Author's Note: Chapter 12 is finally here everyone. I got myself a tablet just to type this on my bed because my previous one died - bloated and the screen snapped in half XD.


Harry always thought the Hat had a grudge on him because he insisted anything but Slytherin in his first life but misleading him that he could be with Tom was preposterous.

He resisted the urge to throw the hat down and stomp on it. Instead, he gave it to Dumbledore who was smiling kindly and began his slow measured steps towards the house. Looking down on his uniform, it already changed to reflect the Ravenclaw badge.

The applause was polite and he forced a smile as he was welcomed by yearmates. They were all very curious at who he was but his mind was elsewhere.

"Come, sit here." A fellow first year patted next to her. She had freckles and Harry was briefly reminded of Hermione with their similar features. She had darker brown hair and that was more wavy than bushy and it was shoulder length.

"I'm Emily Watson."

Harry blinked, "I'm Harry Selwyn."

"Selwyn? Haven't seen one in ages," A boy said and introduced himself, "I'm Felix Greengrass."

They called out a few more names until everyone was finally sorted. The headmaster introduced himself as an approachable but no nonsense man who would not tolerate misconduct. Harry hoped misconduct didn't give the professors the right to corporal punishment but somehow the answering chuckle in his head meant otherwise.

Harry listened to the idle conversations and smiled as he saw Tom conversing with Abraxas. It seemed funny that the two would be civil with each other, despite the other boy's earlier reservation about Tom's blood status. He can't help but worry. He hoped Tom would do fine. In his head he knew he would do well because eventually, just like the Voldemort in his head, Tom would lord over his Slytherin year mates.

Tom eventually glanced at him, and from across the table Tom just smiled and shook his head.

Harry furrowed his brow, what did that even mean? Tom then began to resume his idle talk and Harry felt rejected.

Harry just felt forlorn even when the feast arrived. He started haphazardly piling food on his plate and tried to accept the fact that he and Tom would be in separate houses for the next seven years. Having known the chances were one to four, he was already prepared that he would be away from Tom but it would take some time getting used to. It was not like he missed him, not at all. They were still in the same castle at the very least. It just felt, different? Tom was a constant in his life. They were roommates in the orphanage and no matter where he went, Tom always followed.

When did he become so attached to the other boy anyway?


"First years, follow me. I am Septimus Weasley, glad to meet you. I am the Head Boy from the Ravenclaw house. These next to me are Nathan Burnsyby and Samantha Hillock, prefects. We're the ones that help the headmaster maintain peace and order in Hogwarts. If ever you have questions, you may come to us or seek the head of the house but for now I will have you follow me," a handsome boy said and flashed a rather charming smile causing the girls next to him swoon.

Harry sighed internally and followed them. Septimus Weasley, he thought in his head. He definitely looked like a Weasley, with ginger hair. He had soft eyes and chiseled features, making him look very approachable. He was probably Ron's grandfather for all he knew.

He was… home.

Harry breathed in the air again. To the young boy in him, there was excitement and relief. He always felt safe in the castle walls. Seeing the magic all around him made him feel the nostalgia.

"We have curfew at ten. If you must stay out longer than that, you must seek permission from the head of the house. While Hogwarts is magical and everyone in this castle will try their best to protect you, it is still dangerous to be out late at night."

Harry memorized the steps. It was a long walk from the Great Hall. "Tired? Don't be. It's good exercise… but I have good news. We're finally where we have to be."

They kept walking until and watched with interest as they stopped before a door on the fifth floor.

"Now, this little firsties, is the door to our common room," Septimus gestured to a door that had no handles. It towered above them, and Harry could feel its sentience.

"The Ravenclaw house is known for its intellect and thus, instead of a password, we have a riddle. Anyone who can solve the riddle may enter the room. Those of you who cannot will simply have to wait until someone else solves it."

Harry bit his lip before asking a question, "What if you can't solve the riddle and no one else comes by to help with it?"

"Ah, good question. You may have to wait for awhile. The door will usually alert those inside if a student has been waiting for too long."

Someone asked, "what is too long?"

"Perhaps an hour or two?"

There were a few shocked gasps and whispers.

"Don't worry. The riddles should be easy enough to solve. How about we give it a go?"

They came closer to the door and a voice spoke, "After booming and zapping is when I emerge, to bring you bright dazzling beauty when I diverge. Some say that I hide enormous wealth, but those riches have been hidden by a band of merry green. What am I?"

"A leprechaun..." came unsurely from a boy at the back.

The door remained shut. Murmurs followed.

"Oh… Oh I know! A rainbow!?" Emily excitedly said.

The door swung open. They slowly stepped inside and they were led to a large room with large windows. There was a slightly cold breeze that came wafting in, while a warm fireplace lit one side of the room in blue light.

