I guess this would be the spot to put a disclaimer and an excuse about how I just don't have time to write anymore…
Disclaimer: Give me Tom!! NOW!! Okay, never mind… (Scary lawyers)
A/N: I have no excuse for not writing. I got distracted by that life thing and almost never came back. I have to thank a writer called Ladyofthemasque for guiding me back to this endeavor. Now, onto the 20th chapter!
Chapter 20: To do a Great Right, do a Little Wrong
Draco was sitting in a nearby chair watching Harry and Vic play endless games of something called Rock, Paper, and Scissors when a rather irate Vic began kicking Harry every time he won. After about three rounds of Harry choosing Rock and smashing her scissors, Vic placed a rather powerful kick to his left shin. Draco was too busy laughing to hear the following exchange.
"Hey, don't kick me!"
"Don't yell at me, it's time for breakfast and I can hear your stomach growling from over here. Go eat something Harry."
"I wasn't yelling, and I don't want to go to breakfast."
"Tom, make Harry eat something!"
"Tom, make Vic stop-ow-kicking me!"
The older wizard gave a slight snore before shifting in his chair and the two fighting students grinned at each other. By this time Draco was coherent enough to realize the danger he was about to be in and ran out the door. There was no warning before a bucket of cold lake water appeared over Tom's head and spilled its entire contents onto the sleeping man's head. Harry and Vic doubled over in laughter at the sight of Tom's shocked bedraggled look so they missed the glint in his eye as every drop of water whisked off his body and covered the laughing teens. Unfortunately for Tom Miss. Pomfrey came out of her office to check on her patient at the exact same and he dowsed her with water as well.
"Mr. Eldir! Please control yourself!"
"My apologies madam, but these two trouble makers were in dire need of a lesson on respect."
Madam Pomfrey struggled to contain her smile and when her face was properly stern again asked, "Miss Eldir, if you are feeling up to pranks, perhaps you would like to leave the infirmary and join your classmates again?"
Vic thought about leaving the safety of the infirmary to once again mingle with her classmates and was surprised that she wasn't as scared as she thought.
"Actually, yes, I would like to get out of here. Thanks for the help Madame Pomfrey."
The healer looked on in shock as the young girl hopped out of bed, and with a flick of her wand, was dressed and ready to leave. Grabbing the hands of Harry and Tom, Vic marched out the door to join a flustered looking Draco and a stern Professor Snape.
"Mr. Eldir I presume?" Snape asked.
"Hello, you must be my little girls Head of House. She certainly has been telling me some interesting stories."
Looking puzzled at shorter man; Snape sniffed and continued, "How is Vi-Miss Eldir doing?"
"I am doing just fine Professor," Vic chimed in, "How are you?"
Draco and Harry were muffling their laughter at Snape's growing frustration but quickly stopped when Tom gave then a stern glare. Seeing the boy's reaction to the seemingly unthreatening man gave Snape more to think about as he turned to Vic, "Are you up to socializing today Miss Eldir? I can have the house elves send something to your room if you don't want to eat with everyone today."
"I will be fine. Harry and Draco will protect me."
This answer made Snape look sharply at the two rival students who moved to stand beside their younger friend.
When did those two become friends?
"We will make sure everyone leaves her alone."
Vic nodded and smiled brightly at the man before grabbing Harry and Draco and dragging them to the Dining Hall. Snape smiled to himself as he saw two shadows slink out of the infirmary and trot down the hall after their masters. Tom watched his servant under the guise of Vic's doting father and came to an astonishing conclusion.
Snape is a spy for the Order isn't he?
Harry winced at the question and pulled away from Vic to run back to Tom and Snape. Watching him run off, Vic shook her head at Draco and continued down the hall.
Tom, he is but don't blow your cover!
Why would you possibly think that I would be that stupid?
Because you have this other side that tends to be a bit irrational.
Shut up.
It's true.
Harry kept Tom talking until he reached the two older men. One was looking extremely irritated at the other man and Harry skidded to a stop in front of Tom, blocking his glare.
"Mr. Eldir, Vic sent me back to see if you wanted to eat breakfast with us since you have such a long way to travel to get back home."
"Why thank you Harry but I wouldn't want to upset the Headmaster."
"After what he told us in the Hospital wing, he can afford to be upset for a little while."
Snape looked confused at the exchange, "what did he tell you?"
"Ron isn't going to be charged with anything because Dumbledore doesn't think he did it and refuses to put him under any sort of truth serum or spell to learn the truth. He said that Vic would have to be the one to be drugged and asked."
A look of rage passed over Snape's face but he quickly schooled his features and began walking towards the dining hall. Harry and Tom slipped behind him.
At least he doesn't think Dumbledore did the right thing. Harry I don't like that he is a spy but I will keep my thoughts to myself until I learn more.
Thank you, Tom. He hasn't been an overly kind person to me but I trust him for some reason.
That is good enough for me.
Harry smiled at the trust Tom was putting in him and a shiver crawled its way up his spine as he saw the smile returned.
Nothing could be more beautiful then Tom Riddle smiling, Harry thought and a blush crept up his face before he could stop it. Turning around, he walked right into Vic and Draco who seemed to be impatiently waiting for the duo to arrive.
"About time you got here, we noticed that Snape didn't look to happy when he brushed past us. What did you do to him?"
"We told him the truth about what happened or more importantly, what didn't happen to a certain weasel," Harry told them.
"Awesome," Vic said, "He stayed by my side most of the night while I was in the hospital. I like him."
