Chapter 8: October 31st


After Flooing to Hogwarts, Severus made his way to Dumbledore's office. He muttered the password and made his way up the stairs. Upon hearing someone enter his office, Dumbledore turned around to see who was visiting him.

"Severus," Dumbledore exclaimed, "What a pleasant surprise."

"I heard you have some … special visitors." Severus said, getting straight to the point.

"Indeed I do." Dumbledore said indifferently,

The two men stared at each other in silence, each testing to see who would make the next move. Finally, Dumbledore conceded.

"You never told me your sister was involved with the Dark Lord, Severus. It makes me wonder where your allegiance truly lies."

Severus casually shrugged his shoulders, attempting to coolly brush off Dumbledore's accusation.

"Rest assured that my allegiance lies with you, Albus. Any information that I believe to be of dire importance is reported to you, regardless of the personal toll it may take, but I draw the line at endangering my sister. You want to know where my allegiance lies? It lies with those who have my heart."

"I see." Dumbldore responded, watching Severus as his chest heaved from the emotional turmoil that arose from his passionate confession.

"Are you happy with yourself? Using an innocent woman and child as the ends to your means?"

"I will do what I must to ensure that the light prevails."

The two men once again stood in silence, waiting to see who would break it. This time it was Severus. "Are you really going to make me ask, Albus?"

"Ask what, my dear boy?" Dumblredore responded, feigning innocence.

"Where is Katherine?"

"Rest assured, she and her daughter are safe and in good hands." Dumbldore walked from the middle of his office to his desk, where he sat down and picked up a bowl of sweets. "Lemon Drop?"

Anger boiling, Severus screamed, "I don't want your stupid lemon drop, I want to know where my sister and her child are!"

Brushing off Severus' explosion, Dumbledore calmly responded, "Severus, as a double spy, we both know you can never know their location."

Severus started to feel panic rise in his chest as he proceeded to have a fit of anger. He knew that Dumbledore was speaking the truth, but that did not stop his anger from flooding in. Deep inside him, a part of Severus was smirking, giddy at the fact that he was successfully pulling his little ruse. Little did the old man know that Severus was fully aware of his sister's location, and that this entire emotional display was simply a distraction to allow Tom to take his sister to safety.

xX_Xx

With a pop, Tom made his way through the shadows of Hogsmeade, making a beeline towards the shrieking shack. Fearing that he would be seen, Tom quickly shifted to his animagus form, a fully grown black Doberman. (Once Sevrerus found out that Potter and his cronies could turn into animagus, it seemed only logical for them to try and do it themselves). Tom raced towards the Hogwarts grounds and came to a halt.

Tom knew that the entrance to the shack was at the Whomping Willow, thanks to Sevresus' unfortunate history with the discovery of a certain werewolf friend of Lily and James Potter. The Willow is on Hogwarts grounds, meaning he had to figure out how to get past the wards. Tom, in his Doberman form, stuck his paw out in an attempt to make contact with the Hogwarts wards and analyze the response to figure out a way through them. Expecting his paw to be stopped, Tom tilted his head in confusion at the lack of contact with the barrier. He took a few steps forward, concluding that the wards must be placed further up. Eventually, Tom realized that the Hogwarts wards must not be applicable to animals or animagus, seeing as he was now just a mere feet away from the Whomping Willow.

Remembering Severus' insight, Tom searched for the knot at the trunk of the Whomping Willow, and wagged his tail in delight once he spotted it. Quickly, Tom approached the tree and pawed at the knot, causing the previously rumbustious Willow to go still, revealing the entrance he was looking for. Tom made his way through the tunnels, his paws lightly tapping on the ground. Seeing a light towards the back end of the tunnel, Tom's light taps turned into thuds as he raced towards the light. Tom arrived to a dimly lit room, which was completely empty except for a couch against the wall and a figure sitting against the leg of the raggedy piece of furniture.

