Blood On My Name

by sadlybeans

Voldemort, the Dark Lord, was defeated as the prophecy tells, by a teenage boy who had nothing but love and friendship at his side, his reign of terror over in a single night. After darkness enveloped him, Tom Riddle woke up in his eleven year old body, with the knowledge of the future and his past mistakes… Now the question is, will that knowledge help him avoid his destiny?

5. Chapter 5

Answers to Reviews:

I had neglected to do this before as I had not noticed the reviews, but I would like to answer them as it is so very kind of you and I am very happy that some readers have enjoyed it as much as to leave one.

To dobby1234, I am very glad you've enjoyed the narrative and my personal changes up until now :)

Many thanks to DiagonAlleyParis as well for the kind words of encouragement, they mean a lot to me.

As for skotos07, I hope you enjoy the increased length of this chapter, although you might find it too boring.

And with that, let's go to...

Chapter 5 Notes:

TW; Slight mention of abuse (in reference to Eileen Prince and Tobias Snape), past drugging (in reference to Merope Gaunt), and the usual mentions of canonical character death. There is a brief allusion to World War II as well, and the death associated with it, although nothing is explicitly stated.

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"That would be seventeen galleons, young man"

«Seventeen? That's too expensive!»

«Shush dear, it's alright. We have enough money to spend» Tom looked up to the lost clerk and smiled with his effortless charm, placing a handful of golden coins in her hand. "Thank you, please have a nice day"

He picked the package off the counter and walked past the line of customers behind where he used to stand, making his way to the doors while Rai hissed in disagreement.

Diagon Alley was thriving with activity as the start of the new school year approached, but thankfully he had most of what he needed already, leaving only some major purchases to be made… the first half of the past summer had been a rush and his schedule had been completely packed; most of his time had been spent travelling all over Africa and the Middle East as his investigation on the lost relics of the Slytherin family continued. He was becoming old enough that people didn't raise many questions when he appeared without an adult, and he intended to take advantage. However, he spent a week in Firenze as well, since the Malfoys had invited the entire group to celebrate Abraxas' birthday, and after that professor Staghart had decided to unexpectedly drop by the Gaunt household to check up on him, and things hadn't…. gone very well.

Listen, Tom had never meant for his favourite professor to interpret the bruises in his arm to be a sign of abuse, he had simply gotten them when encountering a sphinx while Morfin was busy drinking and wasting away in his shack. But regardless, since he couldn't exactly say he had been going about his own business without supervision, a rather intense argument had arisen and as Morfin wasn't the most level headed man he had pulled out his wand, which led professor Dracul to then get defensive over his partner— Tom had to physically stand in between all three grown men to prevent them from using enough magic to catch the Ministry's attention. Honestly, leave it up to Morfin to piss off an elder vampire. At the end, professor Staghart had insisted he stay with them for the rest of the summer and his little adventures had come to an end. On the flip side, his professors lived in a more than interesting ancestral fortress belonging to the Dracul family, with a library so vast it could keep him entertained for years, and he even had permission to go anywhere within the huge property if he really wanted to.

Elerhys Dracul had started his position as potions professor in his second year, recommended by professor Staghart. Tom was quite positive that they hadn't been a couple back then, but sometime over the school year there were some developments and while they never made any public statements, they were legally married sometime before his third year. Professor Dracul was, of course, a vampire— the firstborn of Vlad Dracul, the original vampire himself, and he had a well built reputation for being elusive and not truly caring much for wizards and their complicated politics despite his huge influence and power. He personally would never bother with wizarding politics if he could, so rest to say he quite liked the vampiric professor. They were alike in more ways than one, to be honest.

The rest of his summer had been quite nice, relaxing in a guest bedroom that was quite big and had everything he could need, and in a short week he would be returning to Hogwarts, hence the yearly shopping. Professor Staghart had asked if he wanted them to accompany him, but Tom had done his shopping by himself since he was eleven and he knew they were both busy making the last arrangements to their materials for that year. Now he was almost done, but first…

He pushed the door open into Twilfitt & Tattings, barely registering the voice of a clerk welcoming him before a louder voice interrupted them.

"Marzan!"

Thankfully he had good reflexes and only stumbled back a step, arms suddenly full of one Alphard Black. He laughed softly and hugged back lightly before they pulled back to see each other. Now at fourteen, Alphard was growing into the radiant beauty he'd be known for in the future, the waves of his magically straightened hair spilling down to frame his face and shoulders.

"I didn't expect to find you here. Is Orion shopping with you?" he asked as he glanced over his shoulder momentarily.

"He and Lucretia did their shopping last week, but we were busy and couldn't come with" Alphard held his both hands, ever so tactile, smiling radiantly. "We didn't hear from you after Abraxas' birthday… is your uncle being nicer to you?"

"Well— it's a bit of a long story, but professor Staghart invited me to stay with them. I shall tell you all about it when everyone else can hear it. Are you done shopping for your robes yet?"

Thankfully Alphard chose not to question it further despite the clear curiosity shining in his starlit eyes.

"He would have if he didn't keep getting distracted" a voice called from Tom's left.

