Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
A/N: Again, thanks for my beta Irihi Safaia.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
The Road to Hell
"None of them return."
"The children?"
He shook his head, sinking into the nearby chair and shutting his eyes.
"Don't blame yourself. It's not your fault."
"Do you know they celebrate after each raid? They celebrate their victories as if they have rid the world of some hideous monsters."
"People in general fear something they couldn't understand."
"And so they need to crush down everything just so they can continue to live in their blissful ignorance?"
Tom Riddle wakes up to the darkness of the Slytherin dormitory, slightly breathless from his dream. Grabbing his wand from under his pillow, he slips out of the room.
It is time.
Having memorized all the professors' patrol times and routes, Tom makes his way to the first floor without any trouble. With only the faint glow from his wand to light up the way, he cautiously walks down the corridor leading to the girl's toilet. It has taken him five years to locate the Chamber of Secrets, but in the end it is worth it.
He stops in front of the entrance of the Chamber and stares at the symbol of the serpent in silence. Taking a deep breath, he hisses softly in parseltougue and waits for the entrance to open up.
The implication of what he is about to do is clear on him. This will start everything in motion. Once it is done, there will be no turning back.
He can almost hear the voice of his old mentor, warning him about the danger of messing with time and telling him to turn back before ruining his life.
Tom pushes the image of his mentor away from his mind forcefully. The man that has taught him how to love and how to live his life is dead, or rather, simply does not exist anymore. Pain threatens to emerge at that thought, but at the same time, it reminds him of why he has brought this upon himself.
Steeling himself, Tom stares down at the bottomless hole before him and jumps into the darkness of his ancestor's chamber.
A man who has nothing to lose makes the most dangerous enemy and he is exactly that. He doesn't mind ruining his life; he has nothing left to lose.
He buried his head in his hands. He was aware of the concerned stares directed at him from the other members of the Order of the Phoenix. They were reluctant to come near him, as if they were scared of him, which was probably true. He was scared of himself.
He closed his eyes. All he could see was fire. The fire had consumed the life of two of his own students, who had looked upon him for protection. He could hear the screams of the two girls and their mother. He could hear the applause and cheering of those who had killed them; who had burned them alive.
The door of the Headquarters opened. The cold wind coming in made him shiver and, either from the cold or from the turmoil inside him, he felt himself starting to tremble. The newcomer crossed the gathering hall towards him in hasty steps.
"Tom? Are you all right?" the concern was clear in his mentor's voice.
No.
"I was so angry. I wanted them to pay. Then I feel that… power. I've never felt it this way before. I felt as if-"
"Tom."
"I know. I shouldn't have lost control like that."
His anger had caused the death of over twenty muggles, but he simply couldn't bring himself to care.
He still remembers that day clearly; the day when his whole life was altered.
He had known since he was a child that he was different. He knew he was special, though he didn't realize how special he was until he started Hogwarts.
No, it's not the magic in him that makes him special. He is more powerful than most wizards, that is true, but that alone would not induce the deep resentment he had of being left in a muggle orphanage; it would not make him hang Billy's rabbit and it would not make him feel such satisfaction at the fear in the other orphans' eyes when they look at him.
That hatred has come naturally; it has been there for as long as Tom remembers. He didn't understand why he was feeling that way then, nor did he find the need to understand it. It was all changed the day when he first entered Hogwarts, when he learned of the magic that can unlock one's mind.
The ability to read a person's thoughts and memories fascinated Tom, and Hogwarts' library has enough information on the art of Legilimency for him to teach himself during his spare time. He never expected that by learning how to manipulate one's mind, he would also regain the memories that had been locked inside his mind since the day he was born.
Soon after he started to learn Legilimency, Tom started to have dreams. They were vague at first, leaving only the foreign yet somehow familiar feeling of pain in Tom's chest. But as he began to grasp the skills of Legilimency, the dreams also started to become clearer and more detailed. He dreamt of a war-torn world and he dreamt of people dying by millions. Even though he didn't show it outwardly, those dreams disturbed him greatly; he knew for a fact that those were not normal dreams.
And he was correct. It was the night before the end of his first year that it happened. The barrier between his mind and the suppressed memories finally crumbled. One moment he was sleeping, the next moment he felt as though his head was about to burst open. A lifetime of memories flooded into his mind and he woke up screaming, his eyes widened in shock and horror. Even now, he still finds it unbelievable that he is still somewhat sane after that.
His whole life had changed then. Everything had suddenly become both clearer and more complicated at the same time. He finally understood where his hatred had come from, having finally regained the memories that accompanied those feelings.
Time travel. He had violated every law of magic and sent his soul back in time. He merged with his younger-self and successfully retained his memories, just as he had hoped. The idea of changing history had been purely theoretical. No one had been magically strong enough to endure the process, or no one had been desperate enough to try it. But Tom had, and he had succeeded in his near suicidal attempt. With the knowledge of the future restored to him, he is now free to change the future.
Somehow, the idea of sending one's soul back in time does not strike him as that crazy a move. Tom would have willingly torn apart his own soul if it meant preventing such a future from ever happening.
