Disclaimer: I own nothing; it all belongs to J.K.Rowling. I'm just borrowing the characters to play with for a while. This is for pleasure only, no profit is being made, and no copyright infringement is intended.

Author's Note: I'm not a fan of using notes to tell the story, but a number of people were confused by the eye color in the last chapter. Some thought Tom's eyes were blue, others brown, etc... I've always assumed they were green. Canon doesn't ever say anything other than red at evil times and 'dark.' But even the diary Tom in the second book mentioned he and Harry "even look something alike." Might be why I assumed green. That and the Slytherin connection. Big thanks to the folks who help me straighten out these chapters. Thanks for all the reviews. I've been a bit lazier on the replies lately, but I read and appreciate every one. Direct questions that won't be answered by the next chapter I will do my best to reply to. You should definitely start to see light at the end of this tunnel now. Just a couple more chapters (I think).


CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

Sirius looked at the man and summarized his feelings on the subject. "What?"

Harry sighed in sadness. "It was the prophecy getting out, wasn't it?"

The man occasionally known as David Monroe nodded.

"What?" Sirius said, not following that at all. "Please, for all the slow people in the room like me and the Death Eater. What?"

"Speak for yourself, Lord Black," the Death Eater known as Alan Weston mumbled.

Sirius just stared at the Death Eater, daring him to give Sirius a reason to curse him.

"When Frank Longbottom let the prophecy get out, he opened the door for people to send Neville presents. Bloody hell," Harry said thinking back to his talk with Albus. "Why didn't anyone question it when a seven year old managed to cast an expansion charm in his backpack? It only made it that much harder to notice an old diary mixed in with all the other books."

The healthy, pleasant version of Tom Riddle shrugged. "He was the chosen one."

"Oh that's rich," Harry darkly chuckled. "Coming from you."

"So this guy ate Neville?" Sirius asked as he pointed at Tom and looked at Harry.

Tom waited for Harry to clarify, uncertain just how much Harry knew.

"Metaphysically, yes," Harry said with a nod. "The horcrux in the diary leeches the soul and life force from a naïve and innocent child and presto, new physical body in the real world for the horcrux to inhabit while little Neville's body gets cold and dies."

Sirius was still keeping his distance and pointing at the man. "I thought you said the diary had a teenage Tommy Junior."

Harry was watching Tom display some real emotions. "He sprung into the world a teenager, but that was back in, what, 88? So you're about 36 now?"

Tom made no effort to deny Harry's claim, instead he explored another avenue of conversation. "You really are from another world, aren't you?"

"Fuck," Sirius swore, still pointing at Tom. "Does everyone know about us? First Albus figures it out. Just the other day we discover Voldemort knows and now Tom Riddlebottom and his pet Death Eater are giving us shit? What the hell, Harry?"

"Tom Riddlebottom?" Harry repeated, glancing at the look of horror on Tom's face. "Oh that name's going to stick."

Tom softly mumbled, "As long as it's not on a t-shirt."

"Stop that," Harry ordered. "I'm having enough trouble reconciling the idea of a child murdering dark artifact with the mysterious fucker fighting the Dark Lord. You don't need to add in humility and a substandard sense of humor."

"If I may?" Tom politely interrupted. "I believe the Dark Lord discovered something while dueling you or shortly thereafter. It was then that he began to investigate parallel worlds. His investigation tipped off myself and most likely Albus. But I must say, until today, I didn't believe it was true."

Sirius was still pointing at Tom and looking at Harry helplessly. "Well shit."

"Relax Sirius," Harry said shifting his weight while watching Tom. "While I'd like it if you didn't get into the habit of just blurting that out, Tom here was already convinced after we knew so much about him."

Tom nodded silently.

"What I don't get though is how he's so… human. Or why he's doing this."

"Why?" Sirius repeated. "I'm just going to take a wild stab in the dark and say Dark Lords don't play nice with other Dark Lords."

Tom stood there calmly, willing to let them reason things out in front of him.

"Not just why he's opposing Voldemort," Harry said, noticing how tense but obedient the other Death Eater was. "But why he's here and making himself so vulnerable to us."

Tom saw they were waiting on him and admitted, "I'm here because I need your help and you won't give it with anything short of full disclosure. Can we speak freely here and without interruption? I'm willing to tell you nearly anything, but I'm not prepared to extend the same courtesy to Headmaster Dumbledore."

"Problems with Albus?" Harry questioned.

Tom shook his head. "He never gave me the benefit of the doubt when I was a student. I am reluctant to find out if he would understand my situation now."

"What makes you think we're any different," Harry asked.

"You're not giving me a choice in the matter," Tom explained. "But I know you won't trust me easily, so I have a suggestion."

Harry and Sirius exchanged a glance. "We're listening."

Tom squared his shoulders to address Harry. "Are you familiar with the charms of brotherhood?"

"You gotta be fucking kiddin' me," Harry grumbled in disbelief. "You want a charm of brotherhood?"

Sirius remembered when Harry explained his plan to get one from Albus and wasn't sure how much to read into That Fucker attempting to extract the same from Harry.

