Work Text:
Fandom: Harry Potter
Main Relationship: Halycone Riddle (Harry Potter) and Tom Riddle
Warnings: alternate universe; female!Harry Potter (Halycone Riddle); time travel; and gen
Prompt: (Word) Cold
Summary: In which Tom Riddle grew up with an older sister, Halycone.
Riddle Me This
It was cold on the morning of the first of January when Mrs. Cole opened the front door of Wool’s Orphanage. The old matron’s frown vanished when she found a small girl standing on the front steps. It was too cold for a young child to be out.
“Have you seen my mummy?” the girl asked with large pleading green eyes.
Mrs. Cole sighed. This was another abandoned child.
“Where did you last see your mother?” Mrs. Cole asked.
“Yesterday,” the young girl replied, shivering. “She left our house, and she hasn’t been back since.”
Mrs. Cole frowned. There was something odd about this girl’s story.
The young girl stared up with large green eyes.
“What’s your mother’s name?” the orphanage matron asked. Mrs. Cole would need to call the authorities.
“Merope Riddle,” the young girl answered. “She’s pregnant, and I’m gonna be the bestest big sister!”
Something twisted in Mrs. Cole's heart. She remembered Merope. The young woman had given birth last night, and she died shortly after. “Come in,” Mrs. Cole offered, stepping back.
The young girl frowned for a moment. “No, thank you,” she said, shaking her head. “I’m looking for my mummy.”
Mrs. Cole thought for a few seconds. She needed a way to lure the young girl inside and get the girl to stay. “I saw your mother last night,” Mrs. Cole began, “and she had a boy.”
The young girl’s eyes widened. “I have a little brother?” she asked, sounding excited. She smiled.
Nodding, Mrs. Cole tried to motion the girl inside.
The young girl frowned, eyeing Mrs. Cole. “I don’t know,” she said, taking a step back. “You’re a stranger and I don’t know you.”
Mrs. Cole suppressed a sigh. This young girl was irritating.
The young girl brightened. “I know!” she declared. “What did mummy name my brother?” she asked. “She told me what she would name a boy and a girl.”
“Tom Marvolo Riddle,” the old woman answered.
The young girl beamed, taking a few steps forward. “Can I see my mummy?” she asked as she entered the orphanage.
Mrs. Cole closed the front door. “No,” she answered, struggling to explain what happened to Merope last night. Mrs. Cole had never had to tell a child their parent was dead.
Frowning, the young girl looked up at Mrs. Cole. “I’ll be really quiet and I’ll wait for her to wake up,” she whined. “I know sleep is ‘mportant for mummy.”
“I’m sorry, child,” Mrs. Cole began before she stopped, uncertain how to proceed.
Tears gathered in her eyes as the young girl looked up. “Something bad happened, didn’t it?” she asked.
The old woman nodded. “She passed away last night,” she explained.
The young girl shed a few tears. “W-where’s my baby brother?” she asked. “I wanna see Tom.” She paused for a few seconds before adding, “Please. He’s all the family I have left.”
Mrs. Cole led the young girl to the nursery where Tom Riddle was asleep.
In the nursery, the young girl ran over to her baby brother’s side. “I’m here, Tom,” she whispered. “You’re not alone anymore.”
For a reason unknown to herself, Mrs. Cole turned and she left the room. She had paperwork to file on the two children, Halycone Mary and Tom Marvolo Riddle.
Halycone looked up when the old lady left the nursery. Her eyes narrowed. Halycone was trying to give Mrs. Cole a chance, but it was difficult when she knew how the woman had treated Tom for his childhood. The woman was horrible.
Reaching into her pocket, Halycone withdrew a potion vial and a bottle. She poured the contents of the potion vial into the bottle before using her magic to give the bottle to Tom Riddle.
“I’m here for you,” Halycone hissed as she watched the baby boy. “It’s you and me, this time.”
.
.
.
That evening, Halycone was given a small room near the nursery. She was kind to the staff and she got along with the other children. The young girl was often found with her brother, whispering to him and singing lullabies. Some of the staff found her lullabies to be odd, about owls and magic.
