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.
Lyra stood in front of the overgrown garden looking at the stalks and fauna of the enormous plants rising towards the sky, showing off their leaves as if they were on display. It had always been a strange sight to see, an enormous patch of greenery in the middle of the vast desert and as a child it had been one of her favorite places to frequent, the wild jungle of flora a relaxing and peaceful retreat from the troubles of the world.
She stepped towards the old wooden fence and reached for the gate, frowning as she opened it, the top hinge groaning as it broke away from the framework into her hands. Letting it fall to the ground gently, she stepped inside and was immediately taken aback by the overgrown garden, it's interior in various stages of disarray.
The monkshood and asphodel had grown wildly over their allotted spaces, the belladonna and fluxweed were on the verge of being strangled to death by the neighboring snakeweed and she apprehensively stepped around the overgrown vines that had coated the earth around her, knowing the Sani had also grown devil's snare and the most dangerous of all plants, the venomous tentacula.
"It looks like Sani had not tended to his garden in a long time...it's very unlike him. Perhaps I was too quick to dismiss Cassian's concerns about his ill health."
Passing a few rows of dittany, she paused hesitantly and quickly bent over, snipping a few bushels of leaves from the plant and placing them inside her purse. "Dittany has its uses...and after today who knows how this garden will fare."
The thought made her wistful and she felt another wave of sadness and anger wash over her. Lyra bit her lip anxiously as she pushed the thoughts from her mind, unwilling to let herself get lost in her emotions again, it would not do her any good to dwell on such feelings. Pushing through the labyrinth of plants and various herbs around her, she found that despite her reluctance to entertain such meaningless emotions, she could not help but be pulled into past memories, distant recollections from a less tumultuous time of her life. A sad smile tugged at her lips as she passed a small adobe bench underneath a grove of umbrella flowers, remembering the hours and days she had spent as a child beneath their large petals, devouring book after book.
Lyra approached the bench slowly and ran her fingers over it's deteriorated surface, her fingertips lingering upon it's clay facade and worn paint as if she hoped the touch would be able to preserve it's memory, knowing that she would never set her eyes upon it again. She gently sat down for a moment and stared at the walls of greenery before her, her eyes raking over the rows of alihotsy that had risen up towards the sky and she was reminded of the hours and days Sani had tended to them lovingly, the recesses of her mind pulling her into a distant memory.
"Why do you spend more time on those plants than on any others? I hardly see why alihotsy is worth the time you give it...and it's overtaking the devil's claw you planted." A teenage Lyra asked curiously from the bench across from him peeking momentarily from behind her book before continuing to read.
Sani let out a small chuckle as he wiped his forehead with the back of his hand, covered in a thick glove caked in dirt and soil. Strands of dark black hair stuck to his face where it had fallen out from his braids and he leaned against the shovel as he nodded towards her, the sun gleaming off his muscled and tanned brown skin, not yet touched by the ravages of time.
"You know why this plant is so important Lyra."
"Yes, yes." She waved her hand dismissively, "High demand, I know. You could at least use magic to help you, it's not good for you to constantly be bending and digging all day long...you're always in so much pain at the end of the night." Lyra placed her book down beside her lazily and stared back at him.
"Besides the fact that it pays the bills along with every other plant here…it helps people who need it Lyra...and you don't need magic to do everything, lazy approaches lead to -"
"- lackluster results, yes I know...Although I fail to see its use more important than that of dittany or the mandrake."
Sani sighed as he shook his head towards her.
"There are some people in the world that cannot cope with life as easily as we do Lyra…"
"Yes, life has indeed graced us with such an abundance of luck…" Lyra retorted sarcastically, gesturing around her in annoyance.
"- there are reasons why alihotsy is important, it provides much needed relief for those who live in a constant state of fear, who have been subjected to trauma we can't even imagine or who have been on the receiving end of a nasty curse or spell...The plant helps them to cope...to give them a fighting chance to lead productive lives."
"You mean those who are committed to St. Gryffd's or St. Jouges's. I'm sure alihotsy provides a nice safe crutch for their problems. In my opinion, those loonies don't need medicine, they need a swift lesson in reality and someone more talented than those currently employed to set them straight - if it was really such a miracle plant, they would not have to be in hospitals at all...but I daresay that's down to their healers discretion, it's a pity that competent wizards are so hard to come across in that field -"
"Lyra!" Sani interrupted her angrily. "The mental state of others is not something we should joke about or cast aside. It is exactly for those reasons you just expressed so callously that these people are in the wards for so long. Perhaps alihotsy may seem to you a temporary fix and you may be correct, but don't underestimate others' problems or their need for help until you have walked in their shoes."
