He took in the deep breath, cutting wind on his skin, a brief shiver running down his back as he let out said breath- His gaze taking in the forming small cloud that was made from it.
Even atop an ancient dragon, with all of the warmth it offered- It was bloody cold up here.
He idly let his palm crisscross against the giant enchanted beast's scales, earning what amounted to furious disgruntlement from the Imperius'd creature into his head.
He idly directed the mounds of other dragons along, slowly but steadily going lower, below the clouds themselves.
It wasn't long before the pint-sized visual of Hogwarts showcased itself.
Home. He thought rather fondly. A home filled with pests and fools and everything in between.
Though... Soon enough, it would once again regain its glory.
Amid fire and destruction if need be.
Tom Marvollo Riddle could barely hold back his glee at the idea of what he intended it to be remade into.
Sure, attacking during Halloween, with half a dozen dragons may have not been how he'd initially elected to start his war- Let alone attacking the heart of his only true adversary.
But needs must- The thought opened the lid on the anger and hate he'd recently felt.
His original plan had been utterly derailed thanks to the hand of wretched purebloods, thanks to those wretchedBlacks.
Not only had he lost an entire race that could've, and would've easily fallen in line with him- The Werewolves at that, the only creatures that had a chance at having magical prowess fit to serve him. Gone, no thanks to the blasted legislation pushed forward by Orion fucking Black.
Not only had he lost any credibility he might've had with the highest of Britain's magical lineage, no thanks to his outing as a Half-blood. Once again, thanks to Orion fucking Black.
Not only had he lost access to most of the promising Half-bloods he'd initially elected to recruit to his cause, the majority of them coincidently offered a much better job, ancient and practically illegal gifts, hell bloody marriage proposals even! Ones that weren't even to a Black!- The list didn't end. Any time he came close to recruiting someone with half of a decent bloody brain, Orion was there, mocking him with a better offer- Stealing them right from under his bloody nose.
Not only had the blasted man elected to help Albus fucking Dumbledore in his quest to take him down, which incidentally had given the blasted man more resources than he would've ever imagined. Resources that should've been his!
Worse, the bastard had elected to take any family connection to his own family with him- Which damn well consisted of near the whole bloody pureblood roster!
He was living in a goddamn nightmare!
He quickly centered himself, having arrived on the very edge of Hogwart's security.
Without a good first showing- Without a good first move, his chances at any actual alliance worth a damn looked slim, veryslim.
Even if he had mounds of blasted mudbloods willing to sing him praises for what he promised, even if he had destitute half-bloods already waiting for him.
It didn't change much.
Which was why, despite having wanted to leave it towards the end of the coming war, he'd elected to start recruiting rabble.
Which, well, consisted of a great many options truthfully, most of them however not worth a bloody damn.
But still, an army was an army.
And frankly, a good first move could help solidify it.
If the blasted pureblooded fools refused to cooperate with reason, then a threat will have to do.
And what better threat was there, than taking their children hostage?
The thought brought about a glimmer of a smile to his face.
The fact it was Halloween went unmentioned, though a good story certainly was told better with the right circumstances.
Perhaps they may even change the holiday for what it was, following his triumph.
Dumbledore, and his second hand, truthfully were the only two actual worries he considered. As far as competence goes, the two elder fools we're the only ones worth a damn.
And thankfully, they weren't in the castle tonight- Their... Efforts to curtail what promised to be a massacre taking up their night.
It hadn't taken much to arrange it in truth.
He'd simply set off a Nundu into the outskirts of Dumbledore's former home. The place he knew, thanks to an inside source, was the current headquarters for the 'Order.'
Gods how far he'd fallen... Having to rely on literal animals to do his dirty work.
He doubted the creature would manage to actually get past any securities in place, though he knew for a fact it would attract the old man's attention.
And lo' and behold the blasted man had given him a day pass and taken his deputy along with him.
Though that might've been due to the information he'd personally slipped out of a congregation of dark wizards been behind the attack.
The mad paranoid fucker in cahoots with the old man was a blessing in disguise, in truth.
With another sigh, he promptly set off an incantation that alerted, and hurt, several squadrons of his followers into action.
He doubted the creature itself would hold the old man's attention, but perhaps an army of wizards might buy him the extra time he'd need to subdue Hogwarts to his hand.
With a grin on his face, he promptly set off another incantation and activated the three layers of anti-apparation field charms that spread across the fields around Hogwarts, going as far as and nearly bypassing Hogsmeade itself.
It had taken weeks of planning to set everything up, and finally, today would be the start of his glorious rising.
The smile still on his face, he swept down lower, aimed his wand, and promptly shattered through the shielded charms surrounding his former home.
And as he commanded his army of dragons to descend, his gaze going all over the castle, his enhanced sight to his brief surprise, settled onto the Astronomy tower. His eyes blinked as he took in a child not taking part in the festivities, a child staring directly into the sky. A brief thought in the back of his mind told him that it was staring at him, hidden behind the dragon as he were.
A brief snort echoed out of him.
Evidently, if there even was one, God had provided him with a spectator.
He watched and waited for the dread that would no doubt fill said gawking child's face.
Dread that never came.