Voldemort's Daughter II
I do not own any Harry Potter charcters. I own July Riddle and the plot- which doesn't really exist yet, but I'm working on it.
Major thanks to Aislin-Black who is the only non- family/non-friend who reviewed my story. Thanks bunches.
Thanks to my girl scout troop and my sister who is going to be away for the next week! AAGHHH!
Reassured, Harry unloaded the car and made to pick up the trunks, which would have been very awkward, when out of nowhere a golden trolley appeared in front of Harry's face. Harry looked around as if trying to see who had delivered the trolley and saw that there was no one in the vicinity. Still a little wary Harry loaded the trunks onto the trolley and pushed it over the bridge and into the hotel.
The trunks were piled very high on the trolley and since Harry could not see around it he was surprised when he ran right into a person standing in front of him. He turned his face around the trolley to apologize to the person he had hit and was startled to see it was Uncle Vernon who was standing next to Aunt Petunia, both of standing stock still just staring at their surroundings. And that's when Harry too looked around.
The entire room was decorated in a deep rich red and it took Harry only a split second to identify it as the exact colour of human blood. The blood still glistened on the walls as if a fresh coat had been applied recently, but it did not smell as though new paint had just been used. Harry watched in horror as a droplet of blood dripped from the wall only to disappear into the matching carpet. The heavy oak desk was decorated in a reddish finish and the dozen or so different mirrors each had a gold-red frame. There were miniature side table drawers at each corner and atop each sat a clear glass vase filled with red roses. There was a welcoming couch across from the desk but Harry could never imagine anyone ever sitting in it. It was, like everything else in the room, red, but upon each soft looking pillow was an embroidered serpent in a slightly rustier shade of red, as if the blood had been left to dry. There was no secretary behind the oak desk but Harry briefly wondered if she too would be slightly red.
And then Harry saw what had stopped the Dursleys dead in their tracks. The huge oak doors that led into the main part of the hotel had a giant carving of a serpent on it. It seemed to be a part of the door and a separate entity at the same time as if it had been carved before hand and then added to the door as an afterthought. The serpent seemed to be moving- yes there- the tail had definitely moved. After a minute or so passed and Harry had convinced himself he must have imagined the serpent moving, the serpent turned its head to stare straight at the three of them and made a hissing noise. The serpents ruby eyes sought out and stared straight at Harry and ignored the Dursleys. Harry had to remind himself that it was only a carving and that carvings could not move or speak.
But then the carving said something that Harry couldn't understand at first. It seemed to be saying, "Tell me." 'Tell it what?' Harry thought.
Before Harry had a chance to guess at what he was supposed to say as the oak doors swung wide open to reveal a woman who Harry instinctively knew was Ms. Riddle- and definitely Lord Voldemort's Daughter. She seemed like a female version of Tom Riddle with long dark hair that seemed easily mussed, round violet eyes in an even and extremely pale face, with a slightly pointed nose that was covered in freckles. As she stepped forward to greet the Dursleys Harry realized that Ms. Riddle was also extremely tall- much taller than Uncle Vernon. He also noticed that Dudley had still been staring at his shoes during his parents inspection of the main room. The lights had begun to dull after all the stomping Dudley had done to make them light up the first day.
She opened her mouth to say something and then seemed to notice Harry. Her mouth shut and her eyes widened. And then with a jolt she turned her face down to stare straight in to his eyes. Harry was looking down at the four of them standing around the room and it seemed to him as if his real self had vanished and evaporated and he never wanted to go back again. He felt as if he were drowning and burning and dieing and floating- as if the world was perfect and he was the world- he was perfect- everything was perfect. And then with a splash, it was gone. Harry was suddenly plunged into darkness. Everything around him was black and silent. Harry instinctively knew that he was alone- completely alone with no one. He felt around him to try to feel for walls to figure out a way to escape and find somebody. It was at the moment he realized that there were no walls, that he was in a world with no living soul except himself that he was jerked back to Earth.
When he felt well enough to start paying attention to his surrounding again Ms. Riddle was talking to the Dursleys. "Your rooms are straight up the stairs and to the right. But I thought you said you were only bringing three people so your rooms are only meant to house three people. But not to worry, I'm sure we can find another room to house your…" she paused and waited for Uncle Vernon to fill in the blank.
