Tom Riddle - Downfall

Chapter 73: Revenge

"Tom,
I know who my father is. We need to talk.
L."
Tom happens to be studying in the library when a house elf brings him my note. He immediately recognizes my handwriting, and he opens the letter with haste, looking at the contents. When he reads it, he feels his heart sink, and he gets up from his chair. He's overwhelmed with different emotions as he begins to think about everything that's about to happen. But he knows that he needs to see me as soon as possible, so he decides to visit me in the next few days.

In the meantime, my mother is at the ministry a lot. She still won't tell me exactly what's going on, but she'll have her reasons. One day, it's late in the evening, and I hear a knock on the door. When I open the door, the Minister of Magic, Leonard Spencer-Moon, is standing right in front of me. I don't know it at this moment, but this conversation will change my life. I'm nervous when I open it, and I'm completely shocked to see the Minister of Magic standing in front of me. My mind is running wild with questions as I stare at him, waiting for him to speak. He can tell that this conversation will potentially change everything for me, so he is very careful with his words. He begins to speak with an air of solemnity. "We need to speak."

When Tom arrives at the house the next evening, he is confused. There is no light in the house. He knocks carefully, but no one responds. Tom is puzzled and knocks again. Nothing again. Now he's had enough and picks the lock "Alohomora". The lock opens, and he slowly opens the door. The house is dark, and Tom slowly enters. There are books all over the floor, broken glass and broken objects. His face slowly contorts, "Lucia? Are you there?" He raises his wand, his face determined. He seems to be worried. Then, he comes into the living room. I'm sitting in one of the armchairs, objects floating around me, my hands clutched in the seat backs. Tom slowly approaches, and he freezes in his tracks, and he stares at me with a mixture of fear and confusion. He's been feeling a bit uneasy from the moment he entered the house, as the air is definitely feeling off. He has only felt this before while walking through the Forbidden Forest, when an immense sense of dread was filling the air. In this case, it felt like a darker version of that same dread. He keeps his wand raised as he walks very carefully towards me, and he approaches the chair that I'm sitting on. Then I turn to him and stare at him. He kneels down next to the chair and touches my hand. My eyes flicker, and the glasses floating around me start to burst. When I turn to look at Tom, he stares back at me in a mixture of fear and concern. My eyes seem to flicker, and when he touches my hand, the flying objects around me start to explode one by time. His face shows how confused he is but also how he's starting to get worried. He speaks to me quietly. "Lucia, can you hear me?" It's as if I want to speak but can't. I recognize Tom's voice. My face softens, and my voice trembles. "Tom? Is that you?" Tom's heart drops when he hears this; my voice is extremely shaking, and it seems like it's taking me a lot to even produce a few words. He stares at me for a moment, and his face seems to soften a bit when I recognize him. He speaks in a calm but gentle voice, and he continues to hold my hand. "Yes, it's me. Please...can you hear me? Are you okay?" I contort my face as if I'm in pain, then tears run down my face, and again, objects fly around me and shatter into a thousand pieces. Tom ducks, and a splinter hits his face. I startle and they all fall to the floor. "My mother...she..." I can barely finish the sentence, Tom wipes the blood from his face because he's been scratched. Tom's heart is racing, and he's getting more and more worried as I continue to speak. When I mention my mother, his face softens even more as he realizes that's what's been affecting me so much. He wipes the blood from his face, and he speaks with more kindness and sympathy in his voice. "Your mother...what happened?"
"The minister... was there yesterday...she...is dead." As I finish the sentence, glasses fly out of the cupboards and shatter. The whole house is trashed by now, and Tom can't believe what he's just heard. Everything in the house starts to shake. If he doesn't calm me down, I'm going to reduce the whole house to rubble. Tom is truly stunned by everything that's happening, and he looks at me with a mixture of fear and concern as he continues to get more worried about the severity of this situation. The way I'm using magic now is intense and powerful, which means it would indeed be dangerous for me to continue without managing my emotions. He quickly gets closer to me, and he speaks in a calm and soothing manner. "Lucia, look at me, okay? Look at me and breathe slowly."
"Don't tell me what to do," I yell at him with pain in my voice. Everything around us is shattering, but Tom won't leave my side. He's never seen power of this intensity before, and although he's incredibly worried about me, he's also impressed by what I'm capable of.

