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?

13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13 Notes:

TW; mentions of blood (vampires) and death although very brief and nondescript, mention and allusion to drugging and rape (Merope)

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The days blurred together as his schedule was completely full between his classes, his duties as a prefect, spending time with his friends, with his adoptive parents, and then time talking with Salazar's portrait. Winter break arrived before he even realised it was so soon, and although normally the professors stayed in the castle it was their first winter holidays as a family so it was decided they would return to the Dracul estate in Wallachia. Apparently, Carmilla had also dragged all five remaining elder vampires down to meet Elerhys' new son so it was indeed a family vacation of sorts… Elerhys was in fact a bit worried, knowing some of his siblings were more ruthless and bloodthirsty than others, but both Iraia and Marzan knew very well how to defend themselves, and HanQiang was also going to be around the boy offering another layer of protection. Not even the elder vampires would risk setting themselves against an ancient dragon.

The fortress was surrounded by pristine white snow when they arrived by portkey, the line of young looking maids and the steward waiting at the doors.

"Welcome home my lords"Ladislau bowed to all three of them and Iraia and Marzan returned the courtesy. "The countess has already arrived along with the rest of your siblings, my lord. Should I announce your arrival?"

Elerhys made a face.

"I will go greet them myself" he then turned to them and briefly kissed Iraia's forehead. "You and Marzan get settled first"

"Alright" Iraia agreed, letting him handle his family. "We'll meet you for lunch then"

The maids quickly gathered their luggage and walked with them towards the family wing of the castle. The fortress was cold, although not terribly much, but it was still very necessary to wear a coat inside. Marzan only vaguely paid attention to the small talk Iraia made with the girls about their time in the past few months and if there was anything to report from their lands. The fortress rested next to a village, and beyond their boundaries there was a secondary wall surrounding it, and while there were more towns and more people under their rule, naturally they were more involved with the local people. Apparently everything was going smoothly in their absence.

They split up to go to their respective rooms and Marzan opened the door to his bedroom to find that a handful of winged fae had made a nest out of his scarves on top of a dresser.

"We apologise, little lord, but they refused to move and started biting when we tried sending them away" one of the girls quickly said, setting down Rai's travelling case next to his perfectly warmed enclosure and opening the doors so that he could get in.

"It's fine" he sighed. "If they get up to trouble I will kick them out myself"

The three girls that had followed into his room took it upon themselves to open up his trunk and started organising his clothing back into his closet while he slipped behind a privacy screen to change from his school uniform to comfortable clothes. They were usually the ones in charge of his rooms and tending to him. The first and eldest was Adelina, with long dark hair that she kept in a straight braid down her back. Next was Măriuca, the one who looked the youngest and forever stuck as a teenager, who wore her hair in a braided crown. And lastly, Lăcrămioara who kept her hair short and tied off with a ribbon away from her face.

"What are they like? Our guests?" he couldn't help but ask.

"We haven't seen much of them" Măriuca sighed. "But the countess brings with her two servant girls, we've seen them from afar"

"Hmm…"

Once he was done changing Adelina sat him down in front of his vanity and started brushing out the remnants of snow from his tousled hair, while her sisters brought a cup of warm tea for him, which he took with a proper thank you.

"You should let your hair grow longer, little lord" Adelina said in excitement, brushing her fingers through it. "It's so beautiful and smooth"

Long hair, hmm? He had never grown it too long in his past life given he had lived part time with muggles that saw such a thing in a negative light, and then the second half of that life he didn't even have hair to begin with. But it wasn't such a terrible idea… Iraia's hair was long and beautiful, and even Elerhys' reached beneath his shoulders. And if he was any lucky, it would look as elegant as Salazar's.

"Perhaps. I will try it, see if it suits me"

He was already imagining they would grab him for braiding practice…

"Oh, that's so wonderful! You'll look very handsome"

"Lăcrămioara! Stop standing around, go put away the little lord's uniform" Adelina scolded.

She sighed in turn but obediently went to pick everything up from where Marzan had left it on top of a chair.

"Do you want a bath before lunch?" Măriuca asked him as she finished putting away his trunk.

"I think I will bathe before bed instead, thank you"

She nodded enthusiastically and went to refill his cup before returning to picking up around the room, although it was likely they had cleaned it again and again before he arrived… he had discovered however, that all the servants were incredibly happy that Elerhys had brought home a husband and then in such short years, a child. For long centuries he had been alone in the fortress, and they were more than happy to be of use instead of wandering around the empty and cold halls in silence. Adelina joined them in fetching more blankets, leaving him alone for a moment, and it was right about then when he first heard the soft voice to his right.

"What are you drinking?"

He turned his head and found a child staring at him with big dark eyes in a pale pretty face framed by dark hair. They dressed in a simple blue sundress not at all appropriate for winter, wearing socks although no shoes. They could be no older than eleven or twelve, with an air of permanent innocence that was wholly deceiving for their nature.

"It's tea, to help me warm up. You're Elias, am I right?"

The boy blinked slowly.

"Yes. What is your name?"

"Marzan Gaunt, pleasure to meet you" he greeted, extending his hand.

Elias stared at his hand for a moment but ultimately shook it.

"You're not scared of me"

"Should I be scared of you?"

"Yes" his eyes looked very sad "I'm no good to be around"

Marzan hadn't met any vampire children yet, but he was starting to understand why. He imagined it was terribly lonely to be stuck in a limbo like that, understanding of the dark nature of the world but unable to ever grow both in body and mind.

