Chapter 9

The next morning when Harry woke up, he was still quite preoccupied with the idea of being Gryffindor's heir. Was it true? And how could Tom have known about it? How could he even find out for himself if it was true or not? He couldn't exactly just walk into Dumbledore's office and ask, and the Hogwarts library didn't have any books on genealogy. Then he realized there was a simple answer, or at least a simple source to begin looking in. He made sure the Sealing and Silencing charms around his curtains were still intact, then called for Kreacher.

The elf appeared immediately on Harry's bed, and just as Tom had predicted, he had lost his surly attitude entirely. "Yes, Master?" the elf said, bowing so low that his nose touched the blankets.

"Kreacher, I need a book out of the Black library."

"Kreacher will fetch it for Master! Which book is Master needing?"

"Erm, Nature's Nobility: A Wizarding Genealogy."

"At once, Master. Kreacher will be returning with Master's book."

Harry didn't know if that book would have anything, but the Potters were an old and respected pure-blood family. He remembered that he'd have to have a talk with Kreacher about his newly respectful attitude when the elf came back. It was nice not to be cursed at and insulted, but he couldn't afford to let anyone become suspicious. Kreacher reappeared, holding the book Harry had asked for. "This is the book Master is wanting, yes?"

"Yes, Kreacher, thank you."

"Can Kreacher do anything else for Master?"

"Actually, yes." Harry wasn't sure how to explain what he wanted to the elf. "You see, when the two of us are by ourselves, I want you to treat me as your Master. But if anyone else is around, you must continue to be rude to me and insult me."

The elf looked aghast at the idea. "Kreacher won't! Kreacher must show respect for Master!"

Harry decided to be strict with the elf. "You must keep all of my secrets. If you show me respect in front of anyone else, you will give away my most important secret. I order you to be rude to me in the presence of other people."

Kreacher looked reluctant, but nodded. "Kreacher is doing as Master asks."

"Excellent. Return to the kitchens now, Kreacher, and remember, you may not tell anyone about this."

The elf bowed again, and disappeared. Harry looked at the book Kreacher had brought with some interest, but realized that he didn't have time to read it just then. He put it into his trunk with the two books he'd taken from the Chamber. All three books were then put under a simple glamour to look like more normal, acceptable reading material, but that spell wouldn't last more than a few days, and it could be broken fairly easily. He'd have to find that Parselspell for disguising books soon. He got out his robes for the day, his homework, and the books he would need. After changing clothes, he closed his trunk, and used several locking spells.

As he turned to leave the room, he found Ron suddenly standing right in front of him. He started to push past the red-head, but Ron said, "Wait, please, Harry."

Harry stopped for a moment, and looked at Ron. He realized that he had attacked Ron while his once-best mate had been trying to apologize. Ron didn't have any visible bruises, but he was moving a bit stiffly. "Yes?" Harry said, still a bit coldly.

"I wanted to say I'm sorry. I tried to tell you that last night, but I guess I didn't pick the best time to say it."

"Er, right. I'm sorry for throwing you into a wall. Last night was a really bad time, about the worst time you could have picked, actually, and I didn't do it on purpose."

Ron shrugged, but then winced, as though that movement had increased his pain. "Nah, I reckon I deserved that. Ginny was right. You're my best mate, along with Hermione, and the best mate-ly thing to do is to accept it and be happy for you both."

Harry did his best not to roll his eyes. "Thanks Ron. Really, that's kind of you. But Hermione is not my girlfriend. I don't like her that way."

Ron looked confused. "Then why did you say no to Ginny? Which girl do you fancy?"

Harry sighed. "Not that this is really any of your business, at all, but I don't fancy any girl." And he didn't. Most girls were too giggly, and too obsessed with clothes, hair, makeup, and social status. The only girls he knew who weren't like that were Hermione, Ginny, and Luna. Hermione and Ginny were like sisters to him, and Luna was a nice person, but Harry didn't think he could ever understand her.

Now Ron looked shocked. "Harry, mate, are you trying to tell me that you're gay?"

