HP Cronos

It was already dark.The exhaled air became a cloud of white mist.The Death Eaters standing outside cast themselves several warming spells.

There was no sound in that house, only the orange light was on.They dare not relax in the slightest, staring at every entrance and exit of it.

The night was unusually quiet.If a Muggle resident gets up in the middle of the night, he will see men in black wearing scary masks all over the street through the window, just like demons have captured the world in the middle of the night.But they won't get up.The inhabitants of Godric will be asleep tonight.And the few wizards who were not lethargic also huddled in the room protected by the spell, not daring to move.

Snape stood among the Death Eaters, his face pale.He hated James Potter more than ever.If it wasn't for him, Lily might not have joined the Order of the Phoenix, let alone give birth to the prophesied child.

No, it was he himself who made the mistake.There is an inner voice speaking.It was he who told the prophecy to the mysterious man, and it was he who pushed Lily to the edge of the cliff with his own hands.

It's just that he doesn't want to believe it.

Just hand over that child.thought Snape.She is still young and has as many children as she wants.Even with that James Potter it wasn't a big deal.

The door opened suddenly.Snape subconsciously clenched his wand, but the tip of the wand was pointing in the direction of the Death Eaters.Lucius Malfoy glanced at him, but was immediately drawn to the figure coming out of the door.

It was a girl who came out.She is alone, empty-handed.The lights in the house were still on.

Dozens of wands were aimed at her.

Nora walked up to the Death Eaters.

Lucius Malfoy frowned slightly, but said nothing.He sidled out of the way of her, and the rest of the Death Eaters followed suit, making way for her.

Nora felt her legs go weak, whether it was the wands aimed at her or the people she was about to meet.

At the end of the road is a small church.Nora had seen this church in her dreams.Wizards do not believe in God, but this does not prevent wizards from celebrating Christmas and getting married in church.

The Death Eaters stayed on the outskirts, there was no one around the church.Nora clutched the Resurrection Stone necklace in her pocket, keeping a straight face in order to look calm.

Nora entered the church, and the door closed silently behind her.There was no light, the church was pitch black, and there was a person sitting on the pew in the center.His back was turned to Nora.

"Here I am," said Nora, and her words sank like a stone on the sea without echoing.She added, "Long time no see, Tom."

"I've been waiting for you for a long time." The man finally spoke.

"I'm sorry," Nora said.

Riddle didn't answer. He said, "Come and sit down, Nora."

Nora walked over and sat down beside him.There was a chill on Tom Riddle's body, which made her feel a little cold, as if she was beside her.She regretted not adding a warming spell to herself before going out.

Nora calculated the time in her mind.Regulus and the others must have rushed out...probably.With Dumbledore around, those Death Eaters were no threat.

When she was thinking this way, the shouts of killing suddenly sounded outside, and it spread far away in the quiet night.

Tom Riddle still didn't look back, and Nora was a little uneasy.

"Dumbledore can't take them safely," said Tom Riddle suddenly.Nora's heart skipped a beat, "He paid quite a price to destroy those Horcruxes."

"He wanted to get rid of me so much that he would die with me." Riddle said, "As long as I use my soul as bait, he will obediently take the bait, even though he knows it's a trap."

"Because he's a good wizard," said Nora.

The sounds outside became distant, and Nora had to strain her ears to hear the indistinct movements.

"Do you remember this place?"

she remembers.Maybe she couldn't say she remembered, she just "saw" it in her memory.

They got married in this church.

At that time, no one could have imagined that things would become what they are today.

"Even if Dumbledore is seriously injured, the group of trash outside can't do anything to him," Riddle said, "but it's enough to hold him back."

"I'm dying, Nora," he said lightly. "Now there's only one piece of my soul left, and it's in this body you see. You have a gun in your left hand. It only takes one shot." Enough bullets..."

"How do you choose?"

Nora couldn't answer.

Riddle sighed softly, "It's time to make a deal with the old professor." He stood up, and Nora grabbed his sleeve with the hand that wasn't holding the gun.

Riddle watched her quietly, standing obediently.

"How long do we have?" Riddle asked.

"Five hours."

If Harry Potter hadn't been a Horcrux before dawn, he never would be.Dumbledore would risk his life to shatter the last piece of soul in Tom Riddle's body.

"It seems like our time is always so short," he said.

"I don't want you to die." Nora felt her voice hurt a little. "I don't want you to die, that's why I came here." She took Tom's hand.That slender and cold hand.His appearance is still young, but his skin is as dry as a corpse.

The hands of the big clock in the church turned meticulously.Nora wished the evening had been longer.

