I figured since it's Leap Day, you get two chapters. I hope you like it.


Sunday, May 27, 1945

Head Dorms

"Damn you."

Tom looked up from his breakfast and stared at Eden with furrowed brows. "Excuse me?" What had he done? Everything had been fine since Friday. Had he done something that he wasn't aware of doing?

She glared at him. "Damn you to Hell and back, Tom," she snarled. She ignored his gaze, and he scrambled after her as she stomped to the trunk at the foot of his bed.

What had he done?

They needed to talk.

She stopped next to it. "Come on. Let's go. We don't have much time."

He turned her around and stared into her eyes, and saw fear, anger, and apprehension. "Love, what are you talking about? Have I done something?"

She softened, and stood on her tiptoes and gave him a soft kiss that had his blood boiling. "No. You haven't done anything. I found out that the Third Task is a labyrinth with obstacles. Against the other Champions. Come on. Either you draw the ten, or I draw the ten, and I really don't want to do that."

His mouth fell open, and he blinked multiple times as he stared at her. He wrapped his arms around her. "Are you sure?" he asked softly.

He didn't want to make her do anything she didn't want to do.

"You know I don't want to go in there. The only reason that I would go in there is if I absolutely had to."

True.

He pulled his wand, and drew the ten.

Compartment 10—Labyrinth

She huddled close to his back when they stepped off of the stairs. In front of them was a single opening into the labyrinth, and in front of it was a glimmering red wall in front of them that would keep most of the creatures away from this part of the room.

"Are you ready?"

"No."

He laughed, and turned around and wrapped his arms around her. "I'm not going to let anything happen to you, Eden."

She nodded against his chest. "I know. Just because I know that doesn't mean that I'm not scared."

He kissed her head, and held her closer. "If you weren't so cunning, love, I'd think that you're a Gryffindor with all of your courage. Before you protest, know that courage is different than bravery."

"Which is?"

"Courage is smart, bravery is stupid. That's the short answer." His heart warmed when she laughed, and pressed a kiss against his heart.

He loved her so much it hurt.

"I'm ready."

"There's my girl," he soothed softly. He released her, and she stood next to him, but quickly moved to stand behind him after they crossed the barrier. He checked to make sure that the Attraction Spell was still activated—he knew it was, but it didn't hurt to check—and was pleased when he found his suspicions correct.

He'd leave it up until she stopped trembling, and then he'd lessen the amount of the spell so the creatures other than Abyss and Thorin would be able to leave the center—those two were the strongest, and well . . . if he ever tried to constrain them, he didn't think he'd live very long despite the relationship he shared with both creatures.

They reached their first intersection, and he paused. "Which way love?"

"Out?" she squeaked as her grip tightened on his shirt.

It hurt that she was so scared. "Are you sure?"

"No."

He easily manipulated his thick magic and maneuvered it, so it wrapped around her. She relaxed the tight hold she had on his shirt, and while she was still pressed up against him, she wasn't doing so out of fear. "Left?"

"Sure."

His magic wrapped tighter around her, and the two continued on.

Why those in her time thought that it was appropriate to send children through a maze with quite possibly very dangerous creatures—if they were supplied by Hairy, then they would most definitely be dangerous creatures—was far beyond him.

One of the Dire Class Creatures landed in front of him, and he had to suppress a groan, even as he smiled softly at the bird. His smile widened only slightly when he felt his witch curl more into his back.

"What is that?" she demanded in a shaky voice as she peered around him from his right.

"This is one of five Dire Ravens. He's my favorite one, actually. His name is Thorin. He's the first Dire Raven that I conjured, and just like Abyss, he's been Nurtured enough that he is no longer a Conjuration."

He felt her shudder, and she held tighter to him, and he wrapped his magic around her more firmly in an attempt to comfort her. He knew that she already despised the thought of Abyss, and he assumed that the fact that he was now a real, living, breathing creature that she couldn't easily Banish or Dissolve made that intense fear and dislike even worse.

"You can do that?" she squeaked.

He felt only kind of bad that he found that to be adorable.

"Only with species that are Born of Magic."

Even though he couldn't see her, he could picture the frown that puckered her lips, and the little line between her eyes as her left brow furrowed—Merlin, he loved her, so much.

"Is it like asexual reproduction?"

He was proud that she remembered that.

"Sort of. It's far more complicated than that though."

Thorin looked between him and Eden. "What species are Born of Magic?"

"Dire Class Creatures, Hellhounds, and War Class Creatures are the only ones that I know of for sure that are Born entirely of Magic. There may be other Hell Class Creatures that are Born that way, but, not much is known about Hell Class Creatures outside of Hellhounds."

