Author's Note:
Continuing to write a little bit each day. Also, having more time to write helps. FYI, I have a lot of international travel coming up so that may be a good thing or a bad thing depending on how motivated I am 39k feet up.
Anyways, can't tell you how much I appreciate your support and kind words, though.
You guys and gals (or however else you identify) are awesome.
Thank you very much for reading and I hope you like where I take this.
Now let us go ahead and get our first glimpse of Tom!
Here is my disclaimer that says I do not own anything Harry Potter related. Everything belongs to JK Rowling, except in universe 47837. Probably.
It had been two months since Cedric had been taken from him. Two months in which he was deprived of the satisfying feeling of expanding his magical circle by welcoming another exceptional magic user to his collection.
Meanwhile, during that same intervening time period, the student body of Hogwarts had grown increasingly fearful for their safety, especially in the aftermath of the second petrification. If the populace of Hogwarts had been surprised that Slytherin's monster had attacked the pureblood Diggory, then they were downright terror-stricken that a member of Slytherin House now lied frozen next to the unmoving Hufflepuff.
Wasn't the legend of the Chamber of Secrets borne out of Slytherin's contempt for mudbloods being allowed to enter Hogwarts to study magic alongside those that he considered more worthy? Weren't they supposed to be the ones being targeted? The change in victims had thrown everyone off, Dumbledore included. For no matter how much the esteemed Headmaster tried to hide it at mealtimes, his brow kept scrunching up more and more as time went on and no harm came to any of the Muggle-borns.
The only thing the Headmaster could think to do to ease some of the growing tension was to insist upon earlier curfews and mandate that no one was to go anywhere without a buddy. The students, however, didn't really need to be told that information, and it had become quite commonplace for large swaths of students to walk to and from class in large groups in the hopes that there was safety in numbers.
Of course, Harry merely stuck with Neville and Justin while everyone else lost their minds – even if Harry could see and understand the very real reason that was causing them to freak out. As it was, even he was questioning why the school was still open if its students were being attacked so openly. Surely the parents of those petrified had been informed – if not by Dumbledore then by the Hogwarts Rumor mill.
It was all very surreal and the more that he thought about what had happened the more that none of it made any sense to him. One of the only things that kept Harry sane as the October air chilled into November before the December freeze arrived was the promise that he had made to Cedric while standing over his immobile form.
For the rest of his life Harry wouldn't stop until Cedric returned to him and fully joined Neville and Justin by his side. He was on his way to greatness and with each follower he not only became stronger, but he had a better idea as to where his future lied.
Because to Harry it didn't matter how abruptly that he had found himself in the position of considering Cedric as his. No, the important thing was that Cedric felt nearly as close and special to him as Neville and Justin did. Each boy added to Harry's power and might and in return they were his to care for and his to nurture.
They were his without doubt and without question; he had never been as sure about anything as he was about that.
Which was why Harry had spent the weeks following Cedric's accident and the days leading up to the winter holidays keeping a very close eye on his remaining two boys, all the while trying to teach them as much defensive magic as possible. If they had thought that they had spent a lot of time in the library after the writing on the wall appeared then they practically lived with Hogwarts' collection of books now.
Nothing on earth would separate Neville and Justin from him if he could help it.
Of course, while Neville and Justin learned as much as they could, Harry busied himself with trying to figure out just what had petrified Cedric; though, to be honest, he had already concluded that it was likely that Slytherin's monster was a Basilisk before Cedric had even been petrified for a week. To Harry it was painfully obvious when he combined what Slytherin's favorite animal was with his memory of the voice that no one else could hear and the newly discovered fact that there was a very good explanation that conveniently tied both of those together.
And then there were the spiders fleeing the castle left and right; that had truly brought everything together in deciding which serpent Slytherin had employed to rid the school of unwanted magic learners.
The only thing that he couldn't figure out was why Cedric Diggory and Millicent Bulstrode had been petrified instead of being killed outright.
As far as anyone knew – given the limited material available at Hogwarts – the ability of a Basilisk to petrify was not something that had been documented before.
