Disclaimer: Any familiar characters and themes are probably not mine! Credits where due, especially to JKR.
A/N: Just a little drabble to celebrate Tom Marvolo Riddle's birthday (Sort of belated but meh). Enjoy!
Harry Potter and Tom Riddle stared at each other. One might think there would be scowls on their faces or at least a grimace but there was only an expression of exhaustion and relief on both visages. Slowly, Harry walked closer to his enemy, a small smile blooming on his face. There were no prying eyes here and they didn't have to pretend.
"Are you ready Tom?" Harry asked softly.
"As ready as can be… must we do this?" He asked wearily.
"We have come too far to back down now." Harry said chidingly.
"I suppose." Tom sighed and accepted Harry's embrace. They slowly, naturally drew together and shared a brief, chaste but meaningful kiss. Harry smiled up at him.
"We'll have our chance, my love." He whispered, his hand stroking the pale snake-like face lovingly. "It isn't the end for us." Tom nodded and took a deep breath. He gently kissed the green eyed teen and stepped back. Harry did the same.
"Ready." Tom said softly and as one they lifted their wands, brother wands two, and uttered the final words.
"Avada Kedavra." Two streams of green light passed each other by and hit the two men in the chest. A moment later both were on the ground, their bodies growing cold and eyes staring still at each other. As their souls left the bodies, their wands vanished in a brief flash of silver light, sequestered safely for when they would once more be needed.
"Happy Birthday." One year old Ryan Potter whispered to his crib mate.
"Thank you… though I must insist being this small is very upsetting." An equally young voice muttered unhappily.
"Oh grow up, Tom." He chuckled.
"I am trying …very hard, trust me." The other scowled causing the first to chuckle.
"Aren't you glad we did this?" Ryan asked a while later.
"It is troublesome… but I am glad." The birthday boy admitted. "If only we didn't have to pretend with our mothers." He scowled into the dark. A warm body rolled over to him and kissed his lips chastely.
"It's our second chance, Tom." Ryan muttered.
"I know, Harry." Tom smiled and snuggled with his crib-mate.
Harry, now Ryan, went back over the events that led to their current state. He had realized as early as his second year that he would never escape the trappings of being the boy-who-lived. It wasn't too surprising thus when he found out Albus was manipulating him- he had expected something of the sort. He had however been hurt when it came out that Ron and Ginny intended to use him, one for fame and one money, disgustingly enough through his sperm. Hermione was thankfully clean but it didn't take long for her to be converted into Dumbledore's way of thinking and she too abandoned him. The biggest blow however, had been loosing Sirius. However, the same night he lost Sirius, he had gained something much more precious. When Tom had tried to possess him, they had an exchange of memories when it had failed. No one but they were aware of it and they did not share the incident with anyone. The link thereafter was used to talk to each other because on a deep level the two had understood each other and felt a pull they could not deny. They had fallen in love, slowly but surely. By the time Dumbledore had died, they regretted the existence of the prophecy and the fact that they could never truly be together but it did not stop them from meeting through their link and sharing something much more intimate than normal lovers.
It took a while but Harry was able to convince Tom that he could achieve his real goals without the killing but it was too late to change the course of the war or the way death-eaters functioned. Harry had searched day and night for a solution while Tom had given up. Harry had come to the conclusion a while back that he had to fend for himself and he included Tom in that. He didn't care if the world burnt down or flourished, he just wanted to live free of danger, expectations and so much more. He just didn't like seeing all the deaths and he definitely didn't like his lover being the cause of them. Seeing Harry's determination, Tom too looked into some of the ideas.
In the end it was one phrase that brought everything into focus. "If only we could start over". They planned carefully to do just that. Tom had found a ritual to bind a soul to a fetus, thereby effectively allowing someone to be reborn. It worked much like a horcrux in that the moment their existent bodies died, the soul would go right into the womb of their selected 'mothers'. The ritual implanted a body created from their own flesh and blood in a womb and a smaller version of themselves would start forming, sort of like a clone. From that point they had nine months to kill themselves and release their souls to inhabit the new body; failing to do so would result in still births as the fetus was supported by a spell until the soul got there. The magic, inheritances and any law would recognize them as the progeny of their original selves- there lay the beauty.
First issue was that Tom had made Horcruxes. It was a relief to find out that the destruction of these only released the soul shard back to the original piece and did not destroy the soul itself. So, Tom had his full soul somehow or the other. To be sure, Harry had Tom collect his remaining horcruxes and absorb them, replacing them with fakes. To the untrained eyes of teenagers, the identity of the dark artifacts would not be clear and they depended on Harry's link to Tom for identification; in short neither of Harry's 'friends' knew that they were fakes. The only hitch was the locket which Harry safely delivered to Tom a day after they acquired it, long before it could be destroyed. In this way, Harry sought to preserve their heritage (Tom did use founder's artifacts after all).
