Merry Christmas To All, and To All a Bad Guy

‘Twas the night before Christmas
And down in the Chamber,
Tom Riddle was standing
Right next to a reindeer.

Be it Dasher or Prancer?
The young man knew not.
For he’d killed it, you see;
The blood was starting to clot.

He hissed, loud and clear –
A most startling sound.
Then deep in the shadows
Came a sight to astound:

A snake, black as coal
And with eyes all aglitter
Like lights on a tree –
A most fearsome critter.

But Tom showed no fear
Of the almighty beast.
In fact, he was here
To offer a feast.

“It’s Christmas time,”
Mused the future Dark Lord,
Stroking the Basilisk
That he so adored.

“Upstairs, all the students
Have put down their pens.
Cards written, gifts wrapped
To give to their friends.”

“But I have none,” Tom Riddle
Said with a shrug.
The snake coiled gently
In a writhing, cold hug.

And here, the boy smiled –
A rather rare sight.
And it seemed that this night
Was a little more bright.

“I have no friends but you,”
Tom Riddle proclaimed,
And offered the reindeer
He’d earlier maimed.

Blood sticky and sweet
Drip-dripped on the stones.
The snake hissed in delight
And crunched at the bones.

“Merry Christmas, my friend,”
Tom Riddle did sigh.
The snake hugged him closer.
“And to all a good night…”

MERRY CHRISTMAS, READERS!

- Love The [Festive] Bad Guy

Why I Love That Bad Guy: Lord Voldemort

Let’s be honest – most of the people who come to my blog do so for one reason: curiosity. When you bless your little slice of the internet with a name like “Love The Bad Guy”, people tend to notice. It’s ambiguous; it’s funny; quite frankly, it’s a bit weird, but you roll with it. You come for the name, and I’m honoured to find that some of you stay for the stories.

I’ve made it clear that I have a soft spot for villains. However, thus far, I have only talked the talk – it is time that I walked the walk.

So, I am introducing the first of an ongoing segment here on “Love The Bad Guy”.

I call it: Why I Love That Bad Guy.

And who better to start with than my blog’s image and, dare I say it, mascot: Lord Voldemort.

Name: Tom Marvolo Riddle (a.k.a. Lord Voldemort)

Origin: Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling

History:
Tom Riddle was born on the 31^st December, 1926, and grew up in a Muggle orphanage. At the age of 11, Professor Albus Dumbledore informed the half-blood of his magical heritage, and the young boy began his schooling career at Hogwarts. Sorted into Slytherin, Tom soon learned of his powerful bloodline as the Heir of Slytherin and began to study dark magics.

After leaving school, Tom forged an identity as the Dark Lord Voldemort. Using Horcruxes, he began to ensure his immortality, but was foiled on the day that he attempted to murder Harry Potter, when the child’s mother sacrificed herself and caused Voldemort’s killing curse to rebound back to him, destroying his body and ripping him of his powers for thirteen years.

You know the rest…

Why I Love Him:

• He takes his studies seriously (…Too much of a good thing, perhaps?)
• Intelligence is sexy.
• You have to admit – for a 71 year old…

…he doesn’t look half bad.

• I love a man with power, and this guy has enough of it to fill all of Gringotts Bank.
• He can talk to snakes. Clearly, he is an animal-lover.
• He sets a goal, and he goes for it. I like his determination.

I Would Love Him More If:

• …he hadn’t gone and died. That would have been super. (FYI, if it had been me, I would have had Voldemort win at the end of the series. No one would have seen that ending coming…)

Favourite Quotes:

Tom Riddle: “Greatness inspires envy, envy engenders spite, spite spawns lies. You must know this, Dumbledore.“

Voldemort (through Quirrell): “There is no good and evil, there is only power…and those too weak to seek it.“

Interesting Fact About Voldemort:

Vol de mort is French for “flight of death”.

Verdict: AWESOME

- Love The Bad Guy

DAY 14: Book Whose Main Character You Want To Marry

I sat down to a Literature tutorial at university last semester and we began to discuss that colossal literary giant, “The Canon”; this led to a conversation about our favourite books, and those that we feel are in someway important to read. Around me, students began to state their favourite books: Great Expectations, Wuthering Heights, Heart of Darkness, Things Fall Apart, Pride and Prejudice – the list was never-ending. I nodded to some suggestions and balked at others, but all the while, a little voice in the back of my mind was asking, “Why are we only mentioning the classics?”

So I spoke through the din of conversation and said, “What about Harry Potter?”

Lightbulbs pinged above everyone’s head as we started a new discussion about why the Harry Potter series was important to our generation. It was as the class was coming to an end that I added, somewhat dreamily, “And reading Harry Potter is how I discovered my literary soul-mate.”

Many people nodded in sheepish agreement, while my tutor asked curiously, “We were just commenting on the fact that Harry is almost an empty slate – a character with whom everyone could associate. What is it about him that you like so much?”

I stared blankly for a moment before laughing. “Oh, Harry Potter isn’t my soul-mate. I was talking about Tom Riddle.”

That’s right, people. My Literary Soul-Mate is Tom Marvolo Riddle from the Harry Potter Series.

Needless to say, my fellow classmates gave me some rather concerned looks. “You mean, Tom Riddle Junior? As in, Voldemort?” one student questioned. My confirmation led to an awkward silence. Thank God for the end of class.

But it shouldn’t come as a surprise to you all. My blog is called Love The Bad Guy. And it doesn’t get much badder than Lord Voldemort. Remember: maybe the only thing those villains needed was a hug…

…And I could hug that all day.

- (In) Love (With) The Bad Guy