Disclaimer: See prologue.
Guide: "Speech", Thoughts, ~letters and other written things, "Parseltongue"
Beta:cuter-than-a-guinea-pig. All remaining errors are my own.
Warnings for this chapter: Torture and injuries
AN: Here is another chapter for you. Earlier than previously announced, but I don't think you mind not having to wait another two months for an update. ;) By the way, you can see the current writing status on my profile page.
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The first year of my life was full of big events. My first real smile in September, the first time I slept through the night in November, my first ride on Padfoot―the Animagus, not the cuddly toy―on Christmas morning, my first step some days before my first birthday in July to name a few. Though, they all paled in comparison to what happened on Halloween in nineteen-eighty-one when I was fifteen months old.
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My parents had decided to host a Halloween party. And while I was still too young to understand the meaning behind the Wizarding holiday Samhain and the Muggle customs of Halloween, it didn't stop my father from dressing me up in a lion costume―courtesy of my godfather Sirius―and inviting my two best friends, Neville and Draco, for the celebration.
Of course, their parents were also invited to the party together with Sirius, Remus, Peter and Severus. Though, the last three guests had to cancel. Remus couldn't come because he was away on the continent to fulfil his duty as one of Lord Slytherin's ambassadors. Peter had owled a letter saying that he had gotten a cold and didn't want to risk infecting the other guests, especially not the small kids.
Severus, on the other hand, had to excuse himself because Headmaster Dumbledore hadn't allowed him to leave Hogwarts on a school night, especially not one where the kids were on sugar highs because of all the sweets they ate during the Halloween dinner and some of them would most likely end up being in the need of one of Severus' potions. So no, the new Potions master of Hogwarts couldn't leave the grounds on Halloween.
While I was happily munching on a pumpkin pastry and Draco took a sip of his pumpkin juice, the two of us sitting together on the carpeted living room floor, Alice Longbottom had just picked up her son Neville to change his sully diaper.
The rest of the adults were watching us kids while exchanging funny stories about us. For example, Narcissa told them about how her little dragon—who for the occasion was dressed in a dragon costume—hadn't wanted to go to sleep one afternoon because he wanted to continue playing with his toy blocks—or to be accurate, wanted to continue watching how the house-elf Dobby made the block tower higher and higher with every new piece he levitated.
So, to make her son go to bed, Narcissa had told him that he would get a piece of apple pie for afternoon tea. Though, Dobby could only bake the pie if he wasn't busy levitating blocks, she explained to him in a way even a nearly one and a half year old could understand. It was funny to see how fast little Draco stopped saying his favourite word "No" and instead rushed, as fast as he could on his little legs, towards his bed at the promise of his favourite dessert.
However, the joyous laughs of the adults were interrupted by a loud "Bang" when the front door of our house was blasted out of its hinges.
Everyone instantly grabbed their wands, ready to fight off whoever was currently attacking them. The only one who didn't reach for her wand was Narcissa. The blonde Malfoy matriarch sprinted, together with my mother, over to where Draco and I were sitting on the floor. While my mother stood guard over her and us, Narcissa picked up the both of us and made a rush for the Floo—the quickest way to safety available for us; Lily hot on her heels.
Though, before we could reach the safety of the fireplace where Alice was already waiting with Neville in her arms, Fenrir Greyback entered my parents' living room together with seven of his pack members. And while that Halloween night wasn't a full moon and the afternoon sun was still shining outside, the werewolves were still half-transformed, sporting more than the normal amount of body hair, as well as sharp claws on their hands. So, they all had obviously consumed an incorrectly brewed version of the Wolfsboon Potion. This potion had the opposite effects of the Wolfsbane potion and would allow a werewolf to transform into his wolf form even if it was still light outside and the full moon days away. Of course, under Tom Riddle's reign this potion was classified as illegal.
"The big, bad wolf and his friends have arrived, my little sheep," Greyback barked out as he ran into the living room, blindly casting some Blasting Curses around the room.
"And don't forget the little lambs," Greyback's fifty-five year old looking beta added, a hungry look on his face as he stared at Draco and I in Narcissa's arms. Fenrir's second in command was known to have a special liking for small children. The younger, the better was his motto. Thus, it wasn't surprising for the occupants of the room when he made a mad rush towards the blonde Malfoy woman before she could escape with his prey.
