"Draco sit up straight!" I demanded.
"Yes Aunt Emily." I sighed at the impatience in his voice.
"You dear boy, you are going to Hogwarts today. You better than every child there, you must show it" he smiled at me and hugged me. I sighed, hugging him back. Draco was one of the only ones I allowed contact with. Tom and Narcissa were the only others.
My heart ached for Tom as Draco said "Thanks Aunt Emily." He jumped down off the chair and ran to get his trunk.
"Where is dad?" he complained to Narcissa.
"Oh Draco darling he's coming." She said, patting the sweat off her forehead with her handkerchief.
"I'll get him Cissy" I said smiling at her.
"Thank you Emily. Lucius has been so busy lately."
I walked down the elegantly dressed halls to Lucius's office. I walked in to see him staring at the diary.
"Lucius," I said coldly. "Why is that here?"
He looked up, surprised before terror crossed his face, but only for a moment; I could have imagined it of course.
"M– My Lady. They are doing reservations on our vault. They put most of our things in a spare vault but I know how precious the diary is." He looked down at it, looking disgusted.
"It pulses. Like it's alive, like it has a part of him in it. It's both wonderful and terrifying at the same time." I smiled at him and said smoothly "It's time to go Lucius, Draco is waiting."
Lucius face lit up, as he followed me back to the main hall where Narcissa and Draco were waiting.
Narcissa and I apperated while Lucius took Draco in side-long apparition. We entered Kings gross, Draco refusing to hold on to any of us.
"I'm not a baby!" he hissed. I agreed with him of course, when I was younger I never had my parents hand to hold and I had turned out perfectly.
"Let him be Lucius, he needs to show these inferior halfboods and mudbloods who is best, and that won't happen with him holding his mummy's hand."
We walked through Platform 9 ¾ and a hush fell over the surrounding crowds at the sight of me. I still looked 17 but everyone knew who I was. Draco looked confused at the glares people were sending to me, but I sent him a reassuring smile.
"Nott; Goyal; Crabbe" I nodded at them. They almost bowed but remembered that we were in public. Narcissa and I separated from the men and went to talk to Celia, Samantha, and Elizabeth.
"Good day ladies" I said to them. "Good day my lady" they muttered quietly, so no one but us five would hear.
"Oh Emily how do you look so young? You still look 17" said Samantha enviously.
I laughed merrily and said "Oh my dear Samantha, my little secret, and if I told you it wouldn't be much of a secret now would it?" The girls laughed along with me.
"Oh look the–" I stopped, my eyes trained on a young boy.
"Harry Potter" I breathed. My hands itched towards my wand, but Narcissa stopped me.
"You mustn't Emily." She said concern in her eyes. I turned away from them and felt the glares and whispers weighing down on me. I couldn't do this alone.
I took a couple deep breathe and smiled. I needed to do this.
"I'm fine" I said, my smile strained.
"Draco," I whispered to him. "I need you to try to become friends with Harry Potter for auntie Emily." He looked curiously at me.
"The harry potter?" he asked.
I nodded and said "You'll do that for me right Draco?" He nodded before hugging me. He bid us goodbye and stepped onto the train. We waved goodbye and watched as the train trailed into the distance.
"He'll be okay Cissy" I whispered to her.
"Will you?" she asked me. I smiled; Cissy was always worried about me.
"I will be… someday soon." I whispered.
"Now if you'll both excuse me, I have a meeting." I said. Lucius gave a little bow and Cissy rubbed my hand. I walked away from them and apperated to Hogwarts.
I walked into Dumbledore's office; he stood when he saw me. He addressed me grimly; "Mrs. Wilson."
"Riddle" I said curtly, smiling at him.
He raised his eyebrows at me and said "You still assume you're married name? After you've been widowed? That's a bold choice, a choice many disapprove of."
"Albus, you should know that I've never cared much for what other people thought of me. I have said it once to you and I'll say it again. I can't help who I've fell in love with. Who I am still in love with. Tom Riddle was not lord Voldemort." I lied.
He nodded, "So Mrs. Riddle, to what do I owe this pleasure?" he asked me.
"Dumbledore, you know how much I love this school. How much Tom loved this school. I haven't been back since I graduated. I miss it and I'm visiting an old friend." I said.
"Do you wish to join us for diner?" he asked me.
I smiled coyly and said "I thought you'd never ask"
I sat between Dumbledore and Quirrell, smiling the whole time. Quirrell was twitchy as normal, and almost refused to make small talk with me. I talked quietly with Dumbledore, while the staff shot us looks.
