Forget me not
Chapter IX
Overheard conversations, revealed secrets
When Harry woke up in his bed, he had a strange feeling that he didn't fall asleep in there. He vaguely remember Tom's room and fire burning in the fireplace. It seemed to him that he sat down in the armchair. Or maybe he just went to bed and ignored his practice? No, it was ridiculous. Why would he lie down in Tom's bed of all places? It must have been a really weird dream.
That explanation seemed reasonable enough, although Harry vaguely remembered that he survived a close encounter with somebody's neck.
Where do I take these ideas from?, Harry asked himself, reaching out towards the table, looking for his glasses, but his hand came across a mysterious object.
Harry raised his head and was surprised to discovered a small crystal vial standing on his nightstand. The content of it was even stranger - there was no doubt that it cointained a memory.
Is it possible that Slughorn send it?, Harry started wondering frantically.
There was no other way to find out, so Harry quickly jumped out of his bed and ran towards the headmaster's office as soon as he got ready.
Harry wondered for a moment why Tom is nowhere to be seen, but came to the conclusion that they can talk about the memory later.
"I have it!" the boy exclaimed triumphantly, running up the swirly hidden stairs.
"Harry, that's wonderful!" Dumbledore replied with a genuine smile, already sitting at his desk with some papers despite the early hour. "I also have two more memories for you."
The boy suddenly felt that maybe he shouldn't judge the headmaster so hastily - after all they wanted the same thing. They wanted to get rid of Voldemort.
"I'm glad that you're doing it all, sir," Harry said suddenly.
"For the greater good," Dumbledore smiled at him before they both dived in the Pensieve.
...
Tom, where are you, damn it?!
Tom!
Say something!
...
Harry panicked. Tom didn't answer to any summons, he wasn't in the diary too. He even checked the garden, but he hasn't found anyone in there. Harry wondered what has he done that Tom disappeared so suddenly.
His nervousness drew the attention of other students and teachers. Everything was flying out of his hands and even the simplest spells caused him troubles. When he accidentally blew up his cauldron, Slughorn asked anxiously:
"Why don't you go to the hospital wing, boy?"
Harry tried to refuse, but when a moment later he almost stabbed a knife in Hermione's hand instead of the prickly pear's root, Slughorn categorically told him to go to the infirmary.
Harry walked up the stairs slowly and lifelessly. He felt so hopeless that he doubted that Madam Pomfrey would be able to help him. He would never have suspected that he'd become so dependent of someone. Of a memory. Why should he care so much about Tom? Frankly, it began to be a little frightening.
As he passed the stairs to Gryffindor Tower, he decided to once again chceck if he didn't ovelook something. He knew that Slughorn would be furious, seeing that Harry is wandering through the corridors instead of going to the nurse, but at the moment he didn't really care.
In the familiar room Harry examined the bedside table and its surroundings, he even looked under the bed. And he found nothing. Despeir started to get hold of him.
He threw himself on the bed and felt tears come to his eyes. Not trying to stop them, Harry felt a little like a child who's toy was taken away. Perhaps his behavior was childish, but he couldn't do anything about it.
"Harry, what's wrong?" someone asked suddenly right next to his ear.
The boy looked up and saw Tom's gray and worried eyes.
"You," he could only weep and fell back on his pillow. He felt he shakes with spasmodic sobs and didn't even try to stop it. Tom hugged him and patted him gently on the head, but Harry was still crying.
"What happened?" Riddle finally asked, when he decided that the boy calmed down enough.
"I thought you left," Harry sniffed, still tugging onto Riddle's shirt. "I was with Dumbledore and when I came back, I couldn't find you.
"I was gone only for a couple of hours," Tom tried to explain himself. "I thought you won't notice, that you'll be busy with my memory."
"Your memory?" Harry finally lifted his head and looked at Tom with surprise. "But it was Slughorn's memory."
