Ever since Harry was 14 years old and learned about the spell that rebounded off of his head the night his parents died; he had been filled with an emptiness that he couldn't get rid of.
On the arm of every magical person was a tattoo of the first words your soulmate would ever say to you. Harry hadn't known what the tattoo was, and when he asked his aunt, she had just screeched at him, so he never asked again. But when he was told he was a wizard, he figured it had something to do with that, and it did.
When he found out he had a soulmate, Harry was elated, somebody who would love him and who he could love, somebody who would treat him like a human instead of a punching bag like his relatives, he couldn't wait. He just had to wait for the person who said the two words on his arm.
Harry never showed his mark to anybody, it was taboo to do so, because if you showed people then somebody could come along and say the words to you and pretend to be your soulmate, that's what Hagrid had told him. His mark was the incantation of a spell, at least, that's what he guessed. He couldn't figure out how it could be anything else, the words were too weird to be anything anybody said to him normally.
"Avada Kedavra" was written on Harry's left wrist, and ever since he was 11, he would curl up in bed at night and trace the cursive on his skin with a light touch, whispering to it as if it was his soulmate themselves. This continued on into his early teenage years, but in his fourth year, he tried to forget that he had a mark altogether.
He was in defense against the dark arts, their professor, Alastor Moody, was at the front of the classroom with three little jars with spiders in them. The lesson was on the unforgivable curses, and Harry was fascinated by the lesson, although a little uncomfortable by the tortured and controlled spiders. It wasn't until the third spider was brought out that Harry was suddenly no longer interested in the lesson.
"and our last unforgivable," Moody started, looking around the classroom, "is the killing curse." His eyes landed on Harry and tutted his tongue, "this is the curse you-know-who used on you when you were an infant, Mr. Potter, the one that rebounded. Although I'm afraid our spider here won't be so lucky." The professor then turned to the spider "Avada Kedavra" he cast the spell and the green light hit the spider, the spider just slumped down on the table, unmarked but unmoving.
Harry was listening to Moody closely, he always wondered which curse it was that gave him his scar, nobody would tell him before now. But when he heard the Avada kedavra leave his lips, Harry thought he was going to be sick.
After defense Harry practically ran to Gryffindor tower, despite having charms right afterwards. He dropped his things down on the floor before crawling into bed and curling into a small ball. He closed the curtains around him and curled up tighter, just staring down at his soul mark as tears filled his eyes.
Harry sobbed, he didn't understand, how could his soulmate be the person who wanted to kill him? How could his soulmate be this awful person that was Hell bent on destroying the world? He didn't understand how life could be so cruel.
He didn't know what words had been written on the man's wrist before he disintegrated 13 years ago, and he wasn't sure he wanted to know. It felt like he was drowning, but there was no gillyweed to save him this time.
-HHLL HHLL HHLL-
Harry felt a pull behind his navel as he grasped onto the cup during the final task of the tri-wizard tournament. The next thing he knew, he lay face first on the cold ground, somewhere outside of Hogwarts.
"Kill the spare!" he heard somebody yell, Harry looked up just in time to see a flash of green light hit Cedric Digory beside him. He cried out in horror and moved over to the Hufflepuff, shaking his shoulders to try to get him to wake up, but it was of no use. He felt people grab him then and he was hoisted over to a circle of people in robes and masks.
Harry heard somebody walking behind him, he turned ever so slightly and saw Peter Pettigrew carrying a bundle of something. Harry didn't understand what was going on, until he watched Pettigrew put the bundle in the large cauldron that was in the center of the circle. This was a ritual, and Harry was to be a part of it somehow.
One of the death eaters cut his arm to put his blood into the cauldron, Harry hissed in pain but did his best to make no noise, crying never got you anywhere, his relatives taught him that early on.
The person/thing that arose from the cauldron in front of him was a tall, thin, snake faced man. Harry's eyes widened ever so slightly, especially as the soul mark on his arm started to burn. He heard the man laugh evilly, before slowly stepping up to Harry.
He spoke then, but Harry couldn't really pay attention, not above the fact that his soulmate was in front of him, a monster of a man and dedicated to destroying him. It felt like a knife was digging into his heart and twisting side to side. He heard the man say, "I can touch you now," and then a finger pressed to his scar. Harry cried out weakly, it hurt, yet he couldn't bring himself to really fight. If this was how he was going to go, he might as well let it happen.
They dueled then, Voldemort and Harry, and somehow Harry managed to get out of it alive without ever speaking a word to the man in front of him. He wondered if the man had a soul mark, he kept his mouth shut just in case, he didn't want the monster to find out if he could help it.
-HHLL HHLL HHLL-
Harry stood in the department of mysteries, he was in the hall of prophecies looking for the one that involved him and his soulmate. He heard the death eaters enter the room, him and his friends split up, going into separate rooms to try to hide.
Harry watched Sirius fall through the veil as Bellatrix hit him with a curse, he shouted and almost went after his godfather, but Remus held him back. He turned and saw Bellatrix cackling as she practically skipped out of the room that they were in. Harry followed behind her with tears in his eyes, he couldn't just let her get away with what she had done.
Bellatrix fled to a room full of fireplaces, Harry tried to crucio her, tried to make her feel all the pain he felt, but his heart just wasn't in it. It was then that he heard footsteps behind him on the marble floor, he turned and saw Voldemort walking towards him with an evil glint in his eyes. Harry's mark started to burn him again, he closed his mouth and clenched his jaw.
"Oh Potter," the dark lord called sadistically, he was only a few feet away from Harry now, the Gryffindor did his best to not break the eye contact. "you foolish child, did you really think you and a band of 15 year old children could stop me and my men?" he mocked, Harry kept his mouth shut. If he spoke to the man, then he would know, and Harry didn't want to know what his reaction would be to finding out his soulmate was the child he despised.
The evil wizard tutted his tongue, "Where is that acid tongue I keep hearing so much about, Potter?" he shook his head then and pulled out his wand "No matter, this will be far easier than I thought." He started to say the killing curse when suddenly the ministry doors slammed open, and people started to flood the building. The snake faced man cursed and darted away, finding himself in a fireplace and flooing back to wherever it was he was hiding.
Harry watched him go with an ache in his heart. He knew he should hate the man, knew he should be disgusted with his soulmate, but he couldn't stop the desire to be wanted by his destined, no matter how much he tried to squash it into the ground.
