The Wayward Daughter

(A/N: In actual canon, Tom Riddle was born on 31st December 1926, in my fanfic he will be born in 1927. There is a reason why I am doing this… it is nothing important, I simply wanted to do a little experiment with nature VS nurture… 

At first, I didn't have any plans for something like that, that is why I only brought Destiny to Britain in 1927. I know that I could have used some bullshit to show that Destiny found her way to the Wool's Orphanage, but the route I have taken is more viable and logical. Now, let's move on to the chapter.). 

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"Hello, nice to meet you, I am Cassiopeia Black" Cassiopeia introduced herself to Ambika. Right now, Cassiopeia was feeling extremely weird, since she was small she had been taught by her Family that Mudbloods don't have any place in their world and they don't have the right to learn or practice Magic. 

From Destiny, Cassiopeia knew that Ambika was a Mu… First Generation Witch. She could no longer use that derogatory term. She also knew that Ambika was Destiny's other lover. So, it was obvious that Cassiopeia would feel weird. 

Cassiopeia felt conflicted, to be honest, Cassiopeia didn't mind treating Ambika like an equal. In fact, it felt quite liberating, but that didn't mean that Cassiopeia is going to coddle all the Muggleborns. In fact, she still hated all the Muggleborns who insulted their world and traditions. 

But there was something different about Ambika… Cassiopeia didn't have any problems with Ambika being a First Generation Witch, but she was feeling kind of challenged by the white-haired woman's presence. Cassiopeia immediately realized that she had started to see Ambika as her rival even though both of them had agreed to share their lover. 

"Hello, it is nice to meet you too. My name is Ambika Rajat" Ambika introduced herself with a smile as she shook Cassiopeia's hand. While Ambika might be smiling on the outside, internally, she was feeling rather weird. She didn't hate Cassiopeia or anything for being Destiny's second lover, but she had started to see Cassiopeia as her competition. 

Ambika knew that she was in the lead in between them, but she knew that she couldn't lower her guard or Cassiopeia might take the lead from her. Ambika haughtily stared into Cassiopeia's eyes and Cassiopeia returned the favour. Invisible sparks flew in between them, which were completely missed by Destiny. 

"I have heard a lot about you from Destiny, I hope that we could learn more about each other" Cassiopeia said with a fake smile on her face. 

"Of course. I would love to do the same…" Ambika replied with a similar type of smile on her face. 

Destiny finally realized what was going on and decided to step in before Spells could start flying. So, she simply stepped forward and snaked her arms around both Cassiopeia and Ambika and she pulled them closer into her arms. Both of them were quite surprised by the sudden action, but they still didn't try to resist Destiny. 

"I am so glad that the two of you are getting along" Destiny said with a cheerful smile and pecked Ambika on the lips and then she pecked Cassiopeia on the lips. Ambika sniffed haughtily and Cassiopeia could only glare at the white-haired woman. Destiny noticed the subtle war going on in between them, but there was nothing she could do. 

If she had kissed Cassiopeia first, then it would have felt like she preferred Cassiopeia over Ambika. So, there was only one thing Destiny could have done. She kissed Ambika first because Ambika was her first lover. Destiny didn't want to create any sort of hierarchy in her Coven, but she simply couldn't help it. She could only kiss one person at a time. 

"I hope that the two of you can keep getting along. Friendly rivalry is good… it would help both of you improve yourselves, but I don't want a fight breaking out between you two" Destiny said in a firm tone. 

Destiny realized that it would do more harm than any good if she asked them to stop their subtle war… If Destiny would have done that, then the two of them would have simply kept hating the other on the inside and it might have turned into something violent in the future. 

But, if the two of them released that hatred in a form of friendly rivalry, there was a chance that they might form a special type of bond between themselves and they will also learn how to improve themselves since they would want to do better than their rival. That is Destiny decided to take a firm stance from the start. 

Both Ambika and Cassiopeia looked abashed after hearing Destiny's words. Ambika and Cassiopeia looked at each other for a moment and the two of them immediately came to an understanding. The two of them gave each other a curt nod and then they turned towards Destiny. 

"We will keep that in mind" The two of them said chorused at the same time and Destiny beamed at the two of them. So, once again she pecked the two of them on the lips, and once again, she started with Ambika. This time, neither Ambika nor Cassiopeia reacted like the last time.

