A/N: Wow. The last chapter. I can't believe it. It's kind of bitter-sweet. For one, I'm so happy this story is finally done. Like, it's such a relief. But on another hand, I'm so sad it's already over. I had such a fun time writing this and omg…but wait. I'll say thank you later – check out the next "chapter" for an author's note and thanks and info on the sequel.
So it probably seems like this chapter came about way too fast for anyone's comfort – like so fast that it's abrupt, but I promise – it's a long chapter and hopefully not abrupt at all…maybe a bit anticlimactic…or can you see the symbolism in it?
Sorry. I'm having way too much fun w/ this. Here you go -
Chapter 34 – Bitten by Fate
Serena hadn't been asleep long before she heard the hungry cries of her child. Grunting groggily, she slipped out of Tom's arms and left the warm comfort of her bed.
"I'm coming darling," She said in response to the baby's cries. She lit a candle and made her way over to the crib where her baby was bawling. As soon as the baby caught sight of her mother though, it stopped and reached its arms up to her. Serena couldn't help but smile as she set the candle down and picked up her daughter.
"Shhh. It's ok," She whispered to her, hugging her against her chest. Holding her gently, Serena made her way to the soft chair in the corner where she sat down to nurse.
She was right, she thought looking down at her child: she was hungry.
Her daughter's eyes were closed as she took her mother's milk, and Serena couldn't help glowing in motherly pride. Her daughter had been born with a full head of black hair, which Serena knew was courtesy of her father. Adara's skin was fair and delicate, again like her father, and she was indeed a beautiful baby. But it was her eyes which were most striking. They were a cloudy blue, almost grey. And Serena couldn't help but find it odd, because she knew neither Tom nor herself owned eyes similar to those. It was by far a strange trait, which stood out noticeably against her fair skin.
Adara's hand entwined itself around the chain of her gold necklace and pulled on it softly, her eyes still closed.
She was, all in all, a very good child. Of course, Serena thought, she was probably a bit biased.
But it was true. Adara didn't cry very often. In fact, she was silent mostly when she was alone and didn't carry on whenever she didn't have the attention of her parents. But she still enjoyed playing with her mother. Serena often wanted to cry at the sight of her daughter smiling at her.
And yet Serena knew that Adara was very powerful. If she got herself into a fit (which was not very often, but still of course happened), her powers would show themselves and levitate anything around her that wasn't too heavy to lift.
Now Serena wasn't an expert, as this was only her first child, but she knew this to be abnormal. It wasn't necessarily a bad thing either, it just showed that she would be a very powerful witch: which was something Tom was very proud of.
She smiled softly as she thought of her husband.
He had taken to their daughter very well. When she had first given birth, he seemed in a daze. She probably thought it was just a little surreal for him to see that they had actually created another life together. Not to say that it wasn't surreal for Serena either. She was still having a hard time believing it. It was just easier to believe that she had a daughter after spending all that time and pain giving birth to her.
And yet, she thought, or at least hoped that Tom was ok with her. After the first hour of just watching her, Serena had actually managed to get him to hold her.
That had been obviously an eye-opening experience for him.
But he had been gentle with her, and looked at her with fatherly pride. She knew he thought their child beautiful – who couldn't? But she had also seen him, when he thought she wasn't looking, playing with their child. That scene alone, of both her daughter and her husband smiling at each other made her heart break. And she knew then that Tom cared about the child. Maybe he was still a bit wary of her, a bit unaccustomed to the idea of his daughter, but she didn't give up hope that maybe he could grow to love her.
Serena yawned. Adara had stopped eating and lay silently against her, eyes closed. Serena smiled and picked up her child, pulling up the sleeve of her black lace nightgown, before carrying her again sleeping daughter back to her crib.
Laying her gently down, Serena sighed with contentment. She stood a moment, watching her daughter sleep, before she crawled back to bed, thinking how perfect things were.
The next morning, Serena slept late, owing to the fact she was up late the night before, and only awoke when Lyonette had jumped on her bed meowing in her face.
Serena pet the cat absentmindedly as she awoke, wondering to herself why her cat was more trouble than her daughter.
Adara!
She jumped up, and ran to the crib, sighing in relief to find her quietly playing with her toys.
She was cooing softly to herself as she played with her stuffed animals, but looked up at Serena as she came over.
She was too young for words, but let up a soft shriek and a smile as she lifted her arms up to her mother. Serena smiled at her daughter.
"Good morning Adara," She said, picking up her child and carrying her to the chair. She kissed her lightly on the forehead before sitting down to feed her.
