i dont remember what number this is
June 22nd, 1997
Eris breathed in the cool morning air, watching as Bella, Rudolphus, Rabastian, and Lucius prepared to attack a well known order member in Diagon Alley. Meeting them there would be a recruit from Hogwarts, one of Draco's friends named Jack, who had joined the death eaters earlier that April. She had felt a bit strange knowing she would be fighting with someone the same age as her son, but she knew this was going to be a quick mission. Tom had already left for Albania, before he left however, he placed a beautiful golden mask with flowered patterns in her hand. He hadn’t wanted his wife to be the only one without a mask, Bella enjoyed having that role.
Eris heard footsteps approaching and turned to see who it was. Lucius and the others were walking towards her, Bella looking ecstatic. The men had already donned their masks so she couldn’t tell what they were feeling. Eris took the mask in her hands and put it over her face, she gave the others a nod and they began walking to the apparition point. The plan was to have Eris and Bella on one side of the Alley, Rabastian and Rodolphus in the Alley, and Lucius and Jack on the opposite side of Eris and Bella.
It wasn’t long after they had gotten into position before the target came into view. Elphias Doge was a silver haired man who walked with a slight limp. In his hands he held a small bag from Gringotts. He was looking around nervously, keeping his head down all the while. He froze however, when he heard Bellatrix’s deranged laugh. He looked up and saw the death eaters surrounding him, he immediately tried to apparate away but failed due to the wards Eris had put around the place. He then tried to run, not getting very far before Bella struck him down with a Cruciatus.
Suddenly, seven members of the Order of the Phoenix appeared, getting between Doge and the six death eaters. Bella was the first one to cast, shooting a killing curse at a young woman who Eris didn’t recognise. Then the fighting began, both sides shooting to kill, one using light curses and the other using whatever spell they deemed fit. Eris was currently fighting Alastor Moody, a old greying Auror who wasn’t afraid to use the unforgivables but mainly stuck to light spells. Some how, Jack had ended up beside her, fighting a tired looking Kingsley Shacklebolt.
A sudden scream from beside her made Eris look away from Moody, whom she had been holding under a waking nightmare curse, and to the boy beside her. His mask laid beside him on the ground, blood covering the inside from a bloody nose the boy was sporting. Familiar dirty blonde hair fell into the eyes of the boy, who Eris recognized immediately. Kingley was holding her son under a cruciatus, she cast a crucio of her own at the man, making him release his hold on the boy. She looked to the boy who was still on the ground, having been released not even three seconds ago.
Eris had completely forgotten about Moody, her mind only registering that her son was the one beside her. The boy screamed something but Eris didn’t hear what it was. Not a second later Eris felt something hit her in the stomach, she cast a stunner in the direction the curse had come from before looking down. Her black robes were already dark with blood. She looked at her son one last time before falling onto the ground, blood quickly gushing from her body.
When she opened her eyes again she was in the same black void she had entered the night she had first done the soul ritual, except there was no one else with her now. She took a step forward and found that she wasn’t sinking as she had done before. The woman started walking, deeper into the great void that surrounded her.
“Hello?” she called, knowing it was helpless. She knew what happened to her. She knew she was probably bleeding out at that very moment, but something wasn’t letting her die. She knew she wasn’t ready to die but very few people are. She was scared for her son, who had just been getting off the ground as she fell. She wondered if they had managed to kill Doge and get out of their quickly.
Grief filled the young mother, her baby had been held under a curse she never would've wanted him to experience. She had been hit with at thousands of times as a child, of course she would never want that for her own. She couldn’t hold it in anymore and she began to sob. It had only been two days since Severus had killed Dumbledore, and now she was dead. She wouldn’t get to see the world her husband would build. She sunk to the ground and pulled her knees to her chest so she could rest her head on them. Sobs shook her body for what felt like days, but could’ve only been minutes for all she knew. Her sobs calmed and her mind eased, she realised her body had been given something, she felt her consciousness drifting away and she fell into what seemed like a dreamless sleep.
