Chapter Text
Tom Riddle was not always a murdering Dark Lord with the inclination to do whatever it takes, including killing a baby, in order to reach his goals. As a lonely boy in an orphanage, all he desired was a family and loving parents. When that dream seemed too impossible, his next goal was simply to live in peace without everyone condemning him for being freaky and strange. Tom wanted to be left alone, and in order to make that happen, he lashed out and struck first to protect himself. Once Tom learned that he was, in fact, a Wizard, his next goal was to learn all he could about magic so he would never have to feel powerless again. When he came to Hogwarts, he found that his goals may be more difficult than he had imagined. Tom was condemned for his muggle last name of Riddle by the pureblood wixen in his house, those of other houses condemned him for simply being in the Slytherin house, and Albus to many names. Dumbledore mistrusted Tom for his ability in parselmouth as well as the not-so-great introduction the two had with each other.
When Tom first discovered his connection to Salazar Slytherin and then the Chamber of Secrets, he thought he had finally found just what he needed to further his ambitions. Within the Chamber, Tom found hidden rooms left by Slytherin for his heirs. There were rooms, including a study, a dueling chamber, a ritual room, bedrooms, a potions lab, and Tom’s favorite, the library. The collection of books within Slytherin’s library included Slytherin’s personal collection before he died, as well as every book ever contained within the Hogwarts Library, many levels above the Chamber. Within that hidden library, Tom had access to knowledge lost to the world above over the last thousand years.
When first coming to Hogwarts, Tom learned that many wixen would gain some sort of creature inheritance when turning 16. Those who gained their creature inheritance would gain a boost in power and would be guaranteed a mate or in many cases more than one mate. The larger mateships would include one submissive mate with everyone else being a dominant mate. In the wider creature world, most would find themselves with the designation of dominant, while fewer would be submissive. Tom himself couldn’t imagine himself in any sort of submissive position, but felt that he would be of the 20 percent in the wixen world who would gain a creature inheritance.
When Tom first came to Hogwarts he silently observed those age sixteen and above who carried creature aspects. He could feel the power disparity between those that gained a creature inheritance and those that did not and new it was something he wanted. A year before Tom even considered making his first Horcrux, he read about the legacy of creature inheritances of the noble Slytherin line. Salazar himself was a naga, but along the line of Slytherins, Peverells, and Gaunts on the Slytherin family tapestry, there appeared many other creature inheritances. Tom saw information on naga, dragonkin, vampires, fae, and elves. He was determined to gain a creature inheritance, especially as heir to the Slytherin line.
Unfortunately for Tom, his ambitions were once again thwarted. Unbeknownst to Tom, Dumbledore had been keeping a close eye on the parselmouth and didn’t like what he saw. For years, Dumbledore had been a teacher at Hogwarts, and every time he saw a new student gain a creature inheritance, his envy at never gaining one himself grew. Dumbledore had no desire for the new generations to continue growing in strength beyond his own. So, as he observed the already strong powerhouse that was Tom Riddle, he decided enough was enough.
Tom’s first year at Hogwarts was the last year the school gained another creature-inherited student. Between his second to fifth years, no new student at Hogwarts gained an inheritance. This was all because one man, the Transfiguration teacher and Deputy Headmaster, decided to introduce potions to the student population to suppress the creature inheritances. So when it came time for Tom’s 16th birthday, the naga inside of him was too suppressed to break free. In Tom’s frustration and anger at this failure, he turned to other means to gain power and turned instead to Horcruxes.
In the next fifty years before Harry Potter comes to Hogwarts for the first time, the creature population had deteriorated drastically. The reduced population of creatures and a campaign led by Albus Dumbledore led to the introduction of new legislation against creatures. The inherited wixen who were once praised and admired for their strength soon found themselves the subject of scorn and fear by others. Creature inherited wixen began to leave Britain behind, heading to other countries and the creature realm of Eternia. Non-inherited creatures such as bitten werewolves and vampires also found themselves under more scrutiny and restrictions.
30 July 1996 11:36 PM
In the creature realm of Eternia, a mateship of four dominant males sat together in their home. The eldest, and Alpha of their mateship, was named Nadarian Monzell. He was what was known as a Celestial Angelic, and had already been alive for over 400 years. For the past few centuries, Nadarian had been preparing for the males and soulmates who would one day join him. As a Celestial Angelic, Nadarian had insight into time and space, helping him to better understand the universe around him. As such, he always knew that it would be up to him to find and gather his future mateship together.
Solen Irendell was the first mate he met, a Dark Elf who had been living in the Elven Woods of Eternia. Nadarian looked over to Solen now, admiring his black hair, golden eyes and dusky skin. The elf had joined Nadarian almost 200 years ago now, the two fitting together like perfectly fit puzzle pieces. Solen gave his Alpha a smile before turning back to his conversation with the mateship’s third, Alden Firian, a nature fae. Alden had long, beautiful, emerald hair that matched his eyes perfectly. At the moment, the fae had his hair braided with a variety of flowers from around their home. Alden had taken over Nadarian’s gardens when he joined their mateship 150 years before. Since then, the grounds flourished with a variety of flowers, fruits, vegetables, herbs, and plants for potion ingredients.
