A/N: Everyone please read the author's note at the end of this chapter after you finish reading. It is important. Thank you

The darkness was receding. The bright yellow of the sun could finally be seen over the horizon throwing light over the nearby clouds making them shine like rubies.

From the leather chesterfield lounge by the window, Tom's eyes followed the sunrise with detachment.

It barely entered his thoughts. It was just something else to stare at after the stars had disappeared.

Twisting his head behind him to the door, he was confronted by another distraction as his mother appeared in the doorway. Her grey hair was pulled into a bun and a dressing gown was wrapped in a neat bow around her waist. He had sent for her to live with him in England now that their rule was more secure and it was not dangerous.

He smiled slightly up at her. It was difficult to display a more joyful expression.

"Tom are you alright?"she asked in a voice Tom was well aware was used by most mothers as her eyebrows knitted together in concern. Stepping into the room, her mismatched eyes focused on his pale face, the dark bags under his eyes and yesterdays robes which he still wore. "Have you even slept?"

"No," he said softly his voice blank and unfeeling as he avoided the first question, "I have not slept."

"What is wrong?" Her voice was filled with concern as she slowly approached him and placed her hand gently on his shoulder. He did not push her off nor did he acknowledge the contact as he continued to stare straight ahead.

"I could not sleep."

It was the truth. He could not sleep. He had tried, but his mind had been even more over active than usual and had been filled with flashes of accusations and confessions. He was not sure what was worse; her laughter or his foolish decision to confess to something he should not have spoken of.

To her credit his mother did not push him. Instead she ordered a house elf to bring them tea and sat down tentatively on the couch beside him. "I want to help," she said carefully as the tea arrived and she set about pouring hot water into a cup. "I know you find it hard to open up but..."

She trailed off and he closed his eyes for a brief moment to keep calm. It was hard to deny that her presence was comforting. He supposed that was a natural and inevitable part of being with your mother.

He stayed silent for a long time as he watched his mother slowly make his tea just as he liked it. He took the steaming cup into his hands and slowly took a cautious sip. The warm liquid flowed through him waking him up a little as he allowed himself to slump back into the lounge in a way he would only ever allow his mother to see.

"It's complicated," he started to say despite his better judgement. "I made a foolish decision and said something I should not have. I now have to face the consequences."

It was such a general answer, so of course his mother would question it.

"What did you say?"

He did not look up. He stared down at his long fingered hands as they curled and uncurled around the porcelain. No one else would have made him say the words, but the comforting hand on his shoulder was somehow persuasive.

His breath was slightly shaky as he spoke, "I told her I loved her."

He did not make any attempt to explain who she was. His mother would know.

Her grip on his shoulder tightened as she paused for a long while before she spoke again, "What did she say?"

It was the worst part. It was the worst part of the confession, but he would still continue. "She laughed."

"Oh." Her voice broke so it was soft and vulnerable. "Oh, Tom. How could she?"

He could not listen to this. Pushing off her grip, he stood and paced to the door, his fist clenched tightly together as he tried to breathe deeply. He had said enough. Turning, he left the room and left his mother behind as he tried to get ready for work.

At least he could distract himself and forget his foolishness.

In theory the Ministry would be the perfect outlet to channel his thoughts away from unpleasant directions. It was partially affective.

Sealed in his office with a pile of paperwork to sign and reports to analyse, it was a positive distraction. However, no matter what his mind was too extensive to concentrate on one issue and instead often altered course.

The mixture of anger and sorrow pulsed through him. The fact was he did love Bellatrix and being rejected by her was depressing, yet he was sure he could overcome negative thoughts. They were a fact of life and they could be overshadowwed by other factors.

Though, it was not just that. He was furious and embarrassed.

He had been laughed at. He had been signalled out as unimportant and a symbol of ridicule. Any semblance of happiness had been wrenched from him because of the rudeness and foolishness of Bellatrix. She was sure of her superiority, but she was wrong.

She apparently could never think of him in the way she should because of her arrogance and he swore to himself he would abandon any fondness if he was going to be treated as insignificant. Logically he knew emotions were tricky and defeating them could be difficult, but he swore he would.

Glancing at the paperwork in front of him, he lifted his quill to sign his name and scowled at the signature above. With a swivel of his quill that was not as impeccably neat as usual, he added his signature.

In time he would win.

