my riddle to solve (tom riddle)

one

A.n
Hey guys! I'm super happy to say that I'm finally going to be uploading a new story! I've been playing around with this one for a few weeks, but I've decided to commit to it! You can expect updates about every 6-7 days, as I plan for some of the chapters to be pretty long.

As soon as I woke, I could tell that today was going to be another boring day. I could see the sun shining through my bedroom window, yet it didn't fill me with any type of excitement or joy. It was the 25th of August, a week before I would return to school. Honestly, I had grown sick of the Summer Holiday. My father and I argued nearly every day, my little sister constantly got on my nerves, and I hadn't heard from any of my friends in quite some time. I missed Hogwarts dreadfully, and I couldn't wait to be back. I had gotten my O.W.L results last week, and as expected, I had done well. Mostly 'Exceeds Expectations,' but I did manage to scrape an 'Outstanding' in Astronomy. Since I would be taking mostly N.E.W.T level classes this year, I had already been to Diagon Alley to buy all of my new books. Most of them had already been neatly packed away in my school trunk. It was incredibly obvious that I couldn't wait to leave the Manor.

After forcing myself out of bed, I took a quick shower and dressed hastily. I reached for my wand on my bedside table and tucked it away into my sleeve. Although I wasn't technically allowed to do magic outside of school, my parents didn't care much. My father had mentioned many times that that particular rule only applied to Muggle-Borns, at least in his opinion. I slipped out of my bedroom and made my way downstairs to the dining room. The twins were already seated, shoving spoonfuls of porridge into their mouths. My parents were nowhere to be seen, but I didn't mind much.

"Phelia, is it true that there's Trolls at Hogwarts? Sage told me that there's at least a hundred and that they eat students who are late to class," my little brother asked me nervously. I shot an amused look at Sage.

"No Aspen, that's not true. Don't listen to everything this one tells you. She's not as clever as she would have you believe," I said in a playful tone. Sage stayed silent, but let a smirk fall over her face. Aspen and Sage are twins, 10-years old and incredibly outgoing. They wouldn't start at Hogwarts until next year, but that didn't stop the two of them from constantly reading through my old textbooks and trying to brew potions in a bathroom sink. Although I loved both of them whole-heartedly, they could be pretty annoying at times. One of our house elves, Tippy, had just brought me a steaming mug of coffee. I gave her a quick nod of thanks before turning my attention back to the twins.

"What do you two have planned for today?" I asked as I took a sip of my drink. Tippy had remembered the milk and sugar, which made me smile.

"Loads. Aspen and I have decided to take up frog-catching again. And we're pretty sure we found a hidden underground tunnel by that blue Muggle house up the street," Sage told me excitedly. I chuckled as I listened to her explain this theory in an animated voice. Tippy returned a few minutes later with some toast, so I helped myself to a few pieces after slaughtering them in jam.

"Oh, you're finally awake. Good," I heard my mother's voice echo from behind me. I quickly swallowed the food that I had in my mouth.

"Hello Mother. Did you need something?" I could see Aspen redirect his gaze to mine as Sage stopped fiddling with her spoon. Just by the tone of her voice, we all knew she meant business.

"Yes. I need to have a word with all of you. Tonight we will be having guests over for Dinner, and I expect all of you to be on your best behavior. That means no practical jokes from you two, (she gestured to the now-giggling twins) and please try to avoid arguments with your Father tonight. This evening is of the utmost importance for us," she explained.

"Who's the guests?" asked Sage. She was obviously curious, as she loved to socialize with pretty much everyone.

"The Gaunts," my Mother replied briskly as she walked away. I saw my siblings glance at each other before looking towards me for an explanation. I bit my lip, trying to remember who the Gaunt family was. Most of us pure-blood families knew each other in some way, and I was sure I had heard that name before. But I couldn't quite put my finger on who they were, and how we knew them.