Chapter 34

Platform 9 3/4 was busy with all sorts of people from all walks of life as the clock moved closer to eleven in the morning. There were the older students looking bored as they loaded their trunks onto the Hogwarts Express, then brightening up when they met with old friends to talk about their summer. There were the younger students who were more excited, running around to greet everyone they missed during the two months that school was out. And then there were the first years, standing with their parents, somewhat hesitant to board the train that would take them away on their first year away from home.

Tom Riddle took this all in with a critical eye, though his outward demeanor affected nonchalance. He walked along the platform with his wife's hand tucked securely in the crook of his elbow while his other hand kept their daughter's trunk smoothly levitated a few feet in front of them.

"Edrea, do mind your trunk. You do not want to board the train without it," Hermione called out mildly to the eleven-year-old skipping ahead of them.

Their daughter turned around quickly with a hand to her mouth to hide her sheepish smile. Apparently, she had indeed forgotten about her trunk and was eager to board the Hogwarts Express out of curiosity. Tom's lips lifted into a small smile as he regarded his daughter. His blood was strong, and she had inherited practically all of his looks: his black hair, his dark eyes, his lithe frame, and his pale complexion, much to Hermione's chagrin. Perhaps the only thing Hermione managed to pass on to their child was her love of books, but he loved books as well so even that point was up for debate.

It had taken him and Hermione two years after the arrest of Harry Potter to decide to have another child. He had been busy with the MLE and she had devoted most of her time to the Muggle Relations Office before officially transferring to the board of the Hogwarts Preparatory School, which had paid off for both of them. They were regarded as wizarding society's power couple, him because of the peace their community now enjoyed after the war and the brief rebellion that followed it, and her because of the work she has done with the education of young wizards and witches.

But after working with children for two years, Hermione had begun to long for her own child, and Tom, ever sensitive to her needs, picked up on it. He couldn't say he was eager to be a father, but he wasn't adverse to it. He would never admit it to Hermione, but losing their first child fourteen years ago gave him some measure of relief. He wasn't ready to raise a child that time, not when he was still working to gain his place in the Ministry. However, he knew he needed an heir to continue his bloodline, and if having a child made Hermione happy, then all the better for them both.

Tom set the trunk down on the pavement and gestured to Edrea. "Why don't you try levitating it," he suggested.

Edrea's eyes narrowed at the challenge, and she brought out her wand. "Wingardium leviosa!" she cried, and her trunk rose a few feet into the air with too much spring that Tom had to pull Hermione out of the way.

"Almost knocked your mother in the head with that one, dear," he said, amusement leaking into his voice.

"Don't worry, I have thick hair," Hermione quipped, letting go of Tom's arm to step to Edrea's side. She placed a hand on her daughter's arm and adjusted it. "Loosen your wrist a little bit, Edrea, it will give you better control. There now, that's perfect," she added as Edrea managed to lower her trunk down.

Hermione walked back to Tom's side, and this time, he wrapped an arm around her shoulders instead of offering her his arm. She raised an eyebrow at the rare public display of affection, but he merely smirked at her. "I have no doubt, Hermione, that the waterworks are well on their way with the little one off to boarding school for the first time. I thought I should brace myself."

"I am not going to cry," she told him, rolling her eyes as they resumed walking down the platform. "Edrea's been looking forward to this for a long time. I'm happy for her. She's growing up." Her voice caught in her throat for an instant, but Tom was quick enough to notice.

"Perhaps I should just remind you of the advantages of having the house to ourselves again," he whispered in her ear, purposefully grazing her skin with his teeth. He pulled away when she shivered, and he noted the flush in her cheeks with satisfaction. Fifteen years of marriage and their lovemaking was still good. Their marriage was good, all in all.

More than good. Better than ever, actually, he thought to himself, glancing down at his wife. It had taken him years to tell her, even after his own realization. He knew he had come to love her long before she had almost died, but saying the words never seemed right to him, until he watched her give birth to Edrea. He had stayed with her through her labor, and at the height of the pain he wanted to reach out and take that pain unto himself so she wouldn't suffer anymore. That night, he had crept into her bed to lie down beside her, pressed his lips to her ear, and whispered 'I love you' to her. She had turned her head to look at him, but she didn't get a chance to answer because their newborn daughter chose that moment to demand for a feeding. And his heart had clenched, not in a painful way, when he watched Hermione put their daughter to her breast.

Tom swore under his breath as he recalled that night. Salazar, Hermione's not the only one getting emotional today. Lord Voldemort has turned into a bloody sap! He shook his head slightly, earning him a questioning look from Hermione. He smiled at her reassuringly. Everything was fine, he hadn't turned into a sap, not really. He still had his plans to carry out, and he had the perfect partner to help him achieve it.

