" He asked himself quietly as his quill tapped the page, waving his wand towards his case and watching as another book flew out from within, its pages flipping apart furiously until they sat still, the excerpt he needed laying out before him.
"In Brazilian folklore there are many stories devoted to it's whimsical and impish beasts, but for just as many lighthearted and jovial tales that exist within it's beautiful culture there are myths made of darker substance, riddled with wickedness. One such example is the Legend of the Corpo Seco. It is believed that the beast was once mortal, a powerful wizard who, drunk off of his own power and driven by greed, claimed the lives of many innocent witches and wizards around him for the sake of furthering his magical prowess, including his own mother. Legend says that the man, although not for want of trying, had been unsuccessful in his pursuit of immortality and eventually fell at the hands of another during a duel. It is said that although his body was laid in the ground, the earth rejected his corpse, over and over again, for neither heaven nor hell wanted to claim him. Having been denied his eternal rest, the cadaver rose and became the Corpo Seco, a being neither living or dead, forever doomed to wander the earth in a limbo like state. A shrivelled and pustule filled corpse, he haunts the communities of Brazil, feeding on the living-magical and non magical alike. It is also rumoured that if one wanted to find the Corpo Seco itself, they only need to follow the path of death created in its wake, for when the creature cannot feed on the blood of others, it will kill trees and other forms of fauna to maintain its strength…"
He snorted as he read the excerpt, jotting a few notes down on a spare piece of parchment. Tapping his quill on the parchment, he placed it down, grunting softly.
"A beast...how ridiculous. The Corpo Seco sounds more like a wraith...trapped in the world between life and death. An example of what happens when a horcrux has gone array..."
The idea of another trying to perform the ancient magic he had uncovered bothered him, he had always thought it was something that had set him apart in his efforts to cheat death. Others throughout history had tried to accomplish what he had set out to do and failed, but his fate would be different. Not only had he made a successful horcrux, he had made several. No one else had pushed magic as far as he had in that sense. His musings eased his earlier feelings of annoyance and Tom sighed as he rubbed his eyes, raking a pale hand through his hair. "Speaking of withered corpses…"
His mind wandered back towards Lyra and the night they had spent together upon the cliffs as well as the last words he had spoken to her before angrily taking his leave.
"Perhaps I was too harsh…" He thought as he placed his thumb upon his lip, running his thumb over it absent-mindedly. "It was unwise of me to let my emotions overrule my sensibility. I should have used the moment to my advantage."
Tom recalled the words that had fallen from her lips only hours ago, a sudden glimpse into her psyche that woke familiar feelings that he thought he had long since buried.
"You know when my mother died I didn't speak for almost a week and everyone assumed that it was because of my grief-but it wasn't."
He remembered watching her trembling hands, the recognizable expression of disgust on her face that he understood all too well.
"I was angry. Angry that life could take something away from me that had been so important, that had been the only thing I had in the entire world...I couldn't understand it. Then I became angry, furious with her for being so weak, so unprepared for life-I couldn't believe she left me on my own."
The pain she felt he had bore in his heart for years...anger, rage, confusion...disappointment. They were all emotions he was far too familiar with. He himself had been abandoned long ago as a result of his mother's weakness and when he had found out that he was a wizard, he had coped by finding a new way to rationalize her untimely death. He convinced himself that she had to have been a Muggle, there was no other way to explain her passing-if she had been a witch there would have been no reason for leaving her son willingly in such squalor.
Tom stared at the ring on his finger and stroked it, his eyes distant and forlorn.
"How I searched for answers…it consumed me."
But years of hunting for the truth had proved him wrong, hours upon hours of digging through school ledgers, looking for some whisper of his father's magical roots, his father-he had to have been a wizard, there was no other explanation-until that fateful day where all his walls came crumbling down. His assumptions had been deluded all along...The truth of the matter was, that in fact-his father was the parentage of weaker blood. There was no mention of any Riddle attending Hogwarts, no honorable mentions in textbooks, nothing. His magical abilities, his skill was all a by product of his mother's bloodline.
