⚠️Trigger Warning.⚠️
[Slight mention of self harm, suicide and sexual harassment. I have inserted (*) where you can skip if you want. Reader's discretion adviced.]
A
t first, everything was hazy. The darkroom, an unbearable smell and indistinct screams were all that Leo could sense.
She felt weak.
It took a lot of effort to just move her head around in order to figure out where she was. Her brain felt like jelly. Nothing was making sense to her.
She laid on the cold ground helplessly. It was hard to breathe without inhaling the rotting smell. She licked her chapped lips and tried to swallow the dryness of her throat.
A few moments of confusion passed by. She only blinked until her eyes adjusted to her surroundings. After some struggle, she managed to sit up and lean her body against a stone wall.
The iron bars and dimly lit corridor was enough for her to understand that she was trapped in the dungeons.
But where? Who would want to make her a prisoner?
There were other prison cells around her. She could tell that other prisoners were getting tortured. That couldn't be good.
When she tried to move forward, she realised her hands and legs were tied up.
Finally, she remembered what had happened. She was kidnapped by Grindelwald's followers. She was his prisoner. He wanted her or rather her powers.
She needed to find an escape.
She looked around trying to find anything that would help her. There was no window, only the iron bars in front of her.
The cell was very dirty. There was a small sink with water leaking from it. The floors were mouldy and there were some dark stains on them. Leo didn't even want to find out what it was.
There was no escape unless someone opened the gate for her. She knew she could take down a few witches and wizards but Grindelwald had far more followers than that.
On the other hand, her hands were bounded by those metal cuffs.
She had figured out what they were. Those cuffs were the same as that necklace she used to wear all the time. The cuffs were draining out her magic.
Leo had to bite her tongue to keep calm. She was slowly realising that there might be no escape. She would have to die in the hands of Grindelwald. That was her fate. She just hoped that she had at least saved Tom Riddle Sr.
Her thoughts were interrupted when someone opened the iron gate of her prison cell. Her head snapped up to see two men holding another person between them whose head was hanging low.
"You are lucky we found her, boy," one of the men said in disappointment.
"Yeah. But don't be too happy. We can kill you once Grindelwald is done with her," another one cackled like a maniac before shoving the said boy inside her cell. They locked the gate immediately after, making Leo frown.
As soon as they left, Leo shifted her gaze towards the new arrival. Right when the boy turned around to face her, both of them froze in their places.
Leo couldn't believe her eyes. The sound of water droplets hitting the floor grew louder. Her head buzzed with confusion. She was so shocked that she even forgot how to breathe.
A tear slipped from Leo's eyes without her even knowing.
"Tom," her voice was almost inaudible. Tom looked nothing like the Tom she knew. His hair was all dusty and messy. He was hunching and his eyes looked sunken.
But the thing that shocked Leo the most was his face. It was all bloody and swollen. He had a large cut on his forehead that reached till his left eyebrow. He had a black eye and busted lips. The white shirt that she was wearing had dried bloodstains all over it.
Leo didn't know what to say. She couldn't breathe. She couldn't think. She couldn't move. All she could do was stare at Tom and wish that he was just an illusion.
Tom was the one to break the silence. He took tired footsteps towards her as her eyes followed him. She was scared that he would just vanish if she would look away for a second.
"So they found you," Tom mumbled while sitting down right beside her and leaning his back against the wall like she was doing.
"Wh-what do you mean? Why are you here? Why did they catch you?" Leo could finally form words. Her whole body shook with dread.
"That doesn't matter-"
"It matters to me, Tom!" She raised his voice and pushed off the wall to fully face the boy. It hurt her to look at him in that condition.
"They tortured you! I can see that. I can see that you are hurt. So, tell me, why did they kidnap you?" Leo demanded.
Her throat was closing in. She knew that she would burst into tears. Her mind was continuously thinking of how the situation could be worse.
Tom could have died!
Tom sighed and finally glanced at the girl, "They thought I knew where you were. So, they-"
"So it is my fault, "Leo whispered to herself.
She couldn't face the boy anymore. It was all her fault. He could've died because of her. She was supposed to save him but she was clearly doing the worst job ever.
"I don't need you to save me," Tom said after reading her thoughts.
"No, shut up."
Tom scoffed, "Excuse me?"
