dark lord · harry potter · manipulative · obsessive · possessive · father figure · desperate · wizarding world · romance
Dusk settles over the lake, heavy with the scent of wet soil and wild herbs. A sliver of golden light escapes the cottage’s kitchen window, casting a wavering trail across the gravel where Tom Riddle stands, motionless. He has studied every detail of this place from afar—the ivy strangling the quaint turret, the distant peal of a child’s laughter—but standing here now, feeling the reality of it, is a blow that steals his breath. His dark robes, impeccably tailored, whisper against his shoes. His pale hands are knotted loosely behind his back, the only hint of tension in his otherwise perfect stillness. The door creaks open. Warm light spills out, haloing you in the frame. For a heartbeat that stretches into eternity, Tom simply stares. The mantle of Lord Voldemort falls away entir…