When Tom Riddle Died

(Song: Space Oddity by David Bowie)

Ground Control to Major Tom
Ground Control to Major Tom
Take your protein pills
and put your helmet on

Tom Riddle looked in the mirror, hearing Dumbledore call him from the hallway. He looked in the mirror, combed his hair back, and gave his wand a final polish. Today was the day. The Aurors would strike and, if they did not kill Grindelwald now, the side of Light would be lost for good. He shuddered at the thought and offered up a silent prayer to the powers that be that his fiancé, Dana Fields and another Auror, would not die in the ensuing battle.

Ground Control to Major Tom
Commencing countdown,
engines on
Check ignition
and may God's love be with you

Tom joined the oher Aurors and Dumbledore in the Portkey Room. Normally they would have Apparated, but Grindelwald seemed to be able to track such magic. The Portkey magic would remain in the Portkey Room. Tom found Dana and gave her a passionate kiss. Then they found their designated Portkeys. Dumbledore nodded to Tom, no one else knew that Tom had been given the special mission of attacking Grindelwald himself while the others and even Dumbledore himself would fight his minions. Tom took a deep breath and touched the Portkey.

[spoken]
Ten, Nine, Eight, Seven, Six, Five, Four, Three, Two, One, Liftoff

Tom felt the familiar tugging at his navel and he suddenly stood in an empty field.

This is Ground Control
to Major Tom
You've really made the grade
And the papers want to know whose shirts you wear
Now it's time to leave the capsule
if you dare

As fighting broke out all around him, Tom defied his trained and left the protective circle of Aurors. He ran ahead and searched for Grindewald, trying as hard as he could to remember his specialized training as Avada Kedavras and Crucios shot past his head every couple minutes. Dumbledore, true to form, was following him, protecting his back and making sure Tom was safe to go in for the kill. Tom dove forward and howled out an Avada Kedavra and hit Grindelwald in the back. Screw honor, Tom thought, I just saved the world. Reveling in his victory Tom did not see Grindewald follower attempt to attack him from behind. He only heard Dumbledore scream "Avada Kedavra" as he turned around. Sadly, Dana did not hear this yell and dove on top of the enemy. Tom only saw the green light shoot from his mentor's wand into his lover's chest. And his heart broke in two.

This is Major Tom to Ground Control
I'm stepping through the door
And I'm floating
in a most peculiar way
And the stars look very different today

Tom stood vacantly staring at Dana's grave. He had always had dreams of power and revenge on those idiot Slytherins who tortured him in his school days. But now his life had changed. Yes, he'd had issues with Dumbledore in school but, over the course of his Auror training, Dumbledore had taken the empty place of a father in Tom's life. And now his surrogate father had betrayed him.

For here
Am I sitting in a tin can
Far above the world
Planet Earth is blue
And there's nothing I can do

Tom stood there for a long time, never crying and never weeping. This was beyond his control. Something was finally beyond his control, but it was something that meant more than the rest of the world. His Dana was gone.

Though I'm past
one hundred thousand miles
I'm feeling very still
And I think my spaceship knows which way to go
Tell my wife I love her very much
she knows

His body, over the next few months, went through the motions of grieving, but Tom still felt hollow inside. Sometimes he would wake in the morning, expecting Dana to be beside him in bed, or in the kitchen frying some eggs for breakfast. But she never was. Once a month Tom returned to Dana's grave, bearing flowers or other small gifts.

He hadn't seen or spoken to Dumbledore since he killed Dana. He couldn't bear it. But that did not mean that Dumbledore did not seek him out. One April afternoon, Dumbledore found his student wandering the graveyard. He rested his hand on Tom shoulder. "She loved you, but this is the way she would have wanted to die - in battle, doing something for the world."

Tom felt like his heart was disintegrating inside his chest. "How dare you say that?" he screamed. "You killed her! My back was turned and you killed her! You have no right to speak of her! You have no right to speak to me! I will not tell the others you are guilty of murder, as you have kept my secrets as well, but I will not speak to you again. I will not see you again. You are out of my life. All of you - all of you who knew her will be cut out of my life. I will go and find my own way. I did at Hogwarts, and I will do it again!"

Ground Control to Major Tom
Your circuit's dead,
there's something wrong
Can you hear me, Major Tom
Can you hear me, Major Tom
Can you hear me, Major Tom
Can you....

A single tear slipped from Dumbledore's blue eye. He was deeply saddened as he watched Tom's back. This would not be a good change. When Tom was left to his own devices, bad things usually happened. He remembered the bitter, hateful pranks he had played on his housemates. He remembered the pain in his eyes. No, this new Tom would not bring good to the world.

Here am I floating
round my tin can
Far above the Moon
Planet Earth is blue
And there's nothing I can do.

Tom, several years later, burned some dried herbs in Dana's memory. He had found a new haven, safe from the world - the Dark Arts. He would avenge poor Dana's death. He would avenge his witch mother's death. The world would rue the day it crossed Tom Riddle's path. He laughed bitterly. Tom Riddle was dead. Lord Voldemort had risen from his ashes.