Wow it has been forever! I'm so sorry for the huge wait! Thanks to everyone who has reviewed and read this story, you have all been so amazing throughout the past few years. This is the 2nd last chapter. I'll try to post the last chapter this week.

All belongs to JK Rowling!

The rest of the week passed in a blur of chess games, hospital ice cream and old Muggle novels. Lyra sat by Tom's bed every day, only leaving to grab food and to sleep at night in a local inn, paid for by Dumbledore. After a few days, Tom was strong enough to stand up and five days they were able to take walks through the hospital, looking in on the other patients. Tom didn't much like this activity seeing as the sight and smell of sick witches and wizards deeply disgusted him but the nurse insisted the walks were necessary to rebuild the strength he had lost. To Tom's annoyance, Lyra managed to make friends with some of the Healers and even some of the patients on their daily walks and insisted on dragging Tom over to talk to them whenever they left the room. Tom didn't understand the point of making friends with people they would surely never see again once they left the hospital.

As much as he disliked them, these friends came in handy on New Year's Eve when Lyra decided to throw a small birthday party for Tom. Knowing he would be more stressed than happy to spend his birthday with a bunch of people he hardly knew, Lyra limited the actual "party" part of the party to a Happy Birthday banner strung across the wall in the hospital wing and a cake a Healer had bought at a Muggle bakery down the street. Lyra had accidentally let it slip that she didn't have any money left to buy Tom a birthday cake and the old woman had promptly disappeared and reappeared with a chocolate cake and a banner which was stored in the staff room until the 31st.

"What do you usually do for your birthday?" Lyra asked him as they took their daily walk on New Year's Eve. Lyra had been charged with distracting him while the nurse set up the banner and cake in his room. "Did you ever do anything to celebrate?" Lyra asked, and Tom snorted, looking almost amused.

"Don't ask stupid questions, Lyra." He said and Lyra involuntarily tightened her grip on his hand. If Tom noticed, he didn't say anything, and Lyra was glad.

"What would you like to do for your birthday then." Lyra said, and Tom shrugged, thinking.

"Get out of here." He said at last, looking around the hallway with disgust.

"We could go to the roof and watch the fireworks." Lyra said but Tom shook his head.

"Do you want to freeze to death?" He asked, and Lyra hummed, trying to think of other ways to "get out".

"We can call Dumbledore and see if he can take us somewhere." Lyra said and Tom actually laughed.

"The last person I want to see on my birthday is that slimy, old-"

"Well it's good to see you too, Tom." Dumbledore said from behind them and Lyra jumped, spinning around.

"Happy New Years," Dumbledore said, his eyes twinkling in amusement at the mutinous look on Tom's face. "Happy Birthday Tom."

"What are you doing here?" Tom asked suspiciously and Dumbledore laughed.

"I came to wish you happy birthday, of course." Dumbledore said, "Although now I see the best present I could have given you was my absence."

"It's not too late." Tom said helpfully and Dumbledore laughed.

"I did have a few other reasons for coming down here." Dumbledore said and Tom snorted.

"Of course you did." Tom said dryly. Dumbledore ignored him this time, turning to Lyra instead.

"Is there somewhere we can talk?" He asked and Lyra opened her mouth to say that Tom's room would be fine and then shut it again, remembering the party.

Tom looked at her strangely and Lyra mentally kicked herself. "Um - uh - of course. Tom's room is- is fine." She said, hoping they had everything set up.

"Wonderful!" Dumbledore said, leading the way towards the room. Lyra hurried to keep up with him, dragging Tom along with her. At last they reached the room. The door was closed and Lyra took this to mean everything was ready. Dumbledore pulled open the door, jumping in surprise when a small group of Healers and patients yelled "Happy Birthday!" as he did.

Lyra looked at Tom, whose face was a cross between confused and overwhelmed. Lyra watched him take in the banner and the cake, his expression quickly becoming unreadable.

"Well it looks as if you are quite popular here, Tom." Dumbledore said, as Tom forced a smile, thanking the grinning party members.

Tom ignored him, giving Lyra a look that clearly asked "Did you do this?" before succumbing to the peer pressure to cut the cake. Tom cut slices for everyone present, even Dumbledore, and at a Healer's insistence, one for himself.

"Bloody good cake!" An old wizard in a wheelchair exclaimed hoarsely. "You know my birthday is next week, if I'm not dead by then..."

"Archie your birthday is in June. It's in your medical files. How stupid do I look?" A Healer reprimanded sharply and Lyra stifled a laugh, stuffing her face with cake instead.

"This was your idea, wasn't it." Tom whispered to Lyra as Dumbledore chatted with the Healers.