'Good… at least, they are giving it a try' Destiny mused internally when she noticed their reaction. She finally let the two of them go. "Cassiopeia, do you want to have dinner with us?" Destiny asked while looking at Cassiopeia. 

"...Yes, I would love that" At first, Cassiopeia was slightly taken aback by the sudden offer, but she happily accepted the invitation. That is when she remembered something very important. "Oh! Before I forget again, I have found Merope Gaunt" Cassiopeia revealed with a 'Praise me' look on her face.

Destiny immediately grinned in excitement. "Is that so?" Destiny asked though it was a rhetorical question. Cassiopeia immediately nodded her head. "Good work, Cassi!" Destiny praised Cassiopeia and the green-eyed Witch beamed at the compliment. After that, Destiny turned towards Ambika. "It seems that dinner would have to wait" Destiny said and Ambika simply nodded her head in acknowledgement. 

"So, where is she?" Destiny asked in an amused tone as she turned towards Cassiopeia. 

"She is in Black Tower, it is the Ancestral Castle of the Black Family" Cassiopeia explained and Destiny immediately started to wonder if the Blacks lived in a Tower, but Castles are also referred to as Towers. So, it might be a Castle too. "We have also captured her Muggle toy" Cassiopeia revealed with a lot of disdain in her voice. Destiny raised her eyebrows in interest.

"Hoh… is that so? Then we shouldn't keep them waiting. Do you want to accompany us, Ambika?" Destiny asked as she turned towards Ambika. The white-haired Witch simply gave her a curt nod. Destiny then turned back towards Cassiopeia. "Good. Then, let's go" Destiny said and Cassiopeia immediately extended her hand towards Destiny.

Destiny placed her other hand on Ambika's shoulder and with her other hand, she accepted Cassiopeia's offered limb. Moments later, the three of them were gone with a loud crack. The three of them appeared in front of a… castle. It was a castle, but calling it a castle is kind of stretching it too much. At most, it was just a mansion. 

"Ambika, grab my hand" Cassiopeia turned back and said while looking at Ambika. The white-haired Witch simply raised her brows in curiosity. Cassiopeia understood what Ambika wanted to ask, so she decided to explain before Ambika could ask the question.

"To pass the Wards you need to be in physical contact with a member of our Family or you won't be able to cross the Wards. Imperius Curse or any type of mind-altering Curses would be rendered useless. Until Lord Black keys you to the Wards, this is the only way" Cassiopeia explained with a shrug.

"Sweet!!" Destiny exclaimed in excitement. This was the first time she was hearing about Wards like this. 'I wonder if Sirius will show me the Ward Scheme or not' Destiny mused inside her mind. She was sure that she could do a lot of useful things with a Ward Scheme like this. 

Cassiopeia finally led both Destiny and Ambika through the Wards... Destiny felt the Wards wash over her body and Magic and she was quite impressed with the strength of the Wards. The Wards weren't anything Destiny couldn't overpower, but these Wards were one of the strongest Wards Destiny had ever seen. Prominent Family indeed.

After they were finally past the Ward Scheme, Cassiopeia let go of their hands. The three of them quickly approached the pair of massive doors in front of the house. Cassiopeia pulled out her Wand and pointed it towards the pair of massive doors. "Toujours Pur" Cassiopeia muttered and flicked her Wand at the door. The massive doors opened up with a loud clang.

The interior of the mansion was quite extremely luxurious. Well, Destiny didn't expect anything else from one of the richest Pureblood Families of Magical Britain, though Destiny wondered how much gold the Black Family must have to spend to decorate the interior of their house in such a manner.

"You mentioned that this is the ancestral house of Black Family, right?" Destiny asked and Cassiopeia gave her a nod. "Then do you have any idea how old the Black Tower is?" Destiny asked curiously as the three Witches kept walking down the hall. Since Destiny and Ambika were busy looking around, Cassiopeia was also walking slowly so that she could walk beside them.

"The exact date isn't mentioned, but Black Tower is nearly six centuries old. Previously the Black Family resided in the Black Valley, but Black Valley was destroyed by Light Lord Oberon, after that the Black Tower was built by the survivors of the Black Family" Cassiopeia explained and Destiny was quite intrigued after hearing the history of the Black Family.

"Light Lord Oberon?" Destiny asked curiously. 

