Disclaimer: I do not own these characters; they belong to JK Rowling, but
the plot is mine.
Summary: There is a secret about Harry Potter that has been kept well hidden for many years. Only five people know it, two of whom are dead. This secret concerns Harry's parents. Are his parents really who he thinks they are? [AN: No, Lily and James are not evil. You will discover what I mean by the end of this first chapter.]
AN: My story starts before Harry is born but after Lily and James are married. Some of my author's notes could be put in every chapter, but for everyone's sake, they will be just in the first chapter they appear in, unless I forget. This is not a romance-romance, but I still think it fits the category. It's also not the biggest mystery in the world, but it works. You will see what I mean as the story progresses. Hope you like it.
Shadow Child
Chapter One: Riddle Me This
London, England; Friday, October 26, 1979, 5:30 P.M. [AN: If you want more info on days of the week, go to http://www.koshko.com/calendar/perpetual-400year.html]
A crisp October breeze swept across the sidewalk, all the while lifting the burnt orange leaves off the pavement as it blew along its course. The air was damp, a sure sign that it would rain that night.
In a building nearby, a woman walked briskly out of her office and strode towards the staircase at the far right-hand side of the hall. The stairwell was narrow and without a handrail, so she was careful not to lose her footing. The woman opened the door to the muggle world beyond and stepped into the sunlight, which was decreasing with every passing minute, as the fiery ball of flame set, giving way to the night sky. No one noticed her leave, just as no one had noticed her enter. The woman stood there for a moment before jumping into the throng of people heading home from the day's work.
Stepping off the curb, the woman crossed the street, heading for a pub called The Leaky Cauldron. She needed to discuss something with the Magical Menagerie storeowners about stocking the endangered Golden Snidgets and selling them for high prices. Her boss, Mr. Reese Cooper, had asked her to do so, and she had almost decided to do it on Monday, but the store could have sold them all by then. Most of the papers she had done today had been for this case. Almost all of them had fit in her briefcase, which read the words L. Potter, Case Researcher, Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, but some she was carrying in her hands.
Just as Ms. Potter neared the entrance to the pub, which concealed the door to the hidden alley that the Magical Menagerie was in, a tall, handsome, young man bumped into her, knocking her file papers askew.
"Oh, dear me! Are you alright?" the man inquired worriedly, straightening his glasses. "Goodness. Lily Potter, is it?"
"Yes, I am Lily Potter," the woman stated stiffly from the ground, where she was restacking her papers.
The man bent to help Lily collect her files, then stood, and stared at her through intent, emerald green eyes, watching as she fixed her dress.
"May I treat you to a drink?" the man questioned.
"There is no reason for that, sir," she said politely.
"Oh, but there is!" exclaimed the man. "I was ta-" he began, but stopped as Lily turned to walk away. He followed her, his long strides easily matching her smaller ones.
Lily had forgotten about the Golden Snidget case in her aggravation and would have thrown her hands in the air in exasperation had her papers not restrained her from doing so. "I know you not, and therefore will drink with you not. I have a house to tend."
"Now, now, Lily. We have business to attend. As I was saying before, I was talking with your boss, a nice old chap, but really now, we must chat." And with that the man took her arm and steered Lily into the pub. The noise level rose tremendously as they entered the dank and dimly lit room.
It was small and crowded, almost all the tables were full, but the man guided Lily to an empty table for two.
"Tom's the name, by the way, " he told Lily, as if it were an after- thought, "Tom Riddle." He had dark black hair and looked fairly young. "I'll go get the drinks, shall I?" he asked. "What would you like? It's my treat, so order as much as you want," Tom said smiling.
But Lily, feeling conspicuous under Tom's unwavering gaze, ordered a small mug of butterbeer. When the drinks came, Tom offered Lily a packet of cream from his pocket, saying that he didn't trust the restaurant packets.
"How old are you?" Lily asked curiously. "35?"
Tom laughed softly. "I wish," he said, but did not pursue the topic.
"So what kind of business do you have that brought you to me?" Lily asked, noticing his discomfort and changing the subject.
"It's concerning a strange snake egg that I found. I'd like for someone to research it. Would you like me to describe it to you?" he questioned, and they fell deep into conversation.
Soon Lily found herself drifting off. Before long, Lily's head lay slumped on the table, drink forgotten.