"Well, you could also say the same about tată" he offered him a gentle smile. "But he's not bad at all"

Elias stayed silent for another moment, assessing him with his eyes.

"Eli. You can call me Eli. Do you have anything to play with?"

"Well— I've got chess, if that is not too boring"

"It will do"

That was how Iraia came to find them about an hour later, laying on Marzan's bed with the chessboard between them and them focused on their pieces. Adelina, Măriuca and Lăcrămioara were standing to the side observing and waiting to any of their needs, although he knew they were likely just looking at their game as it progressed. Eli didn't seem any shy or reserved of greeting Iraia, although he didn't look quite as eager to join his siblings, but he went with them to the dining room for lunch. To be completely fair, none of the other six looked completely at ease between one another, not used to sharing the spot at the top of the food chain.

Elerhys sat at the head of the table with Iraia and Marzan by his sides as always. Carmilla sat herself next to Iraia and Eli next to Marzan. Esmeralda, the youngest sister with gorgeous brown hair and dressed in a corset as tight as Carmilla's, sat at Eli's other side. Next to her sat Edward Ruthven, a man who apparented being in his thirties, with a decently charming air although just enough to still pass unnoticed in a crowd. On the other side, Barnabas Collins took the seat next to Carmilla, dressed in a stuffy suit that still belonged to the century he was born in, and lastly Lestat occupied the last seat as the flashiest of the bunch with long golden hair and elegant clothes that bordered on too formal. Lunch was a silent affair for a while, with only the sounds of cutlery scraping porcelain, but as the main courses on Marzan and Iraia's plates were swapped for dessert, the host decided to speak.

"The food was to your liking, I hope?" expected pleasantries, apprently.

"It was fresh" Eli apported quietly, as the only thing he wanted to say about the blood. Unlike some of his siblings, he had only drank and not eaten, even if elder vampires such as them were able to consume raw meat for nourishment on top of just blood.

"We have human donors that provide for our consumption"

"Not the usual method but, I must admit it was still up to my high standards" Lestat offered a backhanded compliment, leaning his chin against his hand and moving his sight towards Marzan. "It was fulfilling, even if you have sweeter things in your castle"

Real smooth. If he wanted to scare him, it did not work. Not that he wouldn't be on the lookout from then on, he was very happy not becoming vampire food… especially when their bite was highly contagious.

"I'd be anything but sweet" he replied lightheartedly, before Elerhys could get truly offended. "I can't imagine all the medicine I've taken the last year has made me taste any good"

He was pretty sure he would taste the same as a dead carcass, but he wasn't going to tell them that. Either way, Lestat's face scrunched up, as just like Marzan knew, vampires could perfectly taste illness in blood and it wasn't pleasant.

"How old are you, boy?" Barnabas asked.

"Fifteen. About to turn sixteen any day now"

"Ah, he's too old for the taste of childhood anyway" Edward laughed without any actual grace. "But young girls will retain the taste for longer. Always a delightful prey"

Esmeralda scoffed. "Men…" she muttered under her breath.

Instead of following their sudden debate on their eating habits he returned to his dessert in peace. Across from him Iraia rolled his eyes and did the same while Elerhys listened in on the discussion, unamused.

"Blood is blood, is it not?" Lestat interrupted after a while. "You'll have to keep an eye out on the little one, Mircea"

Elerhys seemed close to snapping, but then he made a pause, staring at his brother, and smiled.

"Oh, I don't need to handle him with care"

His crimson eyes briefly glanced towards Marzan and he had to fight off the urge to laugh.

"He can take good care of himself, then?" Edward leaned behind Esmeralda to look at him better. "Don't be so arrogant, Mircea. He's just a human boy"

"This human boy knows exactly each one of your weaknesses" He shrugged nonchalantly as he stabbed a slice of peach with his fork. "Like for example, how you get unnecessarily close to your targets, all male, and yet feed only on their female companions because you cannot bring yourself to hurt them or even admit how much they mean to you…"

Blood spilled over the table as a cup was broken. Marzan smiled innocently and brought the slice of peach to his lips, taking his time to savour it.

"Or how you" he pointed with his fork at Lestat "begged grandfather on your knees for his bite, and how every single vampire you've created has turned against you and leaves you alone"

Carmilla had started laughing quietly as Lestat gripped his napkin tightly, straightening on his chair, and Esmeralda also looked amused at their brothers finally shutting their mouths.

"Or, if we want to speak of a shared weakness…."

Marzan playfully moved his fork in a vague pattern, pointing to the empty seats on the table, an unspoken way to indicate for the missing eighth.

"Little brat…" Edward muttered under his breath.

But with that, he had let them know he wasn't easy to mess with.

… Hopefully that also didn't get him into trouble later.

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While they shared their mealtimes together, Marzan rarely caught sight of Edward, Barnabas or Lestat while they stayed in the fortress. Carmilla had fulfilled her promise and had started to give him some sword fighting lessons, which she assured him he was taking in quickly. Esmeralda sometimes sat in to watch them, but she mostly stuck to her own space… Elias however, seemed to have found some companionship in Marzan and they played chess together often, although he also liked to follow him around on his small bouts of mischief. According to Carmilla that was practically a miracle, as Elias was often deeply isolated and he never had anybody his age to be around, and while the human boy was older mind-wise, it was closest than anyone else.