Uncle Vernon was still in a bit of a shock to be looking up at a woman and it took him a while to respond. "Oh… Um… Yes. Well don't bother. Finding another room. Harry will be fine sleeping on the floor. Oh! And he's our nephew." Aunt Petunia nodded her head a little too quickly as if to reassure Ms. Riddle that this was true.
But Ms. Riddle wouldn't here anything of the sort, "Pshaww. [A/N- what the hell does Pshaww sound like? And does anyone actually say it?] It will not be a problem for us to find another room for Harry. This castle is so huge and Mr. Blashings and Mr. Werlin did not invite that many people. So Harry," she said turning to face him but not looking directly in his eyes, "what color room would you like?"
Harry tried not to look too panicked. He was in a hotel with Voldemort's daughter and now she was going to separate him from the Dursleys! He had to think of something quick! "No, really, like Uncle Vernon said I will be happy to share a room with them. Really!" he added upon noting the incredulous look on her face. Harry was inwardly amazed himself- he had actually just told someone he wanted to share a room with the Dursleys!
She seemed a little irritated now. "Harry! I want you to be comfortable here and that is why you are going to sleep in a room where there is enough room for you to move around in. If you're that eager to be near your family we'll put you in the room next to theirs. How does that sound?"
Harry was about to refuse once again when Uncle Vernon pitched in, "That is an excellent idea. Harry sometimes has nightmares so it is a good idea for him to be in a room near ours. I hope he does not disturb any of your other clients while he's here. Please tell us if he causes a disturbance."
Ms. Riddle seemed interested at the idea that Harry had nightmares but thought better of asking about them so soon. Instead she said, "Well I'll show you up to your rooms now." Uncle Vernon turned to get the luggage trolley and looked startled when he noticed it was gone. "Oh! Your luggage has already been brought to your rooms! Just follow me."
She turned around and waited for the Dursleys to follow her. With one last helpless look around the room Uncle Vernon followed her. She stopped at the heavy oak doors and said, "Open!" and put her hand on the serpents head." Soundlessly the door opened and Harry waited for the Dursleys to be shocked that the door opened at command. When he noticed their placid faces he realized that they hadn't even heard her say open. At first Harry was confused by this, but then he realized that Ms. Riddle must have been speaking in parseltongue!
The room immediately joining the blood room seemed to be the complete opposite of the well organized colour coordinated room they had left. This room looked as though the main decorators had been two toddlers intent to outdo each other in their use of colour. Each wall was a different colour- one was violet, one was a bright green, one was yellow, and one was blue. The couch against the far wall was white but the three cushions on it were pink, orange, and gray. There was a long coffee table in front of the couch made out of walnut wood and there were magazines and books strewn across it in random disarray. Pictures of nature scenes from places Harry didn't recognize hung randomly all over the walls and a small TV was placed on the floor across from the couch. On the wall on their right a huge sound system the size of Harry's bed sat on the floor complete with amps and plugs. It looked as if it had not been used in years. It was not dusty exactly but it was so neat and organized it was obvious that no one had ever played it. Upon further inspection Harry realized that the television had the same look. On the wall on the left a huge curving staircase led up to another floor that from down here seemed dark and empty.
Once again Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon had stopped to stare at their surroundings and Ms. Riddle had to snap them out of it- literally, she snapped her fingers under their noses. When they jumped as if startled she laughed softly. The sound rung in Harry's ears and made him feel slightly dizzy.
"Cush and Blink decorated the room. I knew they'd turn out something like this, but I love them to much to say to anything they ask." Still seeing how shocked the Dursleys looked at the idea that anyone would ever let their room be massacred like this she hastily explained, "Once you meet them you will realize why I couldn't possibly deny them. Anyway, your rooms are right upstairs so just follow me."
The Dursleys and Harry once again turned to follow Ms. Riddle, only this time up a set of stairs that seemed to grow longer the higher and faster they climbed. Dudley seemed to notice this too and he began to whine softly to himself, "Damn stupid stairs. Any normal person would have an elevator in a horrible place like this."
