Author Notes: Don't own HP. .
Later, Much Much Later...
Voldemort sat with a goofy look on his face, in the library. Quirrell sat down next to him. Voldemort lolled his head in Quirrell's direction.
"Hi...Quirrell." He smiled in a almost drug-induced way.
"Voldemort? You alright?" Quirrell asked raising an eybrow. He blushed realizing what no doubt had occurred. "Rose, I take it?"
"Yeah...I learned a lot in the last few hours..." Voldemort sighed tilting his head toward the ceiling.
Quirrell's eyes widened, and a deeper blush crossed his cheeks. "I didn't need to know that." He said covering his ears.
"You know, Quirrell, I didn't know that someone could actually stop breathing in certain positions...Did you know that?" Voldemort smiled strangely, "I think I passed out half way through..."
"Oh gross, I don't need to know that, man!"
"And if you really want to get crazy you can-"
"LALALALA! I can't hear you!"
Voldemort laughed, "I'm just kidding Quirrell, we just spooned...Geez, you take me too seriously."
"Still," Quirrell crinkled his nose dropping his hands that had been covering his ear onto his lap. "So why you all coma-like?"
"I'm really...not sure...I think Rose did something to me..." Voldemort smiled again in that goofy way he seemed to have developed. "Maybe she jinxed me? Who knows..."
"I have a feeling it might not be a jinx," Quirrell laughed, "I mean have you ever come across one that make you." He gestured to Voldemort. "Act like that?"
"uuuuhh...well, i don't recall ever...being jinxed...Iz notso shure 'bout this-" Voldemort slumped over, snoring.
"Right," Quirrell said, looking at Voldemort with a mixture of amusement and concern.
The library door opened and Lynn walked in. She tilted her head, confused, "What's up with him?"
"I do not know." Quirrell replied. "Last thing he said was something about maybe Rose jinxing him and then he passed out."
"I didn't jinx him," Rose came in dressed in a black button up and shorts. "He just needed a little something to relax him." She walked over and poked Voldemort's cheek. Rose shrugged and rolled him over to make room on the couch.
"Well it really knocked him out whatever it was." Quirrell said.
"Was it the blue pill?" Lynn asked, tilting her head slightly.
"Funny, but no. I gave him a little concoction my sister had in her closet. No idea what it was, but it worked." Rose flicked her wand and a teapot appeared with full service.
Lynn sat down on the arm rest of the couch and if she was to tip onto the couch she would have landed straight into Quirrell's lap, shaking her head slightly at Voldemort before she used her wand to levitate a cup of tea her way. She sipped it and then asked Rose, "So how has your day been?"
"Shitty, I gave him that potion because he wouldn't get out from under the bed, and now he's passed out...Also, he keeps asking about Octavian, which I frankly lied about." Rose took a sip of her tea and then added loads of cream to it.
"He can really be nosey for someone without a nose, can't he?" Lynn murmured.
"He was like that when he was attached to my head." Quirrell chimed in, looking rather embarrassed.
:Yes, well if he doesn't watch it, he won't be able to compare himself to anyone." Rose took a vicious sip before waving her wand to summon some mead.
"Oh, he'd get pissed at that," Quirrell murmured, "But I agree with you totally. It will be his own fault if you revoke certain rights."
"Like sex?" Lynn asked, looking over at Quirrell confused.
"Um, what are you guys talking about?" Rose looked quizzically at them over her glass.
Quirrell blushed. "Apparently we are having a completely different interpretation to on you end of the conversation."
"I don't know what you're thinking, but i meant that I'd dump him..."
"Mmmm...I like sugar cookies..." Voldemort mumbled. Rose gave him a sharp nudge to the ribs and he snorted and rolled over.
"Well, that is worse then what I was thinking," Quirrell said, sighing.
"Well, Voldemort should know better then to ask questions when clearly the subject is closed." Lynn said, nodding her head as she spoke. "Am I right, Rose?"
"Yes, I don't like bringing up the past, it irks me to have to slice myself open every time it comes up." Rose moodily drained her third glass and then waved away the mead. "I've got to go to AA..." she muttered to herself.