Lyonette pouted at her feet, waiting for her own food.
And so, Serena found that almost another year had passed. Yet she was happy. Her daughter was growing up, still beautiful and eerily intelligent. Tom and she hadn't lost any of their passion for each other, even with Adara, and he almost seemed content with their child. Even Nagini had taken to the child. She would often watch over it while Serena cooked dinner, its body coiled around her to prevent Adara from sneaking off.
The weird thing was, that although Adara could speak a little now and could say "mama" and "daddy", she also seemed able to speak parseltongue, which made Tom very happy to say the least.
Things were fine, but there had been one incident when Serena had caught Tom trying to teach her to say Voldemort one day.
"Vold-e-mort" He pronounced slowly in front of her crib.
"daddy!" Adara giggled, grabbing her feet and rocking back and forth. His brow furrowed.
"No. Vold-e-mort" He said again.
"Daddy?" She asked innocently, cocking one head to her side. His teeth ground in frustration.
"No. Vold-e-"
"Thomas!" Serena cried, rushing into the room. "What do you think you are doing?"
"I was trying to get her to address me properly," He said, shrugging his shoulders nonchalantly.
"I will not have my daughter be calling you that," She said, placing her hands on her hips. Tom smirked.
"You call me that sometimes my dear. Or do you forget?" He asked, leaning in close to her. Serena felt herself blush lightly.
"I will not have my daughter call you that," She repeated, sticking out her chin. There was a mischievous glint in his eyes that did not go unnoticed. His hand had found its way underneath her shirt and was rubbing her back gently.
"I don't see what the problem is," He said softly.
Ah! Seduction, is it? Well…two can play at that game.
"Aw, but Thomas," She cooed, playing with the buttons on his shirt. "I don't want her to call you that." She pouted, sticking out her lower lip slightly and widening her eyes. Her fingers slipped underneath his shirt and she looked up at him, batting her lashes.
He just picked her up and carried her to the bed where they continued the dangerous game of seduction they had started so long ago.
Serena blushed at the memory. It had almost been two years since she'd been here with Tom. She was desperately considering sending her family an owl to let them know what had happened to her, but figured she had plenty of time to do it later.
It was Saturday, thankfully, and Tom was home for the weekend.
She placed the sandwiches she had finished making in the basket. It was such a nice day, Serena had convinced Tom to let them go for a picnic. And that did take some hard convincing.
She gathered up the rest of the things, and added them to the basket before running to the stairs.
"Tom! We're ready," She called, returning to grab the basket. There was a soft "meow" at her feet.
"Aw" She cooed, petting the cat softly. "Would you like to come with us?" She asked the cat, even though she knew it couldn't answer her. It merely looked up at her with its yellow eyes and started purring, so Serena decided she would take her.
"I thought you said we were ready?" Tom asked, as he entered the kitchen, carrying Adara in one arm.
"We are," She said, taking her daughter from Tom and handing him the basket. He wrinkled his nose at it, and Serena rolled her eyes at him.
"I don't have to take both of those, do I?" She asked him.
"No," He forced. "It's…fine."
"Good," she said, smiling. "Let's go!"
It was a beautiful early spring day, a little chilly, but not too cold. The sky was a clear, azure blue with the sun beating down on them, heating the slowly thawing earth. A breeze rustled Serena's skirt, the light blue material swaying gently. Sometime ago, she had convinced Tom to let her go shopping and had bought almost a new wardrobe. She was in desperate need of some not-black clothing.
She was rather proud of the outfit she was wearing. It was a nice, light blue skirt and a short sleeved, white blouse. She had on new brown boots that ended at her ankles and a cream colored hat that had a ribbon on it that matched her skirt.
It was a bit old-fashioned, like some of the outfits her mother used to wear, but Serena loved it all the more because of it. She skipped around the hill their house sat on – Tom would not let them go very far. So, they stopped in a sunny spot on the other side of the hill where their neighbors couldn't see them. Serena laid out the blanket and set the foot out, before sitting down with her daughter. Tom had been strolling a little behind them, and had just now reached them.
Serena was sitting with Adara on her lap, cooing at the child. Tom rolled his eyes as he sat down, but smiled nonetheless.
He turned to look at his glowing wife. Her hair had become slightly wavy in the breeze and her eyes were twinkling as she watched her child. There was a slight coloring to her cheeks that reminded him of peaches, and she could not stop smiling.
He knew she was excited about, not just the picnic, but being out of the house. It was rare that he would let her out, and he knew how much she adored being outside.