Now, while it was true that Harry's first instinct had been dread at the thought that a single glance into a pair of yellow eyes could kill him, the realization that Basilisks could be immediately killed by the sounds of Roosters comforted him.
And Roosters were easy to conjure for someone with his prodigious talents, so he felt confident walking around the castle knowing that at the first hiss he could either produce them or enlarge the shrunken ones that he took to carrying around with him at all times. He was nothing if not pragmatic.
In fact, conjuring roosters also constituted a novel take on defensive magic, something that Neville and Justin readily embraced and excelled at.
And to their credit, his boys didn't question why they were learning this specific magical ability that wasn't taught until their sixth year – nor did they bat an eye as to the unusual animal form that they were calling forth. For they had felt Cedric's incapacitation as deeply as Harry did and though they didn't comment on it, they understood why Harry was doing everything that he was doing.
The knowledge that they were really his to protect and care for only made the amount of magic they had to give to Harry grow.
So it didn't matter that they didn't understand what or why they were spending this inordinate amount of time in the library learning what Harry placed in front of them. Both Neville and Justin knew that whatever they were doing had a point and a purpose and they were not going to let Harry down if he thought that they should know something.
The boys' study sessions were also peppered with continuation of their Occlumency training. In Harry's opinion, it was now paramount that they progress as far as possible in the shortest amount of time.
Though, Harry wasn't that worried about just anyone stealing something from their minds since Neville and Justin were already quite adept at the Mind Arts; however, Harry was quite concerned that Albus Dumbledore or Severus Snape could very easily enter their minds and so he trained them to have two mindscapes. Much like in the way Harry handled Dumbledore whenever that old coot entered his own mind to give him suggestions about places in that castle that he should visit or explore.
Therefore, Harry's additional lessons gave Neville and Justin the ability to hopefully prevent a person that entered their minds the knowledge that they were on to them. Truth be told, it was the only way that Harry could think to protect his secrets since in the back of his mind he wasn't even sure that he could keep Dumbledore out from a full-on attack at this point in time.
There was only one way to find that out and Harry preferred to stay under the radar at this point in time.
Nevertheless, as the winter holidays were now only a few days away, Harry finally felt content with the boys' progress and knew that they could reasonably hold their own with magic if it came down to it. Which meant that he could finally try and ferret out any information from Draco Malfoy that would explain how the Chamber of Secrets had been opened and, more importantly, how it could be closed.
It had been a testament to Harry's patience that he had been able to wait this long, especially given that something very important had been taken away from him.
He didn't take kindly to having to wait to be reunited with one of his own. However, Dobby's warning had meant nothing to Harry until it had been too late, and even then it hadn't immediately clicked in his mind as to the wizarding family that Dobby served. Only after hours and hours spent in the library poring over every sort of magical text imaginable did Harry finally have an epiphany and was able to note just how similar the magic that Draco cast in classes felt to what Harry remembered coming off of Dobby when the elf had visited him at the end of the summer in Privet Drive.
So the only thing left for Harry to decide was when to stake out his prey and he settled on the last Friday of the term. With the students heading home for the holidays on Sunday, Harry reasoned that Draco's guard would be lowered. Thus, Harry hoped his mind would not be as defended so that Harry's presence inside the young Malfoy scion's mind would go unnoticed.
Though, to be honest that really didn't matter either considering what was happening to Harry's magic. He had waited long enough to be reunited with Cedric and for once no one was going to get in his way on his quest for answers.
And he wasn't about to wait another minute.
"We ready?" Harry inquired to his followers within their shared dormitory.
The expectant and prepared faces of Neville and Justin looked to Harry and gave a brief nod.
"Excellent. You remember what we are doing tonight and just how important it is?"
Not that they need reminding, but Harry preferred to leave nothing to chance. Even if he knew he could trust them.
As a general rule, the Harry Potter that had decided to come to a school of magic did not trust anyone. Which made Harry just as uncomfortable as it did to reassure him that he now found himself in that exact position.
Except that Neville and Justin weren't just anyone: for Harry had looked into their minds and knew that they would unconditionally support him.