"I guess you'll never appreciate me enough," Tom snorted. "I left this memory. After all I too was present at this conversation. I was hoping for some time that you'd ask for it, but seeing you struggling with Slughorn, I decided to voluntarily give it to you."
Harry still looked unconvinced, but apparently something else came to his mind, because he said:
"I was at Dumbledore's office with that memory, but he... showed me something else," the boy began to shake again and Riddle was afraid that maybe Harry was sick. "Tom, you were so horrifying!"
After these words Harry started to cry again and Tom understood only a few words escaping his mouth:
"You came to ask for a job... so inhuman... I don't want you to... Promise me..."
"Calm down, Harry. I'm with you," he lifted the boy's face and wiped traces of tears from his cheeks. "When did you begin to worry about me so much, huh?"
"Tom, you're... real," Harry noticed suddenly. "What happened?"
Earlier, the boy hasn't noticed this obvious fact. Tom was sitting on his bed, as usual, but this time there was something new about him. Harry could bet he just touched him, and Tom smelled like the frosty winter air, coffee and caramel, like he just came out of the Honeydukes.
"I was somewhat surprised," Tom smiled a little and Harry had to admit that in this form his smile looked even better. "I suspect it's because of you. I became more real, because you were so distressed when I disappeared."
"Do you think it's possible?"
"Memories can draw strength from living people, I'm sure of it. But don't do it anymore – I was afraid that something happened to you... I immediately went back to the castle."
"And where exactly have you been?" Harry asked somehow accusingly – apparently he regained his balance.
"I was looking for the Horcruxes," Tom answered simply, although he expected what Harry's reaction will look like.
He wasn't mistaken.
"What?!" Harry yelled with anger, waving his arms violently. "You went without me?"
"We have bigger problems now," Tom mentioned lightly.
"What? You cheated on me! You think that's not a problem?"
"Be quiet for a moment and listen to me," Tom tried to calm him down. "If anyone hears you scream, they may come here and see me!"
Harry looked at him stupidly.
"How can they? I thought... Damn!"
Only now he realized that if Tom has a body others will be able to see him too. It was certainly a big problem.
"What are we going to do?" Harry began to wonder aloud.
"Oh, I can always go back to the diary or at least I think I can do it," Tom replied calmly.
Harry looked at him in surprise:
"I don't want you to go. I want you to stay here with me."
"Harry, think about what you're asking for," Tom looked worried. "Think about what you want from me."
"I want to..." Harry began, but Riddle suddenly put his hand to his lips and pointed to the stairs. Someone was on his way to the dormitory.
"My Invisibility Cloak," Harry whispered, but couldn't find it anywhere. "Where is it?"
The steps were getting closer, so Harry grabbed Tom's hand and knocked him to the ground.
"It wasn't too nice," Riddle stated .
"Don't be silly. Quickly, get under my bed, maybe they won't notice you."
"You've got to be kidding," Tom looked at him in surprise.
"I'm not. Hurry up."
"You'll regret it later," Riddle hissed angrily, sliding under Harry's bed.
...
Over the next few weeks, Harry tried to figure out a way to disguise Tom in a way to simultaneously have him around all the time. He even considered the idea of giving him some Polyjuice Potion, so he could pretend to be a another student, but Tom flatly refused, saying that no one can equal his looks. Harry had to admit Tom was right – in addition as a student Riddle would be under continuous observation of teachers who certainly were already aware something suspicious was going on in the school, remembering the not so old case of Barty Crouch Jr. The Invisibility Cloak turned out to be a better idea, though it had some drawbacks. Tom wore it all the time, but sometimes he couldn't avoid collisions with other students in the hallway or on the stairs. Besides, Harry couldn't talk to him aloud; he didn't want to look even more weird than usual.
