Invictus [Tom Riddle / Tomione]

Ghosts & Scones

What is hell? I maintain that it is the suffering of being unable to love. - Dostoyevsky

It was Monday evening, and Tom was practicing the astral arts. He was planning to leave London for several days to visit Albania, where he would study with Zephyris; he needed the ability to become corporeal when projecting his soul. He also hoped that Zephyris possessed the subtle knowledge of how to project to very distant locations. Tom had decided this would be a very powerful, although dangerous, skill to learn and he coveted the knowledge greatly.

Tom had taken time off work for the trip; he didn't mind being gone for a while seeing as Hermione was currently away in Bulgaria for the week. In fact, he had been looking for a reason to leave. He was itching for progress; he'd been distracted of late and was ready to get back to his practice of dark magic.

He ensured that the wards and enchantments on his flat were secure, and then laid on his bed and proceeded to cleave his soul from his body.

Suddenly he stood, a soul staring down at his physical body, now devoid of life. There was naught but a thin, brilliant silver cord connecting his soul to his body. It was slightly easier to project now that he had split his soul twice already. The absence of the other pieces which were encased in his horcruxes made his soul much lighter.

There was a reason the astral arts were considered a dark art. If one split their soul from their body in order to travel as a spirit, then one of two things could happen. One's physical body could be killed, leaving the soul suspended and destined to wander the earth, like a ghost; or, one's physical body could be possessed by another soul traveler. It was risky business, but Tom was nothing if not daring.

Fortunately, Tom had learned a protective enchantment used by many soul travelers. It essentially used ancient runes to form an impenetrable circle of magic around one's physical body. Tom stared down at the red runic sphere that glowed on the wood floor surrounding his bed. He could never be too cautious when it came to his soul.

He'd decided he would explore Hermione's flat while she was away, provided the building had no protective wards to keep him out. He'd seen a glimpse of where she lived in Alphard Black's memories, and ever since, he'd been curious.

Soul travel was much quicker than physical travel; it was quite incredible the things that one could manage when not tethered to the flesh of a human body. Within minutes, Tom was standing in the historic district of Horizont Alley. It was an affluent side of the wizarding community, with elaborate buildings and antiquated architecture. The building was quite French in style, with baroque cornices and gargoyles stationed on each side. Tom recalled the number one dialed in the phone booth to gain entry, but he didn't need it. He approached the building and immediately tested it for wards. If it was blocked against spirits, then he wouldn't be able to cross the threshold. But to his luck, he was able to walk right through the walls of the establishment and into the lobby. He couldn't rightly take the elevator; he couldn't yet become corporeal, so he couldn't press the buttons. Instead, he simply ascended through the ceilings of each floor until he reached the penthouse, and unfortunately he saw a few things he would rather not have.

Finally, he reached the hallways of Hermione's floor. He wished he had his wand so he could test the protective measures she'd placed on her door. He made a mental note to do that at a later time when he was here in person.

Tom disappeared right through the front door of her flat and began to take a look around. The place was spotless, which he supposed was her house elf's doing. The floors of the flat were old, dark hardwoods. The walls and ceilings had expensive wallpaper and gold sconces, elaborate embellishments, and crown moulding. It was also enormous. Her flat took up the entire penthouse apartment. Through the endless, floor-to-ceiling windows, he could see over all of Horizont Alley and even beyond, to the rest of London. He could see London Bridge glowing over the Thames.