The house was no different from the other houses on the street. Well, there were some exceptions. The Potters, the rightful owners of the house in Godric's Hollow. They were magical beings with sticks that sent out different lights after they spoke some gibberish. Well, that's how a muggle would describe it. A fellow witch and wizard would describe them as some of the best there was. As someone who didn't deserve the injustice served to them that Halloween night. As people who had so much to live for. Sadly it was taken away with a stick and a bunch of gibberish coming out one man's mouth.
The begs of the red head mudblood were no more than a buzz to his ears. He took powerful strides towards her and the crib that she guarded behind her. "Not Harry you snake!" She screamed at the top of her lungs, the tears she was holding back started to drop like the rain outside. It paused the man in his tracks and made him glare at the green eyed woman. The yelling he could deal with but he wouldn't let some stupid mudblood insult him freely.
"I guess your last word will be snake." He chuckled menacingly sending shivers down her spine. She realized her words have set off the last of his patience with her screams. She knew her fate.
As the words quickly registered she turned to her son and saw a look of confusion on his face. "I love you Har-" Couldn't even finish his name before she dropped to the floor dead. The toddler watched as his mother fell and thought it was another one of those tricks, that she would jump up at any time and tickle him. But that never came. She stayed on the floor, her eyes staring blankly up at her son, a faint smile on her face as a lonely tear rolled down her cheek.
"Harry Potter." The cloaked man hissed at the baby. He approached the crib and bent down to eyesight with Harry. "I am Lord Voldemort." Harry tilted his head at the strange hideous man in front of him. He was not his father nor one of his uncles, who was he?
Voldemort sighed and picked the baby up and held him in his arms awkwardly. The boy had eyes like his mother, emerald green like the curse that was used to kill her. He had hair like the dead man downstairs, messy locks of raven hair covered his head. He wouldn't call this baby cute but others would. Voldemort dismissed his thoughts and disapparated to Riddle Manor.
Rain struck down on the man and baby wetting their clothes and skin. Voldemort glanced around at his surroundings, he was in the garden that was home to dead flowers and withered trees. He hadn't bothered to take care of it, besides if he wanted it to look nice a simple spell would do just that.
In the distance was his Manor. Standing high and tall in all its glory. Lights shined from the bottom floor's windows while the other two floors were not lit at all. He must've left the lights on or a Death Eater left late from the dungeons.
Harry pouted at the raindrops pouring down in his face and tried to fight them away. It wasn't long until he broke out into tears. Voldemort grunted and wiped the baby's face off his with his sleeve but that resulted in him crying even louder. "Shut up would you!" He snapped at Harry and his mouth snapped shut. Only his tears represented how upset he was.
The Dark Lord marched through the muddy puddles, shivering from the cold drops of water landing on his skin. He stepped through the garden's gate and began his journey up the hill, which is what his manor sat on.
He wished he could've apparated inside but the barriers wouldn't allow it. They were a safety precaution just in case the ministry found Riddle Manor. If they did, he could escape quickly and hide out in one of his Death Eater's Manors. Of course he could fight them off but he knew they'd only bring the best to try to bring him down.
As Voldemort approached the top of the hill he felt Harry tap his upper chest. He looked down at the annoying thing and it was pointing at it's stomach. He was hungry.
"Just wait." Voldemort grumbled opening the door. He was met by annoying music flooding his ears, giggling of little children and chatter of all sorts. The Halloween party, he allowed a few of his Death Eaters to have the party here. No wonder the lights were still on.
As Voldemort took another step through the door he felt something small step on his foot. His eyes shot down to see the infamous, blonde, mop of Malfoy hair below him. Draco looked up at Voldemort, "Sorry." He apologized.
Nacrissa gasped as she saw her son on top of the Dark Lord's feet. She got up quickly to take him away but Voldemort already picked up the toddler. "Draco." The Lord started smirking.
The youngest Malfoy paled as he made eye contact with the Dark Lord himself. "Say hi to your cousin." The act was supposed to be wholesome but it came off kind of creepy, everything the Dark Lord did came off as creepy.
Draco met eyes with Harrison, almost immediately they both started to smile. "Hi cousin." Draco giggled. Harrison clapped and reached out for Draco with his tiny, little hands. They seemed to kick it off perfectly.