He thought her new outfit was nice, even though it wasn't black. He particularly liked the hat. It added a touch of sophistication to his wife that he liked.
Serena caught his gaze and smiled at him, handing the baby sit on his lap.
She took off her hat, and slipped off her boots, wiggling her toes in the sunlight. She hadn't been outside in so long!
Serena picked up the sandwiches she had made and ate hers as Tom played with Adara. And as she ate, she was surprised to feel something soft press itself against her back. She turned and smiled in surprise to see Lyonette sitting behind her.
"So you did come!" She said to the cat, petting it gently as she finished the half of her sandwich.
The cat lay down by her side and closed its eyes, purring contentedly. Serena gave her one last pet before she took Adara back, handing Tom his sandwich and the bottle of wine to open.
"What is this?" He asked as he tasted the golden liquid. Serena smiled guiltily.
"It's sweet!" He exclaimed, realizing what it was.
"Why did you bring dessert wine?" He asked, accusingly. She smiled playfully at him.
"Because it's soo good!" She said, leaning her head on his shoulder. She heard him sigh, but take a sip nonetheless. Serena smiled victoriously and helped herself to a cup as Adara played on the ground.
"You're not mad that I brought it?" She asked softly. He rolled his eyes.
"No I'm not mad," He said. "I just prefer a good Sauvignon Blanc." Serena shook her head, smiling.
"So picky," She murmured, leaning in and kissing him softly. She could feel his smirk against her lips.
His hands wandered along the edge of her blouse, teasing her. Their kisses became more passionate and Serena had to pull away before they got carried away.
Tom growled at she pulled away.
"I'll make it up to you later," She promised, winking wantonly. He smiled and Serena got up.
She picked Adara up off of the ground and placed her on her feet.
"Let's go for a walk," She said enthusiastically. Adara simply smiled and went with her mother. She was too young to walk by herself and so walked by holding Serena's hands.
Tom watched them wander around, his wife and his daughter and couldn't help smiling. He felt almost peaceful, almost happy. It was strange, but he found that he cared about Serena. A lot.
Serena laughed as Adara giggled about something, and they continued walking. He smiled again and drank the sweet wine.
The grass was dry against her bare feet. Not to mention high. It was almost as tall as her daughter, and Serena could hardly see the ground. She had reached the trees lining the forest, and decided to turn around when she tripped on a rock.
She tumbled forward, but caught herself before she fell. She picked up Adara, and hugged her to her chest as she regained her footing, but felt a sharp pain in her ankle.
Serena couldn't help crying out as her right ankle seared with pain. She wondered what had happened and tried to walk a little away before falling into the grass.
Tom and, strangely enough Lyonette, both came running over.
"What's wrong?" He asked, a fire in his eyes, as he bent down to Serena.
"I…I don't know, I just tripped and then all of a sudden I have this blinding pain in my ankle," She said, suppressing the tears that desperately wanted to fall.
"Let me see," He said, lifting her leg. It was already starting to swell and there were two tiny bite marks in it.
"I think you were bitten," He said, looking at Serena, his brow constricted in confusion, "by a snake." If the pain weren't so great, Serena could've laughed at the irony of it.
"Tom I can't feel my ankle," She said suddenly. He bent down and traced the spot where she had been bitten, trying to draw the poison back. Then he bent down and put his mouth to the spot.
"What are you doing?" Serena asked.
"I'm going to try and suck out the poison," He said, before attempting to…well suck out the poison. He sucked as hard as he could before turning to spit a mixture of black and red liquid out, a mixture Serena recognized as her own blood and the poison. She held Adara closer to her.
"I'm going to throw up," She said, holding her child away from her as she vomited.
When Serena looked back again, Lyonette was there, holding a limp snake from its mouth. It was an ugly brown shade, and its head was missing.
And though Serena felt worse than she'd ever felt before, she was touched by her cat's loyalty.
Tom's brows, she noticed, were furrowed as he noticed her ankle continued swelling.
"I need to get you to a doctor," He said, standing up. He bent down and picked Serena up carefully first and then Adara. Lyonette dropped the snake's body and stood on Tom's feet, as if sensing he was leaving. Tom held Serena's shoulders and legs, keeping Adara on top of her, before apperating back to the house.
Once inside, he took her to the closest room with a sofa. He laid her down gently on the couch and left Adara on the floor next to her with Lyonette, before he disappeared.
Serena's leg hurt now, not just her ankle. There were shooting pains that went up and down it and she cried in dismay when she couldn't feel her fingers on her lower leg.
