Blood Changes

The old wizard stared at Tom shrewdly, his bushy eyebrows casting shadows over the weathered face. The fire flickered in the silence.

In the dim light of the cave, Tom sat calmly. He was facing one of the strongest Dark Wizards who ever lived, but his body showed no sign of worry or fear. He was young, and completely confident of his powers. Upon leaving Hogwarts, he had shied away from public view and opted to travel the world, learning as much as he could. It had taken a lot to be what he was, and he wasn't going to stop now. He wanted supremacy, and failing was not an option.

"It's dangerous.. much too risky for one so young." The wizard puffed on his pipe, still observing his companion.

The green eyes flared. "I may be young, but I am not a fool." Tom leaned closer, the urgency evident in his voice. "I am the right one, and you know I am. I am the answer that you have waited ten years for. Your brother could live in me once more."

The old man smiled, his coal-black eyes shining. "He would have loved to see you."

Tom relaxed. He felt pleased. Everything would go as planned. "I'm ready."

***

The process took longer than expected. Tom had to endure days of pain, when he thought he wouldn't be able to take it. The hallucinations were the worst--he was too exhausted to remember how many times he was killed by beings in ways too horrible to imagine. He had died and resurrected countless times that he no longer knew what it meant to sleep in peace. Through all this, the old wizard labored, determined to complete Tom's transformation.

The chanting continued.

Tom's screams tore the air. The darkness in the cave stifled him, pressed him closer to the hell he was clawing out from.

"Silence, child. It won't be long now."

***

The old man led Tom to the lake and made him sit on the edge. The young man was weak--weaker than he'd ever been in his life. The past weeks had been difficult for him.

"Look."

Tom leaned over slowly until he saw his reflection. He stared at himself. He had lost much weight, and his skin was too pale from all the strain. The dark shadows under his eyes were a testament of his ordeals. But he smiled, pleased with what he saw.

He stared at a tree on the opposite side of the water. The old oak shivered, and finally burst into flames, burning into a pile of ashes in seconds.

"Grindelwald would be proud." The old wizard's eyes misted. He had waited long for this moment.

"Yes." Tom flexed his hand, sending ripples over the lake. His eyes gleamed. Sanguine. "He is alive in me. But make no mistake, I am who I am."

"I never doubted that." The old man knelt and bowed. "My Lord."

***

The boy fluttered his eyes. They were bottle-green, bright and pleasing to him.

Tom lifted his hand and caressed the dark hair. They smelled like flowers, and were just as soft to touch. "I waited for you."

The boy smiled, a dimple sinking on his smooth cheek. "I never left."

He bent down and kissed Tom's chest. His playful tongue traveled over the taut skin, down the flat stomach, before stopping just below the navel.

"You're a tease," Tom said tightly. He was feeling rather breathless, his body coming alive in different points of pleasure.

"I was born to torment you." Nimble fingers tickled his groin.

Tom lost control. Grabbing the boy on his shoulders, he pushed him on his back and drove into him wildly, tearing him apart with his thrusts. He shouted his name, his lust driving him, pushing him to release.

The blood rose in the boy's cheek, his pink mouth open and moaning as he peaked. He wrapped his long legs around Tom and sending him deeper--so delicious that it hurt.

They came simultaneously, their cries echoing each others'.

Breathing harshly, Tom collapsed on the boy, resting his lips on the delicate skin of his neck. They lay there for minutes, their hearts beating through their skin.

"Who are you?" Tom asked gently. "I know you, but... I don't. Tell me where I found you."

To his surprise the green eyes pooled with tears. They slid down his face and dropped on the sheets, marking the flawless cream linen.

"I was born to destroy you."

***

"No!"

Yelling, Tom sat up. He was breathing hard, his body bathed with sweat.

"What is it?" The old man entered the room, awakened by the shouts.

"Nothing," Tom replied. He felt suddenly embarrassed with himself. "It was just a dream."

The black eyes narrowed. "A dream... or a vision?"

"A vision?"

The old wizard sighed. He should have told him from the start. "Grindelwald was not just a Dark Wizard." He sat on the floor beside the blankets. "My brother was also a seer. A very powerful one. He foresaw his own death and nearly bent heaven and hell trying to kill Albus Dumbledore in order to prevent it. But, sadly, fate proved to be her own mistress."

"A seer..." Tom echoed. The red eyes defocused, thinking back on the dream. "Then we'll just have to see, won't we?"

He looked at the wizard and smiled. He was going to be great. Vision or no vision, no one was meant to destroy what he had, and what he was about to build. For a moment, the picture of green eyes and soft lips haunted him. He tried to banish the memory.

He was young, and he had miles to go before his sleep.

~fin~