Chapter VI: Husband and Father.

The Maledictus falls asleep within itself slowly,

His gifts are only laborious agony.

But his dormant gifts can be tamed

If a Susurrus makes him a devoted,

Or, if the animal is already a born whistler.

Because from isolation, despair rises likely.

And therein lies a rosebud of anger,

To easily drop on our enemies.

Note to the Gifts # 13

When Eddy returned to eat in the Great Hall, a week after Medusa had talked to him, all eyes were obviously on him.

He felt like a fairground freak. His comrades at Ilvermorny had never been made aware of his secret. To them, he was Lee, the weird, violent boy who could not cast a spell. Seeing his secret out after barely two months of class was new but almost a relief. He sat down at the end of the table, staring at his feet. Two sixth-year students stepped away from him with a shout. He began to eat silently aware of the eyes on the back of his neck. He felt someone approach him, it was Salazar, his eternal notebook under his arm. He sat down at his side.

"You missed a lot of class, I'll help you catch up."

"T-thank you."

He wasn't quite sure what to say so he glanced around the Great Hall. Some students had gone back to their conversation, others continued to watch him anxiously. At the professors' table, McGonagall gave him a soft smile as Professor Dumbledore gave him a wink. He had invited him to come by his office tonight to have a chat. Eddy thought it was necessary. At the end of the professorial table, Professor Riddle still had this same charming mask, -he saw his eyes glowing as he returned to his breakfast.

Medusa was also watching him talking with Bellatrix. Salazar followed her gaze and looked worried.

"I'm sorry, you told me to be careful, and I let my guard down."

"I'm the one who's sorry my sister used her gift on you. It's not a pleasant experience."

"That's clear, " Kheiron breathed. "Can we sit down?"

He arrived uncertainly with Gwendal, holding an eggcup in one hand and toast in the other. The two boys sat down next to Salazar who looked uncomfortable. The heir of Slytherin dove back into his breakfast. Eddy wondered what had motivated his two dorm mates to sit next to him. He was suspicious.

"Khey was already Medused last year," Pettigrew said, downing his glass of pumpkin juice.

"What did she make you say?"

Kheiron seemed to hesitate. Then, thinking that Eddy's secret was far worse than anything he had ever confessed, he ended up saying:

"I made fun of her hair ribbon, so she forced me to admit something... well, I'm gay. It went around the school for two days and then they moved on. I didn't even really know it myself at the time, but at least, now things are said."

"Oh… Evora must have taken it badly," Eddy said, looking around for the scabby-looking little Ravenclaw Zabini

She was sitting next to Xenophilius and Sybill and seemed to be in the middle of a conversation about Eddy, throwing him wild glances. When their eyes met, she sneered at him.

"Evora is my fiancée, not my lover," Shafiq said in disgust. "What we are asked is to have a child to perpetuate our name; that's all. She also doesn't care."

Eddy thought that indeed seen from this angle things seemed simpler.

"Anyway, what we wanted to tell you, Lee," said Gwendal in a hesitant voice, "is that we more or less understand your situation."

"But if you forget to take your potion, I'll kick your ass," Kheiron said in an amused tone.

It could have sounded like a threat, but Eddy thought there was little chance that his classmate would hurt him. Kheiron had a half smile on his lips, a sign that he was joking. With a sneer, Eddy rolled his eyes. He sealed this promise with a hand sign shared with his comrades. Salazar smiled softly as he shared his joy. Maybe the situation was not as bad as it seemed.

"Hurry up, leeches, we're going to be late on History of Magic," he heard Medusa trumpet as he passed their quartet with her friends.

They went there. During class, Eddy felt he was the center of attention in the class. Professor Binns' purring voice couldn't even capture the attention of the students who kept glancing at him anxiously. At least he still had a few people willing to talk to him, thought Eddy. Medusa had promised to stop others from messing with him, so somehow and surprisingly, he trusted her. He found himself a little in the misery of the two Riddles, and the young girl had promised to teach him how to make his potion.

The rest of the day passed in the same bizarre atmosphere. All the students gave him a fearful look as if he was going to explode any moment but did not speak to him. He went in the evening to the director's office.

"Bertie's Bott," he whispered as the gargoyle spun around.

