"Minister, the Longbottom report is complete"
Voldemort had no idea which useless Death Eater was taking up space in his office and he didn't care much to ask. He waved them out the door. Voldemort leafed through the docter report on the Longbottom's involvement with the increase in drug usage in Diagon Alley.
Of course Longbottom Nurseries only grew three Ministry controlled plants. They had exceptional security and closely monitored all sales. They were entirely on the up and up legally and morally. However, Voldemort had an agenda and Augusta Longbottom was continuously blocking it.
He needed her out of the way. Preferably her son would go too but it wasn't a priority currently.
Voldemort rolled up his left sleeve and pressed his wand into the dark mark. He instructed Bellatrix, Rodolphus, and Rabastan to go 'search' the Longbottom residence and deal with Augusta.
Voldemort tossed the Longbottom file to the side and went back to working on his current plans for the annoying Granger chit.
…
Tom sat across from Harry, nervously fiddling with the hem of his shirt while Abraxas finished warding the room.
"So, boys, we will all enter Harry's mind. Then Harry will tour us through some of his memories. Today we are going to try and deal with some of the emotions around your dark memory, Evans. Tom you are going to work on building empathy. Remember the only way to get your soul back from Evans is to regret what you did to his mother."
Tom nodded as if he understood but he wasn't sure that was true.
Tom had accidently killed Myrtle and intentionally killed his father, but he'd never touched Evans' mother. That was Voldemort.
The more that time passed the less Tom saw himself in Voldemort. Tom wasn't sure he could feel regret for a crime he did not consider his own.
Hell, Tom hadn't been able to feel regret for the crimes that were actually his.
He'd just have to try.
Abraxas lifted his wand and cast a complicated spell around them. Tom closed his eyes and felt his mind wandering. Slowly the whiteness faded into a crisp image of the outside of the White Wyvern. Evans stood in his work uniform at the door.
"Come on in," He motioned for Abraxas and Tom to enter.
At first Tom thought he was actually in the White Wyvern but then a picture of Ron, Evans and Hermione caught his eye by the door.
"Let's start with your memory Evans." Abraxas prompted.
Evans remained mute but nodded stiffly. He lead the group to the cellar of the pub. When he opened the back door which would normally hold the nicer wines, there was a wall of blackness.
Evans stepped in first.
Tom followed closely behind.
The walls of the White Wyvern fell away into a different basement. This one was not as well kept. It was several degrees colder and smelt strongly like the garbage alley.
The first thing Tom noticed was a discarded bloody shirt on the stairs.
Someone let out a cry of agony. It felt so familiar to Tom, like it was a sound he'd made.
Maybe it was.
Tom turned around to find a skin and bones version of Evans kneeling on the ground. His head was braced on his forearms and his back was exposed. Blood ran like rivers from huge gashes in the skin.
A whale of a man stood above him with a massive, serrated whip in hand. He raised it up and cut through the air. A small irrational part of Tom hoped the man was just moving the whip to make a noise that would scare Evans.
That was not the case though. The whip hit Evans' back and ripped a massive laceration from Evan's shoulder blade right down to his hip. The whale of a man looked positively gleeful. Something akin to lust shone in the man's eyes when he raised the whip again.
"Bastard." Evans, the Evans that Tom had gotten to know, hissed at the Whale apparition.
Tom reached out to grab the man by his collar, but his hand slid right through.
The whale of a man brought the whip down again. Skin and bones Evans let out a single sobbed. Tom thought he might beg for mercy but he stayed silent. Evans grit his teeth and braced himself for the next inevitable blow.
"I could kill him," Tom offered. He turned to find Evans shaking with fear watching the whale raise the crop again.
Tom frowned. He stepped between Evans and the whale. "Evans? Evans! Harry James Potter!"
Evans snapped up and looked at Tom like he was seeing him for the first time.
"I can kill him."
"No." Evans' voice was small and reluctant. "I don't want that. I want it to be over."
"Evans, it is over." Tom pointed out. "You're never going back there."
"What if Dumbledore-"
"Then I'll Avada Kadavra his ass and Abraxas will drain him dry."
Evans flinched at the sound of the whale bringing the whip down again. "I don't like remember this, but I don't think it has the same emotions it use to. You're right, it is over." Evans pulled at the edges of the memory and stuffed it down into a large wine barrel.
No one thought that Evans had worked through his emotions entirely, but he was a bit more at peace.
Evans shook like a leaf while he cleaned up the wine cellor but at least he kept moving which was a lot more than Tom could say for himself.
When Evans had tidied up the room, he let Abraxas pull him into a tight hug. "You did really well today" was all the ancient vampire said.
It was what Evans needed to hear apparently though. The young wizard clunch to Abraxas gasping out in dry sobs while the vampire rubbed his back and held him close.
