Different worlds

Mattheo walked through the courtyard, not really in a rush to head anywhere. He had just dropped Draco off at an elective class, while Mattheo himself had a free period. He was about to head back inside when he heard someone call to him.

"Mr. Rivers, good to see your feeling better." Mattheo turned to see the headmaster standing behind him, warm smile on his face. He didn't hear anyone sneak up behind him, though.

Mattheo greeted the Headmaster with a nod, "still a little groggy but I couldn't take too much time away from class."

"I see...but there's something else, isn't there?" Dumbledore took a few steps past Mattheo before stopping to look back at him. "I'll assume it has something to do with your and Mr. Malfoy's investigation?"

Mattheo simply nodded his head and began to walk alongside the Headmaster. "I know he had asked you a bit about her...but something about the story he shared bothered me."

"Oh? And what might that be?" The two were talking loud enough for the other to hear, but quietly enough that others could eavesdrop on their conversation.

"Neither you seemed a lot less surprised when Draco had mentioned his father seeing Y/N walking about. Especially if she had died right in front of you, it'd be a lot harder to believe she wasn't gone.. " Mattheo kept his head down as he spoke, trying to think of the right words to say before he ever spoke the sentence before it. "It seemed as of you were more shocked that Lucius Malfoy had seen her, rather than the fact that she was alive herself."

Dumbledore looked down at Mattheo before waking his hand, prompting the two to now be standing in his office. Mattheo stood in shock for a few seconds as he knew apparation spells were blocked within Hogwarts to prevent students from doing this very thing. He turned to look at Dumbledore who was simply walking over to his desk and giving Fawkes a few nodes of attention.

"So, what exactly are you asking me?" Dumbledore sat behind his desk and began working on some papers.

Mattheo, still a little in shock, shook his head and cleared his throat. "I'm wondering if you knew she was going into hiding and became a secret keeper for her to help her remain hidden?" Mattheo looked at Dumbledore but he never responded, simply kept writing on a few papers with his quill. So, he continued, "It appeared you two were very close and I'm sure she would've trusted you with at least something-"

Mattheo heard something tap on the window and looked to see an owl carrying a note in it's beak. "Well don't just let it stand there, let the creature in." Dumbledore pointed his quill and the window before going back to his work, signaling for Mattheo to let in the owl.

When he opened the window the owl flew right to Dumbledore, dropping the letter on his desk. Mattheo watched the Headtmaster gently pet the owls head before waving his hand and the paper infront of him was now enclosed in a letter. The owl took the letter without having to be instructed anything and flew right off.

Dumbledore opened the letter and looked at it for maybe a second before standing up. "Well, Mr. Rivers, I must say you are a very smart kid, but I'm not fully sure what you're asking of me." He walked over to his bookshelf and opens one of the books, placing the letter inside it. "Are you asking me to confirm your claims? Are you wishing to know what secret I might be keeping?"

"Both would be preferable, but I know that's not how the Fidelius Charm works." Mattheo watched as the headmaster moved around, analyzing every step taken and action made.

"Hm, I will answer three of your questions, so long as you answer three of mine." Mattheo nodded and decided to finally sit down. "This should be easy to answer, why are you so intrigued by Ms. Y/N?"

Mattheo sat there for a few seconds, he hadn't really stopped to think about why this was so important to him. "Everything about her and her family is a mystery. She's a pureblood but we don't learn of her family. She was supposedly a grand students but those who knew her can't say much other than that. She was a stong auror but was willing to sacrifice everything to protect you. Nothing about what people about her add up."

"You're right, her family was always shrouded in mystery, no one could ever get close enough to them to learn their secrets. Now, as for your questions. Y/N does have secret keepers, I myself being one. Some of these keeper happened to be more...indebted to her than others."

"More indebted? What does that mean?" Mattheo tried to think of what that possibly meant but couldn't come up with anything. However from what he was hearing, or wasn't hearing, Y/N was in fact alive and in hiding.

