FROM EDEN | Mattheo Riddle

iv. Betrothal

Violet hastily broke the wax seal on the letter, the flush from her face draining as she read the words written neatly on the parchment. This can't be real. Surely this was just one of Rabastan's antics to ignite fear in his sister. But as she finished reading the letter, there it was, her father's signature scribbled in black ink.

"Are you alright?" Dumbledore asked, worry flicking across his face.

"I'm to be betrothed," was her mere reply. Her sorrow and shock hanging heavy above her head like rain clouds, promising lightning in its wake.

"Oh, Miss. Lestrange. I'm certain your parents have picked a suitable match for you."

"To Mattheo Riddle," She deadpanned. "The son of a murderer who wants one of your students dead, Professor."

At this point, Violet was breathing heavily. Gone were the butterflies that fluttered their delicate wings in her ribcage. Rage and disgust circulated throughout her entire being like pesky moths swarming a lone light.

Her father had sold her to to the Devil himself. The numerous lamps that hung above Dumbledore's desk gave an electric buzz and exploded into nothingness. Did her parents truly not care for their child at all?  A strong current of wind enveloped them, blowing through the numerous books like blades of grass in a field.

"Please, calm down, my child. Let me help you."

How can he possibly help her? He was once the professor of Tom Riddle, yet he had done absolutely nothing to avert his student's wicked fate.

"How?" She asked angrily; nothing can save her from this formidable doom. She would be better off dead.

"I know you're different from your family, Violet. You have a lionheart and an insatiable thirst for adventure. I'm surprised the Sorting Hat didn't place you in my house, you would've been a fine addition." Dumbledore admitted. Violet was unsure and rather impatient at where this conversation was going.

"But now I fully understand its judgment." He peered at the hat sitting atop his shelf, "Mattheo Riddle will be your family's chance at redemption."

"I may not have prevented Tom's descent into madness, but there's still a chance for his son." The old man solemnly added.

"And marriage will miraculously be his salvation?" Violet countered. What Mattheo needed was therapy at St Mungo's, not a hostile wife.

"He's had a tragic fate. His father regards him as a mere vessel of his power, born to take the abuse." He said, eyes downcast at his revelation. "I'm not asking you to love him. What I ask of you is to guide him away from his father's wretchedness."

"And what if I can't? I risk the chance of execution just for nothing." That much is true, and if the Dark Lord were to discover her treachery, the Lestrange family would end in vain.

"You won't." He offered her an ambiguous smile.

Albus Dumbledore has misplaced his trust multiple times in the course of his life. But as he saw the vigor in Violet's irises, he knew he made the right choice this time.