A youthful soul can be either purely innocent, or innocently impure; it can be a calm tempest, a scholar in battle, an oasis in the desert. A child with a history of violence may grow into a pacifist, while a child with a history of hatred may grow to be corrupt. That was the difference between Lauren McGwyn and Tom Riddle.
Riddle was raised unwanted, unloved and alone. His muggle father, frightened by his magical mother, abandoned the pair before Riddle was born and his mother died in childbirth, leaving the infant Riddle with no one but himself. He was the innocently impure, the tempest, the warrior and the desert; he had been corrupted at a young age and was filled with a hatred for non-magical people, even those innocently unaware of Tom Riddle and what had happened to him. He was purely a Slytherin; fiercely ambitious, an appreciation for intelligence and its usefulness, loyal to whomever he chose to be loyal to, traditionalistic and a natural leader. For these reasons did no one suspect him of becoming one of the darkest wizards in magical history.
McGwyn was raised wanted, loved and alone. Her grandmother was once Athena Scamander, famed witch famous for her work in herbology, alchemy and magizoology, a powerful and noble witch that hailed from Ravenclaw house. Hailing from the Glens, the very place Rowena Ravenclaw herself was born only a millennium earlier, Lauren McGwyn was born to a loving father and a loving mother, Athena Scamander's only daughter. Lauren was purely a Ravenclaw, with a passion for knowing the unknown and learning all that she knew not, valuing knowledge for knowledge and not for usefulness, a lack of love of all things dangerous, introverted and keeping to herself, witty beyond measure and seeking peace in wisdom and not war. She was every bit like Tom Riddle, yet equally every bit opposite of him as well.
Slytherins and Ravenclaws naturally are very close in nature. They are witty, clever and ambitious, yet for different reasons. Ravenclaws favour knowledge for knowledge, while Slytherins favour knowledge for use; if the knowledge gained cannot be useful to the Slytherin, he will not retain it, yet the Ravenclaw seeks to learn all that is unknown to her. Slytherins tend to group together and be with others who are like them, while Ravenclaws tend to be individualistic and are difficult to group under one umbrella term, such as their own house name. They are curious and eccentric and can have passions that may seem bizarre or boring to the outside observer; Slytherins tend to be mysterious in nature and cannot be explained, whether it be to outside observers or even to themselves. Both houses are made of introverts, yet Ravenclaws prefer to follow their own path, while Slytherins tend to group together with like-minded individuals.
The Hufflepuffs shall not be forgotten, nor the Gryffindors. True Hufflepuffs are loving, warm and passionate towards all and tend to have open and inviting personalities; along with Ravenclaw, they tend to be the most open-minded individuals. They are social personalities, preferring to be in groups of people they hold near and dear to their hearts, and even new individuals having been welcomed into their groups. They are extroverts and prefer familiarity, tending to lean more towards what they know rather than what they do not. Like Slytherin, they prefer to learn skills and knowledge that seem practical to them. They are loyal to those closest to them, even willing to undergo being wronged to keep peace, where Gryffindors and Slytherins might fight back and Ravenclaws might end a friendship to avoid the headache.
Gryffindors tend to be passionate for what they hold dear to them and will defend those they love to no end. They are fearless in a sense that they will stand up for those who may not want to stand up for themselves or feel that they cannot. They prefer dealing directly, even if it means physical conflict. They, like Hufflepuff, are extroverted, yet individualistic like Ravenclaw. Unlike Slytherins and Hufflepuffs, they do not feel the need for groups of like-minded individuals, but they do prefer the company of friends. They seek glory in anything, whether it be passing an exam or moving up in their preferred field of work, and they hate being bored. Like Slytherin, they prefer what is useful to them as opposed to what is knowledgeable to them and prefer to learn of things that interest them. They are willing to fight, and have always been known as the brave and the bold.
