Poison Ivy | T. Riddle ✔

[51] Envy

Stating that Tom Riddle, or rather Lord Voldemort as he preferred to be called, was in a dilemma would be merely an understatement. Bitter envy was seeping through him and he couldn't help but feel deeply outraged.

His head ached as if a thousand pins were being pushed in continuously and even though he liked to boast that he had got rid of each and every human feeling, his heart denied it at the moment.

After all he had done to tear apart the Burkes, they were still together at last. He had seen them at Kings Cross when he had gone to catch a glimpse of his son who was starting Hogwarts. But the scene that had met his eyes had enraged him immensely.

Both Perce and Demelza seemed to be happy. And that Nathan Whitburg was with them; acting as a husband to Demelza and a father to Eridanus. His son regarded Whitburg as a fatherly figure and Tom couldn't help but feel deeply envious.

Nathan had achieved everything that Tom had desired in his life. He had been a well respected Auror, a Defense teacher at Hogwarts but more importantly he was Demelza's husband and almost like a father to Danny.

And from how he had seen the happy little family at King's Cross, Tom was certain that Demelza was happy with Nathan too. Her face donned that beautiful smile that he had last seen when he had taken her out for a walk in the woods more than ten years ago. After that, her smiling features had been inflicted with sorrow due to the disasters he had wrecked upon the Burkes.

But now it seemed as if Whitburg had taken all the sorrow away and brought back the lovely Demelza to a state of happiness and contentment.

Even Perseus Burke, who had been reduced to a pitiable state with him not recalling anything about his past, was reunited with his family and seemed quite close to his former self. That determined and defiant former self of him which struck fear in Tom Riddle.

Seeing Perseus once again had left him quite panic stricken. After all he had done to destroy Perce, his attempts had simply backfired on him. Though he was getting closer to immortality by every passing day, he couldn't erase Perce's words of warning from his brain.

And even though you are chasing immortality, at the end you will be empty handed.

He looked down at his pale slender hands realizing that he was indeed empty handed. In his pursuit towards immortality and unlimited power, he had lost everything that he had once cherished. His humanity, his soul, his love, his son, his emotions and his chance at having a normal happy life. He had sacrificed it all to become the greatest Dark Wizard ever known in the history of wizardkind.

But what had he achieved so far?

Nothing except a false sense of superiority over all others.

And to add fuel to the fire burning inside him; everything which he had lost was gained by Nathan Whitburg.

How he despised that man for being what he could never become. He loathed his very existence and wished nothing else but to put a gruesome end to his life. But the issue was that he simply couldn't lay a hand on him.

Dumbledore himself had taken Whitburg and his family into his own protection. And no matter how powerful Riddle had become by seeping himself in the evil quagmires of the Dark Arts, he was still not an equal to Albus Dumbledore.

***

The night was cold with an icy breeze blowing through the dingy little cottages in a small town near Wiltshire. It indicated the arrival of winter as the weather grew colder by each passing hour.

Perseus was up in his room, rearranging his collection of books and old letters. From the past few days, he was purposefully keeping himself occupied because the minute he found himself without anything to do, all the dreadful thoughts would seep in and terrify him out of his wits.

He wasn't held captive by Tom Riddle anymore but still it seemed as if he was bound in chains, as if he had never truly gained freedom from his hold.

The only form of freedom he had achieved was physical, while mentally he was still captive.

Ever since he had accidentally become aware of Tom's presence at Kings Cross station, he simply couldn't put his mind to rest.

Each time he closed his eyes, an icy feeling would gnaw at his heart, as if alarming him of some incoming trouble. It was almost as if an alarm clock inside him had gone off that day and since then it was shrieking loudly in his ears, refusing to stop until the time came when the calamity would ultimately strike him.

He wasn't afraid for himself; he knew he had nothing left which Riddle could tear away from him anymore. But he was afraid for his family, for those people he called his own. He was afraid that if Tom struck again, he would aim not for him but for those he held dear in his heart.

Just like he had done so several years ago.

The noise of that internal alarm grew louder and louder until it began to physically hurt him. His books dropped from his hands as he clenched his temples, the very veins under his skin throbbing violently.

He is angry, a sinister voice shouted in his head, he aims to kill and he will succeed while you won't be able to stop him.

"No, no, no!" Perseus couldn't help but drop down on his knees, the internal conflict getting harder for him to bear, "I can't let it happen."

He is burning in envious wrath, he won't stop until he gets what he wants. And he wants death. A death that will tear apart not only you but also your family.

"Not my family!"

Herbert... Belvina... Demelza... Eridanus... All of them will be broken as a consequence. And do you know whose death it's going to be?

The voice had turned mocking, swelling as if the speaker was erupting in bitter laughter. Perseus struggled to keep a hold on himself, limping towards the door in order to call his aunt and uncle for help. However, the words were dancing mercilessly in his brain and the terror was eating him up from the inside.

There was one name among his loved ones that had not yet been uttered and he feared that name probably belonged to the victim who was marked as Riddle's next prey.

Nathan Whitburg!

He reached out for the handrail but stumbled as he lost his balance, shocked and horrified by the name that repeated in his head.

Nathan Whitburg... Nathan Whitburg... Nathan...

His hand slipped from the cold handrail as he hurtled down the steps. The world turned upside down in his view and even though he was paralyzed from shock, the cruel voice was still shouting in his head, still repeating Nathan's name over and over again.

In a far corner of his brain, he knew that he had fallen down the whole flight of stairs as a result of which his bones were aching agonizingly. The commotion had alerted Belvina and Herbert who had come to his aid shortly afterwards.

But that slight awareness was subdued by the clamor in his head. Nathan's name echoed in and out of his conscience and as darkness began to cloud over his senses, there was only one thought resonating in his brain.

He couldn't let anything bad happen to Nathan. He had to make sure that the sinister prediction would never come true, even if it took his life in order to ensure that.

The troubled voices of his aunt and uncle were fading along with that hammering sound in his head. And the last thing he felt was a surge of excruciating pain through each and every nerve of his body before the lids finally closed over his terror-stricken blue eyes.

***