Three Little Riddles · Y/n story by @rockkkyroadd

The air in the Lestrange Manor's grand hall was thick with the scent of old stone and candle smoke. The Death Eaters had gathered in a loose semicircle, their masked faces turned toward the high-backed chair at the head of the room.

Bellatrix Lestrange

The Ministry grows bolder, my Lord. They think the war is over.

Bellatrix stood at his right hand—where you once stood. Her voice was honeyed but sharp, each word laced with the fervor of a woman who had made worship her career.

Lucius Malfoy

The whispers are true, my Lord. They speak of survivors. Of pockets of resistance that have gone quiet.

Tom Riddle

tilting his head slightly Then we shall ensure their silence becomes permanent.

A murmur rippled through the gathered Death Eaters. Lucius inclined his head in deference. But it was the name that came next—spoken carelessly, almost as an afterthought—that changed the temperature of the room.

Barty Crouch Jr.

We lost many in those battles. Good soldiers. The witch Y/n—she was one of the best. Shame about how it ended.

The room went still.

Tom Riddle

quietly Y/n.

Barty Crouch Jr.

swallowing Yes, my Lord. The battle—she was caught in the crossfire. No body was ever recovered.

Bellatrix Lestrange

her smile thinning A pity. She was loyal. In her way.

Tom rose from his chair. The movement was slow, deliberate—the way a snake uncoils before it strikes. He did not look at Bellatrix. He looked at the space beside her.

Tom Riddle

No body.

Barty Crouch Jr.

The rubble, my Lord. It could have—difficult to identify—

Tom Riddle

I would have known.

The words hung in the air like a blade. The Death Eaters exchanged glances. No one dared to speak.

Tom Riddle

A witch of her skill does not simply vanish beneath rubble. If there was no body, there was no death.

He turned his gaze to the window, where the gray dusk bled across the sky.

Tom Riddle

Find her.

Bellatrix Lestrange

her voice tight My Lord—she's been dead for years. There's nothing left to—

Tom Riddle

Find her, Bella. his voice dropping to something soft, almost dangerous Unless you fear what you might find.

Bellatrix's mouth opened, then closed. Her hands curled at her sides. For the first time in years, she looked like a woman standing on unsteady ground.

Tom Riddle

softly Y/n. Why would you disappear... unless you had a reason to stay hidden?