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Dark Matter
Chapter Eight: Machinations
And when I'm brought forth, stranded, I'm broken, I am grazed
from a choice, a second class one, you are the living proof of phase.
And when your swollen heart, teased, fickle, and insane
makes the call to me, you're someone, you are the meaning of my name.
For You - Rae Morris
Some time later, after a long, hushed conversation over their table in The Leaky Cauldron, Cat stared at Luna, dumbfounded. "Luna...you've said a lot of insane things to me in the past, but this has to be the most insane."
Luna shrugged. "I know."
"Do you - do you still have it?" Cat whispered.
Pulling the long, thin chain from under her robes and lifting it over her head, Luna then laid the Time-Turner down in front of Cat. Cat reached for it, then hesitated.
"It's okay to touch it," Luna said. "He enchanted it to only work once anyway, and among a number of other things, he is a very talented wizard."
As Cat picked up the Time-Turner and inspected it in her hands, Luna breathed a deep sigh of relief. Telling someone what had happened, all that she had been through, felt much like a teapot releasing steam. That Cat seemed to believe her...even more so.
"So," Cat said, setting the Time-Turner back down on the table, "old pretty boy Riddle was an absolute wanker all along. I knew there was something off about him. A purity-obsessed Dark wizard and murderer bent on taking over the world, eh? Sounds about right for him." She gave a glum shake of her head. "And to think we've only just gotten past Grindelwald's nonsense. I wonder if I'll ever be considered an equal witch, even though I'm a Muggle-born? Doesn't sound like it, if you're saying the future is as bigoted as now."
Luna reached out and took Cat's hand. "There will always be people who hate, but there's also always people who know better. And in my time, Tom is defeated."
"How did you...fall in love with him, knowing what he is?" Cat asked. "When you came back in time the first time, you knew. But you spent time with him anyway. You fell in love with him. How?"
"Nobody is all good or all evil. There's a part of Tom still, something inside him that's good. That wants to be good."
Cat shook her head again, disbelief apparent on her face, then looked towards Violetta, who was keeping herself entertained with drawing colorful shapes on a piece of parchment. "Are you going to tell him about her?" Cat asked.
"I'm not sure. I'm not much accustomed to indecision, but I'm undecided about this. I want to. I feel he has a right to know, don't you?"
"Personally...I mean, do you want my true opinion?" Cat said. Once Luna had nodded, Cat continued, "I don't think he has much right to anything, if you want me to be honest. Luna, he's the reason your dad died. He's going to become the Darkest wizard the world has ever seen - worse than Grindelwald. And you're telling me there's a Prophecy about his child returning him to power? That's some scary stuff, Luna, do you really want to risk her over it? You're acting as though the person he is now isn't that person, but is that really true? Wouldn't the right thing to do at this point be to - to, you know...kill him? He's going to do so much damage to the world, even beyond just you and Violetta."
Luna's eyes fell to the table. She had expected this. It was the familiar argument Harry, Hermione, and the rest had made. And none of them were wrong. "I know. I appreciate your forthrightness with me. I'm sure you think I'm being delusional, perhaps even selfish. That very well might be true. I understand what you're saying, of course. This is why I haven't told him yet."
A heavy sigh escaped Cat, a scowl settling on her face. "I understand now why you Bonded me into secrecy before telling me any of this."
Luna met her friend's gaze with an apologetic look. "I had to do it. Meddling with time is a very dangerous business. It must remain as secret as possible."
"Listen. I'll be here for you no matter what. But just be careful. And consider telling Dumbledore what you've just told me. If anyone could intervene with Tom before all of that happens, it would be him."
"Thank you. I promise to be careful. I want to try first. I feel I must at least try," Luna said.
Cat looked towards Violetta again. "She looks more like me than you, with that black hair," Cat said with a smile. She ruffled Violetta's hair, and the little girl looked up from her drawing at her. "Hey, kid. I'm your Auntie Cat now, alright?"
Luna smiled and said, "Do you mind watching her for a moment? I want some pudding. I think I'll go order some."
Violetta's face lit up. "I want pudding!"
Laughing, Cat said, "Sure, sure. Get your pudding. Definitely your daughter, Luna. And I'll watch her anytime for you."
Over the next several days, Luna and Violetta fell into a routine. Lazarus hired Luna as temporary help in the pub during the day, serving customers when it wasn't so busy and Violetta could be downstairs with her. The wages were low, but they were enough for now. She and Violetta had visited Cat at her flat twice, and Luna enjoyed the company of a friend and familiar face.
She had wandered into Borgin and Burkes every day looking for Tom, but always found instead the greasy-haired shop owner, Burke. The first few times, Burke had simply given her a brief inspection. "He's not in," he would say. "Out on business. I'll let him know were looking after him."
But her most recent foray into the shop and proven even less welcoming. "For Merlin's sake, girl, he's not here!" Burke had hissed. "Can't you see I have a business to run without tending to my blasted shop assistant's admirers?" He then escorted and bowed her from his shop in a way that felt most insincere.
The following Saturday evening, after being in the past nearly a week, Luna played with Violetta in their room. Othello lay sprawled across the foot of the bed, his rumbling purr blending in with the noise of the busy pub's customers that carried up the stairs.
