I am conscious, yet I do not have the strength to open my eyes. I lay on the ground, everyone standing above me. Their concerned voices reach my ears, but I do not move a muscle. I asked Dumbledore to let me see my parents, had wanted it so badly, but seeing them standing there I know I am not ready. What do I do? How do I get out of this? My mind is a roller coaster of questions and emotions. They are here, just a hair's breath away from me and I have never been so scared. Someone touches my cheek softly, his breath tickling my skin, and I am aware that Snape is very close. This eases my fears somewhat, but in the next breath I take the fear ceases me again.
The smell of lilac and jasmine overtake my senses and I cannot help but whimper. It is in this small sound that I can no longer hide anymore. They all know that I am awake, yet I cannot force my eyes open. I cannot force myself to look at the two people I call my parents. No amount of telling myself that this world is different will help me. I am trapped in a sea of fear and hurt and I am drowning. The others were easier to understand and accept that they are different in this world, but the two people standing so close to my prone body have hurt me more than any others. I do not know how to come to terms with the fact that they are not those people…those horrible people.
"Aileen," my mother calls softly.
The moment the words fall over me like a soft blanket my face crumbles. With just the use of my name, I hear such love and devotion. Those things are never given to me by them in the old world. Had they ever said a decent word to me? I cannot remember.
"Why is she not waking?" This time, the voice speaking is my father. It causes a ripple of fear to course through my veins. I try and remember what Dumbledore said, these people are not who I remember, but my mind refuses to work with me. I cannot help the memory of them torturing me as it plays over and over like a broken record in my mind. It is in this thought that I jump to my feet and back away from the group.
My parents look at me with wide, confused eyes, but Dumbledore and Snape show nothing but understanding. I do not know what to do, so I back away from them, my breath coming out in gasps. Finally, I allow myself to look upon my parents with all of my attention. Behind the concern and confusion I see a look of love as they stare at their daughter. My father is as handsome as my mother is beautiful and the site of them takes my breath away. Neither of them look as I remember. My father's left arm is wrapped around my mother as his other hand reaches out to me. I take a step back, my body shaking.
"Aileen, sweetheart, what's wrong?" he asks me. His voice engulfs my ears, causing me to whimper again. I do not recognize his voice, not the way it plays in my mind. In my memory, his voice is high pitch, almost like nails on a chalkboard, but here he sounds deeper…softer.
Both of them take a step towards me and I instinctively take a step away from them, as if we are caught in a dance.
"Father, what is the meaning of this?" Tom Riddle asks. He turns towards Dumbledore at the same time as I do. To hear him being called father by the man that I call father is surreal. Why would he not call him father? I hand delivered him to Dumbledore for the man to raise.
"Ohhh…," I mumble, feeling the world around me tilt again. I am about to faint for the second time and I lean forward, pulling my face close to my knees. No, this is too much. I cannot even begin to deal with what is transpiring here. Those people…my parents…need to leave. I must get away from them before I lose all sanity, or what little I have left.
"Aileen, look at me." This time Snape's voice floats to my foggy mind and I lift my head just enough to look at him. His eyes show his concern and he takes a step towards me. He must have seen something in the look in my eyes. He stops and raises his hand towards me. "It's me," he whispers, "I am not going to hurt you."
"What is going on here?!" my mother shouts, fear resounding in her words. The shout is enough to break my contact with Snape and I turn my wide eyes back to her. She steps in front of Snape, as if to come towards me. Suddenly, her features change. The beautiful woman no longer stands before me, but is replaced by a hideous figure. Her hair is stringy and matted in her face and when she opens her mouth her teeth are dry and black. This is the woman I remember. This is the woman that tortured me. Beside her, I look upon my father. As with my mother, his features begin to change as well. Gone is the handsome face of Tom Riddle. In his place is a face that haunts me to the very core of my being. His dark hair fades to nothing but a bald head. His eyes turn snake-like as his nose sinks into his face, just two slits for nostrils remain. His skin turns a sickly gray. The clothes on his back melt into a long, black robe. Voldemort stands before me.
What is happening? This never happened with the others. They never changed before my eyes, yet my parents are doing just that. I swallow the scream tearing its way up my throat. Is Death playing some sick joke on me? No, that does not make sense. He wants me to see this world for what it is now, what my sacrifice bought and paid for, so I can be torn away from it. No, this is my doing. This is my fragile mind breaking in the presence of the two people who caused me the most pain.
I beg myself to get it together, to remember that everything is changed. I beg my mind to stay together, to not break, but the more time passes with my parents standing before me as I remember them…cruel and hideous…the more I feel myself slipping further and further into paralyzing fear.
