For the Greater Good || Tom Riddle ||

Chapter Thirty-Six: The Cemetery

The cold air hit Gwen like a hex as she inhaled. Her lungs burned inside of her chest and her eyes fluttered open, the frigid temperature making her light blue orbs water and sting. As her gaze became focused, the silhouette of a small church stood not twenty feet away. Row upon row of snowy tombstones came into sight, protruding from a blanket of pale blue that was flecked with dazzling red, gold, and green wherever the reflections from the stained glass hit the snow. Despite the beauty, Gwen looked around in confusion.

"Merlin, where did you take us, Gawmdrey?"

At her side stood Tom, his presence overpowering in the close proximity. His hair was tousled and wind-swept but immaculately perfect all the same. Gwen quickly stepped away and searched for any familiar sights. She wasn't sure why she had taken them here.

"And you are aware, Gawmdrey, that you've broken the law twice now while in my presence. First the Statute of Secrecy and now underage apparition.  I might just have to report you to the Ministry myself," Tom quipped darkly, although a wicked grin brewed at his lips.

Still, Gwen paid him no mind.

She squinted her eyes and could barely make out a wrought iron sign that read Church Lane. Cottages stood on either side of the narrow road. A short way ahead a golden glow of streetlights indicated the center of the village. The evening had already to fallen to darkness and not a single soul stood on the street. A strange feeling began to creep over Gwen.

"This place..." she looked around at the headstone, walking over to a stone angel and brushing the frost off with a flick of her wand. "It's familiar."

"You mean to tell me that you don't know where we are right now?" Tom glared at her in a way that used to unnerve her, but now she was able to ignore. 

"No," she breathed, staring at a much eroded tombstone with wonder. "I've been here before."

Her wand illuminated at the tip as she struggled to make out a name. Gwen's eyes absorbed an unexpected image engraved on the frozen slab. Suddenly, her heart squeezed as if an icy hand had all but engulfed it and torn it away from the warmth of her chest. She noticed Tom moving towards her and she quickly cast a non-verbal Disillusionment Charm upon the gravestone.

"Ignotus Peverell," Tom voiced with intrigue. "Do you know him?"

"No," Gwen said quietly, her gaze downcast. Her mind raced and she snuck a serendipitous glance at the large ring that glinted on Tom's finger.

Suddenly, a soft glowing light caught her attention, tearing it away from Tom and toward the source of the irradiation. It came from the other side of the graveyard, shrouded in darkness and snow. But the haunting, bluish figure was clearly visible. Floating above a large gothic headstone was a ghost.

"I see you've spotted Mortimer," a voice rang out against the night.

Gwen and Tom whipped around, wands drawn at the ready until they both realized that the voice came from a tiny old woman, bundled in a long purple cloak, and bowed down with age.

"They say the cemetery here is haunted, but there isn't much to be afraid of. The living do more damage than the dead," she smiled. The little old woman shuffled forward, coming fully into the light when she stopped under a streetlight to stand.

Gwen furrowed her faint brow in confusion. "A-Aunt Bathilda?"

The women's wrinkled face contorted with surprise and her eyes widened. "Gwendolyn? Is that you? Butterbeer and broomsticks, what are you doing in Godric's Hollow?"

All at once, everything made sense. Gwen's memories came rushing back to her.

"We were in the area and I thought I'd stop by. I never expected chancing upon you though," she lied easily, moving closer to old woman. Tom reluctantly followed her.