He was coming, she could feel it. She had waited for fifty years, and now, he was going to be hers, forever, and nothing could stop it, nothing.

She recalled the first time she had seen him, she was five years old, and her parents had just died. They had killed each other and had left her to the mercy of that terrifying orphanage. She was crying, the other children, all of different age groups were staring at her. Some of the older kids tried to comfort her, telling her that it was okay, that life was cruel and that these sort of things happened to everybody. But she only stopped crying two days later, when she saw Tom. He had just looked at her for a second, but that made her feel happy again, she felt so warm, so content. The other kids told her that six-year old Tom was a brat; he was a loner and never talked to anyone unless it was to torture them. It seemed laughable at first, a six year old torturing people, but it wasn't.

She recollected what had happened six days after that first day of noticing him. He was doing something……something horrid. That bird was so small, so fragile. How could he do that, it was disgusting. 'Stop that.' She had called out, 'Please, stop.'

He turned to look at her, 'Your problem is?' and he had her at his feet, screaming in pain. But when he heard her cry, he stopped, he had never stopped before, and that too because of someone's pathetic shrieking. He didn't know why, but he felt so weak. In the six years of his life, he had never actually felt sorry like that, for someone before, in fact, he never recollected feeling anything at all. He worked by thinking, not feeling.

She got up, tugging her curly blond hair behind her ear, 'How?'

'Magic,' he explained, 'I can do that, cause people pain, move things around...' He stopped. He could not open up like that in front of anyone, especially a girl.

'Magic? You mean that's possible?'

'Of course, you idiot. I don't know why the rest of you idiots cannot do this, it's all so simple.'

He reminded himself again that his powers were secret.

'Go away, or I will do that again.'

She hesitated. She felt special around Tom, he was so...different. In a bad way, yes, but she felt so drawn to him.

'You want me to go?'

Honestly, he didn't want her to go. Her innocence seemed to pull him towards her, she was so small, so delicate, barely half his own height. But he hadn't wavered to torture that bird, why her? He didn't know; in fact, he didn't even want to know. He wanted to hold her; he hadn't ever touched anyone before. He hadn't wanted to either, but she was not like anyone else.

You just met her; he told himself, why would you want to hug her? You are better than that, and you know it. You do NOT want to hug that little girl. You want to cause her pain, you want to terrify her. You've got more power than she could even dream of, make her know that. She is at your mercy. Your mercy, like the rest of these stupid children. Let her know of your supremacy……………

'Just go.' He said. 'I want you to go.'

He knew he wasn't like other six year olds and he was proud of that fact, 'Don't look at me like that, girl!'

She was hurt, he didn't care about her. He wasn't any different from her parents. They hadn't loved her either, and now nobody did. She burst into big fat tears, 'You-hate-me!sniff. Why are you so mean! Tom-please-don't-make-me-go… Please.'

Usually, Tom found the way children his age cried sickening, but this time, it was like he could actually see into her soul, and feel what she felt. 'It's okay. Don't cry. Please. For me? Please.' And he put his arms around her and held her tight, stoking her hair, whispering, 'It's okay.' in her ear. It was adorable, two small infants,(even if one of them was you-know-who), in each other's arms, crying their hearts out.

They stayed like that for quite some time until, 'what is your name, girl?'

'Ayesha.'

'That's an interesting name. Does it mean anything?' He could not believe he was being kind to another living being. It felt odd, but good.

'I don't know. My parents never told me. They never told me anything. They….they………shot each other…….with a gun, a little black one. They used to hit me sometimes, especially my father.'

Tom couldn't understand why anybody would want to hit someone (which is a very big thing. Hello? This is Lord Vol-sorry-you-know-who) like Ayesha. She was terribly cute, with round, chubby, red cheeks, blond hair that curled so prettily around her face, and small hands with short, stubby, fingers. Her vocabulary was advanced for a five year old. He had not met nine year olds who spoke as well as her. So maybe he hurt people too, but other people, people who deserved it, not Ayesha.

'But when they died, it was scary……………I-.'

He patted her head in a very grown-up fashion and said, 'Its okay. I'm here for you…..go to bed. It will be alright. I promise.'

And all she could think of was him………………….

She smiled at herself, she couldn't stop. Tom was coming. He had a lot to apologize for; he had killed her. But she didn't want to remember that now. Instead, she thought of the first time he left…..for that school. She had wanted to go along with him. But he had said, 'Remember when I told you about my powers. I'm going to a school where they teach them. You cannot do magic, Ayesha, you cannot come. But don't tell anyone. It's a secret. I hope I can trust you.'

He gazed lovingly at her. 'If you are wondering, yes I will miss you; you are my only friend.' And it was true. But he was a loner, he worked in secrecy. He barely even spoke to Ayesha, unless she was upset or asked him to talk to her. He never informed her of all those crimes he had committed. She wouldn't understand. That idiot deserved a spanking, he had told Ayesha that she was stupid and knew nothing and had made her cry. How could Tom not punish him? But he didn't have reasonable excuses for upsetting (upsetting? That's too small a word!) the others. He had wanted to feel his power over them so much. They were weaklings; they asked to be bossed around. Suppose she found out. Would she forgive him? She would, she always did…….but he didn't want her to know.