Lyra looked up, worried he was angry with her, and nodded. "I know you hate parties and...you know...people...and I swear I didn't know Dumbledore was going to be here, he just-"

"Thank you." Tom said, cutting her off and Lyra stared at him for a second to make sure he was being genuine. "No one has ever..."

Lyra nodded and Tom looked away, eating his cake with intense concentration. Lyra felt her love for him swell inside her so much that it hurt.

"I have good news." Dumbledore said brightly, coming over to join them as the Healers and patients slowly filtered out of the room. "Your Healer just told me she thinks you'll be fit to leave within a matter of days."

"That's great!" Lyra exclaimed, feeling a rush of excitement consume her. It was almost time to go home. Finally.

"Indeed." Dumbledore agreed, looking over at Lyra. Something in his expression made her wary and she frowned as he went to close the door, leaving the three of them alone in the hospital room.

"I also thought you'd be interested to know that Conan is back at Hogwarts." Dumbledore said, his tone careful.

Lyra's eyebrows shot up, her heart beat increasing, "Is he- is he okay?"

"You'll have to talk to him yourself when you get back." Dumbledore said, and Lyra nodded, wondering what that meant. She wanted to press him for more information but she had another question she'd been burning to ask him.

"And Elaina? Did it work?" Lyra asked desperately, searching Dumbledore's face. To her immense relief, his expression softened and he smiled, nodding. Lyra let out a breath of relief, trying to stop the tears that threatened to well up in her eyes. The image of Astoria swam before her eyes. She would live now.

"How?" Tom asked, incredulously.

"The Elder Wand defies all rules." Dumbledore said simply, "It simply cannot fail."

"But you're not a relative...you didn't lose your magic-" Tom protested.

"All of that is irrelevant to the Elder Wand. I cast one spell to lift the curse - it succeeded."

Tom stared at Dumbledore, his face a mixture of shock and raw desire. He wanted the wand; he might always want the wand. Lyra felt her heart sink for a moment before Tom looked away; the look of desire gone.

Lyra knew Tom's expression had not been lost on Dumbledore when he sighed, pulling out the wand and running his fingers over it. Tom looked at it dispassionately, his expression cool.

"I must confess I am afraid I am not the man to be entrusted with this kind of power." Dumbledore said, looking directly at Tom. Tom stared back; his face unreadable.

"When I was young, I craved power." Dumbledore said, pocketing the wand. "I was brilliant and I felt my talents were being wasted because I was forced to stay at home and take care of my sister instead of pursuing my own ambitions."

Dumbledore paused and Tom stared back at him evenly. His veiled interest just barely perceptible to Lyra.

"I killed her. My sister." Dumbledore said, a haunted look coming over his face. "Not intentionally of course...but it was my fault nonetheless."

Lyra's head snapped up as she remembered the conversation she had overheard between Dumbledore and Grindelwald before she had been rescued. Was this what they had been talking about?

"Grindelwald and I had plans. We wanted to create a new world order in which Muggles would be made into the underclass of the wizarding world; we considered this their proper place." Dumbledore continued, "My brother, my infinitely wiser brother, tried to talk us out of our madness and...we fought. My sister, Ariana, was caught in the crossfire."

Dumbledore was silent for a moment and Lyra stared at him, realizing she had never really known the man who had been her headmaster. Who had died in the fight against Voldemort. Who had always seemed so invincible; so perfect.

Tom stared at him, his face unreadable and Lyra resisted the urge to say something comforting. She bit her tongue, knowing in her heart that Dumbledore had not told this story for her benefit. It had been for Tom's.

"Anyway, I should be on my way." Dumbledore said, waving a hand to dispel the heavy silence that had descended upon the three of them. "I'll be back to pick you both up in a few days. Enjoy your last few days in this wonderful establishment." Dumbledore said, gesturing to the rather plain and white room around them.

"Professor." Tom said, making both Lyra and Dumbledore turn towards him in surprise. "What are you going to do with the wand?"

Dumbledore hesitated, and Tom eyed him evenly, eerily calm.

"You were going to keep it weren't you." Tom said, quietly, raising an eyebrow.

Dumbledore examined Tom in silence for a moment before nodding. "I thought it would be good to have on hand in case it is needed. It saved Elaina's mother's life. It could be valuable to the school in the future."

"Or it could fall into the hands of someone like me." Tom said, and Lyra felt a chill run through her at the ease with which he acknowledged his own darkness.

"What would you propose I do with it?" Dumbledore asked.