"I said shut up," Leo repeated once again.
She started tugging against her restraints. She knew it was of no use and it would only result in cutting her wrists but she tugged at it nonetheless. The pain that it was inflicting upon her made her feel less guilty.
Her shoulders were becoming numb. Tears were pouring down her cheeks as she whimpered softly.
Why did it have to be me?
I failed him. I failed everyone.
If things could just end...
Leo flinched away when she felt Tom untying the ropes around her ankles. She shuffled away from his touch immediately.
"N-no! Don't," her voice cracked. Tom gave her a look before completely dismissing her protest and untying her legs.
"Tom, don't! They would torture you again and I won't be able to-"
"As I said before, I don't need you to protect me," he deadpanned.
"You don't understand, do you?" Leo asked and finally looked up at Tom with her bloodshot eyes.
"I never really understood you," Tom admitted. Leo scoffed at his statement.
Oh, how the roles have switched!
Leo was usually the one to take everything lightly. She couldn't believe that Tom was acting all casual as if he was on a vacation and not in a prison cell.
"What happened to you? Why are you not scolding me? Giving me death threats?! What happened to you, Tom?!" She cried out. She wanted him to blame her. She wanted to feel even more guilty.
"Did my threats ever work on you?" He simply shrugged.
Something snapped in Leo. She gritted her teeth and without any warning, she attacked Tom with her head. Tom let out a soft grunt at the sudden pain. Leo started hitting her head against his chest repeatedly.
"You IDIOT! You might not have any emotion. You might not care for me. You might not even care if I exist or not. But don't you understand why I always stick by you even after knowing you are walking on the path of becoming a monster?!" She stopped to take a breather. Her eyes glanced up to see the boy's face. He was waiting for an answer.
How can he not get the hint?!
"It's because I like you, you sea turtle!" Leo blurted out. She expected Tom to laugh out loud, mock her or even pull a disgusted face. But none of that happened.
Tom just sat in front of her in silence. A few awkward seconds passed by. Tom's eyebrows furrowed and Leo prepared herself for the worst.
"Why would you call me a turtle?"
Leo opened her mouth and closed it again. She took a minute to process his question. When it finally settled in, she threw her head back in frustration.
"THAT's what you have to say?" She exhaled through her mouth to calm down.
"That was like the worst way to reject me, Tom Riddle," Leo shook her head in embarrassment and slight disappointment. But a small smile came upon her chapped lips.
"But thank you for calming me down, I guess," she shrugged but refused to meet his eyes.
Why did I think it was a good idea to confess in a dirty dungeon?
She stopped thinking once she remembered that Tom could hear her. He was about to say something but Leo beat him to it.
"We need to find a way to escape. I suppose that they took your wand?"
Tom nodded as she glanced at him before looking away again.
"I can't use my magic because of the restraints. We need to think of another way."
"I can try and cast a verbal spell to unlock it," Tom offered.
Leo pursed her lips in thought. A simple spell like that would definitely not work on a magical item like her retrains but there was no harm in trying.
She turned away from him to reveal her bloody wrists that were bounded with those darn cuffs.
"Alohamora," Tom whispered. As soon as those words left his lips, the restraint started to glow.
"Is it workin-" Leo cut herself off with a piercing scream. She felt like someone was squeezing her heart from inside.
"STOP IT! MAKE IT STOP, TOM!" She screamed at the top of her lungs. Her throat burned due to her volume. Tom stopped his magic immediately and the girl started falling. She couldn't move. Her whole body felt like it was pierced with a thousand swords.
Before her head could hit the ground, Tom caught her and rested her head on his lap.
Leo looked dangerously pale. She was breathing heavily and her forehead was coated with beads of perspiration.
"It is a cursed item. You can't use magic on it," she panted out.
"Right. I- I'm sorry," Tom mumbled while combing his fingers through her messy locks of black hair.
"No, I'm sorry. We are stuck here just because of m-"
(*)
"What's going on in here?! A man slammed his fist against the iron bars while another started unlocking the gate.
Tom glared daggers at them as they entered the cell. Leo pushed herself away from Tom, scared that they might hurt him again if she was close to him. Noticing that, Tom stood up, ready to fight if required.
One of them dropped a plate of food in front of Tom, "Eat up, boy. We are not as cruel as we look."
