A Deathly Kiss
Chapter 4 - The beginning of the end
"Gentlemen", Tom exulted from his position at the front of the dark dungeon room. There was little light from the few candles and yet it all seemed to focus on him at once, giving the impression of an angel. Or at least a devil dressed as one. "It is the beginning of a new year and the culmination of many years past. When we board the Hogwarts express next summer we will enter society and be expected to go forward as fully fledged wizards. To lead the next generations".
He stilled for a moment in order to let his eyes roam over everyone in the room slowly. "In light of this", he drawled. "I'd like to ensure we're all on the same page."
Aiden Avery's eyes flickered towards Heleus with the familiar signs of brewing suspicion behind them. He'd voiced his concerns over their new member multiple times and had been rebuked repeatedly.
It was two nights after the opening feast and most of the students had settled down for the start of the new term. Tom Riddle had managed to charm his way into the Head Boy position, much to Dumbledore's frustration, and was already trying to use this power to recruit more people to his cause. So far Zakariya Zabini, a 6th year Slytherin, had stepped forward.
"Surely it should be obvious what page we're on?" Reginald Lestrange asked with an incredulous expression on his face.
"You would think wouldn't you", Tom answered sagely. "But, with the help of one of our newest recruits, I have come to a few profound realizations that I must make sure you are all on board with before we continue".
"That recruit wouldn't happen to be Vasilikas, would it?" Avery growled menacingly.
"Perhaps it is. Is there something you wish to say about that?"
"He's a liability!" Aiden exploded loudly as he stood from his chair. "He spends his time with Lucretia and fucking Ignatius Prewett of all people. And don't pretend you haven't seen him going off to Dumbledore's office in the evening's. The more you say in his presence the more he'll go and report back to him, then, in the end, he'll just fuck off back to Greece where he belongs."
"Heleus has my full confidence", Tom reassured calmly. "He is a very useful asset to us and I won't have him slipping through my fingers because of your childish display of jealousy. You should sit down so that we can continue with our discussions".
Avery's eye twitched and snarled in Heleus' direction before collapsing to the chair with a loud thump. Zakariya Zabini, who had been seated next to him at the beginning of the meeting, was watching him with a curious expression on his face.
"Muggles", the Head Boy started once again, "are our inferiors. They lack our power, our skill and most of all they lack a cause. They are worthless to us. Their children, however, are not."
"Like Muggle-borns", Zabini murmured quietly and Tom smiled a little at how quickly his new recruit was catching on.
"Exactly".
"Muggle-borns are no better than the Muggles themselves", Abraxas interjected. "They're uncouth. The longer they stay within the magical community the more our blood becomes tainted. We can't allow this to carry on".
"You're right in some respects", Heleus concurred from his end of the table where he'd mostly been silent to this point. "Muggle-borns have, in a way, tainted our community. But not in the way you believe. Lady Magic chooses who she wants to gift her power to, Muggle-borns included. She chooses those who she believes has the most potential and she can just as easily take her gifts away. As evidenced by Squibs. In this way, Muggle-borns are just as worthy of their magic as we are".
He paused to hear some of the discordant murmurs throughout the group before carrying on, "Every magical bloodline has to have a beginning and somewhere in your ancestry will be a completely ordinary pair of mundane muggles who's child just so happened to be given the gift of magic. This is true for every single Pureblood line in existence, Wizard and Creature. Your forefathers were muggles. And yet their children, when given this gift, have let their lines grown for hundreds and thousands of years until they became the empire's that they are today".
He let his words sink into the group for a moment and a look of dawning realization came over Zabini's face. "Every Muggle-born has the potential to sire a pureblood line", he stated with an odd quirk to his lips.
He had the feeling that Zabini would soon become one of his new favorite people.
"So what?" Lestrange interrupted with a sour look on his face. "What does that mean? We just leave them all be? We give up?"
"It means", Zabini clarified. "That our problem with Muggle-borns is Nurture, not Nature."