They needed every fighter they could get to fend off the rouge werewolves as they were already outnumbered. Therefore, Narcissa somehow managed to also take Neville into her arms, so that Alice could stay behind and fight too. While my mother threw some Floo powder into the flames, the beta wolf was already only two metres away from me and Draco.
The blond's mother hastily called out, "Malfoy Manor". But before she could reach the safety of the green flames, the werewolf already lunged with his razor sharp claws after me, as I was the closest to him.
"Not my son!" my mother, Lily, screamed as she threw her own body in the claws' path, letting out a scream of pain as her left shoulder was torn open, leaving behind a deep red bleeding line. But, she would take the pain any day if it meant that I would be safe.
So, with a grimaced smile on her face, she fired a cutting hex back at her attacker as soon as the flames behind Narcissa Malfoy had turned from green to their normal orange-red colour.
Thank Merlin, the boys are safe, was all the adults thought as they watched the fireplace before they started to attack the intruders with everything they had.
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As soon as Narcissa was in the safety of Malfoy Manor, she called out for Dobby to bring her the spare playpen. After putting a crying Neville, a frightened Draco and a surprisingly totally and unnaturally calm me down in the playpen, she went back to the Floo to call for help.
First, she contacted her sister Bellatrix at the Lestrange Manor. Not only was her sister a famous healer, but also a powerful duellist. So, depending on how the fight went Bella could either help fighting or she could start on healing anyone who was gravely injured.
After Narcissa had told her what was happening, Bellatrix immediately flooed to my home to help my parents, her husband of seven months and brother-in-law in tow.
Next on Narcissa's contact list was Severus. He, like Bella, was a powerful dueller, but that wasn't why she called him. As a Potions master, he would be able to supply them with any healing potions they may need.
"Severus," the blonde called out into Snape's living room at Hogwarts.
"Hello, Narcissa," the Potions master answered her in his deep voice as he walked from his armchair towards the fireplace.
"Something terrible happened. Greyback is attacking the Potters' home," she hastily explained her reason for calling.
That, of course, got Severus' attention. "I'm on my way," he said, rushing into his bedroom to grab his emergency potions kit that he always had ready for situations just like this one. He didn't even think what Dumbledore would say about his abrupt departure when the headmaster heard of this.
But, the Potions master wasn't the only one who was spurred into action. Lord Slytherin got up from his armchair when he heard that I was in danger.
"Are the children safe?" he immediately asked Narcissa as he turned into the view of the fireplace. Severus had told him about the Halloween party my parents were throwing for me and my two friends.
"I'm sorry, my Lord. I haven't seen you," she began, excusing her lack of a proper greeting. "But, yes, the children are safe. I'd been able to escape with them before the fight could really start."
"Good," Riddle said, relieved that I and the others were safe.
Just then Severus re-entered the room with his emergency potions kit. "If you'll let us through," he asked the Malfoy matriarch.
Narcissa didn't hesitate to cancel the Floo call, so that Severus' Floo would be free for him and Tom to travel to my family's house in Godric's Hollow.
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"How dare you to attack my Drakky-poo and my Harry-kins," an angry Bellatrix Lestrange yelled as she stepped out of the Floo, wand at the ready.
While the woman was a brilliant witch, both Draco and I hated the nicknames Bella gave us when we were still little kids and continued to use during the rest of our lives. But then, when wasn't someone brilliant also a bit mad? At least her madness was restricted to the occasional baby-talk when she was really angry or really happy about something. And for a Black, this was a rather mild form of insanity.
Looking around, she saw that her brother-in-law Lucius had already been able to immobilise and to constrain one of the werewolves and was now busy fighting against a second one. Her cousin Sirius was standing back to back with my father, fighting against three of the half-transformed wolves who had surrounded them. My mother Lily was trying her best to defend herself against the beta of the pack with her injured left shoulder.
Frank Longbottom was currently trying his best to finish off his opponent, so that he could assist his wife Alice, who was currently about to lose against Fenrir Greyback. The leader of the werewolf back had instantly run towards the brunette and attacked her with vigour.
"Oh, you'll pay, you little bitch, for severely injuring my mate," Greyback snarled at Alice, who was already heavily wounded and lying on the ground, unable to defend herself any further.
Not losing any more time, Bellatrix cast a dark curse Fenrir's way, getting him away from Alice just in time before he could make the final blow and kill Neville's mother.
