10Disclaimer: All recogniseable characters belong to Wonderful JKR who being the Wonderful person she is, letting us mere upstarts play in her sand box.
Note: It is a What If kind of story. Just from a different perspective than most of others. Its also a Death's Champion story. And it has references to multiverse in it.
Also contrary to my other works it will not be focused on Harmony only.
From A Different Mirror
-The94thRiverII
Chapter One
Number of mirrors reside side by side Throughout the space. Each mirror represents an Universe, and these mirrors are alternate versions of each other. They are same yet different. Incidences occurring in these universes differ from each other in minutely but their effect signifies the future of said universe. In one such universe, in the land of Britain, at the village Little Hangleton Two houses stood. One of them, The Manor, belonged to a local rich family of Riddles and the other one, a rundown shack, belonged to the Gaunt family.
It wasn't possible for occupants of said houses to interact with each other without any dark consequences. But fate had different plans. At one point two out of three occupants if Gaunt Shack got infected with Dragon Pox. The fatal infection claimed the life of two men of the house, Marvolo and his son Morfin, leaving Marvolo's daughter Merope alone. The only reason she wasn't affected because she didn't have enough magic to the pathogen of the disease to feed on. Born a squib, with minimal amount of knowledge of herbology and potions she started to spend her days in solitude. All her life had been unpleasant, her father was a drunk and so had become her brother. They all blamed her for her mother's demise and their never ending bad luck. After years of demeaning she finally was free to live her life on her own.
Soon there was a plague of some muggle disease around the village that wiped the village clean. Only the young heir of Riddle manor was left, Tom Riddle was once a handsome young man. But after being infected with the disease his appearance had changed a lot but worst of all except of dying like everyone around him Tom Riddle was left alive but his vision had been damaged badly. Now he couldn't see a thing after dusk.
On one afternoon he stumbled down the village to get some necessary goods but as the dusk came down he couldn't find his way back to manor. Instead he ended up near the Gaunt Shack. He was no good than a blind person was searching for his way back to manor, suddenly he felt something cold swiftly coiling around his body. As it registered with his mind that he was at the mercy of a snake a terrified scream left his throat.
That evening Merope was at the the back porch of the shack , tending some herbs , when suddenly a scream was heard from the dirt road. She ran to it's source and found the Riddle boy screaming on the road there on his leg there was a snake about to strike at his leg.
/ Don't bite him friend / She forbed the snake, who stopped in mid strike.
/ Leave him and go away/ the snake stared at her for some minutes then uncoiled itself from the man.
The man on the ground was still shivering from fear. She helped him up and invited him to her place. She still remember for a long time she liked this person. And she once even thought to give him love potion. But soon after her father died and then there was the muggle plague in the village. That changed her view on life.
For long she thought that having a rich husband was everything. But now she knew she have to fight to live on. A pretty or wealthy husband won't help in her survival if the threats were as apocalyptic as last few months.
She made the man a cup of tea, "Are you well now mister?"
"No miss, I'm still shaking inside. How did you rescued me?" The young man asked her with his almost unfocused eyes looking toward her.
Merope shrugged her shoulder, "Not much sir I just called it back."
"Oh you can talk to snakes? What are you gentle lady? A snake charmer? And my name is Tom." Tom asked her with a hint of amusement in his voice.
"Nice to meet you Tom." She said her chiks heated up from old crush. "And my name is Merope, not gentle lady." She retorted back.
From there began a acquaintance which later turned into friendship and then more. In the mean time Merope stared studying old texts on healing which were stacked in one of old trunks. There she found a potion than could heal Tom's sight. She was happy she had found a way to heal her only friend.
Tom often lamented how it was so unfair that he couldn't see her. His sight had gone worse with time. Then one day Merope came to him, and asked if he believed her or not.
It wasn't hard for him to answer, he said yes as the girl had helped him a lot in past months. Shen offered him a cup and said him to drink it at once. He took sniff of the brew in the cup and practically blanched because of its horrible smell. But drank it anyway, her pleading voice was doing funny things inhis stomach, and that just sounded like a preteen boys reaction to a girl the boy liked.
Tom had just given the cup back to Merope when a skull splitting headache rocked his world and he knew no more.
When the roosters' crow his ears Tom's eyes flew open. But he had to close them again as the his eyes were assaulted by sun rays coming through the windows.
At first he was dumbstruck, then it registered in his mind, HE COULD SEE AGAIN!
He ran out ot the manor and to the shack where his friend Merope lived. The door opened itself as he reached it.
"Merope! Merope! Where are you? " He called out, "Come here! See i can see again!"
"Yes? What's the matter Tom?" Merope's voice drifted down from her room. It sounded strange as if she was crying .
He reached the door and called out, "Come out and see! Your medicine worked! I can see again! And i feel more stronger than before! Come out!"
"Sorry I'm a bit busy, "came a sobbing voice across the door.
Why was she crying? Wondered Tom, then his growing impatience won and he barged in to the room. There on a cot lay a lean fragile form of a sobbing girl.
Tom approach her and aske, "What's wrong Merope? Aren't you happy for me?" With a hint of hurt in his voice.
"Offcourse I'm happy!" Merope replied, "it's that once you'll see my face you wont want to be my friend anymore, I'm ugly as hag!" Merope kept weeping.
"It doesn't matter how you look to me, you are a wonderful person, who supported me through darkest hours of my life. I owe you so much. But alas you own my heart, so I can't pay your debt!" He finished with a smile.
Merope whipped around, her eyes wide in disbelief. "What did you say Tom?"
"I Said, I Love You Merope. "
A/N :Here was a alternate version of a well known story, now we have to see where Tom Marvolo Riddle ends up in life. In this mirror of existence or reality or universe his father loved his mother Merope genuinely without any effects of love potions.
And there will be a new villain. Any suggestions for pairing? -The94thRiverII