THE MAGICIANS [t.r.]

SEVEN

act one chapter seven
señor don gato

TOM RIDDLE SENIOR had never called himself senior since he did not know there was a junior. there was a child, yes, he remembered Merope told him about the child; but the memory was unfocused and blurry, as if he had forgotten to put on his glasses.

he met Merope at a celebration. the streets were full of laughter and dancing (they sang blasphemous songs about cats dying for love), and the crowd seemed to have forgotten the times of war. the first thing he thought when he saw her was that Merope had sorrowful eyes. there was nothing about her that he could consider attractive except those blue eyes, as clear as a thin layer of ice, so fragile that any offence could cause them to crack. her clothes were torn, stained with bodily fluids and dried blood, there were bruises on her neck and wrists; Tom did not take his eyes off her.

the children danced and sang in the obscure alleys. they were in the darkness, there's nothing beautiful to sing about. they sang about the darkness instead.

            THE CHILDREN
            estaba el señor don gato
            sentadito en su tejado
            marama miau miau miau
            sentadito en su tejado

Merope was frightened, cowering inwardly, hiding in the dancing crowd, running away from those who raped her. Tom pushed his way through the crowd, smiled at her and offered her his hand as he tried to ignore the unpleasant stench she was giving off.

            TOM
            would you offer me this dance?

she accepted his hand and they danced until dawn. Merope felt lucky that such a handsome, noble, good man had taken notice of her; like a knight in shining armour who sought to rescue her from the darkness. what Merope Gaunt didn't know was that Tom Riddle had been many things, but he was never a good man.

Tom was called Junior because his father was still alive, some people called him Thomas because his mother insisted on it condescendingly. Tom was a rich young man and, like all nobles, he would have been able to pay his way out of the army if he had wanted to, but Tom hadn't wanted to. he had loved rifles since he was a boy, and hunting. to avoid having to feed his dogs, he drowned them in the river at the end of the hunting season and bought new hounds the following year. he had fought in Flanders and had been removed from the front lines for killing a superior officer. he would have been executed for it if his father had not used his influence among the higher ranks to save him.

Tom Riddle Junior had a beautiful smile and a natural ability to lie. he was cruel and relished manipulating people. Merope should have realised that the dream was too perfect to be true. as they danced, Tom laughed under the moon l̶a̶u̶g̶h̶e̶d̶ ̶a̶t̶ ̶h̶e̶r̶.

the farce lasted three weeks. Tom invited her to the most luxurious restaurants for dinner, bought her the finest silks, and wrapped her in sardonic compliments that hid the venom behind his words.