In Time

By: Lanku Black

Summary: Tom Riddle has always had a thirst for knowledge. It's that thirst- among other things- that leads him to Harry. And once that thirst is quenched, what will he do with knowledge gained? (TRHP)

And So... (Prologue)

Lectori Salutem - Greetings to the reader


It was the end of his third year when Tom Riddle came up with the idea. He'd been reading a particularly interesting book in the Forbidden section of the school library when he turned the page to a small section dedicated to time- or more accurately 'The Manipulation of Time.' It was a novel idea, something he'd never even thought possible. As he started to think of the possibilities, he read:

Manipulating the very fabric of time and space is quite a difficult task in and of itself. It requires concentration and power of proportions almost impossible to come by in the average wizard. It is a complicated process, and unlike a Seer, one that posses the power to observe the past and possible futures, one who manipulates time has the power to physically change both the past and future. Be forewarned; many great wizards have attempted to fiddle with time at disastrous cost to themselves.

The passage itself was very vague, but it had piqued the young Slytherin's interest. Already his mind had set to work wondering exactly how he could time travel with less stress on his magic and where he could find books with actual spells or rituals of wizards that had "attempted" to do such a thing. Tom took out his journal, the one he always carried on his person, and turned to the back to a page that had already been written on. On the very top of the page he had written, in very neat script, 'Things to do Before Becoming Voldemort.' Under that he had listed only four things: Study Dark Arts, Gain Support and Followers, Become Immortal, and Kill Father and Grandparents. Under those, he wrote 'Find a way to time travel.'

And so the thought was born.

It was Christmas Break of his fifth year before Tom made any progress with anything on his list. He'd spent most of his break exploring Wizarding London- not just Hogsmeade, either. It was on a trip to the deeper recesses of Knockturn Alley that he came across a small bookstore. At first, he hadn't even given the place a second glance- he'd been focused on searching for a place to buy suitable potions ingredients for an experiment.

This was a moment, although Tom didn't know it yet, where things began to change and the future- never set in stone- began to look a little less bleak. Tom didn't walk past the bookstore. In fact, he turned around so sharply towards it that he almost fell over as he became unbalanced. He'd felt, for just a moment, his own magic within the store. He wasn't sure if other wizards could feel and distinguish magic and ability, but it was something he had always been able to do.

He couldn't stop himself from walking into the store, drawn to the familiar chill of his magic. It was even smaller inside the store than it seemed, dusty and encrusted with grime. He heard a sharp intake of breath and turned quickly- tightening his fingers around his wand under his robes- to the shopkeeper. His face was heavily obscured by the tall collar of his robes and the wizard's hat he wore. The only things Tom could see of him were deathly pale hands and dull, silver eyes.

Recovering from his momentary paranoia, Tom shuffled further into the store, staring uncertainly at the row of books where the flash of magic originated from. He couldn't recall where the flash came from specifically, but his eyes were drawn to a black, tattered book that stuck out like a sore thumb among the more extravagant selections. He pulled it out and frowned immediately. The book was mutilated- a hole pierced into its face- and furthermore, it looked as if it was the same book thats weight he felt against his leg.

That was impossible though and the thought quickly left his mind. After all, it was not as if his diary was a particularly unique item. Even as he said this to himself, however, the part of him that was slowly seeping into insanity, the part that was destined to take him over as he became Voldemort, told him that someone was toying with him. For the moment, though, Tom was in control and it was Tom that brought the book over to the store owner and paid 2 galleons, 3 sickles and 10 knuts.

He left quickly, and so failed to see the how the store owner grinned, revealing too long teeth that glimmered in the faded light as he stepped over the body of the real, late shopkeeper. And because Tom did not look back, he missed sight of the other taking something out of his robes and putting it around his neck, turning the trinket quickly before disappearing.

Settling down in his room, the young wizard was able to more carefully examine the book. He flipped though the pages lazily, though he was interested. Even with the hole through the pages, he could tell it was about Horcruxes. He'd heard of the before, in fact they were, according to his research the closest one could come to being immortal. It was really just a general overview, though it had spells he hadn't thought of using in conjunction with the Horcrux itself and so was not completely useless.