Violetta and Luna were blowing bubbles together, great purple bubbles that erupted into a cascade of disappearing silver glitter when they burst. Luna would blow a bubble, and Violetta would run here and there in the room, chasing the bubbles down to poke them with her fingers, laughing the entire time.
Luna set the bubbles aside and held her arms out to her daughter. "Come here, my love."
Violetta ran into her mother's arms, still laughing. Luna wrapped her daughter in an enormous hug, planting kisses all over the child's head. Violetta squealed with joy, thinking it a wonderful game, then she spotted her stuffed unicorn across the room.
"Tom!" Violetta said, and she held out a small hand towards the unicorn. To Luna's surprise, the toy lifted off the ground and flew into her daughter's hand as though summoned.
There was a knock on the door. Luna looked up. "Yes?"
"Luna," came Lazarus' reedy voice from the hall, "you have a visitor. He's being right insistent about seeing you, though I already told him twice you was busy with your girl and likely didn't need disturbance from some young lout who don't take 'no' for an answer."
Standing up at the irritation in his voice and leaving Violetta where she sat, Luna opened the door. Lazarus stood with his hands on his hips and a sullen look on his face. "Who is it, Lazarus?"
"Me," came a voice from the end of the dark hallway. Tom Riddle had just finished coming up the stairs and was striding down the hall with a smirk. As he came into the rectangle of light coming from the open door, Luna saw he was dressed in what she recognized as Muggle formal wear, including a black dinner jacket with tails, a white tie, and white gloves held in one hand. Even as he stepped around the clutter in the hall, he managed to do so with grace and his nose in the air.
Lazarus' face was murderous. "I told you to wait downstairs. Who do you think you are coming up here into my private spaces uninvited?"
"Apologies, but I'm in a bit of a hurry," Tom said with the briefest glance of acknowledgement at Lazarus. Standing next to Lazarus, he towered over the older man, exacerbated by Lazarus' stooped back and Tom's proud posture. Turning to Luna, Tom said, "I would like you to attend an event with me tonight."
Luna raised her eyebrows, her curiosity churning inside her. "You look very dashing. Such an aristocratic outfit suits you quite well. I'm sure your event will be just as spectacular, but I have my daughter."
"All right, lad, you heard the lady. Let's get goin'," Lazarus groused, attempting to shoo Tom down the hall with his hands.
Tom didn't budge. "Surely someone can watch her for a few hours."
"Don't look at me, I have a pub to run," Lazarus said, crossing his arms.
"Mummy?" Violetta said, appearing at Luna's side in the open doorway and tugging at her hand.
Both Tom and Luna looked down at the child.
Violetta turned her face towards Tom in the hall. "Hi," she said.
Tom blinked and frowned. "Hello," he muttered back, then averted his eyes, looking anywhere else. His eyes fell on the room behind Luna. "I see you still have that miserable beast."
Luna glanced back at Othello, who gave a lazy hiss at Tom from the bed without bothering to get up. "He's been one of my most loyal and brave companions," Luna replied.
"I'm sure," Tom said. "Are you going to come to the event or not? I haven't got all evening to stand here and discuss it with you."
She considered her options. She didn't want to turn him away after he had come to her of his own accord. This was what she'd wanted, after all - to spend time with him. "Well, I suppose my friend Cat might be able to watch Violetta for me."
Lazarus grunted. "You do what you want." He shuffled off down the hall and disappeared down the stairs.
"I'm guessing it's a very formal event by your clothes, though, and I have nothing as fine as that to wear," Luna said, her eyes lingering on Tom's jawline above his stiff collar.
Tom gave a casual flick of his wand towards the staircase without saying a word. A moment later, a black silk garment bag floated up the stairs, down the hall, careful to dodge the crates, then into Tom's outstretched hand. He pressed it into her hands.
"Ask Litner. Put this on. Be ready in…," he said, pausing to pull a pocket watch out of his vest pocket, "...ten minutes." With that, he strode back down the hall in the direction Lazarus had disappeared.
Tom stood leaning against the bar downstairs. The old barman wasn't taking his eyes off him, scowling. Tom ignored him. Lazarus was not fond of him, but Tom could not have cared less if he tried. Far more irritating at the moment was the fact that he had to don the ridiculous Muggle suit, something that was drawing more than enough attention from the rowdy weekend crowd of The White Wyvern.
In fact, Tom was quite sure this assignment was Burke's way of retaliating for asking him to act as a shield in regards to Luna's daily visits to the shop looking for Tom. His employer was a selfish, petty man who did not appreciate doing favors for anyone when it did not benefit himself, and Tom was no exception in regards to Burke's lack of generosity. Burke made his resentment at being asked to turn Luna away well known.
Following her most recent visit by the shop, during which Tom had ducked behind the shelves in order to remain out of view, Burke had turned on him the moment he had escorted Luna out. "Boy!" he had barked.
Tom had stepped from behind the shelves, a careful air of nonchalance gracing his features. "Yes?"
