A/N: Er, sorry for taking so long to update - I don't even have an excuse this time. Sorry! But I think I've gotten through the writer's block - the next chapter shouldn't take nearly as long, I hope...

Thanks to DreamOfStories for betareading this!

Horcruxes &Insanity

Christmas break was approaching swiftly, and this year both Henry and Tom were eager for it to come. Not for Christmas itself, of course; many Slytherins completely ignored the holiday, and Henry had adopted this trait. On the holidays, however, both would be headed to Nurmengard, and would be able to research more on wandless magic – and elemental magic, of course. Henry had by now read through the three elemental books, but was having no luck with his ability. According to the book, with his sign he should be a powerful water elemental, but then he should also have the symbol somewhere on his body, which he did not. At one point in mid-November a student had tripped at lunch, a goblet in hand. The water should have drenched Henry, but it seemed to have gone everywhere around him but on his person. This was the only possible sign of elemental magic he had seen. If Henry had not been looking for it, he would have passed the incidence off without a thought.

It was only two days before break that the ring on his finger burned for the third time since he had acquired it. Henry was heading to the Common Room after dinner with Tom when he felt it. Lips twitching against his will, he caught Tom's eye with amusement.

"One more meeting before the holidays," he hissed.

"Predictable. They'll probably ask you tonight."

"I know what to say."

Tom had, of course, been right. The other members of the Order had for the most part forgotten about Tom, who was only briefly mentioned in the first meeting. Dumbledore, however, had not.

At the beginning of the meeting, one of the German members began by telling the Order about several raids and attacks Grindelwald had orchestrated, also bringing up an interesting point.

"'Voldemort' and 'Poseidon', who seemed to lead most of the raids in the summer, haven't been seen for months. Some speculate that Grindelwald thought them a threat and offed 'em."

"Unlikely." Dumbledore frowned in thought. "Not unless they actively went against Grindelwald. They're too powerful, I think, for him to not take advantage of."

"That's not very comforting."

Henry was interested when Dumbledore finally proposed they actually do something to help stop the attacks. He told them to take out their rings, spelling each, and explained that they would become icy cold when activated by a member. All members who could go would touch their wand to the ring, taking them to the location of the first member, who would be at an attack scene. Henry was not quite sure how often an Order member would be at an attack anyway, but made a mental note to talk to his grandfather about this.

Finally, at the end of the meeting, Dumbledore turned to Henry seriously. "Henry, have you noticed anything off about Mr. Riddle?"

Henry hesitated, shifting guiltily in his seat. "Well… yes, Sir. I've never noticed before – haven't wanted to notice, I guess – but… there's just something about the way the other Slytherins treat him. And I…" He lowered his voice. "I overheard a few words of conversation the other day… I couldn't make out what they were saying, but I think they were talking about Grindelwald. I know I heard one of them calling Tom 'my lord'."

Dumbledore sighed. "Yes, it is as I feared, then. I have heard rumors that Mr. Riddle is a parselmouth- ?"

"That's true," Henry confirmed.

"Henry, I'm sorry, but due to the use of snakes in several attacks it is believed that the self-proclaimed Lord Voldemort is also a parselmouth. This is not a common trait…"

Henry closed his eyes, leaning back in his seat as Dumbledore continued. The other members listened nervously, wondering what sixth year could hold the power Voldemort was rumored to have. "Mr. Riddle, I have observed, does not have friends so much as allies, save for Henry here. He has the children of many powerful families at his side – the Notts, Malfoys, Blacks, Tinols…" Dumbledore shook his head. "Has Tom ever asked you about your opinions concerning magic and blood, Henry?"

"Yes. He doesn't agree with me there – believes in magical blood only. He tried to convince me away from my beliefs, but gave up eventually."

"Interesting. Well, keep a close eye on him, please Henry." Henry wondered when Dumbledore would dare to ask Henry to try and act like he had Tom's beliefs, spying on Tom more effectively– he was obviously tempted.

