The Enemy of my Enemy

The Memory, Part I

"It's not ours," replied a male voice. "Everything on the other side of the valley belongs to us, but that cottage belongs to an old tramp called Gaunt, and his children. The son's quite mad, you should hear some of the stories they tell in the village -"

The girl laughed. The jingling, clopping noises were growing louder and louder.

Morfin made to get out of his armchair.

"Keep your seat," said his father warningly, in Parseltongue.

"Tom," said the girl's voice again, now so close they were clearly right beside the house, "I might be wrong— but has somebody nailed a snake to that door?"

"Good lord, you're right!" said the man's voice. "That'll be the son, I told you he's not right in the head. Don't look at it, Cecilia, darling."

The jingling and clopping sounds were now growing fainter again.

"'Darling,'" whispered Morfin in Parseltongue, looking at his sister. "'Darling, he called her. So, he wouldn't have you anyway."

Merope was so white she looked ready to faint.

"What's that?" said Gaunt sharply, also in Parseltongue, looking from his son to his daughter. "What did you say, Morfin?"

"She likes looking at that Muggle," said Morfin, a vicious expression on his face as he stared at his sister, who now looked terrified. "Always in the garden when he passes, peering through the hedge at him, isn't she? And last night-"

Merope shook her head jerkily, imploringly, but Morfin went on ruthlessly, "Hanging out of the window waiting for him to ride home, wasn't she?"

"Hanging out of the window to look at a Muggle?" said Gaunt quietly.

All three of the Gaunts seemed to have forgotten Odgen, who was looking both bewildered and irritated at this renewed outbreak of incomprehensible hissing and rasping.

"Is it true?" said Gaunt in a deadly voice, advancing a step or two toward the terrified girl. "My daughter-pure-blooded descendant of Salazar Slytherin-hankering after a filthy, dirt-veined Muggle?"

Merope shook her head frantically, pressing herself into the wall, apparently unable to speak.

"But I got him, Father!" cackled Morfin. "I got him as he went by and he didn't look so pretty with hives all over him, did he, Merope?"

"You disgusting little Squib, you filthy little blood traitor!" roared Gaunt, losing control, and his hands closed around his daughter's throat.

"No!" yelled Harry and Odgen at the same time, while Teddie and thrown herself across the room. She squeaked as she sailed straight through both Marvolo and Merope, crashing into the wall of Dumbledore's oval office.

~X~

Teddie winced as she clambered back to her feet. She raised her hand, pressing it against the bump that had started to form already on the side of her head. She should've realised that something like this would've happened, who throws themselves into the middle of a fight that had happened years before?

"Are you okay, Miss Green?" Dumbledore asked. He stood at the edge of his desk as Harry rushed to her side.

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm okay," said Teddie. "Sorry, Professor, I don't know what came over me..." she shook her head. "I saw what Marvolo was going to do, and I don't know, instinct took over, I guess."

"It was a natural response, Miss Green," said Dumbledore. "I admire your desire to defend Merope."

"I don't like anyone being bullied," said Teddie. She smiled at Harry and squeezed his hands.