Heir Of Gryffindor
Chapter 1 - Harry's Dream
A plump woman was cooking something in the oven of her small cottage where Vivian and her daughter lived. The smell wafted around the room and her daughter sniffed the air. "Mmm that smells so good mom! Is it done yet? I love banana-nut bread!" Tess asked beaming at her mother. Her mother smiled back at her and laughed.
"No Tess, it isn't done yet. I still have to put it on a rack so it will cool faster. And don't pout. Go and fix the drinks." She nodded and walked over to the refridgerator to get the milk as her mother bent over and reached down to open a cabinet to look for a rack to put the hot bread on. All of a sudden, the door burst apart, bits and pieces of wood flew every-which-way. Vivian grabbed her daughter and fell to the floor, shielding her from shrapnel that was flying everywhere.
In the now open doorway stood a man or it seemed like it was. He walked in with a cloak as black as night and as the gentle breeze swept into the open doorway, revealed blood-red robes. His face was as flat and as white as a corpse. His eyes blazed a deep sinister red like a demon's and he appeared not to have a nose at all, but two little slits where they were supposed to be. His thin lips were twisted in a cruel sneer. Vivian shivered as she held her daughter tighter against her, trying to protect her.
She knew the man who had just walked in, destroying her front door. Vivian shivered as she held her daughter tighter against her, trying to protect her. She had dated him when he still looked like a human. His name was Tom Riddle, or as everyone else called him, He - who - must - not - be named. The name itself brought terror to everyone, the largest murderer in wizard history, he and his death eaters brought everyone's nightmares home to them. Vivian screamed as he came closer, his wand held tightly in his hands. Vivian scooted away from the monster, knowing exactly what he was capable of.
At Hogwarts, she had received a wand similar to Tom's. It was a truly beautiful wand, eleven inches long and made of maple with a single unicorn hair as its magical core. Mr. Ollivander had told her that the wand would be excellent for transfiguration studies but all she really cared about was holding her very own wand. She had wanted one forever, or so it seemed. She had to part with it, the wand that had meant so much to her and had saved her life time and time before because of the man standing before her. She put the wand in its original case and hid it in her bedroom under her clothes in the top drawer of her dresser. Tess had found the wand just this year and Vivian had told her about the wizarding world. She did just a single spell to show her daughter that what she was saying was real but now she regretted it. The innocent levitating spell had probably lead him like an arrow to them.
The whole point of putting her wand away was to ensure that this monster would never find her and her daughter. She had tried so hard but in the end, he had found her because of a single spell. She sobbed, praying that her daughter might not meet her death because of her foolish behavior. Please, do not let Tess die because of my mistakes. I know that I never should have done the spell but I wanted her to believe in magic and give her proof that magic really exists. Please save her if not the both of us!
The man laughed horribly, the sound filling the room and shaking her from her thoughts. "Vivian." He hissed her name in almost a whisper. It was full of venom and hatred. She recoiled as he walked slowly toward her and she closed her eyes, scared to death of what he might do to her or Tess. She held Tess even tighter to her and she to her mother. "Vivian, you sssaid you would never leave me." He stepped closer and she shuddered with fear and disgust. To think this was the man she had dated and fallen in love with at Hogwarts!
That was until he became ruthless. She had thought he was a nice person that just liked to dabble into the darker side of magic. She had figured it was just a phase he was going through and would eventually grow out of it. How could she have known that it would not be just a faze and that he would be the one that turned everyone's nightmares about dark magic into reality? No one could have guessed. He was so sweet or so it seemed to her and almost everyone else who knew him. Unfortunately, as she would discover to her disbelief, it was not. She could hardly believe that things had turned out this way but it had and no one could change it except him and she knew that he never would. What Tom wanted was power and he was resolved to do anything to get it. But Tom Marlow Riddle! That was preposterous! Absurd even. If anyone could have told her back then what he was going to become, she either would have laughed at the person or have slapped who had said it in the face but now it was reality. . .
They had met in the library, he was researching a potion and she was trying to find an interesting book to read. She helped him find the reference that he was looking for and she joined in helping him discover everything that he wanted to know. I should have seen why he wanted to know about the raxentar potion for. Such a rare potion and difficult at best to make. The potion was supposed to be only for research but did he really try to make it? She wondered about that. She was only a year older than he was and she could not help but love him for the way he was. He was so sensitive back then! She had loved his ideas, they were absolutely brilliant and if he had not turned dark, he would have had all the wizarding colleges around looking at him, she was convinced. Maybe even the ministry of magic, if he had not grown dark.