There were constellations in the enchanted ceiling, comfortable blue couches, and a maelstrom of books scattered and floating around. On one alcove, there was a white statute appearing to watch over them and ceiling high stacks of books surrounding her. It could be the statue of Rowena Ravenclaw herself. The older years looked up to greet them.

It didn't feel as blaringly red as the Gryffindor common room. It felt very relaxing and it made him feel rather sleepy.

"Now, before you go to your rooms, I will have to explain a few things. As you may know, there is an ongoing feud between the Gryffindor and Slytherin house. We do not and will not be part of that. The Ravenclaw house is neutral and will remain so. Rowena Ravenclaw has never encouraged fighting between other houses, academic rivalries aside. Does everyone agree with this?"

As eleven year olds, it was easy to understand the logic. It was sensible but it was strict. They all naturally agreed.

"You may know this already, but at the end of the year, the house with the most points is awarded the house cup. Take every opportunity to get those points. However, do not forget that our goal is to pursue knowledge. You only have seven years in Hogwarts. Make full use of it," Septimus said this in all seriousness. He broke into a grin and bowed ushering them to a set of stairs.

"Girls, follow Samantha to your rooms. Young lads, shall I lead you to yours?"

Harry sort of felt like Septimus was a blend of the twins with Charlie's handsome looks.

Their trunks were outside four rooms. "You each get a room to yourself. Pick and your belongings will be transported within."

The rooms faced different directions, and they all had spectacular views. To Harry, it did not matter which one he picked so he just pointed randomly to the right, closest to the staircase leading to the common room.

He slept.


By midnight, Harry found himself awake, staring at raven outside his window which was trying to peck at his window.

He slept very little. He wasn't used to the bed, the room and the silence.

A perfect opportunity don't you think?

Harry just wanted to go back to sleep, feeling exhausted. It was very nostalgic to be back in Hogwarts again, but all he really wanted was to rest.

'What makes you think so?'

Think, Harry. You have a room to yourself. You are part of the Ravenclaw house. You're away from… my younger self. You are… how should I put it? You're alone here. You should be happy.

'Happy? Is this you trying to cheer me up?'

There is hardly any point in sulking. It will not change the fact that you are here. Why not do other things? See, the bird wants to play. You should play with it, Harry.

Harry considered the parasite's words before frowning at the raven which was still pecking and scratching his window. He sighed and raised a hand, opening the latch. The window slowly opened together with a gust of wind.

Venus woke up, feeling an intruder. The owl flexed her wings in silence.

The raven cawed and landed on his table. It stared at him with black beady eye. It flew and sat next to him, tilting its head, hear and there.

Venus hooted loudly at this, clearly annoyed. Harry opened her cage and laughed when she immediately went for the kill.

With a mad flap of wings, the raven tried to escape and there was a short fight where black wings scattered around until Harry had enough.

It only took one spike of annoyance from the resident in his head and with one wave of his hand, the raven was dead. It fell flat on his lap.

Harry felt a little guilty at this. "You should go out and hunt, Venus. I'll be fine here. Leave this one to me. It's not for you."

The pretty white owl cooed at him, quite suspiciously, before flying out the window.

I do not understand why you still feel guilt over killing a random bird. You eat meat. You eat plants. That is daily murder in order to feed you.

"I know that, and I know where you're coming from. I'm still not used to it nor will I ever fully support the ease of which I can do this. If you've ever played a game, this is what they call the cheat."

Harry sat up, and began petting the bird, wondering why it was attracted to him in the first place and why Voldemort insists he practice necromancy.

The silence was killing him, and there was a dead bird on his lap. He nervously tried to arrange it in a more peaceful form, not with its wings and claws outstretched and attempting to fight an invisible foe. He took care to smooth the feathers.

"It bothers me a lot that I'm not with Tom. I can't help but worry if he's being treated well… in Slytherin?"

Then why don't you talk to him tomorrow?

"I… know. I know that I can just see him tomorrow… To be honest, everything would have been fine except for Gryffindor."

Harry raised a hand and watched the raven float. This was the twelfth creature he had to murder. And then, he'll have to learn how to desecrate the remains of people and see whether or not resurrecting dead people turned them into inferis or restored their thinking capacity.

What is so bad about being here that you can't sleep.

"Oh Merlin, you know why. I'm fucking alone. With you... for two years… until you get your body back."

Harry pet the dead bird on his chest, and willed it to live.

It slowly woke up, had a seizure which turned into slow stretching. Then, it stood up, and languidly behaved as it was before. It began pressing up to him and he could feel its adoration. It was his magic that revived it, so it made all sense that it would automatically adore him.