"Well Dumbledore, Quirrell and I have business to get to. Severus I wish to speak to you as well." I said, turning towards him, to look him in the eye.
"Of course Emily." Severus drawled, looking indifferent.
"Well then, goodnight Dumbledore, thank you for a lovely visit." I said, smiling sweetly.
"I hope you visit soon Mrs. Riddle" he said, looking for in the eye. I nodded and then motioned to Quirrell to follow me.
We walked out of the great hall, after I nodded to Draco. I saw that Harry was in Gryffindor. "Mr. Potter" I said to him.
"Hello" he said, cautiously, not knowing who I am. But I could see his companions did, the way the dirty little red-head as glaring at me, he knew exactly who I was.
"What are you doing here?!" he demanded at me.
"Ah you must be a Weasley" I said to him, sneering.
"Congratulations on making Gryffindor children, I was in Ravenclaw myself, but always found Gryffindor to be…charming. Not as charming as Sytherin though" I said, giving The Weasley child a toothy grin.
As I walked away I heard him say "She was married to He-Who-shall-not-be-named. She's evil my parents say."
"Then why is she at Hogwarts? And why is she talking to professor Quirrell?" My nostrils flared, but I kept my grin on my face as I let Quirrell lead me to his office.
As we went in I shut the door and locked it. "Quirrell, turn around and let me see my husband!" I demanded. He shakily took off his turban and slowly turned around.
The face I saw was an older versions of Toms, not as handsome but not as gruesome as I imagined. Tears sprung in my eyes as I touched his cheek.
"My lord, My Tom" I whispered.
"Emily, my darling. How I've missed you. You've done well, I thought for sure that you'd come looking for me, even though I told you to never." The face rasped.
"Oh Tom. I wanted to, so much. But Lucius offered me a place to stay. The aurors searched our manor and some horrible people destroyed it. I almost killed half the ministry, you would have been proud. They didn't find anything of course, and they had no proof I had been a death eater, so they couldn't arrest me. I'm safe."
"Good my dear, good." He rasped out, a smile on his pale lips.
"Way did it take so long to find you!?" I asked, tears falling down my face.
"People haven't been looking for me! I only stumbled across this pathetic man on accident. They don't know that I am alive, and you can't tell them, they will be severely punished when I came back and I have a body of my own." He hissed.
"Of course, I'm heading to Severus's office, I will report back to you if he is still a loyal Death Eater," I began, but hesitated. "But I would not count on it my lord, he did not seem happy to see me at all"
I bowed and turned before turning back and kissing him. His lips felt the same.
"I've missed you, so much" I said, tears sliding down my face. I turned and left the room walking down to the dungeons.
I knocked on Snapes office door and went in when I heard him call "Come in."
"Severus, how have you been?" I asked, sitting in front of his desk.
"What are you doing here Emily?" he asked me harshly.
"So harsh, you know we were friends once. We played for the same side at one point." I said, smiling at him.
"That was a long time ago" he said coldly. "Unless there's something you'd like to tell me."
I looked Severus in the eye and found no sense of recognition.
"No Severus," I said coldly. "I thought I would be visiting an old friend but apparently I was wrong" I stood up and started to walk out of the room.
"Wait" he said.
"No!" I snapped, turning around. "You don't get to tell me to wait! I was on top, I had everything! And it was snatched away from me by some 1 year old! That's not fair! The love of my life was taken from me, and all I want is to reconnect with some of my old friends who knew him almost as well as I did. But people like you Severus still judge me, apparently to you all I was never a lady of power, just the dark lords play thing. HE MARRIED ME! NOT BELLATRIX, NOT NARCISSA, NOT ANY SKANK WOMAN DEATH EATER, ME! He chose me, because I am special and powerful and was his soul mate. And because he loved me, no matter what Dumbledore says! So no Severus I will not wait!"
"I had no idea how much you have been hurting over the years" he said, still being indifferent.
"No, you don't care Severus. Goodbye." I said before walking out the door. I walked to the apperation point and apperated back to Malfoy manor. Narcissa was waiting for me in the sitting room.
"The tea is still hot, I charmed it" she said.
"How long have you been sitting here?" I asked.
"Since we got home from the train station." She said, smiling. "Emily, I'm more than your very loyal follower, I'm your best friend. Even if you do look 17 which is sometime distracting."
I laughed and picked up the tea cooling it.
"I just hate to see you so sad all the time, I know why, you lost your soul mate. It would be like me losing Lucius." She said, patting my hand.
"I think I'm going to be feeling better soon Cissy, and I really appreciate everything you've ever done for me. You're my best friend too." I said
I got up and hugged her, and went back to my living chambers.