Tom Riddle

Tom wasn't quite sure what to think of the semi-feral man standing before him.

After rescuing Sirius Black from Azkaban, Tom took him to one of his hideouts, a small warehouse located in London's docks, where he intended to conduct a preliminary interview for the position of his right hand man. Naturally, he first washed Sirius and provided him with clean clothes, as his previous condition was not suitable for such an interview. However, he quickly learned that improving Sirius' physical appearance was the least of his problems. Sirius' mental state was a much bigger concern.

He supposed he was at fault for expecting too much from the man.

When he was told about Sirius Black, supposedly the lieutenant of his original self, Tom was hopeful. According to Michael, Sirius was a charming and dependable wizard of considerable power, whose creativity and independence would be a perfect fit for his role as Tom's second-in-command. Upon hearing this, Tom became so excited that he ignored Michael's warnings about the man's potentially wild state after more than a decade of imprisonment. He simply assumed that someone chosen by Voldemort would not be broken by something as insignificant as Azkaban.

Much to his dismay, however, Michael's warnings proved correct, as Sirius was certainly wild, a fact he could not deny.

To put it plainly, Sirius Black was a wreck of a man. Even leaving aside his poor physical condition, such as obvious malnutrition and a multitude of diseases, it was not difficult to see that his stay in Azkaban had not been kind to Sirius' mental state. Years of imprisonment had made Sirius almost feral, as even now he was watching Tom with a caution closer to that of a wild animal than a human being. Tom was quite certain that if it hadn't been for his promise to help him find Pettigrew, Sirius would have already fled Tom's hideout and tried to find the rat man on his own, no matter how futile and dangerous such an action would have been. While his presumed Animagus status certainly played a role in his erratic behavior, it was clear that Sirius' mental state had deteriorated considerably due to his imprisonment, bringing his mentality closer to his alternative canine form.

It was quite a sad sight to see a man, who was apparently once a loyal and capable follower of Voldemort, reduced to a shell of a man, at this point driven only by revenge.

Still, even in his pathetic state, Tom was able to see the hidden potential that Michael spoke of. Sirius' eyes, though wild and unfocused, had a certain spark in them that spoke of a strength of spirit not lost even after a decade of imprisonment. It was barely noticeable, concealed behind all the madness and fleas, but it was there. He could already see that Sirius was like an uncut diamond just waiting for Tom to bring out its true potential. It would be hard work, full of effort and sacrifice, but Tom knew that it would be worth it.

But that was something he was only supposed to do after talking to his potential supporter. As he turned to Sirius, he saw that the man had already changed his clothes and was seemingly waiting for Tom to begin, looking at him with eyes constantly shifting between gratitude and suspicion. Upon seeing this, Tom raised his hands in a reassuring manner and spoke, hoping to calm the former prisoner.

"Now that you've finished changing, I was hoping we could talk," Tom said softly, though this didn't seem to satisfy Sirius as he continued to watch him guardedly. "...you really don't have to be so tense, you know? As I said in your former cell, I want to help you."

His words seemed to have some effect, as Sirius' shoulders relaxed slightly, indicating that he was ready to at least speak to Tom. He opened his mouth and stammered a few times, apparently unused to talking after so many years, but finally began to speak, his tone more confident with every word.

"I...I-It's not that I'm not grateful. I am forever in your debt for rescuing me from A-azkaban, really. It's just... I doubt you would do something like that without expecting something in return. The fact that you still haven't revealed your identity is also quite concerning," Sirius said slowly. His tone was gentle, as he was most likely trying not to offend him, despite his misgivings about Tom's motives.

Despite the subtle accusation, Tom was actually quite pleased with Sirius' hesitation to trust him. While most would be offended by such a statement, to him it was just proof that Sirius was a rational person who would not blindly trust others. After all, in a case like this, it was only proper to suspect malicious intent.

Tom certainly would.

Still, if they were to work together in the future it would be best to address his concerns as soon as possible.

"Well, there's really no point in lying, so I'll just tell you the truth. Yes, I'm not helping you out of the goodness of my heart, which should be obvious." Tom said. He wanted a man to serve as his second-in-command, so pretending to be some philanthropist with hero syndrome would only hinder him in the future. That didn't however mean that he would reveal everything just yet. He still had to make sure he could trust Sirius. " I don't think it's wise to reveal my goals yet, since our cooperation is still quite tentative, but I assure you that it's in my best interest to have Pettigrew exposed, tried and sent to Azkaban. Therefore..."

Tom was unable to finish his sentence, as Sirius, who had previously been listening to him with cautious interest, did something completely unexpected.

He growled like a wild animal, bared his teeth at Tom and assumed an aggressive, hunched position, closer to a rabid dog than to a human. His eyes, previously quite focused and piercing, became two balls of burning fury. Sirius was apparently so furious that it took him a few seconds to remember that he was even able to speak, but when he did, he began to scream, his voice full of rage and hysteria.

"No, no, NO! The rat will die! No trial, no A-azkaban!" Sirius shouted, clearly deranged. He frantically waved his hands in denial, seemingly unable to control himself. "I won't let him live! Not after what he did! I'll tear him to pieces with my own hands!"