Harry instantly felt sleepier. The raven had hazy green black eyes. It was almost impossible to know it just recently died when it began flying around.

Would you rather I disappear?

"No… I don't think that's even possible."

Harry hummed watched the bird fly out of his room, as if nothing happened.

"You need me, and you'll be too bored to remain quiet. You'll be out of my hair in two years… I should try to be civil to you. I've been trying to convince myself of that."

Sleep, Harry. There is no use in worrying.

Harry was out like a light.


Morning was filled with excited children trying to navigate back to the great hall. Harry already knew the way, having spent seven years of his former life in the same castle halls.

He marvelled at how timeless Hogwarts was and took special care to familiarize himself with the moving staircase, the enchanted portraits and the names and faces of his yearmates.

He was one of the early ones it seemed and as he was eating a toast, his timetable flew in front of him. Harry found himself adjusting his glasses as he read through it. He looked around and saw that Tom wasn't having breakfast.


The Charms classroom was empty. As one of the first students to arrive, he had a pick of where to sit. There was a warm breeze by the window and it was calling out to him. Before long, he was already napping, his body trying to recover some of the lost sleep.

It was times like this that he realized that he was still lucky. He could afford to enjoy a nice breeze despite the turmoil in his head. Then, a hand held his and a pleasant feeling of comfort surged.

"Harry," came a murmur to his ear.

"Tom, you weren't at breakfast this morning." Harry acknowledged and turned his head to eye his best friend who looked impeccable as ever.

Tom scowled and said, "I had to deal with idiots."

Harry felt alarm bells ringing in his head, "Idiots? What's wrong?"

Tom smiled sweetly, "Don't worry. They've been dealt with. How is Ravenclaw? Did you sleep well?"

Harry perked up at this and said, "I'm not supposed to tell you this but" Harry smirked and started hissing very quietly, "The Ravenclaw common room is nice and airy. You'll need to solve a riddle before you can enter the room. I have my own room to myself…"

"The Slytherin common room is in the dungeons. We have our own rooms, with an underground view of the lake."

Harry tried to recall what it looked like and from what he remembered from his past explorations and the stories of his son, it was a pretty neat place. All dark and cozy.

The door opened with a bang and the other students came rushing in. Excited chatter came from a couple of Ravenclaw students and Emily tapped his back.

"Harry! Oh, we were looking for you. We thought you got lost."

"Who's this?" The boy, someone named Felix asked.

"My name's Tom. And you are?"

"Emily, and this is Felix." She turned to Harry and asked, "You know each other?"

"He's my best friend," Tom put on a mask even though he was clearly irritated. "It'd be best if you keep an eye on Harry for me. He gets into so much trouble."

"Sure." Emily replied.

"Hey! You didn't have to say that."

"You can leave him to us!" Emily declared.

He's jealous.

Harry tried not to laugh.

Abraxas soon sat next to Tom Riddle, nodding at Harry. Orion waved and began setting up his quill, ink and paper on the table.


Charms was taught by a middle aged woman in mourning clothes. She wore a black lacy dress, had her mouth covered and a pointy hat with a veil completely shielded her face.

Harry was leafing through the book in boredom until she called his attention.

"Mr. Selwyn, since you are so busy reading to pay attention to me then I assume you already know what the lesson is. Care to demonstrate how to levitate this quill I'm holding?"

Harry took out his wand muttered quietly, "Wingardium Leviosa."

"Marvellous! Fifteen points to Ravenclaw."

Harry was glad until she spoke again. "Alright, to those of you who were listening, what Mr. Selwyn demonstrated is the levitation charm. You merely need to swish and flick your wand. We will not be tackling this for now, but in four weeks time, I expect you to be able to lift a feather in the air just as Mr. Selwyn just did."

She gave Harry a teasing smile.

"Now, as I was saying, Charms is a very important branch of magic that is fundamental to being a witch or a wizard. Hogwarts will not function without charms. Brooms will not fly, your baths will not stay hot, Mr. Selwyn would not have been able to levitate my quill. You can put that down now."

"Oh, sorry."

Harry put it down next to her desk and she perked up, "Such impressive control. You must be a natural."

Harry found himself blushing. Tom scribbled on a piece of paper and it flew to Harry's desk.

Pay attention

'Yes mother.' Harry grumbled in his head.

"The secret to charms is wand movement and intonation. Most charms do not require an impressive amount of magic, however the more complex ones do. A lot of thought has been given to creating these simplified spells, or charms as you put it. If not, we'd be memorizing endless lines of dead languages. We are all quite blessed and cursed for this."

She paced back and forth, her long silver black hair swishing behind her.

"As you may know, there are seven types of spells. You will be learning them across your years in Hogwarts. Can someone tell me what they are?"

