Little Riddle | James Potter

PROLOGUE

Merope Gaunt took a lot of secrets to the grave, but Tom Riddle took it upon himself to unveil every last one of them, no matter the consequence or circumstance. The Riddle siblings had lived their lives in the shadows, unaware of the rich history surrounding their family and the major misfortunes that marked it. Neither blinked an eye when they got sorted into Slytherin House for it was still unbeknown to them that their ancestry had greatly influenced the Sorting Hat's decision. But once they learned about their heritage and rightful title as heirs of Slytherin, the rest of the story began to unfold by itself. It had been hard for them to learn all about their family's twisted dark secrets. To learn that Tom Riddle Sr. had been a muggle, and quite a disgraceful one, at that. To learn that their mother had been a disgrace to her family. To learn that they had been conceived under the use of a love potion.

Their father had never loved their mother; Merope had simply made sure to keep him under the influence of the potion at all times, even after she conceived Tom. It wasn't until she was pregnant with her second child that she got tired of living a lie and chose to come clean to the love of her life, naively believing that the potion had altered the man's genuine feelings. Naively believing that he would never dare leave them. They were the picture perfect family, after all, what else could he ask for? But she had been terribly wrong, you see, because Tom Riddle was not only horrified but downright disgusted by the mere sight of them. And as the tale tells it, he left before Merope could mend her mistakes and falsely rekindle the love.

They arrived at Wool's orphanage on the night of August 14, where a five-year-old Tom watched with curiosity as his mother writhed with agony and pain. On the early hours of August 15, after hours of haunting screams and a concerning amount of blood loss, Alexis Delphini Riddle was born. Tom had been too preoccupied with the baby in his arms to notice his mother's cries had stopped, and unfortunately, so had her heart. Merope passed away on Alexis' birthday, taking with her any chance the siblings had of living a seemingly normal life. They had been conceived under the use of a love potion, their family had practised inbreeding for centuries, and the woman who carried them in her womb had been the most miserable and love-deprived woman to exist. It was no wonder the Riddle siblings were far from ordinary.

Tom took Alexis under his wing and assumed all responsibilities regarding her. From their years at Wool's, where he believed the staff was far too incompetent to care for his sister, to the two years they got to spend together at Hogwarts. Tom always cared for her, albeit in his own twisted ways. But they never saw eye to eye, not when it came to blood purity or the murdering of innocent people. And if Alexis herself could not stop Tom from going down that path, then nothing would.

After Tom graduated Alexis replaced him as Hogwarts' brightest student, although admittedly she had quite some competition in the area. This was all much to the dismay of a certain redheaded Gryffindor classmate of hers who couldn't have been any more discontent with both Riddle siblings. Lily Evans and Alexis Riddle had an ongoing silent rivalry, one in which the Gryffindor tried her absolute hardest to outsmart the Slytherin and the Slytherin wasn't all that fazed about her effort.

It was during her third year, when she first got to experience Hogwarts without Tom, that four Gryffindors got to target her at last after two long years of waiting, Finally, the Marauders could get their revenge on all Slytherins without having to worry about Tom Riddle cursing them into oblivion. Thirteen-year-old James Potter and Sirius Black attempted to hex her in front of a crowd of people while Peter Pettigrew watched ahead in awe and Remus Lupin kept his gaze on his book. She didn't want to harm them so she simply disarmed them using nonverbal magic and used the 'Arresto Momentum' spell to slow them down so she could peacefully leave. Another thing she differed from Tom at was that she despised being the centre of attention.

But then Lily Evans tried to hex her. She'd been smart, kept herself at a reasonable distance behind other students so she wouldn't catch anyone's eye. She hid her wand in her robes and muttered the spell, but Alexis was not the type of person you ever caught off guard, and Lily learned this once she saw how her fellow young witch blocked the spell with ease, almost as if she had been waiting for it. Lily also had the misfortune of learning yet another one of Alexis' rules, do not attack unless provoked, and it was that way that the entire school learned that Alexis Riddle was not to mess with. They never bothered her again, not Lily and certainly not the Marauders. For years, they were able to coexist under the same roof whilst having the minimum interaction with one another.

But as soon as she finished her meal at the Start of Term Feast after returning to the castle for her sixth year McGonagall directed her to the Headmaster's office, where three out of the four Marauders had also been instructed to go. An awkward tension engulfed the four students as they made their way past the gargoyle and into Dumbledore's office, all of them silently wondering what the reason for such an odd arrangement was. The Headmaster didn't beat around the bush, he'd been very clear when he voiced his plans, regardless of how odd they seemed: let's start a duelling club.

She knew the purpose of the club was to prepare other students to fight her brother and his followers. Dumbledore hadn't outright said it, but he did mention the attacks and murders that had been terrorizing the wizarding world as of late, all her brother's doing. The identity of Lord Voldemort hadn't been linked to Tom Riddle yet, but it hadn't been a challenge for Alexis to make the connection. Even if the weekly letters he sent her were vague she knew all about his plans and whereabouts. She knew the locket he gifted her was far more than just a relic, knew about his stance on blood purity, and about his quest for immortality. But her hands were tied and she could do nothing but watch how the man who raised her was turning into a monster.

She accepted. She was never going to fight against her brother. She would never dare raise her wand against him, not out of fear, but out of a pathetic attempt of love and a vague sense of gratitude. But she was never going to fight by his side either. She was going to help others prepare. Teach them how to defend themselves and those they love. She was not like Tom. She may have been conceived under the use of a love potion and may never be able to feel love or extreme happiness, but she wouldn't dare take it away from the people around her. She wanted them to relish the feelings she could only long for.