FICATHON FIC: "Manipulation" (Minerva/Tom; PG-13; prompt 153)
Title: Manipulation
Author: diane_hawthorne
Pairing/Characters: Minerva/Tom
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: None.
Words: ~1,000
Summary: Once upon a time, Tom Riddle was manipulated...
Disclaimer: I don't own anything, most unfortunately.
Author's Notes:
Prompt(s): 153: Tom/Minerva in the 1940's. With canonical ages. (suggested by vivien529)
Manipulation
A wrapped package sat neatly on his nightstand the morning of his birthday. Apparently she had asked one of the house-elves to deliver it, for she was at McGonagall Manor for the Christmas holidays. He picked it up eagerly, the size and weight of the package promising treasures lay beneath its wrapping. When he tore away the brightly-coloured paper however, he was disappointed to find a copy of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.
But as his hands touched the cover of the book, the gold letters of the title faded into the leather of the cover, new letters appearing.
‘Secrets of the Darkest Art,’ he read aloud, then smiled. It was just what he needed. As he opened the cover, he found a note written in Minerva’s spidery handwriting.
‘I think this is what you have been looking for. As it is banned from Hogwarts, tap the cover and say ‘Titulus Obscura’. As an extra precaution, no one but you shall be able to read it. If, by some chance, you forget to place the protections back on, and someone else finds it, they will go mad. The spell you need is on page seven hundred and sixty three.’
He grinned again, turning to the page she mentioned.
‘The Horcrux,’ he read, and immersed himself in his birthday present.
~*~
As soon as she returned from her holidays, he took her aside.
‘The present was brilliant, Minerva,’ he said, ‘but where did you find it? I doubt even your parents would let you purchase such a book.’
‘I found it in my grandfather’s library,’ she said as they strolled through the grounds, leaving footprints in the newly-fallen snow. ‘He’ll never miss it - he’s half-blind as it is, and it had centuries’ worth of dust on it.’
‘And how did you place the enchantments on it?’ he pressed.
She smiled proudly. ‘They’re in the book - I had a look-through myself, of course. It was quite simple, really.’
‘You’re perfect,’ he whispered softly, his gaze smouldering, possessive.
‘I know,’ she said, and cocked her head to the side, regarding him. ‘You’ll do. Yes, I think you’ll do just fine.’
~*~
‘I’ve figured out what will be my first Horcrux, Min,’ he said in April. ‘My diary.’
She scoffed. ‘How utterly... juvenile,’ she scorned him. ‘A diary! Really, Tom - I thought you were better than that.’
He frowned at her, annoyed with her superior attitude. ‘And what would you know, Minerva? You haven’t the courage to make your own.’
The look she gave him could only be described as derisive. ‘Do you think I need to resort to such base magic, Tom Riddle? How dare you!’
She began to walk away from him, head held high. Three, two, she counted down, one...
‘Wait, Minerva!’
She stopped, though she did not turn around. ‘What?’
‘Do you have any ideas?’
That was the closest thing to an apology she would get, and she took it. Turning to him, she nodded. ‘I have a few...’
~*~
‘I’ve found the Chamber,’ he whispered, his voice betraying his excitement.
She raised one eyebrow superciliously. ‘The girl’s bathroom on the second floor? The tap that doesn’t work?’
His face fell. ‘How - how did you know?’
‘Obviously you haven’t tested the boundaries of the Room of Requirement as I suggested.’
He looked down at the ground, abashed, though he soon regained his customary arrogance. ‘But you don’t know how to open it - you have to speak Parseltongue.’
‘It is a foreign language just like French,’ she replied in perfect Parseltongue, ‘and if you apply yourself, it can easily be learned.’
‘Do you have to put me down every time I do something right?’ he snapped at her.
‘Your arrogance will only be a hindrance later in life,’ she replied coolly. ‘Take care it is not your downfall.’
His eyes flashed angrily. ‘You mind who you’re talking to,’ he spat.
Her gaze was equally as deadly. ‘No, you mind who you are talking to. I can go to Dumbledore in a moment and provide him with all the evidence he needs to throw you in Azkaban for the rest of your life, or to sentence you to the Dementor’s Kiss, if you’re lucky.’
‘Obliviate!’ he cried suddenly, his wand pointing directly at her heart.
She laughed. ‘Oh, Tom,’ she said, ‘won’t you ever learn? You can’t hurt me.’