Heleus nodded towards him in confirmation towards Zakariya. "Our mission isn't just to start pulling out our wands and eradicating the Muggle species. Because despite what we may believe their children are valuable to us and the new lines they will create are the only things stopping us from inbreeding ourselves out of existence. The problem with Muggle-borns is not their blood but the way they were raised. Muggle society and religion make sure that as soon as Muggle-borns enter Hogwarts they have a twisted point of view. They believe our society is backward. Over the years the Ministry has changed their laws and rules to accommodate those raised by Muggles. Halloween is to be celebrated instead of Samhain. Christmas instead of Yule. We've spent so many years doing this that eventually, we started believing what the Muggle-borns preached. Our religion, something to be worshipped and coveted, was branded as Dark Magic because of the evil that Muggle-borns thought it to be. Our culture is falling to shreds and we need to take action".
"And so", Tom picked up where he'd finished. "Our mission is complete separation from the Muggle world. Magical children born to Muggle's will be taken from them and raised by Wizard's so that they can learn our customs. This way new blood will continue to be brought into the community without us losing our culture. Of course, all of these changes will face opposition so I propose that we work the issue on two fronts. First, from within the Ministry itself. Many of the people in this room either have future Lordships or the potential to find themselves a very influential position in the Government. The second is a more pro-active approach. None of you are averse to violence. We'll tear our opposition to pieces until they have no choice but to turn to us to rebuild".
Lestrange seemed to sink back into his chair slowly, "I don't like it...but I trust your judgment. This is the best way."
Tom nodded once towards him and turned to the rest of the group, "Does anybody wish to object?" When nobody answered he continued.
"Once I graduate it's very likely that I'll have to leave the country. There are...objects that I need to find that are vital to our success and I must gather them immediately before we launch our attack on the ministry. In the time that I am gone, I'd like you all to start amassing potential allies, find likeminded people to our cause. We'll need as much help as we can get", he emphasized.
The group nodded although a few looked a bit put out by his impending departure. "That will be all". People slowly started to leave until it was only Heleus and Tom left in the now silent room.
"Were you going to tell me your leaving?" he questioned quietly.
"Yes of course", Tom reasoned. "It's not set in stone, it really depends if I find what I need".
"Which is?" he prompted.
"I can't tell you everything Heleus. There are some secrets that must stay my own. Rest assured, someday soon I'll tell you all".
Heleus wasn't sure that he wanted that day to come.
He was surprised it took at least a month for Dumbledore to send his first invitation to meet.
It had been on a Saturday morning at the breakfast when one of the black school owls swept down from the rafters and dropped the small note on his empty plate. He'd taken to sitting in the center of the table alongside the other knights and was at that time engaged in a conversation with Joseph Fawley on the rights of creatures such as Werewolves.
"I agree we shouldn't kill them", Joseph had reasoned calmly. "But there has to be something in place to stop them from attacking Wizards".
"Tagging? Really?" Heleus drawled.
"It's not like you can think anything better" he responded tartly.
It was just at that moment that he heard the noise of something hitting his plate and turned to find the note. The words were written in perfect calligraphy as usual.
Heleus,
I would like to extend an invitation for afternoon tea if you're amenable. I have recently come into the possession of a new formula from my dear friend Nicholas Flamel that I think you would be interested to discuss.
I will be expecting you at 3 o'clock
Dumbledore
P.S. I really did enjoy that lovely salt-water taffy they started selling at Honeydukes
He calmly folded the note back up and placed it in his pocket, carefully ignoring the smug look he knew was on Avery's face. The one that quite clearly said I told you so.
He rose from the table and bade his farewell to Joseph before heading off towards the library to complete his final pieces of Transfiguration homework before the lesson on Monday. He got halfway there when he heard the sound of running footsteps and a firm hand clasped his shoulder in an attempt to stop his progress. "Wait". He stopped immediately as he recognized the voice and turned to see Ignatius Prewett standing behind him and taking deep breaths to calm his racing heart. His cheeks were a bright red against his pale skin and seemed to accentuate the redness of his hair.
"I haven't talked to you in ages", he stated with furrowed brows then took another heaving breath before collapsing back against the stone wall. He blew away a strand of his hair that had just fallen in front of his eyes. "You and Lucretia seem to be avoiding each other".
"We had a conflict of interest", he said blandly.
"Really?" he asked completely unimpressed. "Before summer you were thick as thieves. I doubt a 'conflict of interest' could change that".