"Yes, my lady. Light Lord Oberon… He was one of the worst enemies the Black Family had ever faced. Greeting, Lady Grindelwald" Sirius greeted from the other end of the hall. He slowly approached the trio accompanied by his son Arcturus. Destiny slightly extended her hand towards Sirius and Arcturus. She has gotten quite used to the forms of greeting of Magical Britain.

Sirius bowed respectfully and grabbed Destiny's offered hand and he brushed his lips over the back of her palm. Arcturus also followed Sirius' example, but for now, he remained silent. "Welcome to the Black Tower, Lady Grindelwald, and miss…?" Sirius welcomed Destiny with a brilliant smile on his face and then he turned towards Ambika.

"It is nice to meet you, Lord Black. I am Ambika Rajat, I am one of Lady Grindelwald's lieutenants" Ambika introduced herself and this wasn't the first time she was dealing with the family head of a prominent Family. She knew how to deal with these types of people, if you don't want to get sneered at then you must introduce yourself with your status.

Sirius' eyes grew slightly wide after hearing Ambika's introduction, but he quickly gathered his bearings or the look of surprise might have been just an act. Since Destiny wasn't using Legilimency, it was quite hard to tell. "Miss Rajat, welcome to the Black Tower" Sirius said with a smile. Ambika also extended her hand towards Sirius. The man accepted the offered limb and brushed his lips against the back of Ambika's hand and once again, Arcturus followed his father's example.

"So, what else can you tell me about this Light Lord Oberon?" Destiny finally asked when all the pleasantries were over.

"It is a long story, my lady. It is going to take a lot of time" Sirius warned and Destiny simply pulled out her Wand and pointed it towards the ceiling. 

'Ambika and I won't be joining all of you for dinner. Don't wait for me' Destiny confirmed her message inside her mind. "Expecto Patronum" Destiny said and a bright silvery tigress came out of the tip of her Wand and disappeared into the ceiling. Sirius and Arcturus immediately recognized the Patronus Charm. Sirius could cast the Charm while Arcturus could only produce a silvery mist.

"I have informed the others that we are going to be late. Now, we have all the time in the world" Destiny said with a smile on her face.

"Your Patronus is quite amazing, my lady" Arcturus complimented with a look of awe on his face. 

"Why, thank you. I am flattered" Destiny returned the pleasantries with a bright smile. 

"Of course, my lady. This way, please… let us retreat to our parlour, and my lady, would you like to join us for dinner?" Sirius asked politely as started to lead the group towards the parlour. 

"I would love to join your family for dinner" Destiny answered politely. Sirius gave a nod while looking at his son. After giving a polite bow, Arcturus quickly excused himself. The group finally arrived inside the parlour and like any other Head of House, Sirius offered drinks. Destiny asked for whiskey while Ambika and Cassiopeia were completely fine with wine. Sirius poured drinks for all of them and placed them on the table.

"My lady, Light Lord Oberon, was one of the greatest enemies the Black Family or any of the traditionalist Families had ever faced… He was Light Lord in the name only, in reality, he was a monster" Sirius revealed as he took a sip from his glass. He had also preferred to go with whiskey just like Destiny. Destiny took a sip from her own glass and glanced towards Cassiopeia. From the looks of it, Cassiopeia seemed to be familiar with the story.

"Oberon was a radical and fanatic, my lady. He believed that he was a messenger of God and it was his duty to show us the way of his God. If anybody disagreed with him, then he would consider them as an enemy of his God. Obviously, the House of Black was the first to show their disagreement. He waged war against all the Magical Families who didn't agree with him and he was only put down after thousands have already perished due to his madness" Sirius explained in a saddened tone. 

Destiny took a sip from her glass and leaned back in the chair. "I see… then why was he called the Light Lord? He should have been referred to as a Dark Lord, right?" Destiny asked as she was really curious about the matter. 

Sirius cracked a smile after hearing Destiny's question. "No, my lady. The Ministry of Magic in this country was established in 1707, before that our governing body was called Wizards' Council. The Wizards' Council was established right after the death of the Light Lord, Oberon. Our ancestors had to establish a governing body because they wanted to avoid another incident like with the rise of the Light Lord, Oberon" Sirius explained and Arcturus finally returned, but he didn't enter the room. He knocked on the door frame and Sirius immediately turned towards Destiny and gave her a questioning look. 