After he had won an award for special services to the school, he became popular seemingly overnight. By the time he had won the reward from the school however, they were known as a couple. He had told her he had found the culprit behind the attacks in his third year and her fourth. He had cried like a baby on her shoulder when his father died. Now she wondered if that was all a flux. Now he certainly was evil enough to do something as vile as killing his own parent and much more, was he a monster back then too? She had known that he lived in a muggle orphanage during the summer vacations and hated it. Could he have done such a horrendous deed? And why?
She had discovered him sneaking off to the forbidden forest one night in the middle of her last year and had decided to follow him. It was hard to make him out as he sped through the dark trees in the forest but somehow kept up with him and hid behind a large oak tree when he came to a sudden stop in a clearing due north of the school. She heard Lucius Malfoy's voice and a few others she didn't know well but knew they were Slytherins. She also thought that she heard another voice that had surprised her. The voice belong to Paul Pettigrew, a boy only in the fourth year. He was a very timid person and she wondered what he was doing here. They all wore strange white masks and if it were not for knowing their voices, she would have never known who they were.
They were surrounding Tom in a circle with others she didn't know and they were on their knees in worship around him. Tom raised his hands, signaling them to stand. He cleared his throat and began. "Dearest friends, it is time that we stand together for the cause. Are you all ready to be called out, to rid the world of those who would be against our plans to bring back the true wizard bloodline? To fulfill Salazar's noble work and rid ourselves from the disgusting mudbloods and half bloods of the magical community? To gain power and respect within the wizarding community!" They all nodded their heads, cheered and bowed low to the ground again. Her whole body shook at the words. She had never told him her parentage. She was a half-blood, her father the famous arour Lee Welding and her mother was just a simple but loving muggle girl that had gotten into Hogwarts.
He called a witch out of the circle that surrounded him and she obeyed eagerly. "To join me now will be to your own advantage, my friends for we will become truly great and powerful. Come Bellatrix." He took her hand and led her to the center. He then raised the witch's sleeve of his robes and placed the tip of his wand to his arm. A red light came out of it and she moaned and gritted her teeth as a black skull with a snake coming out of its mouth was burned into her arm. Blood run over the witch's wrist and the spell ended. She wrapped her wrist into her robes and went back into the circle where she was before. Tom turned to each in turn then explained what the marks would do.
"Whenever I touch the marks on your arms, you will feel a burning sensation and that will mean that I am summoning you and that I wish for you to come to join me at my side, wherever I am. All you will have to do is disapparate and the mark will draw you to me. You will appear at my side. My loyal friends, you will lead the way into the future of the wizarding world and be sure that wizarding blood will not be tainted and destroyed by those who are too soft for their own good. We will not take no for an answer. Through the dark arts, we will find the way to our dreams of power, respect, and the purity of the wizarding race!" They all cheered except for the girl hidden behind the large oak tree. She shivered. Now what should she do? What was going to happen now? She ran through the trees, never stopping until she reached the castle. She fled to Dumbledore's office, the only teacher that she trusted with something this important. When she got to his door however, it was locked. Tears were coming down her face and she almost screamed with fright when someone touched her on the shoulder. It was so unexpected and she was out of it, focusing on what she had heard that night. She swirled around and looked into the serious face of the very transfiguration teacher she wanted to see.
They went into the office and they sat down into plush velveteen chairs that Dumbledore conjured. She told him everything about the meeting in the Forbidden Forest. He nodded, looking very grave and not at all the way he did in class. A deep sadness had entered his eyes, unlike the usual twinkle that usually filled them as she told her tale. Dumbledore decided that it would be wise for her to go into hiding and he would become her secret keeper.
"No! You must not! You are the wizarding world's only hope . . ." She could not let Dumbledore be her secret keeper. If he did become her secret keeper, then she knew that Tom would stop at nothing until Dumbledore told him where she was. He gave her a light smile to ease her mind. "Come now, Vivian. It is time for you to get some rest." He reached into his robes and drew out a deep purple pouch that matched his robes and conjured a glass of water out of thin air. Then he mixed the contents of the pouch with the water and it turned a deep red. He handed the potion to her.
"Now, when you reach your dormitory, drink this. It will make you sleep a dreamless sleep, and if I am not much mistaken, you might do well by taking it." She gave him a quizzical look. She was astounded by how much Dumbledore understood her and the students of Hogwarts so well. How did he know so much? She allowed herself to wonder about it until she caught Dumbledore's eyes. The surprise must have shown on her face because Dumbledore chuckled and wore a gentle smile on his lips. The twinkle in his eyes had returned and he said a single word, almost as if he had read her mind. "Magic." He said simply and if it was not for the chair she was sitting in, Dumbledore was certain that she would have fallen to the ground. Astonished even more so, she was certain that he had been reading her mind this time. His smile broadened and he let out another chuckle as he stood. He stood with her and he walked her back to her dormitory so she would not get into any trouble by the caretaker for being in the halls so late at night. She had taken the potion as Dumbledore advised and she had fallen into a peaceful sleep.
