To Kill You With a Kiss

Chapter15

"What's wrong, Alphard?" Harry pulled the gawky Slytherin boy into the front hall of the castle, away from Professor Dippet's curious glance.

"My office." Tom spoke softly behind them, shaking the rain out of his dark curls. "We can talk in there without being disturbed."

Alphard nodded briefly, and the three of them headed rapidly to Tom's study.

The room was warm and cheerful, and they pulled their chairs up to the flames that crackled merrily in the fireplace. The rain was still tapping a slow mesmerizing rhythm against the windows, but Harry felt the warmth from the fire dispel the moisture from his rain-soaked robes and his hair.

Harry looked curiously at Alphard Black, the quiet traveler. Ordinary. He seems so strangely ordinary, for one who roams through time. Just a tall and awkward teenage boy, determined to change fate and rescue those he loves. He felt his heart warm to the Slytherin boy.

"What's happening, Alphard?" Tom's voice was calm, but Harry could sense the fear that pulsed through his mind at the sight of Alphard's sober face.

Voldemort. He has news of Voldemort. Harry couldn't tell if the thought was Tom's or his own.

"I..." Alphard hesitated. His grave dark glance lingered on Tom's face. "Elias, how much does Tom know about... the future?"

Harry reached out for Tom's hand. "I have told him everything I know, Alphard. He knows about Voldemort. And about my parents' deaths, and my scar, and the prophecy about the two of us. And my name is Harry, by the way, not Elias."

Alphard smiled slightly. "Yes, I know. Ginny told me. I'm just used to thinking of you as 'Elias'..." He turned to Tom and asked softly. "And? What happens now that you know, Tom?"

Harry felt Tom's hand brush softly over his cheek. There was a slight tremor in Tom's voice as he answered: "Everything has changed, Alphard. I don't want the future to be what the two of you have already seen. It's not going to be. I will fire the killing curse at myself rather than let that happen. I am Harry's lover, not his enemy. I will never let any harm come to him or to those he cares for."

Alphard nodded. "That's what I thought," he said softly.

"Alphard?" Harry could almost hear his own furious heartbeat. "Did you go back to the future? What... what did you see there?"

Alphard studied the carpet for a minute, avoiding Harry's glance. "Well, I went back and saw Ginny. I was hoping to find the wizarding world of the future very different this time, but I didn't..." His voice trailed off.

"Nothing's changed?" Harry stared at him. "Alphard, how can that be? Tom is with me now; how could he become Voldemort? It's not possible."

Alphard looked up. "I don't know how it's possible, Elias. Harry... But he is there. Voldemort. In the future. And his death eaters as well. Dumbledore is still dead, and so are Sirius and Regulus."

Harry looked at him in horror. Voldemort is still there, in the future? Is his existence inevitable? Is Tom somehow destined to become Voldemort? No, that can't be! There must be a way to prevent this!

"Is he me?" Tom's voice was hoarse. "Can you tell, Alphard? Voldemort - is he me or is he someone else? If I choose not to become Voldemort, how can he still exist?"

Alphard shook his head slowly. "I don't know, Tom. But I do know that names are imbued with magic. Perhaps something happened at that moment in the future when you magically changed your name from "Tom Riddle" to "Voldemort". I don't know; not many wizards have ever chosen to change their names. Our names are what we are; they are our very essence. Names are immensely powerful - that's why we utter the names of objects in ancient tongues when we recite spells, because the archaic names are magically bound to the objects themselves. And that's why a magical letter from Hogwarts will always find the recipient, no matter where he or she may be. Once the name is magically inscribed on the letter, the message is drawn to the person who possesses that name. Ginny even told me about a map that exists in your time, Harry, an enchanted map of Hogwarts that recognizes everyone within the castle by name and traces their movements through the halls and passages of the school."