He entered the office, where Dumbledore was waiting for him quietly and offered him a seat. They stared at each other for a moment before he felt a small clawed paw grab the bottom of his trousers.

"Charm," he cried.

The animal jumped contentedly onto his lap. Eddy stroked it with pleasure. He had prevented him from entering the Astronomy room like Newt before him. It was cowardice, no doubt, but he had felt the need to be alone. He couldn't listen to his guardian, he was too ashamed. Like every time he slipped with his obscurial , he thought he was only bringing trouble to those around him. If Andromeda had tried to comfort him, he knew it was Medusa's disturbing words that convinced him to finally come down from the tower.

"Your familiar was very concerned about you. Just like Newt and Tina. You have a considerable pile of letters from them waiting for you in your dormitory," Eddy, said his teacher.

"Excuse me, Professor," he whispered. "I caused you all a lot of trouble."

"I'm not hiding from you that the school board team was quite furious that I hid your condition from them. But Newt was able to plead your case with them. It was played little to vote my 'resignation'."

Dumbledore looked calm.

"I know it was Miss Riddle who forced you to reveal your secret. I don't blame you, my boy. You couldn't have done anything. That's why I advised you a few weeks ago to distance yourself from the twins and your defence teacher."

"Professor… if Mr. Riddle is so dangerous, why hire him in the school?"

He thought about Riddle using unforgivable curses on his children, but did not dare bring it up with his Headmaster, as he hadn't dared to mention it to Salazar.

"It was my predecessor, Professor Dippet, who hired him ten years ago before bequeathing his post to me."

He darted a weary look at a painting. A little professor, -wrinkled like an old prune-, was sleeping miserably in his box.

"My esteemed colleague, -like many other wizards unfortunately are-, has always been blind to Tom. Ten years ago, he returned after years of working in the shadows. Tom Riddle left this school twenty years ago with the best results we have seen in fifty years. He returned as husband and father, having studied and taught at prestigious Magic School. A normal and innocent family situation, in all respects. This fooled Dippet into giving him the Defence Against the Dark Arts job despite my warnings. Tom has since fulfilled his role as a teacher with particular excellence."

Fawkes (about the size of a small hen since Eddy had last seen him) landed on the Headmaster's shoulder and hooted softly. The boy found Dumbledore worn and tired.

"Three years ago Professor Beery, my former Deputy Headmaster and Herbology Professor retired. The school's board then put Tom in the position of Deputy Director. The council is chaired by former classmates of Tom, among them the parents of your classmates, such as the Blacks, the Zabinis or the Lestranges. I did not have the last word."

Eddy thought that the headmaster had diminishing influence in the school and that Riddle, like a shadow, held Hogwarts increasingly under his control. If a new incident happened, maybe Dumbledore would really be forced to resign. Eddy felt the pressure tightening like a noose around his neck.. Charm meowed to reassure him.

"You have nothing to fear, Eddy. I haven't left yet and I don't intend to leave right away. I need to know what Professor Riddle is up to. Salazar showed you his powers I believe, it appeased your Obscurus, didn't it?"

"Y-yes," the boy stammered, too surprised that the headmaster knew about that to say anything else. "Do you know what it is?"

"No," Dumbledore muttered slowly. "Hagrid told me about what he saw. I can't get too close to Salazar and Medusa for too long without Tom knowing. You can imagine, given the enmity we have with their father, that the twins have little confidence in me."

Eddy nodded, uncertain, it seemed to him that his teacher did not say everything.

"What Salazar is seems to be powerful. But the power of your friend seems capable of overpowering you. Now that everyone is aware of your peculiarity, I was hoping for some precious help from you, Eddy. You bonded with Medusa and Salazar, but even more piqued Tom's interest. He is going to get closer to you, whatever he offers you, please come tell me about it. Together we may be able to stop him"

Eddy thought that if his teacher was asking him for help, the situation was deeply serious. Professor Riddle was terrorizing him though, and he did not dare reveal to Dumbledore the strange phrase he had translated during Slughorn's dinner. He finally nods his head.

"I expected no less of you. I think now you should go back to your dorm. A good night's sleep in a real bed will do you the greatest good. Don't forget to answer the Scamanders, they are very worried about you."