"Have you visited father?" Eli asked him one day as they sat in the snowy garden next to HanQiang, who was happy to let them be as they were grooming his scales.

"No, not yet. Tată said it might take a while for the news of my existence to get to him. What is he like?"

Elias rested his back against the dragon.

"Tall. Quiet… too warm for a vampire" he paused for a moment, playing with a bit of snow between his fingers. "He wasn't the one who turned me. He found me all alone, and brought me into the family"

As Marzan understood, the control a vampire had over the ones they turned could be taken away if a stronger vampire gave them the bite, so he imagined this is what he meant.

"Was that a kind thing to do?"

The question evidently took Eli by surprise.

"… I suppose. He was kind to me, yes… but I don't think the others understand very well. It's just me most of the time. I don't… want to ask for too much"

Carmilla had said he was isolated… could that mean that he lived on his own completely? He was an elder vampire but he was still a child, and especially when vampires hid themselves between humans, he should have a caretaker of sorts.

"I know what that feels like" they were both adopted, after all. "Maybe you could stay with us here once in a while. We can play around the castle"

Eli smiled, but it didn't quite reach his eyes.

"Maybe. While you're still a child"

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Just a week after they arrived home, It happened. The It in question being… well, everything turning upside down.

Marzan was sitting on the carpet with Eli while they worked on a pretty sizeable puzzle, Rai wrapped around his shoulders, the chimeney warming up the sitting room. Iraia sat nearby working on grading essays and Carmilla and Elerhys shared a few cups of blood while they talked about whatever elder vampires talk about. Esmeralda was lounging on a chaise with a book in hand, and the three remaining brothers were presumably in each of their rooms. It was peaceful and quiet… that was when Ladislau knocked on the door and cleared his throat, a certain tension on his shoulders.

"My apologies for interrupting… Mrs. Lucille Silverling from the Ministry is here. She says it's very urgent and requests the little lord's presence as well"

Marzan felt his blood go cold as he looked up. His case worker coming to see him weeks before she was supposed to, saying it was urgent? That couldn't mean anything good, especially taking into account he should have absolutely nothing to worry about. He looked at Iraia, who looked similarly worried as he put down his quill on the table next to his armchair.

"Thank you, tell her we will be there in a moment" Elerhys replied tensely.

Ladislau bowed and left the room. Carmilla and Esmeralda exchanged a glance, but they tactfully kept silent as Marzan stood up and followed outside the sitting room. Eli waved at him before the door closed, but there was a hole burning down his stomach as an unusual anxiety formed in his chest. Iraia's arm was set around him in a comforting gesture, but they stayed silent as they quickly made their way to the much colder hall where they received guests. Lucille Silverling was already there being tended to by a maid, looking quite serious which was again, not a good sign; she usually was much more open and she was already somewhat familiar with them.

"Mrs. Silverling, what a surprise to see you here today" as always, Elerhys was polite in shaking her hand.

"Lord Dracul, thank you. I apologise for coming by without notice, but it is a very important matter and I know you do not make use of the floo network… I did not mean to interrupt your holidays"

"Not at all" Iraia assured her, gesturing for her to take a seat once more. "Have any issues come up? Is this about… Marzan's uncle?"

Morfin had given up his rights to any custody, hadn't he? Marzan set himself down next to Iraia, watching intently as Lucille's face transitioned between a miriad of expressions.

"No, but…" she made a brief pause. "This is going to be a little overwhelming to hear, but recently, the auror's office was alerted to an incident in Little Hangleton involving Morfin Gaunt and a muggle family. Initially the usual protocols were going to be followed, with memory alteration spells, but they were.. aware of our nature. And… seeing as they share blood relation to Mr. Gaunt present here, they were put in contact with our department"

Oh.

The Riddle family… they knew about him. How did they find out? Or more accurately, how did they start caring? Marzan had lived right beneath their noses for four years and never once had they seem to care one bit about the well known rumours of Merope Gaunt's son walking the streets, and now that he was adopted by a family that did want him they came looking for him? He felt Iraia's hand tighten around his wrist, but he hardly cared as he was not as composed as he usually would be either.

"Do they want to take him?" Elerhys asked directly, his voice tense but otherwise seemingly flat.

She looked pretty sorry, so at least he knew she wasn't in favour of that…

"They want to meet him, but our assumption is that yes, they likely want his custody. Now— we can assure you that they cannot gain full custody, you have adopted him and in the Ministry of Magic's records his birth certificate lists both of you as his parents now, that is something that cannot be changed as easily" ah, a few good news… "However, in the muggle world, we do not have as much power. They can still pursue partial custody, even if Mr. Gaunt is very close to his coming of age"

He felt and saw both of them relax, and Iraia held his hand in between both of his as he let his weight drop against his shoulder, not quite knowing how to feel. On the one hand, he had never known his father or grandparents and he did not know what type of people they were and if they would hate him or like him, but on the other hand… they were muggles, it was highly unlikely that they would understand the nature of what he was, much less what his adoptive father was. He knew very well that there was no guarantee of anything either good or bad, and he also knew that it was more likely that if he refused to meet them they would double down. Besides, was this his grandparents' wish, or was it his father's? He could not imagine Tom Riddle senior should be any eager to meet the child born of his rape, the son of the woman that drugged and kidnapped him.

"What do you believe would be best, Mrs. Silverling?" Iraia asked softly.

Lucille looked surprised that he asked for her imput but soon regained her professional face.

