[Harry Potter] The Dark Lord's Two Mothers

On a cold spring day in 1926, pregnant Merope Gaunt was huddled in despair on a street corner when she happened upon Phoebe Baldwin, who had come to buy a new hat.

A girls' love story, novella.

A little story about a transmigrated heroine bringing warmth to Merope.

Merope pursues the heroine~

If you can't handle intense, unhealthy feelings, please click X!

Merope is a Gaunt, after all. Judging by what she did in the original, she's definitely a Slytherin, so there will be some, uh, tactics that might not be... ahem!

Our little Tom will get a new name in the future~

Revised on August 10

The text calls Merope a Squib only because Marvolo and Morfin are using it to humiliate her. It does not mean she really is a Squib.

Here is the evidence behind my theory that she wasn't a Squib:

1. A passage from the original. Although her attempt to perform magic failed, she never attended Hogwarts. It's quite possible Marvolo upheld the Gaunt family's Pure-blood pride and refused to let his children attend Hogwarts, which he saw as consorting with people of impure blood. So her failure is understandable, and it also suggests that she had some magical ability.

"'Pick it up!' Gaunt roared at her. 'What, down on the floor like some filthy Muggle, scrabbling around? What use is your wand, you useless lump?'

'Mr. Gaunt, please!' said Ogden in astonishment, as Merope picked up the jar, but suddenly her face went blotchy, red and white. Her hand slipped, and the jar fell to the floor again. She shakily pulled her wand from her pocket, pointed it at the jar, and muttered a spell in a flustered whisper. The jar shot away from her feet, skimming across the floor, and crashed against the opposite wall, splitting in two." Chapter 10, The Gaunt Shack, J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

2. Brewing Love Potion.

The following is only my personal theory, not canon:

Merope eloped with Tom in a hurry, and probably didn't have much money at her disposal. To save money after arriving in London, she was unlikely to buy ready-made Love Potion. From this perspective, she must have spent quite a long time brewing potions. Brewing a potion requires a witch or wizard to be involved. Since the original never says whether Filch brewed potions, I can't be certain whether Squibs can brew them, so I'm assuming here that potions need a steady supply of magic to react.

3. A passage from the original. Dumbledore acknowledges that she had magic, and that despair greatly weakened her power.

"'But she could do magic!' Harry said impatiently. 'She could have got food and everything by magic, couldn't she?'

'Ah,' said Dumbledore, 'perhaps she could. But I think, and again, I am guessing, but I believe I am right, that after her husband left her, Merope stopped using magic. I think she did not want to be a witch anymore. Of course, it is also possible that her unrequited love and the resulting despair greatly weakened her powers. That can happen. In any case, you will see shortly that Merope would not even raise her wand to save her own life.' Chapter 13, The Secret Riddle, J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

To sum up, I lean toward the idea that Merope was a witch whose magic was suppressed by the abuse of her father and brother. Perhaps her magic was weak, or perhaps she had powerful magic, but years of oppression left her without confidence. At least she didn't become an Obscurus.

These are only my theories, and I'll emphasize once more that they are not officially confirmed canon. If readers think Merope was a Squib or that her magic was weak, that's fine; everyone is entitled to their own opinion. But in this story, I'll go with my theory.

Thanks to two lovely readers for raising questions. I finally had time to add this~

Theme: Love is the greatest power.