Poison Ivy | T. Riddle ✔

[39] Exile

It had been months since Tom had set Perseus free. The cottage had become desolate without him and even though it shouldn't have affected Tom, still it seemed a little odd to him living all alone in the cottage with no one else to take out his anger on.

He had been staying underground from the Ministry because recently the Ministry had become rather effective in tracking out his group of Death Eaters. Countless search parties had arrived in Albania and Tom found it difficult to operate his group with so many Aurors lurking around.

With the recent accumulation of Aurors in Albania, Tom felt the need to stay in the shadows for a while in order to not get caught. And the only place that could serve as a hideout for the time being, was the cottage where he had kept Perseus imprisoned for so long.

He had only permitted Abraxas and Avery to meet up with him alternately and with considerable gaps within meetings so that no suspicions could be raised. A Fidelius Charm had been placed upon the two, making them the sole wizards who knew of Tom's exact location and dutifully kept the secret. Each day increased his impatience for he didn't like to sit in wait for too long but there was no other option for him. He had to suffer being cut off from the world if he didn't want to get caught and sentenced to Azkaban.

Spending so much time alone with no one else for company had forced him to reflect on his actions a great deal. However, he didn't feel guilty in the slightest for all the lives he had ruined and all the foul murders he had committed in order to be near to his goal of achieving immortality.

Sometimes though he could feel the uncanny resemblance between his state and Perseus's. He could experience the distress Perce must have felt at being estranged from the world for almost six long years. Even though he was held in a very similar position to Perce, still he wasn't anywhere near as patient and tolerant towards it all like the young Burke had been.

Every second seemed like a waste to him and he wished to get out of exile as soon as he could so that he would wrap his hands around Nathan's throat and squeeze the life out of him as painfully as possible.

He was impatiently waiting for Abraxas to come since his meetup was scheduled at that day. Tom had tasked him to find out who was responsible for leaking out the information regarding the Death Eaters to the Ministry along with Nathan Whitburg.

He knew Nathan couldn't do it all on his own. For starters, he couldn't have that much allies even in his own department since he had been forced to severe ties with every colleague and it was portrayed as if he was fired from his job, automatically giving him a tarnished reputation in the eyes of other officials. Abraxas had enough influence in the Ministry to make sure that Nathan would be framed for some case and sentenced the second he tried to personally convey the information.

The door knocked, interrupting Tom's wild train of thoughts; three short taps and one proper knock, just like he had ordered Abraxas to do so as a signal of his arrival. He stood up and opened the door, internally relieved to see Abraxas standing there with his head bowed.

"My Lord," he stepped in, head still bowed until Tom gestured for him to straighten up.

After what had taken place at the Malfoy Manor between Riddle and Demelza, there was a slight strain in Abraxas's attitude towards the Dark Lord. He was as servile and loyal as always, but his weariness and fear had increased a little.

From his keen observation, he had noticed that there used to be a time when Riddle had actually cared for Demelza. Aquila had told him of the interaction between Riddle and her cousin and even though initially he had doubted it all, later on even he suspected that Tom considered Demi as very dear to him. But seeing him hurt her at the Manor, confront her angrily and implying on her that she belonged to him only had shaken up Abraxas's inference regarding the whole situation.

He could very clearly see that no part of Tom Marvolo Riddle was human anymore; he had turned completely into a monster which had no feelings and no limits.

"Has there been any significant progress regarding the task I assigned you?" Tom questioned soon as they were both seated.

"Yes, my Lord," he replied, "I found out who has been helping Nathan Whitburg all along. It's Nobby Leach; our current Minister for Magic."

Tom's eyes darkened with a murderous intent, "Leach... That Mudblood is the current Minister, you say?"

"It's beyond my understanding as well," he nodded, "but Leach has had considerate support from within the Ministry and vice versa. That makes him the first Mudblood to hold such a prestigious office."

Disgust laced his voice as he spoke, "preposterous! However, tell me all you have found out about Whitburg and Leach in specific detail."

"As you please. Nobby Leach and Nathan Whitburg have known each other for almost ten years now. They are good friends and both held high rank in the Ministry's Auror department. Leach was one of the three confidential members who knew about Whitburg's undercover mission to expose us, the other two were then Minister for Magic, Ignatius Tuft, and Head of Auror Department Douglas Jenkins. After Whitburg escaped, it is likely that he told everything to Leach. And now that he is in the position to take matters in his own hands, since he is the Minister, he has started acting upon that information, as a result of which Albania has been infiltrated with Aurors ordered to terminate any sort of Dark Arts group they find."

Tom's face was set in a deep thoughtful expression. He was weighing out his options and pondering over all Abraxas had told him, at the same time thinking of how to painfully get rid of both Leach and Whitburg. "How long do you think Leach will last as the Minister?" he spoke at last after a whole five minutes of reflecting over.

"Surprisingly there have been no riots against his appointment. If people had rioted then I could have said probably not more than an year. But we could perhaps convince a few members of the Wizengamot to resign in protest. Since they are pureblood elites and will definitely agree in favor of pureblood supremacy, I might be able to influence them to oppose Leach."

"He should not remain the Minister for long, Abraxas," he mused, a scheme hatching in his wicked mind, "and you will have to see to that."

He bowed his head, "I will try my best, my Lord."

"Doubt and distrust can work wonders when used to disgrace a person no matter how virtuous he may be," Tom elaborated, a slight smirk dancing upon his lips for he had figured out the way to get back on Nobby Leach, "Nobby Leach has to be disgraced in the eyes of the people. And that can only be done so through creating doubt among the people using cleverly crafted rumors. Make the people believe that Leach in unfit for office, make them doubt him and eventually throw him out like the filth he is."

"Yes, my Lord."

"As for Nathan Whitburg... I can't wait to get my hands on him."

Abraxas managed a straight face in front of Tom but internally he was shivering with fear. He knew exactly where Whitburg was at the moment. And he also knew very well that if Riddle came to know of that, all hell would break loose both on the Malfoys as well as the Burkes.

"Have you had any news of Whitburg?"Tom's voice snapped him out of his thoughts.

He shook his head, "nothing very significant, my Lord. However, the reason we couldn't trace Whitburg earlier seems quite clear to me."

Tom looked up in surprise but kept silent, encouraging him to continue.

"He has been working at Hogwarts as a Professor. Albus Dumbledore has given refuge to him and has provided him security from us himself."

The red serpentine glare flashed in his dark pupils, "Albus Dumbledore, Nobby Leach, Nathan Whitburg... Even if I do not succeed in my goals due to the conniving of these three, I will still make their lives an absolute hell."

***