Ch 21
Where Tom Possesses Blinding Beauty
welcome to yet another episode
of 'ooh, i should have paid
better attention to the last episode-'
<><><>
"BASIL! DARLING, WHERE ARE YOU?" Tom purred, a small, indulgent smile adorning his face. "It's me. Come out of hiding."
Seraphina wondered if she should ask the Gods to turn her into a Basilisk if, or when, she won The Montage.
[The deity, 'Keybearer Of The Dead' believes you can do better!]
[The deity, 'Kiss My Axe' believes you are enough as you are, even if you are a pesky weakling.]
[The deity, 'Test Name PlsIgnore' is intrigued.]
[The deity, 'Test Name Pls Ignore' suggests further research.]
Hmm, which is more majestic- a dragon or a basilisk? Perhaps a hybrid? She does need further research.
[The deity, 'If You See Me, No You Didn't' thinks you an idiot.]
[The deity, 'If You See Me, No You Didn't' states you should obviously request to be turned into a god.]
Whoa, whoa, whoa.
Firstly, ew.
Secondly, tempting.
Thirdly, ew.
She should probably ask for a room freshener spray before anything, her immediate vicinity stank like rotten eggs. Maybe urge Hephaestus to make some Monster repellent spray too while she was at it.
[The deity, 'Test Name PlsIgnore' thinks you an idiot, too.]
Oh, well.
"Hey, it's me. There is no need to hide." The wizard beside her whispered fondly, canting his neck to scan the tunnel they were trotting inside of.
Mom, I wanna be a Basilisk when I grow up.
[The deity, 'Keybearer Of The Dead' proposes turning the boy into a pet mongoose instead.]
Leaves that had no business being in the arid Chamber of Slytherin, (maybe they were bones?) rustled as the sound of hissing rang out loud, seeming closer as they walked towards it.
"Basil?" Tom called out, increasing his pace. Seraphina let out an inaudible groan as her steps followed.
The uneasiness of facing a big entity settled in the demigod's guts, advancing when she swirled her wand to release some magic, in order to take a feel for the Basilisk's presence that lured Tom in.
A luminescent screen appeared in front of her.
Time remaining:
___________
45:38
___________
Right. She was supposed to kill the 'Beast' of the Chamber.
A circular entrance slid open to reveal viridian laminae that rivalled the finest of dragon scales, gleaming even in the darkness surrounding them, grazing the wet ground with little sound as Tom walked towards his pet snake with quiet relief.
"Ah, there you are..." Riddle gushed out, lifting nimble fingers to run them across his Basilisk's scales. "I was so worried."
The basilisk remained mute, showing no signs of recognition. Her eyes were shut, and her nostrils flared as she regarded Seraphina, who was absentmindedly doodling a snake on the semi-wet flooring of the room with her wand, leaving Riddle to do his thing and planning how she should go ahead with Operation Yeet Basil Out of Existence.
Carving a sword beside the snake, she wrote 'stab?' in question and quickly struck it off, unwanting to see her white shirt get splattered with blood.
Tom gaped as the colossal serpent didn't spare him a glance.
"...Basil?" He mumbled, sounding like the female students that acted equally sad whenever he rejected them.
Seraphina etched a loop around the little squiggly line that was supposed to be Basil, and connected the loop with the arm of the long-haired stick figure(Seraphina) in front of it, jotting down a 'choke?' on the ground.
She added more question marks around them, drawing a stick figure of a crying Tom with another one of a laughing Seraphina above him as her hands imitated a T-pose. She felt someone staring, and she rose her head to stare back, not at all ashamed of what she had been doodling.
[The deity, 'Kiss My Axe' thinks you an idiot, too.]
Startled, fixing her earthen eyes on the snake that Tom should probably sue for neglect, she screamed as Basil's jaw unhinged. "Riddle, you might wanna-hOLY CRAP, GET BACK!"
"Evasithos!" She gasped when the boy, in fact, didn't get back. His frame hit the floor as he was abruptly pushed by his pet.
Twin longswords appeared in each of her hands due to the incantation she had uttered, and Seraphina flung one in the snake's direction.
They watched as it pierced skin, landing on Basil's side. The creature's tail rattled and she slumped low, dropping soon, lying limp and very dead.
The smell of sulphur grew dense.
Seraphina ignored Corpse shrieking for her to stop, and shifted to prop-up Tom's chin with a finger. His eyes locked with her worried ones, emanating a blank look. "Are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere, Rid-"
[The deity, 'Keybearer Of The Dead' thinks you an idiot, too.]
"You killed her." He quietly said.
A+ observational skills. Quit the evil business, you should be a scout.
