Time is not so linear as to only have one course.

Every decision creates an alternate route for time, and travelling through it, passing through it, one can never be sure they'll end up in the timeline they intended.

And so it was with Hadrian Peverell.

When he had been Harry Potter he had convinced himself to travel back in time to change the future, and for a long time he believed this to be that same timeline. There had been subtle differences here and there, but he'd never really been sure that this, the impression of differences, wasn't a side-effect of his seer abilities.

He was, after all, able to see multiple different timelines and outcomes before they occurred, and his affliction of psychometry had forced him to witness many past events too

It's little wonder that he wasn't quite so confident in his own memories anymore, nor, indeed, of his grasp on current reality.

But Neville Longbottom being the Boy Who Lived? That raised a lot of questions.

He knew there were living Potters because of what had happened at Gringotts, but if Neville was the child of the prophecy in this timeline then what had happened to James and Lily Potter?

What had happened to Harry?

How many events would stay the same from the timeline he'd lived before now Neville was in his place and playing his role?

For the first time in a long time the seer feared for the future.

"You're too late!"

The young Tom Riddle called as Dumbledore entered the Chamber.

"The girl is fading and the boy is dying. I've won!"

The giant Basilisk slithered behind it's master. Before the mouth of Salazar Slytherin's statue lay Ginny Weasley, motionless and clutching a book, while next to her lay Neville Longbottom, bleeding heavily while lying on his left side.

"There is always hope, Tom."

Dumbledore answered and drew his wand before him.

"Even in the darkest moments, there is hope."

Riddle laughed.

"The foolish uttering of beaten old man! You're precious Boy Who Lived is defeated, and I will soon be reborn. Lord Voldemort will rise again, and nothing will stop me! No one will be able to stand in my way."

"There will always be those who stand against tyranny. You will never win. Even if I were to fail here today, there will be others who would stand against you."

"Then they too will die."

"There are worse thing than death in this world, Tom."

A cruel smile crossed Riddle's face.

"Perhaps, but death is final, and I will take great pleasure in yours!"

He looked up at the Basilisk and spoke to it in Parseltongue. The creature gave a fearsome and monstrous hissing roar and turned it's gaze towards Dumbledore.

Dumbledore's wand swished through the air and a stone wall flew up in front of him, just in time to block the beast's sight. He waved his wand left, then right, and the great stone serpents either side him sprang to life and wrapped themselves around him.

"You're only delaying the inevitable Dumbledore!"

Riddle mockingly called.

"There is something to be said for delay."

Dumbledore idly replied.

"It buys time for help to arrive."

The cry of the Phoenix filled the Chamber as Fawkes descended upon the Baslisk. The serpent tried to fight back but the bird was too swift and too agile, and before long it had destroyed the serpent's eyes and blinded it.

Dumbledore allowed his protective statues to unwind themselves and began to walk further into the chamber. With a flick of his wand the conjured wall shot forward and knocked the Basilisk to the floor – it cried out in pain.

The serpent thrashed around in the rubble of the wall but the two statues descended on its struggling form and sank their fangs into it neck and spine. The beast struggled in desperate anguish for a few moments before it fell still against the floor, dead.

"No!"

"It is time to give up, Tom. You cannot win."

"No! This isn't over. I still have the girl! And the boy cannot be saved. You may have defeated my Basilisk but this is still my victory!"

"You are a shade!"

A new voice echoed through the Chamber.

Unseen by Tom Riddle, unnoticed amidst the battle that had raged, Hadrian Peverell had entered the room and reached the stricken children. He stood now, holding the book in his hand, with a glassy look in his eye.

Riddle turned to face this new comer with a jolt. Anger still surging through him.

"What?! Who are you?! Do you have any idea who you are addressing?!"

Hadrian approached him with unsteady steps, swaying from side to side.

"You are just a shade…a memory, an echo of a broken soul. You seek power from the living but you are fleeting, weak and broken. You are a wisp in the wind."

"I am Lord Voldemort! The most powerful Dark Lord who ever lived!"

"…you are tied to this world by malice, by dark magic, but you are a shade still. And a shade cannot survive in the light. This…"

Hadrian held up this book.

"This is your anchor to this world. It is your connection to the girl. Without it you are nothing."

And Riddle laughed.

"You cannot destroy it. It is beyond you, beyond any of you! I have sought immortality and claimed it!"

Hadrian shook his head, his gaze looking beyond Riddle – through him – to some distant place only the seer could see.

"Immortality? No. That is not your future. It can never be."

"And what would you know?! Nothing!"

Riddle rounded on him in fury.

"I have conquered death! I will do so a million times over if I must! I will live forever. Lord Voldemort shall rule forever!"

Hadrian tilted his head one way, then the other, before throwing the book on the floor at Riddle's feet.

"From fire came life, and fire can end it."

He lifted his wand and, with barely a flourish, sent a stream of Fiendfyre towards the book. In an instant it went up in flames.

Riddle cried out in pain as his body began to disintegrate. It seemed as if he himself was within the fire and his body was turning to ash.

Within seconds the work was done, and the book and the shade were gone, and Hadrian cancelled the flames.

"Neville!"

A girl's voice cried out.

"Oh god! Neville. I'm so sorry! You can't, you cant die!"

Ginny was awake almost instantly, and she was crying as she cradled the grievously wounded boy in her arms.

Dumbledore and Hadrian rushed to their side.

Neville had several bites around his left shoulder, he'd lost a lot of blood and was barely conscious.

"I'm sorry I couldn't be a hero Ginny."

He said weakly.

"I'm sorry I let you down."

"Don't say that! Don't say that Neville! We'll get you out of here and you'll get better!"

Dumbledore placed his hand on the girls shoulder and spoke gently.

"Miss Weasley, a Basilisk's fang carries deadly poison. We must treat Mr Longbottom immediately or it will be too late."

"But what can we do Professor?"

"Fortunately, we have a way."

Fawkes landed by Dumbledore's side as if he had been summoned. He hopped towards Neville and lent over the boy and rested its head against his shoulder. Tears began to fall.

Dumbledore stood back and pulled Ginny back with him.

"Phoenix tears have remarkable healing properties, and can revive some one from the brink of death. It is fortunate indeed that we arrived in time to prevent a tragedy."

Fawkes allowed a tear to fall upon each of the wounds around Neville's shoulder, and where the tears fell the wounds shrivelled and disappeared, leaving only a small scar to show where each tooth had penetrated.

Soon Neville sat up in amazement as the poison simply vanished.

Ginny threw her arms around him and cried.