-HHLL HHLL HHLL-
It was the end of sixth year when Harry saw his soulmate again, he sarcastically noted the dark lords consistent end of year schedule. Draco Malfoy had opened a vanishing cabinet in the room of requirement, allowing death eaters and Voldemort to come through and make it inside the wards of Hogwarts. Harry had split his Felix Felicis with his friends before making their way into the fight.
It almost felt like he was in slow motion as he dodged curses and shot his own. He had just seen Dumbledore fall from the astronomy tower, but he couldn't find it in himself to be sad at the moment, he didn't have the time. He was walking down the halls of the castle when he heard his name be called. He closed his eyes and took a breath; he knew that voice. His mark burned as he turned towards his nemesis and soulmate.
Voldemort was smirking at him, and Harry watched as the man made his way up to him, they were only a foot or so apart now. Voldemort grabbed him by the chin and lifted his head up, making green eyes stare into red, Harry had to fight from leaning into the touch, somehow soothed by his soulmates proximity, despite his intent on killing him.
"You know Potter," the man began, "every story I have heard about you has told me that you are not afraid to speak your mind, or speak at all, and yet whenever I come around, you keep your mouth closed." Harry could tell he didn't really care, he was just making 'small talk' before he killed Harry, dragging out the interaction to tease him before his death.
Harry sighed and closed his eyes, waiting for the blow, or whatever curse the man was going to use, but after a moment of nothing, he opened his eyes again. Voldemort was staring down at him with a contemplative look, Harry thought he looked more sane than normal, his eyes clearer. Suddenly, there was a large crash from behind them, Voldemort looked up and saw Snape running through the castle with Malfoy,
"my lord! We must leave!" he called over the racket of the spells blasting around them. Voldemort looked back down at Harry and Harry could see the crazy slowly seeping back into his eyes, what little bit of sanity he had, had been hidden away again. He dropped Harry's chin and followed Severus out of the castle. Harry just stood there and stared after them, wondering what was going through the man's head in the few minutes he had hold of rational thought.
-HHLL HHLL HHLL-
Tom Riddle was 11 when he finally found out what the words on his arm were. He had asked the bearded man who came and told him he was a wizard what it was, and he had found out it was a soul mark, the first words his soulmate would ever say to him.
Tom wasn't much of a people person, but the idea of having a soulmate that was unconditionally his was something he cherished. Every summer when he would have to go back to the orphanage, he would trace the quick and sloppy handwriting on his wrist and feel warmed that there was somebody out there for him. He didn't exactly understand why the words he had were the first things his soulmate ever said to him, but he assumed it would be a joke the other told.
He waited through all of his Hogwarts days, just waiting for his soulmate to speak to him for the first time. But as the years went by and nobody came along, he became rather… bitter.
He made horcruxes, he would be damned if he died before he found his soulmate, so he made the diary first. He had only intended to do one, maybe two, but the more he made, the more his soul was split, the crazier he became, and the eviler his plans were.
He was on the track to ruling the world successfully when he heard of a prophecy consisting of him and a baby. The prophecy stated that neither could live while the other survived, and that the child would grow up to vanquish the dark lord. Tom, now Voldemort, didn't like the sound of that, so he went off to find the babe and get rid of him before he could grow up to do anything against him.
One of his followers gave him the fidilius, so getting into the house was no problem, and getting through the parents wasn't an issue, either. When he stepped up to the little boy in the crib he frowned, green eyes staring back at him in question. Voldemort looked down at his soul mark, he would be damned if some child took him away from hearing those words. He raised his wand and cast the killing curse, only to see it absorb into the child and then fling back at him.
Voldemort watched as the green light, eerily similar to the child's eyes, came flying back towards him, his soulmates first words to him ringing through his mind.
"Please just kill me already."
-HHLL HHLL HHLL-
Harry was hunched up in the cupboard under the stairs, black and blue from a beating his uncle had given him. He was 17 years old, and he didn't really fit anymore, but that didn't stop his uncle from locking him in there anyway. He heard the locks on the door click, and then the door swung open.
Harry scooted himself further into the cupboard, not because he was particularly fond of the space, and not because he didn't want to get out of the cramped closet, but because his relatives weren't home, so whoever had just opened his door definitely shouldn't be there.
"What the Hell are you doing in there, Potter?" came the deep voice of a certain potions professor, Harry furrowed his eyebrows, Snape had killed Dumbledore and fled only a couple of months ago, what was he doing here?
"In case you hadn't noticed, professor" Harry's voice dripped with malice, "the locks were keeping me in the closet, so why don't you take a guess." He said sourly, his professor crouched down so he was looking in the small space, Harry thought the man's eyes widened ever so slightly at his battered state. Harry just glared at him, he was so tired, so tired of all of this bullshit, he wished his soulmate had managed to kill him the first time around, maybe then he wouldn't be in this mess.
"Is this a Dumbledore thing? or a Voldemort thing?" he asked bitterly. He wasn't stupid, despite what everybody thought, he knew that Dumbledore had asked Snape to kill him instead of Draco Malfoy, so the blonde wouldn't have that on his conscious. He saw Snape's eyes widen just a bit more than they had last time.
"A dark lord thing." he answered honestly, confused as to who the teenager in the cupboard was, because this certainly wasn't the Potter he knew. Harry just sighed and slowly climbed out of his 'bedroom', wincing at his injuries. Severus took a few steps back so Harry could get out and stretch, he held out his arms for Severus almost like the man was a police officer about to put him in shackles.
"take me away, then." He said simply. Severus gave him a weary look before grabbing both of his arms and apparating them to the throne room in a very lavish manor. Harry looked around the throne room, finding himself and Snape surrounded by a semi-circle of masked death eaters, acting as a human barrier. He looked at the throne, but the dark lord wasn't there yet.
"what the Hell happened to Potter, Snape?" one of the death eaters asked, Harry couldn't tell who, "Did you really have to beat the shit out of him to get him here?" another commented, Harry looked up to see Severus rolling his eyes.
"I was like this before he showed up," Harry answered, his voice sounded empty and almost lifeless,
"why are you black and blue?" Severus asked him suspiciously, Harry just looked up at him tiredly.