"Of course, Harry," Justin replied in all seriousness.
Neville, however, took a different approach that showed just how prepared that he was.
"And I promise not to get distracted by certain Slytherins that we may come across. Now is not the time to exact revenge."
"Yes, we must not get distracted tonight," Harry agreed and took a pause before continuing.
"But we will have time soon enough for Phineas and Icarus to understand where they went wrong with messing with one of my boys, and I'm sure they will remember you until the day they die."
Harry smirked sinfully and it made both Neville and Justin's magic radiate up and down their own bodies at the thought of unleashing their growing powers.
When their magic settled back down, Harry grabbed for his satchel and left their dormitory.
Neville and Justin followed Harry into the common room – which was just as packed as it was every other night since very few students felt comfortable outside of their house after supper – and then left with him as he stepped out into the castle.
But they weren't afraid for Harry had his wand drawn ahead of them and soon their wands were in their hands and ready for action as well.
Though they didn't need to use any magic as they made their way closer to where Slytherin House was located.
However, before they descended the final set of stairs into the dungeons, Harry led them into an unused classroom. Once there, he proceeded to cast a powerful Disillusionment Charm on Neville and Justin that made them gradually fade into the texture and color of the wall behind them.
Then, just to be safe, he cast several stealth charms to mask all noise that he could envision them possibly making.
Satisfied that no one would be able to detect them, Harry added a slight modification wherein he willed his magic to flow out of his center and make his boys visible to him and only him.
When they reappeared into his view, Harry smirked and threw his prized Cloak of Invisibility over his own head before disappearing completely.
The fact that they couldn't see him served as an opportunity for Harry to observe how they acted without his explicit guidance. While he was sure that they would act no different than if he were able to give them verbal cues, he wanted to give them the confidence to know that they could handle themselves without supervision. It would be invaluable to know that Harry could send one or both of them in place of himself in the future, allowing him to do things that he otherwise would not have been able to.
Think about how much more he would be able to accomplish!
And both Neville and Justin passed the first test as they managed to leave the unused classroom only a few seconds after Harry did.
It was a new experience for Justin and Neville as they walked alone through the castle's walls. Well, they weren't really alone since they still could feel just the barest presence of Harry's magic in front of them.
It wasn't as overwhelmingly strong as it normally was but they surmised that that had something to do with whatever Harry had done to make himself disappear; something that had appeared to be quite different from the spells that Harry had cast upon them.
Still, both boys paid little mind to the extraordinary feats that Harry could achieve with magic and before they knew it they had arrived outside the hall that led to Slytherin's dorm.
Neville and Justin passed the time by taking stock of every student that walked by, and appropriately cataloged how they walked and talked within their mind. Just like Harry had showed them for optimal retention within their mindscape. After all, one of the most important lessons that they had learned from their study into the Mind Arts was that every minute of every day was an opportunity to improve upon their Occlumency skills.
They wanted to make Harry proud.
And Harry was proud with watching them act appropriately, but he was also keeping an eye out for his prey.
Time ticked by as the three of them waited for Draco. Each was hoping that Draco hadn't given into the hysteria and remained within Slytherin. Harry would have been most displeased to have to think of another way to corner Malfoy before he departed for the holidays. Or worse, miss him altogether.
But fate was on Harry's side, for an hour before the curfew bell tolled Draco rounded the corner. Just like before, Daphne Greengrass was at his side.
At once, Harry gathered his magic and waited until they were directly in front of him before unleashing his might.
Daphne's eyes glazed over immediately, her magic bending towards Harry's obvious might without question. However, even though Harry was more focused on Draco, he was aware of how familiar her magic was. It felt warm to him and much like how Cedric's had felt before Harry knew that Cedric belonged to him.
He made a quick mental note to explore it later.
Meanwhile, Draco had the bulk of his attention. The youngest Malfoy had made a valiant effort at resisting him, but that only lasted for a few seconds before his eyes too glazed over.
Immediately, Harry entered his mind and searched quickly for any information that explained just how the Chamber of Secrets had been opened.
