I borrowed some dialogue here because Tom Riddle speaks the way Tom Riddle speaks and it's in a sort of warped parallel with canon
Chapter 21: Cooking With Daddy
Krait found it bizarrely melodramatic to be performing a magical ritual in the middle of a graveyard; like a bad gothic horror movie.
"All we need now is Boris Karloff" she muttered to herself.
The cauldron was a huge stone one, big enough to take a man; and Severus started a fire beneath it, carefully adding a few ingredients to the water within.
"Venom….rosemary….shredded boomslang skin in prepared salts.."
"Snake oil in spades for the wolf tickets train…" Krait hummed the line from the song in his head.
"Don't distract me…if I get this wrong he'll kill us both" he returned testily.
At last he was ready.
"Put me in, daughter" Voldemort said.
Krait picked him up.
"Do I remind you at all of my mother?" she asked, conversationally, as much for something to say to cover the whole horror of the business as any other reason. He looked at her coolly.
"I can't say I even remember her" he said.
Krait exercised her entire willpower not to snap the fragile looking neck at that point and to keep her body or her mind from showing any emotion. Clearing the surge of rage was the hardest thing she had ever done.
"Well done…that vanished as soon as it formed. I do not think he saw it" Severus praised her.
"That alone is enough to destroy any sympathy for him he might have persuaded me to harbour" Krait returned coldly. Emotionlessly she laid the homunculus figure into the cauldron.
Severus raised his wand.
"Bone of the father, unknowingly given, to renew his only son…"
The grave by which the cauldron stood cracked and a fine trickle of dust rose into the air, directed by Severus' wand and fell in a sprinkling shower into the cauldron. Wormtail was whimpering. Severus looked at him.
"Flesh of the servant, willingly given…" he said. "To revive your master…"
Wormtail pulled a long, thin silver dagger from his robes, sobbing in terror. He stretched out his right hand, the one that was missing a finger; and swung the dagger up – then down! It must, reflected Krait, be a magical blade, for the cut in mid air should have been inefficient; yet the hand flew off and fell to the ground with a horrid splut, almost but not quite drowned by Wormtail's thin scream of agony. Krait shivered. She felt sorry for Wormtail. He had been humiliated by James Potter when called friend; now he was serving another who treated him as badly. Worse. Severus picked up the fallen hand by one finger with every display of slight distaste and dropped it into the cauldron.
The potion had turned a burning red now and Wormtail had sunk to the ground cradling his maimed limb to him.
"Blood of the enemy wrested by force to resurrect your foe" said Severus tonelessly, pouring in Harry's blood. The liquid turned a blinding white, sending up crystal sparks into the night. There was a long moment of uncertainty.
Suddenly the sparks from the cauldron ceased and a massive head of steam rose. Within it was the outline of a man, tall and thin, rising slowly.
"Robe me" said the high, thin voice from the steam. Severus picked up black robes that lay folded neatly on the ground – Wormtail had dumped them down anyhow when they had come down, Krait had absently set her father on her hip like a babe and folded them properly with an exclamation of irritation that had seemed to amuse Voldemort mightily – and pulled them over the dark lord's head. Voldemort stepped out of the cauldron, his face whiter than a skull with scarlet eyes, his nose flattened and snake like with slits for nostrils. He examined his new body carefully, touching his chest, arms, face with his long white fingers, which he flexed happily. His expression was one of rapt exultation. He ignored everyone else whilst he gloried in the possession of a new body.
-/-
Krait was watching Wormtail, sobbing on the ground, gazing at Voldemort with a look of hope, adoration and revulsion. The dark lord approached his minion.
"Hold out your arm…"
"THANK you master.." trembling the maimed wizard held out the bleeding stump.
"OTHER arm"
"Master, please…you promised…
Voldemort grabbed the shivering man's left arm and roughly pushed up the sleeve. Morsmorde was red and angry there; and Krait knew that Severus' arm too knew that its creator had returned to full power.
