Lily Evans sat in the commons room reading over her transfiguration text book ignoring the sounds of Remus and Sirius torturing the other Gryffindors as they left the commons room carrying their luggage. It was a week before Christmas and the last of the students were catching carriages and trains back to their families. A strange silence fell over the room after the last students had drug their bags out of the common room onto the staircase and Sirius and Remus were left with nothing to do. The silence was suddenly broken by a blood curdling scream and James tripping down the stairs at full speed.
"We have no home for Christmas!" he wailed as he landed on the floor with a thump.
"What exactly do you mean by that?" Sirius asked cautiously as he came out from behind an armored statue.
"I mean that Mom and Dad wrote a letter saying that since we're in sixth year now they feel we're old enough to stay at school for the holidays and let them take a va-va-vacation." James broke into a sudden stream of tears just as Remus reached to help him up. "I'm too distressed to get up," he cried as he slapped Remus's hands away.
Lily set her book down and shook her head in disapproval. "You drama queen, you know very well that you'll be just as happy here as at home. Hell, you'll probably like it better here since you've got victims."
Peter sluggishly made his way down the steps rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. He stopped just in time to avoid stepping on James's face. "What are you doing down there? That's a bad place to laying since you never know whose going to come down the steps in a hurry." Still rubbing his eyes Peter stepped over James and sad down in the floor a few feet away. All of a sudden he began to slowly raise into the air but having not recovered completely from his sleep he didn't notice and instead stretched causing himself to roll off the rug he was resting on.
"I told you to stop leaving your flying carpet lying around before you hurt someone," Remus scolded Sirius through giggles as Peter was then on the floor in the fetal position mumbling around how the world hated him.
"Yeah, but that's not someone--that's Peter," Sirius broke out into a loud cackle.
"This isn't funny you guys," Lily frowned as though she really thought it wasn't funny.
"Hellooo! Bigger picture, we're stuck here for Christmas!" James was now sitting up and had his arms tucked around his body pouting.
"And what's so bad about that?" Everyone whipped their heads around to see Dumbledore's grandchildren now sitting on a chair in the corner.
"Where did you come from?" Peter asked in amazement.
"You were there the whole time, weren't you?" Lily said suspiciously before any of them could answer Peter.
"Well, we have to entertain ourselves somehow since we're stuck in this hellhole," Ashley sighed as she kicked at the wall with the tip of her black, laced boot chipping away at a broken stone.
"Yeah, I mean, there really isn't that much else to do other than spy and torture since we can't actually hurt anyone," Nicky said matter-of-factly while he ran his finger's through Ash's hair.
"Back to my question: What's so bad about staying here? Granted it's slightly boring but I imagine your messed up family is even more boring," Chris glanced up from her knife that she was twirling in her hands. "Save your poor attempt at a witty response, it's not worth anyone's time."
The siblings laughed together and fell into a pile in their seat with Nicky smashed on the bottom.
"How do you do that?" Sirius asked curiously.
"She's clairvoyant, I think," Remus said slowly.
"So, intelligent, aren't they?" Nicky said slyly. "But what about the rest of us?"
"I can speak from experience that you're good at potions," Peter frowned, "I just now got ride of those spots and that unsightly hair."
"And me? Please tell me you haven't forgotten me," Ash sad in a warning voice.
"I've seen you in Defense Against the Dark Arts" James said wryly, "and I think you can counter curse and fend off anyone or anything in your path."
"But I still want to know how you get triplets with so much power," Lily spoke up.
"And so evil," Peter mumbled.
"Powerful parents," Nicky stated as if it was common knowledge.
"Very powerful and very different parents," Ash added.
"Ok," Sirius spoke up, "Dumbledore is your grandfather and his daughter is your mother"
"Was our mother," Ash added, "she died when we were young. That's why we were raised by our father since he wasn't really interested in us in the beginning anyways."
"Young children who need constant care didn't fit in with his…lifestyle," Nicky smiled a little at the thought. "Have you ever heard of Tom Riddle?"
"Tom Riddle?" Remus repeated, "I don't think so."
"I have, he was a student here year's ago. But what does he have to do with anything? I heard he was dead," Lily spoke up as she attempted to piece the puzzle together.
"In theory, he is dead," Ash nodded.
