Sorry, Didn't See You There

by SingingInTheRaiin

Harry gets all three of the Deathly Hallows, and thinks he can use his power as master of death to find the perfect point in time to stop Tom Riddle from going full Voldemort and taking so many innocent lives. But it isn't a particularly easy task, made even more difficult by the fact that stupid Tom had to go and be all charming. (one shot)

He hadn't meant to scare the child. It was just that she had run across his path so suddenly that his natural reaction had been to shout in anger. She was very young, and clearly didn't understand why Tom would be so angry with her. This could only be the fault of bad parenting, and Tom turned to look across the road in irritation.

A man that held absolutely no resemblance to the little girl was calling out and running across the road without looking. Tom could only assume that it was a trait that ran in the family as the man knelt in front of the girl and pulled her into a hug. "Teddy, you scared me. When I turned around and you weren't there, I thought that- well-" He hugged her tighter. "Please don't just run off like that again, okay?" Teddy was a rather unusual name for a girl, but Tom was too busy judging the man's poor parenting to also judge his naming skills.

When the man finally peeled himself back from the child, Tom was able to get a good look at him for the first time. Unruly black hair that made it look like the man had just rolled out of bed, smooth dark skin, a peek of what looked like a scar on his forehead, and most stunningly, those vivid green eyes. Tom fought to keep a look of disdain on his face, not wanting to show how attractive he found a complete stranger. Especially one with a child and no self-preservation skills. Tom didn't need that kind of trouble in his life. "In the future, you may want to consider putting your daughter on a leash if you don't want to see her flattened on the road."

The man blinked a couple of times. "My- what?" Then he glanced down at the girl, and he and the child both shared a small giggle before the man looked back at Tom. "Right, I'll keep that in mind. Sorry you almost got knocked over by a four year old." Then he reached down to take one of the child's hands in his own. "Come on Teddy, let's get you home before your mother skins me alive."

Teddy laughed. "Okay. Sorry for scaring you." And then the two of them continued on their way, leaving Tom to stare after them and wonder what the hell had just happened. He glanced around, but no one else seemed to have noticed or cared about the strange interaction that had just occurred. Confused, but not having the time to stand around and think about it, Tom continued on his way as well.

,,,

It was a big city, far too big to run into the same stranger multiple times, and yet Tom found himself staring down at the messy-haired man who had run right into him and promptly fallen over onto the ground. Tom didn't offer a hand down to help the man up. It was his own fault for not looking where he was going.

There was a dazed air to the man, and when he finally looked up, Tom could see that those brilliant green eyes were rimmed with red, and there were dark bags underneath. The stranger reached up to rub at his eyes for a moment, displacing his glasses. When he got to his feet, his glasses were lying crooked across his nose. "Sorry about that. I was distracted."

"Clearly," Tom drawled.

The man sniffled. "Um I'll just be- just be heading out now."

Tom arched one eyebrow. "Presumably you came here for coffee? Why would you leave without any?"

The man stared at Tom with wide eyes before he nodded. "You're right. Sorry, my mind's just all over the place right now. My parents- they both passed away yesterday." Way to overshare with a complete stranger. Tom didn't care about the life of this weird man. Lots of people had dead parents. Tom had dead parents. But he didn't go around crying about it to random people when he went out for a hot drink. The man gulped. "Shit, I know we don't even know each other, I just- I don't have anyone to talk to about any of this."

"Try your wife," Tom suggested, in the tone of a man who was just waiting for the moment he could flee the situation. It wasn't like Tom cared much for niceties, at least not with people who weren't superiors at work or political connections. But unfortunately, the stranger was blocking the door, and even Tom knew it would be going too far to just physically shove the man away.

The man furrowed his eyebrows in confusion, and it made him look rather childish. "I don't have a wife."

Tom shrugged, not caring enough to try and recall the exact wording of the conversation the last time he'd bumped into the man. "I'm sorry, but I really have somewhere I need to be in a timely manner."

The man gasped sharply, and stepped aside. "Shit, sorry, sorry." He sniffled again. He opened his mouth like he wanted to say something else, some parting remark that would surely not be of any interest to Tom. So Tom decided to save them both some trouble, and immediately exited the shop.

,,,

Tom narrowed his eyes in suspicion. Twice could be a bizarre coincidence, but coming across the same stranger three times in as many months when they didn't work in the same place or live in the same building? "Are you stalking me?" he asked in a deadly serious voice. He wasn't officially very high ranking, but he controlled a lot from behind the scenes, and was seen as a trustworthy advisor by the minister himself. It was possible that someone had figured out his importance and decided to come after him.

Though it that were the case, he had no idea why they would send this sloppily dressed man who seemed to be incapable of acting like a normal adult human being. The man shook his head. "No, of course not. Is it really so impossible to believe that we might just run into each other like this?"

Tom didn't budge. "Yes, it is. Millions of people live in this city, and you expect me to believe that there's no reason I've been forced to see you so many times?"

The man didn't even bother to look offended by Tom's question. "Hey, this is rather one-sided of you, isn't it? For all I know, you could be the one who's stalking me. Bet you hadn't considered that, had you?"

