The Love Story of Harriet Potter and Tom Riddle

Chapter 99 - Ours

Thank you for reading! I don't own any of Harry Potter! Please let me know if you enjoy! Updates every Saturday!
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Tom had forbidden visitors from Riddle Manor for the rest of James's recess.

As much as it pained him to be away from Lily, James did his best to support his mother and brother during those dreary weeks, although he did manage to send Lily a letter early one morning before Tom woke.

Once they found each other on the train back to school, she threw her arms around him in a warm embrace.

"James! Oh, James! I'm so sorry! I'm so very sorry!" She cried as she closed her eyes, "Your poor mum!"

"It's alright, Lily." James sighed as he placed his hands on her back and closed his eyes, more than ready to accept her embrace, "It's alright, but it isn't over.......Not yet."

James hadn't admitted to his mother or brother that the recent battle had depleted him.

That loving, warm gesture from Lily did a wonderful job of refreshing his spirit and bolstering his determination.

She reminded James that he still had to fight, because there was so much to fight for.

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For the majority of the ride back to the castle, James explained every detail of what had occurred over the winter recess to Hugo and Rose while Lily sat beside him in the train compartment, holding his hand in a silent show of support.

"Oh, James, that's awful.....I'm so sorry." Lily frowned.

"Yeah, sorry to hear about all that, mate." Hugo nodded as he mirrored his younger sister's expression, "I wish there's something we could have done....We had no idea! I don't even think your Mum's told our parents yet, if she has, they haven't said anything to us."

Lily nodded as James shook his head, "No, she hasn't. I haven't seen her write any letters or....or anything. I think she and Dad are really, um.....it's just a very bad time for them."

An awkward silence settled for a few seconds before James looked at Hugo and Rose and spoke, "I.....I hope you lot can see what I mean now, about my sister. She has to be stopped!"

"But you said your father sent her away." Rose blinked, "........She's gone now."

"I won't feel safe as long as she's alive." James sneered, "If you understand what I'm suggesting......"

"You can't just murder her, James." Lily scoffed.

"No, but perhaps I can do to her what she's done to our sister." James replied.

Hugo, Lily, and Rose exchanged glances of uncertainty.

"I read about it over recess!" James exclaimed as he glanced between his friends, "All I need is a Time-Turner! Then I can go back to when my parents were first married and-"

"-Our mum never uses hers." Rose cut in, "She says it's really dangerous to mess with time."

Hugo's eyes widened as James looked at Rose and asked, "Your mum has a Time-Turner?"

"Sure." Rose shrugged, "Didn't your mum ever mention that? She's used it before, with our parents....when they were at Hogwarts."

Hugo watched the hope spread across James's face as he quickly shook his head and said, "Listen, James, I think they just went back like an hour or something, it wasn't years, it wasn't to mess with people's births and-"

"-Are you two my friends or not?" James snapped as a warning scowl crossed his face.

"Of course we are." Rose frowned.

"Then help me!" James pleaded as he looked at Rose, then at Hugo.

Lily frowned.

"This summer....." James decided, "When we all go home again, won't you let me borrow it?.....Just for a single afternoon?"

"James....." Hugo shrugged with a mirthless chuckle.

"I've never seen my dad like this." James frowned, "And my mum is devastated.....If my older sister had never been born, none of this would have happened....Please.....Please, won't you help me?"

Hugo furrowed his brow as he and Rose exchanged frowns.

"Alright, mate." Hugo nodded as he turned to look back at James, "We'll do what we can, but no promises, eh? It's not easy to get things past our mum."

"I knew I could count on you." James grinned, "You two are the best!"

The doubt on Lily's face was more than obvious as the Hogwarts Express approached the station in Hogsmeade.

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Later that evening, back at Riddle Manor, Harriet sighed as she lay in her nest with Tom cuddled against her.

Her fingers trailed through his dark curls as he nuzzled into her warm breasts, full of the unused milk for the child they had already laid to rest.

Tom was for once thoughtful, and subsequently careful not to draw attention to that, sensing the frown on Harriet's lips from the way her nails deftly raked against his scalp.

In an effort to comfort his wife, he whispered in his smooth voice, "Mark has agreed to walk with me tomorrow afternoon, while I gather a few herbs in the forest."

Harriet moved to look at him as he glanced up at her.

"Really?" She asked with a wry smile.

Tom shrugged, "I thought I could at least teach the boy what they're for, maybe he can use them in his own way, one day. If not, we can at least spend an hour together."

Harriet's grief remained but her heart sighed knowing that Tom had finally begun to acknowledge their youngest son.

"I hope you two can spend more time together." Harriet smiled, "He may not be like us, Tom, but he's-"

"-Ours." Tom cut in as he pressed his face to Harriet's chest, "He is my son.....our son."

"He is, yes, and he's sweet, and caring....and handsome, like his father." Harriet chuckled.

Tom closed his eyes as he wound his arms around Harriet and held her close.

For a moment, he focused on the steady, even rhythm of her beating heart.

His own blindness irritated him.

How could he have been such a fool for so many years?

Mark,  Mae, James, Euphemia.

His youngest son may have been the first squib in Salazar Slytherin's line, but regardless, Mark had been a gift given to him from Harriet.

Tom vowed to himself that from that moment on, he would respect his mate by loving their children, all of them, with his own prejudices set aside.