A/n: Some trigger warnings for this chapter: physical fights, mentions of torture (brief), blood and violence, character death. Please proceed with care.
The N.E.W.T.s had gone by so quickly, it felt like all the preparations, all those years in Hogwarts and all the worries they had brought you, had been of utmost exaggeration. Of course, they had been challenging, but what the Professors had said about them in advance, how hard and draining they would be, how nervous every student had been, made it even more curious afterwards. It had only taken a few days after all. Some days of your life, which would most likely be forgotten in a few years. Just like any other week. And all that fuss for that? Well, at least they were over.
Tom, Camille and you had passed most classes with the highest grades. Freda had gotten some outstanding grades as well and even Avery and Lestrange had qualified, if only barely. The final evening in the Great Hall was filled with a strange kind of melancholy for the students of year seven. You had done it, all of you. Seven years in Hogwarts, school of witchcraft and wizardry. It was like your first year had only gone by moments ago, you could practically still feel the sorting hat sitting on top of your head. But alas, all good things come to an end.
Final points were given to all of the houses and, to most people's surprise, Hufflepuff won the cup. Everyone knew headmaster Dippet favoured Slytherin and Tom and Freda had surely given their own house a few extra points here and there, but Avery and Lestrange's robbery from Slughorn had cost Slytherin too many points to recover from. All Hufflepuffs were overwhelmed with joy and Ben even ran over from the Gryffindor table to kiss Camille on the cheek while she celebrated.
Walking through the halls one last time was strange, you couldn't fathom that you would leave the castle ultimately. It really had grown to be everyone's second home and it would always remain so in your heart. Sadly, there wasn't a lot of time for grief, as the antidote for Mors Grano was finally ready and waited to be filled into a flask to be used the following day. Tomorrow, June 30th would be your wedding day. A day you had dreaded but still couldn't wait for. A day that was about to change everything.
And there you were. In an old chapel north of Ramsbury, a small muggle town, where no one knew who you were. The Gaunts had chosen the place themselves and had only told your family where to go the day of, most likely to make sure you couldn't plan to mess with them.
The chapel was dull, as was everything else there. No guests, not even a priest or a registrar to wed the two of you. Marvolo had told you that he was to do it himself. The place was so small, it wouldn't have even fit a lot of guests, but you still wished that at least Camille could have been there to witness. And so, with a heavy heart, you stood in the tiny side room, where Mother's wedding dress waited to be put on, while Elsie, your parents and the Gaunts waited in the chapel.
"You alright?" Tom asked as he fixed his tie in front of the mirror.
You watched him as you approached the dress, your fingers brushing over the silk skirt. He looked great in his tailored black suit, white shirt and dark green tie, there was no way of denying it. Freda Morris would have been just as green with envy if she had seen him, but yet, not everything was about looks.
"I'm alright," you said and took another look at the dress. "I have to change now. Put this thing on."
"I'll give you some privacy in a minute." He turned to the table in the corner where a few things had been gathered, including a box he had put there. "I brought someone."
He pulled off the top and you peaked inside. "Nagini! Marvolo allowed for you to take her here?"
"He doesn't know," Tom shrugged. "And it would be better if it stayed that way."
"I see," you said as you reached out your hand for the snake to smell you. "Well, at least one of my friends is here."
Tom wore an unreadable expression when he closed the box again, his lips thin as he nodded slightly. "Do you have the antidote with you?"
"Yes," you answered and pulled it out from your pocket. The flask was the size of your palm, small and translucent. The potion inside shone through the glass like a silver and lilac gloss.
"Alright then," he said. "Give it to your sister as soon as you can. I'll wait outside with the others."
When he closed the door behind himself you heard Marvolo nagging about what was taking so long, urging for you to hurry. The bastard made everything about himself again, even on your wedding day, which should have been the happiest day of your life. You pulled the dress off the hanger with force, put it on and used your wand to adjust it here and there to make it fit better. When you looked into the mirror, it felt like staring at a stranger's reflection. The dress was beautiful, but you didn't come close to what a happy bride should look like. Hair and makeup had been done in a hurry, nothing was as perfect as it could have been. No traditions, no extended family or friends, not even a banquet. But what had you expected? It was clear from the beginning that the wedding wouldn't be anything like you had dreamed of since you were little. It didn't have to be like this though. Not as marginal, not as a means to an end.
Three hard knocks on the door pulled you out of your thoughts. "Are you done yet?" Marvolo's muffled voice called. "Hurry up!"
Desperation turned into annoyance and your eyebrows furrowed even deeper. What did he want now? "I need a minute," you answered as you opened the door only an inch. "Elsie, Mum, can you help me with my dress?"