"I'm not willing to condone veritaserum," Tom argued. "And I doubt you would trust the results if I did agree to it."

"Perhaps you should remember you're in no position to negotiate," Harry said as the living wards sprung to life encasing both uninvited men in giant solid blocks of crystal up to the neck.

"I'm far from helpless," Tom said coldly, letting his dark side show for the first time. "And will not continue extending this kindness indefinitely."

The crystal prisons around the two men began to liquefy and melt with no visible motion from Tom as he stared down Harry.

Harry was reminded of just who this adversary was and remained alert and vigilant. "True. But as I'm sure you've noticed all of your attempts to wrest control of the living wards have failed miserably. Though I find it interesting that you and Albus go through very similar processes of trial and error."

Tom's harsh look faded into one of humble embarrassment. "I must admit I'm perplexed at that. You've protected yourself in way that eludes me." He slowly and obviously withdrew his wand and began to trace magic across his fingers. "I swear on my existence that I will not intentionally reveal either of you are from another world nor that you are the Death Eater Bandits, for as long as you permit me the courtesy of a charm of brotherhood." He finished by extending his magically glowing hand towards Harry.

"Your existence?" Harry questioned, already beginning to cast the same magic over his fingers.

"My life and magic are debatable topics as to whether they are mine," Tom explained. "Existence felt the most fitting."

Harry clasped hands and sealed a charm of brotherhood with Tom Riddle. It was a concept Harry never would have believed just a few hours earlier. "Agreed."

Both men felt the magic of the charm reacting and watched each other for any signs of deception.

Tom amicably broke the tense silence. "You are certain Albus isn't listening in?"

"Not certain," Harry shook his head. "Though I highly doubt he is. I can tell you what he's trying right now is going to fail, but he is a brilliant wizard."

"How do you know it's going to fail?" Tom inquired, knowing the likelihood of crossing wands was much lower now with the charm of brotherhood between them.

"He's basing everything off an inaccurate assumption," Harry said feeling slightly proud of his plan. "An assumption you also made."

"Care to enlighten us?" Tom asked. He noticed Alan looked uncomfortable and knew he needed to move this conversation along. When he saw the hesitancy from Harry, he added, "I've no intentions of attacking you or your wards. I'm just curious."

Harry sensed truth from the charm of brotherhood but common sense still told him not to trust this man. "I think we're getting away from the story you need to tell," Harry said, producing the usual pair of recliners for himself and Sirius.

"Understood," Tom genially replied. A slight twist of his wand produced a pair of finely crafted chairs for himself and Alan, copying the Lord Blacks. "As Harry indicated, one of the most important events leading to my existence was the prophecy getting out.

"After the Dark Lord… killed the both of you, he became intensely focused on destroying Neville Longbottom. For years he was thwarted by the protections surrounding the Longbottoms. Stories of his persistence led into rumors of a prophesized savior. When Frank Longbottom confirmed those rumors and leaked the details of the actual prophecy, Voldemort ordered all of his followers to get Longbottom using any means necessary."

Tom was speaking calmly, like a history professor patiently lecturing his class. "Fortunately for me, Lucius Malfoy had been entrusted with a diary that would ensnare any who used it. He did not know of the significance of the object, only that it was a tool for which he could earn the Dark Lord's favor."

"I," Tom paused and hesitantly admitted, "I did what I was created to do. I tricked a child into trusting me and ensnared him with promises of the greatness he could achieve. It didn't take long before Neville had made me whole again. I took his body with me and went to find the Dark Lord."

Harry felt genuine emotion from the brotherhood charm and was constantly comparing this version with his memories of the diary from his old world. "This is so fucking surreal."

"Hah!" Sirius exclaimed. "Not so much fun on this side, is it? A little dose of your own medicine."

"Excuse me?" Harry inquired. "Just what is that supposed to mean?"

"You know," Sirius said uneasily noticing how similar his godson and the strangely dignified version of the Dark Lord looked and acted. "That tone of voice where you're saying a bunch of stupid shit that's way beyond belief but still makes a twisted kind of sense."

Harry just stared at Sirius for a moment.

Sirius crossed his arms and stuck his fingers out to the side wiggling them wildly. "Invisible freaky arms?" He put a finger on his forehead and motioned it flipping up. "Avada Ke-doink!"

"Sirius!" Harry snapped. "Perhaps you'd care to share a few of your own secrets instead of mine?"

Sirius gulped. "Never mind."

Harry turned back towards the two others who were failing to keep the confusion off their faces. "Continue, Mr. Riddlebottom."

Tom frowned slightly at the name but resumed his tale. "When I located the Dark Lord, he was furious. I'm not sure why, but I stayed back and observed him. I wanted to see what I'd become, what kind of wizard and leader I was. Suffice it to say, I was disappointed.

"Electing not to approach him, instead I just watched for a few days. I saw Death Eaters cowering in fear, many of them regretting their decision to join me. I saw myself taking pleasure in punishing them. Dispensing all the blame for failures on them and never admitting my own faults. After a while, I came to a sad conclusion about the horcrux process."

