Stolen Time A Tom Marvolo Riddle Fanfiction completed

Chapter Three

Cassiopeia had postponed telling Tom again and again for nearly a month. But as the weeks had passed she had witnessed Tom growing more and more tense. Cassiopeia had never seen him so concerned and she knew she couldn't keep the information from him any longer, no matter how reluctant she was.

After dinner she went to the living room of Houlton Manor. She pulled her wand from her robes and carefully pressed it against the scar on her left arm. She concentrated on the burning sensation that spread in her arm, thoughtfully watching the mark change its colour once again. The black had barely reached the last inch of the outline when Tom was already standing in front of her. He didn't say anything, only gazed at her.

Cassiopeia looked back at him. "I didn't expect you to be here that fast."

Tom quirked an eyebrow, a smirk tugging at his lips. "You haven't used the mark voluntarily in a long time. I was curious to see what made you touch it."

Cassiopeia averted her gaze and shifted her weight uncomfortably. "I remembered something from very long ago. Something you might want to know." Her voice was slightly hoarse. When Tom didn't react, she cleared her throat. "Someone once told me about a time turner that might be able to send you back for about a century. I don't know if it's working because it hadn't been finished yet and it was never tried..." Her voice trailed away.

"Who?" Tom's voice sounded harsher than he had intended.

Cassiopeia pursed her lips. "Someone in Albania."

Tom furrowed his brows. "Albania?"

Cassiopeia remained silent for a moment. Then she said quietly, "I think you know."

Tom's eyes narrowed instantly. The next moment he held his wand in his hand. "Show me." Realizing how blunt he had sounded he added, unconvincingly, "Please."

Cassiopeia glanced at him. His face had for once lost the usual blank expression and his anger was plainly showing. Cassiopeia was not at all keen on letting him inside her mind in this state. She could still remember how badly it had hurt when he had ripped angrily through her mind all those years ago after he had failed to erase her memory. Yet she knew she couldn't back out now. Clenching her teeth, she nodded and leaned against the wall behind her, closing her eyes. She had barely lowered her mental barriers when she felt Tom enter her mind. She quickly shoved the memory he wanted to the front of her mind.

Cassiopeia was sitting at the kitchen table in Floris' shack, her elbow on the table, propping up her chin. She was watching Floris who was sitting opposite her. He was carefully fumbling with a tiny, delicate looking object in his hands. After observing him for some time she finally asked, "What are you working at?"

Floris looked up, an excited gleam in his sparkling deep blue eyes. There was a mischievous smile playing around his lips. "That's been my little project for a while now." He ran a hand through his messy dark blond hair. "Do you want to see?"

Cassiopeia nodded and Floris laid the small device on the table. There were various rings entwined with each other and something similar to an hourglass in the middle. Cassiopeia looked at the little object. It seemed to be a time turner but it looked very different from the ones she had seen so far. Cassiopeia shot Floris a curious look. "It's a time turner, isn't it? But...," she paused and inspected the object closer, "it looks strange." Her voice was questioning.

Floris grinned. "Yes, it's indeed a time turner. But I've been working at it for quite some time now, refining and changing it. When I'm done it's supposed to be able to send me back more than a century." His excitement was obvious.