He gave her a disgusted look and shook his head angrily, sticking his shovel into the ground. "Indifference is not the answer, and cruelty has no place in my home."
He shook his finger fiercely at her and took a few steps in her direction. "After dinner tonight you will meet me in this garden and I will show you how to properly tend to this plant...and after you have learned, you will repeat this task everyday until you recognize that all life is to be respected, not just those you deem worthy."
He turned his back from her and began to walk away, her angry eyes glaring at the back of his head until he suddenly turned around and added, "And no magic is to be used. Do you understand me?"
Lyra frowned at his words and tried to argue without losing her composure, her voice betraying her emotions. "That's ridiculous, I -"
"To work with your hands - without magic - is not ridiculous, sometimes it is necessary and you will value what it is you have accomplished more so when you realize it was done without aid."
His eyes softened as he looked towards her. "You may be angry with me now, but someday you will understand…"
Lyra turned away him defiantly, grabbing her book to leave in haste and he took one step towards her, his voice gentle and reassuring. "...you are so intelligent Lyra, far more gifted than anyone else your age...and I am so incredibly proud of you - more than you could ever know - but there are still life lessons that you still have to learn and it is my job to teach you. I promised your mother that I would take care of you, guide you...and I intend to do that."
A strange noise escaped from her throat as she became aware once more of her current surroundings and she pushed away the sadness that threatened to consume her heart once more.
"I never did finish that punishment..." She thought to herself miserably as she tapped her fingers against the adobe stone. "But it did teach me a few things…patience...perseverance...and to stand behind your opinions."
A small grin tugged at her cheeks as she picked up a speck of dirt and rubbed it between her fingers. "Sani I think was quite put out when he saw me continuously working on the alihotsy...years after he issued that task to me. Theoretically...I should still be working on it."
Her musings were distracted however by a small rustling that suddenly erupted from behind her. Standing abruptly and backing away from the bench, she carefully grabbed her wand and whipped it out before her, feeling a small burst of wind graze past her cheek. Looking ahead, Lyra frowned as the head of a large plant emerged from behind the large petals of an umbrella flower, its fangs glistening in the sun alongside the red and emerald vines that slithered out towards her.
"I knew the venomous tentacula was hiding around here somewhere...I always hated that plant...far more trouble than it's worth. Now I know for certain Sani has not been here in awhile..." She thought to herself as she waved her wand quickly towards it, severing a few roots from its body that had started to wrap itself around her ankles menacingly, watching as the plant shrieked in pain before slithering back to its original hiding spot in the shadows. "...he never would have let it grow wild like this. It's negligent."
Her thoughts, irrevocably scattered by the plant's violent interference, slowly floated away into the cavities of her mind and she grimaced at a small dilapidated shack off to the corner of the garden that caught her eye. Broken and weather worn, she watched as the sun shone brightly into the scattered holes across its roof and walls, the grey wooden shingles that littered its surface, cracked and splintered.
Approaching it quickly, she waved her hand and watched as it's peeling blue doors swung open, revealing a hoard of gardening tools and supplies, covered in dust and soil. Lyra entered it carefully, her eyes falling upon the old broken shelves filled with jars and dried herbs, frowning until she had found exactly what she was looking for, an old shovel that lay all the way towards the back, the sunlight falling upon it's rusted and worn exterior through the ceiling and she quickly grasped it without hesitation.
"Time is of the essence…"
Turning to leave, a few small jars caked in filth and dust caught her attention from the highest shelf and she paused for a moment, reaching for them carefully. Lyra recognized Sani's messy handwriting scribbled across the labels and although the letters were faded and smudged, she knew exactly what lay inside the glass containers, placing them gently into her pockets.
"For future use…" She told herself as she made her way back into the garden. "Now, as to Sani's final resting place...only one spot seems appropriate."
The air around her echoed loudly as she disapparated, leaving the wild nursery of plants behind her.