Harry saw Tom had paused and was waiting. Harry glanced at Sirius before stating, "Feel free to pretend we're enraptured and are encouraging you to continue."

Tom looked disappointed but explained, "When I was made, when Voldemort made his first horcrux, I believed that I'd figured out how to make multiple horcruxes and avoid the most damaging side effect, insanity."

He took a breath and asserted, "I've come to discover that I was wrong. And thus by definition, I'm the only sane piece of Tom Riddle left in this world."

"You hear that Sirius?" Harry mocked while thinking Tom was way too calm about this. "There's a sane piece."

"Yeah," Sirius caught on to what Harry was doing. "The piece that ate Neville. You know, the good piece."

Alan Weston was bristling, clearly unhappy with the Lord Blacks, but he continued to be a civil guest.

Tom smiled sadly. "Nevertheless, I felt uncomfortable revealing my existence to the Dark Lord I'd become. I discovered Lucius was the one who sent me to Neville. He was waiting to hear if his use of the Dark Lord's 'cursed diary' was successful before sharing his plan with Voldemort. So I relieved him of those memories and planted a fake diary into his vault."

Harry saw Tom had paused again and doubtfully asked, "So that's it? You saw him being a Mr. Meany-pants and decided you'd rather frolic under a rainbow through fields of daisies with the bunnies?"

"It's not that simple and you know it. I'd appreciate it if you stopped trying to bait me, but I understand if you feel you must." Tom was rewarded by a couple of narrowed pairs of eyes and calmly explained, "I didn't oppose him at first. I wasn't helping him, but occasionally I'd toss in a new element into his plans to see how he'd respond. Simple obstacles a rational mind would overcome. Encourage a little token resistance when he wasn't expecting any. It was months before I accepted a disturbing truth: I'm much smarter than Voldemort."

Sirius didn't sound nearly as sarcastic when he commented, "Says the man fighting a stalemate from the shadows for twenty years."

"Yeah," Harry agreed, showing more curiosity than anything else. "He's held you off it seems. What makes you so sure you're that much smarter?"

Tom crossed his legs and pondered the answer. "I know if I were him, I would've figured out my identity by now. And like I said, I didn't oppose him at first. It wasn't until I discovered a Death Eater who'd gone so far as to fake his own death in an effort to get out from Voldemort's control that I began to actively oppose him." He glanced over at Alan, as the other man began to fidget in his seat.

Harry shook his head in spite of what the charm of brotherhood was telling him. "I'm having a lot of trouble buying this change-of-heart load. You were already a cruel bastard at 17. Hell, you made a horcrux."

Tom nodded. "It is a foul and dark magic, I agree. And while the costs of doing such an act may seem too high to you, the allure of a magic so powerful is undeniable. For what little it is worth, the part of the process I recall bothered me sufficiently to swear off the necessity of making more. I still have not uncovered what changed Voldemort's mind but I do know it was more than a decade before he made the second."

"And you? You've not been having any second thoughts?" Harry said, unable to resist the pun.

Tom shook his head. "Even if I sought to uncover a way around the known limitations, it would most likely cost me my rationality. I take solace from the knowledge that I cannot make one. I do not have to worry about the temptation because it is not an option for me."

Harry bit his tongue, thinking of the eerily similar words he'd used with others in regards to his defeat of his Voldemort.

Sirius saw something about that had rattled Harry and drew attention his way. "So we're just supposed to accept this change of heart stuff you're shoveling?"

"It wasn't a change of heart or pity for the Death Eater I'd just met," Tom earnestly answered, "as much as it was further disappointment in Voldemort.

"Here was a man who had faked his death but was unaware of the soul magic in the Dark Mark. Voldemort knew he was not dead and was torturing him, most likely in the same way he tortured your Bellatrix. I reached the same conclusions you did in that the Mark was permanent, but ownership could be transferred.

"As I unraveled the layers of the Dark Mark, I discovered a number of other weak spells blended into the soul magic. Compulsion and obedience charms, secondary and tertiary leeches on their magic. It was everything I despised in my youth. A follower, an ally, or an emissary should be able to think for his or herself, and at full strength, without undue influence. Obedient weak drones may be easier to control but are a significant waste of resources.

"And in spite of all those subtle corruptive magics, people were still willing to fake their deaths to get away."

Tom finished shaking his head in sadness. "I admit I felt a little lost then. Fortunately the Death Eater I'd saved and whose Mark I controlled was like a stray puppy that I'd made the mistake of feeding once."

Alan cleared his throat loudly before patting his chest innocently.

"We got acquainted with each other while he healed and he opened my eyes to an opportunity before us," Tom continued. "I had a chance to fix all the mistakes Voldemort had made and be the sort of wizard I knew I could. Inspire the people and remind them of why they followed me in the first place."

"Oh lovely," Sirius summarized. "A glass-half-full Dark Lord."

"Not a Dark Lord," Tom said shaking his head. "I've seen where that path leads. No, I intend to follow the path last taken by Albus Dumbledore."

Harry and Sirius exchanged wary looks.

"I will rise from the glory of saving the wizarding world and defeating the Dark Lord," Tom said matter-of-factly. "And I need your help to do it."

