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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While Harriet recovered, her sons and mother-in-law watched over her as Tom left Riddle Manor to pay another visit to the Malfoys.
Lucius received his unexpected guest at the front door with wide eyes.
Caught off guard, he stammered,"Ah, Minister….Tom…….How kind of you to come! We-"
"-I apologize for the treatment of your family, Mr. Malfoy." Tom said with a formal nod, "….I do hope that you will offer me your forgiveness in this trying time."
"Of course," Lucius nodded, "Think nothing of it! I understand completely the instinct to protect and provide alphas like ourselves are bound to act upon. I do offer my most sincere condolences for your loss, Minister, er…Tom. A terrible tragedy indeed."
Tom nodded stiffly before he lifted his chin and spoke, "Pardon my intrusion, but I've actually come to see the boy today."
"Scorpius?" Lucius blinked.
The news of Mae's banishment had not been made public, nor had her crime.
Beyond Harriet and his mother, Tom kept the inner workings of his affairs largely private, far away from curious eyes and gossiping lips.
"If I may speak to him alone for a moment, I have something quite important to impart." Tom explained with a cordial smile.
"……….Certainly." Lucius nodded, "Won't you come in and make yourself at home? I'll send for him immediately."
Tom entered the grand house and allowed Lucius to escort him into the damask parlor before he watched his host march down the hall to fetch Scorpius.
As Tom sat down in an empty chair, he passed a hand over his face.
Although entrenched well enough in the darkness, his heart was not quite as cruel as his daughter's.
Even Tom Riddle could show mercy.
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"Good morning, Minister." Scorpius greeted his guest with a serious frown as he walked into the room a few moments later.
"Good morning, Mr. Malfoy." Tom nodded with a wry smile, "Shall we chat?"
Fear crept up Scorpius's spine as he stepped over and took a seat on the leather sofa across from the chair Tom occupied.
"I am truly sorry for what your family has experienced." Scorpius nodded, "It was meant to be a pleasant evening of-"
"-There is no need to apologize, Mr. Malfoy." Tom smiled again.
As he stared into Scorpius's gray eyes, he saw hope and dread lingering there, intertwined.
Tom had often worn that same look during the lonely days in which he had waited to properly court Harriet.
Scorpius unknowingly gave the Minister the assurance that he had made the right decision.
"Don't look so worried, Mr. Malfoy. I've come today as a mere messenger. My daughter sent me to give you a gift." Tom chuckled.
"Really?!" Scorpius gasped as his eyes widened, "A gift? W-What is it?! Is she alright? Did she say she misses me?!"
"Close your eyes my boy and I will hand it over straight away." Tom nodded, "I'm afraid it's a bit of a surprise."
Scorpius trustingly shut his eyes, ready to receive Mae's gift, whatever it was, whatever it could possibly be.
Tom frowned as he silently pulled his white wand from his pocket.
While Scorpius waited with a pleasant smile on his face, Tom pointed his wand at the floor and whispered, "Obliviate Maximus….."
Slowly, a trail of pale, glowing magic slipped from the tip of Tom's wand and trickled to the floor.
That luminous trail crawled to Scorpius first and wrapped around his body, putting the boy into a painless trance.
While Tom's spell held Scorpius firmly in its grip, an extension of that same, shimmering trail swept through Malfoy Manor until every member of the household, witch, wizard, and elf had been engulfed in its grasp.
Tom closed his own eyes and poured his focus into completing his task.
The house grew deadly quiet while every memory of Mae Riddle was leached from the minds of all who inhabited the mansion, save for Tom.
One by one, as the spell reached completion, the shimmering trail released each person and vanished once it had lowered its captives to the floor, unhurt but deeply unconscious to sleep off the enchantment's effects.
Tom grasped his wand as he walked forward to look down at Scorpius's sleeping body.
A frown marred his handsome face while he watched worry ease from the boy's expression.
Mae and Euphemia were gone.
Tom saw no point in losing three children.
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Merope had never been to a sadder funeral.
As she stood behind Tom and Harriet, with her husband at her side, she struggled to decide who she should comfort more.
One of her hands rested on Harriet's shoulder and the other on Tom's arm to give small pats of gentle sympathy.
As Euphemia Riddle's small casket was lowered into the ground, Harriet cuddled against Tom's chest, who held her close.
"We failed, brother." Mark whispered to James as they both wiped away heavy tears.
"…….Maybe not yet." James whispered.
He had inherited his mother's fighting spirit.
As Mark looked up at James in disbelief, Tom held his weeping wife.
He closed his eyes and kissed the top of Harriet's head as guilt clawed at his heart.
While fresh earth was thrown on top of his infant daughter, Tom was overwhelmed by the relief that Harriet stood next to him and the profound notion of how deeply he already missed Mae.
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Days had passed.
Mae had lost count of how many.
She had no knowledge of how far a dragon could fly without stopping but as the creature under her began to falter, she knew they would surely be stopping soon.
Land had disappeared long ago.
Mae sighed as they crossed meter after meter of endless ocean.
Without warning, the dragon beneath her lifted its head and gave a loud, dry shriek.
Mae furrowed her brow as a distant dark spot appeared on the horizon.
Closer and closer, the tired dragon and its weary rider drew until that dark spot turned into an island.
At first, Mae thought she saw buildings there, but by the time the dragon managed a shaky landing on the side of that desolate spot, she realized those dark spots had been only broken rocks.
"So you bring me here?" She asked with a joyless laugh, "To a village of cracked stone?"
The green dragon gave one more loud shriek before it curled itself up and closed its eyes for a much needed rest.
Mae stumbled forward.
She did not yet understand the significance of that hallowed place.
As soon as her foot touched one of the many, broken stones, each gathered by the horde of dragons who had prepared for her arrival since before her birth, the rock moved.
She gasped and stepped back as another followed, until each of the countless rocks on that large island quivered and rolled.
As she leapt back to take cover under her dragon's wings, the awful sound of stone grinding on stone echoed while air whistled far above the ground.
The cacophony rose and swell as if a great battle had begun until eventually, the sound of clashing rocks died away.
Mae slowly dared to look up from her hiding place.
Her green eyes widened at what she saw.
The broken rocks had transformed, stone by stone, block by block.
The powerful, centuries-old magic they remained enchanted by had assembled them into a castle so splendid that any monarch would have easily felt at home inside its walls.
With towering turrets and elegant spindles, that castle made of heavy, black rock seemed more like something from a fairytale than a structure that loomed before her in reality.
What struck Mae the most was the hundreds of dragons, some large, some small, some green, some white, some gray, who lined the entirety of the island, claws on the ground, snouts smoking threateningly, as if they stood on guard in front of that magnificent palace.
Her fair face lit up in a smile.
She laughed to herself as she dashed up the beach, threw open the heavy, carved doors and boldly entered the central chamber of that impossible castle.
Torches erupted into brilliant flames as Mae, direct descendent of Salazar Slytherin, rushed into that cavernous room.
With a laugh of sinister joy, she happily walked to the grand chair up a small flight of steps and pompously sat down to peer out the open window at the dark sea.
The heavy clouds and flashes of lightning out over the water warned of the approaching storm.
Mae grinned as she watched the gathering tempest.
The princess had faded away.
The Queen had at last taken her throne.
