The Last Riddle

Moving On

Jack Riddle was a ten-year-old boy. He had inherited his father's jet-black hair and his pale skin. In fact, the only thing that made Jack's appearance different from his father's were his eyes. They changed colour, too, but if he was calm, happy or amused, his eyes were a deep sapphire. If he was annoyed or upset, his eyes turned a bright green. When he was concentrating hard, or if he was furious or scared, his eyes would turn a glacier blue colour. But the rarest of all, was red. Red would only appear when he wanted to intimidate someone or when he was particularly enraged.

This morning, however, Jack's eyes were lemon green. He had been having a dream-no, a vision. He had no idea what it had been, but it probably was a vision... or maybe a memory... Jack closed his eyes tightly. It was too early to confuse himself.

He had recognized everyone in the vision/memory/whatever. Albus Dumbledore, James Potter and Lily Potter. He didn't mull over the prophecy; he knew it by heart, since his father had told it to him when he was younger. What annoyed him was that in the dream only the prophecy he knew about had been repeated. Dumbledore could have repeated the other prophecy, the one that spoke of a child born to parents who had thrice defied the Dark Lord or something like that... but Dumbles had to annoy him even in his sleep. His father had never lied to him or kept things from him just to make him feel better and, although the truth was often cruel, he preferred it to lies that would keep him in a bubble.

Jack's eyes snapped open as his thoughts turned to his father. Merlin how he missed the man. He hadn't seen his father since his mother's murder, almost three years ago... and he would never see him again. Jack sighed and turned on his left side to check the time.

5:27 A.M.

"Crap," Jack muttered to himself. It was the fifth time in a row that he woke up so early and it was starting to take its toll on him; not that anybody at Hogwarts cared though...

It was August and unless a miracle happened he would have to start his schooling in this prison that was the greatest school of witchcraft and wizardry in the world. Jack snorted softly. Greatest school of witchcraft and wizardry? He would turn eleven the first day of January and he had already learnt everything from the first five courses under his parents' tutelage. Even if most was theory and he was missing practice.

He groaned. His thoughts had wandered to his parents. Again. It really made him feel miserable. And 'his room' down in the dungeons wasn't helping. Actually, now that he thought about it, it was more like a cell. The walls, ceiling and floor were padded and the only source of light was one charmed window that looked over the lake. The bed he was resting on was good enough and there was a wooden bedside table beside it. On top of it rested a couple of books he had nicked from the restricted section in the library. On the wall opposite to the bed sat a trunk.

Jack sighed again. He didn't want to think about his parents. His mother's death had been bad enough, but his father's death had been unbearable. He remembered every little detail. It had been, ironically, a sunny May.

--

He was sitting on his own at the Great Hall poking his breakfast with his fork when Minerva McGonagall had walked up to him and told him to follow her, so he obliged. She had led him out of the Great Hall and faced him.

"Mr. Riddle," she said with a strange tone of voice, somewhere between happiness and sadness, if that was even possible. "I am afraid I have some extremely bad news for you."

Jack took a deep breath, wondering what on Earth could have gone wrong now.

"It is your father," she continued. "Just a few moments ago we received information from a source ('Snape,' Jack thought grimly) that your father was betrayed to a man called Selven..."

But Jack didn't hear her anymore. He knew who Selven was, or rather, what he was. There had only been three people in all history to have survived a fight against a Shade, and Selven was one of the most powerful Shades since Durza.

"... Dark Lord was killed in battle."

Jack's head was spinning. His father? Killed? No way... it just wasn't possible... his father was immortal, for Merlin's sake!

"I am terribly..." continued McGonagall.

"Don't you dare to say you're sorry," Jack interrupted coldly, looking straight into her brown eyes. "I know you're not."

Minerva shuddered at the intensity of the boy's green gaze. She was about to say something else but was interrupted by a loud cheer coming from the Great Hall. Jack winced and looked away. So they had been told.

