All the Time in the World

Chapter Thirty Nine

Tom landed heavily on to the floor. Time travel through the Transtemporal was certainly not pleasant. He looked around himself. He was still in the Gaunt shack, but the place was empty and was almost falling to pieces. It looked like no one had lived there for a long, long time. He wondered what happened to Morfin. He couldn't be dead already. It was normal for wizards to live for a hundred of years and more with no diminution in health or faculties. And surely, Potter couldn't be from that far off in the future?

He shrugged as he exited the building. There was no point in staying there. The spell was cast and the magic activated. He need only speak his name for the device to take him back. He looked around with interest. It was night and there was a street lamp which was brighter than the one he remembered. It looked completely different in fact. He shrugged and made his way to his home. Obviously, muggles have found ways to improve a street lamp.

His steps slowed as he reached the house. It looked derelict, neglected, almost a ruin. How could that be possible? Even if his father and grandparents were dead, surely his future self ought to be here? It stood to reason that his father and grandparents were dead. Muggles never lived as long as wizards. And they aged faster too. But what happened to him? His future self?

He walked almost in a trance to the graveyard. He had to know. Standing and staring at the house was not going to bring any answers. His feet dragged, but he forced himself to walk into the graveyard. He checked each headstone, a difficult feat with only the moon to light him. He did not dare risk even a lumos in this time.

He stopped at one of the stones. "Thomas Riddle" it read and the date of death was January 1944. Tom felt cold. That was only a year later. Not that he was fond of his grandfather. But to know he would be gone within a year was a shock.

He moved to the next tombstone. "Mary Riddle." The date of death was the same. He frowned. How was that even possible?

He felt his breath leave his lungs as he read the inscription on the next headstone. "Tom Riddle." And the date of death was the same as the other two.

How could his father and grandparents all die on the same day? Were they involved in an accident? Perhaps, a burglar entered the mansion and killed them? Judging by the date, it was after the Christmas holidays, so he was probably still at school.

He swallowed. He needed to get back to his own times. And then he needed to come back to this time in future at a location where he could get some answers. He could of course reset the spell parameters to take him to January 1944, but somehow he felt that the real answers he sought lay in this time, though not at this place. He needed to find somewhere where he could get his hands on a book or a newspaper. Somewhere in Diagon Alley, perhaps.

His father generally bought him some muggle gift for Christmas, but he was allowed to choose his own gift for his birthday. He would tell his father to take him Christmas shopping to London tomorrow. He would go to Diagon Alley. From there he could go to the future again, and hopefully he would find some answers.