"Maybe Quirrell can smack some sense into-"
"-Wait, wha!-"
"-You know," she said turning to Quirrell, with her fists in the air. "You know. Give him the one, two."
"You are joking, right?" Quirrell asked, turning to look at Rose looking rather frightened at the prospect, "She's joking, right?"
"Do I honestly look like I care right now? I drugged my boyfriend, lied about how I felt about my husband, and I keep hearing this strange whistling noise in my bedroom. I don't care what you do with him. At least right now I don't." Rose stood up and walked to the window. "I can sense something...something isn't quite right..." She glanced at them, "I'll be outside, checking the barriers."
She walked out with just one look back at Voldemort before closing the door behind her.
"Mmmm," Voldemort stretched and yawned, "That was a good nap! Oh, hey Lynn, when'd you get here?"
"Shortly after you passed out," Lynn said, whom was going to comment about the Rose going to check on the barriers, but got distracted. She looking over at Quirrell, "Going to give him the one, two now?"
"Lynn, no!" Quirrell said growing red and smacking himself in the forehead. He grabbed her pulling Lynn into his lap. "Now shh."
"Shh?" Lynn asked pressing her fingers to her lips and tilted her head confused.
"Yes, shh." Quirrell said looking over at Voldemort. "Rose was here too, though she left to go check on the barriers."
"Hm? Think I should go help?" Voldemort arched an eyebrow and glanced in the door's direction.
"Only if you promise not to bring up her late husband. You are close to being dumped, man." Quirrell said rubbing his neck.
"Who?" Voldemort stretched again and scratched his forehead.
"Exactly." Quirrell said, "Now stop being so nosey, seriously, if you don't knock it off, she will dump you."
"Whatever, she's the one who won't shut up about him!" Voldemort crossed his arms and pouted in a very un-Dark Lord fashion. "Last night she called me Octopus or something like that..."
Lynn sighed. "I can't say I'm surprised..."
"LYNN!" Quirrell gasped looking at her.
"What!" Lynn asked, "It's true."
"What, does she normally call people octopuses?" Voldemort stared in disgust at Lynn. "Because I am not an octopus. I like to think of myself as something more...predatory."
"It wasn't octopus she called you... it was..." Lynn bit her lip, "Him... You are the first guy she's had around and actually cared for since-" Lynn shivered and Quirrell wrapped his arm around her shaking frame, "-he died."
"Who?" Voldemort picked up a teacup and sipped it thoughtfully.
"Isn't that obvious?" Quirrell asked to himself, confused that Voldemort hadn't put two and two together.
"Him!" Lynn yelled flailing in Quirrell's arms, "Octavian! Her late husband." Lynn sighed slumping into Quirrell, murmuring to him. "I see why Potter lived..."
Quirrell just looked at Lynn confused. "Why would you even say that?"
Voldemort dropped the cup and it shattered into teeny-weeny pieces. "Oh, so she's just filling a void, is that it? Hm, it explains a lot..." Voldemort stared at the broken cup, he clenched his fists at his sides and started to shake slightly.
"Voldemort, no, she loves you." Quirrell said, moving Lynn off him to stand up, next to Voldemort. "It's not that at all."
"Yes it is!" Voldemort shouted, "She hasn't once said it! And now she's calling by her late husband's name? What the Hell Is that about? She doesn't want...me...at all..." Voldemort started to shake more violently.
"Voldemort," Quirrell said softly. "You know that isn't tru-"
"No! Get the Hell away from me!" Voldemort pushed Quirrell back and ran out the door and could be heard running into Hodrous's old room and slamming the door.
Quirrell looked over at Lynn shaking his head slightly at her before taking off to try his best at damage control and comforting his best friend, if that was even possible at this point.
Lynn sighed, slipping out of the door and outside. Her voice was unusually calm, "Rose?"
Meanwhile (darn it we got a lot of these...)
Voldemort lay stretched out on Hodrous's old bed in Hodrous's old room. He pulled the pillow tighter to his chest. It isn't fair. It just isn't fair. Tears rolled slowly down his face and soaked into the pillow.
Then there was a knock on the door.
