The creepy old graveyard wasn't the only thing that gave off an unsettling feeling, for both Tom and Abigail. But a certain, shrilly, high-pitched, monstrous voice was another. He reached out habitually and grabbed Abigail's wrist a little rougher than he'd intended, and pursed his lips in annoyance and anger, before turning around, cautious of his steps.

Bellatrix was standing there, a few of her followers lingering behind her. She was cloaked in black - black dress, black shoes, black lipstick, and black nails. Tom thought she took the whole 'Bellatrix Black' thing a little too seriously. He noticed Lestrange and Malfoy behind her, as well as a girl he didn't recognise, and there was somebody else at the very back that he couldn't see.

They stared each other down - Bellatrix and Tom. He knew it wasn't him who she wanted. It wasn't his fault he worried a little too much and overheard Abigail's and Emily McKinnon's conversation by standing right behind them by the wall.

"What are you doing here?" Tom asked in a stern yet polite manner; he tried being as polite as he could without coming off as suspicious in hopes that she'd just move along.

But deep down he didn't believe that. She had no other reason for coming to the graveyard in Little Hangleton unless she knew he and Abigail were there.

Bellatrix let out a spine-chilling wail of laughter, urging her followers to laugh along with her. "Can't I come to visit the two of you?" she pouted, taking a small step closer while Tom moved back with Abigail. "You don't trust me, Tom?" she pulled a sad face, her pout growing. "Not even after all we've been through?"

"Where are all the others?" Tom ignored her, glancing around the area to see if anybody was hiding and planning on attacking them from behind. He felt Abigail clutch onto him and he saw her gaze around the graveyard herself. "Can't just be you five."

"Oh, but it is," Bellatrix replied. "Aren't you even going to ask the obvious question?"

Tom gave up looking around and threw Bellatrix and annoyed look. "And what would that be?"

"Why, how I came to find the two of you, of course!" Bellatrix exclaimed, a fake grin plastered on her face and her arms flying around all the place as she spoke. Bellatrix clicked her fingers and the person at the very back, the person Tom couldn't recognise from all the way over there, slowly moved around and walked forward, a sad smile on his face. Avery. "You see, Tom, while the two of us may disagree on many things, there was always one thing we shared in common."

Tom couldn't believe this...he just couldn't believe it. All this time he'd thought Avery was on his side, that he cared about Abigail. He couldn't even come up with a proper reason as to why Bellatrix hadn't just killed Avery on the spot; he gave Tom a lot of information, and he's the reason Tom knew everything to begin with. He'd cornered him in a corridor and forced him to spy on Bellatrix having a meeting with his followers. Had she known all along? Had that been the plan all this time?

"Avery?" Abigail choked out in disbelief, leaning forward slightly and shifting with a confused look on her face. "How could you?"

"Quite easy, my darling, you see, Avery was never the good guy here," Bellatrix said monotonously, slightly rolling her eyes.

"But...he's hated you all along! He always hated you, you treated him like dirt!" she cried, and Tom gripped her a little tighter, his lit wand still in the air, his palms sweating and his arm yearning to shoot a spell right into Avery's face.

At that moment, Tom wanted to crucio Avery much more than he'd wanted to crucio Bellatrix.

Avery looked back and forth between Bellatrix, Tom and Abigail, his mouth opening and closing like a fish, and he looked quite frightened of Bellatrix. Tom knew he wanted to apologise, but apologising wouldn't get them out of this.

"Be that as it may," Bellatrix stated, a smirk on her face, her eyes flicked over to Tom this time, and she said, "but as you can tell, Benjamin, people can change."

When Bellatrix moved to step forward, Tom stepped back, his hand gripping his wand a lot tighter this time. "Stay back, Bellatrix. I mean it. I don't want to fight. Look, why don't we all go down to the pub and talk this out? We don't have to fight."

"Oh, yes because that'll make everything so much better!" Bellatrix shouted gleefully, throwing her arms around herself and scrunching her face up. "But there is one thing you are right about..."

Tom glared and started to shake his head at Bellatrix, but she kept talking even though he knew he'd disagree.