He turned and greeted Walburga properly with a kiss on each cheek. Unlike her brother she kept her natural curls framing her head, and she was tall enough to have a good few inches on them as she was two years older, while Alphard barely reached Tom's height when he wore heels. Cygnus trailed not far behind, having his shoulder length hair pulled back to the back of his neck with a black ribbon.

"Come Marzan, maybe you have better eyes than my stupid brothers"

Alphard let out a wounded gasp and Cygnus tried to slap her arm, but she had already dragged a laughing Tom behind her to get to the back of the store where the changing rooms stood. As he came to discover, she was indecisive over two beautiful robes; the first was in silver that complimented her eyes and had a loose silhouette with sleeves of translucent white, rather classical but still radiant. The second choice on the other hand emphasised her natural curves and even showed slight cleavage, that while not too scandalous from his perspective, was truly daring for their time. Additionally, it had no sleeves which was again, rather unseen for the wizarding world of 1941… however it was made of a truly beautiful black fabric scattered with crystals that seemed like a starry night.

"I think father would have an aneurysm if he saw you wearing that" Cygnus commented rather bluntly.

"I know, but I'm not a little girl anymore" she rolled her eyes, looking at herself in the mirror. "I'll be an adult in just one more year, and I assure you nobody else is going to wear anything like this"

"If the heiress of the Black family is to wear it, I rather believe it would set a new trend" Tom offered his opinion.

That seemed to completely open the eyes of all three siblings— it certainly hadn't crossed their minds that, being of such an influential family, everything they did was seen as sophisticated so long as it wasn't too outrageous. Walburga's choice of robe could be daring, but it was still very elegant and showcased the wealth of her family in a tasteful way. There was no girl in Hogwarts who wouldn't immediately try to imitate it in hopes of making themselves seem classy.

"You're right! See, why can't you both be as smart as Marzan?"

Well, it seemed she was set on her choice now. Tom had imagined Alphard would ask his opinion as well, but instead he snuck off with his sister and he and Cygnus shrugged to each other before they started their own browse through the catalog. As the clerk eventually joined them and recommended some choices he thought would suit each young man, time slowly passed by. Fortunately Marzan wasn't quite as picky and he already knew exactly what suited him best, his formal robe was purchased after a short fitting and some arrangements made.

Half an hour later they all walked out of the store together and he accompanied them to the last bits of shopping and a nice lunch at the end. Normally he wouldn't feel quite ashamed of accepting their invite to the Black Manor for tea, but he knew their professors would grow worried of his absence as he had left early in the morning, and he had to decline when they offered.

"You have to tell me everything when we meet on the train" Alphard said firmly, and he laughed softly.

"I will, of course. Send my regards to Lord and Lady Black"

"Stop calling them that! They are already nagging me and Cygnus to better our manners" but his pout soon dissolved and he leaned to kiss Tom's cheek. "Don't get into trouble"

"I never get in trouble!"

Alphard rolled his eyes fondly and followed his siblings into the chimney.

After that he returned to the fortress, left all his shopping in his room to later be organised within his trunk, and refreshed himself before dinner. Rai was quite sleepy and the poor thing had been suffering from the cold despite the warming charms so he left him in his enclosure before he made his way to the dining room. The halls of the palace were cold stone and old hand woven rugs illuminated dimly by torches along the wall, no windows to be seen— while no elder vampire had anything to fear from the sun, they were naturally nocturnal and would rather avoid it if they could, and as such there were very few windows in the entire fortress, mostly for decorative purposes and all facing the inner courtyards. Marzan's room was one of the few that was grazed with a wide window from floor to ceiling and even a balcony in which he could lean to observe the eastern courtyard, which thrived in greenery and harmless winged fae tending to flowers otherwise seen only in the rarest of places.

The table was already set when two servants opened the door for him, and both professors already sat waiting although without starting their meal. Iraia's long hair wasn't in his usual updo but instead braided over his soulder in the simple style he wore at home, dressed in soft blue. In contrast with his ethereal and gentle appearance, Elerhys Dracul was most definitely what anybody would think upon hearing 'vampire'; his ink black hair was brushed away from his face just by his hands, giving it an elegant carelessness to it, and it contrasted well with his light tan and deep red wine eyes. The angles of his face were sharp and his nose twisted over the bridge, and he always wore red or black as they were his favourite colours.

"I apologise for the tardiness" Marzan apologised as he sat down at Dracul's left, opposite to Staghart. "I ran into Alphard and his siblings as I finished my shopping"

"I'm glad to hear" Staghart worry disappeared from his brow and he instead offered a kind smile. "You must be exited to see your friends again… it will be a busy year"

He nodded and at that moment the servants started to carry in the dinner, placing the first course in front of them.

"I trust you found everything you needed?" Dracul asked, for his surprise.

"I did, luckily I arrived before the stores filled in for the day. The list is surprisingly long given I doubt we'll have much time to go through all the material"

Dracul smiled in something that was a little closer to a snarl, but by now he knew to be amusement… he simply liked to do it in a way his sharp canines could be seen.

