It was a cold December day a few weeks later when Tom stepped out of his lair, pulling his cloak tighter around himself. He walked down the driveway that had once led visitors from the gates up to Riddle Manor. Nowadays it was magically enchanted to painfully poison whoever set foot on the property without Tom's permission. The snow crunched under Tom's boots as he strode towards the gates but he didn't pay attention. With a flick of his wrist the gates creaked open and he turned on the main road leading to the Gaunt's shack. The street was empty. Muggles mainly avoided this part of Little Hangleton where there were happening so many strange and creepy things. A smile crossed Tom's features. He had not yet completely succeeded in ending the secrecy of the wizarding world. But at least here the Muggles were subconsciously growing more and more aware of the existence of a lot of things they couldn't quite explain.

When he reached the old shack, he eyed the building contemptuously. The Gaunts had been the last living descendants of the great Salazar Slytherin and yet they had lived in the dirtiest and most shabby cottage he had ever seen. Involuntarily he remembered Cassiopeia's words from that night he had tried, and failed, so hard to forget. 'Probably your father's blood is the only reason why your mind is not as deranged as your uncle's.' The words were still ringing in his head. When the initial shock of all the things she had thrown at him that night had finally worn off these words had kept coming back to him. Was it actually true? Was his father's blood, this disgusting, filthy, tainted Muggle blood, the only reason why he had not ended up like his uncle and grandfather, insanely living in the dirt, not being able to say a coherent English sentence, only madly talking to snakes? He vehemently detested the idea that he might owe anything to this scum that had happened to be his father, worst of all his sanity.

Tom clenched his jaw and kicked the door open. The snake that had been nailed to the door wobbled slightly. The interior of the shack was dark and dusty and Tom's eyes adjusted slowly. He did not even know why he had come here in the first place. He narrowed his eyes, gazing around. He remembered the first time he had set foot into this miserable hut. He had known nothing about his origins and what his uncle had been able to tell him had been thoroughly disappointing. But at least he had been able to take revenge for how his paternal family had done him wrong.

Tom's thoughts travelled back to Cassiopeia. He realized he had never asked her how she had managed to block his Memory Charm back then. Thinking about it, in his mind's eye, he saw her trying every spell she could find, never knowing if the charms would actually be able to protect her in the end. The corners of Tom's mouth twitched. She had to have been truly afraid of him trying to tamper with her memory. There was no denying that obviously she had been remarkably realistic from the very beginning, never fooling herself into believing he were the kind of bad boy who would be good just for her. A smile crossed Tom's features. That was exactly what made her so special, this extraordinary ability to know him so well and still care for him despite this knowledge.

He carefully pulled a small vial from his pocket and looked at it. He knew he had tried the ritual often enough at last. He wanted to make it finally happen. He put the vial back into his pocket and apparated to Houlton Manor.

When he entered the dining room, Cassiopeia was sitting at the table looking through old documents. He watched her for a moment before he quickly strode over to her. When he was standing next to her, he cleared his throat and stated, "I finally found a way that will keep you from aging and thus from dying without having to create a Horcrux."

Cassiopeia looked up and eyed him warily. She sighed. "I thought we have talked this over, again and again. There is no way to stop aging. My mother died trying."

Tom pursed his lips. "Your mother died, that's right. But only because the curse backfired, making her age even faster. I refined the ritual and now it works."

"How do you know?" Cassiopeia cocked her head.

"I tried it," Tom replied.

Cassiopeia shot him a sceptical glance. "How? You are immortal. You don't age."

Tom smirked. "I had help."

Cassiopeia raised an eyebrow. "There was someone crazy enough to help you?"

"I didn't exactly give them a choice." Tom's smirk grew wider.

"Where are they?" Cassiopeia asked, even though she was sure she didn't want to know the answer.

Tom shrugged. "Gone."

"Gone," Cassiopeia repeated tonelessly. "I guess you killed them?"

Tim shrugged again. "Obviously. I certainly don't want to share eternity with random others."

"But you are still certain you want to share it with me?"

Tom didn't answer, his gaze on the vial he had pulled from his pocket. Watching him, Cassiopeia added drily, "At least for now?"

A grin crossed Tom's face. "Yes, at least for now. Who knows, maybe I'll change my mind if you stay that cheeky forever."

With a swift movement Tom put the vial on the table. Inside there was a dark purple potion. Cassiopeia threw a glance at it.

"You expect me to drink that?"

Tom nodded. "You can trust me. It's safe."

Cassiopeia still looked wary. Tom smirked. "Really, it's safe," he repeated. "If I wanted to kill you I wouldn't do it that complicatedly. You know, I'm more..."

