how it feels to be alive {tom riddle}

twenty: morality

MORALITY

Lucia and Tom had spent the afternoon venturing around London to pass the time. They had seen all the major landmarks in the modern day, which Tom was quick to make snarky comments about in regards to their decay since his time. Of course he didn't fail to point out that wizarding landmarks wouldn't do such a thing, again boasting of magical superiority.

However, Tom had surprisingly wanted to go to a muggle library, which had involved lots of protests and eye rolls from Lucia. She had assured him that he could access books online, but he was adamant that it wouldn't suit him.

He now leant against the headboard of his bed, his legs stretched in front of him and one of his new books resting on his lap. Lucia sat beside him, scrolling through various social media platforms with her head resting on his shoulder.

"I see you have forgiven me." He chuckled, not looking away from the page before him.

"I suppose." She said, not wanting to admit she was past their altercation.

"I did say I could be persuasive." Tom smirked, patting her thigh gently.

"Oh get over yourself, you cocky bastard." Lucia laughed and swatted him on the chest, "I had forgiven you before that."

He looked up teasingly, "Sure, so it had nothing to do with the feeling of my tongue..."

"Tom!" She gasped, cutting off before he could continue, "I'm not going to pretend like it didn't improve my mood, but you have to know that if you act like a pretentious asshole I won't forgive you just because you do something like that."

He shook his head and returned his gaze to the book on his lap, a smirk still playing at his lips.

"What are you reading, anyway?" She asked curiously, reaching out to turn the book over so she could see the cover.

"Friedrich Nietzsche's Beyond Good and Evil." He said, running his fingers down the delicate spine of the old book, "He was a German philosopher."

"I didn't think you'd be one for muggle philosophy." Lucia commented, taking the book to look at its contents.

"Some of their ideas about morality can be translated to a sort that could be applied to the wizarding world." He shrugged it off, not wanting to admit that Nietzsche had some idea's Tom had thought, but not put to paper before, "It's a rather illuminating read, considering he was just a muggle."

"Look at you expanding your horizons. I must say I'm impressed." She gave him an amused expression, "But this guy is pretty intense. What's this about suffering being good? And condemning people for trying to eliminate it with their morality?"

"It's more about rising above the pitiful herd to exercise your power, being a free spirit." Tom explained, "But yes I suppose that is part of it."

"Well I guess as long as you don't take it too literally." Lucia laughed nervously, "Don't go all Hitler on me."

Tom chuckled lightly, shaking his head. "He was an incompetent fool." He said under his breath.

"Why did you want to read it?" Lucia asked after a few moments of thought, looking at Tom slightly puzzled.

"It's an interesting perspective." Tom replied simply.

"In what way?" She pushed, wanting to understand his motives.

"He sees reality as fundamentally amoral, and sees morality as a means through which humans can exert their power over others." Tom explained, "The herd reduces it to simply good and evil, defined into these categories by their fear of the thing."