"What about Hell Bats?"

"There are Hell Bats?"

"Shit." He laughed too hard to reprimand her. "Anyways! Moving on. How do you do it? How are they Born?"

Thorin started to pick at his feathers, far more patient than he usually would be. "It's quite simple, actually. Not as simple as asexual reproduction though. A Magic Born starts out as an idea—a Conjuration. Once you have the Conjuration in reality, if you're strong enough, and patient enough, you'll be able to Feed it enough Magic that it can develop its own Core. Once that happens, it becomes a living, breathing, flesh-and-blood creature."

"Can I make one? Will you help me make one?"

She was practically vibrating against his back.

He snorted. "After the Tournament has finished."

"Promise?"

He smiled softly at her over his shoulder. "I Promise that if you still want to make one after the Tournament, I will help you make one."

Thorin stretched his neck out, obviously tired of being ignored. Tom reached out a hand with Raw Magic coated on his fingers, and brushed them along the side of the bird's face. His magic oozed into Thorin, and the giant bird made a contented noise that sounded suspiciously like a purr—he suspected that Thorin had been spending far too much time with the Dire Tigers and Abyss (if he wanted to find either of them, he usually found the seven together).

"The female?" he demanded in a scratchy, yet melodic voice.

"Thorin, this is Eden."

"Ahh, your Chosen Mate. I wish to speak with her."

He thought for a moment with slightly narrowed eyes. "Play nice."

"I always do."

He went to protest, and then thought better of fighting with a ten-foot-tall bird—even if he was Thorin's Human. He turned from the Dire Raven, and to his Eden.

"What language were you speaking?" she demanded, obviously terrified.

He pressed a soft kiss to her forehead to sooth her. "The Dire Language. Thorin wishes to speak with you, but in order to do that, he needs to give you the ability to speak the Dire Language." When she hesitated, he cupped her beautiful face in his hands. "It's fine, my love. It won't hurt you, or take away your ability to speak Parseltongue, and Thorin won't hurt you."

He pressed several kisses to her lips until she relented with a glare.

She was so going to kill him.

Eden took a deep breath before she moved from Tom's arms, and stood in front of the stupid big bird. She turned around and looked pleadingly at Tom, and he nodded his head.

Not what she wanted.

She took a deep breath before she carefully created a small ball of Raw Magic, and held it out to the Raven with a shaky hand.

"Do I touch it to him or—"

Before she could finish the question, the bird stretched out its neck, opened its beak that happened to be larger than her head, and swallowed the small ball whole before it lunged towards her.

She screamed, backed away, tripped, and fell. The Raven lunged towards her with its beak wide open. She closed her eyes and adverted her head, and shivered when something warm, slimy, and slightly rough, first brushed against her throat, and then shoved its way into her mouth.

She opened her eyes as she choked on the long, thin tongue as it dove into the back of her mouth and down her throat for a moment before it pulled away. She pushed herself onto her hands and knees, and retched.

She felt gross—sick help don't violated—as the bird took a heavy step away from her and bent down to look at her.

"Why is it that you humans all react the same way after they are Blessed with the Dire Language?" he demanded kindly in a curious tone. She shivered at the contradictions in how she'd describe his voice—comforting, and disconcerting.

"Would you like it if something approximately ten-times your size shoved their tongue into your mouth and down your throat without warning or permission?" she croaked.

The head that was about the size of her torso tilted to the side as beady eyes studied her with a deep, semi-unsettling intelligence. "No. I suppose that I would not appreciate that. I apologize."

She shook her head, and spared a glare towards an amused Tom and pushed herself to her feet. "It's not your fault. Tom should have warned me. Speaking of Tom, he said that you wanted to speak with me."

"Indeed." The bird cleared its throat—how did it do that? "Tom loves you. Deeply."

She flushed and nodded her head. "I know."

"He would tear the world apart and burn the shattered pieces to nothing if you but asked it of him." Tom's arms wrapped around her waist, and his chin rested on the top of her head. She leaned into his embrace, and was slightly disturbed with how the bird keenly watched them.

Warmth still coiled in her stomach though, and a silly smile crossed her face when he pressed a kiss to the top her head, and tightened his hold on her. "I know."

"What would you do for him?"

Was—was she getting the shovel talk . . . from . . . from a bird? A Dire Raven? When black, beady eyes narrowed when she remained silent for a touch too long—a mere half-second—she decided that she most definitely was receiving the shovel talk.

From a bird.

How strange.