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Tom finished his last class of the day with pathetic second years. Most of them had been unable to successfully summon a simple protective shield during their duelling lesson. Tom thought that these little vermin would definitely not get very far.

Little Zabini handed him the copies of the surprise assigned he had given them after noticing their poor progress and stormed off.

He did not glance at the copies, which he tossed carelessly behind him. Tonight he wouldn't need to go to dinner, he had to work alone. He began to climb the stairs connecting his classroom to his office on the mezzanine.

As he was about to cross the threshold of his office, however, he had the unpleasant surprise to see Dumbledore at the entrance to his classroom. The old man looked serene, his hands crossed behind his back as he took a leisurely step forward after closing the door behind him. For more than ten years, he had supported the old man again ten months in the year.

Since his childhood Dumbledore had never hidden from him, the mistrust he felt towards him and it had by no means diminished, on the contrary. Tom felt the rage rise in his breast and he formed a serene pout:

"Professor Dumbledore. What can I do for you?"

"There is many things you could do Tom, but for me, alas, I don't think you can do anything."

Dumbledore watched the classroom, the moon-shaped globe above his head changing colour at Tom's prompting, giving the room a greenish glow. Beneath this beam, the old man's skin looked cadaverous. This image was so eloquent that he could not suppress a whistle of wicked joy as he resumed:

"In that case, I won't have much time to give you. Work awaits me."

"Leave young Edward alone, Tom. I'll only ask you once. This child needs care."

"That child will die," Tom replied quietly. "I really don't have much interest in his miserable life. He attacked my son and my daughter, so it's normal that I try to control him a little."

"A son you despise and a daughter you use," Dumbledore retorted in the same tone. "Medusa looks a lot like you at the same age, even if she seems to still have the naivety to believe that you will return her affection."

"I forbid you to talk about my family. This is none of your business. Your position is threatened by the Obscurial you brought here on the recommendation of this Scamander. Take care of him instead."

For anyone else, his sharp, icy tone would have been enough to end the conversation. Dumbledore seemed to have something to say though. He glared at Tom with his blue eyes. The two faced off in an Occlumency duel. Everyone seemed ready to draw their wands. However, slowly, the old man pulled away.

"Don't repeat the mistakes others have made before you, Tom. The family is the most powerful. Take this as the advice of an old man who has been through a similar situation in the past."

Tom didn't suppressed his smirk. A cold and dangerous anger rose in him so abruptly that he could have killed Dumbledore in an instant. He barely managed to calm himself down as his former Transfiguration teacher left the classroom.

"Yes, I think family is the most powerful thing. But thank you for that warning, Dumbledore."

Dumbledore sighed and finally disappeared, slamming the door. Tom watched the door with the burning urge to set it on fire. He whistled as he returned to his desk.

When he entered the room, Nagini was waiting for him. She lifted her head and hissed contentedly.

"Should I kill him, Master? " she whispered, speaking of Dumbledore.

"No, my dear. I will take care of it myself. I'll leave you his old body if you want."

The snake did not look pleased. She wrapped around his shoulders as he sat down at his desk. He closed the window with a careless wave of his hand, and summoned a parchment to finish his notes. In front of him, a small red book whose authors were Newt Scamander and Popertina Goldstein-Scamander: Obscurial, how to heal, a case study.

This thesis had come out two years earlier in all discretion in the American Wizarding faculties. He had never known about the thesis and never would have known about it if he hadn't met the young Edward Lee. They had written a thesis on the boy these imbeciles. He was thanking those two idiots from Scamander somewhere for having conscientiously dissected every aspect of this little brat.

He glared at Nagini. She had confided to him that she was a Maledictus the day they had met him and Meroe as they were leaving Albania. Nagini, stuck for years inside a snake's boy had become almost mad with loneliness. Since then, she has been faithful and devoted to his orders. She was listening for him to everything that was going on in the castle and that Medusa was not reporting to him, silently slipping inside the school's plumbing. She was there, discreet and invisible because it was not yet time to wake up the Basilisk. No, Basilisk time would come soon, as soon as Dumbledore left school.

"I have a small mission for you, my beautiful," he whispered in parseltongue. "Then you can return to rest with Meroe."

