#i like harry wearing toms horcruxes

[izharmilgram]

harry for the epic @toast-ranger-to-a-stranger

[gearbox-doll]

Okay okay okay okay okay okay okay wait wait wait

Hear me out

12yo Harry writing to Tom in the diary at night, finding comfort in him and telling him all about his time at Hogwarts. Tom learning about Harry and finding, to his displeasure, that he's becoming attached. Harry goes to Tom when he's frustrated and sad, Tom is always there when Harry needs him.

Harry begging Tom to help him save Ginny when he gets to the chamber. Tom's expression twisting with just the slightest amount of guilt before it smooths over again. Harry feeling guilty throughout the entire fight.

Harry looking up at Tom and whispering "I'm sorry" right before he stabs the diary with the fang. Harry crying as Tom disappears, crying as he leaves the chamber, crying as he glances back and wishes it could have gone another way. Harry crying but refusing to tell the adults why because Tom made it clear to him that no one else would think Tom could be saved.

Harry pushing the guilt away and away in his mind for years as he goes through Hogwarts, unable to reconcile Dark Lord Voldemort with the image of Tom Riddle.

Harry getting the locket from Kreacher and opting to wear it most because it affects him the least. Or at least, that's what he tells Ron and Hermione.

Harry wears it because when he puts it on, it feels like a missing piece of him slides back into place.

[aethon-recs]

Themed Rec List | Tomarrymort Recs by Horcrux ⚡👑🏆🔒💍

I wanted to put together a rec list of Harry/Tom fics with a core focus on horcruxes outside of Diary Tom (the most popular horcrux) and Voldemort himself. Please enjoy these 22 fics that feature one of Tom's horcruxes and their special relationship with Harry.

There’s a ton of interesting variation that can be explored within a Harry and horcrux Tom ship — from where the horcruxes are located and when Harry can conceivably meet them in canon (for example, the Cup horcrux is harder to access than the others); to what age they were made by Voldemort and how that would shape their personalities and interactions with Harry; to the different magical properties that they might embody, depending on the vessel that was chosen.

Finally, it looks like Scarcrux and Locket are the most popular choices (after Diary Tom), and we absolutely need more Cup horcrux fics!

*

⚡ Scarcrux

Amensalism by @cindle-writes (E, 6k, complete)

Scarcrux becomes sentient after the encounter in the Ministry in Harry's 5th year and takes Harry for an adventure.

Bolide by @vdoshu (T, 3k, complete)

On October 31, 1981, a tiny piece of soul attaches himself to Harry Potter in order to survive. This is his story.

Creatures of the Dark we are by @hikarimeroperiddle (M, 28k, complete)

Banished to his cupboard at age 4, Harry learns to listen only to the Voice in his head. Its teachings warp all Harry could have become until no more than dark magic and devotion remains. Visions of a wraith with red eyes complicate matters, especially when Harry and the Voice follow it to Hogwarts so Master can get his hands on the Philosopher’s stone.

Eulogy by @meles-merrivale (E, 6k, complete)

You run through the things you have to do for the day. It is, admittedly, a very short list. Wake up. Be clean. Be ready. An empty life, some might call it. You don’t. It is the life He has given you, and so it is what you deserve.

last rites by @cindle-writes (E, 5k, complete)

Harry has an hour before he walks to his death in the Forbidden Forest. The horcrux in Harry’s scar decides to take matters into its own hands.

Look at me. by @crowcrowcrowthing (M, 1k, complete)

A dark night of the soul.

Pitch Black by @kagariasuha (E, 2k, complete)

The proximity of Horcruxes can influence anyone - especially Harry.

sandpaper kisses, paper cut bliss by @xodahafez (E, 27k, WIP)

Harry Potter survives the Killing Curse, but so does the horcrux within him. And this horcrux has been dangerously infatuated with Harry for seventeen years.

saw you in a dream by @duplicitywrites (E, 2k, complete)

Harry has had this dream before.

*

👑 Diadem

A peculiar way of fitting together by @being-luminous (T, 2k, complete)

“Aren’t you going to ask me why I’m wearing a diadem?”

Dance Me On and On by @duplicitywrites (E, 19k, complete)

In his first year at Hogwarts, Harry overhears Quirrell interrogating Binns about an artifact from over a thousand years ago. Five years later, Harry uncovers Rowena Ravenclaw's Diadem in the Room of Requirement and finds himself pulled into a kingdom in the throes of a mysterious masquerade ball.

In Just a Moment, You’ll Be Mine by @dividawrites (E, 34k, WIP)

Tom has been stuck inside the Ravenclaw's Diadem for decades, alone, with nothing but his slowly fading memories. One day he feels a pull towards someone and gets interested. And then he gets obsessed.

Death is not an Escape by @whitepinkdandelions (T, 2k, complete)

The Lost Diadem of Ravenclaw is full of endless wisdom, so it only makes sense that it gets its hooks into Harry much faster than the rest of them.

*

🏆 Cup

Thirst by @obsidianpen (E, 27k, complete)

Things go awry when the trio beaks into Gringotts. Harry finds himself trapped, locked in the Lestrange vault, wandless and alone... With a horcrux.

*

🔒 Locket

Arson by @rudehellion (M, 8k, complete)

The hunt for Voldemort's Horcruxes is going poorly. In need of some space to think, Harry offers to take the first watch over camp and slips out into the snowy night. Unable to shake his dark thoughts, Harry finds himself drifting and he begins to dream. What he sees changes everything.

knock it off (part 1) / crave gets slaked (part 2) by @theonceandfuturequeenoftarts (E, 6k, complete)

At some point during Harry's time with the Dursleys, pain got crossed with affection. A kick from Dudley or having his arm yanked by Uncle Vernon at least means they’re acknowledging his existence. It’s not love, but it’s something. Too bad for Harry he carries that through to his less dysfunctional relationships.

The Cost by Blood_Stained_Fingers (M, 8k, complete)

The cost of making a horcrux was steep and when Voldemort manages to kill Harry, destroying the horcrux within, Harry finds out the exact price of losing a piece of your soul. It made a cruel joke that if Voldemort loved his horcruxes, Harry should love them too.

The Dead of Night by @cybrid (E, 6k, complete)

An empty house. A glint of gold. A dream. Or: running away from Privet Drive goes terribly for Harry.

The Ties That Bind by @mosiva (E, 8k, complete)

Harry finds the locket at Grimmauld Place, but it has a curse laid on it. When Harry triggers it, he finds himself trapped with the locket version of Tom Riddle, both of them stuck within the enchantment until they can find the way out. Or so Harry thinks.

Whole by Emriel (E, 20k, complete)

The horcrux hunt goes wrong and Harry fails to destroy the locket horcrux. Tom Riddle hands him over to the Dark Lord as a present for they know he holds part of their soul. In their care, Harry learns that feelings, no matter how toxic, are hard to get rid off.

