Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, nor am I making any profit from writing this. It's actually pulling me away from the non-fanfiction writing that I'm supposed to be doing, so take that for what it is.
Author's Note: Exams are over and I can relax for about twelve hours before being shoved into another ring of the circus that my life has apparently turned into. Anyway, Merry Christmas/Hannukah/Kwanzaa/other holidays to you all.
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Chapter 10: Vier
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"Why are you only just emerging when it's well after mid-day? And have you started the process of declaring an official side in the war yet?" Bull asked as Harry walked down the stairs, yawning and absently scratching the back of his head.
"No, and I'm not thinking about that shit until I absolutely have to," the young man said irritably, sending a rude gesture in the direction of the anaconda and deliberately ignoring the snake's first question. "Besides, the supposed Dark Lord didn't answer all of the questions that I asked him. I'm not going to declare my allegiance until he answers all the questions," he said.
"He's not going to like that, you know," Bull said with as much of a smirk as a snake could offer. "This Dark Lord of yours."
Aviva moved quickly into the room. "Better my child not bow to this Lord, Bull, and you know it," she hissed, twining herself around Harry's upper body. "Do not submit to the man, child, and that will make my job of watching over you just so much easier."
"Your concern is overwhelming," Harry said with a slight smile as he looked around the shop. The snakes had apparently fully recovered from any suffering they'd gone through during the unwelcome intrusion and were all lounging around, many of them in the midst of various conversations with one another. "He's probably going to be coming back today."
Bull looked over at him. "He's probably going to show back up within the next hour, child," he said. "I somehow doubt that Dark Lords are known for their patience, and I find it almost remarkable that he didn't show up while you were asleep."
Harry scowled, but walked into the back office and looked over the few messages that had been delivered over the night. Nothing too urgent caught his attention, and he frowned - he'd been hoping for a distraction from the things he'd learned the afternoon before. No such luck. He then moved onto the few remaining assignments that he had for Tobias, hoping for a distraction there, but there was no such luck. With a growl, he fell back into the black leather armchair next to the desk.
"Fuck," he hissed, looking down at Aviva. "He's going to ask about you, you know. About us, I suppose, and about your eyes."
"All the more reason for you not to bow to him," she replied almost primly before moving onto the desk to bask in the sunlight pouring in through the open window. "Do not answer any of his questions until you are satisfied with his answers."
"I hadn't planned on bowing to anyone, Aviva," he replied, leaning back in his chair and closing his eyes.
...
A chime sounded and someone walked into the front of the shop.
"Come back tomorrow!" Harry called, standing up in case whoever it was didn't go away. "We're closed!"
"I'm sure you are," Tom called back. "It's best if the shop stays that way for the remainder of the day, as well." He walked into the back office. "I believe you still have questions requiring answers."
Bull followed Tom into the room, his mood noticeably lightened. "Make this entertaining for us, would you?" he asked, looking over at Harry.
The young man glared at the anaconda, ignoring Tom's inspection of him as he did so. "What are you doing here?" Harry asked, not looking away from the anaconda.
"I informed you at the end of our conversation yesterday that I would return, did I not?" Tom asked.
Harry glared at him. "Get out."
"I beg your pardon?"
"You heard me clear enough. Get out," Harry snapped, and all the lights in the shop suddenly cracked and exploded, eliciting a number of curses from the snakes that had been basking under the lights. "I don't want you inside this shop!"
Tom smirked. "I had wondered why you were so composed yesterday," he commented, completely unaffected by the sudden spike of magic. "It is rather unnerving when you inform someone that you killed their parents and receive no reaction, especially someone as young as yourself."
"I'm not upset about that because I don't remember my parents," Harry snapped.
Tom remained silent, simply watching the young man.
"I've had a better life here than I could have had anywhere else, and I'm incredibly tempted to have you bitten by a basilisk."
"And here I thought you weren't upset," Tom said gently. "What has you angry?"
Harry glared at him. "What has me angry is the fact that it's your fault I spent the first six years of my life being treated like total shit by people who constantly told me that I'd be better off dead!" he yelled. His hands clenched into fists, and he forced himself not to hit the older man, but Harry seemed completely oblivious to the grey cloud seeping out of him as he lost his self-control. "Four ribs, both my arms, and a leg broken before I learned how to speak in English!" he yelled, this time swinging a fist at Tom's jaw.
