The visit and the wand
Tom Riddle was having a fun time at his grandparents' house. Thomas and Margaret were happy to have Tom there. Thomas still had to come to terms with his grandson's heritage. He didn't like having to share heritage with a pathetic tramp and his psychopath of a son. Thomas was still nursing the wounds from the latest fight with Marvolo and Morfin.
As with happy times, they generally race to an end, and so came the last day with the Riddle's. Margaret walked Tom down to the shack with a goodbye from Frank the gardener. Thomas had business in town. Margaret dropped Tom off with a hug and a foul look from Marvolo and Morfin. Marvolo was bandaged, and Morfin had clearly been the winner of the fight with Thomas, showing no scars or bruises.
"Thank you, Grandmother, for the visit." Tom said.
"Anytime, Tom." She said sadly, "Goodbye, see you next year." She left then.
"Well, how was your week with the freakin' muggles." Marvolo said acidly.
"It was fine, only a slight mishap with accidental magic, I turned all the flowers in the garden blue." Tom said. "You know, I think Grandpa and Grandma are fine with me having magic, it's just the class warfare problem that's hindering our relationship. According to the gardener Frank, It's not about the magic, it's that I'm poor and they are rich. Not that I'd ever want to give up this shack for anything. Family's here and I won't sell my family for money or magic, so it seems that you are stuck with the riddle's as family for a good long while." Tom said.
"Guess that means more fights to look to." Morfin said happily thinking about his victory.
"Ah, shut up, ye only won because ye learned to fight when the muggles down at the village broke yer wand, and ye had to fight yer way out of it. If that Riddle scum were a wizard, yer'd be a snail right now being trodden on." Marvolo said still embarrassed he lost the first part of the fight.
"Ah, stuff it, old man." Morfin said.
Marvolo was about to retort back when a knock came from the door. "Oh, Shite, it's the ministry, not again, Morfin, hide my dragon venom, and they can't know I've been selling it again." Marvolo said.
"Hold on, ye mangy old coot, it's not the ministry. It looks like the headmaster of Hogwarts, I saw his picture in the paper, a few weeks ago." Morfin said.
"Well, guess you should open it then," Marvolo said with a relieving sigh.
Morfin opened the door and there standing there, was a watery-eyed fat man with a letter. "Evening, Gentlemen, I am Professor Peter Pettigrew, Headmaster of Hogwarts. I have come to give Tom his letter." He said with an heir of nervousness.
"Ah, so ye stand there and give our Tom is' letter, and just ignore us the people yer stupid school didn't accept." Marvolo spat.
"Mr. Gaunt, as I've told you countless times in the past and probably will tell you again in the future, Hogwarts can never be associated with the Gaunt line's male descendants because of the incident happening with your grandfather, oh, about 79 years ago." Peter said impatient.
"Listen, So, he kind of let a cockatrice loose in the castle, he thought he could cook it. He was a fan of chicken. So it killed some house elves when it got loosed in the kitchen." Marvolo said.
"It destroyed nearly all of them." Peter said angrily. "Do you know how much house elves cost? I had to work in the kitchens at that time to stop all the students from starving. It was the worst internship of my life. But, I don't want to talk about that. Because of your grandson's service to the wizarding world as a whole by killing the Death Lord, we have decided to allow him to attend." Peter said smugly.
"So if I hadn't of killed Potter, then I would not have been accepted." Tom said angry.
"No, No, my boy, of course you would have been accepted. Your mother would have been one of the reasons, I taught her at Hogwarts and she was very gifted with charms and potions. She had a bit of a self-confidence problem thanks' to these two." He said pointing at Marvolo and Morfin.
Tom cut him off right there, "Listen, I know that my Grandpa and uncle can be a bit bullying sometimes but, I live with them and have been used to them for a while. So, just give me the damn letter and you can go back to Hogwarts and tell them the boy who lived is coming."
"Oh, Great," Peter said smiling. He gave Tom his letter, bid them all a good day. And left muttering about Gaunts, cockatrices and house elves. Apparently he would never forget the incident.
After he left the Gaunt's and Tom got ready to go to Diagon Alley to retrieve Tom's supplies. They went by floo powder. "Damn expensive stuff this is," Marvolo said grudgingly.
