Riddles of Truth

AlwaysPadfoot

AN: So this is going to be quite AU, but that's the way my mind works :P

PART I: Never to Plan

5th December 1964

Tom Riddle felt somewhat accomplished returning to Britain after his many years away furthering himself, gaining more power than anyone could have ever imagined.

The cold did not bother him as he walked briskly through the snow in Diagon Alley. He'd pooled all his money and valuables into a high security vault at Gringotts, just as a temporary hold whilst he fully regained his followers, so to speak. He pulled the hood of his cloak further forward as he pressed on towards the Leaky Cauldron, despite the street being completely abandoned.

Originally he had thought to stay somewhere more low key, but then low-key was surrounded suspicion. So many people passed through the Leaky Cauldron that one extra person wouldn't cause anyone to bat an eyelid. It was around closing time so when Tom stepped into the warmth of the pub, pushing his hood back to fully accustom him to his surroundings. There were only a handful of people still there drinking as it was getting quite late now. He clocked them all, their faces permanently saved into his memory, just in case. Tom crossed the pub to the bar where there was a young blonde man wiping down the wooden bar top. Upon reaching the bar, the young man looked up with a smile.

"Evening, how can I help you?"

Tom put on his most charming smile, "Good evening, I'd like to acquire a room for the night."

"Of course, sign your name in the book over there and I'll go grab you a key."

He indicated to the huge book on the end of the bar. Tom nodded and moved swiftly down the bar, waving his hand over the book so it opened to the correct page. Thoughtfully he picked up the quill, dipping it into the ink before he brought it to the page. Eloquently his hand travelled across the paper, leaving the name Thomas Rivvet in perfect cursive. Even Tom knew the smallest changes went unnoticed. Just as he replaced the quill, the blonde man returned with key number twelve grasped in his hand and handed it to him.

"It's nice to meet you Mr Rivvet," he said, "Please taken Room Twelve, you can pay on your departure."

Tom bowed his head in respect simply to humour himself before heading upstairs to the room he'd been designated. Upon reaching his room, he warded the door to prevent any unwelcome visitors before he took a seat, removing his cloak and shoes and leaving them neatly at the end of his single bed. Once Tom found himself without anything else to do, he stood and entered the bathroom. Standing in front of the mirror, Tom ran his fingers over his hallowed checks, his dark hair hung limply in his eyes and his face paler than normal. He had never really considered what disastrous effects creating horcruxes would have to his looks. He ran the water and splashed his face, his mind going over his plans as he stared at his reflection. It would never matter what he looked like, what mattered was his ideals, his persona, his rules. The fear he installed into his followers and his enemies was what mattered.

Wiping his face dry, he retreated to the bed and picked up the paper on advanced multiple conjuration he'd been studying with great interest. As he read the paper he used his wand to prepare a cup of tea, simply because he hadn't drank anything for a while now. Satisfied, he flicked through the paper, using a spare quill on the bedside to make additions and underline things he wanted to use himself. Every so often he took a sip of tea, putting the paper down to fully take in what he was reading so he could fully utilise it in the future.

Tom continued in the same pattern until finally he chose to rest before the morning came. Checking the wards he'd placed once more, he extinguished the lights before listening to the fight that was happening next door. He would have greatly appreciated them considering the peace of the remainder of the bed and breakfast. They could have at least cast a silencing charm so no one else had to listen to the continual screaming of a woman, something along the lines of, "You dirty cheater, I hope you rot in hell. I'm sure I will visit your grave." just with a hell of alot more expletives.

Eventually Tom cast a silencing spell himself before falling into a dreamless sleep.

The following morning Tom Riddle was awoken by an obnoxious knocking at his room door. He quickly got to his feet, removed the wards on the room and swiftly approached the door. Upon opening the door, Tom found himself face to face with two official types.

"Tom Riddle, of the House of Gaunt?" he asked.

Tom raised an eyebrow, not showing his confusion as to why they knew his name. Obviously he knew of his origins within the House of Gaunt, but that was something he no longer had any need for. Not that he knew that anybody else was aware of his bloodline.

"Who, if I may, is asking?"

"Jennifer Greengrass, Department of Magical Liaison, and this Daniel Bones, Department of Magical Law Enforcement."

Tom remained calm and waited for her continue, "You are Tom Riddle, yes?"

"I am," he responded, his hand twitching slightly as he judged the situation.

