Professor Riddle's favorite

44.

A strange atmosphere surrounds her as she follows the tall body in front of her back to the castle. Tom is quiet, too quiet for her sense...

He sighs deeply with every step he takes while his head is bent forward, his curls framing his face not visible to her who walks behind him. Her own thoughts return to the image in the water, the image that gave her a sense of satisfaction, this is what she wanted and now she has it but it never feels like enough. Can a person ever have enough Tom? His cold attitude leaves you hungry for more, his unprecedented beauty that he himself only sees as a convenient object to achieve his goals. Knowing that you are being manipulated but embracing it and letting it feed you, the hunger that you feel so actively for more of him, more of his being.

At the door he finally turns around and lets his dark eyes make contact with hers causing an electric wave to spread through her body, she knows for sure this is the life she wants to live with the man opposite her at her side. A small smile takes over her face and to her great surprise there seems to be a small sparkle in the dark eyes like a star in a dark sky, the most beautiful star of them all. "I want to prepare you." His voice somewhat uncertain as if he still doubts whether he really wants to prepare her. A nod of her head in response as she follows him again into the castle, her home, a deep breath spreads the smell of the house in her nose, wood, the fireplace, the old books, and especially the smell of Tom.

Her naked body does not seem to bother her, until she looked down at her feet on the steps she had completely forgotten that she is naked. The cold forgotten by the warmth that he brings her. Normally they both walk to the left at the top of the stairs, through the hallway with her room at the end on the right but not this time, he walks to the right. A place that is unknown to her but oh so attractive, he becomes slower with every step, seeming to have to force himself to walk on. He stops in front of a door and waits for her to join him, slowly he pushes the door open and extends his arm while she looks at him in surprise and carefully walks inside. The thought that this could be a trap, a punishment for the game she just played outside echoes through her head. The room is empty except for an old cloth at the end of the room, a cloth that hides something, the room has no windows and is completely shrouded in darkness. He walks past her without paying attention to her presence and pulls the old blanket off the object with a jerk and reveals a large mirror with a beautiful gold border.

When she makes eye contact with the mirror she sees herself, dressed in a beautiful black dress, Tom at her side in a suit in front of the large castle like an old-fashioned photo. "your greatest desire" Her eyes tear themselves away from the image that she can stare at for hours and turn to him. "Why did you bring me here, did you want confirmation of my love for you." He sighs deeply and steps next to her in front of the mirror, his hand takes hers and he sighs deeply before he turns his head to the mirror. "Don't be scared of what you see." She slowly turns her head to the mirror and without thinking a small scream leaves her mouth which she quickly muffles. Tom and she are standing together in a large hall on a stage with hundreds of Deatheaters underneath them but that is not what she was scared of, Tom looks nothing like the Tom who is now standing next to her. His face is distorted, his beautiful curls are gone, his beautiful face makes way for something that is more comparable to a snake. "What .... what is this?"

"The sacrifice I will have to make for an infinite and powerful life." His fingers tighten around her hand as if he is afraid that she will run away and if she is honest that is not a crazy thought of his. He wants to hear now that even then she will stay, that even then she will cherish and adore him as she does now, continue to play the games that keep him interested, forget her life and take on his. "Is there no other option an option that does not deprive you of the only humanity you possess." The words seem to hurt him and he steps out of the image of the mirror and once again she looks at her momentary image of the two of them together in front of the castle as tears fill her eyes.

"I wish I could tell you that the image scares me, that I don't want to end up like that reflection, that I want to find another way but my urge to achieve my goal is greater than my appearance. This is what I will be, someday" Hidden in the darkness of the room her eyes remain focused on the pleasant image that slowly changes into her and Tom in old age still together in front of the castle. His appearance preserved and a smile on his face. "Touching." A laugh leaves his mouth speaking the words. "Are you with me for my appearance?" Her eyes are torn away from the mirror and she fails to make eye contact with Tom who is hidden in the dark. "What a naive comment." The words leaving her mouth sillently. His voice now sounds from behind her but she refuses to turn around. "Why did the image scare you so much, you almost looked disgusted."

"Because you are no longer a human in that image but a being, not the man I sacrificed everything for but a desperate remnant of a man who sacrificed everything for an infinite life, a weakling." Her fists clenched she knows he is currently circling her like a lion its prey while she stands naked in the dark empty space. Her chest up and her head held high she closes her eyes and pushes away the tears that are trying to force their way out. "A man who sacrificed everything for an infinite life on the way to a better world, a man with a vision, a man with a purpose. An appearance that instills fear and makes it immediately clear to people what kind of person they are dealing with. A remnant of a man who has a woman at his side who detests him... isn't it?"

"When?"

"That is also a question for me, eventually I will end up in the creature from the image." Her eyes still closed she nods her head carefully while two cold hands slide around her waist. His cold soft full lips against the shell of her ear. "So enjoy it while you can or is forever suddenly not forever anymore?" Her hands on his she opens her eyes and lets the tears roll out of her eyes knowing that he cannot see them even though she knows better. "Yes, forever." He kisses her cheek on the tears she tried to hide. "Good." He lets her go and opens the door to leave the dark room after which she looks at the man in the doorway, the man she adores so much, so much that she will accept even this in the end. "No more separate rooms." He walks away, leaving her in the room as she turns to the mirror once more, looking at the old couple that is supposed to represent her and Tom, in his current form, knowing that her reflection will never change even though she will never leave him.