“It’s what mummy sang,” she would explain with a shrug. “I wanna make sure Tom learns everything about mummy.”
After hearing her explanation, most of the staff left the siblings alone. At times, Halycone was an odd child.
“What about your father?” Mrs. Cole asked one warm day in July.
Halcyone frowned, staring at her brother. “He left us,” she muttered. “He got really mad at mummy one day, and he left.”
Mrs. Cole frowned. “Do you know where he went?” she pressed.
Shrugging, Halycone curled her hands around the bars on the crib. “No,” she whispered. “Mummy said he would be back, but he never came back.”
The orphanage matron frowned. Nearly a dozen children had joined the orphanage since Tom and Halycone, and she was trying to find homes or families for as many of the children as she could.
“What about your grandfather?” she asked. “Marvolo, I think.” It was such an odd name, and Mrs. Cole vaguely remembered Mrs. Riddle naming her son Tom Riddle for his father and Marvolo for her father.
Halycone flinched at the name, staring up at Mrs. Cole with fear in her green eyes. “He was mean,” she whispered. “Him and Uncle Morfin.”
Mrs. Cole found herself wondering what caused such a reaction from the kind young girl. It was clear talking about her family – outside of Tom and Mrs. Riddle – was something the young girl didn’t care for.
“I know dad’s from Hangleton or something,” she shrugged. “I remember mummy talk about it after he left.”
That caught Mrs. Cole’s attention, thought she had no idea what to do with the information. She was looking for a Mr. Tom Riddle of Hangleton.
.
.
.
When Tom was three and Halycone was seven, Halycone insisted on sharing a room with her little brother. Mrs. Cole tried to put Halycone with some of the other girls and Tom with other boys, but she found herself agreeing after a few minutes. For some reason, Mrs. Cole was always quick to agree with Little Halycone.
“I’m his big sister,” Halycone explained. “It’s my job to look out for Tom.”
The Riddle siblings were given a small room with two beds. There was a wardrobe with their few pieces of clothing, and there were a few toys neatly piled in the corner. While they had two beds, most nights Halycone and Tom curled up in one bed.
“I have an important secret,” Halycone told her little brother one morning. She had a serious expression.
Tom stared up at her with wide eyes.
“We have magic,” she stated.
“Really?” Tom asked, awe in his voice. “Like in your stories? The ones about Salazar, Godric, Rowena, and Helga.”
“Exactly,” she answered with a smile. She told Tom stories about Hogwarts and the Founders each night as he drifted off to sleep. Tom’s favorite was Salazar.
Tom’s eyes lit up.
“Magic is a secret,” she told him. “We can’t tell anyone else, and we can’t use it on muggles.”
Tom frowned, looking confused.
“Muggles are people who don’t have magic,” she explained.
“Like Mrs. Cole and the others?” he said.
Nodding, she explained, “Do you know why we shouldn’t use magic on them?”
His eyes narrowed as Tom thought. “Because it’s wrong?” he guessed. “Like how Henry shouldn’t bully us just because he’s older and bigger?”
“Yes,” Halycone answered. The true answer was far more complicated. Tom was three, and it was best to keep the answers short and simple, using examples around the orphanage.
Tom beamed before his expression grew nervous.
Halycone offered him a smile. She knew Tom Riddle well – better than anyone ever had.
“C-can you show me?” he asked, his voice quiet.
Smile widening, Halycone looked at the pile of toys and she waved her left hand. The toys rose into the air before they started dancing and moving around Tom.
Tom sat in silent fascination as he watched the toys between sneaking glances at his sister. He wanted to learn that! “Teach me!” he demanded, looking at her in excitement.
Halycone frowned, lowering her hand a little. The toys stopped moving, hovering in mid-air. Her eyes narrowed as she looked at her little brother.
Tom ducked his head. “Sorry, Hallie,” he muttered. He knew Halycone didn’t like it when others demanded things of her.
She hummed.
“W-will you please teach me?” Tom muttered.
“I will,” Halycone began, “when you’re older.”
Tom looked up, pouting. He wanted to learn now .
“I need to teach you control first,” she explained, “and there are more lessons before I’ll start to teach magic.”
Tom sighed before nodding. “When can we start?”