*

💍 Ring

Personal Assistant by @phantomato (E, 10k, complete)

“And that’s it? I call ‘Tom’ and you show up?” “Yes,” Tom answers.

shelter from the storm by @cindle-writes, @duplicitywrites (E, 7k, complete)

After being left behind by the Dursleys, Harry stumbles upon an empty shack in the middle of nowhere, where he finds a mysterious ring underneath the loose floorboards.

*

[bythepen98]

Doodles || Tomarry || Childhood friends/Growing Up Together au

(Ignore the not-so-time-period-accurate outfits)

Think of this as a timetravel au where Harry accidentally gets sent back to the past in Wool's orphanage at a young enough age where he barely notices the changes caused by the time displacement and thus grows up nonethewiser to his destiny as the Chosen One. Even when, objectively, his life at the orphanage could be considered worse considering the growing lack of food, his environment's state of decay and overall unrest happening outside the orphanage's walls, something about his situation felt right(?).

He'd always felt disconnected and out of place based on the few memories he still had from living with the Dursleys but now, it felt like he was home in a way. Like something finally clicked in his brain, his soul.

His instant connection to Tom helped cement that fact. It wasn't easy at first because the pull they felt when they first met was so strong that it scared Harry shtless and Tom, already half-full of resentment by this point, was horrified feeling anything to anyone that wasn't disgust. In the end, it didn't take long for them to meet halfway since they were still children and curiosity at the connection lured them in like candy; Harry wanted a special friend of his own and Tom convinced himself that Harry was worth his time because there was no way anyone ordinary could elicit such a soul deep response from him.

Tom has a mean streak and is more bloodthirsty than his charming facade would show but is honest about it with Harry. Although he doesn't have much to his name, Tom is serious about his self-imposed role as Harry's provider, giving him gifts (from the money he steals) during his birthdays and keeping him as warm and well fed as possible (by bullying the other kids into surrendering their share).

Sometimes, Tom....worries.....that his methods would eventually drive Harry - who has such an inherent goodness in him, so often kind to people who don't deserve it - away but what he fails to understand is that Harry's love and loyalty to the first friend he's ever made trumps any kindness he has for others. He'll never like needless violence and won't react if he was being targeted but all bets are off if he even a catches a whiff of plots against Tom. If he has to help hide a body or two in the future so that they won't be separated by something as inconvenient as jail or the law, then that's nobody's business but his own.

P.S. This Harry will probably go to Hufflepuff instead of Slytherin like in other fics. It just feels right. Probably should've drawn him wearing a yellow tie but only just got the idea as I'm typing this. Tom would rather eat slugs than go to the Hufflepuff common room but he's more than willing to entertain Harry at the Slytherin common room at every available chance. They have their own seat there and everything.

P.P.S. They also co adopt a tiny(??) baby snake when they realize they can both speak parseltongue and bring him along to hogwarts. Imagine being parents at the big old age of 10 to a possibly magical snake that may or may not grow past nagini-level size.

P.P.P.S. Future power couple in the making. Didn't think that far ahead whether I wanted Tom to go the political route or Dark Lord Voldemort style minus the horcruxes. Don't ask for me the details, just know that with Harry's help, Tom finds a way to prolong their lives without the consequences that come with using horcruxes. They may or may not discover that Harry is in fact a horcrux of Tom already but will never get the answer as to how it happened. Harry worries but Tom just chocks it up as the universe's way of paying him back for his shtty pre-Harry childhood. Ironically the type to believe in soulmates and destiny while Harry is a bit more skeptical on that front.

Alternatively, they could also decide not to do anything too significant -politically- at all and instead retire to the country side while doing research on as many branches of magic as they can. A bit laughable because of Tom's world altering ambitions and Harry's indulgent, enabling behavior but at the same time, anything's possible.

[awyeahitssam]

My Writing Masterlist

Since I post on here far more consistently then on ao3 for reasons, I figured I would compile a list of my writing for those who don't like sifting through fandoms they could care less about to get to the good stuff. 

Separated by fandom, and somewhat by trope. 

Harry Potter:

Harry eats a God. 

Harry just can't seem to stay dead. TW: Suicide, character death, frequent character death, torture, murder, disjointed snippets, discontinued + Harry dissociates. Connected, same warnings may apply. 

First Encounters: Time loop, Voldemort-as-Quirrell visits the Dursleys and is less than pleased. 

First Encounters: The first time Harry meets Voldemort, the man he's been trained to kill all his life, he's nineteen, and Voldemort recognizes him. 

Prisoner Harry tells Voldemort about the Dursleys like it's a bedtime story. 

Except for the incident, Harry really doesn't tend to talk a lot when he has a concussion. Stream of thought narrative, character injury.

Literally just Empath!Harry spoilers. Harry, at his trial, allowing himself be petty to an extent. 

Harry gets drunk, pulled into Voldemort's mind, and decides he wants to share his good mood.

Tea shop AU.  + more  Tea Shop (weather) AU. + something actually Tea-based under the cut

Four of a Kind AU: Learning to kiss split-scene. Harry/Harry, referenced Harry/Horcrux + They meet. They kiss. What if. Voldemort/Harry + In the aftermath Voldemort/Harry

Kid Fic: Harry ‘dies’ as a child. Mentor!Voldemort, absolutely not a pairing ficlet. 

Kid Fic: Harry and Voldemort’s kid lands in the past during a duel at the Ministry. Pre-Harrymort, Micah, not quite the kiss you'd expect.

Female Harry, world-jumping, rationally angry. Tom/Harry intended, if Harry will chill out on the murder. 

Harry likes to feel pretty. Horcrux/Harry, Harry wears makeup, etc. 

Tom and Harry jump through time to each other. Tomarry, growing up, fluff, brief kissing, Harry’s older

Dragon AU, I have a lot more of this one written, I should dump that some day. Harry/Horcruxes

Harry/Tom: pillow forts, soft angst, unresolved, broken promises

Harry's really fucking sick and tired of being told what the fuck to do. 

Tom-after-Voldemort is the first person Harry has ever spoken to. Isolation, lighthearted, odd, old and forgotten. 

Harry never imagines the effect getting a boyfriend would have on Riddle. Jealous Tom. 

Harry messes with Diary!Tom

Harry and Voldemort have to complete a task based on the colour of the others' robes, for some reason?

Harry is kidnapped and wakes up in an incredibly comfortable bed. Voldemorts knows Harry is his horcrux.

Harry ruthlessly defends Hogwarts against encroaching Death Eaters. Sixth Year.

It's one paragraph guys.

Prompt-based: Tom possesses Harry when he's afraid. Hermione POV.

Prompt-based: Santa forgot about Harry, again.

Prompt-based: Tom watches Harry draw dirty, dirty things at church.

Teen Wolf, all at least peripherally intended as Stiles/Peter

Kid Fic + Genderbend + Time Travel: Stiles is in the past and nobody is raising Malia, so she sure as shit will.