"I believe it would be good for Mr. Gaunt in the long run, regardless of the outcome. It will bring closure, answers to any of his questions"

He stayed silent for the entire conversation as she discussed the details with them, and only spoke up to say his goodbyes when she left. But regardless, in two days they would be going back to England so he could meet his father's family formally for the very first time. He didn't think he was any eager to do that. Seeing as he was not in much of a mood for talking Iraia brought him upstairs to his room so he could rest, assuring him quietly that he could finish playing with Eli later. Rai stuck by his side as he lay in bed, staring at his huge window and the snow slowly falling down as the sun set, but he didn't come any closer to settling down his thoughts even as he inevitably fell asleep against his pillows.

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They left early in the morning by portkey, and the Ministry was quiet as most workers were already behind their desks but visitors hadn't yet started to come. An auror received them in security, a man that looked terribly nervous— a new graduate most likely.

"W-Wands, please" he asked.

Marzan was very unhappy to do so, but he pulled out his wand and set it down on the tray he indicated as to be examined. The auror waited but neither Elerhys nor Iraia moved— the elder vampire had no need for one, obviously, and Iraia used a spiritual sword, but asking a cultivator to part with their spiritual weapon would be a great insult. Regardless, he dug into his sleeve to fetch his appropriate permit, which more or less summarised his situation.

After giving them each a badge, he guided them to the lifts, but luckily Lucille was waiting there for them and the auror quickly scurried away, leaving them to her care. There was only one ride to the CPD offices, which was mostly empty. The CPD rarely had any cases to work with, so he imagined there wouldn't be more than a handful of people there at the same time and all with different things to do. She brought them to a meeting room and offered them all tea, which only Elerhys refused.

"It is very normal to be nervous" she assured Marzan.

"… Yes, thank you. Will I meet them alone?"

"Is that what you want?"

He nodded slowly.

"Just for the first time. I know how muggles can be, it'd be best not to overwhelm them… right?"

Lucille looked at his parents for their opinion.

"If that's what he wants" Elerhys agreed easily, followed by a nod from Iraia.

"Very well then, I will make the arrangements"

He drank his tea, although he didn't even have the mind to savour it at the moment. He wouldn't have drank it if not for the fact Iraia prompted him to, since he had skipped breakfast that morning and dinner the night before.

"Everything will go well" Iraia kissed the top of his head. "You'll see"

He could only hope… meanwhile, he went over it all in his head as Lucille had told them.

Apparently, the Riddles had never heard the rumours going about in town because the people of Little Hangleton thought Marzan was living with them, so obviously they wouldn't be as blatantly gossipy as to say it in their faces. Nobody liked Morfin to check on him and the shack was further outside from the town in more or less the same direction of the Riddle manor, so every time Marzan walked into town they assumed he came from the manor. However his disappearance wasn't noticed until that summer because even the summer before he had stayed in the town for a while before being fostered by his adoptive parents. Seeing as nobody had seen a hair from him in around a year, finally some of the old ladies asked Mrs. Riddle where her grandson was. Mrs. Riddle didn't know she had a grandson, and she promptly went and told her husband and son about the rumours, which then led to them marching down to Morfin's shack to confront him about it. Morfin proceeded to attack them, which luckily hadn't gotten very far since the aurors were holding an eye on him due to being an ex-convict, and upon discovering their ties to a magical child they put them in contact with Lucille's supervisor… the rest, as one says, is history.

Marzan ser his empty cup on the coffee table just in time for Lucille to come back in, nodding.

"They're ready for you"

After one last quick hug of encouragement, he followed her across the hall and a few doors to a room similar to the one they had just been in, and they paused outside the door.

"We will be observing you from the other side of an enchanted wall, if you want me and my colleague to intervene at any moment just call for me"

"Ok"

"Take a deep breath" he imitated her. "That's it. Go on"

She went into another door and he looked down at the handle before he took hold of it, repeating to himself this was a ridiculous thing to be worried about. He was Voldemort for fuck's sake, he shouldn't be any nervous about meeting his father and grandparents when he had seen and done way worse things. He pushed the door open and walked inside, letting it fall shut behind him.

Unlike the muggle two way mirrors the enchanted wall looked to be just a wall, that was set behind an empty blue couch. A coffee table divided the space and at the other side there was an identical couch with three people sitting in it… the Riddles. Mr. and Mrs. Riddle were old, perhaps in their fifties already, dressed in well tailored elegant clothing— the husband wore a blue suit and a solid gold watch on his wrist, while the wife wore a cream coloured dress and her gloved hands were gripping a pale pink purse. Between them sat their son. His father.

Tom Riddle senior— or rather, just Tom Riddle this time, looked a lot like him, although not as much as in his first life. Marzan's hair was set without any hair gel and starting to grow long enough to brush his eyelashes if not brushed backwards, a little straighter than Tom Riddle's wavy hair that was very rigidly brushed with product. His skin was naturally darker even if it was winter and it had lightened, and he had a few features inherited from his mother's side such as his nose and the shape of his eyes, but just looking at them side by side the resemblance was uncanny, and they shared the exact same silver-blue eyes. They stood up, eyes wide and fixed on him, and he walked over to the other couch, placing the table between them.

"Dear lord…" Mrs. Riddle held a hand to her chest.

Mr. Riddle cleared his throat.

"So you are… Merope's son" he said, struggling to say her name.

