Diagon Alley was lit up with so much holiday cheer that one would have to take a minute to stop and stare at the excitement bubbling around the place. All the shops were brightly lit and neatly decorated with all sorts of ornaments and displays. People were looking forward to the New Year. It was really a sight to see. But at the moment, Merope was under so much stress that she could not pay attention to her surroundings.
“What’s come over me?” she thought to herself as she walked down the alley.
Her mind was still back at shop with Mr. Burke. She had had instances similar to that during her first few months of pregnancy, but nothing this strong. And with each instance it kept getting worse … much worse. For a moment, she had had the chilling sensation that she was going to kill Mr. Burke … and enjoy it!
“I must be going mad,” Merope thought. She had never wanted to hurt anyone that badly - never in her life! Even in times when cruelty was being dealt to her, she had never thought to stand up for herself or harm the other person.
When she was living at her father’s house, she had always dreamed of being in a better place where she could be free to do whatever she liked without fear of retribution. And on some level she was now living that dream, but she had had to pay a high price for it. She felt as though her soul would go into debt for this dream of hers.
The place was bustling with so much energy. It was usually like this at this time of year, since the students were out on holiday. Diagon Alley was filled with so many patrons that one would have to stand shoulder-to-shoulder near some of the more popular stores. She felt a bit aggravated by the crowdedness, which promptly aggravated the baby, who gave his mother a kick so hard that the person next to her felt it.
“Feisty little devil!” the gentleman said as he gave a slight jiggle of her belly. She smiled back at him as he tipped his hat to her and walked on. She took a moment to stop and take a deep breath. The last thing she needed was another incident like the one she just had at Borgin and Burkes. She looked around and saw a bookstore up ahead, so she decided to duck in there till the crowd settled down.
She was amazed at the wall-to-wall assortment of literature in the store. It had been a while since she’d been in the presence of so many books. Her father hadn’t given too much thought to her education, so there weren’t that many books or parchments around the house. But whenever she got ahold of one her mind would soak up every letter, word, and phrase of the entire manuscript from front to back. Her thirst for knowledge was so great that she could still recall bits of information scribbled down on a piece of parchment.
“Maybe I can find something in here that will explain what’s going on with me,” she thought to herself.
Merope looked around the store for a witch’s guide to pregnancy or something similar. She hadn’t been fortunate to have her mother around while growing up. No female had helped to guide her through her life. Aside from the occasional Ministry employee that would drop by (usually for some crime that her brother had done) it was mainly her, her father, and her brother at the house. No one really came to visit or chat with them. She wasn’t even sure if she had any relatives left.
She was looking through one of the stacks of books and came across something very familiar. It was an old copy of Advanced Potions. She remembered finding a copy in her father’s basement. She had read it from time to time when her father wasn’t looking. But once he and her brother had been arrested, she had been able to look into it more deeply, taking in all the information it had offered.
She reminisced for a moment, then turned to a page in the book that had changed her life forever. The page listed the ingredients for a love potion, a love potion that she’d been able to make to win the affections of the handsome man she would call her husband.
She thought back to that first day. She had waited a while for the potion to steep, just like the instructions said. Then it was finally ready. She bottled it up and quickly ran to the stables, since she knew he had been off riding alone earlier that morning. He sauntered in on his dark mustang, Matthias. He looked as though he had just stepped out of a fairytale, with his long black hair and chiseled frame. She was speechless at the sight of him. He didn’t notice her too much at first. He thought she was one of the help, since they had so many maids at the big house. She detected that he was thirsty and offered him a drink. He took it without question and drank every drop of the potion. He didn’t react strangely or any differently from normal. He kept going about his business of tending to the horse. That made her kind of nervous since she figured she had followed the instructions to the very letter. She was inches away from walking out of the stables when he suddenly grabbed her and begged her to never leave him. The moment confused her at first since she never knew what love or kindness looked like. But when she told him that she wouldn’t leave, he was so thrilled that he proceeded to kiss her over and over again. It was the happiest she had ever felt. He swept her off her feet and into a pile of hay where they made love for the rest of that afternoon.
To her dismay, the effects of the potion wore off every morning. So she had to make sure that she had a stockpile of the mixture and keep her arsenal full of the ingredients, so that she could keep making batches over and over. Sometimes she would vary the ingredients to make the potion so strong that he would just consume her with passion. Those were the early days of their relationship, if one could call it a relationship.
When she dosed him with the stronger stuff, he thought that she was the most erotic being to walk the face of the earth. He literally had to have her during every waking moment of the day. If he wasn’t eating, sleeping, or using the bathroom, he would try to pin her down with his affections then proceed to make love to her for the rest of evening. And she didn’t mind - not one bit! She let him have his way with her anytime he wanted it. His very touch was so exhilarating that she passed out a couple times from it. Who could blame her? She had never known a kind word or a gentle touch while she was living at her father’s house. She couldn’t even recall if her father had ever said “thank you” for anything she did. So to have this handsome young man lusting after her was enough to fill her deprived senses.