"It's true", he sniffed. "Believe what you wish, I have no time for you if you don't believe what I say".
"Sorry", Ignatius mumbled. "It's just...Lucretia seems really down lately and nothing I do will cheer her up. She needs you Heleus".
"And I needed her", he deflected. "But she didn't trust me. I understand that she cares but she needs to understand that I'm an adult and I don't need her making decisions for me. I didn't ask for her to agree with me just to respect my decisions and she couldn't do that. If she really wanted to talk to me she'd come and find me herself".
He stopped for a moment to watch as a dejected expression came over his friend's face before offering a small sad smile and leaving to go to the library.
Later that afternoon he found his way to Professor Dumbledore's office, not far away from the Transfiguration classroom. The door was sandwiched between a full-sized portrait of an old knitting witch and a painted landscape of the Welsh countryside completed by a roaring dragon crouched upon a hilltop. He knocked once on the door and a small lion figurine appeared in place of a handle. It opened it's mouth and spoke in a low monotone. "Password".
"Salt-Water Taffy". Then watched in mild curiosity as the lion head twisted and the door clicked open to reveal the familiar image of Dumbledore seated at his desk. He was marking a large stack of papers in a bright and certainly impractical yellow color. There was an old tome propped open on a metal stand to one side of his desk with gloves hung on the stand for viewing. He looked up from a paper and smiled happily towards him, shifting the work to the side to be completed a later date.
"Heleus, come in. Make sure to close the door behind you". He stood from his chair and drifted towards the metal stand and started to pull on the pair of old leather gloves.
"Usually I don't wear gloves when reading books but Nicholas was very adamant. When he gets passionate about something..." he trailed off with a small chuckle. "Well let's just have a look then. I've been informed that this book came from Jamaica. I've never been myself but I've heard they've got some particularly nice coffee beans that I feel would make excellent sweets. Perhaps we could use our joint powers of persuasion to convince Honeydukes to invest."
"This one is a very rare find", he gestured for Heleus to come closer and he very nearly reached out to touch the pages before he composed himself. "Most Wizards look at Alchemy from a magical point of view, as a branch of Transfiguration. This one comes from a Muggle-born wizard. He traveled the world with his father, a scientist, at a young age and liked to apply the theories he learned to Magic. For example, here he talked about the structure of atoms and how each element had a different number of protons".
"I'm not very familiar with this particular branch of science", he said slowly. In truth, he wasn't aware of many branches of science at all. He knew a small amount of Muggle Biology from what they'd taught during the healing courses at school but that was only rudimentary.
Dumbledore nodded in understanding. "Well, this Wizard decided that if we could somehow adjust the number of protons within an element, we could change any substance into another. And not a temporary change like most Transfigurations are that have to be fed magic in order to remain in their change state. He talks about permanently changing the structure of a substance, it should be impossible but with magic, we could make it happen".
"Simply ingenious sir", he praised.
"Yes it is", the man mumbled whilst pulling the gloves off slowly. "Now that we have the educational portion of our meeting out the way I'd like to have a personal conversation with you. I hope you don't believe I'm overstepping my boundaries."
"Of course not, sir", he replied kindly whilst taking a seat on the opposite side of the desk and taking a sip from the conjured cup of tea that had just been poured for him by an overly excitable house-elf that had popped in from the kitchen. There was also a small fresh bowl of sweets that seemed to be a different flavor of those sherbet sweets that Dumbledore always seemed to be eating.
"Tom Riddle..." Dumbledore commented. "What is he like?"
"I'm afraid I don't quite understand".
"It seems you have been spending a lot more time with him and his companions than you were last year". He clarified. "What has changed?"
He stopped for a moment to gather himself, fully aware that he had to tread carefully from here on out. "He's different to what I believed him to be. We got to talking before the summer and I realized that my preconceived notions were not entirely correct. He's a very intelligent man and offers stimulating conversation".
Dumbledore frowned at him almost imperceptibly and took a long contemplative sip from his glass, "Would you call him...a friend?"
'We're certainly more than friendly' a little voice in the back of his mind supplied but he successfully managed to ignore it. "Well yes", he supplied. "He's been nothing other than kind to me in the time I've actually got to know him."
