Riddle and Grindelwald (book 2)

45. Emptiness

Genevieve felt as if she had a hole in her chest, and she didn't think she would ever feel complete and happy ever again.
She barricaded herself in her bedroom and refused to let anyone in, forcing the staff to leave meals for her outside her room. But most of the time Genevieve made no attempt to even touch the food, for she had no appetite.
No one was allowed in except for Hope, who stuck by Genevieve's side, trying in vain to bring her comfort.
Consumed by grief, Genevieve couldn't even bring herself to tell Mathilde that her brothers were dead. Instead she left Wendy to tell Mathilde the bad news.
Tom had disappeared from the house, and Genevieve didn't care where he had gone, for she wanted to be alone.

The only time Genevieve left her room was for the boys funeral, a week after their deaths.
They were buried at the end of the garden and were given huge stone statues to mark their graves.
Every single death eater had attended the funeral, and Genevieve had worn a black veil, so that no one could see her crying.
She had no comforting words to offer her daughter, so she stood by herself and allowed Wendy to comfort the young girl.
Tom did attend the funeral, but he hung at the back of the event, for he didn't want anyone to see him grieving.

After the funeral, Genevieve returned to her bedroom to get changed out of her mourning outfit, and to her disappointment Tom followed her.
"What do you want?" Asked Genevieve, as she threw her veil down onto the bed.
"I need to talk to you" answered Tom.
"Well, I want to be left alone, so go away" instructed Genevieve.
"We must talk"
"I have nothing to say to you, so please just leave me alone so that I can grieve without your judgement".

"I know you blame me for the boys deaths, but what happened wasn't my fault" insisted Tom.
"And how do you work that one out?" Questioned Genevieve.
"I did not kill them. It was Albus Dumbledore who sent the Order of the Phoenix there that night. Our sons were killed because of Dumbledore" replied Tom.
"If that's what you have to tell yourself, so that you can sleep at night, then so be it"
"It is true. I did not kill the boys!"
"They died fighting for your cause, alongside three more of your soldiers. You forced them to become death eaters, and sent them there that night, so their blood is on your hands"
"Is not!".

"If they had not become death eaters, then they would still be alive right now" admitted Genevieve.
"Argueing about this isn't good for either of us. Besides, that is not what I wanted to talk to you about" informed Tom.
"Just say what you have to say then, and get out of my room" ordered Genevieve.
"Fine. The servants have told me that you haven't been eating"
"Don't pretend that you give a damn about how much I eat"
"I care a great deal about you"
"I haven't got the strength to argue with you, but we both know that what you just said is not true".

"Look, I am concerned for your well-being. If you stop eating, then you will get sick, and I can't lose you too" Tom said quietly.
"My sons have just died, so forgive me if I'm not gorging on 3 course meals every night" snapped Genevieve.
"I just buried my sons, I will not put you in the ground beside them!" Shouted Tom.

"It's too late to be a father to them. So, don't try and compare your grief to mine. I was here with them every single day, while you were off spending time with Bellatrix Lestrange" started Genevieve.
"Don't bring Bella into this" interrupted Tom.
"Why? It's true that you spent more time with her than you did here with me and the boys. You barely spent any time with them until they became death eaters, so were suddenly of use to you. So, don't you dare try and tell me how I can grieve, when you do not know how much pain I am in. You cannot even begin to know how I feel, so don't tell me what to do. What I do is none of your concern. I can do what I like, and you can't force me to eat if I don't want to" spat Genevieve.
"I will shovel food down your throat to keep you alive, if that is what it takes. I will not live in a world where you don't exist" informed Tom.

"That's too bad, because I really don't want to be alive anymore, for I have nothing left to live for" revealed Genevieve.
"You have your daughter, and you have me" reminded Tom.
"Mathilde has Wendy to look after her, she doesn't need me" admitted Genevieve.
"What about me? I need you. You are the only person in the world who loves me, which is why I can't lose you"
"Sorry, but you're not worth staying alive for. I'm done suffering for you"
"You once told me that you would never love anyone else more than me, not even our children. You told me that I would always come first"
"That was a very long time ago, and a lot has changed since then".

Tom placed his hands on Genevieve's arms, "My feelings for you have not changed. I still love you more than anyone else".
"But not more than anything else. I know that your mission will always come before me, and I can't go on living like this anymore" admitted Genevieve.
Tom shook Genevieve angrily, "You will not give up on me. I will not lose you now, or ever".
"You can't beat death, no matter how powerful you are. I am mortal, and one day I will move onto the next life and leave you behind"
"No, I will not allow it"
"It's going to happen, and there is nothing you can do to stop it. I am already half way through my life, and one day soon my heart will stop beating, and you won't be able to bring me back".

"No, I refuse to let you leave me. You must become immortal like me, so that I will never lose you" said Tom.
"That is never going to happen" replied Genevieve.
"It is the perfect way to ensure that we will never be parted. You must make a Horcrux, so that you can be at my side until the end of time" insisted Tom.
"I told you when you made your first Horcrux, that I would never do that to myself. I have watched you change over the years, because of the Horcruxes you made, and I will never put myself through that. I will never make a Horcrux, and there is nothing you can do to change my mind".

Tom angrily shoved Genevieve into the wall.
Hope hissed at him and jumped off the bed, to stand defensively by her owners feet.
"You will do this. This is not a request, it is an order. You will make a Horcrux, and I will place you under the Imperius Curse to ensure that you do it, if you refuse to do it willingly" informed Tom, as he pointed his wand at Genevieve.
"O.K. O.K... I'll do it" mumbled Genevieve.
"Of your own free will?" Questioned Tom.
Genevieve nodded her head weakly, "Yes".

Tom released Genevieve, "Good. I will get everything ready and have the ceremony set up by the end of next week. I will give you a little more time to mourn the boys, before we do it. But if you even think about backing out, I will make you regret it".
"I won't" promised Genevieve.
"Alright then. I will leave you alone to grieve, since that is what you want" replied Tom, before walking out of the room.
Once he was gone, Genevieve dropped to the floor and placed her arms around Hope, holding her Kneazle tight to her body.
"What have I done?" Mumbled Genevieve, as tears began to fall down her face and onto Hope's fur.