The figure, who Tom realized was Katherine, jumped at the sound of the dog entering the room, then broke into a huge grin when she realized who the dog was. Tom, turning back into his human form, hurried over to Katherine and held her in a tight embrace, careful not to squish too hard because of the sleeping child in Katherine's arms. Tom released them from his embrace and held them at arm's length, inspecting his wife and daughter for any injuries the order may have inflicted on them. Seeing that they were both physically unharmed, Tom leaned down to place a kiss on his daughter's forehead, and then returned his attention to his wife, "You really like getting captured, don't you? What does that make this, capture number 2?"

"Oh, shut up you bloody bastard and take me home already."

"Can do." Tom said with a smirk. Although they both made light of the situation, both adults knew just how dangerous their situation was. Tom quickly helped Katherine up, taking a hold of his daughter, and making his way towards the tunnels in which he came from. As the small family began their escape, their path was blocked by none other than Albus Dumbledore himself.

"Dumbledore." Tom snarled, handing his sleeping daughter back to Katherine.

"Why, hello Tom." Dumbldre responded, "I see you found my special guests."

"I am taking them home. Get the fuck out of our way, old man."

"I am afraid I cannot let you do that. You see, you little family there is the only way I can think of finally putting your violence to an end. I will not give up my upper hand."

"Don't make me fight you, Dumbledore." Tom threatened, raising his wand at the older man.

"Oh Tom, we both know that not only am I more powerful than you, but I also have nothing to lose. Do you really think that you can defend both of your girls and fight me at the same time?"

Tom stared at Dumbledore, calling his bluff. When the old man did not waver, Tom suddenly realized that the man was right. There was no way Tom could begin this fight without putting his girls in harm's way.

Considering his options, Tom finally broke the silence. "Let them go, Albus. Let them go and I will stay as your prisoner."

Dumbledore stood still, shocked at Tom's words. Seeing the disbelief in Dumbledore's face, Tom elaborated, "You said that you wanted to use my wife and child as an upper hand to destroy me, well, here's your chance. You let them go, unharmed, and I will stay with you, as your prisoner."

Dumbledore cleared his throat, "Well, I have to say, I did not see this coming. I did not think the illustrious Lord Voldemort would concede so easily."

"I will sacrifice anything for the women I love." Tom said.

"I don't believe you… This is a trick, it must be! The Dark Lord is not capable of love." Dumbledore exclaimed, not trusting Tom's true intentions.

Katherine stepped forward and snarled at Dumbledore, "You don't know anything about him!"

"I know that wizards who wield dark magic are wicked, and your precious Tom is the worst of them all!" Smeared Dumbledore as he lunged forward, attacking Tom.

Tom immediately put up a shield, protecting his wife and daughter from the spells that Dumbledore was shooting at them. Katherine hunched over to protect Mya, frustrated that her wand had been taken from her upon capture.

At the moment, the sound of footsteps could be heard approaching. Seconds later, Severus appeared behind Dumbledore, seemingly out of breath.

At the sight of the newcomer, Dumblefore stopped his attacks and said, "Severus, how nice of you to join us."

"Yes, well you left our conversation so abruptly, I had to follow you just to make sure everything was alright." Severus responded coolly. How the fuck am I going to save them without breaking cover, Severus wondered, worried for his best friend and sister. He looked around the room and analyzed the situation. Although Dumbledore seemed fairly lax, Severus noticed that Tom and Katherine were unusually tense.

Katherine locked eyes with her older brother and slowly started approaching him. Dumbledore stood guard, but Katherine paid him no attention. She reached Severus and handed Mya off to him, giving the child a light kiss on the forehead.

"Severus, take Mya away from here." Katherine said, her eyes pleading with her brother.

Tom, Severeus, and Dumbledore all began to protest at her words. Dumbledore because he didn't want half of his leverage to leave, Severus because he wanted to save all three of them, not just the child, and Tom because with Severus gone, he would lose someone who could fight on his side.