"...we really don't have to fight, Tom," she sighed, chuckling afterwards. "You just do what we say and everyone will get out of this OK." Bellatrix's eyes flickered over to Abigail. "Well, most of us."

Bellatrix may have believed that Tom could be fooled tonight, but she was far, far from right. He watched, and he listened more than any human would have. Lestrange began to unsheathe his wand like a sword, slowly and carefully while Bellatrix kept talking to distract Tom, but he wasn't that much of an idiot.

"Stupefy!" he growled, watching Lestrange get hit with the spell.

The other two followers, one of which was not Avery, whipped out their wands, too, ready to fire at Tom. Bellatrix went wide-eyed and barred her teeth, shouting, "Not Tom! The girl! Get the girl! Tom is mine!"

Three spells shot at once, over and over again, and Tom forced Abigail down behind one of the gravestones, even though she struggled against him.

"Come on, Tom," Bellatrix taunted, her wand pointing right at him as his was back at her. "You against all of five of us? I don't think so."

"Expelliarmus!" a voice spat, and Bellatrix's wand flew right out her hand, only to be caught by Malfoy who chuckled and shook his head, handing the wand back to Bellatrix, who looked absolutely horrified.

"Not very smart, Benjamin," Bellatrix glared, her rotted teeth showing as she did so. "Avada Kedavra!"

Tom wanted to gasp; he felt his stomach churn and his throat went dry. Luckily enough though, Abigail had dived down behind the tomb stone, and he nearly breathed out in relief had he not seen her jump up again, sending Bellatrix's wand flying toward her this time, and she caught it quickly, throwing it away into the long grass behind her.

Tom almost scolded her for not snapping it, but he knew she would have had way too much on her mind at this moment to even think of doing that.

"Stop," Tom said loudly, his wand still pointed. "Turn around, walk away, and leave Little Hangleton, Bellatrix."

"You aren't so powerful any more, are you, Tom?" Bellatrix said quietly, but her voice was loud enough to carry over to Tom, as though it floated with the wind. It was deadly and filled with venom, like she'd kill anything that stood in front of her. Unfortunately, both Tom and Abigail were in front of her this time. "You used to be...you know? But then you met this filthy, cancerous little vermin and you now you seem to have lost your touch. So, no, I'm not going to walk away."

It was silent after Bellatrix spoke. No birds crowed. Nobody moved. They barely even breathed. It was only Tom and Bellatrix, speaking with each other's eyes though Tom couldn't understand what Bellatrix was saying. Her eyes were too clouded with darkness and he couldn't make out a thing.

It all seemed to happen slowly yet Tom couldn't find the time to fix anything.

Bellatrix's arm reached behind and flung forwards, sending something their way. Tom couldn't say he was glad it missed him; a dagger jammed right into Abigail's abdomen, and she gasped loudly and dropped her wand on the grass. Tom watched with wide eyes, not believing what he was seeing though it was happening right now, right in front of him. She staggered back and her legs gave in, causing her to fall on her back.

He could finally feel the pain kicking in through his chest, flowing down to his abdomen as well. But it wasn't as much as the anger he'd felt at this moment, and he felt his face sweating and flushing with infuriation. Tom didn't know what to do. A wave of emotions consumed him and he did what his thoughts first told him to. His heavy breathing soon turned into dry sobs and he could feel his shoulders bobbing back and forth. But he didn't have time to do that.

"If she's lucky she'll last ten minutes," Bellatrix stated carelessly. "You see, the poison spreads quite quickly. No point Apparating -- she'd never survive the trip. Though, I suppose, if you want to make it quick, you can try."

Tom whirled around wickedly, facing Bellatrix Black with as much hatred as possible, but he didn't even need to try. Avery appeared to be the only one who looked as though he wanted to back out of it, as his eyes were glossed up with tears and his lips were trembling as he watched Abigail on the grass, coughing, crying, whimpering and grasping the handle of the dagger.

