Chapter Text
Tom had always found it hard to sleep next to people. Those few years where he had to share a dorm with other boys were hellish and any hook-ups (although they were far and few between) left him feeling more paranoid than the pleasure was worth. Kissing was far too intimate and any tender touches were stopped immediately. He had always hated contact and the burn that any touch left behind, and he had thought that would never change.
Eliza was curled up on his chest, sleeping deeply as Tom absently messed with her hair.
He liked kissing Eliza, liked holding her hand and pulling her close, didn’t mind her sleeping in his bed pressed against him. He didn’t mind being vulnerable, not around her – not for her.
He pulled her closer as if his touch could convey all the things he couldn’t bring himself to say.
She left him with a compass sat innocuously on his bed side table, so that he could find her no matter where she went. It was a promise as much as it was a gift. A promise that after all he had done, after all the chances he had given her to leave him behind, she still wanted him. For all his faults, for which were countless and plentiful, she still chose him.
Love, above anything else, is a choice.
He conjured a chain, carefully connecting it to the compass that pointed steadily in Eliza’s direction despite the miles that separated them. Breathing in deeply, the scent of Eliza’s perfume still clinging to the pillows, he pulled the compass over his head letting it rest against his chest.
He had so much to do.
~
The wizengamot had approved their bill, the auror budget was sliced in half and a new floor in the ministry was established, child welfare. Just as Eliza had originally hoped for more and more people were tasked with making sure any wizarding children left in the muggle-world would be monitored once a month. And with the wolfsbane potion legally available to any and all werewolves there were more than enough people willing to take the jobs, those that hadn’t been offered to them before.
Tom wasn’t close with Eliza’s family but seeing Lupin’s eyes widen at the bill passed made him stand taller with pride.
That wasn’t the only change of course. He and Selwyn were campaigning for the legalisation of blood magic once again, even if restrictions. For any child found abandoned and abused in the muggle world they would then be able to blood adopt them into any wizarding family. Although Tom was hoping soon the amount of children born and left to fester in the muggle world would disappear all together. He still didn’t like muggles but his Little Star was right, the war was won now.
Tom would content himself with what he had.
And he had achieved a lot, just not as much as he would like to, he thought to himself stood in the Nott’s Ball Room for the first Samhain celebration of decades. Alexander had kindly opened up his home and the people had come flooding in, the magic a tangible presence in the air.
They’d had to celebrate these in secret like criminals for so long, it had been even longer since dark magic had been looked at without scorn. A new era was truly upon them. But still he found himself missing something. Absently he ran a hand over the compass resting beneath his waistcoat, the metal cold to his touch.
These things weren’t as fun without Eliza here.
He hoped she was okay, wherever she was.
~
“Lucius” Tom yelled out as he apparated into Riddle Manor. He spent most of his time at his new apartment these days, enjoying the freedom that came with his own space but most of his death eaters still kept a permanent residence at Riddle Manor - something Tom was happy to provide.
“Lucius” he called out again as he wandered into the kitchen “I need you to handle Gringotts for me, I know I don’t technically have a legal identity but by Merlin they’re being insufferable” he rambled before coming to a halt.
His kitchen had a lot more occupants than he was expecting.
There was Lucius, Severus and Alexander alongside Barty and Bella. That in itself wasn’t too unusual, the unusual part was Eliza’s court, and the stragglers she had adopted over the years. Rowle, Selwyn and Fawley lounging against his kitchen counter.
And on his table sat a gigantic blackboard that could have quite possibly been stolen from Hogwarts that Barty was desperately in the middle of trying to clean.
“What” Tom stressed “is this?”
He was trying to take over a country here.
“I would like to point out that I had no part in this” Severus interjected first and Barty let out an offended squawk, dropping the eraser in his anger.
“You stole the blackboard for us” Barty protested.
The blackboard in question had two (half-scrubbed away) columns draw out on it, one column listing when he and Eliza would officially together and the second the amount of money placed on it.
Tom hated it here.