Katherine stopped their protests and said, "This is no place for a child. Our negotiations can continue without my daughter present."

Recalling Dumbledore's angry blasts just a few moments ago, Tom saw Katherine's reasoning. He knew things were about to get violent and the best thing was for Mya to be taken away to safety. Tom nodded at Severus encouragingly. Dumbledore, on the other hand, was not content with this turn of events.

"Severus, do not leave with that child." Dumbledore ordered.

Severus realized that the next few seconds could be a turning point in his relationship with Albus, so he chose his next words very carefully.

"Albus, you know I believe in ending this war, but my family will always come first. I need to take my niece to safety, whether you like it or not. I hope that you will forgive me." Severus caught Katherine's eyes, which were shining with gratitude. He gave her nod and swiftly turned away, running towards the exit and fearing for the lives of his sister and her husband.

As Severus made his way through the tunnels, he heard the echoes of spells blasting. Suddenly, he saw the reflection of a blast of green light, and Severus knew he had to keep running, for his niece's sake.

Back in the shrieking shack, Dumbledore resumed his attacks on Tom.

Tom blocked his attacks and struggled to keep a protective barrier on his wife. Realizing Dimbledore was too strong, Tom yelled, "Dumbledore, stop! Let Katherine go and I will stop fighting back! My life for hers! Please."

With a rage that battled even that of Merope Riddle, Dumbledore screamed, "Liar! Avada Kedavra!"

Green light shot straight at Tom, but before it could reach its intended target, Tom felt two hands push him out of the way.

Seconds later, Katherine's body hit the ground with a thud. Tom fell to his knees, gasping for breath while Dumbledore stood shocked at the events that unfolded in front of him.

Tom grabbed onto Katherine with tears streaming down his face, "Kathy, Kathy please. Please don't be gone. Kathy!" Realizing that his wife had truly been hit with the killing curse, he grabbed her face tenderly and planted a kiss on her lips. He turned around to a shell shocked Dumbledore and released a roar that would rival that of the mightiest lion.

The two men rapidly shot spells at each other, acting and reacting so quickly that it almost seemed like a dance.

They were interrupted by the voice Remus Lupin, "Albus, we got an alert that someone had entered the shack, is everything oka-"

At the sight of the Dark Lord, Remus, alongside Sirius Black and Arthur Weasley raised their wands in defense.

Seeing the arrival of members of his inner circle, Dumbledore immediately jumped into action.

"Men, help me! I offered Lord Voldemort the safety of his wife in exchange for his captivity and in his efforts to show me that he would not be blackmailed, Lord Voldemort murdered his own wife."Dumbledore exclaimed.

"You fucking liar!"Tom exclaimed, resuming his attacks on Dumbledore.

Dumbledore blocked the incoming spells and turned to his men, "You see her body, lying there in the center of the room! He did that! The Dark Lord knows no bounds! He would even go as far as committing Uxoricide!"

Katherine's lifeless body was enough proof for the three men. They turned to Tom in a rage and joined Dumbledore in their attacks.

"You fools! You are fighting alongside a murderer!" Tom screamed, deflecting spell after spell. Realizing that he was not going to win this battle, Tom sent a blasting spell at his opponents, sending them flying towards the back wall of the room. He cast a confundus Charm on the four men and with one final look at his wife, Tom turned into his animagus form and ran out of the tunnels as fast as his legs could carry him. Tom could hear the screams of the men chasing after him, which only encouraged him to go faster. Finally, Tom made it past Hogwarts grounds and aparated to Spinner's end.

Tom fell on the living room, where he was greeted by the sight of Severus bouncing his little girl up and down. At his arrival, Severus hurried towards Tom and helped him up. Noticing that Tom had arrived alone, he asked, "Where's Kathy?"

Tom looked up at Severus, his eyes filled with tears. Severus gasped, realizing his sister was gone..

xX_Xx

"I - I don't believe you. Dumbledore would never be so irrational and violent… he is a great man… I don't understand…" Hermione muttered, beginning to get overwhelmed by Voldemort's story.

