Chapter 10

Michelle hadn't spoken to Tom for a whole week. She was really beginning to worry. But she had a plan. She went down to Hogsmeade with Kelly, Regina and Magdalene for a shopping trip, and while there, she commissioned a piece of jewelry. A locket very much like her own, though she asked the jeweler to make it more masculine, with the same enchanted picture. But the inscription was personalized. She had spent lots of time deciding on a message, and ended up with "You are my life, I am your soul, we'll be together wherever we go." It was cheesy, but Michelle felt that it conveyed her feelings accurately. Plus it rhymed, which was always romantic.

Michelle had enlisted Kelly's help to get the locket into Tom's room.

"Alright, Meech. This is it. Are you sure you're ready?" Kelly's eyes were serious.

"All we have to do is knock on the door. You said that Zane's going to let us in."

"Well…yeah, but…in order to get to the dungeons undetected, we're going to have to be agile, stealthy, and very quick."

"It's not after curfew, though. And you're a prefect, so it doesn't matter if we're caught."

"You take the fun out of everything," Kelly rolled her eyes. The two made their way toward the dungeons, Michelle striding normally, Kelly crouching and darting through the hallways.

They arrived in the Slytherin common room and Michelle snuck into the boy's dorm. She slid the locket, in its box, under Tom's pillow, and left.

The next day, Michelle was packed for a short visit home over a weekend break. She knew Tom would be staying at Hogwarts, and would have loved to bring him with her to meet her family, but as her parents and sister were muggles, she didn't want Tom to feel out of his element.

"Tom?" Michelle knocked on his door.

He answered, "Yeah?" Michelle walked in.

"I'm leaving in a few minutes."

"I see."

"I'll be back Sunday night."

"Fine."

"Call me? I know you don't like muggle things, but the headmaster has a phone in his office. Here's my home number," she handed Tom a piece of paper.

"Yeah, I'll do that." Tom reached out and hugged Michelle tightly. "I love you, Michelle," he whispered.

"I love you too," Michelle nestled into the hug, burying her face in his chest.

Michelle left silently, her hand lingering in Tom's grasp for as long as possible.

Michelle had arrived in her hometown of Oxford, and had decided to meet with some of her muggle friends at a downtown café. They had spent several hours catching up, enjoying the beautiful weather, but now it was time to part. Michelle lived only four blocks away, so she had opted to walk. She found herself two blocks away from her house when footsteps echoed behind her.

She turned to see a tall man walking in her direction. He wore dark clothes and his face was shadowed. "Can I help you?" Michelle's voice wavered unconsciously. The streetlight caught the chain of Michelle's locket, causing it to twinkle in the dark, and the man's arm moved.

A single shot.

Michelle fell to the ground, gasping for air as a searing pain spread through her body. Yells were heard as the man, who had moved forward, reached out and grabbed Michelle's purse. Strangers ran out of their houses as the man ran off. Michelle reached to her chest, grabbing at her locket.

"To…"

The phone was ringing.

"Hello?" Tom heard from the other end, a woman's voice choked with tears.

"Is Michelle home?" Sobbing. "Ma'am?" There was a clatter as Michelle's mother dropped the phone. She had found out minutes earlier that her daughter was dead, and could not handle the explanation that she would have to give.

Tom hung up the phone and stormed to his room. Michelle, the one person that he had ever loved, had been murdered by a muggle. Tom grabbed his pillow and, screaming, chucked it across the room, knocking over another boy's alarm clock. He turned back to his bed, clutching his head, throwing himself down. He lay there, sobbing, before looking up to see a small black box sitting in front of him. He reached out with a shaking hand and took it, opening it slowly. He pulled the locket out of the box and opened it.

"You are my life, I am your soul, we'll be together wherever we go." Tom collapsed forward, crying.

. . .

Back in Oxford, tucked away in a small evidence bag, Michelle's locket sat. The chain was intact, but the locket itself was broken. The enchanted picture was split with almost poetic precision, down the middle, and the magical images of Tom and Michelle were separated, and Michelle lay peacefully on the shore of the Black Lake, while Tom was laying, his head in his hands, his chest heaving with silent tears. The half of the locket which held the inscription was also broken. The only readable part of it, "we are together".

. . .

"Michelle…you are my soul," Tom whispered. He was cloaked in black, surrounded by his followers. In his left hand he clutched his locket. "Avada kedavra."

AN: I hope you guys liked it. I know it was pretty evil of me to end it like this, but Tom did have to become Voldemort…please review and let me know what you think!!