Chapter 42

"It had the form of a small, naked child, curled on the ground, its skin raw and rough, flayed-looking, and it lay shuddering under a seat where it had been left, unwanted, stuffed out of sight, struggling for breath"

HP7

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Evelyn wanted to throw something against the door just after Tom closed it behind him.He broke her heart again. She thought it was impossible, but he just succeeded. She cursed loudly, letting tears stream down her face.She also blamed herself because she always knew deep inside that he was incapable of love, still she hoped that years together could change him, that he stabbed himself to bring jer back because he cared of her, not because he still needed his job in the shop.She blamed his parents for abandoning him, so Tom was forced not to know love in his most delicate first years.

Evelyn sat on the floor, in her mind echoed the sound of his voice when in the forest in Albania he called his mother in his sleep. A weak, begging voice that was hardly the usual tone of Tom Riddle.He was just a baby who needed his mother and the love of a mother as any other baby in the world.Evelyn sobbed as she regretted giving him the poison, when she now needed it.She cursed herself for believing in a normal future, where they could build a family together. But what kind of father Tom could ever be? When coldblooded he killed his own father? When he was devoting himself to the dark arts? When he wasn't capable of love? Maybe he would have liked to raise a kid, as a captain trains a soldier. But probably the child would be a Parselmouth too, so Evelyn would have been destined to be locked out from the family. Or the child would turn against his dark father and destroy him.No, there was no possible future, Evelyn realized.It had to end somehow.Voldemort won and she didn't want give him the pleasure of keeping her as his puppet.

Evelyn crawled to the bed and took the locket into her hands, lingering with her memories of Salazar, when he wanted her to stay with him. She wondered if he would have been capable of giving her what she wanted better than his descendant could ever do.She kissed the locket, it was useless to regret an occasion she had lost years ago.

It wasn't easy to take a definitive decision.Evelyn walked out of the flat. It was late afternoon when she stepped into her uncle's shop, that he just closed.Luckily Tom wasn't around."Evy, what's wrong?" Caractacus asked sensing that something was out of place, no matter if she had washed her face with cold water and forced a smile to pretend that everything was alright."Things are changing and in the right way hopefully, so I wouldn't say it's wrong" she said trying to laugh, but a weird sound came from her so she gave up "I broke with Tom, so I'm leaving. He's too much in love with dark arts, so there's no place for me with him. I suggest you to fire him. He started stealing items from you".His shocked face made her giggle inside, but for a moment she feared he would believe that she was drunk or turned crazy."What did he steal?" He grumbled taking a defensive posture.Evelyn noticed that she still had the ring Tom had worked hard to get it  for her. She gave it to her uncle."It doesn't matter what they are. He can't give them back to you, uncle. I'm sorry that you have to lose your two assistants at the same time, but I can't stay here. I need to change. A big change in my life".Her words made the old wizard look very sad "And where will you go?".She shrugged, smiling with tears in her eyes "I don't know yet. Don't I have the whole world for me? Life is so short and there's so much to discover out there. Just don't worry about me, okay?".She offered her hands and her uncle grabbed them with a tight grip eyeing her with worry "Are you sure? Is there something more you are not telling me? Evy, I've never seen your hair of that black. Jet black"."I'm broken hearted and I don't know what my future will be. Stop worrying please" she leaned closer to him and hugged him "Please take care of yourself. You need a new assistant. Make sure you find a good one. And thank you. Thank you for all you've done for me for all these years. I'm sure my father too would be so proud and grateful for everything you've done".Caractacus shivered and grabbed her by her shoulders "Evy! Why are speaking like this? You won't come back?"."I don't know, uncle. But these are words that I should have told you before. I never thanked you enough"."Evy, it was my pleasure to help you. You are the family I never had. If I lose you, I lose everything"."You can't lose me, as long as there's room for me here" she placed her hand on his chest, above his heart "Please, say goodbye to Milly's parents for me. They would trap me into the Ministry if I tell them that I'm leaving".Caractacus tried to stop her, but she was in a hurry.