"Marzan Gaunt. That's me" he nodded slowly. "You're Thomas Riddle"

"Indeed. Allow me to make the introductions" he gestured to his side. "My wife, Mary Riddle, and my son, Tom"

Marzan nodded and they stood awkwardly for a moment before Tom Riddle cleared his throat.

"You look… well. Do they treat you well? The…" his already weak voice trailed off.

"Wizards?" he finished helpfully. "I'm a wizard too, so— yes. Of course they do"

This was awkward. Way too awkward. He sighed and pulled his wand out from his sleeve— normally, performing magic outside of school was strictly off limits, but seeing as he was in the ministry under adult supervision, he technically could do whatever he wanted within reason. He moved it to call the teapot from where it rested across the room and he saw all three of them flinch as it obediently floated towards the table and served four steaming cups of tea. Marzan sat down and placed his wand next to him on the couch in sight, mostly because that way they could see him if he reached for it, and then picked up his cup normally by hand.

"Tea? It's just Earl Grey"

His father was the first to sit down and reach for his cup, although his hand was shaking so he set it back down on the little porcelain plate and held it on his lap.

"Did she teach you to do magic? Your mother" he asked weakly.

The poor man looked pale, and his parents didn't seem any better as they sat down and stiffly held onto their cups.

"Well, no" he replied honestly. "If you're asking about if magic can be taught to everyone… that's not how it works. I go to school, I'm on my fifth year now, but they just teach you how to use power you were born with. But I could…" he made a vague gesture with his fingers. "Make things float around since I was a baby"

"Oh… was she good to you at least?"

Wait, Lucille hadn't told them?

"I've never met her"There was a small beat of silence and still no reaction, so he elaborated: "She's dead"

Well, he figured they had at least the right to know…

"She didn't have any money to feed herself as well as she should've, nor to pay for a place to stay. Everyone knew she was unmarried, so she left to the muggle world— your world, that is, to escape the shame. She managed to get to an orphanage one winter night, and died after naming me" he brought his cup upwards and took a small sip. "Her family were akin to nobility once, one of the oldest lines of pureblood wizards, descendants of a famous house, but they had nothing left after so many years of wasting our fortune. So much so that her father had been forced to live between the non magic people he hated as his last resort… ironic, isn't it?"

…

"What happened to you?"

"Not much of anything. Hunger, the cruelty of older children who didn't understand why I was different, rejection of family after family who didn't want a freak" they flinched again at the word but he wasn't perturbed. "When I turned eleven it was time for me to go to school… around that time, I was put in Morfin's care. He's my only blood relative on that side, and wizards would rather keep magic children with magic relatives if they can help it. I was adopted this past summer by another couple since he was never truly fit to look after me anyway. We live in Romania, although I still study here in the UK"

And he was still a citizen of the country, so he was still tied there in a lot of ways… Mary Riddle cleared her throat and placed her untouched tea back on the table, leaning forwards to give him a smile, more genuine than he expected.

"All of that sounds terrifying to deal with on your own, dear. I know we haven't been there for you before… but we would like to be. You could come live with your father and us" Ah, just like he expected. He couldn't exactly blame them, even if they hated his mother they were probably still glad they had a male heir at the end of the day. "We have a big house, and you can go to the same school our Tom went to. We can try to be a family"

To give him some credit, his father looked reluctant to let his mother make the offer, but he kept silent regardless.

"You must miss the non magic world" Thomas Riddle added, speaking with a bit more awkwardness. "And there are many things you surely have not tried yet. As our grandson, there is hardly anything you won't have"

"I can't leave the school" he said, going about a roundabout way to avoid saying a blatant no. "I'm not allowed to until I graduate. By then I will be an adult"

"I'm sure we could offer something just as good"

Oh dear…

"Well—"

"Don't you want to get to know your father?" Mrs. Riddle prompted.

"That's…"

"There are so many things to do at the manor and— oh, Tom can show you how to ride a horse, and you'll have your own room and books, any toys you could possibly imagine!"

"That's nice" he agreed. "But—"

"The school you'll go to is one of the very best in England" Mr. Riddle spoke with pride, likely his alma mater. "They have formed the finest young men our country has to offer"

This was not good. He was getting stressed, hands gripping his teacup tightly, and he did not like it one bit. He wasn't supposed to be upset by any of this, he was better than that, and everything had been going on so well before. So why, why did he feel like he couldn't say anything against their wishes? Maybe it was the very last remnants of a little Tom that had wished very hard for his father to come rescue him from that orphanage, maybe it was the tiny hope sixteen year old Tom had held even in his darkened heart when he stood at their doorstep and they turned him away, still unwanted. This was one of his biggest fears, was it not? The way muggles, family or not, had tried their very hardest to shake the magic out of him, to break him down and make him normal.

He tried to say Lucille's name but his tongue felt numb and his lips didn't part.

"You're with your family now" she said.

"Your real family" her husband reiterated.

The final thread snapped.

"Tată!" he cried out, letting the teacup break as it fell on the carpet and bringing his hands up to his ears to just make it stop.

The lights in the room flickered to reflect his sudden outburst and the porcelain teaset rattled in place, with Mrs. Riddle leaning backwards with a gasp. The door opened merely a second later to reveal the tall frame of the elder vampire, whose crimson red eyes made Mary Riddle squeak in terror as she nearly fainted, but he hardly paid them any mind as he pulled up his son and gathered him against his chest. Marzan went with it easily, squeezing his eyes shut. Multiple sets of footsteps quickly made it to the door in the next minute and Lucille came in with her colleage, closely followed by a worried Iraia, who promptly went to his husband to make sure Marzan was alright.