Minerva sighed and tried to put a hand on the boy's shoulder, but Jack flinched at her touch, so she contented herself with saying, "I truly am sorry you have to go through all this," then she turned away and walked into the cheering Great Hall.

--

That night, there had been a feast and, needless to say, he had not attended. He had locked himself away in his 'room' and huddled in a corner, all the time listening to fireworks go off and the chants and laughter of every single person at Hogwarts, trying to understand that, somehow, his father had been killed and that he was now an orphan.

Jack buried his face in his pillow as he remembered the months that followed. Now that the threat of the Dark Lord showing up to protect his son was gone, students from all four houses started to attack him. At first they just insulted him and Jack was more than happy to ignore them and keep exploring the castle, but the insults turned to shoves and the shoves evolved to punches. Soon enough, they started using their wands on him.

Since Jack's wand had gotten lost the day of his mother's murder, he could hardly defend himself. It wasn't until he somehow set three jeering Gryffindor boys on fire that he was left alone. After that outburst, Headmaster Dumbledore decided that the 'Dark Heir', as Jack had been dubbed, could not stay at Hogwarts any longer. So Dumbledore informed the Ministry that the Dark Heir needed a home. Dumbledore was not going to make the same mistake twice and send a Riddle to an orphanage. Dolores Umbridge had been sent to assess the case.

Bad idea.

The Ministry Official had insulted both of Jack's parents and everything the boy had been holding in for the past years exploded. By the time Jack was finished with her, Umbridge resembled a balloon covered in blisters that kept zooming around the Great Hall. He had to bite his tongue to stop himself from laughing at the teachers' expressions. He was ready to bet that some of them didn't mind what had happened to the amazing toad woman...

A couple of days later, Jack found himself being picked up by a man whose name he never heard. This man was to be his new guardian. Jack had briefly wondered what had happened to his godfather.

'Sir' hadn't been very nice to him. He set Jack difficult chores and didn't feed him if the boy didn't finish them. Dumbledore, or Mr. Omnipresent, whichever you prefer, took notice and looked for another place for Jack to stay. He wasn't very successful, since no one really wanted to shelter the son of Lord Voldemort. Between Dumbledore and the Ministry, five more guardians were found, but such was Jack's luck that they either abandoned him after a week or died mysteriously. After four months of changing guardians, Jack was back at Hogwarts.

Said boy groaned and sat up on his bed. It didn't help to dwell in the past, he thought, so he stretched his arms and back and got out of bed. He walked over to a trunk Dumbledore had lent him and pulled out some clean clothes and a grey robe, then started his morning trek to the Slytherin common rooms to take a shower. The castle was blissfully quiet since it was the summer holidays and Jack found himself relaxing. When he was done with everything he felt like doing, it was around 7:00, so he made his way to the kitchens to grab some breakfast he could eat sitting by the lake.

Too bad Desmond Tiny had other plans.

--

Kristen was left open-mouthed. The castle looked absolutely stunning and the weather was surprisingly warm. The perfect green lawns surrounded the huge lake that twinkled under the sun. She felt lucky that she had seen Hogwarts before attending to it, and it was all thanks to her dear dad, who was part of the now disbanded Order of the Phoenix.

Kristen was the spitting image of her mother, Megan: sparkling green/golden eyes, creamy skin and dark red hair. She was usually calm and quiet, but sometimes, the prankster genes she had inherited from her father took control and she created quite a ruckus. Add her seven-year-old brother, Orion, and the chaos would be complete. She also had a three-year-old sister: Paige. They would have come to Hogwarts too, if they had woken up, but today, it was just she and her dad: Sirius Black.

Sirius had been called to Hogwarts for a job proposition, and nine-year-old Kristen had begged him to take her with him, so Sirius, being Sirius, disregarded the rules and allowed her to tag along, after all, he couldn't allow James' son to see Hogwarts before his own daughter did.