She gulped. "Can we do this outside? I don't want to stay here any longer than necessa-"
"You took her life." The boy jerked his head back, dark eyes promising and vicious. "You killed Basil!"
Oh no, Seraphina blinked. I think I just shipped his emotional support snake to Hades' basement.
[The deity, 'Test Name Pls Ignore' disagrees.]
Tom bit his lip, curling his hands into fists in a visible effort to contain his anger. "How dare you?" He asked her when she failed to respond.
Stalking close enough to kill, the boy ripped through her magical defences, gripping her neck, "HOW BLOODY DARE YOU!" He roared, lifting her body off the ground in one swift motion.
Riddle slammed her against a wall by her neck when she tried to speak.
[The deity, 'Been There Done That' gasps.]
Hello, hello, I am DYING.
Seraphina's eyes glittered with unshed tears. She was so frustrated with being choked for no particular reason at all. "That hurts."
"Why, I'd be vexed if it didn't." He regarded her with a stare of pure venom, cramming her neck.
The smell of sulphur grew dense.
"Riddle, stop." She struggled in vain, gasping for breaths. "Stop it."
"Stop it, you a-absolutely mental-"
"You took her life." Tom ran his index finger down the length of her face, blunt nail digging in like he wanted to carve her skin out. "It's only fair. A slightly... tolerable life for a cherished one."
Tolerable? Why, this jerk-
A flash of murky green caught her eye, and she gagged out a "Hea..ds up!"
Tom listened to her this once as a massive shadow engulfed them. He swore, pulling the girl along as they evaded the assault.
A humongous body hurled itself at them, bursting a hole in the wall. Seraphina discretely slid further away from Riddle while he dusted his shirt in disdain.
They stared at the Basilisk in dubious inquisitiveness. She hissed at them from the hole she had created in a frenzy.
"Basil?"
Tom was the first to speak.
Seraphina coughed, addressing the creature with a calculative gaze. "Ain't no way it's your basilisk, Riddle." The demigod pointed out, observing how one of her blades was no longer stuck to the snake's side, and how its injury had healed up to leave shiny, new scales in place of the wound.
Tom took a cautious step towards Basil(?), staggering back as it jeered in bitterness. He turned towards Seraphina, "But you attacked her- and she's-how?"
The girl made a face. "Ask her. You're the one that talks to the snakes, for Merlin's sake." He nodded, looking perturbed as if he somehow believed Parseltongue would not prove to be a legitimate, valid way out of this problem.
"-What is going on? Why are you being so difficult?-" He sharply inquired, giving Basil(?) a heartbroken glance.
It was more annoyed than heartbroken but let Seraphina have some creative rights as to how she decides to narrate her story.
If she says he looked heartbroken, then he looked heartbroken, fellas—no room for argument.
Basil(?) snarled, letting out a huge hiss that even made Tom Riddle wince.
Seraphina wondered if it was a swear word.
Or maybe something else entirely, because the next thing she saw, Tom took out his dagger and launched it at Basil(?). The weapon imitated a brisk movement of his hand and sliced off Basil's(?) head in a precise cut.
It's body and decapacitated head fell on the floor with two echoing thumps. Riddle's dagger appeared in his grasp again, lacking both blood and snakeskin.
The demigod's face consisted of [ :0 ] as an expression.
Also, she wanted that dagger for Christmas.
[The deity, 'Keybearer Of The Dead' states that can be arranged as long as you stay alive till then.]
Did he just complete Operation Yeet Basil Out Of Existence without her?
But wasn't Basil already dead? Was she even Basil?? Because no screen came through Seraphina's vision, indicating that her Quest was complete.
What if the kill didn't count because Tom had executed it, not Seraphina?
But did it really matter when the 'Beast' was dead?
Woe is me??
[The deity, 'You See Me, No You Didn't' snorts at your internal monologue.]
Tom furrowed his brows, pocketing his blade in a casual manner. "That's not my
Basil." He muttered.
Spare me your first-world problems.
"What do you mean the basilisk is not your Basil?" Seraphina's voice took in a higher pitch as she cried out. "What did it say?"
Were there other Basilisks in the Chamber? Did Slytherin have a whole armada of slimy, overpowered reptiles in his underground lair? Will she lose her mind by the time this quest gets over?
The boy just shrugged.
"Basil is less hostile. And has better etiquette, for starters." He affirmed, holding a hand out for her.
What, your Basil wears flower crowns and makes friends with the mice in the Chamber, Riddle?
Tom clicked his tongue, as if he knew exactly what the girl had been thinking, yet he didn't comment on it.
Basil is less hostile. He had said. Then what about this ...creature?
If they aren't Basil then you'll just murder the imposter??
[The deity, 'Kiss My Axe' nods at the logic.]
