Thank you for reading! I don't own any of Harry Potter! Please let me know if you enjoy! Updates every Saturday!

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Tom did not move from Harriet's side as he loomed in front of Scorpius.

Instead of relocating their meeting to his office, he had the boy brought to that same, sad chamber.

"Look what's happened, Mr. Malfoy." Tom grimaced as he glanced from Harriet to the baby in his arms, "My wife lies clinging to life and my daughter has lost all claim on hers."

Scorpius faced Mae's father with his chest heaving as adrenaline surged through him while he spoke, "Sir, I-"

"-This was murder." Tom scowled, "An assassination attempt against my wife and the successful killing of one of my children. I'm certain I don't have to explain the consequences of such a grievous transgression, Mr. Malfoy…Although, for your sake, and your family's, I do hope your innocence can be proven……and the guilty party identified."

"There is no guilty party! There's been a terrible misunderstanding, Minister!" Scorpius exclaimed, "It…..It's a mistake, an awful mistake that's what it is!"

Tom narrowed his dark eyes.

"The guard mentioned you have information that you're willing to divulge." He spoke. A slight smile danced across his lips before his handsome face clouded as he growled, "……Information the Minister for Magic is very much waiting to hear, Mr. Malfoy."

"Before the bread was served, sir, you should remember I went to check on Mae." Scorpius hurriedly began.

Tom's heart skipped a beat.

"…….And?!" He snapped, already angry at what he feared he would learn.

"And…..she had gone to the kitchen, to put her medicine into her food." Scorpius shrugged.

"-What medicine?!" Tom snarled.

"She….." Scorpius swallowed as he remembered his sworn vow of silence.

"Out with it, boy, or you'll watch while I strip your family's flesh from their bones!" Tom spat.

"She's…..taking a heat suppressant, sir." Scorpius sheepishly admitted, "She doesn't want you to know….I was….I'm not supposed to mention it."

Tom blinked.

His scowl remained unchanged as Scorpius went on, "Mae didn't say that she'd managed to put it in anything, but there had been some kind of altercation between her and one of our elves…..I saw a bit of green ooze on the table. I'm sorry, sir, I've never seen a heat suppressant. I'm not entirely certain what one's meant to look like."

"Bring the elf to me." Tom commanded.

"I beg your pardon, sir?" Scorpius frowned.

"If you ever want to see your family or the sunrise of a new day again, bring that elf here immediately! You have one hour…..GO!" Tom roared.

Scorpius's gray eyes widened as he frantically nodded before he turned and scrambled out of the room.

Nagging dread gnawed at Tom's heart as he drew in a deep breath.

He found himself hoping that Scorpius was right, perhaps it had just been a terrible accident after all.

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Less than half an hour later, a knock fell on the door of the room Tom inhabited.

"………Come in." He called quietly.

As he glanced up, Scorpius entered, followed by the same elf who Mae had tripped over.

Tom clutched his ruined promise to his chest while Harriet continued her dreamless sleep.

"Tell me what happened between you and my daughter." He demanded as he sneered down at the elf.

The elf shrieked fearfully and cowered behind Scorpius's legs, who mercifully put a hand on his servant's shoulder while he frowned at Tom, "Forgive him, sir….he's quite shy of wizards. He doesn't speak much to anyone except Mum and I."

Tom glanced up at Scorpius as an idea bloomed in his mind.

"Perhaps we may try this another way, then?" He asked.

Scorpius frowned as Tom bent down, withdrew his wand, and offered it to the elf.

"If you would be so terribly kind as to submit your memory of this evening for examination." Tom smiled charmingly at the elf.

The elf frowned as he looked into Tom's face.

"It may save your family and friends from absolute destruction and certain death." Tom nodded as if his statement had been the most benign he could have possibly spoken.

Terrified, the elf glanced up at Scorpius in a silent ask of permission.

"It's alright." Scorpius nodded, "You can do it and you should do it! You should help the Minister. Show him what really happened!"

With deep resolve carved into his wrinkled face, the house elf looked at Tom again.

After he reached out and accepted the Minister's wand, he closed his eyes, placed the tip of the magical apparatus to his temple, and withdrew his memory of that evening, every detail still intact.

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After examining the elf's submitted evidence in a Pensieve retrieved from the bowels of the Ministry, Tom could no longer feel his body.

Pain had made him numb.