Destiny wanted to rub her temples… she turned towards Arcturus who was still standing at the door frame. Destiny nodded her head in acknowledgement and only after that did Arcturus enter the room. Arcturus approached the table and took a seat beside his father. 

"When Oberon made his first appearance, he was considered to be a messiah, a messenger of God and whatnot. At that time, even the Wizarding Population was very superstitious, so a lot of people were entranced by his propaganda. When the truth about his true nature was finally revealed… It was already too late. He had already established a cult of thousands by that time" Sirius said as he shook his head. 

"He was only able to do that because we didn't have any governing body at the time. He declared himself as Light Lord and there was nobody to refute his claims… If there was a governing body then they could have declared that Oberon was a Dark Lord, it would have stopped a lot of people from joining his cult. The Wizards' Council never bothered to declare Oberon to be a Dark Lord, so his name was written in the history books as Light Lord. It stuck" Sirius shrugged at the end and Destiny's eyes were shining in excitement. 

"That is quite a story. You said that in reality, he was a monster. What did he do to earn that stigma?" Destiny curiously asked and Sirius looked slightly uncomfortable, but he still decided to answer the question. 

"There was nothing he did not do. He sacrificed virgins in the name of his God. He killed babies in the name of his God and a lot more. I can't confirm any of that as history is written by the victors, but there must be a little bit of truth. It is also said that Oberon dabbled in Evocation and summoned Angelic beings during the battle of Black Valley" Sirius revealed with a sigh. 

"What is Black Valley?" Destiny asked. Even though Ambika didn't say anything, she was clearly paying rapt attention to the conversation. 

"Black Valley used to be a small Magical Town. The House of Black was the founder of the town, so it was named after our Family. During Oberon's attack, the Black Valley was destroyed and Black Valley is the place where Oberon was slain. After that, the survivors of our Family left the ruins of Black Valley. Finally, the survivors arrived here and built the Black Tower" Sirius finished with a proud look on his face. 

"I see… that was a lot of history" Destiny said with an impressed look on her face. 

"My lady, how about we continue the rest of our conversation at the dinner table? I also wanted to introduce you to the rest of my Family" Sirius suggested and Destiny slowly stood up. 

"Sure, lead the way" Destiny said with a grin and gulped down the rest of the drink in her glass. Ambika and Cassiopeia also stood up and followed Destiny out of the room. Sirius led the whole group to the dining room. Some people were already present in the dining room. Sirius gestured towards the oldest Witch in the room, the Witch was a lot older than Sirius. 

"This is my Aunt, Elladora Black" Sirius introduced the Witch. 

"Charmed" Destiny greeted the older Witch. Elladora Black kept intently staring at Destiny, the Witch might be quite old, but from the look in her eyes, it was quite clear that she must have been quite a formidable Witch in her younger days. 

"Charmed" Elladora politely returned the greeting. 

Then Sirius moved on to the second oldest Witch in the room. "This is my wife, Hesper Black née Gamp" Sirius introduced. 

"Charmed" Hesper greeted courteously with a small bow. 

"Charmed" Destiny returned the greeting. Then Sirius pointed towards the Witch, who seemed to be slightly older than Destiny. 

"This is my daughter, Lycoris Black" Sirius introduced his only daughter. 

"Charmed, my lady" Lycoris courteously greeted Destiny with a small bow and Destiny politely returned the greeting. 

Then Sirius finally pointed towards the youngest Wizard in the room. "This is my youngest son, Regulus Black" Sirius introduced. 

"Greetings, my lady" Regulus greeted Destiny with a polite bow. Destiny politely returned the greeting and after that, Destiny introduced Ambika to everyone. When the pleasantries were finally over, everyone sat down at the table. Sirius tried to offer the position of Head at the table to Destiny, but she politely refused. Sometimes, it was too bothersome to deal with the Pureblood Families… 

"So, what do you plan to do with the Muggles?" All of a sudden, Elladora Black asked when the dinner was almost done. 

The Magical Contract Sirius and the other Blacks have signed allows them to reveal about Destiny and their cause to their Family members, meaning anyone who has the last name Black and if the said Family member is ready to swear a Secrecy Oath. It was quite clear that the members of Sirius' house already knew about Destiny and her cause. 

"...We can't kill all of them, that is for sure… We need First Generation Wizards and Witches if we want to continue our World" Destiny revealed after a few seconds of contemplation. 