She gave him a nervous smile, stealing a glance at the big snake that lay immobile, cosplaying chopped salami. "A basilisk is normally pretty violent, not gonna lie, Riddle." Seraphina took his outreached arm to stand. It was a difficult process, she was still reeling from the unscheduled neck squeeze that the boy had graced her with, earlier. How he could expect her to take his hand in a show of trust ever again, was a mystery to the demigod.
"Hush," He rolled his eyes, shutting her up by resting an index finger on her lips and pointing towards the Not-Basil's corpse with his other hand. "Look."
[The deity, 'Test Name Pls Ignore' looks.]
[The deity, 'You See Me, No You Didn't' looks.]
[The deity, 'Been There Done That' looks.]
[The deity, 'Keybearer Of The Dead' scoffs.]
Seraphina remained in her position and looked, because trusting Tom Riddle in a brief moment wasn't exactly a mystery. Anyone would gladly take his hand if he looked at them like he looked at his Basilisk.
Or even generally looked at them in a non-lethal manner. In general. Generally.
Who are we kidding, even when he'd be feeling particularly aggressive, it wasn't like people could protest against kneeling on the wide ground if he ordered them to.
Sera inhaled, the quiet musk of Riddle's forest-like scent did nothing to calm the rancid sulphur around her.
Welp, not like she could do anything else.
They stared, with Seraphina too put off by her touchy companion to object, as the snake's body wiggled.
Two stumps of snakeskin erupted from where Tom's dagger had cut Not-Basil's head off, gaining size and scales as seconds passed. Sulphur poured out of their every cell, dizzying the demigod.
"Incredible." Tom's voice whispered low in her ear at the exact second she muttered a "Gross."
He chuckled, the sound so dark it made her wish to drown in it. How did he do that? "You've seen worse."
You couldn't possibly know.
"Your appreciation for the not-dead Not-Basilisk thing is very disturbing." Seraphina shivered, both creeped out and thoroughly interested in how Not-Basil's body evolved. They should probably run, but she wanted to know what'll happen next, damn it.
. . .
Riddle just let out a soft laugh at the girl's uncanny ability to make ludicrous life-threatening circumstances seem perfectly agreeable and monotonous. He was anticipating the poor excuses she would no doubt give out in the morning when they would inevitably be questioned.
If they lived to see the sun, which they would, as long as he had anything to say about it.
"2 heads." Seraphina spoke, seeing as to how the twin stumps had grown to produce two pairs of eyes, nostrils, fangs and forked tongues each.
Tom tilted his head in curiosity too. "It's sprouting two heads." He unhelpfully supplied. Her face sharpened. She is so expressive, so easy to see through, he noted lazily, cataloguing each of her reactions to himself as well as the surroundings, in his memory, and she still somehow holds on to all her secrets like a goblin does his gold.
Good thing he's a marvel at negotiating secrets and treasures.
. . .
Seraphina resisted elbowing him in the ribs. Bad Seraphina. Don't annoy the Baby Dark Lord. He might bite. "That's what I just said. Stop being a menace." She told him, instead.
His gaze prickled, the softness in his voice vanishing when he said, "I don't particularly admire talkative people."
The smell of sulphur grew dense.
Seraphina swallowed a scathing remark of her own, going for a reasonable approach instead. "You are supposed to keep the conversation going so that we are entertained enough not to stab each other when the time calls for it."
"As I said, that creature is not a basilisk. Similar species but- " Tom ignored her, peering at the hulking mystery in the room. "Your vision was false."
Seraphina huffed, "I know what I'm doing, Riddle."
"Tough talk for someone who has brought me to the doors of imminent death." He ranted. "Pray tell, what are you doing?"
The doors of imminent death..Such a drama queen. The creature's body flinched, and Sera grinned. "I'm saving the world."
"How noble. So I'm not stuck here with a fool," Tom seemed one minute away from stabbing her. "I'm stuck here with a delusional fool."
"Those are the best kind." The demigod nodded, her gaze stuck to the monster who kept pulsating.
He clutched her hand tighter. "Mark my words, Levanter, the moment we get out of here, I'm driving my dagger so far into your ribs-"
"No wonder you're single." Seraphina exclaimed, her eyes narrowed with mock surprise, "That's one peculiar kink to have."
"Excuse me?" Tom's cheeks heated gradually, and he let go of her hand, only to ask, "How old are you?"
"Old enough to survive getting a knife driven into my ribs." She offhandedly mentioned, shooting him a wink. "I mean, if you're looking, I can gladly volunteer."
[The deity, 'Kiss My Axe' gags.]
[The deity, 'Kiss My Axe' believes that even a 5-year-old mortal can flirt better.]
"So you are four. Seeing as to how you keep making impractical claims."
