Prodigy
-Shaiala Rialle-
I'm sick of the good guys winning, and I need a change...a breath of fresh air. Step outside with me, if you will....
Lord Voldemort has been quiet- why? He's been with his consort- and his 'child'. Adopted by him, Hotaru is a child prodigy- filled to the brim with dark powers, the Bringer and Ruler of Death, Sovereign of Silence, Mistress of Mystery. Cared for by Setsuna, and now reunited with her father 16 years later, they have a plan. Little does anyone know, traitors have a way about them...
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Chapter One: Father-Daughter
"This is the child I need," Tom said, smirking. In his arms was a young babe, wrapped in a black blanket, looking up at him with wide amethyst eyes. "She is full of potential, of dark energy- and she knows it, even at this young age, I can tell." He turned his gaze to the young woman beside him. "You have done well, Setsuna. What is her name?"
Setsuna's odd garnet gaze glanced over the child. "Well, Lord, her name was Hotaru, because she was first found in Japan. I thought that you would do well to rename her yourself."
Tom looked back down at the child, then met Setsuna's curious gaze. "Tell me, Setsuna, what does 'hotaru' mean?"
The woman fidgeted under her Lord's gaze. "It means, sir, 'firefly of earth'. Oh, and sir, her middle name is Shi... it means 'death'."
"Hotaru Shi," Tom repeated, trying out the name. "Hotaru...Riddle? No, I would not want to put on her my Muggle father's name...but...it fits. Hotaru Shi Riddle. My daughter." He handed the child back to Setsuna. "And now, I go to finish off those who have been a barb in my side, the Potters. Take good care of Hotaru, and I will raise her up to be the most powerful aside from me." With that, he Disapparated. Setsuna stared at the spot where he was, then looked down at the child in her arms in something akin to fearful respect.
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Thirteen years later, Hotaru Riddle sat straight up in bed, having dreamt about her father. Well, the dream wasn't odd...it was her earliest memory. But tonight...it was the power that came with it. She hadn't sensed her father's power for so long, it was almost unrecognizable...but it was there. Throwing off the sheets, Tom Marvolo Riddle's fourteen year old daughter rushed downstairs to see her mother.
"Setsuna! Setsuna, where are you?!!!" Hotaru shouted, rushing as fast as she could down the stairs. When she entered the kitchen, gasping for breath and clutching her chest, Setsuna was waiting for her, pulling out a chair and pushing her into it.
"Setsuna- 'tis - is it possible?! I sense-"
"I already know, darling. I already know," Setsuna repeated, sighing. She looked out of the kitchen window to the night sky. "I knew it was coming. Your father, Lord Voldemort, has returned. Soon, he will come for you."
Hotaru was calmer now, but gave an impatient bounce in her chair. "I know! I cannot wait. I want more power. I want to learn more, more of the Dark Arts than only you know." She was gazing into the air with a dreamy look on her face. "No offense meant, Setsuna."
The older woman sighed again. She knew what was coming- as a Seer, who wouldn't? But Hotaru...the girl also had Seer blood, the most powerful kind. So if anyone could change the future, she could. And with her ambition and power...
"Well, I think I'll go back to bed. Goodnight, Setsuna-mama." With a quick kiss on the cheek, Hotaru left her mother in the kitchen, nursing a cup of tea with a weary but hopeful mind.
-*-
A little over a year later, Hotaru was in her room once more, but not dreaming. Instead, she was meditating, pulling in power from the earth to store up. She did not know why she had urges to store extra energy, but it normally always came in handy, especially when she had to do physical work of some kind. Hotaru knew she was unlike the other children- she'd been taught easy spells as soon as she could speak in sentences, and had been learning magic ever since. And while she would look outside and see other children running around, she knew she couldn't- she wasn't strong enough. She could walk around alright, but she'd always have to take breaks when walking long distances, and sometimes she would get dizzy spells. They normally quickly passed, however, and the benefit to her being physically weak was that she possessed the power to heal. This alone set Hotaru apart from other witches and wizards, because she healed with her own magic- no wand necessary.
Another fact that set her apart from the rest of the wizarding world- she was the daughter of one of the most powerful sorcerers of all time, Lord Voldemort.
Not many people knew this, however. Her 'mother', Setsuna, knew, of course. Only one of Voldemort's own followers knew this- Peter Pettigrew. So her name was not feared by her fellow wizards- yet, she always told herself.
