A/N- sorry it's late. Was really busy yesterday and totally forgot. Hope you enjoy!
Chapter One
It had once been a grand house, you could tell that from it's many windows and the few rare roses that still managed, somehow, to bloom in the overgrown and neglected garden.
They still called it the Riddle house, the villagers of Little Hangleton. There hadn't been a Riddle living there in years of course. They'd all been murdered.
That was one of the reasons the villagers stayed away. The other was Frank, the grounds keeper who was as old and crumbling as the house he tended to.
No one knew what had happened to the Riddles, just that one morning the maid had gone in to find them all dead. Frank had, of course, been arrested and questioned but there was no evidence and he claimed to know nothing about it. So he was cleared and went back to the house and had ever since still kept the grounds as well as he could.
The Riddle's hadn't exactly been liked. They were arrogant and full of themselves; looking down at everyone in the village with disdain. No one mourned their passings and no one had really thought twice about them since, apart from something to gossip about.
Frank woke with a start, he had shooting pains down his leg and had been struggling to sleep through the night. It had always been bad, and had only gotten worse with age. He moved slowly into his small kitchen and put the kettle on to fill his hot water bottle.
He could see a light flickering in the Riddle house. Frank huffed loudly and muttered under his breath. It would be kids, causing trouble again.
They broke in every so often and would trash the place, break windows and paint on the walls. Now Frank mostly just ignored it and cleaned up the mess in the morning but from the look of things they'd started a fire this time.
Frank turned the kettle off, grabbing his walking stick and the key he had for the house and started walking towards the house. The door was open, but the lock didn't seem broken.
Something in the back of Frank's mind told him not to make a noise as he crept, as quietly as he could, up the stairs.
He reached what was once the master bedroom and peered in the door. A large, roaring fire was burning in the hearth and a large armchair had been dragged to face it, it's back to the door.
Frank saw an impeccably dressed woman, with long, dark hair was sitting on the floor; staring lovingly at whoever was sitting in the chair.
He knew he should get help, but he didn't own a phone and had a deep mistrust of the police. So he listened and watched, trying to think of what to do.
"There is a little left My Lord, if you are still hungry." The woman said, holding what looked like a glass baby bottle.
"Later." A frail and raspy male voice said.
The woman nodded.
"Move me closer to the fire." The raspy voice instructed her.
The woman was on her feet in a second and moving the chair, carefully. The movement allowed Frank a brief look at who was sitting in the chair. He was small, like a toddler and bald; draped in a black cloak.
"Where is Nagini?" he asked.
"I'm not sure My Lord. I believe she is exploring the house." The woman said.
"Hmm, you will milk her before we retire, I will need feeding again during the night." the man said.
The woman nodded eagerly, "Of course My Lord."
There was a brief period of silence as the woman looked around at the damp and decaying walls.
"My Lord, how long are you wishing to stay here?" she asked, hesitantly.
"A week, maybe more. This place is reasonably comfortable and it would be foolish to move before the Quidditch world cup has finished." the man said.
Frank frowned, he was hearing things; Quidditch wasn't even a word. He needed to clean his ears out.
The woman stood, humbly before him, "My Lord, you could move to my house. It is far better than this, you would get better sooner."
"NO!" The man hissed, "I will not go to that place yet, things must be done."
The woman moved her hand to her stomach, just for a second, before nodding, "Of course My Lord, you are, as always, correct."
"You are my most devoted servant…" the man sighed.
"I always tried My Lord. As soon as I knew that you were still… I came straight away." She said, there was almost a look of love in her eyes.
"I know." The man said, wearily.
They returned to silence, Frank stood unsure of what to do and mostly wishing he had just been happy to let the old ruin burn and was now tucked up in his bed with his hot water bottle soothing his leg.
"Are..." The woman spoke again, nervously this time, "Are you sure, My Lord, that we must use Harry Potter? We could use another for-"
"NO!" The man shouted across her, "You know why we must use the boy! He will die at my hand!"
The woman dropped quickly to her knees and put her hands on the arm of the chair, begging for forgiveness, "My Lord, I am so sorry. I know, I should not have questioned you!"
The man hissed something Frank couldn't hear and the woman moved away from the chair, still not getting up from her knees.
"I did not say it out of concern for the boy." the woman said, slightly tearfully, "I hate him for taking you from me, and his mudblood mother," she spat, "It's just… he is so well protected! Always surrounded by people…"
"Did you not manage to lure him away from those same people less than a month ago?" The man sneered.
The woman nodded, "Yes My Lord, but that was more a… a childish prank and with what will be happening at Hogwarts this year such… games, will not work again."
"Do not worry My Bella, I know you know me no harm." the man purred.
Bella? What a modern sounding name for such an elegant woman, Frank thought to himself.
"And after the world cup, I believe that we will have another, fear not. He, who has also served me, hidden all these years, he will return and get the boy to us." The man said. Bella nodded
Bella wiped her eyes, quickly with a handkerchief, as so that the man wouldn't see her.
"Do not cry Bella, you will be with me again soon enough." The man said.
"I hate the thought of her touching you My Lord. Filthy muggle hands." Bella spat.