How the-
"Tom."
The doors of imminent death. The demigod's eyes widened. Nails scraping over the handle of her sword, she grits her teeth together. How had she missed this? The doors of death. But it shouldn't be possible. They were sealed.
And foes bear arms to the Doors of Death.
And foes bear arms to the Doors of Death.
AndfoesbeararmstotheDoorsof eath.
Seraphina felt like her brain was about to explode, it had been months since the sealing of the Necromanteion. Nico had definitely closed the Doors.
There were just 2, TWO(3 if you count Orpheus' route), formally known entrances to the Underworld. One in LA and another at Epirus, the lurking House of Hades. But she was beginning to think that it was a lie because on one too many occasions when Cerberus has to go to the vet, another Monster is chosen to guard the Underworld. Whose entrance shouldn't be here at all??
Tom lay unaware of her inner confabulations of 'Dear Olympus, why are y'all fucking us over again and again-' and shot her a mildly revolted look. "Consensually or not, I'm not driving a knife into your ri- "
The creature that resides at the underworld's entrance when Cerberus has a day off is..
"...it's a Hydra!" Sera and Corpse harmonized the epiphany.
The creature jumped in its place, like it was affirming her statement.
Tom took a terse breath, "Hydrae are extinct."
[The deity, 'Been There Done That' smiles fondly.]
[The deity, 'Kiss My Axe' and the deity, 'Test Name Pls Ignore' share a sigh.]
The 'but so are cyclops, and I definitely saw a cyclops last month' part was left unsaid, because he wasn't a moron who lacked the quintessential ability to adapt to his surroundings and scope out his enemies.
"It's a motherfucking Hydra, Sweet Artemis." Seraphina was hellbent on being such a moron, so she proceeded to murmur in horror., "How could they send a whole-ton megatron-lookin' mother-fucking Hydra in my schoo-"
The Hydra lurched and woke, its nostrils flaring in contemplation. It's two heads scrambled to get a bearing to balance out with only one tail, and barely evaded being tangled in a cosmic ribbon of snakeskin by looming firmly on their spots.
A deep hiss permeated through the Chamber, scaring the absolute livid shit out of Seraphina. So much so, that she kept muttering, "-and I thought Percy had the worst school monster attack stories. I'm so winning the next best worst bonfire story contest at camp-"
'GRRRRRSSSSSSSSSS' said the lump of snake that rose from the ground, twin heads crowning it's body in typical hydra fashion.
It sluggishly slid towards them, its two pairs of eyes shut closed for some reason. It sniffed the air around the two, "..WITCHH..."
Seraphina sidestepped, broken out of her stupor when she felt movement. And Riddle leapt in front of the demigod just in time the Hydra attempted to shuffle closer, wand positioned like during combat.
Before she could process his surprising instinct to protect her rather than flee, her hand traced several circles in the air- producing binding spells honed through repetitive practice to slow down moving targets while she devised a plan to get rid of them.
Magic channelled through a crutch would never help them. Monsters were pure beings of chaotic magic, in essence, energy, thus they had to be put down by a similarly organic and equally repulsive magical force. Divine magic would be a go-to for such a situation, and so would be the Wizarding World magic.
But like training wheels, which were assistive but ultimately slow- as long as Tom didn't harness his magic himself instead of with a medium like a wand(said crutch), it wouldn't work, no matter how powerful it was.
It was upon Seraphina then- like all tiresome things were- to kick a Monster back to its curb.
"FOOLISSSH MORTALSS..." The Hydra growled, struggling to function as a unit with its heads tied in different directions in an exceedingly complicated manner. "THISS..ISSS UNACCEPTABLE.."
"-Like you aren't.-" scoffed Tom.
"WIZAARD GRRSSSSS, HERA HASSS SENT ME TWO TREATSS."
Tom hissed back with fury, "-We know no Hera, and I am not a treat.-"
"DON'T YOU HAVE TABLE MANNERSSS? THE FOOD DOESN'T SSPEAK BACK TO-"
"-We aren't your meal, you insufferable creature! Where is my Basil?-"
"Babe, do you need to be communicating with that thin-"
He shoots her a Look.
"My bad, of course, you do."
Man. I should have this on tape, she thinks. How can a hydra..?
"YOU ARE INSSSSUFFERABLE!" It shrieked out, and the clicks and hisses surprisingly made sense to Seraphina.
And this is the Chamber of Slytherin, not the Underworld but..
But Seraphina was swimming in theories. The Shade stalking her, the Torches of Thanatos in her inventory, her mother scheduling meet and greet sessions with the Minister of Magic, an actual hydra-all of this has to be connected, but how?
The girl didn't pay it any heed, until it lunged at her partner, then she yelled, "RIDDLE!"