Tom Riddle was born around thirty years before Lauren McGwyn was and attended Hogwarts around the same time as her own parents. Her father, Andrew McGwyn, a member of Ravenclaw house, was once a dear friend to Tom Riddle, having taken an interest in all Tom Riddle did purely for the idea that it was mostly forbidden knowledge, while Riddle learned the dark arts for his own personal gain. Fed by knowledge to the point of no control, Andrew McGwyn was roped into Riddle's plans for the desire to continue learning more, until Artemis MacDonald, also a member of Ravenclaw house and daughter of Athena Scamander, walked into his life. They were the same year, both of them, yet Andrew McGwyn had never noticed the young and beautiful Artemis, having been blinded by his love of learning. Andrew was a pureblood and Artemis was a half-blood, something Riddle used to attempt to discourage Andrew's interest in her, yet when she showed no interest in Andrew due to his dabbling in the dark arts, Andrew turned his attention from Riddle and their work and pursued Artemis. To Riddle, this was seen as an act of betrayal and he swore that Andrew and Artemis would pay the price.
Andrew and Artemis were married shortly after graduating from Hogwarts and immediately went on the run, as Tom Riddle was after their blood. A little over a decade, they ran and hid, eventually learning of Artemis's unexpected pregnancy when hiding in the Glens. There, they awaited the last ounce of hope that the young couple had. On the last day of the year 1959, Artemis went into labour, and in the early hours of the first of the new year, their daughter, Lauren, was born. For the following three years, they lived happily as a family, until Tom Riddle, then known to the world as Voldemort, somehow discovered their hiding place. Blowing the door down and surprising the family of three, Artemis scooped young Lauren into her arms and backed into a corner as Andrew faced the Dark Lord before him. "Artemis, take her and go! Go!" cried Andrew, looking back at his wife and daughter for the final time. With fear in her eyes, Artemis disapparated to safety, leaving Andrew to face the Dark Lord on his own. "It took you long enough to find me, Riddle," said Andrew, and the Dark Lord disarmed him the moment Andrew reached for his wand, followed by the cruciatus curse numbing Andrew all over his body with pain. When it finally stopped, Andrew huffed and puffed with the last remnants of his breath and looked the Dark Lord in the eye.
"I clearly won't be coming out of this alive... But I promise you, Tom Riddle, that I will not go down without a fight," were the last words uttered by Andrew McGwyn; he was found the next day with bruised and bloodied knuckles, suggesting he put up a fight before finally being killed. Artemis went into hiding with her only child, no word of her being heard of for many, many years. Lauren, however, was still a child and had to be cared for and educated - even Artemis knew her daughter would be safer attending Hogwarts, so as Lauren grew older and Riddle's hunt for Artemis grew more urgent, Artemis made arrangements for a dear friend of hers, Daisy Ridley, to run a greenhouse-type menagerie shop on Diagon Alley and to be able to take Lauren shopping when the time for her to go to Hogwarts came. It came a lot faster than Artemis could have ever predicted.
Seven years since Andrew McGwyn was murdered by Voldemort, Lauren received her Hogwarts letter providing her with the list of items she would need for school. It was a warm summer day when Daisy brought Lauren to Diagon Alley with her, the pair of them having travelled by the floo network from Daisy's home in the north of England, far from where Artemis had settled in the Scottish Glens. It was there where Lauren first met someone whom she would never have expected to change her life so drastically, and it started when she walked into the room to find Daisy in mid-conversation with a middle-aged witch with rich jet black hair, brilliant crystal blue eyes dressed in a formal royal purple Edwardian-style dress suit and her hair pulled back into an elegant Victorian style. She carried with her a silver umbrella that she used to assist her in walking, as she must have been near sixty years old, or at least that was what Daisy told her later, yet her hair and her face told outsiders that she was nearer forty; Daisy was thrilled to see her enter the shop.
"Euphemia Potter! How wonderful to see you, dear!" she cried with excitement, approaching the elegant woman at the door whom was being followed by what looked like her ten-year-old son.
"Good afternoon, Daisy," said Euphemia kindly, a gentle smile on her aging face.
"And this young sir must be James! My, he's getting so big. He's looking more and more like Fleamont every day," Daisy said, smiling at the young boy. "Why, hello there, James."
"Good afternoon, ma'am," said the young boy politely.
