Tom Riddle, Sr. suddenly awoke as from a dream to find himself married to the tramp's daughter Merope Gaunt and unable to figure out how he got there. Immediately extricating himself from the situation and deserting his pregnant wife, Tom hastily made his way back home to resume his normal life.
Anything from the Harry Potter Universe belongs to JKR. Other than that, I made it all up. Angst/Anxiety/Drama. AU. Rated M for language and situations. Enjoy.
A/N: This story is based onThe Half Blood Prince, chapter 10, The House Of Gaunt.
A Riddle With Another Name: Chapter 1: Another Wife Another Son
One day in 1926, Tom Riddle, Sr. woke up in bed with his arms wrapped around a woman. This was not surprising as Tom considered himself quite the ladies man and even though he had recently gotten engaged he prided himself on the women who would take him to their beds. Harlots one and all, but harlots who were skilled in the ways of relaxing a stiff dick. The covers had fallen away as Tom removed his arm from under the woman and he had smiled at his huge, red member standing up waiting for whoever the woman was to take care of him.
Tom began rubbing himself in anticipation and as he did he took a look around the room and immediately straightened up. He didn't recognize the bedroom, nor did he recognize anything else. He began to panic. Had he gotten drunk and let a stiff dick lead him to somewhere he shouldn't be? Tom Riddle, Sr. feared he had tried one witch too many and landed in some godforsaken place where he could possibly catch some filthy disease. The thought of having to tell his father he picked up a disease frightened Tom more than finding himself in some strange bed. He could be disowned.
As he calmed himself and looked around trying to spot his clothes, the witch began to stir. Tom had hoped to get out of there before she woke, but it looked as though he would have to face her. In the back of his mind, Tom hoped he had already paid her because paying a woman in the morning sometimes became quite embarrassing.
When the woman sat up, leaned over to kiss him while putting her hand on his dick, Tom let out a shriek and moved sideways so fast he found himself arse up on the floor. The dick which had shortly before been standing up so proudly was now a small lump of flesh hanging limply between his legs. As the witch moved closer, Tom began backing up on his arse until he was backed against the bedroom wall because the woman sitting there looking at him was nowhere near the caliber of witch he was used to. She was skinny, homely and had one wrong eye. Tom could barely keep from vomiting as he realized he had obviously shagged this woman. The bile rose higher in his throat. He was looking wildly around desperately searching for something to cover his nakedness when the woman began to speak.
"What has upset you so my love? You are usually so fond of my morning ministrations."
The bile rose even higher in Tom's throat. This sad excuse for a woman sounded as though this was more than a one time thing. She sounded as though he had been there before and that wasn't possible. He didn't recog…. Tom couldn't finish the thought because he did recognize her. She was the ugly daughter of that mad, old fool Marvolo Gaunt.
/*/
Merope was crestfallen. Tom was acting as though he didn't know what was what. She feared this could happen but wasn't ready to give up hope. It was just yesterday Merope had lifted the love spell she had cast all those months ago thinking with the baby coming and the length of time she and Tom had been together he would still love her even without the spell. She hoped she hadn't made a grave error in removing the spell. Merope watched Tom backing away across the floor hoping he was disoriented and would soon come to his senses.
"Tom. You seem a little dizzy. Get back into bed and I'll get you a tea."
"How dare you speak to me as if you know me hag?"
Merope lowered her eyes as she answered. "I am not a hag. I am Merope your wife who is carrying your child. I wish for you to speak to me as such."
"My wife? Carrying my child? What joke is this? I wouldn't have you as a servant. Give me my clothes woman so I can leave this place. If you ever repeat what you have just said to me, I'll have your head."
"You're upset Tom. Please calm down. We are married and we are having a baby. I have no reason to lie."
Once again he froze and began to think himself in the middle of some mad dream as he watched the disgusting woman move about the house. Stricken by his predicament and frozen in place, Tom became more and more infuriated as Merope prattled on.
"Where is Cecilia? This rubbish about being my wife is just that, rubbish? I am Tom Riddle, Sr. and I am engaged to marry the lovely socialite Cecilia Wallace. If this is your filthy father's idea of a joke, I'll soon set him right. My father is well thought of and will bring the entire Ministry down on him."