Eventually the party reached the top of the stairs to be confronted by a very long hallway- so long that Harry could not see the end of it no matter how hard he squinted. Ms. Riddle led them down the hallway a little way to a door that Harry could have sworn had not been there a second before. She turned the handle and the door swung wide open to reveal a room a little bigger than the one he had at Four Privet Drive. This room had been decorated in the theme of… Harry blinked… blinked again… Gryffindor colours. The bed was covered in a maroon bedspread and the pillows were gold coloured. The wallpaper was a soft yellow and the carpet was maroon with little golden snitches on it. The desk in the corner seemed perfectly normal but Harry could see that the pen on it was in the shape of a miniature broom and the pad of stationary paper on it had the name "Harry Potter" embossed on the top of each sheet. A window was placed on one wall and there was a bookcase filled with books right next to it. From the door Harry could read "Denis Doclair's Guide to Defense Against the Dark Arts," "How to Stop a Dark Wizard," and "99 Spells that Could Save Your Life In Dark Situations."
Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon appeared not to have noticed any of these obvious signs- they could be so thick sometimes- and Aunt Petunia turned to Ms. Riddle, "Oh! I really hope it isn't too much trouble putting Harry up in a second room. This room is so nice, I am not sure… that Harry can… handle having such a nice place to stay."
Ms. Riddle frowned slightly at this. "Do you mean to tell me that he doesn't have a nice room at home?" She seemed genuinely upset at the idea and Harry couldn't help liking her for just a split second.
Aunt Petunia sputtered slightly and then, eager to redeem herself in Ms. Riddle's eyes, very quickly said, "Of course he has a nice room at home. He just has never stayed in a nice room outside our house before. You know. Away from us. Like this." She nodded for emphasis.
Ms. Riddle was still frowning but nodded as if she understood what Aunt Petunia had meant. She turned to lead the Dursleys toward their set of room when Harry interrupted her quickly. "Where is my stuff?"
Uncle Vernon immediately glared at Harry for speaking out loud, but then frowned upon realizing that Harry had asked an excellent question- one that he had been pondering ever since his stuff had disappeared into thin air in the main lobby. He looked quickly around the room and saw that there was no trace of Harry's luggage anywhere in the room.
Ms. Riddle frowned slightly and looked around the room. "I could have sworn I told them…" She broke off in mid sentence and strode to the desk/ dresser and pulled out one of the drawers. She looked up triumphantly. "Your stuff is all in here Harry. I had Cush and Blink put everything away for you already. I'm sure you have plenty of things you want to do before school begins again- no use in having you waste time putting things away."
She walked back to the Dursleys and asked, "Shall I show you to your rooms now?" Aunt Petunia nodded and she and Dudley followed her out the door. Uncle Vernon paused for a second in the doorway obviously still trying to figure out how Harry's stuff had ended up in his drawers so quickly. He shook his head and then turned and walked out the door. The door closed silently behind even though he had not touched it.
Harry was left alone in the room that had obviously been magicked to suit all of his needs. Harry walked over to the dresser and began to peruse its contents. The first few drawers contained the clothes Harry had backed, but the interesting stuff was in the last few drawers. In them were hundreds of bottles of different potions ingredients each one labeled and alphabetized then put in its own special compartment. There was a medium sized cauldron in one along with a self heating stove and a mirror.
Harry shut the drawers quickly as he heard feet advancing toward his room. The door flew open and Dudley stood in the entrance looking very pleased. "Harry, you wouldn't believe it! My room has a TV and a playstation and all these games and videos and all these things that Mom and Dad would never have gotten me. But poor you, all you got was some weird carpet." Dudley smiled happily oblivious to the fact that Harry seemed very pleased with the room he had been given. Just then Ms. Riddle appeared in the doorway and Dudley turned around to face her. In a falsely sweet voice Dudley reserved just for sucking up to grown ups Dudley said, "Ms. Riddle! Thank you so much for you kindness. My room is wonderful. Thank you so much."
Ms. Riddle smiled kindly at him but Harry could see that she was obviously annoyed at his attempt to make her think he was appreciative. "You're welcome very much. Now if you don't mind I'd like to talk to Harry for a minute." Dudley looked shocked at the idea that anyone would want to talk to Harry but did as he was told and scampered away. Harry knew he was going straight to Aunt Petunia to tell her that Ms. Riddle had requested to talk to Harry. Once again the door shut silently without being touched.