Sirius could barely believe the audacity of this man. "How's that charm working, Harry?"

"He's telling the truth," Harry assured him. "Or at least what he believes it to be."

Tom glanced regrettably towards Alan Weston before turning back towards both Lord Blacks. "Considering your noble and ancient status in this world, I feel I should mention the Death Eater, whom I saved and has helped me to forge my own path, is Regulus Black."

Sirius and Harry both froze in surprise. Sirius just kept staring at Tom, waiting for him to say something more about his bizarro little brother. Harry's gaze moved from Tom over to the suddenly nervous and fidgeting Alan Weston.

Harry lifted his arm and pointed at Alan. "You're…"

"Regulus is alive?" Sirius blurted out finally.

Tom nodded with an amused smile.

Harry saw Alan was still avoiding eye contact. "You're-"

"Harry!" Sirius interrupted, pulling his godson's arm down. "He's talking about Reggie. I think this is more important."

Tom opened his mouth but was interrupted by Sirius' yelp of pain as he slapped a hand over his eye.

"Dammit Harry!"

"Maybe if you'd let me speak," Harry snapped. "You might learn something."

"I'm talking to Riddlebottom," Sirius argued, pulling his hand down when his eye stopped stinging.

"Sirius," Harry said tiredly, noticing even Alan was looking at Sirius incredulously. "What kind of retarded Death Eater is going to have a muggle dryer?"

Sirius looked over at Harry curiously, before he gasped in comprehension. He slowly turned his head to see the Death Eater had removed his charmed necklace.

"Why you gotta call me Reggie?" he said in irritation. "You know how much I hate that."

"Reggie!" Sirius exclaimed, his face splitting into a bright grin. He pulled the reluctant and oddly older man but sort of younger brother into a hug. "Why didn't you say something sooner?"

Regulus looked at Sirius. "I had no clue who you were until after you'd broken into my place, snatched the Slytherin locket, and stolen my dryer!"

"Oh," Sirius recalled his many gently warmed bathrobes. "Right."

Regulus shrugged indifferently. "And even since then, you've pretty much been a prick."

"Shit," Sirius swore.

Harry's face split into a victorious grin at Regulus' blunt assessment. "Did you hear-"

"Shut up, Harry," Sirius snapped, knowing full well that he was on the receiving end of what he'd said to James.

Harry started to laugh. "Oh, oh, oh-"

The words were more insistent as Sirius again said, "Shut up, Harry."

Harry grinned at his godfather when he was startled to feel genuine happiness through the charm of brotherhood. He turned to Tom, who was smiling back at him.

Sirius and Regulus easily fell into their own private conversation, both excited to speak to something close to the brother they thought they'd never see again.

"So Alan Weston," Harry said turning towards Tom.

"He couldn't continue being Regulus Black," Tom replied as he levitated his chair over next to Harry. "Why don't we let those two catch up? It will allow us to take advantage of a little privacy and the protection of our charm of brotherhood."

Harry uncertainly watched the privacy dome surround him and Tom Riddle. "Uh-huh."

"You doubt my intentions," Tom said, prompting an earnest discussion.

Harry was on guard but found himself beginning to believe and trust the words of Tom. "It was more the unsubtle way you revealed Regulus' identity. Divide and conquer is the next stage of your master sales pitch?"

"I'm going to be honest with you, Harry," Tom urged while adding strength and resolve to the charm of brotherhood.

Harry sent a burst of magic to match into the charm and smirked. "Is that your way of saying you've been lying thus far?"

Tom shook his head. "There will always be differences in the truth you hear, the truth you can accept, and the truth as I see it. I've been honest so far, but that was primarily to ensure your cooperation to get to this point."

Harry nodded and listened attentively.

"I'm not a light wizard," Tom said, smiling at Harry's snort. "Nor are you a dark wizard. But if we work together… there's nothing beyond our reach."

Harry was amazed to realize this supremely confident wizard respected him for some odd reason. It was most definitely a change from any facet of Voldemort he'd seen before.

"I'm not talking about taking the world by force," Tom continued. He paused and considered the possibility. "We'd probably manage that one a lot better than Voldemort has, but I know your conscience wouldn't ever allow it. I'm talking about shaping the world we live in. A revolution known only to us."

Harry looked at Tom dubiously. "That sounds like an awful lot of work."

Tom laughed. "I've heard the vitriol you spout towards blood superiority and just about everything hereditary in our world. We share views on greatness and the beauty and power of true magic.

"When Voldemort falls, just about everything standing in our way can be painted with his brush and tainted by his association. The ills of our world can be healed and our lives can be whatever we make of them. If we work against each other, neither of us will accomplish a fraction of what we could by working together. Albus Dumbledore's time has passed. It's our turn, Harry."

Harry was beginning to see a side of Tom Riddle that would attract others. He was a man with a vision and the power to back up his words. "You seem to be presuming an awful lot."

Tom looked off into the distance. "If a junkie could foresee what his life would be, if he could see what he would look like at his worst moment, do you think he would ever take that first hit? Knowing where it would lead him, would he ever start?"