"I see… When my nephew told me how Muggleborns were necessary for our continued existence, I was quite surprised and outraged, but when he elaborated his reason, I couldn't help but agree with him… this is the first time, someone had decided to see the problem from your angle" Elladora explained slowly. Destiny simply kept listening to her while twirling her wine glass in her hand. The others were also done with their food, so they were also listening to her. 

"Though there is a problem. How can you be sure that Muggleborns aren't going to sell us out to the Muggles?" Elladora questioned as her eyes bore into Destiny's eyes. Any lesser Witch would have flinched, but Destiny was simply amused. 

"True… what you just said is a problem. There are a lot of Muggleborns who would sell us out to the Muggles if they learned what I am planning to do, but there are a lot of Muggleborns who loathe the Muggle World. We will scout for them and only the Muggleborns of the latter category would be welcomed into the Ministry…" Destiny explained with a soft smile on her face. 

"I will sow discord among the Muggleborns if some of the Muggleborns are being welcomed into the Ministry while the others aren't, the Muggleborns would lose any leg for complaints. Slowly, we would bring those abused Muggleborns into our fold and they would agree with us that the Muggles are vermins of this World" Destiny finished with a grin on her face. 

"...I see. Though I wonder how you are going to locate the Muggleborns who hate the Muggles?" Elladora questioned curiously and Destiny softly chuckled after hearing the question. 

"I have already asked for Sirius' help regarding that. With Sirius' help, I will get a couple of my agents into the Obliviators' Squad and the Improper Use of Magic Office. From there I will be easily able to get the location of all the Muggleborns. The Obliviators' Squad knows which children are being abused. We simply keep an eye on them and as soon as they arrive in our World, we recruit them or we recruit them after they graduate from Hogwarts" Destiny explained her plan and everyone inside the room, besides Ambika was quite impressed. 

"And what if those Muggles kill those Magical Children before they could receive their Hogwarts' letter?" Once again, Elladora questioned. 

"If the abuse is too severe then we would simply grab them before those filthy vermins could carry out such an atrocity, but I am not arrogant enough to think that we would be able to always reach on time… if a child dies, then I will make an example out of those Muggles" Destiny said in a determined tone. 

Elladora nodded her head with an impressed look on her face. "There is only one more thing I wanted to ask about" Elladora said and Destiny simply gestured her to continue. 

"There are lots of Muggles who refuse to send their children to Hogwarts. What are you going to do to them?" Elladora asked with a raised eyebrow. 

"Once again, we will grab them. The Obliviators' Squad has information on all the Muggleborns. So, they will know if a Muggleborn decided against attending Hogwarts. We pay them a visit and if we discover that the child is abused, we take him or her from those monsters" Destiny answered and Elladora smiled brightly after hearing Destiny's answer. 

"Sirius, you are going to support her with anything she needs. Spare no expenses, we have a lot of gold rotting in our vaults… it is about bloody time we use them for something good!" Elladora declared with a glint of madness in her eyes. Sirius started to laugh after hearing his aunt's words. 

"I have already planned to do that" Sirius declared with a grin on his face and Elladora stared at Sirius with a proud look on her face. Destiny realized that the members of the Black Family might be more than slightly unhinged and the Black Madness was nothing to scoff at… 

<Line Break>

Sirius led Destiny and her entourage towards the dungeons, that is where Merope Gaunt along with her Muggle toy was being kept. Both of them were being kept in separate cells which have been silenced so that they couldn't talk with each other. Sirius wanted the two of them to be distraught and scared. He also wanted to Curse that filthy Muggle until he died, but he refrained from doing that since Lady Grindelwald might have some use for him. 

"She is here" Sirius said while pointing towards a metal door. It took Destiny only a second to ascertain all the enchantments on the door. With a wave of her hand, Destiny opened the door. The door swung open with a loud creak and Sirius' eyes grew wide in surprise. He wondered how Destiny was able to unlock the door when it needed a specific Counter-Curse to open the door. 

Some shuffling sounds were heard from inside the cell. "Please! Please! Let me go!! I don't have anything valuable!!..." Destiny peered into the room and found that the woman she had been looking for was backed into the wall. She was already begging for her life with her hands joined in front of her. Her eyes were filled with unshed tears. 

