Marked • Tom Riddle

His Nickname

   It was hideous.

   It was the ugliest thing I'd ever seen.

   From the moment I awoke, I was bombarded with questions regarding the wedding. Mother had taken it upon herself to begin with the preparations, leaving me little time to adjust my eyes to the morning light before I was whisked away into my dress fitting.

   So, there I stood, in front of three large mirrors, each angled perfectly to show me all sides of the gown my mother had picked out. If you could call it a gown. It was untastefully revealing in my cleavage area, way too tight around my butt, basically, all see-through lace, and flared out at my ankles. Merlin, I looked like a fish. And a prostitute. A fish prostitute.

   "Oh, it's just lovely," Mother said in awe, tearing up as she looked at me. Betsy, who was standing by the door, her expression said otherwise. "Don't you just love it, Karina?"

   "It's repulsive," I said, embarrassed I was even wearing such a thing.

   "It is the latest in bridal fashion," Mother spoke with her nose in the air.

   "Well, brides these days must be doubling their wedding dresses as their lingerie. I've never worn anything so revealing in my life," I said. I saw Betsy smile from the corner of my eye.

   "I know," Mother sighed, walking up to me and looking enviously at my body. "It's such a shame."

   "I'm going to try on the one I picked out now," I said, making my way behind the folding screen to get the horrendous gown off of me as soon as possible. Betsy quickly followed and unzipped me.

   "That old thing? You're going to look like a grandmother."

   "At least I won't look like I belong at a strip club for fish."

   "Karina, I will not have you using that tone with me. Especially not this close to your wedding," Mother said and I rolled my eyes as I worked my way into the gown.

   "It wasn't even my choice to get married, so at least let me choose my wedding dress," I said.

   "I don't know why you're so upset about this marriage. Any girl would be lucky to be you. You're marrying the most powerful man in all of the Wizarding World, for Merlin's sake."

   "Just because he's the most powerful man in the Wizarding World doesn't mean I want to marry him. If anything that makes me want to marry him less," I sucked in a sharp breath as Betsy began lacing up the gown's built-in corset.

   "You're making zero sense. The Dark Lord is the perfect man. He's filthy rich, unfathomably powerful, and sinfully handsome. Merlin help you if you tell your Father what I just said."

   I looked at Betsy and smiled as I watched her struggle to force down a laugh.

   "That's not all there is, Mother," I said as I stepped out from behind the folding screen and towards the mirrors.

   "Karina," Mother gasped. She looked at my gown in awe as she stood behind me, looking over my shoulder and into the mirror.

   This gown was everything the other one wasn't. It was a beautiful, off white colored gown. The corseted top was embroidered with branch-like stitching that extended over the lace sleeves and past the cinched in waist, into the tulle skirt. Although it wasn't as conservative as my mother made it out to be, as it still did me favors where I needed them, it was definitely much better than the previous atrocity of a gown. I loved it and judging by the look on my mother's face, she did too.

   "I want someone who I actually have things in common with, who understands me, and loves me," I said, a feeling of sadness washing over me. It made me sad I couldn't wear the gown for someone I loved and who loved me. Maybe the fish lingerie was the better option for the Dark Lord.

   "Oh, please. I didn't love or care about your father when I first married him. I married him to make my family proud, and you'll do the same. All the other stuff can come later," Mother said and began to enviously scope my body again. "You do have just the perfect little waist."

   "So, you fell in love with Father after you married?"

   "I will admit, it wasn't right away," Mother sighed. "Your father and I didn't get along at first, he was always working and so committed to serving your grandfather. I rarely even saw him. But over time, I began to respect him and eventually through that respect, we found love."

   "And then you decided to have me."

   "Merlin's beard, no! No offense, sweetie, but you weren't exactly planned. I mean, we had just started to have some much-needed fun when I found out I was expecting you."

   "Mother!"

   "Just being honest, dear."

   ~~~

   Later that day, once the dress fitting was over, I decided to stop by my Father's office to see what he was up to. As usual, he sat behind a desk piled high with paperwork, his glasses perched upon the bridge of his nose, and a glass of whiskey by his side.

   "Ah, what brings you here, Lumy?" Father said, smiling tiredly at me over the mountain of papers. It was obvious he was busy, but he always made time for me, no matter what.

   I smiled at the nickname. It was something he'd been calling me since I learned my first spell, Lumos. As a child, I used to be terrified of the dark and the possible monsters lurking in it. Father had decided it would be best to teach me a spell to protect myself from these monsters. Although my mother was hellbent on me learning Crucio, Father had decided against it due to obvious reasons. So, he took it upon himself to teach me Lumos, so anytime I worried there was something in the dark, I could light up the room.

   "Is it true I was an accident and you and Mother were just having a fun time when I was conceived?" I said and watched as my father's face fell, as I took a seat across from him.

   "Is this what you and your mother talk about?"

   "Answer the question," I said.

   Father sighed deeply, "No, Karina. You were not planned, but you were not an accident. You were a ...surprise."

   "Good answer."

   "Is that all you wanted to ask me?" 

   "No, actually. I also want to know if you and Mother had a rough start when you two first married."

   "Your Mother sure is telling you a lot today," Father took a sip from his whiskey. "Yes, your Mother and I did have our differences in the beginning."

   "She said you were always busy."

   "That is true. I didn't know how to get your Mother to like me, so I tried to impress her by gaining your grandfather's respect by working alongside him and showing him the dedicated, hard-working man I am," Father smiled as if recalling a forgotten memory. 

   "But you eventually fell in love."

   "Once I realized all that time and effort should have been directed at her, then we fell in love," Father explained and looked at me, curiously. "Why are you asking me this?"

   "Father," I said as if it were obvious. "I'm supposed to marry a stranger, the Dark Lord. It's only natural for me to ask how my parents, two people who used to be strangers, fell in love."

   "You needn't worry about finding love, Lumy. Take it from someone who knows, love will find you. It will find you when you least expect it."

   "Are you sure?" I asked. I couldn't imagine the Dark Lord loving anyone, especially not me.

   "Positive," Father assured with a warm smile. "Anyone who doesn't love my little girl is, put simply, a buffoon."

   "You couldn't think of any other word? Perhaps something a little more insulting?" 

   "Not while talking about the Dark Lord, Lumy," Father said. 

   "Alright, I'll leave you to your work," I stood up to leave.

   "Karina," Father said, causing me to pause. "Who drank my bottle?"

   "The buffoon," I said before leaving with a satisfied smile.