"Uncle Harry!" A child suddenly seemed to appear out of nowhere and fling himself into the man's- apparently Harry's- arms. The boy held a strong resemblance to what Tom remembered of Harry's daughter, which made sense if the two children were cousins. Not that Tom cared at all about the family lines of this preposterous man.

Harry easily caught the boy's weight, and balanced him on one hip. "Teddy, what have I told you about changing in public?"

The boy sighed. "Don't do it at home and definitely don't do it in muggle London."

Teddy? Hadn't that been the name of the girl as well? And the boy had clearly just said 'muggle London'. So they were wizards. And Tom immediately felt- well, not guilty, obviously, but slightly miffed at himself for not having considered that possibility. Every time they'd bumped into each other, it had been near apparting points. To avoid getting caught appearing out of nowhere in front of all the muggles, there were designated points around the city that were charmed to be hidden from view.

Tom cleared his throat, dissatisfied with how the two had completely forgot about him. "Anyways I should be on my way." He'd say that it was nice to make Harry's acquaintance… but it really wasn't.

Harry nodded. "Right, right. Well, nice to meet you, again." He held out one hand while keeping the other wrapped securely around Teddy, and gave Tom an expectant look.

He didn't look like the cleanest, but he didn't seem overly grubby, so Tom deigned to shake the man's hand, and then immediately left, not wanting to be late for a meeting just because some mess of a wizard got in his way. Before Tom could actually leave, though, there was suddenly a tiny hand grabbing the back of his coat and tugging on it. Tom turned and saw Teddy staring up at him with wide, purple eyes. Wait, purple? Hadn't they been brown a minute ago?

Harry laughed at the look on Tom's face. "He takes most people by surprise for the first time. He's a metamorphmagus."

Well that was interesting. Tom had always been a connoisseur of power, and it led him to investigating all the unique types of magic that he came across. This was a rare one, but very very useful if utilized properly. It also made him come to another realization. "This is the daughter that was with you the first time we met."

Harry shrugged. "Eh, I guess? He's always a boy no matter what he looks like. Or at least, that's the case so far. I'll let you know if he changes his mind about that." Harry reached forward to ruffle a hand through Teddy's hair, which was suddenly blonde.

"I see. And you aren't concerned about him changing in front of all these muggles?"
Harry shrugged again. "His mom put some appearance charms on him to make sure his changes are only visible to other magical people. Once he's older and better at controlling it, we'll let him wander muggle areas without the charms, but for now that's just for magical communities." Harry paused, and tilted his head as he looked at Tom curiously. "Hey, I hadn't really thought about it before, but you look rather familiar. Do you think we know each other from somewhere afterall?"

Tom shook his head. "Hardly. I doubt I would forget someone as… someone like you."

Either it was one of Harry's skills to ignore insults hidden in words, or he was just able to easily ignore it, because he just crossed his arms over his chest and pouted. A thing that grown adults should certainly never do. "No, I'm serious. I must know you from somewhere…" he trailed off, seemingly lost in thought. After a long several seconds, a grin suddenly lit up his face, and Tom noted that it somehow made the man look more (attractive) foolish. "I got it! You're Tom Riddle, aren't you?" Tom gave Harry a hard look, but didn't respond. Was Harry a stalker afterall? Harry just continued on eagerly, appearing to be unaware of Tom's apprehension. "You were in the year above me at Hogwarts! I remember because I was always, uh," he finally seemed to stumble over his words, and a faint red flush rose up on his cheeks. "Ahaha this is starting to get awkward now, since clearly you don't remember me." He reached up to scratch at the back of his neck for a moment. "Well, it was good to see you again! I know you always had big plans, so I hope everything worked out the way you wanted it to."

Honestly, during his school days Tom had never bothered to pay much attention to anyone who couldn't offer him something like money, power, or connections. There was just no point in being around people like that. But he was a bit curious about how he'd never noticed someone like Harry before. "Which house were you in?" he asked before he could think better of it.

"Oh, I was Slytherin."

Tom frowned. He'd been Head Boy in his last year, and had no idea how he could have forgotten someone in his own house who was only in the year beneath his. That, and Harry didn't seem like a Slytherin at all, considering how most of them tended to turn out. "I'd say you're lying because you don't seem anything like a Slytherin, but if you were lying to make me more comfortable around you, then that would make you more Slytherin, so I'm not really sure what to think of you."

Harry shrugged. "You don't have to be all sneaky and lying to be a Slytherin. Sometimes just ambition is enough, I guess. Though maybe I should ask the Sorting Hat why it put me in Slytherin sometime."

Tom snorted. "As if you can just wander into the school and ask to speak with one of the oldest and most important artifacts in there."

Harry nodded earnestly. "Oh, I can."

Teddy finally seemed to get bored of the conversation, because he looked up at Harry. "I wanna get ice cream before we go home. You promised."

Harry patted the top of Teddy's head. "You're right, I did promise. So that's what we'll do." He gave Tom an apologetic look, as if Tom actually enjoyed their brief interaction. "Well, that's my cue. His mom will kill me if I get him home late, and I'd hate to break a promise. I'll see you around, though, if the current pattern holds up at all." Then he walked away, holding Teddy up easily as he went. Tom didn't bother to point out that the nearest ice cream shop was in the opposite direction from where they were headed. He had always been a firm believer in letting people learn from their own mistakes.