Was he gay? He hadn't really ever thought about it. Okay, so he wasn't really attracted to any girls. Cho had been the single exception, and come to think of it, he'd thought of her as more like a boy, with her interest in sports and lack of obvious feminine curves. Once he got to know her better, he realized that she was an exceptionally beautiful girl, but he just wasn't interested anymore. And he'd found Tom Riddle attractive, even when he was 12 years old. "I don't really know," he said, though more to himself than Ron. "It's never really been an issue. I've always been too busy to really think about it."

"You're not…you don't…fancy me do you?"

Harry laughed out loud. "No offence mate, but no, no way, absolutely not."

"Oh, right then. Friends again?" Ron asked, holding out his hand, though he still looked a bit uncomfortable.

Harry shook Ron's hand. "Friends again." He noticed that Ron sighed in relief when Harry dropped his hand. "Ron," he said, his green eyes suddenly flashing, "You won't tell anyone about this, will you?" Though Harry didn't notice it, his magic was flaring to enforce the command, exactly as the eight year old Tom Riddle's had.

Ron wasn't consciously aware of the push from Harry's magic, but he responded to it with subconscious fear. "No, no, of course not Harry. It's not anybody's business but yours."

Harry's magic relaxed, and the tension in the room eased. "Shall we go to breakfast now?" Harry asked.

Ron smiled. "Sure. I hope they haven't run out of sausage yet." The two friends walked down to the Great Hall together, everything seeming normal again, though Harry noticed that Ron was very careful not to walk too close to him. He shrugged it off. Ron would either realize that Harry being gay did not mean that he was attracted to every man he saw, or he would find new excuses to avoid Harry. Either way, it didn't matter much. Harry was now used to doing without Ron's company.

Over the next two weeks, it seemed that Ron was choosing the 'avoid Harry' option. But he was keeping his word not to say anything, so Harry was content. Actually, it made things a little bit easier. He really wanted to impress Tom, so he spent some time every day in the Room of Requirement working on Occlumency and beginning Parselmagic. His Occlumency was now excellent, and he was fairly confident that neither Dumbledore nor Snape would be able to see into his mind. Nor would anyone else in the world, with the possible exception of Tom. His mind was now guarded by assorted serpents, which would "bite" anyone who attempted to enter, as well as more traditional shields. He had also practiced hiding certain memories while bringing others to the front of his mind, which he thought he was doing quite well at. Soon, he could probably pretend to be attempting to keep Dumbledore out, and explain that he had begun to study on his own. His skills could "develop" until Dumbledore believed that he was proficient. Then Harry could simply bar the man from entering his mind. Showing someone only the memories you wanted them to see was far more difficult, not to mention far more risky, than simply keeping them out of your mind. Harry didn't much like Snape, but he did respect the man's abilities, considering how long he'd been doing that to both Dumbledore and Tom. Harry thought gradually pretending to get better and better at Occlumency was a good plan, but of course it wasn't without its risks. He'd have to run it by Tom first.

Secrets of the Serpent was likewise proving to be interesting and useful. The first thing he'd learned was the spell Tom had mentioned to conceal the actual identity of the book. It was especially great because it caused a person to see the affected book as whatever book they expected to see Harry reading. It also told the caster what book any given person saw, so that the caster would not be surprised or caught off guard when asked about the book. Hermione usually saw school textbooks, or supplemental material for subjects currently being discussed in classes. Once or twice, she had seen books about duelling and combat tactics. Ginny saw books about Quidditch strategies. Ron's reaction was by far the most amusing, though. He usually saw gay pornographic magazines. Even if Harry did look at those sorts of things, did Ron really think Harry would be sitting in the Great Hall or the Gryffindor common room to do it?

In addition to that spell, the rest of the book proved to be worth its weight in gold, ten times over. Of course, casting in Parseltongue meant that an opponent would have no idea what spell had been cast. Spells cast with Parselmagic could only be undone by another Parselmouth. Had Harry still been planning on having the epic duel to the death with Lord Voldemort that everyone was expecting, that would have made it far less useful. But now he could use it to prove that he was worthy of a place by Tom's side.