She had tears in her eyes as he left the orphanage. She would miss him…….the way he used to stroke her hair when she was upset, the way he used to just look at her and she would know that everything was going to be all right, the way he held her and everything felt like it was in place, like everything was perfect, like time had stopped and they were stuck in one moment…….forever. It was going to be a long year till she felt that again, till she felt him again. She wondered why he never showed any emotion, and whether he even had any. She had seen him hurt that bird; no one with any feelings could do that, especially a six year old. Would he really miss her?

She didn't really have to answer that, it was obvious that he had from the look on his face when he returned. 'I'm back,' he said, 'and this must be the first time I have smiled in my, entire lifetime, I think.' Tom did look handsome when he smiled; Ayesha looked at him, surprised at the rare display of emotion on his face. 'It suits you.' She said.

But two months passed quickly, and Tom actually wanted to go back. He said the school was like a home to him, like the orphanage had never been. That hurt Ayesha and she didn't talk to him for the rest of the vacation. She let him sit by himself and think and do all the other stupid things he did, and he didn't object to it.

And he didn't talk to her for the next few years. He was at his stupid school all the time and when home, sat by himself or wrote in his diary.

After his fourth year, during the summer break she had tried to look at it when she thought he wasn't there, but he had jumped out of nowhere and had said calmly, 'You touch that and I wont think twice before killing you.' That was the limit. She yelled back at him, 'You already have! You don't talk to me; you don't even look at me. It's like I don't exist. Please, Tom, stop this.'

For a moment he looked dangerous, evil, like he would actually kill her, but then, his expression softened and he stammered (you-know-who stammering? What fun!), 'I-didn't-mean-I-Ayesha-I-have.' He paused then continued, 'I'm busy nowadays Ayesha. Homework, and I'm the heir of Sly-forget it. It's just that… I like my own company, really.'

'Oh. Bye then. And take this diary of yours. I hate you.'

'Don't say that.'

'Why does it matter to you anyway? You obviously do not care about me.'

'I do care.' Tom, the heir of Slytherin, Lord Voldemort, cared about a muggle.

'Then why are you doing this to me? You know I can't live without you.'

''And neither can I.' that was when Tom pulled Ayesha into a kiss. He bent down and and locked his lips against hers. She flung her arms around him and felt complete again………..but the next day after Tom left for his school, Ayesha didn't see him again. She was adopted by an old, rich, lady, and went to live with her. Tom never bothered to contact her.

She brought herself back to the present…….she did not want to even think of the next time she met Tom-it was horrible.

'Muggle.' said a voice.

Ayesha got up, excited, 'Hello.'

'Why am I like this, muggle? And where am I. If you do not answer, I will see to it that you will pay...with your life.'

Lord Voldemort was Tom again; young, and as handsome as ever. 'All your horcruxes have been destroyed and have reunited.'

'But that means….I am dead. Muggle, what is going on?'

'You are not properly dead yet. You are somewhere in between. I expected you to apologize for doing what you did to me, Tom, and not call me "muggle".

Still not recognizing Ayesha, Voldemort said, 'I'm dead? It's over? Potter won?'

'You deserved it! I've waiting for you for half a century so that we can move on together and you don't recognize me, let alone say you are sorry. Tom, do you have any idea how boring it is waiting for you to come. All I do all day is think about you, me… us and how I love you and…'

'You………..love... CRUC-'

'You don't have your wand.'

'I can cause you pain without it. And wha-is that you, Ayesha.'

'Yes it is. And I've waited so long.'

'You needn't have done that. I didn't-'

'I know you don't deserve it. You don't deserve anything, after all you did, all those people you killed, all those lives you ruined. You don't deserve me either…Yet I wait for FIFTY years, fifty years in which all you do is torture people, and not even remember me. Fifty years in which you kill everybody when you knew-'

'STOP IT!'

'You didn't stop it when you were killing all those people-'

'That's different!'

'Or when you were killing me!'

'I-'

'All I want is for you to apologize for doing all that you did.'

'You know I cannot do that. I am not sorry for killing anyone. Filthy mudboods and muggles, they deserved it!'

'For being born! And I suppose you killed me because I couldn't do magic, despite loving me.'

'Lord Voldemort does not love anyone.'

'You told me you loved me right before you slaughtered me like that, and then you killed him. Was it his or my fault you never came back? I didn't have a choice; my adopted mother had to get me married. I tried to forget about you Tom, you were gone. And when I'm almost over you came running back, saying that you love me. You think I will take you back after all those murders you committed…I know about them Tom…my to-be husband was a wizard and he told me all about "Lord Voldemort", which is a preposterous name, if you ask me. "Lord Voldemort!" Really, Tom. That is so lame! But I thought I was scared, but Tom, I'm never afraid of you, or when I'm with you, kill me all you want…I'm not scared, not of you. I would have loved to be with you, but you acted like you didn't want me, like you had forgotten me.'