Tom remained where he was for several hours. The tediousness was a relief even if his negative thoughts could not be held at bay for long. They could at least easy be pushed to the side.

For a time.

The sound of knuckles on wood drew his blank face upwards. He expected to look at his secretary; instead he faced a familiar slender body leaning leisurely against the doorframe.

"Good morning, Riddle," Bellatrix drawled as she lightly flung the door closed behind her.

His dark eyes were frozen momentarily on her figure as his hands closed around his ink well. His nails dug into the porcelain. For a moment he almost hurled it across the room at her, but he narrowly restrained himself. His gaze hardened and, giving up on hiding his emotions, he flicked his eyes from her to his paperwork.

He did not reply.

"Come on, Riddle," she murmured his voice drawing closer as her heels clicking on the wooden floor. He could see the front of her robes in the corner of his eye as she leaned over the front of his desk. "Only yesterday you told me how much you-"

His head snapped up and his hand shot up from his side and dug into her wrist. He twisted her slender limb almost enough to snap it as he pulled her closer.

"Do not!"It was difficult to not scream, but the anger still shone in his eyes. "Do not mock me. The issue is at an end. Everything is at an end."

Bellatrix did not attempt to pull from his grip. She only stared at him smugly and with a raised eyebrow. "Everything? I know you hardly mean that."

"A part from our leadership at the Ministry, everything."

He did mean it. He could not do it any longer. He could not stay in a relationship of any form where he was the only one to fall victim to affectionate thoughts. If he did, he knew Bellatrix would always have that power over him. She would always be able to control him and trifle with his emotions.

He could not do it. He could not face the humiliation. It was better to ignore his affection for her and hope, over time, it would decrease.

"I suppose it is for the best." Bella's voice was oddly thoughtful but she continued to smile. "I would rather not stay in a relationship with a half blood."

He almost hit her again, but he restrained himself and continued to glare at her. "So that is it? Your believed superiority is the entire reason for your behaviour. It is just because I'm a half blood."

She did not hesitate as she answered smugly, "Yes."

He did not know if she was telling the truth. He stared staring into the face that he still found attractive and still made a part of him leap with anger and affection, but he could not detect a lie. Before he could even stop himself, he found himself asking one question that seemed so critical and the root of all his troubles.

"If," he began as he struggled to keep his voice calm, but there was a level of vulnerability lingering below the surface that he could not hide, "you did not know I was a half blood, would you have loved me?"

Her face fell at such a strange question from Tom who was normally so emotionless and practical. Her eyes flicked downwards and Tom watched her reaction. Somehow his heart was racing. What ifs were notoriously useless. There could never be another situation. Nothing could be changed, but somehow in the part of him that was just like any other man he wanted to hear this from her.

"I-" she stuttered briefly as she presumably continued to think, "I don't know, but maybe. Maybe I could have."

His hold on her wrist slackened into more of a caress as he held her hand for the last time. His throat stung as he forced himself to smile sadly. "We will never know. For now we will just have to live this life now only as nothing more than joint leaders of the Ministry.

"Yes," Bella repeated her voice almost as soft as she allowed him to hold her hand one last time. "That is all we will be."

)o( Fin )o(

A/N: At the risk of being hurt that really is the end. I wanted to the end the fic on that point. I know from reviews that most readers wanted Bella to love him back and for them to live happily ever after, but, to be honest that is not how I write. This is originally how I wanted the fic to end; Tom loving Bella and Bella not loving him back is directly oppose the situation in the book. I have considered alternate endings, but I could never come up with a realistic way for Bella to love him back, as throughout the whole fic she has always been more reluctant. As she says her knowledge of Tom's blood status blinds her. If she had not known (aka canon) then she would not have been blinded by her arrogance and she probably would have allowed her heart to open up. I really enjoyed emphasising the AU by ending it in such a different way, but equally as tragic as the Bella/Voldemort (or Tom) often is.

Either way, I hope reviewers or those who have just stalked the fic really enjoyed the fic. It was such a strange concept, so I'm really glad it did generate some readers. Thank you especially for the reviews and favourites and I hope the ending was satisfactory. I may return to this world in a prequel form, but, for the moment, it is at an end. Self plugging time, I will be publishing a new Bella/Voldemort fic in a day or two, so if you like the ship you might want to have a look at that. It is more of a canon ship (so no more love for Tom), but based in a world where Voldemort has just won in 1974.