His tenure as the department head of the MLE couldn't be described as anything else but stellar. He had whipped the Aurors up into shape, once again giving it the reputation as one of the most prestigious posts in the Ministry. He had revised the way Aurors trained, giving them more background on the old magics, and doing it so surreptitiously that no one ever really realized that the dark wizard catchers were close to being dark wizards themselves. Of course, Tom had to make sure that this newfound power by the Aurors would not be abused. The Aurors were strictly monitored by the Ministry and the Hit Wizards, and doing advanced old magic required a wizard or a witch to secure clearance from him. Tom knew the dark arts like no one else, and he knew some people can handle it better than others. Thus, he weeded out those whom he knew would succumb too easily to the pull of the dark arts. Those unfit to handle the pressure were reallocated to different subsections of the MLE, and this further cemented the status of the Aurors as being the elite.

"This sort of feels nostalgic, but it's also a lot different from what I experienced," Hermione said, bringing him out of his reverie.

Tom looked around them. "Ah, you mean the muggleborns."

She nodded. "When I was here, I didn't know anybody at all. Now, because of the prep school, these children are not meeting as complete strangers anymore." She paused as she looked ahead of them at a group of children huddled around a beautiful blonde witch. "Oh, goodness, that's Victoire. She's grown up to be a quite lovely lady."

"And that gaggle of children around her must be Lestrange's brood," he said dryly.

"Did you have any idea that Rabastan would choose to woo Fleur when you gave her to him?"

"No," he said, though he was pleased by Rabastan's actions. He was smarter than his brother. Fleur was a broken woman when she came under the Death Eater's care, and Rabastan had chosen to court her and bring her over to his side, eventually managing to cut her off completely from the Weasleys. Not that Molly Weasley would ever know. She had never regained her sanity even after her stint in Azkaban. Tom had made sure of that.

"At least Fleur appears to be content, if not happy," Hermione said.

"Hermione, she had three more children with Rabastan. I'm sure she will never admit it, but she is more than content with him," he pointed out.

"The number of children does not equate to the happiness of a marriage," she huffed. "I'm perfectly happy with you, and we agreed that one child is enough."

Tom didn't say anything. He knew Hermione was happy enough with him, but her life was still incomplete, and he knew there was nothing he could do about it. She had remained estranged with her parents. After Potter's arrest, she had asked him to reverse the memory charm she had done. He had advised against it—he didn't really want any in-laws, especially muggle in-laws. He told her that he wasn't sure if he could undo the charm without permanent brain damage. Yet she leaned on him in that way that only she could do, and he caved in. Of course he had reversed the charm perfectly, but her parents had not taken it as well as she had hoped. Aside from feeling betrayed, they were afraid when they realized how easily they can be manipulated with magic with them none the wiser about it. They chose to stay away from Hermione, and she had been inconsolable for a while.

She had tried again, after she had given birth to Edrea. But even the presence of a grandchild did not change their hearts. Tom had then insisted that they be obliviated of their knowledge of the wizarding world. Hermione agreed, letting him do the spell, and she closed that chapter of her life and moved on as best as she could.

A familiar sight in the distance brought Tom back to the present. Another of Hermione's disappointments. "Edrea, wait," he called out, hoping to redirect his daughter before they crossed paths with the Potters, but he was too late. Hermione had seen them, and her step faltered.

Edrea's trunk collided with one of the Potter boys' trunks, and it fell to the platform with a dull thud. "Oh, I'm sorry, Albus," she said breathlessly.

The younger of the two boys gave her a look, then his eyes flicked up towards Tom and Hermione standing behind Edrea. The boy gave a small shrug. "It's fine, Edrea. No harm done."

And awkward paused followed as the four adults looked at each other. Tom regarded his former nemesis neutrally. Potter had been sentenced to five years in Azkaban, but his sentence was lessened to three years because he had shown good behavior and true remorse, according to Kingsley Shacklebolt. Remorse, my ass, Tom thought derisively as he took in Potter's wariness around him. Shacklebolt just being too soft-hearted regarding the boy wonder. You put one toe out of line, Potter, and I will come after you again. And this time, Shacklebolt will no longer have your back.

"Harry, Ginny," Hermione said, giving them a tight smile. "I forgot that Albus will be in the same year as Edrea."

"You handled them both in prep school, love," Tom said in amusement, adding the endearment for Potter's benefit. "But nice effort for small talk."

She looked at him reproachfully, and he laughed, removing his arm from around her shoulders. "I'll help Edrea with her trunk. Catch up to us when you're done here."

He placed a hand on Edrea's shoulder and maneuvered her around the Potters. He knew Hermione continued being friends with Ginny because she actually felt sorry for the girl who had been used and abused by her family and her husband, but since Potter's release from Azkaban, that friendship had turned awkward. He didn't know why in the world Hermione even bothered to keep it up, but he knew better than to say so.

"Daddy, what's with you and Albus' dad?" Edrea asked.

Tom chewed on his lower lip. His daughter had inherited his keen perception of people and their interactions. "Mr Potter was opposed to my appointment at the Ministry," he finally said. "Just politics, dear. When you grow older, I will tell you more about it."

He pondered on this, and if Edrea will learn more about the wizarding war at Hogwarts. He knew the second wizarding war will not be covered in History of Magic until the fifth year, but the older students might mention something now that Edrea was going to be with them in school. He would have to have a precautionary talk with Rabastan. At least with Rabastan as Headmaster, he had more control over Hogwarts compared to before.