Abraxas raised his hand first and she motioned for him to speak, "There is Charms and Transfiguration. We also have Hexes, Curses and Jinxes. Then, there are counter spells and healing spells."

"10 points to Slytherin." She clapped her hands and continued, "Hexes, curses and jinxes. Mr. Malfoy grouped them together which is pretty clever. They are essentially spells that can harm people. Counter spells and healing spells… from the name itself, I believe you know what it does… and now that leaves us with Transfiguration and Charms. What is the difference?"

Tom raised his hand, and when given the chance to speak, his voice was confident, "Transfiguration changes an item, while a charm does not."

"Truly wonderful, another 10 points to Slytherin. Anything that does not change the inherent property of an object is a charm. It is sometimes difficult to tell the difference at times. If I attach wings to a shoe and give it the capacity to fly, then it is still essentially a charm, because the shoe itself hasn't changed. However, if I gave the shoe bird wings which then allowed it to fly, then… that is transfiguration."

She swished her wand and all of a sudden the room is plunged in darkness. Everyone gasped. "Lumos." The light at the tip of her wand illuminated the room, and they saw butterflies that weren't there before, glowing in the dark and fluttering about. "Isn't it strange that we are all instinctively afraid of the dark, for we cannot see…."

She turned bitter at this. "Magic is a gift, and it is up to us how we use it. You may use it to cause joy or harm people. To those of you who were not born and raised with magic… charms might seem the easiest out of all seven but do not get ahead of yourselves and use spells beyond your capacity. There have been times when a student died due to improper spell casting."

Emily gasped at this.

"That is the reality of things. Death comes for us all but I'd rather we use our brains for easily preventable tragedies."

She then started laughing, waving patterns in the air with her wand, as if she was performing a show. Ribbons of gold, silver, and blue flew from her wand.

"Pretty, isn't it?" The children left appreciative murmurs. "If used properly, you will be capable of doing marvelous things. Doing this will become," She waved her wand, and stars twinkled above the room, "child's play."

The professor clapped once. "Today is your first day, and I believe you kids are still tired from yesterday so I will leave you with a simple assignment. Read the introduction and the first chapter of the book. I want you to learn three charms. Find a partner, and you must list ten uses for each of those charms."

Then, the darkness slowly dissipated as light entered the windows. The doors opened and many excited whispers followed.

That was Harry's first meeting of Selena Lovegood, the Head of the Ravenclaw house.


He walked with Tom beside him. "Herbology is up next," Harry said cheerfully.

"I like Professor Lovegood. She's so dark and mysterious," Orion sighed dreamily.

"You're lucky you've got her in your house. Rumor has it, she has seer blood as well," Abraxas offered.

"What's a seer?" Emily asked.

"Ah, Mudblood. You wouldn't know," Abraxas looked at the girl with distaste as if she was dirt beneath his boots.

"Forgive him," Orion begins to pull Abraxas aside and lecture him of his foul mouth.

Harry turns to Emily who looked bewildered and hurt at the same time. She knew that she'd just been insulted.

"A seer, is one that has the gift to foresee the future," Tom offered. "Abraxas, you should apologize to her."

Abraxas flinched at this, and was about to say no when Orion pinched his arm, "Sorry."


In a span of a few days, a strange new group has been formed between Abraxas, Orion, Tom, Harry, Emily and Felix.

Abraxas sometimes hanged out with the other Slytherins who clearly saw him as their leader, but often times he would accompany Orion who was both fond of Tom and Harry. Orion was the most cheerful of the bunch, always trying to crack jokes. It reminded him too much of Sirius especially when he became too playful, playing pranks on people.

Emily has a crush on Harry and while Tom clearly disliked her, she was useful in a sense that she was like Hermione. She happened to have random pieces of information that she's more than willing to share. Although a bit less bookish, she was still smart and more sociable. She was the bridge between the rest of the Ravenclaw house that Harry needed otherwise he would turn into a social outcast. He tended to avoid the rest of them because he could not tolerate their chatter. It did not help that Voldemort would think up ways to torture and kill them when he got too bored.

Emily was kind, but vindictive. Ever since Abraxas implied her lack of knowledge was because she was a mudblood, she took it upon herself to learn more about Wizarding World than he did. The two never talked and was rarely civil. Harry was fine with that as long as his friend wasn't getting verbally abused.

Felix was a quiet boy who just happened to be the first friend Emily made when she was in the train. Felix, he found was a good listener and was unusually perceptive. He was from the Greengrass family.