"Dippet insisted we prepare as always. Why? Thinking of throwing your name in?"

The Triwizard Tournament was a poorly disguised deathtrap for all those who were foolish enough to try and participate, and all throughout the magical world there were plenty of people actively trying to cancel it altogether, as it was almost expected that at least one champion would die and in more than just a few instances, all three perished without winner. Permanent injury was also not unheard of, and the tasks were designed to be almost to the level of a grown adult while the participants ranged from fourteen to seventeem years. Tom -or Marzan, rather- had a reputation of being a mild tempered child with no tendency for trouble, but he had missed trouble and he was more than qualified for the tournament itself… plus, it would help boost his reputation and make connections that could be valuable later.

"Maybe" he replied honestly, sinking his teeth in the freshly baked bread.

Neither him nor Staghart were particularly put off by the pungent smell of raw meat and fresh blood that Dracul consumed, so he knew that when the Chinese professor's expression twisted, it was due to his nonchalant remark.

"The tournament is very dangerous… you're the most brilliant student Hogwarts has seen in a long time, but you're not invincible"

For a moment, Tom actually felt like a fraud, knowing that these men had been kind and good to him, and all he'd ever done was lie. But even if he were to tell them -or anybody for that matter- they would never believe him, and he was quite sure Death would not like it.

"… I promise I will think about it very carefully" he settled on answering.

He didn't know why… but he didn't want to disappoint or hurt them. Death was right all those times it had reminded him, he had become soft. Was that bad? Was it good? Tom honestly could not tell. In his first life he had been fuelled by anger and thirst for power; he had never had anything of any real worth, surrounded by followers that greatly feared him, but didn't truly believe in him and would abandon him at the first sign of trouble to save their own hides. He had been beaten and abused for so long he had turned into an exact reflection of his childhood towards the rest of the world, burning away all his chances of finding companionship and a family. He had become so far detached from human emotions that he could barely tell them apart from each other, only knowing what they were from observation, and had spiralled so far down he had convinced himself he was completely incapable of feeling them, that he had been born broken. But now… well, now that belief was proving to be false as he had started to feel joy, belonging, shame— guilt. Perhaps he had always been capable of them, but he never had the capacity to realise they were there.

Something strange settled over his heart for the rest of that dinner, and he was quiet as the servants served each course and then cleared up the table, and didn't truly think much of anything until both professors walked with him back to his bedroom and wished him a good night. By then the curious weight had spread over his ribcage and his eyes tingled with the signs of something that had never happened to him before—

Marzan reached to touch his cheek and then looked down at his fingertips, wet with a salty watery substance.

Death was silent this time, standing next to his bed, staring at him as his chest stuttered with the weight of sobs he couldn't let out because he did not know how, and as he raised his head to look at it.

"… I think this is what I wish I could've had for a family" he whispered in between hiccups.

This time there was no mockery, but Death stayed silently in the room until he had cried all his tears into his pillow and his body gave away to exhaustion.

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Marzan decided to not think about that night unless he absolutely had to, and so he felt fine by the time September first arrived and he found himself moving through the wagons towards the back of the train where the Slytherin students normally gathered. He expected to find the Black brood first, but instead a door opened quickly and Abraxas tugged him into a compartment. And as always, he was completely ignored as the blond essentially plucked Rai from his shoulders to pamper and spoil the yellow viper.

"I see you only keep me around for translation purposes" he commented in amusement.

"Oh don't be so dramatic" Abraxas laughed, and finally looked at him properly "You're still one of my favourite people"

"More favourite than Rai, I hope"

"Don't test your luck"

Tom chuckled and sat down next to him.

Abraxas had not changed much in the past few years, or at least it did not look that way to his eyes because he had always carried himself with the same grace and elegance. His golden hair still curled just above his shoulders, carefully brushed to perfection, and his eyes were still as green as they'd always been, but slowly his face was losing the softness of childhood. He was still as tall as Marzan was, though he would grow to be slightly taller, and his voice was already changing as well, without the embarrassing breaks other teenagers suffered from. Many students already rumoured between themselves about the Malfoy heir having a veela's blood in his veins given the effortless charm he carried, but Marzan knew that it was instead blood of high elves, long gone now except by the few traces in that pureblood line.

"Have you seen the others during the summer? After my birthday, of course"

"I did run into Alphard, Walburga and Cygnus during my yearly shopping… I don't believe they should take much longer to arrive. I don't think I have heard of Tiernan since Firenze however, he does have that awful habit of never answering his letters"

Abraxas glanced out the window and then to the window of the compartment before pulling the blinds shut and leaning closer.

"My father had a private party with some of his close friends just a couple weeks ago— The Carrows were there, the eldest brother says Tiernan and Lauretta have been awfully close this past summer" he explained with an amused glint in his eye.

Lauretta Carrow? That didn't sound familiar at all— then again, Tom had already thrown the timeline into complete disarray, he couldn't expect every detail to be precise.

"Is that all the gossip you have?" he asked half sarcastically, unable to contain a smile.

Abraxas pinched his arm.