"Snape, you found me in my cupboard," he snapped, not noticing as the door to the room opened immediately after, "why don't you put the fucking pieces together." His voice was bitter, dripping with malice, suddenly he was turned and thrust to his knees, looking at the throne where now somebody sat. Harry shut his mouth with a click.
"Oh, we're in a bad mood today, are we?" Voldemort taunted from his place at the throne, Harry looked him in the eyes for only a moment before hanging his head. Voldemort waited for a reply, but he got none, his eyes narrowed. "Severus what happened to the boy?" he finally asked the man who was holding Harry down.
"I am not entirely sure." Severus answered honestly. "I looked through the entire house before I found him curled up in a cupboard under the stairs that had 6 locks on the door. When I looked in, he was already covered." Voldemort's eyes narrowed even further.
"Why are you hurt?" he asked Harry, Harry glanced up at him through his bangs but just lowered his head and closed his eyes.
The death eaters were getting nervous, you don't just not answer the dark lord when he asks you questions.
"What happened Potter, you were so eager to snap back at your professor, why not snap back at me?" Voldemort asked, an annoyed tone in his voice. He didn't know why the boy not talking to him drove him crazy, but it did, and he was determined to get a word out of him.
When Harry didn't answer again, Voldemort sneered, he stood from his throne and made his way down the steps towards the boy hero.
Harry could hear as the heels of his shoes clicked and clacked with every step; dread filled him. He then felt Severus step away from him, he swallowed thickly. Suddenly he was hoisted off of his knees into the air by a hand at his throat. Harry hadn't eaten barely at all during the summer, so he was incredibly light and easy to lift in such a way.
Harry's soul mark burned, his heart hurt, it felt like a weight was sitting in the bottom of his stomach as he was forced to look into the red eyes in front of him, noticing like the night at Hogwarts that they didn't look like eyes that belonged to a crazy person, at least, not such a crazy person. Tears were starting to prick at the back of his eyes and Harry was doing his best to not show any emotion.
"You will answer me when I speak to you, Potter." Voldemort all but growled, when Harry just stayed quiet again, he tightened his hand around the boys neck, it wasn't cutting off circulation or breathing, but it definitely hurt.
Harry let out a quiet cry, the tears finally started falling from his eyes and he choked on a sob, he felt his magic whipping around him in his emotions, and he wanted to keep control of himself, but he could feel his resolve breaking.
"Please… just kill me already." He begged; the words were tumbling out of his mouth before he could stop them.
Voldemort's eyes cleared even more as they widened at Harry's words. He let go of Harry as if he had been burned and wrapped one hand around his marked wrist, holding it to his chest. Harry fell back to his knees with a small cry of pain. The dark lord took a step back, still staring wide eyed at the man in front of him. He looked like he was about to say something when the doors to the throne room burst open.
"My lord!" someone in death eater robes called, "My lord we have news about the prophecy!" they said almost breathlessly, like they had run to get there.
"what is it Dolohov?" the dark lord hissed when his head snapped over to one of his inner circle members.
"The prophecy was a fake! It was never real!" Dolohov said as he came to stand in front of him, bowing respectfully before he spoke. When he bowed though, he saw Potter on his knees on the floor, tears running down his face.
Harry heard the death eater say that the prophecy was a fake and any remaining part of him that wasn't destroyed, shattered. He started laughing, but tears accompanied the laughter, you could feel his despair in the air.
Voldemort looked at his follower for a minute before turning and walking out of the circle of death eaters, and out of the throne room all together. He had heard Harry ask him to kill him and it was like layers of pressure were released from his senses.
He had done all this to stay alive for his soulmate, and in the end, he had been trying to kill him. And on top of it all, he was trying to kill him for literally no reason. He had to work quickly, before he was lost to the insanity again.
When the dark lord didn't return after an hour, the death eaters assumed that meant they were dismissed. Harry stayed on his knees just staring at the marble in the silence, tears streaming down his face despite himself. He wondered what would happen now.
Severus grabbed the back of Harry's t-shirt and hoisted him back up to his feet, Harry looked up at him with an almost hollowed expression, the potions master really didn't like the look.
"I don't know what the dark lord wishes to do with you. In the meantime, you will be placed in a cell in the dungeons." He said with a level voice, he expected the young man to protest or fight or do anything really, but he just nodded weakly and lowered his head again. Severus felt uneasy as he walked Harry down to the dungeons.
Harry was put in a cell that was almost as big as Dudley's second bedroom, it had a cot chained to the wall for him to sleep on, a toilet, and a sink. Before Snape could even close the door behind Harry, the man climbed into the bed and crawled under the dingy blanket, falling into a fitful sleep.
"Potter!" somebody yelled into his cell, Harry jumped so hard he fell out of the cot on the wall and landed on the ground, he groaned quietly,
"yes, Uncle Vernon?" he asked tiredly, forgetting he wasn't at privet drive anymore. He looked up to see Severus in front of his cell with a tray of food. He blinked a couple of times as the present came back to him. Severus had an almost horrified look on his face as he eyed the boy now on the floor. "Oh, hello professor." Harry mumbled.
"Potter I have brought you food," Severus said, opening the cell door and placing the tray in front of him. Severus was curious, so he left the door to the cell open as he stepped aside to speak to the boy, wanting to see if he'd run.
Harry eyed the food warily, he felt sick just smelling it. He took the glass of water and a slice of toast but that was all he grabbed off the plate. He scooted back so he was leaning against the nearby wall. "Thank you, sir." Harry responded quietly.
Severus' frown deepened, "What happened to you?" he couldn't help the question from rolling off his tongue, and once he started there was no stopping the barrage of questions, "Where is the brash Gryffindor who fights his way through everything and everyone? You didn't even try to verbally defend yourself against the dark lord, let alone physically?"
Harry looked up at him and they caught eyes, "I am so tired, Snape. I begged him to kill me, and I fucking meant it. I don't want to be alive; I haven't wanted to be alive for a long time now. I was just waiting for him to kill me- I figured he'd get satisfaction out of it after all these years." Harry looked down then, he finished his toast and the glass of water before climbing back into the cot.
"Is that all you are going to eat?" Severus asked, his voice choked in his shock at the statement. Harry closed his eyes and nodded,
"I haven't eaten in 2 weeks, so if I eat any more, I will get sick." He answered softly. Severus just stared at him before casting a preservation charm on the food and a spell on the water glass to refill any time it was empty just in case Harry got hungry or thirsty later. He turned and left the cell through the still opened door, noticing how Harry didn't even so much as try to get closer to freedom. What was going on here?