How could it have been?
That a woman so weak and powerless to save her own life could produce someone such as him? That she would not lift a finger to save herself despite her ability to?
Why would she rather die than stay alive for a son who would have benefitted from her survival?
Her weakness had been the source for all his anger, his bitter disappointments-well at least most of he found that his anger had been irrevocably shifted when he finally tracked down his father, for surely the man couldn't have known he existed? If he did would he have purposefully let his son rot and wither away inside an orphanage?
Upon meeting, Tom had been struck by how much he resembled the man before him. His physicality, his demeanor...it was as if he was looking into a mirror-and to add injury to insult, he immediately denied all accountability for Tom's existence and instead when it could not be disputed, he claimed ignorance, that he had been hoodwinked by his mother. His father, then and there, expressed his venomous feelings towards magic and anything that went along with it-including his son, blaming it for the reason his life had turned out so miserably. The realization had shattered him, broken all of his former notions. Everything he had built up in his head had been a wonderful elaborate delusion and he had been a fool to believe it.
"Filthy Muggle…" He thought to himself as he glanced at his ring. The voices inside it calling out to him mournfully.
Of course after the unveiling of his lackluster origins, he had dealt with the man who had set into motion all the awful pitiable events of his existence. He had made sure to end all existing remnants of the Riddle lineage and had used them to emerge as something new, a phoenix rising from the ashes of his former life. For his mother's weakness, her bloodline would also pay-for he had also discovered the disappointing kin upon her side as well. An uncle more animal than man, inbred and beastly. It had been no hard feat to unwind his mind and make him take the fall for his crime. He felt no pity, no remorse at what he had done, they had all deserved their fate.
"All my misfortunes, all the crimes against me, I have rectified." He thought, smiling in satisfaction. Not one family member had stepped forth to claim him, all had looked upon him with fear and disgust. Even his mother had preferred death to a life with him. "A bastard among men." Tom laughed to himself bitterly as he took the ring off and set it gently within his suitcase. Leaning back in the chair he crossed his legs carefully and lazily pushed aside the book he had been reading.
He could not empathize with much, but the pain of her mother's death he could understand. She had also been a victim of a parent's weakness, forced to bear the burden of life upon her shoulders that should have belonged to another.
"I could help her utilize her pain, her anger...I could help her grow into who was meant to be...if only she would give in. There is potential in her to be great, although she is misled on the subject of death." His face grimaced at his last thought, it was the only characteristic that set them apart.
"Her views on death are inconsequential, do not let it trouble you." He reminded himself, tapping his fingers against his leg. "Remember, only you are meant to live forever."
Whether she became part of his future or not, there were some secrets that he would not divulge without reason. His horcruxes were for him and only he alone was privy to such knowledge. He would not share it with anyone, regardless of their worth or devotion. His question last night had merely been a curiosity, a test to see where she stood on the subject. To her, eternal life was pointless without meaning, to him the entire purpose of his life was to achieve immortality. Despite his declaration that he would never share his methods of immortality with another and that it didn't matter, he found that her opinions on death still vexed him.
How was it possible to both respect and hate something at the same time? To have an perverse curiosity towards something that would be your undoing?
He did not care if death hurt or not, he did not bother himself to wonder what might be in store for him beyond the grave. It was so ordinary, so uncontrollable-
No.
It was pointless for him to think of such things, it was below him. He would conquer what others had so weakly given in to. Death would not overtake him.
Sorry this update took a while, it's been kind of a crazy tumultuous time for me! We get to go inside Tom's head a little in this chapter, how he feels about his mother's death, his father. We all know how messed up his train of thoughts were, but I think actually hearing it from his POV almost makes you feel kinda bad for him? I suppose it's important to say that it's one thing that separates him from Lyra, their opinion on death and how it really impacts both of their lives. Can't say too much more without giving anything away. Also it seems like Sani can read the book a little, so maybe Lyra will get answers? Maybe she won't? Who knows? Please Review, Follow & Favorite if you enjoyed! More to come!