The Dawn of Darkness || T. Riddle

Chapter 5: Defy Him

But one that she couldn't help but admire, despite how hard she tried not to.

He was deadlier and more dangerous than poison. Tempting, mysterious and veiled. And not all poisons were bitter. In fact, some of the deadliest poisons in the world tasted sweet; and for that reason they were far more dangerous.

But despite the way he looked, she noticed something beneath the perfectly crafted character, something that made her mind flicker back to a distant memory.

"You look different now, do you know that?" she ventured, aiming to both unravel and pierce the armour of the enigma before her with the truth.

"I think the phrase you're looking for is even more handsome," he retorted with a raised brow, his words light yet edged, though they did little to deflect her observation.

"No," she said seriously. And she hesitated before she let she words roll off her tongue like cold, harsh, thrashing waves. "You look empty."

Riddle's expression faltered, replaced by a mask of hardness, as if struggling to contain any hint of vulnerability that may have seeped through at her words. As Estela observed him, the resemblance to the haunted figure from her opal necklace was uncanny, save for the absence of a red gleam in his eyes. It sparked a terrifying thought: had Tom fractured his soul further in his quest for immortality? How many Horcruxes now existed? 

The implications were chilling. The man before her was fragmented, no longer wholly human, despite his otherworldly beauty. Estela's heart ached at the thought, yet she hesitated to voice her fears. To confront him now could shatter whatever fragile connection that remained between them.

She decided not to question the matter right now. She would find out another time. She wasn't sure why she didn't just ask him now, though. She desperately wanted to know. Maybe it was because that deep down she didn't want him to have made more Horcruxes. She didn't want him to have split his soul to the point of no return because of what that would mean for her. It would mean he had no hope of redemption, and in turn would mean that she had no hope of saving him.

Riddle's warning broke the tense silence. "I may permit you a certain freedom with your words, Estela, but do not mistake my tolerance for weakness. You can still cross a line."

The seriousness in his tone was unmistakable, and Estela recognised the gravity of his warning. Yet, as he shifted the topic to her next mission, the anger within her flared once more. "Back to the reason I'm here; to inform you of your next mission."

"I've already told you I'm not-"

"Don't interrupt me," he snarled. "Your next task is to accompany me."

"To accompany you?" 

"Yes. To visit someone I've been in contact with for many months now. A seer."

"A seer?" Estela's skepticism was evident. "You, the man who despises the thought of anyone else determining his fate, have been visiting a seer?"

He leaned forwards in the chair, a few strands of his jet-black hair falling into his face. "When someone informs you that your fate has been sealed, you tend to want to hear it."

"And you believe this nonsense?" She inquired. "You believe this seer isn't just some greedy fraud eager to get their hands on a few extra galleons?"

"True seers are rare, but that doesn't mean they aren't around. The seer I've been in contact with is Cassandra Vablatsky. A name I'm sure you're familiar with."

Estela paused. "Of course. But she refuses to make predictions anymore."

"She sought me. She came to me claiming to know my future."