,,,

Tom was sitting at his desk, looking through some rather important papers to make sure that everything was in order before the minister actually announced his newest piece of legislation. He wanted everything to go down perfectly, and had specifically requested that he not be disturbed by anyone but the minister himself for at least the next couple of hours.

Which is why he found it particularly irritating when there was a loud knock on his office door. "What?" he barked out angrily.

The door was opened just a bit, and one of the guys from the secretary pool peered in. "I'm very sorry to disturb you, Mr. Riddle, but you have a visitor who has been very insistent about being let in."

"Who is it?" Tom wasn't too worried about his safety; he knew that he was a strong wizard, and he also knew that a certain level of identity and clearance checks were required just to get up to this floor.

The secretary sighed. "Regulus Black."

Tom furrowed his eyebrows. Of course he had his own little following of those who believed in his cause, but it was all a very under the radar group, and for one of the members to approach him in his workplace instead of sending a patronus or waiting until later meant that it had to be something serious. "Send him in."

The secretary nodded, and Regulus shuffled into the room, looking as lanky and awkward as ever. It had been so many years since they'd graduated, and yet the man had never really outgrown his boyish looks. Once the office door was closed behind him, Regulus took out his wand to flick around a few silencing and privacy charms, before bowing deeply enough that his forehead touched the floor. "My lord," he murmured softly.

"Rise, and tell me why you are here."

Regulus stood up, and there was a nervous, fidgety look about him. "You're probably not going to like this. Dumbledore's group is pushing forward quickly. The raid on Godric's Hollow didn't scare them off, just motivated them even more. Apparently two of the dead were within Dumbledore's inner circle- the Potters? had a lot of people loyal directly to them, and they want revenge. There's a lot of concern that their son is intending on single-handedly getting that retribution, and I couldn't find a single person with any recollection of ever seeing him use magic, so we have no idea how strong he might be."

Tom frowned in confusion. "How could no one have seen him? Surely his classmates from school, or neighbors, or someone must have. Perhaps you just aren't asking the right people. Or you're just not asking them persuasively enough." It was clear from the look on Regulus' face that he had more on his mind than the Potter heir. "Out with it."

Regulus clasped his hands together behind his back. "Do you remember me ever mentioning my brother, Sirius? He was always the black sheep of the family. Got himself sorted Gryffindor, always did whatever he could to get as far from us as possible, until he was burned out of the family tree. Well, I've heard from reliable sources that he's in Dumbledore's inner circle. He's also the Potter heir's godfather."

"Then find your brother, and ask him nicely to tell you about the boy. I'm sure you'll figure out a way to get him to talk."

Regulus gulped. "My lord-" he cut himself off and took in a deep breath before slowly exhaling. "The Potter heir isn't a boy; I do know that much. He's twenty-six years old."

"Just a year behind me," Tom mused to himself. Then he gave Regulus a hard look. "So you came here and risked exposing everything just to tell me that you're a failure?"

Regulus flinched, but then stood up straighter. "When I say that Dumbledore's group is moving quickly, I don't mean that lightly, my lord. They'll surely make a move within the next two weeks. The only thing protecting you right now is that they are unaware of your identity. So I was thinking that perhaps it would do you good to use a fidelus spell? A secret keeper for you in a safe place-"

"I do not run from my enemies," Tom said in a cold voice. "And it is insulting for you to even suggest such a thing. Leave my office now. And if you cannot succeed at the simple tasks you are given, I will not hesitate to put someone else in your position. There are many who would kill for your spot."

Regulus nodded. "I understand, my lord."

He turned to leave the room, but Tom couldn't help asking in an almost bored voice, "One last thing. The Potter heir, what is his name?"

Regulus seemed relieved that Tom hadn't called him back just to kill him. "Harry James Potter." Then he gave a shallow bow before wisely hurrying away. Tom sat back in his seat, paperwork forgotten for the moment. He had never been much of a believer in coincidences. Too many things in life had happened to convince him otherwise. The Harry he'd met was a year younger than him, had wept about his parents dying the day after the raid on Godric's Hollow, and was supposedly in Slytherin even though Tom didn't remember him from school at all. It seemed to him as though that Harry was the same Harry Potter who was surely plotting his revenge against Tom, even if he didn't know it yet. Well. This would certainly be interesting, to say the least.

,,,

Going off of the first three times they'd seen each other, Tom figured it would be easy enough to wait by one of the apparating points in muggle London and hope that little Teddy had the urge to go out again. It took a couple days of stake out, which Tom conducted personally because he wasn't ready to let his followers in on this theory yet, but then he was finally able to achieve his current goal.

As soon as he saw Harry and Teddy pop into place, Tom strolled past them with quick steps, purposely bumping into Harry as he went so that he could turn around, and give the man a look of faux disbelief. "You again?"

Harry gave him a bright smile. "You again! I should have known that we'd see each other again. I guess this city isn't as large as everyone keeps telling me it is."

Tom hesitated for a moment. He didn't want to sound forced enough that Harry would be suspicious, but he was also impatient to get to the bottom of things, and also had the feeling that Harry was enough of a dunce to not catch on to minor oddities. "Maybe it is some kind of message, for us to keep meeting like this. I was heading to lunch, but perhaps you and your nephew would like to join me?"

