Stolen Time A Tom Marvolo Riddle Fanfiction completed

Chapter One

Tom slowly looked up. He sensed the warmth of Cassiopeia's body and her breath, so close to him. His eyes fell on the corpse in front of him. Dumbledore. He still couldn't believe he had finally done it. He had finally got rid of the man, this disturbing man who had mistrusted him from the very beginning, who had consistently tried to bring him down and deprive him of the one thing that mattered most to him, his power. Tom smirked. It was truly ironic that in the end Dumbledore had involuntarily even bestowed an invaluable means of power on him. Tom gazed down at the wand in his hand. The Unbeatable Wand.

Tom carefully scanned the dark corners of the hall. His future self had to have been here. He narrowed his eyes. For the first time ever he wondered just exactly how many years his future counterpart had travelled back in his mission to save him from wrecking his existence.

And then, quite unexpectedly, a disturbing thought struck him. Never in all those years of travelling, researching, exploring, experimenting and studying had he ever come across a time turner that had been capable of sending its user back more than a few hours, maybe a couple of days at the most. But his future self had to have travelled back at least twenty-five years, taking into account that he had already been there the night of the creation of his second Horcrux and that he obviously had still been here today.

That meant that his future self had to have had access to a time turner that was much stronger and much more refined than all the ones Tom knew to exist. Which consequently meant that, to ensure the consistency of the timelines, he would need to have access to such a time turner when the time came for him to use it. Tom tensed. If there wasn't any such time turner in existence so far, he would need to create one. And he would have to do so quickly because he had absolutely no idea how much time he had left.

"What's up? You are looking as though you've seen a ghost." Cassiopeia threw him a worried glance.

Tom exhaled sharply. "I think there's something I have to tell you." He paused. "But first we have to make sure they know their hero is gone." He threw a condescending glare at Dumbledore's body. "And we have to prevent that they make him a martyr and his grave a shrine."

He got up and pocketed Dumbledore's wand. Then he waved his own wand at Dumbledore and the body vanished. Tom cast a last quick look around the hall before he held out his arm for Cassiopeia to take. The moment she grabbed it, he pulled her into the spinning darkness of Apparition.

When they reappeared they were in the courtyard outside the entrance doors of Hogwarts. Tom turned towards the castle and magically amplified his voice. "Listen to me! The fight is over. Your hero chose to leave, and I advise you to do the same if you know what's good for you."

His voice echoed from the castle's walls around them, the sound of it cold and cruel. Cassiopeia glanced at Tom. He looked complacent in a way she had never seen before. She knew he had finally achieved his aim. He had defeated Dumbledore. Hogwarts was finally his.

When Tom realized that Cassiopeia was looking at him he returned her gaze, daring her to comment. His eyes were sparkling with satisfaction and his magic was crackling powerfully around him. When Cassiopeia remained silent, the corners of his mouth twitched slightly. With a swift movement he grabbed Cassiopeia's left wrist and shoved her sleeve away, revealing the faint red scarred outline that covered her inner forearm. For a second they both looked at it. Then Cassiopeia averted her gaze. She knew too well what he was going to do, he had done it innumerable times before after all. But she still despised being part of this means of communication that made her feel so much like one of his pawns.

Tom pressed his finger against the scar on Cassiopeia's skin. Immediately she felt a burning sensation spread in her arm. With a stern expression on her face she looked back at the mark and watched it grow jet black. Tom's Death Eaters who were fighting inside the castle would sense its burning just like she did. It would alert them to apparate to their master.