To Have Faith
Prologue - The beginning and ending
SUMMARY: Tom hated everyone. And everyone hated Tom. The same held true for one peculiar Ravenclaw who seems to stare into his soul. Would she be able to pull Tom away from his fate? Or will they both succumb to the sweet lure of Darkness? Timetravel, parseltongue, dark magic. Grey!Luna
DISCLAIMER: Harry Potter belongs to JK Rowling. I own nothing save this fanfiction's plot and some OC characters.
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1936, Wool's Orphanage
It was a few hours after midnight. Down the dark empty corridors, Tom Riddle crept silently for a midnight snack in the grimy orphanage kitchen which had seen better days. He wrinkled his nose in disgust of the familiar stench of gruel that had long been embedded onto the kitchen walls.
Quick fleeting feet carried Tom to the locked door and with a quick hand gesture, the lock clicked and the door swung open. He took a few steps into the cold tiled floor and he wandlessly Summoned a bowl of biscuits from a shelf. With the bowl tucked protectively under his arm, Tom was on his way back to his room when a sharp knock reverberated down the hall. The peculiar sound startled the thieving boy who flinched violently.
Curiosity overwhelmed reasoning, as Tom hid underneath a wooden table where orphans often ate their meals. Questions shot through his head as he fixed his gaze in the direction where the sound was coming from.
It came down the long windy hall which lead to the entrance door. The splintered wood almost fell apart at another series of knocks. Tom held his breath as the obvious realisation struck him. There was someone at the orphanage door.
Mrs Cole was a very light sleeper. Tom had discovered that the hard way on a past journey to the kitchen. So it was with great confusion that nobody had answered the door after a few minutes. The empty hall would have amplified any sound about five times.
In his wait, Tom slid his hand into his bowl and devoured a crispy sugar-coated biscuit. He savoured the sweet taste of the delicacy as it slid down his throat. A nice refreshment from the sour gruel that he was forced to eat every day.
After what seemed like eternity and four biscuits later, the telltale footsteps of the orphanage matron hurried down. Tom shrunk back further underneath the table to avoid being caught but he left enough room to observe the door and the old lady's reaction.
The loud knocks had resumed as Mrs Cole walked up to the front door and flung it open. The little-used door creaked with protest and swung open to reveal a small child, who must have been more than ten years old, standing out in the pouring rain. Thunder echoed outside as the rain that accompanied it begun rushing into the building.
Tom risked a few moments of capture as his poked his head out to take a better look at the stranger. His eyes fell on a girl with dirty blond hair and stormy grey eyes. She was draped in a long cloak which was a few sizes too big for her. Her face was dirty and ashen and when Tom strained his eyes, he could make out tear streaks making pathways through the grime. He would have sneered at the sign of weakness when he caught another startling aspect of the girl. She seemed to be coated in a layer of blood.
Mrs Cole was understandably shocked at the sight but was spared any words as the girl's hollow yet clear voice such rang out eerily through the orphanage. Her voice was one which seemed too old and experienced for her age and it chilled Tom to the bone. And her eyes were not focused on Mrs Cole – they were latched directly onto Tom's.
"My parents are dead. They died in war."
As if on cue, a brilliant flash of lighting filled the scene as Tom caught a flicker of change in the girl's irises. They were blood red. He blinked and rubbed his eyes with alarm and inwardly sighed in relief as he saw the ordinary grey resumed its place in her eyes. Perhaps it was only a trick of light.
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1998, Hogwarts grounds
Luna Lovegood screamed as she saw the infamous jet of green light spiral toward one particular emerald-eyed boy. The Killing Curse hit him squarely in the chest and the force made him collapse onto the battleground. At the same time a sinister hissing laugh filled the air. The tense atmosphere of the battle tightened as everyone focused their eyes on the lifeless body of Harry Potter.
"Your so-called saviour is NO MORE!" Lord Voldemort declared with satisfaction to the world as he levitated the dead body up into the air for all to see. A few gasps and shrieks erupted.
As the Dark Lord's voice died down, so did many hopes of the Light. Everyone watched with fear and hopelessness as the body was mockingly paraded around the air. Both the Order of the Phoenix and Aurors alike began to fight with desperation against the gleeful Death Eaters who resumed the fight with renewed vigour.
Amongst the blood and heat of the battle, many witches and wizards tried to run to get to the body of their saviour. But Voldemort held his ground. The man seemed almost bored as he floated Harry's dangling body above their heads. A defensive field of magic surrounded him as he did so, assuring him protection from any angry avengers.
Ron Weasley cried out as he brandished his wand, "IT ISN'T OVER!" With livid tears streaking down his face, the red-headed boy ran in full speed toward the laughing Voldemort only to be thrown back violently by the magical field.
Luna was brought out of her shock as a jet of yellow light came whizzing past her head. She dodged the attack and flicked the Blood Boiling Curse back in retaliation. The anguished scream of a Death Eater joined the howls and yells in the air, confirming her that her attack was successful. She whirled around to attack another Death Eater and as almost slipped on the blood stained ground.
Even though Harry Potter was dead, the battle continued until the early hours of midnight but even a blind man would have been able to see that the Light were fighting a losing battle - not that there even were a shortage of blind people. The atmosphere reeked of death and curses and hexes continued to spring back and forth. Voldemort had glided lazily above the battle and shot numerous killing curses around. Bodies of witches and wizards were strewn anywhere he went and occasionally a Crucioed scream would fill the air.
All the while, the lifeless body of Harry Potter dangled above in the sky.
