the storyteller

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"You'll stay here today," said Evert, pointing at the corner of the fireplace. The cauldron stayed still for a while and then hopped to the spot.

It was a sunny day, the kind of day Tom didn't remember seeing in Little Hangleton for quite a while. Or maybe he just didn't remember that weather because he usually stayed inside his house when the sky was clean and blue, with the flowers looking more colourful and the grass, greener. Maybe that was the reason Evert decided to go to the village on that specific day: the chances of rain were low and people, most likely, would be in a good mood.

"Do you really think I should go?" asked Riddle while he attached a brooch to his cloak to hold it in place. If he managed to arrive at Hangleton without tripping on his own cloak, it would be a victory already.

"Yes. You can't stay in here forever, even though I think you're a good company," the wizard explained. "You need to see how things are out there, to learn how to deal with people. Don't worry, it'll be easy."

The walk was long, but this was not a problem. With such a pretty day, it was easy to get distracted by looking at the flowers that decorated the fields of East Yorkshire or sighting an animal that occasionally ran past them. It was just when they saw the village in a distance that Evert stopped and looked at Riddle with a serious expression on his face.

"What's your name?" he asked.

"Beedle," said Tom, furrowing his brows. That name still felt strange on his tongue.

"And what are you doing here?"

"Visiting you," he answered.

The wizard smiled and nodded before he resumed walking.

The place still had its countryside village air that Tom was used to in Little Hangleton even though, for what he could see, Hangleton would one day become Great Hangleton. Wherever they passed, people turned their heads to look at them. Evert attracted most of the kind looks, while the suspicious ones went on Tom's direction.

"And that's where we'll stop," the wizard explained, pointing to what looked like a tavern. "The owner has allowed me to use the place for a few seasons now."

The tavern was dark and suffocating on the inside. The clients seemed to be waiting for Evert already, as they advanced towards him, requesting a range of services: one wanted something to heal him from a cold, another wanted his shoulder to stop hurting, a woman pleaded for something to make it easier for her to have a child, while another whispered about wanting to attract a boy.

It was incredible how the wizard handled the situation: behind one of the tables, with his herbs and ointments, Evert attended each of the villagers, trying to give them what they asked for. From time to time a greater physical effort was needed, like when a young man with a disjointed shoulder came asking for help and he and Tom had to almost hang from his arm do put it back in place.

"Go rest for a while," said Evert, as they watched the boy with the disjointed shoulder leave with a smile on his face. "I can handle it. You can go and see the rest of the village."

Riddle nodded, despite thinking he should stay near the wizard. If it wasn't the claustrophobic interior of the tavern, he would have stayed, but he needed some fresh air and a bit of space, away from all those people. He was used to living alone with his parents, without too many people around… Crowds made him uncomfortable, even if this feeling just showed up after being in the middle of people for a while.

Seeing what would one day become Great Hangleton made the man's heart clench inside his chest, the same feeling he had when he was about to fall asleep and remembered everything that had happened: his parents, his son, Merope, the time travel… Everything sounded so terrible and strange, it made his heart race and his breath become uneven until he manage to control those reactions.

Tom saw an old man sitting by the entrance of what looked like an emporium, surrounded by children who were entertained with what he spoke. He decided to listen to whatever the old man was telling the kids, just to distract himself from the stubborn thoughts in his mind, and it seemed to be a story about a knight and a dragon. The children seemed amazed by it and didn't look away until the story ended.

"And that's it, now go away! Leave the old man alone!" said the man, waving his hands and laughing.

"Another story, Mr Ecberth!" a little girl asked, kneeling and looking at him with big eyes.

"I don't have another story for today, Abigail. I already told you two of them," he said, before looking around and noticing Tom. "Why don't you ask this good sir for a story? He came with Evert, I bet he knows a lot of stories."

Riddle widened his eyes as he saw six children turning around to look at him, expectantly, while the old man quietly laughed.

"I apologize for that," said Mr Ecberth as he walked past him. "But I really don't have stories anymore and my wife will kill me if I don't go back home right now. Just tell them anything and they'll be happy."

