Tom slowly looked up. He sensed the warmth of Cassiopeia's body and her breath, so close to him. His eyes fell on the corpse in front of him. Dumbledore. He still couldn't believe he had finally done it. He had finally got rid of the man, this disturbing man who had mistrusted him from the very beginning, who had consistently tried to bring him down and deprive him of the one thing that mattered most to him, his power. Tom smirked. It was truly ironic that in the end Dumbledore had involuntarily even bestowed an invaluable means of power on him. Tom gazed down at the wand in his hand. The Unbeatable Wand.
Tom carefully scanned the dark corners of the hall. His future self had to have been here. He narrowed his eyes. For the first time ever he wondered just exactly how many years his future counterpart had travelled back in his mission to save him from wrecking his existence.
And then, quite unexpectedly, a disturbing thought struck him. Never in all those years of travelling, researching, exploring, experimenting and studying had he ever come across a time turner that had been capable of sending its user back more than a few hours, maybe a couple of days at the most. But his future self had to have travelled back at least twenty-five years, taking into account that he had already been there the night of the creation of his second Horcrux and that he obviously had still been here today.
That meant that his future self had to have had access to a time turner that was much stronger and much more refined than all the ones Tom knew to exist. Which consequently meant that, to ensure the consistency of the timelines, he would need to have access to such a time turner when the time came for him to use it. Tom tensed. If there wasn't any such time turner in existence so far, he would need to create one. And he would have to do so quickly because he had absolutely no idea how much time he had left.
"What's up? You are looking as though you've seen a ghost." Cassiopeia threw him a worried glance.
Tom exhaled sharply. "I think there's something I have to tell you." He paused. "But first we have to make sure they know their hero is gone." He threw a condescending glare at Dumbledore's body. "And we have to prevent that they make him a martyr and his grave a shrine."
He got up and pocketed Dumbledore's wand. Then he waved his own wand at Dumbledore and the body vanished. Tom cast a last quick look around the hall before he held out his arm for Cassiopeia to take. The moment she grabbed it, he pulled her into the spinning darkness of Apparition.
When they reappeared they were in the courtyard outside the entrance doors of Hogwarts. Tom turned towards the castle and magically amplified his voice. "Listen to me! The fight is over. Your hero chose to leave, and I advise you to do the same if you know what's good for you."
His voice echoed from the castle's walls around them, the sound of it cold and cruel. Cassiopeia glanced at Tom. He looked complacent in a way she had never seen before. She knew he had finally achieved his aim. He had defeated Dumbledore. Hogwarts was finally his.
When Tom realized that Cassiopeia was looking at him he returned her gaze, daring her to comment. His eyes were sparkling with satisfaction and his magic was crackling powerfully around him. When Cassiopeia remained silent, the corners of his mouth twitched slightly. With a swift movement he grabbed Cassiopeia's left wrist and shoved her sleeve away, revealing the faint red scarred outline that covered her inner forearm. For a second they both looked at it. Then Cassiopeia averted her gaze. She knew too well what he was going to do, he had done it innumerable times before after all. But she still despised being part of this means of communication that made her feel so much like one of his pawns.
Tom pressed his finger against the scar on Cassiopeia's skin. Immediately she felt a burning sensation spread in her arm. With a stern expression on her face she looked back at the mark and watched it grow jet black. Tom's Death Eaters who were fighting inside the castle would sense its burning just like she did. It would alert them to apparate to their master.
Tom and Cassiopeia didn't have to wait for long. One after the other the Death Eaters appeared out of thin air in the courtyard. Cassiopeia glanced at the men who were wearing black robes and hoods to cover their faces. Even though their faces were in the shadows Cassiopeia could tell who they were. She had seen the lot of them so many times more than she would have preferred. They had grown older, now all in their early forties, but they still watched Tom with the same mixture of frightened admiration and blinded devotion. There were a few that had not been at Hogwarts and had joined his ranks later but all in all they were mainly the same Slytherin gang they had been during their time at Hogwarts.
Lestrange was the last to arrive. Tom threw his Death Eaters an inquiring look.
Lestrange drawled, "Well, my opponent didn't continue fighting when he heard that Dumbledore was gone, my lord." He cast a glance at his companions.
Malfoy, Nott and Dolohov nodded their consent.
Avery stowed his wand. "I think the ones that hadn't been finished off yet fled when you announced your victory, my lord. So what are we going to do now?"
