Title: Odd Ideas and Plot Bunnies

Author: TardisIsTheOnlyWaytoTravel

What's this all about?

I get fanfiction ideas. Lots of them. Some of them are terrific, but often only a tiny fraction of them gets written, barely enough to make enough a chapter at times. But they're worth sharing, if only to give others inspiration. So here there are, each idea with its own chapter. You're welcome to borrow. Just give me credit for inspiration in your fic, that's all I ask.

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Plot Bunny:

Twelve years ago Voldemort got married to a powerful enchantress. Now his twin children are going to Hogwarts. Hwa?

o0o o0o o0o o0o

Author's Note: (written March 2006)

This is a little plot bunny that has been bugging me for a while now, because the Riddle twins were so clear and real in my mind. Don't blame me for writing this highly non-canon story. Salazar and Ebony bludgeoned me round the head with my keyboard until I agreed to write their story. Then Glory lost patience and hexed me. Is it any wonder I gave in?

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THE RIDDLE TWINS

PROLOGUE

The news stunned the wizarding world. After all, most people didn't even believe that enchantresses existed, and so the notion that one not only existed but that she was terribly powerful was difficult for many to grasp. The fact that as a non-witch her magic had never been noticed, which meant that she had grown up as a muggle and received no magical training whatsoever, was just as remarkable. It had been, in retrospect, a most short-sighted decision of the Ministry to declare that those magical people who were not witch or wizard would not be included in the wizarding world. After all, if Glory had been brought up in the wizarding world, and taught their ways and beliefs, then things might perhaps have turned out differently. But it was too late for lamenting now. Glory had been discovered and taught by none other than Lord Voldemort, a wizard so evil that only the exceedingly brave or exceedingly foolish dared speak his name. The fact that Voldemort now had a powerful enchantress in league with him wasn't even the worst of it. For Glory wasn't just a Death Eater.

She was his wife.

And Voldemort now had the opportunity to produce heirs, ensuring that a dark lord would always, forevermore, exist to break the fragile peace of the wizarding world.

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THE RIDDLE TWINS

CHAPTER ONE

The Dark Lord Voldemort, Heir of Salazar Slytherin, and quite possibly the most evil wizard alive at present, glared into the glass-green eyes of the young woman facing him. It was a testament to the woman's unusual character that she wasn't in the least fazed by receiving a look that would have had Voldemort's foremost Death Eater cringing in terror.

"They're fourteen, dear one," Glory told him firmly, steel showing in her gaze. "They need to have some experience of the normal world, learn how to deal with other people their own age. We have taught them all we can. It is time that the twins were sent to Hogwarts."

Voldemort was beat and he knew it. Usually Glory backed him completely, acting as a thoughtful adviser, but when she decided that she wanted something, then she would get it. Not for the first time he had wondered how he'd ended up letting Glory have so much control over him. It was odd, how quickly he had become fond of the long-legged, quick-tongued child his Death Eaters had captured some fifteen years ago whilst out on a muggle-baiting expedition. They had returned dragging a muggle teenager, who had screamed at the Dark Lord, "&! you, you bloody half-blood!"

By some miracle of fate she had seized on the very phrase that could make him pause. No muggle – indeed, few wizards – knew of his immediate ancestry. By the time he had worked out that it had been mere luck that Glory had insulted him so, he'd become inexplicably fond of the girl. She amused him, and she was intelligent and strong-willed as well as attractive, and he decided to keep her alive for the time being. Not long after, he found that while he had believed himself to be completely without a heart, Glory had nonetheless managed to find it and worm her way into it. Then she had discovered her magic and become as formidable as he, and they had ended up as Lord and Lady Voldemort, the terrors of the wizarding world.

The Dark Lord came out of his thoughts to find his wife still watching him.

"As usual, you are right," he hissed out silkily. "Much as it enrages me to admit it."

Glory just smiled at him as he snaked his arms around her and pulled her close. He was so possessive, her dear one. Predatorily so. It had been disturbing at first. She tilted her head and he brought his flat face down to kiss the side of her neck, the long pale fingers caressing skilfully. She leaned back into him, pressing provocatively against him…

"I wish you wouldn't do that," Salazar remarked. Glory moved her head lazily to bring her children into view while her husband continued his seduction.