But today, Gaea was resisting her, keeping its energy inside itself. Hotaru scowled and opened her eyes; her amethyst orbs widened as her mind recognized whose energy she felt drawing near. Taking her time, she started down the stairs, and by the time she reached the bottom, her mother was opening the door.
"My Lord," Setsuna said, bowing her head. He'd changed- his face was no longer the young, handsome one Hotaru remembered. His eyes were wider, a scarlet color with cat-like pupils. His nose was flatter, with slits for nostrils, and his skin was whiter than a skull. He still had his dark hair, though.
"Where is she? My child?" Voldemort asked.
"I am here, father." Hotaru stepped into the main hallway, where she could be seen. Standing under the light with her face in shadow, all Voldemort saw were two purple gems, gleaming at him through the darkness. "Hotaru, my daughter. I have a mission for you."
"But- Lord-" Setsuna gasped. "Do you think she can handle such a thing? I know of what you plan...there are many things that could go wrong." She had to go with her motherly instincts to make it believable that she cared- she knew what would most likely happen, being a Seer.
Voldemort glanced at her, and then back at Hotaru. "I know what is best for my Firefly. As for you..." His gaze, now angry, moved back to Setsuna. "You are a Seer, are you not?" he demanded. She nodded, terrified to open her lips. "Then you should have seen what was going to happen-- that night, 15 years ago. Why didn't you inform me? Even if it wouldn't have come true..." he stepped closer to the petrified woman.
"My Lord, I, I would've warned you if the Fates had seen fit, I swear it! But with the changing of the Secret Keeper, the near future was foggy, unsure, and I didn't see it!"
"Silence," Voldemort ordered, and Setsuna clamped her jaw shut. "I am glad to see you haven't killed my daughter, but, for my own death, you must be punished. And, you did not seek me out when you felt my return. Goodbye, Setsuna." Whipping out his wand in the blink of an eye, he shouted "Avada Kedavra!"
Hotaru felt strange, as she saw the green aura surround Setsuna, and watched as her guardian's form crumpled, and she hit the tile floor with a thud. In a way, it bothered Hotaru...this woman had cared for her, raised her with love...but it was the cycle of life for everyone to die... in fact, the only thing that really irked her was the fact that she hadn't decided who was going to die, and when. But right then and there, she decided that she would one day decide the deaths of people, and she would far surpass the fear of her father, and rule over everything. The seat of Cosmos would be hers, it was in her blood.
Voldemort looked up to his daughter, gauging her reaction. She stepped from the shadows to stare at Setsuna's lifeless face, and then laughed. "She mustn't have been that good of a Seer, to not see that coming." Hotaru looked at her father, a smirk dancing on her lips and laughter in her eyes. Voldemort smirked in return, and turned around to face the Death Eater behind him- Peter. "Please dispose of the body, and then meet me at the normal spot. I am going to explain the mission to Hotaru." Peter squeaked something of a response, while Voldemort stepped over the corpse, farther into the moderate home. With an arm over Hotaru's shoulders, he started to give orders. "First, pack whatever clothes you please to take with you, and then you can buy new ones to fit your fancy. Whatever you want. Bring your wand out for me to see, and then we'll talk about what you've learned. After that, I will tell you what I want you to do. I will make some tea, first, while you pack."
Hotaru climbed back up the stairs, and once in her room, pulled out her oaken trunk and proceeded to stuff some of her favorite outfits into it. Then a few pieces of jewelry, all silver, black, or white. A few pairs of shoes (ok, more than a few), and the trunk wasn't even half-full. She walked across the hallway to Setsuna's room to grab some of those things, as well. A garnet-tinted seeing orb, a scrying mirror with a sea green back, and a jeweled sword with an enhanced silver blade and gold hilt were three of the most precious items she first grabbed, and then some jewelry, since the clothes were too big. Then she raided the bookcase- some of it she'd read, and she took those, plus a few that Setsuna never allowed her to see.
Slamming the lid of her trunk, Hotaru decided that she'd summon it from downstairs- her body wouldn't be able to handle the stress of carrying it. Grabbing her wand from her nightstand, she descended the stairs and went into the kitchen. Her father had a cup of tea set out for her, and one for himself, but she noticed that it was only quarter-full. "Accio trunk!" Hotaru said, waving her wand almost lazily. As light as it was, the trunk zoomed quickly to her, settling next to her chair. Voldemort eyed her unblinkingly. "Why didn't you bring it down with you?"