"That night your beloved Dumbledore killed my wife and blamed her death on me." Tom responded aggressively. Realizing that he had yelled, Tom took a deep breath and continued with his story.

"Once Kathy was gone, I did not know what to do with myself. I was so angry and devastated. Severus was just as bad. He blamed himself for Kathy's death, thinking that if he had stayed, he could have helped save us all. The only thing that kept both Severus and I from hitting rock bottom was you. We knew that we still had to protect you, not only from the order, but from Merope as well. Since Katherine was gone, Merope could now use you as her new leverage to control me. Severus and I could not let that happen, and so, our grand plan came to action. Severus and I decided that you were not safe in our care, so we placed you with the Granger's, ensuring that they would treat you with love and care. Leaving you was one of the hardest things I have ever had to do. We told Merope that Dumbledore killed you, and that the death of my wife and child had finally made me see the light. I convinced Merope that I was now fully committed to her blood purity movement. Severus returned to Dumbledore, resuming his role as a spy. Severus told Dumbledore that he believed the rumor that Lord Voldemort killed his own wife. Severus convinced Dumbledore that he would never again defy any of Dumbledore's wishes.

With our plan, Severus and I decided we could finally make Kathy's wish come true. We needed to defeat Merope's Death Eaters and ensure the order would win the war, for the sake of all Muggles, Muggleborns, and Half Bloods. Yet, we both agreed that we could not allow Dumbledore to stay in power and manipulate the order. He had to go down. Not only was he a corrupt leader, but he also killed our precious Kathy, and for that, he was going to pay.

Everything was going to plan until October 31st."

xX_Xx

It had been more than a year since Katherine had died, and Tom felt her death weigh on him every day. He missed his wife dearly, and he missed his daughter with just as much vigor. Though he would never admit it to Severus, Tom had made it a habit to stop by the Granger residence to check on the wellbeing of his precious Mya, or, as the Grangers decided to name her, Hermione.

Tom would go for a stroll on a certain muggle street and linger a little too long outside a certain muggle home, where he would watch a curly haired little girl scribble on a piece of paper as her parents admired her artistry. Just for a moment, Tom replaced the two adults in this scene with Katherine and himself. A smile crept on his lips as he imagined his perfect life. Eventually, as always, his daydream had to come to an end, and Tom would continue on his path.

It was a consolation to know that his daughter was in good hands. Tom knew that Mya would not have been safe with him at Riddle Manor nor with Snape in Spinner's End. Merope's impatience has been building ever since the Potter boy's birth, and with more than a year without so much as a hint to the Potter's location, Merope had been thoroughly punishing her Death Eaters for their incompetence.

Tom winced, suddenly feeling a sharp sting on his forearm. With a sigh, Tom apparated to Riddle Manor, where he knew his mother and her inner circle would be greeting him. Tom appeared in the main drawing room of the Manor. Just as he expected, Merope was standing in the center of the room, her Dark Empress robes flowing behind her. One by one, the inner circle began popping in, creating a semi circle around Merope. Tom, dressed in his 'Lord Voldemort' best, took his place beside his mother. Once everyone had arrived, Merope addressed them all.

"I have brought you here today for some excellent news. Will you all please remove your masks so I can deliver my news to your faces."

One by one the faces of Lucious Malfoy, Bellatrix Lestrange, Barty Crouch Jr, Severus Snape, Rodolphus and Rabastus Lestrange, Corban Yaxley, Theadore Nott Sr, and Walden Macnair revealed themselves. Tom followed suit shortly after.

"Excellent, now that I can see all of your lovely faces, I can tell you my good news. Recently, I have recruited a most valuable little mole, and today he has proven himself worthy enough to join our inner circle." With a sinister smirk, Merope stepped aside and called for her newest member of her inner circle, "Peter?"

At the sound of his name, Peter Pettigrew walked into the room. Severus' entire body tensed at the sight of one of James Potter's best friends and confidants.