She went to Gringotts to move all her money to her aunt and uncle's vault. Then finally she felt she was free.And it made her feel so powerful.Because she was free to start a new life, or change the world. Maybe she had to kill or simply obliviate Tom to destroy Voldemort and save the world from the rising of a new dark lord. But she frowned at the idea. She was the last person who could stop Voldemort. She just realized it earlier in their last discussion.

She went back to her empty flat, pondering if she could be proud of her life.She had met the Founders in the past, she had helped them dealing with an Obscurus, but she had failed to save the Obscurial. It had been an incredible adventure and she couldn't beliebe it really happened if Tom haven't cared of those blue flowers he took from the Middle Ages. But those flowers withered and died in a dark corner of their bedroom. In the last weeks Tom forgot to take care of them.Evelyn felt withered like those flowers.She also discovered a world underground, just to find the solution to her secret quest. Merlin was destroyed by a powerful cup. It was so unfair that she had outstanding adventures and discoveries, just to feel so helpless and weak, like her life had no meaning.What was the purpose of being brought back to life from the man who killed her anyway?

Evelyn exhaled deeply, distracted for a moment by the movements of Hydra on the floor. Evelyn wished she could be an animal, so she could just live without so many big questions and worries.She wanted to pack her things and leave, but she had nowhere to go, although the whole world was waiting for her. She wanted to have the power of changing things, changing history. Instead the was just an unhappy witch who couldn't bear the fact that she chose to be alone. Loneliness scared her.Suddenly a weird idea crossed her messed up mind. She happened to think of Merlin's fate and a word poked her mind. The Graal.She recalled the description she had reas just seconds before being stabbed by Tom. A small, golden cup.Without thinking, Evelyn rushed to the bed to take the box under it. She opened it, shocked by the idea that maybe she just found out the meaning of her life, right when she gave up on everything.Helga Hufflepuff didn't know what it was. Evelyn didn't know what it was when she drunk from it. And maybe that small cup had the power of bringing her to the past, so she could see it and then recognize it. Then she happened to bring also Tom into that past so he could recognize it too.She found the secret underground and the solution to her quest was hidden there.Just like she felt it was destiny that her uncle got Slytherin's locket from Tom's mother and made her play with it when she was a child. That cup was waiting for her. If it was able to invisibly guide her life, Evelyn could only guess how much powerful it could be.She simpered. She couldn't poison herself, so the cup was there to offer the solution. Tom could turn that jewel into a horcrux but he would never realize what it truly was. And the Graal would find its way to be revenged.

Evelyn breathed deeply, her fingers so irresistibly tempted to touch the golden cup, knowing how destructive it was.Knowledge is power. But power can also destroy someone who can't handle it.And the Graal was far more powerful than any wizard could be.

Evelyn hesitated, her hands pressed below her stomach. She felt wicked, evil. But she had no choice. She had to do bad for a greater good.She was grateful that she didn't tell Tom. He wouldn't have dared to leave her alone. Instead with her silence she got her freedom and her choice.She looked for Hydra, but the animal was somewhere in the other room. Then she took her wand in her hand while her other hand hovered on the cup.She would never forgive herself if she was wrong about that cup. She begged it to be the Graal and touched it.

An explosion of energy engulfed her. Evelyn was blinded and she felt herself falling.It was a terrible sensation that she already felt after Tom stabbed her and she was thrown into a cold darkness where she couldn't stop herself from falling. After she was back to life, she often had nightmares focusing on that terrible illusion.

