Chapter 35: Requiem

Thanks to all my readers and reviews. I hope that there was no mix-up in the chapters last time because I did take out the authors note and made it part chapter 34. If you have not read since 19 has been out and think that 34 Canta Per Me otherwise this chapter will make no sense. I am glad to say I actually got to this chapter fairly quickly. This one is a little longer than the rest and its split into two parts. I hope to have chapter 36 up soon, but who knows. After that I'm not sure, but it looks like we are getting low on chapters. I hope that you all keep reading and reviewing. Thanks to all of my readers and reviews especially the ones I forgot to mention in the last chapter. I really like Tibys's review on the last chapter and have to agree with her analysis of the split between Tom and Voldemort and how they can almost seem to be two different people. I tried to differentiate between them to make the transition easier on the readers and myself writing it because I wasn't sure where to draw the line and start calling him Voldemort instead of Tom. That is also seen a bit in this chapter. But my psychology background is catching up with me there so I had better get back to facts. I do not own Harry Potter, characters or anything else associated with that. I do own a Celia, some archery equipment hoping to find something to do this summer other than work and I also own several bills that I need to pay off.

Celia was racked with horrible pain. She screamed clutching her sides. "I must be dying," she thought to herself. She waited for what felt like years for the pain to cease. She knew what would come after this; the great unknown that Voldemort never thought he would have to face. If she was feeling this kind of pain he must have died. She breathed a sigh of relief as she felt all the pain that had been in her limbs cease. She closed her eyes. It would all be over soon.

She felt the darkness overcome her. She felt nothing as she walked along a corridor. She saw a light at the end of the hallway. "I guess they were right about walking into the light." Celia said to herself. She walked down the hallway and touched the door with one hand. She looked behind her. Everything was blurry, and she was sure that there was no turning back now. There was only through the door and then, well no one knew what was beyond the door, but once she passed through she would be completely gone.

She pushed the door open and walked into the light. She felt the immense heat on her skin. It wasn't a bad heat, but it reminded me of a picnic that she had once dragged Tom to. It was a weekend and the lake was beautiful. It was warm in the sunlight, a light that filled her up with so much joy she felt she would burst. She felt herself stepping back into her own memory.

Tom was there and surprisingly enough he was smiling. "I was hoping I would see you again," he said.

Celia froze. This was not a fuzzy memory of hers anymore, this was really happening.

"What are you doing here," she asked coldly.

"Letting the flame of your love's candle be the light in my world of darkness," he said perfectly repeating the verse she had sung to him before they had both died.

"Your not dead," Tom said to her reading her mind. "The reason you are here is my fault. I wasn't ready to move on, and I guess I selfishly wanted to see you before I passed on," Tom said.

"Have you seen the other side?" Celia asked completely ignoring the fact that he sounded nothing like Tom.

"No," he said. "Do you need me to prove that I am Tom?"

"Is there any way to prove that?" Celia asked him.

"I don't think so, but if its anymore believable this was me before all the soul splitting and the need to prove myself through being powerful over others. It's been so long that that no one knew this to be me. This is the real Tom Riddle Celia, more real than anything you ever saw of him in our time together," Tom said.

"Why did you bring me here?" Celia asked.

"I love you," he said. "I just wish that I had been my full self to tell you that while I was still alive," Tom said.

"Why tell me now?" Celia said tears falling down her face. "And why did you pick this place or is this what it looks like when everyone passed on?"

"I wanted to see you, before I moved on," Tom said. "As for the place, well this is one of my favorite memories of you," he said.

Celia titled her head. She would have thought that one of the times that they had been intimate would have been his favorite.

Tom laughed in a way that Celia had never heard him laugh before. It was light and airy. "I never realized it was my favorite memory until I was here," Tom said.
"You saved me," Tom said.

"I haven't been to the other side, but I felt the pull toward what could be considered hell. Lost spirits, pain, eternal suffering. Something pulled me back something held me back and tethered me here. After I was here I felt a wholeness I've never felt before. Every piece of my lost soul was waiting here for me, it wasn't long after that when you pushed open that door and as soon as I saw you it was as if I were healed.

"This is too corny to be true," Celia thought to herself. "I know I must be dreaming,"

Tom kissed her cheek where she had received a cut from him. "Consider this your proof," Tom said.

Celia looked in the lake water and saw her face reflected with a light pink crescent moon shaped scar.

"It's time for me to move on," Tom said. "You need to go back, your time is not yet," he said to her. "I'll wait for you." He said as he started to fade away from her.

She reached out for him and before he faded completely away from her he said, "One last thing, start the family that you always wanted, you have the time now, and you have my blessing. I'm sure your children will be as beautiful as you are."

Celia nodded and then he disappeared out of existence. She felt the world around her disappearing too. She ran back out of the door and ran down the hallway. She found a door at the end of the hallway and felt the heaviness of her body finally reaching her as she pushed the door open.