Luna was exhausted to the point of collapse. The only thing holding her up was sheer willpower and determination to bring as many people down with her as possible. Her body wracked uncontrollably with the after effects of the Cruciatus Curse and blood was seeping freely out of a large gash in her neck. A group of Death Eaters were in front her and they simultaneously fired curse after curse at her.
She wielded two wands in both hands as she randomly fired the Killing Curse around herself, not having any particular target in mind. Any Auror, Professor or Hogwarts student were either dead of out of her reach. It was pure luck that Luna was still alive and kicking. Or maybe enemies had under estimated her. Either way, it was clear that Luna would not make it out of battle alive.
A stray Killing Curse flew in her direction and she jumped out of the way into the path of another. This one was sent by none other than Voldemort himself. Apparently, he had finally found the time to come and finish her off.
Time seemed to slow down as Luna watched the Avada Kedavra sail towards her. She knew it would be her last living moment as she aimed her wand into curse and fired the first thing that came to her mind.
"REDUCTO!"
To the utter shock of Luna and everyone around her, the Reductor Curse sped into the green light with deadly accuracy and as it collided, a shower of red sparks exploded, blinding all the occupants of the battle.
And then Luna knew no more.
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When she came to, the first thing she noticed was a light drizzle soaking her robes. Eyelids fluttered open as her eyes flickered about. She was in an abandoned unfamiliar park. In the distance, there were rusty swings and a slide which was falling apart. Darkness had fallen and the night sky was littered with twinkling stars. Luna was in a spread-eagled position on the grass and she had no intention of getting up. She gazed up at the sky and cracked a small smile, after the events of the battle, simply staring at stars was a pure joy. Speaking of the battle...
Luna blinked as she wondered where she was. The first thought that fleeted into her mind was, 'Am I dead?' followed by, 'Is this what death feels like?'
A soft hoot reached her ears as a reddish brown owl fluttered towards her nearby.
"A beautiful night, is it not?" It hooted.
Luna wasn't at all surprised at the fact that she could understand what the bird was saying. It was a little known fact that the girl could speak with birds, just as Harry could speak with snakes. Somewhere down the Lovegood ancestry was the Ravenclaws who were all able to speak Avian Tongue. The gift died down as time progressed and was reawakened by Luna. Each of the four founders could speak in the language of their chosen mascot. Godric could speak with lions and other felines. Helga could speak to badgers and weasels.
"You've been sleeping a long time," a high trill echoed.
Luna didn't say anything, though she wondered if dead people were greeted by owls.
"You've been sleeping a long time."
Luna didn't say anything, though she wondered if it was normal for dead people were greeted by owls.
"You're not dead."
That was a surprise. Luna blinked with disbelief at the comment. For the first time, she replied, "How can I not be?"
The sound of sweet laughter answered her question. The owl hopped beside Luna and gazed into her eyes.
"Don't you recognise me?" It said.
Before Luna could say anything, a rush of fire burst out from the owl and faded away to reveal a humoured phoenix.
"Fawkes." Luna stated with a neutral voice, not surprised. Hardly anything surprised her anymore.
Said phoenix bobbed her head.
"I healed you," It trilled, apparently excited for some reason. "And you've gone back in time."
"Really?" Luna asked with such casualty that she may have been asking about the weather. The girl believed the phoenix. What reason would it have to lie to her?
"Yes. Do you know what the killing curse does?"
"It takes the victim's life and damages the caster's soul," Luna responded, unsure of what Fawkes was getting at. Her answer wasn't one gained from reading a textbook, but an answer gained from experience.
"Indeed. The killing curse works by sacrificing a piece of the castor's soul and using it as energy and fuel. The curse then kills the victim by speeding up the victim's magical core to the point of death." Fawkes informed her. "And do you know what a Reductor Curse does?"
"It reverses the target. For example, when used on an object, it reverses the object - that is - the object's existence, therefore it destroys it. But it is unlike the Banishing Charm. A Reductor Curse does not have enough magical energy to completely destroy an object but damages it enough to be unusable."
"Good answer. But you're missing an important piece of information, dear. A Reductor Curse can not only reverse objects, but it can also reverse spells. In your case, it reversed the Killing Curse. Instead of having your magical core sped up, it didn't affect it at all."
"The reverse of a magical core... it anything not a magical core. It isn't its existence right?"
"That's right. And so, 'anything not a magical core' is the entire universe. The reverse of speeding things up, is rewinding everything. So the universe was rewinded," Fawkes said matter-of-factly.
"I wasn't aware magic could do such a thing. And yet somehow it does make sense." At least it would have made sense to Luna - anybody else would have been utterly confused.
"So all in all you are back in time. Specifically, 1936. But while your magical core is the same, your body is not."
"Hmm, I was wondering about that. My body isn't my magical core. Then why wasn't it rewinded as well?"
"Your magical core saved it." Fawkes said simply. "Think of it as a magical defence mechanism. It saved the state of your body, but it was rewinded slightly though."
"It is?" Luna sat up from the grass and rested her eyes upon herself. Everything was smaller than she remembered.
"You are a child. Ten years old, to be exact."
"Hmm, I miss being a ten year old. This isn't too bad." Luna said dreamily. She crossed her legs and peered into Fawkes' ruby coloured eyes.
"And before I forget, I must tell you that the fate of the Wizarding world is now in your hands. Much like yourself, the Dark Lord you once knew is a ten year old. It is up to you to change Tom Riddle." With that last comment, Fawkes burst into fire. The light rain pour quickly put out the fire, leaving nothing but soggy ash.
Dazed but determined, Luna shakily stood up from the park and staggered away, armed with new knowledge.
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What do you think? Do you like Fawkes explanation? How do you think little Tom will react to Luna? Leave your thoughts in a review!
Thanks for reading.