Tom waited to the side while Evans collected himself.
He thought about the home that Evans grew up in.
It was nearly as bad as the orphanage. What had happened to his dream of making wizard kind greater? Wasn't he trying to prevent other children from ever experiencing the abuse and neglect he had grown up in?
Not only had he not meet that goal, he'd caused Evans to relive the same horrors Tom had.
Tom's stomach sank. How could he have caused the same fate he struggled through on someone else?
Tom wasn't sure he could trust his own vision for the wizarding world anymore. He'd failed. Obviously. He'd abandoned and killed his two closest friends. Half his cause, to improve Creature rights, he'd actively worked against in the end. And now this. He'd caused the very tragedy he was trying to erase.
Guilt like Tom had never known filled his heart and clouded his eyes.
"Shit" he whimpered silently in the corner. Tears were running down his cheeks.
Something bright filled the cellar. Evans screwed his eyes shut as the brightness increased.
Then, suddenly a bolt of lightening starting at Evans struck Tom in the heart.
Everything went black for a moment.
When Tom opened his eyes again, he was in Abraxas study lying flat on his back. A warm, brave presence settled into his mind. Harry-Tom was the smallest Horcrux, but it seemed to take up so much space.
Tom stared up at the wooden ceiling and marveled at the love and tenacity Evans had nurtured in the little soul fragment.
…
"I'm sending you back under one condition" Lily Potter said to Myrtle-Tom.
Myrtle-Tom looked at Harry Potter's mother and wondered if it was possible to be killed when already dead. Lily certainly looked like she was willing to give it a try if Myrtle-Tom did anything nefarious.
"You are to do as much good as you can. You are to put your whole life into making the wizarding world better." Her gaze softened. Much to Tom's surprise, she pulled him into a hug.
Myrtle-Tom could count on one hand the times he'd been hugged and none of them felt so great. Tentatively, he wrapped his arm around the young witch.
She pulled back and cupped his face in her hands, "There is a little boy inside you filled with love." She whispered.
Myrtle-Tom thought that was the most beautiful lie he'd ever heard.
"And Tom," Lily took a step back and smiled wickedly at him, "If you ever hurt my son again, I will come back as a poltergeist and haunt you until the end of time."
While a final quick hug, Lily Potter sent Myrtle-Tom back to the world of the living. He had two option, go to Voldemort or Tom.
…
Voldemort smiled at the press. He basked in their irrational unconditional love. They would follow like sheep right to the slaughter house.
His agenda was coming along nicely. Somehow the little Longbottom boy had escaped with his grandmother and fought off the three death eaters Voldemort had sent. It was no matter though. Augusta Longbottom was holed up with her grandson somewhere in Knockturn Alley. With both of them squirreled away, the Longbottom house could no longer interfere.
It was rather bothersome that the Ghetto of Knockturn Alley was entirely cut off from the rest of the wizarding world. It was impossible now for Voldemort to get any of his people in.
At first, it was just his Death Eater that couldn't get in but the Goblins, house elves, forest elves, selkie, werewolves, vampires, and several groups had added various protections to the Alley. No one loyal to Voldemort could get in anymore.
That was a fight for another time though. For now, Voldemort would focus on conquering the Ministry of Magic. He was confident that by September, it would be his.
…
"We need to go to the Abbot's house" Hermione dashed into Abraxas study and grabbed Tom and Harry. Ron and Neville were already close on her heels.
She threw some powder in the floor and vanished in a puff of smoke.
Ron was next, followed closely by Evans and Neville. For a split second, Tom thought about not flowing through. He didn't really have too. He had no loyalty to the Abbott house. But the thought was squashed as soon as it came and Tom stepped into the fire.
He stumbled out into an impressive marble foyer. Evans and Hermione were battling Death Eaters while Ron and Neville cleared a path to help the Abbott family to escape. It seemed that there was a family gathering going on as several generations of Abbott's came streaming from the dining room towards the floo.
Tom ran over to Evans and pulled him out of the way of a dark curse, "Go protect the family" he motioned to the people behind him. Then he gripped his wand and began to duel.
Dueling came as naturally to Tom as swimming came to a Selkie. He struck down Death Eater after Death Eater, careful to not kill them.
Harry set up a few runes to create a protective barrier from the dining room to the floor then jumped back into the fight, Neville and Ron were close behind.
The five of them managed to stun and body bind all 27 Death Eaters before proper Order members arrived.
As soon as Dumbledore and his flaming chicken followers showed up, Tom left. He might be willing to help Evans, but he wouldn't be caught dead working cooperatively with the manipulative old man.
…
Voldemort let his magic run wild and destroy the Abbott family home.
All of them. Every last Abbott had made it out of the manor and into the safe haven of Knockturn Alley. What's more, his entire Death Eater strike team was rendered unconscious on the marble floor of the foyer.