She took a sip of tea before answering. "I am weak- it would've worn me out. It's a side effect to the fact that I can heal. Well, not healing as the nurses do it, with potions and spells- I can heal with my hands," she explained. Voldemort nodded.
"That's very well. I sensed that you were special. May I see your wand??"
Hotaru handed it to him. He twirled it around idly. "Let's see...eleven and a half inches, white oak...little flexibility..." he paused. "What's inside of it?"
"Crushed Imperium Crystal," she responded instantly. He raised his eyebrows.
"Well, aren't we going to be powerful." Voldemort returned Hotaru's wand to her. "How learned are you?"
"Setsuna has informed me that I know everything from Hogwarts including stuff from the sixth year. She said you'd want to know that. And...I know some of the Dark Arts, but Setsuna couldn't teach me that much. I want to know more, father. I'm best at the Dark Arts."
Voldemort looked pleased. "Good. You're ambitious. So she's told you about Hogwarts? That's well, indeed, for that's where you will be in less than a month." At Hotaru's wide-eyed expression, he explained. "That is your mission. I want you to go to Hogwarts...and get Potter. At any costs- but use stealth. Anything else is up to you."
Hotaru smirked. "Of course, and thank you. Sounds to be fun. But...in less than a month? Where am I staying?"
"Do you know how to Apparate?" Voldemort countered, standing up.
"Somewhat...but it doesn't follow the same rules as Apparation. Works to the same effect, though." Hotaru stood, resting a hand on her trunk. Her father then laid a hand on her shoulder. "We are going to the Malfoy estate. Apparate-" he looked at her piercingly- "or whatever it is you do, on the count of three." Hotaru nodded, beginning to pull a hesitant Gaea towards her. "One-" More power... "Two-" She channeled it throughout her system..."Three." With one 'pop' and one 'swish', both people and the trunk were gone.
They reappeared outside of a huge old mansion made of cold grey stone. Hotaru immediately thought it looked home-y. The walls held all their secrets, and the windows seemed cold...
Voldemort just opened the door and walked right inside, for some unknown reason pressing a single finger to his left forearm. Immediately, a man appeared out of a hallway disappearing into the left wing of the mansion. Hotaru observed him quietly, hidden in the shadow of her father. This man was one of the Death Eaters, of course. He had white-blonde hair just past his shoulders, cold eyes, and strong cheekbones and chin. He held himself with the air of someone who knew his duty.
"Ah, Lucius Malfoy," Voldemort said silkily.
"My Lord. I didn't expect you're-ah- coming. May I enquire the occasion? Perhaps you would like me to go on a mission for you?" The man, Lucius, hadn't seen Hotaru yet. And Hotaru had a suspicion that her father was smiling as he replied.
"Yes, I have a mission for you, albeit a short one- only to last the rest of this month. The rest of your mission will be passed to your son- Draco, I believe?" At Lucius's somewhat stiff nod, Voldemort continued. "You see, Lucius, the real mission has been assigned- to my daughter. The one I thought would be lost to me forever." He drew Hotaru forward, and the girl made a half-hearted smile flit onto her face and she bowed slightly from the waist. "Pleased to meet you, Mister Lucius."
"This is my daughter, Hotaru Shi Riddle. As I have pressing matters to attend to, (such as the upset of my followers in Norway) I am leaving her in your care until it is time to attend Hogwarts next month. I wish you to teach her more Dark Arts, for her last guardian-" Hotaru scrunched up her nose- "didn't teach her as much as she is capable of learning." Lucius seemed to absorb this information in the blink of an eye.
"As you wish, of course, My Lord. But- how does Draco fit into this picture?"
Hotaru glanced at her father, who seemed irked that he had to explain, but didn't show it- probably because he didn't want to harm her newest guardian until she'd left their house. "Because dear young Draco is going to watch her during the school year. You see, my daughter is not very strong and I will not stand for any mishaps during the year that will interfere with her mission. And, I shall inform the others of this also, if Hotaru sees fit to use my other followers in Slytherin house, they will follow her orders, no questions asked. Understood?"
Lucius nodded. "Of course, sir. I will inform Draco."