"Cover me, Rodolphus," she yelled over her shoulder towards her husband, who had just emerged from the fireplace. She sprinted over towards Alice's side to try and save her life while Rodolphus shielded the two women from the attacking werewolves.
Just as the newly arrived Rabastan was about to run over and confront Greyback, Frank finally defeated his own werewolf and attacked the alpha, intending to avenge his wife. Not wanting to deny the head of the Longbottom family his retribution, Rabastan instead decided to help out my godfather and father, not having noticed that my mother, would have need his help more than them.
Greyback was ecstatic as he saw that his new opponent would be Frank Longbottom. "Don't worry, little sheep, I would have come after you too anyway," was all the werewolf said before he attacked the husband of the woman he had nearly killed moments ago.
As the fight continued, Lucius succeeded in injuring his opponent's left leg and Rabastan killed one of the three werewolves he was fighting against with James and Sirius. With two down and one of them killed, the werewolves were now outnumbered―five of them against seven wizards and witches who could still fight, as now Frank was also too injured to count as a serious opponent.
So, when finally Severus and Lord Slytherin arrived at the scene, it wasn't surprising when Greyback ordered, "Retreat! I finished what I came here for." Though that didn't stop Fenrir to claw once more at Frank, as well as the beta wolf having a final blow at my mother, who screamed out a loud cry of pain as her lower stomach was cut opened while she had been distracted by Greyback's order of retraction.
While the werewolves fled the scene, Severus and my father immediately ran over to where my mother was sitting on the floor, clutching her stomach, trying to stop the blood from flowing out. And what they saw when they finally reached her wasn't pretty at all. Severus was wondering how Lily was still conscious.
Not losing any time, the Potions master instantly started to cast healing charms and giving her potions to help with the healing process, as well as a Blood-Replenishing Potion. He dearly hoped that she would be all right.
With Lily being taken care of by Severus, Tom, the only one besides Snape and Bellatrix who knew advance healing spells, hurried towards Frank Longbottom. While he was in a better shape than his wife, he was still in danger of dying due to blood loss or internal bleeding. So, first he checked for any internal injuries. Finding that one of the man's lungs was punctured, Lord Slytherin cast a spell which would not heal the wound but at least would help Frank with breathing until Bellatrix or another healer could have a look at it.
Just as Sirius, Lucius and Rabastan re-entered the living room―the three men had run after the werewolves but had been unable to catch any more of them as they quickly Apparated away as soon as they were outside of the Anti-Apparition wards―Bellatrix had walked over to her beloved Lord.
"How is she faring?" Tom asked Bella about Alice, pointing his head in the direction of the injured witch.
"She is so gravely injured that I had to put her in a healing coma. It will take months before she'll be well enough to leave St Mungo's," was the healers honest evaluation of the woman's current situation.
"But she'll make it?" Frank asked in a raspy voice, having to know that Alice would be all right in the end.
"Yes, she should make it," Bella answered. And with a sigh of relief, Frank Longbottom closed his eyes. He was utterly exhausted from his own injuries and needed the rest.
"I better put him in a healing coma, too," Bellatrix Lestrange said after she cast her own very advanced diagnostic spell which had revealed that Frank, in addition to his punctured lung, also had a small bleeding in his brain. So, it was for the best to put him in a magical coma to prevent him from getting worse.
"Any luck with catching some of them?" Rodolphus asked his brother.
"No," Rabastan answered with a shake of his head.
"At least we still have the one I captured at the beginning," Lucius added his own two cents.
"The one Frank knocked out regrettably had gained conscious again just before they started to retreat. Though, it's obvious from Greyback's words that they came here to attack the Longbottoms because Frank had been able to cut of the right arm of his mate and he wanted to take revenge on them," the blond said.
"The fact that he could at the same time have a go at the rest of us, surely was a pretty little boon to him too," Sirius added. "Though, I wonder how he knew that Frank and Alice would be here today and not at their own home?" he wondered aloud.
"That is something I would love to know too," Lord Slytherin said.
"I'm sure that I can get something out of him," Lucius told them, kicking the stunned half-transformed werewolf he had captured.
"Lucius, Rabastan, take the prisoner to the dungeon in Slytherin Manor. James, Severus, Bellatrix and Rodolphus bring the injured to St Mungo's. I'll go to Malfoy Manor and inform Narcissa that everyone is still alive," Riddle divided the tasks. Purposefully making it so that he could check up on me in person.
