"Regular"
'Thoughts'
"Parseltongue"
"Language of the Dead"
"Being Form"
'Mind Link'
The time Harry had to himself was limited what with Tom and his friends, and times like this, where he was sleeping peacefully, were like pure bliss. In fact, it was so good that he forgot it was a dreaded Monday and that he had Potions as his first class. Wasn't that fun?
The moment he woke up, he knew he had been sleeping for more than what he had intended. Harry had fallen asleep around half past six and decided to rest for just a couple of hours, but it was only a few minutes until the start of class when Asmo had woken him. Honestly what use were humans if they couldn't even wake him up on time?
"Ssspeaker! Is it not time to go to the smelly room?" She had hissed to him as he rolled around in the sheets. He swatted at her head as she poked him while hissing at the force. "Ssspeaker, don't make me get Regina here." She warned.
Harry groaned as he blinked his eyes to become used to the dim light, "You will do no such thing."
Casting a quick Tempus, he saw the time. Was it really that late? No, it couldn't be. But it had to be. There was no way he cast the first level spell wrong. Having realized this, the boy shot up out of his comfy bed and ran to fetch his robes, almost falling in the process. Harry was about to do everything manually before remembering that he was a wizard and a very powerful one at that.
He waved his right hand in a flurry to bring his outfit to him while his left hand was raised to make his bed. Without doing anything, he silently chanted a charm to find his books that were laid in various places from either himself, Hermione, or Draco studying them. He rushed to each book and carefully but quickly threw them in his bag. Harry rushed through the common room to get to the wall where he yelled, "Open!" The enchanted brick wall could somehow sense the urgency and parted quickly before closing up once the owner of the voice was safely out of its way.
The Master of Death ran to the Potions' class as he cast a few self-cleaning charms on himself. He thanked the Beings that it was just down the hall because of it being in the dungeon. Checking the time once again, he saw that it was only a few minutes after nine. Hopefully, Severus would be more forgiving of his lateness in this life than he was in his last. Taking a deep breath, Harry opened the door only to interrupt the Professor's lesson.
"Erm?" Harry scratched the back of his neck as he spoke, "I apologize for being late, Professor."
Severus looked resigned and ready to lecture him, but his face softened as he only said, "See that it doesn't happen again, Mr. Potter-Black." To say that Harry wasn't surprised would be an understatement. Of course, he knew the man was better in this life, but he had not known it was to this extent. Harry was relieved, to say the least. The man was an expert in potions and having an ally like him would be very advantageous.
He made his seat next to Draco and quietly took out the needed materials. The boy beside him spoke to him in a quiet voice as to not get caught. "We were going to wake you up, but Professor Quirrell told us not to. He said you did a spell that used up a lot of your magic." The blonde had a worry in his eyes that he didn't let it show on his face.
So that's what the cover-up is? He had to admit, Tom always had a good last-minute lie to tell people. If Draco and Hermione spoke to Tom then that meant he was awake. The man was strong if he was standing and walking around right now seeing as Harry knew he was almost dead when they left him alone in his chamber. He knew LIfe and Death wouldn't let Tom die though.
'Master, you can try to reach out to him.' Death suddenly spoke in his mind as he was thinking about the very thought of communicating with Tom later. 'You two should be able to talk to each other via your bond.'
Harry nodded his head mentally and closed his eyes. He would have to hurry as to not have Severus find him sleeping, even though that wasn't what he was truly doing.
Like when he was fixing Tom's core, Harry walked to the wall that was now a welcoming golden gate with little garden snakes in the flowers on either side. It seemed that Tom did some sprucing up. The boy was impressed with the detail that went into the designs on the gate and the scent of the flowers. To his surprise, they were lilies and roses. Tom must really be trying to get on his good side.
Harry walked past the gate and into Tom's mind where it seemed to resemble his office but with many more personal objects as well as less garlic (which was a plus for Harry's nose). There were two leather chairs with a table in the middle. He sat in the chair on the right and waited. As he waited, he saw bookshelves surrounding the room and glass cases with each Horcrux in them. The only empty case was a piece of dark purple, almost black magic. Harry would tell it was his own. So that's where the soulbond was.
He could take that part of his soul and be done with it. There would be no bond between them anymore.
But something was holding him back. It was like an unknown force, yet it wasn't a being. He knew what it was. It was Harry himself that was holding back. He didn't want to be alone, and he didn't want Tom to be alone either. They were alike in many ways and with each other, they were never alone.
"I see you've come to visit me, little one."
