Not Me

By Chibikan

Chapter 3

Severus, as promised delivered the potion to the dark lord. A feeling of pride filled his being. He remembered why he had ever joined the Dark Lord in the first place. He had been promised a place to practice his potion-making. Potions was his life and he had fallen for the lie. But now, something was different about the Dark Lord. He could almost feel a light shining through the soul of the wicked man. Could he dare to hope? Was a change coming?

Voldemort grinned his thanks, and this time it did not frighten the man. "Very good Severus. I knew I could count on you." He put the vial to his lips and swallowed the foul stuff. "Blech….but….maybe next time, you should consider flavorings." The change was instant. The snake-like form melted into a young man of twenty-five. Black hair, blue eyes, perfectly pressed robes, he was a young man again. Voldemort moved to a mirror and examined his appearance. "Perfect, Severus. You've outdone yourself this time. You will be rewarded for your success, in due time."

"Your kind words are reward enough, my lord." Severus replied, once more kneeling.

"You are dismissed Severus. And I have things to do."

Snape did as asked and returned to Hogwarts. The Headmaster was the first confront him.

"Severus, what did Voldemort want?" Dumbledore asked. Always to the point, as he understood Snape despised pity for what he had to do.

The Potions Professor shook his head, more in confusion than anything. "He wanted a….a de-aging potion."

The Headmaster's eyes widened, but never did the spark in them die. "A de-aging potion? Did he say why?"

Again a shake of the head. "No…..no….but….he actually thanked me, and I have reason to believe he was sincere, promising reward. Said I'd outdone myself, but did suggest I consider flavoring the potions. It was so strange, he was……..do I dare say it….he was smiling….and for once….there wasn't an ounce of evil plot behind his eyes." Snape pondered to his employer, his protector. He watched as Dumbledore took on a thoughtful look. And he too knew that Dumbledore was wondering. What was going on?

Voldemort strolled through the village once more that morning. He, himself, found a few strange things happening. He couldn't stop fiddling with his hair, looking into almost every reflective surface he could find. He kept thinking of things to say, something to catch her attention. And he was nervous, what if he was rejected. What if she would want nothing to do with him?

And then there she was, at a small stand making purchases. She was speaking to the stall keeper. He tried to listen but he couldn't hear.

"Okay, this is it, I just walk up to her and I say….ummm….ummm…" He was stuck. He didn't know what to say. He tried to propel himself forward, but for some odd reason his feet wouldn't obey. What was he thinking? He could never….he'd never be good enough for someone as lovely as she. But…he wasn't a coward, he couldn't back down. He had to go talk to her. But how? What should he say? What should he do? He'd never done this before, so how was he supposed to know. Finally making the decision just to wing it, he turned around to compose himself. After making double sure that he looked alright, he turned back only to knock into…...her. Her purchases fell to the ground as the collided. His eyes went wide with embarrassment. "Oh my…!"

The blonde woman fell to her knees to try and salvage her groceries. "I'm so sorry, sir, I didn't see you…" She began rambling.

Voldemort found that he could only do the logical thing. Normally, he'd have killed her, even though it had been his fault. But, he didn't want to. "No, no, it was my fault, here let me help you." He insisted as he dropped down beside her and helped her to gather her groceries, discreetly using magic to repair any damage done. He reached over to pick up an orange that had rolled to one side. In doing so, and not seeing what was happening, their hands touched just as his palm touched the fruit. They looked up at each other. Tom blushed a deep red as he looked into her cool blue eyes. He felt something inside his start to crack. He wanted to stay lost in those eyes that seemed to melt him from the inside out.

"Ummm, thanks…." The girl began. "Oh, by the way, my name is Lucinda, Lucinda Duthridge."

He was snapped out of his trance. "I….I…I," He paused, he couldn't tell her his chosen name. She'd never understand, she'd probably laugh at him. After all, Voldemort was not a normal name, especially not to the muggles. "I'm Tom….Tom Riddle. It's a pleasure to meet you, milady." He remembered his etiquette and took her hand to place a kiss upon it.

Now, apparently, it was her turn to blush. "The pleasure is all mine, Tom."

AN: FINALLY!!! I know it's been awhile. It's been awhile for all of them. I promise, I'm trying here. I've just been super super busy. Well R&R please. I do like reading what you folks have to say.