She looked up in interest, her long body sliding against his neck. He caressed her for a moment with a slow, nonchalant gesture, and then opened the drawer of his desk. A small black snake covered in pinkish spots slithered towards him. He was smaller than his hand and his big black eyes waited wisely for an order.

"Go take your new comrade to Medusa."

He then turned to the small black and pink snake:

"Whatever the name she will give you, it is my call that you will answer. Tell me everything that is said."

The little creature nodded, he lowered it to the ground and it followed Nagini, snaking towards an exhaust vent.

Finally assured of being alone, he opened the Scamander's book he had ordered from his personal suppliers.

"Thanks to APWB Dumbledore for his invaluable advice and without whom this book would never have been possible"

The dedication made him wince. He flipped the page and read a more interesting passage.

"In 1959, chasing a Common Welsh Green north of Cardiff, we found E.

The Welsh Green was to be repatriated to a reserve in Romania; we thought we were following his trail when it was something else entirely. It was actually an explosion that alerted us as we flew over the area. We landed nearby, ready to apprehend the Welsh Green so as not to violate the Code of Magical Restriction, but only a large inferno presented itself to us.

What was left of a caravan was blazing with a magical emanation in its center very similar to the one we had encountered in 1927 in New York ( 1) . It was an Obscurial.

(1) see: The pursuit of the Kelpy, the Griffin and other creatures, N. Scamander, 1938 »

He took notes and read another page:

"E. had signs of abuse, weighed ten kilos below the average. He rarely appeared in human form and we could not communicate with him through language, as he spoke exclusively the Romani dialect. We undertook to communicate with him as one communicates with a child commonly to calm him down, through stories and lullabies- "

Please. Could we do cutesier? he thought, remembering the dreamy and silly look of this Newt Scamander. He took notes and moved forward a few pages:

"E. was traumatized, he is still at the time of writing, unable to remember his past. Snippets may have come back to him but the majority of his memories are totally erased. E has no awareness of his first seven years of life. In order to be able to return him to a viable human form we did not attempt to help him remember. It was urgent at this moment to provide him with care, because the Obscurus threatened to take him away. »

"Phoenix's tears being one of the most powerful antidotes and fortifiers in the world was the only alternative when we were going to lose E after three years of intensive care. This stabilized him by the time our potion was ready, the Illuminial. »

Tom closed the book with a smile. He was in a hurry to be the next day.

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When Lee arrived, it was obviously with Salazar. They sat side by side without a word or a look for him. His daughter was alone at the desk facing his, the little snake discreetly wrapped around her neck. He returned the papers that Eileen Prince had corrected for him as she so often did.

His former classmate from Hogwarts was only a few years younger than him. He had never paid much attention to her while they shared the school desks and the Slughorn parties where she was invited. He knew she was a brilliant witch, but naïve, and foolish. To the point of marrying a Muggle, when she was just graduating. Predictably, the Muggle had turned violent and stupid. She had to slay him to be able to run away with the dirty brood she had created, little Severus.

She had then come to him, bitter and full of resentment against non-magicians, hoping to gain favors from him as he had offered during their time at Hogwarts. Correct the foolishness of others. He had done it, made the body disappear and all the evidence, namely witnesses and innocents in what the muggles called a gas leak. He had no trouble getting her into the school as a substitute. She had been his loyal subject ever since.

Bellatrix Black to his left gazed at her note with a delighted look, he thought that soon she too would be a loyal subject. She had in her eyes a suffering that he delighted to see grow and enslave, a bit like the little Obscurial who confusedly waited for his exam to arrive. Tom chose to let him languish a little longer.

He began his lesson in a slow voice. He absolutely hated teaching. No, what interested him was spotting the talents, the weaknesses and the wounds in all these young minds. He could use them at leisure and take them under his wing. He only had to say a few words and they were his. For years, his growing servants had been waiting and they would not have to wait long. He noticed Salazar scribbling casually in his notebook. With a flick of his finger he made the notebook come to him. Salazar looked at him blankly again as he always had.

Since childhood, he had been like that, silently watching him impassively with his big blue eyes. He only despised him more.

"Mr. Riddle, detention. Monday night."