Light shone in her eyes and a itchiness was present on her stomach. She let out a groan as she opened her eyes. Pain shot through her as she tried to sit up, footsteps echoed through the cold room and Narcissa appeared beside Eris.
“Don’t sit up by yourself, you might ruin the healing,” she whispered, grabbing some pillows and helping her little sister sit up.
“How bad was it?” Eris asked, shaking her head of the tiredness she felt.
“You almost died. Your stomach was completely ripped open and you had scratches on your intestines. Had Lucius of gotten here a second later you would’ve died. Scared the hell out of all of us,” she told her sister, dampening a cloth in cold water and placing it on her sisters forehead to ward off the fever she had.
“How long was i out?” Eris asked, also wondering where Tom was but saving that question for later. Eris watched as Narcissaa paused at the question and slowly turned her head towards her sister, a look of nervousness covering her entire face. Eris felt dread rise in her.
“We had to give you potions to put you fully under, they lasted until they were not needed anymore,” Narcissa began, but Eris gave her a look that that told her to just spill it. “You’ve been out for two weeks.”
Eris stopped moving. She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. The Hogwarts term was over. Where was Mattheo? Did he go back to the cottage? Eris felt herself getting dizzy at the amount of questions running through her head.
“Where is Tom?” she finally decided on, regaining her composure.
“Theres a meeting happening in the formal dinning hall, its almost. Eris don’t you even,” Eris grabbed her wand and cast a petrifying spell at her sister, glad it had been right beside her. She grabbed the pain relief potion and downed it before apologising too her sister and taking the older womans outer robes, wrapping them fully around herself before setting off towards the dining hall.
By the time she reached the hall she was limping and had an arm wrapped around her wounds to stop some of the pain. She had to pause just outside the room to catch her breath. If Mattheo truly had joined the death eaters he would more than likely be in that room.
“Meeting adjourned,” she heard her husbands voice announce, she realised how little time she had and quickly threw open the door.
“Jack, i would like a word with you,” she announced over the sounds of shock at her appearance, she hadn’t even thought about how sickly she probably looked. From the other side of the crowd she saw someone walking towards her, eyes cast towards the ground but never fully tilting his head that way.
“Are you alright, my lady?” he questioned, looking at the woman but never truly looking at her.
“I will be fine dear,” she began before she felt a hand on her shoulder and turned to see her husband giving her a worried look, red eyes glancing down at the arm wrapped around her stomach.
“When did you wake? You shouldn’t be walking,” he told her trying to usher her from the room but she quickly grabbed Mattheo, making Tom give her a questioning glance.
“I want to talk to you, Jack. Lets go somewhere with less people,” she declared, allowing Tom to put an arm around her to help her walk. All the while, Eris didn’t let go of ‘Jacks’ hand.
Tom tried to take them to his office but Eris gave him a look she had never given him before and began limping slowly towards the family wing with Mattheo in tow. Tom quickly rejoined them and resumed helping his wife walk the short way to the family wing where Eris proceeded to fall, not gracefully, onto the sofa, making Tom worry but she waved him off and sat up, placing her hand over her wounds once again.
“I must look horrible if you don’t recognize me,” Eris began, summoning a chair only a few feet in front of her for Mattheo to sit in. he was clearly nervous but tried not to show it.
“I’m so sorry, my lady. I never meant for you to be hurt to help me. My life is yours,” he rushed, begging for forgiveness. Eris looked at Tom who was extremely confused and worried.
“Mattheo, stop doing that. I raised you better than that,” the woman demanded, taking the mask off her sons face so he could see more clearly.
Shock covered the boys face, the relief and confusion before he finally rushed to his mother and wrapped his arms around her, minding her wounds. Eris began crying once her son was in her arms, relieved that he was alive. She looked over at Tom, who looked as if he had just solved an unsolvable puzzle. He wrapped his arms around his wife and son, Eris felt his scales change to skin, and she knew he was Tom again. Eris felt Mattheo begin to shake and put a hand on his head, combing her fingers through his hair like Tom had done to her so many times. Mattheo pulled back and tried to straighten himself out, but only succeeded in making himself look more messy, making Tom grin and Eris laugh.