"Voldemort's not a junkie," Harry argued.

"No," Tom agreed. "But he's not who I want to be. Voldemort is the madness, I am the man. That's not someone I'll ever allow myself to be. And I hope it's not someone you'll ever let me become."

The brotherhood charm was as strong as ever. Harry clarified, "You want me to be your dark magic nanny?"

"You really infuriate Albus, don't you?" Tom said with a shake of his head. "You know what I am, right?"

Harry could think of several answers to that question but nodded silently.

"If Voldemort ever figured out who I am, or rather what I am, then he could have a control over me that I'd be powerless to resist."

Harry hadn't even considered those implications. "That's why protecting your identity is so important."

Tom nodded. "There's a way that I could be freed in case Voldemort ever got me, but it requires a horcrux. That was why Alan had the locket. Neither of us appreciated losing that as I had to move Sirius Black's skull into a place where Alan could access it."

"So you do have the skull," Harry said. "That's… that's all of them, right?"

"I'm going to try and lure the Dark Lord into a trap in about a week," Tom assured him.

"Really?"

"Your public announcement of Voldemort's horcruxes has backed me into a perilous position and one I must address sooner rather later."

"Oh," Harry realized. "Sorry about that."

Tom chuckled darkly. "Your sincerity is just oozing from the charm of brotherhood."

Harry shrugged, knowing he couldn't exactly convince him otherwise. "Why'd you show Reggie Sirius' skull instead of the ring? Just to fuck with him?"

"Contrary to your experiences with Voldemorts and Tom Riddles," Tom chided. "I do have feelings and am not a cruel, heartless man."

Harry felt slightly ashamed and saw Tom was surprised to sense the emotion through the bond.

Tom twisted the invisible ring on his left hand. "No, I'm sorry to say the ring is no longer a horcrux, thus the skull was the only active one I possessed. Had I known you were going to announce the other three horcruxes up for auction I would have spared Alan the uncomfortable experience."

Harry looked at the Slytherin family ring featuring a shining emerald resting in the middle of a silver Ouroboros. Golden claws decorated the sides holding the very lifelike snake in place. "You managed to remove the fragment without destroying the ring?"

Tom slid the ring up and down his finger a couple times. "That was not my intention, but yes."

Harry felt the nudge from the charm and inquired. "And just what was your intention?"

With a sad look, Tom explained, "I thought perhaps I could absorb the other soul fragments and become closer to a whole person. It was a mistake I was lucky to survive. I'm not going to go into it now, but the other fragments are vile and the horcruxes must be destroyed."

Harry could tell whatever happened was a big reason for his current attitude. He glanced over towards the protected display with the lots for the auction. "You sure you can't extract the soul pieces? Those are some pretty valuable old toys."

Tom shook his head. "I'm sorry, but there's no controlling where the soul fragment goes if you destroy its bindings. The one in the ring came after me and I foolishly tried to accept it.

"I've come to believe that it was Neville, and his soul that saved me and called for help."

"Neville's soul called for help?"

"That is no ordinary affliction Frank Longbottom suffers from," Tom stated darkly. "He is a good man and a good father."

"Hang on," Harry interjected. "You're telling me the soul fragment is in Frank?"

"No," Tom insisted. "It's gone. I made certain of that. But it didn't go quietly."

"You fuckers are sons of bitches, ain't ya?" Harry said recalling the horcruxes he'd destroyed.

"It attracted too much of the wrong kind of attention too. It's also the reason Alan volunteered to rejoin the Death Eaters." Tom was fiddling with the ring and constant reminder. "Even the ring hated it. It's my understanding that the ring rejected Voldemort when he put it on. And for that reason, to spite it, he turned the ring into a horcrux."

"It doesn't seem to mind you," Harry commented.

Tom shrugged. "I suspect it trusts me about as much as you do. It refused me the lordship of the Slytherin line but recognizes me as the Head of the family."

"Speaking of Slytherin," Harry questioned. "How do you plan to reconcile our differences on pureblood supremacy?"

"Differences?" Tom said. "I assumed we shared somewhat similar ideas on the value of blood." He saw Harry's frown and added, "Voldemort's only using the pureblood agenda as a means to an end. I believe preserving the ancient bloodlines are important, particularly the genetic gifts and familial magics, but I could care less whether your parents, grand-parents, and great grand-parents were all purebloods or not."

"You don't care?"

"Harry, my magical relatives were all inbred weak idiots. My mother was two steps from being a squib, but as soon as some fresh blood was introduced to such a noble and ancient bloodline, even muggle blood…" Tom trailed off and shrugged. "I may not be very humble, but I am quite intelligent and I'm easily the most powerful wizard of my generation.

"The truth is that the most powerful politically, financially, and sometimes magically tend to flock to the pureblood banner. A necessary evil Voldemort is all too eager to exploit. In the world after his fall, we can oppose issues of purity by associating them with him."

"So you oppose it?" Harry clarified.

Tom shook his head. "I believe in the importance of history. Families like the Potters or the Blacks. You're the result of a muggleborn added to the Potter line, a half-blood like myself. Blood purity doesn't matter, but the bloodlines do."

