When Albus opened the door to his chambers, he was gobsmacked. His modest little living room had expanded by more than double its previous size. It had a small nook that housed a small table and a kitchenette that looked more muggle than magical. His bedroom and bathroom doors were still there but he spied another door he assumed would be a bedroom for Tom. The only problem was he had no idea how everything changed!

"This isn't how I left my chambers," he muttered as he stared at his improved chambers. Albus ushered Tom in and closed the door behind them. "Welcome home Tom."

Tom looked around and his gaze fell upon the crowded bookshelf in the corner of the room. He looked longingly at the books. Albus noticed and chuckled at his son. "You are more than welcome to all of the books in the parlor. I will move those a bit more advanced for you in my room for now. Once I feel you are you ready for them, I will bring them back to the parlor."

"Thank you sir," Tom said enthusiastically. He would of made a beeline for the bookshelf if a voice hadn't of call his name from behind.

Tom turned to see the corporeal form of Hogwarts in all of her glory. "Lady Hogwarts," he cried as he ran to her and buried himself in her embrace.

"Oh how I have missed you my wayward son," she cooed and hugged him tightly. She kissed the top of his head and glanced up at a flabbergasted Albus Dumbledore. She smiled at him and focused back on the child in her arms. "This is your second chance lad. You will not get a third. I expect you to stay on the straight and narrow so you can fulfill your destiny."

"Destiny," he frowned, not quite understanding what she meant.

Hogwarts smiled at him. "You were always meant to lead the wizarding world to greatness. Last time, you were misguided and made friends that led you down the path of no return. You allowed the lust from the Dark Arts to cloud your original vision. If you had ignored the Dark Arts, you would of found Minerva sooner and she would of pushed you to reach your potential."

"Are they soulmates," Albus asked, curious about the girl's importance in his newly adopted son's future.

Lady Hogwarts smiled gently the professor. "They are but it is conditional," she replied frankly. "Minerva will never allow the bond to blossom if Tom touches the Dark Arts."

"I have never heard of such," he breathed in suprise. "Conditional soulmates."

"My Minerva is more important than anything," young Tom declared. "I will not mess this chance up. I will woo my witch and be the wizard I am destined to be."

Lady Hogwarts smiled brightly at the declaration. "See that you do," she said as she turned from him. "Enjoy your room my son. Don't be alarmed if I remain quiet to you for awhile. You need bonding time with your new father now and you need lessons on how to be a light wizard and a morally strong man. I shall speak to you again once you are an official Hogwarts student."

"I understand," he said as he gave her a teary-eyed smile. "I will make you proud of me this time around."

"I hope so my son," she said as she faded from view.

Albus had never seen the corporeal form of Lady Hogwarts and was pretty confident the current staff haven't either. "Tom," Albus said to get the boy's attention. "I was unaware Lady Hogwarts could take a corporeal form and I guess we should keep her secret until she reveals herself to others."

Tom nodded his acceptance. He loved Lady Hogwarts and would work hard to make her proud this time around. "Can I see my room now sir? I am awfully tired."

Tom yawned and stretched as he woke up. He glanced out the window and was suprised by the daylight filtering in. He had slept most of the previous evening and the entire night. He spied a door to the connected bathroom and moved to get ready for the day. He was suprised to see a new outfit laid out for him already. Shrugging his shoulders, he showered and dressed as quickly as he could.

"Good morning sir," he said politely as he walked into the living room.

Albus was settled at the small table in the corner reading the Daily Prophet and sipping his morning tea. "Morning my boy," the older wizard said friendly enough. "Seems we have made the front page. I am suprised news spread so fast."

Tom frowned a bit at that. Dumbledore hasn't even defeated Grindelwald yet? "Why would that make news sir?"

Albus studied the boy as he settled at the table and slowly began to fill his plate with food. The boy was polite and well-mannered but Albus didn't know what had caused him to go dark in the last timeline. The wizard promised himself he would learn why and would try to stop the temptation of whatever led the boy down that path to begin with.

Albus put the paper down and filled his own plate with breakfast. "I am a pureblood wizard and I adopted a son of an unknown blood status," Albus answered hesitantly. He refused to lie to the boy. "The Wizarding World is obsessed with blood statuses unfortunately. It is my hope we can move away from that and focus on building a strong, progressive Magical Britain instead."

Tom nodded his understanding and focused on eating his breakfast. He knew better than most how a blood status could make or break a witch or wizard. His former lifetime had been overwhelmed by the notion and it cost him severely. He wouldn't allow that to happen again! The Slythrein side of him demanded he hold his cards close to his chest; however, the knowledge that he must change his ways to save his future wife and children squashed that down.

He looked at the man he had feared most of his previous lifetime and cleared his throat. Albus gave him his undivided attention. "I was the leader of the Dark faction," Tom said slowly. "I used the Dark Arts to turn me into an immortal monster. And I did it all for Blood Purity."

Albus was suprised by the admission but didn't dare interrupt. He watched the boy carefully as he continued to speak. "I am the product of a near squib and a rich muggle lord that was potioned to love my mother. She fell in love with my birth father and felt he would stay with her after she quit giving him love potions. Of course, he left her immediately. He left her pregnant and penniless. I grew up in an orphanage, unloved and unwanted. It distorted my mind and allowed me to repress my emotions. I started down a path I was unable to turn from and didn't mind traveling it until I met my near grown daughter, a know-it-all Gryffindor, who was loyal to a fault and willing to die than allow me to harm her mother. I didn't know what love was until she came into life and wormed her way into my heart."

"Her mother was Minerva," Albus asked while trying to figure out the puzzle before him.

Tom nodded affirmative and then continued what he needed to say. "I hurt and abused my Minerva," he admitted sadly. "The Gryffindor pride she had refused to allow her to back down or to show weakness. No matter how much I harmed her, she refused to break. The Dark Arts had lured me in and consumed me so I allowed the darkness to overrule my interest in Minerva. The notion of blood purity allowed me to gather the pureblooded bigots and twist them into an army. I daresay if more wizarding traditions were to be taught and observed by Muggleborns than the neutral families would not join the dark faction."

Albus sat in shock. He would have to think on all that his son told him. How would I change things? Am I the one even meant to change things? How do I help my son?