Tom shrugged, still willing to give the assumed traitor the benefit of the doubt while at Hogwarts. As the group moved into the Great Hall, silence met their arrival. Draco and Harry escorted a suddenly timid Vic over to a spot at the Slytherin table and left her and Tom in the house's capable hands. Draco whispered something in Harry's ear and the entire room was shocked to see Harry laugh out loud and slap the Slytherin on the back. It wasn't until Harry had reached his own house table that people began talking again.
"Are you friends with Draco now Harry?"
"Why is that man at breakfast?"
"I think that is Vic's father, leave him alone."
"What is going on?"
What is Harry doing hanging out with a bunch of slimy Slytherins?"
This comment from Dean was followed to by a kick in the shin from Hermione. She glared at him and he shut his mouth, turning back to his food. The Slytherin table wasn't much better but once Vic asked them to shut it, they all fell into a troubled silence. The hushed comments continued until Ron came into the hall carrying three books under his arms and a satisfied smirk on his face. Silence once again fell across the hall and the teachers through a worried look Dumbledore's way as the last Weasley boy made his way towards the Gryffindor table. The Headmaster was busy studying his breakfast plate and seemingly uninterested in the hostility floating around the hall.
"Hey guys, did you save any food for me?" Ron asked, trying to sit down next to Harry and Hermione. A push from the black haired boy made him fall back and he tightened his face in anger.
"Hey man, what's the deal?"
"You are a despicable excuse for a human Ron and I don't wish to have you in my presence."
Ron flushed red, "I didn't do anything, ask Dumbledore! I didn't do anything!"
"Go away," Ginny said calmly spreading marmalade on a piece of toast, "You aren't welcome around us anymore."
Ron looked across the tables at all the angry faces glaring back at him. Vic was holding onto Draco and her father as his gaze passed over her.
Turning back to Harry he pressed, "You are going to take that little slut's word over mine? I am your best friend!"
Standing up, Harry pulled out his wand and pointed it at Ron's face, "You are not my friend Ronald Weasley. You do not talk about Vic that way and you will no longer address me at all or I will hex your face off."
"Mister Potter, put your wand away."
Harry looked up to see Dumbledore standing at the teacher's table, looking very peeved. He shrugged at the order and placed his wand back into his robes.
"You know better then to threaten a fellow student. You will serve detention tonight with Mister Filch at 8:00pm. Perhaps some time mopping the corridors will set your mind back on track."
Glaring once more at Ron, Harry sat down, scooted closer to Hermione and continued eating. The only place left for Ron to sit was next to a group of first years who had no idea what was going on.
After breakfast, Harry, Hermione and Ginny rushed say good bye to Tom before going to class. They met Draco, Vic and Tom at the front entrance and the Dark Lord hugged each of them, smiling at their enthusiastic faces. Casting a Silence Bubble around the group he gathered them in.
"I will still be at the Malfoy Mansion if you have any owls you want to send me. Hermione, take care of Julian, he is going to be a fish out of water for a while. By the way, where is he?"
"He went down to the Chamber to gather his things. He was placed in Gryffindor so I think he will be staying with Harry, Seamus and Neville."
"Well, tell him a package will be delivered to the Chamber every week with a supply of blood. I also have a mission for you guys if you would except it."
"Of course, sir!"
"Sure Dad."
Laughing at their energy he asked, "Would you be willing to search Hogwarts from tower to dungeon and see if you can find absolutely every entrance to the school? I want to know how many are known and how many are unsafe. If my plan is to go off with as little bloodshed as possible then I need various ways to funnel people in."
Ginny grinned at the request. It wouldn't take too long to complete, what with all the help she could get from Fred and George as well as the invaluable Marauder's Map.
Each student smiled their acceptance and the group waved goodbye to their leader. Draco squeezed Ginny's hand quickly before running off to his first class. Ginny and Vic walked off to join their own classes, leaving Harry and Hermione standing alone.
"Do you think Ron will accept the end of the friendship?" Hermione asked.
At the pointed look from Harry, she sighed and ran her hand through her frizzy hair, "I didn't think so."
The next day a package owl flew in a dropped a brightly wrapped box into Vic's hands. She frowned at it and placed it on the table in front of her. Under the astonished gaze of her House Head, she cast a series of search spells over it, looking for traps. Once she deduced that there was nothing dangerous about the box she opened it. Inside was a small batch of fudge and treacle tarts as well as a pair of well knitted mittens and a small slip of paper. Watching the owl fly away, Harry remembered the note he had received before he had to tell Tom about what had happened. Shoving the rest of his breakfast into his mouth as quickly as possible, he raced for the Gryffindor tower to find the slip of paper. Throwing aside clothes and old candy wrappers that were littered across the floor, he found the note tucked in under the corner of his trunk. Opening the envelope, he saw Molly's hasty cursive.
Dear Harry,
Hello dear, how is school going for you? We want to thank you for helping our little Ginny through what must have been a terrible transition. We would also ask you to send along our thanks to the kind couple who are letting Ginny stay with them during the full moon. Arthur and I both know that we just didn't have the capabilities to ensure that she stayed safe.
Please give our sincere apologies to the girl who was hurt so horribly. I don't understand fully what happened but we just know that Ron could never do something so despicable! I hope the whole thing will be cleared up soon! I am sorry she was hurt though, and I will send her a care package as soon as I can. We love you Harry and miss you all!
Molly and Arthur
He tucked the note into his school books before heading to class. He didn't blame Molly for not believing the truth. A few months ago, he wouldn't even have believed it possible. Now, knowing Tom and Vic, Lucius and Draco, Harry was beginning to regret his Gryffindor choice. The next year was going to be tough.