"C'mon, Hun," Sirius said, laughing at his daughter's expression. "Professor Dumbledore is expecting us, so we can't be late."

"You mean, expecting you," Kristen corrected. "'Cause he doesn't know I'm coming, does he?"

Sirius lifted the young girl and laughed again. "Trust me," he chuckled. "He knows."

Father and daughter made their way through the Hogwarts grounds and finally got to the main entrance. Kristen gasped. The doors were huge and she could only wonder what she would find on the other side, but of all the things she imagined, Dumbledore coaxing a boy to go up the marble staircase was the last thing in her mind.

"Sirius, such a pleasure to see you," Dumbledore greeted cheerfully when he heard the main doors open. "Come in, come in, I just have to find a way to make this young man go to my office."

"I already told you I won't go anywhere until you tell me what you want me for!" the boy growled.

Dumbledore sighed. "You will see when you get there, Mr. Riddle."

The boy snorted softly, said, "Yeah, right." Then, he crossed his arms and sat on a step, looking thoroughly bored.

Dumbledore made an exasperated sound and turned to Sirius and his daughter. "I am terribly sorry about this," he apologized, while motioning to the boy. "The boy was too influenced by his father and does not trust me." Said boy muttered something indecipherable under his breath.

"Is that the Dark Heir?" Sirius asked, hugging his daughter closer.

"I am afraid he is," Dumbledore replied wearily. The Dark Heir glared at him and Dumbledore sighed yet again. "Alright," he told the boy. "If you must know, Andor Grigio is waiting for you in my office."

The boy looked up. "Andor?" he asked hopefully. "He's here?"

"Didn't Professor Dumbledore just say that?" said Kristen. The Dark Heir turned to her with an unreadable expression on his face and stared at her for quite some time. Finally, he asked, "Who are you?"

The girl was just about to answer when her father interrupted her, "Why don't the four of us go up now?"

"Yes, yes," smiled Dumbledore. "We can't keep Mr. Grigio waiting, can we?" In response, the Dark Heir ended the staring match he and Kristen had started and stood up. "Good," said Dumbledore. "Follow me!" he added cheerfully.

Jack rolled his eyes. Didn't the old goat's cheerfulness ever die off?

After walking through many corridors, up five staircases and through two passageways, they finally made it to the gargoyle. Jack trailed behind Dumbledore, mentally willing the man to go faster. 'Andor's here,' he thought. 'I'm finally getting out of here.' He suspected that Dumbledore had taken the longest way to his office, just to annoy him.

"Sweet tarts," said Dumbledore, and the gargoyle moved.

Jack raised an eyebrow, puzzled. 'Sweet tarts?' The greatest wizard of the Light side used Muggle candy for his passwords? What was the world coming to? Sirius and his daughter, however, made no comment.

The aged professor stepped into the winding staircase and the three people following him stepped after him. Just as Jack was starting to get dizzy, they arrived at a door. Dumbledore strolled casually towards it and pushed it open.

Jack's blood tingled with anticipation.

"After you," motioned Dumbledore. Jack, Sirius and Kristen stepped into the round study and Jack froze.

He had never been in Dumbledore's office, though his father had told him it was quite something. He had just waved it off then, but now his father's words echoed in his mind.

The walls were lined with bookcases and the portraits of old men and women, fast asleep; just in front of him was a table completely covered with strange silver objects that hummed and played strange chimes. On the centre of the room stood the Headmaster's desk, two overstuffed armchairs before it. Beside it was a golden perch where a golden phoenix sat, staring at him curiously. However, there was no sign of Andor.

Jack was about to point this out when Dumbledore interrupted him. "If you will follow me, Mr. Riddle, I shall take you to our meeting with Master Grigio," he said. "Sirius, Kristy, please take a seat, I will be back in a moment."

Dumbledore walked to the wall behind his desk, muttered something, and, to Jack's surprise, the wall vanished, yet Sirius and Kristen didn't seem to be aware of this.