"We'll all meet tomorrow afternoon to discuss what to do next," Lord Slytherin added, just before he left the room and flooed to Malfoy Manor.
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When Tom arrived, he was greeted by a rare sight. The stoic Malfoy matriarch was kneeling on the ground in front of the playpen, singing a song to calm Neville and Draco down, who were still a bit hysterical about the sudden werewolf attack.
I, on the other hand, had been calmly sitting in one corner of the playpen. That was until I noticed Tom standing behind the blonde woman. Then, I pushed myself up into a standing position with the help of the playpen's wooden bars and stared unblinking right into Tom's dark brown, nearly black, eyes. When he returned my look, I held out my arms in front of me and demanded, "Up!"
That didn't only make Tom chuckle in amusement, but also made Narcissa stop singing.
"My Lord," she greeted, when she noticed for the first time that she wasn't alone with us kids any longer.
"Narcissa," Lord Slytherin answered in turn, nodding his head towards her and stepping towards me to pick me up in his arms for the first time in my life.
"Everyone is still alive, but the Longbottoms and Lily had to be brought to St Mungo's because of their injuries," he informed her while he petted my hair and I listened to his calmly beating heart, enjoying the contact with his warm chest, as well as his attention.
"But, don't worry they'll live," he added, when he noticed Narcissa's face having paled at his news.
"Thank Merlin," the blonde said, relieved.
"Lucius should join us in an hour. He had to take care of one of the attackers first," he further informed Narcissa, still patting my black hair.
"Would you like to wait in the parlour for Lucius' arrival?" she asked her Lord, as he obviously intended to stay until her husband returned.
"Lead the way," was his answer. So, Narcissa picked up both her son and Neville and walked from the Floo room to the parlour. Tom following after her with me nearly asleep in his arms.
Once there, instead of putting me down in the parlour's playpen with Neville and Draco, Tom sat down in one of the armchairs with me in his lap, saying that he didn't want to wake me up by putting me down with the other two children.
"If I may ask, my Lord, why were you visiting Severus at Hogwarts?" Narcissa cautiously asked Riddle. While it was know that Lord Slytherin was good friends with Abraxas Malfoy and also his son Lucius, Narcissa wasn't as well acquainted on a personal level with her Lord. How Severus had been able to so easily gain Lord Slytherin's favour and thus, was allowed to speak freely with Tom Riddle, even she, with all her connections, didn't know.
"I've heard that Dumbledore had forbidden him to leave the grounds today to attend the Potter's party, so I thought I would keep him company instead. It's never nice if one has to spend the holidays all alone," Lord Slytherin answered, not giving away anything of importance.
"That's very generous of you," Narcissa answered, trying to find any hidden motives besides the obvious―checking up on what Albus Dumbledore was up to.
And Narcissa wasn't wrong in her belief that there was also another reason behind the visit. Though, even in a million years she wouldn't have guessed that his ulterior motive was in fact the special Hogwarts Halloween dinner, he secretly loved ever since his first year at Hogwarts.
Even though Tom Riddle was the ancestor of Salazar Slytherin and the current Lord Slytherin, the Hogwarts' house-elves strictly refused to give Tom, or even his house-elves, the recipes for their Halloween specialities. They said that the recipes belonged to Helga Hufflepuff and not to Hogwarts, thus Tom had no right to know the secret behind all the deserts and other heavenly things they cooked on the last day of October. So, if Tom wanted to eat Hogwarts' special Halloween food, he had no other choice but to go to the castle on Samhain.
But of course Lord Slytherin would never tell Narcissa that, so instead of further commenting on his reasons to why he'd been visiting Severus, Riddle took a sip of his black tea, forcing Narcissa to change the topic.
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"Drakky-poo, Harry-kins," Bellatrix's overly high voice suddenly interrupted my peaceful sleep half an hour after Tom had entered the parlour. "Don't be afraid anymore, your Aunty Bella is here," she yelled as she opened the parlour door.
She suddenly halted in her steps when she noticed that I was sitting in Tom's lap, cuddled up to his chest and was currently rubbing my tired eyes. It wasn't every day or even any day that Tom Riddle would allow a child to sit in his lap. And while she knew that I was only a little child, she couldn't help to still be jealous of me because she wanted to be the one to sit in her beloved Lord's lap and do something else than just innocently sleeping.