"DECIPULA!" The wizard cried at once, his dagger striking the back of his hand as strings of blood levitated around him to fly straight ahead and bind the Monster. Stillness followed as Riddle panted for breath, inky hair falling over his eyes when he stumbled a bit with exertion.
Seraphina stared at the scene in awe, the sentiment reflected by the Hydra as it sat dumbstruck, with heavy ligatures of magic stretched around it's frame, forcing it to remain stationary.
[The deity, 'Kiss My Axe' wants that for Christmas.]
Hey, get your own dark lord!
Tom loosened his tie with a cumbersome exhale, licking the little blood that tinged his lips. His original spell was not healthy. Resting his hands on his hips, he glowered at the Hydra while calling out to the demigod. "Swords, do you have your swords?"
The sudden quests by Aphrodite, Voldemort and his origin, slaying the beast of the Chamber, the Knights of Walpurgis-Seraphina could cry right now with everything spiralling in her head. It all made sense in a roundabout manner, she was sure of that, yet, she couldn't decipher the how part for the life of her.
"SERAPHINA!" Tom roared out at the vision of her glassy eyes fixed on him. "Answer me."
"Should I?" She rapidly blinked, until the weight of her words settled in the surroundings. "I MEAN-" She let out a laugh drenched with alarm. What's the point of all this? What do the Gods want? "I mean, I can't behead it! More heads will grow in one's place."
"How do you propose we exterminate it?"
"Uh-"
"Seraphina."
Oh my gods, I really, really should have this on tape. She decides. What she says though, is "I'm thinking!"
His lips parted, deviating into a graceless arc.
"You are," Tom began, and Seraphina was afill with hope, I'm what? The best? Devastating? Amazing? The most beautiful demigod you've seen in your li-
"-Useless. You are utterly useless." He spat out.
Ares, why wait till Christmas? Take this bastard right n-
He followed up with big words like liability and burden and thorn at my sides and Seraphina's hands clenched, unclenched, brain refusing to accept that she was anything less than a flower, one in full bloom, mind you, and the wizard had no rights to say s-
"GRRSSSSSS WITCHHHH!!" snarled the hydra, struggling against its binds.
"WHAT DO YOU WANT!" Can't a girl sulk in peace?
Tom let out a dying noise, "Stop sulking and do something usefu-"
"PISS OFF, TOM!"
"I PHYSICALLY CAN NOT, SERAPHINA."
[The deity, 'Been There Done That' gifts you +150 drachmae for bonding so well!]
"HERA HASSS SENT ME TWO TREATSS."
"SHUT THE FUCK UP!" The two cried out, successfully asserting liminal dominance over the monster.
[The deity, 'Been There Done That' swoons.]
Tom broke into coughs soon after, urging Seraphina to scramble closer. Holding off the hydra seemed to be taking a lot more than his good looks from him, possibly his magic reserves.
Possibly, his patience.
"I don't-believe this Hera is your- mother?" He spoke in between hacks, running a tired hand over his throat.
"Mum's name is Catriona." She informed him, eyes following the lean curve of his neck. Pretty..SNAP OUT OF IT-She scoffed at how he was so quick on the uptake, intuitively figuring out that Seraphina's mother must play a prominent role in this la folie from his experience with Mataios, the Cyclops. He would make a good demigod.
"A close relative then?" He already seemed as exasperated as one. Tom's lashes fluttered shut as he gave a sigh, she wonder how one's eyelashes could be so immaculat-UGH-He'd be powerful too, with that much mana, there was no fathomable way he wouldn't be a strong half-blood. Cabin 10 and 13 would adore him.
Too bad he chose to become a bald, mad lad instead.
"She's too far up in the family tree. My main branch is practically underground." She shot him an arid smile.
Hera wasn't her mother(thank Styx.) but she was definitely the one tugging the strings in this quest. Ares was a mama's boy through and through. Of course, he gave her this quest so swiftly.
Seraphina swallowed, lowering her sword. The hydra's 4 matching slit pupils concentrated on her. They had been lucky Basil wasn't here too, or she would have already turned the demigod into a stone accessory as a complimentary side effect of her presence. "Hera has not sent us, er, Madam ...Hydra? Sir?? We-"
"DELICIOUSSS," The monster inhaled, "I CAN SSSMEL YOUR SSWEET BLOOD GRRRSS~"
Obviously. You're covered in it.
Seraphina realized too late that she had spoken out loud. Because the hydra bared its fangs, lurching as the blood binds dimmed around it. Another thing she realized was her local area budding dark lord chanting his original spell yet again, "Tom, you idiot, don't-", and enchanting the binds even more to sustain against the damage its captive was causing.