Devastation had crushed his heart.

Scorpius and the elf had been released, along with the rest of the Malfoy family.

James and Mark had been taken home by Merope.

Tom spent more than a while bolstering himself before he finally ordered a guard to bring Mae.

"Hello, Daddy." She chirped as she stepped inside the room.

Her sweet smile faded when she found Tom seated at Harriet's side.

The grimace on his face was unsettling to behold.

Mae focused only on him, unbothered by the baby's corpse or the sight of Harriet lying there, weak and pale.

"You and I." Tom smiled bitterly at Mae, "It's always been you and I, hadn't it, my darling girl? I pulled you from your mother's womb….I did that, not a midwife, not a healer, me, your father. I was the first person to touch you in this world, to look at you, to see you." Tom went on, his smooth voice uncharacteristically roughened by his suffering, "Since that day, I have stolen for you, lied for you, cared for you…..Accommodated you…..Spoiled you….When everyone and everything else turned away from you, I remained on your side, in your corner……And this is how you repay me?!"

"……..What are you talking about, Daddy?" Mae laughed.

"No games, no more." Tom hissed as if the ideas of what Mae could do already tired him, "I saw for myself what you've done. I did not want to see, I never have, but you've forced my eyes wide open, haven't you?"

Mae's smile vanished as she tried to worm her way out of her father's scorn, "Daddy, I didn't mean-"

"-I know perfectly well what you meant." Tom snapped, "A heat suppressant?! That bumbling idiot you keep trailing around your skirts may be stupid enough to believe that's what was spilled on the bread, but I am no fool, Mae Riddle!……Certainly no fool for you, not anymore."

Mae's face twisted into a grimace as threatening as her father's once she realized that for the very first time, her most loyal servant was no longer interested in serving her.

"You have murdered one of our own, one of your own. A piece of me, a piece of you….family is all connected, my darling girl, all connected. Tom said through grit teeth.

He spoke slowly as if he meant to drive the meaning of each word deep into Mae's heart.

Tom's dark eyes shimmered with disbelief as he gazed at his eldest daughter who blinked, "I understand what it's like to walk with darkness, to feel darkness, I understand that, but I don't understand you."

Mae frowned.

"……….How did this happen?" Tom asked as he furrowed his brow, "You are perfect and yet…….disgustingly foul.

"You have to admit, Daddy," Mae said as she smirked, "At the very least, you've taught me well. I was quite discreet."

Tom could have bent over and vomited.

Mae watched his jaw move while he scowled at her.

"……The fault may not even be your own." Tom frowned as he glanced at the long, black glove that covered Mae's affected arm. He let out a deep breath as he gazed into his daughter's eyes again, "Regardless, you've left me with no other choice."

Mae scoffed, "Oh, Daddy, what are you going to do? Try to take away my dolls?"

"Under Ministry law, death is the punishment for murder." He firmly declared.

Mae narrowed her eyes to slits.

Her affected arm tensed as she prepared to defend herself.

If Tom would become an obstacle in her path, then there would be little point in keeping him alive.

"And yet, as the Minister for Magic, I have final say in such matters." Tom added as he stood.

He walked towards Mae until he towered over her and spoke, "As a blessing or a curse, you will always be my daughter………….But from this moment forward, you are hereby banished from our world. I know well enough you have that scaly beast to ride. Yes, I know that, don't look at me that way……Find that creature and fly far from here…..You will never see your family again, you will never know friendship, you will never own property, or hold public office. You will wander in the muggle world or wherever else you find to go until your death one day, my daughter, and I sincerely hope that you will spend each passing morning and evening contemplating exactly what it is you've done."

Mae expected it to all be a joke.

Tom turned from her and walked back over to Harriet just as the door opened to let two large, masked guards enter.

Mae's eyes widened as they seized her.

Against the enchanted armor hidden under their robes, she flailed and kicked in a vain attempt to escape their grasps.

"Daddy!"

"Daddy!"

"DADDY!"

"DADDDY!"

Mae called out again and again as the guards dragged her away, but Tom did not answer.

Once the door slammed shut and she was finally gone, the Minister's broken heart exploded.

As Harriet slept, while no one could see, Tom let his bitter tears flow freely as he clutched his wife's hand.

One daughter had been taken, the other he had been forced to give away.

Tom Riddle had never expected to lose both of his girls on a single day.