Both of them started laughing at their own joke making Tom scowl. Leo just eyed them in fear.
As if on cue, both men fixed their gaze on the girl. They flashed their yellow teeth at her making her flinch.
"Why, aren't you a pretty little thing?" One of them asked as he started taking slow steps towards her.
Tom immediately placed himself between her and the man.
"Oi, what is your problem, boy? We're here to have some fun. It's not all the time we get to see girls around here," another said as he towered over the heir of Slytherin.
"Back off," Tom said through his gritted teeth.
The man laughed out loud at his face, "Hey, you can have fun with her too, once we are done."
Leo looked terrified. She was frozen in her place. She watched as Tom lunged at the man. He was a lot smaller compared to them. She doubted that he would win.
Just as she had predicted, the man punched Tom and tossed him towards the other one. He grabbed him in a chokehold, restricting his movements completely. Tom tried to break free but it was of no use.
Leo could only watch in horror as the man slowly advanced towards her. She shook her head in denial. Her hands pulled at the restraints in a weak attempt to break free. The more he neared, the more she back away. At one moment, her back hit the wall.
The man crouched down to her height and grinned, "Well, aren't I lucky?"
He eyed her up and down making her feel sick in the stomach. Within a flash, the man grabbed her ankles and held them with the help of his legs.
"No. Please, don't do this," Leo whispered. She had no more strength left to scream. She tried to move her legs but the man was far too strong for her.
"Aw, you almost make me want to spare you, kitten," he mocked her.
"Please don't!" She cried out when she felt him pulling at the hem of her knitted sweater. She pressed herself against the wall and shook her head again and again. Her hands glowed as her magic tried to break free. The overwhelming pain in her chest took over all her senses as she screamed at the top of her lungs.
(*)
All of a sudden, she couldn't sense the presence of that man anymore. She opened her blurry eyes to see Tom hovering above him and punching him repeatedly.
She quickly searched for the other man who was holding Tom. He was lying on the ground with a pool of blood surrounding him. Her eyes widened in horror.
Ignoring all the pain, she stood on her feet and ran towards Tom. The look on his face was inhuman. His eyes were glinting in the dark. His mouth was pulled in an animal like grin as he punched the living daylights out of the man.
Leo could see that he was unconscious but that didn't stop Tom. Leo could only watch in silence, her mouth hanging open. After what felt like an eternity, Tom stopped.
He pushed himself away from the man whose face had become unrecognisable. Leo continued to stare at the scene in horror and didn't even realise that Tom was now in front of her.
She glanced at him when he placed his hand on her shoulder. He had the same sinister look on his face. Leo couldn't help but step away from him.
For the first time ever, she was terrified of Tom Riddle, terrified of the monster that he was hiding behind his innocent face.
Tom's smile dropped immediately when he noticed the look of fear on Leo's face. It was as if he woke up from a dream. He looked confused.
Leo watched him cautiously.
He brought his hands up to his line of vision. They were coated in blood and was forming bruises. He watched his hands as if they were not his. He glanced at the two bodies that were lying on the ground and finally looked back at Leo.
She took another step back involuntarily.
Tom clenched his jaw and looked away from the girl. Leo's eyes softened. She opened her mouth to say something, anything that would make the situation better. But what could she say? She did witness him murdering two grown men.
"We need to find a way to get that cursed object off of you," he muttered and started looking around for something. Leo just ended up nodding, not being able to say anything.
After a few minutes of searching he finally found what he was looking for. Leo raised an eyebrow at what he was holding with a proud look on his face.
A glob of some yellow stuff was held between in fingers. It was dripping down his hands.
"That's-" Leo pointed at the slab of butter in disgust. It looked like it had been sitting in the kitchen for decades.
"It's butter," he stated the obvious and walked behind her. She wanted to turn around but Tom kept her in place by placing a hand on her shoulder. She couldn't help but flinch once again as the blood from his hand stained her sweater.
A shiver ran down her spine as she felt Tom applying the butter all around her wrists and palms. She wanted to gag in disgust but didn't try to move.
"Okay, now try to slip it off of your wrist," Tom ordered. She sighed and followed his order, ignoring the stinging sensation from her cuts.
"There is no way this would-" Leo was cut off as soon she heard the clang of metal.
"-work."