The twins had somehow ended up with precisely the same features that Voldemort had once possessed, before dark spells and magics had mutilated his handsome face. Their likeness to him and to each other was, to say the least, striking. Ebony even had his sleek black hair, unlike Salazar, who had inherited his mother's blond locks. The only real difference between Tom Riddle's former face and theirs was that where his eyes had been a cold, pitch black, the twins each had the bright, glass-green eyes of their mother.

"You shouldn't be in here to see it," Glory informed him casually, knowing quite well exactly how the twins had circumvented the wards. Salazar shrugged and flickered a glance towards Ebony, placing all the blame on her shoulders. When the twins were been born, Voldemort and Glory had agreed that as his heir, Voldemort would train Salazar to be the next Dark Lord, while Glory would train their daughter in enchantress magic. The situation hadn't quite worked out as planned. While Salazar was, indeed, powerful and competent in his own right, in the end it was Ebony who was the leader of the two, and not him. While their separate training continued, Voldemort regarded them both as heir, and the twins intended to be twin Dark Lords, working together as they always had.

Now Glory raised her eyebrows at her daughter, because the only way the two of them could have entered was if Ebony had used her powers as an enchantress to force her way past the security spells.

Ebony simply shrugged slightly.

"If we don't leave now, we're going to be late and miss the train," she said by way of explanation. Glory smiled slightly and pulled away from her husband.

"Very well, you two. Got your trunks?"

The twins nodded in complete synchronisation.

"Only a glance at which objects is enough to inform the casual observer of which house we expect to be in," Ebony remarked dryly and somewhat caustically. Glory had to bite back a laugh as she thought of the trunks, each of which had the Slytherin crest emblazoned on the sides.

Voldemort frowned, and Glory hastily ushered the children out of the room before he could embark on one of his 'blood and ancestry are important' speeches that he was so fond of.

A quick spell later and the twins and their mother were walking onto platform nine and three-quarters at Kings Cross station, Salazar and Ebony in their school robes, Glory's identity hidden by the hood of her cloak, only her golden-bright hair visible.

They stopped near the train, and Glory bent to hug each of them firmly.

"Good luck," she told her offspring, stepping back. "I love you. Make sure that you write regularly, either separately or in tandem. Just try and write at least once a week. Be careful, and try not to cause too much trouble."

"Who, us?" Salazar asked sceptically.

"Impossible," Ebony agreed. Glory leant forward slightly so that they could see her mischievous smile and the bright green eyes alight with laughter.

"Of course not. You're in no way like me, after all," she replied, making the twins grin. A quick glance around, a small wave, and their mother disappeared off the platform.

Ebony and Salazar quickly boarded the train and began the search for a suitable compartment, beginning at the end one.

"Hi," said Salazar, he and Ebony sticking their heads around the door simultaneously. "Can we sit here?"

There was a black-haired, green eyed boy sitting with a girl of about the same age, who had the same green eyes but flaming red hair instead of black. On the other side sat another two redheads, a boy and a girl, these two with brown eyes.

"Ah," Ebony noted with interest. "James and Molly Potter, fourth and third years respectively, and their dear cousins Christopher and Persephone Weasley, also third year."

"Who are you?" James demanded suspiciously. He really did look remarkably like his father, with the same messy back hair and brilliant green eyes.

Salazar grinned and pushed the door open a little so that he and his sister could both stand in the doorway.

"Salazar – "

" – and Ebony –"

" – the Riddle twins," they finished in unison, drawing closer together and raising their eyebrows in identical, half-satirical expressions.

The reaction was immediate.

"Riddle?" both the Weasleys and the Potters exclaimed. James was up almost instantly.

"Get out!" he yelled. The twins glanced at each other.

"Hardly polite, Potter," Ebony observed.

"Nor diplomatic," Salazar added.

"We will follow your advice, however," Ebony said smoothly, and with one last, sardonic look at them all the twins left the compartment. One of the occupants slammed the door behind them.

Ebony and Salazar proceeded to another compartment. This time it was Ebony who greeted those inside.

"Hi," she said as Salazar's head appeared next to hers. "Can you spare a couple of seats?"

The conversation stopped and the twins were levelled with several appraising stares. The blonde boy nearest to them gave them a calculating look, his eyebrows rising very slightly.

"That depends on who you are," he replied coolly.