Hermione, who had become Harry's closest companion recently, was far more aware of Harry's frequent retreats than Ron. At first, she was content to give him sympathetic looks and leave him be. But as the trend continued, she started to do her best to cling to his side, and not let him go off alone. Studying with her was fine, of course. Harry was confident that Hermione would not be able to see what he was actually reading. Practicing these spells, though, could not be done in front of her. Yet every time Harry asked for some time alone, though she would agree verbally, her eyes would beg him not to go. Harry finally decided he would have to find out what was going on with her so that he could get more time to practice. The hour or two that he was getting a day was just not enough. So one afternoon he asked her to come to the Room of Requirement with him. He asked the Room for a comfortable sitting room. When they had entered and settled on the couches, Harry began the conversation. He decided to go at it with the same blunt approach Hermione herself would have used.

"Hermione, you know I think of you like a sister, and I enjoy spending time with you, but lately whenever I'm about to go do something by myself, you look like you're going to cry. I know you're not in love with me, so what's going on?"

She looked unsure for a moment. "I don't know if I should tell you. I mean, you just made up with Ron, and I don't want to come between the two of you again."

Harry had to laugh at that. "Hermione, first, you didn't come between me and Ron. Ron came between me and Ron, because he wouldn't listen to either of us. Second, I know it's about Ron now, which means you've said too much not to tell me. So if you don't explain what it is, I'll just assume he said or did something unforgivably rude to you and go hex him bloody."

Hermione laughed too. "I guess I did say more than I meant to. I don't think there's any need to go practice your combat tactics on Ron, though."

Harry gave her a mock-gallant bow. "As your chivalrous defender and protector, I think I get to be the judge of that."

Hermione was in full out giggles by that point. "No, really, Harry, he hasn't been rude at all. It's just that he really believed that the only reason I wouldn't go out with him was because I was going out with you. Now that you've somehow convinced him that I'm not going out with you—wait, how did you convince him that you're not going out with me?"

Harry sighed. Ron would probably blab about what Harry had said sooner or later, so he figured he should just tell Hermione now, so that she wouldn't be surprised or offended when she did hear it from Ron. "I er…told him that I'm gay."

Hermione didn't seem too surprised by that. "That makes sense. It must be why Ron is still avoiding you. Is it true?"

"I'm not really sure. It's true that I'm not attracted to any girls, but I guess I just don't think about it very much. But—you wouldn't mind if I was, would you?"

"Of course not Harry! Who you fancy isn't any of my business."

"Good. So, now that you know why Ron believes me when I say we aren't dating, what's he done to you?"

"He thinks that I have to come to my senses and realize that I'm madly in love with him. He leaves me alone if you're there, but the instant you're gone, he's there. He stares, he distracts me from my homework, and he keeps trying to sit closer to me and touch me."

Harry grumbled internally. Ron really was a prat. He had a solution, but it was a Dark spell, as well as being a Parselspell, and though he trusted Hermione, he wasn't sure she would accept it. Well, he didn't have to tell her it was a Parselspell. He could mutter the spell under his breath, and Hermione wouldn't be able to hear it well enough to know what language it was. "Hermione," he began slowly, "do you trust me?"

"What? What kind of a stupid question is that Harry? Of course I trust you."

"Well, you know I've been doing a lot of studying on my own lately. Trying to get ready."

"Yes…" she said, with a questioning tone to her voice.

"I know of a spell that could solve your problem. It's just that, er, it's not exactly a ministry approved spell."

"So you've been studying Dark spells when you go off by yourself." Her tone was not exactly dripping with approval.

"Hermione, if I don't know anything about them, how will I ever be able to fight them?"

"Yes, but you're not studying them to fight them. You're studying them to use them."

"Not the Unforgiveables! Only some mild spells. They're tools, Hermione, and useful tools at that. Even aurors sometimes use Dark spells."

Hermione's face took on her 'thinking' look. "I don't like it, but I suppose you're right. Just be careful, Harry. Now, what's this spell you mentioned?"