Tom watched as the man walked away, before looking at the kids again. Great. He should have stayed with Evert…

"Do you know any stories, sir?" asked the girl, Abigail, pointing to the wooden bench by the entrance of the emporium, where the old man had been sitting before.

"A few," he mumbled and hesitated, but ended up sitting on the bench.

Riddle looked at the tavern's door, waiting to see if Evert wouldn't walk out of it, but the only ones who left the place were a couple. Sighing, the man looked at the children. Who would have thought he would travel back in time to the fifteenth century and end up babysitting a bunch of kids.

"There once was a farmer with three sons. The two older ones were strong and wise, but the youngest, whom was called Ivanushka, was a bit of a fool and moony. One day, the farmer noticed that there was something stomping on his wheat and asked his sons to watch over the crop overnight so they could catch whatever was doing it," Tom started. He knew the Russian fairytales he used to hear as a little boy were usually crazier than the most usual ones, like Snow White or Cinderella, but they were always the first thing that appeared in his mind when he thought about stories. "The older ones fell asleep by the beginning of the night, but Ivanushka stayed wide awake and saw a beautiful, grey stallion with a saddle of gold appear on his father's crop."

The children widened their eyes and Tom laughed quietly.

"The horse told Ivan that, if he allowed him to eat the wheat, he would help him to achieve his dreams. He said: 'When you need me, come to the field and call for Sivka-Burka'," said the man, smiling as he saw one or two kids whisper the weird name. "And so Ivanushka allowed the horse to eat and walk around the field in peace. One day, not long after that night, the Tsar-"

"The what?" a boy asked, wriggling his nose.

"A Tsar, it's like a king," Riddle explained. "One day, the Tsar set up a contest: he put his youngest daughter up on the highest tower of his castle and said that the knight who managed to take the princess' ring would win her hand in marriage. Ivan's brothers travelled for the contest and he, while alone at the farm, called for Sivka-Burka, who changed him into a handsome prince and took him to the castle."

"When they arrived, Ivan tried for three times to jump high enough and, on the third attempt, managed to reach for the princess' hand and took off her ring… But he did so quickly that no one saw his face!" said Tom. "He went back to his farm and turned into the poor Ivanushka once again, bandaging his hand to hide the ring he had taken from the princess. A few days later, the Tsar requested for all the inhabitants of his kingdom to come to his castle so he could find the mysterious knight who won his contest… Ivan went with his father and brothers. By the end of the feast, with no one having recognized him until now, the princess walked by his table, serving honey, and asked for him to take off the bandages of his hand. As soon as he did it, she saw her ring on his finger and declared that it was him the knight who had won the contest-"

"And the king allowed him to marry the princess?" asked another boy.

"And the princess accepted him?" asked Abigail. "But he wasn't a handsome prince anymore!"

Tom stared at the kids for a moment. They were right, he could have chosen a better story… That one was kind of boring.

"Of course the Tsar wouldn't accept it," said Riddle, stuffing his chest and trying not to laugh at himself while he started to create a new ending to the story. "He proposed the challenge thinking that only a nobleman would have a horse with enough skill and strength to reach the top of his tower, not the son of a farmer… The princess couldn't say anything about it, could she? She had to do whatever her father told her. But, before the Tsar could do anything, the doors of the great hall were opened and someone came in: a man dressed all in black, with a long, tattered cloak that made him look a big, scary bird, even though he was not ugly at all. The newcomer crossed the hall, making all the other guests fall into a deadly silence, too scared to let any noise escape from their lips, before stopping in front of the Tsar and the princess."

"Who was it?" whispered Abigail.

"That was Koschei Bessmertny, the most powerful of all the sorcerers in the eastern kingdoms," said Riddle, smirking. "He had left his island and flown all the distance to the Tsar's kingdom-"

"How could he fly?"

"He was a sorcerer, Peter! He must have flown by himself, like the wizard of Hangleton!" said Abigail.

"It was a witch who took the the wizard away from here!"

"I heard it was a massive eagle…" muttered another girl.

