A/N: OKAY. So here's another shot at me writing Tom/Harry. I apologize to all my readers who have been looking forward to another chapter of The Most Dangerous Teddy Bear but alas, I have no more muse for it. I probably should have written out an outline so that I would have organized my thoughts for that fic but yeah, obviously I didn't. HOWEVER, I have created an outline for this fic (which I hope will be enough for me to be able to keep it alive). I've written out two chapters ahead of the one that has been published just so that I can keep up with the updates :D So yeah~ here it goes. Please R&R but no flames! This is unbeta-ed by the way. If one of you would like to volunteer to help me edit this and haul my ass over to continue to write more chapters, that would be great!
Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters except for perhaps some of the kids in the orphanage. All ideas belong to J.K. Rowling.
Warnings: Tom Riddle and Harry in a romantic relationship. Yes, that means male on male. Don't like, don't read. Rated M for swearing, sexual intercourse, yadayadayada.
Summary:
Right after Dumbledore's death, Harry needs some time alone to think. On his way to visit the former Headmaster's office, he comes across a room that isn't marked on the Marauder's Map. Stepping through, Harry lunges himself into a situation that puts more stress on his shoulders.
The initial shock still hadn't worn off and Harry still felt sick to his stomach every time he pictured the life being cursed out from his former headmaster's once twinkling eyes. The situation seemed so surreal, to Harry it seemed like he had been watching the scenery on the telly and not witnessed through his own spectacles. With each passing second, Harry grew more and more furious with his potions professor. At first, he believed that it was some sort of trick that Dumbledore had devised, that Dumbledore would be breathing at the bottom of the astronomy tower. When Harry had viewed Dumbledore's limp body and the entire breathlessly sobbing crowd, that's when he realised that Dumbledore was actually dead. Though, a part of him refused to believe that such a thing could be true. The eccentric wizard seemed almost invincible to most of the Wizarding world. He had been able to defeat the previous Dark Lord so how was it possible that he was able to be taken down by a mere potion's master? It didn't make sense to the messy haired boy. There were far too many questions that were left unanswered. Dumbledore wouldn't have dared to die to leave Harry alone to solve the puzzles on his own… would he?
Feeling more alone than ever, Harry lay in his four poster with his invisibility cloak draped over him and the Marauder's map rested in his hand. Despite the fact that there was a team of supporters behind him willing to give their lives just for Harry, he refused to believe that any of them would understand how he felt. How could they? None of them had been the sole target of one of the most powerful wizards in the world all their lives. Occasionally, one of his friends would peek into the dormitory in search for Harry but their attempts were in vain. Harry did not wish to be found, hence, the invisibility cloak. The map would just give him an advanced warning that someone again would come up to look for him. Mainly it was Ron who would come up, looking for his best friend. Not even to him would Harry reveal himself. The visitors would tear open the curtains of his bed as if he would magically appear in front of their eyes. Instead, Harry would pause his breathing and restrain from making any form of a sound. Every time, the person would stare down at the mattress and Harry would pray that they wouldn't decide on sitting down on him. Eventually, they would leave after finally being convinced that the Chosen One wasn't in his bed.
Once the map informed Harry that everyone was down in the Great Hall eating lunch, Harry decided to seize the chance to give the Headmaster's office one more visit before he had to leave on the Hogwarts' Express. Harry scanned the parchment of paper to reassure him that no one would bother him. Though he had the invisibility cloak on, Harry felt like he had to take that extra precaution just so he wouldn't be intervened. The boy pulled himself off of his mattress, made sure that the cloak was still covering him properly, and wiggled his toes to adjust to the cold temperature of the stone floor. Quickly, he made his way down into the Common Room and looked for the door to this secret passage way. It hadn't been his first time to entire the secret passage. Though he knew that the passage would lead him to the headmaster's office, he had never used it for that purpose. He was rather prone to such bouts of craving solitude and would occasionally visit the dark tunnel just to escape from everything. It provided him with a cold atmosphere that no one else knew of yet was right under everyone's noses. It also benefitted Harry that its entrance was right inside the Gryffindor common room.