But from time to time it got a bit hard to handle. They had to move to London so they could feel free to be with each other. They had a nice little apartment with a view of the park in the big city. She had never been so far way from home, so she wanted to do a little exploring.
She woke up one morning and prepared his meal, making sure he was properly dosed. After checking on him to see that he was still sleeping, she decided to take a walk around the park. It was truly a lovely morning and she felt so alive and happy. It was the most blissful she had ever felt at the time. Then, just as she got around a bend in the path, she was tackled from behind to the ground. She rolled over to see him smiling down at her … barely dressed.
“My Angel! I was so worried,” he said, trying to catch his breath. “You left our home with no word or note. I thought you weren’t pleased with me … and had left me.” He looked so distraught, yet so very pleased to see her.
“Oh no, Love. I just went for a walk, that’s all. I would never leave you.” He was so humbled by her words that he tried to make love to her right there on the ground. But the park was starting to fill with people (particularly children). So they had to stop and take their love fest back to their apartment.
They came close a couple of times to getting evicted from their place. Not that they didn’t have any money - his family was very well off. He had made sure to get enough to support them both just before they ran off together. It’s just that when you spend your days and night in bed being romantic, you forget to tend to other things (business things) that needed tending to. But after the second eviction notice, she realized that she needed to lighten up on the potion’s strength.
The next batches she made were not too strong but not too light. It was just right. And like clockwork, she would put it in his morning tea just before sunrise. And then the fun began.
Now those were some very magical times. He was ever so cordial and so very thoughtful to her. She found that he was incredibly charming and quite the romantic. They still made love, but now during more appropriate times of the day (if there ever was an appropriate time for lovemaking). And it was still passionate, so very passionate. But they took the time to do other things together like walking in the park or going for a boat ride. They took in the arts and other types of culture. They had romantic dinners at home or at a nice restaurant. Sometimes when it rained, he would have a picnic set up in their living room for lunch. And during really bad thunderstorms, he would set the stage for a romantic interlude by filling the place with candlelight and music. He sometimes read poetry or sang her a song just before she went to sleep.
He was beautiful. And he made her feel just the same.
One time, she remembered that there was a theater group in town that was doing Shakespeare’s play Romeo and Juliet. She begged him to take her to see it. He, of course, happily obliged her. So they went shopping to buy her a new dress for an evening at the theater.
They made such an odd-looking couple. People often stopped and stared at the two of them when they stepped out together. She wasn’t a real beauty, like some of the girls that he had been with before she’d slipped him the potion. But she wasn’t hideous either. She was just strikingly odd-looking. But you couldn’t tell him that. Everywhere they went his loving eyes were on her like she was the only person in the world, the only person he cared to see. And if anyone said anything out of line about her, he would promptly address the issue with his fists or a good tongue-lashing.
He was truly a gentleman.
That night, as they were getting ready for the play, she noticed that he hadn’t gotten out of bed yet. He was just lying there with his back against the headboard, smiling away as she tried to get dressed. She finally turned around and asked him why he wasn’t getting ready.
He looked at her with a sly grin on his face. ”Have you ever seen a play done in the nude?”
She looked at him rather quizzically. “What are you getting at?”
“I mean, have you ever seen Shakespeare done in the nude?” he asked again, trying to be more serious this time.
“Of course not, you know that! Why are you being so silly? Darling, we’re going to be late!”
Exasperated, she turned around and tried to find an earring to match the necklace he had bought her. But then she felt a warm sensation on her shoulders, and she knew he was standing right behind her. She looked into the large mirror on their dresser to see that he wasn’t dressed at all. Usually the sight of him naked would send her reeling. But since she really wanted to see this play, she felt somewhat annoyed that would pick this time to play this love game with her.
But then she noticed that he had this nervous yet tender expression on his face. He turned her around, gently took her hand, looked deeply into her eyes and said:
“If I profane with my unworthiest hand this holy shrine, the gentle fine this is;
My lips, two blushing pilgrims, ready stand to smooth that rough touch with a tender kiss …”
The words seemed to move him so much that tears were trickling down his stern face. She stood there completely enthralled. Keeping his gaze fixed on her, he kissed the open palm of her hand then placed a ring on her finger. The scene was so romantic that you could almost feel the heavens opening up to take notice.
Merope had known he was a Muggle from the first time she had laid eyes on him. However, the way he proposed to her that night, the moment was so powerful it was almost bewitching. She tried to say ‘yes’ but the words wouldn’t come. She was so entranced by his actions that she felt she had been stupefied. But he understood. He swept her up in his arms and proceeded with the story of the two star-crossed lovers in their bed. He didn’t make love to her that night, yet he showed her so much affection that she silently cried tears of joy as he continued with his rendition of the story.
The following morning, they got married. She was truly a blushing bride and he was a boastful groom, praising the heavens for his wife.
“God has sent me an Angel, and her name be Merope.”
He kissed her so fiercely as the priest pronounced them man and wife.
Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Riddle.
“Yes, those were happier times then,” she thought. “So long ago ...”