"He turned into an owl and flew to the Tsar's kingdom," Tom completed the information, seeing the kids stop discussing and looking satisfied. "And he went there because he was offended that he had not been invited to the Tsar's challenge… Well, had he been there, he would manage to reach the ring even without a horse! But the Tsar didn't want to hear any of it, he just wanted Koschei to leave."

"Koschei was even angrier with the Tsar's attitude and, before anyone could do anything, he turned into an enormous dark owl, grabbed the princess and flew out of the window," the man continued the story. "The Tsar panicked and sent every man of his kingdom after the sorcerer: whoever brought his daughter back, could marry her. And Ivanushka was forgotten among all that mess. After everyone left on their new quest, just Ivan and his family remained… His brothers were very angry with him, because he never told them he had won the contest, and his father was furious because he had let a magical horse destroy their crop. The brothers went after the princess, but Ivan went home and, once again, called for Sivka-Burka, asking for him to take him to Koschei's island."

"My father would have killed me if I had let a magical horse destroy our crop," whispered Peter.

"Yes… Well, the two of them crossed forests and mountains until they arrived on the edge of the largest lake in the world! Sivka-Burka told Ivan that the island was somewhere in the centre of that lake and, still riding the horse, Ivanushka entered the cold water. He held his breath just for a moment and then he and Sivka-Burka were already on land," said Tom. "The place where they have arrived was a village like any other, but the villagers were a bit weird… There were beautiful women made of snow or flowers that levitated things or turned rats into birds; there were men made of stones and moss, birds with with women's heads, tiny creatures that cleaned the village, birds with feathers made of fire, horses that brought the day and the night… It wasn't too difficult to find Koschei's home, because there he wasn't just a sorcerer, but the Tsar. And the Tsar lived in a beautiful palace with white walls and cupolas that changed the colour according to the sky: during the day, they were blue speckled with white; by the end of the afternoon, they became orange and then purple, and, by night, they were dark, covered in stars."

"Ivanushka ran to the palace and was startled to find several young men standing on its hall: all of them were young and, like him, all of them had come to take the princess back to her kingdom," said Riddle, trying not to laugh at how absurd his story was becoming. "As he arrived at the castle by day, it was a blond woman who was receiving the guests, the Lady of the Day, and all the boys told her the same thing: they were all called Ivan and they were there to rescue the princess. There was a tall and dark Ivan who kept saying he was a warrior, a red haired Ivan who came riding a grey wolf, a blonde Ivan with his scorched clothes who had flown to the island grabbing the claws of a firebird… There was even a poor little Ivan who was soaked from head to toes because he had swum to the island by himself. And Ivanushka, listening to all the great deeds of the other boys - young warrior was a commandant, the boy with the wolf was a prince who had faced many challenges before, the Ivan with the bird was the bravest man of his village and the swimmer, the most stubborn one -, was ashamed of being there, but ended up raising his hand and showing the princess' ring that was still on his finger."

"The Lady of the Day looked at him with a tired expression as she was exhausted after listening to all those crazy Ivans but called him anyway and took him to the inner rooms of the palace," said Tom. "She took him to a great hall that seemed to be made of ice and silver, bigger and more beautiful than the great hall of his Tsar… Across the hall, sitting on a throne, was Koschei Bessmertny, still wearing dark clothes, but looking younger and less angry. Actually, he looked like a true king there. And, by his side, sat the princess, wearing a beautiful white dress and a crown made of ice and crystals… And she… Looked really comfortable there."

"What?" asked Peter. "How?"

"She didn't look scared. Actually, she looked like a true queen… On her hands, there was a dark egg inlaid with tiny diamonds, which she caressed with ease while she smiled at Ivan, who approached them waving the ring on his hand," said Riddle. "The princess simply asked for him to stop, because it didn't matter if he had arrived there by walking, swimming or flying, she would not go back home nor would she marry him. She was all right there, Koschei was not that bad… Actually, he was really quiet and enjoyed listening to the stories she told him, and there she could be a queen that could actually rule. Ivanushka's mouth was agape as he tried to understand what was happening…"

"But he's a wizard! Koschei is a wizard!" one of the kids protested.

