Disclaimer: I still own nothing :/

P.S - sorry once more, I honestly suck at this whole author thing tbh.

Valerie was released from the infirmary with strict instructions from Madame Pomfrey on how often she was to take her potions. Viktor had also paid attention, even more so after his father and mother told him to keep a very very close eye on Valerie, and her visions.

Valerie was back to normal, well as normal as one could be after such events. She constantly had someone with her, Viktor had all but moved into her rooms, Dmitri walked her to her lessons after Viktor would go train with Karkaroff and Draco's friends, Blaise Zabini and Theodore Nott, were ordered to watch over her in classes when Draco wasn't there, which hardly ever happened.

She still tried to find Him, and to her dismay He was still blocking her out. She was getting tired, tired of trying to look out for him and have it literally shoved back at her. Every time he shut her out it was like a rubber band snapping in her head, him pushing her back to her own mind. And it hurt, not only mentally, but emotionally. Why did He not want her seeing Him?

Her father had mentioned that her 'intended' was to be informed of her actual relationship status, his family was going to reveal the whole plan to him, which she thought was ridiculous. He hadn't sworn his allegiance to Him yet, not like her family, Snape, Igor and the Nott and Zabini family had. She also knew that also in the midst of becoming a Death Eater was Parkinson family, which she would probably oppose, she was pleased to know that she had defense here, whether they knew of her status or not.

X

-Malfoy Manor-

"Why am I betrothed to His partner?! This is absurd, I cannot marry her! I do not want to die! He'd kill me if I laid a finger on her-"

"Enough," Narcissa spoke, surprisingly. Normally it was Lucius who demanded control, or so the public thought. Lucius was not that cold hearted man the outside world believed him to be, and neither his wife. Both were doting parents and kind hearted, but like others they had made mistakes, but theirs was supposedly worser than most.

Lucius moved away from the mantle of the fireplace after pouring himself a generous glass of firewhisky, and actually offered a second to Draco, which the latter was shocked by. But considering his current situation and the fact that his father was offering him alcohol, he'd probably needed it for this night.

Narcissa sighed, "Her family went into hiding after the Dark Lord disappeared after his attempt at killing Harry Potter, they said she could not bear the thought of losing Him, but you must understand, Draco, that He was never gone, He is not gone, Draco!"

Lucius, seeing her distress, handed her his glass which she promptly gulped down before continuing, "We are friends with the Krum family, both the Malfoy's and Black's are, and so we offered for her to become betrothed to you in an act of protection, for ourselves and her. We knew He would return, Merlin, she has visions of him! She can actively search for His mind, which is why we want to help her, it protects us, Love," Narcissa finished.

Draco could not help his jaw from dropping, he was not going to lie he was disappointed in not marrying a Krum, clearly she was powerful and now he had to be open to another marriage contract with some other girl.

Rubbing his eyes Draco huffed, "So I'm not marrying the Dark Lord's girlfriend for lack of better term?"

"No," Lucius answered, "It's only an appearance for the public. His most loyal followers know, so does she, and her family."

Great

X

Valerie sighed for the uptenth time as she waited for Snape to make his rounds to check on his class, she had finished the potion nearly half an hour into the class and was still waiting for him to tell her it was done. She knew it was, immortality gave her time to more than brush up on her potion skills.

Upon his next round her told her to bottle and label it, but not place it on his desk, she didn't need the suspicions of students as to why she could create one of the hardest potions Hogwarts studied in less than an hour.

It was nearing the end of the class when she felt it, that tingling, niggling sensation at the back of her skull, wincing as it moved to her temples. Valerie had no choice and moved quickly to the storeroom which was thankfully empty, as it should have been towards the end of the period. She made it in time, before the sensation made it to her eyes which rolled into the back of her head.

It was Him. And He was coming.

She saw him, in a cemetery, she would have cried if her eyes weren't rolled back inside her head. This was the first time she had seen him since 1981. Her chest hurt as the pain of this came back to her. He looked so frail, so small, not the Voldemort, not the Tom she knew.

But he was coming back, and she wasn't the only one that knew.

She was not the only one who saw that vision.

And she knew who saw it.

It wasn't until that evening when she decided to act upon the vision He gave her, often it was words or whispers of patience and comfort, but this time he gave her a vision of himself. He wanted her to see Him.

She arrived into her chambers near the dungeons in the castle, she loved the comfort the dark gave her, it proved that her soul was not the only thing near this rich black. The looming darkness was broken by the comforting warmth of the fire in the hearth, the wood crackling and sending an occasional spark into the air. Valerie smiled softly and lit her candles once more, and sat in the centre, concentrating on his mind, this time with the definite hope that he was there.

She found his quickly and was elated and relieved at his 'connection' of sorts, he showed her what he was seeing, it was Hogwarts.

He is that close!

It quickly diminished into a manor, pureblood by the portraits of proud men lining the halls, Malfoy is she went by the tell-tale platinum hair. Was he there now?

'Soon, my dear. Soon.'

She did not hesitate, putting out the fire blazing in the hearth she reached for the floo powder on the mantlepiece, barely managing to contain her smile under her cold front.

"Malfoy Manor."

The Malfoy family was shocked at the sudden arrival of someone in the fireplace, but sighed upon realisation, both Lucius and Narcissa bowing to her.

"Where is he?" Valerie did not bother with pleasantries, she wasn't here for them. She knew where He was, He'd shown her, He wanted her there.

Lucius offered her an arm tentatively, which she took without questioning. She didn't want to delay herself.

He lead her through the halls in which she had already visualised and up two staircases, down the left wing. It was cooler here, darker. But she couldn't help but almost bounce on her tall heels.

He's right behind this door

Having done his job, Lucius bowed his head and turned back the way they came, leaving her to her own devices, not that he left her stranded or anything though.

Steadying her breath she wrapped her long fingers around the cold metal of the door handle, letting the chill of it bring her back to the present. She pushed the handle down, hearing the bolt slide from the jamb.

The door swung open and she almost collapsed at the onslaught of emotion she finally let herself feel since 1981, her knees buckled and she managed to stumble her way to the bed in the centre of the adjacent wall.

"T-Tom?"

X

"I-I don't know, it was him, I'm sure, but it's only been once, maybe it won't happen again?" Harry stammered, trying not to believe what he already knew.

Dumbledore sighed, "It is as I feared, he is returning, not to worry! You're not alone, Harry. I suggest you retire for the evening," he dismissed him, and waited for the door to shut before turning to Severus who stood in the shadows.

"Professor, when it comes to war you know there will be none, do yourselves a favour and chose wisely, for their won't be an opposition very long," Snape hissed, trying to get one of the most influential people in his life to join his side, it was for the best, there was no other way. Not with the Krum's and Him together against them all. The potions master left in the same manor the student did, and the slamming of the door still gave the Headmaster a jolt of fright despite his anticipation of it.

The older man only sighed, resigned and shook his head sadly at what had become of Tom Riddle.

X