Teddy immediately perked up. "Yes! We will! Food! Food! Food!"
Harry laughed, and it was (not) a pleasant sound. "Sounds like we have no choice but to dine together. Did you have any particular place in mind? I know a great little hole in the wall place not far from here."

The idea of going to an unknown place with someone who was basically a complete stranger rankled on Tom's nerves, but he needed to keep Harry comfortable and unsuspicious if he wanted to get any answers out of the man, and potentially put an end to whatever plans Dumbledore has been cooking up lately. So he nodded obligingly. "Sounds as good as anything."

Harry held one of Teddy's hands, and then reached out to grab one of Tom's hands. Nobody had ever tried to hold Tom's hand before, and his first reaction was to yank himself free and pull out his wand, but he refrained from doing that because he was pretty sure it would be bad for getting a real conversation started between them.

Harry brought them to a place that Tom wouldn't have even thought of as a restaurant if he'd walked past it on his own. It looked more like an abandoned old house than anything. But Harry seemed perfectly content to walk in through the front door, pulling Tom and Teddy in after him.

He brought them over to a small booth in the back corner, him and Teddy on one side and Tom on the other. An older woman came over to them soon after, and she leaned over to give Harry a hug. "Ah, it's been too long since I've seen you around here! I was starting to think that you found somewhere better."

Harry grinned. "Ah, Katy, you know I could never. In all my years, I have yet to find a better place to eat than here."

The woman gently swatted the top of his head with the small stack of paper napkins she'd brought over. "Oh hush, you. You know what all this flattery is going to get you." Then she moved her attention to Teddy, who was sitting on the inside of the booth. "And there's my favorite young man. I hope you haven't been driving your uncle too crazy lately."

Teddy solemnly shook his head. "I don't, I promise."

Katy gave him a fond smile. "Glad to hear it. You're a good boy." And then she finally looked over at Tom. "And who's your new friend? I don't think I've ever seen him around before?"

"This is Tom," Harry answered before Tom could get the chance to introduce himself. "We've stumbled across each other four times now, and decided that it was fate trying to give us a sign, so now we're having lunch. Just the usual for all of us, please."

Katy kissed the top of his head. "Sure thing." Then she headed back towards the kitchen.

Tom blinked a few times, and then turned to look at Harry with one eyebrow raised. "Bold of you to order for me. What if I have any food allergies? Or I'm just a picky eater?"

Harry shrugged. "Then you can just get something else. But I've never seen anyone not enjoy their food here, so I don't think you have to worry about it."

Tom filed that away as mostly unimportant, but possibly something to look back on later. Harry came here a lot, so it could be a good place to look for him in the future, if necessary. Then he leaned back in his seat, adopting a casual air so that Harry would be more likely to lower his guard. Not that he seemed to have any guard at all, but still. "You know, I haven't been able to stop thinking about it since our last meeting. I just don't understand how I could have completely forgotten someone in my own house who was so close to my own year."

Harry grinned wryly. "I was a pretty average student. Never failed or excelled in anything. I guess Hogwarts just wasn't my place to shine this time." He tilted his head. "So let me ask you a question. What happened to all your lofty ambitions of being minister of magic?" Tom glanced around the small interior of the restaurant, and Harry laughed. "Oh, don't worry about it. Katy is a squib, and her wife Vanessa, the chef, is a witch."

"Fascinating that they would choose to open up shop in a muggle population, then."

For the first time, a hint of a dark look crossed Harry's face, though it only seemed to last for a second. "The magical world isn't always so great at treating people the way they deserve to be treated. Not quibs, and not same-sex relationships. It's yet another area where certain muggles have advanced far beyond any of us."

There was certainly no lie in Harry's words. The wizarding world was a harsh place to people who didn't quite fit in, and there were still so many out there who believed that magic was dying out, and that it needed to be passed down through family lines, which meant that they were strongly opposed to any relationships that wouldn't yield children. It was a ridiculous notion, though, considering the fact that there seemed to be more and more muggle borns popping up every year. "Well you won't hear any argument from me. To answer your question, I'm still working my way up. For now, though, I'm in a rather cozy position, and it gives me the chance to exert some minor influence on the things that really matter. In fact, I've just recently finished looking over a new announcement that the minister plans to give in a couple of weeks, and from what little I know of your political views, I think it would please you."

Harry smiled. "I'm sure it would."

Before he could say anything else, the food was brought over. If this was a muggle run establishment, Tom would comment about the speediness of it all, but he knew that cooking with magic was bound to make things happen quicker, even if it was something that he never did himself.

Curiously enough, despite Harry having ordered 'the usual', all three of the males at the table were presented with something different on their plate. Tom could feel Harry's eager eyes on him as he went to take his first bite, and was immediately overwhelmed by the intense flavors filling his mouth. It was really good, and he commended Harry on his choice.

Harry just waved aside the compliment. "It's Vanessa you'd have to thank, not me. It's kind of a gift of hers, to be able to make her dishes in a way so that they'll always come out tasting most appealing to that person at any given time, while maintaining all the nutritional value of a properly balanced meal. I had to wait a couple years to take Teddy here because I didn't want him to start thinking that all sweets are healthy."

