IT'S CHANGED (SNILY)
CHAPTER 13 Tommy
Two weeks. Two Manors. Though she didn't have a bad feeling about this place, at least and he loved to see her carefree and bright.
It was sunny outside that made the green grass surrounding the building look dazzling. The white rabbits ran around the place, hoping freely. The light breezes blowing through their hair. Some of them rolled over her face and he had to fight a strong urge to tuck them behind her ears, nothing must obstruct her pretty face. He smiled when she did it herself and viewed around grinning. It was evident she was in love with the place.
The Longbottom Manor. They were brought to the gate by a house-elf, Lily had insisted to view the huge garden. They came near the door and it opened automatically, a small figure of a house-elf came into view. The house-elf smiled and welcomed them. He escorted them to the sitting room, where Mrs. Augusta Longbottom was there to greet them.
Lily intertwined her fingers with Severus, that felt like he held the entire world in his hands. Her warm fingers against his cold ones, felt just right, as if they belonged there.
Mrs. Longbottom regarded them critically. Her old body, held up straight with pride and her chin in the air. Her eyes clearly warned anyone to not mess with her. They straightened under the gaze.
Lily smiled warily. "Good afternoon, Mrs. Longbottom. Nice to meet you"
Severus tried to do the same. "A pleasant day at your beautiful manor it is Mrs. Longbottom. Nice to meet you"
Mrs. Longbottom's eyes shot in his direction and he suddenly felt intimidated by her. What did he do wrong?
Then her eyes went to their intertwined fingers between them. They pulled themselves apart instinctively. Lily hadn't even realized that she had Severus' hand into hers. It had felt so natural. Hers fit perfectly in his. She blushed internally. What was wrong with her?
"Just like Frank mentioned" Mrs. Longbottom said. "You both suit fine together"
"We are not together, Mrs. Longbottom" they mumbled, flushing a deep shade of red. Frank was about to have a punch or two. What the fuck did he mention?
But Severus was quite pleased by the idea of Frank thinking they suit fine together. He smirked internally, despite of himself.
She ignored them. "You are a Slytherin and you a Gryffindor?" she asked, pointing towards them.
"Yes, Ma'am" they mumbled again.
"Come, sit, Mr. Snape and Miss Evans" she changed the topic quite suddenly.
They both were confused but compiled to what she asked.
"You both got your O.W.L results, didn't you?"
"Yes, Ma'am" they nodded.
"How many O. did you get, Miss Evans?" Mrs. Longbottom inquired.
Lily cleared her throat. "Nine, Ma'am. Astronomy, Charms, Arithmancy, Ancient Runes, Potions, Defence against the Dark Arts, Transfiguration, Herbology and Care of Magical Creatures"
"Acceptable" she sniffed. "And you Mr. Snape?"
Severus cleared his throat. "Nine, and the same, Ma'am"
"Ah… that means you both were studying together" she looked amused.
They flushed again. "Umm… we are friends, Ma'am. So, supposedly we were studying together" he muttered. Mrs. Longbottom was thoroughly enjoying it.
"So, I believe-"
"Mum!" an irritated baritone came from the door way, cutting Mrs. Longbottom. "Stop embarrassing them!" It was Frank and Alice was standing beside him.
"I wasn't embarrassing them" She retorted. "It was you who told me about them and that you think they'll end up together"
Frank flushed and had the grace to look guilty under the narrowed gazed of Lily and Severus. "You had a mis-misunderstanding, Mum… I have never even mentioned them" he tried to cover up.
"Stop making excuses, Frank. You are already exposed" Alice laughed, swatting his arm lightly.
Mrs. Longbottom nodded with appreciation and pride in Alice's direction, making her beam.
"Now, we can have lunch before you all start your unintelligent chatters" she gave an exaggerated sigh and walked out of the room to the dining one.
Severus and Lily stood up and opened their mouth to speak but was cut.
"You still have these stupid notes, Frank!" Alice exclaimed loudly, taking some parchments out of Frank's cloak pockets.
"Alice, those are important-" he began.
"Obviously not. That man blabbers about no more than idiocy!" she said heatedly.