In one swift move I turn away from them all and rip the door open. My legs feel like jelly, but I push forward, needing as much distance between me and my parents as I can get. I hear them screaming my name, as if in a choral ensemble, they all call to me. I ignore them, running faster through the quiet halls of Hogwarts. I need air, space, to think.
Tearing through the doors, I feel the cool air of the night hit my face. It is in this moment I realize that I am sobbing. My face is wet with large tears, as my vision blurs. I keep running forward. I am not sure where I am going, but I see the Quidditch Pitch ahead of me and that is as good enough a place as any. Behind me there are footsteps, but I do not slow. They will gain on me, I know this, but I cannot stop at their calls.
As I enter the Quidditch Pitch, the dark silent arena greets me. I question why I wanted to come to this place the moment I realize I am trapped. There is no way out but for the way I came in and that way is blocked.
Suddenly, something begins to grow around me. I watch the silver light outrun me and fall into place all around me. I come to a skidding halt as I reach out and touch the light. It vibrates underneath my skin, but does not evaporate. The silver light shines all around me, from my feet to my head. Shaped like a dome, I turn to see that I am engulfed in the silver light like a prison cell. But I am not alone.
"Aileen, you must stop this."
My father stands before me…no, Voldemort stands before me. He has encased me inside the silver dome…with himself. Behind him, I see my mother, Dumbledore and Snape beating upon the dome, yet It does not break. Their mouths are open, yet their voices are silenced. He has trapped me in a cocoon without any way out.
I reach for my wand, pointing it towards him. His eyes grow wide in disbelief, but I do not drop my wand. "Aileen," he says softly.
"Let me go," I cry out, my sobs intensify. "Just let me go and do not hurt me."
He moves towards me, yet my words stop him in his tracks. As if his body weighs too much for his legs to hold up, he slowly falls to his knees. Without thinking, I follow him. Now we are both eye to eye. His wand is out, shaking slightly in his hand. Will he cut me down, show his true colors? Will he murder me in front of Dumbledore…in front of Snape? I look towards Snape. He cannot help me, it is as plain as day on his face. He knows this. The seven days on my life are not up, but perhaps Death has found this a better way for me to die. Perhaps this is his revenge, and oh how sweet it must taste to him.
"Aileen, I want you to look at me," Voldemort whispered.
As much as I do not want to, I turn my eyes to meet his snake-like orbs. At first, I see nothing but red and death, but something begins to burn brightly within them. "I do not understand what is going on here, but I would never hurt you. Not with any ounce of my being would I cause you any pain."
His words make me gape at him. Those are not the words of Voldemort, but of Tom Riddle. Remember, Aileen, remember what you have done for them…for all of them. Those words play over and over in my mind as I continue to stare at the man sitting across from me.
"Do you remember the story I like to tell you of when you were born?" he asks me, his voice cracking. How odd it was to see Voldemort in such a state. It did not make sense. It did not feel right. My broken mind tries to make sense of his words and actions as he continues, but I am coming up short. "When they laid you in my arms, wiggling and screaming at the top of your lungs, I could do nothing but stare. I was scared to death and yet I had never felt so alive."
While he talks, his features begin to change. I watch in awe as his black hair grows back on his head. I watch in awe as his eyes turn back to deep blue. "I swore to you, to only you, from that day forward I would give my life to protect you if I had to. In some way, a way I cannot explain, you saved me. By coming into my life you saved me." The two slits of his nostrils grows into a perfectly shaped nose. The paleness of his skin begins to turn a darker, healthier look. Voldemort disappears from my view and in his place sits the man I call my father…Tom Riddle. Voldemort never existed in this world, for my father never ripped his soul apart. Harry defeated Voldemort, setting my father free. I saved him, so he could have a chance to live the life he was robbed of.
My father reaches his hand out towards me. I watch him, not breathing, as I lower my wand. He hand comes towards me, so very slowly. "Whatever has happened, we will get through it together like we have always gotten through everything before. Tell me you are still in there. Tell me my little girl is still there." He is confused about what is happening, I can hear it so well, underneath the fear and pain. "Aileen, whatever happened to you when you fell in that cave we can fix it. You and me," he whispers.
Dumbledore must have told him some of what has happened. How much of it has he told, I wonder? "He told you?" I whisper, a small whimper escaping my throat.
"Only that you fell into a cave and something happened. He said all would be explained when we could sit down and talk. I—I was so afraid when we got the call, Aileen. Now, when I look upon you and see the fear in your eyes, fear directed at me, I am more afraid. You look…you look as if you do not recognize me".