"It's chocolate cake," Teddy announced loudly before shoving a large forkful into his mouth. Tom rolled his eyes at the childish antics, but couldn't help feeling that there was a certain sort of serene charm to Harry and his nephew as a family.

Then Tom looked pointedly at Harry's dish. "Is that a crisps sandwich?"

Harry nodded. "Yeah. It's kind of a long story, but I didn't have the best time growing up, and when I was younger one of the neighbors invited me over and made me a crisps sandwich because it's all she had lying around. But she was so thoughtful about it, and seemed so concerned about making sure I'd had enough to eat. I was a rather scrawny kid." Tom didn't bother mentioning that Harry was also a rather scrawny adult. "Eventually she passed away, and I've had better tasting things since then of course, but whenever I'm feeling nostalgic, I just can't help thinking of her kindness towards me, and this suddenly tastes like the best thing in the world. Of course, there's also plenty of times I've come here and gotten far different results, but I like this one."

In the past couple of days, Tom had dedicated himself to doing some research on the Potter heir. He hadn't been able to find any pictures, wizarding or otherwise, because apparently he was a very private man. But all signs pointed to a loving and supportive family. Of course there was always the possibility of bad things happening behind closed doors, but Tom had met James and Lily Potter, just once several years ago, and he hadn't gotten any sign of maliciousness from them. And that actually meant something, since Tom was something of a master at legilimens. So was this not Harry Potter after all?

Well, there was only a couple of ways to find out for sure, and since Tom didn't fancy his odds of being able to tail Harry home, he decided to just go for it. "You know, I think I might actually be starting to remember you from school, at least vaguely."

There was an almost smug look on Harry's face as he asked softly, "Is that so?"

Tom nodded. "Yes, or at least, I think so. Your family name wouldn't happen to be Potter, would it?"

The smugness immediately dropped off of Harry's face, though oddly it wasn't fear that replaced it, but disappointment, or perhaps even resignation. "I don't suppose that you'd believe me if I said that it's a common name?"

Without another word, Tom whipped out his wand to kill the man in front of him. Anyone who was a threat, no matter how big or small, needed to be taken care of. Tom didn't feel regret, not really, but he could admit that it would be a shame to rid the world of those brilliant green eyes, that still refused to show any fear at all.

Tom woke up with a small noise of discontentment, and then looked around his room. There were three other boys in there, all snoring away on their lumpy cots. Tom scowled at them, annoyed about the loud sounds of sleep that had woken him up. But now he was up and there would be no returning to sleep, so Tom hopped out of bed, stepped into his slippers, and cautiously headed downstairs.

He paused when he heard a few voices talking softly in the kitchen, and Tom crept closer, peering in just enough to see and hear what was going on. The matron was looking at a man in front of her, though he was facing away so Tom couldn't see what he looked like. "I'm not sure I understand," the matron confessed.

The man sighed. "No, I suppose it wouldn't make much sense to you. Look, I've tried going about this in just about every possible way I could think of, including going to Merope herself, but nothing seems to be working." He sounded exhausted, and Tom furrowed his eyebrows. He knew that Merope was his mother's name, which meant that this strange late night visit had to be about him somehow. "But then it occurred to me that I never tried to really help him myself, it's always just been about stopping- well. Anyways, the point is that I want to adopt him."

Tom's eyes widened. With everything going on the world right now, he hadn't expected to ever hear those words. He wasn't like the other children here, always begging for attention and simpering for the hope that they'd be wanted by somebody. Tom had long ago given up on the idea of such a thing. And yet…

"-simply not possible," the matron was saying, though Tom had missed the first part of her words.

He was suddenly filled an an anger that was so vastly unique from the usual cold indifference that he felt towards most things. Someone wanted to adopt him, someone actually wanted him, so how dare the matron deny that? He rushed into the room, and both adults were startled into looking at him.

Tom got his first glimpse at the man, and was surprised to see such vibrant green eyes staring at him. Then he focused his attention on the matron. He knew that he could make her hurt until she gave in. "You don't even like me, you old hag. Why would you want me to stay here?"

The matron glared at him. "I am certainly not irresponsible enough to release a ten year old child into the custody of a man with no paperwork or identification. I may be desperate to find homes for you children, but I'm not that-" and then she started screaming, and Tom focused every part of himself on making her feel the most intense pain that he could. He'd never done this on an adult before, but had gotten plenty of practice with the other children, and knew that it would work to make her change her mind and-

Tom offered a victorious grin as he was officially given his position as minister of magic. He made sure to keep all of the smugness he felt locked down, but felt it all anyways. How many people had told him that he would never be able to make it this far? How many people had been actively rooting for his failure? And now here he was, on top of the world, and in a position to have all the power he'd ever wanted, as long as he was smart about this, and went about it all in a subtle way, which he was more than capable of doing.

As he mozied around the congratulatory party, Tom's eye was caught by someone he didn't recognize. Curious about whether it was a donor or a rival politician, Tom made his way over. The man certainly didn't seem dressed for the occasion, wearing clothes that had seen better days, and hair in a mess. But there was still something riveting about the man, and Tom was determined to figure out why he had been so drawn in. "Good evening. I don't believe I've made your acquaintance."