Ms. Riddle pulled a chair out from under the desk that Harry was sure had not been there a second before. She ran her fingers over the top before she sat down in it. She looked straight ahead of her before she turned to look at Harry. She looked at him, but Harry could tell that she was avoiding his eyes and Harry decided that this was probably a good thing. "How have you been Harry?"
Harry jumped at the question and remained silent for several moments. He was not sure what he should say to her. She seemed nice enough but Harry knew that in times like these no one could be trusted, no matter how nice they seemed and the fact that she shared the same last name as Lord Voldemort did not make Harry feel anymore comfortable about talking to her. Harry decided that the best way to go about this would be to play dumb even though he knew it could backfire horribly; he just didn't know what else to do.
"I'm fine although summer is almost over. How have you been?" His tone of voice made it evident that he had only asked the question to be polite.
She seemed rather annoyed at the question and brushed it off quickly. "I'm fine," she said abruptly, "but I can hear about myself anytime. Let's talk about you." Harry was shocked at her bluntness and remained silent. Ms. Riddle allowed the silence to continue for several moments before she said, "How did your O.W.L s go?"
Harry stared at her, shocked, for several moments. Okay- now she definitely had to be a witch if she knew about O.W.L s. Harry silently debated on weather to tell her his scores but then decided against it, after her he nothing about her except that she was the daughter of his, and every other good witch or wizard, worst enemy. "I did fine."
Silence lingered for another minute and then she asked, "Do you have a lot of friends at Hogwarts?" She paused and then added, "I imagine you'd be very popular after what happened."
Harry's head shot up. 'Oh my God!' he thought. 'She knows that I killed her father.' Upon noticing that he was beginning to panic, he forced himself to calm down. "I have a few close friends and then some acquaintances."
She seemed to latch onto this as if it were her last lifeline. "Who are your friends?" She looked at him expectantly while Harry debated weather or not to tell her.
'What if she used the information to get back Harry or killed Ron and Hermione?' Harry finally decided to completely lie about his friends and hope she'd end up killing them instead. "Well my favorite friends are Draco Malfoy, Vincent Crabbe, and Marcus Goyle." (A/N- what are Crabbe and Goyle's first names?)
She looked at him quizzically for a moment and then a look of disgust came on her face. "You're friends with Lucius's son? I though they were in Slytherin." She looked around the room and then said, "aren't you in Gryffindor?"
Harry was kind of shocked that she knew Malfoy's father. "You know Lucius Malfoy?" and then upon remembering her question added, "Yes, they are in Slytherin and I'm in Gryffindor, but… it is …really not that bad." Harry realized how lame his response sounded but hoped she wouldn't.
The look on her face told Harry plainly that she did. "Lucius was a… friend of my fathers." She looked at Harry directly as if trying to make her next point sink into his brain, "A very close friend." Harry nodded his head as if to show that he had understood but she continued on, "I am definitely surprised that you'd be friends with the likes of Draco Malfoy- he doesn't seem like your type of person." She turned away from Harry as if talking to herself and mumbled to herself, "Unless you like stuck-up, arrogant, pretty boys." Harry couldn't help liking her- anyone who disliked Draco Malfoy was a friend of his. She continued to stare at him as if awaiting a response. When none came she said, "Well?" Harry stared at her blankly and she smirked softly. "Who are your friends at Hogwarts?"
"I told you. I like Draco Malfoy, Vincent Crabbe, and Mar…"
She cut him off immediately, "I'm not stupid you know." She once more looked directly into Harry's eyes and Harry found himself thinking, 'She's definitely not stupid.' "Who are your real friends at Hogwarts?"
Harry became very nervous and started fidgeting with the bedspread. Before he could stop himself he blurted out, "You're not going to hurt them or anything are you?"
He looked up to see a very hurt and angry expression on her face. She stood up and glared at Harry and Harry found himself wanting to disappear into the floor. "Don't judge me on what my father did Harry. If I thought of you like I thought of your father I'd expect you to be a cocky son of a bitch." She turned on her heel and left the room, slamming the door behind her and Harry could not help but feel both saddened and relieved that she had left.
Harry rolled over the conversation they had just had. She knew the Malfoys and did not like them. Or maybe she was just pretending to dislike the Malfoys because she knew that Harry didn't like them. It was very likely that she knew that Harry didn't like the Malfoys given how much else she knew about him. Harry sighed and went back to perusing the bookshelves.