Stiles has known about werewolves since he was nine, and now that he's off the college it seems his dad has gottten involved. No Hale Fire, Protective Stiles

The first thing Kate does when she comes back to Beacon Hills is kidnap Peter. Human!Alpha Stiles, eventual Steter, pre-slash

Stiles has the curse of obedience. Stiles/Peter

Flower shop AU! Ft. Petty Peter and insulting bouquets.

Peter says he hates Stiles. Stiles begs to differ. 

Werewolf Stiles wakes up in the middle of Beacon Hills woods naked, and tries to keep it low key from there. Bakery AU, kinda. Peter/Stiles

First Encounters: The Hale pack summons Stiles to the past. 

First Encounters: The first time Stiles meets Peter he is drunk. Stiles is a rude, very straight-forward drunk who steps all over issues like dead family and psychosis. It’s like he had a minefield map and is intentionally stepping on every trigger. 

Stiles meets Peter in the hospital.

Stiles pulls back because he doesn't want Peter to mess up his dress shirt, not because he doesn't want the bite. 

Stiles crochets magic shit. Fluff. 

Negotiations go well. 

Peter being the literal worst, holy hell, this hurts to read. Have some angst. Past-Stiles/Peter

Okay, my bad for that last one. Have some comfort. Crying, comfort, Stiles & Peter

Dragon Stiles is constantly underestimated. 

Stiles beats Peter, sore loser extraordinaire. 

Me acting like Stiles has shame for some reason.

Female Stiles gets forcibly genderbent and is not putting up with anybody's shit. Body dysmorphia, shitty friends, anger issues, sexism. Peter/Stiles

Female Stiles and Peter. Shower, soft.

Stiles writes smutty fanfic, as he should. 

Stiles being a bad influence on his little self, ft Knowing Himself Too Fucking Well. Time travel AU, torture

Peter walks away. 

Peter/Stiles, marking, one of the sexiest things I've ever written imo 

Peter is dumb, stupid, silly villain. 

Peter’s timing is about as good as Stiles’ filter. Dumb, stupid villain antics. 

Stiles threatens Peter, /lh

Stiles is justifiably sad after a movie. 

Tony Stark-centric:

Gen: Tony takes after Maria. Few people recognize a predator wrapped up in such Tony packaging. 

Gen: Tony bantering with, and teasing, Peter. 

Tony Stark uses the infinity stones. 

Tony survives the stones. 

Tony proposes. In public. In a way that undeniably affirms his feelings. Loki/Tony

Loki meets Morgan for the first time. Loki/Tony, kid fic

Hair Kink—I mean braiding! Aha, ha, ha… Loki/Tony

Female Toni doesn't take well to her children being threatened. 

Soulmates? Tony/Loki

Rhodey gives Loki the shovel talk ft. Parks & Rec

Tony saves the day…?

Bleach / Time travel: Ichigo isn't supposed to be here. 

The 100: Cage Wallace stages a coup before the forty-eight arrive. (Or: Dante Wallace dies before his time.) This changes everything.

Tagged: 10 Characters, 10 Fandoms, 10 Shorts

[hollowed-theory-hall]

do you have thoughts on the diary horcrux and why it seems to have been so much more sentient than the other horcuxes? (also do u think riddle could really have come out of the diary?). thank you for all your incredible meta.

Thank you for your compliments! 😊

So, I kinda have thoughts about anything Harry Potter related, so, yeah.

Okay, I'll start with the second part, actually. Tom Riddle in the diary definitely thought he could come out of the diary, and he seemed to be correct. By taking Ginny's life force he was able to appear outside of the diary. And according to Harry, he got more solid as he took more of her life:

but the longer Riddle stood there, the more life was dwindling out of Ginny . . . and in the meantime, Harry noticed suddenly, Riddle’s outline was becoming clearer, more solid. . . . If it had to be a fight between him and Riddle, better sooner than later

(CoS, page 292)

As for the magical theory of why it worked, I already mentioned here that in Alchemy, everything is alive. Everything that is alive is made up of three components:

1. Soul (Sulfur)

2. Body (Salt)

3. Life (Mercury)

So what Tom is doing is stealing Ginny's mercury — her life — he says as much:

But there isn’t much life left in her [Ginny]. . . . She put too much into the diary, into me.

(CoS, page 289)

Now a life can only be used to create something equal to it — another life. If you want to bring someone who isn't alive (dead or unliving, like the diary) to life, you'll need another life to do it. It's a life-for-a-life scenario since in Alchemy everything works according to the law of equivalent exchange.

This law means all energy or components can only transform into something equal to it. If you want to cast a spell, you'll need to put magical energy in it equal to the effect you want to cause.

It's the same here. He kills Ginny and gets his own life in exchange for hers.

What somewhat bothers me about it is that he seems to have a body get created as well. Like, his current body (salt) is the diary itself, hence why when Harry stabbed it he died, but he was making himself a new one. The only way to do that, is to extert something of equal energy. In this case, I believe it was Ginny's magic. He wasn't just pulling out her life to create a life for himself he was pulling her magic to make him a body:

But there isn’t much life left in her. . . . She put too much into the diary, into me. Enough to let me leave its pages at last. . . .

(CoS, page 289)

He says she put too much into the diary, not just life. I believe he was feeding on her magic too, which leads into the first part of your question.

I don't think he's necessarily more sentient. Like, I think all Horcruxes could be as sentient as the diary. And we see the locket become more sentient as the trio wears it. And I think that's the crux of it.

The Horcruxes seem to steal magic from their surroundings, which makes them more powerful and more sentient as a result. The diary spent years in Lucius Malfoy’s office, sucking up bits of magic from him and anyone else who visited that office. Then he had a whole year of Ginny (and Harry for a bit) writing to him. This all means he has plenty of magic to make him sentient.

The other Horcruxes, in contrast, didn't really have any human interaction until their destruction. Besides the locket, which we do see growing in sentience:

“There was a locket.” “What?” said Harry and Ron together. “In the cabinet in the drawing room. Nobody could open it...”

(DH, page 166)

No sentience in OoTP, nothing felt magical about the locket.

“Can you feel it, though?” Ron asked in a hushed voice, as he held it tight in his clenched fist. “What d’you mean?” Ron passed the Horcrux to Harry. After a moment or two, Harry thought he knew what Ron meant. Was it his own blood pulsing through his veins that he could feel, or was it something beating inside the locket, like a tiny metal heart?

(DH, page 239)

After Umbridge wore it for a bit, it had more sentience. It has a heartbeat, it feels alive like it didn't before. Hermione doesn't mention this sense existing the first time, and that's because this pulse wasn't there.

She held out her hands, and Harry lifted the golden chain over his head. The moment it parted contact with Harry’s skin he felt free and oddly light. He had not even realized that he was clammy or that there was a heavy weight pressing on his stomach until both sensations lifted. “Better?” asked Hermione. “Yeah, loads better!”

