AN: Hey, everyone! So, since its my B-day, I thought I'd post another story. I know, I've sincerely got a problem here - but, heck, it could be WAY worse. With that in mind, I'd like everyone to know this is the result of me binge-reading three AMAZING Tom/Harry stories, getting inspired, and having to write it since it was so good. Those stories are 'Riddle and the Ancient Contract' by HERMIT532, 'Ink and Parchment, Blood and Bone' by Rose_by_another_name, and 'Lord of Time' by DebsTheSlytherinSnapeFan. The first is here on , the other two are on AO3, if anyone wants to read them.

To cover myself, I'm just going to say it now. NO, this is NOT a straight copy and paste of 'Lord of Time' - I just got heavily inspired and it ended up going along a similar track at first - so, please, no flames for assumed plagiarism. Especially since its my B-Day, please? I'm aware it reads similarly to the first few chapters, and I'm saying right now that its NOT going to be a repost. That's just how my imagination ended up working it out.

PS. Found the image already up, and since I liked it so much for my fem!Harry I decided to use it. Its not mine, though, its on Pinterest. She's just too much like what i imagined this version of Harry to look like not to use it.

Everyone's in the Great Hall for the Annual Halloween feast, and twelve-year-old Tom Riddle watches everyone eat the sweets without a care in the world. He's about to take a Cauldron Cake when suddenly he senses something.

Its dark, and cold - the kind of cold that seeps into your very bones, no matter what you do to try and prevent it from happening, and stays there - with an undercurrent of what feels like electricity running through it, and…its getting stronger. If Tom didn't know any better, he'd say…something or someone was coming.

But that's imp- nevermind, its perfectly possible despite being in the middle of Hogwarts and buried under all its Wards that are supposed to be impenetrable.

Because all the candles suddenly went out at the exact same time, and even the Charm on the ceiling went dark as that electric coldness got a hundred times stronger. Strong enough for even the other students to feel it and shiver.

Tom, however, is long past shivering, more like frozen in place - there's something in that darkness, something he can feel drawing closer.

So much for Hogwarts being so safe.

He figures nobody's going to come out of this alive, considering how powerful this feels. Powerful, and Dark, and incredibly alluring - if he weren't frozen to his seat in anticipation and no small amount of fear, he'd want to know more about it. He doesn't even have to look at the professors' table to know Dumbledore's gaze is on him suspiciously, but then everything goes pitch-black suddenly and he doesn't have to worry about meeting the old fool's gaze.

There's several shrieks from the First-Years across the hall, and even more when there's a sound a lot like a gunshot Tom once heard - unsurprisingly, resulting in screams across the entire hall from what sounds like all seven years - and the coldness and electricity spikes hard for a moment before starting to fade.

As the darkness lightens, everyone's looking around in fear - wondering when the other shoe is going to drop, most likely. Right up until a Ravenclaw Third-Year shrieks once more, drawing everyone's attention as she grabs at the person next to her frantically. Similar reactions from the Hufflepuff table tell him that they've found the other shoe and its already hit the floor - and that its bad.

Then there's an unfamiliar groan, and gasps of 'She's awake!' 'Bloody Merlin!' and 'How is she even alive?!' coming from everyone that's in eyesight of…this girl, apparently.

Even the Slytherins are trying to see the newcomer, and Tom just manages to get a glimpse of raven-black hair that seems to suck in the light and pale skin - though, the latter is hard to see, since there's more injuries and blood than skin to see. And then she gives a wet, rattling cough that makes a splattering sound on the ground that has Tom almost wincing - he knows what that's like, coughing up blood.

Although, he can't say he's ever been cursed as much as he's sensing on her. His magic-sense, better than most anyone else's in the school, actually has him feeling something like sympathy for this girl - he's never sensed anything so dark before, and its all coming from her. It can't be particularly healthy…or even painless, for that matter.

And then she elicits several shrieks, gasps, and a few retches when she grabs her right shoulder and…pops it back into place.

Now THAT is some impressive pain tolerance.

And then Albus Dumbledore is coming down the aisle, wand in hand and saying "Now, children, don't crowd her. Let me through, please."

The Gryffindors that had managed to gather around to see what's going on move out of the way, making an opening for him - and then, taking everyone by surprise, the girl yells "No, stay away from me! Stay away!"

Tom gets a moment's warning as the same power that brought this strange girl into the Great Hall builds up inside her quickly before being unleashed, and he gets treated to the sight of Dumbledore going flying backwards, landing back behind the professors' table on his backside. Its an incredible sight, truth be told. Everyone scrambles away from her at that, giving Tom his first clear view of her - she's in what looks like Muggle clothing, her hair is wildly messed up…she looks like someone was trying to kill her and nearly succeeded. Her clothing is burned - scorched black, actually, unless it was already black to begin with - along with a good portion of her right arm that's pressed to her abdomen - broken rib, at least one of them - and there's blood rapidly pooling underneath her. Still, what really catches his attention is bright green eyes, almost like they're glowing with magic. He's sure that they're the greenest eyes he's ever seen.

And then they meet his, and a torrent of emotions crashes into him that can collectively be summed up as 'oh fuck.'

Before anything else happens, those bright green eyes roll up in her head, her body violently shudders, and she's unconscious before she hits the ground with a sickening cracking sound that can be heard all the way to the Professors' table and has most of the hall looking horrified in her direction.

Unfortunately, he really wants to ask her quite a few questions - because he swears he felt recognition, of all things, in her feelings the split second he had to analyze them.

Evelynn groans as she opens her eyes, only to find herself back in Limbo once more. "You've gotta be kidding me…"

Death, or Thanatos as he said to call him, appears and says "Afraid so, Mistress."