"So…it is back clearly" Voldemort whispered. "And Severus noticed and was obedient to it when first it showed….now we shall know how many are still loyal, how many will be brave enough to come….and how many foolish enough to stay away." He pressed a long white finger to the mark on Wormtail's arm; and the little wizard howled again in pain. Severus' hand leaped to his own forearm. Voldemort looked at Krait. "I should place my mark upon my daughter."
"There are one or two impracticalities to that, My Father" she said.
"Explain."
"Girls are less modest in changing rooms than boys; and even if I can hide it from my peer group, I get to change after Quidditch with Madam Hooch" Krait lied smoothly. "I am more potent as a hidden asset; especially if any decide to betray you and you need unsuspected assistance. Severus is always slightly suspect by the other side as are all who renounced allegiance and claimed the Imperius curse as a reason for their actions. I am a sweet innocent looking little thing. That is almost as powerful as my skills."
"Indeed…" he mused. "Does Severus think you a sweet, innocent little thing?"
Krait glanced across to her lover.
"Think about kissing me hard…show your desire, let it leak out.." she suggested.
Severus looked at her, let his eyes dwell on her.
"Your heat sensing abilities from the snake will tell you that…" she said to her father. "Let's just say, even when he calls me 'princess' it's not my feet he dreams of kissing…I enjoy the sense of control that gives me. does it displease you?"
He laughed his unpleasant laugh.
"No…it is another way to bind him. You may enjoy your games…unless you feel like combining with him against me." there was a hard edge to that warning. Krait shrugged.
"You know the extent of my ambitions….and he is too devoted to you for me to play any foolish games like that. There are newcomers."
There were indeed newcomers, hooded and masked, coming forward cautiously and slowly. One of them fell to his knees to kiss Voldemort's hem; and the others followed suit, whispering 'master…master…' They formed a circle; a circle with several gaps. Evidently each had his particular place. Severus started to move to a place in the circle and Voldemort clicked his long thin fingers, indicating with a gesture that Krait was to join him. The circle of hooded wizards was unnerving; but Krait put back her head and stared down her nose.
"Welcome my Deatheaters" said Voldemort softly. "Thirteen years…thirteen years since we met. Yet you answer my call as though it were yesterday…we are still united under the dark mark then…or ARE we?" he sniffed the air with his terrible inhuman face. "I smell guilt, the stench of guilt upon the air."
There was a shiver of fear about the circle as Voldemort began to berate the assembled Deatheaters, castigating them for their abandonment for the last thirteen years, whipping them with his tongue.
"I ask myself, how can my LOYAL followers have believed I would not rise again? They who know the steps I took long ago to guard myself from mortal death? Those who have seen the proofs of the immensity of my power in the times when I was mightier than any wizard living? Surely they did not believe that a greater power could exist, did not believe I, Lord Voldemort, might be vanquished by anyone? Or do they now pay allegiance to another, perhaps that champion of commoners, of Mudbloods and of muggles, Albus Dumbledore?"
At Dumbledore's name the circle stirred and there were mutterings, and shaken heads.
"I confess myself disappointed…."
He stared until one broke and begged forgiveness; and then chose that one as a scapegoat to loose the cruciatus curse upon. The unfortunate writhed and shrieked. Krait concluded that the churchyard must be well bedecked in muggle repellent spells and muffling spells to prevent any interruption or surely the good people of Little Hangleton would have long since phoned for the local fuzz to come and investigate. She found it easier to watch the deatheater's agonies than those of some innocent; these types were after all quite willing to do this to muggles or good people like Neveille's parents. Voldemort spoke again as the man subsided into sobs as the curse ceased.
"Get up Avery. Forgiveness? I do not forgive…nor forget. There are thirteen long years repayment before I will forgive you. Wormtail has paid some of his debt…haven't you, Wormtail?"
Wormtail sobbed, still bleeding, on the ground. Voldemort could not resist a few more taunts and Krait exercised more mental restraint. Then he said,
"But you helped me…and Lord Voldemort rewards his helpers…" he raised his wand, whirling it through the air. Something resembling molten silver hung for a moment in the wake of the wand's passage then shifted and coalesced into a shining silver human hand which flew unerringly to fix upon Wormtail's bleeding wrist. The wizard's sobbing stopped instantly; and he flexed it, played with it.