"Destroy it." Tom said, and Lyra felt herself smile despite herself. She looked over at Tom, a wave of pride washing over her. He was asking Dumbledore to destroy the object he had been craving for the better part of half a year now. The Elder Wand was the very embodiment of ultimate power. Destroying it meant more than simply preventing it from being misused - it meant rejecting power itself.

Dumbledore nodded, slowly, the hint of a smile on his lips. He fished in the pocket of his cloak, pulling out the wand. "Very well." He said, holding the wand out to Tom. "Would you like to do the honours?"

Tom frowned in surprise, staring at the wand in front of him as if it was going to bite him. He gave Dumbledore a questioning look and Dumbledore merely smiled back, waiting for him to take the wand.

"Do it." Lyra said, and Tom looked over at her, his dark eyes meeting her own. She smiled, feeling, rather than seeing, the fear and confusion and turmoil that hid behind his calm façade. He nodded, his eyes becoming vulnerable for a split second before he turned away from her and seized the wand in front of him. He held it up in front of him, his hands holding either end of the wand. Lyra watched, her heart beating with anticipation as Tom stared at the wand. She should be afraid, Lyra thought. She should be worried about him turning on them now that he had the ultimate instrument of power in his own hands. It wasn't too late for him to become Voldemort. He could leave the country, make more Horcruxes, recruit more followers...but something inside Lyra told her he wasn't going to do that. Something was different.

Tom pulled his hands down, cracking the wand in two. The sound reverberated through the room and suddenly Lyra was grinning. She resisted the urge to wrap her arms around Tom and hug him as he handed the pieces of the cracked wand back to Dumbledore. Dumbledore smiled, his blue eyes twinkling with an echo of the pride Lyra felt in her own heart.

"Well done, Tom." Dumbledore said, a note of fondness in his voice that Lyra had never heard him use with Tom before. "I believe this was a wise decision."

Tom made no reply and Lyra looked over at him, sensing his discomfort at Dumbledore's praise.

"Professor?" Lyra asked, attempting to draw the attention away from Tom so he could relax, "Have you told them...everything...yet?"

Dumbledore turned his attention to her, nodding. "Yes." He said, smiling gently, "I imagine you'll have a lot to talk about when you get back."

"How did they take it?" Lyra asked, her stomach swirling with nervousness. Tom had begrudgingly agreed to allow Dumbledore to explain everything to Elaina and Rosalie on condition that they swear an unbreakable vow to keep the story to themselves.

Dumbledore smiled reassuringly, "About as well as you could expect. I'm sure they will have come to terms with things by the time you return."

Lyra cringed, her anxiety deepening at this. "Do you want me to tell Conan?" Dumbledore asked, and Lyra looked over at Tom pleadingly. He met her eyes, a look of resignation on his face.

"Go ahead." Tom sighed, "He knows the worst of it already."

Dumbledore nodded, giving the two of them a sympathetic look. "I'll tell him tonight. It'll give him time to process before you return."

Lyra nodded, crossing her arms as she struggled to suppress the worry that the truth may alter her friendships forever. Not that she would be seeing them much once she returned to the future, Lyra thought, suddenly feeling even more upset.

"Well I think it's time I let the two of you get on with your evening." Dumbledore said, turning to leave for the second time. This time, Lyra and Tom made no protest, exchanging their goodbyes and closing the door behind him. The moment the door closed, leaving the two of them alone in the room, Lyra turned to Tom, pushing her own sadness away so she could focus on the momentous victory that had just occurred.

"You are amazing." Lyra said, the awe she had felt earlier when he had destroyed the wand returning.

Tom looked at her, confused, and Lyra laughed. "You destroyed the wand. The thing you've been searching for this whole year. And you did it because you were concerned it might be used to harm people."

A pained expression filled Tom's eyes and he sighed, "No, Lyra. I destroyed it because I knew that as long as it was out there I would be tempted by it."

Lyra's expression softened, "I know." She said, reaching to take his hand. He pulled away, almost instinctively, but Lyra caught his hand before he could escape and held it firmly. "Same thing."

Tom frowned, looking perturbed, "No, it is not the same thing Lyra. A part of me still wants power and you don't know how much effort it is taking to stop myself from giving in to that desire."

Lyra shook her head, remembering the total absence of fear she had felt when he had held the single most powerful weapon in the wizarding world. "Dumbledore is the same." Lyra said, "He's lived his entire life not being able to trust himself. But look at what he's achieved. He's done so much good."

Tom wrinkled his nose, "I'm not like him though, Lyra. I am evil-"

"You are not evil, Tom." Lyra cut in forcefully.

"Yes, I am." Tom insisted, trying to pull his hands out of Lyra's. Lyra only gripped them tighter, unwilling to let him slip away.