I open my mouth to speak, but another whimper escapes me. The truth is that I do not recognize him. I do not know him and what I do remember of him scares me so.
"Aileen, do you recognize me?" His voice shakes as he asks. His eyes plead with me to say yes. "Do you remember who I am?"
I look away from him, down to my shaking hands. He should not be made to know the truth, to know what his life was like in the old world. I take a deep, long breath, wiping the tears from my cheeks.
"My name is Tom Riddle," he says, half kidding. If he knew how close to the truth he really was it would hurt him. His daughter did not know him, did not remember a life with him. I look up at him and his hand extends towards me. His soft looking skin is within reach and he waits for me to take his hand. "And I am the proudest father you will ever meet." These words hold no sarcasm behind them. He is not kidding as he says them. My heart sinks, bleeds, for the man in front of me and for my mother.
It is then that the dam in his eyes break and the tears freely fall down his face. I join him with my own tears and we cry as one. One is crying for the memories of a terrible life endured. Another cries for his daughter that looks upon him as if he is a stranger.
With all the strength that I have, pushing past the fear, I reach my shaking hand out towards his. In the moment our hands meet my mind is assaulted with scenes that I do not recognize. Birthdays, holidays, laughter and tears float through my mind like a whirlwind. I see the life I have in this world with my father and mother. Through his touch I see all that I have in this world. All that he and my mother have given me and I cry out in heartache that I never had the chance to enjoy it. What he shows me is a life I always wanted with them.
My father cries out, as if in pain. As the images fill my mind, I stare at him. His eyes are wide and unseeing. His mouth open in a silent scream. Panic overtakes me as I fear what is happening to him is the reverse of what is happening to me. If I am able to see the life I have now, he is able to see the life he had before.
As a memory of a mansion on top of a hill assaults my mind, I hear him scream. His vice grip refuses to let me go and I cannot help but scream with him as I know what it is he sees. Voldemort. No, no, no…this cannot be happening. This never happened with Snape, Harry or anyone else from the old world. Why him?
I turn my fearful eyes towards Dumbledore, who looks at me helplessly. Does he know what is happening? I continue to scream, along with my father, trapped in a hellish nightmare. The silver dome around us begins to shake until it shatters into millions of tiny pieces. My father, too lost in visions, cannot hold it together any longer. The moment it dissipates, Dumbledore, Snape and my mother run towards us.
Dumbledore goes to my father, falling to his knees beside the still screaming man. Snape runs to me, engulfing me in his arms. Both men, together, begin to pry our hands free. At first, they are unsuccessful, as if some invisible force glues our hands as one. Snape grunts in my ear, yelling at Dumbledore to pull harder. My mother is standing in shock, her eyes wide and her mouth agape. She looks from her husband to her daughter, helpless to what is taking place.
"Come on!" Snape screams in frustration.
Suddenly, the invisible force holding me to my father releases its hold and Snape and I fall back. He breaks my fall with a loud "oomph". I do not move for a few seconds, drained of all energy. The memories in my mind settle like a wave breaking upon the shore. No one speaks for what feels like an eternity. Perhaps no one knows what to say. Finally, it is my father who breaks the silence.
"What—no," he groans. "I—I, what was that!"
Dumbledore tries to sooth him, trying to calm him, but there is no calming a man who saw the monster he was at one time. "Tom, look at me," Dumbledore says softly.
My father's fearful eyes look upon the man that raised him, his face flushed and drawn. The color is drained from his face, leaving him pale and sickly looking. My mother stands above him, her hands over his mouth as if to keep in a scream of confusion.
I cling to Snape, begging for his warmth and strength. He caresses my hair, talking softly to keep me calm. I am thankful he is here with me, holding me.
"I would never hurt them!" my father is screaming. "I would never hurt my family! I would never hurt my friends!" He is hysterical.
"No, you would never do that, Tom. What you were shown is not the person you are. I will explain everything, but I need you to calm down and listen to me carefully. The things I will share with you, with all of you, will not be easy to hear, but I need you to understand that it is not who you are! That…creature is not who you are."
"Vol—Voldemort," my father whispers.
I close my eyes, feeling my stomach flip as the name hangs in the air around us.
"He does not exist, never did in this life, Tom. You are safe." Dumbledore says gently, patting his son's arm.
"Then why do I hear him in my head? Why do I hear him speaking to me now?" My father whispers.
Every pair of eyes stare, wide eyed, at my father as he grabs his head and screams.