One night, they had a conversation about how it was difficult to fit in, and Harry shared that he might have fared better if he was sorted in Slytherin. Felix agreed, saying his family expected the same. Dark pureblood families who go to Hogwarts usually get sorted straight to Slytherin, and he was ashamed to be sorted in Ravenclaw. He avoided talking to his parents for days because he was scared of their reaction.

At this Harry laughed and convinced Felix to send a letter to his parents saying if they loved him, they should hardly care where he got sorted.

The six of them formed a study group, but it was mostly just an excuse to hang out with Tom who was quickly gaining infamy as being the most talented in their year. Harry himself was not far behind, considering he already knew the subject matter and had a parasite in his head that was more than happy to supply answers that he himself didn't know.

At night, he was busy scouring the library for books about necromancy and soul bonds, but knowledge like that was hard to find. He relied on Voldemort as his second pair of senses, so thus far, his nightly rituals have never been caught.

In the privacy of his room, he began delving into experiments of how his powers can be used. He learned a few things, that with practice, killing and reviving became second nature, and was rather easy to commit and demanded less concentration on his part. Those with magic resisted it, so he was not in any danger of killing his classmates out of annoyance… but smaller beings without magic could become victims of his temper.

So he tried his best to keep his emotions under control. He knew he had to keep it under control when a plant he had been grooming in herbology briefly wilted before returning to its former bloom.


Sleep provided him no rest because Voldemort sometimes kept him up. At the moment, they were in a garden by the lake sipping tea of all things.

"This will essentially be a modified resurrection ritual. It will require no foe, however I will need something from a relative. I have pondered on the necessity of this, but my body must be as close as it is to the original. I will need a vial of blood from Tom, the bones of my father, a homunculus or a body that closely resembles me. The body must be weakened or with your powers of necromancy, it must be someone who just recently died."

Harry sighed and drank his tea. "Is that vial of blood necessary? I'd rather not harm him."

"Essentially, I will need only three drops, but considering your lack of knowledge of this ritual, there is a chance that we will fail."

Harry shook his head. "It would be easy enough to get Tom's blood. I doubt that we'll fail. You're the one guiding me. I watched the ritual and it didn't seem that difficult."

Voldemort laughed, and it was disconcerting to see he was an exact replica of Tom. "A potion must be brewed prior to that, runes need to be etched and the ritual can be only done at certain parts of the year when magic is strong."

Harry groaned. "Okay, I get it. It's a difficult ritual, but I still don't agree to taking more than necessary. You didn't even need it before. I saw how it happened, back in fourth year." Harry imitated Peter's voice "Bone of the father unknowingly given..."

"Stop it, Harry. If I had the option to, I would have done the same. Tom is in essence, another form of me. He is the exact replica of what my body used to be."

Harry drank through his cup and said again, "No more than three drops of blood." He would not budge on this.

"Have it your way. If we fail, then you will have to take it again."

Harry nodded wholly convinced that they have no chance of failing.

Voldemort smirked, "Now, would you prefer to learn how to create a homunculus or will we go with a body?"

Harry opened his mouth and closed it. He cleared his throat and asked, "How difficult is it to create a homunculus?"

"Not that difficult, however, it will require essences of a human as well and a bit of clay."

"A homunculus then."

At this, Voldemort leered, "Are you sure, Harry? There are peculiar essences needed. Hair, skin, blood, saliva, sweat, tears and semen."

Harry blinked and had the urge to suddenly move farther away from the older man, "Whose?" His voice asked, shakily.

"It doesn't matter whose, but knowing your propensity for self sacrifice, you will be using yours." Voldemort drawled, and Harry felt his cheeks heat up.

Harry was immediately jolted awake when he found himself casting a spell.

What he could see of his bedroom turned into a mass of light and colors. He tried moving his hands and saw a mass of green intertwined with black.

What you are seeing right now is a vague representation of magic and souls. This is our problem. Our souls have melded. Do you know how to sever this, Harry?

Harry marvelled at it, flexing his fingers and attempting to cast a spell.

'You're the expert at soul magic, but I might have an idea of how it has to be done… The same way you made horcruxes?'

Good boy.

There was an evident satisfaction from Voldemort. Harry rolled his eyes at this. The spell that allowed them to see souls cancelled and Harry felt very exhausted. He could see the light from the window so it was almost morning again. He'll need to visit the infirmary for pepper up potions or he'll probably fall dead to his feet.

It has been proven that the act of killing creates ruptures in the soul which will make it easier to sever the connection. You, however, are a necromancer and it should be easy enough to sever souls without killing a vessel. The choice is yours. Will you kill people with your magic, or will you… consent to practice severing other people's souls with necromancy and perfecting the art before doing it to yourself?

Harry felt very troubled at this. He didn't want to do either of them. 'Can't you do it yourself? Use my body… and leave? Is there no spell, that automatically severs the soul?'

