Before He Was Voldemort (A Tom Riddle Fanfiction)

Chapter 15: Legilimency

December, 1943

Tom slammed the doors to the Come and Go Room- he really needed to find another name for it- unceremoniously with such force, the silver serpentine chandelier dangling from the ceiling broke free of its support hook, crashing to the floor and sending shards of glass and metal everywhere. Despite the resonating impact, it didn't phase him in the least bit. He continued into the room, nonverbally casting a spell that gathered up the demolished chandelier and pieced it back together in its original state. Tom stopped before the fireplace, which seemed to sense his presence and flickered to life. Staring into the emerald flames had a calming effect on him, and was also a good place for thinking and devising schemes, which he was currently doing.

The source of his utter unsettlement at the moment had started when he was up in the Astronomy Tower with Corinne just mere minutes ago. The girl had an curious inclination to hide and isolate herself, to which Tom did not understand. She was not at all shy around him, but around her other peers, she had no desire to interact with them. Tom could relate, for the majority of the students in the school were not worthy of his association. But Corinne was different; she did not seek superiority as he did.

He wasn't well informed on the foreign creatures that were females, but weren't they all sociable and chatty? That's how they all seemed here at Hogwarts, minus Corinne. Companioning herself appeared to be the last thing on her mind. Why was she so different from other girls? Why was she so afraid to be seen and prove her worth to the world?

Why are you so concerned about her wellbeing? Tom's mind countered.

He clenched his fists. Tom hated being so confused. And he wasn't even sure what he was confused about. Was he questioning his plan again? Was it about his lack of knowledge about Corinne? Was it about his sudden presence of newfound emotions that he could not make sense of?

Was it about whether he should continue using Corinne for his plan or punish her when she has betrayed him?

Tom had made the troubling discovery when they were hiding behind the wall in the Astronomy Tower. The two of them were standing very close together, as they had done in the broom cupboard on Halloween, normally at a proximity that he would never allow from another person. Strangely, he did not mind it. Tom seized the opportunity, for whatever reason, to study Corinne and her mannerisms. His eyes scanned her face and found features he had never noticed before, starting from her hairline where signs of her natural blonde hair still existed, her short nose, her flushed cheeks, a faint scar on the side of her mouth, her slightly parted full rosy lips, then back up to her eyes...

Originally, Tom had always thought Corinne had brown eyes. In his opinion, they were much too large for her face, making her appear permanently nervous. But when he examined them more closely, he realized he was wrong about their color. Instead of plain brown, Corinne's eyes were a rich, dark hazel with the vaguest traces of green and gold specks. It was as though an entirely new color had been created just for her irises.

Her eyes swam with a mixture of emotions that Tom couldn't decipher. What could she possibly be thinking? he had wondered. Then, he had an idea. A risky one, but his curiosity was much too powerful.

Legilimency was a newly acquired skill of his. Tom rarely used it, mainly because of his lack of caring for other people's deepest thoughts and feelings. Although he had used it on Professor Dumbledore, only to find out that the old man was suspicious of him. It irritated Tom greatly. How dare that old loon think such accusations about him!

Even if some of Dumbledore's hunches were true, he had no right to delve into Tom's personal matters.

Anyway, so yes, Tom had decided to use his gift on Corinne. Invasion of her privacy was none of his concern. He fixated his gaze on her eyes, which had flickered down to his lips. Tom almost had to resist smirking.

"Déjà vu, huh?" Corinne had said, but he ignored her.

Tom did not break his concentration as he slipped past the barriers surrounding her mind. He only had the chance to get a brief peek of her thoughts so she wouldn't notice. As a newly mastered Legilimens, he found he was able to discreetly navigate a person's mind without their knowledge, but only for a few seconds. At that moment, Corinne showed no sign of resistance or realization of what was transpiring. Her cluelessness made delving into her innermost thoughts all the easier.

Entering Corinne's mind was like diving headfirst into an icy lake at first, then Tom reached her thoughts and found they were a jumbled, swirling blizzard. It was nearly impossible to interpret everything he saw in that short time. He was then hit with a wave of heat, then cold, then brightness, then darkness, then a mixture of all sorts. It was Corinne's feelings; a roaring mixture of fear, anxiety, joy, passion, and something else he couldn't decrypt. Oddly enough, most of her positive emotions occurred when she was with him.

Everything she felt was more intense than Tom had ever experienced in his lifetime.

Then, a flash of an image passed across his field of vision. This must be one of her memories, he had registered. Corinne was still oblivious to the invasion of her mind, but that wouldn't last much longer.

What Tom saw was Professor Slughorn's office. When had Corinne been there? The sliver of the memory was in her point of view, where she seemed to be peering inside the room. The scene was hazy, but Tom could still see Slughorn speaking with a tall figure who had their back turned. Tom inhaled sharply when he grasped what he was seeing.

"Merlin's beard, Tom! Seven!"

"Tom?" Corinne was the one who broke the connection by touching his arm- which produced a jolting sensation across his skin- and brought Tom out of his reverie. Processing what he'd just seen, he left the room as quickly as he could, wanting to get as far from Corinne as possible before his anger made him explode.

She knows about Horcruxes, he thought, gritting his teeth. Not only that, but she eavesdropped on a private conversation that she had no right to hear. How dare her! Who does she think she is? When I see her again, I'm going to-

Tom, who was seething, returned his focus back to the fireplace again. He clenched and unclenched his fists, his jaw set so tightly that it hurt. Besides Muggles, there was nothing he looked down upon more than the act of betrayal. And the worst part was that he otherwise would have never expected it from Corinne. He hated being surprised and caught off guard.

He didn't even know how to handle the situation, and that further fueled the burning inferno of rage surging inside him.

If it were anyone other than Corinne, Tom wouldn't think twice about killing or torturing them. He would have reveled in their screams of agony and cries of mercy. But imagining Corinne in their place made him falter. Thinking of her in any kind of pain- or even worse, dead- delivered a sharp pang in his chest. Tom let out a growl as he grabbed a jar containing magical herbs off the mantle, hurling it into the nearby wall.

He hated anything that took charge of his emotions, something he worked so hard to contain. Corinne was the one problem he could not bear to resolve with a flick of his wand. She was something beyond his control.

Part of Tom cared for her deeply, and he despised it. He despised himself for stooping low enough to have such feelings- feelings that weren't supposed to exist- but at the same time, it didn't feel wrong.

As much as he hated coming to terms with it, Tom could not bring himself to loathe Corinne Carrow. He felt something else for her; something that he was desperately trying to deny.

~ ~ ~

A/N: Yikes, Tom is angry. Again. At least he kinda figured out his feelings, though.

Sorry for the lack of dialogue in this chapter. Tom and Corinne will interact again in the next chapter. Boy, that will be interesting lol.

Anyway, hope you guys enjoyed! Remember to vote and leave a comment. Thanks guys, love you!

-MeganWritesBooks 💋