"Voldemort." Quirrell's soft voice called out, "Will you let me in?"
"Go 'way..." Voldemort pressed his face into the pillow. He clutched his head in his hands and shuddered.
"Please..." Quirrell begged. "I promise I won't make fun of you. Please, I just want to talk or just listen. I'm worried about you."
"'Fun of me'? oh, that's real great incentive, Quirinius, get the fuck away from me..."
Quirrell's head thumped against the door. "I didn't mean it like that. I just- I just want to make sure you're alright. Lynn shouldn't have said those things. Fuck, I don't know why she did. Tom, please."
Voldemort sobbed into his pillow, "Don't call me that...bet Lynn never got your name wrong..."
"She called me a squirrell." Quirrell volunteered not sure if it help at all, "Please, Voldemort, just open up. Please."
Voldemort took a deep breath and waved his wand to open the door, then he rolled over to face the wall.
"Hey, you," Quirrell said shutting the door behind him and re-locking the door to make Voldemort feel more comfortable.
"Mm." Voldemort pulled his knees up his chest, his body shuddered slightly.
"Want to talk?"
"...no...to be h-honest, I d-don't..."Voldemort curled tighter into himself, "But I-I know you won't g-go away until I do."
"You don't have to, if you don't think you wanna." Quirrell murmured sitting on the edge of the bed. "I'm just worried about you, you know? I hate to see you like this. In this much pain."
"I-I thought that she...but, she didn't did she? I gave her all I had...it w-wasn't enough..." Voldemort sobbed, "I hate that bitch so much right now, but...I love her too much too. It-It isn't fair..."
Quirrell leaned over, pulling Voldemort into a hug. "She loves you. Voldemort, she loves you I can tell. Girls are just complicated. You said that before right? She does love you. She does."
Voldemort pressed his face into Quirrell's chest, shaking slightly, "Then why can't she let 'him' go?"
"Maybe she's trying." Quirrell said scouring his brain for the right thing to say, "She might not know how to let him go...She might not want to forget him completely."
"I guess that makes s-sense, but it doesn't make it hurt less..." Voldemort slid back and stared at his hands, he folded his legs up and rested his chin on his knees.
"No," Quirrell said softly, "No it doesn't, but she is trying."
Voldemort furrowed his brow and rubbed his shoulder. "Why is this so hard...Why can't this be easy?" He rubbed at his eyes with his other hand and sniffed.
"Because you love her."
"...I mean, accepting that she was in love with someone else before. I know she loved him or she wouldn't have thought of him during, well, you know." Voldemort sighed. "I almost wish none of this would have happened."
"Don't say that." Quirrell murmured, "You can't say having a girl crash through our secret hide-away wasn't worth meeting her can you?"
"I'm not entirely sure that it was worth this. I never cry." Voldemort rubbed his fingers against themselves. "And I don't like how this feels, my chest hurts and I'm not so sure about anything anymore. Not Rose, not my feelings, not even you, I don't like this at all."
"Oh, Voldemort. Things will get better. Every relationship, at least all the ones I've read in books, have their ups and downs. Things will get better, I swear. You just got to hang on, okay?"
Voldemort stared at Quirrell. "How would you know? You and Lynn are like, the same damn person! And what good are books? I talking about how I feel not some character in a friggin' book!" Voldemort slid his hands over his head in frustration.
"You're right. You're right." Quirrell murmured,"I don't know. What it's been three days since we came here. I've never been in a relationship prior and books aren't the same. But Voldemort, please..." Quirrell covered his face with his hand, groaning, "I don't know what to tell you. I don't even know what to say to make you feel even the slightest bit better. I have nothing to go on. . . I'm just trying to be here for you. It's all I can do, man."
Voldemort blinked slowly and looked up at Quirrell, '...I know. I get it. I appreciate you even coming in here...but, I want something that's real, and I'm not sure I can have that with Rose. Maybe I should break it off. I don't like how I feel right now."
Just then at the height of an emotional breakthrough, a meteor crashed into the earth and they all died! Just kidding, but wouldn't that be better than who's knocking on the door right now?