"Alice, sometimes those do come to need" he tried to snatch the papers from her hands.
"Frank, I am telling you-"
Lily broke out laughing and Severus couldn't help but chuckle on the stupidest issues those two were fighting over.
Alice and Frank blinked. "What?" they asked confusedly.
"You both are fighting about if you must keep the notes or not!" Lily answered after the laughter receded. "You both are ridiculous"
"We- Lily…err…" Frank tried, coloring red.
Alice huffed, not feeling a least bit embarrassed. "My point is totally appropriate" she glared at Frank. "I'll tell you about this madman on the table before Mrs. Longbottom brings her stick and have our hides"
"Oh… I had many encounters. Mum can be tad rough" Frank gave a long-suffering sigh.
They all walked to the dining table, where Mrs. Longbottom was already sitting, waiting for them.
"Well, that was fast" she said sarcastically.
They ducked their heads and murmured "Sorry, Mum" and "Sorry, Mrs. Longbottom"
The food appeared automatically and they served themselves. After a bite or two, Alice spoke up.
"I never knew that the people from Magical Law Enforcement Squad are going to make us study about their encounters in weird situations"
"Yes" Mrs. Longbottom supplied. "They do have you study about that. Aurors need to know about the Magical Laws because they are the ones who are called if the guilty misbehaves after accused" she sighed. "You'll get some crazy people there"
Alice stuck her finger in her direction in agreement. "See, I told you, Frank. People there are crazy"
"But then it was you Alice who ask them the most questions" he pointed out smugly.
Alice shifted uncomfortably. "Yeah… because they are interesting but also as much useless"
"I don't think-"
"Okay, fine. Let me explain" she addressed Severus and Lily who had blank confused faces, staring at them. "There is this old barmy man -what was his name- Bob Ogden, who is assigned for us. He had some really weird encounters with some Purebloods.
"The what? Gaunts, perhaps? They were weird people too who had dead snakes hanging on their doors. Mr. Ogden said that they also spoke in Parseltongue. Utter nonsense. Then they also claimed to be the last of the descendants of Salazar Slytherin and that is why I thought they might be able to speak in Parseltongue" she rolled her eyes.
"Then they were audacious enough to curse him" she continued, raising her eyebrows in alarm and emphasis. "Morfin Gaunt cursed him that made puss flow out of his nose and almost throwing him back, colliding in two muggles. The delusions of these Purebloods"
The story was more interesting than Severus had thought it would be. He intently was hearing it, taking in every information he was getting. Parseltongue and Slytherins and so blatant use of Dark Magic on a Ministry official.
Frank continued next. "This son of Sr. Gaunt… Morfin Gaunt, had tortured a muggle because they were scums. Hell, this is the story of before even You-Know-Who was born. Such prejudices. And they were actually arguing on the topic. Then there was this Merope Gaunt, Sr. Gaunt's -his name" he tapped his head with the fork in his hand, earning a disapproving look from Mrs. Longbottom. "Marvolo Gaunt's daughter. He said they considered her a squib"
The name struck to Severus.
Marvolo.
That name was familiar.
Yes. The diary. Tom Marvolo Riddle.
Perhaps, he was his daughter's son or something. Precisely, his grandson.
That meant that the diary with Lucius was somewhat connected to this family. A Pureblood family.
He sat up straighter.
Alice took up from here again. "A squib in such a prejudiced Pureblood house. Poor girl. Marvolo Gaunt was yelling at her daughter in front of the Ministry official stating that she was useless and worthless, waste of space. But then, yes, she wasn't even able to repair a single pot that broke because of her fidgeting.
"Then they started boasting about their lineage and all. They showed him a black stoned, gold ring, a family heirloom. Must have looked ugly" she wrinkled her nose.
Daughter gets mentally tortured by her own father but still keeps the name of his son on him. How weird. But then, perhaps, she just wanted her family name to prevail.
Then the ring. Interesting. He wondered where was it now?
"You are forgetting the locket, Alice" Frank pointed out.
"Oh, yes, the Slytherin locket. Another family heirloom. It was of gold and had a snake coiled in the letter 'S' on it" she shrugged. "Pretty much what I remember"
Severus was making all kinds of mental notes.