Evelynn looks at the angelic-looking being, her own personal Guardian Angel so to speak - as he's actually an Angel of Death - and asks "They actually killed me? After twelve years?"

He nods, and says "If it makes you feel any better, you gave them quite the fight."

"I hope so. Hope I took those bloody backstabbing traitors to their graves before…what happened, anyway? I recognized exactly two people before blacking out. Fucking Albus My-Middle-Name-Is-Manipulative Dumbledore, and a twelve-year-old Tom Riddle."

Thanatos chuckles, and says "You're in 1939, on Halloween night to be exact."

Evelynn groans at once, and says "Wonderful. They attacked me on Halloween, I ended up on Halloween in a lot of pain - more than I was in before for some reason, why is that? Also…why is it always Halloween?!"

Thanatos laughs, full-out laughs, and says "You arrived on Halloween, or Samhain - the first Day of the Dead - because it is when I, and the power of the Hallows as they're connected to me, am strongest. As for why something always tends to happen to you on Halloween…I haven't got a clue, darling. I really don't. I've never seen anyone have something bad happen on the same day every year for so long."

"So, why did my body hurt so much more after the time travel?" Honestly, when you find out your entire life was a lie and the man you trusted as a grandfather wanted you dead - and that your the Master of Death - you tend to take things in stride after a while. Learning she's just time-traveled isn't nearly the craziest thing she's heard.

Thanatos just grins, saying "All in due time. As for right now, I'd suggest using the name Peverell, instead of Potter. I'll work out all the details for you, just give them an edited version of your original history. The Peverells went abroad, and the Ministry lost track of them, hence why nobody knows about you. Your parents died when you were a baby in one of Grindelwald's attacks. And the same has just happened with your aunt, uncle, and cousin, but this time it was Fiendfyre that killed them, leaving barely any trace of them and severely injuring you in the rest of the attack."

"Yeah…Ron did catch me with that curse, among others. Even if it was just a brush on my arm that really connected. I can't believe he used Fiendfyre on me! Fiendfyre! So much for being paragons of the Light."

She grimaces, remembering all the Curses they'd flung at her - none of which were even remotely Light. Relatively few actually landed on her, but the ones that did were nasty - and lethal. Were she not the Master of Death…well, she'd be dead. She should be dead, really -even though the Fienfyre only brushed her arm before she starved it of oxygen and heat, though that alone should've done her in. The Bone-Breaker she took to the chest alone should've ensured that - hell, she's pretty sure it punctured a lung with one of her ribs - and there were others that landed. "So…how did I end up back in time anyway?"

"Do you remember your last thought?"

Evelynn nods, then says "If that was how Tom Riddle was treated…that's how? All I had to do was think about this time?"

"No, all you had to do was think about him. You pictured the eleven-year-old in your mind, and thought about his treatment at Hogwarts. That's all it took. Time is meaningless to Death, and now to you as well. Well, once you recover, that is. It'll take a while for you to be able to travel in time once more, if you choose to do so. On the other hand, you could stay here for a while and change things."

"Like…keeping Albus I've-Got-Too-Many-Names Dumbledore from getting so much influence? Or keeping Tom from going so Dark?"

Thanatos grins, and says "Precisely, darling."

Abraxas stares at Tom Riddle in surprise, and asks "You want us to what? Come again?"

Tom resists the urge to Curse the Malfoy Heir, as he's not questioning him directly and is a rather important ally to keep on his side, and repeats "Keep an eye on the mystery girl."

One of the fifth years rolls his eyes, and asks "Really? Why's that?"

Tom glares at him and then Wandlessly Curses the boy for a good minute before letting up on him. He may be just a Second Year, but he's already proven he's at the top of the House of Snakes - and not just because he's a Parselmouth, one of Slytherin's descendants. "Because, if she's strong enough to Apparate through the Wards of Hogwarts while being that injured - and then send Dumbledore flying across the hall - she's strong enough to warrant attention. Or do you not remember what happened before she arrived?"

Another of the Slytherins says "There's no guarantee that she did that, though. Merlin-knows why or how it happened in the first place."

A sixth year jokingly says "Ooh, maybe it was the Deathly Hallows at work! Samhain is the first Day of the Dead after all." Therein ensues a lot of mocking laughter, jokes about how they'll find the Elder Wand and be undefeatable.

Tom just raises an eyebrow at Nott, who quietly says "The Deathly Hallows are a myth, its said Death gave the three Peverell Brothers a gift each. An unbeatable wand, a stone that can bring back shades of the dead, and an invisibility cloak. And, should someone ever unite them…they'd be the Master of Death."

For whatever reason, it strikes a chord with Tom - the Master of Death…it certainly sounds like someone that would be powerful enough to get into Hogwarts via magic.

"It's just a myth though. Antioch Peverell was killed in his sleep for the wand, the Stone was lost, and any invisibility cloak made fades over a few generations."

Still…it sure doesn't sound like someone he wants to be on the bad side of. And, even if it really is just a myth…she's still very powerful. He could practically taste her power, for Merlin's sake. Best to keep an eye on her until he knows which way the wind will blow in her case.

AN: Well...I already said most of everything up-top. Still, hope you all like the chapter! Yes, this is a manipulative Dumbledore story, though less so than my last few. Really, that scene where he set Tom's wardrobe on fire really got to me - wth, Dumbledore?! Seriously, no matter what he did...even in canon, he was still a relatively-innocent kid at that point. Say what you want about him later in life, but who sets a kid's wardrobe on fire?! Honestly, that didn't strike me as so very great, even when I was a kid myself.

Anyway, enjoy! Please give the story a review, it would be a wonderful b-day present!