Author's note: Sorry for the long delay. Been writing other stories and finally managed to finish this one. Enjoy.

Chapter Thirteen

A week had passed since Harry Potter had started to attend classes at Hogwarts. He had also managed to keep the meeting between his mother and Professor Snape a secret from his father. It wasn't easy to keep it from Ginny. She could tell that there was something eating at him. "Are you okay?" she asked as they walked home from Hogwarts.

"Uh, yeah. There's just something gnawing at me."

"What?"

"Last week after dinner, my mum and I went to the grocery store rather late, around eight and we ran into Professor Snape," he explained.

"Really?"

"Actually my mum did," he corrected himself. "She ran her cart into his," he said. "When I came around the corner, they were talking and from the way Snape was acting and talking with her, I think he fell in love at first sight."

"Snape? In love?" she asked. "Are you talking about the same professor?" Harry chuckled as he sighed out.

"Yes, I'm talking about Snape. He was acting the same way my dad acts around my mum. He fell in love with her and I'm conflicted about telling my dad."

"Why would you not tell your dad?"

"Because my dad and Snape weren't exactly friends when they were in Hogwarts together," he said. "According to Dad, the Marauders played several pranks on him in school with my dad as the leader."

"Oh, no," she said.

"So you can only imagine what would happen if James Potter found out that Snivellus Snape had fallen in love with his wife. His pregnant wife, no less."

"How could Snape not know your mum was married though?"

"Mum's not wearing her rings because when she was pregnant with me her fingers swelled and they wouldn't come off. So she wears them around her neck on a chain."

"Oh, man, Professor Snape is a dead man walking," she said.

"Yeah, he is," Harry said. "Except, Snape's been more civilized towards me since he met my mum."

"Maybe he's hoping that you don't say anything to your dad," Ginny said.

"Maybe," Harry said. "It would explain the good marks I've been getting the past week. I thought for sure since I was James Potter's son, he would give me bad marks."

"You're the best in that class, Harry. In fact, I think Hermione better watch herself. She has her heart set on becoming valedictorian at the end of the year."

"I'll keep that in mind," he said as they turned onto Cherry Lane.

"So, other than Snape crushing on your Mum, how's school going?" she asked.

"It's good to be back," Harry said. "I didn't realize how much I missed it until I was back in school."

"Any favorite subjects?" she asked.

"Oh, where do I start? I love all of my classes and the professors are great. Yes, even Snape," he said seeing her react to it. "Professor Delacour-Weasley and I can have full conversations of French. She's asked me to tutor some of the ones who are struggling."

"Cool."

"Professor Trelawney loves all of my work," he said. "She can't decide which pieces to put in the art show before Christmas break." Ginny chuckled. "Who's the brunette in the drill team outfit? She always hangs around Draco and them."

"Oh, that's Pansy Parkinson," Ginny said. "She was the one Draco cheated on me with."

"Oh, well, I think I give her a run for her money in Art. I think she was the top student in that class until I came along." They came up to the bakery and they both entered. "I don't have to work today. Mum asked Nana Rosa to keep my hours at the restaurant down during the week so I can do my homework. Even though it only takes me an hour to do it." They sat down and got out their school work.

"Your brain is too hard to keep up with, Harry."

"Well, it mostly due to my condition," he said.

"What condition?" she asked.

"Okay, promise you won't freak out when I tell you this," he said and she chuckled.

"Harry, I think you can tell me anything. I'm your girlfriend," she said.

"I can't forget things. I have this ability to remember everything I see or hear. If I missed something before, I can go back in my memory and take another look at it."

"Wow, really?" she asked and he nodded. "So, it's an upgraded version of eidetic memory then."

"If you want to call it that, yeah."

"So, then you remember everything from your childhood?"

"In a way. I remember little things. When I was eight, Mum told me about my condition and that's when I really started to remember things more."

"Okay, what was I wearing when we first met?" she asked and she saw Harry ponder her question.

"Blue jeans, purple top with some ruffles, white cardigan and an apron," he said. "You also had your hair french braided in pigtails."

"All right, I believe you." They opened their books and started on their homework. The door to the bakery opened and they looked up to see Ron, Draco and Blaise enter. They set themselves into another corner and Blaise opened up his computer. The bakery had free Wi-Fi. "What are they up to?" Ginny wondered.

"It's not good when they're together?" Harry asked.

"Not when Blaise has his computer out. He fancies himself a hacker."

"Really?" Harry asked as he watched Blaise type away on his keyboard.

"Whenever computers go down in the office or the tech room, he's called up first instead of the IT people in town."

"Oh, then he's like my cousin, Dudley. Computer nerd."

"He prefers hacker," Ginny said.

"Computer nerd," Harry said and Ginny chuckled. She looked up to see Draco watching the two of them and cleared her throat. Harry looked up to see his girlfriend's ex looking at them. "We can leave if you want."

"I thought you'd never ask," Ginny said. They quickly gathered their school work and books and left the bakery. Draco waited until they were well down the lane to look over at Blaise.

"So, what did you find?"

"He's got a clean record," Blaise said bringing up Harry's background. "He's got nothing."

"What about anything else?" Draco asked.

"He has a flawless school record before his mother pulled him from school when he was 16. After that, his grades went up to the point of super genius. Guy's just about as smart as Granger," Blaise said.

"Don't let her know that," Ron said. "She'll go ballistic."