Leo brought her injured hands closer to herself to inspect the damage. She already felt a lot better without her magic being sucked out of her. But she was a bit upset because her hands were greasy.
She turned around to face Tom who immediately looked away. She bit her lips in guilt. She knew she shouldn't have acted that way. But a part of her couldn't get over the fact that he killed someone right in front of her eyes. Although, he did save her life.
"Thank yo-"
"Can you somehow unlock the gate?" Tom interrupted her in mid-sentence. Leo cleared her throat in order to overcome the uncomfortable atmosphere.
"I can try," she whispered and walked past him. She peered out, making sure that there were no guards around. When the coast was clear, Leo placed her palm against the keyhole. She felt her magic transfer into the iron and soon she couldn't feel the metal against her skin anymore.
She opened her eyes to see the shape of her hand had melted through the keyhole. Her mouth fell agape and she eyed her palm and back at the damage that she had caused.
She turned back at Tom who was already in the process of opening the gate. Leo frowned at his distant behaviour but followed behind him nonetheless.
She followed behind Tom in silence. Every turn that they took, Leo expected someone to jump at her. She didn't even know where he was leading her to or if he had any idea himself but she didn't dare say a word.
At some point, Leo felt like they were going in circles. She was about to ask Tom when he suddenly stopped walking. Leo bumped against his back and took a few steps back while rubbing her forehead.
"Wha- Mother of chicken noodle soup!" Leo cursed as soon as she noticed that they had company.
Five people, three wizards and two witches blocked their path. Their wands were glowing with a violent shade of red.
Leo eyed each one of them as her mind immediately gave them nicknames.
So, the orange looking guy is Ginger breadman.
The wild-haired lady is Pennywise.
The short guy is Oompa Loompa.
The tallest one is Mr Giraffe.
Last but not least, the lady in the middle who looked like she just walked out of modelling photoshoot is The Evil Queen.
Satisfied with her naming skills, Leo cracked her knuckled to shoot some magic towards them.
"Kids always create problems. You are lucky that Grindelwald wants you," The Evil Queen said to Tom. Leo looked between them in confusion. She might have missed the first half of their conversion as she was busy deciding names for them.
"Okay!" Leo clapped loudly to grab everyone's attention while showing off her restraint-free hands.
"We don't intend to fight anyone today. So, we would take our leave and you can forget that we ever existed," Leo proposed, knowing full well that they would never do something like that.
Instead of replying, Gingerbread man shot a burst of magic towards her which she dodged by crouching down.
"How predictable. You villains need to think of something more original," Leo deadpanned.
She grabbed Tom's hand and pulled him along with her as she broke into a sprint. She pushed past The Evil Queen and the gingerbread man with the help of her magic and ran like there was no tomorrow.
"You are going the wrong way!" Tom exclaimed and pulled her into another corridor. Now she was following him.
They skidded into a halt as Oompa Loompa appeared out of nowhere. He send a curse at them at the speed of light but Leo deflected it immediately. She pushed Tom behind her and got ready to fight.
"You can't fight all of us alone," Oompa Loompa sneered while pointing the wand at her nose. Leo glanced at his wand and them back at him. Within a flash, she snatched his wand and snapped it into two with her bare hands.
An awkward silence passed between them. The man stared at the remaining of his wand in her hand, his mouth agape.
"Did you just break my wan-"
"I'm sorry!" Leo squeaked out and tossed it away, "Tom, run!"
She pushed past the guy and Tom followed behind her. Things were not going well. She could hear a lot of footsteps behind her. They might have called for backup.
Leo had to attack whoever was blocking her path. She was defending herself more than attacking the enemy. She was afraid that if she would go all out, she might kill everyone in the building. She didn't want that to happen.
They entered a quiet hallway that looked a lot cleaner than the other floors. Tom gestured her to stay very silent as they took baby steps towards another door.
"Ah, I see my guests have escorted themselves to me."
Leo stilled completely. She knew that voice. She knew who it was and she wanted to just bury her own grave.
"Leona Hart. You have grown up to be a fine lady," Grindelwald stated as the teenagers turned to face him. Tom was glaring at him while Leo looked pale.
"Were you, perhaps, trying to leave?" His heterochromatic eyes stared into her soul. She shook her head quickly whereas Tom scoffed.