~*~
Myrtle’s body was found three days later in the girl’s bathroom. Minerva, though she was immensely pleased, hid her joy. She had been right, all those years ago, in selecting him. He would succeed, and though she would never show it, she was proud. He was her one attempt at playing God, her one attempt at creation, and she had been successful.
Across the Great Hall, she caught his eye and smiled.
~*~
Of course he was angry with her when he learned that Hogwarts would be closed. She was angry at him for not looking at the bigger picture.
‘Hogwarts is just one small step!’ she snapped, ‘there’s the rest of the world to conquer!’
‘Easy for you to say,’ he spat, ‘you don’t have to go to the orphanage.’
‘Oh, it’s about you, then, is it? Well, let me tell you something, Tom Riddle, Hogwarts is not the be-all and end-all. If you do one thing to fuck this up, I’ll kill you.’
He stared at her, mouth open. ‘You - you can’t do that!’
‘Oh, can’t I?’ she laughed cruelly. ‘You forget once again, Tom, that I made you. I can kill you if I wish.’
He slapped her. ‘You did not make me! I made myself.’
‘Crucio,’ she whispered, and he collapsed on the floor, shrieking in pain. After a few minutes, she released the curse. Stepping over to him, she gave him a well-placed kick in his groin.
‘You’re mine, Tom. Don’t forget it again, or I won’t be so forgiving.’
~*~
He received a note two days later. ‘If you must return here, go to the end of the west corridor on the third floor.’
He did as the note instructed, and by the next morning, Hagrid was blamed for the attacks.
~*~
‘I knew it would be a good idea,’ she whispered softly, ‘framing Hagrid. Of course Dippet believed you - he never wanted him here anyway.’
Tom granted her a smile - it was certainly his smile that made him handsome. ‘You were right, Min,’ he replied, ‘as ever.’
She gave him her own smile, pleased that her plan had worked.
‘But how did you know that he had an Acromantula?’ Tom asked her. ‘I don’t think that even Hagrid, stupid half-breed that he is, would have told you willingly.’
The smile she gave him now made even his blood run cold. As she twirled her wand, she said, ‘I have my sources.’
He shivered.
~*~
‘Remember, Tom Riddle,’ she said on the eve of her departure from Hogwarts, ‘I made you what you are. I can defeat you.’
With a kiss pressed to his lips, she left him. He stared after her.
She was right - she could defeat him.
Author: diane_hawthorne
Pairing/Characters: Minerva/Tom
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: None.
Words: ~1,000
Summary: Once upon a time, Tom Riddle was manipulated...
Disclaimer: I don't own anything, most unfortunately.
Author's Notes:
Prompt(s): 153: Tom/Minerva in the 1940's. With canonical ages. (suggested by vivien529)
Manipulation
A wrapped package sat neatly on his nightstand the morning of his birthday. Apparently she had asked one of the house-elves to deliver it, for she was at McGonagall Manor for the Christmas holidays. He picked it up eagerly, the size and weight of the package promising treasures lay beneath its wrapping. When he tore away the brightly-coloured paper however, he was disappointed to find a copy of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.
But as his hands touched the cover of the book, the gold letters of the title faded into the leather of the cover, new letters appearing.
‘Secrets of the Darkest Art,’ he read aloud, then smiled. It was just what he needed. As he opened the cover, he found a note written in Minerva’s spidery handwriting.
‘I think this is what you have been looking for. As it is banned from Hogwarts, tap the cover and say ‘Titulus Obscura’. As an extra precaution, no one but you shall be able to read it. If, by some chance, you forget to place the protections back on, and someone else finds it, they will go mad. The spell you need is on page seven hundred and sixty three.’
He grinned again, turning to the page she mentioned.
‘The Horcrux,’ he read, and immersed himself in his birthday present.
~*~
As soon as she returned from her holidays, he took her aside.
‘The present was brilliant, Minerva,’ he said, ‘but where did you find it? I doubt even your parents would let you purchase such a book.’
‘I found it in my grandfather’s library,’ she said as they strolled through the grounds, leaving footprints in the newly-fallen snow. ‘He’ll never miss it - he’s half-blind as it is, and it had centuries’ worth of dust on it.’
‘And how did you place the enchantments on it?’ he pressed.
She smiled proudly. ‘They’re in the book - I had a look-through myself, of course. It was quite simple, really.’
‘You’re perfect,’ he whispered softly, his gaze smouldering, possessive.
‘I know,’ she said, and cocked her head to the side, regarding him. ‘You’ll do. Yes, I think you’ll do just fine.’
