Damian Lestrange (lore)

Who is Damian Lestrange? What about Mattheo Riddle?

As most people in the Slytherin Boys fandom know, Mattheo Riddle is a fan made character that came out in a Harry Potter fanfic called 'Possesive'. He became really popular and a lot of other fics started featuring him and all. I absolutely loved the concept of Voldemort having a son, I immediately loved the Mattheo character himself, and I completely love that Benjamin Wadsworth is used as his fancast, I think he is perfect for him; but the thing is that he never sit well with me completely because I always felt he kinda made no sense. There's a lot of things about Mattheo that don't add up. For a starter, his name, or more precisely, his last name.

Voldemort always hated his half-blood status, he was a purist even when he was not a pure blood. He hated his name because he was named after his muggle father, who he despised (he even tracked him down to murder him, that much he hated him for abandoning him and his mother and also for just being a muggle). He said it himself to Harry in the chamber of secrets: he wouldn't keep his muggle father name, he made a name for his own so if he had a son he would have never given him that muggle last name.

Now, he would name his son after his muggle father but he couldn't provide him with his own created name. Not only because Voldemort isn't a regular name nor last name but also because I thinks that if he had a son, he wouldn't want to share that with him. Voldemort was really narcissistic and always wanted to be on top of everything and everyone, he wanted to be exclusive, the only one.

Besides this, I think the only reason he would have an offspring would be to use it as a tool, it wouldn't be an accident or circumstantial, it would be very well planned. Therefore, he wouldn't want his enemies to know he had a child, he would keep this a secret, specially from Dumbledore. More reasons to not have his name related to him.

I do think Bellatrix would be his mother. She was not only her most loyal follower and completely devoted to him, she was also very powerful and skilled but the most important: she was a Black, one of the most pure-blooded, powerful and wealthy families. In the past the Blacks considered themselves practically royalty in the magic world. They possessed everything Voldemort valued and desired and needed in his quest for power. And if this wasn't enough, she was married to a Lestrange, another pure-blood wizards family of great power and wealth, who happened to be as loyal to him as Bellatrix herself. She was the perfect candidate to have his child. It would ensure not only his offspring would have pure blood from powerful families (remember he hid his half-blood status and was proud of being the Slytherin heir, so he probably would paint this as a Black x Gaunt blood union) but it would also make him incredible wealthy, specially if the kid was presented as a Lestrange.

For all this reasons I think Voldemort would choose Rodolphus and Bellatrix, his most devoted followers to the oficial parents or his child, being Bellatrix the biological mother as well. Voldemort trusted them that much to let one of his horrocrux and one of the few things that could destroy them in her hands. Of course he would trust them with his son.

Mattheo Riddle didn't have purpose or a clear origin. I think Voldemort's son deserves a well detailed one so I came with this idea:

I do think the reason for wanting a heir would be because Voldemort would one to keep his legacy, yes, to pass down his good genes and greatness, BUT we all know what he truly wanted was to live forever, so leaving a legacy would be just an extra for him. I think the real reason would be because back then he was in the middle of a war and more scared than ever. So I think he would decide to have a son to make him into an horrocrux and raise him as a perfect new host. If you think about it, it would be just perfect for him. Once the kid grow up, Voldemort would have a spare body to posses if ever needed, with his own blood and Black's blood, who would be raised into a blood purist family, who would be trained into the dark arts from an early age. The perfect plan B just in case.

Contrary to the way mostly picture Tom Riddle (like super horny and sexual all the time) I consider him to be asexual and arromantic, of course. I think he would find sexual intercourse vain and pointless, he may find him even disgusting so I don't picture him having sex with Bellatrix. I think just like in the muggle world exists artificial insemination it has to be a similar way to do so in the magical world. Voldemort would get Bellatrix magically inseminated.

The Lestrange's would present the kid as their own, only the high rank death eaters (Voldemort's inner circle) would know the truth. I think Rodolphus would have no issue letting his wife carry his master's spawn. He would probably feel honored to be able to give the child his name and raise him as his own. After all, this child would be practically like a secret weapon, in a way.

Of course this would be done shortly before Voldemort's downfall. Their whole planned life for the child ruined by Voldemort's disappearance, the death eater's dissolution and mostly, the Lestrange's imprisonment in Azkaban. This would lead to the child being raised by the Malfoys. Not only because Lucius was one of his most trusted followers but because Narcissa was Bellatrix sister. The Malfoys would stick to the basics of what was decided for the child: he wouldn't attend Hogwarts but Durmstrang, but for his 5th year he would be sent to Hogwarts.

I picture this character to be like a reverse version of Harry Potter. He would have both traits of Slytherin and Gryffindor. I think like Harry, the sorting hat would have trouble deciding where to put him. Reversing Harry, i think this character would ask the sorting hat to not put him in Gryffindor, but in Slytherin instead, because he would be terrified to disappoint his family.

I imagine the reason (and his purpose) to be sent to Hogwarts would be for him to retrieve horrocruxes as a preventive measure feeling they are not safe in Hogwarts anymore, but after Dumbledore destroyed the Gaunt ring, this pressure would increase drastically during his sixth year. I think this would be the use Voldemort would find for him after not needing to posses his body anymore. Probably when he made his horrocrux he didn't know it would be way more difficult to control a human horrocrux than an animal one like Nagini; or a simple object like the rest. Plus, let's remember the horrocrux are parts of his soul but split and unconnected. Meaning that the parts of his soul that are trapped in a horrocrux stay "frozen". Tom Riddle's diary didn't know about Harry Potter and Voldemort's rise and downfall, he learned it all from Ginny Weasley, so even if Voldemort was already powerful and with a lot of dark magic knowledge when he made his son into an horrocrux, I think when he lost his powers and was reduced to the verge of dead when he tried to kill Harry Potter he was too weak to take possession of a human horrocrux so he was forced to look for other ways to come back (first the diary, then the dark potion with Harry's blood). Once he succeeded and he was able to touch Harry Potter he found it unnecessary and problematic to take possession of his body so he decided to use him as an extension of himself instead.

This is how I reimaginated Voldemort's son. This is how Damian Lestrange was born from my imagination. I'm not saying you should stop fangirling over Mattheo, but if like me, you felt he didn't make much sense and you wanted some more developed fan character then here you go.

I didn't write a fanfic about him but I intend to make a full lore about him here :) If you want to know in a more detailed and organized way all about him, keep reading the next tabs.

I enjoy more creating AI bots of him in different scenarios and platforms. I will add all of them here in case you want to write with him.