The twins expressions became ever-so-slightly disdainful and their noses rose marginally.

"We," the twins said together, quite blasé, "are Salazar and Ebony Riddle, generally referred to as the Riddle twins."

The boy gave them a still rather dubious look.

"I see," he drawled. "Both of your parents magical, I suppose?"

Their eyebrows rose and the almost inconsiderable disdain increased a little.

"Indubitably," Salazar replied coolly.

"Indisputably," Ebony added with hauteur.

They seemed to have passed the blonde boy's test, because he made a careless gesture towards the surrounding seats.

"We have a few seats free," he said casually. "I'm Malfoy, Maximus Malfoy."

The twins leaned forward.

"Of course," Ebony purred, " – Maximus – "

" – the beloved son of our dear Draco Malfoy – "

" – grandson of the unfortunate Lucius Malfoy –"

" – who did not, sadly, grasp the concept of loyalty."

"We've wanted to meet you for quite some time now," Ebony finished, just as smoothly as she'd started. Twin pairs of bright glass-green eyes gleamed at him.

Maximus' pale cheeks attained a slight pink tinge.

"My grandfather is better than yours, Riddles!" he snapped. The twins eyebrows rose.

"In terms of blood, you are probably correct," Ebony replied. "But I wouldn't take that tone with us."

"You'll find out why soon enough," Salazar said, his tone conversational. "Since our dearest father has decided to reveal the existence of his twin heirs to his, ah, family."

The twins smirked evilly and sat back.

"You can't speak to me like that!" Malfoy cried, getting to his feet and holding his wand tightly. Suddenly two sets of cold eyes were boring into him inexorably. Keeping her eyes fixed on him, Ebony opened her mouth and let out a long, low hiss. Malfoy and the others started, and the others moved back nervously as Salazar opened his mouth and replied in kind. The two glanced at each other for a moment before looking back at Maximus with twice the coldness.

"We can speak to you however we like, Malfoy," Ebony told him icily. "Denying that fact will merely land yourself and your father in trouble."

"And if you think our father is bad," Salazar put in, "then you should meet our mother."

The two of them gave odd little smiles at that. Together they turned to the other students in the compartment.

"And who are all of you?" Salazar asked brightly.

"You're Parselmouths!" blurted one of the smaller boys. Ebony smiled at him.

"Perceptive of you. I'd thought that stating the obvious was more of a Hufflepuff trait."

The boy blushed and sank into his seat.

"We," Salazar remarked, leaning back into his own seat as his sister did the same, "speak Parseltongue, because we inherited it from our father. It would have been surprising if we had not. We are of the Slytherin line, after all."

Gasps from their companions. The more quick-witted among them realised almost instantly what this meant, and wide-eyed, they sent wary, respectful looks at the Riddle twins.

Malfoy, of course, was too caught up in his annoyance to put anything together.

"So you're of the Slytherin line," he sneered. "It's not like anyone's heard of your family recently!"

Ebony and Salazar's eyes met; they burst out laughing.

"You don't know much history, do you?" Ebony asked cheerfully, still giggling. "Honestly, what family do you think Lord Voldemort comes from?" She smiled ever-so-sweetly.

Maximus blinked, aware that he was missing something. Pieces began to come together in his head. Surely they didn't mean…

Two identical sets of eyes gleamed at him disturbingly. Malfoy let out a most-undistinguished yelp and took a set backwards, tripping over his trunk and slamming into the floor and his seat.

The twins smirked and Ebony peered down at him while Salazar surveyed the other occupants of the compartment. Maximus, wincing, looked up fearfully to find the black-haired girl smiling down at him, the look in her eyes indecipherable.

"Don't worry, we don't usually bite," she said, sounding surprisingly friendly.

"But we won't put up with disrespect," remarked Salazar. Ebony extended a hand towards Maximus, and after a moment he warily accepted it and allowed her to help him back up. Salazar watched mildly and wondered what his sister was up to.

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While everyone else made their way to their house tables, Ebony and Salazar sauntered up to the head table for a quick chat with the headmaster. Albus turned to look at them as he approached, his expression quickly becoming inscrutable as he got a good look at the two.

"Good evening, sir," Salazar said politely.

"We apologise for not informing you earlier on, but my brother and I are here to begin our formal magical education," Ebony continued smoothly. They smiled in unison.

