This is the final chapter. Epilogue coming in a few minutes. Please, please, please review. Don't make me beg? ;)
Ch. 10
Kate read the memo twice through before crumpling it in her hand.
Maybe there's something bothering him, she hoped, though that seemed sort of mean. Something that's not me, of course.
The day passed more quietly than most. To her combined relief and disappointment, she did not see Tom that morning. Work was slow, Mr. Diedei was in a meeting, so Kate busied herself writing a letter to her parents and sister, who were already pestering her to come home for a visit. After mailing the letter at lunchtime, she traipsed over to her uncle's office to say hello.
Ms. Vinnlespeck was a thin woman, easily more than sixty, who seemed to derive great pleasure from interrogating anyone who passed by her desk. Kate had had the misfortune of meeting her on more than one occasion. As of late she merely received a disapproving glare and a quick wave to tell her she might go in; today, however, the desk was empty. Kate assumed the secretary had gone off for lunch and proceeded into her uncle's office.
"Did you know your father used to sleepwalk?" said Uncle Roderick when his niece entered.
"I don't think you've told me that one," Kate replied, smiling. She made herself comfortable in a large leather chair, setting her sandwich on her lap.
Her uncle shook his head and pulled his own lunch out of a drawer. "It was my third year at Hogwarts, his fifth, he'd been studying for O.W.L.s so much and wound up falling asleep in the common room while we poked him with our quills when…."
The lunch hour passed quickly. Kate thoroughly enjoyed Uncle Roderick's stories about when he and her father were young, they did many things and got into a number of embarrassing situations, with which she intended to annoy her father at the earliest convenience. She lingered with her uncle, unwilling to go back to work.
"…of course, he didn't want to admit that we'd tricked him, so he ended up taking all the blame! Had to serve detention and everything…I still dunno if I believe him about what he had to do for detention, exactly, seemed to be something about feeding the giant squid or the like…."
"Oh, what did he say happened?" Kate asked eagerly.
Uncle Roderick shook his head. "That, Kate, is another story for another time. I've got work to do."
She sighed. "I guess I do too…" She stood up reluctantly.
"Welcome to the real world!"
Kate rolled her eyes at the overused cliché, but grinned just the same. "See you tomorrow!"
Afternoon was as dull as morning. She found herself counting the minutes until six o'clock, looking up to the door expectantly, as though he would show up at any moment. Daydreaming, she lost track of time….
"Wake up, Miss Gibbs! Time to go home!" said Mr. Diedei as he pulled on his traveling cloak.
"Oh! Yes, good…."
Her boss opened the door, and beyond it stood who but Tom Riddle, his hand poised as if just about to knock.
"Sorry," said Mr. Diedei. "Can I help you?"
Tom was more than a head taller than Mr. Diedei, the boy had to look down at him. He seemed remarkably distracted, looking at the wall for a moment, then Kate, then finally at the man who had spoken.
"I'm here for Kate Gibbs," he said finally.
"Ah," said Mr. Diedei, with a look of dawning comprehension. He winked at Kate. "I'll be seeing you tomorrow, Miss Gibbs."
Kate blushed, and when Mr. Diedei had left, she walked over to Tom and stood on her tiptoes to give him a kiss. There was a pause before he kissed her back, a pause in which Kate realized his lips were cold and his eyes were open. But then he wrapped his arms around her and kissed her and lifted her little body up to him, and she was thinking how crazy she must be, she was so in love with this one boy….
Tom looked into her eyes, still holding her close. Kate was feverishly glad her boss had left. He opened his mouth, paused, and then whispered, "I love you."
"I love you too," she said. He kissed her again, and at that moment she decided she would do anything, because Tom was everything, and as long as they were together everything would be wonderful, she would even come up to his room tonight if he asked her to….
"I have to go," said Tom abruptly, killing the moment and jerking Kate out of her euphoria.
"Why?" she asked.
He looked off to the left, as though avoiding her eyes. "I have work."
"At seven at night?"
He nodded.
Despite herself, Kate pouted. "Oh…"
"Don't follow me."
"I wasn't going to---"
"My work doesn't affect you, Kate. I won't have you coming after me into the rainforest again and getting yourself killed this time. Stay here."
Something was wrong with his choice of words, or maybe it was the tone in his voice. For the first time, she felt slightly frightened in his presence. She was suddenly aware of how easily he could hurt her, if he wanted to---but then she remembered that he wouldn't, and smiled, and had that smile returned. He'd said so himself. He loved her.