There was a fire lit in Tom's eyes and it made Bellatrix jump back a little, but she still didn't wipe that god awful smirk from her face. She looked happy. She looked proud of herself. She looked proud of what she'd done. And Tom knew that if he wasn't there, his wand shaking and threatening to be shoved through Bellatrix's temple, she wouldn't be reluctant to sing and dance.

Bellatrix seemed to notice that Tom was going to duel against her; she told the others to back away and they did so immediately, backing far, far away after stealing Malfoy's wand. Tom didn't wait for Bellatrix to jump into her duelling stance as this wasn't pretend. This was real. And he was going to kill her.

Spells shot back and forth between the two, jumping back and forth as though duelling with a sword. Bellatrix cackled with laughter and dashed off into the long grass, and Tom leaped for her. He didn't slow down and continued to dash towards her laughter, his wand held tightly and he feared it would snap in two at any moment.

"Cruico!" Tom grunted when he spotted Bellatrix's frizzy hair, but she turned left and ran, and ran, and ran, until she and Tom darted out of the forest of grass and back near the graves, shooting each other back and forth with a bunch of spells.

Avery was knelt beside Abigail, and Tom wanted to kick him the chest, pull the dagger out of Abigail's abdomen and plunge it into his throat. This was why Tom taught himself not to trust anyone, why he had such trust issues before Abigail showed up. Humans were the only monsters around. Tom had only just let his guard down and it'd given him enough time to see it.

Kill her...kill her...kill her...Tom kept thinking, over and over. And he noticed that the advanced spells he and Bellatrix were shooting were not doing much of a difference.

"Expelliarmus," Tom shouted, and the wand in Bellatrix's hand left it, and Tom ducked and let it fly off into the long grass. He didn't hesitate on what he'd done next.

Tom's bottom lip quivered as he watched Bellatrix's soul shatter into nothing but ash - he was quite surprised to see she even had one, which only meant she hadn't started her horcruxes.

Her followers departed into nothing but black smoke, leaving the area as they no longer had somebody to follow, to look up to. Half those Slytherin's knew nothing but to follow and now that they had no one they were most likely lost.

Tom quickly darted toward Abigail who was still laying on the ground, gripping the dagger that'd been plunged into her abdomen. He looked back and forth at her helplessly.

"I don't know what to do," he cried helplessly.

"I happen to have an idea," Avery piped up, swatting away his fallen tears. "Let's take her to the St. Mungo's, perhaps Bellatrix was bluffing, they'll know-"

Bellatrix was not bluffing.

"Leave, Avery," Tom spat, his green eyes glaring up at Avery.

"But, Tom, I -"

"LEAVE!" Tom screamed the loudest he'd ever screamed, and Avery toppled down from his kneeling position and his bottom landed in the dirt and he scrambled onto his feet quickly.

Tom heard Avery Disapparate, but he didn't care. Abigail's hand went to Tom's cheek as he wailed above her, his eyes closed, clearly not wanting her to see his open-teared eyes. He melted into her touch, the warmth, the tenderness. He opened his eyes, sniffed, and studied her face. She looked sad but also happy at the same time. He wanted to remember her beautiful features as they were while she was alive; her time was up and he knew he could do absolutely nothing about it. St. Mungos was out of the question; she would never make the trip. He wouldn't risk it, not while he could say goodbye.

"Don't cry, Tom," Abigail said firmly, but ended up crying herself. He stared down at her in horror. He didn't want to lose her and she was already slipping. "Please, don't. This is obviously what fate had in store for me. It's the way it's meant to be. I'm... happy. I'm going to see my dad again."

"No," Tom whispered angrily. He quickly gained himself and some additional confidence, fiddling around with his wand even though it kept slipping through his shaky fingers. "No, no, no, no. No, I can save you, Abigail. I can. I can sa-"

Abigail shook her head, smiling up at him. "No, you cannot. There is nothing you can do, and it's okay. No spell can stop this, and you know that. Tom. I'm going to die any minute now," she gripped Tom's hand in hers. "I am, and it kills me even more just saying it. But this is the end of the tunnel for me. Just promise me something."

