The Four Swords of Hogwarts

Chapter 33: A Trial of Life

Note: I made up the people in Tom's orphanage and Philip Murton (Murton is a canon family, but Philip is not).

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Tom gazed up at the partially destroyed house, the room that was once housed in the upper right nothing more than a scorched, gaping hole. He frowned at the preserved tragedy, remembering that night fifteen years earlier. He remembered finding James at the bottom of the stairs, wandless as he tried to protect his family. He remembered standing with Lily in front of baby Harry in his crib, facing Dumbledore. He remembered the green light and being too late to pull Lily out of the way. He remembered falling to the floor with Lily's body, crashing into Harry's crib as the boy screamed and sobbed. He remembered laying Lily gently on the floor to jump to his feet and grab Harry, determined to protect the child, only for some kind of curse to hit him in the back.

To this day, he still didn't know what it was, only that he was destroyed physically and magically. He'd been unable to do anything but watch through his excruciating agony as Dumbledore cursed Harry, created the lightning bolt scar, and caused an explosion that set the nursery on fire. He remembered Dumbledore's look before he disappeared, leaving the carnage for Sirius Black and then Hagrid to find. How desperately he'd wanted to take Harry, to save him from whatever Dumbledore had planned, but he was unable due to whatever the headmaster had done to him.

So, he'd left, fled with a broken apology to the crying, injured little boy that had reached for his mother and him while screaming for his father.

He let his eyes drift shut against the painful memories, breathing through the ache in his chest. He shook his head lightly at himself and turned towards the memorial statue, staring up at the stone faces of Lily and James Potter as they gazed down at their precious baby boy. Smiles had been carved into each of the three faces, happiness they had only felt with each other for a single short year. Only here in stone, frozen in this moment, were they the family they should have been, the family they lost because of his failure to protect them and stop Dumbledore. Because he was weak, the Potters were destroyed.

"I'm so sorry," he whispered, bowing his head with the weight of his guilt and regret. When a light breeze twirled around him, he lifted his head again only to find there was nothing being disturbed by wind except his clothes and hair. He looked back at Lily and James, receiving a final caress of the wind on his cheek before it disappeared. His lips curved into a small smile, feeling he may have just gained their forgiveness.

Pushing aside his lament, he began to examine the statue, certain the entrance to the sword's hiding place was likely there. He slowly circled it, looking closely until he spotted a small emerald on the stone wedding band on Lily's finger. He glanced around to ensure he didn't have an audience before pushing on the emerald, feeling it sink into the stone. He stepped back as he felt the statue shudder and watched as it slowly slid backwards, revealing a winding, stone staircase disappearing into a darkness illuminated just slightly by an emerald green glow, just barely visible around the corner.

He looked down and moved his sleeve when he felt his bracelet warm on his wrist.

All in place had been sent by Severus.

He replaced his sleeve and pulled his wand, lighting it and descending down the stairs with a deep breath. As he cleared the surface, the Potters' statue slid back into place, sealing him underneath. He continued down the stairs with little hesitation, knowing he had little time to accomplish his task.

After a few spirals, he stepped off into a large, circular, stone room. Thin threads of silver and emerald created a kind of spiderweb around the walls, but it was the floor that was astonishing. At quick glance, it seemed to just be an uneven spiral, but, when he looked closer, he realized it was meant to be the coiled body of a snake. Just to the right of him at the entrance was a stone tail, built up to act as a pillar with a green flame engulfing the tail's tip. Silver and emerald created the pattern of scales along the coils circling the room. In the center of the room, the floor built up into a large coiled body and head of a snake, a flat slab laid across the piled body with the head hovering over the center, tongue out and fangs bared. Large emeralds glittered as its eyes.