"Yes, but the princess had complete control over him," the man explained, making a round gesture with this hands. "The egg she was holding? Koschei had once ripped his own death away from his body and hid it inside a needle, that was inside an egg, inside a goose, in a hare, in a glass chest buried under an old oak tree on his island… Whoever put their hands on Koschei's death had control over him. And the princess did it. While all the Ivans crossed the world to find the island, she searched through it until she found the egg and now she controlled Koschei."

"So she could kill him?"

"If she wanted to, yes, but I think she didn't do it because she ended up liking him… After all, he was not that bad, despite liking dramatic entrances. But Ivanushka was troubled, of course," said Tom. "In order to try comforting him, the princess asked for him to be rewarded for bringing back her ring: he was given a sword and a big feast, which he shared with the other Ivans. And Koschei asked for someone to give the poor swimming Ivan a few new clothes and a sack of gold. Ivanushka and the other Ivans had to go back to their homes, while the princess, now a queen, and Tsar Koschei ruled over Buyan."

The man remained in silence while the children looked at him, before one of the boys asked about the great grey wolf that had brought one of the Ivans to the island. Tom just laughed and proceeded to answer the questions that came after that one, surprised with the enthusiasm with which his story had been greeted.

The day ended when Evert finally came out of the tavern, looking tired while and searched for Riddle, finding him still with the group of kids. No other story had been told and all the man had done was to keep answering the questions. The children looked disappointed when he told them he had to go.

"Did you spend the whole afternoon there?" the wizard asked, as they headed back to the cottage in the middle of the woods.

"I'm sorry," Riddle muttered. Indeed, he had lost himself in time and ended up leaving the other all by himself in the tavern.

"Don't worry, Tom," the man said. "At least you saw how it works. Can I ask what you were talking about with those little beasts?"

"Just telling them a story," said Tom, shrugging.

"Oh well. Then you better start thinking about the next story you'll tell them," said Evert, laughing. "They won't leave you alone anymore."


After that day, every time he went to Hangleton, the children looked for him and asked for more stories. As the group of kids and the demand grew, Tom followed Evert to the tavern, helped him with some of the villagers and then left to meet the children, who were always waiting for him. He told them stories he knew for many years – the old Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, the Princess and the Frog-, stories he came to know because of his parents' love for Russia and stories he made up by mixing several tales. From time to time, he risked singing something, as songs were stories too… It was weird to use music and not have a piano to help him, but he did manage it, even if it sounded a bit weird and messy.

More than three months had passed since he arrived and now accompanying Evert, telling stories and harvesting herbs were the things Tom did the most for a simple reason: to keep his mind busy in order to forget Little Hangleton and everything that had happened there, in the future. When he was telling the story of Koschei the Deathless to someone else, he was not Tom Riddle anymore, the mad man whose parents had died a few months ago, but Beedle, the healer's apprentice who could entertain others with his stories. It was great to be able to forget everything during the days, although his nights were still full of nightmares that not always were scared away by the cups of valerian root and chamomile tea.

It was when he was carving crooked runes on little bits of wood, by the end of an October day, that a girl appeared by Evert's cottage. She looked worried and tired from running as she tried to explain the situation: her parents and her brothers were sick and she needed someone to go take a look at them. They lived a mile away from the village and because of that it was difficult for them to go to the tavern when Evert was there… But now the wizard was not there and Tom couldn't bear to make the girl go back empty handed.

"I don't know if I can do anything, but I can take a look at them and tell Evert the situation," said Riddle, smiling as he saw relief appear on the girl's face.

"Thank you, sir," she said.

"Just wait, I'll get a few things."

After leaving a piece of parchment explaining where he was going inside the hopping pot and taking the leather bag where he stocked his stuff, Tom followed the girl as she explained what had happened to her family.

"Edward was the first one to fall ill," the girl, Mary, said as they were arriving at the house. "Soon after he returned from London."

The man followed her into the house. The place was all closed and all Tom could think was about how Ellen, his nurse friend, would panic if she saw all those closed windows in a house where everyone was sick. Mary took him to one of the rooms and, to his surprise, there was not just one or two people in there, but five: to girl's parents were lying on the bed and three boys were on improvised beds on the floor.