"Good," she responded, a solemn smile crossing her face for a split second.

"Mr Riddle, we're sorry to inform you that your brother Ben Hyatt has died," the man spoke, "Unfortunately, he was attempting a spell that was beyond him and it killed him and his wife."

Tom stood silently, staring at the man who was stood in his doorway. He wasn't aware he had a brother, he did however know Ben Hyatt, they'd been in the same year at Hogwarts. Except Hyatt had been a Ravenclaw, a nice match in classes, compared to some of Tom's other year mates.

"We understand this comes sudden news, but unfortunately that's not all." Jennifer Greengrass interrupted his thoughts, "If you could just follow us."

He didn't move immediately, assessing the situation as best he could before warily he moved forward, his wand easily accessible just in case something added up wrong. It already didn't add up right so that made Tom even more suspicious as he locked the door and followed the two Ministry workers down into the main pub. He observed the two of them, the only one he recognised was the man. Daniel Bones had been five years younger than Tom in Hogwarts, a Gryffindor, the woman, Jennifer, she must have attended after he'd finished seventh year.

When they reached the main pub, it was busier than the previous night, but there was something strange. Tom's eyes fell to a five year old sat on the bar edge being entertained by the barman and another official sat beside her.

"They're not sure how she survived," Jennifer said, causing Tom's curiosity to peak. "Mr Riddle, this is Elise Hyatt, your niece."

Suddenly, Tom went rigid, his what?

"What do you mean?" He asked. Tom couldn't believe this was quite happening, it certainly threw a spanner into the works and caused him a problem. They didn't really expect him to look after a child because that was certainly what they seemed to be insinuating.

"Elise was in the room when her parents died, the spell had no effect whatsoever on her. She spent five nights in St Mungos, the Healers said the only injury was a gash on the side of her face, but apart from that, nothing. Your brother and his wife suffered fatal injuries caused by an explosion whilst he was casting."

"What was he casting?"

"We believe it was dark magic, something we haven't seen before. Shame, he wanted the power, power is always dangerous. He was such an asset to the Ministry, but you know what they say: Power attracts the worst and corrupts the best."

Tom inclined his head, "All that and she survived?"

Jennifer nodded. At first Tom was sure what he was going to do, but now his mind had started spinning a web separate to the one that had taken him so long to create. How could one little girl survive a dark curse that killed two fully grown wizards? Unless... unless she was destined to be an extremely powerful witch.

"Of course, we understand that you've been travelling a lot recently Mr Riddle," Daniel interrupted, "If it is inconvenient to you, we could put her on our adoption list, but it is most likely she'll have to go into an orphanage as a temporary home."

Tom had made his decision, he wouldn't have his own niece have a childhood much like his own, "I'm sure you realise that I was not aware I had any remaining family alive. However, I would forever regret not taking the chance to know my niece. An eternity of wealth would not convince me otherwise."

"We were hoping you'd say that Mr Riddle," Jennifer smiled, "There are a few formalities, naturally, but with such an esteemed House like yours, they should be smoothed over fairly quickly."

Tom bristled, he was extremely suspicious as to how it had been discovered that he was a descendant of the Ancient House of Gaunt, but for now he decided he would deal with that later, after he'd met his niece.

"Quite," he responded, smiling politely as his mind methodically worked on fixing any kinks in his plan. Jennifer went over to the bar where his niece was stood and Daniel Bones moved alongside Tom.

"We're assuming that you will be remaining here whilst you get your finances in order," he posed his assumption as question.

"Naturally, I assume you'll be coming back later once I've made you aware of the premises I will be taking residence in," Tom replied.

"Of course, and to be sure that Elise is happy with her transition."

"You're leaving her here with me?" Tom asked surprised. For some reason, Daniel Bones was not very easy to read, in fact, it seemed that he was a very accomplished Occlument.

"Indeed, the quicker the transition the better."

Tom was surprised to find that as Jennifer returned with Elise that he didn't really know what to do or say, but he knew when the time came he would find something to say.

"Now Elise, this is Mr Tom Riddle, he's your Uncle, and he's going to be looking after you," Jennifer explained to the girl holding her hand. She was small for her age, with dark plaited hair and honeydew coloured eyes that Tom remembered Ben having in school. She had a faded pink scar that crossed her temple, which he assumed was due to the accident. She was dressed neatly in a blue dress and matching shoes and in one hand she carried a small brown Teddy.