"There are plenty of things happening around you, you simply don't notice it, you bookworm. Like Eileen Prince—"

The door opened the Blacks finally arrived, Orion and Cygnus walking in first, followed by Alphard and the eldest girls, Walburga and Lucretia.

"What about Eileen Prince?" Orion asked in confusion.

"There are rumours she's been sneaking out to see a muggle boy" Walburga explained dismissively "it's old news by now"

"She's going to forget about him soon" Lucretia rolled her eyes "just you wait"

Ah, such a pity…. no, Eileen Prince would not forget about it. In fact, she would go on to marry Tobias Snape just after graduation, becoming a housewife and wasting all of her potential as a witch, just to be beaten and abused by a possessive and temperamental man. And later, their son would be one of the most miserable and pathetic men Marzan had ever met. So far he hadn't paid much attention to her, but she was in his same year and she was both quiet and withdrawn, seldom ever talking to any of her classmates and preferring to stick to her tiny bubble.

"Even if she does not, the Prince family might not disown her, she's the only daughter Darius Prince has" Cygnus pointed out, taking the seat next to Tom and earning a kick in the shin from Alphard, although bravely enough he didn't move for his brother.

"She has a cousin though, right?" Tom commented distractedly, having pulled out a book from his pocket already— it was borrowed from the Dracul library, just absolutely fascinating. "Alastair, was it?"

"Hmm, then she might not be as safe as she believes she is"

Alastair Prince was the other last descendant of the Prince house, and he had been raised in USA, if he was not mistaken. In their future Darius Prince would die having disowned his daughter and the british magical world assumed the Prince line to be over, but it might've simply continued on at the other side of the world, they would never know.

"I don't care about Eileen Prince" Alphard elbowed his brother and leaned over to stare at Tom "you promised to explain what happened!"

Everyone's eyes turned to him.

"Something happened?" Abraxas inquired.

He sighed and closed his book.

"Professor Staghart visited over the summer, and he was worried when he saw bruises on my arm -no, I was never hit, I promise-. Morfin got into a rather nasty fight with both him and professor Dracul, and at the end they offered me to stay with them until the end of the summer, which I did"

"That's good" Lucretia nodded in approval.

Still, all of them looked… strange. It was Abraxas who spoke first, placing a hand on his arm.

"Marzan, I know you don't care about your family life—"

"I don't" he agreed.

"Yes, that, but... Your uncle doesn't care about you, and you don't care, but you should"

Ah.

This was an intervention he hadn't expected to happen… it made sense, unfortunately. Over the past couple years they had only met his uncle once or twice in short interactions, but from those anybody could gather that Morfin despised him with all his might, and that they maintained a healthy distance to not drive each other mad. Even when they spoke only parselmouth as to make their spats less obvious, they could tell by the tone of their voice that they were never particularly cordial. Morfin could be rightfully scared to actually act on any of his violent impulses towards his nephew, but he hadn't stopped being a whiny bastard.

"He's awful" Walburga added, and her words also added another layer of surprise as the outrage was clear in her voice "He does not work or has ever remotely tried to better the reputation of your family name! Even worse, he lives off of the money given to you"

"You should tell the Ministry, I'm sure you must have other relatives somewhere" Abraxas added quietly.

Tom did not have any other relatives. The Gaunt family was an inbred mess for generations before him and the other lines they had ever mixed with had died out. He was alone, except for his muggle father and his family, and he was pretending to now know who he was— he was at least a bit sure that his friends knew or suspected he was a halfblood, but they did not care, at least not this time. He couldn't help but think back to his first childhood, and how he had been ridiculed for his dirty blood, and how nobody had cared about the abuse or the fact he was in an orphanage.

"I'll be fine" he tried to placate them "I'm about to turn fifteen, in just a couple years I won't have to go back there"

"Maybe if you try finding your father? What if he does want you?" Alphard asked.

"I don't…"

"We worry about you" Lucretia interrupted firmly "we aren't asking to bother you. You can take care of yourself but sometimes it is alright to rely on family, and you can't do that with your uncle"

He shook his head and Abraxas squeezed his arm a little bit more.

"We can help you get answers, on either path, please"

"Maybe some of our parents might have a clue" Cygnus talked from his right side.

It became a blur as they threw in ideas and he completely disconnected, seeing their mouths move while all he could do was stare, and feel a crushing weight over him that had become increasingly present in his life since he was reborn. Guilt… guilt ate him from the inside out like a relentless pest that would not go away even if he kept quiet and let them speak without agreeing or disagreeing. He couldn't— how could he even declare he was better than what he used to be, that he was better than Voldemort or Dumbledore, when he couldn't tell the truth in account of perhaps losing the only friends he had ever had?

"My father is a muggle"

Silence. He kept his eyes fixed on the floor of the compartment, swallowing the knot on his throat.

"His name is Tom Riddle. He lives in the same town Morfin and I do… I have never seen him in person, but I'm almost his spitting image. People stare all the time, but I believe they have never let the rumours reach the Riddles, because they fear their wealth"

Still silence, but he couldn't stop now. He had to… he had to be honest for once.

