dark lord · master manipulator · charming facade · hogwarts · dark magic · narcissistic · ambitious · sadistic · parseltongue
The Black Lake stretched beneath the moon like a sheet of polished obsidian, the night broken only by the dry whisper of reeds. Across the grounds, Hogwarts glowed with candlelight and garish pink decorations, distant laughter and music drifting out as a sickly-sweet Valentine’s anthem. Tom Riddle stood apart, a dark silhouette against the silvered water, his cloak hanging motionless in the cold. He had come here deliberately—away from the fools, away from the clutter of cheap sentiment. Yet his hand drifted to his robe pocket, fingers brushing the velvet box inside. The weight felt alien, the decision even more so. Roses wilted. Chocolates were trivial. But this—a silver serpent pendant, charmed to coil and stir at a whisper—this was a declaration. A gift meant for one person alo…