Riddle And Grindelwald (Book 3)

13. Thorns On The Rose

Since Harry was beginning to take steps against him, Tom realised he would have to do the same.
Tom was desperate to get his hands on the prophecy inside the Ministry, for his plans to take over the world, couldn't procede without it.
But Rookwood informed him that only those who the prophecies are about, can pick them up. Which explained why Bode lost his mind when he touched the prophecy.
This put a dent in Tom's plans, and made him very angry.
He couldn't enter the Ministry, so he would have to get Harry to retrieve the prophecy for him. Which would involve placing a false image in Harry's head, that would convince him to head to the Ministry. And it would take a while before Tom was ready to inact his plan.

Tom had decided to make the Malfoy Manor his death eater headquarters, as using his home last time, had led to Genevieve's downfall, and he didn't want that to happen again. He also sent Wormtail to Malfoy Manor, so that he didn't have to see as much of him.
This meant that only Tom and Genevieve resided in their home, which Genevieve was very happy about. For she liked it when it was just the two of them together.
But it also meant that Genevieve was alone for a lot of the time, when Tom was out. However, she didn't mind this, as she had spent 14 years alone, in a prison cell, so she was used to being by herself.

One evening while Tom was at the Malfoy Manor, Genevieve decided to stay behind, as this would give her the chance to visit Mathilde.
She had left her daughter alone for several weeks, for she wanted Mathilde to adjust to knowing her true identity for a while, before becoming a part of her life again.
Once Genevieve was sure that Tom wouldn't be returning any time soon, she apparated to the address on the parchment Mathilde had given her.
She then knocked on the door of the house in front of her, and waited for it to open.

After a few moments, the door swung open and Genevieve saw Mathilde standing on the other side.
"Hi. I hope I'm not intruding, but you did say I could drop by anytime" Genevieve said awkwardly.
Mathilde threw her arms around Genevieve, before pulling her inside the house.
"It's so good to see you. I thought you were never going to come. I was worried that you were going to stay away and not see me again" admitted Mathilde, as she lead Genevieve into the living room.
"I promised I would visit, and I always keep my promises. I didn't come straight away, because I wanted you to have some time to get used to being two different people" replied Genevieve.

"I appreciate that, for it certainly hasn't been an easy few weeks" informed Mathilde.
"I don't expect it has. And I am sorry for putting a spanner in the works, so to speak. I never meant for this to happen" apologised Genevieve.
"Then maybe you should have stayed away" said a strange voice.
Genevieve looked around Mathilde, to see a woman standing with her arms crossed, in the corner of the room.
"This is Hannah Rose, my girlfriend" explained Mathilde.
"It's nice to meet you" said Genevieve quietly.
"I wish I could say the same" mumbled Hannah.
"Han, we talked about this. I don't want you to be rude to my mother" scolded Mathilde.

Hannah Rose had mid-length curly brown hair and green eyes.
She was scowling at Genevieve with such intensity, that Genevieve was actually feeling rather nervous.
"Why don't we all sit down and have a chat, so that we can get to know each other better?" Suggested Mathilde.
"Good idea" replied Genevieve, as she sat down on the sofa, next to her daughter.
Rather reluctantly Hannah sat down in the armchair opposite them.
"Jenny says that you aren't going to kill us, so I don't need to inform the Ministry that you are here. But if you act dangerously, I will summon an auror" threatened Hannah.
"Consider me warned" muttered Genevieve.

"Han, you know that my name is really Mathilde. It's time you started to use it" said Mathilde softly.
"It may be your birth name, but I have called you Jennifer since we were 11 years old. You can't expect me to start calling you something different overnight" replied Hannah.
"She's got a point. Especially as you can't use the name Mathilde outside of this house, since that puts you in danger. So you might as well stick with Jennifer at home as well" admitted Genevieve.
Hannah frowned at Genevieve, for backing her up, "I would've thought that you would want her to use the name Mathilde, as it's the name you chose".
"I don't want to turn her world upside down, or make life harder for her. And I think things would be easier for Mathilde, if she continued using the name Jennifer" informed Genevieve.

"Jenny says that we can trust you. But you are married to You-Know-Who, aren't you?" Questioned Hannah.
"I am" answered Genevieve.
"Then how can we trust you, when you are living with the most evil sorcerer to ever live, who kills people like me for fun?" Asked Hannah.
"I do not share the same views as my husband"
"Then why did you marry him? What can you possibly see in such a cruel man?"
"I am not here to answer questions about him. You can ask me things about my life, but I will not talk about him"
"Fair enough... Have you ever killed anyone?".

"Hannah, please, can you ease off the questions. This isn't an interrogation" reminded Mathilde.
"I want to get to know your mother, is that so wrong?" Quizzed Hannah.
"I have no problem answering your questions... And to answer you honestly, I have killed 2 people in my life. The first was in self-defence, and the second was revenge" revealed Genevieve.
"If you were in a fight with someone and you killed them, that doesn't count as self-defence" replied Hannah coldly.
"I have never killed anyone in battle, as I always use non-lethal spells when fighting".

"Then how come you have killed two people?" Questioned Hannah.
"The first man I killed, was blackmailing me. I met all his demands and paid him off. But on my last meeting with him, he tried to force himself on me. I panicked and used the first spell that came to mind. I didn't mean to kill him, but it all happened so fast. I was afraid of what he was going to do to me, so I acted out of pure instinct" explained Genevieve.
"You never told me that" Mathilde said quietly.
"It is not the kind of story you tell your 8 year old daughter. I might have told you when you grew up, but I never got the chance" admitted Genevieve.

"What about the second person you killed?" Asked Hannah, who had begun to drop some of her defensive attitude.
"He was one of the people responsible for killing my sons. My husband wanted to send a message to Dumbledore. He wanted us to get revenge on the Order of the Phoenix. Normally I am against killing, but after my sons deaths, I was distraught, which is why I went along with my husbands plan. He had already kidnapped the Order member, and was holding him in the basement, so I knew that man wasn't getting out alive, which is why I agreed to kill him" answered Genevieve.

"I remember you distancing yourself from me when Salazar and Gellert died" informed Mathilde.
"I was a mess after their deaths. I thought it would be best if I left raising you, to the servants" admitted Genevieve.
"I miss Wendy" replied Mathilde.
"I bet you do. But the Ministry took our servants away and removed the enchantments on them. I don't know exactly what happened to them, or where they were taken, for I was imprisoned in Nurmengard shortly after".

"You spent 14 years in prison for killing two people, one of which was self-defence. Some people get less than that in the Muggle world, if they have a good lawyer... I think you've been punished enough for your crimes. Provided you haven't killed anyone else recently" said Hannah.
"I haven't killed anyone else. But living with a mass-murderer like Lord Voldemort, is a crime that could get me sent back to prison for the rest of my life" admitted Genevieve.
"You care a lot about Jenny, I can see that. And I know she would be upset if you were to return to Nurmengard. So, I will keep your secret, and not tell anybody about you" informed Hannah.
"Thank you. I swear that I mean you no harm. I just want to be here for Mathilde... And since I've got a few hours before I have to go home, I want to hear all about your lives, and your time at Hogwarts together. I want to know about everything I have missed"
"Well, it's a long story...".