"Bellatrix," Tom scolded her for waking me up. While he gave her a nasty glare, he protectively also put his left arm around me, hugging me closer to his chest.
"I'm sorry, my Lord," she excused herself, giving Lord Slytherin a curtsy. "I was just so worried about my little nephews. Surely the half-transformed werewolves must have scarred them."
"Don't worry, Bellatrix. Little Harry has been sleeping peacefully the entire time," Tom assured. The 'until you so rudely woke him up' stayed unsaid but was obvious to all of the adults.
"So, Harry, would you like to continue sleeping," Tom asked me as Bella turned to fuss over Draco and Neville. She didn't want to anger Tom any more with fussing over me.
"No," I told him while shaking my head vehemently as every one year old would at the mentioning of a nap.
"Would you like to go and join Draco and Neville then?" Tom asked further, even if he would like nothing better than to keep me in his arms. Though, why he felt that way about me he didn't know. After all, it was only the first time today that we had properly met each other and I was just a child in his eyes right now, not a potential lover.
"No," I once again answered him. This time purposefully looking away from where Bella was nearly suffocating little Neville as she pressed him to her bosom. Even if I was only a little over a year old, I already hated Bellatrix's overbearing nature when she was in her mother-hen mode. Though, I still loved her special cookies with lots of Smarties in them. After all, they were the reason why she was my favourite aunt.
"And what would you like to do instead?" he finally asked me, not able to come up with any more alternatives.
"Way," I said, crossing my arms over my chest, already starting to pout.
Fortunately for me, Tom did interpret my words correctly. So, instead of asking me if I wanted to go away, he questioned, "You want to stay here?" To which I enthusiastically nodded my head in confirmation.
"As you wish, little one," Tom surrendered to my demand with a kiss on my head. Both of us were happy that we could stay just like we were for a little while longer.
"You're really good with children, my Lord," Narcissa commented a minute later after Tom had wandlessly and wordlessly conjured some soap-bubbles for me to play with. I was letting out a happy laugh every time I got a bubble to burst.
When nearly ten minutes later my father and Lucius Malfoy joined the six of us in the parlour, I was excitedly clapping my hands, demanding, "More, more!" as moments ago I had destroyed the last soap-bubble Tom had conjured.
"I see that my little man is having a lot of fun," my father said while he walked over towards where I was still sitting in Tom's lap. He was not only relieved to see that I was happy, but also that I felt very comfortable around my hopefully future husband, Tom.
Even when my father was ruffling my hair, I didn't stop my little chant of, "More, more!" as Tom still hadn't complied with my wishes.
"He is very easy to please," Tom said, just before he conjured some more soap-bubbles for me to play with.
"How is Lily?" Narcissa asked about my mother after Lucius had joined his wife on the loveseat and my father had sat down beside Lord Slytherin. For the moment James had decided to let me sit in Lord Slytherin's lap as Riddle obviously didn't mind having me sitting there, even if some of the bubble soap was wetting his expensive trousers.
"Under her circumstances, she is rather well. The potions Severus had given her had helped immensely with speeding up her recovery time. Her healer said that she should be free to leave in three to four days," my father answered. He purposefully withheld that while my mother would live, she most likely wouldn't be able to have any more children because of the deep stomach wound. But this wasn't something you shared with non-family members.
"I'm glad to hear this. Do you know how the Longbottoms are doing?" she questioned further.
"The healer in charge had said that without your sister both of them would have been dead. If Bellatrix hadn't immediately started to treat Alice when she arrived at our home, she would have died while we were still busy fighting against the werewolves. And even if Alice could have been brought to St Mungo's at that time, not many healers there would have been able to save her," James explained Bella's heroic deed.
Bellatrix was too busy dotting over Draco and Neville to really listen to the others' conversation, but when Tom praised, "Yes, Bellatrix really is an extraordinary talented healer," she turned away from my two friends to look at him.
"You flatter me, my Lord," she tried to play down her worth. Though, on the inside she was very happy for Tom to praise her like that. It would take another year or two until she would be able to get over her crush on Tom and could fall in love with her husband.
"And you are too modest," Tom answered. After all, it was her and not him who noticed that Frank Longbottom had acquired a brain injury. That comment made Bellatrix blush while I laughed as another soap-bubble was destroyed.
