t o u c h

n i n e t e e n

"1998," Alexandra stated. "I don't know the exact date. I just know that we'll be in our seventh year here at Hogwarts."

"That's why we have an Army," Harry assured. "We've been preparing for this moment since Voldemort returned."

"You don't understand, Harry," she cried. "I've seen so many people die."

"Who?" Ron asked. Alexandra shook her head. She knew telling them all of this information was risky enough. She couldn't share any more.

"I can't say," she explained. "Even if I tell you, it could change. I'm not even sure if what I saw was truly the outcome."

"Well, that shouldn't stop you from trying to change it, then," Hermione stated.

"I don't think I change the outcome of a war, Hermione."

"Not you alone, silly," Hermione laughed. "I think all of us have roles to play, I just believe yours has a larger importance, otherwise you wouldn't have been chosen to meet Tom when you did. There must be something you did or some information you learned that could help us."

Back in the past, Tom was standing alone in the same room Alexandra had been in only moments ago. Although she was gone, he still felt her presence. He still heard her voice echo in his head.

It was sheer luck that Tom had been led to a second time turner in the room where everything's hidden. Without it, he wouldn't have been able to send himself forward and speak to Alexandra. He wasn't sure how often he would be able to visit her, but one thing was for sure: the space around him felt much more empty with her gone. He hasn't quite missed anyone before. Until recently, he never thought he could. He never understood what that feeling truly meant until this girl came into his life and tore it apart. She has the potential to ruin everything he's been working for, yet he couldn't kill her.

"Do you think it worked? Do you think Tom Riddle fell in love with you?" Harry asked, more curious about that than anything else at the moment.

"I think I'm the closest he's ever been to being in love," she answered honestly. She knew Tom liked being the star of the show, and she knew he would never ask for help from anybody, yet he asked for hers. She was beginning to think maybe Tom sent her home out of guilt, and not because he needed her to kill Dumbledore.

All this time she thought she was the only one who had been scared of what could happen if she stayed, but Tom was as well.

"Did you snog him?" Ron asked, interrupting Alexandra's thoughts.

"Ronald!" Hermione exclaimed, hitting the boy's arm once again. Ron flinched, moving away from her. Hermione's face softened as she looked at Alexandra, but she couldn't help but feel the overwhelming need to know the answer. "Did you?"

"I don't think I want to know the answer," Harry stated, making a face of pure disgust.

"I'll tell you everything, but I need to get out of this bloody room," Alexandra complained, starting to stand up. The more she sat in the room, the worse she began to feel. Ever since she saw Tom in the room earlier, she felt like someone had been breathing down her neck and watching her every move. She hoped that by leaving, the feeling would go away. "Besides, I'm sure Fred and George will get a kick out of it as well."