"That doesn't sound very much like your most famous ancestor."

Tom looked up sadly. "He lived in a very different time. And I suspect history has not been kind to the Slytherin legacy. I know you've mocked the unchecked hereditary seats in the Wizengamot. Maybe it's time to catch up to fourteenth century muggles and institute a House of Commons for elected Wizengamot seats?"

Harry looked at Tom warily. "This is your private little revolution?"

"I like to think of it as our revolution. Intelligent, rational wizards like us should be able to agree on mutually beneficial changes."

"Yeah," Harry said. "It still sounds like a lot of work."

Tom wore a predatory smile. "Don't worry. I've got ambition enough for both of us."

Harry let out a small sigh. "So what kind of help are you looking for?"

Tom looked up hopefully.

"I'm not saying you're getting it," Harry diplomatically offered. "Just wondering what you want from us."

"Nothing life threatening," Tom assured him. "But I need all of the horcruxes destroyed before I can kill the Dark Lord."

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but that sounds suicidal."

A ghost of a smile crossed his face. "Forgive me. I need all of the other horcruxes destroyed. Then when I kill Voldemort, I can capture what remains and lock it away."

"Lock it away?" Harry repeated skeptically.

Tom nodded sadly. "As long as I exist, he can't move on. He'll be powerless, bodiless, and locked in a prison of my own design, but he will exist."

Harry frowned. "I'm not a fan of imprisoning Voldemort. He's a bloody, tricky bugger, even if he is insane."

"The only other option is, as you said, suicide." Tom turned to face Harry and showed his dedication to survival. "And I am not willing to accept that."

Harry got the message loud and clear but didn't have to like it. "So that's it? You just want us to give you our priceless little toys so you can break them? You're not asking us to back you up when you fight him?"

"No, I don't need physical assistance, but I do need your help with legitimacy."

Harry smiled distastefully. "Makes sense."

Tom nodded. "David Monroe, renowned for his skills at healing the mind, suddenly overpowering and destroying the Dark Lord would be hard for many to believe. But when I mention that my good friend Lord Harry Black has been known to keep me on my toes, then it's far less surprising that I defeated Voldemort."

"Bugger," Harry said. "I knew beating the crap out of him in public was going to come around to bite me in the ass."

Tom smiled. "If you want, I'm willing for you to 'have played a large role in the defeat of Voldemort,' but I get the feeling you do not wish for the fame or the glory. It's going to earn Alan some recognition and amnesty. Perhaps Sirius would like an Order of Merlin third class?"

Harry looked over and saw Sirius smiling brightly while Regulus was rolling his eyes. "Maybe, maybe not."

Tom saw Harry's eyes wandering and canceled the privacy dome surrounding them. "So do we have an agreement? You provide the horcruxes and validation while I handle all the other pesky details?"

Harry pretended to slowly nod before stopping. "No."

"No?" Tom asked in surprise.

Sirius and Regulus walked over. "Reggie gave me most of the highlights. Destroy the horcruxes, kill the Dark Lord. He claims the whole thing will be over in a matter of days."

Regulus looked like he didn't mind the unwelcome childhood nickname as much as he had before. "Did I hear you right, no?"

Harry nodded and stood over by his godfather. "If we were being nice I can see us returning the locket to you guys. But we busted our ass for those other two. Padfoot, you were almost killed. And do I have to remind you of all the pussy that damn cup cost you?"

Sirius nodded in support of Harry, even if he didn't agree with him on this.

Harry could tell Sirius didn't care but insisted, "We've invested too much to just give up the horcruxes for free."

"This is to end the reign of the Dark Lord," Regulus snapped. "This isn't about profit."

Harry smirked at Tom. "Really? Because all I've been hearing is how this is going to catapult David Monroe to being the apple of the wizarding world's eye. The next Albus Dumbledore. The way I see it, Tom is planning to reap the windfall and in the process give me a few more headaches dropping my name as he sees fit."

Regulus looked upset but Tom just laughed out loud. "Damn Harry. I had you pegged as a Gryffindor but now I'm not so sure. What was your house at Hogwarts?"

Harry's mind recalled a distant memory of when he was just eleven and a hat spoke to him for the first time. He grabbed onto Sirius' arm and walked backwards, keeping his eyes and body facing Tom.

Regulus glanced at Tom uncertainly. "You'd think they wouldn't need a conference to answer that one."

Tom watched Harry and Sirius yapping away behind a silencing charm and saw both of them grinning dangerously. "I think they've come up with a price for the horcruxes."

Harry and Sirius walked back over to the other pair. Harry explained, "If you must know I was a Gryffindor but that was more my choice seeing as Albus made sure I came to Hogwarts believing all Slytherins to be evil."

"Hmm," Tom said, feeling the charm of brotherhood tingling in the back of his head. "Something tells me you should have been a Slytherin."

Sirius was smiling. "Funny you should say that…"

"We've decided on a fair trade," Harry explained calmly, thinking this would be a real test of this Tom Riddle. "You get to destroy the horcruxes and in exchange you name me the heir to the Slytherin line and pass the family ring on down."