Simultaneously, Tom had looked for a pair of women, close friends to ensure they would grow up together. He took care of background checks and such before stealing them away to a secret location under the effects of a sleeping spell. Both women were non-magical and so did not offer much resistance. The ritual was fairly painless and quick, though it required some complicated chanting and ingredients, all of which was at Tom's disposal. There was no sex involved… it would indeed be strange to lay with someone you'd eventually call mother… but there was blood and magic involved. Once done, they meticulously memory-charmed the women. Harry's chosen, Miranda Wilkins, was made to believe she and Harry had dated the previous summer and he had returned to see her a few times- she knew his true face and his true name though nothing of his magic. Tom's chosen, Loretta Miles, was made to believe she had a one-night stand with a mysterious stranger while drunk- this was to prevent the ministry, which would scrutinize anyone related to Voldemort, from bothering them. They then spelled both women to be accepting of the pregnancies, to ensure they wouldn't abort, and upon Tom's insistence, to be accepting and even loving of magic. They also had to compel them to stay close to each other since they (Tom and Harry) did not want to risk being separated in their new lives. Miranda had a timed memory to explain away how Harry was going to 'provide' for her and the baby after his death. Tom delivered them both home safe and sound, making note not to attack that particular neighborhood. The same day, Harry slipped to Gringott's to make changes to his will. He found a fake will, approved by Dumbledore, and promptly combusted it, explaining to his account manager just why he was angry. There was apparently also a marriage contract with Ginevra- too bad his death would cancel it effectively. He blood warded a new vault and transferred all the Potter and Black contents (but a single knut) to it. This was done on Tom's advice, so no one would dare take what was rightfully his, whether that be the ministry or the order or Ginevra or Ronald; if they tried, they'd get no more than a knut. He then made arrangements so that his younger self would have complete freedom in the world. The new Potter, to be named Ryan, would be emancipated the moment he sets foot in the magical world according to his 'father`s' wishes and would have full access to the vaults. Tom, soon to be Terrance Miles, would remain in obscurity until majority since they didn't want anyone connecting him to Voldemort and would eventually have a trust vault that Ryan would open for him (once Ryan gained access to their vaults). They would live as normal kids and grow up to slowly take the magical world politically; Terrance would have it no other way. He also found the charms that would send their beloved belongings, like their wands and other heirlooms, to Harry's secret vault as soon as they died. The remaining days passed by with not much going on until the staged final battle. At that point, their younger bodies were just under two month old fetuses and were ready to receive their souls. It mostly went as planned, their souls had left as planned and entered the new bodies. It was a time passed in vague remembrances and was decidedly a strange experience. Ryan was born on the thirtieth of November while Terrance, amusingly enough, was born on the New year's eve again, this time in 1998. A little fluctuation of the date was expected so Ryan wasn't too startled to feel Terrance's magic coming from Loretta's womb. Having been older, Tom would have taken a bit longer than a normal birth and hence was born nearly twenty days later. Harry, being younger had been premature. It was hard at first, not being able to speak though they understood, not being able to control their bladders or bowels, and not being able to sit or walk. Thankfully, their charms held and the two women never thought of going their separate ways or about hating their babies. Tom was the first to walk, through sheer will, while Harry was the first to talk, not liking being unable to communicate. Now a year later, they were sharing a crib, and able to just be themselves and more importantly together. They had their whole lives ahead of them to achieve whatever goals they set and they had two lifetimes' worth of knowledge to avoid the pitfalls this time around. "I love you, Ryan."
"Love you too, Terrance." The two sleepily smiled and snuggled down to a restful sleep, devoid of the nightmares that plagued their previous lives. Both were rather fond of their mothers and were planning on wandlessly removing the personality enhancement charms on them- they would be removed gradually, allowing them to adjust to the presence of the two babies but Ryan assured Terrance their love was real and the charms were not really needed. Ryan's plan also included setting the two women up with decent husbands, seeing as they had given them new life, it was the least he could do… besides he wanted a sibling or two to spoil. Terrance didn't trust easily but he learnt to trust his new caretakers (both Loretta and Miranda took good care of him and Ryan). At eleven, they would have access to all vaults (Tom Riddle's vaults had been eventually emptied into Harry's secret vault and his blood was added to the enchantments so only the two of them could enter). Both boys intended to keep low profiles and avoid any manipulations. They also were looking forward to their teenage years to explore a more physical side to their relationship- something that had been denied them in their original lives. Once they reached majority, Ryan would have the Potter seats, Black seats, Gryffindor seats (something he hadn't known the first time around until much too late) and the Slytherin seats. Terrance would take up proxy for the Black and Slytherin seats. They were going to be a team of light and dark and would hopefully unite them all. Terrance was already planning (at age one) his grand proposal while Ryan was oblivious to his thoughts. There was so much to do and so much living to do that Terrance could barely wait. Ryan was a bit more apathetic to it all- as long as his Ryan was happy and their mutual goals could be accomplished, he had no complaints.
While the magical world stagnated and deteriorated some more, the two would grow up happy, without any interference from meddling old coots. They'd build their power and plans, succeeding at every turn. They would use past enemies and allies alike to get what they want and as a result, the magical world would be better off. If there was one thing Albus was right about it was Harry's power being love… only he never would have realized it would be the combined love of Harry and Tom that would save them.
A/N: I will be posting another oneshot, do check it out (also HPLV and Pg-13 slash). Don't forget to review!