Near Death

Disclaimer: If I owned Harry Potter, I'd probably be a bit richer than I am now. J. K. Rowling owns it all, except my Andromeda. Rowling owns a Andromeda, but not this one.

Invisible

I drowned. I lived. I woke up on a beach I've never seen before. I met a young boy who is to become Lord Voldemort, who I saw die! Lord Voldemort takes me back to his orphanage…what else can possibly happen?

"Mr. Riddle, do you ever take anything seriously?" A nun scolded him.

Andromeda hadn't been paying attention, as lost in her thoughts as she was, but at the nun's harsh tone, she was brought back to the current situation.

She inched toward a very confused Tom Riddle and whispered, "What's happening?"

His mouth was hanging open, words frozen on his lips.

"Mr. Riddle?" the nun said impatiently. "Care to explain what you're talking about?"

"I-I…found a girl." he said, unsure. He turned to look at Andromeda, gesturing a hand towards her. "She's…right here. I found her on the beach only ten minutes ago. She nearly drowned."

The nun glanced all around. "There is no girl here, Mr. Riddle. And what were you doing down on the beach. You were supposed to be doing your chores."

Tom's confusion intensified and his eyes flickered back and forth between Sister Marion and Andromeda, whose own confusion was growing.

"Luke said…" Tom began, but stopped almost immediately. He lowered his gaze to the floor. "My apologies, Sister Marion. It won't happen again."

The nun stared at him for a long moment, her lips mouthing, "Luke." A sort of understanding passed over her features and she took a step closer to Tom, who swayed back, but otherwise didn't move. The nun examined him closely, her eyes zeroing in on something just below his chin.

Andromeda stepped forward, wondering what the nun was looking at. That's when she noticed the two small drops of blood on the collar of his shirt.

Though Andromeda had no idea what those two drops of blood meant the nun seemed to understand immediately. Sister Marion stepped back with a heavy sigh and smiled at Tom kindly.

"You may retire to your room. Mr. Reynolds will take over your nightly chores tonight."

Tom's eyes remained fixed on the floor. Andromeda waited.

"And no more going down to the beach unless one of the Sisters accompanies you, you understand?"

"Yes, Sister Marion." Tom said with a single nod.

"And…don't go anywhere with Luke from now on." A pitying look flashed across her face briefly before being replaced with a slightly annoyed look. "And no more lies, Mr. Riddle. If I catch you in anymore lies, you'll be on bathroom cleanup for a month!"

Andromeda noticed the way his shoulders stiffened, but the nun paid him no mind, already walking away.

The moment she disappeared, Tom's hand shot out and grasped Andromeda's arm tightly, dragging her towards some stairs.

"Hey, what's your problem?" Andromeda demanded, trying to pull her arm free. His grip only tightened. "That hurts!"

He did not speak a word as they ascended the stairs. Nor did he loosen his grip. After a minute of climbing stairs, Andromeda just rolled her eyes and followed him.

This has to be some kind of dream…some kind of nightmare!

When they reached the fifth landing, he pulled her down a long corridor. About a minute later, he stopped outside a door, pausing for a moment with his eyes closed. Andromeda noticed the fingers of his right hand twitch slightly before reaching for the doorknob. As the door swung open, he pushed her inside.

The room was small and there wasn't much in it; A set of drawers, a small nightstand and a bed. In the corner, there was a closet and in another corner, there were quite a few books stacked against the wall. Textbooks. On the windowsill, seashells and stones sat in a straight line, adding a sort of artist creativeness to the room.

Andromeda turned to face him, slightly afraid. Her fear escalated when she saw the hard, cold look in his eyes.

For such a young kid, he sure does know how to be scary.

He stared at her for the longest time, studying her, seeking some kind of answer. When he found nothing on her face or in her eyes, he spoke. "How is it I'm the only one who can see you?"

Andromeda raised one eyebrow. "What?" she asked, bewildered.

"You haven't noticed?" he hissed. He didn't wait for her to reply. "We passed several people on the way here and not a single person took notice of you. And just now, downstairs, Sister Marion couldn't see you. You were standing right in front of her."

"That I noticed." Andromeda admitted, her own confusion at the situation sinking in. "Maybe her eyesight is bad…?"

Tom rolled his eyes at the pathetic excuse. "Bad enough to not be able to see a whole person? She seemed able enough to see me."

Andromeda shrugged. "I don't know then. I honestly have no idea."

He started to say something, but stopped, another thought occurring to him. "Is it…are you…" He took a breath and blurted, "Are you a witch?"

Andromeda noticed one of his long-fingered hands dip into his pocket, knowing it was now clenched around his wand. Andromeda gulped and reached into her own pocket, sighing inwardly with relief when she felt her wand there.

Slowly, she drew it out, gripping it lightly. Her relief evaporated and she glared at her wand, which she hadn't been able to find when she'd needed it most. "Yes," she muttered dryly. "I am." She looked up at him, noting how his eyes were fixed on her wand, probably prepared to curse her if she seemed in the least bit threatening. "And you're a wizard." It was a statement, not a question.

A smirk pulled at the corner of his mouth and he drew out his pale wand. Andromeda glanced at it briefly then looked away, not wanting to see the wand that had killed so many people, tortured so many people.

This is so impossible!

"Maybe it's a spell or an enchantment that's making you invisible." He offered, leaning back against the door as he twisted his wand in his hands.

"That doesn't explain how you can see me, though."

He frowned. "No, it doesn't."

Andromeda closed her eyes, lifting her hand to her face. She pressed two fingers against her temple as she tried to think of some kind of explanation.

With a frustrated growl, she threw her hands up. "I don't know! I don't even know how I got here!" Anger and confusion surged through her, consuming her. "I drowned! I'm supposed to be dead! I'm not supposed to be here!"

Tom said nothing. He stood absolutely still against the door, watching her fume.

She started pacing the length of his room, muttering under her breath. Every now and then, she would hiss, "Impossible!"

Meanwhile, Tom was coming to a conclusion. It sounded rather unlikely, but he was coming to believe that anything was possible. After all, he was a wizard. The world was full of magic.

As she paced closer to him, he reached out and snatched her shoulders, turning her to face him. He stared at her for a moment, taking in her surprised expression, her own anger and frustration burning in her eyes.

"Maybe you are dead," he said quietly, but clearly.

Her eyes narrowed at him as she snarled, "Do I look dead to you?"

He said nothing.

As the silence was dragged out, she relaxed under his hands and her eyes slowly widened. Her expression faded from anger into shock and disbelief, the confusion in her eyes replaced by a hint of fear.

She gasped, "I'm dead."

Bahaha, good place to stop. I like starting in random places and finishing in random places. That's the kinda gal I am!

So…what do you think? I'm on a roll today! I'm already starting on chapter three, which is titled "The Art of Being Dead". I love coming up with titles. It's fun.

Anyway, I figured uploading the first two chapters in the first day might help get things rolling, ya know? Plus, I can't seem to stop myself! But just so you know, I won't be doing this whole 'two chapters in one day' thing a lot. I don't want to wear out the story or run out of ideas.

PLEASE REVIEW! I will love you forever!