Truths Revealed

Chapter Six

"Your stance is completely wrong, Harry. You're completely unbalanced. It's supposed to be like this." Tom showed his young, determined son. Then Tom took his wand from the secret pocket in his sleeve and pointed it at the boy. Harry just looked at the tip of his father's powerful weapon.

"Father, do you have to do this again?" Harry asked Tom. He didn't show any fear on the outside, but inside he was shaking and sweating. He didn't like what his father did to him at his lessons. Ever since he turned seven and a half two days ago, his father had thought him old enough for the spells used on the unfortunate Order members. Harry had thought he meant he would learn them, but Tom had other ideas. Instead of having a day of no chores or lessons like the rest of the half-birthdays Tom and him had celebrated, his chores were cut, but his lessons intensified. He had even received a birthday present- a most painful Cruciatus.

"Harry, this is an important part of your training. Before you can use an Unforgivable, you must feel its powers yourself, except for the killing curse of course. The best way to start is with the one that inflicts pain on its victim."

"But, Father, you've inflicted this pain on me six times in the past two days! I don't think I can take much more." Harry confessed.

"That is why I must train you, so you will be able to take this, so you will be able to take much, much more. You must be able to understand that."

"I do, Father, I really do, but I don't see how it has to be so much in the beginning. Can't I at least try it once? It'd be like a-a pain present."

Tom chuckled at his son. "A pain present? I've never heard of such a thing." Harry was about to explain, but his father caught him off guard. "Crucio!"

Harry gasped as the pain spell hit him for a seventh time. It was a burning sensation with added feelings of many knives piercing his body. He couldn't help but scream out. His eyes stayed wide and open, looking straight at his father who he could see was wincing somewhat. He watched as Tom's hand faltered then came down, cancelling the curse.

Harry gasped for breath as he recovered from the torture Tom had imposed on him. When he first met his father, he had been a little scared. Then, as time went on, he came to like and love the man, but now his feelings were going back downhill, even lower than when they first met.

Tom rushed to him to comfort him as he always did after the painful session, but this time Harry shrugged him away. He could tell his father was quite taken aback, but at the moment he didn't care. It was the only pain he could inflict on his father.

"Harry…" Tom paused and tried to touch his son again. Harry ignored him. "I know you probably hate me for this, but you have to understand—"

"Understand?" Harry snapped, his emerald eyes glowing with rage. "How can I understand a father putting his own child, his own flesh and blood, under an Unforgivable? I'm pretty sure most fathers don't do this, Father." Harry spat the word at him with hate and literally blood.

Tom wiped the blood from his face and stood up. He had never had Harry snap at him like that. Harry usually had been so happy with him. Apparently the pain of the Cruciatus had changed that. Slowly he looked at his wand he still held in his hand and his son. Knowing what he must do, he dropped his wand onto Harry's lap. Harry looked at him with confused eyes.

"You may try it." Tom said simply. He walked over to where he had cast his own Cruciatus and waited for the weak pain to come. He did not expect a strong first try.

Harry stood up, even though it was a little shaky. He examined his father's wand in his hand. Slowly, he pointed it at his father, but before he spoke the word a smirk came to his lips. Instead of placing the spell on Tom, he dug into a pocket in his robes and took out his own wand. Tom realized what he was doing.

"You are not ready for that, Harry. I can hardly master the skill. Just use my wand and you'll have received your pain-present." Tom used the word Harry had made up.

Harry, being the stubborn child he was, shook his head. Before Tom could speak again, Harry spoke the familiar word. "Crucio!"

Tom was thrown off his feet as the curse hit him twice as hard as it normally should. He crashed into the wall behind him and slid to the floor, twitching in pain. Even though his eyes were squeezed shut his ears could still hear the screams of his son. Gradually, Tom made the pain subside somewhat and only a small amount was left, making him feel like he just had a bad burn. This let him open his eyes and slowly make his way towards his suffering child.

Harry still had the wands tightly grasped in his wand hand, but he was on the ground, eyes closed, and screaming his lungs out. Tom had to hurry; he didn't know how much more his son could take.

Once he reached the small boy, Tom carefully pulled the boy into his lap and cradled him like a fragile baby. Whispering softly, he was able to soothe the boy down and have him not think about the pain. But, focusing on his son brought back his own pain making him shake and whimper. Harry fell out of his lap and started screaming again. Tom started to cry.