He walks along the dimly lit paths of the Chamber of Secrets. It doesn't take long before he reaches the door with the serpent markings that no doubt leads to the centre of the Chamber. Beyond the door is a basilisk, waiting since the founder's time for the arrival of the heir of Slytherin.
Tom reaches out his hand and traces the outline of the serpent marking. He shuts his eyes briefly and steadies himself. He would not falter now; he has set his mind on this long ago.
He stood in the middle of the battlefield, attacking whoever came his way. He killed them before they had a chance to flee. Watching them fall one by one brought him a kind of pleasure he could not describe.
Power. He could feel endless power coming from within him, fueling his every move. He would have his revenge. He would avenge all that was taken away from him by these filthy, worthless muggles.
Soon, the last of his enemy dropped onto the ground. Tom lowered his wand and walked back to the other side of the battlefield numbly.
He could see scattered groups of muggles making their retreat, but he let them go. The uncontrollable fire within him had died down, and he suddenly felt very tired.
This battle was over. They had won, for the first time in months. But he had lost; he had lost the last thing that could keep him sane from all the cruelty around him.
Three cloaked figures were standing not far away from him. Lying on the ground before them was the lifeless form of a well respected wizard. They parted wordlessly as he approached, giving him some private space as he kneeled down beside the only wizard he would ever call a mentor.
He half-expected to see the pair of twinkling blue eyes looking back at him, telling him everything was not lost yet. But the twinkles were gone, there was nothing, nothing at all.
He kneeled there for a long time. He wanted to shout, to demand his mentor wake up. But he remained silent.
Slowly, he lifted his hand and rested it on his mentor's cold forehead. Taking one last look into the pair of hollow, empty blue eyes that would be forever burnt into him, Tom gently closed his mentor's eyes.
His mentor, his dear friend, and the closest thing he had ever had for a father, was gone. And once again, he was all alone.
He reached into his pocket. He could feel the cold golden chain twisting around his fingers. At the end of the chain was the last hope of the wizarding world, in the form of a tiny hour-glass.
He rested his gaze on the peaceful face of his mentor again. "I know you will never approve, Albus, but I know you can understand," he said quietly. "The wizarding world is dying, and nothing can change that. I can't let that happen." He clenched his enchanted time-turner in his palm. "I am sorry, Albus, for what I'm about to do."
The memories of that horrible future bring back the pain of remembering his mentor, together with the now familiar rage he feels for the muggles. He knew very well what he can do with this rage, and what this kind of hatred can do to him. He knew he is tracing a very dangerous line. If he falls, if he let the rage he is feeling now to take control of him, he will no longer be himself. With the power he now commands, he knows he will become a monster far worse than the cruel bully he used to be before he regained his memories, knowing nothing but anger, wanting nothing but revenge.
But what choice does he have? A few years from now the current Dark Lord Grindelwald will fall, and over twenty years of peace will follow. The wizarding world will become so peaceful that, as time passes, they will no longer remember the pain Grindelwald has brought them. They will become so used to the peace that no one will realize the slowly emerging threat coming from not within, but outside, their world. Over the years, the barrier between the wizarding world and the muggle world will begin to crack. The muggles, without the aid of magic, will continue to develop their technologies to improve their lives. At the same time, they will discover sources of power that can rival even the strongest wizards. They will start questioning things that have always been beyond their understanding. With the aid of their beloved technologies and the mudbloods, they will find the answer. The muggles will finally discover the wizarding world.
There will be a period of panic from both worlds. The majority of muggles will refuse to acknowledge that a whole world has been hidden from them for centuries. They will view wizards and witches as threats, all with the power to destroy them. Before long, a war between the two worlds will erupt.
The war will be long and painful. But eventually, the muggles will start to win, being much more populated and having much more experience with wars.
In the end, the wizarding world will lose. Wizards and witches will be wiped out. Hogwarts will fall, and soon, the whole wizarding world along with it.
Tom can not let that happen, not for a second time. He will do all he can to warn the wizarding world of the coming threat. There will be sacrifices along the way, yes, but he can't bring himself to care. He is broken by the war, by what he's seen and lost. His sympathy has long been taken over by his hatred of the muggles.
He has gained himself a group of followers in Slytherin, and now it is time to bring his plan to a new level.
The door leading to the basilisk opens at his command and he steps into the room solemnly. As he approaches the statue of his ancestor, he can feel his heart racing. He looks up at the stony face of Salazar Slytherin steadily. When he speaks, his voice rings clearly in the chamber.
"Speak to me, Slytherin, greatest of Hogwarts four."
His lips turn into a humorless smirk when a huge basilisk answers his call. It will not happen again. That future will not come to pass again. He will make sure of that, even if it means losing his soul.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
A/N: This is the result of trying to write Rectifier, reading too many time-travel fics and playing Star Wars: KOTOR a little too many times. Then there's the fact that I don't like HBP's description of young Tom Riddle. I mean, no one is born evil, but Tom seems to be just that in HBP. So I attempt to explain it…
Yes, I know I've written too many Tom Riddle fics… Anyway, this is a one-shot and has nothing to do with my other fics. (I'd written this before I went to summer school, in case you are wondering...)
Please review!