The man's eyes flicked up and down as he looked Tom over, and then he smiled warmly and held out one hand. "I'm Harry. I just thought I'd come by to offer my congratulations, minister. It can't have been easy to get this far with so little help from outside sources. It's been too long since we've had a grassroots leader, though. I think you'll do great things someday."

Tom gave a charming little grin. "I could even be convinced to do great things tonight." He was riding high on the moment, and even he sometimes felt the need to sate an urge. And despite his odd appearance, Tom knew that Harry was an objectively attractive man.

Harry's face flushed pink. "I had no idea you were so inclined." He didn't sound disgusted, and looked adorably flustered, so Tom figured his advances weren't entirely unwelcome, unless Harry actually told him to back off.

Tom shrugged and leaned closer to Harry. "Perhaps you would enjoy some first hand knowledge on the matter?" Tom was certainly enjoying the heat in Harry's face and-

Tom tossed a shoe across his room at the only other boy who'd chosen to stay in Hogwarts over the winter break. "It's too early to be awake when there's no classes," he grouched.

There was a pained grunt from where the shoe had made direct contact with Harry's stomach. "Sorry," Harry grunted out. "I just…" he trailed off, sounding miserable enough to make even Tom almost feel sorry for the boy.

Well, he was already awake, which meant he most likely wouldn't be able to go back to sleep anyways, so Tom rolled out of bed and made his way over to Harry's. The other boy was burrowed beneath his blankets, only a few tufts of black hair sticking out from his cocoon. Tom sat down on the edge of the bed, and awkwardly reached out to pat around where he figured Harry's shoulder would be. "Another nightmare?" Tom didn't know many details about Harry's home life or childhood, but he'd always recognized something familiar in Harry, and he couldn't help wanting to help the smaller boy. "What was it about?"

Harry's body stiffened completely for a moment before he relaxed again, and moved to sit up, reaching over to grab his glasses off of the bedside stand. "I had a dream that I was in a war and I watched almost everyone I loved die right in front of me, and I couldn't do anything about it, and I-"

Tom put his hand on top of Harry's clenched fists. The frustration and fear in his voice sounded so real that for a moment Tom almost believed that Harry had actually lived through the events of his bad dream. But Harry was only twelve years old ,and there weren't any wars he could have been in. "You're not there though," Tom assured him. "And if something like that ever did happen, I would make sure that you were safe."

Harry smiled at him in that usual sappy way of his. The way that said he believed Tom could be a better person than he was. The way that said he cared about Tom, and boy had that been a shock the first time he'd seen it. He'd never been loved before, but from the moment he'd laid eyes on the disgruntled boy who was also trying to navigate his way through Diagon Alley without any help from any adults.

But where Tom had walked surely and steadily, Harry had just looked lost and confused, so Tom had decided to graciously take the boy under his wing. He knew that he would need to enter the school with at least some followers if he didn't want to be laughed right out of the school for his lack of magical heritage. He hadn't expected Harry to be so… well, he was Harry. He wasn't like the other idiot followers that Tom eventually gained once he proved that he was worthy of leading them. With the others, it was mostly fear and respect that kept them in line. With Harry, it was something different, something that Tom couldn't really explain.

He looked over at Harry, who seemed so tiny curled up on the bed. Tom liked the way Harry's eyes seemed to be perfectly complemented by the green sheets and tapestries all around the dorm. Harry's eyes were a bit red, and he still looked flustered from his dream, but Tom found that he was rather fond of when Harry looked flustered. He leaned forward, suddenly not thinking about much more than that he could comfort Harry and make him feel better and-

Harry pressed his hand flat against the door. He could hardly believe that he had ever been small enough to fit inside the small space inside of that cupboard. He could hardly believe that he had actually gotten a letter from Hogwarts addressed to the cupboard under the stairs, but still no one had shown up to actually help him out of his situation.

He knew that it had to seem like a rather strange place to go to think, but it was also, sadly enough, one of the most familiar places to him. It may have been more years than he could even count since he had last slept in here, but the memories of it would never go away.

Harry pulled open the small door, and bent over to go inside. The bed and dresser that had once been crammed in there were long gone, and it was now nothing more than a place of storage. Harry pulled the door closed behind him as he pulled the chain to turn on the dingy little lightbulb, and then he sank down onto the floor, pulling his knees up to his chest so that he could actually fit.

After a few moments of sitting in the dimly lit little room, Harry reached into his pocket and pulled out the little rock that he'd brought with him on this excursion. He usually resisted the urge to use the rock, but it had been a very long time since he'd been back in this original timeline that he'd lived through, and was feeling nostalgic.

It didn't take long before Harry was staring up at where his mother was hovering above him, giving him a concerned look. "Harry? Are you alright?"

For a moment, Harry was about to say he was fine. It's what he'd been telling his friends for years and they'd always believed him without any difficulty. But this was his mom, and he needed to be able to talk to someone. "Not really." He sighed, and pressed his forehead against his arms so that he was no longer looking at Lily. "I have no idea what I'm doing. I thought that once I had all the Hallows, everything would just make sense, and I would figure out what to do. But now I just feel stuck. I've tried over and over again to help stop things from getting as bad as they did the first time around, but nothing that I've tried helps."