Tom wouldn't even entertain the thought any of this could be true. It was bull shite. The woman in front of him pretending to be his wife was an ugly harridan who looked as though she hadn't had a decent meal in years. The more this Merope spoke, the more Tom thought himself to be in the company of someone who was as mad as her father and brother. Tom knew he had to distance himself from this cock-eyed, lowlife woman or possibly risk being hurt or killed.
Tom couldn't remember anything, but he knew he wasn't married to anyone, especially not this piece of trash. In fact, the only thing he could remember was taking a drink from this very same wretch one night on his way home from town. That was it.
Merope brought him a set of clothing which he quickly put on. It hadn't happened to him in the past, but right now he felt very uncomfortable standing naked in front of this woman. Tom kept his back to the wall as he wondered how he could have fallen into this situation, but it wasn't long before a bit of clarity set in and he realized he had somehow been duped or drugged.
Immediately after the clarity set in, Tom Riddle Sr. stopped wondering about anything. He deserted his wife of five months leaving her alone, pregnant and penniless and headed back to Little Hangleton where he belonged.
He walked out without looking back glad to be rid of the revolting hag and her protruding belly.
/*/
Tom Riddle Sr. arrived back in Little Hangleton in October of 1926 explaining how he had been duped. His parents who were very glad to see him fussed over their only son hoping that the ugly, pregnant woman wasn't on her way to their home to make claims. After a fashion when Tom hadn't mentioned Merope and she hadn't shown up at their door, everything settled down. In fact, Thomas and Mary Riddle soon began to encourage their son to seek out female company and oftentimes had single women over for dinner to facilitate the process. They had first reached out to Cecilia Wallace, but she had made it known that Tom had embarrassed her in front of the entire town and she wasn't interested in anything he had to say. So the parents had looked elsewhere for a woman good enough for their son.
It was in 1929 that Thomas and Mary Riddle saw their fondest wish come true. Their son Tom Riddle Sr. met and fell in love with a lovely woman named Samantha Gibbons. Knowing nothing about witches or the wizarding world, none of the three could see the small amount of magic which often surrounded Samantha. It appeared Tom may have had some residual aura emanating from his time with Merope as a woman with magical blood had fallen in love with him. An unknowing witch. Samantha was the muggleborn daughter with a wizard grandfather who had been raised to believe she was as normal as the next girl.
Samantha's parents had destroyed her letter from Hogwarts and immediately contacted Headmaster Armando Dippet to advise him not to send any further correspondence as they had made the decision to raise their daughter as a muggle. As professor Dippet couldn't force any parent to send their child to Hogwarts, he had put a line through Samantha's name in the Hogwarts book, removed himself from the situation and adhered to their wishes.
/*/
Tom Sr. courted Samantha and they were married in a spectacular ceremony on September 10, 1931. Their first child Zachary, who Riddle Sr. did not want named Tom was born in July of 1932 and their second child, a daughter they named Zaria was born in June of 1933. Unknown to anyone, both children were magical and upon birth, their names appeared in the books as future Hogwarts students as had the name of their stepbrother Tom Marvolo Riddle before them on December 31, 1926.
Tom Sr. lavished his children with everything money could buy. However, whether due to some unknown spell put on him by a dying Merope or just plain bad luck, Tom Sr. began to lose all interest in his wife Samantha. There even came a time when he couldn't bear to be in the same room let alone lie with her or touch her.
In 1935, Tom Riddle Sr. left his wife Samantha for good. All her crying and pleading did nothing to make him stay. Tom tried to take Zachary and Zaria, but Samantha and her family had made it clear. If Tom didn't want his wife, he wouldn't have his children, so Zachary and Zaria had remained with their mother.
As he had done with his and Merope's son, Tom Riddle Sr. soon put his other two children out of his mind and for many years his only communication with them was through his mother and father. His children weren't fussed over being ignored by their biological father because unlike the future Voldemort, they had acquired a wonderful step father when their mother married a man called Daniel Glover. Daniel loved the children as though they were his own and had gladly given them his name. Zachary and Zaria were two children who wouldn't ever see the inside of an orphanage.
/*/
Zachary and Zaria did visit their paternal grandparents, but it was only through duty. The children didn't particularly care for Thomas and Mary Riddle telling Samantha that the couple treated them more like servants than grandchildren. Samantha's standard reply was that Thomas and Mary were their grandparents and they should be kind to them. Zachary and Zaria promised each other they would stop visiting the minute their mum changed her thinking.