Suddenly Evelyn felt everything stopping. She didn't crush on the ground, she felt herself light as a feather.When she was able to see, she saw an old wizard smiling at her and offering her a hand.She was laying on her back but she didn't feel pain.She accepted the help and when she was up she recognized the wizard. Her jaw dropped."Merlin!" She exclaimed.His smile widened "Hi, Evelyn. I've been waiting for you".She was so shocked she wondered how death could be so nonsense."How do you know my name? And why waiting?" She asked a bit insolently.He placed a hand on her shoulder and made her check the anonymous place they were in. There was just light around them, the flood was like the surface of the sea, but Evelyn couldn't feel anything liquid nor solid under her feet."In this place things work in a different way. You can learn many things here" he explained patiently."I thought death was something different" she complained.Merlin chuckled "We are not truly death. This is the world of the cup. Or let's say the cup is a portal to this place"."So you weren't dead but trapped into the cup!" She realized, then her entusiasm died "So now I'm trapped too?".He shook his head "No, we are just in an alternative dimension. Time is meaningless here. We can see the past, the present and the future. That's why I knew you would come to save me"."So you're safe and I'll replace you in this place?" She frowned."You're wrong again" Merlin replied patiently "The cup trapped me because I was arrogant. I hunted the cup because I wanted to tame it. But the prey trapped the predator. But you, my dear Evelyn, although you are very ambitious, when you touched the cup you wanted something else, not power not to tame the Graal".Evelyn swallowed hard "So what will be of me?"."You have been through a lot. Time travel and necromancy. Your body is already corrupted anyway"."It means that I'll die?"."No, it means you have the choice to leave this reality".Evelyn tried to understand but it was like they were speaking different languages "What happens to you? You are free now?".He smiled broadly "I'm better than free, dear. But it doesn't mean that I'll be back in your world"."Seriously it doesn't make sense to me" she complained."The existence isn't confined in having a body and living with it. You saw that we have a soul, you saw one getting split".Evelyn's eyes widened "How do you know all these things?"."I told you that time have no meaning here. You can see the whole history, your past and your future here. I knew that someone was going to free me, but I wasn't waiting because as I said time doesn't mean anything here"."I'm really confused" she said feeling helpless. She decided to stop trying to understand it."When your time will come, you'll understand everything. You are still alive after all. On the other hand you can see me but I'm just like a ghost. My time has come. But before getting my longed eternal peace, I have to free myself from the debt I have with you. The cup allows me to grant you one wish. You can ask anything, since the Graal has endless power stored in it. But choose wisely. One wish can come true but you'll live with the consequences".Evelyn chewed her lip "Every kind of magic includes time travel?".His eyes sparkled "Ambitious, as I said. Time is the most delicate thing that rules the reality. Time tends to recover itself from the wounds from reckless magicians. But I can't lie. The Graal's magic can do that".

Evelyn felt invincible, when a moment earlier she felt hopeless. I can everything, she said proudly to herself with a sinister smirk.She could save her parents, getting the happy childhood she hopelessly craved for, getting her family back, being a Slytherin and having her cousin loving her as a sister...

But she was an adult now. She didn't need a family anymore. Not when a dark wizard was dangerously rising and could use her parents as a weakness against her. She would bring them back just to see them dying again.No, it weren't her parents she had to save."You know what is the core of Dark Arts" Merlin's words made her startle."Intention" she replied promptly.He nodded "That's what you need if you want to succeed. Otherwise I don't know what the Graal can do to you. Is that what you really want?"."I'm sure that I don't want to go back to my previous life. So if I have another choice besides dying, I prefer to change history"."Do you know what you want to change? I can open a portal that will take you back in the moment you want, but this process can destroy you if you're not strong enough. Otherwise dued to what you want to change, you'll create a parallel world and you'll disappear from this reality forever"."Disappear?" She repeated intimidated "So what will be of this reality?"."You can see it. But it means you won't be able to go back to this reality to change it".Evelyn nodded and saw the lights around them getting shapes and colours. It was like being into a pensieve."In the reality you left behind, you'll be dead" Merlin's voice explained as she saw her flat and saw her own body lying on the floor. She froze when Tom found her dead body."He will be the only one to know that you're dead" Merlin explained calmly "But he will never understand what caused your death".Evelyn's heart ached as she saw what Tom did. His sins made him very unstable, but the horrors she saw were so disturbing that Evelyn wanted to close her eyes. Still she needed to know.