Severus brought Harry food and came to chat with him for a short while every afternoon. The man had taken to summoning a chair and sitting with the cell door open, just waiting for the day Harry tried to make a run for it. But he never did.
"Potter."
Harry turned from facing the wall at the sound of his name, when he looked, he wasn't all that surprised to see Severus standing in front of his cell. It had been almost two weeks since he had been brought to the manor, they seemed to have a routine going. However, the potions master didn't have his customary tray of food with him. Then Harry remembered the man had already visited him earlier in the afternoon, he furrowed his eyebrows in confusion, he had never been visited twice in one day before.
"yes sir?" he answered politely, sitting up in his bed.
"the dark lord is back." Severus frowned, "he wishes to speak with you." Severus wasn't all that surprised to see that Harry didn't look at all worried, given the several conversations they'd had up to that point about the Gryffindor's suicidal thoughts. If anything, he looked a little relieved as he climbed off of the bed.
"Oh good, I was wondering how long he was going to drag out my death." Harry responded casually, shoving his hands in the pockets of his robes as they walked up the stairs from the dungeons. He was grateful for magic, and for the freshening charm Severus graciously cast on him every afternoon so he wouldn't feel, look, or actually be gross.
When they walked into the throne room Voldemort was already there, sitting on his throne with his legs crossed and a contemplative look on his face, when the two walked in he snapped his head up to look at them, or rather, look at Harry. When they stepped up in front of him Severus bowed before leaving the throne room, but the dark lord wasn't paying any attention to him.
Harry got back down on his knees, lowering his head to stare at the floor, but not before he noticed there were no death eaters in the room with them this time. His bruises were starting to fade but now they were a yellow orange tinge across his skin.
Voldemort watched him for a moment, noticing all the little things about the man he had never noticed, but now couldn't take his eyes off of. He stood from his seat and made his way down to stand in front of Harry. He lifted him up but this time he took both of his hands and pulled him gently into a standing position, Harry looked up at him confused.
"You knew, didn't you?" Voldemort asked, "and that is why you never spoke to me, isn't it?"
Harry broke the eye contact by looking down at the floor. He nodded his head just a bit, "I figured if you didn't know, it would hurt less when you finally got rid of me." he murmured.
"When did you find out?" Harry looked up at the dark lord and saw how clear his eyes were, how steady his voice was, something was definitely different.
"When Crouch taught us about the unforgivable curses in my fourth year." Harry answered quietly, "only a month or two before your resurrection." Voldemort's frown deepened.
"Does it hurt?"
"All the time." Harry answered without missing a beat. For the last three years it had felt like a knife was stabbing into his heart and twisting side to side, the pain never eased, it only ever got worse.
"the prophecy is fake." The dark lord said next, "Your death is not necessary."
"It hurts…" Harry whispered, "I don't want to live. I haven't wanted to live for a long time. Can we pretend the prophecy is still in place so I can die, and you can go on without me as a burden anymore? Please? I'm enough of a freak that my own soulmate doesn't even want me, you can get rid of me and forget I ever existed." Tears quickly welled up in his eyes and started to fall down his face.
Voldemort reaches up and cups Harry's face in his hands, he gently wipes the tears away with his thumbs. Harry can't help but close his eyes and lean into his touch. "I don't want to get rid of you." Harry heard him say, his voice awfully soft. Harry opened his eyes and when he did, Voldemort wasn't the one standing in front of him holding his face anymore. A slightly older looking version of the Tom Riddle from the diary stood in front of him.
"Tom?" Harry asked confused, he winced at the name, remembering how the diary hated the name Tom "I'm sorry, I'm sorry I didn't mean-"
"shh Harry," Tom cut him off, rubbing his cheeks gently, Harry was surprised how gentle Tom's voice and touch was. "that is my name, that is what you may call me."
"What happened?" Harry asked, not being able to help the warmth that spread through him when Tom kissed his forehead.
"I destroyed all of the horcruxes." Tom said simply, "I am human again."
"But…but why would you do that?"
"Because my soulmate needed me." he whispered before leaning down and kissing the smaller man. Harry gasped quietly at the kiss, fireworks exploding in his chest, the stabbing twisting pain fading into nothingness. Harry stepped closer to Tom and gripped his shirt tightly in his hands to try and steady himself.
When Tom pulled away from the kiss, he wrapped his arms around Harry and pulled him close, hugging him tightly and tucking him under his chin. Harry couldn't help but relax into the embrace.
"What happens now, Tom?" Harry asked quietly, he felt his destined hold him tighter.
"We're going to do what I was trying to do before I became crazy. Change the magical world for the better, making it safer for us amongst muggles, but through political means. I don't remember at what point Voldemort started wanting to kill all muggleborns, but that is not who Tom is." The dark lord said softly, Harry nodded against him,
"No more fighting? No more killing?"
"None my love. Unless somebody tries to take you from me, then we will have issues." He looked down at Harry with a teasing smile, Harry couldn't help but smile back.
"Will you finally answer my questions about why you showed up here looking like you had been through a shredder?" Tom asked as he pulled away a bit, he took Harry's hand and led him out of the throne room, lacing their fingers together as they walked through the manner.
"My relatives hate me." Harry answered almost casually, "I have lived with them since my parents passed, and they have never liked me. My bedroom was the cupboard under the stairs until I was 11, and then they put me back in at the beginning of this summer. My uncle likes to beat on me to get any frustration out." Harry felt the hand in his tighten,
"You know how I said no more killing?" Tom said, looking over at Harry, "I need to retract my statement for a couple more days."
"No, no more killing," Harry gave him a playful glare, "but we never agreed on no torturing." He watched as an evil grin spread on Tom's face, he was still a Slytherin, after all.
Harry noticed they weren't going in the direction towards the dungeons, he furrowed his eyebrows. "Aren't you taking me back to my cell?" he asked confused. He stopped when Tom did, the man giving him a sad look.
"Harry…" he whispered, pulling him into a hug, "you are my soulmate, not my prisoner." Harry felt uncomfortable by the embrace at first, he wasn't all that used to people hugging him, but he relaxed quickly as his soulmates proximity calmed him. He hugged Tom back and rested his chin on his shoulder.