Tom smirked, paid the bill and held on to Lily's wrist. Her bags dangled from his right hand as Tom apparated Lily and himself to his flat.
* * * * * *
Lily did not stir. The sleeping and passion potion that Tom had put in the cream was strong enough to knock her out for a day. It had smelled strange, but Lily had put it in her butterbeer out of politeness. Tom looked at his digital muggle watch that read the time 7:00 A.M. In a little over ten hours she would be awaking, but Tom would be long gone by then.
Tom lived in two worlds. One, deceiving and full of trickery, he posed as Tom Marvolo Riddle, a man whose seemingly innocent plans were actually a disguise, hiding the devilry behind them. In the other, he was Lord Voldemort, who people had feared for nine years now. The last muggle killing though, had been in August, even though his lesser followers kept on committing small murders, hoping to get a promotion in their rank. He and the people in his inner circle had been planning this day for two months, although only one of them knew what he was actually doing. The next mass murder, though, would be as soon as possible, now that this plan had been carried out. If Lily Potter had known who he really was, she would not have come so willingly and his plan would have been destroyed. But not many knew that Lord Voldemort was also Tom Riddle, so it was safe to go by that name as long as he didn't stay in that area too long.
Now, though, his work with Lily was done. Tom looked around the flat. The peach colored wallpaper matched the peach carpet and pastel orange bedcovers. Under those bed covers lay Lily Potter, who was now redressed. She had been useful last night. He leaned over the mattress to smooth out her sleek red hair. Lily sighed contentedly, and rolled over, tangling her hair again. Tom shrugged and attempted to smooth out the hair one last time.
As he turned to face the door, Tom grinned and whispered aloud, "You carry my heir, Lily. I will come back to for the child. He will serve me well. We will be the most feared among the feared. Sleep tight."
With that, Tom walked out of the apartment gloating, full of the glory of his accomplishment. That had been easy. For once, Wormtail had been right.
Did you like it? Please review! Flames are excepted at the moment, but still, be kind. I will try to incorporate your suggestions into the next chapter, but since is not written yet, so I don't know how long it will take to put up. By the way, I am American, so the spelling is in American English. Sorry the link at the beginning doesn't work; it's a neat site anyways, check it out.
Summary: There is a secret about Harry Potter that has been kept well hidden for many years. Only five people know it, two of whom are dead. This secret concerns Harry's parents. Are his parents really who he thinks they are? [AN: No, Lily and James are not evil. You will discover what I mean by the end of this first chapter.]
AN: My story starts before Harry is born but after Lily and James are married. Some of my author's notes could be put in every chapter, but for everyone's sake, they will be just in the first chapter they appear in, unless I forget. This is not a romance-romance, but I still think it fits the category. It's also not the biggest mystery in the world, but it works. You will see what I mean as the story progresses. Hope you like it.
Shadow Child
Chapter One: Riddle Me This
London, England; Friday, October 26, 1979, 5:30 P.M. [AN: If you want more info on days of the week, go to http://www.koshko.com/calendar/perpetual-400year.html]
A crisp October breeze swept across the sidewalk, all the while lifting the burnt orange leaves off the pavement as it blew along its course. The air was damp, a sure sign that it would rain that night.
In a building nearby, a woman walked briskly out of her office and strode towards the staircase at the far right-hand side of the hall. The stairwell was narrow and without a handrail, so she was careful not to lose her footing. The woman opened the door to the muggle world beyond and stepped into the sunlight, which was decreasing with every passing minute, as the fiery ball of flame set, giving way to the night sky. No one noticed her leave, just as no one had noticed her enter. The woman stood there for a moment before jumping into the throng of people heading home from the day's work.
Stepping off the curb, the woman crossed the street, heading for a pub called The Leaky Cauldron. She needed to discuss something with the Magical Menagerie storeowners about stocking the endangered Golden Snidgets and selling them for high prices. Her boss, Mr. Reese Cooper, had asked her to do so, and she had almost decided to do it on Monday, but the store could have sold them all by then. Most of the papers she had done today had been for this case. Almost all of them had fit in her briefcase, which read the words L. Potter, Case Researcher, Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, but some she was carrying in her hands.
Just as Ms. Potter neared the entrance to the pub, which concealed the door to the hidden alley that the Magical Menagerie was in, a tall, handsome, young man bumped into her, knocking her file papers askew.