Well, it looked like Tom's proposal had triggered Sirius quite a bit, which was not optimal. Still, he guessed it was a good thing that he was able to find that particular trigger so quickly. It would have been quite disastrous if they had reached Pettigrew without Tom's knowledge of Sirius' murderous intentions. He however hoped that he would be able to convince Sirius to abandon his not-so-optimal plan for revenge, as this would negatively affect Tom's own plans.

"Sirius, you can't kill Peter Pettigrew." Tom said calmly, causing Sirius to look at him with fury. Not wanting to aggravate the obviously unstable man, Tom tried to explain his reasoning as gently as possible "You must understand that if you kill him, you will not be able to prove your innocence. If you want to be a free man, Pettigrew must be interrogated and publicly tried."

"I don't care! I spent twelve years in Azkaban! Twelve years! So I don't care about proving my innocence! All I want is to kill Pettigrew! Do you understand?!" Sirius screamed, his voice breaking. Tom furrowed his brow, knowing that he would have to do something very unpleasant to reach Sirius.

"...You're not thinking rationally, Sirius." Tom sighed. Michael had already told him what to say in a case like this, though he was quite hesitant to do so, as he found even talking about that person quite distasteful. Unfortunately it seemed he had no choice. What exactly was he supposed to say? Ah, yes, he remembered. "You may think that killing a rat is a good solution, but you seem to have forgotten something. Tell me, if you kill the rat, what happens to the pup?"

Tom's statement seemed to stop Sirius in his tracks, as he looked at him with wide-open eyes, his previous fury completely gone, instead replaced by growing fear.

"The p-pup?" Sirius asked in a trembling voice, clearly already knowing who Tom was talking about, but too afraid to say his name. Tom could relate, as he too had trouble even saying the name, but sadly there was no other way. Sirius needed to hear it.

"Yes, the pup. Your godson, Harry Potter," Tom said, grateful that his mask was able to hide the distaste that appeared on his face after saying the boy's name. Perhaps he was being a little unfair to the boy, since Potter was, in the end, just an unwitting puppet under the control of Dumbledore and the Ministry, but that didn't change the fact that he was also a walking, breathing mockery of the original Tom's efforts, who represented the very rot that was consuming the wizarding world.

Still, Sirius didn't need to know about Tom's resentment, especially since, according to Michael, he seemed to have developed some unwitting affection for the boy during his time as a sleeper agent in the Order of the Phoenix. "He is currently living with his mother's relatives. I don't know the full details, but given what I've learned about them, I'm sure he would prefer to live with his godfather if given the chance. On the other hand, maybe killing Pettigrew is worth leaving Harry to his fate? What do you think, Sirius?"

That seemed to have had some effect on Sirius, as upon hearing Tom's words he fell silent for quite a while, apparently unable to make a choice. It took him some time to come to a conclusion, time he spent mostly growling and mumbling something under his breath, but he eventually lifted his gaze and looked at Tom, clearly more composed and steady than before.

"So, I came to two conclusions. First, I have decided that you are quite an asshole for manipulating me and forcing me to choose between revenge and my godson."

Tom stared at the man in silence, not quite sure how to react to Sirius' statement. He guessed that it was a good thing that he was able to see through such an obvious ploy? If he hadn't been able to do even that, Tom would have really begun to question Michael's choice of subordinate. Still, he hoped the second part would be nicer, because so far he was not amused.

"Second, you were right to mention Harry and I am grateful for that. As you said, I am Harry's godfather. I can't abandon him, no matter how much... I would like to see Pettigrew splattered on the wall. So I will tell you this, I will help you with your plans, whatever they may be, as long as you promise to make the Rat's fate miserable and painful." Sirius declared with resolve clear in his voice, making Tom smile with satisfaction. Although it didn't go exactly as he had planned, he was quite satisfied with the result.

Tom extended his hand to Sirius, which the latter gladly accepted.

"You don't have to worry about that. I'll make sure he will wish he was dead when I'm done with him." Tom said with a sadistic smile on his face. Sirius wasn't able to see it because of the mask, but he must have sensed it somehow, as he himself smiled in a similar way, though his smile was much more fanged. Then Tom remembered something. "Also, you asked for my name earlier..."

Tom could no longer call himself Voldemort. His original self created the name as a way to reforge a hated Muggle name into something more suitable and grand. It certainly served its purpose well, being known by every wizard and witch in wizarding Britain, even more than a decade after the Original's "death," but it was not a name he wanted to adopt. After all, he no longer hated his Muggle heritage, as he was finally able to see the value in the Muggles and Muggleborns he once hated. That's why he needed a new name that would allow him to accept his mixed ancestry instead of rejecting it.

That was why he took a new name, one suggested by Michael. Apparently it had once been a name used by one of his potential enemies, created as a way of dealing with an uncomfortable heritage, but for Tom it would be a sign of his pride in his half-blood status.

Yes, he found the name to be perfect for his purposes.

"While I can't reveal my real name yet, you can call me... the half-blood prince."

Tom and Sirius joined forces! Well, sort of. They still haven't discussed the whole "The Ministry and Dumbledore are evil!" thing, so Sirius is about to experience quite a ride.

Also, in the next chapter we'll give all of our valiant heroes a break and see how the real villainess of the Harry Potter world (and her two stooges) are doing.