"Uncle Tom," she said uncertainly, "It's nice to meet you Uncle Tom."

Her voice was small and scared, but that was to be expected, all things considering.

Tom mentally cleared his throat in preparation to say something, "It's nice to meet you too, Elise, and who is this?"

He indicated to the Teddy, hoping that he would bond better with the girl if he took some interest in her toy, despite the fact she seemed to carry it round for security. She smiled slightly, "His name is Matthew."

Well, at least she had some sense to give it a name that wasn't simply 'Teddy'. There was some hope for her yet.

Daniel and Jennifer left Elise with Tom twenty minutes later and he had to return to his room to rethink before he continued with his newer plan. He masked his thinking time under the pretence of making sure that there was a bed for Elise to sleep in. Once it was dealt with, he was entirely happy with how his plan had advanced and transformed. His new plan was quite unlike the previous, but in this plan, he would gain trust and power in entirely different way.

"C'mon Elise, lets go into Diagon Alley," Tom said, holding out his hand to his niece, in hopes she would be happy to take it. Elise slid off the window seat and slipped her small hand into his before they headed out into the Alley.

Later that night, two hours after Elise had gone to bed, Tom was mulling over the events of the day. The first thing he had done was claimed whatever fortune and property the Gaunts had remaining after Morfin Gaunt had died in Azkaban twenty years ago. Surprisingly, the Gaunts had more than Tom had originally expected, including several Ministerial roles which he was entitled to. They would most likely come in handy in the near future. The next thing he'd done, something he'd wanted to do for a while now was get rid of his filthy Muggle Father's last name. He was now Thomas, Tom was so common, Marvolo Gaunt. Elise still insisted on Uncle Tom.

Now that he thought about it, looking after Elise all day had been exhausting. She always wanted or needed something and part of him would have been happy to leave her in the room. Though Tom was sure that probably wouldn't go down well in his plan so he refrained and took Elise everywhere she wanted to go.

It didn't end up being many places because after a short time she'd ended up getting sleepy, forcing Tom to carry her back to their room in the Leaky Cauldron.

"Uncle Tom?"

Tom's eyes shot open and he turned over to see Elise stood next to his bed, Matthew gripped in her arms, her eyes wet with tears.

"What is it Elise? What's the matter?"

"I had a bad dream," she sniffed.

"What was your dream about?" Tom asked, as the girl shuffled from foot to foot, sniffling slightly. He sat up rubbing his temples to soothe his headache.

"There were scary ponies, they were dead and really big," Elise explained.

"Thestrals?" Tom raised an eyebrow, peering through the darkness towards his niece.

"What's a thestal?"

"Thestrals, Elise, Thestrals are not dangerous at all."

"Oh."

They stayed in silence for a short while before Tom spoke once more, "Go back to sleep Elise."

She didn't move, "Uncle Tom?"

"What?"

"Can I share with you?"

"No," he said immediately, turning over so he was facing away from her. He may be her Uncle, but he wasn't the family-type, not like that.

"Please?"

"No, Elise, please don't ask again," Tom responded, "Go back to your own bed."

She stayed put and Tom considered casting stupefy so she'd go back to sleep, but in retrospect that probably wouldn't work. Besides the side effects would probably be detrimental to her sleep pattern and cause him even more problems. He sighed before turning over, "You may stay for a little bit, but then you must go back to your own bed."

Tom could have sworn that she smiled before she climbed into the blankets beside him, curling up against his back. He stiffened, staying absolutely still until Elise's breathing slowed and Tom knew she was truly asleep.

His plans had truly changed over the last twenty four hours, and whilst Tom knew he could pull it off, he wasn't completely sure how having a niece was going to affect them. Once he realised the girl would not be returning to her bed, Tom rolled his eyes and settled down to sleep. After all he had a lot to do, and it wasn't going to do itself.

Written for: Light and Darkness Comp R1, using the prompts - Action: drinking a cup of tea - Spell: Stupefy - Colour: honeydew - Word: eternity - Genre: Suspense (In regards to the chapter) - Emotion: satisfaction - Dialogue: "I'm sure I will visit your grave." - Quote: "Power is always dangerous. Power attracts the worst and corrupts the best." – Edward Abbey - Bonus prompt: lifeless pony (insinuated)

Ami :) x