Walking Across Time

Chapter Four - Believe

"I noticed you're pretty close to Riddle," Harry said to the seventh-year who was sitting across from him at the Slytherin breakfast table.

The boy puffed up immediately. Riddle had some influence around here.

Easy prey, smirked Harry. A nice word here, a compliment there and he'll be dying to tell me all his secrets.

"You must be privy to all these interesting facets of him," Harry added. "Did you know him as a first-year?"

"Riddle wasn't really well tolerated, much less liked when he first came to Hogwarts," the seventh-year whispered to Harry. "We all thought he was, you know, one of them."

"Would you care to elaborate," Harry raised an eyebrow. "What made you think he was a muggle-born?"

"He didn't know anything about the wizarding world," the seventh-year continued. "He didn't know about chocolate frogs, exploding snaps or even quidditch!"

"What kind of life did he live to be so oblivious to all that?" Harry prodded.

"Imagine, the heir of Slytherin raised in a Muggle orphanage!" the seventh-year exclaimed in outrage before quieting down in fear that Riddle would hear him. He lowered his head. "It's no wonder he's strange sometimes."

"What about Augustus?" Harry asked. "He doesn't seem to have ever approached any Muggles."

"Oh, you mean Auggie?" the seventh-year said expansively. "I've know him since he was a babe—a true pureblood that one. One sometimes wonders how Riddle and him could've turned out so differently. Auggie is the sweetest most polite first-year. Riddle's polite too, but scary, you know."

Harry didn't really think Augustus Gaunt was a sweet boy, especially not after having seen the first-year switch from a furious face to an innocent one in less time than you could say 'quidditch.' In fact, Harry thought Riddle and the Gaunt kid were pretty similar. But Harry didn't comment and let the Slytherin continue on with his tale.

"Auggie hasn't been too well these days. I'm sure you know how Morphin Gaunt was sent to Azkaban," the Slytherin went on as if it were normal news to Harry. "Auggie hasn't been taking it well. He told me he has trouble sleeping."

That's cause he's plotting revenge, Harry thought. Just like me.

"I was getting the impression that Riddle and Augustus did not get along that well," Harry commented.

"Yes, that's because, heir of Slytherin or not, Riddle's still a halfblood, and—"

Whatever the Slytherin was about to say never made it out of his mouth as a modified 'silencio' forced his mouth shut. His lips were glued.

"So you do have a sneaky side aside from your quirky Ravenclaw style," Riddle said into Harry's ear. "I was beginning to wonder how you'd manage to convince the Sorting Hat to let you into the house of snakes."

Harry froze but forced himself to be calm. Riddle took the spell off the Slytherin who had been talking. The seventh-year squeaked and immediately started shoving bacon in his mouth. Riddle sat on Harry's right and helped himself to pumpkin juice.

"How much did you hear?" Harry said as nonchalantly as he could.

"Enough," Riddle said cryptically. He sipped on his pumpkin juice before pouring a cup of pumpkin juice and handing it to Harry. "Why are you so interested in me and Augustus?"

"I didn't learn anything new from you friend there, if that's what you want to know," Harry said, pushing the pumpkin juice Riddle had offered him around.

"I see," Riddle said darkly. "I'll have you know not to mess with things that may be too much for you to handle. A painting may fall on you or maybe you may end drinking poison instead of that pumpkin juice you're holding. All accidentally, of course."

Harry let go of the cup immediately.

"You said similar things to Augustus, as I recall," Harry drawled, sounding more confident than he felt. "I'm started to think that a lot of accidents happen around you. I didn't know you were so prone to clumsiness, Riddle."

In a nest of snakes, survival depends on one establishing oneself as predator and not prey.

"I'll be real careful then," Riddle smiled frostily. He grabbed a slice of bread and got up. "I'll be seeing you around, Potter."

"You can count on it," Harry said, his back already turned to Riddle and sniffing at the pumpkin juice, wondering if there really was poison in the drink.

Harry chewed on his food mechanically.

I'll have to be more discrete next time, he thought. Now, how should I kill him? Wait, he just told me how!

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Are you planning a murder, Harry?" Augustus asked the older boy.

"What makes you think that?" Harry said, surprised yet again by the ickle first-year. Harry was looking through spellbooks that were relatively on the light side. Nothing dark or murderous was in them, but the spells inside could easily be applied to murder. Take wingardium leviosa, for an example…

"Every book I've seen you with can have lethal applications," Augustus said.

"That's because every spell can have lethal applications, don't you think?" Harry countered. "It doesn't mean I'm having murderous thoughts."

Augustus scratched his head. "You've got a point, Harry, but still…"

"Why did you ask me about murder?" Harry sighed.

"Because I can help you," Augustus said quite seriously. "I want Riddle dead too."

Harry's eyebrows shot up. Had he been so transparent in his thoughts? Had he been truly found out by a first-year albeit a perceptive one?

"Again, what makes you think that?" Harry said.

"The fact that you're not denying it?" the boy said, the corner of his lip lifting. "I've seen you throw these dark looks at my cousin when you thought no one was watching you."

"And please, do tell me why would you, of all people, want your cousin dead?" Harry asked.

"Haven't you been reading the prophet?" Augustus frowned. "I thought it was obvious."

"What exactly makes you think Riddle had something to do with your father's imprisonment?" Harry asked.

"Because he has every motive! With my father out of the way, he only needs to get rid of me to have access to the family fortune and heirlooms," Augustus spat. "He's simply a disgusting halfblood gold-digger. That's why we should never let them into our society!"

"No need to get all excited now," Harry said calmly watching the boy regain his mask of innocence. Harry was curious at why the boy so easily let his mask down in front of him. From what Harry had learned, Augustus had been playing sweet and cute for most of his life, including in front of people he had known for years. "Why don't you tell me what you think happened?"

"He framed my father for the death of a Muggle, as if Father would be so stupid as to use his own wand to do the deed!" Augustus said. "I know it was Riddle."

"Why don't you go to higher authority than me? This really doesn't concern me, you know," Harry said despite his very real interest.

"You look at Riddle the same way I do," Augustus repeated. "I can recognize it because it's the same loathing I feel every day of my life. And anyways, lapdog that he is, Riddle will just get a slap on the wrist and get away with it! I want him dead."

"You don't call him Tom?" Harry asked.

"He's like an animal, why should I use the given name of a Muggle," Augustus said, twisting his mouth as if he had just tasted something particularly nasty.

"Find me a cereus," Harry said suddenly. "I'll do what I can after."

Augustus stared at the older boy and then flashed Harry with his radiant sunshiny smile.

"Thank you, Harry!" he said. "I knew I could count on you!"

After Augustus had left for class, Harry sat in the corner of the library and thought. Augustus' story was flawless but some things weren't right. His data from his time was didn't match with this era's happenings. Either this was truly a parallel world with major differences or the past had significant holes in its history.

A girl sneezed behind him. She sneezed again. And then she started crying. Harry needed quiet.

"Wonderful, a sneeze fest," Harry snapped at her. "Here's tissue and please, do me the favour of wiping the snot off your nose before you get it all over me."

"Don't you dare talk to me with that tone you nasty boy!" she said between crying and sneezing. "I was cursed by Riddle. So please shut up while I look for a counter-curse!"

She walked into an isle and involuntarily continued making funny noises with her nose.

"Holy shit," Harry stared. "Was that…Neville's grandmother? And does she also hold a grudge against Riddle?"

Harry sighed. Things weren't getting easier.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Author's note: will JK really release HP 7 on 07/07/07? It just sounds too good to be true. I'm totally obsessed over this. Book 7 Book 7 it's in my dreams too.