"I-I'm sorry…" Harry responded, "I… I'm just not used to… used to somebody loving me, is all." His voice broke as he choked out the words, it was hard for him to say despite it being the truth. Tom started to rub his back and he relaxed even more.
"Then I will just have to help you get used to it." Tom said softly, he pulled back and kissed Harry gently, so soft and tender Harry thought he might cry. When they separated Tom took Harry's hand again, leading him down the hall once more.
They talked quietly as they walked, almost playing a game of 20 questions, just trying to get to know one another for who they really were. They stopped walking when Tom stepped up to a large violet door.
"This," he started, pushing the door open and pulling Harry inside with him, "is our room."
Harry looked around the space with wide eyes, the room was large, and in fact it wasn't even truly a room but more like small home with multiple rooms in the middle of the manor. There was an on suite bathroom, a walk in closet bigger than the cell he was staying in, and it even had a living room and kitchen.
"Our?" Harry asked when he finally turned back to Tom, the dark lord stepped up to him and wrapped his arms around his waist, "but won't you get sick of me?" Tom frowned,
"yes, our room." He repeated, the more Harry spoke like he was worth nothing, the more he wanted to go to his relatives and rip them limb from limb. "I could never get sick of you. Harry we are soulmates, we share a soul, you are perfect for me and I for you. I could never want anything other than to be with you as often as possible." He tenderly kissed his forehead.
Harry nodded, "I'm sorry…" he whispered, "I'm sorry I'm so… depressing."
"you're not depressing." Tom said firmly, "You have been treated horribly your entire life, I understand that you will have doubts about everything, because you are, as you said, not used to being loved. I will show you how much you matter, how much you are wanted, how much you are loved." He kissed him again, Tom loved the way Harry melted into him.
"is it too early to say I love you?" Harry asked quietly when the kiss ended, Tom smiled gently,
"is it too early to say I love you too?" he questioned, he watched as Harry smiled and kissed him again.
They migrated over to the couch after they separated from the kiss, Tom sat and pulled Harry into his lap, the Gryffindor certainly didn't protest.
"mmm," Harry hummed, closing his eyes, and leaning his head on Tom's shoulder. "do your followers know that you are no longer Voldemort?" he heard Tom laugh under him, and it made him smile.
"no, not yet, but they will." He reached up to play with Harry's hair, "I will call for a meeting tomorrow, but for now, nothing else matters except for you." He smiled when Harry kissed at his neck lightly.
They fell into easy conversation after that, talking and telling stories as if they had been friends for years. When it was time to finally go to sleep Tom pulled Harry into the large plush bed and held him close, humming softly. Harry fell asleep more at ease than he had ever felt in his entire life.
-HHLL HHLL HHLL-
Tom woke up the next morning to the sound of somebody knocking on their door. He grumbled and held Harry closer to him, "go away!" he called, not wanting to get up and let go of his mate, forgetting there were silencing charms around the rooms and whoever was at his door wouldn't be able to hear him.
"mmm, Tom…" Harry hummed, blinking his eyes open and smiling up at him. Tom couldn't help smiling back and kissing him softly, only separating when he heard the knock again. He glared at the door like he wanted to set it on fire, Harry chuckled softly.
"You go talk to whoever needs you," Harry said softly, starting to pull away, "I need to shower, you can only wash so many parts of your body in a sink in a cell." He teased. Tom chuckled softly and nodded, Harry pulled away completely and went into the bathroom to shower.
Tom sighed and got up, he changed into robes out of his pajamas with a flick of his wand before going up to the door and opening it. "yes?" he asked, slightly annoyed, he looked up and saw Severus whose eyes were widening drastically.
"m-my lord?" Severus stammered; Tom had forgotten about the whole not being the snake faced Voldemort anymore. He sighed and motioned for him to come in and sit down.
"Yes Severus, it is I, but please refrain from the 'my lord'-ing." He said as he sat down, Severus followed and sat down on a couch across from him.
"What… am I supposed to call you?" the potions master asked, looking more confused by the moment.
"Tom, Thomas, or Riddle is fine. I would prefer Riddle in meetings or professional settings, though." He answered easily.
"alright, Tom." Severus said slowly, it felt weird to call him that, "I came to tell you that the anti-venom you requested earlier in the month is finally complete."
Tom chuckled and crossed one leg over the other, "oh, I appreciate it Severus, but it won't be needed anymore. Nagini is no longer with us."
"I'm sorry?" Severus asked, looking bewildered, Voldemort had been terribly protective of his familiar.
"How about I start from the beginning," Tom hummed, "when I first started all this nonsense, the horcruxes and all, it was because I wanted to make sure I would be alive to meet my soulmate, I was a rather paranoid teenager as you can imagine." He teased; Severus was just getting more confused by the moment. "anyway. After you make a horcrux and you split your soul, you lose pieces of your sanity. Usually one isn't enough to make you go crazy, but the more you do the crazier you become and the more you want to make. My soulmate spoke to me for the first time, I have found them, and for a small window of time I was saner than I had been in ages. I had to work fast, before the insanity took over again, but I found and destroyed all of my horcruxes, returning me to my humanity. Nagini was one of my horcruxes." He explained, leaning back in the armchair he was on.
"That explains why you are back to being Thomas Riddle." Severus said after a moment, nodding his head slowly to make sense of it all, "That makes sense. Do you know how old you are now?"
Tom chuckled, "well, mentally I am still in my 80's, but I have been returned to the age of when I made my earliest remaining horcrux, at least from what I can tell, I'm around 20, give or take a year or two." Severus nodded again, they spoke for a while, just about different things, Severus found he enjoyed the company of this new (old?) version of his boss.
Severus looked up when he saw movement over by the bedroom door. He was taken a bit aback when he saw Harry stick his head through the crack he made in the door.
"Tom?" Harry called quietly, a little hesitant. Tom turned to him and gave him a smile,
"Yes?"
"I don't have any clothes other than what I've been wearing for the last 2 weeks. Can… can I borrow some of yours for the day?" he asked, breaking eye contact in his nerves.
"of course," Tom responded softly, "just rummage around and wear whatever you'd like." His voice was soft and calm, it helped ease Harry and he smiled softly,
"thank you." He said before ducking back into the bedroom, closing the door behind him. Tom turned back to Severus.