"Tom Riddle died so to speak and Lord Voldemort was born," no one so much as blinked. "Don't worry, one day you'll cringe at his name and die by it, too" Chris smirked and then broke into an uncontrollable giggle.
"And Lord Voldemort is your father?" Sirius asked.
"He is! He would have gone to school with Dumbledore's daughter and that's where they met--right?!" Lily glowed with the excitement of figuring out the mystery.
"Please, calm down before you give me a headache," Nicky growled.
"I didn't even realize Dumbledore had a daughter," James admitted.
"Most people don't," Ash shrugged.
"That's because he doesn't want anyone to know because of who her mother was. Something about it being bad for the school," Chris shrugged also before rolling over and off of the chair.
"I think we've said enough," Ash looked to Nicky who pulled a bottle from his pocket. When he threw it to the ground the three disappeared in a ring of smoke.
There was a pregnant silence after they left which was broken by a whimper from James, "I want to go home! I don't care how badly I want to know who their grandmother is!"
"Get over it, you're parents are already gone," Lily said waving his letter in the air, "You can't do anything now."
"Come on. Stop moping and we can take the carpet and go bother some innocent bystanders," Sirius said as he started to raise into the air with his feet planted on his new flying carpet.
"Where did that come from, anyways?" Remus asked suspiciously. "I didn't know you really knew where to find one."
"Err, let's not discuss that!" James said hurriedly, "we can't reveal our sources."
"I'd like to get out of here before they come back," Peter said scrambling to his feet. ". . . if they even left."
"You guys need to behave!" Lily scolded.
"Don't worry, " Sirius smirked, "Peter has just volunteered to be our innocent bystander."
"I did not!" Peter squeaked.
"Oh yes, you did!" Remus grabbed him by the shoulders.
"Well, the bystander part," James smiled, "You really aren't that innocent."
"Well, while you guys are out getting in trouble I'm going to some research on those Riddles." With that Lily left for the library and the boys followed.
"Those Riddles??" Nicky fumed as he appeared sitting on the bottom step of the stairs. " "I'll show them those Riddles!" He pulled his wand and started towards the door. Ash appeared on the couch arm as he passed and grabbed him in a hug.\
"No, you can't. First, we promised and second, let them figure it out on their ow--!" She flinched and grabbed her arm. No sooner than she grabbed hers, Nicky grabbed his forearm and Chris appeared a few feet away holding hers.
"He needs a new way to contact us." Chris frowned pulling up her sleeve. "But he loves this so much he's going to use it forever."
"Birth marks?" Ash looked confused. "Oooh, wait! You mean he's going to put our birthmark on people's forearms and call them like this too." All three Riddles had their sleeves up at this point. On their forearms were birthmarks in the shape of a snake and a skull. The birthmarks glowed red as if they were on fire but the skin was untouched,
"Well, I guess we need to go and get a hold of him," Nicky sighed and they trudged up the steps to the dorm room they were temporarily sharing. No soon than they had filed through the door a whirlwind of green smoke appeared in front of the fireplace. When the smoke settled a man stood before them dressed in long black robes with his hood up. Silver spots on his robes looked relatively like he had plucked the stairs from the sky to adorn it with. When he dropped his hood he revealed a pale white face with the same startling green eyes as the children and a nose that was slowing recessing into that of a snake.
"Daddy! What a surprise," Ash went and hugged the man who hugged her back with a slightly reluctant movement.
"So, why are you here?" Nicky wasted no time getting to the point.
"I need you to befriend those children you were talking to," Voldemort sat down in a chair. "They hold the key to our future."
"They don't stay friends forever, do they?" Chris spoke softly, "and they don't live that long either."
"They're so happy together, I've never seen such happy people. And you're telling me that in a decade they're going to be separated or dead?" Ash questioned.
"Closer to three years," Chris shrugged.
"Come on you guys, let's just do it," Nicky spoke up, "there's no reason to not so lets go eat and figure out what to do."
"Mmm, food!" Ash giggled forgetting completely about her worries concerning people who are truly happy.
"Go on, eat," Voldemort smiled. "Just don't forget to make friends with these other students. I'll be back when I'm satisfied with your friendships because I have a few more I need." He stood and kissed each of his children on their forehead and disappeared in the same green smoke he appeared in.
"Let's go," Ash grabbed Nicky and Chris by their hands and drug them off to the great hall.