"...straightforward?" Cassiopeia finished the sentence for him.

"Precisely."

Cassiopeia sighed again. "I know. And normally I trust your magic unconditionally. But this time..." her voice trailed away.

"What is it? Where's the problem?" Tom threw her a questioning glance.

Cassiopeia bit her lip. "It's this ritual that cost my mother's life." Her voice was hollow.

Tom slowly shook his head. "It won't cost yours. Your mother made mistakes. This time I will do it. I am with you. I don't make mistakes." With a quick movement he grabbed her wrist and pulled her towards him until she was standing in front of him, still avoiding his gaze. He lifted her chin with his free hand, making her look up to him. "I want you to stay the way you are. I want you to stay with me. I wouldn't make you do this if I thought it was risky." His voice was persuasive.

Cassiopeia looked into his dark eyes and bit her lip even harder. Finally she whispered, "I am scared."

Tom narrowed his eyes. He looked surprised. "You don't have to be." He tried to sound soothing. "I have already cast trickier curses and mastered them. I have tried this one more than once. I know I will get it right." He paused. "I promise I wouldn't do it if I had any doubt."

Cassiopeia glanced at the vial. After a moment she said uncertainly, "So what happens when I drink the potion?"

Tom eyed her for a moment. "Do you really want to know?"

Cassiopeia nodded slowly.

Tom pursed his lips. "Well, you will have to lay down for the potion to spread. The potion will make your body freeze."

Cassiopeia's eyes grew wide and Tom knew she was about to complain but he cut her short. "Then I need access to your blood to conserve it. Basically, I'm going to cut your veins, conserve the blood, heal the wounds and then we only have to wait for the freezing to wear off." He shrugged. "That's it."

"That's it?" Cassiopeia repeated incredulously. Tom threw her a questioning glance. Cassiopeia shook her head agitatedly. "There's a whole bunch of things that can go wrong. And you just say, 'that's it'?"

Tom shrugged again. "I've done it often enough."

Cassiopeia looked back at him. Finally she asked, "What does the incantation require?"

Tom pursed his lips. "Let's just say, I can assure you that I meet the necessary requirements. I don't think there's any need for details." Seeing that she was about to protest he continued, "Let me put it like this. You don't want to know the details. All you have to do is drink the potion."

Cassiopeia threw him another glance. Then she turned around and slowly walked over to the window. For a moment she just stood there watching the rain outside.

"What if I don't want to?" Her voice was barely audible.

Tom looked surprised. "Why would you not want to?"

Cassiopeia continued to look out of the window. "What's so bad about getting old?"

Tom ran a hand through his hair and followed her over to the window. "Are you kidding me? It's humiliating. Watching the own body succumb to all its weaknesses and eventually die. Who wouldn't take the opportunity to avoid that?"

"But that's the way nature's planned for human beings." Cassiopeia paused. "The ritual is a violation of nature."

Tom felt his temper flare, and he didn't even try to keep it in check. With a quick movement he grabbed Cassiopeia's wrists, turned her around and pressed her against the wall next to the window, his magic swirling dangerously around them. "Now listen carefully. There is no way I will let you put nature's possible plans over mine. Maybe you don't mind if you get old and weak. But I don't want to watch you wasting away. I don't want to watch you dying one day. I abandoned my original plan to have you make a Horcrux because I decided to accept your wish to not tear your soul apart. But now I offer you a way to get the closest to immortality that you possibly can without creating a Horcrux, and all you have to do is drink that damn potion, no damage to your precious soul, no lasting damage to your body. And now you worry about nature? No. There is absolutely no way you are going to back out of this."

Cassiopeia glared at Tom. His magic was still radiating violently from him, making his point more than clear. Cassiopeia huffed. "And once again your motives are all selfish."

Suddenly there was a slight change in his magic's vibration, and Tom's lips twisted into a wicked grin. "There's nothing new about that, now, is there?"

He slightly loosened his grip on her arms and with a flick of his wrist he had the vial with the potion back in his hand again, holding it up in front of her. "Just to make things clear. You are going to take that potion. Either you drink it voluntarily or I am going to make you drink it. It's your choice."

Cassiopeia looked back at him and his fake innocent smile and knew he was going to win once again. She could see it in his eyes that he was deadly serious. He would make her take the potion either way and she was sure she didn't want to find out how. She sighed and slowly reached out for the small bottle, taking it from his hand.

Tom looked satisfied. "We'll do it tonight. I'll come to your bedroom at nine." With that he turned on the spot and disapparated.

x-x-x-x

Author's note: So here's another chapter :-) Hope you enjoyed it!