"Of course, Sir."

"Elemental abilities?" Grindelwald frowned at his grandson, taking the glamour away from himself distractedly as the three entered Nurmengard.

"Yes. Water, apparently."

"…Interesting, though not totally unexpected, I suppose. Our family has had quite a few elementals. Too not be aware of anything, however…" Grindelwald took out his wand. "Perhaps…" He made a few strange motions with his wand, ending in a jab. Henry felt a light tingling in his fingers. "Yes, they were mostly bound, though not, I think, intentionally. You should be able to begin using them now."

"That's it?"

"Did you expect something dramatic to happen? You'll find all necessary information on elementals in the library." Henry nodded, raising a hand to brush away an errant lock of hair, and saw the same two wavy blue lines on his arm, just in the middle of his lower arm. He smiled.

"Thank you, grandfather."

"… And when did you have time to get these?"

"On one of the raids, we raided a bunch of farms, remember? I put a stasis spell on the eggs."

"And you didn't hatch them in summer because…?"

Henry shrugged. "I forgot."

Henry finished spelling the last toad onto the chicken's egg. The fifty conjured toads croaked in protest, and Henry conjured a few flies above them. The huge room in the lower part of Nurmengard was mostly unused. "Imagine, fifty basilisks! They're nearly invincible! Though we will have to find a way to get them fed. Hm. Maybe keep rabbits?"

Tom shook his head. "Henry, you realize there's a reason no one has done anything like this before?"

"Because they weren't parselmouths?"

"Well, yes, but also because it will take decades for them to grow to any size able to fight."

"Then in fifty years or so, we'll have a small basilisk army."

"How useful," Tom said wryly.

The basilisks did not all hatch at the same time. Henry checked on them often, spelling a few simple statues to take care of them. He used a relatively new spell he found in Nurmengard's library which, if applied shortly after hatching, would let the snake use its deadly gaze only when they wished to. So soon after hatching their eyes could only stun, however. The most interesting thing to happen was when a tiny, runty basilisk hatched. From the color of its eyes Henry knew it would never have the legendary killing gaze of the basilisk, nor would it grow so large, though how long it would live he didn't know. Tom seemed pleased with the female runt, pointing out that it was still strong and its venom superior to other lesser snakes. Best of all, it wasn't technically a basilisk, and wouldn't cause much trouble by being brought to public places – like school. When the two left the room after her hatching, the small female, Nagini, went with them.

Henry's elemental abilities were not as hard to master as he had feared. He used them easily enough, if precise control was slow in the coming. Henry was in the library practicing one early morning when a pleased Tom walked in, flourishing two thin books.

Henry turned his neck to the side to read the title of one. "A Guide to Unorthodox Magic," he read aloud with surpise. "I forgot all about that."

"I sent them an owl as soon as we got here." This had been nine days ago. "Here."

Henry found the book very interesting. According to the introduction, wandless magic could be used the same as normal magic, but instead forcing the magic out of their body instead of the wand. The wand acted as a sort of lightning wand for magic – the magic flowed through you, entered the wand, and, due to the magical properties of the wood and creature part, added power to the spells. Most wandless magic was used with the same spells and movements, except the magic was focused and released from the hand. Although this was the most common way, however, wandless magic could also be used differently, depending on how much power and focus one had. Hand motions could be skipped, and with the right focus one could manipulate magic to do what they wanted without even a silent spell in mind. It was possible to focus magic from any part of the body, and with enough control one could instigate magic without apparently any effort – no hand movement, no spell shooting out, no spell, etc. This was more exhausting than normal casting, however. In addition, only wizards more powerful than average could normally cast more than a simple charm without the added power a wand provided, so success was varied.

They read through the small books quickly enough, only needing a little over two hours. They finished around the same time.