"Is that the question you wish to ask me?" Mattheo shook he head and requested he continue. "Very well, my question," Dumbledore sat down across from him "What is everything you know of her and her family so far?"

"Not as much as I'd like to know," He did the best he could to discuss all he remembered hearing from Draco, his father, Hagrid. He mentioned his knowledge of her magic, the few things mentioned at Hagrid's on the L/N family, her quilt for letting Hagrid get in trouble for the death of a student, even discussed what he had been told of her death. Truthfully, it wasn't much to go off of after maybe two months of searching. "I've only been able to learn so much about her, I could tell from the family tree that she has kids, but I don't know who they are or even when they were born."

"That's because of her family. Any child not born a pureblood isn't considered worthy of being apart of the family." Dumbledore laughed to himself and looked at Mattheo's frustrated demeanor. "She didn't wish for people to know about her so she only had a small number of people she trusted enough to share personal things with. Now, what's you're second question for me?"

"How many keepers does she have?" Mattheo sat up and tried to examine the Headmaster's expressions to see if it could give away any other information.

"I believe three or four. She never said the exact number, nor did she say who the other keepers were. She only told me what information was being broken down and the secret she'd tell me." Dumbeldore looked to see Mattheo wasnt fully satisfied with that answer but was and least happy to be given an idea of how many people he needed to look for. "Now, my third question for you." Dubledore sat up completely straight and looked the young Slytherin right in the eyes, "What is your name?"

Mattheo eyes widened and he felt a surge of panic rush through him. He wasn't sure what question he expected, but it wasn't that. Did Dumbledore know who he was this entire time, or is this a trap? "My name is Mattheo Rivers."

"Are you sure?"

"I'd like to think I know my own name, Headmaster."

"And do you know where the name comes from?" Dumbledore stands up and goes over to a collection of papers of a shelf nearby.

"I was told it was a grandmother's maiden name of my mother's side." Mattheo's eyes locked onto Dumbledore as he walked around, not sure whether or not he should be preparing to grab hold of his wand.

The Headmaster drops down an newspaper that Mattheo didn't recognize until he read the top, it was an American wizarding paper. He looked more at the paper and read the article "'American pureblood, Kaitlyn Rivers marries into infamous British family'. So I take it that's my grandmother? I never knew her, my grandparents were apparently dead long before I was even a thought." Mattheo looked up at the Headmaster, waiting for an answer. The name he read sounded familiar to him but he couldn't remember where he had read the name from.

"Indeed, but I'd suggest you keep reading a little more. It's important to know about all parts of your family, Mr. Riddle."

Mattheo's breath hitched and could no longer comprehend or process anything else. So the Headmaster had known who he was...but for how long? Did he know from the very start or did someone accidently let it slip? He stared down at the paper to hide his expression from the man standing over him, reading more of the article, "Nineteen year old, Kaitlyn Rivers married former classmate, twenty year old Xavier-" he reread the line over and over to make sense of everything "Xavier L/N." It had seemingly clicked into place where he heard the name, it was in that stupid pureblood book that led him down this path. These two people were the parents of Y/N who, if Rivers was his grandmother's name, happened to be his mother.

"Now, may I ask for your name again?" Dumbledore finally sat down across from Mattheo, watching in real time as all the information hit him all and once and was slowly starting to sink in. "And, please, don't feel the need to lie."

Mattheo, with shakey breath, raises his head and spoke, "My name is Mattheo Riddle. Now how the hell did you know that?"

"I've known who you were from the moment you were born. I was the very first person your mother let hold you."

~°Flashback°~

In was late at night during April of 1980 when Dumbledore heard someone knocking on his door. He wasn't yet asleep and had been going over some last work for the night, but he also wasn't expecting company. There was a knock again that had grown more persistent, which led to him finally getting up and opening the door. When he opened door, he saw Y/N standing in the rain, using a spell to prevent herself from getting soaked. "Hey Albus....lovely weather today, right?"