"It's a proximity ward, and it's something like a muggle restraining order. You set the spell for a specific person, and whenever that person is within a certain distance, say three feet of you, they start to get a headache, and they feel the urge to get away from you. The more uncomfortable they make you, the worse they feel. The feeling ends as soon as they get out of the specified range. It won't do any permanent damage, but it can lead to a blinding migraine if they don't get the point." What Harry didn't tell her was that the spell's consequences were the choice of the caster; it could be set to cause anything from a hangnail to death to anyone who came too close. That was one reason why it was a 'Dark' spell, even though it had been invented for witches of the Slytherin line who needed it for the same reason as muggle women sometimes required restraining orders. Harry also knew of another spell, designed to prevent rape, that made it impossible for any man within a certain distance to achieve erection, but he didn't think Hermione really wanted to know about that one.

"Harry, that sounds perfect! I still don't like that it's a Dark spell, but I can't think of any Light or Neutral spell that could do that. Why only three feet, though?" she said, with a slightly malicious smile.

"Well, you do still have to attend classes, eat meals, and sit in the common room with him, so it has to be a small enough range that he can be in the same room, as long as he doesn't sit next to you or very close to you."

"Can you do the spell now, Harry? I don't think I can take this much longer."

"Of course. Just sit back, relax, and think of Ron, and how it makes you feel when he won't leave you alone." That was the other reason this spell was Dark, it depended on negative emotions. In a few moments, the spell was cast. "All finished," Harry said.

Hermione frowned. "I don't feel any different."

"Let's see where Ron is right now." Harry pulled out the Marauder's Map. "Aha, he's in the library, most likely waiting for you. Would you like to go and test the spell?"

"But Harry, what if it doesn't work? If you go with me, Ron will probably leave, but I don't want to be alone if the spell doesn't work!"

Harry chuckled. "I do have quite the arsenal up my sleeve," he said, pulling his invisibility cloak out from its hiding place in the aforementioned sleeve. For a moment, he looked like a muggle magician pulling out a line of scarves from his clothing. "I'll be there, but Ron won't know it. Besides, I want to see for myself how he reacts to this spell."

"Harry! That's awful!" she said, though she was smiling.

"Just think of it as satisfying my purely intellectual curiosity," Harry said, and then pulled on his cloak. They made their way to the library, where Ron was sitting at a table near the entrance. Hermione smiled and said hello, but walked past Ron to her favourite table, toward the back of the library and just under a particularly lovely stained glass window. Harry moved quietly to stand behind her chair. As Ron predictably walked over to Hermione's table and took a seat, Harry put an invisible hand gently onto Hermione's shoulder.

"Hermione, hey!" Ron said, taking the seat next to Hermione without waiting for an invitation. Hermione continued working quietly for a minute or so before acknowledging Ron, although that wasn't unusual for her when she was working.

"Oh, hi Ron. Can you believe all the homework we've got, and this close to the holidays, too! And of course, our end-of-term exams are coming up. I feel like I've barely even started studying."

"You take school too seriously," Ron said, putting his hand on Hermione's arm. "Lighten up some, Hermione." Another silently tense minute passed.

Hermione gave an obviously forced laugh. "Maybe you're right, Ron," she said, as she moved her arm out from under Ron's hand, ostensibly to get a quill out of her bag.

Just as Ron scooted his chair a little closer to Hermione's, he suddenly grimaced. "Is something wrong?" Hermione asked.

"Nah, it's nothing, just a little headache. It's probably from too much school work." Ron grinned at his own joke. His words were belied by the way he pressed his hands to his temples and rubbed gently.

"Are you sure you're alright?" Hermione asked, with a voice that sounded genuinely concerned.

"Ouch! Don't talk so loud!" Ron said, though Hermione was using her library voice. Harry was hard put to keep silent. He desperately wanted to laugh.

"Really, Ron, if your head hurts that badly, maybe you should go see Madame Pomphrey. Or at least quit studying for a while and go have a lie down."

"Yeah, I think I'll go do that," Ron muttered, sounding dazed and clutching his head. He left quickly, still muttering about professors who gave their students a too-heavy workload.