"Don't worry, Tom."
They walked together to the lifts, where she got into one and pressed the 'up' button. She waved to him, then the doors closed, and she rode patiently up to her apartment.
It wasn't until she got there that she looked back, back at the lift doors. One set closed behind her. The light above the other pair flicked slowly, from floor one---her office---to two, to three. The light stopped on the third floor.
"Could be anything," she muttered, but there was a firm pulling of something in her chest, and she knew she was going to check it out anyway. Why don't I trust him?
No, I trust him, she thought as she raced down the stairs to the third floor. Just…I'm too damn curious for my own good. Someday that's going to get you in trouble, Kate….
Mrs. Vinnlespeck was boarding the elevator. She looked at Kate without recognition, in fact, her customarily narrow and searching eyes were wide and blank. There was a flash of something there---for a moment they focused on the girl, who was standing in the middle of the hallway and out of breath---then it was gone.
Something's wrong, something is most certainly, definitely wrong.
Kate ran to the stairs again, reaching the ground floor just as Mrs. Vinnlespeck was walking out the front door. She could just be going home…but why doesn't she Apparate? Why doesn't she have her cloak on?
The sun was setting as she followed the old witch, being as stealthy as possible. The streets were still fairly busy, and Mrs. Vinnlespeck was obviously facing away, but Kate felt like she needed not to be seen---she was hiding from someone, only she wasn't sure who.
Mrs. Vinnlespeck stopped, and so did Kate's heart.
From out of the shadows stepped the very boy she had been talking to only moments ago. Leaving the crowds behind, the two began to walk again, the witch a little further ahead, Tom a few paces back. So it doesn't look like they're together. God, what is going on?
Kate knew where they were headed before they got there, though she kept hoping she was wrong. The last place in the world she wanted to be was that god-forsaken rainforest. She also knew that if it came down to such, she would most certainly go.
"Damn the rainforest. Damn the bugs. Damn these stupid pricker-bushes…."
Kate did not allow herself to get lazy this time, as she had done before. She followed Tom and Mrs. Vinnlespeck cautiously but closely, keeping them visible always, using a silencing charm as she went to soften her footsteps. She was worried now, worried for Tom's sake. It was clear he wasn't cheating on her---Mrs. Vinnlespeck was old enough to be his grandmother---and she honestly knew he loved her, so that had been ruled out. She was afraid of what he was doing. Or what his teacher's making him do. You never met him, remember. He could be mad. I mean, how normal is it to lead women secretly into the rainforest at night?
She stopped hastily, just before bursting into a large clearing. Tom and Mrs. Vinnlespeck had already entered, they were standing before a blue fire, talking to a tree stump. Wait, it moved…
He was a little hunched-up old man, bones sticking out at all angles, scarcely any hair on his wrinkly head. His skin looked like old leather, and when he spoke his voice sounded like a rusty tin whistle, edgey and grating. And familiar.
"You came through, Tommy!" he exclaimed giddily.
Tom smiled smugly. "And you doubted me."
"I did, I did," said the old wizard unabashedly. He bowed to Mrs. Vinnlespeck, then took her hand and led her out of Kate's view. Tom flicked his wand, and suddenly, Mrs. Vinnlespeck began to scream.
"LET GO OF ME, YOU FILTHY MAN! I'LL HAVE YOU ARRESTED! I'LL---" There was a pause, then an entirely different scream, this one of pure fright.
"Silencio!" said Tom. He looked uncaring, bored, almost….
Kate swallowed hard and tried to whisper. "Tom! Tom!" She could talk to him now, before that creepy, disfigured guy returned….
He looked up, then right at her in her hiding place some ten feet away. For the first time in her young life (and then only for a second), she saw what Tom looked like when he was scared.
"What are you doing here?" he demanded, taking no notice of the fact she was trying to hide. "I told you not to come!"
Kate didn't know what to say. "I---"
"What have you got over there, Tom?" called the old wizard, hobbling over. He peered into the forest, his eyes adjusting to the dark, then widening. "Snake girl!" With a little hop he beckoned. "Come out, it's okay! Here, pretty pretty…come on, girl…."
Kate looked to Tom, who shook his head, but motioned for her to come closer all the same. She stepped into the clearing, uncomfortably aware of the old man's gaze upon her.
"Kate Gibbs, this is my teacher, Wygsyact."
"Er, hello."
