Lily Potter (Harry Potter's Twin)

Chapter 58

Harry and Ogden both yelled "No!" at the same time; Ogden raised his wand and cried "Relashio!" Gaunt was thrown back ward away from his daughter; he tripped over a chair and fell flat on his back. With a roar of rage, Morfin leapt out of his chair and ran at Ogden, brandishing his bloody knife and firing hexes left and right.

Ogden ran for his life, Dumbledore indicated that we ought to follow. Merope's screams echoed in my ears.

"I think that will do," said Dumbledore. He took held of my elbow, then Harry's and tugged. The next moment, we were soaring through darkness until we landed squarely on our feet back in Dumbledore's office.

"What happened to the girl?" Harry asked immediately as Dumbledore lit the lamps with a flick of his wand.

"Oh, she survived," said Dumbledore, sitting down behind his desk, motioning for Harry and I to sit down too. "Odgen apparated back to the Ministry and returned with reinforcements within fifteen minutes. Morfin and his father tried to fight back but were over powered and convicted by the Wizengamot. Morfin, who already had the record of muggle attacks, was sentenced to three years in Azkaban. Marvolo had injured several Ministry employees in addition to Ogden, received six months."

"Marvolo is Voldemort's middle name," I said. "Merope was Voldemort's dear mother and Tom Riddle, the man in the carriage was his dad." Seeing the weird look Harry gave me I added quickly, "Right?"

"Yes, Marvolo was Voldemort's grandfather," Dumbledore said. He than gave us the details about Marvol's family, how he was raised in poverty and developed a very nasty temper with a fantastic amount of arrogance and pride

"How did Riddle end up with Merope?" said Harry, bewildered.

"I think you are forgetting that Merope was a witch. I do not believe that her magical powers appeared to her best advantage when she was being terrorized by her father, but once her family was locked away in Azkaban and she was free, I believe, then, she was able to give full rein to her abilities and plot her escape from the desperate life she had led for 18 years."

"A love potion," I said, trying to seem like I was guessing, but Harry sent another weird look in my direction.

"Yes, I am inclined to think that she used a love potion to have made it seem more romantic to her. It would not have been difficult on a hot day for her to offer Riddle a drink of cool water. But we do know that several months later, the village enjoyed a scandal. You can imagine the gossip it caused when the squire's son ran off with the tramp's daughter, Merope.

"But think of Marvolo's shock when he returned from Azkaban, expecting to find his daughter dutifully awaiting his return with a hot meal ready on the table, but found a clear inch of dust and a note of her farewell, explaining what she had done.

"From all that I have been able to discover, he never mentioned her name or existence from that time forth. The shock of her leaving may have lead to his early death, or perhaps he never really learned how to feed himself. Azkaban had greatly weakened Marvolo, and he did not live to see Morfin return to the cottage."

"And Merope? She... she died didn't she? Wasn't Voldemort brought up in an orphanage?" Harry said, unsure.

"Yes, indeed," said Dumbledore. "Within a few months of the scandal, Tom Riddle reappeared at the manor house in Little Hangleton without his wife. The rumor flew around that he was talked of being 'Hoodwinked' and 'taken in.' What he meant, I'm sure, is that he had been under an enchantment that was now lifted, but he probably didn't use those words for fear of being called insane."

"But she had his baby," said Harry.

"But not until a year after they were married. Tom Riddle left her while she was still pregnant."