Stolen Time A Tom Marvolo Riddle Fanfiction completed

Chapter Five

Cassiopeia drew a deep breath. She didn't quite know why she had lied to him. The words had escaped her lips before she had had the time to think properly. She knew perfectly well that the time turner was nowhere near Gringotts. But somehow the thought of handing the tiny object over to Tom had been disturbing. She knew she didn't owe Floris anything, not after how he had behaved the night of his death. And still it simply didn't feel right to give this object he had spent so much time creating, this object he had treasured so much to the man who had killed him so ruthlessly.

Cassiopeia thought back to the night when Floris had told her about the time turner. Tom had retreated from her mind before he had seen that part of her memory and judging from his previous reaction it was probably better that way.

She bit her lip. Her memory of that evening so long ago was just as clear and vivid as it was painful. She had accompanied Tom to the village where they had met with another wizard whom she hoped she would never have to see ever again. When they had got back to Floris' shack she had gone inside while Tom had stayed outside, probably trying some of the curses they had heard about. On her way to the small guestroom she had passed Floris' bedroom. The door had been ajar and Floris had been rummaging in the room. After a moment he had noticed her standing at the door. He had smiled this contagious smile, so full of life and happiness, that had been so typical of him, and had asked her to come in.

Without thinking twice she had stepped inside even though she had to admit that she ought to have known better. There was no denying that already after their first encounter in the pub she had sensed that Floris was going to be trouble. He had had something about him that had unnerved her from the beginning. But she had been too naive and too blind, and she had only realized what it was when it had been too late. Cassiopeia's heart clenched at the memory.

She had been young and Floris had been too alluring, too tempting, too dangerous. He had been so easy-going where Tom was so difficult, so warm where Tom was so chilling, so close where Tom was so distant. There had been a kind of chemistry between them that had made her feel inexplicably alive and she knew he had sensed it just like she had. He had given her a kind of attention Tom would never offer in a million years. His intentions had been clear and yet she had played along.

Cassiopeia pressed her lips together. She ought to have set things straight from the beginning. She ought to have told him that no matter how tempting he was she still loved Tom too much. She ought to have been honest and not have pretended they had a chance where they actually had had none. Maybe then this disastrous evening would never have happened and Floris would never have died such a useless death. But she had loved this sparkling feeling too much, she had willingly preferred to play with the fire and in the end Floris had paid for it.

That evening in Floris' bedroom she hadn't known where things would go, how all of this was going to end. She had sat down on his bed, while he had carefully stowed the time turner in his night desk. Then he had turned around, his eyes sparkling, and had sat down next to her. They had joked and laughed together, something Tom probably didn't even know how to spell. Floris had told her everything about the time turner's creation, about how it was supposed to work and about the possible risks. She knew she had felt attracted to him and she couldn't deny that she had enjoyed this tingly feeling in her stomach. Cassiopeia swallowed. She had replayed this evening in her mind so many times after Tom had killed Floris, trying to determine what had gone wrong. It still made her feel sick that she might have been able to prevent Floris' death if she had only been honest to him that night.

After Tom had ended Floris' life so brutally and mercilessly, she had retrieved the time turner from Floris' room. When she had taken it she had silently vowed to guard it and keep it safe, something she hadn't been able to do for its owner. She bit her lip. No matter how much she disliked the thought now she would have to break her promise. She would have to give the time turner to the very one man Floris doubtlessly would never have wanted to lay hands on it. She would have to let him down yet again.

She sighed. Tom surely wouldn't take long to find out the truth, after all, he never did.

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Tom returned to Houlton Manor late at night, intending to have a closer look at the notes in Astella Houlton's study. However, when he rounded the corner that led to the room he halted abruptly. The study was lighted. Cassiopeia was sitting in front of her mother's desk. She had leaned back on the chair, her back turned towards the door, but in the window Tom could see her reflection. She was looking at the desk in front of her, her eyes uncharacteristically empty and expressionless. Tom silently walked to the doorway and leaned against the doorframe. He was just wondering if she had even noticed he was standing there when Cassiopeia said tonelessly, "She died trying to live forever. Isn't that ironic? Seems like I'm surrounded by people who are obsessed with the idea of immortality."

Tom looked at her reflection and shrugged. "Who wouldn't want to avoid dying?"

Cassiopeia scoffed and stated bitterly, "Maybe she should have concentrated harder on relishing the time she had been given rather than trying to steal years she wasn't supposed to have. She had two children after all. Wasn't that enough?"

Tom's lips twitched contemptuously. "At least your mother died trying to change her fate, not like my mother, pathetically succumbing to her own body's weaknesses."

The sudden coldness of Tom's voice made Cassiopeia shiver. She turned around and cast him a glance. The endless disgust and contempt he was still harbouring for his mother's decease were plainly visible in his eyes.

Cassiopeia slowly got up and pursed her lips. "Well, I suppose my mother would have liked you. So just go ahead, search for whatever it is you are looking for. I don't care if I see any of these papers ever again." She threw a last disdainful glance at the piles of notes before she left the study.

When Cassiopeia was gone, Tom walked closer to the desk. He sat down and took the neatly piled papers from the table. It didn't take long before he was completely immersed in the research notes of Astella Houlton.

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Author's note: Thanks again for reading. I know this is certainly not the best chapter I've ever written. But I promise it'll get better again ;-)