You : Tom Riddle

42: Fifteen Years Later

[author's pov]

After the Potters' death, Peter Pettigrew disappeared. Sirius was accused and put in Azkaban for killing Peter Pettigrew, although Victoria believes he's innocent.

A funeral was held for James and Lily. They were buried in the Godric's Hollow graveyard. Victoria shames herself everyday for Lily and James' death.

On that night, Hagrid was ordered to take Harry and bring him somewhere safe. Only Dumbledore, McGonagall, Hagrid, Snape, and Victoria are aware of Harry's location.

Almost all of the death eaters had been caught and been locked up in Azkaban, thanks to Alastor Moody, Lucius Malfoy, and Victoria. The ministry decided to pardon Victoria since she didn't get to speak for herself the day she got locked up and for helping Alastor. Lucius had also been cleared of his crimes and joined the ministry.

There were throughout the Wizardry world about the boy who lived: Harry James Potter.

-------

In the present, Victoria lives by herself in the Riddle Manor. Molly and Victoria do talk, still. Sometimes, they would talk about Lily and cry together. Molly's children are no longer babies. Ron and Harry (and Hermione) are the best of friends at Hogwarts in their fifth/sixth year. Victoria feels too much guilt to approach Harry and introduce herself, but she would watch over him in secret. Victoria almost got caught once when Ron walked up to her and asked her if she knew how much a frog chocolate was in Hogsmeade.

[victoria's pov]

I stared outside my bedroom window in a trance. It's been a year since it had been rumoured about Voldemort's return. Despite the ministry trying to drown the rumours, I knew he was out there. I could feel it. Sometimes at night, I swear I saw someone watching me on the couch. And every night I would get up and call Tom's name in the empty darkness.

"May we all have a moment of silence to Cedric Diggory, a boy who died in the Triwizard Tournament..." I heard the radio say.

"Bullshit," I whispered.

I knew that the ministry knew deep down that Voldemort was back.

I opened my window and stared up at the moon.

"I know you can hear me, Tommy," I said, my voice cracking. "Please just answer me this once."

Despite Tom being a murderer and ruining my loved one's life, I could never stop loving him.

And just like every night, the only response I got were crickets singing.

"I know you're somewhere out there..." I said.

I sat down and counted the stars. When I got to two-thousand and forty-two, my eyes grew heavy. I stood back up and just before I shut the window, I whispered,

"Please answer me."

Another moment of silence.

I shut the window, disappointed and turned around. My skin jumped out of me. Who I saw in front of me was a stranger. The stranger had sparkling white skin and stood very still. His eyes met mine and I gasped. The green eyes that had a splash of gold and flashed red every now and then. I recognized them in an instant. I realised he wasn't a stranger.

"Tom?"

-------☾-------