Their final mate was currently curled up by the nearby fireplace, soaking up the heat in his large wolf form. Jared Niven was a born werewolf, a creature species that had been around long before the lycanthropy curse had been around to turn infected persons into rabid versions of their born counterparts. Nadarian had found Jared on Earth, during one of his excursions to find his other soulmates. The wolf had been in Australia, found only one year after the male had come into his creature inheritance. Jared had been ecstatic to join with Nadarian and the others, having no family to leave behind in Australia.
Nadarian smiled fondly at the wolf, before he was broken out of his thoughts by two of his mates. “What were you saying?” Nadarian turned to Solen.
The dark elf let out a huff, “We were asking if you had also felt that something big was going to happen soon. It’s like the air around us is hesitating, waiting for something.” Solen was staring intently at his Alpha as he spoke.
The Angelic nodded along, “Yes, there has been a change spoken about in the stars.” Nadarian pressed a hand above his heart, “I have been speaking to many mateships over the last few decades, and many talk about mates that should be there, but are not.”
Alden frowned, “Do you believe this change has something to do with the missing mates… our missing mates?”
“That is a possibility,” Nadarian sighed. “The past few decades have felt so off, like we should have met more of our mates by now, but haven’t. With the three of you, it’s like there was a tether leading me to each of you. I could just follow the stars, and my mate would be on the other end.”
“And now?” Solen asked.
“And now, it’s like the the tethers started to form, but it never connected with the other side. The stars want to tell me where our mates are, but it feels like they have been shadowed from my view.”
By this point in the conversation, Jared had awoken from his nap and began to move closer to his other mates. As he drew closer to their couch, he changed back into his human form before climbing into Nadarian’s lap. “I heard the missing mates are those in Britain who never received their inheritance.”
The Alpha looked down at his wolf mate’s amber eyes, intrigued by the suggestion. “What do you mean by that?”
Jared ran a hand through his shaggy blonde hair before replying, “When I was still in Australia, I met a dragonkin who had come from Britain. He was saying how messed up the country has been in the past couple of decades when it comes to creatures. There hasn’t been a single case of a new creature inheritance in what, forty years or something? I don’t remember, but since then the population of creatures there has dwindled as no new creatures have been born and many just leave as the laws get more strict.”
Alden looked horrified, “How can there be absolutely no new creatures? Britain used to have one of the larger concentrations of new creatures in the world. Nad, have you noticed the lack of creatures when you go to search for more of our mates?”
“I haven’t really focused on searching Britain the last couple of times I went to Earth, but perhaps I should ask around to other alphas to see if anyone knows more about the situation.”
Solden nodded in agreement, but as he opened his mouth to ask a question, the grandfather clock in the room suddenly struck midnight, and the magic suddenly shifted in agitation around them. Nadarian opened his eyes wide in surprise as he suddenly felt multiple tethers attach themselves to his core, indicating that multiple mates came into their inheritance. First one, then all of a sudden it was eleven new tethers. All at the same time. The Alpha gasped in surprise, the purple, blue, and silver in his eyes glowing with power.
“What? What just happened?” Jared almost shouted. “Alpha?”
“I…I don’t understand,” the Angelic shook his head in confusion. “All of a sudden I felt one new mate bond forming, and then it was eleven…”
“Eleven?”
“What!? How is that even possible?”
“We can’t have had eleven new mates born all on the same day!” The three other mates all spoke up at the same time.
“We have to go find them!” Jared crowed in excitement.
Nadarian’s eyes flashed with power once more, “I believe all our mates are on Earth, but it may take me some time to pinpoint their exact location.”
A smile broke out on Solen’s usually stoic face. “Of course, no matter how long it takes, we will help you search.”
“I agree, there is no way I can even think about working when so many of our mates are out there waiting for us.” Alden smiled as well, his green eyes sparkling with excitement.
The Alpha wrapped his arms tighter around the werewolf in his lap and smiled at his three mates. “Soon, we will be with them… soon.”
30 July 1996 11:41 PM
Harry Potter lay on the cot in Dudley’s second bedroom, waiting in pain for midnight so he could wish himself a happy birthday, just as he did every year. The waiting for midnight as well as waiting in pain. Some years the pain is just from hunger, but others include broken bones and way too much blood, just as it does now. Harry is sure at least one of his bones is broken and his back is still bleeding from the cuts across his back. He lets out a sob, trying to stay as silent as he can, knowing that making noise only ever makes things worse.
