Stolen Time A Tom Marvolo Riddle Fanfiction completed

Chapter Thirty-one

Before Cassiopeia went to bed that night she walked over to her dressing table and sat down. After a moment she opened one of the drawers. She carefully fumbled for the tiny device that was hidden under various things in the far corner of the drawer. When she finally pulled the time turner out, she thoughtfully eyed it for a long moment.

So this was it. This was the time turner that would one day take Tom back in time, back more than a quarter of a century, to make her intrude on his younger self creating his second Horcrux in the Chamber of Secrets, to attack them out on Hogwarts' grounds, to change whatever he considered had gone wrong the first time around.

Cassiopeia wondered what had happened in the original timeline, what had been so bad that it had made Tom go back to try and fix it.

She also wondered what was going to happen when the time came for him to use it. Obviously Tom would try to travel back and if everything went smoothly his original self would be there to take his place. The thought seemed odd. Suddenly there would be someone next to her who didn't only know what had happened this time around but also what had happened originally. It would be Tom but in some ways it would be someone entirely unknown to her as well. Someone who had used her to his own advantage without thinking twice. Someone who was even more coldblooded and emotionless than the Tom she knew. Someone she realized she was afraid of.

A soft crack tore her from her thoughts. Cassiopeia closed her eyes. Somehow Tom had an uncanny intuition to always know when his presence was appreciated least and to always appear exactly then.
She sensed him standing behind her. Instinctively she closed her hand around the time turner.

"Don't you know it's rude to just apparate into a woman's bedroom?" Cassiopeia asked drily.

Tom ignored her sarcasm. "I don't know where the future's going to take us but I think you still have something I'll be going to need. So I'd say there's something you want to give to me now."

"Oh, do you?" Cassiopeia stared at her closed hand. "Actually I'm not quite sure if I want to," she muttered.

Tom raised an eyebrow but didn't reply.

"It's going to be weird, don't you think?" Cassiopeia abruptly turned to look at him.

"I'll tell you what I think if you kindly let me know what you are talking about," Tom retorted, his eyebrow still quirked.

"It's going to be weird when your other self will replace you." Cassiopeia looked into his eyes. To her surprise they weren't as empty as she had expected them to be. There was a faint hint of something shining in them, some kind of emotion she couldn't quite place.

Tom looked back at her, his gaze still locked with hers, pondering her words for a moment. Then he answered calmly, "It's still me."

Cassiopeia bit her lip. "I know. But in some ways it's more than just you. It's you with memories of a time that doesn't exist anymore. You will know things about me that I don't. You can't deny that's creepy... and somehow scary."

Tom didn't respond. He knew she was right. The moment he was going to leave his then no longer future but present self would take over, equipped with all his memories of this timeline as well as the ones from the past. He would know what had made him change time in the first place. He would know what had happened originally. He would know, and she wouldn't.

Yet, aside from that, he would still be the same. Everything he had done, everything he had experienced in this timeline, all of that had influenced his counterpart as well. It was still him, after all, only with a whole lot of further knowledge and memories.

"It's going to be alright, believe me," he finally said evasively.

He could tell that Cassiopeia wasn't convinced, and he couldn't blame her. He knew he wouldn't like not knowing either. He wouldn't want to be in her place. But there was no point in contemplating. It had to be that way, and it was going to be that way, and, clearly, she knew that just like he did.

Tom's gaze fell on Cassiopeia's hand that was still closed tightly around the small device. "I understand that you don't like it, but you still have to give me the time turner." Tom held out his hand.

Cassiopeia looked at his outstretched hand, knowing that he was right. No matter how much she disliked being left in the dark, she couldn't hold Tom back. Destroying the consistency of the timelines was the last thing they needed. After all, it would be much worse than any war could ever be. Reluctantly, she opened her hand and threw a last glance at the tiny object before thrusting it in Tom's hand.

Tom pocketed the time turner carefully. Cassiopeia turned back towards her dressing table and slowly closed the drawer that was still open. There was one question burning on her mind. She lightly ran her fingers over the wood of her dressing table, wondering if she should ask. She sensed Tom still standing behind her, obviously waiting. Finally, she made up her mind.

"Will you tell me when you go? Will I know that it's no longer you? Or are you just going to disappear one day?" She looked up at Tom's reflection in the mirror.

Tom eyed her thoughtfully. He had already contemplated the options repeatedly. In a way it surely would be easier and more comfortable if she didn't know when his selves were going to change. But deep inside he knew that he wanted her to know. He pursed his lips. Finally he asked, "Do you want me to tell you?"

His question caught Cassiopeia by surprise, and she looked momentarily taken aback. Actually she had never truly thought about it because she hadn't expected to have a choice.

She tried to get her thoughts straight. Did she want to know? Not knowing meant she could always fool herself into believing that he was still the same as before. On the other hand then there would always be doubt, and she hated being left in the dark.

After a moment of silence, she said, "Yes, I want to know."

Tom nodded slowly. "Well, then I'll tell you." He moved closer and put his hands on her shoulders. Looking at their reflections in the mirror, his eyes travelled over her appearance. He could tell that she was watching their reflections as well, and their eyes locked.

For a while they eyed each other in silence. Then Tom cleared his throat.

"I don't know where all of this is going to end, and somewhere inside I really wish I could just follow through with what you said earlier." Tom slowly ran his hands from her shoulders to her arms and tightened his grip, pulling her up. He was still gazing intently at her reflection in the mirror. "You were right, I was happy back then. But you were also right that I was different." He shook his head. "I can't go back there. I'm not twenty anymore even though I might still look like it. I don't run away. I fought too hard for what I have."

Cassiopeia kept looking at his reflection, too. "But what do you have? Where's the sense, if you're not happy now? It doesn't matter if you are still young, it only counts if you feel that way." She turned around until they were face to face and lightly ran her hand through his hair. Instantly, she felt him react to her touch. Her lips twitched slightly. "We could have it all the easy way, and any war wouldn't matter."

Tom looked back at her, a small smile tugging at his lips, but she could tell from the look in his eyes that he didn't agree.

His voice was hoarse, when he said, "Let's try not to think about what might be going to happen tomorrow." He closed the remaining distance between them and pressed his lips against hers, taking in her scent and her warmth. "Let's just cherish what we're having right now."

He felt her responding to his kiss and a wave of desire and passion flooded his body. He pulled her over to her bed, while removing her dressing gown and untying her hair. He felt Cassiopeia unbotton his shirt and stripping it off, her fingers all over him, and he pushed her down on the bed, bending over her.

This curious bit of emotion inside of him bubbled up again, once again making him feel alive and content. He felt his body get hard against hers, and he closed his eyes, drowning out all the thoughts and concerns that were swirling inside his mind, only concentrating on the drumming pulse of his passion that was steadily rushing through him, longing to be satisfied.

Cassiopeia looked up at Tom's burning eyes, at his flushed cheeks and ruffled hair and a smile crossed her features before she let his unguarded passion carry her away, willingly giving in to all those waves of powerful emotion.

If the world was going to go down tomorrow, at least they would have made today count.

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Author's note: Thanks so much for reading!