"is this the part of the story where you tell me Potter is your soulmate?" Severus asked, raising an eyebrow, Tom couldn't help but laugh.
"yes, it is. He has known I was his soulmate since his fourth year, he has never once said a word to me until when you brought him here. When he finally spoke to me, that was when I dropped him, and when Dolohov said the prophecy was a fake. When I left, I immediately went looking for the horcruxes to destroy them."
"When are you going to tell everybody?" Severus questioned, Tom shrugged,
"I was planning on showing everybody my appearance today, but I wasn't sure if I should introduce Harry at the same time." He didn't know how his followers would react with so many changes in one day.
"I would introduce him sooner rather than later." Severus commented, Tom hummed and nodded his head,
"you're right. I will call a summons soon; I will see you then." He stood and walked Severus to the door. They said a few more words before the other man left. Tom closed the door behind him and went into their bedroom.
Harry was sitting on the edge of the bed wearing some of Tom's clothes, the dark lord couldn't help but enjoy how he looked in them, subtly marked as taken.
Harry looked up at him when he heard him enter, he gave him a grin and stood, walking up to him and wrapping his arms around his neck, "feel better?" Tom asked with a smile, resting his hands on Harry's hips.
"mmm, much." Harry smiled as he was pulled into a kiss.
Harry was sitting on the arm of the throne, perched happily, and humming softly. Tom was going to be calling the summons soon, he asked Harry to sit and wait while Tom went to get something from somewhere.
Tom must have called the summons from the other room, or wherever he was, because death eaters started to pop in, the first one that arrived was Bellatrix Lestrange. When she looked up at Harry her eyes filled with fury and more crazy than normal.
"Potter!" she screeched, Harry winced at the tone in her voice, it reminded him an awful lot of his aunt. He didn't respond to her though, which only made her angrier. "you do not deserve to be sitting there! you filthy half-blood!" she screamed and pulled out her wand. It was in that moment that Harry realized he didn't have his wand, it had been missing since Severus retrieved him from privet drive, he felt unease settle in his stomach.
"Mrs. Lestrange-" he started to say but he was cut off by her just screaming at him again, she pointed her wand at him and screeched "crucio!"
Harry fell from the arm of the throne onto the floor, he cried out as he convulsed under the curse. Why did she have to be the first one here? Why did she have to be the one to show up when Tom wasn't in the area? Out of all the crazy death eaters he had to go and be faced with the craziest?
He heard a few more pops into the room after a couple minutes of being under the cruciatus, then he heard somebody yelling "Lestrange!" and the curse being lifted. Even as the curse ended his convulsions continued, residual affect from the torture spell. He was curled into a ball on the floor next to the throne crying and twitching, he really wished Tom were there.
Severus apparated to the throne room in the manor when he felt the summons through his dark mark. When he entered the room, he noticed a few people already there, all staring at the scene in front of them. He turned his eyes and when he saw what Bellatrix was doing to Harry, he paled. "Lestrange!" he shouted, he ran up to her and fought her wand out of her hand, eventually he got her to the ground and pinned her there. The curse ended as she became distracted, Severus snatched her wand away from her completely.
Tom entered the throne room only a minute or two later, he had called the summons from the other room, knowing it would take at least 10 minutes for most of them to show up, so he wasn't worried when he walked in 5 minutes after he summoned everybody.
When he walked in his eyes immediately went to the throne where he had left Harry sitting, but when he didn't see him, he looked down and found the man curled on the floor, twitching and sobbing. He gasped and ran over to him.
"Harry?!" he called, kneeling down next to him on the floor. "Harry, love, what's wrong?" he asked worried, petting his hair.
"H-hurts…" Harry stammered out, trying to reach out to Tom and get closer, but he was having a hard time getting his muscles to do what he wanted.
"why does it hurt?" Tom asked, sensing what he wanted he picked Harry up and sat on the throne, placing Harry in his lap, he cradled him close.
"c-crucio." Harry finally managed to get out after a couple minutes of Tom holding him. Tom heard the word leave Harry's lips and suddenly his worry turned to pure rage. He held Harry tighter to him and snapped his head up, looking out over the few handfuls of death eaters that had come in so far. His eyes landed on Severus pinning a struggling Bellatrix down to the ground. Neither of them had noticed him come in or pick Harry up off the floor, so when he called their names, they both had very different reactions. Severus snapped his head up to look at him with a pale face and wide eyes, but Bellatrix didn't yet look at him, instead she kept trying to fight Snape.
"My lord! There was a nasty half blood on your throne! I tortured them, as they deserved! But Snape tackled me! He must be working for the enemy my lord! He wouldn't stop Potters destruction if he weren't!"
Severus watched as Tom's face filled with even more fury than it had already had, he swallowed thickly.
Tom kissed Harry's forehead tenderly before moving and sitting him back down in the seat of the throne while Tom stood. Harry continued to shiver and twitch after he was put down, but he looked up at Tom and gave him a small smile. Tom turned and walked down from the throne, going over to the two on the floor. He looked down at Bellatrix, finally she looked up at him and her eyes widened.
"m-my lord?" she squeaked, not failing to notice the deadly look in his eyes.
"Yes Lestrange, it is I." his voice was clipped, "Restored back to my human form and my sane mind." Bellatrix apparently went through the thought process that he was mad at Severus for 'working for the enemy', so his mood didn't scare her as much anymore.
"Will you get this filthy spy off of me, my lord?" she requested, still struggling under Severus. Tom looked over at Severus and nodded his head to tell him to let her go. Severus did as he was told and got up,
"I have a pain potion and a crucio relief potion on me." Severus said in way of explanation as he made his way over to the throne where Harry sat. Tom just nodded to him, not taking his eyes off of Bellatrix as she stood up.
Severus called out to Harry gently, when Harry opened his eyes and looked up at him, Severus gave him a sad smile. "Here," he said as he reached into his robes and pulled out the potions, handing them to him. Harry's hand was still shaking when he reached out for them, but he took them gratefully, relaxing as the pain started to fade.
"Thank you, Severus." Harry mumbled, uncurling a bit as he started relaxing,
"You're welcome." Severus nodded before making his way back down to where the other death eaters were appearing, all of them instantly turning to stare at Tom and Bellatrix, Severus joined them at the side to watch the show.