Then Tom was back, with some strange man in tow.
"Who's that?" Serena asked. She could feel herself starting to sweat, but she was still alarmingly cold.
The man, well-rounded and white-haired started examining her ankle. Unfortunately, Serena couldn't feel anything he was doing.
Her chocolate eyes watched as Tom stared at the man. His face was deadly calm, but his eyes were burning.
He caught her stare and she offered a small smile.
"I'll be fine, Tom," She said in a soft voice. He didn't smile back. He couldn't. He knew the type of snake that had bitten her.
And he knew they were toxic.
After a little, the doctor turned towards Tom and indicated he wanted a word with him in the other room. She held her breath with nervousness.
She'd be fine.
Everything would be fine. She told herself. She heard hushed voices for a minute and then, through the crack in the door, she saw a greenish light.
And then it was silent.
"Tom?" She cried, immediately knowing what he had done.
But that was an unforgivable?
He wouldn't have – he couldn't have… She tried reasoning with herself.
"Tom?" She called again.
Where'd he go?
Serena would have pretended she were fine, and maybe even fooled herself had she not seen the worry in Tom's eyes. It was an emotion that she had hardly ever glimpsed in him before.
She turned her fretful gaze to her daughter, who sat on the floor with the cat, watching her with dark eyes.
Serena felt her heart go out to the girl.
"Don't worry," She called to her from the couch. "I'm not going anywhere."
I'm not going anywhere.
"I'll be alright," She told the girl.
I'll be alright.
And then Tom was back, walking in with another man. This time he was younger, with curly red hair and a horrified expression.
He too came and examined her leg before wanting a word with Tom.
Tom's anger was boiling when the young wizard took him into the other room.
"Um.." The red-head mumbled, his hands shaking.
"I'm sorry to inform you, but you're wife is far too sick for me or anyone to do anything about. It seems the poison has already touched her blood, and she just needs a drop of it to kill her," He said in a nasal voice. "It looks like she's had far more than that."
Tom said nothing but stared at the doomed man with icy eyes.
"She's likely to die in the next hour," He said.
"So there is nothing you can do?" Tom asked quietly. The man shook his head.
"I'm sorry." He said but was met with Tom's wand.
"Sir?" He asked, fear crawling onto his face.
Tom smiled softly.
"If you can't save her, I guess someone else will have to."
The man opened his mouth to speak.
"Avada Kedavra!" Tom cried, and there was a flash of green.
Serena saw the light flash again and felt her heart drop.
"Tom!" She called, but it was to no avail. She knew he had already gone to fetch another doctor.
Her whole leg was swelling and she was sweating though she was shivering.
"Tom!" She called again, her voice soft. Her leg still hurt and her chest felt heavy.
She was about to call for Tom again when he appeared, this time with a woman.
The woman gave her one look and her face told Serena everything she needed to know.
She would die.
Tears sprang up behind her eyes and the woman came forward to examine her anyways. It was but a moment before she wanted to speak with Tom in the next room.
"tom," Serena murmured, a tear leaking out of her eye. He turned sharply towards her.
"don't go," She whimpered. He stared at her for a moment.
"Please, Tom. Don't go," She called softly, more tears escaping. He came towards her and kissed her trembling palm.
"I'll be right back," He promised, looking into her eyes. He dropped her hand slowly and left with the woman.
Serena struggled to breath.
I'm going to die.
I'm going to die.
I'm going to die.
She thought over and over in her mind.
This isn't fair! It's not fair! I can't die! I have a daughter. She needs me. Tom needs me. I can't leave them! Not yet.
There was again a flash of green light, but this time, Tom returned right afterwards.
She could tell from his eyes – he knew she was dying. His face was now showing some emotion, which meant that he was starting to lose his control.
"Serena," He breathed her name, as he bent down next to her. He took her hand gently in his.
"My Serena," He said quietly. "My Princess. My Queen!" He cried.
"Shh," She murmured.
"They can't…they can't…" He tried.
"Shh" She said softly. "I know."
He bent his head over her hand and Serena could feel his tears. They were something she'd never known were possible to come from him.
He raised his head and looked at her, his yes glistening.
"There's nothing they can do," She said, almost to herself.
"But you can't…" He stammered. Serena smiled at him and he almost choked on his tears.
She had never, ever, ever, seen him cry before. He never showed that much emotion, and he never lost his control.
"I don't think there's anything you can do now," She whispered.
"You can't leave me!" He shouted suddenly. Serena startled.
