how it feels to be alive {tom riddle}

twenty-three: borgin

But somehow, explaining Tom Riddle seemed more complex than this.

Tom was now observing the pieces of jewellery presented in a charmed glass cabinet. Lucia moved to stand next to him and read the labels.

"A ring that extends into a spike laced with a charm inducing necrosis in combat, that's rather grim." Lucia remarked, looking at the opal and silver band with distaste. Something so pretty holding such a lethal cure seemed like a rather humorous irony.

"I prefer the necklace that strangles anyone who isn't the owner when it is put on, just desserts at its most lethal." Tom chucked, pointing to a ruby necklace with a chain thick and gold.

"Delightful." Lucia laughed, dragging her fingers along the cool metal edges of the cabinet, "That one's beautiful." She sighed, looking at the silver chained necklace with a snake coiled around a gleaming diamond, beside it a thick ring with a silver snake wrapping around its band.

Below it, a card read:

Tutela Anguis,
A protective serpent.
Mimics the heartbeat of the owner of its matching ring.

"I suppose." Tom said, staring coldly at the jewellery before him.

Lucia moved toward the cabinet of various wand handles, one a large snake head that resembled the top of a walking stick. It was a rather odd choice, but Lucia suspected the handle had a complex history.

"Are you ready to go?" Tom appeared behind her, sparing only a short look for the wand handles.

"Yes, this place is creepy as." Lucia chuckled, walking toward the door.

The same high-pitched chime of the bell as they exited pierced Lucia's ears, and she was relieved to inhale the fresh air of Knockturn Alley. The dark magic in the shop had made breathing seem strenuous, feeling as though she were inhaling a warm fog that made her feel both light-headed and allured.

The poisonous atmosphere usually wasn't this severe in the mere presence of the Dark Arts, but the layers upon layers of sinister wizardry that had passed through that shop had built up into a corrupting and toxic haze.

Lucia welcomed the jubilant chatter that came with their return to Diagon Alley, the haze of the dark magic had been making her feel rather woozy.

"Let's get ice cream." She insisted, desperately craving a sugar hit to raise her disposition.

When they arrived in front of Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour, Lucia eyed the smiling photograph of Mr Fortescue out the front. He was holding a waffle cone topped with a tall stack of ice cream scoops, engaging in a humorous balancing act to prevent any from falling. Below the photograph read:

Florean Fortescue
Enjoy it before it melts.

The double meaning behind the saying struck a chord of sympathy in Lucia, but she brushed it away. If she stopped to fret for every death from wizarding wars, she'd be mourning her whole life.

"Can I please get a chocolate and raspberry cone?" Lucia requested to Ms Fortescue.

"I'll just have chocolate and mint." Tom added, smiling in a way Lucia imagined would have been even more charming on his own features.

The woman with wispy brown hair and a red tartan apron scooped the ice cream into the cones for them, handing them over in exchange for a couple of coins Lucia pulled out of her pocket.

They sat on the table outside the parlour, enjoying the sun gleaming down the alley and creating a warmness definitely not present down Knockturn Alley.

"Any good?" Lucia asked Tom, eyeing him cheekily.

"I suppose." He played off, but it truly was good ice cream.

"Dad used to take me here when we went school shopping." She sighed, "It often turned into a bit of an apology for Mum having a hissy fit at the restaurant."

"He sounds like a wonderful man from what you've told me." Tom spoke, his eyes fixed on her as he seemed to analyse her every expression and response.

"He was. But I guess you can't have too much of a good thing." She disclosed, obviously not wanting the event to become sorrowful.

"I can't pretend to understand, seeing as my parents were imbeciles who got what was coming for them. But I can see how much he meant to you." Tom said, the words sounding unnatural coming from his tongue, or rather the tongue of the man on the bus.

"Thank you Tom." Lucia responded, registering his expression of sympathy and acknowledgement of her emotions. It was a foreign conversation, but she was glad he had spoken.

Tom's face suddenly began to bubble lightly, darker hair sprouting amongst the lighter locks presently there.

"Tom, it's wearing off." Lucia rushed, a panicked expression washing over her. Using Polyjuice Potion could easily be seen from outside eyes as a way to commit bad deeds without identity. Turning back in public could even place extensive monitoring from Ministry officials, which was exactly what Tom didn't need, seeing as he was from a totally different time period.

"I know." Tom said sharply, his jaw tense. He couldn't be seen by Ministry officials, there was an incredibly increased risk for one of them to recognise him compared to just the general public, which was already hazardous enough.

Lucia's hand grabbed Tom's as she dragged him into a small space between two of the buildings. He had become much taller already, and after a short while, he had returned completely to himself.

The gap between the shops was rather small, forcing them into incredibly close proximity. This made it all the more alluring when he had returned to his usual height and was staring down at her instead of at a face-to-face level.

"Couldn't have picked a larger alley?" Tom smirked, moving his leg so it wasn't pressing into her anymore.

"Oh shut up. Ten more seconds and you would have turned completely into yourself in front of God knows who." She scoffed, shoving his chest lightly. There wasn't far for him to be pushed though, considering he was almost flat against the wall already.

"To be quite honest, I am pleased with this choice." He eyed her with a devious smirk plastered on his face as he raised his hand to run it down her side slowly.

She reached out and pushed his hand off her, rolling her eyes but laughing nonetheless.

With a sharp crack, they apparated back to the hotel room.

author's note

sorry I ended up being a bit slow to update, it's ended up being a busy couple of days.

thank you so much for all the love on this story lately, I really appreciate it.

I better sleep now, because my eyes literally keep closing while I'm typing lol, goodnight everyone xo