"Is everybody alright?" Lucille asked, as she repaired the broken teacup and vanished the spilled tea.

Presumably she received a sign that yes, everyone was alright.

"My apologies, Mr. Gaunt" she told him softly "I should've intervened sooner"

He opened his eyes finally to look at her, embarrassed that his eyelashes were moist, and shook his head without letting go of Elerhys. He categorically refused to look at the other side of the room.

"I'm sorry, I wanted to call you…"

"It's ok, darling" Iraia brushed his hair gently, although he did not interrupt the hug, seeing as this was likely the first time Elerhys had been so forwards with a show of affection. "Can you tell us what happened?"

Could he? Maybe not then and there…

"… I want to go home. Please?"

"Yes, that might be for the best. We can discuss everything at a later date" Lucille agreed easily. "Again, I apologise…"

"No worries, Mrs. Silverling" Iraia said with a strained smile, picking up Marzan's wand from the couch. "We appreciate your help as always… come on, let's go"

The door clicked shut behind them and Marzan's tears finally made it out, quiet sobs shaking his body as Elerhys' arms tightened around him. It seemed like it would be another long day for him…

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No holidays were usually celebrated in the fortress and that year there was even less to celebrate, with Marzan being in such low spirits. Măriuca and Lăcrămioara tried to coax him into one of his destructive adventures through the armoury, but he didn't feel up to do even that. Little by little though, he started to feel better and he readjusted, no longer irrationally afraid that he would be plucked away from his home. By then winter break was almost over, but before the last week fizzled away Lucille returned in her scheduled visit. She asked about his wellbeing first, always inquiring about his views on perhaps considering seeing that mind healer, but he still denied it and she didn't press. She did tell him however, that she and her colleage had stern talk with the Riddles about overstepping, and that she needed an answer as to what to do; depending on his wishes, they could either tell them to go away for good… or they could give them one more chance. If that happened, it would be on his own terms however. After the disaster that was that last meeting neither Elerhys or Iraia were any open about having their child anywhere near them, but they were leaving it up to him, as at the end of the day, they were unfortunately related by blood.

He felt a little vulnerable still, but he was also more or less back to normal and that meant he felt up to being petty and mean. His one condition to seeing them again was that they should see his own world… in other words, they were invited to visit the Dracul estate in Wallachia for a day. And at the very least, everyone in the castle agreed it was objectively a fun thing to do; mess with them.

Lestat and Edward were appropriately threatened by Elerhys to behave, and in preparation they were all dressed to apparent being human beings. Eli was the least happy about it, bundled in warmer clothes for the weather, but they all complied regardless. Even Esmeralda made it out of her rooms to observe in curiosity.

Early and as everyone readied the castle for mortal visits, Adelina dressed him in one of his best robes that were delicately embroidered by hand, and wrapped him in a fur cloak he was positive came from a bear. Iraia met him at the doors of the fortress and they walked together through the town as they made their way to the outer gate. His adoptive father was wrapped in a white coat over a beautiful red hanfu and he looked worried so Marzan distracted him by rambling about his latest lessons, which did bring a smile out of him at the end, although it turned a bit colder once they reached the gate. He wanted to assure him everything would be fine, but he thought it was best to not jinx it. Lucille and the Riddles arrived by portkey about three minutes later… Mr. and Mrs. Riddle threw up at the side of the road, although remarkably Tom Riddle remained standing, albeit a bit green.

"Good morning" Iraia greeted. "I trust you've had a good trip?"

"Yes, indeed, thank you very much" Lucille nodded.

They waited until the Riddles had straightened up, and Lucille was kind enough to offer them handkerchiefs. The silence was awkward, but eventually they offered a weak greeting.

"If you're ready?" Iraia gestured to the gates of the medieval wall. "Welcome to the Dracul estate. My husband will meet us in a moment"

They turned and walked back inside with the Riddles and Lucille following behind.

"There's a village" Mr. Riddle commented, surprised.

"Yes— the fortress is centuries old and the people of the town have lived here for as long as it has been standing. My husband's family is responsible for their wellbeing and happiness" Iraia kindly smiled to the few people they walked by and they all waved and briefly greeted the both of them before going on with their daily routine.

Marzan almost wanted to turn around to see their faces, especially as they walked towards the castle. They crossed a stone bridge over a clear iced river running around the castle almost like a moat, and entered through the open gates. Elerhys was readily waiting with his hands behind his back, Ladislau and the girls by his side.

"Welcome" he said curtly and to the point.

Behind them the doors groaned as a couple of guards tugged them closed.

"Breakfast is about to be served, if you wish to join us"

"That would be appreciated" Tom Riddle said before his parents could.

The girls took their coats away and they walked in relative silence to the formal dining hall. The table had been set already, with plenty of food that was just about enough for everyone… the elder vampires were capable of digesting human food even if it didn't have any taste nor nutritional value, and he imagined none of them were any eager to play human in that aspect, but they were there regardless. Elerhys made the presentations quickly, and then they sat down to eat, although this time most of the elder vampires sat on one side, leaving the humans to sit next to Marzan… more or less, as Eli stuck to his side, playing very well the role of a young family member that held him in high regard. At first it seemed his grandparents were somewhat reluctant to eat, but not even they could turn down the delicious feast before them and most of the food was eaten successfully.