"I must be fed every few hours Bella, you know that." The man told her, a warning edge to his voice.
Bella nodded, "You look a little stronger though."
The man let out a cruel cold laugh, "Ha! No I don't. Never lie to me. In this form there is no better for me! That, THAT, is why I must do this perfectly! I've waited nearly thirteen years, a few more months will make no difference now."
"I have no want to lose you." Bella said, "I could stay, be with you."
"No, you have other duties. Just follow the plan and everything will work out before long and I will be reliant on no one. I'll even give you the little thing. You can play with her and then kill her just like we did with Bertha Jorkins."
Bella's face lit up with a cruel smile, "Promise My Lord?"
Frank felt his stomach turn at the way she said it. Whoever these people are they were clearly insane. They were openly talking about killing someone and planning on killing again, at least two more. Frank could feel the hand, tightly gripping his walking stick, was wet with sweat.
This boy, Harry Potter was in danger and another girl. Frank knew what he had to do, if there was ever a time to call the police it was now but he wanted to wait, a few more minutes, to find out who this girl was if he could.
"Come out of the shadows child!" the man ordered.
Frank froze, was he talking to him? He wasn't, Frank could now see a small amount of movement in the shadows, in the corner of the room where Bella was looking.
"Come!" The man ordered, flicking a short stick towards the corner. A shot of red light flew from the tip of the stick and a horrible cry of pain, from a young girl came.
Frank rubbed his eyes, a trick of the light, or tiredness, or possibly some fancy new weapon, that had to be it.
Slowly Frank watched a young woman crawl from the corner and move to stand next to the chair, her head bowed. She was wearing a filthy, ripped dress and was covered in dirt. Frank felt himself gasp; he knew her.
Well not knew, but her name was Lucy Smith, she was fifteen and lived in the village; she had been missing for a week or so now. It was believed she'd run away from home with her boyfriend, she'd even left a note.
"Give her the food Bella." The man said, calmly enough but there was an edge of a demand in there.
Bella gave a tense nod and thrust a grubby looking bag at the girl, nearly knocking her over. Lucy mumbled her thanks and clutched at the bag like it was life itself.
"Time to curse our friend." The man said.
Lucy looked terrified, "Please, I'll do anything you say! I promise!"
Bella moved so she was facing Lucy, blocking Franks view. There were a few whispers he couldn't hear before Bella moved back to her original place. Lucy was standing, still holding the bag of food but far more loosely and she had a glazed look in her eyes.
"I think I hear Nagini..." the man said.
Frank took a deep breath, he had to leave now and get help. There was a phone box in the village he could ring the police from, they could rescue Lucy and let this Harry Potter know he was in danger. Frank turned to leave but saw something that made him freeze, hardly daring to breath.
A huge snake was slithering towards him, through the dust and debris on the floor, and into the room. Frank pressed himself against the wall until it's tail and last shining diamond patterned scale had passed.
The man in the room started to make the strangest low hissing noises as the snake came closer and closer to him.
"Interesting, Nagini has some news." the man said.
"Really My Lord?" Bella asked.
"It seems the old muggle caretaker is standing outside this very door and has been listening to everything we've been saying." the man said.
Frank didn't even have time to fully take in what was being said before the small crack he was looking through turned into a fully open door. Bella was standing on the other side, looking furiously at him.
Frank could see her much better this close up. She was strikingly beautiful with heavily lidded eyes and a mass of black curls that hung gracefully around her face.
"Invite our guest in Bella, where are your manners?" The man said nastily.
Bella moved aside and gave Frank a rough push into the room when he didn't move. Frank still couldn't see the man sitting in the chair but he could see the large snake, curled up on the rotten hearth rug like a pet dog.
"Did you hear everything, muggle?" the man asked him.
"What are you calling me?" Frank asked. Now he was in the room, not hiding, he felt braver. It had always been like that during the war as well.
The man let out a loud sigh, "I am calling you a muggle. It's a word meaning non magical; not a witch or wizard."
Frank stood up straighter, "I don't know what you're talking about. Wizard? What nonsense!"
The man let out a cruel laugh that filled the room. Frank didn't flinch. He wished there was more light in the room though, the only light source was the fire and it was sending a strange and flickering glow across the room.
"I do know though," Frank said, as confidently as he could, "enough to tell the police. You've kidnapped that young girl! Lucy is missing! And you've killed someone, I'm going to the police!" he thought for a second, "and my wife knows I'm up here, she'll go to the police if I don't..."
"Don't lie to Lord Voldemort! You have no wife and no one knows that you are here. I know all." the man said.
"Really?" Frank said, roughly, "Lord? Well my Lord why don't you turn and face me like a man."
Voldemort let out loud laugh, "But I am not a man, I am so much more! You are right though, what harm is there in facing you, Muggle?"
Bella moved over and pushed the chair around so that Voldemort was facing Frank. Frank heard is walking stick crash to the floor at the full sight of the thing in the chair. It was laughing manically while Frank screamed in terror.
There was a flash of green light, a rushing sound and Frank crumbled to the floor. Dead.
Just over two hundred miles away, the boy called Harry Potter woke with a start.