"It's easier to take care of them all in here," she explained, entering the room and illuminating it with the candle she brought in her hands.

"Who got sick first?"

"Edward," she said, pointing to a young man who laid on his side on the floor, covered from head to toes.

"Edward?" he called, approaching and kneeling down next to the other while he put a hand on his shoulder to turn him on his back. "How are you feeling?"

The boy, who couldn't be older than twenty years old, moaned in response and Tom was startled to see his face covered with little circular bumps. Frowning, the man moved the blanket away and pulled up the boy's shirt, seeing more vesicles on his belly and chest.

"It was not like that before," said Mary. "He started with small red spots… And before, it was just the fever, cough and pain."

Riddle felt his mouth go dry and his heart pick up a fast pace. Suddenly, he remembered he had never finished any kind of higher education and the only thing he had formally studied was Architecture… What he knew about Medicine was what Ellen taught him and anatomy. He couldn't do anything for these people, especially if the disease in question was what he was imagining.

Taking a deep breath, the man went over to the other people: the parents and the two younger brothers had red spots on their bodies, some of them turning into vesicles or pustules. The lesions appeared in various parts of the body, even on the palm of their hands and the sole of their feet.

"I… Have to talk with Evert, to see what he can do," said Tom, when he finally left the room. "But, until them, please, open the windows, let the air go around. And don't stay too long near them, don't… Stay too close," he asked. "The only thing I know that can help right now is lowering the fever. Maybe infusion of elderberry," the man muttered, opening his bag and searching for a glass full of little white flowers, before giving it to the girl. "You can keep it."

"Thank you, sir," she said. "Thank you very much."

"You entered their house?! You walked in a room full of people with smallpox?!"

Alright, Tom didn't expect such a strong reaction from Evert after telling him what had happened during the afternoon. The man looked scared as soon as he finished telling him about the sick family and, all right, it made sense as it was contagious.

"I did, but… Don't worry!" said Riddle, smiling a little. "I can't catch it."

"You spent at least an hour in there, in a closed space with people coughing at your face and touching their skin… Tom, if you get sick, there's nothing I can do!"

"Calm down," the Muggle asked, raising his hand as if waiting that it would calm him down, before taking off his coat and undoing the knot that closed his shirt in order to pull it away from his left arm, showing him a small, round scar. "In the… Where I come from, the doctors, I mean, the healers, created a treatment that keeps the disease from happening. They put what causes the disease in our blood, so our body can recognize the disease quicker and prevent it from happening. We call it vaccine. This scar in from a vaccine against smallpox, so I can't catch it, my body can recognize and fight what causes the smallpox before the disease happens."

The wizard looked at the mark for a moment, before touching the scar with the tip of his fingers.

"You entered a house full of smallpox, came out well and will remain like that… And there's a different mark on your arm," Evert muttered, before pulling a face. "If those people die, but manage to tell anyone about you being there before they're gone, you're in more trouble than I thought, man."

"What?"

"Who can walk among the sick and not fall ill? Who is marked for being different?" the man asked. "Wizards and witches! Sorcerers! That scar on your arm? The devil's mark! If someone finds out you went there… If someone dies in there!"

The rest of the night was busy. Evert was truly worried, walking around the cottage with the cauldron jumping by his feet, while Tom simply went back to his corner on the bed, hating himself for thinking it would be a good idea to go anywhere without the wizard. He should have stayed there, he should have waited… Now he had put himself and Evert in danger.

"I'm sorry," Tom whispered as he watched the other man eat his stew in silence, later that night. Riddle himself hadn't managed to put anything into his stomach without feeling sick.

Evert looked at him and stayed in silence for a moment, before sighing.

"Maybe they'll get better," said the wizard. "Maybe they won't relate anything to your visit…"

"Isn't there anything we can do for them?" asked Riddle. "I mean, magic…"

"Magic is not a miracle," he explained. "I can take care of the symptoms, as you must have already done, but I can't cure them. I don't know how our magic works to keep this kind of disease away."

"I understand," Tom whispered, looking at the cauldron, who was way too quiet that night. "Can I ask you something?"