"Oh, before I forget," my father began. "I've already contacted Augusta Longbottom about what happened to her son and daughter-in-law. She said that she'll be here shortly to pick up Neville."
"I'm sure that Neville will be happy to be back in his own home," Narcissa said. Opposed to me, Neville didn't seem to be overly comfortable when he was visiting the Malfoys, or anyone else for the matter, when he couldn't see his parents. It would be good for him to at least sleep in his own bed when he would be separated from his parents for a while.
"Speaking of home, I've offered James that he and his family could stay here until their house is repaired," Lucius informed his wife. He had already asked my father if he wanted to stay when they'd been walking together towards the parlour.
Why didn't I think of this, Tom scolded himself when he heard the offer. It would have been the perfect opportunity for him to get to know me a bit better, even if I was just one year old at that time.
"Did you hear, my little dragon?" Narcissa asked her son. "Harry will be staying with us for the next days, so you can play all day long."
That made Draco stop playing with Neville, Bellatrix and his dragon toys in the playpen and demand "Up". Bellatrix, of course, complied with his wish and took him in her arms so that she could carry him over to his parents while she sat down with Neville in her lap in the armchair next to her sister as we all waited for Neville to be picked up by his grandmother.
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When my father and Narcissa were getting me and Draco ready for the night, Lucius and Tom were discussing in the study what the blond had been able to get out of their prisoner.
"The rogue werewolf told me that Peter Pettigrew had been the one to inform Greyback about the Potter's Halloween party and who would be there," Lucius reported.
"Apparently some days ago, while Pettigrew was out in the woods to collect some potion ingredients as a part of his job for an apothecary, the little rat ran into Greyback and two of his pack members. To save his own useless hide, he told them that the Potter's Halloween party would be a good opportunity for Greyback to get revenge, as not only the Longbottoms but also James and I would be there," the blond elaborated.
"And where is Pettigrew now?" Tom asked in a cold voice. He knew that Peter was one of my father's closest friends from his time at Hogwarts and it was beyond his comprehension why such a good friend would do such a thing. If he had been able to escape, he could at least have warned his friends of the impending attack.
"The werewolf told us that Greyback let him go after he threatened him to secrecy," Lucius answered. "Both Lestranges are already searching for him as we speak."
"Good," Tom said. "Inform me immediately if he is found. I will punish him for his betrayal myself," he said before he left the room to return to Slytherin Manor.
Oh, the little rat would pay for endangering my Harry, was his last thought before Tom let sleep claim him that night.
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Nearly a week later, the Lestranges had finally been able to track down Peter Pettigrew. As it turned out, he had been hiding in the cellar of Honeydukes in his rat Animagus form, eating sweets to his heart's content.
"Hello, Peter," Lord Slytherin greeted as he entered the cell the Animagus was currently in.
"M-my Lord," the man answered with an unsteady voice, fearful of what was to come.
"I've heard that you're the reason why the Potters and their guests have been attacked by Fenrir Greyback and his pack," Tom began.
"I-it was-wasn't on purpose, m-my Lord. Th-they would have killed m-me, if I hadn't told th-them about the p-party," he stammered out, trying to save his life.
"I also heard of that, Peter. And since I'm a very forgiving lord, I've decided to let you get away with only a light punishment as no one was killed by your actions," Tom Riddle said, purposefully playing with Pettigrew's emotions.
"You are too generous, my Lord," Peter immediately said, relief clearly written on his face as he bowed in front of Lord Slytherin, even going so far as to kiss Riddle's boots. The house-elves would have to clean them before Tom would even think of wearing them again.
"Are you ready to accept the punishment I chose for you?" Tom asked.
"Y-yes, my Lord. Wha-whatever you believe I de-deserve," Pettigrew stammered once more, fearful of the pain he would surely feel soon.
"I'm glad to hear that, Peter," Lord Slytherin said with a smile as he took out a sharp knife. "But don't worry, instead of being sentenced to death because of treachery, you'll only have to cut off your left little finger as retribution," Tom said as he held out the knife to Peter.
Lord Slytherin wasn't worried at all to hand over a weapon to a prisoner. First, because he was perfectly capable to defend himself against the knife. And Second, because the knife was charmed so that you could only cut off fingers with it. If you intend to use it for any other purposes, be it to kill yourself or slit open someone else's throat, the knife would be as dull as a toothbrush.