"M-my Lord. Pardon me but, cousin?" Lucius asked, bowing down in front of him. Voldemort had a smirk on his face but it disappeared when Lucius ruined his train of thoughts about the two boys. He dropped Draco next to his father and sighed. "Yes, I said cousin Mafloy." Voldemort spat at him.
"This is my son." Voldemort paused and looked down at the raven haired boy in his arms. He couldn't call him Harry Potter, he didn't want any of his Death Eaters knowing who this actually was. If they did know it could leak out like everything else he told them so he was definitely not taking the risk. "Harrison. Harrison Riddle."
Everyone stared at him with their mouths agape. The Dark Lord had a child? Now that was unbelievable to anyone's ears. "I think it was the right occasion to introduce you to Harrison especially since today is the day Potter's son died and I've secured my future in running the wizarding world." Voldemort explained glancing around the room.
"M-my Lord? Is this why you told us to have children?" Bellatrix asked hesitantly. Voldemort nodded stiffly, his eyes landed on a curled up Delphini in her father's arms. "Delphi, don't you want to say hi to your cousin?" Rodulphus cooed, nodding towards Harrison.
Delphini shook her head and buried her head into her father shyly. "Stop fooling around you silly girl. Go say hi to your cousin." Bellatrix barked at her. Silent is what the room was, all eyes were on the Lestranges. Delphini frowned and waved towards Harrisson. Bellatrix went from glaring at Delphini to her husband, she blamed him for their child being disobedient. He shrugged, hugging Delphini closer.
"If word gets out about Harrison I swear on Salazar I will kill each and everyone of you." His eyes shot towards Severus, his best Death Eater and most valuable spy. He knew Severus had a soft spot for the mudblood and might want revenge on him for killing her off.
"Understand?" Voldemort asked all six of them. They all nodded in understatement, not daring to make eye contact with their Lord. "Excuse me my lord but can I please have a look at your heir?" Severus' voice was hesitant and shaky, it sounded like he was holding back the urge of bursting into tears, but his face said otherwise.
"Yes." Voldemort agreed. Severus strided over to the Dark Lord to look at Harrison. Harrison smiled at the familiar man, he had seen him a couple times before, he liked his tricks too.
Severus' eyes started to burn as he looked away from the child and away from the Dark Lord. It was clear to him that it was Harry Potter. He couldn't believe it, and he wouldn't believe it.
Voldemort eyed him suspiciously but shrugged, Severus was a weird man.
"Great. I'll be upstairs with Harrison." Voldemort glided across the room with his chin held high and his intimidation levels off the charts.
When he got upstairs he called for his house elf. "What is it that master needs from Mimi?" She asked, speaking in third person. It annoyed Voldemort but he didn't bother to do anything. How the elf talked was the least of his concerns.
"Is the room ready?" He asked the elf. She nodded, smiling at the baby in Voldemort's arms. "Take Harrison to his room and put him to sleep." The order was simple and plain. Mimi took Harrison to his nursery and put him to sleep very quickly.
It was a peaceful night the first night Harrison stayed in Riddle Manor. He got to meet Nagini and the two of them hit off just fine. The second night was a bit more of a fuss since Harrison wanted to see James and Lily. Tom had a hard time understanding that Harrison wanted to see a trick so he let Nagini deal with him.
After a week of Harrison staying in his new house Tom had already begun a potion to make him a parseltongue. He called it Serpene. It was a potion he made himself to give Harrison the ability to talk to snakes. It was an hussle to make since he had to only speak in Parseltongue for a week, making communication between him and his Death Eaters frustrating. He had to prick himself countless times to get the right amount of blood. And getting Harrison to drink the potion was even harder.
"Open." Tom ordered, holding vile up to Harrison's mouth. Harrison's lips became a thin line as he turned his head away. "Open your mouth you little-"
"Tom!" Nagini, his snake snapped at him. "What?" He snapped back at her. He was already aggravated with the stubborn toddler. "Don't yell at him. He's only a baby, you have to play with him a bit." Nagini explained to Tom. She slivered up him and rested on his neck. Harrison smiled reaching out for Nagini.
"I am not playing with him. If he won't drink it when I tell him to, I'll just have to force him." Tom pulled out his wand ready to put the Imperius curse on Harrison when Nagini slapped his hand with her tail.
