chapter 2
June 8th 1997
The edge of the world was always loud. The sound of waves crashing against the cliff side, calming Eris like a lullaby. The sun was rising from behind the little yellow cottage, creating clouds with beautiful colours. Eris sat outside drinking tea as she did most mornings, watching the birds and listening to the waves crash a few hundred metres from her home. The flowers in her garden seemed to lean towards the sun, away from the cliffs and chilly ocean breeze.
It was always quiet in the mornings and Eris loved it that way. It gave her time to think before continuing with her day. She never had many things to do, she tended the gardens and kept the house clean, once a week she would go into the village of Stromness, buying groceries for the week and any products that she would need.
She needed to go into the village and get groceries but for now Eris was drinking her tea and enjoying the silence. Soon enough the tea was gone and Eris brought the cup to her kitchen, setting it down on the dark wood countertop next to the sink. The sun was almost fully risen and the light shone through the large windows of the cottage, showing dust bunnies floating through the air, unable to be caught when Eris dusted or swept.
Soon enough the clock hit 6 o’clock and the day began. Eris went about her tasks like she normally did, tending to the garden, feeding the chickens and collecting eggs. The rest of the day went by lazily, reading books and writing her dreams. She never had many things to do when her son wasn’t home, he always made everything lively. She glanced at the clock and saw that it was only just noon. The day was going too slow for her liking.
Eris decided to go to the grocers today and get the few things she needed. The trip wasn’t very long, fifteen minutes to town, half an hour in the store and twenty minutes back depending on what she bought. The birds sang as she started the walk to the village, the small path beginning to get over grown with yellow green grass. After ten minutes the town came into view, children ran around the streets and parents watched looking tired but smiling still.
The bell above the door chimed as Eris stepped in grabbing a small basket and beginning to look at the produce.
“Good afternoon, Ms. Thompson,” the grocer greeted, waving from across the store.
“Good afternoon, Mr. Ross,” Eris greeted in return, looking over at the man and giving him a small smile before returning to her shopping.
Not ten minutes later Eris was exiting the small shop with a few bags in hand. A few children watched her as she walked back down the street towards the long path to her home. Five minutes into the walk towards her home Eris noticed that the world around her was nearly silent. In the far distance she could here the waves but the birds were no longer singing. An eerie feeling fell over the woman and she slipped her hand into the pocket of her grey dress, grasping the wand she had put there that morning. She glanced around, looking to see if anyone was following her but there wasn’t a soul in sight.
When she reached her small cottage she raced inside and locked the door, as well as throwing up a few more wards. She walked around and shut all the blinds, peering out of each window quickly before. A feeling of paranoia was filling her, it had been many years since she had that feeling. Taking a deep breath, Eris walked back into the kitchen and starting to put the groceries away, trying to convince herself the paranoia was just her brain.
Half an hour passed and the feeling still clung to Eris like a spider web. She was sitting in a soft chair facing the front door, a large book was grasped tightly in her hands but she couldn’t pay attention to the words, her eyes always drifted back up towards the door. She clenched her eyes shut, trying to shake the feeling from her. That didn’t last long as a feeling of dread washed over her as she heard seven sharp knocks on her door. She took the wand out of her pocket and quietly approached the door, ready to defend herself if needed.
She stood to the right of the door and steadied her breathing. “Who’s there?” she yelled, fear was flooding her. If someone got her what would happen to Mattheo? Was he ok? Did they find him first?
“You’re a hard person to find Ms. Thompson. Or should I say Mrs. Riddle?” a male voice called from the other side of the door. Eris felt the blood drain from her face at the sound of her last name.
“I will ask you one more time. Who are you and what do you want.” Eris yelled, her mind could only think of Mattheo. He would be all alone if whoever was on the other side killed her. She had hid them for nearly sixteen years. She hated to think all her work could come crashing down today.
“I am a merciful Lord, Mrs. Riddle, but i am not a patient one. Open the door, i simply wish to talk to you.” the voice sounded annoyed, and slightly like hissing. Eris realised then who was outside of her door. Shock filled her as she grasped the iron handle, pulling the door open and looking at the man who got her husband and himself killed the day before Eris went on the run.