How naive. I doubt you trust me enough to surrender control so do not offer it. The only spell that has ever worked is the the creation of the Horcrux. For us to use it, your soul must be torn. There is no other way. A year and half from now is what we've agreed upon. You must decide.

Harry was silent.

The Chamber of Secrets will have references to Necromancy that you might find useful.

Harry rolled to his side and hugged a pillow. 'I really don't want to do this.'


Orion was playing wizard's chess against Tom who won for four consecutive times. Tom smirked and said, "Are you even trying Orion? You've agreed to give me your book, and I think that it should have been mine, three rounds ago."

"You're so mean, Tom… I can't go around without a charms book… Professor Selena would find out and she'd be so disappointed."

Tom examined his nails.

"Please Tom… mercy." The boy put his hands together and Tom smiled very slowly, "alright. How about, we have another round of chess?" Orion nodded eagerly.

Tom raised finger, rearranging the chess pieces wandlessly. Orion was in awe. "If you win, I will forget this ever happened. You get to keep your book, however I will not give you anything from my end. I deserve that much. If I win, I want you to give me another book, regarding the dark arts."

Orion exclaimed, "You're the best Tom!"

Abraxas shook his head from afar knowing his friend would lose again.

He sat next to the fireplace, drinking orange juice with his two lackeys, both hulking tubs of lard who were keeping watch. He was reading up on their next assignment for Charms and Potions. At the thought of potions, he remembered the invitation for the first Slug Party of the year. His father told him to attend.

"May I sit next to you?" A soft voice asked. "Sure," Abraxas moved over and asked, "How are you, Euphemia?"

"I'm fine, Abraxas. And you?"

"Never better."

Euphemia chuckled at this, and said, "That's good to know."

Euphemia was a very pretty blonde haired girl with dark gray eyes. She had long hair that was carefully braided and had a pleasant countenance.

"To what do I owe the pleasure?"

She moved closer and whispered, "I've been told to pass a message. You must cease associating with the Mudbloods. They have passed a judgement and insist on teaching him a lesson."

Abraxas tried to remain calm and hissed, "How dare you… He is out of bounds."

Euphemia shook her head and murmured, "I am just a messenger. I was against it too, Abraxas. Do you think we should warn him?"

Abraxas sighed and looked at Orion who was close to losing another round to Tom. He then looked around him and saw the older students observing as if waiting for a cue.

"No need. If he cannot survive this, then won't survive Hogwarts. Let's talk away from the others."

Abraxas looked at the fourth year students and nodded slowly. At this he saw the Lestrange brothers, together with the other fourth years clap quietly, a bloodthirsty look on their faces.

He stood up, and called out to Orion, "Euphemia and I will be going to the great hall. Please don't be late for dinner, Orion… Tom."


The compendium was rather heavy and he was thankful it could fit inside his bag with a shrinking charm. Harry had to sneak in the dungeons into a hidden door where a painting of a snake could be seen, coiled around a maiden's leg attempting to bite her.

Who would have thought there were more entrances to the Chamber of Secrets than the one in the Girl's bathroom.

Now while it was already troublesome going in, going out was even more so since it was dinner time and he promised to meet Felix and Emily. Those two would worry and ask him endless questions, seeing as they were already berating him for looking so tired all the time.

That pepper up potion was badly needed. The hospital wing should have it. It wouldn't be weird if he skipped dinner for a much needed trip to see the school mediwitch. Mind set, he cast a spell that would render him invisible and waited until the crowd thinned out.

On his way out of the dungeons, he saw something that made his blood boil.

Older Slytherins were pushing around a boy. Harry gasped when he got a good look at his face and found it was Tom.

So it's begun.

'What do you mean?'

The Slytherin house does not tolerate those with impure blood. I suppose they've waited long enough. During my time, it didn't even take a day before they attacked me.

Harry was prepared to run and tell them to stop, but there was a cold No from Voldemort.

Do Not interfere.

'But they're going to kill him!'

Hardly. You can wait and see what happens or leave but if you treasure your friendship with Tom, I suggest you stay put.

'If… If they harm him too much, I'll step in.'

Voldemort was quiet.

Harry watched.


"Not so high and mighty now, aren't you?"

Raphael Lestrange kicked the boy hard, until he crumpled to the floor.

Tom Riddle laughed. "I thought Hogwarts was a safe place", he said while clutching his stomach.

"Confringo." Another boy shot a spell that resulted in an explosion. Tom had a shield out, which cracked and he was shocked and said, "you… You just tried to kill me.'

Tom turned to the other brother who bowed and the boys around him started laughing. "Ah, He's got some brains." Wands were raised and pointed at him. "You should thank Abraxas that we're not even trying. If we were, you'd be dead by now."