After checking to make sure no one was watching, Harry pulled off his cloak. He and Hermione had a good laugh, though a quiet laugh, as they didn't wish to incur the wrath of Madame Pince. "I think the spell works," Harry finally said.

"Thank you, Harry."

"Hopefully this spell helps Ron to get the idea. He's been a prat lately, but he is still our friend. I'd like to be able to spend some time with him, before…" he let his voice trail off.

Hermione smiled at him, and seemed to know that he didn't want to talk about that anymore. "So, the holidays start in another two weeks. Do you have any plans?"

"Ron and Ginny invited me for Christmas at the Burrow. Any other year, it would have been a given that I'd go, but Ron still doesn't really seem comfortable around me, and while Ginny isn't stalking me like Ron is you, it still makes her sad to see me. She hides it well, but I'd rather not make her unhappy. Plus if I stay at school, I can spend a lot more time studying and practicing, without anyone interfering. What about you?"

"I was invited to the Burrow, too, but I don't think I'll go either, especially since you won't be there. My parents were really upset last year when I left in the middle of the Christmas holidays, and then I didn't spend Easter holidays or most of summer holidays with them either. So I think I'll go home to see them."

"That sounds nice," Harry said softly. "The Weasleys are great, of course, but there are so many people at their house, and it's always so noisy and hectic. I'm sure it'll be great to have a small, quiet family Christmas."

"You know, I've told my parents all about you. They'd really like to meet you. Do you think you might want to come home with me for Christmas?"

Harry was truly grateful for the invitation, but he knew he couldn't accept. "Thank you so much for the invitation, Hermione," he said. "It really means a lot to me. But we just got Ron to stop believing we were dating, and if he found out that I went home with you, he'd probably start believing it all over again. And I really do want to use the time to study and practice, and I doubt your parents want me practicing powerful destructive curses in their living room."

Hermione laughed. "Alright. Though I wasn't just saying that about my parents wanting to meet you. They really would like to sometime."

"How about Easter holidays? Ron should be over it by then."

"Brilliant," Hermione smiled, her eyes gleaming.

When the day ended and Harry was preparing for bed, he decided that his success with the spell he'd used on Ron was a signal that he was ready to move on and study something else. He sent his mental request for a meeting to Tom, received a feeling of happy agreement, and sent his body to sleep.

"How are you progressing in your studies?" Tom asked, as soon as Harry regained awareness.

Harry knew Tom wasn't talking about his classes. "Good," he replied. "I think I've finished with the first two books."

Tom smiled at him, a heart-stopping smile that could melt stone. "Very good. Do you feel prepared for me to test your Occlumency now?"

Harry screwed up his courage. "Yes. I'm ready."

"First, the easy part. I wish for you to simply keep me out of your mind."

Harry nodded, looking into Tom's ruby eyes and steeling himself for attack. The attack came, quickly and brutally, from three fronts at once. Tom truly was a master Legilimens. But Harry's efforts had not gone to waste, and he withstood that attack, and all the attacks that followed it.

"Beautifully done, little serpent. I see you made good use of that book. Now for the more difficult test. I will be looking for the memory of our first true conversation. You will only show me memories of our confrontations before that meeting."

Without pausing, Tom began his attack. Harry repressed his instinct to defend and allowed Tom into his mind. He pulled out memories of the Philosopher's Stone, the Chamber of Secrets, the graveyard in Little Hangleton, and the Ministry of Magic, and directed Tom subtly toward these scenes. He felt Tom's presence resisting his guidance, searching further. Harry let out a few other memories, memories of feeling Tom's emotions through his scar, or seeing visions of Tom's activities. Still, Tom continued searching. Harry then pulled out memories of conversations about Tom, such as learning about what had happened in Godric's Hollow from Hagrid, reading about Lord Voldemort in the Daily Prophet, and Fudge's refusal to believe in Lord Voldemort's return. Finally, Tom pulled out of Harry's mind.

"And you pass this test, too, with flying colours. I could not find a single trace of these meetings in your memories."

"Dumbledore knows that I have become more serious about my studies," Harry said.