(DH, page 249)

And the longer they wear it, the more effect the locket has. The more magic it has to become more sentient and influence the trio. Throughout Deathly Hollwos, the Horcrux becomes more powerful the longer they wear it:

Then something closed tight around his neck. He thought of water weeds, though nothing had brushed him as he dived, and raised his empty hand to free himself. It was not weed: The chain of the Horcrux had tightened and was slowly constricting his windpipe.

(DH, page 321)

The Horcrux was still swinging from Ron’s hand. The locket was twitching slightly. Harry knew that the ting inside it was agitated again. It had sensed the presence of the sword and had tried to kill Harry rather than let him possess it.

(DH, page 321)

Then a voice hissed out from the Horcrux. “I have seen your heart, and it is mine.” “Don’t listen to it!” Harry said harshly. “Stab it!” “I have seen your dreams, Ronald Weasley, and I have seen your fears. All you desire is possible, but all that you dread is also possible. . . . ”

(DH, page 325)

So, I think it's all a matter of how much magic you feed the Horcrux.

[jlhynde-insanitybrilliance]

Tommary fic idea:

1945: Tom through some animagus transformation gone wrong gets himself stuck as a cat living in Knockturn Alley. Turns out you can’t successfully become an animagus if you don’t have a complete soul (which given the lack of information on Horcruxes, Tom found out the hard way.)

1995: Harry, escaping from the Dursley’s during the summer, ends up renting a cheap flat in Knockturn above Borgin & Burke’s where he works as a shop assistant. While working there, Mr. Borgin is always complaining about this mangy, feral, cat living in the alley & how its always stealing things from the shop (because Tom had not stopped trying to get back to his original form). He tells Harry that he’s tried to kill it multiple times, but the damn thing somehow always gets away & if Harry sees it to kill it on sight.

Of course, Harry doesn’t do that, he starts leaving a part of his lunch in the alley every day for Tom. Slowly over a period of weeks, Harry earns Tom’s trust (well, not trust, but Tom starts looking at Harry like a free meal ticket) & Harry starts venting out his life to what he thinks is a cat. (Except this cat is oddly intelligent & at times, Harry swears it understands him & wonders if maybe it’s part kneazle.) Until one day, Harry asks Tom if he just wants to move in to the flat upstairs.

& since the flat is better than the Alley, Tom agrees. (Harry still leaves the window open to the fire escape, so Tom can come & go as he pleases.) Then cue all these funny cute scenes of Harry forcing him into a bath, of trying to get Tom to eat canned catfood, of Tom bringing back his stolen items to Harry’s flat & Harry constantly moving them back down to the shop (telling him he’s gotta stop stealing from the neighbors), Harry & Tom sleeping in the same bed with Tom splayed out over Harry’s face, of Harry trying to get him to wear a collar with a name tag so people stop thinking he’s a stray, Ahhhhh! So cute! & when Harry has to go back to Hogwarts at the end of the summer, he ends up taking Tom with him.

Eventually, I imagined that Harry figures out Tom is not in fact a cat & endeavors to help him return to his original form & by that time Tom is utterly smitten. They end up with a successful partial transformation, turning Tom into a human with the cat tail and ears, & Harry is not prepared for how handsome Tom is or how cute he is with the tail & ears. & of course, Tom ends up seducing Harry. He seduces Harry a lot.

But he refuses to wear the damn collar. It’s not happening.

Inspired off of this tiktok :

Whoops 😅 I started writing it. Oh well 🤷‍♀️

[mxlfoydraco]

no, but I have to agree with the previous anon :( idk if it’s just me either, but I often see Harry depicted in a pretty unflattering light where he’s intellectually inferior to Draco with sparse vocab or middling potions skill, as opposed to Draco’s suave, smooth talking persona, disregarding that canon Harry is quite even-keeled unless he has to save the day. Legendary wit and potion EEs, anyone? He didn’t have the Prince helping him there 😒 His presence of mind when making the connection between Horcrux Tom’s life force and the diary despite the dire situation?

It started out as an Internet trend years ago to make Harry a stupid jock but it has definitely spiralled and seems to be taken as gospel now :((

And I agree with your hc - Draco wasn’t a poor meow meow abused by his parents forced to take the mark. He was honoured to wear it, it’s canon!

But the recent trend is either having Draco play the role of an abused child or, worse, poor pitiful Draco with Harry as his brash only brawns, no brains, Gryffindorish Saviour. Even when he’s an Auror, his critical thinking skills hinge on the observations made by others. It’s SO infuriating!

Sorry for the rant! 😩 I feel so protective over the actual abused poor meow meow :( Let me join your ditch and defend him 😔

Harry suffers a lot from people not considering the facts that

He’s an unreliable narrator

He himself represses, doesn’t face or spell out some of his thoughts, motivations, fears and feelings

He’s an abused, neglected child. His inner dialogues tendency won’t be to emphasize his own talents, strengths and powers. That’s the readers job, so do it

Being a kind and forgiving character isn’t boring!!! A character sans a redemption arc isn’t boring!!!! Harry isn’t a goody two shoes!!! He’s angry and snarky and grieving and a deep character!!

If you haven’t read the books in like a decade or ever you don’t get to shit talk Harry and I will be a snob about it

[racfoam]

I have an entire word document on Harry meeting Locket!Tom that I don't know whether I'll use so I’ll share that scene in here. Spoiler alert for nynn 5th Year I guess. P.S. locket Tom is aware of who Harry is, so he will just go big and go for it, but he'll also be "Me? I'm innocent!" while internally he is the evillest motherfucker of the Horcrux Bunch.

-----------------

“May I help you?” asked a smooth, masculine voice, brushing the threads of Harry’s hair, making the hairs on her nape prickle, standing on end. Momentarily, Harry freezes in fear, noticing something familiar in the lilt, something matured yet vaguely noticeable.

Slowly, Harry turned around.

Tom Riddle stands behind her. Taller than his sixteen-year-old self, inky hair pristine and proper, combed back, inky strands reaching to his earlobes and down his nape, high cheekbones, rosy lips set in a saccharine smile, pristine porcelain skin, he is the most handsome she has seen him thus far. The mid-length hair flatters his prince charming appearance even more.

The first thought Harry manages to think through the blood-curdling terror rushing through her veins is: Fuck.

The next thought she manages is: Don’t look him in the eyes. The third is: Don’t scream.

“Sorry,” said Harry quickly, putting on her own facade (because two can play this game) of a polite, timid girl, keeping her gaze on his neck and chin. “I think I’m lost. I wasn’t supposed to be here.”

Understatement of the century.

Tom stepped closer. Far too close to be appropriate.

“People rarely come here accidentally,” he said politely, while Harry restrained every urge to shove him away from herself, the scent of his soft cologne sweeping over her, an intoxicating aroma luring prey closer. “This is not the sort of shop one enters without looking for something. Something they can’t acquire in the regular shops in Diagon Alley.”