"Of course."

"Where did you find it?" the Muggle asked, pointing at the cauldron.

"Ah, it was my father's," Evert explained. "He was a healer too. When I was little, he told me the cauldron was the one who prepared the potions for him. Later I understood that the enchantment on it was just to make it easier and have the potions' recipient near the brewer all the time." The wizard laughed, shaking his head. The cauldron gave a little jump. "Before he died, my father enchanted it so it would pester me if I refused to treat others."

"How…?"

"Well, you see, I wasn't really… Friendly towards Muggles before," he said, shrugging. "I had seen wizard being burned alive or hung because of their magic and I didn't understand why I should heal the same people who hunted down people like me. My father knew that, so he left me a cauldron that wouldn't stop following me like a crazy animal until I learned how to take care of everyone, Muggles and wizards alike."

Tom just stared at him. Wizards were, indeed, weird people.

"I was thinking," said Riddle. "Maybe I'd better be going…"

"Going where?"

"Away," he said, feeling as if an empty space had appeared inside his chest. "What happened today may bring a lot of trouble and I don't want it to happen again. You helped me so much, taught me so much, and I don't want to put you in danger. And, as you once said, I can't spent the rest of my life here."

Evert dropped the spoon on the table and went silent for a few minutes, before getting up and approaching the other man, sitting next to him on the bed. The wizard raised his hand and touched Tom's temple with the tip of his fingers for a minute or two, making the Muggle feel as if there was something pocking his head from the inside. Evert then laughed and backed up.

"Your mind is still strong. That's good… When I found you, I tried to look into your thoughts and memories, to understand what had happened, but there was no way for me to get in," he explained. "That's good. A strong mind is a good trait among wizards, and it's even more important when you need to hide something. Look, I'll let you leave if you promise me something."

"Name it."

The wizard stretched his hand to hold Riddle's wrist, making the other man's body go stiff as he restrained himself from pulling away. Evert arched an eyebrow, before turning Tom's hand up and looking at a long, whitened scar on his wrist.

"You won't repeat it," he said, letting go of Riddle. "I'm not blind, I already noticed how you get… Distant when you're not doing anything, I've seen you after your nightmares. The more you know about healing, the more you know about death too. I don't know when or why you did it the first time, but promise me you won't use what I taught you to hurt yourself again."

Tom stared at the other, feeling his guilt build up inside himself. He wished he had the strength to make that promise knowing he would be able to fulfil it.

"I can't, I'm sorry," he whispered. "But I can… I can promise you I'll try my best not to do it again."


A/N:

1) Ivan & Sivka-Burka: there really is a story about an Ivan that finds a magical horse called Sivka-Burka and marries a princess because he catches her ring, but, like Tom, when I read the story I kept thinking "… this is a little boring" and then I let Tom take care of it and invent whatever he wanted to tell those kids;

2) The Wizard of Hangleton: is a reference to another character of mine from my fic 'the eagle and the fox' which takes place on the founders' era (still not translated);

3) Smallpox: is an infectious disease caused by the Vaccinia virus and that, along the history of humanity, has killed tons of people . Smallpox was eradicated in 1979 thanks to a mass vaccination organized by the World Health Organization (WHO)… At first it's like a cold and then it evolves to pains and, then, spots on the body that becomes pustules (they can affect the mucous surfaces too). The transmission happens through the airways, when in inhale the virus. Aside from the vaccine (if you take it until 3 days after the exposure, it can make a weaker version of the actual condition), there's no treatment. One can only treat the symptoms until the disease goes away by itself. Smallpox is not always deadly, but what happened back then is what Tom saw: too many sick people in a small, closed space. Actually, this is still a sad reality in many places (don't even get me started on the tuberculosis in the prisons). In 1853, the UK established the compulsory vaccination against smallpox and that's why Tom is vaccinated. Nowadays, if you were born before 1979, you most likely has the vaccine's scar… If you were born after 1979, the scar you have is for the BCG vaccine (against tuberculosis).

As always, reviews are very welcome. Please, tell me what you guys are thinking of the story, it always help somehow.