On the other hand the Gryffindor wouldn't change the chance of being with Tom in such form for anything - he had become accustomed to his ironic observations (although he preferred to call them silly) and long - sometimes pointless - discussions. Although he still had the impression that he knows little about Tom - certainly a lot less than Tom knew about him – he was more often able to guess what mood Riddle's in and what he's actually thinking about. In recent months they have learned to live together, but it still sounded pretty strange to Harry. Even though the thought of Tom as Voldemort appeared in his mind increasingly rarer, he couldn't completely get rid of it, and in recent days an unfortunete accident reminded him of...
After Riddle miraculously materialized, they had already developed quite safe day plan which allowed them to avoid the risk of capturing Tom Marvolo Riddle himself in the School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, while allowing him to feel quite free. Of course not without obstacles, the biggest of which was probably Harry's reluctance to get up early in the morning to freely use the bathroom. For some reason Riddle insisted that Harry got up the on the break of dawn, when the bathrooms were still empty. Harry couldn't understand why exactly Tom can't get up alone allowing him to sleep, so he once asked about it - Riddle replied with his usual simplicity, it's one of the few moments when they can have a normal conversation.
Harry wasn't sure if the bathroom mornings could be called normal though - among all the words he knew, this one fitted them the least. Just three days after Tom's embodiment, when they went to the bathroom and noticed that all but one of the showers weren't working (thinking about it later Harry wasn't so sure if he should believe it was a coincidence), Tom said with a beaming smile:
"But we can shower together."
Harry didn't comment on this proposition, which was supposed to meant he would wait and Riddle could go first. His blush was indeed a sufficient commentary itself. He thanked Merlin that he didn't propose using the prefects' bathroom - he preferred not to think about what strange ideas Tom might try to carry out there.
After the morning toilet they were going down for breakfast. Or rather Harry was, walking into the Great Hall and taking some tosts from the Gryffindor table. At this time very few students would pay attention to him. If the weather was favorable, he would come outside with Tom and when it rained, they were looking for a comfortable place in the castle - it wasn't too difficult. They had only to watch out for Filch and teachers wandering around the corridors sometimes, but it wasn't that hard having the Marauders Map.
Then they went to class – but they didn't always go together, because Tom had, as he put it himself, "his own business to mind." Harry suspected it had something to do with the Horcruxes and perhaps with Malfoy too.
The latter has become a veritable trouble for Harry these days. Although he couldn't explain what really bothered him about Draco, he was sure that it was something unpleasant and possibly dangerous. Riddle ignored these remarks, lost in his own thoughts, ensuring that Harry certainly was in no danger. This continued until one afternoon...
Harry just returned from his Transmutation class. That day he didn't have any company, but he felt Tom's presence near – he was probably sitting in the library. Wanting to visit him, Harry turned to a corridor on the second floor, in order to shorten his way. Suddenly he heard a strange quiet sound coming from a short distance, as if someone was trying to muffle his sobs.
He looked around and was surprised to find that the cry comes from behind the Moaning Myrtle's bathroom door. There would be nothing strange in it coming from there, if not the fact that Harry was completely sure he heard a boy.
He peered into the bathroom and saw no one other than Draco Malfoy at the sink.
Instinct told him to leave as soon as possible, maybe even run away, quietly escaping from that place, but some strange force told him to stay and watch this unusual scene. What he saw was a tragedy, but he couldn't understand it then.
Perhaps he would even ask Malfoy if something happened, but the Slytherin boy suddenly raised his head and saw Harry's face in the mirror.
He turned quickly toward the intruder and attacked without any warning. Quietly and with persistence. Harry was shocked. When did Malfoy start to behave like this? He rather suspected him of sneering or threatening him, but not attacking.
"Are you mad?!" Harry cried, but didn't get any answer.
Someone pulled him by his arm before he could pull out his wand.
"Move back, Harry, it's none of your business."
Malfoy looked in the direction from which the voice came but didn't see anything of course. His gaze lingered on Harry for a moment and then he passed him and walked away, like a man who doesn't exactly know what was happening - as if the world around him suddenly became less real.