The woman was still wearing the locket of Slytherin around her neck. "Hand me the locket" Destiny said without wasting any time. The woman against the wall immediately froze, she was still begging for her life. She looked down and clutched the locket with her hands. 

"I wi-will g-give you the locket if you promise to let us go" the woman stuttered out fearfully and Destiny simply inclined her head. 

"You are in no position to make any demands. It seems that you need to be shown your place" Sirius bit out arrogantly and pointed his Wand towards the woman. The woman cowered in fear, but before Sirius could Curse her, Destiny placed a hand over his wrist and lowered his hand. Sirius turned towards Destiny and tucked away his Wand as he understood what Destiny wanted. 

"There is no need for that…" Destiny said and flicked her finger in a summoning gesture. 

Merope Gaunt gasped in shock and fear as she found herself being levitated towards the crimson-haired woman. Her eyes were wide as saucers as she simply couldn't believe that the woman in front of her was casting Magic without a Wand. To be honest, Merope had never been so scared until now. She had no idea why these people had captured her and Tom. Yes, the woman had asked for her necklace, but it wasn't anything special, right? 

Merope finally stopped going forward, but she was still levitating in the air. Merope was probably only a few inches away from the crimson-haired woman. Merope had tried to bargain the locket they wanted for their freedom, but it had obviously backfired. Merope's mouth went dry when the crimson-haired woman raised her hand. 

She heard a soft click from her back and the locket around her neck was unclasped. Merope could only watch in complete awe in horror as the locket floated into the woman's waiting hand. Destiny narrowed her eyes and inspected the locket. Once again, Merope was surprised to her core when the woman hissed at the locket and it opened up. 

'She is a Parselmouth, but how?' Merope wondered in fear. She was pretty familiar with the language of snakes as her father and brother usually talked in the language of snakes even though she couldn't understand a single thing. Destiny closed the locket with a snap and threw it towards Ambika. The said Witch deftly caught the locket and shoved it inside one of her pockets. 

Destiny finally raised her head and looked at the woman floating in front of her. "Merope Gaunt…" Destiny muttered her name and Merope felt her heart clench in fear. Destiny quickly cast a Diagnostic Charm on Merope to see if the woman was a Witch or not. The woman was barely a Witch… just barely. She would exhaust her Magical Core if she had to cast a Lumos for more than 2 or 3 minutes. 

It is no surprise that everyone passed her off as a squib. Though there was something that surprised Destiny. The woman was pregnant and the child was Magical… She was barely somewhere around one month along, so Destiny was unable to get an accurate reading on the child, but the child was Magical. There was no doubt in it. 

"You are pregnant with a Magical child" Destiny said, surprising everyone in the room and Merope's fears increased several folds. 

"Please not my child! Please…" Once again Merope started to beg, but moments later, much to her growing horror, she found herself unable to speak. She could only plead with her eyes, so she finally allowed herself to cry and she started to shake her head with a pleading look on her face, but Destiny remained unfazed. 

"I will give you two choices… First, you will be coming with me and I will be binding the filthy Muggle to you as a slave. Second, I will put you into a Magical coma during your pregnancy and as soon as the child is born I will dispose of you… Oh, if you chose the second option then I will be also killing your Muggle toy" Destiny explained with a soft smile on her face. 

"Now remember, either option is non-negotiable. So, you should choose wisely. I will allow you to speak… but if you try to beg or plead then I will consider that you decided to go with the second option" Destiny explained and continued to smile. Now, Merope had a completely resigned look on her face. 

"So, what is your choice?" Destiny asked politely and Merope stopped struggling, but tears continued to roll down her cheeks. 

"Fi-First choice" Merope stuttered out and Destiny beamed at the girl. There was a reason Destiny was doing this. Since the child was Magical, there was a good chance that he was going to be a Parselmouth and she was trying to build a better place for Magical Children, then how could she allow a child to grow up in the streets. 

It was obvious that the child would probably grow up on the streets or in an orphanage. Merope was broke, same as her Muggle toy if he didn't return to his home for more money. Destiny had looked through Merope's unprotected mind, since she was being gentle, Merope didn't even notice. So, Destiny knew that Merope had run out of Love Potions and she was planning to see how Tom reacted to her. She was hoping that he would stay with her because she had become pregnant with his child. 

