CW: Hospitals, bullying

Chapter Eleven: It's okay to be angry

Several weeks had passed since Tom had come to the Gaunt's, and life had taken on a stable and pleasant routine. Tom had tutored Merope, who was improving faster than Tom had expected. As always, Tom underestimated the respect and love factoring into Merope's improvement, although not as vastly as he had in his previous life. They were also growing several vegetables and fruits in their garden, which had begun to ripen. Merope took great pleasure out of picking strawberries in the afternoons while Tom visited St. Mungos.

Morfin was fighting his Healers every step of the way, but Marvolo was slowly improving. His healers expected that if he continued this way, Merope should be able to visit for reunification soon. They would not release Marvolo or Morfin home after understanding the trauma they had created for Merope, something that Tom completely agreed with. They could stay in St. Mungo's their whole lives if that's what it took. He would not jeopardize Merope's progress for anything.

And she had improved significantly. Her face, which used to look heavy, now looked proportional to her body as it had taken back nutrients. Her skin and hair had also begun to look vibrant and healthy. Her hair used to be very dark and dull, but the sun had added dimension to it, creating honey tones. While not a starlet by any means, Merope looked healthy and pretty. But what had really changed was her confidence - it shone out of her in rays.

Tom remembered fondly the first time she had performed magic - it had been the levitating charm. After watching Tom levitate a small feather several times, Merope had very timidly tried. And, to both of their amazement, she had succeeded on the first try! It had lasted only a second because she was so surprised, but soon she was levitating everything in their homemade classroom.

From then on, there was no stopping Merope. He remembered being that determined as a youth, and really enjoyed watching her apply herself to each charm, spell, and potion with everything she had. Though she had never failed outright, Tom made sure to encourage her every time she made a mistake so that she wouldn't get discouraged. They had made several phials worth of potions for basic healing, creating a fully stocked medicine cabinet in each bathroom.

When it came to defensive magic, Tom had found a temporary way to circumvent the conditions Death had made for him. Every time he needed to demonstrate a spell or charm to Merope that could potentially harm someone, he would conjure a dummy to target. Sometimes he did not agree with Death on what the definition of 'harm' was - what harm was in the tickling charm? - but the dummy demonstrations worked perfectly for Merope. She had taken to calling the dummy 'Billy'.

The two had gone into the muggle village several times, but Tom had gone alone into the wizarding world since the first visit. Merope would revert back slightly every time her family was mentioned, and Tom didn't want to antagonize that by bringing her with him every time he went in to check on them.

But the village had been incredible for Merope - she had now tried every pastry in the bakery, earning the baker's heart in the process with her constant compliments. In fact, most of the villagers loved Merope. Watching her grow more confident gave them all the same sense of pride that Tom experienced. And there was just something so charming about her, although at first Mr. Evermore's presence helped.

They hadn't known what to think at first when they realized she was a Gaunt, but with Mr. Evermore's influence and their positive experiences with Merope, they had accepted her. Luke would always give her a special tea mixture each time they came into the shop - they played a game where she would need to guess the herbal mixture after tasting it at home. She had been right almost every time, showing her talent in potion-making as well as tea.

The only family not on board with Merope and Mr. Evermore was the Riddle's. They resented the simple girl and the seemingly plain teacher for their popularity with the village. And Tom Riddle made it his own mission to torment them both with his terrible manners and casual cruelty. While he could not touch their home for some reason, he now made a point to ride by making rude comments every so often. Not that he really could about them or even their house now - he mostly stuck to making comments about the brother and father's madness. Mr. Evermore had explained that they were both in a hospital so that no one would be suspicious by their absence, not that they ever went into town anyway.

It simply annoyed Tom, but it angered Merope. She tried to ignore it the way Tom seemed to, but every so often her chores would be done a little more forcefully than she meant them to be. She struggled with these negative feelings, not really knowing what to do with them. Before, her father and brother's treatment had left nothing to focus on besides her fear, but as she grew and felt safer, other feelings had begun to come forward. Riddle's intrusions just triggered those repressed emotions to the surface.

"How do you stand it?" Merope asked one day after Riddle had left their property. She was fuming, her rag being mercilessly scrubbed into the dining table she was polishing.

"He's not worth our time," Tom had said patiently, reading over an essay Merope had written about various uses for moonstones in potions. "We are better than him and he knows it."

"It just doesn't feel like it!"

Tom stopped reading and looked at Merope. She had not disagreed with him before, at least not with that angry tone in her voice. She blushed, but continued.

"People that do cruel things to others…" She was so angry she was struggling with her words, but Tom knew she didn't just mean Riddle. "They think they're better than other people. They're awful and cruel to make people feel small." She wrapped her arms around herself. "It makes me feel small…"

Tom set down the essay and crossed to her, looking her directly in the eyes.

"It's okay to be angry," He began. Merope looked up at him, startled, but didn't speak.

"It's okay to be angry and hurt and you do not have to forgive the people that hurt you." He continued, speaking slowly and clearly so she would understand how important this lesson was.

"But giving them your time and energy is letting them win, do you see? If you continue to focus on what you want, what you know, then those people will always lose."

She was listening intently, the anger slowly fading from her features.

"And Riddle? He will never be as special as you. He will grow up and into a life that he did not choose for himself. He will have an empty head and an empty life. And I think, deep down, he knows that."

Merope unintentionally smirked.

Tom returned that smirk. "Don't you think that's punishment enough?"

"Yeah," Merope said gently. "Yeah, I'm going to choose my life. He won't." She was nodding now.

"Exactly." Tom crossed back to his seat and resumed reading her essay.

He had not known it, but he had said exactly what Merope needed to hear to begin healing. She was nowhere near being completely better, but as she continued cleaning the table, she felt much more at peace.

"Tom?"

"Yes, Merope?"

"I… I'm ready to go to St. Mungo's with you, if you want. I'm ready to face my brother and father."

Notes:

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