Marvolo mumbled a few incomprehensible words while the two walked in. To hell with him, he could wait for five more minutes before he would get what he wanted. And you should get what you wanted too. Right now.
Mother looked you up and down with a smile. "You're a beautiful bride, darling. What do you need help with?"
"Come," you told them quietly and took Elsie by the hand, leading her to the other end of the tiny room, so that the Gaunts wouldn't hear you. "I have to tell you something."
The two looked at each other and then back at you, waiting for you to explain.
"I found something out a while back. Tom told me, he showed me. The curse that hit you, Elsie, it wasn't sent by someone who wanted to attack Father. It wasn't meant for Father at all."
Elsie's eyes widened as Mother put a hand on her shoulder. "What do you mean? Why would you tell us that minutes before your wedding?" Mother asked.
"Let me explain," you went on. "Tom showed me that it was the Gaunts who sent the curse. That's why they found a cure so quickly. And why they didn't heal her completely."
Mother gasped faintly as her hand wandered up to her chest. "You mean..."
"Yes. They chose Elsie specifically so we would agree to their pact."
"I... I can't believe it," Mother mumbled.
"They made me sick?" Elsie asked, her eyes as big and round as marbles. "On purpose?"
You nodded.
"But why haven't you told us sooner?" Mother asked. "We could have-"
"I did as much as I could without attracting too much attention. Tom and I, we both assumed that the Gaunts wouldn't even lift Elsie's curse after the wedding. And even if they did, I wouldn't trust them enough to let her drink anything that they would give to her again. So we brewed the antidote ourselves."
You pulled out the flask and held it up in the air. Mother took it and inspected it for a moment. "You brewed that?"
"Yes. Elsie, take it right now. You will be healed completely then and the Gaunts won't notice anything."
"Are you sure it's safe?" Mother asked. "And what then? What are you going to do?"
"Yes, I'm sure it's safe. And then," you looked at the door to the chapel and heaved a sigh. "Then I'll get married. Stick to the plan."
"I hope you know what you're doing," Mother said as she handed Elsie the flask.
"Would you rather have her drink something that Morfin brewed up? If he would give her anything at all."
"You're right," she said and shook her head.
"Quick Elsie," you urged. "Drink up and we'll be ready to go."
Elsie nodded as she pulled the cork off the flask, then put her lips around the opening and took a small sip. She scrunched up her face into a grimace. "Gross."
"Sorry, princess. They don't make recipes for strawberry flavoured antidotes yet. Now drink it."
Elsie exhaled sharply, then threw her head back and let the liquid pour into her mouth. One swig, two. She had it down almost completely when suddenly the door flew open.
"Excuse me ladies, what is taking you so long?" Marvolo asked, standing in the door frame, with Morfin, Father and Tom behind him. Marvolo stared at Elsie, who was just gulping down the last drops from the flask. "What is that? What did you give her?"
The three of you froze, staring back at Marvolo and the other men. Shit.
"Just her vitamins," you said. "To make sure she's well for the ceremony."
"No, no," Marvolo huffed as he walked in. "Give me that." He took the flask from Elsie's hand and brought it up to his nose. "Morfin, come here."
Morfin entered the room as well, took a look at the empty flask and smelled it. Father and Tom took several steps in too, filling up the room almost completely.
"Stop," Marvolo ordered and held his hand up to Father and Tom. "I didn't tell you to come in." The two halted and remained standing by the door. "Now, son. What is it?"
Morfin inspected the remaining liquid inside the flask, shaking it to see the single droplets hanging inside the vial. One side of his mouth pulled up into a ghastly smirk before he spoke through gritted teeth, "Mors Grano antidote."
Marvolo brought his hand up to his neck, fumbling on the chain that hung there. That must have been where he carried their own flask with the unfinished antidote. It was still there, which visibly confused him. He remained calm, wouldn't dare to show that he didn't know how you had done it, though his eyes had turned dark.
"You little bitch," he spat. "Morfin, take the child."
Morfin did as he was told, quicker than any of you could have reacted and pulled Elsie to the middle of the room by the hand, then stepped behind her, one hand around her neck, his wand in his other one, pointed right at Elsie's head.
Mother cried out when she saw what had happened to her daughter and turned to walk over to her, while Father ran towards Morfin and Elsie as well.
"Stupefy!" Marvolo called, his wand directed at Father, who fell to the ground immediately.
"How dare you, Gaunt," Mother screamed, voice breaking, as she approached Morfin. "Let my daughter go!"
"Oh please," Marvolo merely sighed, raising an eyebrow. With a swing of his wand Mother was knocked out as well, her body crashing to the ground with a thud. "I would have spared you, woman," he said and shook his head. "Forced me to do it." His eyes met yours as he used his wand again and with one swift motion, whisked your parents' unconscious bodies to the corner of the room. "I told you not to step in. No one's making a move now unless I tell them to."