Celia's eyes opened slightly and she finally took notice of her surroundings. She felt the breath coming from her body and her heart beating quietly. She knew that she was alive, but where was she? The air felt all cold and wrong here. Celia felt the raindrops hitting her skin. She cracked her eyes open more. It was in the early morning, the sunrise was on the horizon. She knew that she wasn't in Albania anymore. She couldn't quite figure out where she was, but she heard footsteps approaching. She didn't move, she didn't know who was coming for her, but she knew that they couldn't possibly be anyone she wanted to deal with.

"Here's a body," she heard a male voice say.

"Alive?" she heard another man ask.

Celia felt cold hands on her neck. She jumped with her eyes wide. Her heart was beating fast as she pondered if she could outrun these men. She saw the wand drawn by the other man. She was sure if they wanted to they could easily stop her before she made it more than a few steps.

"This one is alive," the man who had placed his hands on her neck said while chuckling.

"Who are you?" the man with the wand drawn spat at her.

Celia looked at him strangely. "Celia," she said.

"What are you doing here, Celia," the man with the wand pointed at her sneered.

"I don't know," Celia said truthfully. "Where am I?" she asked.

"Don't play dumb!" the man with the wand shouted at her. "I hope you are looking forward to a long life in Azkaban."

Celia's face was covered in shock. "Azkaban?" she questioned. "On what charges?" she asked more sternly.

"Conspiracy," the man said. "Aiding a murderer, the list goes on and on, what would make you want to do that, Celia. You look young and honest what could make you want to kill and join him?" The man asked lowering his wand.

"I haven't done anything wrong," Celia said. "I've been a prisoner," she said the tears finally starting to come down her eyes. She was free, well for now until she was locked up that is. No one would believe her, but for now she was free. The spell had been broken, but she realized something horrible. The man had just said she had looked young, had she not aged? What was she going to do? She couldn't possibly pass as a 19 year old in this time period. She had no idea what had been going on since her capture. This wasn't right.

"Where am I?" she asked again a nervousness in her voice.

"Hogwarts," the man who had his hand on her neck finally said.

Celia stood up looking over the horizon. She felt all the breath escaping from her. She hadn't seen it or anything else in so many years. She wondered how much must have changed since she had been there last.

"We were ordered to take you with the rest of the death eaters," the man who had checked her for a pulse said.

Celia nodded. They both grabbed her arms so she couldn't escape, but where amazed as she walked briskly toward the castle dragging them with her. She would have broken out in a run if they had not been pulling her back. Happy tears streamed down her face and when she finally made it to the grounds just 100 feet from the castle entrance she was pulled down to the ground harshly.

"We found her in the forest," the man with the wand said.

Another man nodded and took a look at her. "I think you had better bring one of the Hogwarts students over," the new man said after the other two were getting ready to leave. "I think they might recognize her better than anyone else, bring a couple of the professors too."

The two men nodded and were gone. The new man looked at her, "What is your name?"

"Celia," she said. She might as well comply. If she fought it would only further their suspicion of her.

Soon a few professors and a few students were gathered around her. Celia heard a gasp from one of the professors.

"It can't be," the woman said. Celia turned her head up to meet the woman in the eyes. She didn't recognize the professor at first, but then giving the face another scan over she caught it.

"Minnie?" Celia asked.

The woman turned away. "This is some kind of trick, this can't possibly be who I think it is. The woman I have mistaken her for died 56 years ago."

"No," Celia said. "It's me, it's really me, please Minnie, isn't there some way to make you believe," Celia said in an outburst.

"Someone bring me some Veritaserum ," Minerva said.

The other professor left to get the potion. Soon he was back and Minerva held it in her hand.

"If you aren't really Celia, then this should prove it," Minerva said.

Celia nodded and drank the solution. Minerva then fired the first question.

"What is your full name?"

"Celia Noel Plantagenet," Celia answered.

"What was your mother's name?"

"Evelyn," Celia said.

"Father's name?"

"Charles," Celia said.

"Easy questions," Minerva said. "I am going to ask you something only the Celia I knew previous to Tom Riddle would know," Minerva said.

"What was the first thing you said to me when we first met," Minerva said hoping that if this were the real Celia she would remember that far back.

Celia scrunched her nose a bit as she did when she was in deep thought. She scrounged the deepest confines of her mind. "I wish I could get my hair to curl like that, mine is just limp and not quite straight," Celia said.

Minerva hugged Celia. "Celia what happened to you?" she said. "Why didn't you age?"

"I don't know," Celia said truthfully. "He put some kind of spell on me, and I guess when he died it was broken."

"How did you know he died?" the man who had gathered the professors and students asked.

"I felt it," she said looking him straight in the eye.

"I have to get another friend of hers," Minerva said. "I will be back shortly."

The group looked at her as they were soon joined by other aurors.

"I need you to tell us everything that happened," the man they called Kingsley, the one who had gathered the first group said.

"I'm not sure that I even can," she said with the Veritaserum wearing off.

There was a moment silence in which Kingsley was certain that she might have to go to Azkaban without proof of her innocence.