As a result of his gamble, his vision danced, rose-soaked hands quivering with the toll of magical exhaustion.
"Get me..out of here." He rumbled, making Sera nod in agreement. Tom then proceeded to drape himself on top of her for support. "Now."
Her gaze zeroed in above the hydra's head, a screen appeared soon after, displaying [ Lvl. 122 ??? (1)] which wasn't exactly much help.
"Corpsie, we're sure this is a hydra, right?" She murmured hesitantly.
"Well...Yeah? I think?" The lightball swam down to hover over them, his worried voice showing the consistency of sandpaper. "Sure screams like one."
Then why does the translucent screen label display '???'?
No, how did Corpse know what a screaming hydra sounds like??
"So we're speculating." She settled. Tom groaned, definitely wishing he shouldn't have accompanied Seraphina down here after being privy to what would look like a one-sided conversation Seraphina was adamant about having with herself.
"That is likely." Corpse gleamed a faint blue, then violet, red, and finally settling on orange. He gave Seraphina's eyesight whiplash and for the nth time today and she despised how everything was so complicated. Like, stick with one colour while I think, I have ADHD, I-please, is that too much to ask, I will sob- "Also, we're running out of time. Kill it."
"Easier said than done. Even Hercules had help!"
"We don't talk about Hercules." That was kinda true, Percy had whined about how much of a pompous asshole Hercules was too much for her to talk about again. "Tell Tom to torch it up, and then kill it."
She elbowed Riddle's limp figure to ask for his opinion on the matter. He said "Bleh." which she skillfully translated as "You're getting blood all over my acromantula silk robes."
Stop bleeding and we might avoid that. Seraphina thought spitefully. Who's useless now?
Still you. Tom didn't verbalize his reply but she could see him saying it with his stare alone.
With that, she made up her mind.
"You're getting blood all over my dark lord." Seraphina scolded the hydra. As a safety measure, she flicked her wand towards said dark lord. "Sana lassitudi-"
"Sana la-shut your mouth." He gritted out in visible pain. Not from somnolence or magical depletion, oh no, but from watching Seraphina take implausibly rash decisions. "Healing spells are taxing."
"Recovering from blood loss is even more taxing so-"
"Levanter."
Huh. She liked it better when he called her Seraphina.
"Just give me your hand and let me cast the godsdamned spell." She didn't waiver. "Sanati Sunt Vulner-"
"I won't have you faint on me because of your incompetence." He waved off her hand hovering over his sleeve. "One of us needs to be in shape to get us out."
"But you're bleeding."
"Levanter."
She sent a nonverbal healing spell his way. See how he likes that. "Not until you-"
Crack.
He whispered an incantation that was unfamiliar to her, and the binds grew darker, bursting with rekindled power.
Seraphina cursed, silently coming to the realization that the boy was using Parselmagic.
Figures. I heal him enough and the first thing he goes for is shady, unexplored magic.
"How long will-?" The answer presented itself before Seraphina could probe him.
Tom dragged her before him as the Hydra reeled forward, heads askew and jaws ajar. "Watch it!"
"MORTAL FLESSH AFTER SSSO LONG~" It let out something of a celebratory hiss, which Seraphina would have gladly assisted in if they weren't, you know, fuming monster and fleeing demigod. Supernatural rivalry does that to your sense of comradeship. You can't exactly be happy in another's happiness when the other party is salivating over your blood.
"You need to watch it too, man. Did you just use me as a meat..shield...?" Seraphina's voice staggered to an uneven stillness, vision veering to a close as a pale serpentine gaze mirrored her feline one. An explosion of colours flared in her vision, not unlike watching Corpse on his moody days. Just on a grander and more monstrous scale.
Her eyes burnt like freshly forged Celestial Bronze and when she deigned to open them, she wished she hadn't.
Just like most of you would have predicted already, a massive pale-yellow eye examined Seraphina from a distance of mere inches.
"EXCEPTIONAL.." The hydra exclaimed, "YOU POSSSESSS THE TORCHESS OF DEATH."
And you possess bad breath.
Hey, that even rhymes. Death sure has a way of elevating your sense of humour.
"..." Seraphina responded with muteness instead of a cheeky retort. Because she wasn't dead and she hadn't been petrified. Yet. Rather she felt ...strong? In a sense. Her sight felt illuminated, the scene facing her falling into place with crystalline clarity, with flawless, transparent symmetry. 20/20 vision, slightly tinted a hazy gold but drastically improved. What a score.
Wait a fucking min-
"YOU STINK.." The hydra ironically discerned. "AND WHAT'S THAAAT..." Its twin snouts twitched in an effort to ..smell her? "A SSSHADE?"
No fucking waaaaaaay.
