Always || Tom Riddle

The after effects

"Why are you crying?" The question was such a simple one for such a significant matter. Why was I crying? I grieved for my daughter, for the little girl who just happened to be born to the wrong parents, who should have lived a long and prosperous life but was taken before her life had even begun. Where was I supposed to start? If I didn't tell him now, he would find out sooner or later, if not through sheer dumb luck, then he would find out through simply pestering me until I broke. Taking a deep breath in for comfort, I decided that I would not hide what had happened from him, despite my envy of the fact that he was still ignorant of Amber's passing. 

"Amber took ill when we left...they did the best they could, but-" All at once Tom's face fell, as he dropped to his knees, grief-stricken, his daughter, his only daughter was dead, and what made matters worse, he had not been there, he had been so caught up in ridding the wizarding world of mudbloods and becoming immortal, that he had become blinded to what truly mattered; his family. A fresh wave of tears began to fall, I attempted to wipe them away, while Tom came to terms with what had happened, holding an unwavering stare towards Amber's grave. 

"Clara, would you be so kind as to leave me please?" Nodding silently, unable to speak due to the lump in my throat, I brushed past him, momentarily pausing to look over my shoulder at him, placing a soothing hand on his back, before turning and beginning up the steps to the castle. It was only when I reached the bridge that I heard a heartbreaking cry of pain, regret, and anguish in the distance, turning around to face the direction of the cry, I could only watch as Tom keeled over in pain, his hands tightly clenched into fists. Entering the castle, I stumbled through the hallways, just about able to make out the different portraits and students that I passed, until I came across him; Dumbledore. 

"Clara, as sorry as I am about your loss; there is still a war on, Tom is still a threat to the wizarding world, even more so now than he ever was. Your work has been vital in his destruction, and in doing so, you have also saved yourself, believe it or not; from a man who would stop at nothing to gain power, even if that meant he lost his family along the way." 

"What are you implying? I thought in going back in time, I would render his attempts to gain power useless." I moved to sit on the cold stone window that surrounded a small garden, lined with beautifully carved stone benches for students to use, and flowers starting to bloom in the ground behind them. "I have informed the ministry of your return. They were always just waiting for Tom to return, he will be taken to Azkaban prison where he shall await his trial before the ministry of magic. If he is found to be guilty, which I strongly suspect he will be, you must prepare yourself for the worst. There is no other way to stop a man such as him, I myself have been through this before, and I have seen what it does to people; you may have rendered him useless Clara, but in order to find our way out of the dark, we must eliminate him completely"  

Tears blurred my vision, as I stood, dumbfounded by Dumbledore's actions. He had used Amber's death against us, and I unknowingly had been the key to Tom's death sentence. "You used me you mean, as a weapon against him, because you knew in the end, I was the only one who could break him from the inside." I began to pace, as Dumbledore continued on. 

"Clara, I think deep down, you know you did the right thing, all charges against you have been dropped, you shall be rewarded and praised for helping bring down perhaps one of the darkest wizards of all time-" I stopped pacing, and spun around the face him, my body tense as I looked at him with utter contempt and disgust. "You think this was what I wanted? You think I wanted him to be locked up, because of me?! If I had known this was how things would have ended up I would never have left! I should never have left, then everything would have been alright; this is all my fault." 

"Don't tell me now that after everything he has done to you, after everything he has become, that you still love him?" I took a shaky breath in, as I stood frozen like a deer in headlights before him, his expression morphed into one of shock and confusion, as he reached out to me gently, but stopped and withdrew his hands as though I had hit him when I flinched at the gesture. "I ought to tell you now that the Aurors are on their way to arrest Tom, and in his state, I do not think he will go with them without a fight. Go to him, this may be the last time you see him as a free man" Crying out in horror, I fled back towards the last place I had seen Tom, pushing students out of the way as I raced through the corridors, desperation being the only thing keeping my legs moving. Finally making it across the bridge, I flew outside, halting to a stop as the spot where I had left Tom was now empty. "No, no, no, no! TOM?!" My screams caused the few crows that sat perched on the whomping willow to fly away, letting out horrible caws of displeasure in their wake. 

Sprinting back through the hallways, I made for the courtyard, the last place that the Aurors would have to go before they could apparate. My heart was by now thudding in my throat as I barged my way through the gathering crowd of students in the courtyard. Before anyone could stop me, I removed my wand from my pocket, sending one of the Aurors flying into the stonework as the other stopped hauling a broken Tom through the courtyard, his eyes wide as they moved between me, Tom, and his co-worker. "Let him go, or I will kill you!" 

"I don't think that's a very good idea love, he ain't gonna do anything to protect you, he is nothing more than an empty shell now" I remained with my wand pointed at him, as he gulped, but remained with a firm hand on Tom, whose eyes stared unseeing ahead. "What did you do to him?!" The question must have taken the Auror by surprise as he frowned slightly before answering. "Just a simple petrifying spell...he is heavier than he looks, you know" I slowly removed my gaze from Tom, as tears started to well up in my eyes, the lump in my throat unbiddenly returning once more. "Please, let him go, he will not cause you any more problems of that I swear to you...he is all  I have left" 

The Auror looked torn, but the sense of duty to the ministry and himself remained there throughout as he stopped to think about what I asked of him. "You know I can't do that" A firm grip began to gently pull me away from the Auror, as the Auror who I had sent flying into the castle wall stood up, brushing himself off and sending a menacing glare in my direction, as he removed his fingers from the wound on his head, which was now gushing with blood. "Clara, come on, come away. Let him go" Charlus's voice sounded from behind me, as he removed my wand from my hand, placing it into the safety of his back pocket as he moved me away to the safety of the gathered crowd. Now that I was no longer a threat to them, the Aurors began to drag Tom out of the courtyard, as I pulled at Charlus's tight grip. 

"No, let me go to him, Charlus, please! No, Nooo! Tom, TOM!" As soon as the Aurors had apparated, Charlus turned me around to face him, burying my face in his chest, and holding me to him as I wept. "He's gone, Clara. He's gone" I let out a sob, as I clutched to his jacket, allowing Charlus to absentmindedly run his fingers through my hair, in a botched attempt to soothe me. Only one thing was clear to me now, without Tom I was nothing, I had nothing, if I let him go so easily, I could never forgive myself. If the Ministry thought that I was going to stand by as they took my heart from me, then they were unbelievably mistaken. I would not stop until he was safe, and we were together again, for the sake of myself, and for the sake of our unborn child. 

AN: Hey guys, sorry if that was a bit of a downer for you, I hope you liked it, and please don't forget to comment and vote, it means the world to me. Thanks for reading, and I hope you have a lovely day, afternoon, night.