"Master, it is beautiful….thank you…thank you…" he scrambled forward to kiss Voldemort's hem before taking his own place in the circle.
Voldemort moved now from one to another…emphasising the supposed guilt of betrayal of those there by drawing attention to those places unoccupied by such as the Lestranges in Azkaban. Lucius Malfoy was evidently there, 'my slippery friend' Voldemort called him. Lucius had apparently convinced everyone that he had acted under the Imperius curse; and Krait was once again amazed at the gullibility of the Ministry.
"My Lord, the girl….she is my niece" Lucius evidently wanted to lay claim to Krait as she appeared to be in the dark lord's favour.
"Your niece? But Lucius, you are wealthy….why is she dressed in a darned sweater and school robes that have seen better days?"
Lucius swallowed audibly.
"I – I have only just found out all about her background and verified her identity…I had to question her mother's muggle relatives…"
"Have fun, did you, Lucius?"
"I modified their memories…I did not want a trail that the ministry could follow… but she is my niece. Her mother was my half sister…."
"Yet it was Severus who found her and brought her to me…." the thin hard voice said.
"If he had told me she was my niece as well as your daughter I would have seen her well provided for!" Lucius protested, shooting a venomous look at Severus.
"It never occurred to me that she was" snapped Severus. "It was only after she saw YOU and recognised a likeness to her mother that the relationship became clear. Malfoys have ever insisted on droit de seigneur and there are enough people around with vaguely Malfoy looks who are throwbacks not to make it a foregone conclusion. Draco has enough of his mother's features not to be obviously related to Krait….though if you put them side by side there is resemblance I suppose. I have done my best for her."
"Severus, you have given what you could" said Voldemort. "I will not forget that. But now it is Lucius' turn to make good his claim of kinship to my daughter….an adequate allowance is called for, I think, and a decent lump sum to cover her re-equipping herself for school. I do not like to see my daughter being dowdy."
"Of course, my Lord!" acquiesced Lucius hurriedly.
"Thank you, Uncle Lucius" Krait murmured. "It will be useful…I trust you left my great aunt and great uncle with some really entertaining nightmares?"
Lucius looked quite self satisfied.
"I would imagine so" he purred.
"Enough! You can have your avuncular reunion with the child later!" snapped Voldemort.
"Of course, Master. Please, can you tell us how you have achieved the miracle of rebirth?" Lucius was cunning enough to turn the topic of conversation to flatter the ego of the dark lord. Voldemort preened.
He proceeded to explain how he had been left without a body after his encounter with Harry as a baby; and had hidden, possessing snakes from time to time until he had been able to take over for a short while the body of Professor Quirrel for an abortive hunt for the philosopher's stone; and that then Wormtail, himself a fugitive, had found him and made a homunculus body for him, and shown the initiative to bring Bertha Jorkins, who had enabled him to contact Barty Crouch.
"My loyal servant failed, alas, and died for me….but Severus was sufficiently quick witted to save the day." He said. "With Harry Potter's blood I am stronger than ever."
"We are delighted, Master!" Lucius bowed.
"Naturally" said Voldemort, dryly. "You may continue the celebration….my daughter, I will speak with you further."
Krait bowed and approached.
"I was thinking about Potter" she said.
"Indeed? I often think about Potter." He said. "My ambitions towards him are generally fatal."
"There is no question, though, that his blood is strong….from what he stole from you and from the combination of his parents, who I understand caused you no little annoyance." She said.
"That is true…what are you thinking?"
Krait shrugged.
"I think he is a little immature as yet, but his child as your grandchild would train up to be an excellent tool for you, …..it might be worth considering my seduction of Harry Potter before you decide to kill him." It would give them time if only he would consider that a reasonable suggestion….time to find out more….
Voldemort was startled.
"I have no need of future generations…I am immortal" he said.