***
I do not own any Harry Potter charcters. I own July Riddle and the plot- which doesn't really exist yet, but I'm working on it.
Major thanks to Aislin-Black who is the only non- family/non-friend who reviewed my story. Thanks bunches.
Thanks to my girl scout troop and my sister who is going to be away for the next week! AAGHHH!
Reassured, Harry unloaded the car and made to pick up the trunks, which would have been very awkward, when out of nowhere a golden trolley appeared in front of Harry's face. Harry looked around as if trying to see who had delivered the trolley and saw that there was no one in the vicinity. Still a little wary Harry loaded the trunks onto the trolley and pushed it over the bridge and into the hotel.
The trunks were piled very high on the trolley and since Harry could not see around it he was surprised when he ran right into a person standing in front of him. He turned his face around the trolley to apologize to the person he had hit and was startled to see it was Uncle Vernon who was standing next to Aunt Petunia, both of standing stock still just staring at their surroundings. And that's when Harry too looked around.
The entire room was decorated in a deep rich red and it took Harry only a split second to identify it as the exact colour of human blood. The blood still glistened on the walls as if a fresh coat had been applied recently, but it did not smell as though new paint had just been used. Harry watched in horror as a droplet of blood dripped from the wall only to disappear into the matching carpet. The heavy oak desk was decorated in a reddish finish and the dozen or so different mirrors each had a gold-red frame. There were miniature side table drawers at each corner and atop each sat a clear glass vase filled with red roses. There was a welcoming couch across from the desk but Harry could never imagine anyone ever sitting in it. It was, like everything else in the room, red, but upon each soft looking pillow was an embroidered serpent in a slightly rustier shade of red, as if the blood had been left to dry. There was no secretary behind the oak desk but Harry briefly wondered if she too would be slightly red.
And then Harry saw what had stopped the Dursleys dead in their tracks. The huge oak doors that led into the main part of the hotel had a giant carving of a serpent on it. It seemed to be a part of the door and a separate entity at the same time as if it had been carved before hand and then added to the door as an afterthought. The serpent seemed to be moving- yes there- the tail had definitely moved. After a minute or so passed and Harry had convinced himself he must have imagined the serpent moving, the serpent turned its head to stare straight at the three of them and made a hissing noise. The serpents ruby eyes sought out and stared straight at Harry and ignored the Dursleys. Harry had to remind himself that it was only a carving and that carvings could not move or speak.
But then the carving said something that Harry couldn't understand at first. It seemed to be saying, "Tell me." 'Tell it what?' Harry thought.
Before Harry had a chance to guess at what he was supposed to say as the oak doors swung wide open to reveal a woman who Harry instinctively knew was Ms. Riddle- and definitely Lord Voldemort's Daughter. She seemed like a female version of Tom Riddle with long dark hair that seemed easily mussed, round violet eyes in an even and extremely pale face, with a slightly pointed nose that was covered in freckles. As she stepped forward to greet the Dursleys Harry realized that Ms. Riddle was also extremely tall- much taller than Uncle Vernon. He also noticed that Dudley had still been staring at his shoes during his parents inspection of the main room. The lights had begun to dull after all the stomping Dudley had done to make them light up the first day.
She opened her mouth to say something and then seemed to notice Harry. Her mouth shut and her eyes widened. And then with a jolt she turned her face down to stare straight in to his eyes. Harry was looking down at the four of them standing around the room and it seemed to him as if his real self had vanished and evaporated and he never wanted to go back again. He felt as if he were drowning and burning and dieing and floating- as if the world was perfect and he was the world- he was perfect- everything was perfect. And then with a splash, it was gone. Harry was suddenly plunged into darkness. Everything around him was black and silent. Harry instinctively knew that he was alone- completely alone with no one. He felt around him to try to feel for walls to figure out a way to escape and find somebody. It was at the moment he realized that there were no walls, that he was in a world with no living soul except himself that he was jerked back to Earth.
When he felt well enough to start paying attention to his surrounding again Ms. Riddle was talking to the Dursleys. "Your rooms are straight up the stairs and to the right. But I thought you said you were only bringing three people so your rooms are only meant to house three people. But not to worry, I'm sure we can find another room to house your…" she paused and waited for Uncle Vernon to fill in the blank.
