Title: The Time Warp
Author: OCDdegrassi
Pairing: Percy/Tom Riddle Jr.
Rating: M
Warning: None (that are new from the last chapter)
Note: A few notes:
1. Thank you guys so much for all your reviews to the first chapter! I really do appreciate it, and I hope that you continue to like this story as we go along.
2. Since I am going by canon for Percy up to this point in the books, I should have technically listed infidelity as an eventual warning, since Percy is dating Penelope in his time, but since she hasn't even been born yet in the past, I'm just going to assume that it doesn't count ;)
3. Italics are Percy's thoughts, for the most part.
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As Dumbledore escorted him to the dungeons, where he would now be residing for the foreseeable future, Percy's mind drifted to his family. Would he ever see them again? They didn't get along all the time, but he still cared about them. He loved them – even his obnoxious twin brothers, who he was going to kill when he returned to his present time. What if he could never return to his time period? He would miss them, though he would vehemently deny it if they ever asked.
Worse yet, what if he changed something by being in the past and his family didn't even exist anymore? The thought made him feel like ice water had been poured down his spine. He tried to block those negative thoughts from his mind and focus on something else. An image of Penelope flashed through his head. Penny. If Percy was being honest with himself, he knew that he wasn't going to miss his girlfriend as much as he should.
It wasn't that he didn't care for her, because he did, but it was more of an obligation than actual emotions. He felt like he should care for her. She was intelligent, beautiful and driven; the perfect woman to have by his side, especially for the future Minister of Magic. He wanted to be in love with her, and he tried to be, but those feelings never came.
No matter how perfect she was, something just didn't add up between them. Even kissing her felt wrong; it made his stomach churn. It was almost a relief to be away from her, though Percy felt guilty for even thinking such a thing. He forced his thoughts away from that subject as well, refusing to analyze why he felt that way. He wasn't ready to examine that issue just yet.
The pair made their way down, and Percy shivered from the cold. He hated the dungeons. They were his least favorite place to go during prefect rounds, and now he had to live there for however long he was stuck back in time. Maybe even the rest of his educational career. Along those lines, a thought suddenly occurred to him.
"Hang on, if you're not the headmaster yet, then why did you come and speak with me in the hospital wing instead of the current headmaster?" he questioned incredulously. Dumbledore seemed unconcerned with his line of thinking.
"Headmaster Dippet is a busy man. He asked me to look into it, and I was perfectly capable of taking care of the situation on my own," he responded calmly. Percy's eyebrows shot up. Some random boy shows up in a castle that it is impossible to apparate into, where there are a bunch of underage students that are the headmaster's responsibility, and he's not even concerned enough to see to the situation himself? It sounded like terrible leadership to Percy; unsafe and irresponsible.
As they continue walking, Percy silently listed every possible danger that he could have posed to the students, as far as the headmaster should be concerned, including being a mass murderer. He hadn't even met the headmaster yet, and frankly, he was already appalled at the man's lack of concern for his students' well-being. He was so lost in thought that he didn't see another boy approaching them until Dumbledore addressed him.
"Ah, Tom. Just the student I was looking for," he greeted. Percy's eyes turned to the other boy. He was almost as tall as Percy, with jet black hair and dark eyes. His skin was very pale, much like Percy's, but it was unblemished where Percy's was covered in freckles. Tom was rather handsome, yet there was something almost cold about his presence that Percy felt immediately. Tom stopped in front of them, and smiled, though it didn't quite reach his eyes.
"Yes, sir?" he asked politely. He looked at Percy curiously, trying to decipher his purpose for being there.
"This is Percy Weasley. He just transferred here from Durmstrang. He will be placed in Slytherin with you, and he is going to be the other 6th year prefect," Dumbledore stated, gesturing to Percy at his side. Tom's eyebrows shot up in surprise, and Percy stood up straighter in confidence.
Tom's mind was racing as he processed the information. Who changed schools in mid-October? And why did this boy deserve to be a prefect? There was usually one male and one female prefect from each house, so why was Percy the exception? Something wasn't adding up, and he intended to find out what it was.
Tom didn't need another prefect. He could do the job for two by himself. The last prefect had been dreadful; always flirting with him and batting her eyelashes. Her fake laugh made Tom grit his teeth, and she wasn't even intelligent. She didn't deserve the title, and he sure as hell wasn't going to share the power with her.
It was easy enough to take care of her. All he had to do was write a 'concerned' note to her parents detailing how she was spending too much time with muggle-borns, and her father pulled her out of school faster than one could say 'mudblood.'
"Percy, this is Tom Riddle. He is the other 6th year prefect," Dumbledore introduced. Tom held out his hand, and Percy shook it firmly. So Tom was going to be his partner on rounds. Percy hoped that he was dedicated to his position. The last thing he needed was another prefect who didn't take their duties seriously. Their job was a big responsibility, and it needed to be treated as such.
"I trust you can lead Percy the rest of the way to your dormitories, Tom. A bed has been set up for him in the 6th years' room," Dumbledore continued, and Tom nodded dutifully. This would give him a chance to learn more about Percy's story. He should be easy enough to read – everyone else was.
"Of course, sir," he replied. Dumbledore nodded his head to Percy.
"We will speak soon," he added, and Percy acknowledged him with a nod of his own, following Tom as the other boy turned and headed further into the dungeons. They walked in silence for a few moments, for which Percy was grateful. He didn't need to make friends; he wasn't worried about that during his own time, and he certainly wasn't going to worry about it in the past. Hopefully, he wouldn't be staying here long anyway.
"Interesting time of year to switch schools," Tom finally said. His tone was casual, but Percy wasn't fooled. He was fishing for information; Percy wasn't going to give anything away. The less he said, the less likely it was for anyone to find fault with his story.