"We're the Riddle twins, sir: Ebony and Salazar."

Severus Snape choked on his pumpkin juice, something that no one could recall him ever doing before, at least not in his days as a teacher. He recovered to find himself under the scrutiny of two pairs of calculating eyes. His narrowed and he returned the calculating look. That seemed to tell them what they wanted to know, because they turned back to Dumbledore.

"So, sir, we'll need to be Sorted, assuming that we are allowed to attend," Salazar added, with a bit of charm, something he'd always been good at. Ebony probably could have done it too, if she'd tried, but she preferred to be more… subtle.

"I see that you've inherited your father's charm," Albus said, twinkling a little at him. Snape managed to refrain from choking this time.

The twins gave the headmaster thoroughly disbelieving looks.

"Our father, the walking corpse?" Ebony said incredulously. Once again, Snape choked, and was thumped on the back by Hagrid, which kindly-meant action almost hammered him into the table. He straightened himself and sent a particularly nasty glare at the man, which made Hagrid reflect that Snape was always going to be a snarky bastard.

Dumbledore (pretending that he wasn't greatly amused by the little scene occurring to his right) smiled at the siblings.

"Oh, your father was very charming in his day," he assured them. Salazar raised one mobile eyebrow.

"Personally, I feel we inherited more Mother's charm than our Father's," he observed. Ebony nodded her agreement.

"You will have to tell me more after the feast," Dumbledore smiled. The twins smiled back courteously, as though actually contemplating such a thing.

"For the moment, however, it would be best if you stood over near the door, so that you can be Sorted once the first years Sorting has been done."

Midget after midget filed past until finally Dumbledore stood.

"We have two more students needing to be Sorted," he announced jovially, "Ebony and Salazar Riddle. Miss Riddle, if you could take your turn first, please?..."

Ebony moved forward as composedly as usual, placing the hat on her head and feeling a tinge of annoyance as the brim slipped over her eyes.

Gryffindor must have had a head the size of a manticore if this thing fit him, she thought acerbically. A low chuckle sounded in her mind.

A Riddle, are we? the Hat asked. Ebony presumed that the question was rhetorical and didn't reply. Well, well. Your father has certainly achieved the greatness he achieved. But what about you?

Salazar and I will rule when his reign his finished, she replied coolly. The Dark Lord and Lady, terrors of the wizarding world.

The Hat wasn't satisfied, however.

Is that so? Hmm, not much of a challenge though, is it? Not when you haven't accomplished it by yourself. Still, you're certainly ambitious enough to achieve anything you want to, and already on the path to greatness. The house that will assist you the most in your endeavours is certainly

"SLYTHERIN!"

Ebony pulled the Hat off her head and calmly replaced it on the stool, taking a seat at the cheering Slytherin table next to Maximus. Salazar moved forward.

Two Riddles at once, eh? I suppose you're planning to take over the wizarding world too?

I am my father's heir, Salazar replied shortly. Naturally.

Ah, but it's your sister who really runs the show, isn't it? Not that you don't have ambition, plenty of that, intelligence too, but if it's a competition between you and her then she's certainly going to win. Why not leave the Dark Lord business to her and find your own path, one where you can be in charge?

Salazar didn't quite know how to respond. The Hat continued its musings.

Well, whatever you choose to do, the alliances and connections that you forge along the way will only be of assistance, so I suppose that the best place for you would be

"SLYTHERIN!"

Salazar took his place to his sister, exterior calm but mind whirling.

A path other than being Dark Lord?

Even as his brain scoffed at it another part embraced the idea wistfully. Everything that the Hat had said was true. Much as he loved his sister, he really would love to have a career of his own, a life of his own where he was his own person and not half of something. But turning his back on his position? his heritage? his father?

Ebony's thoughts were similarly disturbed. She'd always wanted to be a Dark Lady, always, from the time she was small and only Salazar was being raised as heir. She was just as good as he was and they did everything together, and if he was going to do it she would too. But the Hat's words resonated with her in a way she hadn't expected. It was right, she had more ambition than that, wanted to build up a reputation for herself rather than just as Voldemort's daughter. Besides, his position was too black-and-white; Ebony preferred to be on both sides of an issue and not in the spotlight but working behind the scenes to achieve what she wanted.