Professor Merlin Emrys

Wool's Secrets

Once he landed, he wasted no time in walking to the front gates, rusted and unhinged from abandonment. The lot had a sign up stating it was to be demolished by the city's order, which made sense as the place was rundown and an eyesore in the otherwise clean city block. Vines grew aggressively up the structure that looked about to collapse. The courtyard was all cracked stone and the weeds that grew in between, it didn't deter Merlin in the slightest, only adding more questions. What had happened to make the place close? Was it Riddle? Or did it die out naturally? Curiosity had him moving inside, prying the chained door loose with magic in order to get in. Immediately, the smell had Merlin covering his mouth and nose with his hand, gagging as mildew and mold mingled with the stale air.

It had to have been at least two decades or more since the orphanage was operational. Merlin had little doubt that Tom had destroyed this place, if the residual dark magic said anything. A quiet giggling alerted him to the possibility of another being here, but Merlin seriously doubted that they were alive. Cautiously, he stepped forward, following the sound of the child's laughter. His heart rate picked up as he stepped further into the hallway, nerves or anticipation, he didn't know which. He conjured a light above him to see as the windows disappeared, giving way to burnt out light fixtures on the walls. Rounding the corner saw Merlin doing a double-take as the bedroom looked like new.

He knew what it meant, it meant a ghost was stuck in a past loop until they could be set free. The thought made Merlin's heart ache. The giggling continued a little ways away; Merlin followed after it to find two boys. They were sitting cross-legged on the floor, there backs to their beds.

"What do you want your family to be like, Tom?" the younger of the boys asked.

"I don't care, as long as they take me away from here," he answered, looking out the window. He couldn't be any older than eight, it made Merlin wonder where it all went so wrong. The smaller of the two nodded in agreement, obvious in his worship of the older boy. Merlin could hear the sound of other children playing in the yard below, wondering why the two spent the time indoors instead.

"Can we go outside, please?" the younger whined. Riddle rolled his eyes, but made to stand up. He gestured for the other boy to go first, which he excitedly did, practically running. Yet, Riddle stayed, going to the door and locking it. The memory ended but started right back up again. Merlin wondered what he had missed.

The giggling sounded again, this time of the boy running into the room, ignoring Merlin's presence. He skidded to a halt next to the wardrobe and slipped inside, giggling all the while. A moment later Tom walked in, face impassive as he taunted the boy into revealing his hiding space. When he didn't Tom double checked before laying on his bed and staring out the window, the sound of children at play echoing in the tiny room. When it was clear Riddle wasn't going to look any longer for the young boy, the younger stealthily snuck out of his hiding place, pouncing on the unsuspecting eight-year-old.

"Ahh! Off, Ustas!" Riddle yelled, shoving Ustas off the bed in the process. The boy hit his head with a thump on the hardwood floor. His eyes were closed, blood slowly seeping out of a small wound on his head.

"Ustas?" Riddle called, slowly getting off the bed, and sinking onto the floor to cradle the younger boy's head. He quickly snatched them away, obviously having felt the blood, his hands coming off a sickly ruby red. Tom grimaced, but didn't pull back from the boy, instead studying him. The calculating look had Merlin wanting to throw up, to look at a dead child as if it were nothing more than something to be fascinated by. A shiver raced down his body as Ustas shimmered slightly, his soul disconnecting from his body, leaving it a truly empty vessel he could never return to.

"What happened?" the spectral form of Ustas called, startling Tom, eyes moving from the corpse to the ghost.

"Ustas?" he called in disbelief.