"My mother was infatuated with him when she was young, but everyone knew that the Gaunts were strange, and she was so ugly she could never catch his attention even if she were to try and approach him. My grandfather would've beat her if she tried, so she— she used the only magic she knew to make it happen." he took a breath, surprised his voice was so steady as he recounted the story he had actually never spoken out loud before. "To everybody in Little Hangleton, they ran away together… but after she got pregnant she was naive enough to believe she didn't need the Amortentia anymore, that he had truly fallen in love with her— she was wrong, obviously. She fled to the muggle world then, to escape the shame of being pregnant and unmarried"

He closed his eyes for a moment, the weight lessening slightly, and then opened them again while still not facing any of them.

"I've never met her, not once. She arrived in an orphanage in the middle of winter and died in childbirth. There was a fire when I was eleven and I took the chance to run, and never looked back" he looked at the book in his lap, tracing the engravings in the leather. "It was never his fault -my father's, I mean-, he didn't have a choice, so I decided to stay away and let him have a normal life…… I'm sorry. I lied and deceived all of you"

There. After that long confession he truly did not know what to do, what to say to try and convey how sorry he was, or if there was even a point in it. He could not lift his eyes to see his friends -or ex friends, if it went that badly-, not even to try and read the glances they were surely exchanging in between them, judging, deciding if he truly was worthy to sit between them. Tom might not be too sure on his views about blood purity anymore, but he was not naive enough to believe he was exempt from prejudice and disdain if his heritage was revealed. Not even being heir of Slytherin might be enough to wash away the taint.

He was pulled to the side and he dropped his book, eyes wide as all he could see at the moment was golden strands and he found himself enveloped in warmth and the subtle hint of perfume of Abraxas' robes. This— he was… hugging him?

"I'm sorry, Marzan. We shouldn't have pushed"

An apology? He was most certainly not owed any apologies, much less from them! And Abraxas Malfoy, the princeling to the entirety of Slytherin, of all people— Except perhaps it wasn't so strange… It had been like this even back then, hadn't it? There had been some that didn't care for his half blood, and Abraxas had always been the first. They could have been called friends even… Voldemort had trusted him beyond what he had ever trusted anyone before or after, and in turn Malfoy offered him everything, even going as far as to grooming his son to continue his legacy of service to the Dark Lord. Abraxas had always hated conflict, he had never been interested in politics or war, but he had stood by his side through the years until the very end… The why still escaped Tom entirely, he had never figured out the reason for his devoted loyalty, and now as he laid in his arms he thought that it was still as much of a mystery now.

As they pulled back from the surprising show of affection, Lucretia leaned over the empty space of the compartment to hold his hands, yet another baffling decision.

"I admit this is very shocking, but— you are still our Marzan, regardless of your parentage. Bright and clever—"

"Unfairly good at everything" Cygnus piped in with a tiny huff.

"Annoyingly always right" Orion added with an eyeroll.

"A good and supportive friend" Alphard finished gently.

Walburga was still frowning when she scooted closer to them.

"It is not your fault. What your mother did is a horrible crime, even our parents would see that as absolutely unforgivable!"

Marzan blinked.

"It… is?"

Abraxas nodded at his side. There was a glint in his eyes that he had never seen too often, true anger.

"Amortentia is not illegal in Great Britain, but it is banned in nearly every other magical community under the sun. Love potions are little more than tools to control the victim, their use is highly penalised"

"I didn't know that" he admitted. When he first found the truth about his conception he had been too busy going down a path of madness to even stop and consider what it meant.

"You are incredibly lucky your mother wasn't the one under its influence" Lucretia said gravely "There are so many rumours about what it can do to children of such unions… we should take you to Madam Magnolis as soon as we arrive"

What? He—

"I'm alright" he tried to protest.

"We don't know that yet!"

"But I…."

"It should be quick, and it has to be done"

"But the welcoming feast—"

"This is more important!"

Oh Merlin, what had he gotten himself into.

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Despite his protests and insistence he was definitely perfectly healthy, the entire group firmly escorted him to the castle as soon as the train arrived at Hogsmeade, being joined by Tiernan and Lauretta Carrow on the way. The younger Lestrange heir was as outraged to hear the story, something Marzan had not yet processed completely, and even Lauretta followed them with a slight crinkle of worry in her brow. It was such a ridiculous scenario that he didn't even have the slightest idea of how to react, but— fine, yes, a part of him was deeply relieved and pleased that he still meant something to his friends.

What he did not expect, was for the nurse to take it just as seriously as his friends had, and for the entire feast to be postponed. This time however, he could not bring himself to protest too much as he was soon surrounded by his worried Head of house, the potions professor, the other three Heads of houses, and the headmaster. It was so many people crammed in the infirmary, the room even seemed small!

"Mr. Gaunt, you simply do not understand the grave implications of what you told your friends" the nurse finally explained after she made him sit down in a cot. Madam Iona Magnolis was deep into her fifties and she had worked in Hogwarts for nearly three decades, first as an apprentice to her predecessor and now as the sole nurse in charge of the hospital wing. She took her job very seriously, fiercely looking after every student inside the castle. "Amortentia has been proven to have incredibly damaging effects to children born under its influence… while your mother was not the one being drugged, it is still very possible the poison was passed onto you by your father. It's consequences could range anywhere from developmental disabilities to instability in your magical core and the propensity to become dependant on similar substances"

… Ah. Marzan couldn't say he had ever suffered from any of those, but it was definitely not to be taken lightly.