He seemed to accept this comment and nodded politely before broaching what appeared to be a completely different topic. Heleus, however, knew better. "I take it you saw the news over the summer. About Morfin Gaunt being arrested".
"Yes it was rather odd", he remarked. "Things like that don't much happen in Greece".
"They don't happen much here either", Dumbledore replied. "Of course, in recent years during the war, there was a lot of Muggle-baiting occurring but nothing quite so violent in nature." He paused to study him from across the table, "And how did Mr. Riddle react to the news?"
"I didn't know it was particularly relevant to him", he said in confusion as he reached out to pinch one of the sherberts on the table. Dumbledore looked amused by his actions before returning to the serious nature of the conversation.
"I'm sorry. I forgot they didn't say so in the Prophet but...the family that was killed, their last name was Riddle. They were his family".
He looked up sharply to meet the old man's eyes as his own seemed to narrow. "I wasn't aware. Besides, I don't believe he ever met them or would wish to do so. I was under the impression that they abandoned him to an orphanage".
Dumbledore seemed shocked that he was aware of so much already. "It certainly seems to have been so".
"I'm not quite comfortable talking about this sir. You must understand", he said with a conflicted expression on his face.
The professor came back to himself out of a sort of contemplative trance, "Of course. I've already asked too much". He leaned back in his chair and folded his hands in his lap. "So...have you applied for the Unspeakable program. It's always a good idea to try and jump the gun on these things. You don't have to wait for your NEWT results as I'm sure they'll be more than adequate".
Heleus leaned back and took a long sip from his teacup, "Perhaps you could provide your assistance, sir. I'm sure you're much more knowledgable about the British Ministry than I am".
Dumbledore looked on with something akin to fond amusement, "After living with the Black family for two summers I know that's not the case. But nonetheless, I would be very glad to offer my assistance."
He coughed slightly into his cup and then the two carried on their conversations as usual.
When Tom gazed upon his lover that evening at dinner, the sight that met him was one he'd never seen before.
His hands were clenched against the table, knuckles white and his whole body seemed to be tensed. His breathing came in long deep breaths as if he was trying to calm the raging beast inside him. He could practically hear the thump thump thump of the man's heart racing at 100 miles per hour. And his eyes...
Those bright green eyes seemed to glow unnaturally. Infused with something vicious. Something feral.
This man was a ticking bomb waiting to explode.
He glanced carefully around the table to look at the others in the group, all of them either engaged in active conversation or attempting to devour their food whilst maintaining at least some modicum of decorum. He lay his knife and fork down in the center of the clean plate elegantly, side by side in a perfectly straight line, and then conjured a white napkin with which he wiped his hands carefully before vanishing it once again. When he was done, he let his hand slip just below the table, inching its way across the bench until it found it's way to the soft fabric of the other man's trousers. From there it slowly slid upwards to rest on his hip where he gave a small squeeze to attract his attention.
Those glowing green eyes seemed to flicker downwards to the hand before going straight back upwards to meet familiar hazel eyes.
"Why so tense?" he purred lowly, seductively, in a way that usually made Heleus' eye twitch in irritation. Anyone else would take the lust in his voice to be true but Heleus knew that tone and it was a tone of mocking.
He followed the other man's eyes to settle on a boy on the other side of the room. One that Tom knew to be a muggle-born but was admittedly attractive with his strong features and curly blond hair that fell in front of his eyes.
His lip turned up in disgust before his hand took a much stronger, bruising grip on his lovers hip. "What is it?" he purred into his ear. "Is our sex life boring you my dear?"
Then he noticed the signs.
The red eyes, the tense nearly shaking body and the sweat beads that seemed to work their way down Heleus' forehead. It was the sort of thing he'd only ever seen in the potions addicts on the streets in Knockturn Alley, the ones who couldn't afford to get their fix and couldn't sleep until they could pump their veins full of toxic chemicals once again.
And he knew, with absolute certainty, that Heleus would never do such a thing to his body.
So it must be something else...
"How long?" he murmured quietly enough so that only the both of them could hear.
"I've had nobody but you since Abraxas. Usually it only takes a few weeks for me to get so bad but... you're almost like a Placebo. Tricking my body into thinking that it's getting what it wants but after a while, it realizes exactly what is happening and..." he trailed off as a small shudder seemed to come up his spine.
