The Beginning of the End • Tom Riddle

Chapter 37

Seeing as I was unprepared I braced myself for landing and stumbled lightly once my feet hit the ground. I glanced up only to be quickly brought out of my daze. I blinked twice before confirming I was in a graveyard, but this wasn't just any graveyard, it was the one we passed when walking to Little Hangleton. The one with an unnaturally dangerous feel that loomed over you like the grey clouds hung from the sky.

" What is this Tom." I immediately went on guard as a shudder racked my body. I tracked his movements as he walked closer to me, stepping back only to be met with a gravestone at my back. I sucked in a breathe as I brought my eyes back up to his Egyptian azure ones.

" A gift, love." He replied as I shook my head.

" Don't call me that. And don't pretend that you care." I scoffed, ignoring the tears welling up in my eyes yet again.

" Isla.." He started but I cut him off.

" Have you ever really seen me, Tom? Or do I just look like another piece in your game?" I finally asked the question that took residency in the back of my mind since the day he pulled me up onto the train. I gathered the courage to look back into his eyes as I impatiently awaited his response.

" You have the smallest flick of brown in your left eye. You hate being carried because you think it makes you look weak. You're the only person who manages to stay awake in Ancient Runes because they remind you of hieroglyphics and you want to visit Egypt someday. Your drink of choice is always Vodka. You've read The tales of Beetle and Bard dozens of times. You fidget with your jewelry when bored or uncomfortable and you have 13 scars scattered across your back that came from various members of your family. I don't just see a person, Isla. I see you." His voice was thick, sounding less clear and confident than usual.

I remained in shock for a moment as I watched his gaze break off mine before being pulled back, as if he felt the same magnetism I always have. A silence hung around us for a moment as I noticed the forms of the death eaters in my peripheral vision, not bothering to fully focus on the lot.

" Isla. Look at me." Tom's low voice commanded my attention. He brought a hand to my chin and grabbed it with a gentleness he'd never showed before. Once my eyes met his my heart stopped. The pools of Egyptian azure were flooded with so many different emotions I could barely decipher them. But they were there, and they were real. It was something I never thought I'd see, and at that moment, from the way he looked at me, I knew I would never see it again.

" Please Isla. Stop coming back." He spoke just above a whisper as I felt a tear slip and my throat tightened. And then he crashed his lips on mine, moving as if he was trying to make me understand. Leaving himself vulnerable to only me in this final moment we shared. I kissed him back as I too attempted to pour everything I felt for this irreplaceable man into a single touch.

There was no one I would hate, or love, more than Tom Riddle. It was something I had subconsciously accepted long ago, and I felt him with everything I had.

The moment I dreaded came, and we broke apart as I closed my eyes, bracing myself for him to slip away. But a cruel gift came when he lingered there for a moment, breath fanning my face and hand tucking a strand of red hair behind my ear before slowly falling, grazing my neck.

" Perhaps in another life. Goodbye my love." He whispered. The cold air immediately rushed around me as his body left from in front of mine. I closed my eyes at the feeling, desperately willing them to stay closed until he was gone.

Seconds later, they fluttered open as I caught sight of five figures just 10 feet away. I immediately scanned their faces. Lennox Selwyn, a frown plastered on his face as tears threatened to slip from eyes that were repeatedly apologizing. Alexander Rosier, the standard tight lipped look but eyes filled with regret that couldn't be masked. Hergualdus Avery, glossy eyes with lips rolled in as if to repress a sob or a scream. Abraxas Malfoy, face wiped of emotions but a single tear betrayed his facade. And finally Tom.

I stopped dead in my tracks as I looked up and down the line. My frantic eyes turned to Tom. Egyptian azure connected with light blue for the last time before smoke enveloped the five and shot up into the air. I watched with shaky breaths as they were whisked away, becoming one with the ominous clouds that hung above the graveyard of Little Hangleton.

Raindrops began to hit my face, and I let them for a moment, before bringing my eyes back down to where the five had been just seconds ago. A tombstone stood behind where they had as my eyes led me over the words carved into its surface.

" No." I gasped as I jolted on my feet and frantically stumbled over, nearly tripping on my own shoes as I went. Dropping to my knees I blinked twice as I tried to clear the tears and raindrops from my vision. I could not afford to mistake this.

Reinhardt Lestrange.

Horrified I let out a strangled sob. I brought one hand over my mouth as the other gripped the top of the stone before slowly tracing over the name, letter by letter. Freshly turned dirt sat below me, confirming that this was very real. I began to hyperventilate as my eyes frantically darted around, only to be caught on something else.

A single, white rose hovered magically in the air, petals aflame as they began to turn black. Below it sat a small, mahogany box, exquisitely carved with fine designs. I gingerly took the box in my hand and opened it, gazing through tears to see a small locket with a crown embossed on its front. Upon opening it a beautiful clock was revealed, and I watched absentmindedly as the seconds ticked by. Clutching the locket in my hand, I opened the small scroll that accompanied it in the box.

Isla,

This locket is a sacred heirloom of the Lestrange family. It's been passed down from father to son on the sons 16th birthday for generations. The son would later give it to an important woman in his life, whether it be his wife, mother, sister, aunt, etc. There's no doubt in our minds that Rein would've wanted you to have this.

Aldus, Abraxas, Nox, and Xander

Another sob racked my body as copious tears fell to the dirt below. I put the locket around my neck with shaky hands before returning my gaze to the sky as the rain collided with my skin, but I wasn't bothered. How could I be over something so meaningless.

" I should've been enough to fulfill you." I spoke coarsely to the thin air.

" I should've been enough." I repeated in a whisper as one final tear rolled down my cheek until reaching my chin, and pausing before letting go. Falling on its final journey to the ground, it brought about the conclusion to the most terrifying domino effect I'd ever seen.