Tom shook his head in disappointment and his eyes closed at the touch of Abigail's hand again. He could feel the blood through her grip slowing down, and it was then that he had let the truth sink in. Any minute now her blood was going to stop pumping through her heart, she'd be dead. She'd never be able to see her father's grave like she wanted to, never see her mother, never see her friends again. This was the last moment Tom would ever spend with her. More tears began to fall out of his green eyes, and he couldn't pick himself up to speak. He couldn't. He was shattered all over again and there was no one else to fix him like Abigail could.

He sniffed and sobbed, but finally managed to whisper a soft, "anything."

Tom felt his hand being gripped tighter in Abigail's, and she smiled widely up at him. "Keep being good because you're really good at it."

Tom sobbed, surprisingly, even harder, and he pulled Abigail's hand up to his cheek, wanting nothing more than to keep her warm because he could feel her going cold. Eventually, he couldn't take any more of just her hand and ended up lifting her and pulled her onto his lap, cradling her as if she would disappear. He stroked her hair with his opposite hand as he sobbed.

"I promise," he said into her hair, and he meant it. He could feel her smile faltering and he leaned back to look at her.

"M...My mum," she croaked, eyes going in and out of focus. "Can you... You must tell my mum...tha-that I love her. Please. She needs to know, I want her to."

Tom nodded. "I will. I'll find her." This brought Abigail's smile back. Tom could see her skin paling and her eyes continuing to move in and out of focus, even though he could tell she was trying her hardest to focus on him. He had to tell her...he had to say it...even if he wasn't ready, even if he didn't believe it, she still had to know. "Abigail, I..." Abigail's head shifted around in his arms, and it appeared she was interested, a little too interested, in what he had to say. "I...I lo..."

She nodded and rested her head back down in his arm. "It's okay. I know. You don't have to say it."

"I love you, Abigail," he forced out, shutting his eyes tightly before opening them again, as though he was afraid of what her reaction would be. He didn't even know if he did love her, but he knew it was what she deserved to hear. He could not deny, though, that even if she hadn't been his Horcrux, he would still feel the urge to protect her. "I love you and it is something that should have been said a long time ago. I'm sorry it had to be said in such a situation. Come on, please. I've finally admitted it, not only to you, but to myself."

Tom leaned his head down into her hair, and he felt her go silent and for a second, he went silent too, thinking Abigail was gone. He shrieked slightly and jolted up from his cradling position, to see Abigail smiling warmly up at him, happy tears falling freely from her eyes. How could a person be so happy when they were about to die? It infuriated Tom but he wouldn't argue with her.

"Tom?"

"Yes?" Tom sniffled, but tried his best to put on a smile just for her.

"I'm glad your face is the last I get to see," she whispered, her smile faltering a little. "And I love you."

Tom's face was red and his eyes were big, glossy and puffy. It was foreign to him; he'd never cried before. Not for anybody and not for anything. Tom wasn't only angry at Bellatrix and Avery but he was also angry at himself. It was like Bellatrix said, Tom did used to be powerful. But even if he still was as powerful as he used to be, he knew he wouldn't be able to stop death creeping up on Abigail. He could do so many great things but he couldn't stop this. That was what bothered him the most.

"I wish I could do something. I know there is something I can do to help you."

"What were you going...to ask me that night you walked me back to my common room?" Abigail said, her voice uneven and hoarse.

"I was going to ask you to be...you know what I was going to ask you."

"I would have said yes," she smiled. "Just remember something. For every person to ever try and tear you down, know there will always be somebody else waiting...t-to lift you up," Abigail's voice was faltering and it sounded like it was hard for her to speak.

"Abigail, please," Tom cried louder, as though it was her choice and she could suddenly stop herself from dying, and he squeezed Abigail's body harder into his. Tom's lips wobbled and he noticed Abigail's body was becoming much more cold and pale, but she didn't stop trying to smile.

"I love you, Tom. And tell my mum...tell my mother that I..." was the last thing Abigail spent her breath whispering.

Tom reached down and pressed his lips firmly against hers.

And then her eyes slowly shut, and Abigail fell into a never ending sleep.