Uncle Vernon was still in a bit of a shock to be looking up at a woman and it took him a while to respond. "Oh… Um… Yes. Well don't bother. Finding another room. Harry will be fine sleeping on the floor. Oh! And he's our nephew." Aunt Petunia nodded her head a little too quickly as if to reassure Ms. Riddle that this was true.
But Ms. Riddle wouldn't here anything of the sort, "Pshaww. [A/N- what the hell does Pshaww sound like? And does anyone actually say it?] It will not be a problem for us to find another room for Harry. This castle is so huge and Mr. Blashings and Mr. Werlin did not invite that many people. So Harry," she said turning to face him but not looking directly in his eyes, "what color room would you like?"
Harry tried not to look too panicked. He was in a hotel with Voldemort's daughter and now she was going to separate him from the Dursleys! He had to think of something quick! "No, really, like Uncle Vernon said I will be happy to share a room with them. Really!" he added upon noting the incredulous look on her face. Harry was inwardly amazed himself- he had actually just told someone he wanted to share a room with the Dursleys!
She seemed a little irritated now. "Harry! I want you to be comfortable here and that is why you are going to sleep in a room where there is enough room for you to move around in. If you're that eager to be near your family we'll put you in the room next to theirs. How does that sound?"
Harry was about to refuse once again when Uncle Vernon pitched in, "That is an excellent idea. Harry sometimes has nightmares so it is a good idea for him to be in a room near ours. I hope he does not disturb any of your other clients while he's here. Please tell us if he causes a disturbance."
Ms. Riddle seemed interested at the idea that Harry had nightmares but thought better of asking about them so soon. Instead she said, "Well I'll show you up to your rooms now." Uncle Vernon turned to get the luggage trolley and looked startled when he noticed it was gone. "Oh! Your luggage has already been brought to your rooms! Just follow me."
She turned around and waited for the Dursleys to follow her. With one last helpless look around the room Uncle Vernon followed her. She stopped at the heavy oak doors and said, "Open!" and put her hand on the serpents head." Soundlessly the door opened and Harry waited for the Dursleys to be shocked that the door opened at command. When he noticed their placid faces he realized that they hadn't even heard her say open. At first Harry was confused by this, but then he realized that Ms. Riddle must have been speaking in parseltongue!
The room immediately joining the blood room seemed to be the complete opposite of the well organized colour coordinated room they had left. This room looked as though the main decorators had been two toddlers intent to outdo each other in their use of colour. Each wall was a different colour- one was violet, one was a bright green, one was yellow, and one was blue. The couch against the far wall was white but the three cushions on it were pink, orange, and gray. There was a long coffee table in front of the couch made out of walnut wood and there were magazines and books strewn across it in random disarray. Pictures of nature scenes from places Harry didn't recognize hung randomly all over the walls and a small TV was placed on the floor across from the couch. On the wall on their right a huge sound system the size of Harry's bed sat on the floor complete with amps and plugs. It looked as if it had not been used in years. It was not dusty exactly but it was so neat and organized it was obvious that no one had ever played it. Upon further inspection Harry realized that the television had the same look. On the wall on the left a huge curving staircase led up to another floor that from down here seemed dark and empty.
Once again Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon had stopped to stare at their surroundings and Ms. Riddle had to snap them out of it- literally, she snapped her fingers under their noses. When they jumped as if startled she laughed softly. The sound rung in Harry's ears and made him feel slightly dizzy.
"Cush and Blink decorated the room. I knew they'd turn out something like this, but I love them to much to say to anything they ask." Still seeing how shocked the Dursleys looked at the idea that anyone would ever let their room be massacred like this she hastily explained, "Once you meet them you will realize why I couldn't possibly deny them. Anyway, your rooms are right upstairs so just follow me."
The Dursleys and Harry once again turned to follow Ms. Riddle, only this time up a set of stairs that seemed to grow longer the higher and faster they climbed. Dudley seemed to notice this too and he began to whine softly to himself, "Damn stupid stairs. Any normal person would have an elevator in a horrible place like this."