“Er,” trailed Harry, trying to find some believable excuse. What shop was this? The thought of Lord Voldemort, Tom Riddle, the model student, working at a back alley shop, was the farthest thing Harry imagined he would be doing after graduating Hogwarts.

One thing was for sure. She wanted his attention off her. Far away from her. It was never pleasant to be the center of Tom’s attention.

“What sorts of objects do you sell here?”

“We sell all sorts of objects.”

“Mm...” Harry said, using that little opportunity of space to step away from him, hiding the fact she was fleeing by pretending to survey the shelves. There was a crystal ball swirling red mist, and Harry wondered if it was a Remembrall or something much more sinister. There were, as Tom said, all sorts of objects on display. Weapons, objects, chests, spheres of materials, even hands that looked to have been severed. There were a few skulls; she didn’t want to know whether they were fake or real.

“Is this real?” she asked, gazing upon a jar of smaller human skulls.

“Everything we have is real.”

Harry wisely stepped back from the shelf hosting the numerous skulls.

She blushes easily. How sweet. Oh, he just wants to eat her up. Wants to feel the heat he brings to her cheeks under his palms, wants to make them scalding hot to the touch. Wants to make them burn feverishly.

“We have an assortment of lovely jewelry if you’d like any,” he said, buttery soft.

Instantly, Harry was on guard. This Tom was not really alive. Just as the Tom from the diary, this must be the Tom from the locket.

“I don’t wear jewerly,” I’ll shower you in gifts. “That's a shame,” he says sincerely. “How so?”

Harry shrugged. “Never got around to it.”

“Well, then...” Tom muses, a wicked, delighted glint in his dark eyes. “I suppose we’ll have to find you something remarkable to introduce you to the idea. I find that remarkable objects make for remarkable possessions. The more special something is, the more a person craves it. And it is only the truly worthy ones that are offered the honour.”

“The ones with money,” said Harry sadly. How many times did she wish to buy Mrs Weasley and Ginny nice jewelry? Or Ron a new broom?

“No,” said Tom. “I said worthy. Those deserving. Not those who have the means to buy it, but those who earn it.”

“And what about inherited jewelry? You know, passed down in the family? Is that considered earned, too?”

“Of course," said Tom, sounding pleased. “I would argue that is the highest level of worth a piece of jewelry can have. To be passed down in the family. Whether father to son, or mother to daughter.”

“And mother to son, or father to daughter,” said Harry, thinking of the Invisibility Cloak her father left her, thinking of her mum's protection in her blood and the money in Gringotts vault, making sure Harry would never be hungry.

Tom paused for a moment, turning silent.

“Yes,” he whispered after a moment.

[slitherinfest]

Slither In Fest Masterlist!

A big round of applause and a heartfelt thanks to all the awesome people who have joined us for this year's fest! It's been an absolute delight to see each and every one of your entries.

Once again, special thanks to @dividawrites for letting us reuse her banner art.

Thank you all for appreciating Bottom Tom | Voldemort with us! We hope to see you all again next year.

Please see below the cut for a masterlist of all works!

A Total Absence of Light by @crowcrowcrowthing E | Harry Potter/Tom Riddle | Voldemort | 7,535 words | Complete

My name is Tom Riddle, and I am the Boy Who Lived. Something happened to turn Harry Potter into the Dark Lord, and I will do whatever it takes to learn his secrets. I don’t care that he killed my parents. I don't care that he stole my childhood. All I want is to earn the right to call myself his apprentice.

chiaroscuro by @cindle-writes E | Harry Potter/Tom Riddle | 7,213 words | Complete

Immortal children are illegal. Harry makes one anyway.

Flinch by @applesbasketcaseart E | Harry Potter/Tom Riddle | Voldemort | 5,082 words | Complete

"Tom, I want you to meet my friend, Harry Potter." There's something a bit odd about Mr. Potter.

Freedom from those Pages by @azuredreammira E | Tom Riddle/Voldemort | 9,417 words | WIP

It started out as a deal, selling his body in exchange for freedom. But Tom Riddle quickly became Voldemort’s advisor and lover, ensuring that the one who had created him years ago did not go insane.

He'd Love To See Inside by TrinisetteArcobaleno E | Harry Potter/Tom Riddle | Voldemort | 5,631 words | Complete

Lord Voldemort has an important event to go to tonight. He obviously decides to wear his best suit. Harry Potter, a child that Voldemort took in after killing his parents, presented as an alpha the same day of the event.

In Perfect Unity by @i-dream-of-libraries E | Harry Potter/Tom Riddle | Voldemort | 9,052 words | Complete

Harry has just begun his work as the only Priest in a small town when a man comes to confessional one night and traps Harry in the booth with him.

Invincible by @itsevanffs E | Tom Riddle | Voldemort/Tom Riddle | Voldemort | 2,296 words | Complete

Tom walks in on purpose. He’s heard the warnings of the townsfolk some miles away from the border. They warn him against entering, against lingering, against taking an interest, but he is Tom Marvolo Riddle. He is in his prime, forever frozen that way, and he will conquer the world.

Like Calls To Like by TrinisetteArcobaleno E | Tom Riddle/Tom Riddle Sr. | 4,856 words | Complete

Tom Marvolo Riddle’s father found him before he had ever known about Hogwarts. Unbeknownst to Tom Jr., his father planned to visit him tonight.

multiplicity by @duplicitywrites E | Harry Potter/Tom Riddle/Harry Potter | 7,780 words | WIP

At the age of twelve, Tom is well on his way to having all of Hogwarts wrapped around his clever, crooked finger. Others are beneath him, unworthy of his regard—but for Professor Evans, Tom is willing to make an exception. When transfer student Harry Potter arrives mid-November, Tom is inclined to dismiss the older boy as another arrogant Pureblood who will treat him with disdain. Only, Harry isn’t like the others. Not at all.

Never Meet Your Heroes by @ujiin E | Salazar Slytherin/Tom Riddle | Voldemort | 6,960 words | WIP

Tom is in a little bit of a predicament. "Did you need anything else, Slytherin?" Tom manages to say without a single hitch or stutter, even though it feels so incredibly wrong to address a literal founder of Hogwarts this way.

Pitch Black by @kagariasuha E | Harry Potter/Tom Riddle | Voldemort, Horcrux/Harry Potter | 2,403 words | Complete

The proximity of Horcruxes can influence anyone - especially Harry.

Tight Quarters by @maraudersaffair E | Abraxas Malfoy/Tom Riddle | 2,488 words | Complete

High off casting dark magic, Tom and Abraxas sneak into a cupboard and have some fun.

Wind Tunnels by @mrmxlemons E | Tom Riddle | Voldemort/Ron Weasley | 10,433 words | WIP

The locket holds Ron closer than anyone else has. He doesn't want to let it go.

[corneliaavenue-ao3]

Hello

Do you think if Ginny joined the trio on the hunt would the locket effect her like it affected Ron? Since she’s been possessed before and also a pureblood which I think would cause more mental distress for her

Okay, obviously we ignore every single reason why she couldn't join them on the hunt.

