All the Wrong Choices

“I love you, Tom, with all of my heart. From this day forward, I vow to always love you. I will help you, protect you, and be there for you any and every time you need me. I will stand next to you each and every day from this day forward. I will not budge. I am a part of you, and you are a part of me.” I declared, unblinking as I looked into Tom’s dark, handsome eyes.

“You have always been there for me, Nora, even when I didn’t realize it. You are the only light in all of my darkness. I vow from this day forward to protect you with my own life, stand by you in your every time of need, and to cherish you with all of my heart. I will always be here for you. You make me whole.” Tom spoke confidently, as he naturally always had. I, on the other hand, was a crying bag of nerves.

“Do you, Nora Jeannine Longwood, take Tom Marvolo Riddle to be your husband, in sickness and in health, for richer and for poor, in dark times and in light, so long as you both shall live?” The ministry official asked.

“I do,” I said, fighting to contain my smile.

“And do you, Tom Marvolo Riddle, take Nora Jeannine Longwood to be your wife, in sickness and in health, for richer and for poor, in dark times and in light, so long as you both shall live?”

“I do.”

“If anyone has any just cause as to why these two may not wed, speak now, or forever hold your peace.” The ministry official took a few moments to pause. I looked over at my younger sister Elsa in the cluster of guests, fully expecting her to jump up and object out of her own jealousy. Much to my disbelief she was nearly crying in my mother’s lap.

“Then as ministry official I now pronounce you Mister and Missus Tom Marvolo Riddle. Tom, you may kiss your bride.” Tom turned to me with the brightest, goofiest smile on his face. He took me into his arms and kissed me with all of his might, placing his hand on my lower back and dipping me down. The guests clapped and hollered and a few cat calls sounded from Tom’s friends’ side of the hall.


I woke up with a shake, shocked to see Harry and Hermione above me.

“Professor? Are you alright?” Harry asked.

“You were crying in your sleep,” Hermione added sympathetically.

“Pretty loudly, too. Woke me up out of a dead sleep.”

I sat up in my bed and wiped the stray hairs that had been sticking to my forehead away. Daylight shown through the window of the tent walls, signifying that it was now morning time. I looked to the two students and dismissed their concerns with a wave of my hand.

“Oh, I’m fine. Just a senile old lady. Enjoy your youth, you two,” I murmured, not wanting to think about the dream I’d been in only moments before, “What time is it? When do we leave for Godric’s Hollow?”

“It’s eight in the morning. We plan on leaving for Godric’s Hollow a little later in the day. We’ve got breakfast going, if you’re hungry.” I nodded and promised the pair I would join them before they left my bedroom. I swung my legs over the side of my bed and got dressed for the day before joining them.

“Professor,” Harry spoke as Hermione put a plate down before him, “We were thinking that–” Hermione cleared her throat as I piled food on a plate of my own. “Right. Sorry, Hermione.”

“Get on with it,” I told Harry, having a seat at the table next to the boy who lived, “You needn’t feel bad, Hermione. I’m here to give you as much information as I possibly can, not for pleasantries, right?”

“Well, err – what happened next?”

I told the pair about our wedding in as much detail as I possibly could, which wasn’t too hard considering I had dreamed it in its entirety the night before. Hermione’s eyes sparkled as I described the extravagant ceremony that Tom had broken his back working to pay for. I hadn’t wanted a large wedding in the first place since, even put together, Tom and I didn’t know too many people to invite. But he insisted on it despite this fact, and it was both extravagant and intimate.


The reception went beautifully. Tom and I greeted our guests and danced to our first song as husband and wife. Soon enough everyone else was out on the dance floor. Even Tom, much to my surprise, was breaking it down on the floor. Then again, he was probably two or three drinks ahead of everyone else at that point in time.

Soon it was time to cut our cake. By then the fun-loving Tom I had slowly but surely grown to know and love had turned tense and was doing everything in a hasty manner. We cut the cake quickly so it could be served to the guests and used as a distraction while we sneaked out of the reception hall.

“What’s wrong?” I asked once we were clear of anyone else. His eyes had grown darker than usual – though it was now night time, I could tell by his eyes that something was bothering him. I knew him more than he’d like to admit most times.

“I have to do something for work,” Tom explained briefly.