Tom's eyes narrowed, but he caught the first without flinching. "You will refrain from striking me," he said calmly.
That reaction had Harry dumbstruck. "How can you be so calm about this?"
"You grew up in a house full of venomous snakes," Tom replied. "You have clearly picked up some of their tendencies, and I do not particularly feel like being bitten this morning."
Harry smirked a bit. "I'm not going bite you," he said coldly.
Aviva turned her head over toward the two of them. "Child, you merely need to give the word and I'll do it for you myself," she hissed lazily.
"You'll forgive me if I don't take your word for it," Tom said, looking pointedly over at Aviva. "Have you given any thought to what we discussed yesterday?"
"I couldn't stop thinking about that," Harry said irritably, pulling his hand out of Tom's hold and stepping away from the man.
"And your thoughts?"
"You didn't answer all of my questions."
"No, I suppose I didn't," he said. "Would you like to go somewhere that we can finish that conversation?"
Harry watched Tom for a long moment before motioning at the stairs just behind the older man. "We can go back up where we talked yesterday, I guess," he said.
Tom nodded. "After you."
Harry shook his head. "I have to put the wards back up so that no one can interrupt our conversation," he said.
...
"What questions did I not answer?" Tom asked, making himself comfortable on the couch. He watched amusedly as three snakes immediately moved closer to him.
"Why did you go into limbo after attacking me?" Harry asked.
"I don't recall that being one of the questions yesterday," Tom replied as he watched Harry follow him into the sitting room.
Harry glared at him before taking a seat in the armchair across from the couch. "I'd tell you to indulge me, but I don't suppose Dark Lords take orders all that well," he said as Aviva moved into his lap. He didn't look away from her as he started petting her head.
Tom smirked. "You will do well with the proper training," he said.
"Limbo," Harry said coldly.
"After I killed your parents, I attempted to kill you," Tom said rather nonchalantly. "That action had an unforeseen consequence." He hesitated for a long moment.
Harry looked over at the older man. "What sort of consequence?" he asked, though his tone lightened a bit.
"I was stripped of my body, and I found myself drifting somewhere between dead and alive," Tom said. He glanced over at Aviva. "Certain circumstances allowed me to get my hands on one of the last surviving Sorcerer's Stones about six years ago."
"And you used that stone to get your body back?" Harry asked.
Tom said nothing for a moment. "I used a ritual that worked as something of a trade: my body was returned to me and the Stone was destroyed," he said. He shifted a bit in his seat before looking over at Harry with a blank expression on his face. "What other questions did I not address?" he asked.
Harry stared at Tom. His hands fell still.
Aviva flicked her tongue out in Tom's direction. "I, for one, would like to know why the supposed Dark Lord is being so willing to subject himself to an interrogation with my child," she hissed before nudging Harry's hands with her head, prompting him to start petting her again.
Tom glanced down at her but said nothing.
"How does the Longbottom person figure into whatever your grand scheme is?" Harry asked suddenly.
"Hmm?"
"When you stayed for lunch with Cain, you mentioned that you were looking for a way to kill Longbottom. If he's not a part of the prophecy, then why are you still trying to kill him?" Harry asked.
Tom leaned back in the sofa and smirked a bit. "The boy has gotten in my way one time too many," he said. "Which, among itself is not a mistake punishable by death, but he is widely considered the guiding light of the supposedly secret group fighting against me. Eliminating Longbottom will not only make my life so much easier, but it will deliver a crushing blow to my enemies that will allow me to make the final moves to secure my victory," he added.
"So you're willing to kill someone for a political reason?" Harry asked curiously.
Tom shrugged slightly. "I've done it before and I have no qualms about doing so again, as long as the motivations are beneficial to me," he said. "One does not, after all, become a Dark Lord with clean hands and conscience."
Harry fell silent, choosing instead to just watch the older man for a long moment. "And how does having your match with you figure into all of this?"