"Come, come," prompted Dumbledore as he walked through the opening. Jack stood, perplexed. Should he follow the old goat? He didn't know if this was another trick of Dumbledore's, but then again, why would Dumbledore trick him if he was within reach?

Jack took a deep breath, and knowing that his father would skin him alive for following his sworn enemy, Jack crossed the former wall.

He entered to another circular room, smaller, yet no less impressive than the last. Light was starting to filter through the windows, reflecting on the white marble floor and illuminating his surroundings. As in the main office, bookcases covered the walls, except that they were not filled with books but with rolls of parchment. A huge map of the world hung in the middle of the room, hovering over a round table that Jack presumed the Order of the Phoenix used for its most private meetings.

On one of the chairs, sat an old man. He had a long grey beard and wore a grey robe and an old, grey wizard hat.

The man stood. "It is good to see you alive, Master Akor."

Jack smirked. "Likewise, Master Grigio."

"Take a seat," offered Dumbledore, though it sounded more like an order.

Jack glanced at Andor for confirmation. When he nodded, Jack sat right next to him. Dumbledore frowned, obviously not pleased with the seating arrangements. Jack smirked. Andor looked amused.

"Now," said Andor as Dumbledore took a seat opposite them. "I am sure you wonder why I have come, do you not, Albus?"

"Naturally," answered Dumbledore.

Jack frowned. "You know each other? How?"

"I will tell you at a later time, boy," replied Andor impatiently, then he turned to Dumbledore. "I am here to escort young Jack to his new school."

Jack's jaw hit the floor. New school?

Dumbledore's face darkened, but he was back to his cheerful self in a blink. "I am afraid I cannot allow that, Master Grigio," he said, as if it caused him great sorrow. "Mr. Riddle must remain under my watch for... obvious reasons."

Grigio gave Dumbledore a smile of his own. "I see," he countered. "And what obvious reasons might that be?"

Jack shifted his gaze from one wizard to the other. Alright, so they had met in the past already, that much was obvious. But what on Earth had happened that they didn't like each other? They had just been in the room for a couple of minutes and Jack thought he could cut the tension in the air with a knife. As far as he knew, Dumbledore had no idea of how close Andor had been to his father. Plus, Andor was no Dark wizard...

While Jack thought, Dumbledore had been meditating his answer. "Well," he started. "For one thing, it is only fair that Mr. Riddle attends the school his parents attended. And then, there is the issue of him being the Dark Lord's only child, I cannot afford to let him out of my sight for his own protection."

Andor nodded. "Yes, Jack must be protected from those willing to have their revenge on Lord Voldemort," Jack lowered his head when his father's name was mentioned. "However, Ingoldstadt can offer as much protection as Hogwarts, do you not agree, Master Akor?"

Jack's head snapped up when he sensed both wizards staring at him. "Ingoldstadt?" he asked. When Andor nodded, he continued. "I suppose so, yes," he answered slowly.

All Jack knew about Ingoldstadt was that it was located on an island somewhere in the Pacific Ocean called Arx Crystallus, Crystal Fortress in Latin, and that it was a prestigious international magic school. Few were aware it existed.

"Excellent," said Andor. "Because that is exactly where you will be studying."

"Huh?" said Jack intelligently.

"I am terribly sorry, Master Grigio," intervened Dumbledore. "But Mr. Riddle must stay at Hogwarts, since he does not have a guardian to answer for him."

Andor frowned. "I think Jack is old enough to answer for himself, Albus," he said coolly. "Wouldn't you agree?"

"No," replied Dumbledore. "He is not even eleven yet. It would be irresponsible of me."

Tired of enduring the old goat, Jack found a flaw in Dumbledore's speech and used it to his advantage.

"No," he argued. "You would not be irresponsible, for, as you said, I have no guardian, meaning you are not in any way linked to me, which you would have to be in order to be entitled to make decisions concerning me."

Dumbledore raised his eyebrows and Andor beamed. Jack was truly Tom's son.