“Why did you allow Black to bet on this?” Tom despaired and Aaron Rowle gave a heartbroken sigh.
“I’m so broke”
Eyeing up the amount people had actually bet Tom could imagine just why the younger was suddenly out of pocket change, and just why they had allowed Black to take part.
“All those dates are wrong anyway” Tom drawled as he moved his way to the coffee jar, accepting that this was just his life now. Once friend and foe alike had cowered beneath him, he had laid ruin to armies, killed one of the most powerful wizards of their time and obtained immortality – and his followers were betting on his love life.
“Of course they are – the bets are compromised now you’ve seen them” Alexander complained looking particularly disgruntled and Tom let out a scoff as he brewed himself a coffee.
“Oh yes how dare I see the rather obvious blackboard in the middle of my own kitchen”
“I’m glad you understand my lord” Bellatrix chimed in and if Tom wasn’t so invested in his coffee he truly would have murdered one of them. Instead he gave a sigh and cradled the mug to his chest, striding back out of the kitchen and leaving the entire situation behind him.
“Lucius when you are done behaving like a child please remember to deal with Gringotts” Tom called over his shoulder “And Fawley get me in touch with those damn Weasley twins” he added catching a quiet ‘yes my lord’ as he left.
He also heard Theo Nott place yet another bet on his way out and took a bracing gulp of his scalding hot coffee.
What had his life come too?
~
“Sanguini will you stop being so damned insufferable” Tom complained as he leant back in the most uncomfortable chair he had ever sat on “I’m sure some of your vampires enjoy living in your macabre Dracula castle and drinking the blood of children but I’m sure some would appreciate a different way of life”
“Careful dark lord, your muggle blood is showing” Sanguini said with a shark like grin and Tom immediately felt a pulse of murderous range, gut clenching and blood burning as his wand hand twitched with pent-up energy.
“Let me put this simply Sanguini” Tom said mildly, calming himself “You either get me in touch with some vampires who would appreciate a different way of life than this hovel you keep yourself in or you make yourself an enemy in me - and you’d be wise to listen to me when I tell you that isn’t something you want happening”
“Not a wise move on your part to antagonise your only vampire ally” Sanguini basically purred, revelling in Tom’s frustration and he had to restrain a sharp sigh. He couldn’t remember the vampire being this insufferable in the first war but Sanguini had a point, if the vampire wouldn’t co-operate Tom would find it hard to find another vampire representative.
“The only reason we’re allies is because I was the one who implemented laws to actually give back your kind rights – don’t pretend you have the upper ground here”
Sanguini flashed him a smile that was all sharp teeth and glinting fangs, a smug look on his face “I’m not pretending”
Instead of staying in the musty hovel for a moment longer Tom stood up and started making his way out of the room leaving Sanguini behind him. The vampire had lived too long to be anything less than prideful, and accepting help from Tom was obviously too much for the man to bear.
So Tom would just have to find another vampire ambassador, as simple as that.
~
It wasn’t simple.
Sanguini had his claws (or more accurately, teeth) sank into almost every vampire community in the UK. Tom had been travelling around the UK for the past month, even dismissing the Malfoy Yule Ball in his hunt for a new ambassador. Lucius had thankfully smoothed things over with Gringotts and so far Tom had had piles upon piles of building permission permits being sent to him, and money moving in and out of their accounts as business owners finally started to gravitate towards Tom’s newest scheme.
A new Hogsmeade, bigger and better. In Britain Tom could name a handful of distinct communities, and there were even less main hubs, Hogsmeade and Diagon being the main two. Eliza had proposed the idea before, to create a more stable community but Tom couldn’t resist taking the idea for himself.
And perhaps making it a bit more dramatic than what was called for, but then again he was sure his Little Star would appreciate it.
Of course for there to be a wizarding hub there needed to be buildings, shops and flats and with all the connections Tom had made throughout the years the requests for new business were piling in. And then Tom figured he could kill two birds with one stone and provide the jobs that he and Eliza had been promising for squibs and vampires.
