Love, War, and Veelas
A/N: This story was edited with permission from the original story by forbbidenfruite. Please read that one first, as they are the original creator. Disclaimer: neither of us own Harry Potter. Thank you!
The sun painted the woods a golden hue. In the peaceful land of gold, a tall, skinny man paused from his walk, lost in thought. Tom Riddle Jr. had many things on his mind; his play for world domination, methods of recruitment, and his nameless mate. Unknown to most, Tom was one-forth veela. His father had been half veela, and the gene was passed on to Tom. However, for the fifty-three years he had been alive, Tom had not found his mate. Originally, he only looked at pureblood women within his same age group, but he was now looking at any female, even children. He knew an age reduction potion he could use to become any age the girl needed. However, to know what age he needed to be meant finding her, and fast, because muggles and mudbloods were being killed. If she was one of them (which Tom was horrified to even consider), she could easily be killed with the others, thus leaving him to die as well.
He sighed and continued walking. He desperately wished his world domination to be complete, and for the war to be over. The more they fought, the more soldiers they needed, and the cockier, dumber, and younger his followers got. Lucius Malfoy was already breeding his son to be a follower, which meant sending another young, naïve soldier to war. Tom rolled his eyes at the thought of the new generation of Death Eaters. He needed strong brave soldiers, not children.
He continued to walk for some time before coming upon a meadow. It was beautiful with purple and yellow wild flowers every where, and perfectly grass. A perfect spot to rest. The dark lord sat down in the soft grass and watched the drifting purple clouds over head. He listened to the sounds of the birds the woods as crickets a few crickets began to chirp. He always seemed to lose track of time when he was alone, for it was very rare. His thoughts were switching from veela mates to young warriors to his rising, completely lost in his own world.
"Swad?" a bell like voice asked, breaking the man from his thoughts. In front of him stood a brown-haired little girl who looked to be no more than two years old. As soon as his eyes met hers, he knew who she was. She was his mate.
"No, I'm not sad. What are you doing out here so late?" he asked cautiously. He was trying not to frighten the lovely little child. She was small, even for a two-year-old, only standing about two feet, with big brown eyes and skin the color of melted vanilla ice cream on a hot summer's day. She had a large amount of very curly hair, the color of a tree trunk, and brown eyes so sweet and dark, they could rival a rich brownie. In Tom's eyes, she was perfect.
"Mum." the little girl said, pointing towards the houses that stood at the other edge of the small meadow, opposite from the woods. He didn't understand exactly how 'mum' explained everything, but he played along. Though, the word did get him thinking. The girl was much too far from any of the houses. A little girl out here could easily get hurt. How could her parents even allow her to come outside at such an hour?! He growled softly at the thought of the horrors the girl could have run into if she had not seen him.
Realizing this, he took the little girl to where the fences started, where he assumed her house was.
"Hermione?" a frantic, female voice yelled from a cozy yellow house, just two houses down from where they stood.
"Mum!" the little girl called back, struggling to get out of the strange man's arms. Reluctantly, he let her go, watching from afar as her mother scooped her up in her arms and took her back inside. He smiled widely knowing that he had finally found his mate.
His Hermione.