"Everything in my power." She tilted her head to the side and studied the gleaming Dire Raven. "What would you do for him, Thorin?"

Tom snorted as the Raven drew back before a sound that had the potential to be laughter echoed around them. "I would die for him. He is my Human," the bird eventually answered.

She nodded her head even though she didn't completely understand what he meant by 'my Human'. "Good."

"Thorin," Tom started from behind her, "I told you to play nice."

"But—"

"No buts. Play nice, or no magic for a day."

"Fine," he pouted.

The three stood around, and Thorin and Tom talked about things she didn't quite understand, and she slowly started to become more okay with the idea of being in the dark Labyrinth.

She knew the second that she met one of the creatures in there with her, that that opinion would change forever. She also knew that she would suffer the consequences of not training for the Third Task if she ever met Abyss.

It was about seven minutes after she had been 'Blessed' with the Dire Language before Thorin insisted on taking Tom on a quick fly of the room—apparently it was something they did often. After a few minutes of arguing, the Raven just picked Tom up, threw him onto his back, before he took flight.

They both ignored the vile words that filled the room.

She laughed at the shocked look on Tom's face, and quelled the panic that started to rise, to the best of her ability before it could devour her whole. She looked around for a moment before she decided that staying in the place that they had left her would be the best thing to do until the two returned. She leaned against the wall, and watched the bird until she could no longer see him due to the height of the walls.

She held out her left hand, and began to practice summoning and controlling Frostfyre—nearly the exact opposite of Fiendfyre, in that instead of burning everything it froze things instead, and was much easier to control. Once she had a fairly steady Flame in her hand, she flexed her right hand, and summoned a small ball of normal fire.

While she mainly focused on the Frostfyre, she started tossing the fireball in her right hand. It was done in part to entertain herself—because Frostfyre was fairly boring to look at—but mostly done in prep for a Battle Magick spell that she wanted to learn, but she needed to be at least decent in throwing fireballs.

She had been at the task of multitasking and throwing fire increasingly higher above her head for a good three minutes before a low growl to her right startled her, and the flames sputtered out and died.

She looked up and paled when her wide, green eyes landed on the rotting form of Abyss.

Nope.

Nope.

Bloody nope.

She was done.

No more practice for her.

Ever.

The fifteen-foot tall Hellhound was crouched so his chin was still eight feet off of the ground. He had patches of fur with strange, red markings, and then patches of rotting flesh with hints of rotting bone. His mouth was open in a vile snarl, and black drool connected his top canines to his bottom canines, and his horns arched high above his head into deadly points.

Piercing red orbs met her own, and she froze.

The Hellhound took a large step towards her, and her back stiffened. The beast continued to approach her until her magic broke free of its tight constraints when he lunged for her.

She screamed, and her right hand extended out towards him while her left arm covered her face. She felt a strong tugging on her Core, and then there was a painful snap as her magic unBound itself. There was a howl of rage proceeded by a thunderous crash, which triggered another deafening roar.

"Eden!"

She paid no mind to the shout of her name from high above her head.

Her legs turned to jelly, and she fell, heavy to the ground. She paid no mind to the pain that ricocheted from her knees as she stared at the hound that was in a limp pile nearly 100 feet away from her. She fell back on her butt when the hound stirred. She whimpered and tried to scoot back, but was frozen in fear as it stood and limped toward her.

Her magic snapped around her at every little movement he made, and even though he looked worse for wear, it was still running wild. Just before Abyss stepped within range of her violent—fierce scared anxious protective—magic, he laid down and bore his neck to her.

She and her magic both faltered for a moment, before her magic pulled closer to her, and he crawled towards her until he once more met the barrier forty feet in front of her. The pattern continued until he was ten feet in front of her, and her magic was a fearful and foggy haze between the two of them.

"I will bring you no harm, child."

Her eyes widened at the deep, and somehow soothing, gravelly voice. His head rested on his front paws, and he stared at her, understanding, and want in his eyes—at least, what that's what she thought she saw there.

"You can speak?" she demanded in shaky voice.

The Hellhound slowly closed his eyes before he opened the blood-red orbs once more. She tried to avoid looking at the gashes in his face, and the rotting flesh that hung from it as well—which was very difficult.

"Yes. I understand many languages."

She moved into a hesitant crouch as she stared at him. "How are you talking without moving your mouth?"

"The Language of the Underworld does not require the movement of my mouth. Come to me, child. No harm will come to you."

"Why not? Why do I understand you?"

"You have earned my respect. When you tossed me away with your Pure Magic, I was able to give you the ability to understand the Language of the Underworld."