“Tom, I – it’s our wedding day.” Deep regret flickered in Tom’s eyes just for a moment as he looked at me but he didn’t allow it to show for too long. His eyes hardened once more. “The reception is still running for another three hours. What am I supposed to tell everyone once they realize you’re gone?”

“Tell them something came up.” Tom offered weakly.

“Something more important than our wedding day?” I shot back at him. “If that damn Caractacus Burke can’t even respect the fact that you need time off for your wedding day then perhaps you ought to quit.”

“And return to what? The Defense Against the Dark Arts position that Dumbledore denied me of? Excellent idea, Nora. I’ll declare bankruptcy while I’m at it. Save us the trouble a few years down the line.” Tom snapped. He sighed after and took my hands in his. “You know how it is, love–”

“Yes, I do. And I’m getting bloody sick of it, Tom. I’m having a really hard time wrapping my head around this. Is today not as important or as significant to you as it is to me?” I asked, on the verge of having a mental break down.

“It is, but–”

“But work always comes first,” I finished for him with a nod, “Go do what’s most important to you, Tom. Don’t worry about the guests. I’ll think of something.” I turned on my heels and walked back towards the reception hall.

“Nora, wait,” Tom put his hand on my arm. I yanked myself away from him and continued walking to the hall. He didn’t follow, and soon enough I heard footsteps walking off in the opposite direction.

An hour went by before anyone noticed Tom was missing. Well, aside from his friends, who I had been sitting with. They knew how it was as well. Unfortunately, it was my sister Elsa who had noticed Tom was missing next.

“Hey, Nora. Where’d your lovely husband run off to?” By the tone of her voice alone I knew that she’d already had one drink too many. I made a mental note to tell the bartender that she needed to be cut off.

“He had something to do for work,” I said simply.

“Of course he did. It’s not like he ever puts you first.” Avery, Lestrange, Mulciber and I shifted uncomfortably in our seats, mentally preparing ourselves for one of my sister’s all too common outbursts. “What is it that he does for work again, Nora? Wait, that’s right. He hasn’t told you.”

“He is a collector of the items sold at Borgin and Burkes, you paranoid schizophrenic. Merlin, you are just like Mum. Truly, the resemblance is uncanny.”

“Or is he?” Elsa asked.

“That’s enough, Elsa,” Avery spoke up, “This is the greatest day of your sister’s life. Can you try to be normal and not ruin it for her? For once?” I was shocked at the fact that Avery had spoken to Elsa like that – as if he knew her well. Tom and I had always had a theory that they were, or had, slept together.

“Is this the greatest day of your life, Nora? Because you look pathetic. Once again, the amazingly great Tom Riddle has left you alone. I’m surprised he didn’t pull this shit at the altar. What’s going to happen when you two have children and he’s leaving left and right? You could never make it as a single mother. You’d crack under the pressure.”

“Levicorpus!” I exclaimed. My sister launched off of the floor and swung upside down, hanging in thin air by her feet.

“Put me down now, you little–”

“Ah, ah, ah. Silencio!” Elsa went mute. As hard as she tried to scream, no sound came out of her mouth. My mother ran over to us and grabbed my wand from my hands.

“Nora, put your sister down right this instant,” she demanded, “Honestly, how old are you girls? Twelve? Well? I said put her down now!”

“I need my wand to do so, Judith,” I said. My mother rolled her eyes at her own mistake and handed me my wand. I put my sister down onto the floor safely, as much as I wanted to smash her right through it, but didn’t give her her voice back. She would remain silent until the end of the night.

“Don’t do that again,” my mother warned me.

“Then I suggest you tell your daughter now to bash my husband on our wedding day. If she continues to do so, which she won’t because I’ve silenced her for the remainder of the night, I will stun her beyond belief.”

“Both of you get along or don’t say anything at all.” My mother walked off with my sister following in tow. She had always been a brat like this ever since she turned eleven – probably because she was the only one in the family without any magical abilities.

“Holy hormones,” Mulciber muttered. I turned around to the table of guys who were watching the entire thing in amusement. “Hey, Avery, do you remember when she did that exact same thing to you during our sixth year? Merlin, that was good.”

Avery shook his head as if shaking the thought off.

“And that, my dear, is why Tom is in love with you.” Lestrange smirked.