"UNUSSUAL.." It, fortunately, left her personal space, moving its gaze to Tom, who shifted his eyes at once."THE BOY-"
She felt it coming before a word left the hydra's forked tongue. "Oh Merlin, not another fan."
"WHY, HE SSSEEMSS PLENTY NUTRICIOUSSS-"
Must be all the hopes and dreams he devours for lunch.
"A hydra just complimented me." The nutritious boy drawled.
Sera rolled her eyes at the sight of the arrogant line of his mouth. "You don't even touch your salad."
"Yes, we have established that you stalk me for unmentionable reasons." Riddle released a self-satisfied smirk. "You're not the only or even, first one to do s-"
"Get over yourself."
"In my own time, I shall."
"So bloody inconvenient."
"Yet you remain in my Chamber."
"You- you conceited Slytherin."
"'Puff." Riddle sighed like that was the greatest insult to her person in itself, a tiny flash of black visible under his tongue.
Seraphina was struck so wordless by the sight, she didn't even cuss him out. Had he been poisoned?
"WHILE THISS ISSS THE BESST ENTERTAINMENT I'VE HAD IN AEONSS-"
"Before Levanter..interrupted our chat, I believe you mentioned," The boy pretentiously cooed, dropping the Parseltongue. "a Shade?"
"AN OLD ONE." The hydra nodded sagely. "YOU KEEP QUITE THE COMPANY, DAUGHTER OF MAGIC."
Tom soothed a hand down her back, another curling over her wrist, dissuading her from going for her swords impulsively.
When she struggled, he gripped harder. "Play along, won't you?" Tom hummed in a tone so low, she was sure even the hydra couldn't listen in with its heightened hearing. "You might even get rewarded."
Seraphina's limbs ceased to function. Really now, who needs a basilisk to petrify targets when you've got Riddle with his sickeningly sweet voice?
"Don't suppose you'd like to be part of the inner circle?" She played along, attempting to distract it-assuming that was what Riddle wanted-not exactly feeling like she could win this monster over with friendship bracelets or jewellery like she had Mattaios.
"Yes, I'd love to get to know you." Riddle was laying it on thick, damn him. "Provided you settle for an alternative source of ..dinner?"
She could only hope it worked. "We hold vent sessions on Thursdays."
Tom offered it a sympathetic closed-eye smile. Positively angelic. Luna would approve. "You could tell us all about those aeons of pain, it must have been tough..."
"WELL..IT HASSS BEEN LONG. PERHAPSS I COULD-"
"-Self-destruct?" Seraphina snarked as Tom suggested a "-Reschedule?"
"NO, YOU MISSSUNDERSSTAND." The hydra chuffed, "REGARDLESS, ABOUT THE SSSHADE.."
Old covens believed evil shouldn't be named, lest you summon it. Seraphina didn't agree but the way a flurry of notifications hit her, as well as a buzzing headache, she knew she was in for a bad trip.
The smell of sulphur thinned, accompanied by a new rhythm of water drops waltzing down the cavern's floor.
"Too soon." Riddle loosened his grip, albeit a bit reluctantly.
He had been waiting for her? Could they count on her to help? Seraphina needed to put an end to this before the rest of her company arrived.
Predictably, Amy announced her presence with a "Se'aphin'a...Fool'ish gi'rl.."
Riddle cleverly stepped behind the demigod again to employ her meat shielding prowess, features taut with a wince as the hydra too, slithered nearer, interested to see the drama unfold for some reason. "WHO MIGHT YOU BE, SSULLEN SSSSHADE?"
"You don't r'member m'e?" Amy's figure remained serene, as she drifted up in the air. She had black, endless fissures on her face in lieu of eyes, which bore into the hydra's petrifying orbs. "..No'one does.."
Why so relatable, Seraphina shivered.
"Can you cast Fiendfyre?" Riddle took the movement to leisurely whisper into her ear.
What a piece of work, She shivered again, A Pestis Incendium won't be enough to obliterate you. I will fucking Greek-fire your existence. "This close to the epicentre, we'll get incinerated. Scratch that, even our ashes won't remain."
He stared.
She shrugged a shoulder.
Tom shook his head.
Seraphina gestured at the Chamber's entrance.
"No." He rolled his cerulean blue eyes. Twat.
"Err." She tried to channel her inner Harry. Gods knew his life was a mess but at least he had some luck to his name. "Please?"
"No. Don't be daft."
How did you deal with this tool for seven sodding years, Haz?
"Perfect." She tapped her foot, hooking a hand over his elbow and turning around. "Follow me, kind sir."
He scowled, ready to decline, but Amy hissed and something detonated. So he began matching her pace. Fatigue clung onto him by fingertips, but if the horrors persisted, so would he. He could die later, he needed to live now. Ah, he also needed to get rid of the girl. She was the real horrors in this drivel of a situation. Later.