"I thought… I was once told that I was unable to feel love, but that's all I knew about it" he confessed as he squirmed slightly under so many eyes staring.

Madam Magnolis frowned deeply.

"I assure you, that is definitely not possible. Your ability to feel emotions is wholly unconnected to any side effects of Amortentia, and whoever said that statement was misled"

That was… it made sense. He felt heat rising to his cheeks and he lowered his head, ashamed that he had ever believed it to be true. But then again, he had also believed the same man when he had proclaimed him to be destined for evil, being tender eleven years old, only because of the blood flowing through his veins and the old tales of legend that his ancestor left behind, tales that did not have much truth to them.

"Mr. Gaunt" her voice became softer "Would you allow a physical and magical exam? Neither the Ministry or your tutor bothered to do it, but as long as you are a student in this castle you are under our care"

He visibly hesitated, mostly thinking about the obscurial rather than anything else he had to hide, and almost jumped when he felt his hand being grabbed. Professor Staghart had sat on the border of his cot, looking at him with worry, visible even despite his entirely white eyes.

"If you wish, we can leave the room, but this shouldn't be delayed any longer"

Tom was not convinced, but he as of late was not quite capable of denying his professor.

"… Alright. I don't mind"

Professor Salman and Beery gently herded the group of Slytherins to wait with them outside of the infirmary and professor Staghart stayed holding his hand as Madam Magnolis started performing the physical exam that he was by now well acquainted with. The headmaster remained stoically silent although highly observant, and professor Dracul retreated to the nurse's office to prepare the potions needed for the magical exam. Admittedly nervous as he was, he still obediently drank the potions and them sat still as the nurse continued with her testing.

It was nearly an entire hour before she was done, although she dedicated another fifteen to read through the manuscript magically written by her quill, moments in which his two favourite professors stayed by his side. She was frowning by the time she was done, but Tom could not imagine she had found about the obscurial yet, or she might've reacted with much more worry.

"There is a small crack on your magical core, mr. Gaunt, however I am pleased to see that it is a minor issue that's not likely to worsen, as long as we treat it now" Actually, that might be the only sign of the obscurial, but he was not about to protest when it might help with that as well. "We will get back to that in a minute, but; I also see that there was past malnutrition and many healed breaks in multiple bones over the years"

Professor Dracul tightened his hold on Tom's shoulder and he nodded passively.

"I grew up in a small orphanage, there wasn't an abundance of food" he explained. "I admit I was targeted often by the other children, but any injury I sustained was suitably treated to the best of the caretakers' abilities"

Madam Magnolia nodded.

"That's what I feared. How early did your magic manifested?"

Tom tried his best to recall, but it had been a long time ago. It couldn't have been any later than four years old, but there was a foggy memory in his mind that might set a vague timeline.

"I know I was able to move and summon my stuffed toys since at least the age of two and a half, but it must've come in before"

She gaped and even the headmaster looked startled.

"Most children start showing signs as early as four" Dippet said after clearing his throat "but accidental magic is unpredictable and capricious, it isn't steady or usable at all except for a few extraordinary children. In all my years of teaching, I had never heard of such an early display of controlled magic"

"Is it something to worry about?" professor Staghart asked.

Madam Magnolis sighed.

"It is very possible the crack on his magical core contributed -and still does contribute- to his high level of magic, and it is hard to say if his performance will be stunted by closing the wound. I would not expect mr. Gaunt to be set back considerably however, and it is in his best interest to have it fixed. Moreover, although he is in a healthy weight now, he is still anemic and showing deficiencies for certain vitamins. I will recommend he starts taking nutritional potions and supplements, and we shall set monthly checkups to monitor his progress"

Well, at least it was over, for now.

"The Ministry will be involved again, right?" he asked.

As if it hadn't been tiring enough to go through the motions the first time.

"Indeed they will, mr. Gaunt. Your uncle did know about the full picture," and to that he could not even said no since it was true, "he did not live up to his responsibilities as your guardian by withholding such vital information that could've had much more severe repercussions in your development. How that will develop in the future is for the Child Protection Department to handle… in the meantime, be assured that you will be safe in the castle's grounds"

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That night he ate in the infirmary and after his first dose of nutritional potions and the treatment prescribed by Madam Magnolis, professors Staghart and Dracul escorted him and his friends back to the dungeons. The sorting had apparently been done while they were absent, but any other introductions and welcomes had been left for the next morning. By the time they made it to their common room it seemed like most people had already heard the news of his 'little' predicament, and he was extremely surprised once again to note that nobody actually cared about his halfblood status, as their outrage was safely redirected to Merope Gaunt for the "barbaric" actions that led to his conception. And if anyone had anything negative to say -which some seemed like they did-, they were immediately warded off by the firm hands of Lucretia and Walburga. The eldest Black heiresses had always treated Marzan like their little doll, pleased with his excellent manners and quick wit, and now they seemed set on keeping him under their wing… and nobody was quite stupid enough to antagonise the sixth year witches. As for the rest of the younger students, it did not take more than one terrifying glare from the blond Malfoy heir to shut down their mouths before they even opened them.