"Tom? Are you in there? Why is the door locked?" Rose asked from the other side, "Lynn will you quit whispering in my ear? I can't understand a thing you're saying!"
"Shit that woman has horrid timing..." Voldemort buried his face in his knees.
"Yes, he's here. Hold on a moment, Rose," Quirrell said, looking at the Voldemort and the door.
"Quirrell, what the hell are you doing? Don't let her in!" Voldemort scrunched closer to the wall.
"Guys, open the door." Rose said, "Lynn, will get out of my space? Stop that!
"You two need to talk and work things out." Quirrell said as he gave Voldemort a pity glance as flicked his wand removing the lock.
Voldemort's jaw dropped in shock and the door swung open. Rose stood there, pushing off a frantic Lynn. "Tom? What's going on? I leave you alone for one minute and then Lynn's telling me not to go in and you two've locked yourselves in here."
"Uh, well..."Voldemort suddenly seemed absorbed in his fingernails.
"Voldemort. Just tell her what's on your mind," Quirrell said standing up and looking over at Lynn, "And you! I need to talk to."
"Me?" Lynn asked, "What did I do?"
Quirrell pulled Lynn out of the room leaving Voldemort and Rose alone.
Quirrell's voice was heard from the hallway sounding cross, his voice fading as they moved down towards the living room, "You know very well what."
Rose gave Voldemort a cautious look, "Tom, what is going on?"
Voldemort hung his head and took a deep breath. "Do you love me?"
"Tom, this is silly-"
"Answer me."
"Why do I-"
"Answer me, dammit!" Voldemort snapped his head up.
Rose blinked, "I do."
"But?"
"But, Octavian was a part of my life before you," Rose slumped against the desk. "And I refuse to forget him."
"So you lied to me. About how you felt toward him."
Rose laughed harshly, "I was going to have his child, Tom. What do you expect?"
"...But it wasn't me you were thinking of last night...It was him."
"Th-That's not true!" Rose swept forward and knelt next to the bed. "I care for you very much, Tom, truly I do. I cannot forget what I had and what I gave up. Please don't ask me to, because I won't."
Voldemort stared down at her. "I can't accept that. I need for you to be here, with me, not in the past with him. I can't, won't live that way."
They stared at each other and Rose stood up, her face turning to stone, "I see, well then don't. I won't force you. Just get out of my house." She turn and left the room.
"Rose, I-" Voldemort stared after her, he felt like someone had killed part of his soul, the part that he left with her. He nodded slowly, "Fine." and disaparated.
Rose stalked past the living room where Lynn and Quirrell were having a whispered argument, upon seeing her, Quirrell rushed to the door.
"Rose! What happened? Where's Voldemort?"
Rose didn't turn around, "Gone."
Quirrell paled. "Are you okay?"
Rose breathed slowly, "Quirinius, in my lifetime, I've grown accustomed to saying good-bye." She kept walking and went into the kitchen.
"This is not good," Quirrell said, turning to face the kitchen and then glared over at Lynn from the hallway. He didn't mean to sound so angry but it bothered him to see Rose and his best friend suffering. "Look what you caused!"
"Bu- But I..." Lynn burst into tears running up the stairs. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry... I'm SORRY!" She yelled from the stairwell.
Quirrell groaned, "Please don't cry Lynn." He sighed rubbing his forehead, feeling so conflicted. He wanted to comfort her, but at the same time she had set this snow ball in motion. He also wanted check up on Rose, and even go find Voldemort making sure he didn't do anything stupid. He felt pulled in so many directions yet stuck.
"I'M SORRY! IT'S ALL MY FAULT! HAPPY!" She screamed before rushing away into one of the bedrooms.
Quirrell sunk to the ground. "Merlin, why?" He asked covering his face with his hands. He slowly got up. "Merlin, give me strength." He said, walking towards the kitchen door. He knocked lightly, his voice shaking slightly as he tried preparing himself for round two of emotions, "Rose?"
"You can come in. The door's never locked, due to a bad incident with the pixies and my brothers...Funny, I don't actually remember how we got them out." Rose said calmly.
