Chapter 8
"Tollie?" Remus kneeled down next to the prostrate boy. "What's wrong with him, Headmaster?" He asked, running a cool cloth over his forehead.
"I believe that he is fighting off a possession," the wizard answered quietly. "I believe that we might have to bind him before long. Tollie is very strong, but he is becoming weaker as time goes on."
"Are you sure?" Remus asked from the boy's side, his voice rising slightly.
"Yes," Albus reassured, reaching down to activate the bed's restraints. A diaphanous haze billowed from the bed. Tollie's eyes instantly flipped open, revealing yellow irises and oval pupils. The vapor exploded, slamming the two men back twenty feet. Tollie sat up on the destroyed bed, his eyes glowing as he flinched his right arm and his wand flew into his hand. The boy stood up, levitating an inch off the ground, and glided out of the infirmary.
Remus crawled over to Dumbledore and helped the old man sit up. His snowy white beard was staining a dark red as a deep gash bled from his cheek. "Go find him," Dumbledore ordered. "It's paramount that you save Harry."
Remus took off running.
He sprinted through the depths of the school: down endless flights of stairs, through empty corridors, past locked classroom doors. He saw no one; ghosts, pictures, cats, elves, poltergeists had all disappeared. A flash of light pulsed in front of him erratically. His heart pounded in his ears, his sight and smell overly sharp as he finally caught up with Tollie in front of Dumbledore's chambers. An orange light erupted soundlessly, blowing the portal open. "Tollie- Stop!" Remus exhaled as he saw Snape standing defensively in front of Harry.
"So, Severus, I see you for what you are now," Tollie's voice gargled. "The same as this pathetic boy- too weak for anything but to cower in the shadows. Hiding. From me."
"I believe that we have an unwanted pest, Potter." Snape replied, a thin smile on his lips. "I'm not the one who has to use children to their dirty work. Tom. I saw right through you decades ago. You're nothing but a sniveling orphan, no better than a mere Muggle scared of his own shadow."
"I'm going to enjoy killing you, Severus."
"I think not. After all, you couldn't even perform a simple killing curse against a baby, let alone me. I'm afraid your epitaph has already been written, Riddle. 'Here lies Tom Riddle- destroyed by a mere infant."
Remus crept calmly towards Tollie hoping that Snape's taunts would distract the boy. He was two feet away when his windpipe started to constrict.
"Ah, Lupin. I wondered when you would appear." Tollie stated coldly.
Harry pushed himself past Snape yelling "Expelliarmus!" at Tollie. Tollie collided back into Remus just as he had jumped for the teenager. The two went down hard. Remus grabbed onto Tollie's arms, but was quickly kicked back. They wrestled and fought until Remus was finally atop the thin teenager. Severus held Tollie's wand at the boy's throat.
"Don't think that I won't do it, Tom. All three of us know about April 30, 1979." The boy quit struggling. Remus slowly got off, and helped him to his feet.
Tollie blinked, his eyes turned a sea green. Tears slid down as he shrunk back into himself. "I'm so sorry, Professor- I didn't know!" He cried hysterically as great gulps of breath forced its way into his chest..
"It's not your fault, Tollie." Remus replied, reaching for the boy.
"No! Don't!" Snape yelled too late. The boy lunged at Harry, only to stagger back as Snape blasted a hole through the side of his throat. Tollie stumbled back against Remus, blood gushing out of a two inch gash from a completely severed carotid.
Remus went numb and cold as he helped Tollie onto the floor, his mouth making pathetic gurgling noises. He looked into the boy's face, watching the boy staring back until his eyes still and turned black. Time ended until a hand grabbed his shoulder. He looked out, finding Severus's robes next to his head.
"Remus, he's gone." Snape professed, his voice sounding sympathetic for the first time in his life. Lupin heard the proclamation, but couldn't acknowledge it.
"He was just a boy," he whispered.
"He was a casualty." Snape replied, dropping his hand.
Harry walked silently to Remus, his own hand extended to touch his old teacher. Remus jerked away from the boy, giving him an odd look. "Not right now, Harry," he stammered. He climbed to his feet and fled from the room, Tollie's blood still covering his clothes.