Neville and Justin watched with curious expressions on their face as Draco and Daphne both rocked gently back and forth while standing in the hall. Each of Harry's boys were ready with their wands drawn in case someone else stumbled upon them before Harry was finished extracting the information that he sought.
Thankfully, no one came into view and after a few moments Harry released his hold over both Daphne and Draco. The pair came out of their daze and Draco drew his wand, most likely as a reflexive response instilled by his father.
Though neither could find anything amiss and after a minute of collecting themselves they quickly headed for their common room.
Justin and Neville weren't the type to wait around and were anxious to learn what Harry had discovered. Each had independently reasoned that Harry would return to the classroom that they had used to make themselves undetectable to others, and so that was where they had gone.
Sure enough, they felt Harry's magic wash over them at the exact moment that they stepped foot inside the class.
At the same time, Harry appeared before them and they could tell immediately that he had not learned what he had hoped to uncover.
"Nothing?" Neville asked with very little hope.
"Well, not nothing," Harry responded in an irritated manner.
"Just not anything that is going to help Cedric. Draco may have had an idea that something was going to happen this year at Hogwarts but his father didn't share the specifics with him."
"Shit!" Justin expressed to Muggle perfection.
But Harry wasn't finished.
"It would seem that dear old Lucius purposefully kept this from Draco; something to which Draco didn't respond kindly to and is I believe one of the reasons that Slytherin House received all new brooms this year. Lucius, if you can believe it, has a very soft spot where Draco is concerned and has a very difficult time saying no to the boy."
"So what do we do now?" Neville asked in a quiet and dejected manner.
"Obviously we can't go to Lucius about this and I don't see another solution besides waiting this out. I'm sure that both of you can appreciate how much it pains me to admit that we did not succeed tonight."
Justin looked down to the floor and even though he knew that they couldn't have done anything more, he couldn't help but feel like they had failed Harry.
He didn't even have to look at Neville to know that the other boy felt the same way.
It was a sight that Harry hated to see since he had been most pleased with how they had kept it together and even managed to get in some training while they waited.
That kind of performance needed to be rewarded.
Therefore, Harry walked towards his friends until he came to stand a foot away.
"However," he then added in a soft voice that made Neville and Justin look at him.
"You two did everything that I could have expected of you tonight. With each day that passes I am even more glad that you are on this journey with me."
Then, as if to say thank you, Harry released his magic and it flowed into both of them with such force that Neville and Justin needed to use the other one to remain standing upright. Such was the strength and ecstasy of Harry's magic.
Harry rewarded them for a few more minutes before calling his magic back into his body. While he waited for Neville and Justin to gather themselves, he quickly went through and sorted the many memories from Draco's mind that he had seen.
To be honest, Harry was largely surprised with how affectionate Lucius was and had been with Draco and just how normal the young Malfoy's life was. True, Lucius had also introduced Draco to Occlumency and some of the darker approaches to magic, but he still treated him like a child that he would do anything for.
But Harry expected more from the scion of a house as influential as the Malfoys; running circles around Ronald Weasley was one thing, but Harry had almost hoped that Draco would have given him more of a challenge.
At any rate, Harry had just sorted away the memory of Draco discovering the pleasures of masturbation when Neville and Justin were finally ready to head back to Hufflepuff. The knowledge of those self-exploring events had been both humorous and slightly awkward as Draco took to developing the secretive behavior that had accompanied him learning how to pleasure himself in his room when he thought his parents were away.
Chuckling at the lengths that Draco had gone to in ensuring complete privacy from both his parents and the house elves, Harry started to lead his friends back to Hufflepuff. Though, he randomly decided on a different route; one that took them on the path in which they would be least likely to encounter another living person.
Specifically, Harry guided them up to the second floor and past the girl's lavatory that not one female in the castle used because of an obnoxiously whiny ghost who had been crying for as long as anyone could remember.
The three boys had just rounded a corner and were now in sight of where the bathroom lied when a young girl with red hair burst out of the lavatory and proceeded to run directly at their now-standing forms.