Finding the appropriate painting, the green eyes took in the piece of art to make sure it was the right one. He remembered the first time he had come across it. It was completely by accident, no less. It was a slow day and the young man had been forced to study with Hermione in the library for nearly three hours right after a tiring Quidditch practice. It didn't help that he was tossing and turning in his bed all night. Ron hadn't been there because he was busy with Lavender. He was exhausted and it was nearing midnight. Being as stubborn as she always was, Hermione was determined to stay and read over her notes for another half hour. With heavy eyes, he had leaned on the walls for support just so that he wouldn't collapse with exhaustion. Not noticing a stray book lying on the carpet in front of him, Harry had tripped over it and had fallen into the secret passage. Half of his body was inside the tunnel while the other half remained in the common room. One could imagine Harry's confusion. When he had finally pulled himself together and stepped out from the painting, he noticed how it was approximately the same size as the average door. Its colours were twisted in a way that it represented a corridor that one would be able to find in Hogwarts. It seemed endless.
Reaching his hand forward, Harry knew that time that his hand would not feel the expected rough surface of acrylic paint. Instead, Harry felt cold air on his fingers as his hand went straight through the painting. He retracted his hand and cautiously took a step through the large frame. It might not have been his first time entering the passageway but he couldn't help but feel paranoia poking at him. The last thing he needed was his body plummeting down to the bottom of some secret Chamber. When his foot met the surface of a corridor's floor, he let the rest of his body follow.
He could see absolutely nothing for there was no light source in the hidden hallway. Muttering the correct spell, light beamed off of the tip of his wand. Even after that, he wasn't able to see much more. He felt like he was crawling through the Chamber of Secrets all over again. The walls seemed exactly like the ones of the painting that he had just stepped through but with an eerie atmosphere. After being convinced that no one would interfere, Harry pulled off the invisibility cloak slowly and slung it over his shoulder. He walked down the end of the hallway to where the map was leading him. Each time his shoe met the floor, it pattered loudly causing the sound to echo several times. Every time, Harry thought that he was loud enough for the whole school to hear him in the Great Hall. The closer he got to the headmaster's office, the lighter the hallway seemed to be. Eventually, Harry felt no need to use his wand anymore so he extinguished it and put it inside the pocket of his robe. Harry was getting closer and he was feeling less anxious. The downside to that was that he was starting to remember why he was on his way to the office in the first place.
With each step, Harry felt a tickling sensation on his forehead. At first, he dismissed it thinking that it was just his nerves. But when Harry reached the end of it and stood in front of two doors, his scar had started to bleed and felt like Voldemort was nearby. Pulling the map out, he consulted it to see if anyone was around him. He was all by himself. The nearest dot was back in the Common Room and that was only Dean Thomas. At seeing the map, he furrowed his eyebrows with confusion which momentarily took his mind off the pain. Not only was there no one around him within a twenty foot radius but there was only one door imprinted on the parchment. Looking forward again but this time with the heel of his hand pressing to his scar, he still saw two doors and not just one. What was even more puzzling was that the map that wasn't supposed to be there had a lot of noise bellowing from behind it. It sounded like laughter of children and adults scolding. At hearing the cheerful noises, his scar mysteriously stopped to hurt but he could feel blood dripping from it. Harry pressed his ear to the door that was on the map and heard absolutely no sound on the other side. He wasn't even able to hear the sounds of the other room echoing off of it. Both doors looked completely different as well. One looked like every other door in Hogwarts that would lead to a classroom; wooden, and extremely old. The other, however, seemed significantly younger but definitely held an age of its own and was made out of metal. It didn't seem to be the sort of door that one would be able to find underneath a roof. More rather, it looked as if it was the main entrance to a large building.
Not knowing what was on the other side of the door, Harry wrapped his fingers around its knob. He stayed like that for what seemed to be ages debating on whether or not he should turn it and enter. The metal felt even cooler on his skin which caused him to shiver. Giving it a moment, he realized that he was just wasting time and that he really should just go to the Headmaster's office. Perhaps there was some sort of hidden message there. It seemed stupid that he was going to let yet another secret passage distract him from his duties. Besides, that one door could lead to several others and with them not being marked on the map, he was sure to get lost.
Just as he was going to let go of the knob, it turned on its own and Harry's scar burned even harder. His mouth was open in a quiet scream and felt himself being pushed in through the door by some invisible force. When he felt his body hit soft, old wood, the throbbing began to cease once more and his vision was becoming clear. Harry was starting to feel frustrated with these pains and he started to become fearful of Voldemort possibly being on the other side of the door. Maybe it was him who had pushed him in? Perhaps it was a prison that was hidden inside Hogwarts. Taking in his surroundings, he was definitely sure that he was no longer in Hogwarts and it held no resemblance of a prison.