The book had recommended they first try focusing the magic through their palm or finger to levitate a feather, one of the first spells learned with wands. Both conjured feather's in front of themselves, then put away there wands. They held their hands out mutely, palms out.

Wingardium leviosa, Henry thought. The book had said to start with spells spoken out loud, but… Wingardium leviosa. He tried to imagine the familiar feeling of magic in him, willing the feather to float. Nothing happened. Wingardium leviosa.

Henry tried many more times, then finally paused and looked at Tom as he saw movement in his peripheral vision. Tom had succeeded – predictable. Tom released the spell, trying again, and Henry turned back to his own feather, focusing on the thought of the feather rising through the air, envisioning magic pulling it through the air -

Wingardium leviosa!

The feather jerked up into the air violently, surprising Henry enough that he lost focus almost immediately. The feather fell, but Henry was smiling.

After Henry and Tom were satisfied they had mastered the wandless levitation charm they took a small break – which really just meant they were wandering the library. Henry plucked a random book about the Dark Arts off a shelf, noting where it was, and wandered over to a chair. He sat, flipping through to the contents. It seemed to be a book on dark objects. His eyes skimmed through the list carelessly, but he did a double-take when he saw a familiar word.

Horcrux.

Where had he seen this word? Ah, yes – Tom said he had made one. Interested, he turned to the listed page and read.

His interest changed to horror.

As soon as he finished the chapter he bolted up from his spot, skidding to a halt in front of a surprised Tom.

"Are you mad?"

"Huh?"

He slammed the book down in front of Tom. "You made a horcrux?"

"Two, actually. Why?"

"Two?" Henry was speechless. "You…" Yanking the book back, he flipped to the page that had so horrified him, jabbing a finger at the relevant paragraph. "Read."

Tom read.

His face drained of color.

"Insane?"

"Insane. What did you expect? You separated your soul - it'll be slow, but, yes, you will go insane."

"Isn't there… Can't I…"

"If you destroy the horcux, no, the soul part will be destroyed completely. It will not return to you."

Tom grabbed the book desperately, going back to the beginning of the chapter, looking for anything which could save him from insanity. Henry wearily sat down beside him, head in hands…

"Ah hah!"

"Huh?" Henry's head jerked up hopefully. "You found something?"

"If you bind the hocrux or horcruxes to another through a ritual, the anchor of two souls should be enough to stabilize them - no matter how many horcuxes are used, I think."

Henry raised an eyebrow. "And you would trust me with your soul?" he asked incredulously. It was hard to believe. Tom frowned.

"Well… I trust you now, but in the future…" Tom stared down at the book thoughtfully. "Want a horcrux, Henry?"

"Excuse me?"

"According to the book…"

"You want us to bind horcuxes to each other?"

"Henry, the horcruxes will make me immortal; within a few years, I'll stop aging entirely, because my soul will bind me to earth. You have no such protection from time. And it only makes sense; that way, we can both stabilize each other. More than that, we can never betray the other, because our souls will be at risk."

Henry considered it. It was shocking that Tom would propose such an idea, but then, if it was a choice between certain insanity and unlikely betrayal there was really only one choice. It was quite like Tom to suggest, too, that he make his own horcrux. Aside from the fact that Henry too would gain immortality, it would ensure that Henry would not betray Tom's souls, because Tom could then do the same to Henry. If he killed all of Tom's horcruxes and then Tom, he himself would go mad. Likewise, Henry creating a horcrux would make it hard for anyone else to kill Henry, which would mean that Tom's soul pieces would be unanchored. It was the only sensible solution, and in any case Henry didn't see any point in not making a Horcrux…

"Alright. How do you make one?"

Please review!

Also - yes, I know, the bonding thing might seem unnecessary, but Voldemort's ideals are different in the books, as are his rather foolish attempts to gain followers. Insanity seems to help that. Don't stop reading - saner or not, I promise the future Voldemort will still be evil. He'll just be cleverer going about it.