As she approached, Harry saw that her face was tired and that she had the telltale signs of exhaustion; nevertheless, there was still some stubborn determination that enabled her to keep going. It was likely that it was this singular mindset also prevented her from noticing Harry and her friends standing in her way, or she just didn't care as her legs started to run faster.
Therefore, to prevent what had to be a small first year from slamming into them, Harry directed a very powerful tendril of his magic to intercept her when she was just over ten feet away.
Almost immediately, she became rooted to the spot and her visibly wet eyes darted around as she tried to understand what was happening, and Harry still wasn't certain that she had spotted them yet.
Harry then became interested as a terrified expression took over her features and her hands inched up to cover her pale and worried face. In all honesty the poor girl looked like she hadn't gotten a good nights sleep in quite a while. Knowing that as she began to sink to the floor that she was not going to go anywhere in the immediate future, Harry called back his magic.
Without Harry's magical support and the rapidly decreasing adrenaline coursing through her veins, her body was simply unable to support her own weight any longer and she crashed to the floor.
He would never have expected someone so young to have such an authentic panic take hold, and he more so than anyone recognized that this girl was running from something that had truly terrified her.
Instantly, Harry eyes flicked to the bathroom that she had recently exited from out of in an abundance of caution given the recent events within the castle. He was just about to direct Neville and Justin to go to her when she suddenly found her voice.
Only it wasn't directed at any of them.
"No, please, Tom! I think am losing my mind. Please just leave me alone!" Her voice was pleading and it was clear that she didn't have much fight left in her.
Now Harry was very intrigued in what was going on. What had this fellow named Tom done to her?
Harry motioned his arms and caught the attention of Neville and Justin and they backed off to the side. They knew that Harry was asking them to be his eyes as he moved forward to deal with the girl that he was now fairly certain was Ginny Weasley given her trademark red hair.
"I think I've been hurting people, Tom," she cried again softly to herself.
"I keep losing track of time whenever I write to you and it seems that every time I do someone else becomes hurt. I don't know what's going on!"
Harry was nearly within arm's reach of her now and with each new word that she said, Harry felt his pulse speed up.
'It can't be,' Harry thought quietly to himself.
"I think I'm the one that has been petrifying people," she sobbed into her hands.
Neville and Justin felt their eyes widen with her shocking statement and they shared a look, both of them morbidly interested in how Harry was going to deal with the person who had just admitted to taking Cedric away from him.
Though, they weren't surprised to see Harry steel himself and kneel down in front of her with a comforting expression on his face. They knew that no matter how severe his retribution would be that Harry would first extract any and all useful information from the girl first.
"Shh," Harry soothed, sending his magic to wrap around her while his right hand inched to rest on her shoulder.
However, something very strange happened when his magic surrounded them both and mingled with her own magic. Now that he wasn't trying to stop her from running into him and his boys, he was able to sense something that he noticed as very odd.
For this girl, who had turned into a blubbering mess in front of him, had a small sliver in her magic that sent a shiver down Harry's spine.
And at the exact moment that Harry felt it, both Neville and Justin felt that familiar and tantalizing tingle run over their nerve endings.
Each had been thinking about being united with this feeling ever since they first felt it at Flourish & Blotts – even the opening of the Chamber of Secrets had merely pushed it towards the backs of their minds.
But not a moment had gone by that they had stopped thinking about it completely.
However, this was nowhere near as strong as they had come to expect or had even felt on occasion on their way to classes.
"Strange," Harry said as he stroked her soft red hair.
The combination of Harry's familiar, yet somewhat different magic and the fact that the boy's voice was nothing like Tom's helped to draw Ginny back to the present.
Her sniffles lessoned and she was able to look directly into Harry's green eyes.
Though, there was still fear in her eyes and her body language showed evidence that she wasn't as calm as Harry's magic should have made her. It was a very atypical reaction to Harry's magic, but it only drew him in more.
If he wasn't committed now to figuring out the mysteries of Ginny Weasley, he was after the words that then came out of her mouth.
