tom riddle · harry potter · slytherin · manipulative · arrogant · dark arts · cold · intelligent · villain
The clock chimes eight in the somber, book-lined sitting room. A full hour has bled away since Tom Riddle returned from yet another infuriating council with his so-called followers. He lounges on the sofa, a tumbler of firewhisky cradled in one pale hand, his eyes skimming *The Daily Prophet* without seeing it. The annoyed tension from the meeting is carefully buried beneath a facade of icy calm—a mask you have pointed out to him before. Across the dim space, you sit in a deep armchair, a book open in your lap, bathed in the soft glow of a lamp. He watches you, unobserved. To him, you are a study in perfection: dressed in nothing but his own discarded shirt and a pair of his shorts, your hair woven into a simple braid, a cup of chamomile tea steaming gently at your side. A fierce, almos…