'How could I have forgotten you? I love you, you know that…'

'You never talked to me; never bothered to contact me, killed me, and now you say you love me…'

'I…didn't kill you…I killed him…they killed you.'

'And you let them. They were under you, they were your slaves. You didn't even bother stopping them. But then why did you even kill my fiancé in the first place. And why did you do any of those things you did, collect a stupid group of followers to boss around and torture, and then try to take over the world?'

'I did not try to take over the world. I just wanted…change, like my ancestor Slytherin.'

'You're not what you call ''pure blooded'', in case you haven't noticed.'

'That's different.'

'I see, so it's okay for you to be half blooded and wrong for everyone else, like Harry Potter. And its okay for me to be a muggle, but every other muggle must be tortured.'

'I-'

'You what? You're not sorry; you still don't care about anything. I was hoping Harry Potter would defeat you, I've been watching you from here, and he was a much better person. You had to die in the end. Good always wins over evil.'

'There is no good and evil, there's only power-'

'And those to weak to seek it, I know…But you don't need all that power. Think of how happy you could have been without being Lord Voldemort, you could have a nice life, a nice job, we could have been together.' She paused, taking his hands in hers, 'We could have lived the perfect life, Tom, we could have children, and grandchildren, and a family, and we'd all live in this big house, with a garden…'

'But we are together now…' And he took her in his arms, like he had sixty years earlier and kissed her.

'No sorry for killing me?' she said is he let go of her.

'Lord Voldemort does not say sorry, I do not regret anything I have done, except, maybe; losing at the hands of a teenager…'

'Don't mean to be rude, but that teenager was more powerful than you.'

'He was luckier than me.' It felt good, to actually talk to someone without telling them what to do.

'He was brave and noble and all the other things you hate. He didn't hurt the people he loved. He wasn't scared of death, not like you.'

'I'm not scared.'

'And the reasons you made those horcruxes are?'

'I was scared. Not now. When I'm with you I'm not scared of anything; not even death.' (You-know-who is being romantic! Its mushy-mushy yes, but this is Vol-sorry. Ha ha ha! Suppose all his death eaters found out…)

Ayesha stopped talking, she understood him completely even when he was quiet. He was too proud to act contrite and too power-hungry to stop dominating over every person he saw… but that would change. He didn't know it yet, but it was time to move on.

Voldemort looked around, 'This place is…what is it?'

'I don't know. All I know is that, well, my soul doesn't leave my body properly if it's attached to something in the physical world, and I'm attached to you. And I cannot die until you die, until I meet you one last time. I'm free now, we both are free.'

'So, now, we die?'

'I've waited so long for this moment…'

'But I don't want to leave you.'

'You can never leave me, you're always with me, in my heart, in my soul, and even death can't separate us.'

'I'm sorry I did this to you. I didn't want you marrying him. I had never forgotten you…'

'I know you hadn't its okay. I love you. Remember that night, when you told me you loved me…'

'How can I forget…it was the worst mistake I ever made.'

'I thought Lord Voldemort never made mistakes.'

'You know what I mean. And I wouldn't have killed you, it's just that…'

'It's just that I was a filthy little muggle. I know. How could you not kill me, or as you say stop that man from killing me, when everyone was watching? I know you punished him later, I saw you, it wasn't his fault, it was yours.'

'You know everything don't you?'

'Not yet.'

'Not yet?'

'It means we will, soon, I promise. You will realize that it doesn't matter anymore. You did wrong, but it's over. You're dead.'

'Half-dead.' Voldemort looked at his hands, 'I look human, more human than before. I don't feel dead, I expected something worse than this to happen.'

'This is bad then?'

'This is the most amazing thing that has ever happened to me.' He had never felt so alive (and he is dead, which is the stupid part).

'It gets better.'

'Time to go already?' Voldemort stroked her hair like he did when they were little. She came closer to him and held him.

'We'll go whenever you're ready.'

'When I told you I wasn't scared of death when I was with you, I wasn't lying.'

'I know, Tom.'

'So?'

'Are you ready?'

'I think so…'

'Then let's go for it.' Ayesha smiled and kissed his each of his fingers, 'I love you Tom, and death will not separate us. We will be one again; this was how it was supposed to be.'

I love you too, and, let's do this.' Voldemort said, stroking her hair

Ayesha pulled him down by his shirt and brought her lips to his. She was still barely half his height, and their kiss made them feel like they were still five and six, and holding on to each other, like their life depended upon it. 'I love-', said Voldemort, but was cut off by Ayesha who brought her finger to his lips, 'I know Tom. And I forgive you…'

She started to fade. Tom looked desperately at her and then at his own body, which had almost disappeared. 'I'm not scared, I love you, we're together now…'

And they were gone…

fin