"I wasn't sure," Quirrell said slowly stepping inside the kitchen, saying quietly to keep off the subject of Voldemort, unsure how she'd react. "Lynn's pissed at me for being pissed at her..."
"I see, and I accidentally let Octavian's name slip, well, today seems to be a bad 'un. First the barrier, then this. Damn I need a vacation..." Rose continued to scrub at an already spotless plate. "You know, my siblings always did this with magic, I think it made them lazy."
"I tend to do dishes that way too," Quirrell murmured, "Rose, what happened to the barrier?"
Rose sighed and bowed her head, "I'm not all powerful, I make mistakes just like anyone else. The barrier is a ruse, a fake, I can't stop that thing from coming back. Now, don't think me cruel, but I needed someone around, just in case, so I could perform the transferal. Tom was a perfect candidate, I had to keep him around...and you, too. We just happened upon you two at the perfect moment. I'm good at keeping secrets, Quirinius, and I'm a good liar." Rose sighed again.
"What do you mean, perfect moment?" Quirrell asked, studying Rose. "You mean to say that thing could possess Lynn again?"
"No, it won't try for her again. You see, I was going to use Tom to lure it back and then use what was left of his soul to banish it forever, only the last of his soul is attached to you, I sensed this when I got close enough...And then the dilemma of Lynn being Lynn and seducing you, damn did that complicate things...But there's a reason for what I do."
Quirrell's mouth dropped open slightly. He felt his chest tighten before asking, "And what's that reason?"
"I'm dying, Quirinius. I gave up more than just my unborn child and what remained of my family. And if I don't hurry up, it will come back, when I'm out of the way...I should have finished this a long time ago, when we all first met...Why d'you think I brought you here? Caused Tom to fly off the handle at the cafe? Huh, it was all going swimmingly, then, I choked. Couldn't do it. Couldn't take away that one shred of happiness that Lynn had, that I had...It was like having Octavian again...I miss that. So, now you understand? I need to be rid of that thing, I need to get it out of my head and out of my house. I can't stand it whispering in my ears anymore, I can't live like this." Rose slowly turned to Quirrell, her grey eyes were lit with an inner fire, "I need to finish this. But I can't do it alone, I need a soul, and you've got one to spare, Quirinius, you're the only one who does, but without it, Tom will die. And without it, Lynn will die. I will do what must be done." Rose took a step toward Quirrell, "But, I'll give the choice, I won't force you. You need to decide."
"Can I think it over, not long, but … I need to think about this." Quirrell said sinking to his knees, his body trembling.
"I know this is hard, if I could do it again...I'm not so sure I would have given up what I did." Rose watched him, "Call it selfish, but each breath is agony. Now why don't you ask me what you want to ask."
"What if I gave my soul, not Tom's piece. What would happen to him?" Quirrell swallowed, his mouth feeling dry. "Why is this happening..."
"As far as you're first question, it doesn't work quite that way, you're soul isn't as appetizing as a broken one, and I'm not sure what happens to someone when the horcrux gives back it's portion. But the last one I can answer. Almost three years ago, my parents got greedy, they had money, power, but they wanted something more. So, I was forced into marriage. They just couldn't justify using one of their own children to summon the demon, so they used my husband, little did they know it would kill them in the end...Funny how ironic that is." Rose walked around behind Quirrell, "Don't think me heartless...I really wish there was another way." Rose's face reflected no emotion. She stood behind him and put her hands on his shoulders, "You need to make the choice."
Quirrell whimpered. "I don- I don't think I can, Rose."
Rose sighed, "I thought not, well you had your chance." Rose's wand snapped Quirrell on the shoulder and he went stiff. "So, I'll make it for you, I've lived quite comfortably alone, so when you and Lynn leave, I won't regret it."
The door opened slowly, Rose whirled around, "Lynn, terrible timing."
"What are you doing?" Lynn asked, tears collecting and dripping down her face. "Why is Quirrell like that?"
Rose closed her eyes and tilted her head to the ceiling, "There is way too much to say over again, and I'm getting tired of repeating myself." She waved her wand again and Lynn slumped to the floor. "You'll thank me when this is over."