𝐀 𝐆𝐈𝐑𝐋 𝐎𝐅 𝐑𝐈𝐃𝐃𝐋𝐄𝐒 | h. potter

18 | Un-Riddle Me ( 𝙗𝙤𝙤𝙠 𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙛𝙞𝙣𝙖𝙡𝙚 )

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN: UN-RIDDLE ME

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Maya opened her eyes. She was vaguely aware that she should be hurting everywhere, but all she felt was a numbness pervading her limbs and senses, and it had taken a while for her to realise that there was someone sitting beside her bed. She glanced at the man. It took a while to muster the strength to speak.

"You knew."

Dumbledore met her accusatory gaze with un-twinkling eyes, and nodded solemnly. "I had my suspicions."

"How could you be so sure that he wouldn't possess me?" she paused. "That I wouldn't turn against everyone?"

"Everyone?"

"The people that I care about."

"It is precisely because you cared about them that I could trust you." Maya stared at him, unblinking. "Down in that Chamber you showed one quality that Tom could never dream of possessing: Love. It was your love for your friends and your desire to see them safe that made you win against him."

Love, he says. Wasn't that just an embellished way to say self-sacrifice? Her stomach clenched uncomfortably at the thought and she averted her gaze before he could perform legilimency on her. Well, she did promise that she would do whatever it took to stop Tom. Even if it was at the cost of her life.

"Tell me everything," she said shortly, "Tell me what he meant when he called me a 'vessel'."

Dumbledore's expression turned sombre at her demand and she couldn't help but clench the sheets beneath her fist. "As I have said before, I only had my suspicions. It was Professor Snape who raised them, however, on the assumption that the Dark Lord was yet again attempting another way to prolong his life. Tom was determined to live no matter what, and one of the ways he thought to do so was through a ritual from the Old Religion.

"You are not the daughter of Voldemort, nor is he your father. It is only a portion of his corrupted blood and magic that runs through your veins, and only when a fragment of his soul clings to you can he have power over you. In truth, Tom had kidnapped you as a child. The ritual demands that in order to have a second body, a child born on his birthday would have to be taken and infused with his bloodline. It is my belief that you were seen as a promising vessel because of your blood status as a 'pureblood', your astonishing displays of accidental magic, and the fact that you are a metamorphmagus, an ability most envied by wizards and witches alike. Imagine; in the hands of evil what a metamorphmagus could do to spread and instil fear? He could take on the appearance of anyone and people would be none the wiser. He would be harder to capture.

"Professor Snape at the time was his most trusted Potions Master. He had assisted Tom with the ritual potion, though Professor Snape was not aware at the time what it was for. He eventually pieced it together and informed me once he had changed his allegiance. I understand that this is a lot to take in, but it is imperative that you understand that Tom no longer holds any power over you. He cannot possess you, and he cannot use you as his second body. The reason you are alive is because the thing that had died was not you, but the piece of his soul shared between yourself and his diary. You are safe now."

Maya's head was spinning. She was... She wasn't Voldemort's daughter? She was just some poor child that had been snatched up and forced to live a life of torment, all because some madman wanted to live forever? She had faced persecution, abuse, had lived thinking she was an abomination; seen first-hand the evils of human nature and how the justice system could fail a person — and she wasn't even related to him?