He would change Wizarding Britain, one step at a time but first he had something else to do. Pulling the compass from his pocket Tom ran a hand over the now warm metal and bit back a smile.
It seemed he was back just in time to catch up with his Little Star.
He caught her on her way to the Christmas Markets, a grin on her face and Tom couldn’t deny her anything. He bought hot-chocolate and melted cookies and they both discovered a mutual hatred for candy-canes and when he brought her back to his own apartment he felt more content than he had in weeks.
“Vent your troubles oh fearsome dark lord” Eliza teased him, her head in his lap “What woes have you faced on the daily without me by your side?”
“You wouldn’t happen to know a vampire willing up take the role of ambassador would you? Sanguini is turning out to be quite useless”
“I would actually” she said with a smile, green eyes lighting up and he felt his heart stutter in his chest.
The rest of the night passed in a similar fashion and it felt like they had barely spent anytime apart at all. Tom had never thought before that he was made for domesticity but he truly didn’t mind this. Eliza resting against him, the fire crackling and the jazz softly filling the room.
“Can you not just leave terrifying magical creatures alone Little Star?” he responded listening to her ramblings with an easy smile.
“Nope” she said cheerily “I’ll bring one home for us, I’ll be like Newt Scamander”
Tom could feel his brain short-circuit. Eliza was looking up at him with clear confusion, obviously not putting thought into her words but Tom couldn’t help but be caught up on them. Bring one home, for us.
Not bring one home for her family, not for Grimmauld or for her own pet – no, bring one home for her and Tom. He hadn’t offered Eliza a home, not truly. He had no specific place for her at Riddle manor, or in his tiny one bedroom apartment – no home for the both of them. Or at least that was how he had viewed it. But Eliza had seamlessly slotted herself into his life in almost every aspect, her books were in his living room, clothes in his wardrobe.
She could move in tomorrow and he wouldn’t bat an eye.
He wondered if she truly knew how much of a place she held in his life.
Tom was determined to show her in any way that he could.
~
Frank’s antique store was exactly where Eliza said it would be in her attempts to help him find a new vampire ambassador. He recognised the street, Eliza liked to lurk here occasionally but something else about it tugged at his brain, a sense of familiarity he couldn’t quite place.
Pushing the door open Tom heard the bell jingle lightly as he walked in, the smell of old books hitting him instantly. His eyes wandered across the shelves spotting the cat lurking in the corner, making eye contact with it as he moved closer. The cat didn’t blink at all and although Tom would never admit to be having a staring competition with a cat, but if he was he certainly wasn’t about to lose it. Maintaining eye contact Tom almost gave in to the impulse to hiss at the animal when he heard footsteps behind him.
Twisting around he saw a man, presumably Frank, slip out from the shelves and although his smile was kind his eyes were stern and Tom almost felt the need to fix his posture and straighten his tie.
“Hello” Tom greeted easily, inclining his head and Frank’s smile widened.
“Eliza’s boy I take it?”
Tom made no move to refute the statement, silently pleased with the assumption, and instead just shrugged his shoulders.
“Tom Riddle Sir, and as much as I do love your shop I’m afraid that today I’m here on business” Tom replied easily. Younger vampires like Sanguini (or as young as they could get) where much more territorial, harsher. From what he knew Frank was as old as they came and whereas Sanguini responded better to bribery and thinly veiled threat older vampires appreciated respect above all.
“I’m Frank although I assume you already knew that” the vampire introduced himself with a grin that flashed his fangs “But if you’re here on business than I suppose you better come through to the back”
The cat continued to stare at him even as they walked away.
A cup of tea and a plate of biscuits later Tom had a new vampire ambassador, something that oddly felt like the elder vampires blessing for his courtship of Eliza and he could finally place why everything felt so familiar.
“I remember you” Tom said finally, scratching the cat (marigold) behind the ears and Frank let out a soft laugh.
“I didn’t think you would – it’s quite some time ago now even if we both haven’t aged a day” Frank joked and Tom found himself smiling in return, even if the memories resurfacing weren’t particularly enjoyable ones.