And just like that, Marzan had been demoted to a filthy halfblood, and then immediately promoted to completely untouchable within a single afternoon.

That night in their dormitory he could say he slept well and comfortable, and the next morning even Tiernan woke early to make the trip to the Great Hall together instead of the usual arrangement of Marzan and Abraxas leaving much earlier than the others.

While the entirety of Slytherin was already at least vaguely familiar with the events of the previous day, the snakes had always protected his own and not a single member of the other houses had the vaguest inkling of anything being different, which he could appreciate. Breakfast was normal, a routine he was familiar with except with the addition of his medication, and then reviewing his schedule; the past year he had chosen as many classes as he could feasibly cramp into his schedule and he had repeated the same choice again, not having a single minute to spare beyond the obligatory breaks spaced out evenly throughout the day. The only class he had ignored was muggle studies, in account of being something he was already familiar with.

"You should have at least an hour or two free each week" Alphard frowned in disapproval, staring at the parchment.

"I have free time, just after class" he pointed out smoothly. "It will not be too different from last year"

He had proven to both classmates and staff that he was capable of bearing the load, but it did not make Alphard any less worried. Orion and Tiernan had basically given up in trying to dissuade him, and Abraxas had never tried knowing he was stubborn to no end when he wanted to be.

If the debate was to be started all over, they promptly forgot about it as headmaster Dippet stepped forwards and caught their attention with a few red sparks, placing a sonorum spell to make himself heard.

"Good morning and welcome, esteemed students, to another year and another adventure. I deeply apologise for the delay on yesterday's dinner, and warmly give our congratulations to the newly sorted first years, a new generation of bright witches and wizards. An applause for them, please." The entire hall applauded with certain enthusiasm for the youngest students and Dippet smiled, clapping as well before he resumed his speech. "However… I am sure you have all been awaiting for this announcement since before you arrived at the castle yesterday… it is indeed my pleasure to announce that this year, Hogwarts will be the host for the famous Triwizard Tournament"

Excited talk rose between the students and some even cheered, although Tom tried to not wince as he knew for a fact that it might be the last tournament for another seventy years, its failure only being outdone by the next one in 1994.

"As the older students may know, every five years, the most prestigious schools of the magical world have a chance to host the Triwizard Tournament, a show of skill and knowledge that will mark a young champion with glory. With Hogwarts being chosen to host, one of our brilliant students will have the opportunity to participate as champion to represent our school in the Tournament, and at the end of October we will be joined by the two schools chosen to participate; Ilvermorny and Koldovstoretz! Due to the presence of guests in the castle, I shall ask that you keep an exemplary behaviour and welcome them with open arms." Dippet's voice then turned considerably more serious as he observed the student population. "With that said, I will be extremely clear and honest when I warn you that this is not a game; the Tournament tasks will test you to your absolute limits, demanding you perform some of the most advanced magic you know to continue. You might triumph and win, or you might lose your life. Do not make the decision to join lightly"

The students were evidently spooked but still excited for the reminder of breakfast, and Marzan could already see many of the Gryffindors making plans, as it was expected. In their corner of the Slytherin table Alphard shuddered visibly.

"I can't imagine willingly joining… mother told me that when she was a student, the champion of Dursmtrang died in a horrible accident"

"Don't you dare think of trying" Lauretta glared at Tiernan, and to his credit he did not look as if he would.

"I won't! I'm not that good at spellwork and I prefer quidditch anyway" he looked at Abraxas and Marzan "what about you two?"

"I don't see the point" the blond answered smoothly, as always remaining serene and non tempted by the idea of power or glory.

"Perhaps I will" he replied, for the surprise of the rest of the group— Marzan was brilliant, top of their year, but he was a bookworm and he was known to avoid doing anything remotely related to physical work despite all the times he'd been begged to join the quidditch team. "I am still considering all the possible disadvantages"

He truly did not mind the possible danger, knowing it would be child's play to such an advanced wizard as himself, but the unforseen circumstances of the past day had to be considered now; the professors and his friends would be in high alert around him no doubt, and although that was certainly a little setback to his independence, it might serve some purpose at the end… Stuck up as they were, his friends' parents would no doubt feel a bit more inclined to take pity on the poor unfortunate orphan for their children's sake. If he chose to put in his name, it might be simply for the sake of having his name be known.

"Well" Orion interrupted before Alphard could protest "Whatever you choose to do it's probably going to be the most sensible choice."

Once breakfast was over, Tom and Abraxas walked alone to their first class of the day, Ancient Runes, which they shared with all three other third years since it was quite a small group… altough in their first year they had started with an already spotchy amount of students, many muggleborns had never returned for the past years and the size of the student body had greately reduced. Slytherin and Hufflepuff remained with the most amount of students, Ravenclaw was smaller but still somewhat normal, and Gryffindor was essentially decimated. This was of course due to the war, however wizards seemed to be very convinced it was Grindelwald's war and not the literal world war happening right under their noses— Tom figured that, unfortunately, many of those missing students hadn't returned because their families had been struck by loss, they had lost their lives during summer break, or they had enlisted in the case of the seventh years.