"Huh . . . that was far more pleasant than learning the Dire Language."

The Hellhound huffed in derision. "I imagine so. Now come. Please."

She slowly stood, and stepped towards the Hellhound and stopped when she was two feet in front of him.

She blinked.

He had a massive head. Like, stupidly huge head. The top of it was even with her own head with him laying the way he was, with his head on the ground, and his paws on either side of it, and that wasn't including his horns which added another three feet to his height—so he was actually eighteen feet.

"Scratch me."

"Pardon?"

"Behind my left ear next to my horn. I have an itch. I cannot seem to be able to reach it. I have had it for days, so, if you would be so kind . . ."

Her left eyebrow furrowed before she stepped forward and did as commanded—asked? As she scratched his surprisingly soft fur, his back leg started to thump against the ground, and something akin to a smile appeared on his face as he somehow purred—although, it sounded like a groan as well (a purring-groan perhaps?).

"Oh yeah . . . that is the spot. Keep going," he purred.

Tom stood wide-eyed on Thorin's back as the Dire Raven hovered above the Labyrinth. His heart still thundered in his chest from watching Eden toss Abyss away from her, and he wanted to go down there and check her over, but . . . what he saw, made him hesitate.

Abyss was on his back, with his legs kicking in the air as Eden scratched at his torn belly.

As she scratched, he saw the magic that coated her fingers, and saw it spill into Abyss. The wounds that Tom hadn't been able to get rid of after Abyss developed his own Core, started to slowly heal and close until he was no longer rotting. He now looked like a huge wolf with the Markings of a Hellhound, and had the typical tears in the mouth like a Hellhound—why evolution thought that Hellhounds needed to be able to open their mouths 100 degrees was beyond him—and had the typical Hellhound horns, but no longer was he rotting like Hellhounds did.

When Abyss rolled over onto his right side, and Eden's sweet laughter rang out at something the hound told her, his heart warmed at the sight. When the Hellhound rolled onto his stomach and gently licked Eden's face, and then had her climb onto his back, he realized something.

Abyss was more Eden's, than he could ever belong to Tom now.

He found that he wasn't upset about it as he thought he would be.

Eden gripped tightly onto fur that shined as Abyss stood, and she tightened her hold on him with her hands, and knelt on his back. The beast let out a vicious roar, crouched, and then began to sprint.

Laughter tore through her lips and fell into the air as the wind whipped her hair behind her. Her eyes watered as they approached a twenty-foot-tall wall, and then they flew.

Kind of.

Abyss jumped when he was about thirty feet away from the wall, and they landed on top of the eight-foot-wide structure. He crouched once more, roared again, and then they were off. They leapt over the pathways, and continued to run along the top of the Labyrinth.

She saw many creatures as they did so: giant tigers, wolves that were smaller than Abyss, a Nightmare, and even a couple giant turtles before they were forced to stop when Thorin cut them off.

"Abyss, what are you doing?" Tom demanded with his arms crossed over his chest, and a scowl that would have been fearsome, were it not for the pure amusement in his eyes.

The Hellhound growled lowly as it crouched slightly. "I have decided to take Eden for a little run."

"I see that." His lips twitched, and she giggled. He winked at her. "Where exactly is your destination?"

Abyss whimpered slightly before he stood tall, and would have towered over Tom had Thorin not raised himself so Tom was even with Abyss once more. "Where I sleep."

He scowled, and opened his mouth, but she cut him off. "What's the big deal, Tom love?"

"He sleeps in the center of the Labyrinth where it's the most dangerous, as there's an Attraction Spell Activated to make the creatures be more in the center."

Abyss growled once more, and crouched, and she was about 99% sure that he was going to pounce at Tom. "I will not let any harm come to my Human."

What was with the 'Human' stuff?

Tom didn't seem to be surprised at the Claim. "She may be your Human, but she's the love of my life." He then proceeded to say something in a language she couldn't understand, and Abyss relaxed underneath her.

A silly grin covered Eden's face, and he winked at her. "You may join us, but I will show my Human where I spend my time when you are not here."

Tom groaned in the back of his throat. "You're a pest, Abyss."

Abyss purred. "Oh, I know."


Monday, May 29, 1995

Riddle Manor

It was finally there.

Voldemort nodded his thanks to Barty as he carefully placed the trunk that still pulsed with Magic in front of him. He shifted slightly in his chair, and gestured for the man to leave, who did so reluctantly.

He didn't blame the man, after all, he had been curious about it for over two months now.