Ever since coming back to the Dursley’s he has had to deal with the excessive amount of chores, lack of food, and Vernon’s heavy hand. Of course, there is also the heartbreak Harry is feeling from the loss of his godfather. Sirius had been killed around a month ago, and it was all his fault. If only he had listened when his friends suggested it might be a trap. If only he had waited for Snape to contact Dumbledore and the Order. If only he hadn’t rushed in like a brainless Gryffindor. If only Dumbledore had simply told him about the prophecy earlier, he would have known to stay away from the Department of Mysteries. If only Kreature hadn’t lied. If only… If only… Harry let out another sob.
He couldn’t keep doing this to himself. Wallowing in self-pity wouldn’t bring back his Godfather. He thought back to the reason Voldemort had lured him into the Ministry in the first place. That bloody prophecy was at fault. Harry couldn’t help but get angry once again. Why couldn’t he be just Harry rather than The-Boy-Who-Lived, all that title ever did was remind him of the fact that it was he being the subject of a prophecy that led to the deaths of his parents and his Godfather. At this point, Harry wondered if he should just tell Voldemort he could have Britain. Why should he care anymore about the other wixen? What had they ever done for him?
Harry didn’t even know about magic or the expectations of being The-Boy-Who-Lived until he got his Hogwarts letter from Hagrid. Ever since, he has faced danger after danger, confrontation after confrontation with Voldemort. Surviving only by luck and the skin of his teeth. Now the supposed savior lay broken and bloody, dressed in rags on a ragged cot, praying he could just be left alone for once.
Harry glanced over at the cracked watch that lay next to him on the bed, noticing that he only had another two minutes before midnight. Then he would officially be sixteen. According to Hermione, sixteen used to be an important age for wixen here in Britain. He couldn’t remember exactly what she said about it. Maybe something about an inheritance. Harry wasn’t sure, but then again, he was pretty sure he had been distracted at the time Hermione was trying to explain it to him.
He took another glance down at the watch beside him and saw the second hand strike midnight, whispering to himself, “Happy birthday Harr-...” All of a sudden, a sharp pain struck the nerves in his body. Harry whimpered as the pain in his body only seemed to grow from a sharp pain to something more akin to the cruciatus curse. As the pain grew, Harry couldn’t stay silent anymore and began to scream in pain. The last thought he had before he blacked out was how angry Vernon was going to be about his noise.
31 July 1996 12:00 AM
All throughout the United Kingdom and even in some parts of Europe, wixen began to wake from their sleep, fall to the ground in pain, or otherwise find themselves compromised as they began to receive their late creature inheritances. From the teenagers who just turned sixteen, to those in their seventies, twenty percent of wixen gained a creature inheritance. Vampires, Dragonkin, Elves, Fae, the Were, and a single siren found their very DNA, magic, and soul changing on a fundamental level.
A young man who was the sole occupant in his manor home screamed as his blue eyes changed from a deep blue to a dark purple. His skin began to burn as his inner temperature rose by alarming degrees before his body was engulfed in purple, blue, and black flames. The flames neither harmed the young man or the bed he was laying on.
In another part of the country, another young man woke his grandmother with his screams. His blonde hair began to shine like gold as the plants just outside his bedroom began to force their way inside. Vines and branches broke through the bedroom window just as the door flew open, the grandmother frantic at the sounds of her grandson’s pain.
Inside the ministry, a couple of the Unspeakables were in a similar position, screaming as their creature inheritances made themselves known. One of the mysterious figures gasped for breath as scales formed in various patches on his body, along with webbing between his fingers and toes. A shock of sapphire blue hair pushed its way out from under the Unspeakable’s hood, the wavy hair continuing to grow until it would reach the man’s waist if he had been upright. For the moment, all he could do was focus on breathing through the burning pain in his body.
An older witch lay in bed next to her husband, in pain as brown eyes shifted to bright red. Her tanned skin lightened to a pale so white her skin almost glowed. The wrinkles on her face and body smoothed, and in the span of a few minute,s she went from looking in her mid-sixties to looking thirty. The woman’s muggle husband stared in horror as his wife changed shape before his eyes.
Old and young, the creature inheritances changed the destiny of the wixen in Britain. But the destiny of one Wizard in particular was forever altered as his creature inheritance made itself known. As the man who called himself a Dark Lord groaned in pain, the torn pieces of his soul echoed that pain all around the country. Half of the soul lingered beneath a school, another soul shard hidden in the school above, a piece was kept in a locket in an ancestral home, and a fourth was held in a golden cup. Each piece of the Dark Lord’s soul began to feel the pull to be whole, and one by one, the soul pieces abandoned their containers, the body of a snake, and another from a boy. The Dark Lord fell to the ground as each shard of his soul made its way back to him. His body shuddered as his snake-like face took the form of his face from his youth, his skin gaining a healthy pallor, and then his legs suddenly shifted to form into a tail covered in obsidian black snake scales. The soul, once again whole as well as the mind, his creature inheritance continued to finish as the man’s magic swelled in power. A few more minutes passed until the naga opened his eyes, no longer the insane Voldemort, but once again Tom.
“What the bloody fuck!”