Tom could hear the bridal march playing in the background. It was signing sweetly to everyone in the room-- but not him. To Tom the sound was just ringing in his ears, almost screaming at him to back out now. It was telling him to turn around and leave the building. This wasn’t the right thing for him to do-- he was making a big mistake.
But there was the priest waiting at the front of the church for him to begin walking in through the side. He had practiced once before, but nothing could prepare him for this. He took a few steps forward toward his final destination, but his mind was still screaming warnings at him.
Don’t do it!
You don’t love her!
Back out now!
Yet his feet continued to move forward. He just kept walking and kept his face still as he approached the center of the church. He didn’t know what he was doing here, or why he had come. Everything was just becoming a large blur in his mind and even the room seemed to fade in and out in front of him. He could see rows and rows of empty pews, surrounded by only an organ, a priest, and two people to count as witnesses. He didn’t know who any of these people were, and he wasn’t sure if he wanted to wait to find out.
But then his bride appeared at the very back of the church, looking out at the same view that he was seeing from the opposite direction. He knew who she was. He knew her, he cared for her, he was intrigued by her, and still he despised her. It had been she who had brought him this far, and he couldn’t stand her for that. Yet, despite everything, it had been his decision to run away, and he knew it. But things weren’t supposed to turn out this way.
As the woman who had haunted his dreams began to walk closer and closer to him, Tom’s mind continued to race. He didn’t know what to do. He couldn’t just leave her here, but he couldn’t back out either. He tried to take a few steps away from the altar, but his feet stayed glued to the ground. He had lost complete control of everything.
I don’t love her. I don’t even care about her. What am I doing here? I need to leave now!
But she is so attractive. Her whole aura as she walks just pulls me towards her. I need to follow her. I need to stay with her.
No! I’m making a big mistake! I can’t do this! She’s driving me CRAZY!
She’s making me crazy.
Once again Tom tried to pull one foot forward and then the next, but his subconscious mind was telling him to stand still. She soon would be by his side once more and then everything would be all right. She would always be there for him, and she would never hurt him. Right? She would?
Only seconds later the girl was standing right at his side. Tom was starting to feel claustrophobic as he realized how close he was to her. They were so close, that he could just reach out and touch her. But Tom kept his hands by his side and his heart in his stomach. Everything was going wrong. This wasn’t supposed to happen.
"Merope Gaunt, will you take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold, through sickness and through health, till death do you part?"
Tom’s body language stayed completely calm, and he almost smiled as she looked over at him for reassurance. His face continued to look like the sweet and kind man the woman had first fallen in love with. But on the inside he was becoming a monster, and he didn’t like it. It wasn’t like Tom to let himself explode on the inside. He was always cool and collected. Who was this new person?
I don’t love her, yet she’s driving me up the wall. How can I escape from this prison she’s trapped me in? I’m stuck within my own body, and there’s no escape. How could this have happened? I was a good man.
"I do."
No! Stop! You don’t know me anymore! You don’t know who you’re marrying! I’m a monster! Look what you’ve turned me into!
Tom knew that he had to calm himself down. Soon it would be his turn, and that would be the final contract between the two. If he could just back out now everything would be fine. If he could just turn around and walk out the door he could pretend none of this ever happened.
"And Tom Riddle, will you take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife, to have and to hold, through sickness and through health, till death do you part?"
Tom tried desperately to pick up his feet and walk out the door. With all his might he tried to twist and turn his body so that he could escape. But he knew he was trapped. It hadn’t taken him this long to realize the situation he was in, but it wasn’t until now that he had no way out. Once he said those final words, everything would be over. He would no longer have an escape route to bring him out of this nightmare.
There’s no way out. She’s taken me this far, and she’s going to pull me the rest of the way. I just can’t escape from her. Her power is too strong. I have to give up. I have to. If I keep holding on she’s going to take my sanity as well. And I can’t let her have that. I can’t let her take my mind.
Tom took one last glace at the woman standing next to him. She had brought him from his safety and taken him into the unknown. With her irresistible lure she had trapped him inside his own head and made him become crazy. It had been because of her that he was standing where he was right at this point, and the whole world had indeed flipped upside down. Nothing was right anymore-- nothing.
“I do.”