Destiny had to stop herself from rolling her eyes. She was yet to see the Muggle with her own eyes, but she already knew how the filth was going to react. Then Destiny also discovered that Merope was planning to see the locket of Slytherin and since she didn't know what it was, she would have ended up selling it for something meagre. Hence the child would have ended up in the street or an orphanage. 

Destiny also offered to bind the Muggle to Merope, so that she could keep her boy toy with him. Merope might hate her right now, but Destiny didn't care… If Merope knew what was good for her and her unborn child, then she would stay with the Crimson Knights. That is the best place for the two of them and the Muggle would basically become Merope's slave, so he wasn't of any importance. Not that he had any importance from the beginning. 

"Good… you made a good choice" Destiny smiled and Merope finally started to calm down. Destiny lowered Merope to the ground. "Let's go and greet your toy" Destiny said with a grin and turned around. She wasn't worried about Merope attacking her from behind. Merope wouldn't do something like that because it meant risking her child. Having an unprotected mind was obviously disadvantageous. 

"This is where the filth is being kept" Sirius said, pointing towards the opposite cell. Merope grimaced at the term being used, but there was nothing she could do or say. Merope didn't even know the identities of the people around her and it was not that she could do anything with that information. The crimson-haired Witch was obviously the leader, and she was insanely strong… that was something Merope had already realized. 

This time, Destiny raised her hand to open the cell, it was Sirius who unlocked the cell door with a flick of his Wand. As soon as the cell door swung open, Sirius flicked his Wand towards the floor, summoning the Muggle from inside the cell. The Muggle man was unceremoniously dumped on the floor. The man grunted in pain and Merope immediately rushed towards the man to help him. Destiny didn't stop the woman since it was completely unnecessary.

The man finally looked from the floor and for the first time, he saw the people who had been holding them captives, but as soon as his eyes landed on Merope, he couldn't help but smile. The man's face was filled with joy when he discovered that Merope was mostly unharmed, he thought mostly because he clearly noticed the tear streaks running down Merope's cheeks. Once again, tears started to trickle down Merope's cheeks as she leaned down beside Tom.

Tom Riddle was an affluent English Muggle who lived in the village of Little Hangleton. He was the one son of wealthy Muggles Thomas Riddle and Mary Riddle, he had grown to be an arrogant and snobbish man. Merope had become infatuated with the man after she had seen him riding by their shack on a horse. Merope's brother, Morfin had realized Merope's interest in Tom. Her brother had told her father and the two of them together had decided to curse the Muggle to teach him a lesson.

Morfin and her father, Marvolo, had been caught by Aurors and sent to Azkaban. Merope had used this chance and used all of their money to buy potion ingredients. Merope was a squib, but even squibs could easily brew Potions as long as they knew what they were doing. Since Tom was a Muggle, Merope didn't need to brew any potent Potions. With the help of the most simplest Potion, Merope was able to ensnare Tom.

Merope suspected that Tom's parents would create a ruckus if it was revealed that Tom had decided to marry Merope and her suspicions came true when Tom's parents along with the rest of the residents of Little Hangleton disapproved of their marriage. Nobody could believe that the squire's son had married the tramp's ugly daughter. The residents of the village started to suspect Witchcraft or Voodooism, even though they didn't have any proof.

Gaunts were hated by all the residents of their village, Little Hangleton, which wasn't surprising due to the way her father and her brother treated the Muggles. Several times the residents of the village had seen her father and brother hissing at each other. Additionally, Merope was also worried about her father, her father was only sentenced to Azkaban for six months and he would return as soon as his sentence was over.

Merope was truly afraid of what her father might do if he discovered her treachery… Yes, according to her father and her brother, she had sullied herself by marrying a Muggle and that was treachery in the eyes of her father and brother. She would have been killed off along with Tom at best or she would have been tortured until she lost her mind… So, Merope made a decision in desperation.

So, she gathered everything useful in the house, but she didn't dare to touch her Family books and Grimoires. The loose floorboard was protected by a Curse, and she was a squib. So there was no way that she could cast the Counter-Curse. After that, she eloped with Tom to London. She was sure that they will be able to make a living for themselves in the big city, but it was much harder than she had thought.

First of all, Merope had no idea how the Muggle world worked, thanks to her upbringing. Tom was quite helpful in that regard, but he was the only son of a wealthy Muggle couple, so he was quite unfit for physical labour and nobody wanted to hire Tom due to his rude and snobbish attitude. He was only polite towards Merope and that was only due to the influence of the Potions.

