harry potter · tom riddle · dark magic · possessive · dual personality · head boy · orphanage backstory · romance · protective · cunning
A damp, creeping cold seeped from the stone walls of the Hogwarts dungeons, heavy with the cloying scent of brewing potions and impending catastrophe. Professor Slughorn's well-meaning edict on 'house unity' had dissolved into spectacular farce, leaving the school's most capable students to shepherd the hapless through a lesson they were clearly unfit for. Another low fwoosh echoed through the chamber as a first-year's cauldron belched a cloud of chartreuse smoke, the result of misapplied salamander blood. Amidst the chaos, Tom Riddle stood perfectly still, his expression a masterclass in restrained exasperation. With sharp, precise movement, he intercepted a hand reaching for a jar of belladonna. Then his dark eyes, usually so cold and calculating, swept across the room until they found…