There was a tense moment between the snake and snake-like man. "Did you… just slap my hand?" Tom asked slowly, turning to look at his snake with a dangerous look. In moments Nagini was kicked out of the room while Tom continued to tend to baby Harrison.
Harrison was still not complying so Tom used a spell to make him drink it. "Hopefully the potion works." Tom mumbled to himself examining Harrison closely. Harrison hiccuped and hiccuped again and again until he stopped. His bright green eyes turned slightly darker with a bit of red. His hair wasn't as messy and looked like it's curls were tamed. His tan skin paled but not drastically. It seemed the potion changed his appearance too. That was a good factor, that'll make Harry Potter less recognisable.
Voldemort smirked, proud in himself for creating the first and only potion that can make someone a Parseltongue. "You are going to let me accomplish great things." Voldemort whispered, stroking Harrison's face with his cold, pale fingers.
"Good evening My Lord." Severus spoke out before the rest of the inner circle. Today they gathered in Tom's usual meeting room. The room had chairs that were placed to form a circle, in the middle laid Nagini. Usually at some meetings Nagini would have a snack, but that was not the case today. Today Voldemort would be discussing Harrison with his inner circle and his plans for him.
"Good evening." Tom leaned back in his seat, with Harrison sitting in his lap. Harrison was dressed in expensive silk robes. Nothing less expected from the Dark Lord's son. Over the past few months with Harrison, Tom was getting used to Harrison and Harrison got used to Tom. Harrison adapted pretty fast to the cold and dark environment which saved Tom from the stress of showing Harrison sparks come out of his wand.
Everyone sat down in their respective seats with some chairs spacing out one another. They waited patiently and silently for their Lord to start talking. "I've called you all here today to discuss Harrison and my plans for him. Meaning how you five will be a part of his journey to greatness." Tom smirked as he thought how much easier it'll be to achieve his goals with Harrison under his control.
"For you Severus," He turned his head to the weird man. "I think you'll be the best person to teach Harrison the science of potions." Severus nodded and looked at Harrison in Tom's lap.
He promised Lily that he would protect her son no matter what. But now that seemed harder. The Dark Lord had possession of him and there was nothing he could do besides pretend Harry James Potter is Harrison Riddle.
"Bartemius and Bellatrix, you two will be teaching Harrison how to use a wand. Besides from Severus you two are some of the best duelers I have." Bellatrix and Bartermius exchanged knowing smirks. Most likely since they were complimented by Tom.
"Lucius and Rodulphus, I don't have a set job for you two but I believe as Harrison gets older I'll be able to determine how you'll help." Lucius let out a small sigh of relief, hoping Tom didn't pick up on it, which he didn't. Rodolphus nodded and smiled slightly at Harrison.
"Any questions?" Tom looked around the room and Bellatrix seemed to have a question. Of course she does, Tom thought to himself. "Bellatrix?" She cleared her throat and began to speak. "When will these jobs come into effect?"
"When I deem Harrison ready to learn how to become a proper Wizard." Bellatrix nodded and sat back into her seat. "Anyone else?" Severus cleared his throat asking for permission to speak. "Will Harrison be attending Hogwarts when he becomes of age?"
"Yes. It'll be the smartest way to bring that old hag down." The idea brought joy to Voldemort. It made him smile to himself. Any idea of the old hag's demise was amusing.
"My Lord, but you don't exactly have a public image besides the Dark Lord. If we just put Harrison in Hogwarts there will be questions on where this boy came from." Rodulphus told him, carefully choosing his words. If Tom thought Rodulphus was insulting his intelligence he would end up being crucioed.
"You're right Rodulphus. I have no idea how I didn't think of that." Tom mumbled, rubbing his chin. His snake made her presence known by slithering towards her owner. She pushed herself up and hissed. "I have an idea." Nagini told him. Harrison giggled and reached out towards the snake.
"Enlighten me my precious." His followers watched him anxiously as he conversed with his snake. From past experiences when Tom spoke to his snake he was ordering her to eat one of them.
"You should reclaim your old identity. Only few people know that Tom Riddle is linked to Voldemort. And if someone is a threat to your secret we can get rid of them." The idea was marvelous, brilliant. It would be easy to reclaim Tom Riddle as a separate identity. "My snake has given me the greatest idea." Tom announced to his inner circle. "I'll be reclaiming my old identity."
