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And then he was shoved back. Every inch of him wept at the abrupt loss of Tom's warmth and he could only stare at him in disbelief. Tom ran his fingers over his lips and then laughed,
"I am more convinced than ever now that you are nothing more than a ghost…Your sole purpose is to torment me."
He sighed in exasperation and spoke,
"Fine. Why don't you call everyone and ask them if they can see me or not?"
Tom looked at him incredulously before speaking,
"That is actually a very good idea."
He walked straight past him and Harry followed him. He knew Bellatrix and Fenrir were probably going to be horrified by what he was doing but this needed to be done. He needed Tom to believe that he was real. He needed to break this curse.
Tom went straight to his grave and stood there before rolling back his sleeve and pressing the mark on his forearm. He leaned back against a tree and crossed his arms over his chest,
"Are you going to dig the grave as well?"
Tom stared silently at the grave and the tears in his eyes were so obvious. They stood there in silence for hours… They stood there until the sun set and darkness surrounded them. Harry stared up at the canopy of trees and the strands of moonlight that were filtering through the gaps. They were soft, silvery and emanated a divine aura of everlasting magic and hope. They coiled their glowing tendrils upon whatever they came across, dipping everything in a radiant, hypnotic glow. It showered down as sprinkles of allure and pearly hues, casting shadows that bathed in their intrinsic charm. But then, in a trice, a cloud- grave and purposeful, moved stolidly with a gust of the invigorating breeze, and mercilessly concealed the moon, thus leaving the world austere, miserable and dark.
He tore his gaze away from the dark sky and looked at Tom who was staring at him intently. He was about to speak when the snapping of twigs informed him of several presences. Tom looked away from him and stared at the trees from which Fenrir emerged with his pack in tow. Harry saw the way he froze at the sight of him but he didn't get the time to react because Bellatrix walked into the clearing and instantly turned to stone.
He saw the way Tom ran his gaze over the crowd that had gathered and spoke,
"Can you see him? Can you really see him?"
Fenrir and Bellatrix equally puzzled and he decided to speak,
"He thinks I'm a ghost…Tell him I'm real…Tell him that you can see me."
It was Fenrir who reacted first and spoke,
"I can see the boy, My Lord."
Tom turned to Bellatrix and stepped closer to her,
"Can you see him, Bellatrix?"
He couldn't help but commend Bellatrix on her acting skills as she took several steps back and cried,
"Yes… Yes…Yes…"
Tom gripped her shoulders,
"You buried him…You buried him, Bellatrix, did you not?"
He nodded his head vigorously to convince Bella to go along with that story because he couldn't afford her or Fenrir to get involved into this. She nodded her head and spoke,
"I did."
Tom pushed her towards the grave and shouted,
"DIG IT NOW, BELLA!"
Harry stepped forward and was about to pull Bellatrix into a hug when Tom grabbed him and pinned him against the tree,
"Let her work…"
He stared into Tom's eyes and watched the way the crimson seeped back into the brown. He closed his eyes and relaxed against the tree,
"Do you believe now that I'm not a ghost?"
Tom didn't say anything, and Harry listened to work Bellatrix on her own. It felt like hours until the sound of digging stopped, and Tom relinquished his hold on him and walked away. Harry finally opened his eyes and watched as Tom walked toward the vacant grave. Tom was about to grab Bella by the hair when he lurched forward and gripped his wrist,
"Don't…"
Tom pried his fingers away before gripping him by his upper arm and forcing him down on his knees,
"How is this even possible?"
He tipped his head back and stared up into Tom's eyes that were now speckled with bright crimson,
"I don't know how it happened…I don't know how I came back but I'm here now…I'm back now and you should cherish me."
Tom struck him hard across the cheek,
"I can see that you have lost none of your impertinence."
Harry cradled his stinging cheek and was about to raise himself to his feet when Tom gripped his hair to keep him down,
"I should lock you up somewhere this time and let you rot."
He laughed softly at that,
"But you did, didn't you? You slit my throat, had Bella toss me into a grave and buried me six feet under before leaving me to rot. That didn't work out that well, did it?"
Tom glared at him venomously and Harry saw that he wasn't Tom anymore…The beautiful brown was completely gone now and all that remained was a deep dark crimson…He saw Voldemort now…He could almost see Dumbledore if he looked hard enough. The snake finally made an appearance and Harry shuddered involuntarily at the sight of it,
"Are you going to kill me again?"
Voldemort's lipless mouth curved into a vicious smirk,
"No…Not this time, Harry."
He was pulled up to his feet roughly and then felt Voldemort drag him back to the castle.