The children grew up under the kind tutelage of their stepfather and rarely if ever sought out the attention of their biological father. And neither child ever had any idea there was a brother struggling to survive in a muggle orphanage.
/*/
In 1940, Samantha was told about the magical side of her family. Daniel had been chuffed to find out Samantha had magical blood and was even more delighted to find out the children were magical as well. Zachary and Zaria simply smiled as they watched Daniel beaming about them because the grandfather had told them long ago about their blood. To the delight of Samantha's grandfather, Daniel and Samantha talked it over and agreed the children would be schooled at Hogwarts.
Unlike going to the Riddle house, Zachary and Zaria loved to visit their mother's grandfather and once he had authorization from Samantha, began to teach the children small bits of magic. The grandfather was very proud of Samantha's children and told Samantha and Daniel over and over that the children would be magically powerful once they were trained up a bit. By working with the grandfather, at the ages of nine and ten, Zachary and Zaria knew almost as much as a second year at Hogwarts.
/*/
After leaving Samantha, Tom Riddle, Sr. didn't make many changes to his life. He was a womanizer and remained a womanizer. As the son of the squire, Tom still had his pick of woman and dated his fair share of young, nubile woman who hoped to be the next Mrs. Riddle. There is a distinct possibility he may have fathered other children with some of these women, but that has never been proven. What is known is that he died a single man still living at home with his parents.
As many women as there were willing to be escorted about town by Tom, very few of the villagers had anything positive or polite to say about him except that he was very handsome. Tom had the temperament of his father and his father's father before him and had been brought up to feel entitled and above common people. Most people crossed the street or looked the other way when they saw him approaching, but Tom didn't care. He had money and good looks and could care less what the villagers thought of him. Even the family gardener Frank Bryce who was at the Riddle house every day caring for the yard and gardens couldn't find a good thing to say about the son of his employers. Frank was always careful not to speak out of turn because he didn't want to be out of a job
Perhaps Tom Sr. would have been more careful, more good natured or more well mannered if he had known the hatred his eldest son was carrying around in his heart, but his oldest son hadn't crossed his mind at all. Tom Sr. never acknowledged he had once been married to Merope Gaunt let alone admit he had a son with her. Even though he had left Merope when she needed him most, had Tom Sr. made just a tiny effort to find out what happened to his eldest child, he could possibly have worked something out with him and maybe a proper relationship would have developed. However, being the egotistical, pompous man he was, finding the son he'd abandoned wasn't an option he wanted to explore, but it was one Tom Riddle Sr. would come to regret.
/*/
On that summer afternoon in 1943 and just before the start of his sixth year at Hogwarts, Tom Marvolo Riddle left Hogwarts on an errand to set things right. He was so bitter by this time, he had written his mother off as a weak witch who chose death over living to care for her son and the vengeance he was seeking when he arrived at the Riddle house would be swift, immediate and for himself alone. He would not allow or accept any begging or entreaties for forgiveness. He was going there to kill. Tom Riddle Sr. and his family had turned their backs on him, and before he struck them down with an Avada Kedevra, he had let them know just how little he thought of them. All three Riddles had died with Tom Marvolo Riddle's screams ringing in their ears.
Tom Marvolo Riddle left the Riddle house thinking he had ended the entire Riddle family. It would be many years and another identity before he learned he had magical siblings who had lived a very happy life and who had not been brought up in a muggle orphanage.
/*/
Zachary and Zaria who had been visiting their grandparents left just in time that morning and may even have passed Tom on the road. They were spared only because they had tired of their miserable grandparents and childish father and had left for home earlier than normal. After the killings, Zachary and Zaria discussed between themselves the possibility the boy they had seen on the road could have been the killer. Facts of the murders never came up in family conversation so Zach and Zaria were never privy to Frank Bryce's statement of having seen a young stranger in the vicinity of the Riddle house on the day of the murders. That information remained between the children. The siblings praised the gods and Merlin for sparing their lives that day. In private, Zach and Zaria admitted the murders couldn't have happened to a more deserving family. The deaths ended the necessity of them having to visit their Riddle relatives ever again and they were alright with that.