"You're getting withdrawal symptoms", he drawled. "From sex".
"It's not like that and you know it", Heleus growled angrily. "It's not the sex itself it's the magic. Normal sex always gives off some magic which is why I've been able to hold off for this long but it's not the same. The power", he shuddered again as a wave of lust seemed to come over his body and his pupils dilated.
Tom knew the feeling.
Not the sex part of course. That wasn't his Modus Operandi. But the ecstasy that he felt, the sort that only ever came when your power was rushing through your veins and your wand was clenched in your fist. The ecstasy when he saw his victim fall prey to his blade and the blood flowed from them and he saw the life leave their eyes and knew that it was him who caused this to occur. That their life, however short and insignificant, now belonged to him.
It was a feeling he lived for and he'd felt a similar pain to Heleus' ever since that first time he'd strung Billy Stubbs' rabbit from the rafters. Watching its blood dripped down on the ceiling and listening as its owner cried saline rivers. He stood in the dark shadows of that room and for the first time in his life he truly smiled. And after that day he'd been aching to sink his teeth into something better. He spent his days imaging the ways in which he'd make his enemies scream, he'd watch them from across the halls with frantic anticipation as they fell right into his traps.
The power was exhilarating.
And the pain Heleus felt from its loss was one he knew he could easily help with.
His fingers lifted till they gently tilted the other man's hin in the direction of a different boy across the hall. This one was smaller with dark brown hair and stunning sapphire eyes that gleamed innocently from where he sat all on his lonesome at the end of the Ravenclaw table. He had androgynous features and a slight build that most quidditch fans would refer to as a standard Seekers form. The boy would do.
"Preston Cole," he said quietly with his lips almost tracing the shell of his ear. "Quite pretty isn't he?"
"You can't be suggesting..." Heleus scowled.
To this, he was only met with a smirk.
Later that evening, Preston Cole was stopped in the middle of the hallway as he sprinted past the Charms corridor with his arms full of books. "No running in the halls", Tom Riddle said in a stern tone as he stepped out from an alcove where he'd been surveying the corridor.
The smaller boy stilled in his steps and turned with a look of wide-eyed terror at the head boy who towered above him despite being only a year his senior. "I'm sorry I was trying to get back to the common room before curfew", he babbled.
Tom made a tut-tutting noise and shook his head in disappointment before lifting his wand and waving it through the air with a quietly murmured Tempus. Then the numbers 22:03 appeared in bright red letters in the air. "Unfortunately Mr. Cole you already appear to be late. I'm going to have to report you to your head of house".
A look of defeat came over the boy and he sighed in resignation. "Of course".
He was led further along the corridor and to the left to a hallway devoid of portraits except for one of a sleeping wizard wearing old Chinese style robes. "Shortcut", the taller man murmured as he peeled open the portrait with an expectant look on his face. Preston looked around cautiously before entering the portrait hole, Tom followed close behind him.
The room they entered was a large and unused classroom decked out with the same small poufs that could be found in the Divination Tower along with stacks of wooden chairs in the corner that were covered from head to toe in cobwebs. Sitting on one of the desks, with his legs crossed and his head tilted in contemplation, was Heleus Vasilikas. He rose from the table and walked towards him as Preston seemed to become completely frozen in his skin. A hand came forward and played with one of the stray pieces before tucking it behind his ear.
Tom came up behind Heleus and wrapped arms around his waist whilst placing soft kisses up and down his neck. "I must admit I do see the appeal".
"Please", Preston cried desperately as he tried to find his way out of what was soon to come.
"Don't worry", one of the men murmured although he didn't know who. His mind was too far gone by now and rational thought seemed to have left him in place of fear. "You won't remember a thing".
The next half an hour was filled with desperate struggles and tears for the boy as Heleus viciously and relentlessly attacked him as the other man watched on. Occasionally uttering words of encouragement or running his hands along the boy's body with a smirk that, if he could've thought in those moments, he would've easily seen the devil within it.
In truth, he lost what was left of him in these minutes. And he didn't even need a memory charm because his subconscious, in a desperate attempt to save itself, took these memories and buried them in the darkest depths of his mind along with the last remnants of his happiness to be long forgotten for many years to come.