Silent tears ran down Elsie's cheeks, who was still captured between Morfin's hand and his wand. You had managed to pull out your own wand during the turmoil and looked over at Tom in the doorframe, who had done the same.
Marvolo noticed the looks you exchanged and heaved a bitter laugh. "You two, eh? Partners in crime? And what do you think you're doing there, girl? With your wand out. Do you really think you can defeat me with your schoolbook magic?"
You gripped your wand tighter to prevent your hand from shaking, swallowed down thickly and frowned. There were a million things you wanted to say, thousands of curse words you could have called him, but Morfin still had Elsie between his fingers. "Don't you underestimate me, Marvolo."
He clicked his tongue, let his head fall back and laughed wholeheartedly. "Oh, juveniles. Graduated a day ago and think they'll conquer the world. Well, I got some bad news for you then. But first, you're going to tell me how you've found out about Mors Grano. And how you got a hold of an antidote that isn't ours."
You didn't answer and only looked at Elsie, who breathed rapidly, her hands holding on to Morfin's grip around her neck.
"I see," Marvolo sighed and turned his head towards the door. "Tom, would you give us the honour then? Come, stand next to your fiancée."
Tom walked over silently and placed himself next to you, his hand gripping yours.
"Oh look at that," Marvolo feigned. "Tragically in love. Now, Tom, explain."
Tom didn't answer, only held your hand a bit tighter and you could feel something cold inside of it, something metallic, perhaps.
"No?" Marvolo asked. "You don't want to tell us? Well, then we'll have to motivate you. Morfin, go ahead."
Morfin grinned but didn't point his wand at Elsie anymore. Instead, he pointed it right at you. "Crucio!"
The pain that rushed through you was unbearable from the moment it had started. Falling to your knees, you opened your mouth to scream but couldn't hear the sounds that escaped you over the static ringing in your ears. A million knives must have pierced your body at once, and they scraped off your skin with rusty blades inch by inch, while your head hammered and stung as if a lightning bolt had struck right into it. Your vision had left you from the pain, everything around you had gone white and you only heard scraps of conversation between the all-consuming buzz that rumbled between your ears. Tom was begging them to stop, you assumed, but couldn't concentrate on his words, as the pain threatened to crack your skull.
Then, as quickly as it had started, it ended. You opened your eyes slowly, blinked a couple of times when your perception came back and felt a small hand on your cheek. Elsie kneeled above you, next to Tom.
"What happened?" you asked, your voice hoarse, while you sat up groggily.
Marvolo was still standing in his spot, looking down at Morfin, who lay on the ground, holding his leg with both hands. And attached to his thigh, was Nagini, pressing her fangs into him through his trousers.
"Nagini," you whispered and as soon as you had said her name, the snake let go of Morfin and retracted.
"She crawled out of her box when he hit you with the curse," Tom said quietly. "And bit him before they could have noticed."
Tom helped to get you on your feet again and even though your legs were still shaky from the Cruciatus Curse, you stood in front of Elsie, to shield her from the Gaunts.
Morfin winced in pain and held his leg. Nagini's venom spread quickly, Morfin's thigh was twitching on its own. "Father," he whined. "I need treatment. Help me get home."
Marvolo looked down at his son, lips parted with an expression of sheer revulsion on his face. "Do you think I have time to take care of your little injuries right now? Suck it up."
"But... But Father, I can't feel my leg anymore," Morfin panted. "I might die when the venom reaches my heart."
Marvolo sighed and bumped his foot against Morfin's hurt leg, to which his son screamed. "Then leave."
Morfin nodded, it must have taken all of his remaining strength not to pass out, and closed his eyes before he apparated, leaving only a few drops of blood on the floor behind.
"Now back to you," Marvolo said and looked at Tom as if nothing more than a minor inconvenience had just occurred. "Don't you dare lie to me. You know I can kill everyone in this room within a second."
Tom still didn't answer and placed himself in front of Elsie and you, which made Marvolo laugh again.
"Oh, boy. You'd sacrifice yourself? For this family and not your own? I know I've raised you differently. You're a disgrace."
"You want me to tell you everything?" Tom asked. "Then let me come closer, so I can share all of my secrets."
Marvolo remained unimpressed at the thought, there was no spell he couldn't counter. So he rolled his eyes and shrugged. "Come as close as you want, son. But keep your wand up, where I can see it."
And so Tom went. One step, two, three, four, until he was face to face with his grandfather. Marvolo still eyed Tom's wand, gripping his own tightly. And then, Tom moved his other hand abruptly, jerking it toward Marvolo's abdomen once. You couldn't see from where you stood and only noticed when Marvolo looked down himself and opened his mouth.