He had quickly rushed her inside and sat her next to a fire with a blanket or two wrapped around her. He was having some water warm up to he could make tea for the bothe of them. Once he finished making the tea, he handed her the warm cup and sat in the chair beside her. "Y/N it's the middle of the night, why are you here?"

She blew on the cup a few times and held it close to her to feel warmer. "I had stepped out of my house to clear my head and next thing you knew I was standing outside your door in the pouring rain. I didn't acknowledge it was raining or that I had even enchanted myself in order to not get completely soaked." A small laugh left her lips as she took tiny sips of her tea.

"What's wrong? You've never been this isolated in your thoughts before."

She let out a small sigh and stared blankly at the fire, "I'm pregnant...roughly 5 months." She took a second to sip her tea, clearly trying to prevent herself from getting emotional "I'm sure you can guess who the father is..."

Dumbledore simply nodded his head, he knew Y/N would know that he understood who the father was without ever having to say anything...Tom Riddle, the Dark Lord, Lord Voldemort, whatever name he went by. "And does he know of this?"

Y/N nodded her head, not taking her eyes of the glowing embers of the fire, "We both agreed he'd be safer if he wasn't with me. If he was with me he'd be a target to Death Eaters...but no one would dare to hurt him if he stayed with his father, when his followers knew he was the Dark Lord's son."

"I take it you know the gender then?" He watched her nod and set down his cup of tea before wrapping his arm around her in a half hug. "Congradulations nonetheless, dear."

***

Dumbledore walked into the room to see a newborn baby swaddled up and sleeping in a bassinet. He smiled at the child and looked up to see Y/N smiling at the other sleeping newborn in her arms. "I take it you didn't just have a son?"

Y/N looked up and smiled at Dumbledore as he walked over to her. "What his father knows won't hurt him, would you like to hold him?" She gave the baby a light squeeze before helping Dumbledore hold him.

Dumbledore looked at the baby in his arms and smiled a little, "I suppose this is proof Riddle and you-know-who really are the same person."

Y/N laughed a little and sat herself up a little more. "I had forgotten that myself until I saw him."

"Do you have a name for him?"

"Mattheo Rivers. Tom didn't quite agree with not using his name, but we decided it was for the best in case anyone were to learn the Dark Lord's name."

Dumbledore nodded and gestured his head towards the sleeping baby in the bassinet, "and the little one resting?"

"That, is his older sister we didn't know existed until she was born 5 hours ago." She looked at the bassinet right beside her and twisted her torso to pick up her daughter. "Speaking of, I need you to do something for me, Albus."

Dumbledore looked at her, curious what she'd ask of him.

"I need you to ensure the nurse 'looses' the record of her. For her safety, I can't let anyone know she exists. Not the Ministry, not her father, not the Order, no one but us."

Dumbledore looked to see if she was serious and low and behold, she was. "Y/N what you're asking can get us in trouble if anyone were to ever find out."

"They won't. Not if we obliviate the nurses and you'd be willing to keep this a secret?"

He looked at each child, then at her, then back at the children for a few seconds before smiling and nodding his head, "I'd be honored to be your secret keeper."

~°End of Flashback°~

"I became her secret keeper when you were born. She told me I was only allowed to tell you if you ever came asking about her." Dumbledore watched as it finally set into Mattheo's head that he had a mother, a very real mother. Not only that, he had a sister too, even though he wasn't quite sure what her name was...but that was a mystery for another day.

"But, you don't know where she is? Not even the slightest of ideas?" Dumbledore shook his head, which definitely disappointed Mattheo a little. But, he soon stood up and bowed his head to the Headmaster. "Thank you for telling me this...I promise you I won't let anyone else know."

Dumbledore smiled at this notion, know he was telling the truth ans wouldn't dare to tell another soul. "Of course Mr. Rivers...have a good day." Dumbledore watched as Mattheo brushed his robe free of wrinkles and left the office.