Tom looked over at Harry. "That, Harry, is the one thing that I refuse to speak about until we are safe behind the walls and wards of my home," he said. "You may believe your courtyard to be safe, but I am not willing to take any chances." He straightened himself a bit. "Now, am I correct in my assumptions that you are able to communicate with the snakes in this shop?" he asked.
Harry glanced down at Aviva. "It would certainly make working here less dangerous if I possessed an ability like that," he said. "But I don't communicate with the snakes any more than any other person who comes into the shop."
Tom's lips thinned and he hummed quietly, clearly unsatisfied with Harry's answer.
A calm silence enveloped the two of them for a brief moment before Harry looked back over at Tom.
"Why does a Dark Lord have so much spare time on his hands?" he asked suddenly.
"I can do nothing more to influence the plans that I currently have in motion, and a large portion of my followers are still under the impression that I am dead," Tom said. "It is not a coincidence that only my most loyal followers are aware of the fact that I am no longer in limbo," he added.
"You had traitors?" Harry asked, quick to pick up on what was left unsaid.
Tom nodded. "Far too many for my comfort, and I am much less willing to take risks this time around," he said.
"Isn't one traitor too many?" Harry asked.
Tom smirked. "Far too many," he said almost cryptically.
"And the plans that you have in motion are either too important or too far along for you to risk someone coming in and screwing them up," Harry said quietly.
"Again, I'm impressed."
"But how have you been able to stay so hidden for six years?" Harry asked.
"Because the people who think they can kill me are all under the impression that I am no longer among the living." Tom paused. "There is one man who fancies himself my greatest enemy, though. He is the only one who remembers my name when I was a child, and he is the only one who poses a serious threat to me," he said. "However, he is under the incredibly fortunate assumption that I abhor my name enough that I will never use it again."
"Your name?"
"There is deliberate reason that my alias is Thomas Gamine," he said.
Harry grinned slightly. "You're taunting the man?"
"People tend to underestimate the enjoyment found in rather petty torment," Tom said. "And this man likes to fancy himself invincible, which makes this all just that much more satisfying. Would you like to join me for something to eat?" he asked.
"We could head to Pepper's, if you'd like," Harry suggested.
Tom shook his head. "I was thinking of something a bit more intimate," he said quietly. "Would you care to join me at my manor for lunch?" he asked.
Harry hesitated a moment. His hands paused in petting Aviva before resuming, though the slight trembling in his hands did not go unnoticed.
"You are afraid of me?" Tom asked.
Harry shook his head, looking down at the basilisk in his lap.
"And yet your hands tremble," Tom said. "I have already told you that I will not have your blood on my hands."
"There are plenty of ways to hurt someone without necessarily drawing blood," Harry said. "And I don't trust you."
Tom smiled slightly. "I have missed that sense of blunt honesty," he said. "My followers know better than to speak so freely to me."
Harry just watched Tom for a moment.
"You have, though, taken a number of liberties with me, and that does not go without charge," Tom said. "You will owe me something for that," he added quietly.
"And how will you make me pay?"
"I haven't yet decided," Tom said. "If I give you my word that you will come to no harm, would you be interested in joining me for lunch in my manor?" he asked.
Harry hesitated for a long moment. "As long as I get your word, I suppose I could," he said quietly.
Tom smirked and held up his hand. "Fantastic," he said. "Now, I give you my word as a Dark Lord that you will come to no harm this afternoon if you join me for lunch." A black snake, constructed entirely of shadows, drifted out of the palm of his hand and wrapped itself around Harry's neck before dissolving back into thin air. "Are you satisfied?" he asked.
"Not really," Harry said. "But I'm not going to ask any more of you than I already have," he added when he noticed Tom's eyes narrow slightly.
"I very much doubt that," Tom said quietly before standing up.
"Aviva can come with us, can't she?" Harry asked, standing up and looking over at Thomas. "I somehow doubt that the two of you would allow yourselves to be separated," he said before offering his hand to Harry.
Harry made sure that Aviva was wrapped securely around his torso before looking at the hand offered to him. "Why?"
"Because even if you manage to Apparate into my manor, the wards I have in place will tear you to shreds," Tom said with a barely there smirk.
Harry glanced over at the staircase before reaching out and taking hold of Tom's hand.
The two of them disappeared with a nearly inaudible 'pop'.