His first summer back in London in the middle of the war, smoke and ash and the horrible smell of burning bodies as he desperately stumbled down bombed streets.
The other children at the orphanage had locked him out of the air-raid shelter, it had been a miracle that he had survived at all. Tom had made a mad dash for the closest tube line with others who were too poor, too unlucky to access an air-raid shelter close to home. He was missing a shoe, trouser legs ripped - he got caught beneath a crumbled down building and got away with a sprain. His eyes were stinging, nails bleeding from having to claw his way through debris and he knew if he didn’t find shelter, water – anything soon, he would be done for.
It had been a too long, too hard, night.
And there on the corner, seemingly untouched by the wreckage around it, was an old antiques shop and delirious and hurting as he was he would have been a fool to not recognise the protective enchantments surrounding the building. He had stumbled in warily but in far too much danger to push his luck and Frank had found him, angry and half feral and more than a little hurt.
“I almost didn’t recognise you” Frank admitted with a teasing smile “I have to say that the accent is new”
Tom took the last ginger snap with a glare.
~
Another week, another post card – he missed her. He was busy of course, busy with the Wizengamot, busy with the newly named city of stars but he couldn’t help but feel like something was constantly missing.
He hoped she was having fun.
Quietly he hoped she would come home soon.
(He had never hoped for anything quite like this before)
~
Tom flopped down at the kitchen table in Riddle Manor letting out a long despairing groan. He had more and more respect for the spells that went into the upkeep of the Great Hall’s ceiling. For the past two days he had been busy with wards and runic calculations (Eliza’s strong suit, not his) just to place the floor down in the city of stars so it could live up to its namesake.
It had taken a lot out of him.
“You didn’t have to do all this” Alexander pointed out, handing him a steaming cup of black coffee and that alone distracted Tom enough from returning his words with some scathing remark.
“I’m committed now” Tom said, downing the scalding liquid in one “Besides I’m-
“Killing two birds with one stone, yes , yes – we know”
Tom did glare at him at that.
“You could just tell her” Alexander pointed out, joining him at the table instead of lurking at the counters “Just say ‘Eliza Potter I’m a homicidal dark lord who has feelings for you’ and be done with it”
With a lazy flick of his fingers Tom took great pleasure in hitting Alexander with a stinging hex. The man let out a well natured laugh and Tom took a moment to honestly feel a bit proud of himself. For most people this was a common normality, light hearted banter with true honest friends. For Tom it was a commodity he had only just started allowing himself to have.
“Merlin I’m going to be dead before you even get married”
Alexander was still one of the most irritating people he knew however.
~
It was summer and the city was finished, the shops were opening up, crowds moving through the plaza.
Tom had won wars before and yet has somehow never felt more accomplished.
He wished Eliza would hurry home to see it.
~
She was beautiful in a way he didn’t deserve, and she smiled in a way that made him breathless, and he loved her in a way that hurt.
He stood in the middle of the plaza and she walked on the stars that he placed on the ground just for her and he couldn’t help but think his whole life might have been leading to this moment. Fate was a con and soulmates were a sham and destiny wasn’t real but he used to believe all that about love as well and with Eliza’s hands held in his he thought maybe, just maybe he was wrong on every account.
“Or the other time you tried to kill me? I’m sorry Tom you’ll have to be a bit more specific”
And he griped at Eliza for ruining the moment and his dramatic proclamations but wasn’t that Eliza all over? She was better than him in almost every way possible and Tom could wax poetic about her mind and her magic and her passion but damn if it wasn’t that stupid grin of hers that made him love her ever more.
“I don’t need the world Tom” he heard her say and it was hard for his muddled mind to grasp what she was saying, not with his heart in his ears and his skin burning at her touch but he was more than aware when he heard the words some part of him had been aching for.
“I love you Tom Riddle, you’re all I ever need”
They danced and Eliza giggled and Tom couldn’t believe he’d be able to hear that laugh for the rest of his life, for as long as Eliza would want him.
And as they continued dancing together and knowing that was how they would stay – together, Tom was finally filled with peace.