Now, the Slytherin locket too. The tale wasn't disappointing his interests.
The food disappeared and the dessert came on their plates.
"Poor Mr. Ogden and Alice calls her barmy" Frank shook his head. "Anyone would go barmy in such a place. Anyways, he then told them about the punishment and trial of Morfin Gaunt due to his use of hexes on defenseless muggles. Merlin… after that, they all had some kind of an outburst. He showed us the memory" Frank shuddered involuntarily.
"Morfin began rattling loudly in Parseltongue again" he told them. "Marvolo went and strangled her daughter. Who does that and what was the point? Mr. Ogden had to cast a repulsive spell to take her she wasn't dead. Then Morfin again losing the little left senses in him and started throwing hexes on him. he had to apparate immediately after that to obviously, save his life. That is when the Aurors came"
"They caught both Marvolo and Morfin after that" Alice said. "Marvolo imprisoned for six months and Morfin for three years" she paused and had a bite of her tart.
"Well, if you think they stop here, then, no, they were bigger fools" she snorted almost choking on the bite. Frank rubbed his hand on her back, unknowingly.
He took over. "Now, after six months Marvolo returns and finds the house empty and because he couldn't work himself, Merlin… he dies. Nobody knew where Merope went. Assumably, dies herself from loneliness or something reminiscent. Then after what? Two and a half-years Morfin returns and he, at least lives"
Alice had recovered till now so, she continued. "After almost fifteen years of this Morfin killed the muggle family of the Riddles-"
"The who!?" Severus' eyes grew as big as saucers and he practically yelled from across the table, making everyone jump and Mrs. Longbottom glare at him. "Sorry" he muttered.
"Do you know them, Severus?" Alice asked incredulously.
He sputtered. "NO! … Ah- I mean, no, just curious" he placed a fake thoughtful mask.
Alice and Frank nodded, though they didn't look convinced. Lily was looking at him skeptically and it took everything of him to keep ignoring her. He'll tell about this to her later with the others.
Alice continued. "Yes… so where was I? Hmm. So, this Morfin supposedly kills these three people. Thomas Alan Riddle, Mary Dylan Riddle and their son Tom Thomas Riddle"- Severus took a sharp breath, making Lily give him the look. – "After investigating we got to know that these muggles were arrogant and saw themselves as superior to other. And, yeah, rich and good-looking too. Anyways, there was no evidence of their death. They just seemed to be frightened till death and that suggests only one thing-"
"- the Killing curse" Frank completed. "In that area of Little Hangleton, there was only one person who despised muggles. Morfin Gaunt. He had already gone to Azkaban once for such an act. But now, what sounds suspicious to me is that readily gave his memories to the Winzengamot, though seeing his character he would be proud. But I don't believe one would do so if he will end up in Azkaban for the rest of his life"
"Do you think he was under the imperious curse. Morfin, I mean?" Severus prompted.
They shook their heads. "No, I don't believe so. He was acting normally in the memory we went, that wasn't the imperious curse" Alice supplied.
"What if his memories were altered and he did not actually commit the murders?" he asked again.
Alice and Frank looked at each other and then at him, impressed. "Have you considered becoming an Auror, Severus" Frank breathed.
Severus snorted. "No, I won't do that. In fact, we needed your help, if you are willing to, that is"
Alice and Frank gave him offended looks. "Do you remember me telling you in the train, we last met that we are always ready to help?" Alice said in a sharp tone.
Severus flushed. "Uh… yeah, I was just asking if you could- I mean"
"Of course, Severus" Frank rolled his eyes.
"Can you all sit in the sitting room and talk?" Mrs. Longbottom hissed, getting up from her chair. "I don't want my dining table to serve that purpose as you had been using it for so long" her lips were pursed in disapproval.
"Sorry, Mrs. Longbottom. We'll go sit there" Alice tried to sooth the situation. She knew how much she valued proper etiquettes.
"You all better do" she gave a last glare to them and left.
They walked to the sitting room and took their seats.
"So, what were you asking for?" Frank asked.
Severus shifted in his seat, wondering where to start from. Thankfully, Lily took the lead.