/*/
In July of 1943, the same summer his grandparents were killed, Zachary received his letter from Hogwarts. He was to start his first year at Hogwarts in September. Because no one in his family had ever been to Hogwarts, the headmaster had to visit the family to explain the rules. But instead of receiving a visit from Headmaster Armando Dippet, Zachary received a visit from Albus Dumbledore the Transfiguration Professor who had volunteered to go to the Glover home to speak to the parents.
Professor Dippet who was very busy as well as a bit lax had been more than happy to let Albus go visit the family in his stead. What Armando Dippet didn't know and Albus did, was Zachary and Zaria carried the surname Glover, but were actual blood siblings to Tom Marvolo Riddle another student in Hogwarts with none knowing about the other…..yet. Albus was very curious to meet the next two Riddles hoping they weren't as...intense as Tom.
/*/
During his visit to the Glover home, Professor Dumbledore found Zachary and Zaria to be engaging children. He also found Daniel Glover to be a highly motivated parent interested in the education of his adopted children. Being the only member of the Hogwarts staff who was aware of the connection between Tom Marvolo Riddle and the Glover children, Albus wanted to insure it remained that way. To this end, he asked for a private word with Daniel to explain there might be a chance Tom would have hard feelings against Zachary and Zaria explaining it would be in the best interest of all if he was put down in the books as their father. Tom Sr. was dead. There wasn't anyone to dispute the request so Daniel Glover was officially put down in the books as their father.
Daniel Glover was more than willing to go along with Professor Dumbledore's request. Samantha had told him all about the children's father and his first marriage to Merope Gaunt which was rumored to have produced a child. Daniel thought the man to be nothing more than a tosser and didn't want his children associated with the name. Albus informed Daniel how Tom had walked away from his pregnant wife leaving her alone and penniless after which she died in childbirth leaving their son to be shunted off to Wool's Orphanage where he remained until age eleven being totally ignored and disregarded by his father.
After hearing the story, Daniel could barely control himself saying if the bloody fuck wasn't already dead, he would have killed him for certain. Albus gazed at Daniel over his glasses replying that sometimes Merlin worked in mysterious ways. After their talk and handing Zachary his Hogwarts letter, Dumbledore said his goodbye then headed back to Hogwarts.
That night, Daniel spoke to his family about what Albus Dumbledore revealed. He explained about them having an older brother and the circumstances of his life and how Professor Dumbledore suggested they be put down in the books with the surname Glover with no mention of their real father.
Zachary and Zaria smiled at the only man they'd ever known as a true father and said in unison. "No worries father. We are Glovers."
Glancing from his father to his mother, Zachary commented. "I feel sorry that Tom had to spend time in an orphanage and never had family who cared for him like we've had."
Feeling sad any child had to go through so much, Daniel and Samantha had silently agreed with their son.
/*/
Tom Marvolo Riddle was nearly at the end of his school years and Zachary was just beginning so Dumbledore felt secure in the knowledge Tom wouldn't realize he had a blood relative enrolled at Hogwarts. However, Dumbledore also knew Tom to be a very shrewd wizard who didn't miss much of anything, and one who would not look kindly on a brother who had been raised in a home with a loving father and mother while he fought for scraps of food in a muggle orphanage. Albus Dumbledore made it his business to ensure that the connection between Tom Riddle and the Glovers was kept well hidden. He felt Tom would closely scrutinize Zachary if he was ever in close quarters with him because the young wizard looked very much like his father except he had his mother's fair hair, which in turn meant he looked a lot like his brother.
Just like Tom Marvolo, both Zachary and Zaria had inherited the Riddle bearing. Both were tall for their ages and had their father's straight nose, but where Tom Sr. and Tom Marvolo had dark eyes, Zachary and Zaria had inherited their mother's warm, light brown eyes.
/*/
Before Zachary got on the Hogwarts Express, Daniel had given him the supportive fatherly talk in addition to the caution he never disclose his true biological father regardless of the circumstances.
"I know dad. We've been over this a hundred times, but I will say should that prat approach me in an inappropriate manner, I will hold my own."
Smiling, Daniel leaned down to retort. "Be careful. The Riddle arrogance is showing."
"You're mistaken dad. That was my Glover arrogance showing."
Zachary then hugged his mother and sister and shook hands with Daniel before stepping onto the train which would take him into close proximity to his brother.