If only Seraphina could be privy to that internal bit of rubbish coursing through his head, character development indeed.
"MY FOOOO-!" Screeched the hydra, followed by a much-anguished scream. Whatever Amymone was doing- it was working and by virtue of that right now, Seraphina wouldn't question it.
"D'on't h'rt my Sse'a phi'na, ssssnake!"
.
"HALLTT MORTALSSS."
.
A crash followed where she had cast Bombarda behind her. "YEAH, WE'RE MORE IN FAVOUR OF HAULING OUR BUTTS RATHER THAN HALTING SO-"
"NOOO!"
She shoved Tom onto the stairs he had conjured for their descent earlier. With her ebony wand, Seraphina fired a string of magic which transformed into a defensive array around the Monster and the Shade till the two teens made their escape.
She swallowed back a thread of blood that threatened to trickle down her lips out of fatigue.
Balancing her breaths, she concentrated on holding up the shield while Amymone duked it out with the Hydra. It was still advancing towards her, aggressive because Amy kept attempting to drag it away with her manipulation of sludgy water. It would be an obsolete effort if they were anywhere else, but since there was an abundance of sludgy water, slime and dirt in the Chamber, she had a considerable edge.
"Seraphina, get back here!" Tom's tenor was coloured by an urgency to leave. She hurried towards him.
Amy roared at what ensued.
Skidding on the ground wasn't covered in the Chamber of Secrets Grand Tour but she still did it.
One moment of distraction was enough for the shield to waver.
It happened in 3 steps.
1) Tom let out a frustrated growl.
To which, us dude, us.
2) The Hydra snapped close, screaming "THISS ISN'T THE LASST TI-"
Which was interrupted by,
3) Seraphina made the dumb mistake of looking it in the eyes again, and barely skimmed the steps enough to launch upwards. Tom dragged her along as he exhibited his high IQ by making the stairs disappear as soon as they went over them.
They scrambled out of the Chamber and into the loo in a heap of limbs, damp clothing and rugged inhales of sulphur-free air. Seraphina lay on the tiled floor and clasped Tom's hand hard enough that his knuckles whitened. He squeezed back with a matching, desperate force.
. . .
____________________________________
N O T I F I C A T I O N S
+1 Incoming Notice
____________________________________
><>✥<><
A Penalty will be issued for the failure in completion of your Quest.
><>✥<><
><>✥<><
You have lost 1 of 2 lives.
Remaining lives: 1
Losing 1 more life will result in your elimination.
- Close -
><>✥<><
. . .
"Are you alright?" His thumb skimmed over Seraphina's fluttering pulse gently.
She gasped.
"I-Tom?"
"Yes, bane of my life?"
Her quivering hands patted his arms, then swiped at his shoulders, elevated to graze his jaw and more to tug at his curls like she couldn't believe he was with her. Alive.
He would have scoffed if these weren't extraordinary circumstances. "I am here." Tom steadied her hands in his hold, bringing them lower to rest on the sides of his neck. Show vulnerability, gain understanding, discover the workings of her mind- it was all a game to him at the end of the day.
Yet,
yet when she rose her head, he was assaulted by the strangeness of her gaze. The other-ness of it was unnatural. He succumbed in to reliving the events of their first traipse through the Chamber, of her magic that rivaled a thousand suns'. His foremost taste of her secrets that harbored the key to seemingly infinite power, oh how he wanted and oh how he burnt for it.
"Your eyes.." He all but begged. He was a greedy being, lecherous to his core. All that power, served right before him. All he had to do was-
"I can't-" Seraphina sounded so brittle, he almost felt remorseful for his self-serving motives.
What is it? He thought, What is causing one as transcendent as you trouble?
How can I rid you of it?
Tell me.
Why do you hide?
What do you hide?
Tell me.
Tell me.
Tell me, why don't you?
Tellmetellmetellmetellme.
Tell.
Me.
Just when he was sure he could glimpse at her power for longer, it vacated her eyes.
"Riddle, I-"
Her eyes, that faded into circles of silver and smoke.
"What is it, Seraphina?" The words left his lips out of their own accord, sounding disgustingly worried.
"I can't see." Seraphina choked out.
><>✥<><
The Penalty has been issued.
><>✥<><
. . .
A U T H O R ' S N O T E
yes, staring back at a basilisk has consequences for everyone. hope y'all liked this girl dinner, i dunno when ill update next, but know that i love you, feel immensely grateful for your support and find your comments excruciatingly hilarious<4
ooh and this is unedited and unbetad so imma fix up any errors laterz
until next time, dear readers, stay hydrated!^^