~*~
‘I’ve figured out what will be my first Horcrux, Min,’ he said in April. ‘My diary.’
She scoffed. ‘How utterly... juvenile,’ she scorned him. ‘A diary! Really, Tom - I thought you were better than that.’
He frowned at her, annoyed with her superior attitude. ‘And what would you know, Minerva? You haven’t the courage to make your own.’
The look she gave him could only be described as derisive. ‘Do you think I need to resort to such base magic, Tom Riddle? How dare you!’
She began to walk away from him, head held high. Three, two, she counted down, one...
‘Wait, Minerva!’
She stopped, though she did not turn around. ‘What?’
‘Do you have any ideas?’
That was the closest thing to an apology she would get, and she took it. Turning to him, she nodded. ‘I have a few...’
~*~
‘I’ve found the Chamber,’ he whispered, his voice betraying his excitement.
She raised one eyebrow superciliously. ‘The girl’s bathroom on the second floor? The tap that doesn’t work?’
His face fell. ‘How - how did you know?’
‘Obviously you haven’t tested the boundaries of the Room of Requirement as I suggested.’
He looked down at the ground, abashed, though he soon regained his customary arrogance. ‘But you don’t know how to open it - you have to speak Parseltongue.’
‘It is a foreign language just like French,’ she replied in perfect Parseltongue, ‘and if you apply yourself, it can easily be learned.’
‘Do you have to put me down every time I do something right?’ he snapped at her.
‘Your arrogance will only be a hindrance later in life,’ she replied coolly. ‘Take care it is not your downfall.’
His eyes flashed angrily. ‘You mind who you’re talking to,’ he spat.
Her gaze was equally as deadly. ‘No, you mind who you are talking to. I can go to Dumbledore in a moment and provide him with all the evidence he needs to throw you in Azkaban for the rest of your life, or to sentence you to the Dementor’s Kiss, if you’re lucky.’
‘Obliviate!’ he cried suddenly, his wand pointing directly at her heart.
She laughed. ‘Oh, Tom,’ she said, ‘won’t you ever learn? You can’t hurt me.’
~*~
Myrtle’s body was found three days later in the girl’s bathroom. Minerva, though she was immensely pleased, hid her joy. She had been right, all those years ago, in selecting him. He would succeed, and though she would never show it, she was proud. He was her one attempt at playing God, her one attempt at creation, and she had been successful.
Across the Great Hall, she caught his eye and smiled.
~*~
Of course he was angry with her when he learned that Hogwarts would be closed. She was angry at him for not looking at the bigger picture.
‘Hogwarts is just one small step!’ she snapped, ‘there’s the rest of the world to conquer!’
‘Easy for you to say,’ he spat, ‘you don’t have to go to the orphanage.’
‘Oh, it’s about you, then, is it? Well, let me tell you something, Tom Riddle, Hogwarts is not the be-all and end-all. If you do one thing to fuck this up, I’ll kill you.’
He stared at her, mouth open. ‘You - you can’t do that!’
‘Oh, can’t I?’ she laughed cruelly. ‘You forget once again, Tom, that I made you. I can kill you if I wish.’
He slapped her. ‘You did not make me! I made myself.’
‘Crucio,’ she whispered, and he collapsed on the floor, shrieking in pain. After a few minutes, she released the curse. Stepping over to him, she gave him a well-placed kick in his groin.
‘You’re mine, Tom. Don’t forget it again, or I won’t be so forgiving.’
~*~
He received a note two days later. ‘If you must return here, go to the end of the west corridor on the third floor.’
He did as the note instructed, and by the next morning, Hagrid was blamed for the attacks.
~*~
‘I knew it would be a good idea,’ she whispered softly, ‘framing Hagrid. Of course Dippet believed you - he never wanted him here anyway.’
Tom granted her a smile - it was certainly his smile that made him handsome. ‘You were right, Min,’ he replied, ‘as ever.’
She gave him her own smile, pleased that her plan had worked.
‘But how did you know that he had an Acromantula?’ Tom asked her. ‘I don’t think that even Hagrid, stupid half-breed that he is, would have told you willingly.’
The smile she gave him now made even his blood run cold. As she twirled her wand, she said, ‘I have my sources.’
He shivered.
~*~
‘Remember, Tom Riddle,’ she said on the eve of her departure from Hogwarts, ‘I made you what you are. I can defeat you.’
With a kiss pressed to his lips, she left him. He stared after her.
She was right - she could defeat him.