"Good morning, Minister-Elect," a voice said at his elbow.

"Astoria," Tom said, giving the woman a nod. "Draco with you?"

"Struggling with Scorpius' trunk. I think the kid packed a lot of his bedroom paraphernalia to cope with being away from home," she said with a smile. "Ah, here they are."

"Scorpius!" Edrea said, greeting her best friend. "Why are you letting your dad carry your trunk for you?"

"So I can carry yours for you," the boy said, giving her a smirk worthy of the Malfoy name.

"I can levitate it myself."

"I know, Ed," Scorpius said, bending down to grasp one end of Edrea's trunk. "But doing this—oof!—makes me look like a proper gentleman. And dad says that Malfoys should be proper examples of a cultured wizarding society. This is heavy, Ed."

Astoria whipped out her wand and cast a lightweight charm on Edrea's trunk, allowing Scorpius to lift it up to the train.

"Hey, didn't think of doing that for Scorp's trunk, did you?" Draco said, standing up and giving his son's trunk a kick.

"You're an Auror, Draco. Use those muscles," Astoria said, laughing.

"You love these muscles," Draco said, grinning back at her.

"I'll take that from you, Mr Malfoy," Edrea said, carefully levitating Scorpius' trunk onto the train and following Scorpius inside.

Draco turned serious as he greeted Tom. "Lord Voldemort," he said. "Minister-Elect."

Tom nodded back at him. Draco was the perfect subordinate. He was good with magic, including the dark arts, but more than that he was smart. He didn't need his hand held all the time, and he had the capacity to think and act on his own without any drastic fallout. He was the perfect successor to Tom as Head of the MLE, especially since Tom knew Draco would know when he would need to look the other way.

"Astoria, Draco," Hermione said, coming up to them and wrapping a hand around Tom's arm.

"Hermione, where have you been?" Draco asked as Astoria stepped forward to give Hermione air kisses on each cheek.

"Saw Ginny," Hermione said.

Draco raised an eyebrow and looked across the sea of people. "And Potter, I see," he said, smirking. "Ah, I remember, his second son is in Scorpius' year."

"And Edrea's," Hermione said.

Just then, Edrea and Scorpius emerged from the train to say their final farewells. Hermione bent down to give their daughter a hug, and Tom reached out to gently ruffle her hair.

"You write to us as often as you want, all right?" Hermione said, blinking away her tears.

"Of course, Mum," Edrea said.

"And if you need to reach us quickly, you can go straight to Headmaster Lestrange," Tom said.

"Dad, won't that be weird?"

"Not at all," he said, ignoring Hermione's eye-rolling. So what if his daughter grew up with some sort of self-entitlement? She was his daughter. Of course, she was entitled.

Edrea and Scorpius boarded the train again, and soon after, the train was pulling out of the station. Hermione shook her head. "Really, Tom? Run straight to the Headmaster?"

"Hermione, you know odd things can happen at Hogwarts. And should they happen to Edrea, I have no doubt that you more than me will be ecstatic that Rabastan is one convenient dark mark away," he pointed out.

"Okay," she conceded, her eyes still looking at the direction the train had gone as the platform started to clear of people. "But… Hogwarts will be safe now, won't it? I mean, the only reason it wasn't before was because of…"

"Me," he said when she couldn't finish her sentence. "Edrea will be fine, Hermione. This is a different time now for wizardkind."

"When is your installation, my lord?" Astoria asked.

"In a month," Tom said, taking Hermione's arm as the four of them started to walk back to the main station.

In one month, he was going to be Minister of Magic. Draco Malfoy was going to be the Head of MLE, Rabastan was Headmaster of Hogwarts, and more than three quarters of the Wizengamot were his men. Theo Nott was handling Ars Tenebrae full-time now, scouring their clients and employees for those who were proficient in the dark arts. Wizarding Britain was under his control now, and he meant to hone it into a strong community that would be the envy of other wizarding societies. He would then extend his influence to other countries, uniting all of wizardkind. And once he has the support of every witch and wizard all over the world, then… He would have to consider if it would be worth his while to go after the muggles without destroying his relationship with his wife and his status in the wizarding world. It would take a lot of time and effort, and a lot of maneuvering on his part, but he was eager for the challenge. But first, there was the matter of his immortality.

"What time does the portkey leave again?" he asked Hermione, his thoughts returning back to the present.

"Three in the afternoon," she replied.

"Going somewhere?" Draco asked.

"A long-awaited little holiday, before Tom starts work next month," Hermione said.

"Europe?"

"A little bit further east. Iran," she answered.

"Iran? What the fuck is in Iran?" Draco blurted out as Astoria elbowed him for his foul language.

Tom caught Hermione's eye and they shared a smile.

Note: It's finished! Thank you for all those who stuck by this until the end, especially to those who left reviews, they really encouraged me to keep writing. I did my best with this story and I hope you enjoyed it. If you somehow find it lacking, I apologize, but it's my first fic and I intend to write more so constructive comments will always be welcome either through a review or a PM. You all have a good day.