Tom paced around his room anxiously, slowly packing his belongings into the small case, his mind still spinning from what had transpired between him and Lyra earlier. He felt a grin tug at his lips as he placed a few scattered parchments into his bag and finally sat down in the chair, pushing his hair back from his face as he propped his arm up against the desk, placing his head gently against his open hand. The morning had proved advantageous to him, everything he had hoped for had come to fruition, she had agreed to accompany him on his journey ahead, a victory in which he knew would eventually prove useful -and in a most unexpected turn of events - he had also been able to finally explore his own physical desires, allowing him to stem the lascivious curiosities that seemed to strangle and consume his mind for weeks on end.
He was unsure of what he had thought it would have been like but it was a far cry from anything he had originally imagined.
He raised a finger to his lips and brushed them absentmindedly as he let out a soft laugh. The kiss was not as terrible as his mind had convinced him it would be and he reminisced quietly on what it had felt like to share such a moment of intimacy with another. Astonishingly, the act had not left him feeling violated or defiled in any way, instead it had left him feeling...strange...and more conflicted than he had felt before.
For longer than he could remember, he had always despised the idea of intimacy, simple acts of kindness or love, an annoying reminder of what he had never been given as a child. His pitiful surroundings and the atmosphere he had grown up in had taught him to grow and find solace in other pursuits, leaving any yearning for its presence to fade quickly, replaced instead with a strong feeling of abhorrence for any kind of physical contact or attachment to another. In the past, when he had watched others make fools of themselves over such fleeting and absurd desires, he had felt pride at his own refusal to partake, convincing himself that such needs and wants were below him. But over the months he had felt himself question his resolve, his interests and curiosity had been piqued by not only the strange emotions within him, but also by the swamp witch's seductive words and today's turn of events suddenly left him feeling unsettled and guarded.
"What happened today must not be a frequent occurrence…" He thought to himself grimly, wondering if the exact action that had convinced her to follow him would also result in his undoing.
The small nagging feeling started to flood his body and he felt himself grow annoyed at his sudden discontentment, a far cry from the joy that had burned throughout his body only moments before. The apprehensive feeling suddenly took hold of his mind, ruining whatever good feelings he had tried to hold onto and shame quickly started to flood through his body as he recounted the shared moment between them over and over in his head, a steady flush rising into his cheeks.
"How easily I have fallen prey to my weaknesses, how easily her embrace distracted my thoughts, distorted my judgment."
He felt the angry sting of resentment burn inside his chest as he felt his mind stray towards her once more and slammed his hand down against the desk furiously, his heart pounding. A small voice in the back of his mind quietly tried to quell his negative thoughts, instead reminding him of why his actions had been necessary.
"You knew that she would need to be persuaded differently. There was no other way, you acknowledged this. Using your body to get what you want is no different than using your mind. If there is a weakness to be exploited, it must be explored by whatever means necessary. There is no shame in finding enjoyment while completing these tasks...the only disgrace would be losing yourself in them, placing aside the future to placate the present. As long as you are conscious of the difference, do not judge yourself too harshly."
Tom closed his eyes as he took a deep breath and held it momentarily before exhaling, letting his negative feelings evaporate. He knew that it was not his actions that infuriated him so mercilessly, but the feelings that had accompanied them, how it had made him yearn for more. How he had let one kiss turn into three, angry when she had broken their embrace, drunk from how relaxed it had made him feel. Foolishly he had assumed earlier that after he had given into his curiosity, that his lust would be satiated, satisfied by finally knowing what it felt like. Instead it had done only the opposite and his body, his mind had wanted more, it was as if a match had lit a fire inside of him, one he so desperately wished he could extinguish.
He felt a murderous anger well up inside him and he for a moment he wanted nothing more than to kill someone, to hurt something, anything, to ease his troubled mind. But there would be no respite and instead he looked around desperately for a distraction, his hands fumbling around the remaining parchment and booked scattered across the desk until they grazed up against a small bundle of rolled parchments - notes that Lyra had gifted him the day prior.
Peeling them apart, he started to read through them furiously, trying to lose himself in the words and detailed annotations written delicately in her hand. He read the pages over and over again, devouring what she had so eagerly transcribed and felt himself begin to grow relaxed, his mind drifting off into calmer waters. He re-read them for what had felt like hours, until a small word, written in the most delicate of scripts, suddenly caught his eye. Tom moved his finger carefully towards the phrase and trailed its shape, pursing his lips in thought. A concept suddenly sprang into his mind, a simple explanation to their problems that had escaped his thought process earlier.