One of her hands wrapped around one of his arms. He stiffened for a moment, then relaxed.
"You both are under the Auror training, so, you must be quite close to the ones who keep work more hushed up and will also be able to help us" she provided.
"You want the thing to be done in secret?" Frank inquired.
"Yes, from the other Aurors. I believe there are all kinds of spies in the departments"
Frank took the point. "Care to tell us Lily what is that you want?"
"I need my house to be under certain Auror protection or spell. Shane and Austin's house the same way and all our houses with Selene and Charm's to be notified to the Auror team if any ward around the houses suspect any mis-happening about to take place, so that, Aurors can reach there on time" she took a deep breath after speaking. "I believe Charm and Selene's families belonging to the old Purebloods so they already have protection wards around other than the one that can notify the Aurors"
Severus raised his head. "And the very similar around my house too"
Lily looked at him surprise, wondering why would he want to save his father then remembered that his mother was there too.
Alice and Frank were frowning. "I still don't get it. Why do all of a sudden you want this? Had someone threatened you? Severus?" Alice's eyes went wide with a questioning realization.
Severus didn't know what to answer. He couldn't give such information to everyone, though he knew he could trust them. He just didn't want many people to know about this.
"No, I just want to be safe than sorry. The war's cold now but it is on" it wasn't a complete lie.
They nodded. "So, this must be a complete secret and must be done soon? Hmm?" Alice asked, summoning a parchment while Frank summoned a quill and ink.
"Yes" Severus said.
"Okay… how about they being there tomorrow afternoon?" Frank asked.
"So, early? I thought I would at least take three to four days?" Lily asked, shocked. "But I am fine with that"
She had already asked their friends about this. They had agreed with their families obviously to gain more protection if there was an expected attack by the Death-Eaters anytime. They hadn't told them about the entire Malfoy thing to them yet. Severus had insisted to doing that after everything was finely settled.
Frank and Alice gave a chuckle. "Perks of being Purebloods and well, in the Auror training" Alice winked.
"Yeah" Lily agreed.
After that they had chatted for some time about school, studies and the topics teenagers find most entertaining, before Severus and Lily took their leave.
*Page Break*
The Aurors had come and went, they were accompanied by Frank and Alice the entire time. It didn't take long for them to apply security and protection wards around the place. They didn't ask many questions and did their work. Alice had said that they had gotten the finest of them. They had also suggested to cast the spells on the defenseless muggles, so that the Aurors are notified if they are under attack.
Lily's mother had very proudly shown the gun she and her husband possessed and told them that they weren't defenseless. The Aurors seemed impressed by the mechanism and slaughter it impends and wanted to suggest it against the Death-Eaters in the Ministry which they would never expect. But still to be safe the spells were cast, though Petunia was more than a tad uncomfortable with a wand pointed on her.
Severus had taken the Aurors to his house. He was reluctant to do this but his mother's safety came first to him. She didn't use her wand any often, but at least she kept it with herself. He hoped she took it out under any kind of attack other than his father's. Above all of this, he didn't want to hear the news of his mother dying. During the entire process Severus had stood as rigid as board, far away from even his house's shadow, clutching Lily's hand tightly by his side and only using his neck to turn and view the process.
Something was up his mind from after the visit at the Longbottom's, she was sure of it. She had guessed that it was something to do with the story they narrated about the Gaunts. He suggested to tell them all together and Lily had agreed to that.
They were now waiting for them to arrive, so that, Severus tells them about the entire Malfoy thing first and then the other one that was running up his mind.
The bell rang. Lily rushed to the door to answer it. She beamed after taking in the familiar faces and let them in.
"Upstairs, to my room, that will be more comfortable. Sev, is there too" she directed them and they followed.
"Lily, take the snacks from downstairs for your friends" Mrs. Evans called.
"Yes, Mum" Lily replied.
"Hello, Mrs. Evans" Her friends grinned at her mother's face, greeting her.
"Hello. Enjoy yourselves. And should you need something, ask me?" she smiled. "And please see what's wrong with Severus. My poor boy, has been too stressed out lately" she muttered worriedly.