Tom slowly stood up and began looking at each one of them, memorizing their faces. Five boys against one first year.

"Immobulus."

Tom dodged it and said, "I've dealt with worse ones before…"

With one hand raised in front of him, Tom watched with glee as someone began choking for air as he was lifted off the ground.

Tom's right hand cut through the air and it brought the body slamming hard into the wall. The others began shooting spells but he raised his wand and put up a shield.

"The wand movement… was like this… Immobulus" Tom uttered and a body froze beside him.

Tom smiled. "You talk about killing me as if it was nothing. Is it because you think, I'm a mudblood?"

"What's wrong with that? You should have never been sorted to Slytherin. We don't want your kind here."

Tom gritted his teeth. "Enough!" The torches stopped burning and an unholy cold filled the area.

"Lumos!" When light was lit up once again, Tom was beside Raphael, and his hand was holding another boy's arm. "He… he broke my arm… He fucking broke my arm." The body crumpled to the floor and Tom stepped on it, until there was a solid crunch. "That just leaves you and your brother. Don't move, or I'll break yours too."

Raphael was whispering, "Just what are you?"

"What is the meaning of this?" A female voice bellowed, and Tom looked up to see their head girl, Cedrella Black rushing towards them.

"Raphael, Jean. Explain. Now"

Raphael raised his hands up and muttered, "Merde." Jean was about to run away.

Cedrella got pissed and replied, "Les fils de putes qui bougent sont morts!"

Jean Lestrange choked at her language and remained where he was. Cedrella continued, "You will explain this to me." She gestured at the boy with a broken arm, a body bleeding next to the wall, the injured first year and the frozen student.

Tom sighed and pocketed his wand, "Is it not obvious? They hate me and I fought back."

Cedrella huffed and pulled Tom next to her in a protective hug. Tom pushed away, "What are you doing?"

"I'm sorry you had to go through that." She turned to Jean, "You despicable retards. Professor Slughorn will hear of this and get you expelled."

They looked forlorn, Jean was protesting. "That's not fair!"

"You entitled bastards! What's not fair is you bullying a first year."

Tom struggled away from her hold and offered, "They didn't break any rules."

Cedrella, "What are you saying?"

"Slytherins can fight amongst themselves as long as they keep it inside the house. No one else saw us… there's no need for them to get expelled, Cedrella."

"You poor thing, do you have a concussion. Tom, they hurt you, you darling child. How can you tolerate this? You should listen to me and we can report this to Professor Slughorn. Once they're expelled, you never have to see them again."

"It's okay. A friend of mine told me I should give second chances…"

Tom gave her an innocent smile, until she slowly agreed to him. He stared into her eyes and she dazedly stopped trying to hug him.

"We should go to the hospital wing…" Tom suggested.

The black heir stood up, and began levitating the bodies. "How do you cancel the spell for Immobulus?" Tom innocently asked.

Jean blinked and demonstrated. "You do it like this."

Tom followed it, and unfroze the other boy who immediately whispered, "Monster."

The other boy passed out.


Harry wasn't sure what to feel. He was glad it didn't end up badly but he was still reeling from everything.

See. He hardly needed your help.

Harry then recounted his time during first year when they were battling a troll. That was more nerve wracking but he figured Tom had it rough too.

He still itched to follow them but he already wasted too much time.

The incident remained in his head until he saw Tom again who looked as if nothing happened. He just saw one bit of the power play, and couldn't stop worrying about… the 'what ifs' Inside his head. So one morning, before their joint Defense Against the Dark Arts Class, Harry asked, "are you doing fine… in Slytherin Tom? Are they… treating you well?"

"I'm doing fine, Harry. And you?"

Harry felt so conflicted and blurted out, "I saw… I saw them, trying to hurt you."

Tom's eyes narrowed, "When…?"

"It doesn't matter when."

Tom took Harry's hand and Harry found himself dragged into one corner of the room. The boy began casting a silencing charm around them. Tom then held his hand and said, "I would never lie to you, Harry. When I said I'm fine… I meant it. Everything is under control… they even let me invite you to the common room. You'll see the giant Squid. You can hang out with Orion. I know you're fond of him."

"What?"

Tom yawned and wrapped his hands around Harry, "It's been awhile since we slept together. It's never been the same. Come with me tonight? Tomorrow, we won't have class… and I've made new friends. I want to introduce you to them."

Harry had plans that night, the usual plans of trying to reconstruct a golem - homunculus and reading up on Necromancy.

"Is that a no? Felix and Emily told me you sleep all the time, but look at you… they're not taking care of you at all. You don't look like you've slept again. You lost weight… maybe it's you hiding things Harry… Are you having nightmares again?"