"Animagi…"
Lyra wiped her forehead as she dug the shovel into the hard, dried earth and took a deep breath as she peered below her, the valleys of the canyon stretching onward towards the horizon. Off in the distance, hundreds of feet above the ground, she could make out the various birds of prey that stalked the dried dunes of earth, hawks and falcons, hunting and searching desperately for their next meal. Taking in a deep breath, she closed her eyes and held it for a moment, exhaling as a cool breeze touched her cheek, a rare and uncommon occurrence during the day for her current location. Her attention turned once more towards the shovel and she grasped it stubbornly once more, digging it into the parched ground below her, ripping the earth's surface apart.
Cursing silently under her breath, she placed a heaping load of dirt beside her and stabbed the shovel into the ground once more, placing her foot upon its neck and pushing all of her body weight onto it until it slipped into the surface again, the dried sand cracking underneath the pressure.
"I'll be doing this all day at this rate…" Lyra thought to herself as she repeated the task over and over, the walls of the hole rising around her as she carved her way into the earth's surface. "...but I owe it to him to do this - without magic - with my own two hands. In life I could never repay him for the kindness he showed me, so at the very least I can do this for him in death..."
She raised the shovel above her head as she threw the contents over her shoulder, wincing as the blisters started to form on her fingers from grasping the worn wooden handle of the spade. Cursing to herself softly, she repeated the motion, continuing to shovel dirt over her back until the hole had started to resemble a grave.
"Cassian should have been here helping me, instead of acting like a wounded animal." She thought angrily to herself as she continued on and growled when she felt a large blister upon her hand burst open, clenching her teeth in pain as she held it up to her face. "No. You purposely set out to do this on your own. It's better that he's not here. It would have just frustrated you further and taken away from the importance of this moment."
Looking around at what she had done, she slowly nodded to herself and started to climb out of the hole, the dirt pressed under her fingers as she grasped the dry earth to hoist herself up. Once out of the grave, she knelt by the open earth and let her breath out in ragged gasps, again wiping the sweat from her brow with the side of her hand. It had been a difficult feat, carving his grave into the flesh of the canyon, but she could think of no other place more appropriate for his burial. It felt like it had happened yesterday, although years had passed, but she could still remember everything about the day, the moment she had said goodbye to her mother's remains in this very same spot.
"The weather even feels the same...solemn, unyielding…" She wrapped her arms around herself as the wind caressed her hair gently. After her untimely death, Lyra had been given a glass urn, filled with ashes, all that had remained of her mother. For months she had stared at the glass urn in her room, reluctant to part with them, continuously searching for a place that had been untouched by time or by human hands, until she stumbled across this part of the desert. Remote and quiet, unfouled by both creatures and humans alike, she knew at once that this was where her mother could finally find peace and now once again, like she had scattered her mothers ashes to the wind, she would lay Sani in the ground.
"Perhaps in death they'll both find comfort in each other…"
She shivered as she rubbed her arms against her body. There had been other reasons for her desired solitude, aside from Cassian's perpetual cries for attention and her duty to Sani. Deep down, she could not help but feel conflicted about how other events of the day had played out.
The moments spent with Tom, although however innocent and tender as they were, had not staved off any sort of anxiety in her mind. After the experience had ended, after he had left her company, whatever jubilation she had felt had suddenly ceased, her mind now racing with doubts and concern. Although she now finally had found someone to confide in, to help ease her burdens, someone who truly understood her...a lingering voice in her mind was telling her that she had been too hasty, too reckless and that to go off chasing fantasies with a stranger she barely knew would prove to be a mistake.
"Tom isn't a stranger." She tried to remind herself as she stood to her feet, wincing as she wiped the dirt from off her clothing, every part of her body sore from shoveling.
"You know nothing about him."
She sniffed her nose up indignantly as she began to argue with herself. "I know enough about him to trust him."
"Completely?"
She hesitated as she rubbed her arms, feeling a cold sensation rise up inside her, despite the scorching sun above her head.
"As much as I could ever trust someone. I feel as if I've always known him...he understands me, he thinks as I do - "
The last thought stopped her in her tracks as she bit her lip in hesitation. Truthfully, although there was a lot they had in common, she could not lie to herself about how his ideas for the future made her slightly uncomfortable.