The servants took away the trays and plates and Adelina made her way to the children, bowing down with a smile and a playful glint to her eye.

"Would the little lord like to have dessert today?"

Ah, the benefits of the entire situation… being spoiled.

"Can I have two scoops of ice cream?" he asked quickly.

"One" Elerhys corrected, rolling his eyes. "Just one. Elias, do you want to share with your nephew?"

Eli shook his head.

"No thank you"

Well, one scoop was still one scoop. No dessert was offered to the adults, but biscuits and pastries were brought out along with coffee and tea. To be fair… he had asked for dessert just to show off, he didn't even like sweets that much and having ice cream in winter wasn't the most logical choice… but if he had to choose between every sweet treat the magical world had to offer, he would choose ice cream. In particular, his favourite was mango flavoured, and it was nice to have once in a while.

After breakfast Elerhys' siblings excused themselves and Iraia offered the Riddles a brief tour of the castle— or well, part of it at least since it was much too big to bother going all over it. And so, they moved in a group as Elerhys reluctantly started telling them facts and stories about the place, little by little lessening his tension. Eli trailed ahead of the group, jumping from tile to tile of the irregular stone floor, while Marzan strayed towards the back and ended up walking side by side next to his father. It was silent between the both of them for a while, at least until Tom Riddle awkwardly cleared his throat.

"The castle is impressive… do you ever get lost?"

"I have a good memory" he shrugged. "But I still haven't seen all of it either, I stick to the parts I know"

"Hmm, I see. What is your favourite thing to do around here?"

Ah, getting to know him then?

"I like reading, but I never have much time. I have lessons every day even in winter" not that it was an issue… he was happy to be distracted from boredom. "Mătuşă mea Carmilla is teaching me to handle a sword, and I quite liked flying but I've been banned from doing so"

"Um, I assume you do that with magic? Why are you not allowed?" he sounded concerned.

"He fell into a lake" Elerhys called from the front of the group, cutting off a conversation about whatever many times the castle had to be rebuilt after petty wars, and surprising the Riddles with his excellent hearing.

"It was an accident! I didn't know HanQiang's scales were so slippery!" he defended himself. "And the water broke my fall so I wasn't hurt"

Now his father looked even more concerned, and Mary Riddle laughed nervously.

"Is that so?"

"He gets up to plenty of trouble" the elder vampire glanced back with a malicious glint in his eyes. "Getting up the towers from the outside…"

"I didn't slip once"

"… climbing the chandeliers…"

"The fae stole my wand!"

"… and his favourite activity recently has been to arrange the entire armoury around the castle"

"I was studying"

His grandparents suddenly seemed equally relieved that he wasn't their problem, and reconsidering their desire to know him.

"He's well behaved most of the time" Iraia sighed, giving his husband an affectionate scolding glance. "And he's absolutely brilliant, it would be a shame to not let him explore that when most other things bore him"

"Oh" Tom Riddle made a pause as they walked, and then cleared his throat again— it seemed like a nervous tick, now that Marzan thought about it. "And um, your school… how is it?"

"Boring" he scrunched up his nose. "I have the best grades, I'm a prefect, I've never gotten detention and I have a lot of things to do this year because I have important exams, and I still get bored"

The conversation went more or less back to between him and his father and soon the rest of the group was a bit further ahead, which added another layer of privacy… this was the important part, after all; his grandparents could be related, but it was his father who was supposed to want him and make the effort to breach the gap.

"It's good to hear you keep good grades" his father said with a faint smile. "Do you learn only spells?"

Ah, the question of the ages… this either ended with him being even more put off by magic, or understanding it a bit better.

"Not really, we have potions, herbology, care of magical creatures, divination… history. Spell-wise, charms, defense against the dark arts, transfiguration…" he eyed him from the corner of his eye and saw that he didn't know how to react. "It's not that different from your world, you know? Potions are useful to almost anything, mostly for medicine. And we use charms for the same things you use electricity and machinery"

He looked surprised, and he couldn't exactly blame him… as someone who had been raised by muggles, he knew how shocking it was to find that magic was absolutely nothing like one initially imagined. Most muggles probably thought wizards spent their time turning people into frogs, which was of course ridiculous— well, now that he thought about it, it wasn't such a terrible idea. Voldemort would've been much more feared if people thought he'd turn them into frogs… Wizards retained their magic when turning into an animagus form, but being forcefully transformed into another thing restricted their magic… enough time spent under that shape and the mind would slowly vanish as well. It was quite a horrific method of disposing of people. There goes a wasted opportunity.

"Oh. I didn't… I didn't realise"

"Guess nobody really does until they experience it"

"But normal people normally aren't allowed to"

Marzan bit his tongue to not say something particularly snarky and instead tried to frame it another way.

"Should they be allowed to?" he asked.

Tom Riddle frowned to himself in thought.

"It would probably help humanity at large advance, wouldn't it? The war could end much faster, medicine would be so much better… transportation would hardly take any time!"

Marzan nodded in understanding.

"That's what humans said before they hunted the elves to extinction and drove the fae into exile" Tom flinched, eyes going as wide as saucers, but Marzan didn't stop. "I said I could make things float around since I was a baby; the kids and caretakers of the orphanage knew that. I was put through exorcisms no less than five times and they tried all different ways of shaking it out of me. It wasn't until I started defending myself that they stopped"

And just because the worst abuse had stopped didn't mean he was treated any better. He was always left behind, always given less. He only ever got the scraps left by all the other children, he was an undesirable… somebody that they didn't want to associate with, something repulsive.