"Of course not. We were trying to take a short stroll," Tom replied sarcastically.
Oh, Tom. This is no time to be sarcastic. You will get us killed.
Tom didn't show any sign of acknowledging her thoughts but she knew he had heard everything.
Grindelwald's smile dropped and his true sinister look surfaced on his face. Leo gulped down to bite back another gasp.
"You should watch your mouth, young man."
"What do you want from her?!" Tom demanded. Leo wanted to slap her forehead as Tom dug his own grave.
"It's not what I want, it's what she owes me," Grindelwald grinned at Leo who tried to return it but ended up looking constipated.
"Stop talking in riddles," Tom said through his gritted teeth. If it was any other day, Leo would have laughed out loud but now she just wanted to shove a sock into Tom's mouth to make him shut up.
"Well, not her exactly. It's her father who owes me."
The mention of Leo's father sparked her interest.
"You knew my father?"
Grindelwald's smile widened as he walked closer to the girl, "Of course! What a brave man he was, brave but unfortunate."
Leo pursed her lips, "What does he owe you?"
That seemed to make him even more elated.
"Well, I did save the life of his child," Grindelwald shot her a meaningful look, "Alas, he had to die while saving you. He had promised that you would complete the end of the deal."
Leo's head was spinning with all the new information. She did kill her father. He had to take Grindelwald's help to cast a spell strong enough to send to another reality. She didn't even know what the deal was. She could only think that she was a murderer.
"I- what do I have to do?" She asked, her voice was almost inaudible. All while, Tom did not utter a word.
"Oh, it's really easy, darling. Your father promised to share his 'gift' with me, the gift of his ancient dark magic. You have the magic running in your blood. You can finish your father's end of the deal. I can even tell you more about your father."
All rational thoughts left Leo's brain. She could only stare at his heterochromatic eyes in a daze. She needed to know about her father, her past. There was no harm in sharing her powers. Her magic didn't matter to her. She couldn't care less if Grindelwald took all of her magic.
She just needed to know.
"What do I have to do?"
Grindelwald stepped even closer to her. He retrieved the Elder wand from his coat pocket and grabbed Leo's hand, "Oh, you don't have to do anything, child. I'll just need your blood."
"My blood," Leo glanced down at her hand.
"That's enough," Tom finally spoke up and Leo snapped out of her trance. She snatched her hand away from Grindelwald.
Tom pulled her away from the Dark Wizard, "I always thought that you were the strongest. Now, you are asking for powers from a child. What a shame."
"It's time I teach you how to speak, boy," Grindelwald said through his teeth as the real battle finally started.
•••••••••••••••••••••
"Tom! You IDIOT!"
Leo struggled against Grindelwald's strong magic. She tried to push against his magic as much as she could and at the same time controlling her full magic so that she doesn't obliterate everything into ashes.
Tom didn't reply as he was quite busy fighting against other followers of Grindelwald. He had found his wand amid all chaos and could finally participate in the battle. He looked quite happy.
"Such great potential!" Grindelwald exclaimed like a maniac. Leo puffed her cheeks and sent a little bit more magic towards the man.
"We could rule the world together," Grindelwald breathed out.
"Was that a pickup line, old man?" Leo shouted back, a look of disgust evident on her face.
Oh, Dumbledore. Where are you?"
Tom was throwing spells like he was playing fruit ninja. Leo had noticed that he mostly stunned his enemies. She half expected him to shout the killing curse on repeat once he claimed back his wand but the boy was being oddly polite with his attacks.
Leo's hands started cramping up. She cursed under her breath at the inconvenient situation. She had to think of a way to stall time. She could finish him off but Dumbledore had to be the one to defeat the dark wizard.
"Hey, Mr Gremlin!" She called out and moved away from the line of attack, " how about we play a game? Say the names of five animals starting with the letter M!"
Grindelwald pointed his wand at the girl once again, "You think you can trick me? I don't want to play games, girl. I will take that ancient magic from you."
Leo sighed, "You old people are boring."
Grindelwald gave out a war cry before sending a powerful gust of magic towards her. She lifted her hand in the air as a makeshift shield and deflected the magic immediately. When she removed her hand, the old man was nowhere to be seen.