Merope stood by Pettigrew and placed a hand on his shoulder, "Peter here has managed to do what none of you were able to accomplish. He has brought me the location of the Potter family. Tonight, we will embrace Peter as a member of our inner circle and we celebrate him for bringing me my victory."

The room went up in roars of celebration. With a wave of her hand, Merope gathered their attention once more, "Now that I have obtained this most valuable information, I will be leaving to kill the Potter brat, ensuring that no one will ever again stand in my way!" Merope turned to Tom, " My son, I trust that you will lead both our inner and outer circle friends to celebrate our great news by raiding the streets of muggle London. Tonight will be a night to remember!"

The Death Eaters once again broke out into celebratory roars. Merope smirked at her minions and aparated away. Tom looked over at Severus, who had a blank look on his face. Tom knew this look. He was masking his pain. Lily Potter, the love of Severus' life, was now minutes away from being invaded by the Dark Empress, and he could do nothing about it, for if he left, the inner circle would suspect something was wrong. No, Severus and Tom could not leave yet, not without raising suspicion. They must wait until the Death Eaters begin their raid on the streets of muggle London, only amidst this chaos could they sneak away inadvertently. Jumping into action, Tom donned his mask, and taking up his role as Lord Voldemort, he called the rest of the Death Eaters and led them to the streets.

In the midst of the violent chaos of this Death Eater raid, Tom managed to escape amidst all the commotion. His heart longed to wait for Severus, knowing that his best friend would want to be there to save the Potters, but he knew that there was no time. If Tom wanted to save Severus from feeling the pain of losing the woman he loved, then he must go now.

Tom tracked down Pettigrew and immediately invaded his mind with a quick Legilimency Spell. He searched the rat's head for a specific memory: Pettigrew revealing the Potter's location to Merope. Once he had obtained the memory, Tom cast an obliviate on Pettigrew, erasing the last 5 minutes from his memory.

Quickly, Tom apparated to Godric's Hollow. He ran towards Potter Cottage, but once he arrived, the sight that greeted him was not promising.

The Potter Cottage was engulfed in a sea of flames. A section of the roof was missing, and a green light was shining through. Tom launched a fire banishing spell at the cottage as he ran through the doors. At the base of the stairs, Tom found the lifeless body of James Potter. Tom sprinted up the stairs, following the sounds of a crying child. He barged into what he believed was a nursery, and there, in the center of the room, was the lifeless body of Lily Potter lying in front of a crib. In this crib was a very much alive Harry Potter. Tom looked around the room, waiting for Merope to appear. He reached over Lily's body and carried the sobbing boy out of the crib, holding him in both a protective and soothing way.

Restless to find out how the Potter boy was still alive when his parents were both lying dead, Tom gently performed a legilimency spell to piece together what had occurred. What he found shocked him. As Merope shot a killing curse at Harry Potter, the spell reflected and killed The Dark Empress.

Laughing to himself, Tom bounced the infant in his arms, celebrating the death of his mother. Tom looked around the room, attempting to figure out his next course of action, when suddenly it hit him. Lily Potter was dead. How would he tell Severus?

Tom knew what it felt like to be robbed of the opportunity to say goodbye to a loved one, and he would never wish the same upon his best friend. He lifted the sleeve of his robe and called upon Severus' dark mark, knowing that the pull would make him apparate on the spot.

Seconds later, Severus appeared. Before he could even ask what was going on, Severus' eyes landed on Lily's lifeless body. His knees buckled as he approached her, gasping breaths coming out of his mouth. For a couple of minutes, Severus sat in the center of the nursery cradling the body of the woman he loved and released gut wrenching sobs. Tom, knowing exactly how Severus was feeling at the moment, approached his best friend and placed his hand on his back. Severus looked up at Tom and realized that he was holding a baby boy in his arms.

"What-what happened?" Severus croaked, still holding Lily's body close to him.