"Dare I ask how Artemis is doing, Daisy?" asked Euphemia, the pair of women walking further into the shop.
"She, too, is doing well. Have you heard about that Norman Thompson?" Daisy asked her as they reached the desk.
"It's a true shame, when a good wizard turns to the dark side. He was a good kid, I remember him well. Did he go to school with you and Artemis?"
"No, he was younger than us. Well, I suppose then yes but Artemis, Andrew and I were already in our sixth year when he entered his first."
"I fear greatly for the future of the wizarding world." Euphemia glanced longingly at her young son, whom was wandering around looking at all of the plants on display.
"He comes from a long line of very powerful wizards, Euphemia. I would not be worried about him. If he is anything like his father, that boy won't ever have to worry about his safety."
"I do so hope that you are correct, Daisy." She let out a sigh. "What of Lauren? The wizarding world is very eager to meet the young daughter of the Dark Lord's former closest friend."
"Lauren reminds me a lot of her father, but her grandfather, may he rest in peace, used to say to me how much she reminded him of her grandmother."
"Ah, yes, Athena Scamander. I met her once when I was a child; a very eccentric woman, very fitting for Ravenclaw house. But her brother, the magizoologist, was a quirky lad, wasn't he?"
"I never met any of the Scamanders, but I did so love that book that Mr. Scamander wrote. He did give Lauren a pet when she was seven, but I wasn't there for it. He went to visit Artemis, as she is his niece, after all, and gave Lauren a bowtruckle! Imagine that, giving a seven-year-old a bowtruckle! But she does love that thing, and she hasn't separated from it since. The thing wreaks havoc in this shop."
"He was always a clever man so he must have trusted that bowtruckle to be safe, or at least trusted her to be able to care for it, or perhaps both."
"Oh, perhaps." As Daisy and Euphemia continued their conversation, an upside down bowl began to move across the counter, noticed by Daisy, and when she lifted it, despite half-expecting, still screamed when the light green stick-like creature beneath it jumped onto her hand, and the small stick-like creature emitted a high-pitched, low-volume scream as well and was flung off the frightened Daisy's hand as young James ran over to see what was going on and the stick-like creature got tangled in his hair, causing him to panic as well. Hearing the noise, young Lauren McGwyn was summoned from the upstairs part of the shop and raced down the spiral steps, ran to the middle of the group and freed the light green stick-like creature from young James Potter's hair, taking it in her hands and comforting it.
"It's all right, Pickett, don't be frightened!" she cooed to the little creature.
"Don't be frightened? That bloody creature is out to get me!" Daisy shouted at Lauren.
"He doesn't like you, Aunt Daisy! He thinks you're too loud," Lauren said.
"Too loud indeed. Please, Lauren, get that thing out of this shop before it destroys something else!"
"He's too small to destroy anything! If anything is destroyed because of him, it's because you were frightened by him and destroyed something!" Lauren snapped, then with the bowtruckle in hand, she left the shop, Daisy fuming; curious young James simply couldn't resist following the young girl with the bowtruckle for a pet and so he did, coming across her sitting outside on a barrel talking to the bowtruckle. "It's okay, Pickett, you did nothing wrong! Aunt Daisy just... tends to be very timid towards small creatures. I know you're harmless."
"Is that a real bowtruckle?" asked the curious young boy, approaching very cautiously, and Lauren nodded.
"His name's Pickett. My Uncle Newt gave him to me," she replied, showing the young boy her pet.
"Are you going to Hogwarts this year? You can't bring bowtruckles, only an owl, a cat or a toad."
"I've heard of people having other pets. I see no reason why I can't take Pickett with me. He's small and he'd always be with me. Unless someone attacks me, he most likely won't hurt anyone. He's a relatively peaceful bowtruckle and doesn't have a violent tendency."
"Will your mum allow you to take him?"
"I don't see why not." She softly pet the leaves of the small bowtruckle as James took a moment to think of what next to say.
"What house do you think you'll be?" he asked suddenly.
"I don't know," Lauren replied. "What about you?"