Regulus blinked at the unexpected offer. He frowned. "And what do you plan to do if the ring rejects you?"

Tom had a calculating look on his face as he stared at Harry. "It won't reject him. I've no doubt the ring will jump at the chance."

"What?" Regulus asked.

"The only direct ancestors left are fractured souls unable to produce heirs," Tom explained, keeping his eyes on Harry. "The line is dying. Harry has already been accepted as a noble and ancient Lord once. He's young, powerful, he's defeated a Dark Lord, and he may be the only other parselmouth in the UK."

Tom was fiddling with the ring on his finger. He was disappointed in himself for not having thought of this before. It would make a lot of his future plans easier but it would give Harry further power over him. "And just what do you plan to do if you are Lord Slytherin?"

Harry sensed none of the outrage he half-expected and saw Tom wasn't dismissing the idea out of hand. "I suppose considering Voldemort, you could say I'll be restoring the name to one synonymous with greatness. But if we're being really honest with ourselves, I'll probably just use it to piss as many people off as I can. Albus will be miserable, I'm sure."

Tom's lips thinned into a tight smile as he slipped the ring off his finger and held it up. A glimmer of white magic flashed through his fingertips. "I must ask that you keep this a secret until after Voldemort is defeated."

Harry and Sirius exchanged a looks of surprise that Tom was willing to agree to their offer.

Tom was reassured by their surprise. He held the ring out. "Are you prepared to accept your new title, my heir?"

"Shit, you're not kidding," Harry mumbled. He thought over his spontaneous plan just a moment longer before pulling off his Black family ring. He accepted the Slytherin ring, glanced over at Sirius' fearful look, and slipped it on his finger.

The glistening emerald flickered black and white as a tiny golden snake appeared inside the jewel. It slithered around and froze in the shape of the letter S, centered in the emerald.

"Lord Slytherin," Sirius greeted with a bright smile.

"Lord Black," Harry greeted back.

"Lord Slytherin," Sirius repeated, liking the sound of it.

"Lord Black," Harry agreed, looking over at Tom and Regulus. He turned to Sirius and showed him the Black family ring.

Sirius caught on to the unasked question and nodded.

Harry tossed the ring to Regulus and told him, "I'm not expecting much but it's worth a shot."

Regulus glanced at Tom who shrugged in response. Regulus slipped the Black family ring onto his finger and it quickly resized to a smaller ring, indicative of a family member, not a Lord.

Sirius grinned at Harry. "My little brother is older than I am."

"I'm not calling you my Lord," Regulus warned Sirius. "And you owe me some restitution for my washer-dryer combo."

Harry smirked at Tom. "You can call me your Lord if you want to."

"This," Tom said motioning between them. "This right here is the reason I hesitated so long."

"Come on, Padfoot," Harry said jerking his head towards Regulus and Tom. "Let's be nice to our loyal subjects and allow them to kiss their Lords' rings."

"Now that we've finished our business, will you answer a few questions?" Tom gently asked.

Harry nodded.

"How did you defeat your Voldemort?"

"Oh no," Harry said shaking his head. "I may never answer that one and certainly not the day we meet."

Tom knew he wasn't going to get the answer to that one but hoped asking it would make Harry more willing to answer others. "What made you ask for the Slytherin title?"

"My sorting," Harry fondly recalled. "The Sorting Hat told me Slytherin would help me on the way to greatness. I said no back then but… second chances, right?"

Tom smiled at unsubtle reminder. "Any advice you can give me based on your original world?"

Harry and Sirius looked at each other.

Sirius answered first. "If you gotta kill a baby, always use the killing curse."

Harry grinned. "If you're unsure, it's safe to assume it's a one-time one-way portkey."

"The worst thing you can do," Sirius insisted, "is to overestimate your opponent. Trust me. They're always untalented and lucky. And alone."

"Matching tattoos to easily identify your followers are a must."

"It never hurts to reveal all your plans and leave your opponents in a complicated death trap. It's safe to assume it worked. No need to stay and watch."

"If you ever meet a snake named Nagini, just run the other way."

Tom looked at Regulus. "They're mocking me, aren't they?"

"Picked up on that, did you?" Regulus grinned back.

Tom accepted the good natured ribbing as a very positive sign. "I don't suppose you'd care to expand on your survival of the killing curse?"

"Care to?" Harry repeated. "Nope, sorry."

Tom nodded. "Perhaps then you'll share just how you've managed to keep the living wards uninterrupted?"

"Still haven't figured it out?"

Tom shook his head. "You said I've made an inaccurate assumption?"

Harry glanced around the room. He turned to Sirius. "It might be better to just let them take the display case."

"That's what I figured," Sirius nodded thinking of all the tracking and spying charms built in. He walked over towards the mirror and floating display case, casting a spell. The case sunk down into the surface of the mirror. Sirius turned to Tom and Regulus. "I'm going to want this back."

Harry had also moved over, breaking down the black portal covering the west wall. He looked over his shoulder at Tom. "Now have you figured it out?"