First things first, I will defend Ron's actions under the influence of the horcrux every time. Ron was splinched and lost a lot of blood, he was ill, and just found out that his sister was being punished by a man he believed to be a Death Eater. He watched as his best friend, who previously dated said sister and who he told specifically to not string along, completely belittle said punishment. Obviously, we as readers know that Harry did care that Ginny was safe, but Ron does not. So all of that added together is the reason why it affected Ron so much that he stormed out.

Now if Ginny were under the same circumstances, I don't think she would act the same. While the trio is aware that they are wearing a piece of Voldemort's soul, only Ginny knows what it is truly like to fight Tom's taunts and whispers. If Tom came out of that locket and started ridiculing her, she would have swung the sword immediately. We know that she was not so lucky to forget the Chamber nor Tom so easily. The absolute trauma she went through at 11 is still something she would unpack at 16, which is why wearing the locket would probably be very difficult for her. But, if she were to face the locket, I am sure it would have been cathartic to slash a sword straight through the heart of horcrux Tom. WHICH IS WHY SHE SHOULD HAVE CANNONICLY DESTROYED A HORCRUX!

[k-s-morgan]

Hi! Congratulations about Black Butler getting a new season!

I have a question about ATLWETD. I understand how busy you are, so you don't have to answer it. But if you happen to have some time, could you, please, explain the timelines in Harry's made-up story about his past with Tom? I got a bit confused here.

According to Harry, him and Tom were peers growing together. But Tom made him a last Horcrux, and that should have happened when they both were older. Harry told him a bit about his future version, which created more Horcruxes, killed his parents, and managed to successfully become Voldemort, establishing a rule of terror. Harry also showed Tom the memories of adult snaky Voldemort. Shouldn't Harry also be at least 20 something y.o. at the time he became a Horcrux, if he hadn't de-aged and time-traveled? But if de-aged, the Harry shouldn't have a piece of Tom's soul yet. How did Tom understand the explanation about the timelines?

That's the only thing which keeps confusing me. Anyway, can't wait for a new chapter, thank you very much for such a wonderful story. Have a great day!

Hi! Thank you so much, I'm still so excited about it! And sure, no problem.

Harry didn't tell Tom that his other version killed his parents - since they both allegedly grew up in the orphanage, they didn't know their families. His story goes like this: they went to Hogwarts, and Tom started making Horcruxes when he was about 15. He made three Horcruxes in a short period: a diary, a ring, and Harry. By that point, Tom was about the same age he is now. He didn't establish his rule yet, but he had followers and he started making grander, irrational moves, which attracted Dumbledore's and aurors' attention.

The creation of three Horcruxes transformed him: Voldemort looks monstrous enough to be ageless, so Harry passed him for a disfigured version of Tom. He deliberately showed only those memories that could help him convince Tom that they were around the same age: a young version he knew from CoS, Dumbledore's orphanage memories, Voldemort-as-an-ageless-wreck, his followers wearing masks (so being ageless, too), and so on.

So, Tom doesn't realize that Harry knew a much older version of him. He thinks Voldemort was a young man just like him, only driven insane and losing his looks because of his rituals.

[startanewdream]

Read your post about Ginny getting the diary in her 5th year. And I just can’t stop thinking…

Warning this is going to be long (pls ignore my English errors, its not my first language, not even my second😅)

Just imagine Harry simping for her, while she is simping for him too. Her telling Tom about her feelings and that he is „the best friend of my brother and the chosen one, how many clichés do I need ??“

And Tom being the same age as her actually simping for Ginny too ( the soul) so it decides Ginny could be a perfect new „holder“ for him.

Because Diary!Tom doesn’t need to come back „from death“. If we stay with canon everything happens but year two. (Ginnys first year)

So in year four (Harrys) Voldy comes back, but Lucius (pretty dumb Lucius) gives the Diary to Draco who loses it, which is the reason why Ginny got it. (Because in Ginnys 5th year Malfoy sr is in Azkaban)

In his second and third year (Harrys) Ginny is still very umm well embarrassing, clumsy and very shy to Harry. In Year four (Harrys) she is already popular around other people, but when it comes to Harry, she can’t act normal. Until that thing with Voldy happened and Ginny started to see Harry in a complete other light.

He was always the boy who lived, someone unreachable, which made her always think less of herself (not that Harry ever made her feel like that!!). Why would the boy who lived, the prettiest boy she ever laid her eyes on, like some poor, ugly redhead like her?

That illusion disappeared very soon, when in Summer 1995 Ginny finally SAW Harry.

(Which made her fall even harder tbh)

But she started to act like a normal human being around him, started to make fun with and of him, they got closer as friends and when Sirius died, she was there for him.

Which ding ding ding

Made Harry fall in love with her (and the fact she was a great flyer and determined and competitive like him)

So its Harrys sixth year, he is pining sm on Ginny, who is dating Dean, because she needs to get over Harry. He obviously doesn’t see her as Rons Sister anymore, but as a close friend. And she can’t risk that friendship. So Dean was the best option.

The only one who really knows about her feelings is Tom.

Tom, her other best, also attractive friend. (I am actually a Tom/Ginny hater, so this is weird to write for me)

Ginny doesn’t really understand, why she can talk and see Tom, but anybody else isn’t able to do the same.

Tom tells her that she is special, not like other girls.

She doesn’t act foolish around boys, (Ginny thought about Harry and how she acted around him, but didn’t say it out loud), she didn’t mind dirt on her face (actually she did, but not during a game. It’s after every training session and every Match, she would run to the bathroom and tries everything to clean herself up and complains about it with Demelza and Katie), she didn’t have thousands and thousands of ex-boyfriends (she thought about Neville and her first kiss, Micheal and her first snog, Dean and her first sexual experience), she doesn’t wear makeup (well, duh, make up is expensive, but she wished she could) and she doesn’t care about what she is wearing (That hurt Ginny actually. She did care, but she couldn’t just tell her parents she wants new clothes , could she?)

But she still loved Tom, became even obsessed with him, which weirded her out. But she just couldn’t resist him anymore.

And Harry?

Harry was sure he couldn’t deny his feelings for Ginny anymore. So watching her silently and being happy that Ginny consider him as a close friend was enough for him. He knew he couldn’t risk their friendship and lose her, if he told her about his feelings.

Yet, watching her made Harry realize that something was wrong with her. She started to act cold distant and buried herself in her diary.

Harry and Dumbledore are still searching for Horcruxes and still trying to find them.

Harry was still obsessed about Malfoy jrs secret mission. Harry was still trying to find out why the muggleborn Hogwarts students were turned into stone and thought it has something todo with Malfoy(Yk because in year two nothing happened)

When Harry finds the Diary, he couldn’t resist but tried to read what Ginny wrote in it ( as he was always watching her, he knew immediately that it belonged to her), even though he felt shit about it.

