Riddle's little snake

The art of losing a friend

Curare age: 10 years

You could hear laughter echoing through the Malfoy Manor. It was Draco Malfoy's birthday, and he was spending it with his best friend Curare Riddle. They were known to reck havoc wherever they went. Since they met a few years ago they were almost inseparable. The two children were in the garden, playing catch, when an owl dropped a letter straight into Draco's lap.

"Look Cura, I got my Hogwarts letter." The blonde boy exclaimed with an excited voice. Curare frowned. She knew how much Draco was looking forward to going to school, but she would miss him. He was a year older so she would be alone for that time. And after that he would still be a grade higher than him.

Draco saw the look on her face and pulled her into a hug. "I'll write to you every week and I'll come home for Christmas" he whispered in her ear.

She nodded. Curare didn't grow up with many people around her which made her more attached to these few people. Draco was her only friend that was her age. Tom had tried to introduce her to other kids, but she didn't like any of them. She also didn't understand why she needed more friends. She had everything she needed.

Later that day the Malfoy's and the Riddle's were sitting at the table. They were enjoying Draco's birthday cake when he mentioned his letter.

"Can we go to Diagon Alley? I need to get my school supplies" he asked. Lucius nodded and Narcissa suggested Curare come with them to help Draco get his stuff.

So, an hour later the five of them were walked through the crowded streets. Everyone made way for the two noble families. The nice day didn't last forever though. Two weeks later it was time for Draco to go.

Curare didn't wake up with a smile like she normally did, and she also didn't get up. She just stayed in bed and curled around Nagini. The snake hissed soothingly and rubbed her head against the girl's cheek. When she didn't turn up at the unusual time Tom was worried and went up to his daughter's room.

He didn't say anything as he took off his shoes and laid down beside her, pulling her body onto his. She let go of Nagini and wrapped her arms around Tom instead. That is how they spent the day. Tom informed the Ministry he wasn't able to work that day and just spent hours with his daughter.

Even if Curare wasn't of age yet he had been contacted by various schools around the world. Everyone wanted the famous Riddle child in their ranks and tried to get him to make his daughter join. Tom still didn't know if he wanted her to go to school at all. When he had asked her a few years ago she refused, saying she didn't want to leave him or Nagini and that she could continue being taught at home.

She was very advanced already. Tom taught her all about dark magic theory, as her magic core would be ripe at the age of eleven. Severus made Potions with her and she had three potions books memorized. Sirius was in charge of Transformations and so on. She even got Bellatrix to show her how to use the imperious curse. After the incident a few years ago Bellatrix and Rudolphus tried for weeks to get Curare to forgive them.

They didn't want their Lord's precious little daughter to dislike them. Now Bellatrix was like an aunt while her husband was like a really cool uncle. All in all, Curare was dotted on by everyone and had loads of grown-ups who were like family to her but that didn't change her relationship with her father.

She and Tom were closer than close. Almost no day was spent apart and the wall in Curare's room was starting to get too small for all the pictures. Not that her room wasn't big enough. Her room was bigger than the Malfoy's Master bedroom. The Riddle mansion was filled with memories. Tom made the house elves take all the pictures of the ancestors and put them in an extra room, which was at the very back of the cellar.

He had showed Curare her family, she deserved that, but she didn't seem very interested in them. They were dead anyway and she noticed her father didn't like them, so she just labelled them off as unimportant. Tom hated leaving Curare alone at home. He wanted to make sure she knew she was loved a lot, something he wished for his whole childhood.

So normally she would at least have Nagini at home with her but Nagini was out with a group of Death eaters. That's why today was the first day Tom would take Curare to work. As the whole Riddle family was seen as royalty, every time they were outside, you could be there would be at least one article about it. Especially if they were out together. Curare had been on a few front pages, but she wasn't out in the open very often.

Tom and Curare used the floo network to travel to the Ministry of Magic and as soon as they arrived, Curare pulled her hood further into her face. She almost always wore a cloak or a jacket that had hood. Perhaps she had really spent too much time with Death eaters.

Everyone the two passed turned around to them and many greeted Tom as well, trying to get on his good side. But there were always so many people, that these didn't even stand out at all. Jason, Tom's assistant, almost screamed when he saw the two come into the office. Curare had never been to the Ministry, so she was still slightly in awe. She watched the little paper birds fly around and almost forgot she was being stared at.

But she never let go of her father hand. She didn't want to lose him in all the people as she was still quite small, even for a ten-year-old. A healer had assured Tom that she was perfectly healthy and that she was just a little bit frailer.