"Wait… wait, this is not about me."

Tom sighed and laid his head on Harry's shoulder, "Stop it, Harry. You need it as much as I do. Hogwarts is a nice place… but sometimes I miss… having you around."

"We see each other every day."

"Be a pillow, for tonight, Harry. Please."

It must have been calculated, the inflection of the voice, and the way Tom's hug tightened around him.

His body involuntarily relaxed.

"Okay."

I suppose my other self is right. Your body does not have the same capabilities as my former body… It needs sleep, sustenance, and proper rest.

'Not you too.'


The Slytherin common room was similar to how it was before. It had a low ceiling, a bunch of skulls, green windows with gothic patterns. On the far right, there was even a large circular window, where the bottom of the lake can be seen. There was a cozy fireplace and large dark green couches with throw fur blankets.

Tom led him to the couch nearest to the fireplace. The other boy began massaging his scalp and it did not take long to be fully immersed in the feeling of the warm fireplace, and the nice hands. Pretty soon, he found himself snuggled under a blanket, with his head on Tom's lap, and was terribly… sleepy.

Harry stirred when he heard a voice. He began yawning and stretching.

"He woke up…"

"He's like a cat."

"Stop petting him, Euphemia."

"But, he's so adorable. Oh he's reaching for something."

"His glasses."

Harry felt so relaxed, and once the glasses were on his face, he could see everything better again.

There was Orion, Abraxas, a blonde girl, and a couple of older guys and girls seated around them, pleasantly conversing.

Harry didn't miss how familiar the older boys were.

"I'm Euphemia Rowle. Welcome to Slytherin Harry. It's so nice to finally meet you."

"We saved you dinner. Tom didn't want to leave since you were fast asleep. You can eat them right now if you want."

Harry heard his stomach growl. He saw the food and noticed they were all his favorites.

He then gasped when he saw a large eye peeking at the window. "Oh, that's the giant squid. Don't mind it too much," Orion laughed.

"So, Harry. I see you've been taking pepper up potions," Tom began the inquiry.

"You checked my bag?" Harry asked and celebrated that he hid all the incriminating stuff in his room and in the chamber.

"Are you aware that you can get addicted to it?" Tom asked, his voice laced with concern.

"I know it can be addicting. I'm not an idiot."

"Then I'll be confiscating it." Tom said mercilessly. "No... Tom. Give it back! I need it."

Tom gave the potion to Abraxas who handed it towards the twin Lestrange brothers who then threw it at the fireplace. Harry had the sudden urge to cry.

Tom's magic crawled all over Harry, and constricted. It suddenly felt like he was under such a heavy blanket. "You would not have needed it if you slept properly."

"I know."

Tom made a frustrated noise. "You're welcome to come to me, if you're having trouble, Harry."

Harry just didn't want to talk. He liked having those pepper up potions. Tom was clearly upset with him. He just hid his face on a pillow.

"Aww. Harry, Tom's just being mean." Orion poked him. "You know, he was so mean, he never let me win a chess match."

"That's because you're no good at it." Abraxas countered.

"Shouldn't we send him to the Hospital Wing? You told me he had a fever." Euphemia asked in concern.

Tom shook his head, "It happens all the time. It's gone now…"

Harry tried to sit up and laid his head next to Tom's shoulder. He bundled up the blanket around him.

"Why is it so cold here?"

"That's how we like it. You learn to get used to it, and if not, you just cast a warming charm and you're fine."

Tom took out his wand and cast it right away. "Better?"

Harry grinned, "Better."

Orion handed him a steaming mug of hot chocolate. "You really should eat now."

Harry took the offered drink and sipped.

"Thanks."

Harry thought to himself, 'Slytherin's not such a bad place.'

Only if you're the one ruling it.

'Oh.' Harry looked around and saw how each person in the common room seemed to be looking at them from time to time. Besides that, nothing else seemed out of the ordinary.

You are simply ignorant of how the Slytherin Hierarchy works. Just ignore them.

Harry picked up the first scone and he melted. Euphemia grinned and handed him more.

"I know what to bribe you with, now."

Harry shook his head, "please don't."

Tom took one scone and bit one end before feeding Harry the other half. "If I see you losing weight again, I will feed you myself, Harry. Do you understand?"

Harry found it quite strange, but wasn't terribly offended at the offer, "Okay."

Euphemia whispered something that had Abraxas looking decidedly more uncomfortable all of a sudden.

"So, Harry… rumor has it you are the missing Selwyn heir. I really want to know more about what happened… and if you've been promised to someone else?"

"Promised to someone? What do you mean?"

"For marriage," the girl said while playing with her hair, as if stating the obvious.