Eventually the party reached the top of the stairs to be confronted by a very long hallway- so long that Harry could not see the end of it no matter how hard he squinted. Ms. Riddle led them down the hallway a little way to a door that Harry could have sworn had not been there a second before. She turned the handle and the door swung wide open to reveal a room a little bigger than the one he had at Four Privet Drive. This room had been decorated in the theme of… Harry blinked… blinked again… Gryffindor colours. The bed was covered in a maroon bedspread and the pillows were gold coloured. The wallpaper was a soft yellow and the carpet was maroon with little golden snitches on it. The desk in the corner seemed perfectly normal but Harry could see that the pen on it was in the shape of a miniature broom and the pad of stationary paper on it had the name "Harry Potter" embossed on the top of each sheet. A window was placed on one wall and there was a bookcase filled with books right next to it. From the door Harry could read "Denis Doclair's Guide to Defense Against the Dark Arts," "How to Stop a Dark Wizard," and "99 Spells that Could Save Your Life In Dark Situations."
Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon appeared not to have noticed any of these obvious signs- they could be so thick sometimes- and Aunt Petunia turned to Ms. Riddle, "Oh! I really hope it isn't too much trouble putting Harry up in a second room. This room is so nice, I am not sure… that Harry can… handle having such a nice place to stay."
Ms. Riddle frowned slightly at this. "Do you mean to tell me that he doesn't have a nice room at home?" She seemed genuinely upset at the idea and Harry couldn't help liking her for just a split second.
Aunt Petunia sputtered slightly and then, eager to redeem herself in Ms. Riddle's eyes, very quickly said, "Of course he has a nice room at home. He just has never stayed in a nice room outside our house before. You know. Away from us. Like this." She nodded for emphasis.
Ms. Riddle was still frowning but nodded as if she understood what Aunt Petunia had meant. She turned to lead the Dursleys toward their set of room when Harry interrupted her quickly. "Where is my stuff?"
Uncle Vernon immediately glared at Harry for speaking out loud, but then frowned upon realizing that Harry had asked an excellent question- one that he had been pondering ever since his stuff had disappeared into thin air in the main lobby. He looked quickly around the room and saw that there was no trace of Harry's luggage anywhere in the room.
Ms. Riddle frowned slightly and looked around the room. "I could have sworn I told them…" She broke off in mid sentence and strode to the desk/ dresser and pulled out one of the drawers. She looked up triumphantly. "Your stuff is all in here Harry. I had Cush and Blink put everything away for you already. I'm sure you have plenty of things you want to do before school begins again- no use in having you waste time putting things away."
She walked back to the Dursleys and asked, "Shall I show you to your rooms now?" Aunt Petunia nodded and she and Dudley followed her out the door. Uncle Vernon paused for a second in the doorway obviously still trying to figure out how Harry's stuff had ended up in his drawers so quickly. He shook his head and then turned and walked out the door. The door closed silently behind even though he had not touched it.
Harry was left alone in the room that had obviously been magicked to suit all of his needs. Harry walked over to the dresser and began to peruse its contents. The first few drawers contained the clothes Harry had backed, but the interesting stuff was in the last few drawers. In them were hundreds of bottles of different potions ingredients each one labeled and alphabetized then put in its own special compartment. There was a medium sized cauldron in one along with a self heating stove and a mirror.
Harry shut the drawers quickly as he heard feet advancing toward his room. The door flew open and Dudley stood in the entrance looking very pleased. "Harry, you wouldn't believe it! My room has a TV and a playstation and all these games and videos and all these things that Mom and Dad would never have gotten me. But poor you, all you got was some weird carpet." Dudley smiled happily oblivious to the fact that Harry seemed very pleased with the room he had been given. Just then Ms. Riddle appeared in the doorway and Dudley turned around to face her. In a falsely sweet voice Dudley reserved just for sucking up to grown ups Dudley said, "Ms. Riddle! Thank you so much for you kindness. My room is wonderful. Thank you so much."
Ms. Riddle smiled kindly at him but Harry could see that she was obviously annoyed at his attempt to make her think he was appreciative. "You're welcome very much. Now if you don't mind I'd like to talk to Harry for a minute." Dudley looked shocked at the idea that anyone would want to talk to Harry but did as he was told and scampered away. Harry knew he was going straight to Aunt Petunia to tell her that Ms. Riddle had requested to talk to Harry. Once again the door shut silently without being touched.