Tom's expression shows how worried he is, but he's also trying his best to stay calm and collected. Every word I scream cuts through him, but somehow, he still manages to stay beside me. He finally speaks again, and his voice is even more calm and soothing as he continues to try and calm me down. "Please, breathe slowly. You can release your anger and frustration. Just remember to take deep breaths." I clutch the chair tighter and look at him."I ... can't. " I can hardly breathe, and Tom takes my face in his hands and looks me straight in the eye. I know I need to calm down. The house already looks like a war zone, and I'm scared of what I'm doing and what might happen. It's clear that my emotions are running on a fever pitch, and I seem like I'm having a lot of trouble trying to calm down. My magic is so intense that I'm unable to control myself in any way. Everything is shaking around me, and the whole house is pretty much destroyed by now. Tom stares me straight in the eye, and his eyes seem to pierce my soul. He talks to me now in a soft and soothing voice. "Look at my eyes, please... just calm down, focus only on my eyes." I try to concentrate on him and breathe more calmly, my hands loosen and all the floating counterparts fall to the floor. I can feel some of my magic subsiding a little as I stare deeply into his eyes and try to calm down. My hands loosen their grip, and all the furniture and other objects around me collapse back to the ground, leaving the floor covered with broken and shattered pieces of wood and glass. Tom's expression remains gentle, but he still has a lot of concerns in his eyes.

For a moment, we just look at each other, hard to believe what had just happened. I felt like I'd been sitting there like that all day, but Tom came at just the right time because he's the only one who could have calmed me down. I notice the cut on his cheek and touch him lightly. "I'm so sorry, it's my fault." Tom's whole body relaxes slightly when I touch his cheek, and his face softens. He seems surprised by how I managed to suddenly calm down after having such a meltdown, and he sighs in relief. He continues to look at me in a kind way and speaks softly. "It's okay. It's clear that you didn't do it on purpose. And I'm glad I could calm you down... or else I may have lost more than just a bit of blood."
"Still, I..." I hesitate and slowly stand up together with Tom. He's still holding my hand and is just as hesitant to say anything. "I don't even know what I've done..." It seems that after the whole incident with my powers, I suddenly realized how close I was to being completely out of control and destroying way more. Tom is indeed holding my hand softly, and he looks at me with gentle and caring eyes. He nods and replies softly. "You have a lot of power within you. You were feeling strong feelings of anger and pain, and it got manifested through your magic, which turned into intense strength and force."
"I just can't believe she's dead. She's gone..." Tom's gaze darkens again, I can see it hits him the same way. He knew my mother, and she had always been good to him. I look at him seriously. "She was trying to protect them... Muggles...and the thanks. She's dead. " I turn and look around. Then I turn back to Tom, take his hand and say "I will avenge her..I will" Tom stares at me for a moment, and I can see the same pain and rage in his eyes when I talk about my mother. He nods very softly, also clearly furious by the way she was treated. "Yes. It's clear that your mother was a kind and caring person who always tried to protect herself and others. She shouldn't have died like that." He pauses and continues."I don't blame you for wanting to get revenge.. will follow you on this path."
"I knew I could count on you," I say, and we lean our foreheads against each other. "Help me, help me find the ones who did this, please," I say with incredible pain in my voice. Tom knows we can't stay here, especially after seeing how much power I have and how little I can control it. "I will help you. Together, we'll find the ones responsible for your mother's death. And this time, you don't have to worry, I'll be here to keep you in control. " Tom nods firmly, and he seems ready to take on this task. He knows that my magic is stronger and more intense than ever before, but he's confident that together, I can beat whatever stands in my way. He stares earnestly into my eyes and speaks softly. "We'll find justice."

My eyes darken, and I say, "I don't want justice, I want revenge." Tom looks at me with a fascination I've rarely seen on his face. It's as if a dark side has been awakened in me. As if he sees the darkness in me and No one could understand me better than him right now, my hatred, my anger and it's as if he only loves me more with all my power and my darkness. Tom looks at me now with a certain admiration and understanding that seems to have grown immensely. He's impressed by my words, and he seems to be fascinated by this newfound darkness in me. This brings us closer together than ever before, and he suddenly is willing to go to much greater lengths for me. He nods and says silently, "Revenge it is. and I will stand by your side until the very end."