He could feel Lily's arms around him, despite the impossibility of it. "It's alright, darling. There's no rule saying that you need to be the one responsible for fixing everything."

Harry clenched his hands into fists. "So I'm just supposed to accept that all those good people and innocent people died and that they're just going to stay that way? What was the point in becoming the master of death if I can't even prevent all the people I care about from dying? A few times I thought that I might be making some progress, but then-" he groaned, and leaned back hard enough to slam his head into the wall. "It's all so hopeless."

"I don't believe that there's ever a time where everything should be considered to be hopeless. But what did you mean about the times where you thought you were making progress?"

Harry could feel his face heat up just at the thought of admitting to his mother the truth. Even though it disgusted him to know such a truth about himself. "In certain timelines, mostly in ones where I 'meet' Tom at a younger age, I find myself falling prey to some of his… charm. I know that it's wrong!" he hurried to say. "That I should feel anything of the sort for the person who killed my parents, and is responsible for so many other deaths? But sometimes when I would look at him, I would almost forget about everything he's done, because he looks so different as a young man, but I hate myself for even thinking for a moment that I would ever feel anything towards him."

There was a long pause, and Harry had to tilt his head back to double check that his mom was still there. She was, and she was giving him a thoughtful look. "I'll admit that my first reaction to hearing you might have feelings for someone like him is to be concerned. But Harry, I hope you know that me and your father and everyone else who loves you just wants you to be happy. You've already been through so much, and you've been through it over and over because you're just too stubborn to give up on what you see as a worthy cause. If being with him makes you happy, in some world where he is not a murderer, then what would be the real harm in seeing where it goes? Maybe that's even what needs to happen. Tom Riddle has never been truly loved before. Love might make all the difference for him. For both of you."

"I could never-!" Harry started to protest. But his mother just gave him a knowing look, and he slumped back in defeat. He silently got up and left the cupboard, deciding that it was too small for him. Then he pulled his mother into a tight hug. "I love you, Mom."

"And I love you," she whispered back. He sent her away a few minutes later, knowing that he needed some time on his own to think. He glanced back in surprise when the front door of the house opened. From what he'd heard, this place wasn't owned by anyone at the moment. But it wasn't worth getting arrested and accused of burglary, so he just left. He realized as he was leaving that it felt good to leave the house behind. He'd spent way too many childhoods there, and it was good to know that he wouldn't have to come back here ever again. At least not if he finally succeeded in what he'd set out to do.

Tom stared at the new boy. He'd been sorted with the other first years, though he was actually a transfer student and was in his fourth year, like Tom. The boy had a bit of an awkward look about him as he'd gone up to the stool, and the Sorting Hat had called out Slytherin for him with barely any hesitation at all.

Curious about who this new kid was, Tom walked over to him once they were all back in their common rooms. "Where are you from?"

The boy tilted his head back to look up at Tom, and Tom was struck by the sight of bright green eyes. Tom had practiced using the killing curse on beetles and spiders near the end of the previously school year, and it was the only thing he could compare the color of the boy's eyes to. It was so rare for him to hesitate to speak, and he scowled at the idea of being thrown off by this scrap of a boy. The boy seemed unaware of Tom's internal struggle as he responded. "I was homeschooled."

Everyone else in the room seemed to stop what they were doing, and stare intently at Tom and the new kid without trying to look like they were blatantly staring. By this point, Tom had pretty easily proven himself to be a natural leader and a powerful wizard. And it was very rare for anyone to risk going up against him. And with the blaise attitude of this kid, it seemed as though it would be heading there very quickly.

The kid seemed entirely unaware of the effect he was having on the entire room. "Who are your parents?"

That question definitely caught everyone's interest. Slytherins were always fascinated by the blood status of their housemates, even if they did respect Tom regardless of him being a half-blood. They all wanted to know who their new member was, because they hadn't bothered to pay much attention to the unassuming looking kid until he was already walking over to their table. The boy shrugged. "It's been a while since I've seen them. I'm an orphan."

Well that struck a bit closer to home than Tom wanted to admit. He abruptly decided that the interrogation of the new kid could happen later, when there wasn't so much of an audience. So Tom just shoved past the boy on his way to the fourth year boys' bedroom. "Then do try and avoid being overcome with the desire to own other people's' belongings, and keep your hands to yourself."

Generally the other Slytherins understood what it meant to hear such clear dismissal in Tom's words, but the new guy was either completely oblivious, or just didn't care to follow the same rules as everyone else. He hopped to his feet and followed Tom into the room. "Hey, you're Tom Riddle, right?"

Tom turned to look at the boy with one eyebrow raised, making sure that his disdain for being followed was quite clear on his face. "I never bothered to catch your name as well." He made it sound as though he was bored, even though he was actually a little bit intrigued by the newest member of his class.

The boy grinned. "Harry P- Peverell."