Ms. Riddle pulled a chair out from under the desk that Harry was sure had not been there a second before. She ran her fingers over the top before she sat down in it. She looked straight ahead of her before she turned to look at Harry. She looked at him, but Harry could tell that she was avoiding his eyes and Harry decided that this was probably a good thing. "How have you been Harry?"
Harry jumped at the question and remained silent for several moments. He was not sure what he should say to her. She seemed nice enough but Harry knew that in times like these no one could be trusted, no matter how nice they seemed and the fact that she shared the same last name as Lord Voldemort did not make Harry feel anymore comfortable about talking to her. Harry decided that the best way to go about this would be to play dumb even though he knew it could backfire horribly; he just didn't know what else to do.
"I'm fine although summer is almost over. How have you been?" His tone of voice made it evident that he had only asked the question to be polite.
She seemed rather annoyed at the question and brushed it off quickly. "I'm fine," she said abruptly, "but I can hear about myself anytime. Let's talk about you." Harry was shocked at her bluntness and remained silent. Ms. Riddle allowed the silence to continue for several moments before she said, "How did your O.W.L s go?"
Harry stared at her, shocked, for several moments. Okay- now she definitely had to be a witch if she knew about O.W.L s. Harry silently debated on weather to tell her his scores but then decided against it, after her he nothing about her except that she was the daughter of his, and every other good witch or wizard, worst enemy. "I did fine."
Silence lingered for another minute and then she asked, "Do you have a lot of friends at Hogwarts?" She paused and then added, "I imagine you'd be very popular after what happened."
Harry's head shot up. 'Oh my God!' he thought. 'She knows that I killed her father.' Upon noticing that he was beginning to panic, he forced himself to calm down. "I have a few close friends and then some acquaintances."
She seemed to latch onto this as if it were her last lifeline. "Who are your friends?" She looked at him expectantly while Harry debated weather or not to tell her.
'What if she used the information to get back Harry or killed Ron and Hermione?' Harry finally decided to completely lie about his friends and hope she'd end up killing them instead. "Well my favorite friends are Draco Malfoy, Vincent Crabbe, and Marcus Goyle." (A/N- what are Crabbe and Goyle's first names?)
She looked at him quizzically for a moment and then a look of disgust came on her face. "You're friends with Lucius's son? I though they were in Slytherin." She looked around the room and then said, "aren't you in Gryffindor?"
Harry was kind of shocked that she knew Malfoy's father. "You know Lucius Malfoy?" and then upon remembering her question added, "Yes, they are in Slytherin and I'm in Gryffindor, but… it is …really not that bad." Harry realized how lame his response sounded but hoped she wouldn't.
The look on her face told Harry plainly that she did. "Lucius was a… friend of my fathers." She looked at Harry directly as if trying to make her next point sink into his brain, "A very close friend." Harry nodded his head as if to show that he had understood but she continued on, "I am definitely surprised that you'd be friends with the likes of Draco Malfoy- he doesn't seem like your type of person." She turned away from Harry as if talking to herself and mumbled to herself, "Unless you like stuck-up, arrogant, pretty boys." Harry couldn't help liking her- anyone who disliked Draco Malfoy was a friend of his. She continued to stare at him as if awaiting a response. When none came she said, "Well?" Harry stared at her blankly and she smirked softly. "Who are your friends at Hogwarts?"
"I told you. I like Draco Malfoy, Vincent Crabbe, and Mar…"
She cut him off immediately, "I'm not stupid you know." She once more looked directly into Harry's eyes and Harry found himself thinking, 'She's definitely not stupid.' "Who are your real friends at Hogwarts?"
Harry became very nervous and started fidgeting with the bedspread. Before he could stop himself he blurted out, "You're not going to hurt them or anything are you?"
He looked up to see a very hurt and angry expression on her face. She stood up and glared at Harry and Harry found himself wanting to disappear into the floor. "Don't judge me on what my father did Harry. If I thought of you like I thought of your father I'd expect you to be a cocky son of a bitch." She turned on her heel and left the room, slamming the door behind her and Harry could not help but feel both saddened and relieved that she had left.
Harry rolled over the conversation they had just had. She knew the Malfoys and did not like them. Or maybe she was just pretending to dislike the Malfoys because she knew that Harry didn't like them. It was very likely that she knew that Harry didn't like the Malfoys given how much else she knew about him. Harry sighed and went back to perusing the bookshelves.
***