"You are a vile, stupid woman, Lestrange." Tom spoke coldly, a frown came to Bellatrix's face.
"I-I'm sorry? my lord I don't understand…"
Tom stared her down, "you are lucky my soulmate has asked me to not do anymore killing, or you would be dead where you stand." She looked like she was going to ask another question, but Tom cast a body bind on her, her wide fearful eyes stared back at him.
Tom stepped away from her and went back to the throne, "are you alright, my love?" he asked Harry softly, reaching out to pet his hair gently. Harry leaned into his touch and nodded weakly,
"Severus gave me potions," he answered, "and you're here now" he gave him a weak smile. Tom felt his heart melt as he picked Harry up again and sat down, putting Harry in his lap, holding him close to his chest. Harry sighed happily as tension left his body, snuggling into Tom.
Tom wrapped himself protectively around his soulmate, feeling warm at the way Harry relaxed close to him. He waited patiently for the rest of the death eaters to appear in the throne room, all of them wearing their black robes and masks. Despite them having the masks on, Tom could see their confusion.
"I have summoned you here today for some important announcements." Tom spoke loud and clear once everybody was in front of him. "First announcement. My name is Thomas Riddle, lord Voldemort no longer exists, you may call me Tom or Thomas in private, Riddle in meetings." He looked over the crowd with narrowed eyes. "second announcement. My ideals have changed as I am back to being human, I no longer wish to destroy muggles and muggleborns, my wish is to help create a safer wizarding world against the muggles who wish to harm our world. So, if you are here because of your blood prejudice, you can leave now. I myself am a half-blood - if that is an issue for you, you will be of no use to me. There will be no more fighting or killing from our side unless provoked, I want to make change civilly, through the government." He heard the death eaters start to mumble to each other, a soft murmur over the group.
Harry was laying his head on Tom's shoulder when he felt him kiss the top of his head and ask Harry to look out over the group. Harry looked up from his shoulder and got a quick peck to the lips before he turned around, looking over the sea of death eaters unwaveringly.
"third announcement." Tom started, "Many of you know who this is, if not all of you. This is Harry Potter." He pulled Harry closer to him as he looked over at the still bound Bellatrix. "and he is my soulmate." Harry shyly waved to the group, everybody stared at him in shock. The ones who had entered while Bellatrix was still torturing Harry paled as they looked her way. She looked horrified. They all got the silent message that Harry was more important than them, and if they did anything to him, they would be subject to whatever fate Bellatrix had coming for her.
"You all are dismissed. Also, next time you are summoned, don't bother with the masks and robes." He waved them off, the death eaters started talking amongst each other, slowly making their way out of the throne room.
Harry turned in Tom's arms and hummed, "what are you going to do with psycho?" he asked, nodding his head in Bellatrix's general direction. Despite the potions Severus gave him, he still didn't feel well. It felt like he had been run over by a truck and just generally everything hurt.
Tom kissed his forehead, "I will put her in a cell for now. There will be no killing, but I'm thinking about just handing her over to the authorities." He glanced back up at her, "she is a wanted criminal, after all."
Harry snuggled into him further, "that sounds like a good plan, that way you don't have to get your hands dirty, but she is still suffering in Azkaban."
"Do you wish for her to suffer?" Tom raised an eyebrow, looking down at him, Harry just nodded against him.
"Bellatrix tortured my friends parents into insanity, she killed my godfather, and she just crucio'd me for several minutes. I am not exactly fond of her." You could hear Harry's disdain in his voice, Tom lifted his head up and kissed him sweetly, Harry sighed happily into the kiss.
"then I will make sure she suffers." He whispered against Harry's lips before moving him out of his lap and standing to go over to Bellatrix. "you have made quite a few mistakes during your time, Bella dear." Tom mocked, "but I dare say this is the worst. Ipsy!" he called into the air, a house elf popped into existence next to him,
"yes Mr. Riddle sir?" the elf asked politely, bowing. Tom hummed, "please take Mrs. Lestrange down to the dungeons, in the most isolated cell available. I will take her to the ministry at a later date, for now, make sure she stays alive, but is far from comfortable." The elf nodded and grabbed Bellatrix's hand before popping away.
-HHLL HHLL HHLL-
Harry had been at the manor for a little over a month now, he was starting to see it as his home, and it made him smile. Of course, anywhere felt like home so long as Tom was with him, but it was nice for it to feel like home on its own, as well.
He had been out walking the halls of the manor, but now that he was back in his rooms, he was elated to see Tom at the kitchen table working on paperwork. Harry walked over to him and wrapped his arms around his shoulders from behind.
"hello love," Harry smiled, kissing at his neck lightly, Tom turned to look up at him and he smiled.
"hello beautiful." Tom hummed as he pecked Harry's lips, "have a nice walk?"
"I did, Draco joined me for a bit while I was outside." Draco and Harry had put hostilities behind once it was revealed Harry was Tom's soulmate, there was no use in being enemies at that point. They were actually starting to build a pretty good friendship; it was nice to have somebody his age that he could talk to about things other than quidditch or whatever book Hermione was obsessed with at the time.
"hey love?" Harry asked after a moment of silence,
"yes Harry?" Tom responded, not looking up from his paperwork.
"did Severus ever grab my remaining things from the Dursleys?" he nuzzled at his mates neck, humming a bit. He felt Tom still in his thought, "because if not, I need to see if my things are still there, or if they destroyed them."
"Severus never mentioned about anything to do regarding belongings of yours." Tom answered, finally turning fully in his seat to look at Harry, "what all are you missing?"
"I didn't have much to begin with…" Harry responded, "but the things that are important are my invisibility cloak, my marauder's map, the photo album of my parents, and my wand."
"you haven't had a wand for a month and a half?!" Tom asked incredulously, his voice louder than he had meant it, Harry winced but nodded,
"I figured you knew, so I didn't say anything about it." he answered honestly, Tom stared at him for a moment before standing and taking Harry's hand, pulling him towards the door. "Tom?" Harry asked confused.
"we're going to get your things." Tom said easily, but Harry stopped dead in his tracks.
"w-we're going to the Dursleys?" he squeaked, looking horrified, "n-no, I… I can't go back there…" Tom turned to look at him and frowned deeply,
"Harry… Harry love…" Tom said softly, pulling him into a hug, "shh my heart," he soothed, Harry relaxed into the embrace. "You are not going to go there alone. I will be with you, and I promise I won't let anybody hurt you." He kissed the top of his head and Harry hesitated, but eventually nodded.