In the aftermath, he became a shell of himself.
Heleus pulled the knife out of the back of his pocket and started to make the incision down Preston's throat as Tom watched on in genuine fascination. The vapor that was released was pure and untainted white that smelled and tasted like flowers and forest floor. And as soon as he breathed it in, his veins were flooded with unknown power and he became revitalized like never before.
Like a high he couldn't come down from.
He dropped the boy carelessly to the ground with a thud and stepped calmly over his unconscious form before finding his way into his lovers' lap and winding his hand round his tie to pull him forward. They were pressed together, their bodies seemed to fit together and their foreheads touched lightly against one another.
"Can you feel it?" he whispered reverently. "In the air?"
He could, faintly. The tingle of fresh magic brushing over his skin but it felt completely different from the ecstasy his lover seemed to be feeling.
"Yes", he replied softly.
And then their lips met and their previous activities seemed to be forgotten to the passion. Because as powerful as it had made him feel, in reality, it was nothing compared to this.
He watched as the rest of his year mates boarded the train at the end of the year, following sedately behind them with his trunk levitating near his heels. The compartments were quickly filling up but he knew he needn't worry as Tom had already found them a place to sit along with the other Knights.
His focus, at that moment, was on the image of Lucretia Black leaned against the window of the train with a scowl on her face as she read through the pages of a Witch Weekly magazine. He let his trunk float onto the train, knowing that the charms he'd put on it would ensure it found its way to his compartment. When it had floated into the distance he let his feet carry him onto the steps and through the long open carriage filled with younger students playing games and talking about what they were going to do over the summer. When he reached his cousin's compartment she found it to be empty bar her, her usual entourage of Slytherin girls off gossiping in some other corner. Even Ignatius was absent, although his trunk must've been stashed above the seats if the Gryffindor colors could attest to its ownership.
She looked up almost as soon as his handle touched the door and he could see her hand inching towards her wand.
He held up his hands in the universal sign of surrender and then, after a few moments without any movement, he decided that it meant she wasn't going to curse him and went inside. "It's been a long time since we've had a proper conversation".
That was an understatement. They'd barely uttered a word to one another since that breakfast over summer, not even out of necessity.
She seemed to recognize this and snorted quietly. "What is it you want?"
"Just to talk. Please", he urged.
She shook her head sadly and leaned back into the seat with closed eyes. She took a deep breath before saying quietly, "I didn't really think I knew you. Of course not".
She shrugged, "We've only met two years ago and one of those was spent ignoring each other. But you just seemed so nice, and funny and just different. So different from everyone else I knew but...then things changed. And I saw you fall into the same trap that I knew Cygnus was already caught in and it tore me to shreds because I couldn't lose you to them". She turned to him, eyes sparkling with tears, "You were like a brother to me for that short time."
This time when her eyes met his they were filled with raw anger and an underlying pain that he'd never seen before. "You're no better than him. Not really. It took me so long to realize but how can I know you when you don't really know yourself. You're charming when you want to be. Just like him. And the rest of the time? There's something about you just chills me to the bone".
"I'm terrified", she whispered. "Terrified of the person you've become. And I have no idea what to do."
He came to sit down beside her and held her hand in between his to give her his warmth. Something comforting and humane left for her to hang on to. "You run", he replied solemnly and watched as her eyes snapped to his wide in confusion. "You leave this train today, take Ignatius and you never come back. There's a war coming, Lucretia, and if you stay here you'll only get caught in the middle of it and I won't let you get hear because of my own foolish desires. I'd rather you ran away and lived with muggles if that what it takes. Get married, settle down and live your life."
"You know I can't do that", she stressed. "How can I leave my family to ruin?"
He cupped her cold cheek and made sure that their eyes were looking straight at each other so that she could see the sincerity in his eyes. "I can't affect their choices. Those aren't my decision to make. But swear on my life and to magic herself that I will do whatever it takes to keep your family safe."
They stayed like that for a while as her eyes tried to analyze his features to ensure he was telling the complete truth and when she knew he wasn't lying, she pulled him into his arms and sobbed until no tears could possibly leave her eyes. And he indulged her, stroking her hair and whispering kind words as a new fierceness came over him.
He would make sure he kept his promise.