"Is there a way we can aid you My Lord?" Lucius asked. Voldemort nodded silently. "Your father Lucuis. I need for you to ask him if he remembers anyone that I revealed Voldemort to. If he does tell him to make a list and give it to me. Now!" Tom ordered. Lucius nodded and disappeared with a loud crack.
"Rodulphus find me a ring. It doesn't matter what it looks like."
"Of course My Lord." Rodolphus disappeared with a loud crack as well. "Bartemius, find me a charmer. Fast." Bartemius apparated away leaving Severus, Bellatrix and Tom as the only ones left. "Anything for us My Lord?" Bellatrix intoned. Tom shook his head and stood up with Harrison in his arms. "No you two are dismissed. However, after those other idiots finish their tasks I'll call us back together." The two Death Eaters nodded and stood up too.
Nagini began to coil around Tom's leg ready to apparate upstairs. "Good day." Severus said last. Tom apparated upstairs into Harrison's room.
"Thank you Nagini for that incredible idea." He thanked her as he placed Harrison in his crib. He rolled over on his side and laid there silently watching Nagini through the bars of his cribs.
"What do you plan to do with the ring and whoever Bartemius finds?" Nagini asked curiously. "Well I trust that Junior will find a great charmer and they'll be able to charm the ring Rodulphus finds to restore my original appearance. To restore Tom Marvolo Riddle." It made him cringe to say his own name out loud. He hated the fact his name was so muggle-like, it was the reason he took on the identity of Voldemort. Reclaiming Tom Riddle felt weird but it was something so little that would help with something so big.
"I understand. You need the ring for when you go out in public as Tom Riddle."
"Yes. That's it."
"Good evening My Lord. Here I present to you, Algard Witzen." Bartemius grinned, pushing the binded man to the floor. "Please let me go! I-I don't know what I did! Please! I have a family!" The man begged, struggling in his restraints. He was balling his eyes out ever since he saw Bartemius.
"Shut him up." Tom ordered. With the flick of Bartemius' wand the man's annoying sobs were silenced. "For one of the greatest charmers out there, you would expect him to be a little more tough. Right My Lord?" Barty asked, chuckling a bit at his own joke. Voldemort didn't look amused at all by it.
"You are dismissed Bartemius. Find Rodolphus and tell him to report to my office immediately. With the ring."
"Y-yes my Lord. Right away." Bartemius bowed before disappearing with a crack.
Voldemort walked circles around the man examining one of the greatest charmers there are. He didn't look very great. He was plump, short and ugly. His hair was gray and frizzy and he smelled horribly.
Tom took the silent spell off of Algard. "Algard is your name correct?" The man sniveled as he looked up at the Dark Lord walked circles around him. "Y-yes. What is it you want from me? I'll do anything just ple-" Tom stomped on the man's mouth, making him scream in pain.
"You talk too much." Tom sneered pressing down harder on his mouth. "I've brung you here to perform a simple task. Simple for you at least." Tom began, dragging out each and every word for effect. "What I need is for you to Charm a ring. And charm it so it restores my original appearance. The one before I looked like a snake." Tom looked down at the man to see he kept his eyes shut, trying to look away from Tom. "Can you do that for me Algard?"
"Y-yes." His words didn't come out clearly with a foot covering his mouth.
Right on cue Rodolphus appeared in Tom's office with a small silver box in hand. "Good evening My Lord." He bowed his head before giving the box to Tom. "Thank you Rodulphus. You are dismissed." Tom removed his foot from Algard's face and examined the box briefly before opening it. Inside was a golden ring with a very expensive looking diamond planted in the middle.
Tom took out his wand and mumbled, "Vindictus." The binds that forced the man not to move disappeared into thin air. "Here. Hurry up so this can be quicker for both of us." Tom gave him the ring and sat down behind his desk. It took awhile for the man to get on his feet but when he finally did he shook and fumbled with his wand. It reminded Tom of an old Death Eater that died. He forgot the man's name but he was sure he helped with the Potter's demise.
Algard whispered a line of spells as he pointed it at the wand. "How many years ago was it before your erm- appearance changed?" Algard was fumbling over his words which annoyed Tom to no extent but he couldn't kill Algard yet.
