The Third Orphan

Chapter 9

Harry POV

As soon as the class ended Harry sat down heavily in a chair, his mind racing. The girl... how could she look so much like Tom Riddle? He stood up again and began pacing as he ran through the possibilities in his mind. Could Merope have had another child? No, she had not been with Tom Riddle Sr. long enough. Could Morfin have had a child? He had lived out his days in Azkaban, but could he have had a child before that? Not impossible, thought Harry, but highly unlikely.

Tom Riddle had never had any other children as far as Harry knew, and even if he had Harry doubted the child would be a witch or wizard. And, of course, the idea that Voldemort himself would have a child was ridiculous. Rack his brain as he might, Harry could think of no other possibilities. Except for coincidence, but a strange coincidence this would be indeed. Impossible, really.

Harry heard a timid knock at his door. "Come in!" he called, and received a small shock when Briella entered the room.

"I'm sorry Professor, I forgot my books," she said, avoiding Harry's eyes.

"That's alright," replied Harry. "How has your first day at Hogwarts been so far?"

"Good I guess," answered Briella untruthfully.

"That's good," said Harry, and an awkward silence hung in the air. Harry racked his brains for a question that wouldn't seem too suspicious. "What house are you in?"

"Ravenclaw," muttered Briella.

"What?"

"Ravenclaw," Briella said louder.

"You don't seem to happy about that," Harry replied with a friendly smile.

"No, I wanted to be in Hufflepuff with my twin."

"You have a twin?" asked Harry, surprised. His mind momentarily darted back to memories of Fred and George.

"Yeah, we do everything together." Briella's eyes shone with unshed tears. "My brother's in Hufflepuff too, my whole family has been." She brushed a few stray tears away.

Harry wasn't sure how to respond. Fortunately Briella filled the silence for him. "Professor, do you mind if I go? I missed breakfast this morning and I don't want to be late for lunch."

"Of course," replied Harry, sitting back in his chair as Briella darted out of the room. He stared at the ceiling in confusion before realizing that, like Briella, he should be heading to lunch too. He left the room surrounded by a cloud of unanswered questions. His brief conversation with Briella had done nothing but confuse him further.

Briella POV

Briella hurried through the halls, mentally kicking herself. She'd been in such a rush to catch Alyssa that she had forgotten her books. The unexpected conversation with Professor Potter had set her back even further. Now, struggling remember which turns to take in the labyrinth of hallways, she had to find the Great Hall all by herself.

It was with great relief that she heard the distant murmur of voices and allowed them to guide her to breakfast. She slipped between the two doors and was immediately ambushed by Emma and Yuliana. "Where have you been?" cried Emma.

"We've been waiting for you for forever!" exclaimed Yuliana, rubbing her stomach.

Without waiting for a response they dragged an unwilling Briella towards the Ravenclaw table and began piling their plates high with food. Briella immediately stood back up, but Emma grasped her hand. "Where are you going? You haven't eaten yet."

"I need to find Alyssa," Briella replied.

"Not until after you've eaten," said Emma sternly. "You've already missed breakfast." As if in confirmation, Briella's stomach growled loud enough to be heard over the roar of voices.