"You feel just like him," she said weakly, but honestly.
Harry could see the truth of her statement in her eyes.
She should have been more nervous about meeting the infamous Harry Potter, but after hearing about how average he was from her brother Ronald – not to mention the experience that had been Tom Riddle – well, she just didn't have it in her to care anymore.
"Feel like whom?" Harry replied in a carefully controlled manner.
He didn't want her to know just how interested he really was with her answer.
"Like Tom," she said simply.
Though, her eyes then began to widen in fear and she looked over her shoulder at the bathroom.
"What do you think is hiding there?" Harry questioned in a soft voice, using his magic to strengthen the impact of his words without having to touch her directly.
When Ginny looked back at Harry she looked like she was just about to answer him but then thought better of it.
In truth, she had no idea where to begin and already thought that she had gone mad without needing other people to think her crazy.
Plus, she realized now that she had probably said too much to begin with, and made like she was about to leave when she found that she couldn't move.
"Going somewhere?" Harry asked pointedly.
He had been reading her body language and knew exactly what she had been thinking, but Harry wasn't going to turn down this opportunity.
He had waited too long to find out what had happened to both Cedric, and now to find that it might also have something to do with that mysterious feeling…
Even Justin and Neville knew that their night was about to become extended and took up their guard outside the room that Harry led them all into.
Ginny didn't even protest, though on the inside she was quite afraid about what was going to happen.
But Tom had drained so much of her energy and she had used every last ounce of willpower that she had possessed in throwing the diary at Moaning Myrtle in her attempt to be free of Tom once and for all.
"Now, I expect that it would be much easier for you show me what has been going on instead on telling me," Harry said matter-of-factly while Ginny attempted to figure out what Harry meant by that.
"S-show you?" she stammered out.
"Yes, show me," Harry said with a wry smile as he unleashed his mind towards her.
Harry's face was the last thing that Ginny Weasley remembered seeing.
Harry found no resistance as he broke through her pitiful mental defenses; however, what surprised him was that it was abundantly clear that someone had been inside her mind before.
Many times, in fact, judging by the looks of things.
It was only because of how often that he had journeyed into the minds of Neville and Justin that he was able to notice the nonrandom way in which her memories had been organized. Only a person very well adept at the Mind Arts would have organized their minds in this manner, and Ginny Weasley was not a Master Occlumens. Therefore, the only other possible way to explain the level of organization that Harry saw was that someone had been in her mind so frequently that they had organized her memories for her.
Knowing that there was a simple way to test this out, Harry walked over to a collection of memories that looked just like the other piles that were neatly stacked in rows.
Except that this pile gave off a warmer and warmer pulse as Harry approached it, reminding him more and more of the feeling that he desperately wanted to figure out.
So when Harry was finally next to the large pile, he wasn't surprised to find that these memories had something surrounding them, much like how a force field surrounded a ship. It was faint, but had some reasonable strength behind it and Harry recognized it at once.
This was the same kind of shield that he used with his own magic to surround and protect something that was important, the same kind of magic that he had used to hide Neville's memories of Icarus and Phineas from the young Longbottom. Now, it was all but confirmed in Harry's mind that someone very skilled had been in her mind and knew exactly what they were doing.
With nothing else to do but see what these memories contained, Harry gathered his magic and severed their protection.
A single touch of his hand against the first memory transported Harry to see everything that someone had wanted Ginny to forget.
'Hi Ginny,' an elegantly drawn note appeared below her last journal entry.
'Finally,' she thought to herself after many and many hours of writing with no response.
But she knew that if she kept up her torrid pace and poured her heart into her writing that he would respond to her.
Little did she know, however, that Tom fed off of her putting that much effort into her writing, so much so in fact that it convinced the Horcrux within it that there was a path to freedom.
So Diary Tom waited until it had drawn enough reserves from her many entries so that he would have strength for what was he had planned to do.
In truth, the Tom Riddle that resided within the old and withered journal was giddy at the thought that he would have a second chance in reopening the Chamber of Secrets. To think that after all of these years of waiting that he would be able to complete the noble work that Salazar Slytherin had planned for… well, simply put, it was euphoric.