"I can't tell you, but I can show you," Celia said. "Through legilimency," she added.

"I'll volunteer," someone said joining the group.

Celia recognized him right away without even having to try to add aging to him. Rubeus Hagrid was a hard one to forget.

"I can't let you do that," she said. "I don't want to let anyone who knows me have to see that, I would rather have someone else," she said.

His face fell, but he seemed to understand. There were some things he never wanted to see, and her being tortured by Voldemort was one of them.

"Who among this group has practice in legilimency and has a strong composure?" Celia asked.

A red haired man stepped forward. "It is the least I can do, and I have been trained during my time with Fudge. He was extremely paranoid and had me check several people, a thing that I am not proud of," the man said.

"Percy are you sure?" another red haired man asked.

"I'm sure father," Percy said.

Percy stepped up to Celia. Celia nodded and let her mind be an open book for him to read. He cast the spell and the images started at the beginning. At first he was drawn into her childhood smiling with many brothers and sisters. He smiled a bit at that; he himself was part of a large family. He then was pushed forward to see her again at Hogwarts with what must have been a younger version of Professor McGonagall. Then things became darker. He saw her at a funeral holding one of her younger siblings. It was then when things went downhill. Percy got his first glance of Voldemort when he was still Tom Riddle. He watched the courting process through her memories. He was uncomfortable when he saw how intimate that became in such short months. Soon he saw her graduating from Hogwarts and living in a home of her own. He saw more images of intimacy that he tried not to dwell on too long for. So far things looked fairly consensual.

He saw Tom's first act of true violence on her after she told him that she was pregnant. He cringed, but continued onwards. There was much more to see he guessed. He saw a few memories of Celia in her pregnant state. Then things turned very dark quickly and he saw the real cruelty of Voldemort begin.

He watched Tom come after her with a wand. He watched her scream in pain alone on the floor as she birthed two children. He felt her start to pull away. He approached her body and held one of her hands. She continued on without blocking him.

He watched her become this violent creature's prisoner. He watched the man rape her over and over. She seemed to get raped a lot in her memories. He watched her try to save the Potter's lives and watched her fight Bellatrix when she couldn't save the Longbottoms. He watched a relationship develop with Severus. He watched her get gang raped by death eaters. It was almost more than he could take, but he continued on.

He watched her try to kill Voldemort herself. He watched her get raped a few more times and watched her relationship with Severus fade. He watched a few moments of kindness between herself, and Voldemort, but they were few and far between in the end. He watched Quirell rape her and saw her mourn when Voldemort returned. He felt guilt for being a part of the reason that Voldemort wasn't dealt with then because he saw her become lonely and become a shell. The rest of her memories were full of numbing loneliness and despair. He finally saw one of her last memories before she was taken to Hogwarts. He felt her love for the beast that Voldemort had become. He was surprised that she was able to pass her emotions so easily. He watched Voldemort give her an almost human look before she passed out.

Percy pulled away from Celia. He looked at the audience he had around him. He watched the silent tears pour down Celia's face.

"Someone take this woman to the infirmary," Percy said shaking. "No human being should ever have had to go through this kind of pain."

Minerva and Rubeus guided Celia to the infirmary.

"What happened to you Celia?" Rubeus asked her.

"I was tortured for 56 years of my life, and watched everything I ever cared about die around him while I couldn't age. I was raped so many times I can't even count them anymore," Celia said with seriousness in her voice.

Rubeus averted his eyes from her. "I'm so sorry Celia, no one knew you had survived."

"It's not your fault," Celia said. "This is just a lot of things that should have never happened," Celia said. "I should have died."

"Celia don't talk like that," Minerva said.

"Minnie, no offense, but you have no idea what I've been through, I just want some peace," Celia said.

"Celia, you have time, you can start a new life, start the family you always dreamed of," Minerva said.

Celia thought about Tom's last words to her. He had wanted her to start a family; he had wanted her to move on with her life. She wasn't sure she had the willpower to just pick herself up after all of that. "I don't know who could handle all the baggage that comes with being with me," Celia said.

"Everyone has suffered in this war Celia, there are many who would be touched by your journey and would understand," Minerva said.

Celia nodded. She mostly nodded to humor them, but she hoped to herself that she wouldn't have to go through all of this alone again.

"What about you two?" Celia asked wanting to change the subject. "Are you married?"

Both Minerva and Rubeus laughed. "We never had a relationship," Minerva said.

"You should have," Celia said.

Minerva and Rubeus blushed. Celia smiled. They had finally reached the infirmary.

Celia recognized the nurse on staff. "Madam Pomfrey?"

The older woman looked up at her and gasped. She remembered this young woman coming in, so many years ago. Abusive boyfriend, Dumbledore had brought her in that day and she had found out that she was pregnant.

"You haven't aged at all," Madam Pomfrey said shocked.

"Cursed," Celia said.

"It's a long story," Minerva said. "She needs rest," Minerva said.

Celia was taken to a hospital bed and was surrounded by many who had injuries from the battle. She fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.