"I am so sorry, Severus. I tried to get here as fast as I could, but I was too late. When I arrived Merope had already attacked the cottage and Lily and James bravely defended their son with their lives. Once Merope proceeded to cast the Killing Curse on little Harry here, the curse rebounded and - and killed Merope."

"That's not possible." Severus whispered, looking at the infant in Tom's arms with awe.

"I looked into the boy's mind, Severus. It's true. Merope is dead, and it is all thanks to this child."

Severus stood up and held his arms out, gesturing for Tom to hand him the child. Severus looked into the eyes of Harry James Potter, and all he could see were Lily's eyes. Tears streamed down Severus' face. "What do we do now, Tom?"

"Take the boy to the order. They must know who the boy should go to now that the Potters are dea- gone." He corrected himself, not wanting to upset Severus. "We will meet back at Spinner's end to discuss how to bring down the rest of Merope's followers and bring an end to this war."

Before Severus could respond, the two men heard a roar of laughter and footsteps running towards the Cottage. Realizing that it was the sound of incoming Death Eaters, Tom whispered, "Take the boy, now! We will rendezvous at your home! Go!"

Without hesitation, Severus apparated away. The voices were approaching faster, until suddenly Tom came face to face with none other than Bellatrix, Rabastian, and Lucious.

"We were just coming to celebrate our Empress' victory!" screamed Bellatrix at the top of her lungs. "Where is your mother, my lord?" She questioned, her lunatic eyes darting around the room.

"The Dark Empress is dead." Tom responded, playing the part of the mourning son.

The three Death Eaters gasped. Bellatrix's face filled with fury and began blasting the pieces of furniture in fit. Luscious' fists tightened with anger, and he looked over to Rabastian, who stood surprisingly calm for someone who had just learned their leader was dead.

"Don't you give a fuck that our Empress is dead?" Screamed Lucious. "You were he favorite, her little fuck toy, and you're standing here as if nothing happened."

Rabastian cocked his head and remarked, "She didn't tell you, did she?"

Bellatrix, now interested in the conversation, stopped her raging tantrum and asked, "Tell us what?"

"Upon hearing the prophecy, the Dark Empress began researching ways to become immortal. She needed to develop a contingency plan in case anything were ever to happen to her. One night she came to bed especially giddy. When I asked her what had made her so happy, she told me she found her answer to immortality."

Internally, Tom was horrified by what he heard. His mother really was a crazy bitch. Once again playing the part of the dutiful son, he looked at Rabastian with hopeful eyes. "You're saying my mother is still alive?"

Bellatrix and Lucious leaned forward, anxious to hear Rabastian's response. "Oh no, she is dead. But that doesn't mean she will stay that way. My lady did not tell me exactly what she did to grant her immortality, but she hinted at leaving a trail of clues for those loyal to her to revive her."

Bellatrix's eyes lit up with excitement. She turned to Tom and asked, "What do we do now, My Lord?"

Bellatrix's question was quickly interrupted by the arrival of a silvery, clear sparrow. Severus' patronus. It announced, "My Lord Voldemort, the order has heard of the Potter's death. They went to the Cottage minutes before you arrived and took the Potter boy to safety. Dumbledore infiltrated the child's mind and saw the masked figure of our Dark Empress die. When he questioned who this masked figure was, I told him it was you, my Lord. Dumbledore and the order now think that Lord Voldemort, the leader of the Death Eaters, is dead. They believe they have won the war and they have begun sequestering our followers. In a combined effort, both the Order of the Phoenix and the Ministry's best Aurors have begun to infiltrate our raid. I am afraid the odds are not in our favor." The sparrow faded away, and Tom silently thanked Severus for his impeccable timing.

The three present Death Eaters looked to their leader for the next course of action.