"M-my Lord?" Peter asked disbelievingly, not taking the knife from his Lord. He couldn't believe what Riddle had just said. He had to cut off his own finger?
"I don't have all day, Peter," Tom said when Pettigrew didn't make any move to grab the knife from him. "I'm sure that you don't want to be in here longer than necessary, do you?" Lord Slytherin asked in encouragement.
"N-no, my Lord," he answered, hesitantly taking the knife into his right hand.
After about two minutes, Pettigrew had finally been able to talk himself into cutting off his own finger. You'll be free soon, was his favourite mantra. But, just as he was about to make the cut, Tom stopped him.
"No, Peter. Not just the first two knuckles," he reprimanded him. "You have to cut off the whole finger."
It took Peter Pettigrew nearly four minutes after Riddle's comment to bring himself to finally completely cut off his little finger.
"Well done, Peter," Lord Slytherin mockingly congratulated. "You can keep the knife as you'll need it again tomorrow," were Riddle's last words before he exited the cell, letting the traitor finally come to the realisation that he wouldn't leave his prison any time soon.
Once outside of Pettigrew's hearing range, he ordered, "Lucius, make sure that he cuts off one finger each day. If he doesn't do it himself, then put him under the Imperius Curse. I'll be back when it's time for him to start on his right hand."
"As you wish, my Lord," the blond answered with a nod of his head.
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As promised, Lord Slytherin came back after five days to visit the prisoner. Like he had expected, after the first day Pettigrew didn't cut off his fingers on his own any longer, so Lucius had to put him under the Imperius Curse for the task.
Peter was happy to see his Lord once again in his cell. Surely this had to mean that they would finally let him go. With my fingerless left hand they won't be able to make me cut off the fingers on my right hand simply because I can't hold the knife to cut off the fingers on my right hand, right? Peter argued. Except, if they also want me to cut off my toes. But surely they would have started with my toes first before cutting off my fingers? No, Lord Slytherin visiting me in my cell can only mean one thing; I will finally be free, Peter thought hopefully.
Tom loved the hopeful and eager look on Peter's face. Oh, yes torturing him will be fun, he thought gleefully.
"Peter, I come to you because I have a gift for you," he said, before he pulled out his wand and cast a spell which gave Pettigrew artificial silver fingers as a replacement for his lost ones.
"You are so gracious, my Lord," Peter said with tears in his eyes when he saw his new fingers, watching them move with awe.
"I'm glad that you like them," was all Riddle said before he let the door close behind him. This time Lucius wouldn't need to Imperio Pettigrew as the artificial fingers would grab the knife of their own accord and cut off one of Pettigrew's right fingers per day.
"Lucius, tell your sister-in-law that she can torture the traitor in five days to her heart's content," Lord Slytherin said.
While Bellatrix was a healer and normally worked hard to save lives, she really wanted to get back at the rat for endangering her little nephews and her other family members, like Sirius and Narcissa. And, as a Black, she was very, very good at torture.
"I'm sure she'll be glad to hear this," was the blond's answer. He really would enjoy watching the show Bellatrix would give him.
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All in all, the thirty-first of October in nineteen-eighty-one really was a day of great importance for many people in my life.
For Neville, it was the day he had nearly lost his parents. But, thanks to Bellatrix Lestrange they only had to stay in St Mungo's for a long while.
For his parents, it was the day they lost one month―or in Alice's case, nearly four months―with their son because they were placed in healing comas.
For Peter Pettigrew, it was the day he betrayed his friends, thus digging his own grave. While the rest of the world thought that he went missing, only Lucius, the Lestranges and Tom knew the truth.
For my parents, it was the day they lost any chance of having another child, as Greyback's beta had wounded my mother in a way where she could no longer conceive.
For Draco, it was the day when the two of us had our first sleep-over party which lasted a whole week. We both had a lot of fun that week, even though our parents scolded us when we decided to climb out of the bed we shared in the middle of the night on the second day of our sleep-over.
And for me and Tom, it was the first time we really interacted with each other.
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AN: So, how do you like it that while Bellatrix is still the reason why the Longbottoms ended up in St Mungo's, it was because she saved them instead of torturing them like in canon? Tell me what you think as I would love to hear your opinion.
Also, I've started a poll on my profile page where you can vote into which house Harry should be sorted.
Next: Harry has his Elencho Foreas and meets Tom again.