He waited until he was completely alone in the house before he sent his magic towards the trunk. A glowing ten appeared on the lid, and the seam that separated the top from the bottom glowed before it popped open. A loud, vicious roar penetrated his ears before Abyss climbed out of his confines.

He had been shrunk down to the size of a large Labrador Retriever when he had gone to the bank to collect the saliva needed for the Resurrection Potion—he had been snuck into Gringotts to do it, and he was glad that the trunk had finally been moved to the Manor.

It was so tedious being snuck into the bank twice a week to care for Thorin and Abyss.

The small Hellhound stumbled as he stepped out of the trunk, and started towards him. As he approached, Voldemort couldn't help but notice the dullness to his fur, or the unending sorrow in his eyes. Once Abyss reached him, he snuffled his body, like he had every time he had seen him in the last two months before he whimpered and climbed onto the chair. He carefully moved around his body and curled up behind him, and rested his head on his small, deformed torso.

Voldemort didn't know how much longer Abyss would last before he started to go insane without his Human.

He had learned after he had created Abyss and then Thorin, that Creatures Born of Magic always choose a Human to spend their days with, whether it was the one who had Created them—the one who was most similar to their own Magic—or another that they had Chosen—someone more fit to be their Human. With the intense Bond, it kept their Unstable-Cores Stabilized, and it kept their Magic from eating away at their minds.

Eventually, if a Magic Born was left alone long enough, the process of their Creation would start to reverse, and they would once more become Conjurations, and then, like all conjured Magic, they would eventually disappear—commonly known as Dissolving for a Magic Born.

When the head that rested on his stomach nudged up and clipped his chin with a dry nose, he carefully reached out a hand and put it against the rough fur. As his magic trickled into the hound, he couldn't help but wonder what Hell the Creature had experienced since he had lost his body.

Only Abyss and Thorin were alive, as everything else he had placed in the Labyrinth all of those years ago had either died, or Dissolved.

The fact that it was just the two of them couldn't have been good for his already declining mental state, nor Thorin's—he honestly didn't know which one the loss of his body was worse for. The Creature who hadn't had his Human in forty years, or the Creature who had suddenly lost his Human.

The shrunken bird, who had refused to leave him after the first time he had gone to the bank, flew out of the trunk, and landed on the armrest near his head, and he automatically fed him Magic, just as he had done to the whimpering Hellhound.

Unlike the Hellhound, the Dire Raven hummed, closed his eyes, and leaned into his touch as his magic poured into him.

"I miss my Human," Abyss whined softly as tears filled his eyes.

Voldemort had become his Secondary Human when the Creation process had begun to reverse in the early sixties—Eden had given him exponential amounts of Magic, more than he thought she had. Despite him being a Secondary Human, he couldn't replace the feeling of pure loss that the Hellhound experienced on a second-to-second basis. Despite him being a Secondary Human, nothing could ever replace the main Human to a Magic Born Creature until they Chose another, and Abyss refused to.

When he considered the amount of Magic that Eden had given him, Voldemort didn't think the beast could Choose another, even if he wanted to.

Abyss licked his chin—and his heart broke.

"When will my Human be back?" he whimpered.

He ran a small hand along the Hellhound's face as his own lips trembled, and his eyes watered. "I don't know Abyss. I wish I did, because I miss her too. I miss her so damn much."

The Hellhound howled, and he cursed the fact that he had his complete sanity when the Hellhound was with him.

He'd rather be insane, than sane and missing the love of his life.

She was only real, when he had Abyss.

She was only a memory, when he had Thorin—how the last three months ached with Thorin by his side.

She was a figment of his imagination when he had neither.

He'd rather be insane, than be in mourning.

He ignored the itch in the back of his mind. The itch that said, you've forgotten something.


I've finally written something that made me cry. Did any of you cry too?

My sister has kindly informed me that the Abyss I have written, and her Abyss, are two completely different creatures, and that the only thing they have in common is the appearance and the name. She's the best baby sister though. She's drawing a picture with Abyss and Eden (which you will get the link when it's finished and posted on the interwebs), and she's allowing me to share a picture of Abyss that she's drawn with you guys. Here's the link: (I'll put it on my profile) it is labeled as mature, just for gore, so, if you don't want to see that, you'll have to wait for the one with him and Eden.

Anyway, you finally got Voldy's POV! I know it's not the meeting that you all want, but, it's progress. For those who I answered certain questions about Voldy, I got mixed up. But, it's next chapter that you'll see the fullness of my answer. I was going to say brilliance, but, I'm not Tom. I don't have an ego that big. Or do I?

Anywho, love you all. I love reading your feedback and suggestions.