Seduced By Darkness

Notes : Not much to say. My internet seems to be OK! YAY! I am so happy. Thanks so much for the reviews, all very encouraging and they help me a lot. Mona, thanks so much for your words. I am very happy that you are enjoying the story so much. This chapter is rated R.

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Chapter 16 : Truth


Tom awoke with a start and immediately felt that something was not right. Turning his head a little to the right he saw that Claudia was still sleeping peacefully. Disentangling himself from her arms he tried to get off the bed without waking her. “Is it morning?” She asked sleepily, barely stifling a yawn. He smiled down at her, “Yes but go back to sleep, it’s very early still.” He noticed, somewhat bemused, that she had fallen back asleep as he had been talking. Bending down he gently kissed her temple. Then he put on some black silk pants, a robe and headed to his library. Instinctively he knew what was wrong, what was now missing. He felt it, deep in his core, and as soon as he confirmed it he would also know who had taken it.

As he entered the library he didn’t bother looking around to see if anything was amiss, instead he directly went to where his diary was supposed to be. Opening the safe where it was supposedly safely hidden he saw what he had expected to see. “Empty” He muttered. “Nagi!” Bellowing her name he sat behind his desk and wrote something on a piece of parchment. “Y-yes Master?” the timid voice of the elf came from behind the half opened door. “Take this to Lucius, I need him here immediately.” Relived that he only wanted her to deliver his note she hurriedly took it and went to fetch her former master. Watching her leave Tom just sat there trying to figure out what his next move would be, and if Lucius would stay loyal to him once he told him the truth.

The first thing that Lucius asked when he walked in a few minutes later was “My Lord, what has Bellatrix stolen? And how did she manage to get into the castle?” Tom motioned for him to take a seat opposite him. “She sent another but that is not important. Nor is it very important that she was able to steal this thing since now that it’s gone there is very little that can be done. She stole my diary, the one that my older self used a few months ago to bring me here.” Lucius remained quiet but an apprehensive look had settled over his features. “I will tell you the truth now. I didn’t tell you then because I did not trust you and I tell you now not only because I trust you, but because it is inevitable that you know.” He then went into detail while explaining to Lucius how he, Tom Riddle, had trapped his older self, Lord Voldermort, inside the diary. He explained his reasons for doing so, believing that the person or thing that he’d become was weak and crazed. In order to be powerful enough to fulfill their ultimate goals he could not let his older self control him.

Lucius remained quiet throughout the whole explanation and for a few minutes afterwards. He had suspected that something had definitely happened. Not only did his lord look different but he acted different. A part of him felt that he should be angry but that was but a momentary thought. He was smart enough to know that this Tom Riddle was stronger, at least mentally, than Lord Voldermort. He almost shook his head. Everything that was happening could get confusing if you thought about it too deeply. Finally he said, “Forgive me for saying so, but I had thought that myself. Your older self was so obsessed with Harry Potter, with his revenge, and utter contempt for the boy that he was willing to sacrifice anything to see him dead. No matter what the cost. I was beginning to feel that after this war was over all of us would be slaughtered due to his obsession.” Tom regarded him quietly then said, “Yes, it is what I felt whenever he wrote in the diary to speak to me. Now, however, when he is regenerated he will not only want Potter but me, perhaps you as well since Bellatrix isn’t very fond of you.” He said with a small smile on his face.

“Is that so? I wonder why? I mean how could she not love my dashing personality?” He said sounding offended and shocked. Tom had to struggle not to laugh but sobered up quickly and asked, “When he returns he will summon you. What will you do Lucius?” His eyes never left the blonde’s face as Lucius looked him straight in the eyes and said, “I serve you now my Lord. I cannot follow him blindly as I did before. What he wants now it’s not what I want. His goals are not my own.” Getting up, Tom went around to him. “Very well then, come back tomorrow. I cannot tell you where she is. It could be as little as a few weeks for him to regain his strength since he has only been in the diary for months. We will discuss a bit more of what we should do in regards to him then.” Before leaving, Lucius asked, “Won’t the powers that you got from him return back to him?” Tom shook his head, “Yes, but I will keep them as well, now that I have learned how to use them.” Seemingly satisfied at this answer Lucius took his leave.


***


“My Lord, I will be bringing you an idiot muggle tonight for you to drain his strength. Why must this process take a whole week? We need three muggles, so it will take three weeks to get you back.” Bellatrix wrote in the diary.

“Because, you brainless bitch, I will be useless and vulnerable if I get out of this fucking book without the same strength that I had when I went in it! DO NOT make me repeat this to you again!”

Bellatrix didn’t want him to repeat it, she was just wondering if there was perhaps a faster way. She wanted him back, wanted him to hurt those who had hurt and humiliated her. The fact that her Dark Lord, the real Dark Lord, humiliated her with his every word didn’t matter to her. Because at the end of the day she was his most trusted and devoted servant. Thus she would be the one who would be greatly rewarded once they won this war.

“What are you doing Bella? Actually trying to use your brain to think? I really cannot afford for you to injure yourself my dear Bella. Now get your ass off that fucking chair and go and bring me the filthy muggle. GO!”

Without writing anything to him again, she left to do as he commanded of her.


***


It was mid January and outside it was covered in snow. Claudia often went out with either Tom or Nagi. She loved the way the air smelled, the feel and look of the snow as well. At the moment she was playing with Honey. “You must really hate that name don’t you? I mean, whenever I call you to me you ignore me until I say, ‘kitty’ stubborn prat!” Then she poked him in the ribs which just got her an affectionate bite in response. “Arguing with the kitten again I see.” Tom’s amused voice came from the doorway. She looked up at him and rolled her eyes, “I was not arguing with him. You see how he ignores me when I call him by his name so I must conclude that he doesn’t like it.”