"My early twenties, so about thirty years ago. Why?" Tom asked out of curiosity. "Well the best charm I can think of will reverse time and return your appearance from years ago. I need to know exactly when so it can return the right appearance." Algard explained to him hastily. Tom has never heard of a charm that can do that. He wondered what other stuff Algard knew that he didn't.
A few minutes passed when Algard finally put his wand away and turned to look at Tom. "I've finished, can I-" Tom flicked his wand, sending a red bolt of light at Algard. It hit him, making him fall to the floor unconscious.
Tom got up from his seat and walked over to Algard's body. He bent down picking up the ring off the floor. Before putting it on Tom checked for any jinxes in case Algard tried something slick. Lucky for Algard, he didn't jinx the ring. Tom held the ring carefully as he slipped it onto his finger.
A sharp pain appeared first in his jaw, then his nose, next was his shoulders. It wasn't long before the pain reached throughout all of his body. It wasn't bad enough to make him yell or scream. It ended quickly though and Tom did indeed feel different. He caressed his face softly, feeling his old bone structure. He patted the top of his head and felt something soft and silk for once.
Tom rushed to his desk in search of a mirror. Luckily his two way mirror sat there. He picked it up and held it in front of his face and instead of the ugly, snake-like man looking back at him, it was his younger, handsome self. He wasn't deathly pale anymore and had a bit of a tan to his skin. His eyes weren't their crimson red anymore, they returned to it's brown color. His face was more chiseled and he had a nose.
"Perfect." He whispered to himself, smirking. A loud crack interrupted his train of thoughts. He spun to the source of the noise. It was Lucius. "Good even- Who are you and why are you in My Lord's office?" Lucius asked once he realised the man standing in front of him wasn't Voldemort.
Lucius pointed his wand at Tom. "Malfoy. It's me." Lucius' face dropped along with his wand. "L-lord? Y-you look very different." Voldemort rolled his eyes, "Of course I do Malfoy. Do you have the list?"
"Y-yes. But Abraxas said it probably wasn't everybody." Lucius explained to him as he handed the list over. Tom read down the list of familiar names. Some people were already dead, some names still supported him and some names he knew had already betrayed him. He took out his wand and crossed out the names of the people who shouldn't get killed.
Tom handed the list back to Lucius and the latter examined it. "Kill everyone excluding the people who are crossed out." Lucius looked at the list for a little while longer before looking back up at Tom. "Affirmative."
Once again Tom was alone in his office. He admired himself for a while more, he could definitely get used to this.
Tom strolled down Diagon Alley with Harrison holding his hand, struggling to keep up with his father's long struts. Today was the day Tom Marvolo Riddle was making his first appearance since around 1940. It's been a year since he first planned his appearance. However, it took awhile for Lucius to kill off everyone on that list. But now that the last person who knew Tom Riddle was Voldemort was gone, it was safe to go out in public without the risk of being exposed.
"Look at him Ava. He looks around your age." A mum gestured over to Tom to what seemed like her daughter. "Mum stop." Ava whined, covering her blushing face when Tom looked their way.
He wouldn't lie, he did miss when girls would drool over him. He continued down Diagon Alley to the Leaky Cauldron, he was sure someone from school would be there, it'll be a great way to bring his name into a buzz for a start. "Daddy! Look!" Tom looked down at Harrison to see he was pointing in the direction of the ice cream parlor. He was about to scold the little brat for calling him dad but he realised they were out in public.
"You want ice cream?" Tom asked in a way you would speak to babies. Harrison nodded smiling gleefully. Some people looked over their way and smiled and gushed over the father and child.
"Hey sir! Mind if I take a picture?" It was a young journalist asking the question. He had a camera in his hand and a large bag hung around his neck. "Of course. Look Harrison, say cheese." Tom pointed towards the camera, making Harrison look towards the man. "Cheese!" Harrison and Tom said in unison. The camera flashed and the man looked down at his camera, waiting for the picture to process. He shook the photo and showed Tom and Harrison.
"I'm Willaim Wind. I work for the daily Prophet. I've been walking around Diagon Alley for a while to try and get some interviews from some people. Can you stop for a quick one?" Tom couldn't be happier he ran into this journalist. It was a great way to welcome Tom Riddle back.
"Of course. I have time."
"Great. First, what's your name?"