"Oh, dear me! Are you alright?" the man inquired worriedly, straightening his glasses. "Goodness. Lily Potter, is it?"
"Yes, I am Lily Potter," the woman stated stiffly from the ground, where she was restacking her papers.
The man bent to help Lily collect her files, then stood, and stared at her through intent, emerald green eyes, watching as she fixed her dress.
"May I treat you to a drink?" the man questioned.
"There is no reason for that, sir," she said politely.
"Oh, but there is!" exclaimed the man. "I was ta-" he began, but stopped as Lily turned to walk away. He followed her, his long strides easily matching her smaller ones.
Lily had forgotten about the Golden Snidget case in her aggravation and would have thrown her hands in the air in exasperation had her papers not restrained her from doing so. "I know you not, and therefore will drink with you not. I have a house to tend."
"Now, now, Lily. We have business to attend. As I was saying before, I was talking with your boss, a nice old chap, but really now, we must chat." And with that the man took her arm and steered Lily into the pub. The noise level rose tremendously as they entered the dank and dimly lit room.
It was small and crowded, almost all the tables were full, but the man guided Lily to an empty table for two.
"Tom's the name, by the way, " he told Lily, as if it were an after- thought, "Tom Riddle." He had dark black hair and looked fairly young. "I'll go get the drinks, shall I?" he asked. "What would you like? It's my treat, so order as much as you want," Tom said smiling.
But Lily, feeling conspicuous under Tom's unwavering gaze, ordered a small mug of butterbeer. When the drinks came, Tom offered Lily a packet of cream from his pocket, saying that he didn't trust the restaurant packets.
"How old are you?" Lily asked curiously. "35?"
Tom laughed softly. "I wish," he said, but did not pursue the topic.
"So what kind of business do you have that brought you to me?" Lily asked, noticing his discomfort and changing the subject.
"It's concerning a strange snake egg that I found. I'd like for someone to research it. Would you like me to describe it to you?" he questioned, and they fell deep into conversation.
Soon Lily found herself drifting off. Before long, Lily's head lay slumped on the table, drink forgotten.
Tom smirked, paid the bill and held on to Lily's wrist. Her bags dangled from his right hand as Tom apparated Lily and himself to his flat.
* * * * * *
Lily did not stir. The sleeping and passion potion that Tom had put in the cream was strong enough to knock her out for a day. It had smelled strange, but Lily had put it in her butterbeer out of politeness. Tom looked at his digital muggle watch that read the time 7:00 A.M. In a little over ten hours she would be awaking, but Tom would be long gone by then.
Tom lived in two worlds. One, deceiving and full of trickery, he posed as Tom Marvolo Riddle, a man whose seemingly innocent plans were actually a disguise, hiding the devilry behind them. In the other, he was Lord Voldemort, who people had feared for nine years now. The last muggle killing though, had been in August, even though his lesser followers kept on committing small murders, hoping to get a promotion in their rank. He and the people in his inner circle had been planning this day for two months, although only one of them knew what he was actually doing. The next mass murder, though, would be as soon as possible, now that this plan had been carried out. If Lily Potter had known who he really was, she would not have come so willingly and his plan would have been destroyed. But not many knew that Lord Voldemort was also Tom Riddle, so it was safe to go by that name as long as he didn't stay in that area too long.
Now, though, his work with Lily was done. Tom looked around the flat. The peach colored wallpaper matched the peach carpet and pastel orange bedcovers. Under those bed covers lay Lily Potter, who was now redressed. She had been useful last night. He leaned over the mattress to smooth out her sleek red hair. Lily sighed contentedly, and rolled over, tangling her hair again. Tom shrugged and attempted to smooth out the hair one last time.
As he turned to face the door, Tom grinned and whispered aloud, "You carry my heir, Lily. I will come back to for the child. He will serve me well. We will be the most feared among the feared. Sleep tight."
With that, Tom walked out of the apartment gloating, full of the glory of his accomplishment. That had been easy. For once, Wormtail had been right.
Did you like it? Please review! Flames are excepted at the moment, but still, be kind. I will try to incorporate your suggestions into the next chapter, but since is not written yet, so I don't know how long it will take to put up. By the way, I am American, so the spelling is in American English. Sorry the link at the beginning doesn't work; it's a neat site anyways, check it out.