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Orphaned No More

Chapter Five

Merope shut the door of the shed behind her as she entered it. She was panting for breath, leaning against the door for support.

Thats when he started knocking on it.

"Merope! Are you in there? Please let me explain!"

said Raoul in a tone of urgency.

Merope considered her options. Could she trust Raoul? He had the same secret as her.

"Merope please! You'll understand me if you just listen to me. Theres no reason to be afraid." Raoul said placatingly

Merope scoffed out of irony. She was the one who was about to hit him with a cutting curse just before she realized who he was.

She composed her breathing and unlocked the door.

There stood Raoul visible again and covered in apple pie.

Merope muffled a hysterical laugh by covering her face with her free hand's knuckle.

Raoul managed to notice the wand in her hand and he put two and two together after that. His face changed many shades. From surprised to understanding to amused.

"You too?" he asked in a merry tone

Merope nodded with a smile and invited him into the shed by sidestepping the door.

Raoul entered and closed the door behind him.

Oblivious to the two of them was a brown eyed woman standing on the frontwalk looking at the exchange with eyes full of hurt and salty tears.

Apparently she had left the windows to come out when she saw Merope looking scared and standing by the bushes.

Jenny did not know what to assume so naturally she asumed the worst when she saw Raoul going into the shed with her this late in the evening.

She hurried off to the manor to find a private place to cry as she firmly thought her fiancé was cheating on her with Merope.

...

"I went to Durmstang. Didnt last too long because the place was full of dark voodoo stuff." Chatted Raoul amicably as he taught Merope how to clean up dirty laundry with an easy cleaning charm.

"Then where did you properly learn all these spells?" Merope questioned intrigued

"I taught myself!" responded Raoul as he flashed her a cocky grin.

Merope had to admit she was impressed. But then she looked at Raoul's dirty gardener clothes and noticed that the smell of fertilizer with a whiff of her nose.

Raoul seemed to understand her thoughts. He gave her a chuckle.

"You're probably thinking how a wizard like myself ended up a gardener for muggles" he stated pensievely.

That caught Merope off guard but she smiled with a light blush in admittance of his observment.

"One does wonder" she replied.

"Jennifer May Heatherson" he spoke dreamily.

Merope's eyebrows rose in contemplation. But she soon understood.

He was in love with Jenny. And this was his way to be near her.

She nodded in understanding and a smile danced at her lips. But a lump of fear refused to be gulped down her throat.

She looked towards her babies while addressing him and said:

"Does she know?" she paused "that you're a wizard?"

Her question made the gardener look downcast and he grimaced.

"Not exactly an easy thing to confess." he responded with a weak smile.

They stayed in companiable silence as Merope gave him an understanding smile and proceeded to cast the cleaning charm on him to rid him of a piece of apple pie that his charm had missed.

He looked at the piece of pie disappear and lauded her with an appreciative glance.

"You'd have made a fine seeker if you ever played quidditch." he remarked

Her face made the perfect impression of a question mark at that remark.

"Seeker? Quidditich?" she questioned curiosly

Surprised was the least that could be used to describe his reaction.

He spent some time explaining the basics of Quidditch to his new friend and then excused himself to leave. Thanking her for the pie.

It was nice to not have to hide magic for a while. For the both of them. They felt they could be more open with eachother.

He restarted searching for Jenny but could not find her anywhere in the outer parts of the Manor.

He frowned but resolved to talk to her tommorrow.

Meanwhile in a corner of the Manor's laundry room. Sat Jenny wiping her tears with a handkerchief. She was hurt. She did not know what had happened exactly but her thoughts were skyrocketing and her assumptions were assaulting her again and again.

She decided to talk to Raoul about this. She wanted to know what had happened.

...

Tom Riddle could not sleep. Sleep had become a luxury beyond his reach eversince his estranged wife and children had become distant parts of his life.

He could not understand what must be the best course of action. It did still anger him whenever he remembered what had been done to him.

But what he could not understand were stirrings of attachment he could feel when he looked at Merope from his window or from behind a tree while he took a walk in the garden.

He was perplexed. He felt anger aswell as longing for that woman.

She was not exceptionally pretty. A frail face , an even frailer body, below shoulder length straight black hair and eyes that spoke tales of horrible memories and pain.

He shook himself as he caught himself day dreaming about her.

A weak yet existant decision was forming in his mind.

What she did was unforgivable. But...

He would try.

He would try to figure out if his current feelings were any sign that he should forgive her and maybe even...

He shook his head again. He felt as if he was being guided or dictated to do and say things that a person with a very forgiving heart would do.

He was rich, arrogant, handsome and...falling for Merope.

He ruffled his hair frustratingly at the last thought.

...

How was it? :)

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