Author's Note: Thanks to everyone who reviewed!
Chapter 21
Harry exited the Dining Room and followed Riddle, because when the meeting drew to an end, Riddle told him that he wanted to speak to him privately in the garden. The meeting was illuminating, it was like an Order meeting, except it was conducted by Tom Riddle (someone the Order fought against) and the members were related. The Riddle family was a very close family, Harry concluded. Every member had a distinct personality and varying viewpoints. However, they were all united in one aspect – their loyalty to their family.
Lily was exuberant and caring; Sirius was happy and free from all the terrors his godfather had to undergo. Serena was a mystery. She had ignored Harry throughout the entire proceedings, but he could tell that she was very close to her father. She was also close to Lily. Severus on the other hand, was a more focused and less harsh version of his counterpart. This Severus wasn't bitter; however, anyone could tell that he was his father's right hand man, a position which was eerily similar to Snape being Voldemort's right hand man in the war.
The garden was beautiful. Harry inhaled the strong fragrance which permeated through the garden. His Aunt Petunia's garden was not a patch compared to this.
"Lily takes a lot of trouble to tend to this garden. The produce is then used for sale at the apothecary," said Riddle quietly, his eyes were tired.
"Lily told me that she and Sn- I mean- Severus own an apothecary," said Harry, he didn't know what direction this conversation would take.
Riddle moved towards a garden bench and they both took a seat.
"I hope that this morning's excursion has not tired you," said Riddle observing Harry.
"Not at all. I am feeling much better. I don't think I have felt this good since I came through the Veil," said Harry.
"I am surprised that you haven't asked me about the training I had promised to provide you with," said Riddle.
"I didn't think it was fair to ask that of you especially with all that is going on," said Harry.
Riddle looked at him intently and arched an eyebrow, "Are you used to putting other people's concerns above your own?"
Harry shrugged, "You have more pressing matters to attend to."
"I do. But I made a promise which I intend to keep. However, I plan on introducing variations to the training I originally had in mind," said Riddle.
"We have never actually discussed the training, you know. We were supposed to today," said Harry.
"Which we shall," said Riddle lost in thought.
Harry waited for Riddle to continue his sentence, but Riddle seemed to be thinking about something intently.
"Sometimes Harry, you behave too much like a Gryffindor!" said Riddle.
"I am a Gryffindor," said Harry as if he was stating the obvious.
Riddle smirked, "While being a Gryffindor at Hogwarts may have worked to your advantage, you are in the real world now. Every successful and powerful Gryffindor has Slytherinesque tendencies. Dumbledore is a prime example of it."
Riddle took a deep breath and continued, "I will not only offer you training in some areas of magic but I will also test you in strategies and tactics."
"I thought you would only teach me the Mental Arts," said Harry.
"If you want me to teach you only the Mental Arts, then I shall do so. However, I rarely offer to teach someone voluntarily. If I were you, I would accept it," said Riddle quietly.
Harry nodded, "Sure. But I won't be signing some magically binding Apprenticeship contract."
Riddle smiled, "This will be purely voluntary on both our parts."
Harry grinned. Finally he may be able to move on to some challenging training. While he was only at the inception stage of Auror training, the only challenging topic covered was the Protego Charm and other basic defensive spells and strangely many of the other trainees were inept. So, Harry had spent more time at 'Auror Training' teaching the other trainees instead of learning something new himself.
"But I have no money in this dimension. How can I repay you?" asked Harry. He wished he had carried some money on him when he travelled through the Veil.
"I am not interested in monetary recompense. Instead, I am interested in your knowledge and perception," said Riddle and continued when he saw Harry's confused expression, "Did these murders happen in your world?"
"No. So you think that the difference in our dimensions is not only caused by you," said Harry.
"I may be powerful, Harry. But I doubt whether I was singlehandedly responsible for all the troubles in your world. If that were the case, then the world we are in currently should be an Uthopia," said Riddle.
"But what if you being Voldemort had a ripple effect, I know this sounds farfetched," said Harry.
"It sounds perfectly logical. Perhaps, the 'Voldemort' in that world had control over the murderer's activities or the murderer wasn't tempted to go down that path. The possibilities are endless. However, I hope that by having you here, we can limit those possibilities and examine the most likely ones, which will lead us to our killer," said Riddle.
"How can I eliminate the possibilities?" said Harry.
"By looking for key events or relationships which happened in your world, you can link them with the occurrences of this world. This is actually an essential part of your Auror training," said Riddle with a smile.
"Why are you investigating these poisonings? Shouldn't you leave it to the Aurors?" asked Harry.
"As much as I respect the Aurors, I believe that they function in a very slow and bureaucratic manner. I have a feeling, yes even I have instincts, that these murders are connected with the Department of Mysteries. If we obtain evidence that links them to the murders, we can release your godfather through negotiations," said Riddle, "and also make the Unspeakables more accountable."
"Can't we just take them by force?" asked Harry, "I am Harry Potter and you are Tom Marvolo Riddle. Together we can be unstoppable."
"Youthful exuberance at its finest! But Harry, my family and I have to live in this world after the so-called rescue mission. I cannot afford to be rash. Do not forget that the Department of Mysteries is a Department of the Ministry of Magic. We have to proceed with caution and strike only when we are armed with strong and incriminating evidence," said Riddle.