"There is no good or evil." Lyra said, a memory resurfacing to the front of her mind, "Only love and those too afraid to seek it."

Tom scoffed derisively, "Who told you that?"

Lyra saw Ginny in her mind's eye, recounting in detail everything Harry had told her about his brush with Voldemort. Lyra saw herself, listening with a pounding heart as she tried to reconcile Ginny's account of the bodiless man with the little boy with brown hair and distrusting eyes she'd met in her basement.

"No one." Lyra said, "It's just true. Stop being afraid, Tom. You can push me away all you want and try to convince me you're evil but I'm not going anywhere. You think I don't know what I signed up for? Give me some credit."

Tom looked at her, his hands relaxing in hers as he stopped fighting to break free. "It just doesn't make sense." Tom said, sounding genuinely confused, "Why do you want me?"

At this, Lyra lost her self-control and threw herself on him, wrapping her arms around him tightly. He stood still as a rock for a moment, clearly shocked, before wrapping his arms around her as well.

"Don't ask stupid questions, Tom." Lyra said, pulling back to look at him.


The carriage bumped along, jostling Lyra, Tom, and Dumbledore, who sat in silence. Lyra felt excitement bubble up inside her as the Hogwarts castle came into view. It felt like an eternity since she'd last seen it. When she'd left, she had truly believed she would never see it again.

Reaching the Hogwarts gates, the thestrals stopped and Dumbledore stood up, opening the door for Lyra and Tom. The two of them descended from the carriage in silence, as Dumbledore opened the gates to admit them into the Hogwarts grounds.

"Welcome home." Dumbledore said, smiling as Lyra and Tom walked through the gates.

Lyra grinned, unable to stop herself and glanced at Tom. His face was impassive as usual, but she knew he was relieved to be back in the one place he had ever felt like he belonged.

"Now, your things are already packed and waiting for you in my office but I dare say you will want to say a few goodbyes before you leave." Dumbledore said as they walked up the hill to the castle.

A twinge of nervousness mixed with sadness entered Lyra's heart at the prospect of seeing her friends for the last time.

As they entered the castle, Lyra breathed in the familiar smell of the place, feeling somewhat comforted by it. Dumbledore led the way to his office, opening the door to reveal three familiar faces. Lyra froze, staring at Elaina, Rosalie, and Conan, suddenly terrified they already hated her.

"Lyra!" Elaina cried, running forward and wrapping her arms around Lyra before she knew what was happening. Lyra stumbled under the force of the hug, her mind reeling. Lyra hugged her friend, and grandmother back, feeling tears prick at her eyes. At last, Elaina pulled back to stare at her, her own eyes glistening with tears.

"Thank you." She breathed, "Thank you so much. You saved my mother's life."

Lyra shook her head, "I didn't. Dumbledore-"

"He said you were the one who gave him the clue to defeat Grindelwald - to get around the blood pact." Elaina said, shaking her head, "It's thanks to you the war is over and my mother's alive."

Lyra felt her cheeks turn beet red and stared at her friend, at a loss for words.

"She's right." Conan said, walking up to Lyra cautiously, as if he was nervous. "You saved me and my sister too. You were far braver than I was."

Lyra felt her eyes fill with tears and she threw her arms around Conan, shocking him this time. "Don't be stupid. You did what you had to do to protect your sister. He put you in an impossible situation."

Lyra let go of him, smiling through her tears at him. "You really never were a Slytherin." Conan remarked, and Lyra laughed.

"Hey, not all Slytherins are evil." Rosalie piped up from behind Conan, and Lyra turned to look at her. Rosalie had been the one she had been most nervous about meeting. She knew Elaina and Conan already knew about Tom and her true identity. She also knew they both suspected her feelings for him. But Rosalie had been completely in the dark.

Rosalie grinned mischievously, her green eyes glinting, before running to throw her arms around Lyra. Lyra let herself breathe a sigh of relief and laughed, hugging her friend tightly.

"So you're from the future, huh?" Rosalie said, as she pulled out of the hug.

Lyra laughed, "Or you're from the past." She said, her smile melting as she saw Rosalie was no longer looking at her. Instead, she was staring past Lyra, at Tom.

Lyra turned to look at him, feeling guilty she had completely forgotten he was still in the room. Tom stood still, his hands in his pockets. Lyra could tell he was uncomfortable, but as per usual, he was doing an excellent job of hiding it from the others. Dumbledore, for his part, was nowhere to be seen.

Elaina and Conan turned to look at him as well and Lyra felt her stomach flip. Slowly, Elaina stepped forward, walking towards Tom. Lyra almost took a step forward and then stopped herself.

