Chapter Forty-Seven: Revenge

The depressing building looming before him had never evoked worse emotions than it did at that moment.

Children giggled near the front as they played atrocious muggle games, nuns and charity workers bustled around in the foyer as they accommodated parents seeking children.

For once in his life, Tom Riddle was ignored by everyone around him; and he despised it.

The chipped grey paint, creaking old gates, and wooden boards with holes in them made Tom mentally scream as he contemplated the repercussions of burning down the damned building and its occupants. Death would be a blessing compared to the cursed lives the orphans had in store for them.

Maliciousness radiated from the wizard as he stepped past Wool's Orphanage's threshold, paying no heed to the eyes flickering his way as he stormed up the stairs.

Patrons whispered, children whimpered, and parents grumbled in fear; wondering whether their children would end up like him, but Tom Riddle ignored them all as he walked past the pathetic muggles and towards his wretched abode. The slam of his old wooden door punctuated the Dark Lord's frustration as he levitated his trunk onto a creaking old cupboard.

"Screw Dumbledore!"

He hadn't meant to scream the phrase, but after a year full of frustration, Tom Riddle was reaching his limit.

He had failed. Tom Riddle, the Dark Lord, the saviour of the wizarding community and Slytherin's prince; had failed.

And he despised it.

His sixth year at Hogwarts was meant to be a lot of things. It was meant to be the year he was crowned the Triwizard Champion, the year his knights honoured him with the title Lord Voldemort, the year he got rid of pesky school conflicts and moved onto revolutionary wizarding affairs.

Tom Riddle's sixth year was supposed to be full of success as he embraced his lineage and murdered the first mudblood of many.

But he had failed.

A loud bang and several yelps erupted across the orphanage as the Dark Lord shattered an old table across the room. It wasn't like Tom to let his emotions get the best of him, but there was only so much an Amortentia child could hide.

His reasoning was as sound as always, but as Tom glared at the old furniture and rearranged its broken parts, he couldn't help but wonder whether Cordelia Black had finally gotten to him.

As much as he refused to admit it, the troublesome witch had bested him and proved herself worthy of the title bestowed upon her. It troubled him beyond measure to be regarded as a Slytherin prince while his rival snagged the throne, but that wasn't what evoked his immeasurable vexation.

It was the wretched break that kept him from his plans.

Regardless of his failure, a lot would be changing over the next few months. Hogwarts' despicable reign would finally meet its end and welcome Salazar Slytherin's era. The era of the just and pure, of the royal and noble; of the true mages, and the destiny they deserved.

In a way, it was fitting for Tom to unleash his ancestor's beast during his final year. It would be the perfect parting gift for Dumbledore, and with the old man reaching his wit's end, and mudbloods dropping left and right, there was no way Riddle would be suspected. Especially with his filthy father's blood coursing through him.

Tom would right his mother's wrongs and avenge Salazar Slytherin. He would restore their purity and simultaneously ensure his success. Tom Riddle would have it all, and that wasn't even the best of it.

For personal goals and plans for the future also involved a certain Slytherin Queen. A false queen who would soon be knocked off her high pedestal and bow before him. Even with the splendid destiny set out for him, the Dark Lord's greatest ploy was one reserved for Dumbledore's favourite.

Titania Travers, the Triwizard Tournament, his sudden show of kindness, it was all a master plan to trap the Slytherin Queen and her crowd of admirers.

He knew one thing for certain, Cordelia Lucretia Black-McMillan would be his Dark Lady. She would accompany him through his reign as a Dark Lord to ensure his goals were met and plans were completed.

Cordelia would be the ace up his sleeve; the cover queen who would unite his knights and the ministry, the witch who would ensure Voldemort reigned over the wizarding world for the next century. She would unite the Black family, Slytherins, and ministry and gather the Dark Lord's troops.

Cordelia Black would be an unsuspecting fly trapped in his intricate web. She would do everything an orphan half-blood couldn't, including murdering their bespectacled Transfiguration professor. The man she had come to respect and love as a father, even though she would never admit to such feelings, would be Cordelia's greatest crime.

And then, with her hands bloodied and image tainted, he would have her right where he wanted and Tom Riddle would execute his final plan.

The Dark Lord would make Cordelia his final Horcrux.