"What are you thinking?!" Harry pushed Riddle into the bathroom and shut the door, taking away the Invisibility Cloak. "He attacked me! How can you leave it like that?"
"Stop it, please," Tom tried to calm him somehow. "Nothing bad happened."
"Nothing happened?! Nothing?! So it would make an impression on you only if something happened?"
"You know it's not true," the boy looked at him strangely relentlessly. "If you started a fight, you'd only unnecessarily get teachers' attention. What's the point?"
"But..."
"Stop it already, Harry," Tom seemed to be tired of this conversation. "Malfoy didn't want to hurt you. I know it," he added, seeing that Harry wants to interrupt him. "Let's go out from here, okay?"
"But..." Harry said. "Oh, well," he sighed, seeing Riddle's face. "Something bothering you, right?"
There was no response – Harry wasn't hoping to get one. Instead, Tom grabbed his hand and looked at him as if he wanted to tell him many things. But he couldn't and Harry understood it.
There was something magical and elusive in this moment and Harry was silent, not wanting to destroy it.
"It's you!" a raised voice brought Harry back from his reverie and he remembered where he was.
Moaning Myrtle was floating above the water flooded floor, pointing her trembling finger at Tom. Her face showed fear and something else, as if she caught a criminal red-handed.
Harry was afraid - they had to flee immediately from here before Myrtle would make a noise. Tom should hide in the diary. And if somebody asks him who was that man with whom he walked around the castle? And what he did with him in the bathroom? Maybe he'll have to run away from the school? He had to protect Tom at all costs - that was all that mattered.
"Come on, quickly," he pulled Riddle's sleeve, but the other boy didn't move. "Tom, we need to go."
He looked up and was surprised to see Riddle stare at Moaning Myrtle's almost as intensively as she was looking at him. Tom seemed appalled in some way by what he saw and Harry understood less and less of it.
Riddle suddenly came back to his senses and without a word went out into the hallway, pulling Harry behind. They walked almost the entire corridor before Harry realized that he's still holding the Invisibility Cloak in his hands. He forced Tom to stop for a moment. As always they had a lot of luck - no one was wandering on the second floor, for what Harry thanked Merlin - what would he do if they suddenly ran into Snape or Dumbledore?
He glanced up at Tom's face. The boy looked strangely agitated and this time Harry had to know why.
"What..." he began.
"Don't ask," Riddle cut him out sharply.
"But... What?!" Harry had enough of these weird mood changes. "What do you think? You think you can just get rid of me like that? Imagine that I'm really worried. If you don't tell me what..."
"You are worried?" Riddle seemed amused, but it was an alarming, mad kind of amusement.
"What's going on?"
"But why should you be worried?!" Tom didn't pay any attention to his words. "What is there to worry about? It's just... It's just..." he laughed hysterically. "It's just the first person I murdered."
He laughed, still covering his mouth with his hand, as if to hide the demonic grimace.
Harry looked at him, not understanding. What person? And why was Tom behaving so strangely? He was different than usual - he was horrifying. Harry felt a cold shiver of terror run along the back of his neck. He barely mastered the desire to escape.
But... Tom couldn't have meant Moaning Myrtle? When did she actually die? Harry associated ghosts with people dead a long time ago, before he or Tom were even born. Besides, Riddle couldn't kill her - he still went to school when he created the diary, he wasn't even seventeen years old at that time, he couldn't be a murderer. However... Harry felt that a very important thought has escaped his memory – something he should know, but he forgot.
And then it hit him.
He looked back at Tom, who has almost stopped laughing and stared at Harry with madness in his eyes. He has seen this sight before...
"The Chamber of Secrets has been opened. Enemies of the heir beware," Harry didn't know why he said it, but he was sure they were in trouble.
AN: Wow, what will Harry do about his old dear friend Voldemort appearing so suddenly? I know it already, but you can try to guess before the next chapter is up. Thank you so much for keeping up with this story and special thanks for the guests leaving reviews!