Perception A Tom Marvolo Riddle Fanfiction completed

Chapter Twenty One - Epilogue

The man, who was standing in the shadows, slowly lowered his wand.

The hall was finally filled with deathly silence.

The man watched the three bodies lying on the hall's floor. For once he was truly surprised. Surprised that he had actually managed to catch Dumbledore off guard. Surprised that Cassiopeia had actually been ready to sacrifice herself for him once again. And, most of all, surprised that he himself had actually cared enough to stop her.

His gaze fell on Dumbledore's body on the floor. A frown crossed his face. Why had Dumbledore been able to deflect a curse that was unblockable? How had he accomplished what was supposed to be impossible? Somehow it had seemed as if he had been determined not to be defeated, and then he had actually succeeded in mastering the impossible.

Suddenly a thought shot through his mind. Could it be...? The children's tale had been right once. It might just be right once again. The Resurrection Stone had been real. So why shouldn't the Wand of Destiny be real as well?

A greedy gleam appeared in his eyes, but he hesitated. He shot a gaze at the other two unmoving bodies in the hall, his mind racing. If he took the wand from Dumbledore, they would know they had not been alone. But if he left it with Dumbledore, would they be able to realize the true origin of the old man's wand? Would they know it for what it was?

He pursed his lips. If his younger self gained the Elder Wand he might finally be truly invincible. He knew he had to decide quickly. He glanced at Cassiopeia, remembering her words from earlier. She had accused him of still not being able to trust her. He narrowed his eyes. Somehow her words had stung.

He drew a deep breath and made up his mind. He would rely on her this time. She would come to the right conclusions about Dumbledore's wand. After all, she had never forsaken him.

He reached into his pocket and carefully touched the rings of the time-turner.

He knew that it was finally time to return.

*************

Cassiopeia felt every inch of her body hurting. Tom's curse had sent her crashing into the wall with enough force to make every bone in her body break. With a lot of effort Cassiopeia raised her head and saw Dumbledore and Tom lying on the floor. Her heart clenched painfully. Gritting her teeth, she slowly scrambled to her knees and crawled over to where Tom was lying, trying to ignore the piercing pain that was surging through every inch of her body.

Tom was looking peaceful, but his face was ashen. Cassiopeia stared at his body, not daring to touch him, being far too afraid of what she might find. She closed her eyes and bit her lip. She would have to touch him eventually.

Her hand was trembling heavily when she finally reached out and tried to feel his pulse. His wrist was as cold as ice. With shaking fingers she searched for any sign of life. The seconds seemed to stretch endlessly.

She was just about to withdraw her hand when she finally felt a faint response against her fingers. A wave of unlimited relief washed over her when she realized that his heart was still beating. She buried her face in his chest, unable to hold back her tears any longer. Slowly all the strain left her. Tom's robes got stained by her tears, while she hunched over his unconscious body, crying silently.

************

When Tom regained consciousness, he felt a sharp pain in his head and a heavy weight on his chest. His mind was racing. He couldn't quite believe that he had actually let himself get hit by his own Killing Curse. He didn't understand what had gotten into him. He couldn't have been in his right mind to act so foolishly. He had known that the curse wasn't going to kill him because of his Horcruxes, but it had been bound to destroy his body. It had been bound to rip him apart. Doubtlessly, that would have been disastrous enough.