Tom tilted his head. "This is the first you've shown your back to me, but I do not see the significance."

Harry pocketed the ward stones that had powered both walls and looked smug. "You've been acting under the assumption that I am the sentient anchor to the living wards."

"I've seen the magic flowing into you," Tom mused aloud. "Unless… you've cloaked someone on your back?"

"A sentient anchor only has to be capable of making decisions," Harry said. "No strain from casting or maintaining the wards."

"Are you not willing to reveal who you trust so much?"

Harry felt the nudge in his back and explained. "No one will see a house elf that doesn't want to be seen. And it's hard to find a willingness to protect or loyalty stronger than from a house elf with a Master who treats them well."

Dobby's head faded into view, peering over Harry's shoulder. He smiled and nodded. "Hi, Mr. Fucker," before a snap of his fingers faded him back into invisibility.

"The magic appears to come from you," Tom commented. "And from the house elf bond you can convey all your intentions without a word. I'll admit I may not have ever considered that."

Regulus saw no one else seemed fazed but had to ask. "Did that elf just call him Mr. Fucker?" When no one answered him, he turned to Tom. "Can I call you Mr. Fucker?"

Tom paused. "Yes, provided you never call me Riddlebottom."

Regulus started and stopped a couple times. "I'm going to need to think on this."

Sirius had finished deactivating many of the security measures on the mirror and display. He carried the large mirror over towards them. "If anything happens the entire case gets portkeyed into a subspace. Every layer of the wards contains the same spell with it." He lifted up a small rock. "Here's the stone needed to access the subspace and alter the wards. Mind you there is no off switch. You have to be working the stone, while you remove the case."

Regulus looked at Tom assuring him he didn't follow that explanation in the slightest.

"Thank you," Tom said pocketing the stone and accepting the mirror. He looked at protections on the mirror. "This is an impressive piece of magic. It's nice to see someone applying their mind and talent."

"Really?" Regulus asked at the unsubtle jab. "You want to go there now?"

"I know how competitive you tried to be with your brother in your youth," Tom chided. "And now, here's something a lot like him… and he knows wards as well as anyone."

"And he has warm sheets," Sirius added.

Tom sighed as he saw Regulus was nearing another temper tantrum.

Harry looked up and warned, "You might want to put your necklaces back on because I'm about to-" He was interrupted as the entire building began shaking and the strength of gravity doubled momentarily.

"Living wards are down," Harry said, standing up from the rune inscribed corner of the floor.

The faces of David Monroe and the unknown other man were back in place just as the front doors whipped open and Albus came running in, wand up.

He swung his arm around the room, surprised to find all four people perfectly healthy and calm.

"Just a second," Harry said, closing his eyes in concentration. "Okay, portkey and apparition are down."

"Harry?" Albus asked letting his wand arm relax. "What's going on?"

"Good day, Albus," David Monroe said, gripping onto the mirror. "Harry, we'll be in touch."

Two consecutive pops indicated Tom and Regulus had apparated away, taking the horcruxes with them.

Albus recognized the significance of the frame they left with and turned around in horror. "What have you done?"

"I just took the portkey and apparition wards down. You think it's a bad idea? You're right. It is a bad idea. I'll just put them back up."

Albus' thoughts of chasing after the two others vanished and he looked at Harry in disappointment. "I thought this was all for show."

Harry stuck his head out the front door and saw no signs of aurors waiting to pounce. "Everyone gone?"

Albus nodded. "What happened to your assurances the items were safe?"

"They are safe," Harry simply stated. "PJ left too?"

Albus frowned. "He was the last to leave more than half an hour ago. Did you deceive Monroe and convince him that he has them?"

"No. Listen, we caught thirty something Death Eaters," Harry reminded with a jerk of his thumb. "For what it's worth, this is not how I expected my day to go at all. But it wasn't the kind of offer you refuse."

Albus shook his head in confusion. "Why would you put yourself in a position to allow anyone to blackmail you over something as important as this?"

Harry was smiling confidently. "Do I look like I've been blackmailed?"

"You look pretty happy to me," Sirius said while flashing Harry the all clear sign after checking the Fidelius protected shed.

"Do you even know what David Monroe plans to do with them?" Albus tiredly asked.

Harry nodded. "Yeah, I do."

"And what's that?"

Harry glanced at Sirius and shrugged. "Defeat the Dark Lord."

Albus frowned under the realization that researching David Monroe was getting more and more important. "Who is he?"

"You really want to know?" Harry asked with a grin.

Albus recognized that tone of voice. "You're not going to tell me, are you?"

Harry's voice was laced with sarcasm. "He very well may be the next Albus Dumbledore."

Albus was watching Harry. "That's not a compliment, is it?"

Harry just smiled innocently.

"Don't look at me like that, Harry. I can make your life very difficult, you know."

Harry just kept smiling.

Albus was getting worried as Sirius was smiling now too. "I'm… sorry?"

Harry was enjoying Albus' insecurity entirely too much.

"He's not going to eat me or assume my life is he? Harry! Why did your eyes widen and our brotherhood charm twitch? Harry, get back here. Harry!"