"Though making a Horcrux is dangerous and deadly to other, less-powerful wizards, the process is made much simpler in its nature. To make a Horcrux is to bind part of yourself to an object. It requires no maintenance once created and..."

The following words had been pierced through, but they gave Tom an idea that might have skipped his mind were it not for his muggle upbringing. A time-machine! If the magic of time-travel is too complex on it's own, why not forge the magic into an object? Something light and easy to carry that won't be easily lost. There would also need to be a way to limit the amount of people...

And so the idea led to the method.

Tom sat down heavily on his bed, glad that classes were finished for the day. It was only the beginning of school and already he was tired of Dumbledore's accusatory stares. Not that he didn't have reason to stare, after all Tom had gotten that great oaf Hagrid expelled last year over the Chamber incidents and no doubt Dumbledore had heard about the murders of his filthy muggle father and grandparents. And now... Tom had no idea what had possessed him to ask Slughorn about Horcruxes, but it had been interesting information...

He sighed if he was going to create a Horcrux, he knew he'd have to do it quickly, before his soul mended itself together again. He'd already decided that he would make it tonight. Of course, there as that other thing... Tom frowned, fishing out a necklace from his pocket. H stared at the pendant- an hourglass surrounded by three thin rings, the innermost designated time with the runes for year, day and hour. The middle ring had the rune for location inscribed but no locations specified just as the last, with the rune for person had no names. He'd already put several spells on it for protection and to ensure it worked properly as a whole, but he hadn't yet tried to apply the time manipulation spell.

He'd wait to do it after his magic recovered from the Dark Arts he'd be performing tonight, he decided ans with that made his way to the seventh floor. Once in the Room of Requirements, Tom took out his diary and took a look at the last page again. He could cross out everything soon, he knew, a thought that excited him to no ends. Putting the diary on the floor in the empty space the Room had created for him, he knelt down with his hands of either side of it. The hardest thing about the spell, he was sure, was that not many could sense magic as well as he did which ended in them botching it up. But as he closed his eyes, he saw his soul clearly, still bright and clear but black around the edges, were they'd bee torn.

He forced a torn piece and grabbed it mentally, forcing shaking hands to grasp the book as e channeled part of his soul into the book, murmuring a spell quietly to quicken the process. He almost stopped at the wave of pain that went through him, but despite his body's protests he kept on until the fragment touched the diary, almost curiously and recognized it. He gave a sigh of relief when the soul fragment left him completely, the pain ending as if it had never been there to begin with until he spoke the words to bind the soul and book together. No pain could compare to it- he physically lost a part of himself and it seemed as if the loss would tear him apart from the inside out. The pain quickly became too much to bear and Tom lost consciousness.

He woke up still in the Room of Requirements, but in a bed unlike before. The Room had provided him with things he hadn't asked for before, so he didn't question this, only accepted it as one of the quirks of the home he lived in. He was sore but not uncomfortably so, which made him wonder if the castle had also fed him some sort of healing or restorative potion as well. Finally, he wondered what time it was and got up to see a grandfather clock that had not been there before proclaiming that it was well inti the afternoon, grabbing his newly made Horcrux along the way out.

He ran directly into a seventh year- McGonagall, he recalled, one of Dumbledore's lackeys- and frowned, grabbing up his diary and raising an eyebrow at her. She flushed and looked away, mumbling something about getting lost. He knew that Dumbledore would be even more paranoid around him than before, but really, sending a Gryffindor to be subtle? But in any case, he could not let her report anything to Dumbledore, ad he knew the perfect way to do it, too.

Walking right back into the Room of Requirements, Tom set about making preparations for another feat of magic- time manipulation.

And so the Magic was spun.

And so the Time-Turner was created.

And so the future was changed.

A/N: Reviews wanted... please? And also, I'd like to whine- why is it always Harry that gets to time travel? Which is why I made this. About this chapter... I was trying to be vague- small snapshots and the like- ... but I think that failed for most of it... and also sorry for any mistakes.