"The Unspeakables were hardly spoken of in my world. The only time I heard about them was in my fifth year when Voldemort was after the prophesy," said Harry, "This prophesy predicted that I was the one who would defeat him."
Riddle was intrigued, "Was Voldemort aware of this prophesy before he set his sights on you?"
"Yes. He went after my family because of the contents of the prophesy," said Harry.
Riddle shook his head, "He created his own enemy. The prophesy was self fulfilling. Voldemort met his end on the path he took to avoid that outcome. He died because of his own hubris."
Companionable silence followed.
"I will be meeting a few of my friends soon. These friends of mine occupy many seats on the Wizengamot. Why do you think I will be pursuing this course of action?" asked Riddle. Harry could tell that Riddle was testing him.
"You want the media to praise you, so that the Wizarding Britain will not be influenced against you. If you convince the Wizengamot, then you can control the judiciary. They won't be able to prosecute you," said Harry.
"Interesting theory, Harry. But why would I be worried about prosecution? No court can charge me on the basis of crimes committed by my counterpart," said Riddle.
"You want them to change a law?" asked Harry.
"Much more than a law, actually. Change is coming Harry and we better be prepared," said Riddle grimly.
"You don't trust Minister Crouch," said Harry, "I don't blame you."
"We have to be very discreet, Harry. We cannot risk being overheard," said Riddle.
"Better watch out for that bug Skeeter. She's always eavesdropping," said Harry.
"Bug?" asked Riddle.
"She is an unregistered Animagus in my world," said Harry. "Maybe she is one here."
Riddle gave a broad smile, "See, you are repaying me before the classes even begin!"
"Call it fees paid in advance," said Harry with a laugh. "I am very generous."
Riddle smiled, "You remind me of myself when I was young. I was as foolhardy as you are."
"What changed?" asked Harry.
"The world did, as did my perspective," said Riddle.
"So, about the training?" asked Harry.
"With the current discrepancies at St. Mungos, I have to spend my mornings there making sure that my Healers know that I have them under constant supervision. A little 'Big Brother' will be acceptable in keeping them in check," said Riddle with a sigh.
"Big Brother?" asked Harry.
"It's from a Muggle novel," said Riddle, "However, I can spend the rest of the day training you and meeting up with old acquaintances. Is that acceptable to you?"
"Definitely," said Harry, "What should I do when you are at St. Mungos? Should I read some defensive training materials?"
"Actually, Sev told me that he and Lily need an assistant to help them at the Apothecary," said Riddle.
"I would love too. But I am horrible at potions. It is not my favourite subject. What if I cause some damage?" said Harry.
"Sev and Lily are amazing teachers. They will instruct you," said Riddle and seeing Harry's sheepish expression, he raised an eyebrow.
"Severus was my potions professor at Hogwarts," admitted Harry.
Riddle's eyes widened, "So, he is the dunderhead?"
"Yes," said Harry.
Riddle smirked, "Think of this as Remedial Potions." Harry groaned.
Riddle laughed and said, "We will begin training tomorrow. However, I should warn you that I am not the most patient instructor."
"I would never accuse you of being one," said Harry.
Strangely, Harry was glad that Riddle was training him. This Riddled Universe was certainly changing his outlook and perspective of life.
They entered the house later. Riddle went to talk to Severus privately while Lily came to talk to Harry.
"Sev told me that you will be assisting us at the Apothecary," said Lily with a broad smile.
"I'm not that good at potions," said Harry.
"Oh please, you will be under my guidance. Everything will be perfect. What type of potions do you like to concoct?" asked Lily, her eyes glowing with warm affection.
"I only took potions because it was an essential requirement for Auror training," said Harry.
"Well, I am very good at Healing Potions, while Severus is very good at 'Offensive Potions," said Lily.
"Offensive Potions?" asked Harry. He never heard of an offensive potion before.
"I coined that term. I call all potions which are not Healing Potions 'Offensive Potions.' Severus always gets irritated when I do it," said Lily.
"You like teasing him," stated Harry.
"Sev is always serious (not Sirius!). I try to lighten his mood. He has a very dark outlook of life," sighed Lily. "So does Serena. Riddle, Sev and Serena do not suffer fools easily. They have emotional scars from their past which colours their perception," said Lily with a sigh.
"Severus is adopted, isn't he?" asked Harry.
"Yes, Eileen Prince, Sev's mother, was a friend of Riddle in school. She wasn't magically strong. However, her muggle husband 'Tobias Snape' was most abusive towards Sev. He didn't like magic and was afraid of it. When the level of abuse inflicted on Sev increased, Eileen wrote to Riddle begging him to take Severus away from the house. Riddle rescued Sev and offered to rescue Eileen too, but Eileen was determined to remain behind. I do not know why. If I was in Eileen Snape's position, I would have fled that house," said Lily. Harry could tell that Lily wanted him to understand the family because they seemed formidable from afar.
Harry was quiet. Of course, Eileen and Riddle would have been in school together. The Half-Blood Prince's book (which was Snape's old book in his world) was actually his mother's and the book was over fifty years old. Both Eileen and Riddle would have been in Slytherin together. The only other thing he knew about Eileen Snape née Prince was that she used to play gobstones.
"What scars does Serena have?" asked Harry.
Lily's face grew pensive and she said, "Serena was very young when she lost her mother and in such a tragic manner that too. She was with her mother the night the werewolves attacked."
To Be Continued…
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