Only to find out it was a horcrux. (And when Tom Riddle told him his name, Harry needed to act foolish and curious, so Voldemort wouldn’t think he already knew about what was going on)

Harry, not thinking about it, left the diary in his room and told Dumbles about what he found out. Both go back to Harrys Dorm only to find his things destroyed and thrown away.

The whole finding the chamber happens and Harry finally arrives there (alone). He finds Ginny in a blood circle with ancient runes and sees her acting not like herself.

And it finally hits Harry that Voldemort tries to obsesse her, like he did in Harrys 5th year. He fights against Tom Riddle who comes out of the diary , fights against the basilisk and finally, finally defeats the Horcrux (little does he know that Tom split himself again and made Ginny his new Horcrux)

And that’s when Harry snd Ginnys first kiss happens.

Its desperate and out of shock. Harry is still bleeding and poisoned by the basilisk snd fawkes didn’t heal him yet, but Harry was just so happy so relieved he didn’t care. Ginny didn’t either tbh.

Both cried telling the other that they were so afraid, asking each other if it was okay that they kissed, that they didn’t want to risk their friendship, if the other really had deeper feelings for them.

And when Ginny showers that night, she doesn’t see the scar under her left breast.

And yeah…

Well that could be a beginning of that cool AU👀

I love this idea so much right now, so thank you for making me write/think about this😅

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! 😍

I hadn't thought about mixing the two ideas but it was just *so perfect*!

I really loved all the insights here into how it would have happened in Ginny's 5th Year and everything made so much sense. This was just what I was trying to conceive, thank you so so so much for sharing this!

[hollowed-theory-hall]

The Riddle of Tom Riddle: Part 2/?

(Part 1, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7)

Voldemort Isn't Insane, At Least, Not in the Way You Think

Horcruxes and Dark Magic don't cause insanity and physical deformity the way Dumbledore implies, and I can prove it.

So, first Dark Magic doesn't make you go mad

So, first off, let's just set the record about Dark Magic not causing the changes in appearance we see in Voldemort and neither does it cause insanity. (I'm talking of run-of-the-mill Unforgivables here, I talk about Horcruxes more in-depth later in this post)

Now, what other character we can be sure practiced Dark Magic... Bellatrix, of course.

And, as a matter of fact, we do get a look at her before she goes to Azkaban:

The dementors placed each of the four people in the four chairs with chained arms that now stood on the dungeon floor. There was a thickset man who stared blankly up at Crouch; a thinner and more nervous-looking man, whose eyes were darting around the crowd; a woman with thick, shining dark hair and heavily hooded eyes, who was sitting in the chained chair as though it were a throne; and a boy in his late teens, who looked nothing short of petrified. He was shivering, his straw-colored hair all over his face, his freckled skin milk-white.

(Goblet of Fire, page 594)

She is clearly not deformed. None of the Death Eaters show any sign of physical changes to their appearance or behaviour due to Dark Magic in general.

the woman with the heavy-lidded eyes looked up at Crouch and called, “The Dark Lord will rise again, Crouch! Throw us into Azkaban; we will wait! He will rise again and will come for us, he will reward us beyond any of his other supporters! We alone were faithful! We alone tried to find him!”

(Goblet of Fire, page 595)

Bellatrix is sane and coherent before Azkaban. I believe most of her baby talk and more manic behavior we see in the series is caused by her time in Azkaban. While she was definitely loyal to Voldemort to a fault — she wasn't laughing maniacly in a baby voice like in Order of the Phoenix...

So, it isn't Dark Magic that made Voldemort snake-faced, so, maybe it's Horcruxes...

Second, Horcruxes don't make you go mad either

So, I talked about Horcruxes a bit here. But not about their effects on the person casting them.

So, let's try and trace the moments in time we meet Tom and count his Horcruxes. If his Horcruxes were indeed the cause for the change in his appearance, we'd expect to see a gradual change after each one in his appearance and behavior, if they indeed caused his insanity.

So, the first account we have of Voldemort is from Slughorn'smemory in 1943:

Half a dozen boys were sitting around Slughorn, all on harder or lower seats than his, and all in their mid-teens. Harry recognized Voldemort at once. His was the most handsome face and he looked the most relaxed of all the boys. His right hand lay negligently upon the arm of his chair; with a jolt, Harry saw that he was wearing Marvolo’s goldand-black ring; he had already killed his father.

(Half-Blood Prince, page 494)

As Tom is mentioned wearing the Gaunt Ring, we know this memory takes place during his sixth year, after he made the Diary and the Ring into Horcruxes already. (Why ask Slughorn about them if he already made two? Well, I'm gonna write a whole post about that don't worry)

But the point is, 2 Horcruxes in and there are no discernable changes in behavior or appearance. Harry actually describes him as very handsome, so clearly, he isn't snake-like yet.

The next time we see Tom is with Hepzibah Smith in 1956, the thing is, this memory doesn't give us much since it's before he killed her to make his third Horcrux, so we should expect nothing to change.

That then leads us to jump straight to 1967 and his job interview with Dumbledore. Between the talk with Slughonr about Horcruxes and this memory, Tom added 3 more Horcruxes to his collection (the cup, the locket, and the diadem).

So, we should expect to see a drastic change in behavior and appearance, and, well:

Voldemort had entered the room. His features were not those Harry had seen emerge from the great stone cauldron almost two years ago: They were not as snakelike, the eyes were not yet scarlet, the face not yet masklike, and yet he was no longer handsome Tom Riddle. It was as though his features had been burned and blurred; they were waxy and oddly distorted, and the whites of the eyes now had a permanently bloody look, though the pupils were not yet the slits that Harry knew they would become. He was wearing a long black cloak, and his face was as pale as the snow glistening on his shoulders. The Dumbledore behind the desk showed no sign of surprise. Evidently this visit had been made by appointment.

(Half-Blood Prince, page 441)

Tom's behavior throughout this interview isn't any different from what we've seen in his interactions with Dumbledore up to this point. So, I'll take that as a no, for Horcruxes causing insanity as he showed no sign of gradually deteriorating with each one.

And as for his appearence, yes, we see a change. But something about the wording bothered me. Harry referred to his face as looking: "burned and blurred; they were waxy and oddly distorted". This is a really off way to describe a face.

And it actually reminded me of a different description from Harry for a different memory:

And it happened all over again: The dense fog filled the room so that Harry could not see Slughorn or Voldemort at all; only Dumbledore, smiling serenely beside him. Then Slughorn’s voice boomed out again, just as it had done before. “I don’t know anything about Horcruxes and I wouldn’t tell you if I did! Now get out of here at once and don’t let me catch you mentioning them again!” “Well, that’s that,” said Dumbledore placidly beside Harry. “Time to go.” And Harry’s feet left the floor to fall, seconds later, back onto the rug in front of Dumbledore’s desk. “That’s all there is?” said Harry blankly. Dumbledore had said that this was the most important memory of all, but he could not see what was so significant about it. Admittedly the fog, and the fact that nobody seemed to have noticed it, was odd, but other than that nothing seemed to have happened except that Voldemort had asked a question and failed to get an answer. “As you might have noticed,” said Dumbledore, reseating himself behind his desk, “that memory has been tampered with.” “Tampered with?” repeated Harry, sitting back down too. “Certainly,” said Dumbledore. “Professor Slughorn has meddled with his own recollections.”