They arrived in the Leaky Caldron during Lunchtime. Marvolo had to ask the bartender what the pattern was to get to diagon alley. The bartender looked at him sourly and was beginning to tell Marvolo to sodden off when he saw Tom. The bartender looked shocked and blurted out, "Bless my soul, it's Tom Riddle." The whole place broke into excited mutterings. A few of them were beginning to get up and congratulate Tom but one look from Marvolo and Morfin told them not to. The bartender told them the wand pattern and sent them out to the back entrance.
Marvolo took out his wand and tapped the bricks. The brick wall opened to reveal Diagon Alley. They stopped everywhere to buy Tom's supplies. Marvolo complained again and again about money being spent and how high the prices of everything was. Finally Morfin snapped and took Marvolo to the nearest wizarding pub to get a drink. He then sent Tom off by himself into the robe shop, not without giving him a bag full of galleons. "Apparently around here, Dragon venom is still popular but be quiet about it. Tom walked into the robe shop and Madam Malken was there instantly. "Hogwarts's dear, got the lot here, another young man is being fitted now just in there." Madam Malken showed him to his fitting stand and started sizing him up.
The young boy being fitted next to Tom said, "Hello, Hogwarts too. "
"Yes" Tom said excited.
"I figured you were" said the other boy. "Play quidditch at all?" The other boy asked.
"No, with my family, it's always do magic first, then fly later. Later never does come." Tom said.
"Oh are you skilled at magic then." The boy said sounding interested.
"I can hurt people if I want too. I can also change the colors of things. I can also talk to snakes." Tom said happy.
"Oh, that's very adept, you're the third parcelmouth I've met today." The boy said sounding bored.
"Other people can speak to snakes too" Tom asked.
"Yeah, it's more common now that the Death Lord is dead. Nice job on that by the way, Mr. Riddle." The boy said smirking.
"I guess you know who I am," Tom said. "But who are you if I might ask."
"I am Lucas Dumbledore." Lucas said. "Pleased to meet your acquaintance, Mr. Riddle."
"So, you are the minister's great grandson." Tom asked.
"Yep" Lucas said, "I am. Nice for him and Grindlewald to have used a surrogate."
"I'm surprised you even said Grindlewald's name." Tom said. "After what happened."
"It was a shock to us all, that he turned traitor and started working with the Death Lord. It broke Great Grandpa's heart when he had to execute him, but as they say if you work for the Death lord, you are a traitor to all wizard kind." Lucas said matter of factly.
"And that, you're done my dear." Madam Malken said.
"Well, I'll save you a seat on the Hogwarts Express then." Lucas said. Tom smiled and said "Okay, see ya then friend."
Tom paid and walked out and then saw Marvolo and Morfin walking toward him with a smile on both of their faces. Tom instantly knew what that meant, more good business for dragon venom. Sure enough when they saw him, they immediately showed him the bag of gold galleons they made.
Tom smiled and then they went to the last place on the list, Ollivanders. Morfin and Marvolo walked in first. Tom followed. A static charge hung in the air. Suddenly, as quick as a flash, there stood Mr. Ollivander. "Ah I wondered when I'd be seeing you Mr. Riddle." He said smiling. "I remember your mother's wand. It was oak and dragon heartstring, 7 inches. Very good with love charms."
Marvolo cleared his throat and shook his head at Mr. Ollivander. Ollivander understood immediately. "Right well let's get your wand, then young man." He went to the shelves and get a wand. "Unicorn hair, elder, 9 inches." Tom waved it and nothing happened. This went on with a few more wands and Ollivander got happier and happier. Finally he said "I wonder." He went to the back wall and got a box down. He made his way back to the front of the store. "Yew, Phoenix feather, 11 inches. Try."
Tom took the wand and felt a warm and right feeling. He brought the wand up and waved it. Golden fire erupted from the wand. Tom felt at that moment the happiest he had ever been. Marvolo and Morfin cheered their relative on. After the fire died down, Ollivander said, "Curious, very curious."
"What's curious about my grandson getting his first wand?" Marvolo said sharply.
"I remember every wand I ever sold, Mr. Gaunt. It just so happened that the phoenix whose tail feather resides in tom wand gave another feather, just one other, it is curious, Gaunt's and young Riddle, that the brother to that wand gave Tom that scar."
"You, mean, the Death Lord's wand is the brother to Tom's" Morfin said.
"Why do I get the feeling that is a very bad omen?" Marvolo said grumpily.
How very right he was.