The voice of Tom whispering in Parseltongue startled him from his thoughts. And did he just call him little one?
"How many times do I have to say it! I am not little!" Was the response Harry gave as he secretly pouted.
"Of course you aren't. You know, we have much to talk about." Tom said as he sat down in the chair next to the raven.
Upon seeing Tom, Harry was awestruck. He knew that Tom had been good looking, but was it even possible to as handsome as he was? The man had piercing red eyes which presented an edge to the conversation (though Harry knew Tom wouldn't do anything) and dark chocolate brown hair that was somewhat curly. He appeared to be about 19 with smooth, pale skin and almost blindingly white teeth.
Honestly was this man even real? It had to be a manifestation of how he wants to look, right?
Right?
Harry cleared his throat as Tom only smirked at the sight of his awe. "We could meet at about 12 since I don't have any classes. If that works for you that is?"
Tom nodded and said, "I don't have a class to teach, no. You are welcome to come by whenever you are free." The man observed the small boy sitting in the chair and couldn't help but feel an overwhelming amount of guilt for what he had done to the parents of this innocent one. He was forced to grow up without parents just like him. Because of him.
"Hadrian, if you ever need anything, ask me and I shall see what I can do. You can come to talk to me at any time you feel the need to, need it be in here -" he motioned around the room they were in, "-or in my real office."
Harry was in a state of shock, and he felt as if what was happening was not real. Yet here he was, in this weird soul bond with Tom Riddle of all people.
To be completely honest, he wouldn't have it any other way.
Harry smiled genuinely and whispered, "Thank you, Tom." The man seemed to not be used to those words. Tom eventually waved off his thanks and changed the subject.
"Aren't you suppose to be in class, little one?" Tom asked as he raised a single eyebrow.
Harry only laughed before saying, "I could say the same for you."
Tom rolled his eyes as he stood up to go back to the door he came from which, Harry assumed, was his consciousness. "I suppose you're right. You should be on your way. I don't want to be responsible for your grades slipping." The man told him, but Harry knew he was just concerned (which was new).
"My grades slipping? Only in your dreams, old man." Harry joked with a lopsided smirk. He missed being able to joke with someone closer to his age than the first years.
The red-eyed man scoffed and shook his head before walking through the door. Harry smiled and joyfully strolled to the gate.
'By the way, Tom, I like what you've done with the place out here.'
He only received a groan as a reply which made Harry chuckle.
As the day continued, all Harry could think about was seeing Tom again. He was excited to see the man so soon after "fixing" him so to speak. He was a much better conversationalist than a bunch of eleven-year-olds. The classes before he was able to speak with him were boring and uneventful, as is the norm with History of Magic. The only thing remotely interesting was when Hermione and Draco started an argument about who was the most powerful wizard. The bushy-haired girl was leaning more towards Dumbledore or Grindelwald while the blond only replyed with the Dark Lord. They both decided Merlin was the most powerful in history, so they ruled him out and went to second best for their choices.
"It's obviously Grindelwald! He had an army behind him, and he took over Germany." Hermione defended, "Not to mention he started the Second World War in the muggle world!"
Draco appeared visibly annoyed, "Dumbledore defeated him, you beaver! The Dark Lord is still very much alive!"
Hermione turned red before saying, "Oh yeah? Well, Harry was the one to defeat him in the first place!" She huffed.
They both turned to look at Harry as if expecting his input. He raised an eyebrow, "And? It wasn't like it was on purpose." Honestly, how was he supposed to say anything about himself when him being the most powerful wizard was possibly true? He didn't quite want rumors going around.
"He's the most powerful isn't he?" Hermione asked Draco.
The blond scoffed, "Of course he is."
All Harry could do was shake his head in fondness. His friends were really something., and he wasn't quite sure if that was a good thing.
At the end of the class, Harry hurriedly packed his bag, causing his two friends to question him.
"Where are you going?"
The boy turned around to gaze at the two young kids before saying, "I have to meet with Professor Quirell about the extra lessons." It was a lie, but he was also telling the truth at the same time. He did have a meeting with him, but it certainly wasn't about extra lessons.
Hermione's eyes shone, "You'll tell us, right?" She loved learning new things, so it would be great for her to have her first friend teach her some new things!
Draco watched curiously because he was a Malfoy and Malfoys didn't ask or beg for anything. Though he did want to know about the lessons...
"You know I will." The Master of Life and Death said with a smile. His friends weren't so different from each other, even if they had different ways to express themselves.
So with a smile on his face and his heart a little lighter, he made his way to his favourtie teacher's private quarters.