Tom knew he was dying. The poison had almost entirely eaten through him, and the treatments and painkillers had ceased to work. He looked up at the glowing green sky. For the past several months it had been the same venomous green that Harry's eyes had become after he had gone mad and started to destroy the world. He shivered inside of the heavy parka he wore as he finished the circle he was making in the deep snow. Though it was the Summer Solstice, it felt as if it were the depths of Winter. The deep snow on the ground added to this feeling. Casting a warming charm upon himself would ruin the ritual, and he would not survive long enough to make a second attempt. He looked down at the neatly written notes that had been penned by an aunt he could no longer remember, Harry's mother Lily.

Tom chanted carefully, praying that he hadn't mispronounced anything, and that the ritual would work. As he finished chanting, the air in the center of the circle seemed to bend. As he looked at the ruins of Hogwarts through this bent air, he saw the school reform and he watched many generations of students rush about their lives all in the space of about a minute. The bent and twisting air was replaced by a man of indeterminate age with ancient eyes.

"Who are you that wishes to travel my domain?" the man in the circle asked in a voice that was both a whisper and a shout.

"I am Thomas, son of Sirius." Tom replied.

"What will you give me in exchange for passage?" the man in the circle asked.

"I will give you the rest of my life." Tom replied.

"Accepted." the man in the circle said before stepping aside. In the place that he had been was a swirling vortex.

The embodiment of time watched as Tom entered his domain for the millionth time, perhaps this time Moody would make the right decision and the world would be set to rights.