"Well, both of us are orphans, both of us are quite exceptional when it comes to magic," said Riddle. "Both of us have a natural affinity for the mind arts. We even look alike, don't we? We are both Parselmouths. Both of us are half-blood and -"
"You're a half-blood?" asked Harry in surprise. He had tried to find out any and all information about Tom Riddle from Hogwarts and the Ministry, but all useful information had been wiped clean. He knew that Riddle was not a British wizarding name, but he had expected something else; not… this.
"Of course I am," said Riddle, his face distorting in rage. He traced his wand in the air as he began writing.
TOM MARVOLO RIDDLE
He slashed his wand in the air and the letters rearranged the letters forming -
I AM LORD VOLDEMORT
"Did you think I would keep my filthy Muggle father's name forever? I, in whose veins flows the blood of Salazar Slytherin himself, on my mother's side? No, Harry. I chose a new name, a name someday everyone would be too scared to speak when I became the greatest sorcerer in the world!"
"It didn't turn out that way, did it?" Harry smirked. "How pathetic must you really be if you were unable to kill a fifteen-month-old infant?"
"Yes," said Riddle, clenching his teeth. "How is that you, a defenceless baby, managed to survive the Killing Curse? How did you survive with nothing more than a scar as Lord Voldemort's powers were destroyed?"
"No one knows how and why the curse rebounded on you," Harry answered in a calm voice. "My mother performed a sacrificial ritual based on blood magic, but it would not have worked against something as deadly as the Avada Kedavra curse; at least that was her hypothesis from what I've read from her journal. Maybe it worked or maybe it didn't. But the ritual would not have reflected the curse back at the caster. Since I was just a baby then, I can't remember what happened or how I managed to do so. It's a mystery to me as well."
Riddle began laughing a high, cold laugh. "Blood magic?" he repeated, quite amused. "My, oh my, looks like your mother wasn't as 'light' as I heard, Harry. From what I have been told, Lily Potter was considered the epitome of the light and yet she dabbled in the Dark Arts."
"My mother was a brilliant woman and a pragmatist," Harry shot back. His green eyes were focussed on Riddle's form, trying to piece together the puzzle that was Lord Voldemort. He was curious. What had made Riddle want to become the psychopath killer that he was? He needed more information and for that, he needed to talk to Riddle. Voldemort was clearly alive and had a lot of secrets. This was probably the golden opportunity to learn more about the man that had wanted to kill him as an infant more than a decade ago.
"She knew that her son's life was in danger and took action. I don't believe in the stupid stigma called light magic or dark magic. It's all the same. It is the intent behind the use of magic which makes it dark or light. Magic in its purest form does not come with such labels attached to it. It is just that - magic, and my mother understood that."
Riddle smirked. "Oh, you certainly aren't Dumbledore's golden boy, are you?" he cooed. "The old man is quite bigoted when it comes to anything even remotely related to the Dark Arts. I heard you don't like Muggles as well. That shows how alike we are, doesn't it?"
"What is this, a recruiting ground?" Harry sneered. "Do you think I'll join you, a man who is so demented and insane that he needlessly killed thousands of witches and wizards for his own personal amusement? As for me hating Muggles, I have a reason for it! I was raised by my mother's Muggle sister and her husband. I was abused mentally and physically throughout my childhood. I was given little to no food to eat while forced to sleep in a tiny boot cupboard under the stairs. They beat me up every day for accidental magic and had I had not escaped when I was seven years old, I would have died! None of the Muggles in the area helped me even though all the signs of abuse were present!"
"Were you nearly beaten to death during your childhood? Were you starved day after day? Were you scorned by your teachers and neighbours? Were your parents' memories tarnished by others spreading rumours that they were drunken prostitutes? I have every right to hate them! They didn't do anything to help me but instead made my life miserable! What reason do you have? You're the one who hates Muggle-borns along with Muggles. I have no problems with Muggle-borns. My own mother was Muggle-born! A brilliant one at that. Magic is magic and you are killing the very thing which makes us different! You are a fool, Riddle!"
Riddle was quiet. That was not what he had expected. Just as he was about to speak and let the boy know of his own horrible childhood, Harry took his moment to attack. His wand slashed in the air and a jet of blue light flew from the tip of his wand. Riddle dodged it and waved his own wand. Jets of light flew from both foci, their curses becoming lethal.
These were the curses Harry had studied from books in the Black library and they were quite dark in nature. The pain one would feel if it was inflicted on them was truly horrifying. They were indeed the Dark Arts, but Harry had come to realise that there was again a difference between the Dark Arts and the Black Arts, the latter being quite dangerous, from what he had read from his mother's notes. The dark wasn't something that shouldn't be learnt. Anything in excess was bad, including light magic. Balance was essential, but Dumbledore, in his fear of dark wizards, had removed several subjects when he became Headmaster of Hogwarts to ensure that only light magic was taught.
That led to poor quality witches and wizards graduating every year. They were slow and sloppy, not to mention weak. The balance was broken, but on the other hand, Voldemort and his Death Eaters were perfect examples of what would happen should one sink too deep into the darkest of magic. Voldemort and Bellatrix were literally insane.
....
Join my exclusive P@treon community for 60+ thrilling chapters!
Link: pa*treon.com/MidnightWonder (Remove the *)
If you join now you will get 2 Chapters for free as well.
Don't miss out, join now!