Always || Tom Riddle

1942

"I understand what it means perfectly, it means that the second wizarding war is about to begin and that many will lose their lives. You don't have to do this now Tom, you can get the boy away from the castle, where it will be much simpler to kill him"

"Oh, I intend to, Clara" And with those words, I knew that this was going to be a long night. Turning my back to him, I began to climb the stairs, taking hold of the dark ash hand rail.

"Clara, when I do go out there later tonight, I hope you know where your allegiance lies" Freezing on the bottom step, I kept my eyes transfixed on the safety which was behind the spare bedroom door, through which Amber was still tucked up in the bed, oblivious to what was about to happen, and just how much her life may change as a result. Deciding not to answer, I continued up the stairs, each step making my legs feel heavier and heavier until I just reached the door and managed to push it open, much to my dismay, my vision began to blur, as I fell to the floor, but before I could hit the floorboards, everything began to spin, and the cramped spare bedroom of the Potter's house in Godric's Hollow was left behind. 

Hitting a cold stone floor hard, my vision returned, as my surroundings stopped moving, I took the chance to look around the room that I know found myself in; Dumbledore's office. How I had gotten there I was still trying to figure out. Squinting around the dimly lit room, I got to my feet, eyeing the sleeping portraits in case any should wake up. Just when I thought I was alone, the door swung open behind me, and McGonagall, Slughorn, the nurse from the hospital wing, as well as, all of the members of the Order of the Phoenix including Ron, Hermione, and Harry Potter. Upon their entry, the room filled with light, as the candles were all simultaneously lit. 

"You summoned us, Albus?" McGonagall asked, having spared me a quick, confused glance, before turning her full attention to the previous headmaster of Hogwarts. 

"Yes, you see, I had the bright idea of bringing Clara to us, she is, after all, a member of the Order; and so, I felt she could help you in destroying Voldemort" Everyone in the room turned to face me, some held disgusted looks, that I had abandoned them so easily for a mass murderer, while others looked as though they merely pitied me. 

"How do we know she will help us, and not send him information from the inside?" Kingsley Shacklebolt stepped forward from among the crowd, his eyes flickering over to me, assessing. 

"This is where I was going to come to, if Clara should betray us, she will not get the chance to save Tom"

"What?" 

"You, Clara, you are the key to us stopping him. We cannot stop him now, he has gone too far, and I do believe he will attempt to take Harry's life tonight, but for now, we must act, by changing the past version of him"

"But if I go back in time now I will be too late, if I spend months of my life there trying to change him, it won't work"

"That, is precisely the reason I chose only the select few moments where I felt you could have done more to change Tom, and therefore change his actions."

"And if I should fail?"

"You will never see your daughter again" I furrowed my eyebrows together, wrapping my arms over myself protectively, as I thought about how long it would take until Tom realized I was gone, if he had heard me fall, then he would most likely know my by now, and if not, I had a matter of hours before my disappearance was noticed. 

"Will you take this task?" Dumbledore's disturbed my thoughts, as my eyes glanced up from the floor to the painting. 

"I will not risk losing my daughter, so yes, I shall do this" As if he had already known what my answer would be, he beckoned me over to his desk, pointing to the top drawer of the desk with a blackened finger.