"Tom Riddle. My son right here is Harrison."
"You look a bit young to have a son." William commented, scribbling down on his notepad.
"I get that all the time. I'm very well in my fifties." William's eyes widened. "Wow, you look great for your age. Gotta share how you do it. How old is little Harrison?"
"He's two years old."
"What brings you to Diagon Alley today?"
"Well I wanted to see if I would meet some old friends from Hogwarts."
"Why? Don't you keep up with them?"
"No. Ever since I graduated I decided to travel around the world. I didn't really keep in contact with any of my old friends. But it feels good to be back in England. The tensions aren't as high as America." Tom had spent hours thinking of reasons he 'disappeared off the face of the earth' and with the help of his familiar he thought him traveling around the world was the best excuse.
"Well sir- We're kind of in a war right now." William informed him awkwardly. "With who? When I left England I would've never expected there to be a war when I came back."
"A man named Voldemort. He's been bringing terror to muggles and anyone who stands against him. Probably should stay away from most pureblood families." William suggested closing his notebook. "I think I took enough of your time today Mr.Riddle. Hopefully my boss likes my paper and if he does you'll see yourself in the prophet next week." Willian chuckled nervously, Tom could tell William had zero confidence in his work but he couldn't care less.
"Hopefully your boss likes it. See you around William." Tom gave William a fake smile and took Harrison's hand. "Bye bye." Harrison waved at the man as he disappeared into the crowds that filled Diagon Alley. "Hurry up. I'm trying to get home before five." Tom grumbled, pulling Harrison along to the Icecream Parlor.
After Harrison got his ice cream, Tom quickly rushed them to the Leaky Cauldron. He didn't want to be outside all day especially with the little brat nagging him about everything he sees. "Ice cream, ice cream. Icy, icy, ice cream." Another thing, Harrison had made his own song about his chocolate ice cream. Tom was edging towards his wand everytime he started up that song but he had no choice but to listen to it as they walked.
"Finally." Tom sighed as he approached the doors of the Leaky Cauldron. He opened the door, pushing Harrison inside first. "Welcome to the Leaky Cauldron- Tom Riddle?" Tom jerked his head to who said his name. It was an ugly man with a hunchback. Tom had no idea who that man was.
"Oh boy. I haven't seen you since Hogwarts. You haven't aged at all." Tom looked down at the hunchbacked man and forced a smile. "I get that all the time. How have you been?" Tom asked holding onto Harrison's shirt collar when he tried to walk off. "I've been great. Running the pub and nothing else." The man chuckled.
"Tom who is that?" An overly large man sitting at a table asked. His name is Tom, Tom noted. How convenient for the person writing all of this. "This is Tom Riddle! Remember? From Hogwarts." The man gasped and got up from his seat. He almost touched the ceiling from how tall he was. "Tom Riddle! Yer probably don't remember meh but I'm Hagrid." Tom was surprised by the name. He remembered he had framed Hagrid for the attacks on the muggleborns back in his Hogwarts school year.
"Oh- Hello Hagrid." Hagrid chuckled, slapping Tom on his back pushing him forward a bit. "Ow." Harrison whined. Hagrid looked down at the noise and met eyes with baby Harrison. "Yer got a kid?" Hagrid asked, slightly surprised by the toddler holding his hand. "Yeah. This is Harrison."
Harrison hid behind his father trying to stay away from Hagrid's view. "Betcha had no trebler find yerself a wife.'' Hagrid chuckled, waving towards Harrison. "But I was gonna say that I don't have anythin' towards ya fer gettin' meh expelled. I was yer most likely suspect and yeh did what yeh had to do." Tom nodded and looked down at his watch. It was a quarter until five and he had planned to get home before then.
"My apologies but I have to get home now."
"Oh alright. I'll see yeh around Tom." Hagrid smiled at him. Tom nodded and picked up Harrison. As quick as possible he apparated out of the Leaky Cauldron and back home to Riddle Manor. He landed in the dead garden. Tom placed Harrison on the floor and sighed. "The things I do to succeed." He mumbled to himself.
"Albus yer won't believe who I ran into the other day." Albus, McGonalgal and Hagrid were walking the empty halls of Hogwarts, checking to make sure everything was intact and ready for the students who will arrive tomorrow. "Who?"
