Riddle's Plea

The Knights*

(Vienna. September 1st, 1943)

    Here I was, casually sitting next to the boy who would become the darkest wizard the world has ever known, sipping pumpkin juice, in the wrong house, surrounded by future Death Eaters, and suddenly feeling very anxious. "Your eyes are a strange color." The voice came across from me, next to the platinum blonde that was talking to me earlier. His short black hair was sticking up in odd directions, and his black eyes were regarding me carefully. Here we go about the eyes. "Yes. That's what I've been told." I say to him, resisting the urge to roll my eyes. "I've never seen purple eyes before." He speaks again, eyes curious. "They run in the family," I say, gently sitting my pumpkin juice in front of me. "Interesting." He concludes, throwing a glance to Tom beside me, before turning his attention back to me. "My name is Alwaid Lestrange, most people call me Al." I try to keep the recognition from crossing my face and held his steady gaze. "Pleasure," I say to him. "This is Abraxas Malfoy," he begins, waving a hand towards the right to the blonde beside him, "and this is Jack Mulciber," again waving a hand to his left to a boy with long dark hair and surprisingly warm brown eyes. I nod my head to both of the boys, trying to keep a straight face towards Malfoy. It's safe to say his grandson and I did not get along. Beside me, a boy with short blonde hair and blue eyes clears his throat. "I'm Theodore Rosier, most call me Theo. And this is Evan Nott." He gestures to a small, thin redhead next to him, who gives me a warm smile. I smile back at the boy and watch as his cheeks flush and his green eyes twinkle. Beside me, Tom stiffens and clears his throat for my attention. "Beside me is Felix Avery," he says, eyes dark and without emotion, "and across from Avery is Antonin Dolohov." Felix I could already tell was tall, with brown eyes and sandy colored hair. Antonin looked to be all muscle, and his curly black hair looked like it hadn't been combed in years. His dark eyes were almost maniacal. "It's a pleasure to meet you all," I say to them, throwing a very small smile to each boy.

    This was completely out of my element. This whole situation was odd to me, especially considering I knew these boys stories, and I knew some of their grandchildren. Alwaid Lestrange was the future father of Rebastan and Rudolphus Lestrange, Rudolphus was the future husband of the nasty woman Bellatrix Lestrange. Evan Nott would eventually have a son named Theodore Nott and judging by the way he looked up to Theodore Rosier, it's safe to assume that the Nott from my time was named after him. Abraxas Malfoy was the future father of Lucius Malfoy, and grandfather to Draco Malfoy, both of them were vile human beings. Antonin Dolohov would come to brutally torture and murder Fabian and Gideon Prewett, brothers of Molly Weasley. He'd also come to murder Remus Lupin, a member of the future Order of the Phoenix and a close friend of mine. Looking upon these boys now, I felt a sense of sadness. Their lives were destined to be filled with darkness and death, and I realized yet again, that I could prevent that. I took a glance at Tom beside me, he wasn't eating anything, just engaging in conversation with Felix. "Riddle." Malfoy's voice whispered across the table to Tom, and he looked away from Avery and to the blonde across from him with a questioning glare. Malfoy flinched under Tom's gaze but then tilted his head to the left. Following Malfoy's head tilt, his eyes raked down the table, and his expression turned cold. I followed his line of sight and gazed upon a boy with long brown hair and brown eyes, who was talking feverishly to a young woman sitting next to him. 

    As if he noticed our stares, the boy stopped talking to the woman and looked up. He met Tom's gaze and quickly looked away, turning his body away from the woman beside him. The woman noticed this and turned her head to see what had caused the boy to end their conversation so abruptly. When she turned the breath caught in my throat as I recognized the woman from a very distinguishing portrait in Number 12 Grimmauld Place. Walburga Black, future mother of Sirius Black, and the screaming portrait that had caused an uproar every time her son would walk past. Obviously, this was a much younger Walburga Black, her face no longer full of wrinkles, and her once graying hair was completely black. It took me a moment to realize that the boy beside her must be her younger brother Cygnus, the future father of Bellatrix, Andromeda, and Narcissa Black. I turned my gaze back to Tom and found myself scooting away from him even further. He was glaring at Walburga, a mixture of hate and anger filling his face. "Tom," I say gently gathering his attention, his icy glare found my face, and I resisted the urge to flinch away. "Is everything alright?" I ask him gently, gesturing to Walburga behind me. His face softened a fraction as he glances to Walburga again before looking at me. "Everything is fine. The Black's have just been very...difficult lately." He says while casting a look to the boys around him, causing them all to snicker. 

    I had two options at this point, I could run away screaming from the boy, or I could, as they sometimes say, 'kill him with kindness'. Choosing the latter, I gave Tom a soft smile, who looks utterly bewildered by it, and leaned close to him again. "Let me know if you need my help." I relished in the fact that I had caused the future Dark Lord to be completely shocked by my words, and I quickly stood up from the table, smiling once again at all the boys and began the trek to the Slytherin common room. I probably just signed my own death warrant.