Tom glanced at the hooded group. "Cast the mark and then leave. We'll proceed just as planned. You all know what to do."
The men nodded silently. Rosier stepped forward. He pointed his wand at the sky and murmured the incantation they all knew so well. The Dark Mark appeared in the gloomy sky, its glittering emerald green outline testifying yet another victory of the Dark Side.
Cassiopeia threw a glance at the sky and eyed the mark for a moment, taking in its sinister beauty, a strange feeling of pride in the depths of her body. It really suited Tom perfectly, even if frankly she had never intended for the incantation to be used so frequently. Tom noticed her looking at the cloudy sky and the ghost of a smile crossed his face. He vividly remembered the icy cold Scottish December night when he had seen the mark for the very first time. He quickly turned towards Cassiopeia and hissed in a low voice, "My place in one hour", before he shot his Death Eaters another glance and commanded, "Now leave, all of you." Then he turned on the spot and was gone.
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When Cassiopeia apparated to Tom's lair one hour later he was standing in front of the fireplace, gazing into the flames, his hands in his pockets. Cassiopeia halted in the doorway, quietly observing him. Despite all the time that had passed he still looked like he was in his late twenties. Obviously his Horcruxes saved him from aging the way others did. He was still undeniably handsome, his neatly combed dark hair slightly wavy, his pale features alluringly illuminated by the flames of the fire. And even from the distance she could sense his magic radiating from him, powerful, dark, fascinating.
"Why did you do it?" Tom suddenly asked into the silence, his voice calm and low, his gaze firmly locked on the fire.
There was a hint of confusion in Cassiopeia's voice when she asked back, "Why did I do what?"
Tom didn't turn around. His eyes narrowed just the tiniest bit and he wasn't quite able to keep the accusation and bitterness out of his voice. "Make me believe you might be Muggle-born."
Cassiopeia flinched. She shortly wondered why he had come up with this now but then she remembered what she had told him before he had duelled Dumbledore. Of course she should have known that would run deep.
Cassiopeia took her time before answering. She had asked herself the same question so many times. Why had she done it? She knew she had wanted to make a difference. And she had so badly wanted to ease her burning conscience. She slowly walked closer to Tom until she was only a few feet away from him. Her voice was almost toneless when she said, "To stop you from blindly destroying innumerable innocent lives."
Tom slowly pulled his hands from his pockets and sent another piece of wood flying into the fire with his wand. Casually twirling his wand in his fingers and still facing the fireside he asked, "How did you know I wouldn't kill you right away?"
Cassiopeia swallowed and averted her gaze. "I didn't."
Tom abruptly turned around and quirked an eyebrow. "So you risked all we have just to save a bunch of people you don't even know?" He sounded incredulous.
Cassiopeia grimaced, not meeting his gaze. "It sounds stupid when you put it like that."
A mischievous smirk formed on Tom's face. "Well, it does not only sound stupid."
Cassiopeia slightly gritted her teeth and looked back at him, a stubborn glint in her eyes. "But it worked, didn't it? It saved many lives."
Tom provocatively twirled his wand a little faster. "What makes you believe I don't go and kill them now that I know the truth?"
Cassiopeia cocked her head a little and looked into Tom's eyes. He returned her gaze, his features betraying no emotion whatsoever. After a moment Cassiopeia said, "Because you didn't kill me. And because now you know what doubt feels like."
Tom kept watching her, his dark eyes unreadable. Then he swiftly pocketed his wand and with a few paces he was standing in front of her. His voice was calm and low but still made Cassiopeia shiver. "That's very right. You made me feel things I had never imagined to exist and least of all expected to ever experience." He moved even closer and bent down to her. She could sense his breath on her skin when he whispered into her ear with a chillingly calm voice and carefully stressing every single word, "Never do that again."
Cassiopeia slightly leaned towards him, her voice equally low and clear. "I won't. You know, it hurt way too much."
She felt Tom's lips twitch into a smirk. His voice was smug when he whispered, "I guess that's good, now, isn't it?"
Cassiopeia snorted and pushed a little away from him. "So what did you want to tell me?"
Tom looked at her with a greedy expression in his eyes. "You know, right now I actually don't want to talk." He tightened his grip around her waist and without waiting for her reply he apparated them to his bedroom.
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Author's note: Thanks so much for reading! Please let me know what you think!