They smiled. "Sure, Mrs. Evans" Selene said. "He just needs a bit cheering up sometimes, he'll be fine" she assured. Obviously, she couldn't have told her the real reason for his anxiousness.
Mrs. Evans nodded. "I hope so"
They went up to Lily's room, where Severus was sitting on the window seat, staring out of the window and holding a throw-pillow to his chest. He turned his face to them when they entered the room and gave a small but genuine smile.
"Hi" he greeted.
"Hi, Severus" They returned.
Selene went and took a seat beside him, while the Shane and Charm, sat on the desk-seats, bringing them on either side of the window seat. Austin and Lily settled themselves on the bed, right in front of the window seat.
"So, what's the new news you wanted to give us?" Shane asked, leaning back in his chair and rocking it side to side. Severus was cut before he even started speaking.
"What? It turns around?" Charm's eyes widened with fascination. "Wow! Oh, Merlin. What all things these muggles create" she exclaimed while rotating the seat around and giggling.
Selene smacked her head. "Will you allow him to speak, Charm?"
"Oh, yeah… sorry" Charm looked anything but apologetic. But then, she was only now being acquainted with the muggle things, it sure fascinated her.
"I went to the Malfoy Manor…" he started and slowly gave the entire conversation between himself, Lucius Malfoy and Narcissa Malfoy.
The reactions came with initial gasps and mono-shouts followed by hugs and kisses to Severus and the last 'thank you' for guarding their houses and families and the 'everything will be fine' and 'we'll figure it out' reassurances.
Severus was more than happy that they weren't running away from him. He wanted- NO! needed them.
"Now… I don't know what to make out of this, but there is one name I have been hearing just too much" Severus said mysteriously. "Tom Marvolo Riddle"
Lily gasped and the others started in confusion.
"That is why you were behaving so weird at the Longbottom's" she deduced.
"Yes, but the story doesn't start here" he explained. "You remember when we were in the hospital wing" they nodded. "That is when I heard it for the first time"
"When?" Austin asked.
"When Shane and Selene were bickering, Lupin and Black were too" he emphasized. "In their arguments, I heard Black mentioning, Tom Marvolo Riddle, earning an award for some school services.
"After that at the Malfoy's before Lucius came to his study, it was empty so I just was viewing things when I came across a diary-"
"You ask me to not touch anonymous things but then you yourself do the same!" Lily growled.
Severus colored. "Sorry" he muttered and dismissed it. He knew Lily would bring it up later. "So, I was just brushing my fingers over when I felt a sensation of something I cannot explain. I took the diary out and the sensation only doubled. I flipped it and saw the name again- Tom Marvolo Riddle" he finished giving them a distinct look.
"Did you open the book?" Selene asked.
"No, Lucius arrived then" he shrugged. "But after that I heard the name again- at the Longbottom's"
"Again, an object?" Charm whispered; afraid something would break.
"No. A story, this time"
"Oh?"
He nodded. "Yes. In Alice and Frank's training they also have to meet the people from the MLE Squad, Mr. Ogden was assigned to them and he told them about one of his encounters with a Pureblood family- the Gaunts.
"They spoke Parseltongue, for one. Sr. Gaunt -Marvolo Gaunt- had a son and a daughter, Morfin and Merope. Morfin had tortured a muggle -and as I believe it was one of the Riddles- for which Ogden had come there.
"They were proud and pathetic, Marvolo showed two artifacts of their ancestry- the lost Slytherin locket and a ring of gold with a black stone. They claimed to be the last descendants of Slytherin. Is something amusing, Lily?" he frowned. Did he say something stupid? Why was Lily smiling? Eyes of others went to Lily and she straightened.
"What?" she asked awkwardly.
"You were smiling? Did I say something wrong?"
Lily cleared her throat and frowned at herself. Was she smiling? Why? "No, you were explaining perfectly well. And I wasn't smiling"
"You were, Lily. But anyways-" he began but was cut by Selene and Shane's hysterical laughing. A minute more and they would be rolling on the floor. "Now, care to tell me what's amusing?" he muttered in a bored tone.
"N-Nothing Severus… Y-You just- forget it…" Selene laughed.
Shane came and patted his back while Severus sat back and looked at them in irritation.