"But blood is thicker than water…if such a child were sufficient to grow up to be your seneschal, that could be an hereditary position if you so chose, to prevent excess ambition within your generations….the position would be dependant then on your survival, a good incentive to keep you healthy. Like the old custom of the bodyguard of the Pope being his illegitimate son….such had no other way of attaining position and so were fanatically loyal."
Voldemort looked thoughtful.
"There is merit in what you say…what of Severus and his ambitions?"
She shrugged.
"Severus must go along with what is for the greater goal…besides, I don't know if I'd care to fulfil his desires or not. I too am a little young to start such dubious pleasures…besides, having him screaming up the wall with jealousy might be highly amusing."
"It might indeed. And where do you see yourself fitting in with any …future generations?"
"I told you, I don't want to have to run things….I could see myself like the Empress Livia, giving or withholding support to my descendants and poisoning the ones I don't like…. immortality might be nice though, if you ever care to share the secret with me." her heart hammered as she so carelessly posed the question that was the one thing that could destroy her father.
He was silent for a long time.
"Perhaps" he said at last. "We shall see. I will have to judge if you are ready for such a prize."
"Of course, father" she said. "I am aware that I must prove myself."
He nodded.
"I had been going to suggest that you find a way to cause Potter some…accident; but your idea has sufficient merit that I am prepared to try it. Our line is already tainted with the muggle blood of my father…your Malfoy blood will help to keep the line at least a little purer."
"The muggle blood has some uses, though, surely?" said Krait.
"How can it?" he snapped. "You are not a mudblood lover, are you?"
"Not the blood per se" said Krait "But the advantages you have of being the son of a rich dead man…obviously you have claimed his lands and wealth that you live here, for you are mighty enough to wear the illusion of an ordinary muggle…any papers needed could easily be forged by one of your ability, and gold is gold."
"Naturally" he snapped.
Krait was delighted that her skills in legilimency were enough to trap him in the lie.
Why should she do the hard work of proving the estate if she could trick him into doing it?
"And now it is easier for you" she said, admiringly "You can invest in the muggle world to increase Tom Riddle junior's holdings and wealth…and so gain influence there for when you take over and rule the muggle world too."
That ought to keep him occupied and out of the wizarding world's hair for a while, she thought.
He looked at her unblinkingly.
"I had not considered that" he mused. "They say that Lucius invests in the muggle world, much as he despises muggles, as a way of increasing his wealth….he can advise me."
"I am glad to be able to make helpful suggestions!" she said. "Why, with enough influence, you could even persuade the muggles to give you popular support, little knowing that they will become ultimately your slaves….it will stop the ministry revealing themselves and appealing to the muggles too if the muggles think you a rich philanthropist."
"I will have to consider that…it has a certain amusement value" he said. "Let us not move too fast. One step at a time. I do not want to alert the Ministry, even if they do prefer to bury their heads in the sand."
Krait nodded.
"That is why I think it is better to get a good muggle power base…and the wealth can then be converted to gold to covertly buy the support of those who might not be swayed by the logic of your ideology…the goblins, say. They hate wizards anyway, and a little incentive…." She reflected that it would take him time to amass enough wealth to implement such a plan anyway; and that it was entirely possible that the view of all goblins as violent and mercenary was an entirely erroneous wizarding prejudice anyway.
He nodded slowly.
"I will consider it….when you offered me your brains I was dubious, but you have obviously thought quite deeply about how to aid me. I am pleased with you. You had better return with Severus now, lest anybody miss you…we will speak again."
-/-
They apparated back to the outskirts of Hogsmeade; and Krait turned into Severus' arms, trembling violently.
"Little love….you did so well, I almost believed you were a little monster!" he held her close.
"I had to….your life was at stake as well as my own. I've bought time for Harry anyway…I feel quite sick!"
He cupped her face in his long delicate fingers.
"In some ways I am glad….he has not got you in thrall. Ah, Krait!"
Then he was kissing her, hard and passionately with relief; and she pressed up against him, clinging to him, savouring his love that dispelled the worst of the horror of what her father was, taking comfort in the intensity of his love and desire for her.