a bunch of one shots <3

merope riddle x reader (<3)

(this is a request, so to the person who requested this: thank you so so much! your request pushed me to research who merope riddle was, and it was really really fun! i hope this lives up to your expectations, and if not, please tell me in the comments and i can try to rewrite as what you had in mind!)

it was a dreary day in london.
normally i loved the rain, but now i was just cold and wet. bleh.
i walked along the sidewalk, letting my umbrella slightly blow behind me. it's not like i was going to get wet, i had a spell for that. but the news has been going crazy about muggles lately, and i don't want to risk that.
passing an alleyway, i head a sniffle. and then a clunk. i jumped a bit, pulling out my wand. it was hidden in my sleeve enough, so i should be fine. i crept up to the alley, and whispered "lumos". the tip of my wand illuminated, as did the huddled woman in the alley. i ran over to her, and tapped her on her shoulder.
she spun around, and her eyes showed she thought i was going to hurt her.
"hey, sorry i startled you, i just wanted to see if you were okay." i said slowly, not wanting to startle her again. she sniffed again, drawing her big, wide eyes to mine.
"d-don't worry. i'm okay, i guess." she mumbled, pulling herself up to her feet. she held a wand in one hand (in blatant sight, i'm surprised that she hadn't gotten caught by the ministry yet) and a bottle containing a dark liquid in it in the other.
"do you want to talk about it?" i asked her, unsure.
"not here." she said firmly, grabbing my hand. i felt a blush creep up my neck.
she dragged me across the block to an old apartment building near the edge of town. she pulled me inside, storming up the stairs to an apartment. slamming open to door, i was bombarded by the smell of wet wood.
inside lay broken furniture, ripped-up wallpaper, and a small leak in the ceiling, that would explain it.
she waved her hand in front of my face, catching my stare.
"sorry." i muttered. she narrowed her eyes, and whipped out her wand, pointing it right between my eyebrows.
"look, i don't know who you are or why i seem to trust you, but i am ONLY keeping you here so you can help me." she yelled, resting her other hand on her stomach, where a child would be. i realized she looked familiar. from the news.
"hey, what's your name?" i asked, my eyes focusing on the wand pointed above my nose. she looked caught off guard, and lowered her wand. her eyes took on a sunken look.
"merope. merope riddl-gaunt." she choked out, and all of a sudden it came to me.
"y-you're voldemort's mother, right?" i asked slowly, and she nodded.
"was. he died."
"oh, sorry to....hear that."
"it's fine. i have the child who killed him."
i stopped.
"excuse me?" i said slowly.
"i couldn't figure out how to deal with it. so i took the child. he's in the kitchen. i don't know what to do with him. i was going to kill him, but now..." she trailed off
"you can't deal with the guilt of what your son did."
"exactly." she said.
"you could....raise him?" i suggested. she looked appalled.
"raise another child? who killed my son??" she said astonished.
"i mean, what else would you do with him?" she nodded slowly. walking into the kitchen, she scooped up the young boy, keeping him at an arm's length.
"okay." she said.

*time skip one year because i'm the author and i can do that heheh*
the phone rang in my pocket, five minutes after the last call i was on with merope.
"hello?" i said tiredly, listening to the crying on the other line.
"y/n? i don't know what to do with this child! he won't stop crying and it's three in the morning!" she shouted, the crying behind her getting louder.
"i'll be over in a second, okay? just try rocking him or something until i get there." i hung up, and threw on a coat over my long pajama pants and old band t-shirt.
i arrived at her house about ten minutes later. i walked inside (she had given me a key a bit before, so i could help her with harry easier), and walked into the main living room. the place had been cleaned up significantly since harry was adopted, so it looked a lot nicer. the lights were still on, but i didn't hear anything.
"merope?" i called, and heard a shuffle from the couch.
"shh, you'll wake him up." she muttered half asleep, and patted the spot next to her softly, without moving the child that was sleeping on her lap. i grabbed a blanket and draped it over her and myself, careful not to wake harry. she exhaled as i sat down, like she had been holding her breath, waiting for me. she let her head fall onto my shoulder, her hair falling down my arm.
"thank you, y/n." she muttered, right before she fell asleep.