Merope had already run out of funds and she had also run out of her Love Potions. She wasn't worried about the latter since she was already planning to stop using the Potions. Merope believed that Tom had truly fallen in love with her, or he would at least remain with her for the sake of her unborn child. Merope was already dreaming about their future as a real Family, but it was all for the nought. 

Merope and Tom had been caught by unknown Wizards and Witches and they had been brought here. Merope had also realized that they must have been captured by Purebloods for whatever reason. Merope was quite familiar with how Muggles and were treated squibs were treated by Purebloods. Her father and brother were only sentenced to Azkaban because they were poor or they could have gotten away by paying a fine.

From the looks of it, the people who had captured them were quite rich, and there would be no trials if the crime wasn't discovered in the first place. Merope knew what was going to happen, they were going to bound Tom to her as a slave. She wanted him to be her beloved husband, but now, that was a fool's dream. Merope supposed that she should be at least happy over the fact that Tom was going stay with her and with a little bit of groundwork, they could live as a Family.

"Merope, who are these people?" Tom asked in a somewhat fearful tone, he was afraid, but that didn't mean that he would cower behind Merope in fear. So, before Merope could even give him an answer. Tom turned towards the people standing over them. He hatefully sneered at them. "Who are you? Why have you captured us? I will have all of you arrested for kidnapping!!" Tom sneered at Destiny and her group, trying to put a brave front.

Merope gaped in horror and her head snapped towards Destiny to watch her reaction. Destiny slowly opened her mouth… "It seems that you need to be shown your place, filth" Destiny droned with a bored look on her face and nobody was able to see how quickly Destiny drew her Wand. "Sanguis Fiet Lutum" Destiny muttered loudly and Tom immediately clutched his chest in obvious pain.

Nobody even recognized the Curse Destiny had used. It was obviously a pain Curse, but they had no idea about what type of pain Curse. This was one of the Blood Transfiguration Curses Destiny had learned from the library of the Unspeakables. Last week, Destiny didn't get a chance to try her new Curses, but when this Muggle decided to graciously volunteer, she could no longer hold herself back.

Thick veins started to appear on Tom's face and with a guttural roar, Tom curled into a ball while whiting in pain. Merope knew that she couldn't cancel the Curse… so she did the only thing she could have done at this moment. She threw herself at the feet of Destiny. "Please… my lady, please. He didn't know. I would teach him! I will keep him on a tight leash, my lady. Please forgive him…" Merope started to beg. 

Destiny inclined her head and applied the Counter-Curse to stop the Curse and reverse the damage she had done to him. "Fine… control your pet" Destiny said in a dismissive tone and Ambika couldn't help but snort in amusement. Cassiopeia had a blank look on her face while Sirius was sporting a bright smile. 

The reason why Cassiopeia had a blank look on her face was because she was trying really hard not to frown. She believed that Muggles were inferior to her because they didn't have Magic, but now that she witnessed a Muggle being tortured for the first time, she felt slightly squeamish. She didn't feel pity for the Muggle or anything. She simply felt slightly uncomfortable watching Muggle write in pain like that. 

Cassiopeia was rather grateful that nobody had noticed her discomfort. She had no idea how Destiny was going to react if she saw her reaction. She was already inferior to Ambika's status, and she didn't want to go any lower. Even though Cassiopeia didn't feel any pity or sympathy for the Muggle, she felt somewhat bad for Merope. Merope was a squib, and Cassiopeia knew how squibs were treated in the Magical World.

She also knew how the Gaunts were, so Merope's life must have been horrid and now, she had fallen in love with a Muggle… Well, at least Destiny had decided to spare both of them. Cassiopeia was finally brought out of her musings when Destiny clapped her hands with a cheerful grin on her face.

"Well, now that the pleasantries are over… let's head back" Destiny said and turned towards Cassiopeia. "We will be performing the ritual in your house" Destiny declared with a grin and with a flick of her Wand, she stunned both Tom, who was still groaning in pain, and Merope. With another flick of her Wand, she levitated the two of them.

"My lady, would you mind if I bring my Family members to watch the Ritual? Only my aunt has ever witnessed a Ritual" Sirius requested in a polite tone.

"Sure. I don't mind" Destiny shrugged and started to walk towards the staircase with Tom and Merope floating behind her…

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