Professor Babbling was already waiting for them in the classroom, and she personally greeted every single one of them, pointing to their seats as unlike other professors she preferred to arrange the seating to ensure the highest level of productivity and minimise distractions. Abraxas was sat next to Meredith Keenhaven, a Hufflepuff girl that was immediately flustered to be near the part-elf heir, while Tom was set next to none other than Charlus Potter. Luckily, this was the least annoying twin and he was grateful for not having to deal with Fleamont.

Marzan could not say he had any enemies, at least not beyond Dumbledore, as he was a model student that had never been as much as scolded by any professor, but it was also no secret that there was tension between him and the Gryffindors of his year. Initally everything had been mostly uneventful, at least for a while; before winter break in third year when the little gang had gotten into a pranking mood, he had completely sold them out to professor Merrythought, causing them to be put in detention for the rest of the month leading up to the holidays, and since then a one sided war was declared. Marzan would've sold out anybody, it wasn't anything personal, but it did not seem like they understood.

Fleamont Potter, Septimus Weasley, Hugh McLaggen and Alan Mallory were little more than brutes to his eyes, the exact type of jock bullies that were favoured by Dumbledore and who he would shape to be his little puppets, which he indeed had been doing. Since Marzan cut off his ability to freely access students and encourage rivalries one would think he would give up, but the man was like a cockroach that refused to die down or give up. Unfortunately for him, he truly did not care for their attempts at getting a rise out of him, and they weren't nearly clever enough to find a way to ridicule him as they wanted to do. By contrast, Charlus Potter was more subdued and preferred to keep to his own friends without conflict, keeping a cordial relationship with Tom.

Now that he had this new perspective over his other classmates he was starting to realise the Potter brat had been such a breeze of fresh air in comparison to his ancestor…

The professor at the front started giving a summary of what topics they would be discussing that year and he started taking notes diligently, only getting distracted when he caught the shapeless darkness swirling in the back of the classroom where nobody else could see it.

You're running out of time, little beast. You made the wrong choice when you let yourself be healed.

He tried to keep his face neutral as he analysed the words, trying to find the fault. Was it the crack in his magical core…? It was the obscurial, wasn't it? If left untreated it would eventually consume him, there was absolutely zero record of any child ever surviving it.

But you're not truly alive, aren't you?

Tom paused. He had died in the future, but Death had mentioned something similar before. He— He likely died in the orphanage for whatever reason, and once his eleven year old body was empty Death had put the soul of his future self inside. The spark of his adult magic entering his younger body had set off the fire and caused the obscurial to form, so what did that have to do with anything?… He wasn't truly alive… The obscurial was. An obscurial was hard to define as they were technically still the same person, and at the same time classified as an entirely different being— could it be that it was the only thing keeping him tethered to the living world?

Hmm, you're not so stupid after all. What will you do now that your timer has started ticking?

Marzan was not the type to curse, but— Merlin's fucking balls, he needed to find a solution to that now.

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* Characters have been added for more interactions and deepen the world building. Do I have a reason to make one of the professors a vampire, other than the fact I find it very cool? No, but I am the boss.

* Is it canon compliant that all these pureblood children wouldn't mind Tom's halfblood status? No, but unlike Rowling I am determined to make them more than one dimensional characters, and regardless of upbringing they are still children who are naturally going to be more understanding than adults.

*I refuse to abide by the ridiculous notion that Amortentia would make it impossible for a child born of it to love. I am however, still going to include the above side effects because it IS a drug and it makes sense it would affect the baby.

*The Triwizard Tournament happens canonically only between Beauxbatons, Durmstrang and Hogwarts, but I chose to make it between all 11 major schools instead. Make it more fun. It is also canonically not celebrated since i think the 1700? Again, chose to ignore that bit entirely. As for the Tournament's age limit, it is alluded in canon that the age limit was imposed by Dumbledore in the 1994 edition, and I will take this as to mean before there might've not been one, or it would've been more lax.

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Well, here is the newest installment! I hope you have enjoyed it at least a bit, because I have deeply enjoyed writing it out. This time I didn't even realise it had gotten so long until the end, I was convinced it was shorter than the previous chapters.

The plot has once again started to thicken, and while we haven't seen a hair of Dumbledore this time around, we are entering a rather interesting arc!

I believe I made a side note last chapter about some of the magic schools, but as a further little tid-bit of worldbuilding I likely cannot work into the fic, I choose to believe every magical community has at the very least one magical school (or like the in-fic-lore Chinese Empire, which has an entirely different system). The 11 major schools would simply be the top rated amongst all— the most prestigious, if you will.

(I also like to think Ireland and Scotland have their own schools rather than grouping them all with England).

But oh well, enough of my rambling. Reviews much appreciated, but regardless I will try and post soon :)