"A beautiful theory perhaps…" Lyra thought as she tucked her hair behind her ear again, her eyes trailing the dark mark that he had placed upon her arm. "A world where magic can be practiced freely...where no one could censor our gifts, our interests. A world without judgement…"
She frowned as she suddenly peered down into the valley once more and watched as a hawk swooped towards the ground suddenly, grabbing what looked like another creature into its talons before soaring towards the horizon. "..But unattainable. It can never happen. People would never understand...they're too fearful...too willing to just lie down inside the comfortable cages they've been placed into…"
Lyra thought back to their embrace earlier, how she had felt in his presence, how he had calmed her negative thoughts and let out a soft laugh. She had tried so hard to protect herself from such emotions, guard herself from letting people in and in the end her attempts to keep him estranged were all for naught. He had broken through her walls and in that moment of weakness, they had all come tumbling down around her. The feelings he had encouraged within her were foreign and she couldn't help but feel slightly vulnerable, a thought which angered her.
She took a deep breath and tried to think past her ire, trying to push her own discomforts aside and look at the future he had spoken of. Yes, he had awakened a vulnerability inside her that she had not felt since her mothers passing but he had also given her hope. A chance that she might be able to live her life, insteading of succumbing to an illness that was on the verge of destroying her, a chance at a brighter future, one she could look forward to. But why did he want her to accompany him so badly?
"Perhaps he needs me as much as I need him."
The idea at first sounded ridiculous to her, of all people he was the last on her list that seemed to need any help at all. His choices seemed to all be premeditated, his decisions carefully articulated but she knew there were times that he had been reckless as well, too arrogant to see what was plainly in front of him and as she gazed once more at the mark upon her arm wondering if his need instead was purely physical instead of intellectual.
At the idea, she felt a shiver roll down her spine. "No. I think not. It was a moment of weakness for us both...I could never even think to give myself to someone in that way...I won't."
She had long given up on entertaining such notions, she had never grown comfortable enough with a person to ever have fantasized on what it would be like, nor had she ever entrusted someone so completely to trust her heart in their hands. The world was a cruel place and she knew better than to fall victim to such urges, she knew how to protect herself from those who might hurt her...or worse distract her from her goals. Tired of thinking about his motives, Lyra instead found herself thinking about another matter, one entirely different and more important.
What were her goals?
She no longer held her esteemed position at MACUSA and after her departure, she had shifted her focus onto her health, trying to cure a mysterious condition that consumed her body and soul. If she were to be successful and rid herself of whatever it was that plagued her, what then could she devote herself to? What could she commit her focus towards?
She had focused on her health for so long, she had lost sight of her passion, her dedication. There was nothing to apply herself to.
Lyra thought back once more to what Tom had divulged to her, his impassioned speech and what he had intended to do once he was done traversing the world. A small grin tugged at the corners of her mouth as her despair turned to optimism.
"It might seem impossible, but perhaps with a little bit of effort it might not be outside the realm of possibilities…"
She frowned as she looked towards the giant hole in the ground where she would lay the only person who would have given her any reason to look behind her and thought of their last conversation, a silent furor washing over her body.
"Sani was quick to cast his aspersions on my way of life…quick to shame me into thinking that how I survived was wrong and depraved...but without my talents and without the knowledge that was necessary for my endurance...I would surely be dead. Why is it so hard for others to comprehend that without restrictions...without others telling us how we should educate ourselves, life would be so much easier...more worthwhile."
Lyra knew that if she were to help Tom see his vision come to fruition, they would face challenges, resistance from others along the way that disagreed with them, those who would misconstrue their efforts out of fear. But it did not matter. After all it didn't need to take a majority of people to bring about a revolution...it only needed a few solid leaders to bring about the change...there would be others that followed in their footsteps, she was sure of it.
"Perhaps what the world needs is a little push."
Little bit of a shorter chapter, but happy with how it turned out. Had major writers block for a bit, but I was finally able to smooth out all of the lumps and bumps this chapter presented to me. Hoping I'm doing the character's justice, there is so much going inside Tom and Lyra's heads, it's interesting to how they handle their emotions (or don't LOL) . Lots more to come in future chapters! If you're enjoying the story, don't forget to review, follow & add the story to your favs if you haven't already! (It's a motivational push for me!) Until next time guys!