It was tempting to make fun of the slight stammer he'd just heard, but Tom was more intrigued by the name itself. He'd done plenty of research throughout his time in Hogwarts, wanting to find everything that would help him achieve his goals of power and immortality. He had read the tale of the Deathly Hallows, of course, but like everyone else he had simply assumed it to be myth. Of course, it was also quite possible that there was some other Peverell line that had nothing to do with the brothers in the tale. But either way, Tom's interest had been piqued, and he gave Harry an almost shark-like grin. "Well, Harry Peverell, it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

,,,

Tomorrow was graduation day, and then their class would be set free into the world to get jobs or wreak havoc or just bum around. Tom wasn't nervous, but he knew that Harry was, which was why he'd dragged the other teen out for one last walk around of the school grounds. Tom hoped to come back here as a professor, but he knew that this would most likely be Harry's last time at Hogwarts. And it was sad for both of them, because they both thought of it as their first real home.

As they crossed over the little bridge on one of the larger rivers, Harry shuffled his feet a few times before slowly coming to a stop. He grabbed the sleeve of Tom's robe to get him to stop as well. Bemused as to what this was about, Tom obliged, and then gave Harry a curious look. Harry gulped, and looked more fidgety than Tom had ever seen him. "I- I have something I need to tell you." He looked down at the ground, as if he couldn't summon the strength to look Tom in the eyes.

There was a worried knot in Tom's stomach. It was rare for him to find anyone or anything he truly cared about, and Harry was within that very small minority. Surely Harry wouldn't look this nervous if he had anything positive to say. But Tom wasn't a coward, so he stayed put, and remained silent, content to wait for Harry to get all the words out in his own time.

Harry gulped. "I know we've been friends for a few years now, and in the past year or so we've done some things that maybe most friends wouldn't do." There was a flush on his face, and Tom couldn't help fondly thinking about the fact that even after all this time and all they'd done together, Harry still got embarrassed talking about any of it. Harry took in a deep breath, then slowly let it out. "I'm not sure what the future holds, which is really terrifying. It's also why I have to tell you this, in case I never get another chance. Even though I know that you're not like other people in both good ways and bad, and I know I shouldn't feel this way about you, I can't help it. I love you, Tom." His eyes flicked up to meet with Tom's for just a second before he looked away again.

Tom blinked a few times, stunned by the admission. He'd known since he and Harry had started fooling around that Harry had to have had some feelings towards him, because Harry wasn't the type of person to get into a solely physical relationship. But he hadn't expected to ever hear someone say those specific words to him. And, perhaps even more shocking, was Tom's realization that maybe Harry's feelings weren't entirely one-sided.

He hated feeling awkward or unsure about anything, but knew that he needed to say something, or Harry would think he was being rejected, which was the last thing Tom would want. "Harry, you know that I've never been much good with emotions. And to be honest, I'm not even sure what love is supposed to feel like. But I think that if I were to ever even get close to such a thing, it would be the way that I feel towards you."

The smile Harry wore was so brilliant that it felt nearly blinding. He leapt forward into Tom's arms so that they could share a long kiss. Then Harry pulled away. "I'd always hoed, but I could never be sure that you felt the same way about me. Now there's just one last thing I need to do." He reached into his robe pocket, and pulled out his wand. At this point, it was almost as familiar to Tom as his own wand was. Harry suddenly snapped it in half, and threw the two pieces out into the water.

Tom quickly moved to lean over the railing, as if he'd be able to spot the little pieces of wood from here. They had surely been dragged along by the rapid current already, and Tom looked back at Harry with disbelief. "Why the hell would you do that? I know you love muggles, but that doesn't mean you have to become one-!"

Harry shook his head. "It's not like that. I'll buy another one. But I needed to get rid of that one. To make sure that I wouldn't be able to run the moment I get scared of what might happen." Tom furrowed his eyebrows in confusion, but Harry just barreled on. "I have one last thing to tell you. My name is really Harry James Potter, and the first time we met was when you tried to kill me." Harry went on to explain an entire wild story about his terrible childhood, his dead parents, his life at Hogwarts, the wizarding war, the many casualties. Having all three Hallows and discovering a way to hope through time, constantly on the search for what he could do to change the future. Never succeeding because Tom was just too set in his own ways. He'd lived hundreds of lifetimes that were all essentially the same, and had eventually started to fall for Tom. Then he'd come here, where he'd decided to just be there for Tom instead of trying to constantly be against him.

By the end of the story, Tom knew exactly what had been flung over the edge of the bridge, and he felt disappointed that he'd never get the chance to witness the extent of the wand's true power. But he could also see the look of apprehension on Harry's face, and knew the boy- man?- would expect Tom to hate him now.

Tom had always enjoyed going against the expectations people set for him. "So what you're saying is that I'm apparently into older men?"

Harry's eyes widened, and then he grinned, and gave Tom a look full of so much love that it was nearly painful to know that it was directed towards Tom himself. "I love you, Tom Riddle."

Tom gave Harry another kiss. "I suppose you're not so bad yourself, Harry Potter. Now let's get back to the castle so that you can show me this invisibility cloak of yours. I can already see so many possibilities for it." Harry grinned, and grabbed one of Tom's hands in his own, and then the two of them slowly made their way back to the castle. They were both leaving here tomorrow, possibly for the last time, but it wasn't quite so bad as they'd first thought, because both of them had managed to find home.