“Yes well, I would ignore you too if you called me Honey.” He said, his eyes smiling at her. She muttered “brat” under her breath but he still caught the word and laughed. “That I am Love, always have been actually.” He stood in front of her with his arms and legs crossed as he leaned back on the dresser. “I have to talk to you about something Claudia.” Slightly alarmed, she looked up at him and searched his face, which was unreadable, unsurprisingly so. “What’s wrong Thomas?” He went on to explain that Bellatrix had stolen the diary and that they should expect to have Voldermort, his older self, back any day now. All color drained from her face as she looked at him in stunned disbelief. “But ... if he comes back and you are here... What does it mean Thomas?”

“It means that one of us has to die because we sure as hell will not co-exist in the same world. I guess it’s a bit ironic isn’t it? Isn’t that the way it is with Harry Potter and that stupid prophecy?” He asked not really expecting her to answer he stayed calmly staring at her. “S-so, what will you do?” His expression became unreadable again and he said, “I need Voldermort dead, Harry Potter has to kill him. In order for Potter to kill him, then I would have to offer my assistance to Dumbledore which presents a dilemma.” Once again Claudia was in stunned silence but recovered quickly.

“Professor Dumbledor would help if it meant finally killing that monster.” As soon as the words left her mouth she bit her lower lip, “But ... What about you? I mean... I completely separate you from Voldermort now, but because of you Voldermort exists. What if you help them? Then Voldermort will be dead, will you then become him once more?” She asked tentatively. Tom’s face looked still quite expressionless when he said, “Well that is my dilemma Love. What to do? I am sure that Dumbledore will see the double edge sword in this. He gets rid of the first Voldermort only to have me still alive. Potentially ready to become Voldermort once more.” Claudia was wringing her hands together, her eyebrows knotted. “But it is your choice. You do not HAVE to become Voldermort. If you tell him that...” He cut her off and moved a little closer to her, she noted that his eyes weren’t quite as expressionless as before.

“Tell him what exactly Love? That I fell in love and all of a sudden want to be good? That I no longer hate muggles and mudbloods?” She cringed at the use of that filthy word but stayed quiet. He continued as if he hadn’t noticed, “That if given the chance, and if I knew that I could succeed, that I wouldn’t go down the same path that my older self did years ago? Is that what you want me to tell him? Because that would be a lie and he would know it, and even if he didn’t I would not be able to tell it.” None of his words were angry, they were slow and deliberate as he wanted her to understand his point. He wasn’t challenging her but she felt that there was something that he wanted to know and she couldn’t think what it was. “I just thought...”

He didn’t let her finish, instead he spoke so softly that she almost missed it, “Do you think that you can save me, or that I would want to be saved, even by you?” Looking up at him, one single tear falling down her cheek she spoke, just as softly. “No, I don’t but I was hoping that you’d save me.” At her words his expressionless mask fell away and he looked up at her sadly, “What do you mean?” He asked quietly. “I love you Thomas. You know that, and now I know that you love me as well. It’s enough for now. You are gentle, kind, and loving to me. We even laugh together sometimes. I feel that I can no longer live if you are not in my life. How would I go on? However, if you become Lord Voldermort then you will not be Thomas anymore. It will be as if you died, you know this. You cannot become him and stay how you are. There is no room for love in his heart, not even for me. I am not trying to make you do something that you do not want to do, but you know that I speak the truth.” She finished warily. He knew that she was right so he said nothing. Then abruptly he said, “I have a meeting with Lucius shortly, we will finish this later.” Turning, he left her feeling extremely confused and frightened.

Walking into his study, he spotted Lucius right away. “I hope that have you been giving our discussion some thought, what have you concluded?” Lucius sat down after Tom had sat himself down. “I think that it is the only thing that we can do my Lord. I am tired of hiding and not being able to live my life freely. I still despise muggles and have contempt for mudbloods but what you said was true. This thing, in this time and age is foolhardy to pursue. The number of people that oppose us is too great, and at the moment they would defeat us. Many would die on both sides, but we would still be defeated in the end.”

“Yes. The first war would have worked had my older self not been so hasty in his quest to remove all those that potentially threatened his power. Now there is no way to go back to that time, everyone is prepared now and thus our odds at coming out of this victorious are slim to none. I do not mind dying Lucius, but at the moment I don’t feel particularly inclined to do so.” He finished with a smile. Lucius smiled back, “Neither do I my Lord. If we can convince Dumbledore then you and I can live as respectable gentlemen no?” He said with a loud laugh. He was finding the turn of events truly ironic, “Then if the opportunity ever arose we will take it but if not then no sense in crying over spilt milk.” Lucius finished. Pouring himself a brandy and offering one to Lucius, who declined, Tom said “Right you are. Go and talk to Severus about what’s happened. Tell him everything if you wish, and have him set up a meeting with Dumbledore in a place and time of my choosing.”

“Yes my Lord. I will go and do so now.” Bowing, he turned and left, leaving Tom alone with his thoughts. He didn’t know why he hadn’t told Claudia that he had already decided to enlist Dumbledore’s help. The only thing that he could figure is that he wanted to see how she would react. Would he see hope in her eyes, hope of leaving him? Or sorrow at perhaps being parted from him? If this plan worked then they would be back among the wizarding public, among her family and friends. Taking one last sip he got up and went to her so that they could finish their talk.