"How long has he been in Ingoldstadt's list?" asked Dumbledore softly.

"Since shortly after his birth," replied Andor. "Sorry, Albus. This one is ours."

"Very well," replied Dumbledore. He stood up and motioned to the other two to do the same. "He is in your hands now, Andor. Make sure he follows the right path," he added with a pointed look.

Jack looked apprehensively at Dumbledore. The right path?

"Do not worry, he will do fine. Now," said Andor cheerfully. "If you excuse us, Albus, there is much school material young Mr. Riddle and I have to get. Have a nice day!"

Just as Andor Grigio and Jack Riddle left a worried Dumbledore behind, Harry Potter woke up.

--

Harry's eyes fluttered open but then he closed them, wishing he could go back to sleep. Then he remembered it was Friday and leapt out of bed.

He smiled and skipped to his closet. Friday meant he would finally go to Diagon Alley to purchase his school stuff. He couldn't wait until September 1st, the day he would board the Hogwarts Express with his best friend, Ron Weasley, for the very first time of his life.

He chose a red shirt, beige pants, and a simple blue robe and ran to the bathroom to shower. Once he was done, he looked at his reflection. He wasn't very tall, though his mother kept telling him he would grow. He had black hair that stuck at odd places, just like his father's, and emerald green eyes that were always covered by his round glasses. The thing Harry liked the most about his appearance was the bolt shaped scar on the middle of his forehead, a souvenir from the night Lord Voldemort had attacked their home.

Overall, Harry considered himself average looking and often wondered if his twin would have looked exactly like him. Had a mortal disease not taken his brother's life when they were young he would know, he thought bitterly.

Harry sighed. It was a pity he had never gotten to know his twin properly, although, and Harry hated himself for thinking that way, Kristy, his godfather's daughter, filled that space nicely.

He couldn't remember a day when he hadn't seen Kristen Black. They had grown up together and he considered her his little sister. He would miss her greatly when he left for Hogwarts...

A knock on the door pulled him out of his thoughts.

"Harry?" said his mother's voice. "Are you up?"

"Yes mum!" he answered.

"Oh good!" she replied. "Come to breakfast when you're ready, darling."

Harry decided to surprise his mother and show up in front of her that moment. He strode to the door and stepped outside.

"I'm ready," he said smiling.

Lily Potter stared amazed at her only son. "Harry, I'm impressed," she said. "You've even taken a shower already." Then she laughed. "Come, let's shame your dad, he's still in pyjamas," she added, seeing her son's confused expression.

--

"Are we going to Apparate home?" Kristy asked her dad.

Sirius looked at her. "Nope. We're going to Apparate to Harry's house."

A smile graced the young witch's features. This day could not have turned out better. First, her dad had taken her to Hogwarts, then, he had accepted the position as Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher and now they were going to her best friend's home. What else could she ask for?

"Since we're in Hogsmeade," said Sirius. "Why don't we stop by Zonko's and buy something to prank our dear Potters with?" He wagged his eyebrows.

Kristy giggled and nodded. She had the best dad in the whole world! Still, she wondered where the Dark Heir was now and if the Dark Lord had ever treated his son the way Sirius treated her.

--

Jack felt a shiver run up his spine.

He frowned. His mother had once told him that whenever someone thought about you, a shiver would run up your spine. For a while, he wondered if it were true, but then he shrugged it off. His mother used to tease him every now and then.

"Something wrong?" asked Andor.

"No," Jack answered. "Not at all."

They were currently standing with two other men at a pier beyond anything Jack knew. As soon as they were out of Dumbledore's reach, Andor had portkeyed them to the shores of Wales. When Jack had questioned him about this, Andor had given him a knowing smirk.

"Patience, young Padawan," he had said. "All in due time."

Jack rolled his eyes. When the old wizard wasn't speaking in riddles he would use quotes and titles from Muggle movies to annoy him and his father, though his mother had found it rather amusing. Tom, for the life of him, could never understand why.