Riddle sat next to her again.He looked calm, not at all like a dark lord who was terrified of death: "There are still five hours, enough for us to catch up. After all, we haven't seen each other for many years, Nora."

"I'm not the one you're marrying," Nora said after a long hold.

"I'm not the man you know either," said Tom, "but you don't want me dead anyway."

"I love you," said Nora, "always loved you. It doesn't matter who you are, and no matter how many bad things you do. But that's not right, and none of the dark wizards of all ages ever ended well. They were either crazy or died……"

"I know," said Tom.He put his arms around her.

This is the first time she said "love" to him.After acknowledging this, everything became clear.They had known each other for many years, Nora thought, and if she didn't love him, who else in the world could she love?

Tom Riddle's arms were as cold as death.Nora's head rested on his chest, and she had to concentrate to hear the faint beating of her heart.

"Divination was the subject I hated the most at Hogwarts," said Tom. "They read people's fate from tea dregs or astrology, and I always thought it was just a bluff. There is no destiny in this world, only choice."

"I'm starting to be afraid of that thing now, Nora, you and I are ants on driftwood, trapped in the quagmire of fate and unable to escape."

On Christmas many years ago, he found his biological father.He has the same name as him, Tom Riddle.

He was terribly disappointed in that man, not because he was a cowardly, selfish deserter, but because he was a Muggle.

It was the expected outcome, and he was still angry and disappointed.It didn't take much effort for him to kill the bunch of Muggles he was related to and turn the blame on his mother's crazy brother.

That night he wandered in the snow wearing the Resurrection Stone ring he had recovered from Gaunt.Hogwarts must be brightly lit by now, but there was no place for him in the Muggle world.His anger and ecstasy are beyond words.

Intentionally or not, he walked to the yard.The Christmas tree was decorated in Nora's Yard, just like the carefree Gryffindors at Hogwarts.

Mr. and Mrs. Gray protected her carefully, so that she could not see any ugliness.He sneered in his heart, no matter wizards or Muggles, they are surprisingly similar in their stupidity.

Nora's eyes lit up when she saw him.She rushed towards him.He hugged her.The restlessness in my heart was slightly relieved.It wasn't until she reached out to hug him back that she felt how hard she was.

Tom Riddle realized that night that he had another option.

They got married.Tom quit his job in the black magic shop, and the two traveled around the European continent with their small savings.Nora is pregnant, and Tom puts aside most of his research on the dark arts.Everything seems to be moving in a good direction.

But ten years later, the name Voldemort still came to the wizarding world with fear and killing.Destiny may temporarily deviate from the track, but it will always move towards the destination.

Fate did not show him mercy, so he never showed mercy to others.

Nora buried herself in his arms and said, "You still have a choice." She looked up at him: "We still have a choice."

Riddle shook his head at him: "Maybe 'you' still have options, but I don't have any."

Nora had nothing to say about that.The dead cannot be resurrected, and blood debts can only be paid with blood.He was right, and Dumbledore would risk his life getting rid of him too.

The pointer that kept moving stopped at some point.

"Dumbledore should have taken the child safe and sound," said Riddle. "Sooner than I expected, that old bee."

Nora found that Riddle in front of her was becoming transparent little by little, like a ghost floating in the dark night.Her hand touched his cheek, which was so cold that it was uncertain whether she had touched the entity.

His voice also became distant, as if he was speaking to each other across dozens of meters of sea water.

"Listen, Tom Riddle," Nora called to him, "I won't let you die!"

Riddle probably heard it, or maybe he didn't.A pale smile formed on his face.

"I'm waiting for you," he said.

His voice was so soft, but Nora heard the words clearly.There was something fleeting in his smile, too fast for Nora to catch.

Time passed in the blink of an eye, and Tom Riddle's face was blurred together with everything around him.

Dumbledore, who had moved to a safe place, stared solemnly at Godric's Hollow.Behind him, Sirius and Lily were using medical magic to treat the seriously injured James.

Regulus broke the queen for them, but he still hasn't returned.

"She's gone," said Dumbledore suddenly.His wand was a little bit in the air, and a phoenix flew out from the tip of the wand, jumped into the air, and soon disappeared.

Harry, who was sleeping soundly under the effect of the Sleeping Curse in his arms, seemed to have been disturbed by something, and suddenly burst into tears.

"Lily, you take James and Potter back to the Order of the Phoenix first, Sirius..."

"I'll stay here and wait for him," said Sirius.He still refused to call his brother by his first name.

Dumbledore nodded.

"Where are you going?" Lily asked.

"I'm going to solve some problems that must be solved," said Dumbledore.

There should be an end to everything.

Destiny is already written in the astrology.