Catharsis [Tom Riddle]

Chapter Sixty-Two

"I don't understand," Avalon said quietly.

"He made an Unbreakable Vow to me," Tom admitted, regret in his eyes. "The diary was a special Horcrux-- it had the power to drain a life in exchange for bringing back the part of my soul that was embedded within it. He must have somehow used it to bring that version back," he said, his words spilling out in a frantic mess. "He swore to me that if I was ever weakened, he would bring me back with the damn diary."

"Weakened?"

"I meant dead," he said, burying his head in his hands. "Or at least close to death. That bastard twisted my words."

"What do you mean he would bring back 'that version?'" she asked, her words laced with a growing fear.

"The exact person I was the day I made it," he said, meeting her eyes for the first time and seeing the dread in her gaze. "That's the version of me that was brought back."

"You made that Horcrux at the start of the year..." she breathed out in horror, looking down at the ground as she tried to gather her thoughts. The daunting realization struck her like a crashing tidal wave.

The Tom that lived in the diary was not the Tom she had fallen in love with. It was not the Tom that held her at night. It was not the Tom that would risk his life for her. It was not the Tom that would do anything to protect those he loved.

It was the Tom that disregarded human life. The Tom that valued his immortality more than anything else. The Tom that would kill if it meant protecting himself... and the Tom that would kill just because he could.

"Avalon, I swear to you, I thought that when I destroyed the diary, the Vow would be null," he said, his voice desperate. "I-"

"I believe you," she said, taking his hand into hers. Her words came off shakier than she wished, though a part of her was relieved. Because now, she knew that Lestrange was the reason behind this mess, and not Tom. If nothing else, at least she knew that Tom was still the person she thought he had been all along.

He was not the enemy.

Still, she didn't understand many things. How Xavier was still young, how he managed to pull any of this off, how any of this was possible. "But how is he still... he's..." she paused for a moment before turning around and running toward Neville, who was watching the two of them from further back. "Neville, what can you tell me about the man we were just speaking to?"

"Xavier Lestrange?" the boy asked incredulously. "Are you serious? We've only been fighting against him for years now."

She fought back her urge to scream, instead rolling her eyes and pointing to Tom. "Then explain it to my friend over here," she said impatiently, earning a quipped brow from Tom at the word 'friend.' She frowned at him before turning back to Neville and saying, "He's new."

Neville looked at them rather confused before slowly saying, "Xavier Lestrange and Adonis Rosier are Voldemort's two right-hand men. They're his closest confidants. The entire Wizarding World knows of them-- they're infamous."

Avalon laughed humorlessly when she heard the second name. "So Rosier's here, too? Wonderful."

"Of course they're here," Neville replied. "They lead his army."

"They seem rather young to be leading such forces, no?" asked Tom, trying to pry out more information.

"Oh, no," said Neville, shaking his head. "Rosier is a Potions Master. He invented a recipe using unicorn blood that keeps them looking young, but they're much older than they appear to be. Rumor has it that Voldemort requested they take it. Since drinking unicorn blood makes you... you know... mental."