The youth now focused his attention on the two strangers. They wore brown robes and were talking to each other in a language he could not understand. Both had brown hair and a slightly savage appearance. But Jack was mostly drawn to their yellow eyes.

'Werewolves,' he concluded, then sighed and looked at his watch. "Andor?"

"Yes?" replied the older wizard, looking at Jack with interest.

"Is Potter attending Ingoldstadt as well?"

"As in Harry Potter?"

The boy nodded.

"No," replied Andor. "Dumbledore got to him first, so he will be attending Hogwarts. I think that boy has been in Hogwarts' list since before his birth, his parents being who they are, and all."

"Are you and Dumbledore in some sort of competition of who gets the most students?"

Andor chuckled. "Non-officially, yes. We go for the best, not the most. Ingoldstadt only takes a limited number of students, see? Hogwarts likes to take them all."

Jack nodded, his curiosity satisfied for the moment.

Before long, a small boat approached the shore and Andor smiled again. "This is it," he announced. "Come, Jack."

Jack followed the wizard and shuddered. Now he knew where they were going. There was only one destination on Earth that could not be reached either by Portkey, Flooing or Apparating, and that was the sunken continent of Lemuria in the depths of the Pacific Ocean.

He also knew, that the fastest way of getting to the Pacific from Wales was crossing the North Pole, and that is why he had shuddered.

"My, my," the captain of the boat cried when he was within earshot. "My, my, indeed." Jack raised an eyebrow.

"Good morning, Jaim," Andor greeted. "I was wondering if you would mind taking me and my young charge to Lemuria?"

Jack glanced at the werewolves. They kept talking. Maybe they weren't headed to Lemuria?

"Aye," Jaim answered. "Climb on. I will take you to Lemuria in a couple of hours at the most. Merlin knows the icebergs are forming again."

"Excellent," answered Andor. "After you, Jack."

The boy obliged, even if with a little reluctance. He certainly was not in the mood to travel halfway throughout the world in 'a couple of hours'. He had never made the trip before, conscious, that is.

Jack had lived his whole life in Lemuria, more precisely, Ebur, a country situated on the northwest of the continent. Voldemort had felt that his heir would be far more protected if he raised him away from Europe. About five months ago, while searching for his father, Jack had been attacked by a small gang and the next thing he knew he was lying on a hospital bed at Hogwarts.

"Hold on tight, kid," advised Jaim.

Jack hardly had the time to hold the side of the boat as it darted forwards at breakneck speed. Now he knew the reason behind his father's long absences: he must have loathed the trip.

Half an hour later, Andor told him they had left Iceland behind and were now halfway through Greenland. Jack was surprised at how warm he felt. He let Andor know this and Andor explained that the boat had several complex spells put on it. "If they weren't there," he explained. "Our neck would already be broken and we would have frozen to death. Amazing thing, magic, don't you think so?"

Jack nodded, too absorbed in his thoughts to do anything else.

Soon, huge ice mountains started to appear, glinting blue under the bright, yet cloudy sky. Glaciers. They were the exact same shade of blue as Jack's eyes.

Within the next hour, Andor told him everything he would need to buy. Spell books, Muggle books, an assortment of quills, ink and parchment, new clothes, a cauldron, potion ingredients... the list seemed never ending.

"And of course," said Andor. "You will need a new wand. A special one, at that."

"What do you mean by special?" asked Jack.

"Special, meaning, made of stone, rather than wood."

Had Jack been drinking something, he would have choked. "Stone?" he finally said.

"Yes," said Andor. "Ingoldstadt is an academy like none other. Only twelve are chosen per generation, two from each continent. Six girls and six boys. You are one of the two chosen from Lemuria. Because the training you will receive will be especially harsh, you need tools that will be able to endure it, hence, the stone wand."

Jack's jaw hit the floor for the second time that morning. What had he gotten himself into now?