He tossed the notebook on his desk and returned to his lesson. Salazar had plunged his nose back into his notes and Tom wondered what he was thinking. Since he was a child, reading his son's mind was impossible. Salazar had always instinctively known how to defend himself against him, reinforcing his contempt. The bell soon rang. The students, -finally- started to leave.

"Mr. Lee, I'd like to see you for a moment."

The little redhead sighed. Salazar did not move, unlike Medusa who violently pulled him by the arm, -the stream of students carried them away. He shut the door with a flick of his wand, while the boy waited watching his feet planted painfully on the ground.

Tom handed him his work. A faint Disappointment smeared on the parchment Prince had corrected. Lee grimaced ruefully.

"It's not progressing at all, Mr. Lee… the final exams are for next month and you have absolutely not the skills to pass to the next year."

Lee knew it very well from his miserable look.

"Well, I'll work harder then," the boy replied in a falsely polite voice. "Can I go?"

"Did you find answers to your questions in the Hogwarts register?"

"No. Thanks to Medusa, were you able to find answers to your questions?" attacked the swarthy little redhead sharply.

Tom could not stop the corners of his lips from lifting. He took the Scamander study out of his desk and showed it to the boy:

"With the help of this, I was able to obtain some answers, it is true." The boy didn't look surprised. He was aware that this study existed. "Why did you agree to participate in such a thing?"

"To help those after me, until we find a solution for them," Lee replied in a weak voice as if he were going to start crying.

"Do you consider yourself already dead?" understood Tom, unable to hide his disgust.

"What else can I expect? The Illuminial blocks my powers inside of me while the Obscurus is eating me like a worm! I take care of myself just to try to have a more or less normal life for the time I have left. Now, I have to go to class."

"Do you wish to die, Mr. Lee?" Tom asked when the boy tried to turn away.

"B- of course not."

"Then why not fight for your life? You have the capabilities. All you need to do is remember who you are. I can help you there. Your power can be channelled; your tutors just don't use the right methods. You don't have to calm down the monster inside you by waiting for it to kill you. You have to face it."

This echoed with the boy who raised his head. Finally, he could begin to read Lee's first feelings. He was both suspicious and confused. Tom felt that he inspired the child with a deep dread but also a certain interest.

"You are a concentrate of black magic in spite of yourself. You can only be cured by black magic, not lullabies and other nonsense. You know, we're more alike than you think. Like you, I also experienced the pain of being orphaned and lost. A little less explosive perhaps, but I recognize traits in you that I once had. You can be so much better than that, Mr. Lee."

That was it; he was slowly starting to trap him. They were face to face, the boy looked at him with big lost eyes.

"You clearly have expertise in the field of dark magic," the boy managed to retort, acerbically.

"Dark magic is neither good nor bad, and you are a concentrate of it. Are you good or bad Edward Lee? It is to this philosophical question that we wish to answer you and me. Remember who you are, and we may get closer to the answer. I propose to use legilimency, it seems that Medusa gave you a somewhat distorted demonstration of it."

"I don't want you to get into my head!"

"Would you rather it be Dumbledore, Mr. Lee? Why did he never offer this alternative to restore your memory? I know you plan to tell him about our interview later, but why doesn't this man who knows dark magic better than anyone use it to help you? Yes, Dumbledore practices the dark arts, I sincerely advise you to do research about Grindelwald."

There it was, that panicked spark, between hope and despair. A good time to end his speech:

"You only have a short time left to live, Mr. Lee. You must succeed in reuniting with your family and defeating the Obscurus within you before the time runs out. I advise you to think… quickly."

When he saw Lee's gaze, he felt he had hooked his poisonous hook inside of him. Edward Lee turned away and left without a word, Tom watched him serenely. He just had to wait for the poison to take effect on the crayfish he had hooked.

He finished his school day in the same relaxed state of mind. In the evening he Apparated home once outside of Hogwarts.

The Priory of Salazar: It stretched over two floors in the middle of the swamps like a graceful chapel. Priors had taken in his illustrious ancestor after his same saviours had massacred his parents for witchcraft. Salazar Slytherin had, it seemed, the most piquant humour to return to establish his lineage in the very place where he had been mistreated. Thanks to the Codex of Slytherin Tom had been able to find twenty years ago the house that his family had long since abandoned.