"I don't know what's going on with you and that girl, and quite frankly, I don't give a damn, but keep your nonsense out of my shop! Unless that girl has a dozen Dark artifacts that would make me in an easy thousand Galleons, I don't want to see her in here again! This is a respectable place of business!"
"Certainly," Tom had said, swallowing the acidic response that simmered on his tongue at his employer's disrespectful way of speaking to him.
"And I have a job for you…," Burke had said, the sleazy smile on his face alerting Tom to the fact that he would not enjoy the job he was being tasked with.
And, to be sure, dressing up in Muggle finery and degrading himself by attending an event with the wealthiest and worst of the Muggles was not an enjoyable affair, though it did provide him with an opportunity to attempt to better discern Luna's motivations. He was intrigued by her sudden appearance and persistence at seeing him, so very much like her initial appearance five years ago and her insistence on being his friend at that time. Not to mention, she had known things about him then that she shouldn't have, couldn't have known, something he had chosen to overlook in his foolishness of adolescence during the time they had spent together.
No matter. He had long ago sworn to never make the same mistake again. Still, he had been disturbed by the effect seeing her again had had on him. He had thought he would never see her again, and had preferred to deceive himself into pretending she had never existed at all. He had not slept that night after he had seen her, pacing the streets of London fueled by fury at both her and himself. So, when Burke had put him on this assignment, Tom had elected to bring Luna along, so that she could see him at work, and so that he could glean more information from her. He felt the witch would bother him less, stop eating away at the back of his mind, if he could just figure out what her secrets were and what relation they had to him.
Tom picked a bit of lint off his dinner jacket, then plucked at the absurd bow tie around his neck. He cheered himself with thoughts of future revenge on Burke when he no longer desired to be employed in the man's shop.
"What do you want with Luna, eh?" the barman asked, interrupting Tom's musings.
Tom shot a dismissive glance at the old man. "Is that really your business?"
"She's a good egg, she is. Deserves better than the likes of you. Sneakin' around and upsettin' her. She's got her little one to worry out, which what is much more important than you is."
"I assure you, barman, Luna Lovegood is a competent witch who can take care of herself without your assistance, regardless of whether or not she is 'a good egg'. And I have absolutely no intention of further darkening your doorstep after tonight, so why don't you mind your own business, as was previously suggested to you," Tom said.
"Hmph," Lazarus grumbled, but his surly expression dissipated a moment later as his eyes landed on something over Tom's shoulder, melting into the closest Tom had seen to a smile on the old man's face.
Turning around to see what the old man was looking at, Tom saw Luna coming down the stairs in the gown which he had brought for her, one hand picking up the skirt a few inches so that she did not trip as she came down the steps. Tom's smug look fell away at a rate similar to that at which Lazarus' sullenness had evaporated.
Tom may have resented being tasked with this particular job, but he was nothing if not a careful worker who would do the thing properly. He had prepared for the job, and among other things, he had studied photos of Muggle women in Paris at formal events. He had ordered Luna's gown to be made in a similar style: sleeveless; a sweetheart neckline; a fitted bodice; a full skirt shaped with tulle, pinned and draped artfully in vogue with the highest of Muggle fashion. He had diverged from the Parisian women's gowns in color alone. While all the Parisian women had been in dresses of various pretty pastels, he had requested Luna's to be made in the deepest emerald silk. She had pinned the left side of her hair up with a sparkling, silver comb, the rest coming down around her shoulders in smooth waves.
Tom was halfway across the pub towards the stairs before realizing what he was doing and coming to a stop. He glanced around to see if anyone had noticed, but each and every pub patron's eyes were on Luna as well, the room quieter than it had been a moment before.
As Luna reached the bottom of the staircase, she turned her eyes on him with a benign smile. "I used Floo powder to take Violetta to Cat's flat, and she agreed to watch Violetta for the evening. She did wish for me to tell you that you're a slimy git, and also that she's been practicing her Stinging Hexes." Luna continued to smile at Tom as though she didn't realize she had passed along a quite insulting message, then she held out the skirt of her gown. "Did I do all right? I haven't been to a great many formal events, I'm afraid. I don't have extensive experience with dressing appropriately for such an occasion, certainly not one put on by Muggles."
"You…," Tom began, then lost the thread of what he was going to say.
"You look downright stunning, Luna," came Lazarus' voice behind him. "Like a right lady. And I'll say it, since your gentleman friend here seems unable to do so properly."
The smile on Luna's face grew, inducing warm laugh lines around her eyes. "Why, thank you, Lazarus, you are most kind." She offered the aged barman a small curtsy, then returned her gaze to Tom. "This dress is very beautiful. Thank you for getting it for me. Although it does sort of strangle the air out of one's lungs a bit."
Finding his voice, though it sounded far too stiff for his liking, Tom said, "It's what the idiot Muggle women wear in Paris; it's considered fashionable for them to not be able to breathe, I suppose." Glancing at his pocket watch again, he said, "We need to get going. We can't be late, or we won't be seated." Tom strode the last few steps across the room to Luna. He offered her his arm. "We will Apparate there."
Luna nodded. "I love a good adventure," she whispered to him conspiratorially, then placed her hand in the crook of his elbow, and the two of them disappeared with a loud crack.
