He looks around. Blackness, everywhere. That's all there is there, really, utter and complete blackness. It surrounds, it engulfs, and it hides all. And also, shows all. At least, all that Tom really needed to see. She, the only thing that Tom can see in the darkness, is clothed in white, pure, shining white. The barely recognizable woman advances towards Tom, with a certain familiarity about her like she's known him for years. And yet, Tom cannot seem to give the strange woman a name, cannot seem to erase the confusion plain on his face.

"Tom. My baby, my one and only baby is here with me."

Tom's eyes grow wide as dinner plates as faint recognition reaches him. "Merope?"

Tears fill the woman's eye, tears of love and pure joy. "Tom. It's me, after all this time."

"Where am I? I-I thought the killing curse...and then here? What?"

Merope smiles. "Yes you did indeed kill the boy. Possibly. I cannot tell you for certain, because I know not what his decision will be. But all in good time, my son."

She sits on an old bench that is barely visible in the slowly brightening light. Tom sits next to her, but is cautious, unsure of himself for once in many years.

"What do you mean, he might not be dead?"

"I mean that he has a choice. He can come back and no doubt be really killed for good or just move on."

"But he was hit with a killing curse!"

"Would this be the first time he had evaded death without drawing a wand in defense?"

Tom looks away from her, face clouded with pain, and the want, the need to be rid of this enemy once and for all.

"How? How can I do it, kill him for sure if he's not truly dead this time?

"You know how, Tom. Now, I must be going, the time for us to speak is ending, and you must return to face the carnage you have created."

"Thank you, Merope. Mother."

The two lost souls hug and Merope whispers in his ear 'I am proud of you'

With that, Tom opens his now scarlet eyes to see the worried faces of his followers. Standing up he barks orders.

"Find out if he's dead. Narcissa, forward."

Narcissa walks to Harry's body. It is clear to her that he is still alive but she knows that she must lie if she wants to see her son, Draco ever again.

"Dead"

Cheers and whoops go out from the watching crowd, while Hagrid bawls. They try to push around Tom, but he holds them back. Speaking to the crying giant, he says, "Pick him up. Put the glasses on and walk." And Hagrid does as he is told, gently lifting Harry in his immense arms and walking along the bridge to the castle. Tom has won, or so he thinks.

They advance forward to meet the broken crowd of order people and students.

With joy in his voice, Tom yells to them. "We have won. Any and all of you are welcome to join our ranks." When no one steps forward, he adds to his statement. "The other option, of course, is to die."

Draco Malfoy pushes forward with a sneer on his face and goes to his mother and father who anxiously envelop him into a hug.

And then Neville Longbottom steps up to face the evil lord who scoffs at him along with the followers. But Neville has not come to join, he has come to fight, and the sword of Gryffindor rips through the head of Toms precious Nagini. Pain rips through Tom as the final bit of his soul is removed and killed. But he does not show it, he does not show the fear in his eyes at the thought that he was a mortal man, equal to any here scared him.

That was when the fighting broke out, again. Harry, who was not dead ran to Tom and stopped the others from fighting. The malice in his eyes was clear as he called Tom by his true name.

Something broke within Tom in that very moment. He challenged Harry to a duel, and they both fought valiantly. Bu in the end, as Harry shouted, "Show some remorse, Tom". And he did. But no one saw it because seconds later, the killing curse hit him, and suddenly he was back at the station. Merope shuffled him into a train of a sort, and forward they went, on to the afterlife.