Once again Tom was standing in the basement of Malfoy Manor, eying the dead body that lay sprawled on the floor in the cell before him, a frown on his face. The curse was definitely still not working the way he wanted it to. He had already improved it a lot, but there remained far too many flaws. Tom pursed his lips. He had spent so many hours studying the notes and reading additional books and yet he was obviously missing some crucial details. It was frustrating. He threw a last disdainful glance at the corpse. Then he waved his wand and cleared the cell before he turned around and walked up the stairs.

When he left Malfoy Manor, a cold November breeze hit his face, accompanied by the first drops of rain. Tom pulled up the hood of his cloak and strode along the driveway. With a casual flick of his wrist he stopped his clothes from getting soaked and continued down the alley, his hands buried deep in his pockets. He inhaled deeply, relishing the cool fresh air, his mind still processing the outcome of today's experiments. The rain was getting stronger but he kept walking even though he had no idea where he was headed, realizing that he didn't know the surroundings due to the fact that he usually just disapparated from the manor. There was something relaxing about walking along the deserted alley in the pouring rain.

Tom wondered whether he should tell Cassiopeia about his experiments. Maybe she would come up with an idea why the curse wasn't working the way he wanted it to. Sometimes it was useful to look at things from another perspective and there was no doubt that in many ways Cassiopeia thought differently about things than he did. Tom pulled his cloak closer around himself and apparated to Houlton Manor.

When Tom entered the living room, he stopped in the doorway. Cassiopeia was sitting at the piano, playing a tune. Tom listened for a while before he slowly walked closer.

"I never heard you play before."

Cassiopeia didn't turn around. "I haven't played in a long time. My mother used to play when I was a child."

Tom strode over to Cassiopeia and leaned against the piano, watching her closely.

"I know how your mother died," he said abruptly. He saw Cassiopeia tense.

"So do I," she replied tonelessly.

A look of surprise crossed Tom's features. "You know? But how?" He eyed her curiously. After all, he had only found out what had happened after he had cast the curse on that girl in Mafoy's basement, thereby killing her. Cassiopeia certainly had not tried the curse.

Cassiopeia pursed her lips. "Didn't I tell you? I found her corpse. Or rather the corpse of a woman at the end of her days. She hardly resembled my mother anymore." Tom didn't miss the bitterness in her voice and he quirked an eyebrow. Cassiopeia kept her gaze at the piano's keyboard. "Back then I didn't understand what I had seen but I realized what had happened when I saw her notes the other day."

Involuntarily Tom remembered the withered features of the young woman in Malfoy's cells so many weeks ago. It had been a strange sight. He could vividly imagine seven year old Cassiopeia stumbling over her dead mother, looking nothing like the woman she had known her whole life. Tom narrowed his eyes. For someone like Cassiopeia, someone so emotional, that had doubtlessly been a devastating experience.

Tom grimaced. It hadn't escaped his notice that Cassiopeia tended to react unusually sensitive to the subject of her mother's last field of research. He was aware that she had always been ambivalent about his unyielding desire for immortality. Unfortunately, her mother's untimely death due to exactly the same obsession hadn't helped his cause in the least. Cassiopeia seemed more reluctant than ever to even consider following him in his quest for eternal life.

Tom quickly decided to abandon his original intention of telling her about his experiments at Malfoy Manor. There was no need for her to know as long as he had not yet succeeded in making the curse work the way it was supposed to and he could just as well figure out how to make it work without her help. He could tell her when the time came.

Cassiopeia turned to look at him. "So what do you want? I'm sure you didn't come to listen to me playing the piano."

Tom shrugged. "I just came here. Nothing in particular."

A small smile flickered across Cassiopeia's face. "You never grow tired of lying, do you?"

Tom's lips twitched into a smirk. "I'm still waiting for the one lie you're finally going to buy."

"You used to try harder though," Cassiopeia stated drily.

"I'll remember that next time." Tom's voice was teasing.

Cassiopeia looked into his eyes and wondered what he was thinking and why he had come in the first place. She had had the impression that he was up to something for a while now. He had spent hours and hours in her mother's study. She doubted that her mother had known anything about immortality that Tom didn't. Besides he had his Horcruxes. He didn't need anything more. And still he kept returning to the study. Cassiopeia frowned. It unnerved her that she couldn't place his intentions. She knew from experience that it was always dangerous to not foresee what he was aiming at.

Again, as so many times before, Tom seemed to be guessing her thoughts. A grin spread across his face. "I prefer being unpredictable. And you know, it's really reassuring that at least this still works with you, at least sometimes."

His gaze locked with hers, his dark eyes sparkling mischievously. "Why don't you believe I just came here to see you?" He saw that she was about to retort something and quickly put his finger on her lips. "No, don't say I don't do something like that. Don't say I'm not like that. Let's just pretend I were."

Cassiopeia looked back into his eyes and felt herself give in. After all, there was no point in arguing. She could just as well take advantage of his presence and play along. She slowly got up and leaned closer to him, whispering, "I've been waiting for you the whole day."

He smirked and closed the remaining distance between them. "So here I am."

Author's note: So here's another chapter :-) It's a little shorter than the others but I thought I'd post it nonetheless...hope you enjoy! Thanks for reading!!