"Do you have any idea of how many of my kind have died to witch hunts, or how many witch hunts there have been at all? Most of those who were killed were children, or their mothers by trying to protect them" or just ordinary women, who they didn't treat as human, but that was a whole different can of worms. "The thing about humans, magic or not, is that they crave power about all else"

He stopped walking to glance at one of the very few windows of the hallway, which gave view into the inner courtyard. The sky had darkened with clouds, likely for a blizzard to come in the following hours.

"… Do you hate non-magic people?"

He blinked and turned his head to look at his father, although he could hardly read his conflicted expression.

"I don't hate them. I'm afraid of them"

That was the simple truth, one that Voldemort had refused to admit back then.

His father took a shuddering breath.

"I think I'm afraid of you as well" he whispered.

Marzan stayed silent for a few seconds, only moving to momentarily crack open the window and let inside a winged fae that fluttered away down the hall.

"You have the right to be, after what my mother did. She would've likely gone to prison if anybody had caught her"

Tom nodded stiffly and leaned his weight on the wall as he likely felt faint, despite disguising it well. He looked pale, even more than he was supposed to be, and Marzan briefly wondered if he had looked that sickly before during his first life.

"But you are happy now?" he asked. "Even if your…" he hesitated. "… even if you were adopted by two men?"

By two—? Ah.

Ah.

Marzan had— he had completely forgotten that it wasn't normal for muggles. Sure, he had been raised with them, but from his perspective it had been well over centuries since he last lived in their society and he had fully adjusted to the magic world by the time he had graduated Hogwarts the first time around. He could hardly even remember anything about his catholic upbringing.

"That's… wizards do that all the time. There's no laws against it" at least not that he knew of, in the magic societies he had visited or heard about.

His father struggled even more with that over the issue they had discussed before but he supposed it made sort of sense? This was something deeply ingrained within his upbringing and values, so he prepared for a debate.

"But it's- not natural" there it goes.

"Why not?"

Tom squirmed in his place. "God created men and women to marry each other"

"We don't have a religion. That's your god" he pointed out, trying to say it as kind as he could.

"Men need women to have children, only then does our society prevail"

"There's plenty of people in the world, a lot of them marry people of the opposite sex so there's never a risk of society failing"

"What if you want children?"

"I'm adopted" Marzan tried not to let his lips twist into a smile. "But most wizards in that situation will just ask a woman they trust to be their surrogate and have their child"

He gave him a minute to have his little crisis while he sat on the windowsill and patiently waited, being plenty entertained with the way he had just sent him into a spiral. He did always like to torture people a little bit, and it would probably do him good in the long run.

"Do they ever…" Tom didn't finish the sentence, opening and closing his mouth as he didn't know how to phrase it.

"… tell me I should be the same?" he guessed, and he didn't receive a definitive yes but apparently he'd guessed close enough. "They don't, nobody really does. I also don't have any interest in romance or sex for the time being, but if I ever do I'd be free to have it with whoever I please, be it man or woman or anything else in between. Well. Perhaps not a werewolf, tată would hate that"

His nonchalant answer didn't actually reassure Tom in any way but for the time being Marzan wasn't inclined to hold it over his head. Instead he got up and gestured for him to follow so they could catch up with the rest, which were likely in the sun room to have a cup of tea.

As far as he was concerned the interaction hadn't gone horribly bad… the results would be seen in the upcoming days. Fortunately it wouldn't be face to face, as they were due to return to school soon. Merlin, he had so much to tell his friends.

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* The three names of the servants are Romanian. Măriuca is a variant of Maria, Adelina means beauty, and Lăcrămioara means lily of the valley.

* Any aspects of the vampires are only somewhat based upon the characters in fiction they originally are. Mostly, they will be OOC. I would also like to clarify that Ruthven's first name was made up for this work, which I completely neglected to mention before.

* Vampire children are a fascinating concept. I absolutely loved the take in "Let The Right One In", the novel Eli comes from, and I've decided to apply the same principle. As such, vampires are developmentally stuck at whatever age they were turned. A young adult will always be just shy of well matured, a teenager will always lack control over their emotional outbursts, etc., etc.. So, vampire children will always be children of the age they were turned at, and while they might have a bigger understanding of adult matters, their brain will never equal to that of an adult. Eli is going to be twelve years old forever.

* Mătuşă is Romanian for aunt, and mea means 'my'. Thus, Mătuşă mea is 'my aunt'. I however do not speak Romanian and I would gladly stand corrected if I have made a mistake.

* There are traces of Christianity as a religion in canon in the shape of holidays like Christmas and Easter, but that's as much as we can see. I decided that it made no sense to include it within magical society since magic itself goes against the religion and thus, it would be stupid for wizards to be christian. Christian holidays are appropriations of pagan holidays, so one could make the argument these are what wizards celebrate, but as for Hogwarts is concerned it's likely done to lessen the cultural shock for muggleborn children. My thoughts on that are much too long for this note so they will have to wait.

* My reasoning for completely getting rid of homophobia -and queerphobia at large I suppose- is that we, as author and readers, live in the twenty first century and I do not care enough to let it happen for 'historical accuracy', this is a work of fiction set in a fictional world. They have magic anyway, they have no reason to think that way. Homophobia is also intrinsically linked into religion, which they do not have.

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I apologise for the late update, I will hopefully return sooner next time.