Thinking back, she wondered if their love was all just a game to Tom? If so, it had not been to her. Who could have guessed that he would turn out to be the monster he was today? What had made him turn? Only Dumbledore, the transfiguration teacher seen through to his real side and tried to warn her of what he might do.
Dumbledore had been right and after Tom had began to go dark, she went to Dumbledore for help. He had became his secret- keeper and she had moved to the United States and laid low in the small muggle town in North Carolina. The small town was a bit different than England where she had grown up but it was homey and the people were friendly. If she had been in England with a surprise tag-along child, she knew that she would have never have been accepted by the people that lived there, but here in this little town, they treated her well and almost none of them would pry into her business. The exception was Courtney MacMillan, the one that stuck her nose into everything around the small town. Vivian shook her head and wondered what Courtney would think of now, seeing the door of her neighbor's blown off the hinges and the wood turned into shavings. It was funny if you thought about it.
"Vivian." He hissed as he came nearer. She and Tess shrunk into the corner as far as they could. He pointed his wand at her. "Vivian, you sssaid you would ssstand by me. Why did you desert me when I needed you? We could have ruled the wizarding world together. Why did you have to betray me Vivian? I loved you." Incredible she thought. He still has some nerve after all. Hot anger coursed through her. "How can you imagine that the wizarding world needs a ruler? I thought you were an okay guy. Why did you have to turn dark? I loved you too! Who would have guessed that perfect Tom Riddle would do something as bad as this? You do nothing but disgust me now!"
Oh, she knew she shouldn't have said that and been so brave about it but she couldn't hold in the injustice anymore. He smirked at her and his red eyes grew cold as he spoke. "Ssstill got ssspunk, do you Vivian? Well then, let me sssee if I cannot help that little problem. Crucio!" He cried as he pointed his wand in her direction. A red beam of light came out of the tip of the wand she was holding and hit her square in the chest. She dropped to the floor in agony, opening her mouth in a scream but not making any sound. She laid there on the floor, curled up in the fetal position, unable to move or speak. He held the wand there for a few moments as the girl cried for her mother, then lifted the wand off her. She glared at him, slowly getting to her feet. Her heart pounding and aching, she turned to him.
"Y- you are nothing but a c-coward!" she said in a kind of rage. She knew it was not wise to tickle the proverbial dragon's paw, but she knew that she was going to die anyway and she wanted to at least attempt to go down fighting. She hoped that she might be able to trick him into letting her have her wand. It was a long shot as it was and she may be getting even more pain than what she was bargaining for, but it was worth a try anyway. Her goal was to get her daughter out of this mess alive and still intact.
"A coward am I?" he asked, genuinely amused. Did this girl really think that she could bother me with her remarks now? Surely she would know that I care nothing for her now? Yes, she once meant everything to me but not after I discovered that she had went to see that blundering fool Dumbledore. Now, she must die. I have waited so long for this revenge, perhaps she didn't think that I would remember what happened? Did she not know that I have a brilliant memory of the people that hurt me? Did she not know that I have gotten revenge on those that had? And who is this little brat she has now? Is she married now? That thought made his heart hurt; he was going to be sure that she was well cared for when they did get married but when she had followed him through the forest, all of his plans had came crashing down. She had acted different to him after that night and he couldn't take it. He had really loved her and she had betrayed him to Dumbledore, the one fool who he didn't like and though the fool was old, he was dangerous to underestimate. For that she must pay.
"Yes you are!" she spat at him, anger flashing in her eyes. "You would attack me with no wand of my own. I call that cowardice!" He grinned, a malicious grin and decided why not? If she thinks a wand can help her against me, the most powerful wizard in all the world, why not? He chuckled softly. "Why not? If you ssstill have your wand, go and get it, my dear," she shuddered at the words 'my dear'; it disturbed her greatly. His glowing eyes lit upon Tess. "Perhaps you can send the girl to get it." With a nod from her mother, Tess turned to go into the room where her mother's wand lay hidden under her clothes. She grasped it, feeling the sudden power flow through it and she gasped. She wondered what it meant.
