A/N:

Written for Round 5 of QLFC

Team: Montrose Magpies

Position: Beater 2

Mystery Box (Muggle) Prompt: Pairing – Tom/Merope

Prompts: (Song) Toxic by Britney Spears, (Word) Dangerous, (Quote) 'They say marriages are made in Heaven. But so is thunder and lightning.' - Clint Eastwood.

Word Count: 1066


To Help Him Realise

X

Baby, can't you see,
I'm calling,
A guy like you,
Should wear a warning,
It's dangerous,
I'm fallin'

X

Merope gazed, out of the window, at the man who had captured her heart. He was completely unaware of her affections, and how she lingered in the garden, or the kitchen, so that she could get a glimpse of him.

The Muggle, Tom Riddle, had no idea about how enticing he was, with those captivating, chocolate brown eyes, and that sparkling, dazzling smile, which was enough to brighten anyone's day. A handsome and accomplished man, such as he, should really come with a warning sign. Any woman who came into contact with him, would be in danger of falling hard and fast for him, just as she had.

Her eyes fell on the Muggle girl next to him. She was as pretty as a porcelain doll, and probably dull as a door nail. She was far from good enough for her Tom, but Merope couldn't blame the haughty woman for falling under his spell.

She closed her eyes, and called out to him with her mind, hoping he would sense that his true love was nearby and come to her, especially now that the only obstacles in their way of being together were gone.

Merope began to imagine how their life together would play out, and if the reality ended up half as good as what she pictured, then she knew they would live happily ever after.

xxx

They had been married for just a few short months, and in that time she and Tom had moved into one of the many glamorous, and well kept properties that belonged to the Riddle family.

Her husband was always fussing over her, claiming that he would hire people to do the mundane jobs such as cooking, cleaning, and tending to the garden, to which she would always respond that doing things on their own helped them to grow as people, and appreciate the finer things in life. No matter how many times she would say this, he never did listen, and he insisted on spoiling her rotten.

Merope smiled to herself, as she tended to the garden, and placed her hand on her small bump. Life as Mrs. Merope Riddle couldn't be any more perfect.

She had been accepted by her new family with open arms, and she was free from the manipulations of her father and brother. She had a loving husband and a baby on the way.

Merope trimmed the last stray twig on the rose bush, and stepped back to admire the product of her efforts. She plucked a rose from the bush, and with a flick of her rarely used wand, she duplicated it until she held a dozen perfect roses in her hands to use as a centre piece in their marital home.

She strolled up the path, back towards their house, humming a quiet tune to herself. As she got closer to the house, she smelt the distinct aroma of steak and kidney pie. In her mind's eye, she saw her husband in the kitchen, and it warmed her heart to know that he was cooking for her.

Merope pushed open the front door, and as she suspected, she found Tom in the kitchen taking a freshly baked pie out of their oven. She leant against the door frame with a small smile on her face.

"Oh, Tom," she sighed, announcing her presence to her husband. "What a wonderful surprise. You didn't have to cook."

Her husband turned around, and flashed her a brilliant smile.

"I would do anything for my gorgeous wife," he said, kissing her on the cheek, and taking the roses from her hands. "Now, let's find a vase for these beautiful flowers."

xxx

Yes, they would be very happy together, Merope thought to herself, as she opened her eyes to find that Tom and his girlfriend were strolling into the distance, and in the blink of an eye, he was gone.

The witch realised, that if she was going to get her man, she would have to give him a little prod in the right direction.

What better way to do that, than to utilise her potion making skills? It was the one and only aspect of magic that she had excelled at ever since she was young.

Merope reached up, and grabbed the book of potion recipes off the shelf. She flicked through it, until she came to the page she needed to make her dream become her reality sooner.

After reading through all that making the potion would entail, the newly confident witch was certain that by the end of the year she would be Mrs. Tom Riddle.

Merope had heard a saying, when she was in town, which went something like: they say marriages are made in Heaven. But so is thunder and lightning.

The witch wasn't one to believe in entities such as Heaven and Hell, and all that mumbo jumbo, but she did believe in destiny, and she knew, without a doubt that she was meant to be with Tom Riddle. It didn't matter to her that he was a Muggle. It didn't matter to her that her father wouldn't approve – he was far away in Azkaban and had no say in the matter. If all went according to her newly formed plan, she would be married and far beyond her father's reach when he was released.

Her thoughts lingered on her father a little longer, and she knew, if he was here, he would say that she was messing with powers that she didn't understand, and that it was dangerous to do so. Until recently, she would have swallowed her father's words, and nodded her head in submissive agreement, but not any more. Now that he was gone, she was independent, and free to do whatever she wanted, and what she wanted, more than anything, was to help Tom Riddle realise that he loved her too.

As she started preparing the potion, Merope began to envision her wedding day, where she would be the envy of the whole of Little Hangleton. Her dress would be pure white, with a long trail, and Tom would be looking at her with pure and unadulterated love in his eyes.

Her life would be perfect, and soon afterwards it would be completed by the birth of a son or daughter.

A/N:

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