"Listen Riddle." Elaina said quietly, "I think I speak for all of us here when I say I don't like you, I don't trust you, and I sure as hell won't miss you."

Tom's face remained expressionless, his dark eyes fixed coldly on Elaina.

"But I, personally, and now I am speaking strictly for myself, want to thank you for saving Lyra. If you hadn't told Dumbledore the truth, Lyra would be dead, we would still be in a war, and my mother would still be dying." Elaina continued. "You're not quite, and I stress quite, as horrible as I thought you were."

Lyra watched Tom carefully, noticing the way his jawline tightened ever so slightly. He was uncomfortable, Lyra thought to herself, trying not to smile.

"I always suspected you knew more than you let on." Tom said after a moment, examining Elaina as if she were an interesting specimen under observation. "Since we can talk openly now, I'm curious. How much did you know?"

Elaina was silent for a moment before responding. "Everything." She said at last, a definite note of smugness in her voice.

"What!?" Shrieked Rosalie from the back of the room.

Tom's eyes widened ever so slightly, a flash of anger passing behind them before it was quickly hidden from view. Lyra's mouth fell open as she stared at her grandmother.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Lyra asked, shocked.

"Because that would have put Cepheus in danger." Tom replied without looking at Lyra. He had his eyes fixed on Elaina. Slowly, Elaina nodded.

"You knew he killed Myrtle and you didn't say anything!?" Rosalie cried, aghast. "Hagrid got expelled for that!"

"Hagrid's name is going to be cleared as soon as we leave." Lyra said quickly, "Dumbledore is going to tell Dippet that Grindelwald had Hagrid under the Imperius curse and told him to open the Chamber of Secrets. Grindelwald's agreed to defend the lie."

"Why is Grindelwald going along with this?" Rosalie asked, justifiably confused.

"It was part of the bargain." Lyra said, shrugging. "Dumbledore promised to do his best to ensure he doesn't receive the death penalty or the dementor's kiss if he agrees to certain terms. This was one of them."

The room fell silent, the five of them looking at each other. For once, there was nothing but honesty between them. The lies had all been uncovered and exposed. Now, for the first time ever, they could all see each other clearly.

The silence was broken at last by the return of Dumbledore. "Well I am sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but I am afraid it is time to leave." He said, depositing a single trunk on the floor. Between the two of them they hadn't even had enough belongings to justify a second trunk. On top of Lyra's trunk, he placed a small cage containing Button, and Lyra smiled despite herself imaging what Astoria would say about her new pet.

Lyra turned to look at her friends, tears coming unbidden to her eyes. Before she could say anything, Rosalie threw herself into her arms, hugging her tightly.

"I'll find you again in the future. I hope you won't mind being friends with an old woman." Rosalie said and Lyra laughed, her tears escaping her eyes now.

She turned to Conan, hugging him more gently. "I'll see you around too, I'm sure." Conan said, and Lyra nodded.

At last, she turned to Elaina, wiping tears off her face. She stared at her young grandmother's face, knowing the truth. This was goodbye. She would never see Elaina Selwyn again. Elaina Selwyn would die of cancer the night before Lyra's 14th birthday. Of course, this might not happen now that the timeline was so messed up, Lyra reminded herself. Still, there was a good chance this was goodbye.

Her heart breaking, Lyra wrapped her arms around Elaina, trying to hold onto this moment so that she could remember it later. "I love you." She said, thinking both of the grandmother she had grown up with and the loyal friend she had found in the past.

"I love you too." Elaina said quietly, before pulling back, her eyes wet. "Granddaughter." She added, laughing.

Lyra laughed, stepping away from her friends and towards Tom and Dumbledore. She looked up at Tom and felt her spirits lift ever so slightly. He met her eyes with his own dark ones, his expression gentle and reassuring. She resisted the urge to hug him and contented herself with reaching out to take his hand. He slipped his fingers through hers, the hint of a smile on his lips.

Dumbledore passed Tom the trunk and Lyra Button's cage, smiling. "I expect you will be seeing me very soon." He said, his blue eyes sparkling. "For me, however, this is goodbye for now."

"Thank you," Lyra said, as sincerely as she could, "For everything you've done."

Dumbledore smiled fondly back at her, "Goodbye, Lyra." He replied, before turning to Tom, "Goodbye, Tom."

"Goodbye." Lyra said, looking around one last time at the small gathering of people. She tightened her grip on Tom's hand and lifted their entwined fingers to meet her other hand. Still holding onto Button's cage, Lyra carefully removed the ring from her finger.