"Gryffindor, definitely," said James. "Everyone in my family was a Gryffindor. I come from a very long line of Gryffindors."
"But does that really determine what house you're in? Family line?" asked Lauren.
"Of course it does. I'm from Godric's Hollow, where Godric Gryffindor was born. Hence why it's called Godric's Hollow. It wasn't called that when he was born there, and probably wasn't called that until after he died."
"That's a good guess. I'm from the Glens, where Rowena Ravenclaw was born. Does that mean I'll be a Ravenclaw?"
"No, you'll be a Ravenclaw because you're weird." She looked at him, confounded.
"Because I'm weird? I don't think that's a defining trait of Ravenclaw."
"Yes it is. Ravenclaws are exce... exsen..."
"Eccentric?"
"Yeah! And that means weird!"
"No it doesn't."
"Yes it does! Mum says it's a very nice way of saying that someone's weird. She said our neighbour is eccentric and I asked him what his house was when he went to Hogwarts and he said it was Ravenclaw!"
"It just means that someone's behaviour is slightly strange or abnormal, by definition."
"Exactly, a nice way of saying 'weird'." Lauren rolled her eyes.
"You're right, you are a Gryffindor."
"Another Ravenclaw thing, they're snobs!"
"They are not! Ravenclaws are people with a desire for learning and sometimes, they can be a little eccentric."
"Only 'eccentric' people talk to bowtruckles."
"It's not like they're inanimate objects! Don't you have an interest?"
"Yes, Quidditch. I'm a little upset I can't play until my second year."
"And do you have any pregame rituals before you mount your broom?"
"I like to sweet talk my broom into giving me good luck."
"And you say I'm weird for talking to bowtruckles, which are actually alive."
"Different thing."
"How is it different?"
"It just is."
"Hmph." Another moment of silence passed. "I'm James. James Potter."
"My name's Lauren. Lauren McGwyn." James opened his mouth to speak. "Yes, I'm the daughter of Voldemort's best mate."
"How did you... Are you a legilimens?"
"Supposedly, Dad was... Mum said he tried to teach Tom Riddle legilimency when they were still friends but for Dad, it was an inherited natural ability and not necessarily something he could teach easily."
"That's so cool! A natural legilimens is so rare!" James exclaimed. "How does it feel being the one Voldemort's after?"
"I'm pretty sure it's my mother he's after."
"Oh, no, he's after you, too! Your dad was so powerful, and you're his daughter! He's bound to have passed some of that onto you!"
"Well..." They paused.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to... I thought you knew."
"It's all right."
"Do you have all your stuff for Hogwarts?" Lauren nodded. "What kind of wand do you have?"
"Acacia wood with a phoenix feather core, thirteen and a half inches with a 'slightly springy' flexibility, according to Mr. Ollivander. What?" The look on young James Potter's face was one of astonishment.
"You really are your father's daughter! If I know anything about wands at all, which I would because my mother has a big book called Wands: Woods, Cores, Lengths and Flexibilities that she forced me to read a few times as punishment, then I can tell you that because that wand chose you, you're very powerful! Acacia wood is so rare and chooses powerful wizards, and so do phoenix feathers! I didn't even know Mr. Ollivander combined those two things!"
"The proof is in Daisy's office upstairs still in its box."
"You haven't taken it out yet to test it?"
"I'm sure Mum will want me to when I get home. I was reading some of the books first. It's better to wield a wand with the knowledge of how to do it."
"Typical Ravenclaw." The two of them laughed lightly as Euphemia Potter exited the shop with Daisy standing behind her in the doorframe; the pair of them were at the end of a deep and private conversation.
"I agree, Daisy. We shall have to see what Dumbledore says about all of this, won't we?" Euphemia asked Daisy.
"Oh, yes, we shall. It's been good to see you, Euphemia," Daisy replied.
"And you, dearest. Come on, James, it's time to go home," Euphemia said to her young son.
"Guess I'll be seeing you at Platform 9¾, Lauren!" James said to his new friend, and the mother and son pair left. Young James Potter was the first non-creature or non-adult friend that Lauren had ever had, so already, she was more than excited to attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.