"You can't! It's not fair! Everyone always leaves me!" He shouted, knocking over chairs and throwing paintings off of walls. The inner child of Tom, the one he had been keeping so carefully locked up, was loose and crying when he never got the chance to before.
"You can't!" He cried, running his shaking hands through his hair.
"Tom," She called softly from the couch. "Won't you stay with me for my last few minutes here?"
He dropped his head and came over. She could feel him shaking.
"Promise me Tom," She said causing him to look at her with hauntingly sad eyes.
"Promise me you'll still look after Adara," She said. He turned his gaze to the forgotten child who sat silent of the floor.
"Please Tom. Let me die knowing she'll at least be taken care of," She whispered. He turned back to her and nodded his head slowly.
"She will be," He said, his voice hoarse. Serena nodded, though it was beginning to be difficult for her to see. Objects and colors were blurry.
"Can I see her one last time?" She asked. He brought Adara over and Serena kissed her daughter.
"I love you," She said to her daughter, before handing her back to Tom. He practically dropped her on the floor.
"But you can't die," He said, squeezing her hand so tightly it hurt. He watched another tear escape her chocolate eyes: eyes that had always been so playful and vibrant. She was smiling at him, sadly, and he marveled in the power that she could still look so beautiful even while she was…
"It'll be ok," She murmured softly.
"But I – I love you," He whispered as if they were some magical words that if uttered would make everything alright.
"I know," She said, bringing his hand up to her lips and kissing him gently. He traced her soft velvety lips with trembling hand.
"I've loved you since my sixth year at Hogwarts," She said, giggling faintly. He smiled sadly.
"I know," He said, knowing it was the last time he'd ever hear that adorable, bubbling giggle he had come to love.
Serena coughed, not noticing the blood that came into her mouth.
"I guess you won then," She said.
"Won what?" He asked. She rolled her eyes.
"That deal we made, so long ago." She said. He smiled bitterly.
"I never doubted," He said. Serena smiled before she had another coughing fit.
"Tom – "She tried, but coughed again. When it finished, she was trying to regain her breath.
She turned to Tom.
"goodbye," she whispered as her eyes closed. Her chest that had struggled for so long to rise and fall, fell one final time, and the hand Tom was holding fell limp in his hand.
He held it gently wondering how she had been stolen from him so quickly. The morning where she had been laughing and flirting seemed like ages ago. How could it have been just a few hours that her cheeks were rosy and skin glowed?
He clenched his jaw as the last tear Tom Riddle ever shed, slipped out of his eye.
She had left him.
Just like his mother had.
But as he remembered their times together, he realized that it wasn't just like his mother had. His mother hadn't wanted or cared for him.
Serena had loved him.
Serena was gone.
He clenched his fists, and struggled for a moment, before getting up.
In the backyard, he crafted a tomb for her. It was made of dark stone, simple yet beautiful like she would have wanted.
He worked all day and into the night. When he was finished, he laid her gently into the coffin he had crafted for her wearing the same clothes she had on, knowing how she had adored them.
He couldn't bear to look at her pale face: it was too haunting.
Before he buried her though, he removed the heavy golden locket from her neck and dropped it into his pocket.
And under the hidden moon, and overcast sky, he laid Serena Haesley-Riddle to rest. And with Serena gone forever, gone also was Tom Marvolo Riddle Jr.
She had been his single tie to sanity and humanity, and with her gone, there was no need for him to exist any longer.
Voldemort raised his head from the ground and looked at the tomb with glowing red eyes.
He was transforming, he could feel it. The anger he felt for Serena's death fueled it. He was a shadow now, no longer human.
He stayed for a moment before walking back to the house. Serena's daughter still needed to be attended to. He couldn't keep it now. He had no relation to it any longer. But he couldn't bring himself to kill it either.
0-0-0
If anyone had been awake and looking out of their windows that night on Diagon Ally, they would have seen a cloaked figure apperate in front of the house, where almost two years ago, a young woman had disappeared from.
Voldemort placed the sleeping Adara and the cat on the step of the house, before he disappeared into the night, without a single glance back.
What would have happened if Serena hadn't died? Would anything have been different?
Serena changed Tom Riddle's life. If she had lived, who's to say that he might have eventually became somewhat good? But he had been abandoned once again in his life. Fate had stolen her from him, almost because Voldemort needed to exist. And the shock of her death threw him so deep into the darkness that he could never escape. He was once again consumed with evil, and an unquenchable thirst for power, but this time there was no one there to help him.
What happened next? Well…you know the story. That's not mine to tell. And as for Adara? Well…that is a story for another time.