The lights swirled and they found themselves in the cave. Tom didn't look like the handsome wizard that Evelyn was used to know. He would have never gain that appearance again. His dark eyes were mixed with red.He laid her dead body in the water of the lake, that became her grave.She became his own Lady of the Lake, Evelyn thought bitterly.The lights swirled again and they were back into their flat. Tom showed the worst of him and, after packing, he made the place implode. It was like the atomic bomb of the muggles. But all the damages were included into the flat. Nobody realized what just happened in there."He will claim that you abandoned him" Merlin explained as they watched Tom visiting St Mungo's to kill Milly and creating two new horcruxes with his two newly found relics, turning definitely into Voldemort "But he won't stay in England. He will travel the world for ten years. He just went back to his uncle's hut to hide his ring. And he will go back to Hogwarts to hide the diadem there"."So my choice will turn him into a monster?" Evelyn wheezed."The monster was already inside him. You knew it, you were always aware of it, so you had to make deals with him to delay the rise of the monster"."Until I failed" she whispered gloomily "He started to kill again earlier than I expected. It's not just power. When he started to kill, he felt the need to kill again"."And he will become addicted to it" Merlin confirmed calmly "He developed a unique bond with you when he brought you back to life using his magic. You broke that bond so he will try to fill that gap with dark magic. Many will die because of him".

Time passed into the cave and Evelyn saw with horror that the lake became filled with corpses. Not just dead bodies, but filled with dark magic. They became the guardians of her grave. And of one of his horcruxes.Evelyn felt nauseous, but in that dimension she couldn't vomit. She hated Voldemort with all her being."But he is not invincible. He will face his doom" Merlin said and the lights swirled again. Evelyn's eyes were blinded by a green light. A killing curse. Meant for a little child.Evelyn moaned in despair. How could someone be willing to kill a child? But the killing curse bounced back to Voldemort."Love turned out to be a stronger magic" Merlin explained with a smile.A mother sacrificed herself for the love of her child and it saved her child.In all that sorrow, Evelyn saw clearly what her mission was.

"He's not definitely defeated, as you know" Merlin warned her and Evelyn recalled the horcruxes "Left as nothing but a maggot, he hides for other ten years in that forest in Albania".Evelyn winced in surprise. Voldemort traveled the world far and wide, still he always came back to certain places. Places where he tasted what happiness is, she realized."Time will manage to make him rise again, until his final defeat" Merlin said with a sigh.The lights moved again and everything turned white.

Evelyn found herself in an another anonymous place. There was just a bright mist surrounding her. For a moment she wondered if she was finally dead or in heaven.Then she heard the most pitiful and scary sound. Like a baby crying, but not a human baby.Finally Evelyn spotted the creature in a corner: so small, with its skin raw, flayed. It was a vision that repulsed her."You understand what's that" Merlin said placing a hand on her shoulder "It's the end. And here we can't do anything to change things"."Then I must go back" she said resolutely "I have to prevent all of this. What will be the consequences on me? Will I remember all of this?"."The Graal can open a portal to your history, to the time that you want to reach. It will be your history"."What if it will be before I was born?" She asked nervously."That's possible. I mean, you can pick any event you wish of the history of your reality. But when you'll change the detail you decided to chance, you create a new road, a sort of parallel universe. Same past, different future. While the traces of your existence in your current reality will be slowly annihilated"."And in that parallel life will I know what my mission is?"."If the change you'll make is too big, time and magic could even kill you. Time tends to recover itself and destroy the cause of the damage".Evelyn accepted it "He ripped his soul, I'll rip the time. It seems a fair deal"."But I believe that you will collapse after changing your history and you will wake up in the new world you created. Ready for a fresh start. And slowly you should forget everything that you learned so far"."Meaning that I'll lose my memory?"."You should forget your current reality just as your current reality will be forgetting you. And yours is the mind of an adult that hardly can fit into the brain of a younger version of yourself. But I'm not sure. It's something beyond my knowledge, but I suppose you'll be alright".She sighed heavily "Isn't this the weirdest way to suicide?"."If it can comfort you, you're not the only one. We both have unusual ways of dying".Evelyn stared at him with gratefulness, fear and a mix of other feelings. She always knew him thanks to the legends around him and his portraits, but having him concretely in front of her was like finally meeting and old lost friend."So is this a goodbye?"."Goodbyes don't exist in this dimension" Merlin smiled "So are you ready? You will be all on your own from now on".Evelyn breathed deeply "Yes. I am. Let's do it. And thank you"."Thanks to you, Evelyn".She felt her heart beating faster "Hmm, can I hug you?".He laughed and hugged her, but the physical contact seemed unreal. What mattered was the warmth that Evelyn felt in her soul. That was the energy that she needed to do what she was going to do.