"Imperio," Tom said quietly while Marvolo fell to his knees.
Now that you could see what he had done, you put your hands in front of Elsie's eyes, holding them closed. Marvolo was bleeding from his stomach and Tom held a bloody knife in his wandless hand.
"I'm just making sure you can't apparate," Tom said coldly. "Like uncle did. The coward. I want to see how you die."
Marvolo looked up at Tom, opened his mouth but didn't say anything, tears edging on the corners of his eyes.
"No. You don't get to talk now," Tom went on. "Never again. You're going to listen. And I'm even going to tell you what you wanted to hear. I found a way to tell her what you have done to Elsie. I stole Morfin's book, and we brewed the antidote ourselves. Oh yes, before I forget, we also stole some Banshee tears from Morfin, while you were out. Scrook and Hokey were very helpful. I even learned some new things this year. Some of them from a muggle-born, can you believe? It got me thinking, you purebloods are so concentrated on magic, you wouldn't even realise when I'd come up to you with a knife in my hand. And I was right. You didn't. You see, you called me a bastard so often and reminded me that my father was a muggle. So I thought I'd remind you myself how much of a half-blood I am. Isn't it awful dying the muggle way? So slowly, so weak."
Marvolo laid to the side, impacted by the Imperius Curse and opened his mouth, coughing up blood, his eyes half-closed.
"And now, here we are," Tom whispered. "You did this all to yourself. Good night, Grandfather."
It took a while until you all had collected yourselves. Mother and Father had woken up some minutes after Marvolo had closed his eyes completely and you had brought Elsie into the chapel, so she wouldn't have to see the body. Tom, your parents and you hadn't decided yet what to do with Marvolo. You had thought about leaving him there, or to apparate him to Gaunt manor, where the elves would take care of it.
Mother joined Elsie and you in the chapel, so you took the chance to get some fresh air outside. Only out in the open did you notice that you were still wearing the white dress, now spotted with deep red stains. What scorn of fate it was to watch someone die by your groom's hand on your wedding day. The door behind you opened again when Tom walked out. He had managed to remain composed better than the rest of you, despite what he had done.
He walked up to you, looking at the ground and only lifted his head when he stood right in front of you. A warm breeze brushed over your skin as the sun was setting. "Are you okay?" he asked.
You nodded. Physically, at least. "I think I am."
Tom dipped his head once too and loosened his tie. "Are you scared of me after what you've seen?"
You looked him in the eyes, tilting your head slightly. His pupils were extended, brows sitting calmly above. "No," you answered. "I would have done the same if I had to."
He bit his lip and nodded, hands inside his pockets before he took them out, held you by your waist and kissed you. All the tension and stress seemed to leave your body for a moment, your shoulders finally relaxing and you wished you could hold on to him like this for an hour. Tom stayed close for a moment, pressed his forehead against yours and sighed. "So," he said as he took a step back. "The pact is done with. Elsie is cured. You don't have to marry me anymore."
A surprised gasp fell from your lips. You hadn't even thought about that yet. He was right. "I guess I don't."
Tom pushed the tip of his shoe through the gravel on the ground, drawing patterns. "But I wanted to know," he said. "Would you have gone through with it if this had turned out differently? Would you have married me and stayed?"
There was a moment of silence when you thought about it. What answer could anyone give to such a question? You liked him, yes, you would even dare to say you were in love with him. But would you have really married him this quickly if you could have decided yourself?
"Would you?" you asked, to which he smirked. The wind tousled his hair, just like when you had sat with him at the bench back in the Hogwarts' courtyard. You pulled the engagement ring Marvolo had sent off your finger and handed it to him. "Why don't you ask me? Properly, I mean."
Tom's smirk vanished. He took your hand in his, holding the ring as he inspected you. He opened his mouth but shut it again to clear his throat. Then he asked, "Do you want to marry me?"
A smile formed on your face, one that he didn't mirror, as long as you wouldn't answer him. "No," you said, closing his palm.
Tom's expression didn't change, but when you looked closely, you noticed that the size of his pupils had decreased, his brows now hanging in confusion. He still held your hands but you could feel him trembling.
"Not yet," you added, your smile still in place. "Not like this and certainly not today. Not on Marvolo's terms. Not without my friends and not before we really get to know each other and both decide, on our own, that we want to do it." You leaned forward, kissed him once and said, "So, ask me again in a year or two?"
And then, the rarest sight of them all, Tom Riddle smiling genuinely, was given to you. He looked so handsome wearing it and with the orange light from the setting sun on his face when he pulled you in.
"I promise I will."
A/n: Hope you liked the grande finale :3 There'll be one more chapter posted next week - the epilogue, which I think, the majority of you have waited for since the beginning. Until then <3