Back in the living room, her mother wondered what spell to use against him. She didn't know any dark spells, but she did still remember an ice spell. She decided to use that one and grabbed the wand out of her daughter's hand. Before she could summon the spell however, Vivian was lifted off her feet by a levitating spell sent from Tom. She screamed as she was sent into the air. Still clutching her wand, she spiraled and hit her back on the ceiling. She moaned and shook her head to clear it.
He laughed. "Sssurely you know Vivian that you cannot harm me, the greatest wizard in all the world?" She laughed this time, a cold and bitter laugh. "You? The greatest wizard in the entire world? That is a laugh. A mere baby defeated you! And I hate to be the one to break this to you, but Dumbledore is the greatest wizard in all the world." His anger exploded and he dropped his wand unconsciously. She fell to the floor with a crunch. She tried to stand but could not. She howled in pain and looked at her leg. It was broken. She grabbed onto a couch that was nearby and was struggling to pull herself up when he walked over to where she was and grabbed her by the collar on her dress.
"Y-you would say such a thing to me! Dumbledore is nothing but a fool! He could never match my powers! As for the baby you speak so highly of, he is nothing to me! I should have snuffed him out long ago. The only thing that saved him was the fact that his mother had given her life for him and her sacrifice acted like a counter charm! There is nothing special about him! He will join his mother soon enough as you will join yours!" His wand tip shone a sinister green light and he pointed it at Vivian.
She shivered and waited on the blast that would end her life. However, the wand tip extinguished itself and Tom looked like he had gained control once more. "But I think, before you join her, I will hear you say who the greatest wizard truly is. Crucio!" The spell hit her in the stomach this time and she was down on the floor again, gasping for breath and struggling to fight the spell.
Suddenly, the pain went away and she saw Hogwarts or so she thought it was Hogwarts. The grounds of the castle was littered with bodies and students in their uniforms were fighting dementors and goblins while the teachers led by none other than Dumbledore and centaurs were fighting against giants, trolls and other hideous monsters. In a corner, far away from the fight, was a boy with black hair with a scar on his forehead shaped like lightning. She had only saw him for a moment but she knew who he was. Seventeen years ago, he saved the world from the greatest monster of all and he was going to do it again that day, she realized. He was fighting Voldemort and suddenly, a beam connected between their wands, splintered into sections, and formed a huge cage between the two. A bead of light was moving up and down the wands, moving toward the boy who lived one moment, then back to Voldemort the next minute.
Both wands vibrating, the boy's face grew tight in concentration and the beam slid to the other wand. When the beam reached Voldemort's wand, it began to vibrate like mad and something came out of the tip of it. It looked like a ghost of a man but more solid than a ghost and the ghost stood aside as another one came out, a woman this time. This went on for a while until the whole cage was full of ghosts. She supposed they were the people he had killed and sure enough, a girl that looked a lot like her friend Donna Cagle, who was killed mysteriously, came out of the wand. That did not add up though. Donna was a pure blood, why did he kill her? She wondered about that. More ghosts came out of his wand and his wand vibrated so hard, it was all he could do to hold it.
The last ghost-like figure came out of his wand and the wand let out red sparks and exploded with a loud bang that threw the two of them backward. The boy checked his wand and satisfied that it was not harmed, stood up to continue the fight. Voldemort looked at his and threw it down with disgust. He was obviously not through yet. He raised his hands and threw a spell towards the boy-who-lived but he ducked and threw a counter curse at him. It hit him square in the chest and it sent him to the ground, clutching where the spell had hit him. He was up on his feet in no time though, throwing more curses toward the boy. With each curse, he began to look weaker and weaker. Finally, he decided he had had enough until a voice shot out through the battle. The girl came out of the shadows of the battle and Vivian seen that it was her own daughter. She came forward, wearing a look of disgust on her face. "Funny, I thought you were the greatest wizard in the world. Isn't that what you told my mother before you killed her?" So, that was it then. She was going to die but her daughter would live. An overwhelming relief swept over her. Her daughter would live! Tears began to roll down her cheeks as she watched the end of the battle take place.
Voldemort turned toward the girl, his eyes blazing with fury. "You and your meddlesssome mother! You ssshould have died with her!" he cried the killing curse that should have ended her daughter's life but nothing happened. "No! This cannot be!" He cried as he fled into the forest, the boy and Tess hot on his heels. He was too weak to disapparate, too weak to cast a single spell even. What would he do now? Who knew what kind of animals would be at his aid in here? The boy gulped and looked worried. Obviously, he too knew what lay in the forest.