Tom wasn't sure what to make of this seeming non sequitur. "Yes?"

"I can't avoid meeting with him forever, nor can I completely stop looking into his eyes. While I can show him only the memories I wish for him to see, it is tiring," Harry admitted.

"You have a plan in mind." It was not a question.

"Yes. The next time he tries to look into my mind, I will pretend to be just beginning my study of Occlumency. I will keep him out of my mind for a few seconds, then pretend to be unable to block him out any further. Then, when he thinks he has broken my defences, I will show him whatever memories I choose. After that, he will probably decide to continue teaching me Occlumency himself, partly as an excuse to see what's in my head. My skills will gradually 'improve,' and eventually Dumbledore will believe that he has taught me to shield my mind completely, and will stop using Legilimency on me altogether. What do you think?"

"Why not simply keep him out from the beginning?"

"If I do that, he will believe someone must have taught me. He will want to know who it was, and he will attack full force to find out. He might even attempt to use Veritaserum on me. I believe I could block him out, regardless of how strongly he attacked, but then he would lose all trust in me, and I wouldn't be able to get any more information from him. He would keep a close watch on me, and I wouldn't be able to study and practice the spells from the Chamber library anymore. But if he believes he is teaching me, he will believe everything he sees in my mind, and will still trust me when I have 'learned' to block him out completely."

It sounded like a well thought out plan to Tom, but he would never act rashly. He told Harry as much. "I will continue attacking your mind throughout the night, to ensure that you can handle surprise attacks, and that your endurance is sufficient. If you continue to succeed at holding me back, I will allow you to go ahead with this plan."

And so the two spent the next several hours talking of largely inconsequential things, though they also discussed the theory of Parselmagic. Tom continued attacking Harry's mind every fifteen to twenty minutes, always without warning. Harry continued preventing Tom from getting to the memory or memories he was after. Tom was impressed at how well Harry was grasping the serpentine spells. Harry was the only other person on earth who Tom could discuss them with, and he greatly enjoyed their conversation. Of course, he mostly just enjoyed being able to show off his brilliance. Potter hadn't contributed much, if anything. It was just gratifying to talk about Parselmagic with someone who was at least capable of understanding what he was saying.

Finally, after one last brutal test of Harry's defences, he decided that Harry was ready to go through with the plan, and told Harry as much. "After so many attacks, I am sure you must be quite tired. You did very well tonight."

Harry beamed up at him, and Tom refused to acknowledge how that smile made him feel more cheerful himself. "What are the next two books I should study, Tom?"

Tom considered it for a moment. "First, 'Twilight Spells: An Introduction to Dark Magic.' I know you have already begun to practice Dark spells, but this book will give you a thorough grounding in the subject, a foundation to build upon, if you will. I have never found another book that was its equal in that respect, and I found it useful when I read it myself, even after practicing Dark spells for two years."

"Whatever you say, Tom. You obviously know what you're doing. What about the second book?"

Tom had a sudden stroke of brilliance. "Would you like to learn to be an Animagus?"

Harry gasped. "Really? Do you think I could?"

"It is not something you can learn immediately, but yes, I am certain that you are capable of it. There is a book titled 'Unleashing Your Totem' in the Transfiguration section that will explain how to begin the process."

"When I was in the library before, I said the name of the Parselmagic book and it just appeared. Will all of the books do that?"

Tom smirked. "The book simply appeared in front of you?"

"Er, not exactly in front of me."

"Oh?"

Harry gave a sheepish grin. "It hit me over the head."

Tom chuckled, the chuckle that always made Harry's spine melt. "The same thing happened to me on my first sojourn into the library. I quickly learned that saying the title of the book in Parseltongue will indeed bring the book to you, but it is best to be ready to catch it."

"I should be able to study these books more quickly. Christmas holidays start in two weeks, and I'll be staying at Hogwarts. Since almost no one else is, it should be easy for me to disappear."

"Excellent. Again, notify me if you have any questions, or any meetings with Dumbledore."

"I will." Harry yawned. "Goodnight, Tom."

"Goodnight, Harry."