O r p h a n ● Tom Riddle [Harry Potter Fanfiction]

➒ Neuf - Where there can only be light

*WARNING*

 Things get dark, and may be triggering.

 I recommend being at least 15 (if you can handle scary) or 16 +  before continuing to read this story as it will continue to have some dark themes throughout.

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I gasped for air, never feeling it in my lungs. I was being suffocated, no- it was as if I was being hanged, and my feet was the only thing keeping me alive as it slipped and skidded across the icy steps.

Tom's demeanor was calm, a scary calm before a storm. It was as if he was casually rowing a boat in the middle of a pond filled with water lilies and skaters, dancing about the surface of the rippling waters, a serene peace over his every move, while I slowly flailed and drowned in the waters beneath him.

"T-Tom, p... please, I... I can't-"

"Breathe?" he smiled as his grasp around my neck tightened ever so slightly, just enough to keep me fighting.

He took one of his hands and calmly tucked a hair behind my ear as tears rushed down my face, "You're not very pretty when you cry..." he paused before smoothing the rest of my hair down, "I need to know, tell me, Vivienne"

"I... I.... " I felt torn between my promise and my life, "I.... I can't... I can't tell you"

"P... please, please I.... let me breathe"

He looked like he was contemplating my words before he smiled and threw me back, letting me go.

I ended up rolling down the steps and then down on my back, face planted onto the frost-covered pavement. I began grasping for as much air as possible, trying to regulate my breathing. My throat was dry, and tears wouldn't stop rushing down my face. I kept my eyes on the ground as I heard Tom click his tongue. "I really hate force, Vivienne" he seethed.

I slowly wobbled back onto my feat, using the fence beside me for support. "Then... Then why?" I choked out, "I can't tell you what I don't know"

He raised his brow in slight amusement, with his hands folded behind his back, and a smirk playing at his lips "Oh, but Vivienne, I think you do know. I think you know a lot more than you're telling me... I can feel your secrets seeping through those kind words of yours. The way your eyes gleam whenever you're around Billy-" he paused, "You know, I think you like him.... And that makes me...-"

"I... I don't... I don't like him. I don't know what you're talking about, please. It's cold, Tom... let's just go back inside"

He slowly walked down the stairs, my heart beat rapidly, as he got closer and closer. The ice melted with his every step, and when he stopped right in font of me I felt a fire erupt in my lungs. He looked disinterested in my slumped body as it struggled to support itself, my legs wobbling as I tried to keep my footing. "T-Tom..."

"It makes me very... mad when you don't look at me, Vivienne."

I slowly lifted my head up, and when my eyes met his, my heart skidded to a halt. I can't handle this pain. He's hurting me from inside. "You need to keep your place in my world, do you understand? You're my slave. You do as I tell you to, Understand? That's how it'll always be. You'll always be the dirt beneath my feet, the footpath I trample over, and every other low-life like you can imagine is never going to be as low as you."

He smiled as he brought his hands to my face, cupping it gently, "I don't like you, but you'll have to do. You're the only one with enough secrets to keep me interested...." He stopped to take in the stream of tears flowing down my eyes, and gently used his thumb to wipe a fleck of dirt that had smattered itself on my cheek when I rolled down the steps, "I have better visions of my life than this wretch of a place, and you're going to help me succeed. Do you understand?"