Stolen Time A Tom Marvolo Riddle Fanfiction completed

Chapter Thirty-seven

It was November 2nd. Tom was standing in the Forbidden Forest, the time-turner in his hands, wondering what was going to happen. There was a feeling in the pit of his stomach that he couldn't quite place.

His thoughts travelled back to the small cottage by the ocean he had left a few hours earlier.

He had spent most of the past two months there, and these few weeks had been so completely different from everything he had known his entire life.

For once and for the first time ever, there had been no hatred swirling inside of him. He had finally been able to feel truly at ease.

The longer he had been around Grace, the more he had come to realize how easily she combined his magical talent with Cassiopeia's ability of feeling and caring, and as time had gone by a thought had come creeping into his mind.

If Cassiopeia was right, if combining his magic with this kind of emotion could render it more powerful, then Grace would one day have the capability of outdoing him.

To his utter surprise this thought had neither scared nor appalled him or even enraged him in any way. Despite the possible prospect of finally meeting his match, he only felt proud. It was a weird feeling but there was no denying that he liked it.

The more he had thought about it, the more he had realized that he was at a loss to understand what had happened. He had never wanted to have a child, he had never even thought about it. And even though they had never talked about it, he was certain that Cassiopeia had known that.

Yet all their precautions had obviously failed them, and he could only guess that things had started to be different ever since Cassiopeia's body had stopped aging. Tom frowned. There wasn't any sense in contemplating anyway. Things now were the way they were.

He looked back at the small device in his hand. It was finally time to go.

He took a deep breath and carefully turned the rings. Then he exhaled and let go.

*****

Tom stepped out from behind the trees. He glanced at the spot where he had just witnessed his younger self disappear.

He ran a hand through his hair. So this was it. He was back. Back at the point in time when he had left.

There was no denying that things were a whole lot different now. His thoughts briefly flew back to the Halloween night that had changed everything. What a wreck he had been then. A smile spread across his face. It felt good to have his sharp mind back.

He cast a last glance around the forest, before he apparated to his lair where he slowly strolled through all those rooms he had not been able to enter for 38 long years. It had been a long time, a very long time that he had had to hide away, watching someone else leading his life, watching someone else being in all those places where he should have been.

Finally he pulled his wand from his pocket and signalled Cassiopeia, wondering if she would answer his summoning.

It took quite a while, and he was already about to assume that she wasn't going to react when suddenly a soft crack tore the silence and Cassiopeia appeared near the doorway.

Tom got up from his armchair but then hesitated and didn't move any further.

For a moment they both just stood there, looking at each other.

Finally Cassiopeia asked, "So it worked?"

Tom quirked an eyebrow. "Seeing as we're still here and the world hasn't collapsed, I guess it seems it worked." He shrugged.

Cassiopeia moved a step forward, her eyes fixed on him. Silence filled the living room of his lair again.

After a moment Cassiopeia exhaled slowly. "You don't look any different."

A smirk crossed Tom's face. Then his features turned sincere again. "It's still me."

"Technically you must be... how many? 38 ? years older than me now?" Her voice was questioning. "But you don't look like it."

The smirk crept back on Tom's face. "You're right. But obviously there are not only downsides of Horcruxes."

Cassiopeia's lip twitched. Then she cocked her head, abruptly changing the subject.

"It was you who knew where to find me, wasn't it? I've been wrecking my brain for an explanation how you knew where I was. I never told anyone about that house."

Tom smirked. "Well, this time. But originally, uhm... you know, I spent some time working at Borgin and Burkes and I came across an artefact that your father had traded with them years ago. When I asked you about it, you told me... about that house on the ocean."

Cassiopeia raised an eyebrow.

Tom looked back at her. "When you left and there was no way to find you, I knew where you had gone."

"Why didn't you interfere earlier?"

Tom averted his gaze. "I thought you needed a break." He looked down at his hands holding his wand. "Both of us needed a break."

Cassiopeia eyed him attentively, taking in his words. Suddenly she drew a sharp breath, when realization hit her. "Really? You were afraid you might actually have given up on this war if we had stayed together, weren't you? You were afraid you might have seen sense at last..." Her voice trailed away.

Tom kept his gaze fixed on his wand. Then he nodded. "Yes, I feared your influence might have distracted me from my goals. After all, I surely haven't taken all these risks to end up raising a baby somewhere."

Cassiopeia snorted, a bitter smile crossing her face. "What made you change your mind? You didn't have to interfere now. You could have switched places and would never have had to see me again."

Tom pursed his lips. "Surely, I could have. But there was this promise about telling you when..." He stopped mid-sentence and looked back at her. "I owe you more than you'd believe." He stowed his wand in his robes, leaving his last statement hanging in the air between them. Cassiopeia eyed him slightly incredulously. Tom slowly walked closer until he was standing in front of her. "Things are different from what they used to be. Things are better. I'm no fool. I know why they are better."

Cassiopeia held his gaze. "What happened that first time around?"

"You know that I can't tell you."

"Why not? The point about not telling anyone is that nobody should know about the time-traveller. But I already know. Where's the harm in telling me what happened originally?"

Tom continued to look back at her, and Cassiopeia could tell that his mind was racing. She quirked an eyebrow.

"It's not that you can't tell me. It's rather that you don't want to tell me, isn't it?"

Tom couldn't suppress a smirk. "Why do you even ask, when you've always been able to see through me? You know, I think I've felt every possible way about that ability of yours over the years, from fascinated to irritated, but mainly it's always been extremely intriguing."

With a quick movement he leaned closer to her and pressed his lips against hers, relishing her still so familiar warmth.

Cassiopeia was slightly taken by surprise but she felt herself responding to his kiss. His magic was radiating from him, and there was no doubt that the aura of his magic was even more powerful than before. The 38 years that he had lived twice might not be showing on his face but they certainly were evident in his magic's vibration of power and experience.

Cassiopeia closed her eyes, drowning out all thoughts of any timelines and unanswered questions, and just let herself fall into the comforting security of his embrace.

*****
Author's note: Thanks for reading! I wish you all a Merry Christmas! Please vote and comment, your feedback is always such a wonderful gift :)