"It seems like tonight has been full of defeats. Our Empress is dead and our brother's and sister's are being overpowered as we speak. The order thinks I am dead, and it is to our advantage that they keep believing this. We might be defeated today, but thanks to Rabastian's insight, we know that this is not the end. The three of you go help our brother's and sister's in their battle. Let the order think they have won. While they bask in their victory, I will remain in the shadows, fighting to bring my mother back and building up our numbers. Then, we will rise again, putting Dumbledore's army to an end and proving to the world that we can no longer let muggles and muggleborns ruin our way of life and diminish our magical cores."

Inspired by their Lord's powerful words, Bellatrix, Lucious, and Rabastian apparated away, joining their fellow Death Eaters in battle.

xX_Xx

Tom sighed, rubbing his face, recalling the events of the rest of that night.

"Eventually, I returned to Severus at Spinner's end, as promised. As if Lily Potter's death wasn't enough, I also had to inform him of Merope's immortality. And so, we had a new plan. Nobody could know that I was still alive. This way, I could stay in the shadows and prevent Merope from ever coming back to life, all while convincing Bellatrix, Rabastian, and Lucious that I was working to bring her back. If I were to fail, and Merope did come back to life, I could feign innocence, playing the part of the loyal son who worked endlessly to bring his mother back. Severus would remain at his position in Hogwarts, keeping his ears open on Dumbledore's schemes, while also giving himself the guise of the loyal death eater who stayed in his position to remain informed of his enemies' secrets. And you, my dear Mya, had to stay with the Grangers. If the order ever found out that Voldemort's heir was still alive, they'd search for you to the ends of the earth. But even though we were apart, I thought of you every day." Tom's eyes filled with tears.

"Every day that passed was another day that I was kept from my daughter. Every minute was a minute I missed making memories with you. I wish everything was different, I wish - I wish I could have-" Tom's voice broke and Hermione reached over the table to place a comforting hand over her father's.

Gently, Hermione said, "I am sorry this happened to you."

Tom looked at her sadly, "It is not your fault. I made this decision to protect you."

They sat in silence for a second before Hermione could no longer contain her question, " Now that Merope is dead, why don't you work towards completing my mother's mission of saving the wizarding world's magic through an educational reformation?"

"I cannot do it. Who is going to believe that Lord Voldemort has the information to save the wizarding world's magical reduction? They will all think it is a ruse to kill muggleborns. Additionally, I will never be free to release Katherine's findings so long as there is a chance my mother may come back to life. I must defeat her and the remaining loyal Death Eaters before I can clean to the public."

Hermione looked up at her father, seeing the truth behind his words. Thinking about Merope's immortality, Hermione pieced together her methodology. "So, Dumbledore's theory about your Horcruxes…?"

"Is partially correct." Tom confirmed, "I am aware that Dumbledore thinks that I created several Horcruxes, but this is not true. The killing I did was under the order and blackmail of Merope, hence it did not cause my soul to split. The diary that the young Weasley girl found was not mine, it was Merope's. She was once again hiding behind my persona in order to complete her agenda. I am convinced that she created several Horcruxes, one of which was that diary.

Merope will come back. The Inner Circle is fiercely loyal to their Dark Empress, and no matter how hard I try to stall them, they keep winning small victories. You asked why I am still acting as Dark Lord? I am still the Dark Lord because I need to keep my Death Eater's from bringing Merope back, and if the imbeciles do manage to succeed, I need Merope to believe that I am on her side. I need her to believe that when Dumbledore killed Kathy, it made me loyal to the cause, to Merope's cause. I need all the other Death Eaters to see that I am actively contributing to Merope's cause, and that even while she is absent, I have continued to lead the Death Eaters. This way, if she comes back, I can finally kill her for good."

"This is a lot to process." Hermione stated. "If this is all true… if what you just told me is true, then it changes everything."

"I know."

"It means that you -you're not the true villain. You were trying to protect your family and Wizarding kind, but you were coerced into doing so the wrong way. And Dumbledore … is a different man than I thought he was."

After a few moments, she looked at Tom with a look of determination in her eyes and said, "I want to help."