"Tell me, when you both are over" he growled and moved his eyes on all of them. Charm was looking bored by the entire ordeal while Austin was giving a knowing look to him, which somehow was also looking extremely smug.
And well, Lily was seeming too interested in the pillow-case of the pillow she was holding, lost in her own self-contemplation.
"So, I was saying" he started after Selene and Shane were able to control themselves. "That Marvolo also abused Merope and called her a squib, obviously, a disgrace to purebloods, though I believe she wasn't actually a squib, just under too much pressure and abuse of her family. My mother's the same, she can perform magic finely but my father's presence hinders it"
He paused thinking about his mother for a second and how she would be there. He sighed but then continued smoothly after taking in their worried faces. A warmth spread in his chest. They were worried for him.
"Yes, so, now, Marvolo for six months and Morfin for three years were taken to Azkaban. Now, no one knows what happened of Merope in these months because after six months when Marvolo returns she wasn't there and so after sometime he dies"
"That means she died?" Shane prompted.
Severus shook his head. "No, because here comes the twist in the tale. Morfin was back after three years and lives. After almost five years he killed all three Riddles, I remember the names- Thomas Alan Riddle, Mary Dylan Riddle and Tom Thomas Riddle"
"You remember the names too, Severus?" Lily complimented, raising her eyebrows.
"Why, yes" he flushed.
"I don't, that means you were really listening" she looked impressed at his memory and deducing abilities.
He flushed even redder. "Umm… yes, I was. I could connect it to the name, that is why, Lily"
"Well, I took it no more than a story" she shrugged.
"Gryffindors tend to do that, Slytherins know the value of information" Severus teased, earning a pillow on his face and a fond 'Prat' from Lily.
Selene and Shane were again suppressing a laugh behind the pressed hands on their mouths, while Austin's knowing look and Charm's bored one hadn't gone yet. Severus rolled his eyes.
"Something's seriously wrong with you all today, except for Charm and me" he shook his head while Charm looked smug, taking it as a compliment.
"So, the story, Severus…?" Austin reminded.
Severus gave a long-suffering look, but began. "Yeah, but you all are truly behaving weird today. Yes, so you, see? They say Morfin gave himself up for murdering all the three Riddles. And that is utterly nonsensical. Why would a person want to go back to a place like Azkaban? He literally gave his memories to the Ministry. I reckon someone altered them" he said thoughtfully.
"That makes sense" Austin nodded.
"Wait, but where is that Tom Marvolo Riddle?" Charm asked.
"I was coming to that. Now, because nobody knows where Merope was, can we assume she married off?" He said assumedly and they nodded.
Selene gasped. "You mean to say, that Merope married that Tom Thomas Riddle?"
Severus dipped his head in agreement. "Yes, because there is no other way of a child acquiring both the names- Marvolo and Tom Riddle. She had to be the only bridge"
"That makes Tom Marvolo Riddle a Half-Blood" Austin pointed out.
"But the question remains why would Tom Thomas Riddle -an arrogant, handsome and rich prat- marry Merope who was a witch and poor?" Lily voiced his thoughts.
"Love sees no limits and is blind" Shane muttered.
"Shut the dramatics, Shane" Selene snorted. "This doesn't seem like love, does it to you?"
"No" Charm spoke. "Merope was a witch who was abused, so I don't reckon she'll have the self-confidence to go up to that Riddle. And even though it was, do you actually think the love would be so great in six months that she went and married him?" she scoffed.
"Obsession" Severus mumbled scornfully. Then gasped. "Obsession! Do you think she gave him a love potion?"
Their eyes widened with the realization dawning on them. "Yes" they breathed.
"Merlin… This Merope looking timid and all in front of everyone, was the right player" Charm said shaking her head. "Love potion!" she muttered.
"Riddle was rapped?!" Lily exclaimed.
"Well, yes, that is what it seems like, though we are not certain" Shane leaned back in his chair.
Charm got up and started walking out of the room.
"Where are you going, Charm?" Selene's brows furrowed.
"Washroom" Charm rolled her eyes.
"Oh…" Selene reddened, embarrassed.