"Tom Riddle. Y'know the one who got meh-" Albus' eyes widened and McGonalgal let out a cough. "Tom Marvolo Riddle? That one?" Hagrid raised an eyebrow and nodded slowly. "If that's his middle name then yah." Albus couldn't believe his ears. How did Tom go out in public without being identified as Voldemort? No answer came to his head but there had to be some logical explanation. Why would Tom identify as Tom Riddle again anyways? Albus looked at Minerva and she had the same confused expression as he did. "Anyways he had his son Harrison with him at the time. He was so adorable I tell yeh, he seemed afraid of meh though."
Albus thought the conversation couldn't get any more shocking. "Son? Was his mother there too?" Albus asked immediately. Hagrid shook his head, "Nah, it was just them two." Albus nodded, rubbing his beard. Tom having a son was even more unbelievable than him going out in public. Albus knew that Tom didn't have the patience to deal with little kids which worried him about Harrison.
"Hagrid I think the hallways and stairs are in tip top shape. Can you check the common rooms for me?" Albus had already checked the common rooms but he just wanted an excuse to get rid of Hagrid for a while. "Alright." Hagrid walked off to go check the common rooms. "Voldemort has a son." Minerva said out loud. "I would never have thought in a million years that would be true."
"We need to know more about this child though. And how Tom managed to go out in public unidentified as Voldemort." Albus told her.
"Perhaps he used some sort of disguise spell." Minerva suggested. Albus shook his head. "No. Disguise spells usually turn you into a different person. If Hagrid was able to recognize Voldemort as Tom Riddle he must've done something to restore his old looks." Albus began to walk again, signaling Minerva to follow him. They walked in silence thinking about Voldemort on their journey to Albus' office. They approached the gargoyle statues, "Lime juice." Albus said, making the gargoyles move out of the way, leaving Albus and Minerva a clear path to his office.
When they got inside the daily prophet was on his desk. Albus sat down at his desk, Minerva sitting in front of it. He placed a lemon drop into his mouth and took the prophet off his desk. The breaking news was about Death Eater attacks which were not very new nor interesting. He flipped through some of the pages but forced himself to stop on one page with a moving picture of a man and his child.
The man bent down to the same height as his toddler, pointing at the camera. The toddler looked around cluelessly before finding the camera and smiling along with his father. Albus looked a little closer at the man and the child and paled. That was Tom Riddle. Not the hideous snake-like man Voldemort. Next to him was his child Hagrid spoke about. They looked very different to each other. Tom had straight dark hair while Harrison had pure raven curls. Harrison's eyes were a dark green while Tom's eyes were a dark brown. Albus suspected that Harrison gained his mother's traits over his father's.
Albus quickly showed Minerva the photo and she paled at the sight of the young Tom Riddle. "We have to find out more about this child. Call Severus into my office immediately.''
It wasn't long before the mysterious man ended up and Albus' office. "You needed me?" Snape asked, drawling out his words. "Have you seen the daily prophet?" Snape rolled his eyes and gave Albus the: are-you-serious look. "Albus I was not informed about the Death Eater attack. For the millionth time I don't particapate-"
"No not that." Albus showed the picture of Tom and Harrison. His expression didn't change one bit. "This right here is Voldemort and his son." Albus told him bluntly. Snape chuckled and looked away from the picture. "Albus, that is not Voldemort, nor does he have a son." He told him, holding back the urge to laugh.
"This is Voldemort. However he has somehow returned back to his human appearance, when he identified himself as Tom Riddle. And according to Hagrid, Tom claimed that the boy in this picture is his son." Albus explained to the slightly confused Snape. "Has he ever mentioned anything about a son?"
"No. He has never told me about a son before." Albus sighed and placed the daily Prophet back on his desk. "Severus I need you to figure out who exactly this child is. I'm completely sure Voldemort wouldn't have a child himself." Severus pursed his lips and nodded stiffly. "I'll try my best." Albus smiled at Severus and he didn't bother to return it. "If you don't mind I have to prepare for the children that are going to nag me tomorrow."
Snape turned and left Albus's office mumbling something under his breath as he left. "I feel like Severus isn't always on our side." Minerva commented, once Severus was out of ear range. "I can see why you say that but he told me personally he wants revenge on Voldemort. I don't think he'll be turning on us anytime soon."