Yes, the Abbots were now out of the Ministry which meant their meddling would stop, but for how long.
The Potter, Longbottom, and Abbot families were still out there. They could show up at anytime and cause untold damage to Voldemort's plan. He needed to get rid of them. The only way to do that was to knock out Knockturn Alley.
He had no idea how to do that though.
This would no doubt mean another long arduous week researching dark magic. Voldemort was seriously starting to considered rising another undead army. It would be a waste of effort if the corpses couldn't make it past the barriers into Knockturn thought.
…
"Tom," Hermione frowned when she opened Harry's apartment door. Everyone seemed to expect him to just waltz in but he insisted on knocking. "How on earth did you manage to get another black eye?"
Tom vaguely remembered the black eye he sported the first time he'd meet hermione.
"I tripped, " Tom answered automatically. Years of living in the orphanage had conditioned that response.
"Into someone's first?" Hermione did not look impressed and she wasn't moving to let him in.
Tom sent Hermione a withering glare but the fiery witch stood her ground.
"Abraxas and I had a disagreement" Tom relented. He turned away so he couldn't see her pity. Only, she sounded more frustrated than empathetic when she said, "and you just let him hit you?"
"He's a fuck vampire, Hermione. He moves a hell of a lot fast than I do." now she looked empathetic. Fuck.
"Then leave idiot" the empathy was gone again in a flash. Tom wasn't sure if he was relieved or upset. This conversation felt like Abraxas abuse was his fault and it damn well wasn't. Abraxas was blaming him for what a shadow did. Tom was not Voldemort.
"I did," He motioned to the fact he was currently standing at Evans' door with a sack slung over one shoulder.
Hermione moved out of the way and let him in.
Evans was in the kitchen cooking dinner with Dobby. Marcus was up to his eyebrows in legal documents.
"Are you still working on rewriting the entire Magical Legal code?" Tom settled himself down on the couch beside Marcus and picked up a file and started leafing through it.
Rather than answer the question, Hermione lead him through their progress and pointed to where he could help.
"You should be the next Minister of Magic Hermione," Tom suggested that night at the dinner table.
Hermione smiled blandly, "I intend to be."
"You'll be her vice minister, right?" Marcus took a spoonful of Potato salad and passed the bowl to Tom.
Tom was almost too surprised to register the action. Finally he reached out and accepted the dish.
"Obviously," Hermione answered for him.
"Me? In power? Isn't that the whole scenario we are try to undo?" he asked the table incredulously. To his shock and awe they all looked blankly back at him.
"Voldemort is a terrible leader, but Tom you'd be great."
Tom shook his head emphatically, "Not likely. After this I'm getting my medical degree or something."
"You want to be A mediwizard?" Marcus snorted, "Can you even heal a patchement cut?"
Tom stuck his nose up haughtily rather than admit that no, he could not heal even the smallest of injuries. That wasn't the point. He could learn in time.
"I think that's really admirable," Hermione didn't sound the least bit genuine but she was clearly trying.
Evans studied him closely. "Give it a try. You might like it , you might not but you'll learn something either way."
Tom opened his mouth to say respond, but the apartment door opened and in came Neville and Ron. They were both covered in dust and grinning ear to ear.
"Oh good, you're back." Hermione grinned up at her boy friend. They kissed and he stole some of her food. Harry pulled out two muggle folding chair and everyone shuffled over to accommodate the two new dinner guest.
The rest of the night was spent hearing about Ron and Neville' recent duel with Bellatrix.
…
Myrtle-Tom watched as Voldemort tortured his followers. It was disgusting and pathetic.
Myrtle-Tom stole as much information as he could still being an apparition then headed into Knockturn Alley.
He found Tom Riddle sharing a bed with Harry James Potter. There was barrier of pillows between the two of them, though Harry had kicked the barrier over and taken up most of the bed.
Myrtle-Tom grinned and dove into Tom Riddle's head. For a moment there were two minds in Tom Riddle but in a moment their thoughts and memories melded into one.
Tom Riddle woke and sat bolt upright.
Beside him, Evans stirred and peeked one eye open to look at him curiously.
"I know how to defeat him," Tom flung the covers off and padded out of the room,
"What?" Evans called after him.
Marcus and Hermione both woke with a start when Tom marched into the living room and started pulling out parchment and drawing up spells.
"What's going on?" Marcus asked Evans.
Tom answered, "I know how to defeat Voldemort." The three sleepy figures all stared stunned at him.
"Coffee," Hermione demanded. She pulled the covers off and moved over to the kitchen table to help Tom plan.
Marcus flung himself back onto the coach for a brief rebellious moment before relenting and getting up to plan.
Harry rubbed the exhaustion from his eyes and put the coffee on.