“I promise i am not here to harm you, Eris,” Voldemort vocalised, stepping into the house as Eris opened the door wider.
“How are you here? You died. You and Tom died,” she whispered, tears wanted to fill her eyes but she held them back.
“Do not be upset, Eris, i will explain it all to you, i promise. And first of all, neither Tom or I died,” he explained, taking a seat on the chair Eris had been in not five minutes before. He gestured to the seat across from him and Eris took it, sinking into the brown love seat, mind still racing as she looked at the man beside her. He looked different from the last time she had seen him, his nose was now just slits in his face and he looked more snake-like, scales covered his body and he folded his hands in his lap.
“How is this possible, my Lord? How are you alive? Is Tom really alive?” Eris’s voice broke saying her husbands name.
“Allow me to tell you a story, and please do not interrupt, any questions you have, you may ask after i am finished,” he stated, Eris gave a shaky nod of agreement. “When i was a boy, i had a dream about my soulmate. I didn’t know her name or what she looked like but i new it was her. She was powerful, lonely, broken, and so beautiful. I went through life until my after my early adulthood not caring about romantic relationships. I had many women who wished to be with me but none of them were of any interest to me because i knew that somewhere my soulmate was waiting for me,” he paused for a moment and took a deep breathe before continuing.
“In late ‘78 i was helping one of my followers with her occlumency, i ended up in a memory of her’s. She was in her home, angry over something one of her sisters had done. She stormed into a bedroom that wasn’t hers and turned her wand to a young woman who was laying on her bed. The screams of pain she let out brought calmness to my follower, but it brought a boiling rage in me. The woman who had been lying on the bed gave off the same aura as the woman in my dream when i was a boy. I released myself from the memory and sent my death eater away. A few months after i came across a letter that had been dropped on the floor. It talked about the woman on the bed and how her parents were looking for a suitor for her. For the first time in years i answered to the name my mother had given me. Her parents and sisters knew who i was but she never knew. She never knew i commanded the death eaters.” he glanced at Eris who was watching intently, he was amused that she wasnt piecing it together yet.
“We married not long after we met. I had no problem with it but i could tell she was anxious. She was always full of worry. But through her worry, she was the happiest she had ever been. We had known each other only three months before we got married and she became pregnant on our wedding night. And you know what happened a year later, my disappearance caused you to run and for that im sorry. Im sorry i have kept secrets from you, my wife,” his scales began to melt away to skin and brown hair appeared from his head, his eyes changed from the villainous red to the earthy brown Eris had once known.
Eris’s face held all the shock she felt. The Dark Lord has just changed into her dead husband before her eyes, she couldn’t move as she stared at the man across from her. His hair was salt and peppered now even more than it had been before, but his face was the same as she remembered. High cheek bones and a sharp jawline, eyes focused and stern. For a moment she thought she was dreaming, that she must have fallen asleep in the chair her husband was now sitting in.
“This isn’t real. This is a cruel dream. You are dead. The Dark Lord is dead. This is a cruel dream,” tears began to trickle down her cheeks, and her hands shook in her lap.
“Eris, its not a dream, i promise. Our sons names is Mattheo, he was born June 12th, 1980. Our childhood elf’s names was Mumbly and we met July 1st, 1979. This isn’t a dream, love,” he got up from his chair and knelt in front of his wife. Wiping the tears from her cheeks before clasping her hands in his.
“Where did you go? Why didn’t you come back?” she whispered through sobs.
“I couldn’t. Im sorry but i couldn’t. I wanted to but it took me until two years ago to get a body again. Then it took me this long to find you,” he chuckled at that. “You did so good. You hid so well and you’ve done an amazing job protecting Mattheo. Im so sorry that i wasn’t here. Im so sorry i didn’t tell you. I’ve missed you so much.” he gave her a kiss and she sobbed out a laugh.
“Its really you?” she whispered, looking into her husbands eyes, trying to find anything to say he was lying.
“It really is me. I’m here to take you home.”