(Half-Blood Prince, page 371)

Memories can be edited and when they are, they become fogged and blurry. Slughorn's memory is clearly very crudely edited, but a master Legilemence like Dumbledore could surely do a better job of it.

Because Dumbledore has an agenda with all these memories, he needs to convince Harry to be ready to die to kill Voldemort — that's his end goal. And as such, yeah, he could reasonably edit Tom's appearance. As he seemed to have.

So, do we have a different source about Tom's appearance during the First War, because the next Horcrux after the diadem is Harry?

We do, Voldemort himself:

“Nice costume, mister!” He saw the small boy’s smile falter as he ran near enough to see beneath the hood of the cloak, saw the fear cloud his painted face. Then the child turned and ran away. . .

(Deathly Hollows, pages 295)

In this memory Voldemort shows mercy to a muggle child, not killing someone whose death isn't necessary — another point to him not being insane.

As for appearance, well, his face scared the child, but, it's hard to tell why. I'm sure JKR intended us to assume it's because he looked snake-like, but, again, no Horcruxes were made between the interview in Dumbledore's office and this scene, so he shouldn't be any more distorted. And while Harry's description in the interview memory isn't flattering, it isn't horrifying either.

Therefore, my assumption is that Voldemort is staring at this little child dressed like a pumpkin with the most impressive death glare the child has ever seen and this kid actually thinks, Tom is going to kill him. Which, well, it's a fair reason to be scared, I'll give him that.

His white hand pulled out the wand beneath his cloak and pointed it at the door, which burst open.

(Deathly Hollows, pages 296)

"White hand" doesn't say much. Tom was always described as pale and nothing odd about the skin texture is mentioned.

I'll add, that magically speaking, at least, according to the way I believe Horcruxes are made, it makes no sense for them to effect one's appearance and sanity negatively. Well, making them isn't pleasant, but they won't make you lose your intelligence and coherence.

So, what's up with Voldemort?

Well, I'm getting there.

For his appearence, my assumption was always that Pettigrew butchered the resurrection potion (when making a potion or alchemical concoction the mindset of the brewer matters. If Pettigrew was adding Nagini's venom without thinking of it as a soul component but as a body component, it can cause the changes in appearences we see). It can also be affected by the unicorn blood, which we don't really know the negetive effects of.

As for the insanity... When talking about insanity in fiction the conversation is sometimes very shallow. the word "insane" is just used to describe any character people don't understand, or that acts somewhat unpredictably. But if we look at insanity as a concept, as in a mental illness or delusions of some kind, they always have consistency. Both in fiction and reality.

Say, if a person believes they are a butterfly, they would always believe they are a butterfly. All their actions and behavior would stem from that delusion. We would expect them to try and drink from flowers, or try to fly — because that's what butterflies do.

Voldemort doesn't have that.

He doesn't have a consistent behavior pattern I could chuck to insanity and call it a day. No, Tom Riddle is a more complex character than that and I feel calling him "insane" is a cop-out from analyzing his character properly.

I'm gonna make a full post about it and what exactly is going through his mind, but I wanted to cover the insanity claims first.

[danpuff-ao3]

Birthday Recs: BlueSundayCake

Happiest of birthdays Pahn! (aka @bluesundaycake)

Super creative. Hella fun. Most wise. Very compassionate. Pahn is a most wonderful human, who I have so much respect and admiration for! They are so, so supportive and understanding. They always have great advice.

But more than what Pahn gives to others, they are just plain interesting! Style? Outstanding. Tattoos? WOW. Taste? Excellent. Imagination? INCREDIBLE. Their mind?? I have no words.

But why should I give you words when I can make you read theirs? And in the spirit of celebrating all the wonderfulness that is Pahn, here are some fic recs!

The hand that beckons

Lily Luna/Narcissa. Rated T. 1k. Pagan festivals (Mabon.) Fae.

A young woman with hair like burning coals enters into gardens guarded by fire. 

Or, in which Lily Luna Potter is offered a feast and pomegranate seeds from one Narcissa Malfoy.

The Resurrectionist

Harry/Tom. Rated E. 11k. Vampire Tom. Coffee Shop AU. Urban Fantasy AU. Bloody Kisses Fest.

It started with a black coffee and squiggles in a notebook. A story of monsters and men, and how alike they really are.

Snarry Poetry

series. Harry/Snape. Rated T. 800 words (for now.) Poems.

Snarry poetry written for fandom friends on tumblr✨️

would it be a sin?

Harry/Voldemort. Harry/Horcruxes. Rated E. 2k. PWP. Non/dub-con. Mindbreak.

Harry wears Slytherin's locket and doesn't quite realise the effect it has on him. Even if he did, he's not sure he'd ever want to make it stop. It all feels too inevitable. 

Or the one where Voldemort and his hocruxes fuck Harry to win the war.

Woven By Hand

Harry/Snape. Rated E. WIP. Tropes. Snarry AUctober Fest. Tropes.

When Harry tries to figure out why he can't die, his life takes a most unexpected turn. 

Prompt 2022-29: Trope!Fic. Combine as many tropes as you can think of into your fic.

[liquidluckandstuff]

i am having brainworms at much too late at night (I have to get up early in the morning tomorrow to catch my train). But I've been having dadmort thoughts. Or maybe Harrymort? I feel like it could go either way tbh

Okokokok so, let's say Voldemort wins the first war, but he's made a bunch of horcruxes right? So he's like insane, and probably snake-faced. Tortures people and is incoherent and other countries are getting twitchy after he's murdered a few of their diplomats.

But then, he comes across Harry, idk if Harry is a student of some sort of indentured servant type thing due to being the child of rebels or whatever. And something clicks in Voldemort and he makes Harry eat a meal with him or sleep with him (just sleep) and Voldemort feels AMAZING afterwards. He feels clear, and sharp, and like he is whole.

But it wears off, whether after a few days or a few hours.

And so he has to spend time with Harry, eating meals together and hanging out and what not.

And I'm feeling like either it becomes romantic or parental depending on how it's written. Anyway, I'm not sure what the overarching plot would be (I'm terrible at anything more than a one shot), but I've been obsessively turning it over in my mind. Personally, when I write some of this tomorrow on the train it'll probably be romantic. But I'll probably be writing a future version of this where a time traveling Tom Riddle shows up, like asterismal's tempor•al|ary (which is what my url was inspired by).

I'm thinking about this again today. I had it selfishly saved.