If they didn't do something soon, both of them would become mental or die. Tom didn't want to do this; the child still had so much to learn before he was taken away again, something he knew would happen someday. Tears still streaming down his cheeks, Tom grabbed the child's own wand. He looked at it lovingly, nine inches, ebony and dragon heartstring, a little whippy, but quite flexible. It was such a perfect wand for the boy.

Harry opened his eyes right at the moment he watched his father break his wand in half. It was his wand. It was Harry Riddle's wand. Why did his father have to break it? Another feeling of anger bubbled inside of him. He sat up and glared at Tom, forgetting about being in pain. But then he noticed the tears. They were coming down fast. Afraid, Harry cancelled the spell and crawled the small distance to his father.

"Daddy, why are you crying?" Harry didn't care about his old wand anymore. He was much more concerned about his usually strong, emotionless father.

Tom looked up and gave a weak smile to the wide eyed child. He noticed Harry had acquired a fresh bloody nose and a small trail of blood from his mouth to his chin because of the curse. Harry didn't seem to care.

"It- it's nothing, child. There's nothing to worry about. But you should be mad at me. I just broke your wand."

Harry took the two pieces from his father and looked at them. "I know you had good reason, Daddy. You would have never broken it unless you had good reason." Harry tried to stand up, but failed miserably. Tom got to his knees, and then was able to stand feebly on his feet after a few minutes. Once he got his footing, he helped Harry up and both walked out of the training room, weak and tired.


Albus, James, Sirius, and Remus were all in the sitting room of Grimmauld Place Number Twelve. All of them were sitting there silently, praying their little Harry was okay. Two weeks ago five of their Order members had been tortured and killed. None of them were a pretty sight.

Knowing they shouldn't send anyone back to the Riddle mansion in fear that their numbers would be lessened once again, they had no idea of what was going on at all. Also, with the brutal murder ordered by Tom, they all feared what Harry was going through. None thought that it was a joyous stay.

"We have to do something." James broke the silence.

"But what can we do, James?" Remus asked. "You've seen what Tom can do; he'll only do worse to us."

"Maybe so, but we have to try! I can't lose my son to that- that animal." James growled.

"I know I'm not supposed to say this, but he isn't your son." Sirius joined in the conversation. "Tom actually had good reason to take him. It wasn't all that illegal."

"So now you're siding with the Dark side?" James glared at him.

Sirius raised his hands in defense as James stood up and started coming towards him slowly. Dumbledore, though, was quick enough to step in between the two.

"James, you know Sirius doesn't mean it like that."

James shook his head. "I know, but it sure sounded like it."

"We should try and get him back, Dumbledore. Otherwise we're all going to go insane just worrying."

Albus nodded. "We'll start planning tonight."


­­­Tom was able to get the little Harry to a couch in the parlor before Harry became unconscious from being so weak. He laid a blanket on the child before leaving the room to care for himself.

He walked down the hall and entered his private study to dig in the drawers of his desk. It took a few minutes, but he was able to find a few extra strengthening potions he had placed beneath a bunch of papers and other objects. Quickly he gulped two of the bottles and put the rest back. Then he left the room to check on Harry.

Harry was still unconscious when he came back. Blood was still escaping through his nose, while the blood dribbling from his mouth was slowly coming to a stop. Tom wiped away the blood best he could, but then stopped when he noticed he was just spreading it more.

Tom sighed and sat on the couch near the feet of the boy. He should have never let the boy cast the spell. Even he himself hadn't mastered the Cruciatus completely so he wouldn't feel any pain at all while casting it. He still felt a small pinch that grew over the time he had the spell cast. The boy would have just felt the power of another Cruciatus if he had just cast it with one wand, but Harry had done it with two, doubling the pain, and they both were full curses. That was something unusual.

After feeling his first Unforgivable when he was in his first year at Hogwarts, Tom had set off to study them. A few times he had tried the Imperious curse and the Cruciatus, and once the Killing curse, but all of them had been feeble attempts. It wasn't until his sixth year at Hogwarts that he could cast a reasonable Imperious and even then he still couldn't do a good enough Cruciatus. The Killing curse had still been well out of his league.

Now, his own son had been able to produce a full double Cruciatus, before he had even entered Hogwarts. There was something about the child, something unusual.

A/N: There you go… the sixth installment of Truths Revealed. Hopefully you've enjoyed it. Now, if you would like, you could leave me a review and tell me your thoughts… I like thoughts…