Voldemort stepped back from Hotaru and Lucius. "Good. Oh, and Lucius- have Narcissa take Hotaru shopping. Using her bank account, of course." He tossed Hotaru a small bronze key, then Disapparated. Hotaru, having caught the key and tucked it in the pocket of her black robes, looked back at Lucius, waiting for instruction.
"We'll be very pleased to have you for the next month, Hotaru." Lucius smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes. "If you will follow me, I'll show you to a room."
As he started to walk away, Hotaru had to pull out her wand quickly. "Mobiliarbus," she whispered, pointing at her trunk. With it now floating behind her, she followed Lucius up a large split staircase, noting that they were heading into the right wing. After the second flight of stairs, they took the hallway straight ahead of them. Suddenly, from around another corner, a woman appeared. She was about 7 inches shorter than Lucius, also had blonde hair (but it was a shade darker) and crystalline blue eyes. "Lucius!" she exclaimed. "Was the Lord here??"
"Yes, he did stop by," Lucius admitted, stopping. "He wants us to watch his daughter until both she and Draco leave for Hogwarts. Narcissa, this is Hotaru. Hotaru, my wife, Narcissa." Narcissa smiled- and it seemed that she was holding back something. Hotaru smiled fully in return, just because she could without Lucius seeing her. "Could you show her to her room, please? I still have to sort out that matter with MacNair..." he turned on his heel and was gone before she could even answer. Narcissa beckoned the girl down the hallway.
"Oh, this is a pleasant surprise. I never knew the Dark Lord had a daughter! I suppose Lucius might've known... but he never tells me much of anything, anyway. I've always wanted to have a daughter. Draco- well, Lucius wants Draco to be just like him, and I- I want to baby him, I suppose, he's my only son, as it is. How exciting! Your name was Hotaru, right?" Hotaru was a tad bit overwhelmed by this woman's outburst- and had a bit of pity for her. She herself might want power, but she'd never be like that Lucius fellow... she thought his wife was much nicer, and if she liked the Dark Side, that was an extra plus for her.
"Yes, my name is Hotaru. Hotaru Riddle. I'll be attending Hogwarts in my sixth year. Oh, and my father says that you and I could go shopping. I've never been shopping in the wizarding world; though I do have an account somewhere...father gave me a key."
They had made a left and were heading down another hallway. "That would be for Gringotts, the wizarding bank," Narcissa explained. "Finally, I get to shop for a girl! You'll be a sixth year? That's fantastic; you're the same age as Draco." Hotaru had a blissful moment of silence before they stopped in front of a set of wooden double doors. "Come in, this is your room now." Narcissa opened the doors, allowing Hotaru to go in and set her trunk down at the foot of a huge four poster bed, with a black comforter and matching canopy. The room was large, and well furnished; besides the bed, there were two chests-of-drawers, a wardrobe, a desk and chair, a hanging bookshelf, and a nightstand. The two large windows were on either side of the desk, opposite the doorway. "This door leads to your own bathroom, and this bell pull will instantly summon a house-elf. Our resident ghost, Fredericton, is of the mournful sort- he'll tell you how to get somewhere, if need be."
Hotaru had never seen a house-elf, only read about them, and immediately decided that as soon as she needed something, she'd call one. "Thank you very much, Misses Malfoy." The woman just smiled and made to leave. "Oh- one thing- when will I be meeting Draco?"
"Lunch should be done soon...I'll send Fredericton to fetch you, is that all right?"
"Perfectly fine," Hotaru replied, and Narcissa shut the door behind her. Hotaru gazed around once more, and then proceeded to unpack her things. Her books- all ten of them- fit perfectly fine on the bookshelf, and her few pieces of parchment she put in the first door of the desk- quill and ink on the top of it. Some of the robes she hung in the wardrobe, but half of her clothes were of the Muggle kind, and she folded those and put them in a chest-of-drawers.
Sprawling out on the bed, Hotaru wondered what Hogwarts was like, and was most startled when the silvery-transparent ghost of a man slid through the wall.
"The midday meal is about to begin. I will lead you to the dining room," Fredericton informed her in a sad, sorrowful voice. He floated through the door, and Hotaru followed him (though she opened and closed the doors, being a human).
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I'd be much obliged if you could tell me what you think...oh, and flames will be used for me to Floo to your house and tell you exactly what I think of your review. ^^ Constructive criticism is accepted (though maybe not followed) and general comments are always nice!! Domo!
-Shai-