Without waiting to be introduced, Wygsyact grabbed her hand and shook it violently. "Greeting, Kate!"
She managed a weak smile, then looked urgently to Tom. "Could I talk to you? Er, alone?"
"Clear off, Wygsyact," said Tom. She didn't think that was a very usual way for a student to talk to his teacher. Wygsyact glared, but scurried over to tend the magical fire.
"Tom, what is going on?" asked Kate, looking troubled. Again she had the feeling that Tom was avoiding her eyes. "Please, just tell me."
He continued looking down. "I told you not to come, Kate."
"But---"
"You shouldn't have come."
"I---"
"Go home, Kate!"
He said these last words with such force that she jumped, taken aback. "No, Tom, not until you tell me what's going on!"
"You wouldn't understand! Now LEAVE!" He pointed at the path so dramatically that sparks flew from the end of his wand.
"You're scaring me, Tom."
"Go. Home."
"Aww, let her watch," said Wygsyact, coming over and handing Tom a silver mug. "Look at all the hard work we've done setting up, and now we have an audience!"
For the first time, Kate looked properly at her surroundings. The clearing was round but asymmetrical, with the blue magical fire in the middle and a crumbly hut to her right. However, it was what she saw on her left that made her gasp, that made her wish she hadn't come, that made her heart speed up and her temperature go down.
They were tied to trees, those poor people. Coarse ropes around their middles, feet, shoulders and necks. Leftmost was Mrs. Vinnlespeck, still trying to scream, though nothing was coming out of her mouth. Then there was a boy of about nine---he looked absolutely terrified---another girl, not so much older than Kate---she was limp, looking hopeless---a man with hiking clothes on---and last, the woman with the long dark hair, whom Kate had seen Tom walking with on her first trip to the rainforest. She was the most disturbing sight; if Kate hadn't noticed her chest rising and falling she would have taken her for dead. She was horribly pale, with a steady drip, drip of blood issuing from her wrist into a funnel which led to a bottle, her hair strewn everywhere and tangling. All of the people, save the last girl, looked at Kate with begging, pleading eyes.
"They're not dead, not yet anyway," said Wygsyact, as though she couldn't tell. He glanced up at the sky. "Will be in about five minutes, though. Tom?"
Tom kicked at the ground. "Go away, Kate."
"No," she said faintly, her eyes matching the pleading ones of the prisoners. "You're not going to kill them…please tell me you're not, Tom, please…." She grasped his arm, forcing him to look at her.
"This is my business. Not yours."
Now Kate realized she was crying, that the tears were welling up and just spilling out, and she was shaking with fear. "Why, Tom? Why?"
He jerked his arm from her. "I'm going to get what I want, Kate. In order for me to do it, these people need to die. Don't you remember? Never let anything keep you from getting what you want."
"But what do you want? What is so important it's worth lives?"
Wygsyact tapped his wrist, where a watch would be, if he wore one.
Tom looked at her, she could feel him seeing into her, he grabbed her by the shoulders and thought one word, only one word.
Power.
"Leave, Kate Gibbs. This is the last time I'm going to tell you."
He and Wygsyact strode to the fire, where a little cauldron sat nestled in the flames. They expected Kate to go. She stood rooted to her spot.
"You can't, not for that," she said. "Tom, listen to me! You can't do this!"
The man she loved glared at her. "Watch me." Wand in hand, he left the cauldron and advanced on the pale woman.
"You won't! I won't let you!" Kate pulled out her own wand and pointed it at him. "Impedimenta!"
Tom Riddle paused for only a second. "Don't do this, Kate! Don't get in my way too!"
"Locomotor Mortis!" she cried.
He reflected the curse with remarkable ease. "Surely you must know better than second-year spells? Crucio!"
The curse only lasted a few seconds, but it seemed and eternity to Kate. She fell and writhed on the floor, screaming so that her throat burned when she recovered. He was looking at her, coldly.
"You will not let me kill these people?" he asked, oddly calm.
She struggled for breath, shaking her head. "You don't really want to, Tom. You're power crazy, but you're not cruel! You're not heartless! You're not a murderer"
He leaned down and kissed her lightly. His lips were cold, and then he laughed, and that was cold too.
"You are partially right," he said, "I am not a murderer. Yet. But you are mostly wrong.
"I do want this."
There was a flash of green light. The wind hurried towards her from every direction.
And with a rush of speeding air, Katie Gibbs died.