Title: Painful Memories
Author: kiayea
Fandom/Genre: Harry Potter
Relationship(s): brief Lily Evans / Tom Riddle
Content Rating: R
Word Count: 1338
Warnings: Character death.
Summary: What does Voldemort see when he is near Dementors? His mother’s death? Maybe murder of his father. Or that fateful Halloween night?
He panted in effort to suppress unwanted hurtful memories. He despised Dementors although they allied with him. They always affected him badly. He couldn’t show a weakness. He was the Dark Lord. The screams intensified gradually. He could almost taste creatures’ glee at his predicament. He reached towards his wand. His hand quivered unsteadily and memories of his tortured past assaulted his mind.
Small obese man grovelled in front of his master. He was shivering violently after he was subjected to the bout of Cruciatus. He stuttered. „M-M-Master. I-I-I’ve found P-P-Potter’s hideout.”
Good-looking man in his late forties sneered dangerously at pathetic display of his follower. Red eyes flashed with contempt. The traitorous rat was snivelling at his feet.
„Speak.” He commanded almost eagerly. Since that blasted prophecy was made his plans were focused to find all potential children who could became threat to his power if they weren’t dealt with adequately soon.
„I was made their secret keeper, Master.” Pettigrew finally managed to overcome his stutter. He quivered in fear when his Master’s eyes pierced him. „They are hiding under Fidelius charm at Godric’s Hollow.”
Dark Lord Voldemort sneered at the coward. „You’ll be richly rewarded if what you told me was right. If you lied, the consequences would be dire…” He trailed off.
Peter Pettigrew, Wormtail known to his friends, kissed the hem of robes of his Master. „You are most generous, Master.”
Voldemort had enough. He hissed at younger man. „Get out.”
Peter jumped on his legs and ran out of the chamber. Voldemort sneered at his retreating back. „Incompetent fool.”
He waved his hand carelessly and glamour masked his face. Beautiful features he inherited from his parents were replaced by snake-like appearance. His red eyes shone with malice. His green eyes change long ago into blood red as he immersed more and more into Dark Arts. His emerald green robes with silver linings were replaced by haughty black. He drew up cape to hid his face. Silently he checked his appearance silently. Voldemort apparated out.
The Dark Lord popped in to seemingly empty clearing near the forest. „Godric’s Hollow.” He whispered hauntingly the password for getting through Fidelius charm. Small cottage appeared out of nowhere. Voldemort sneered. ‘That worthless rat was right after all.’ He took necessary information directly from rat’s mind prior his depart from his headquarters.
Voldemort narrowed his wand and intoned almost bored. „Reducto.”
The door shattered. He heard male voice screaming something. Silently he cast anti-portkey and anti-apparition wards on the entire arena. The stairs squeaked when someone run upstairs. Voldemort entered. Suddenly pain curse borderline of illegal flew at him. He twirled his wand expertly. Blue shield protected him from the spell. With corner of his eye Voldemort saw a movement. He cast silently the Killing curse. In flash of eerily green light the body of young man fell on the floor with thud. Voldemort sneered at the man. Foolish Gryffindor. Using dark curses against the Dark Lord.
The Dark Lord stepped over the body and walked calmly upstairs. He followed baby’s wails and frantic woman’s tries to calm it down. „Reducto.”
The door exploded. The woman inside of room screamed in fright. She laid baby on the cot and turned around. She was determined to face her death bravely. She knew she didn’t have a chance to escape with Voldemort’s wards in place.
Debris fell down on the ground. Voldemort noticed woman’s hair. It fell down her back in red waves. It’s colour was familiar. Woman turned to face him. She bravely locked her green eyes with his red ones. His breath hitched. The Killing curse died on his lips. His Lily stood before him. Only woman who breached cold defences around his heart and brought a bit of fleeting happiness into his life.
Her green eyes – the exact shade of Slytherin green like his own before they turned red after he underwent so many dark rituals – were first thing which interested him in the girl. He briefly taught her in her 7th year as DADA teacher, when he managed to fool even Dumbledore with his glamour. He gathered his followers there. Their affair was short, but sweet. He didn’t forget her. He couldn’t.
During their staring match the cape obscuring his face fell back revealing his face. The glamour broke under emotional turmoil within Dark Lord.
„Tom.” Lily breathed out Voldemort’s name. She panicked. She didn’t know he was Dark Lord. She quivered under his heated gaze. Her body relaxed. She was back under his spell.
„Step aside, Lily.” Tom ordered hoarsely.
Lily’s eyes widened. He came to kill her baby. She couldn’t let it happen. Her son was only thing she had after Tom disappeared few months after graduation. She married James to protect her baby from stigma of being a bastard. It was looked down in Wizarding world to have child out of wedlock. James knew baby wasn’t his, but he loved her son like his own. He even performed ancient adoption ritual to bind him to Potter line.
Lily shook her head negatively. „No, Tom. Please. I can’t.”
Tom approached her cautiously. „Step aside and you’ll live, Lily. I don’t want you kill you.”
Redhead stood firmly with her eyes locked in deadly duel with her love. „I can’t Tom. Please, have mercy. He is only a child. He is your…”
Lily was hit with green light of Killing curse before she could finish her sentence. Tom’s heart shattered into thousands pieces when he saw woman he loved falling on the ground dead. Her green eyes were trained at him even in death pleading him to spare her child.
Riddle shut his eyes in pain and trained his wand at the helpless child. It wailed loudly, which startled him into opening his eyes. He was captured by those timeless green orbs brimming with tears. They shone innocence. They were exact replica of Lily’s eyes. He hesitated. He couldn’t bring himself to kill the baby. However dark voice in his mind reminded him of the Prophecy. Voldemort couldn’t afford to let child to grow up to oppose him. „Avada Kedavra.”
Third time that night the green light of Killing curse left his wand. It enveloped baby’s body. Voldemort expected it to take boy’s life. However something strange happened. Voldemort stared at the unique sight in some kind of fascinated horror. The baby glowed blue. He could see how both lights battled. The blue one lightened into bright silver. The green curse was reflected.
Voldemort stood still in the place his eyes trained on child. The rebounded Killing curse hit him suddenly. He screamed in high-pitched voice. He felt his own powerful curse stripping him of his life. Hot acid-like sensation spread through his veins. He saw his body dissolving into pile of ash.
The Dark Lord was in agony. His soul was pulled into two different directions – the afterlife and his manor. His will to live won. Dark Lord’s spirit freed itself from clutches of death. He quickly flew away. His last sight of boy, who destroyed his body, was silvery-blue light subsiding into scar on his forehead.
Voldemort shook his head trying to rid himself from horrible memories. It felt like he spent hours under worst torture imaginable. In reality only few minutes passed. The room was bathed in icy silence. Dementor’s presence tormented him. He sensed them to drag next horrible memory from his mind. His tortured past was addicting to dark creatures.
Voldemort clutched his wand desperately in his hand. He whispered coldly into empty chamber. „Expecto Patronum.”
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