"Yes, it is," he responded in a clipped tone. Tom was taken aback by the cold response, but he quickly collected himself. Most people responded to his friendly conversations and charm easily enough; he just needed to use another approach.
"Was your family unhappy with Durmstrang?" he tried again. Tom's voice was smooth and charming, but it did nothing to sway Percy. He knew how badly it would end if everyone found out where he was really from. He couldn't refrain from tensing at the mention of his family though. Dumbledore hadn't discussed what Percy should say about them, but he knew they were probably going to come up again, so he would have to say as little as possible and hope that was enough.
"The decision had nothing to do with my family. We're not very close," he replied tersely. It wasn't even entirely a lie. The decision didn't have to do with his family, because it wasn't actually a decision. And he wasn't close to his family. Of course he loved them, but he was too different from them; none of them understood him or even tried to. He was an introvert in a family of extroverts, and he always felt like the outsider amongst them. They didn't respect his ambition, and he didn't respect their carefree attitudes.
The more he thought about it, the more he realized that it was almost freeing to be away from everyone for a while. No twins to torment him, no Ron and Ginny to look after because they managed to constantly get themselves into trouble, no parents to try and live up to their high expectations of him. The thought suddenly made him feel much lighter. He wanted to go back to his own time, of course, but at least there was a silver lining to the situation in the meantime.
Tom noticed that Percy's family was a sore spot, and he mentally filed it away to investigate later. He prided himself on knowing other people's weaknesses, and Percy was no exception. He would discover exactly how to break him, should he ever need to.
It unnerved Percy how Tom didn't seem merely curious, but rather, he seemed to be studying Percy, trying to find where he was vulnerable. Percy tried to convince himself that he was over-thinking things, but he couldn't quite shake the feeling. They arrived at the portrait of a snake (how original, Percy thought sarcastically), and the portrait swung open when Tom said: "pureblood." Percy had to refrain from rolling his eyes at the sheer predictability of Slytherins.
Most of the students in the common room were looking at him the second he stepped through the door with thinly veiled curiosity. They were used to seeing the same people every day, so it was no surprise that a new student, especially one with such bright red hair, was noticed immediately. Tom cleared his throat, and all eyes looked to him. Percy felt distinctly uncomfortable, but he held his head high. He was used to garnering attention from being Head Boy, so he could handle this.
"Everyone, this is Percy Weasley. He just transferred here from Durmstrang. He's going to be the other 6th year prefect for Slytherin," Tom said, with a hint of disbelief in his voice that Percy didn't fully understand. It irked him.
Did Tom honestly think that he was the only student capable of being a prefect? Well, he would see how wrong he was; Percy had no doubt that he was more qualified than the other boy, and all that was left was for Tom to realize it. The other students seemed surprised and suspicious, though that was not entirely unexpected. A group of older students walked over to them, and they shook Percy's hand, greeting him stiffly.
"Are you a pure-blood?" one girl asked bluntly, and Percy gritted his teeth at their prejudice.
"Yes," he practically seethed out. He may be a pureblood, but he hated the pureblood supremacy that Slytherins had. It was ignorant and deplorable. There was nothing wrong with half-bloods or muggle-borns, and they certainly weren't lesser witches or wizards than purebloods. Unfortunately – or fortunately, depending on how you saw it - the other students seemed to mistake his annoyance for being offended at having to be asked, because they instantly relaxed and looked apologetic.
"Sorry, we didn't mean to offend you, but there are mudbloods in this school, and even some half-bloods in this very house, though I don't think they have any right to be here," the girl continued, whispering the phrase like a dirty word.
Two of the other boys looked disgusted, and Percy felt Tom stiffen ever so slightly next to him, though none of the others seemed to notice. Well that is certainly interesting. He wondered if the others knew that Tom was a half-blood; he would guess not considering how they still treated him respectfully. He mentally filed away the information to look into more at a later date.
The students began to debate about whether half-bloods should even be allowed in Slytherin, and while some of the students were staunch believers in pureblood supremacy, some of the others took the more 'liberal' stance that half-bloods were still welcome in the house. It started a loud, heated argument, which Percy gritted his teeth throughout.
He wasn't going to bother partaking in such an ignorant discussion. He just wanted to find his bed and get away from the crowd. He made eye contact with Tom, and whatever the other boy saw in his gaze seemed to throw Tom off guard.
Tom could swear he saw understanding in Percy's eyes, but there was no way that he knew about Tom's half-blood status. It was impossible. He felt unnerved by the other boy's intuition, and he excused both of them to show Percy the dormitories.
Percy inwardly sighed in relief as they headed up the stairs and into a room that was decorated with silver and green. He had been expecting as much, but it still felt strange not be surrounded by red and gold. There was a trunk of clothes and material waiting for him, which Percy guessed was Dumbledore's doing. He was silently grateful to the old man, since he hadn't even considered that aspect of the situation.
Perhaps Dumbledore had everything under control more than Percy had thought. The idea sparked hope in his heart that was only slightly dampened by Tom's gaze. He could feel the other boy's eyes on him, and it made the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. There was something strange about Tom, though he wasn't sure what it was yet.
In the meantime, Tom watched the other boy calculatingly. Percy intrigued him; he was different from the other students; more difficult to read. He obviously had some issues with his family, though what issues was yet to be determined, which only fueled Tom's curiosity more. He was going to discover Percy's secrets, one way or another.
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A/N: So what did you think? I couldn't picture Percy and Tom starting off as anything more than intrigued by each other. Seriously, can you imagine them experiencing love at first sight? Umm, no - although it would be hilariously cracky. Hehe. Reviews are always much appreciated. They make my day!
