An Orphan Loved By All, a harry potter fanfic

AU!

Written for Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

House: Thunderbird

Class: Arithmancy

Task: 2. What if Merope Gaunt had found a Wizarding shelter instead of a Muggle one?

Bonus Prompt:

3. (word) possession

4. (dialogue) You are not hard to love.

Word Count: 1472/4500

An Orphan Loved By All

She despised magic — it had taken her love from her — but as the pain in her lower back radiated to the front, Merope knew she had no other choice. Even if she didn't want to live, she wanted to bring her child into the world. Her child had done nothing wrong and didn't deserve to die out in the freezing cold.

Merope Gaunt wandered through the streets of London, looking for a place to rest her weary head. As the raindrops splattered against her lank hair, she rubbed her pregnant belly and wondered if she'd be able to live long enough to give birth to her child. She didn't have a wand or any worldly possessions on her body, and she had sold the locket she had stolen from her brother a few days ago.

Waddling past an amorous couple under an umbrella, Merope's heart lurched. All she could think of was her husband and how he had deserted her.

She knew it was her own fault for manipulating him into a relationship with her, but she hadn't been able to help herself. So starved for love and a little bit of affection, Merope had given Tom Riddle the vial of Love Potion she had brewed so carefully after her father and brother were thrown into Azkaban. The young man had fallen for her and asked her to elope with him, and she had… For some time, the couple was happy; Merope now knew it was only because of the consistent amount of Love Potion she made him drink regularly. But when Merope had gotten pregnant with their child, guilt had bloomed in her heart. When she started weaning him off the Love Potion, she realized he didn't love her at all.

The mere memory of the fight they'd had caused her to wince — or maybe it was the sudden back pain, and she wrapped her arms around herself as she ducked her head. She knew she couldn't return to Little Hangleton, and she didn't even want to. The memories of her husband still haunted her, as did the guilt and regret.

As she reached an old deserted warehouse, Merope felt a warm wave of magic wash over her and relax her breathing. She looked up at the warehouse and let out a soft gasp. Her magical abilities were dampened by her abusive childhood and depression, so she hadn't noticed it at first, but she could still make out the golden lettering on the door.

Warm Smiles Wizarding Shelter.

Nervous and a bit hesitant about her decision, Merope slowly stepped towards the shelter and let the warm magic wash over her and soothe her soul. A sharp pang in her pelvis and upper belly almost caused her to stumble over her feet, but she steadied herself before she could fall.

The moment she reached the door, it swung open and a soft golden light surrounded her. An old woman with a soft smile ushered her in. "Oh, you poor dear! Come in, come in, child! Step out of the cold. There, let me help you."

Merope wasn't used to people helping her, and she definitely wasn't used to people comforting her with physical touch. So when the old woman wrapped her arm around Merope's shoulders to lead her out of the cold, tears spilt forth from Merope's eyes, and she let out a heart-wrenching sob.

"Oh, dearie!" The old woman helped her into one of the rooms, and through her tears, Merope saw a few other women gathered around a long table. "Ana, Beatrice! Come help me with this one. I think she's in pain!"

Two young women hurried over to Merope's side and helped her onto a bed in the corner. They levitated the bed up the stairs and disappeared into another room with her.

"Tom Marvolo Riddle," Merope whispered, gazing down at her son with awe and adoration. She caressed the tuft of black hair on his head and smiled. He was her most prized possession now, and even though she was tired of life, she knew she couldn't desert him. Not after his father had deserted them both.

"He's beautiful," Ana murmured, smiling down at them. She Accioed a blanket and wrapped it around the young mother and her child before she stepped back. "Call us if you need anything. We'll be right outside."

Merope didn't even hear her, too amazed that she had her baby in her arms after all she had gone through. Despite her pregnant state, she had lived on the streets as a mere pauper for the past six months and had managed to survive on her own. She still suffered from a broken heart, but the presence of her beautiful baby in her arms made her life more tolerable. She would live for him.

Once she had gained enough strength, she went to thank the women and was greatly astonished that despite her dubious background, the other women asked her to stay with them. With the help of the wonderful caretakers in the shelter, Merope decided to stay there with her son and help out with the other women and children. She knew that helping one person wouldn't change the world, but it could change the world for that one person. Just like the women had changed her world for the better.

Seven Years Later

"Come and help Aunt Ana set the table, Tom, dear!" Merope called out over her shoulder at her son, who sat in one of the armchairs with a big book in his hands. Tom immediately hurried over to their side and picked up the plates.

Even though they could have just used magic to set the table, the adults often got the children to help them out with the little tasks around the shelter, as they believed it created a feeling of togetherness in the young ones. As the shelter had a dozen homeless witches and almost twice the number of orphans, they were a tightly knit community who put the needs of others before their own, and Merope had made sure to pass down the same values to Tom.

"Tom, honey, you know you can't bring your snake to dinner," Merope said pointedly when she saw the thin snake curled around Tom's wrist.

"But, Mother, he's hurt and needs my help," Tom argued calmly, his eyes trained on his mother's. "You won't stop me from helping him, would you?"

Merope sighed and said, "The other children are a little nervous around the snakes, Tom. Why don't you take your snake elsewhere?" Tom scowled and muttered something under his breath in Parseltongue that startled Merope.

"Tom! What did you just say?"

"I said," he enunciated, "that even if I'm unlovable, at least Amethyst deserves to be loved. And you can't —"

"Who said you're unlovable, Tom?"

"Isn't that why I don't have a father?"

"What? No! That's not true!" Merope crouched down beside her son, aghast at his startling conclusion. "Tom, honey, you are not hard to love. Everyone here loves you! You can ask anyone, and they'll tell you —"

"But why doesn't Father want us? Is it because of me? Did I do something wrong?" Tom asked quietly, glancing down at the snake in his palm. Her forked tongue swiped at Tom's thumb, and he couldn't help but pet her head.

"No, my dear, it is not because of you. It's… my fault. I did something terrible to your father," she admitted.

"Oh, I'm sure you're very sorry about it. Why don't we go and talk to Father? Maybe he will understand."

"No, my sweetling, we cannot go back. He won't be happy to see us."

Tom's shoulders slumped for a second before he smiled. "All right, Mother. We don't need him anyway, do we? I'm the man of the family, aren't I?"

"Yes, you are," Merope said, leaning forward to press her lips to her son's forehead, closing her eyes for a few seconds. "Family isn't always blood, Tom. It's the people in your life who want you in theirs; the ones who accept you for who you are, the ones who do everything to make you smile and love you no matter what."

Tom's eyes lit up in recognition at Merope's little speech. "You mean…"

"Yes, honey, this is our family." She motioned to the women and children rushing around the magically enlarged kitchen and smiled. "This is where we belong, honey."

As Tom walked over to help his Aunt Ana, he realized his mother was right. He didn't need a father to guide him when he had such amazingly strong witches in his life. When they sat down for dinner and a few children asked him if he could show Amethyst to them, he thanked the universe for where he was.

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