“Im sorry i didn’t tell you i joined the death eaters,” he began looking at his feet. “Since when are you one, though?”
Eris looked at Tom and then back at Mattheo.
“Tom would you like to explain to your son how this happened?” Eris questioned looking to her husband.
“Me explain it? I have no bloody idea whats going on. Is that child my son?” he replied, trying to get some of the pressure off himself.
“Damn it, Tom, help me. I don't know what to say to this,” Eris exclaimed.
“Mom, what is happening? Why are you calling the Dark Lord Tom?” Mattheo spoke, making both adults whip their heads towards the boy.
“We’re married,” Tom spoke plainly, making Eris slap him in the arm. “Ow,” he muttered, giving a small glare to his wife.
“We married before he was the dark lord, before you were born,” Eris explained, glaring right back at Tom.
“Darling, i was the Dark Lord before you were born. You just didn’t know until a month ago,” he rebuked, giving his wife a wolfish grin.
“Tom, stop addressing me. Say hello to your son,” Eris demanded, pointing at Mattheo who looked like he was about to pass out with confusion. “Are you alright, dear?” she asked her son, concerned about his confusion.
“You two are talking in riddles and what i am collecting from all of this makes no sense,” Mattheo replied, looking between his mother and the Dark Lord who Eris had just said was his father.
“Well technically you’re a Riddle, too,” Tom chuckled at his own joke and Eris couldn't suppress a small smile.
“Mattheo, i would like you to meet your father, Tom Marvolo Riddle. Otherwise known as Lord Voldemort,” Eris watched as her sons eyes widened then narrowed then widened again.
“The Dark Lord is my father,” Mattheo whispered in disbelief. He looked between the two infront of him, Tom was looking at Mattheo questioningly and Eris was watching Tom and Mattheo.
“Why doesn’t he look like me?” Tom asked reaching out to touch the boys hair, Mattheo froze and watched the hand from the corner of his eye.
“He’s wearing a glamour,” Eris stated, reaching for her wand and quickly removing the glamour. Mattheos brown curls fell to his ears, his jawline sharpened and he began to look more and more like his father until you could’ve sworn they were twins besides the age difference.
“Oh, he really does look just like me,” Tom breathed, still staring at his son.
“Stop acting like a freak, Tom,” Eris insisted, wacking her husband on the arm once before gasping and clutching her stomach. Tom and Mattheo turned to her with worried and expressions. She pulled her arm from her stomach and saw it was stained with red. Tom jumped up and pulled her into his arms before starting to sprint towards the medical room where she had been before.
He kicked open the door and saw Narcissa frozen by the bed, he had figured Eris had done something to her. He heard something from behind him and Narcissa started moving again, she turned around and saw Eris in Toms arms, blood steadily falling from the bandages.
“Put her on the bed,” she demanded, pulling the sheets back before rushing to the near by closet and grabbing multiple vials.
“Sorry, Cissa,” Eris Murmured, pain now burning through her body as her wounds reopened.
“If you would’ve told me why you needed to go there so badly i might’ve helped you. But no, just petrify Narcissa. I should let you bleed for a bit but your husband would kill me,” she joked, before thrusting a vial into Toms hands. “Give her this, i need to take off the bandages.”
Tom put the vial to Eriss lips and she drank it quickly, grimacing at the taste. Mattheo walked to the side of the bed opposite of Tom and Narcissa. He took his mothers hand and knelt, she looked at him and smiled softly, glad he was with her again. As she started to lose consciousness a thought came to her. Narcissa and Tom stood on one side of the bed, both having a large role in the first nineteen years of her life. Mattheo stood on the other side, having been the only part of her life for the last fifteen years. A tear fell down her face as she realised how much time she had lost and made Mattheo lose with his family. She heard one last sentence whispered into her ear as she her consciousness fully faded.
“Its going to be ok, Mere.”