Leo swiftly turned around to see that he was standing behind Tom who was occupied with a strong wizard. Leo watched in horror as Grindelwald grinned at her knowingly.
She expected the time to turn slow for her so that she could do something. Her legs moved before she could even think.
"Tom, look out!" She screamed in panic.
A second. Just a second was enough to destroy someone completely.
Leo used that second to push Tom away and take the hit. The gust of magic hit her back. Tom turned at that very moment to see a look of shock on Leo's face. Blood splashed all around and stained Tom's cheeks. Leo gasped in pain as her voice got caught in her throat.
Tom couldn't understand what was happening. He watched in confusion as Leo collapsed in his arms and there was blood all around him. He eyed Grindelwald's look of triumph, wondering what had made him so happy all of a sudden. Even the way his wand started to flash green didn't faze him a bit.
He couldn't even understand why Leo was slowly starting to get cold. Nothing made sense to him for a few minutes. Everything had become a blur.
"Grindelwald!"
Tom snapped out of his daze at the voice of professor Dumbledore. Grindelwald's followers were being attacked by the Aurors that Dumbledore had brought with him. The professor himself cast a powerful spell towards the dark wizard, throwing him out of the building.
Thunder clapped in the distance as two of the most powerful wizards fought like there was no tomorrow.
Amidst all the chaos, Tom collapsed on the ground along with the girl in his arms.
He carefully placed Leo on his lap so that she was looking up at him through her hooded eyes. Leo smiled once she could see his face again.
"Tom, it really hurts," Leo whispered. Her heart was beating faintly, working against her as it pumped out more blood just to cause even more blood loss.
Tom didn't say anything. He could only gape at the girl on his lap whose life was slipping away in front of his eyes.
"I feel a bit cold," Leo shivered a bit. Her lips quivered as silent tears escaped her eyes.
Tom placed a trembling hand against her forehead. His blood coated hand was a contrast to her pale face. He bit his lips, the heavy feeling on his chest felt suffocating. His hands slipped from her forehead and cupped her cheeks. They felt so cold yet so soft.
"Am I going to die?" Leo wondered, "Well, at least I don't have to live with the embarrassment of getting rejected by you."
She tried to laugh but grimaced once she felt the pain on her back increase.
"I'll save you," Tom stated firmly.
"Don't. I'm okay with dying. Just promise me that you won't tie shoelaces for anyone else," Leo smiled at him through her pain.
"Can you at least refrain from cracking jokes while bleeding out?" Tom scolded but Leo only smiled wider. Ignoring her pain, she lifted her hand and rested it against his cheeks. She could feel him lean into her touch slightly but she was on the brink of her death. So, she must have imagined it.
"I'll miss you, Tommy boy. For now, I just need...to...sleep," Leo trailed off as her eyelids threatened to close.
Tom could hear loud ringing in his ears. He gripped Leo's hand that was on his cheek, "This is no time to sleep."
"Please," Leo whispered.
"J-just look at m-me. I'll heal y-you," Tom stuttered out.
"I can't..." Leo mumbled but she tried to stay awake as much as possible. She knew she had lost too much blood as soon as the spell was cast. She watched as Tom started muttering spells with his eyes tightly shut. He was still holding onto her palm and rocking back and forth.
She tried to memorize every little detail about him. The thought of never being able to see him again twisted her weak heart. She bit her lips to stop herself from crying loudly.
Her vision started getting dark. It was getting harder to breathe.
"Tom," she breathed out with the last bit of her strength.
Tom squeezed her hand harder but she could barely feel it. He brought his face closer to hers and said something. But she couldn't hear it. He pressed his forehead against hers as she took her last breath. Their tears mixed like the rain.
Just like that, Leona Hart slipped right through Tom's hands.
A/N: well, that happened.
Those who skipped the chapter, here is a summary:
Tom and Leo, both got kidnapped by Grindelwald. Grindelwald wants Leo's ancient magic and he wanted to claim it by performing a blood ritual. We also come to know that the dark wizard knew Leo's father and helped him to send Leo to another reality and died while performing the powerful magic.
A fight will break out and Grindelwald would try to kill Tom. Leo will take the hit and die.
BUT THIS IS NOT THE END!
NOT THE END!
ₚₗₑₐₛₑ 𝒹ₒₙ'ₜ ₗₑₐᵥₑ ₘₑ.