"Anything else?" Draco asked.

"His dad was a top prosecutor in London, right?" Blaise asked.

"Yeah, why?"

"Well, I found a newspaper article that said he was lead on a case years ago, back in 2003 and 2004 and then all of a sudden, he was taken off it," Blaise explained. "I mean, why would the top prosecutor be taken from a case he had been working on for two years?"

"Unless it involved his son," Draco said. "Does the article say anything about the case?"

"Court records were sealed up and from the looks of things, all articles about the case have been sealed."

"Can you unseal them?" Ron asked.

"It's sealed. You know how long it will take me to unseal them?" he asked. "It could take me until next year."

"Guess you better get started then," Draco said causing Blaise to sigh. "That is my ticket to get Ginny back. I know he's done something wrong and I want to know what it is."

"Fine. I'll get started."

Meanwhile, far away in a small town, Little Hangleton, a fugitive sat in the remains of the home of his father. Thomas Marvolo Riddle, or Lord Voldemort to his thirteen victims, was having tea brought to him by his accompliance, Barty Crouch. They had escaped the prison bus together and decided to remain partners. After all, it was Barty who caused the bus to crash, killing the driver. "Are you sure it's okay to be here?" Barty asked.

"My parents' house has been abandoned for years ever since my father killed my mother when I was two. No one's going to look for me here," Tom Riddle said. "The towns folk believe it to be haunted so no one is going to come around here."

"So what's so special about this kid?" Barty asked.

"You ever have one of your victims get away/" Tom asked.

"Me? I always killed mine when I was done with them. I didn't leave them unattended while I went to work."

"Then you wouldn't understand," Riddle said. "Harry is special because his father is special. James Potter ruined my career, everyone thought his family was perfect. I had to teach that kid that no one is perfect."

"So, how do you plan to find him since all of your other plans were dead ends?"

"Well, I may have to do some digging into Potter's past. I had always assumed he was from London, but apparently he's only been living in London since he came here for college. He's from somewhere else and it's not in his records where. He was born here in London, but didn't grow up here."

"Strange. What about the wife, Lily? What about her family?"

"She has a sister who married to an oaf of a whale husband. Not sure if they would know anything or not."

"Let's pay them a visit," Barty said bouncing on his heels with anticipation.

"No. I don't want to alert the Potters to know I'm looking for them. If I kill Lily's sister and her family, they'll just move from where they are. We must be cautious."

"There is something I could do," Barty said. "If the Potters moved then Harry will be starting at a new school, right?" he asked.

"Correct."

"Students are always interested in the new student and if he has a secret, people are bound to go searching for stuff. I can set up an alert on a computer for searches for Harry Potter and see if I could trace it back to where it originated from."

"That's not a bad idea, Crouch."

"If it works, can I come with you?" Crouch asked.

"Of course, you can," Riddle said, "but so you know, I don't intend to share Harry with you."

"No, that's okay. I'll take the wife or if the kid's got a girlfriend, I'll take her then."

"Crouch, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship. Sick and twisted, but beautiful none the less." Crouch chuckled as he and Riddle clinked their tea cups together. Just then they heard the stairs creak and they stared at each other.

"I thought you said no one comes around here," Barty said.

"They don't. Unless it's that caretaker, Bryce."

"Who's up here?" a voice called out.

"That would be Bryce." They put their things down and hid behind the door as the old caretaker came into the room. He walked over to the table with their things on it and looked around the room. "You're looking pretty good, Bryce." The caretaker turned around and gasped out a breath.

"Master Thomas?" he asked.

"In the flesh," Tom said. "I see you're vigilant as ever. Keeping an eye on the old place."

"Yes, well, someone has to. I caught some kids in here last week squatting," Frank said. "What are you doing here, sir? I thought you were in prison," he said not noticing Crouch creep around the room.

"Well, the place was overcrowded and I was being transferred when there was an accident. I escaped in the frenzy."

"Escaped?" Bryce asked. "Well, the proper thing is to call the authorities and get you to your proper place," he said.

"I'm afraid that's not possible Frank," Tom said watching Barty pick up the fire poker. He made no objections as Barty came up behind the caretaker. "I have unfinished business with my last victim, Harry Potter."

"You mean to murder him, Tom. He's just a boy."

"He was boy when I met him! I made him a man!" Riddle shouted. "And it's because of him I am where I am today. I plan to not only kill him, but kill that ungrateful father of his along with his mother and the new baby due to arrive in four months."

"Then you leave me no choice, Tom," Frank said.

"Nor do you, Frank. I'm afraid this where your story ends and you depart from this world." Frank never saw it coming. Barty swung the poker, hitting him in the back of the head. He was dead before his hit the floor, but that didn't stop Crouch from hitting him a few more times as Riddle watched. "That's enough, Crouch!" he shouted when Frank's head was beaten in with the poker. Crouch tossed the poker aside as his tongue darted out of his mouth. His trademark twitch when he killed. "Get rid of the body. We'll salvage what food we can from his house and use his truck. No one will come looking for him. He has no family." Barty nodded and proceeded to clean up the mess. "When you're done, start on that idea of yours. I want to find Harry Potter as soon as possible."

"I'll find him for you, Riddle."

End of Chapter Thirteen

Author's note: Someone requested that I introduced Riddle into the story to make it seem more perilous for the Potters. How was that introduction?