He entered the square courtyard of grey stones. Nagini was bathing in the moonlight hanging from a basilisk-shaped gargoyle. When she caught sight of him, she stretched out her long rings, gave a small hiss of delight, and then began to sway to join him.

Tom walked towards the end of the square courtyard and crossed a stone alcove without paying any more attention to his maid whom he planted there. He walked along the swamp adjoining his home to reach the level of the thestral enclosure. If the herd of a dozen long, skeletal creatures were there, watching him with their milky eyes, but he was looking for someone else.

"Show yourself," he hissed.

Slowly, from the darkness of a grove, his Darkblood wife appeared. She wasn't as miserable as the day they met. Dressed in a long black dress, her long hair flowing around her prominent face, she even had a kind of dangerous and icy charm. She smiles at him.

"How are the twins? " she hissed back.

She advanced slowly, darting a calm gaze at him to caress a thestral that calmed down at the touch of her hand. Thestrals loved her darkness and natural calm.

"They are doing well. Medusa greets you. Follow me, let's go home."

A moonbeam passed by her and her shadow rippled slightly as she followed him to his office. The elves had prepared dinner.

"In what honour do we eat together this evening, dear cousin?" Meroe asked, still in Parseltongue, sitting down across from him.

She snuffed out a candle too close to her face and put her fork to her mouth. Her large eyes, as dark as vaults, gleamed with curiosity. They shared little time together, if at all. Each living next to the other, while they sleeping apart, almost constantly. They did not need each other and it was almost a mark of affection on their part to see each other little so that these moments when they meet had some flavour.

Tom would have thought that subduing her to serve his purposes would have been harder. But, he had realized after a few days in the company of his distant cousin that she was a little more interesting than expected. After probing her memories and thoughts, he realized she was just like him.

She had lived in misery and destitution, aware of her precious ancestry without being able to do anything about it, martyred by her mother and by Muggles. She had not long regretted her mother's death. And if Tom knew that she hadn't forgiven him for her murder, she thought it much better to follow his plan. They were the last two in a line of talents, blood of their blood diluted by a Muggle for Tom and by an Albanian Romani wizard for his squib of a cousin. They had a lineage and a power to rebuild.

He had never told his wife his mother's last words as he stabbed her. He had hoped for a prediction, but the wording was still incomplete. Lee knew, but the boy was already in his grip, he could feel it.

"Medusa and Salazar have made a new friend," Tom whispered finally, handing the woman the Scamander's study. "I ask you to follow the authors of this book. This will require you to be several days out of the priory. You must be their shadow, Meroe. I want to know everything about them."

"Follow them, even in direct sunlight," the woman hissed.

"You will have your fortifying potions, now shut up. Read this book and we'll talk about it tomorrow morning."

She ends up nodding stiffly, playing with her glass of wine. Between her fingers, the liquid seemed to be as black as Indian ink. They finished eating. She took the manuscript and disappeared, extinguishing a candle behind her.

Tom mused that his business partner would need a considerable amount of buff to hold on, baking in the sun under the shadow of the Scamanders.

He still had to work tonight, but he still got up quietly. Nagini entered pushing open the heavy oak door and hissed:

"Medusa loved Echo. She thanks you, Master."

Echo. Medusa had in her own way the pungent sense of humour inherent in their blood, he thought with a smile. No doubt, she knew very well that he was spying on her like this. Her daughter was in her own way one of his successes, cold, sometimes cruel but above all easy to handle. He would make her relentless. She would compensate Salazar in cruelty and sadism.

Nagini then went to curl up in the empty hearth of the fireplace happy to have carried out her mission. Dumbledore was right, family was important, even though Tom had never had one before. He darted a glance at the Codex of Slytherin resting on its tripod in the shape of an owl, and with one hand he summoned the ingredients for a fortifying potion.

His cauldron lit up behind him with a greenish tint. He clapped his hands, satisfied. Dumbledore had only gotten a reprieve; this school would soon be his as it rightfully should have been. He was in no hurry.

As his stepmother had said before he murdered her, sometimes, for some, the wisest path is not to move forward but to remain just in place.