"This all adds up to Tom Marvolo-" Austin was cut by Charm running to the room noisily. They flinched.
"What, Charm?" Lily huffed. "You didn't see a cockroach, did you?"
"No!" Charm shrieked. "Your bathroom is magical, though it's in a muggle house"
"What happened?" Severus asked.
"Merlin, you all have such small brains" she rolled her eyes and the others snorted. "Well, this bathroom is a place where you'll get the weirdest ideas"
"And what is your idea, silly?" Shane muttered.
"Don't call me silly" Charm huffed but smiled later. "I was saying, that, Tom Marvolo Riddle is the last descendant of Slytherin and therefore the owner of the Slytherin locket and that weird ring" she completed smugly.
Austin chucked a pillow on her. "I was going to say the very same thing before ran in screaming and cutting me" he said irritatingly.
"It doesn't finish here, Austin" she chucked the pillow back on him. "Don't you remember the diadem and we thinking if that person who made it, did the same with the other artifacts too?"
"Yes" Severus edged on the window seat. "That means that Tom Marvolo Riddle was the one who made these horcruxes. Perhaps, he did that with the ring too"
"And, Severus, do you think that diary did something to you?" Selene looked at him in anticipation.
Severus' brows creased in remembrance. He turned to Lily. "Did the diadem made all the self-preservation leave you?"
Lily nodded. "Yes, and it had some voice or something that seduces the person"
"It didn't seduce me with a voice but I had an urge to open it, but I didn't because Lucius came there till then"
"Then I believe that he has put different protection seals on every Horcrux of his" Selene seduced.
"That means we just got two more horcruxes… oh, no. Three" Austin counted. "The diadem we already know. Now the diary. Then supposedly the ring and the Slytherin locket"
"And the person who made them- Tom Marvolo Riddle" Lily said.
They all turned to Charm, impressed. She held her chin high and came to sit her seat again, smugly.
"Totally four horcruxes from which we don't know where the three are placed" Shane rubbed his chin.
"No, we don't know about two. The diary is with Lucius, it's just hard to acquire" Severus mentioned.
They nodded.
"This Riddle never lived with his family, otherwise the people around the Riddle house must have known him" Selene mused.
"Yes, that means he lived with his mother" Shane frowned.
"No, it can't be because Merope was never found as Severus said. Nobody knew what happened of her"
"Then maybe she died after giving birth to Riddle?" Austin suggested. "I mean that is the only way. Till she got pregnant she gave the Sr. Riddle love potion and then stopped because of some reason. Otherwise, wouldn't she be living with them"
"True" Severus agreed. "And I assume, being the descendant of Salazar himself, Riddle Jr. followed the Pureblood prejudice too and therefore to remove all the evidences of his birth from a muggle, he was the one who killed the Riddles"
"And now, he also wanted to remain the ever-lasting heir of Slytherin and so, he created these Horcruxes" Charm earned the impressed glance again.
"To Severus' point, he could have just changed his name. What was the need of killing people?" Austin shuddered.
"The flaw, Austin. He wasn't a Hufflepuff. Slytherin's kill" Shane winked in Selene's direction, who in return blushed.
"But what if he changed his name too?" Lily asked.
"Then it'll just be more difficult to trace him" Severus answered.
"KIDS! COME DOWNSTAIRS AND HAVE DINNER" Mr. Evans shouted from down the stairs.
"COMING!" they returned and started getting up from their seats.
"You are going to clean the mess you have made on my table, Sev" Lily ran out of the room.
Severus gave an exasperated sigh. "She always does it herself and blames on me" he muttered.
Selene leaned on his arm. "You truly are getting hotter, Sev" she mocked Lily.
He opened his mouth to say something but she had already left the room.
He viewed himself in the full- body length mirror. Perhaps, he was. He didn't have those chiseled muscles like a quidditch player but they were at least not as skinny as earlier and he had gained enough wait. His hair was no longer greasy, thanks to Selene.
He touched his nose, that was still hooked. But that didn't matter that much now as his face became a bit broader, preventing his nose to stand out.
His complexion had made absolutely no progress, though. He was still as pale as before.
But he felt more confident. He wasn't beaten and starved everyday here, after all.
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