This one'll be about six chapters. Rated T for themes of physical abuse.

Note: This story is not meant to justify Merope's actions. It is only trying to explain them


They were gone.

Merope Gaunt stood in front of the door. Numb vibrations were running through her skin as she faced the door to the house she'd lived in for years. The house that was now completely empty. It wasn't possible. It couldn't be possible.

Dry tendrils of hair stuck to her sweaty, withered skin as she reached out towards the door. The dead snake attached to the door hit her against with its smell. A smell she'd grown accustomed to every time she'd had to clean the front yard. But she wouldn't have to clean it anymore. She could leave now.

Shaking, she entered the shack.

The familiar room did not give her a trickle of nostalgia, but a lump of dread. She rarely ever left the house before, but it still steeled her nerves whenever she entered. The filthy armchair Morfin often sat in, the insects scattering against the floor that she was always forced to clean. The patches of dry scarlet from whenever Marvolo got angry at her.

There were new additions too. The shattered remnants of the pot she'd so desperately tried to pick up after the harrowing visit from the Ministry official. There was the wall she'd been slammed into when she'd nearly been strangled. Jagged marks from the scuffle between the authorities and Marvolo and Morfin.

The whole occurrence seemed like something from a far off dream. Or maybe it was a far off nightmare. When Morfin had refused to be taken by the Ministry officials. The fight that followed. When he finally revealed her feelings for Tom.

Tom. So Morfin had seen her watching him from the window after all? He'd spotted the deep yearning in her eyes. She'd tried her best to keep it a secret, cautiously sneaking out after finishing her chores to see him riding through town. And he had hexed him. Merlin…

She remembered when the Ministry official apparated out and Marvolo and Morfin circled around her. Even after years, she never got used to it. Even when though it happened nearly every day. The pain, the beatings, the feeling of a thousand swords stabbing into her skin. Marvolo shouting, "Pathetic! Disgusting! Filthy little Squib!" Morfin's taunting laughter…

Yet she had never seen them this angry before. Staring at her as if she was a curse from the enemy. And her sitting, completely helpless… For a second, one long second, Merope was convinced they were going to kill her. And it didn't upset her as much as it should have. She was more frightened of how it was going to happen.

But now, Marvolo and Morfin were being carted away to a trial. They'd probably be sent straight to Azkaban, the very place they'd always threatened to send her to if she didn't get her work done.

Azkaban. Whether that was where they went to or not, it didn't change the fact that they were no longer here. She'd been reassured again and again by the Ministry officials that she wouldn't see them for months or even years. That she was welcome to leave the dingy old shack if she wanted to.

"No." The word was a cracked quiver rolling of her tongue. A word she hadn't even planned to say. It had just come out because no. No, no, no. This was all wrong. Her entire life had been dictated by what Marvolo and Morfin told her. Without them, what was she to do? How would she be able to get up in the morning without a list of chores to follow? How was she going to do anything? No, no, this was all wrong.

Or was it right?

A crimson scar peeked up at her from the top of her arm. For at least a few months, she'd never have to worry about getting one again. The list of chores she never enjoyed doing. She just did them because she knew Marvolo and Morfin would punish her harshly if she didn't. But now, they weren't here to do anything.

The house was empty. The house was completely empty except for her. For the first time in her life, she was free.


Upon opening her eyes to the rusty ceiling, Merope completely forgot about the night before. She got up, massaged her aching back, and prepared for cooking the meal for today. Going over her usual list of reminders to stay quiet. They were almost engraved in her mind now. Walking over to the tiny kitchen when she was hit by the startling silence coming from the other rooms.

Gone. They were gone.

Merope's mind was never particularly creative-Marvolo and Morfin made sure of it-so it wasn't a surprise when she simply decided to go on with the day's work. She needed to eat and she didn't want to live in a complete mess. She went on with her cooking, her ears instinctively trying to block out the sounds of voices that were no longer there.

She was interrupted by a deafening clatter. She had dropped a pot. Immediately, every bone in her body turned into stone as her brain went through the familiar frenzy of fight or flight when…there were no shouts. No haste to clean up her mistakes.

Slowly, Merope took her wand out and pointed it at the broken pot. "Reparo."

She expected the pot to rocket off against the wall and shatter like it always did. But instead, a sudden thrill sprouted and seeped through her skin. The pieces of the pot reattached.

She had done a spell.

Merope nearly dropped her wand at the realization, knees shaking from the sudden influx of joy that spread through her. She had successfully done a spell. But how? She had never done so before. There were times when she almost believed what she was told every day. That she was nothing more than a filthy Squib.

But no, she had done it. She had done magic.


While before her days were long and dreary, life had quickly sped up in the now one-person Gaunt household. Merope tried even more simple spells and besides the occasional blunder, they all worked perfectly.

Before, magic had been a boulder she had to carry on her back, muscles straining from even thinking about it. It was a reminder of the disappointment she was, about the pain she experienced and was told she deserved. A chaotic beast always dying when needed and roaring when not.

But now, it was almost like a guardian animal. Longing to be free from its cage in order to protect her. Leaping up with excitement around a wand and practically yanking itself out of her fingers. A subject that was now interesting, that she was drawn to learn about.

Yes, it relieved her that it would hopefully impress Marvolo. But it was even more relieving that it impressed her.

After a day of potions work, Merope was practically stumbling through the room. Magic, however entertaining, was also exhausting. Or perhaps she just hadn't done enough of it. Maybe she could do more. Maybe she could become a master…

Or maybe Marvolo and Morfin wouldn't let her.

A new panic struck her heart. What would happen when they came back? Would this blissful fantasy be crunched in an instant? Would she lose everything she had worked so hard to attain? Would they be impressed with her at all, or would they only toss her aside like they always did?

Merope's body seemed to sag within an instant and every crumb of energy escaped her. Her legs automatically steered her towards the place they always took her when she felt like the weight of the world was crushing her shoulders. The window.

Dust particles decorated each section of the cracked glass, but often times, it was Merope's only key to the outside world. She'd try to decipher the pattern of the twisting trees. Studying the muddy landscapes. Dreaming of blades of grass.

And there he was.

Tom Riddle seemed to paint the dreary sky with sun as he rode in on horseback. He looked much better than before, having thankfully healed from Morfin's attack. Merope could feel her heart swell like it always did around him. He was the only light in her life.

Merope's heart hammered in her head. On top of the usual joy that accompanied her when she saw him, she was even more pleased to find that he was alone. That girl, Cecilia, who was always with him was nowhere to be seen.

And then her eyes were on the door. Tom Riddle was right outside. There was no one to stop her from going out. Maybe he would pay attention to her…

Without thinking, Merope Gaunt headed for the door.