"o-okay…" Tom pulled away from the hug so he could lean down and kiss his soulmate, when they pulled away Tom laced his fingers with Harry's, and they continued on their way.
"you know…" Harry said as they walked from the entrance of the manor to the apparition point. "if I can get my invisibility cloak back, we can sneak into the ministry to change the records of the original Tom Riddle." Tom looked down at him and raised an eyebrow.
"What do you mean?"
"Well," Harry shrugged, "right now we're having issues getting things done because of your name, right? What if we sneak into the ministry under the cloak, go to the records department, and change the name of Voldemort's previous identity. Like, who in the current ministry knows anything about Voldemort other than that he is Voldemort and a snake faced maniac?" Harry countered, "We change Voldemort's real name to something random. Then, when you try to apply for ministry positions or something, Thomas Riddle won't alert the systems of something suspicious. We could even change the record of what kind of wand you have." Tom stopped walking and just stared down at Harry in bewilderment, "Then, you can drop Bellatrix off to the ministry without raising alarms because of your name and wand, and maybe we can even drop off a fake Voldemort body to show that he's dead, so the ministry will stop walking on eggshells?" Harry continued, finally looking up at his boyfriend. He was caught off guard by the searing kiss he was pulled into, he gasped softly and wrapped his arms around Tom's neck. When Tom pulled away Harry looked up at him a bit confused, "what was that for?" he asked, laughing a bit,
"Because you're a genius." Tom said simply, bringing him to the apparition wards and apparating away to privet drive.
As soon as they landed in the muggle neighborhood Harry straightened his back and kept his face empty of emotion, that was the only way he was getting out of this with any composure. He led Tom to number 4 and stood up to the doorstep, knocking on the door with 3 quick knocks.
Harry watched as the door opened and Dudley appeared, he relaxed just a bit. "Potter?" Dudley furrowed his eyebrows at him. "what the hell are you doing back here? If dad sees you, he's going to go ballistic." Dudley glanced over his shoulder into the house, looking back at Harry like he was stupid.
"I need to see if the last of my things are here." Harry's voice was clipped, his power radiating off of him. "how has Vernon been dealing with not having his punching bag anymore? He isn't hurting you, is he?" Harry looked his cousin up and down, looking for injuries. Dudley shook his head,
"No, hasn't hit mum or I, but there are several holes in the walls."
"Are your parents home?" it was Tom who asked, Dudley looked up at him and looked confused at the man next to Harry.
"uh, yeah. They're in the kitchen."
"Good." Tom said, nodding, a dark glint in his eyes. "you will introduce me as a friend from school or town or whatever you'd like to say, and I will distract your parents while Harry looks for his things." His voice held no room for negotiation. Dudley stared at him a minute before just nodding dumbly,
"Alright, come in I guess, what's your name?" he stepped aside to let them in,
"Thomas." Tom answered, Dudley led him towards the kitchen while Harry silently went up the stairs to Dudley's second bedroom. Before he had been put back in the cupboard, he had stayed in the room for a few days, he was hoping nobody else knew about the loose floorboard. Harry kneeled on the floor and pulled up the wood, he rummaged around in the space and felt relieved when his hand hit something solid. He pulled out the bundle, finding his photo album and his marauder's map wrapped in his invisibility cloak. He frowned when his wand wasn't in the bundle.
"accio Harry's wand." He spoke clearly, holding out his hands for the wand to fly into, but what landed in his hands was a pile of ash. Harry sighed, thankfully he could do enough wandless magic to get by. He placed his hands on his things and they shrunk down so Harry could put them in his pocket, but he kept the cloak out.
He put the cloak over himself and made his way down the stairs, grateful he put the cloak on because his relatives had migrated into the living room. He saw the look Tom was giving his aunt and uncle and he could tell he wanted to rip them to pieces. He went up behind Tom where he was sitting on the couch and leaned in, whispering "I'm ready." In his ear before stepping back.
Tom heard Harry whisper in his ear, he managed to find a break in the conversation to say goodbye and get out of there. Harry was waiting by the door, he put his hand on Tom's back to let him know he was out of the house with him. once the door was shut behind them Harry pulled his cloak off and put it in his robe pocket with his other things.
They walked for a bit, but when they were far enough away Tom pulled Harry into a tight hug, just holding him close. "Tom?" Harry asked a bit confused.
"I looked in his memories." Tom said, "They did some horrible things to you." Harry frowned as he leaned into the embrace,
"yes, they did. I was sincere when I asked you to kill me when I first got to the manor." He said quietly, he just felt Tom hold him tighter, he could feel protective magic circling them warmly.
"Did you get all of your things?" the dark lord asked softly, pulling away from the hug to look down at his love,
"most of it." Harry sighed, "I couldn't find my wand, I went to summon it, but ash flew into my hands instead. It must have been somewhere they could find, and they burned it." Tom growled low in his throat at the comment, Harry shivered in reaction.
"we will just have to get you a new one then," Tom said after taking a moment to calm himself down, he kissed Harry's forehead tenderly. Harry frowned,
"isn't the ministry looking for me? If I walk into Olivander's there will be aurors all over the place." He shook his head, "and then they'll take me away to some bullshit safe house or something, and I can't let them take me from you."
Tom felt warmed by the words, he shook his own head and pecked his lips, "I know a wand maker in Knockturn ally, she is amazing at her craft, and she can make you a wand that fits your magic almost perfectly." Harry nodded a bit and Tom smiled before apparating them to Knockturn alley.
-HHLL HHLL HHLL-
Three weeks later and the plan to infiltrate the ministry to change the records on Voldemort was a success. It took longer than anticipated, as they wanted to do it gradually instead of all at once, so it didn't seem suspicious. They transfigured something into a fake dead Voldemort and dropped it off in the minister of magics office before heading home completely.
Back at Riddle manor, Harry and Tom celebrated the job well done with some wine and downtime. When the emergency Daily Prophet on Voldemort's death came flying into the room, they grinned at each other. Tom leaned down to kiss Harry fiercely,
"I love you, Tom," Harry whispered when they pulled away, Tom couldn't help but smile,
"And I love you, my Harry."