The sun was setting fast and they needed to be as quickly as possible, Vivian knew. They found his trail and ran to find him, the boy's face tight in concentration again. "Impedimenta!" said the boy, the spell barely missing Voldemort by inches. Since he could not throw out a spell, he kept on running. The boy threw a trip jinx and hit Voldemort in the legs with it. He fell on the ground, flat on his back as the boy came up to him and out of nowhere put his hands on Voldemort's face. Voldemort screamed, the sound echoing through the forest. A brilliant white light began at the boy's fingertips and slowly moved up their bodies until they were both immersed in the blinding light. A final scream shook the forest and a loud bang filled the air as the boy was flung through the air. He landed roughly on his back and he sat up, looking towards Voldemort or where he once was. There was nothing there but a pile of ashes on the blackened grass. He felt something trickling down his head and wiped at it. He seen that it was blood from the scar he had gotten the night that Voldemort had killed his parents. It was bleeding again as it had on that fateful Halloween night long ago.
He lifted the wand off Vivian and the vision left her. She got to her feet shakily and noticed him looking at her peculiarly. His voice was shaking. "What did you just sssee?" He asked, picking her up off her feet by the collar of the dress she was wearing. She laughed and he narrowed his eyes at her. "Tell me!" He hissed venomously, wanting to know if it was a prophecy. He had been screwed over by one before and he was not about to let one slide through his fingers again. She laughed at him again. "The baby you said that is nothing will prove you wrong in the end. He will destroy you!" She cried in triumph and he dropped her. She landed hard on the floor and he looked at her with disgust. "I see that I have no other choice then. Accio little brat!" Tess screamed as she was pulled toward the man who had hurt her mother. Scared out of her mind and shaking, she tried to fight him off until he put the wand to her throat. She became as still as a mouse. She had seen what it had done to her mother and was scared of what he might do to her.
Vivian did not know what to do. She was scared out of her mind for her daughter but the vision had shown her that she would not die from this experience so Vivian knew that he wouldn't be able to kill her daughter and she had looked healthy enough so he wasn't able to hurt her either. It still did not ease her mind like it should have though. "Would you like to sssee thisss little brat sssuffer before ssshe dies Vivian? If you tell me what I need to know, I will make it quick. Who knowsss, it may even be painless, I wouldn't know becausse I have never died." He hissed gently, trying to sound soothing but sounding like the monster he was. She had to play it cool but worry was trying to eat at her from the inside out.
"Y-you monster! You wouldn't dare! What if I killed myself right now? What would become of your precious prophecy then?" He looked like he was considering what she was saying and then laughed loudly. "Ah, the great Vivian Welding, daughter of the famous arour, would kill herself? You must be joking, surely? Just tell me what I need to know and I will make it a good deal painless than what you might do to yourself. Don't be a fool Vivian, just tell me." Tears were streaming down her cheeks. She did not know how Tess would get out of this if she did not tell him. She opened her mouth to tell him what she had seen when there was a loud bang that loosened the hold he had on her daughter and Tess took advantage of the situation. She broke free and ran toward her mother's arms. A man stood in the doorway of their little cottage with purple robes and a white flowing beard. He looked serious and there was a fire burning in his eyes that Vivian had never seen before. Vivian could not hold the excitement in any longer. "Dumbledore!" she said breathlessly as Tess looked at her mother puzzled. He interrupted her before she could say more than just his name. "Don't tell him anything Vivian!" She nodded, understanding what he meant.
Voldemort laughed. "You will not escape me Vivian! I will not allow you to share the prophecy with this blundering old fool! Avada Kedavra!" he cried as Dumbledore tried to block the spell with a book but the book was too low and it hit her just above the book. Vivian dropped to the floor, as still as a stone. Tess shook her mother, trying to get her to wake her. "No! Momma, wake up! Please wake up! You cannot be dead! No!" She cried, silent tears coursing down her cheeks. Voldemort laughed. "You will join her soon enough, as soon as I finish this old fool! Avada Kedavra!" He threw a spell at Dumbledore, he barely ducked in time, and the spell hit a vase of flowers. The vase shattered into minute pieces and the flowers fell at Dumbledore's feet unceremoniously, the glass sounding like music as it hit the floor. He muttered "Reparo!" and the vase was fixed. He threw a spell at Voldemort to distract him and tossed the girl a locket he got from one of many pockets in his robes.
"Hold onto the locket and count to ten. Do not let go of it no matter what. Do not leave where it takes you." She did so and vanished before their eyes while Dumbledore and Voldemort were fighting. Voldemort noticed that the girl was gone, cursed and vanished into thin air. Dumbledore followed and the house was empty.