Only he had to work slowly up to his goal and see if it was even possible. A lot did rest upon his ability to take control of the girl, and while he was pretty sure that it would work it was still just a theory.
Fortunately, theories could be tested and so Tom waited patiently for the time to strike.
Ginny, meanwhile, was not privy to these thoughts and so her reaction to the reappearance of her mysterious pen pal meant that a small smile that fluttered to her face.
'Tom, where have you been?' she hastily scribbled back.
'I am at Hogwarts now, been sorted into Gryffindor in fact. I'm so pleased that I didn't let my whole family down and go somewhere different.'
'Is that so,' Tom wrote back to her.
'Yes, Tom, and you were right, the castle is magical. How did you know that it would take my breath away?'
Harry stood over the shoulder of Ginny Weasley as the conversation played out. From the moment that he saw the diary he knew that his search was over. The power that emanated – even in memory form – from the diary was the one thing that Harry had needed to feel to know that the source of his greatest feeling had been found.
Without question.
It was just that he didn't understand how a diary could produce this kind of power, and elicit this type of a response from his magic; never mind how the book made of worn leather was having a conversation with someone.
While Harry knew that magic could do many things, he never knew that a diary could have something that felt like, like a soul… which was the best way that he could think to describe it since it felt so human.
Harry was so focused on that thought that he almost missed the exact moment where the conversation between Ginny and the Diary ended. It was strange, one minute Ginny had been carrying on about how she was going to make a name for herself and get out of her brother's shadows and the next there was a boy in her place.
And that boy took Harry's breath away. He was everything that Harry could or would ever hope to find in someone else should he desire companionship.
To say that he was perfect was one thing, but to say that he was a possible equal to himself was quite another.
Except that when Harry focused extremely hard on the beautiful boy who elicited a very strong reaction from his magic he saw Ginny instead.
Curious at the apparent apparition in front of him Harry moved closer and focused harder and from this position it was even easier to see Ginny – which led Harry to contemplate the situation in front of him.
In his mind the only way that this was even possible was that Ginny was being possessed. And though this conclusion was a bit of a stretch, Harry had several pieces of evidence to support it. The first was that he had seen an inanimate object carry on a conversation with someone, and the second was that he was literally inside Ginny's head and was witnessing things from her, or rather his point of view. Perhaps the best piece of evidence, however, was in how her memories had been organized, which required someone else to enter her mind.
And aside from the way this memory person saw itself, Harry was learned enough in the Mind Arts to note the subtle but distinct change that had permeated throughout the memory.
He felt even more of that delicious feeling now that the boy was in control, and that made his magic sing. It was all Harry could do to keep watching this memory and not go in search of this Diary… and this boy.
Luckily, he didn't have too long to dwell on that instinct, since just as quickly as this Tom had appeared, he disappeared completely and Ginny reappeared as whole as she had ever been. This left Harry feeling a series of mixed emotions as he took it all in.
With the absence of this other boy from his immediate senses – and the interesting and distracting response that he had on Harry and his magic – Harry was able to see that Ginny had had nothing to do with opening the Chamber of Secrets and what had befallen Cedric.
To his surprise, he didn't know how he felt about that. Normally, reason and logic guided Harry's decisions, but there were some situations that Harry let his magic lead him. Just like how had acquired Neville and Justin, and then Cedric.
In this particular situation, though, his magic wanted more and his mind was not quite on the same page. It told him that he needed to be cautious and gather as much evidence as he could before he decided on an appropriate cause of action.
This wasn't the same as acquiring a new follower, because it was clear that this Tom was more equal to Harry than anyone that he had come across before. And yet it was because of how similar he was to him that both his magic and his mind agreed on needing to know more. For no matter how much Harry's magic wanted to mingle with the magic of Tom, his own magic couldn't disregard the potential danger that lurked in meeting another whose magical power had the potential to be the same as his own.
So he kept that thought in mind as the scene soon shifted with the next memory that began to play; however, not much of the scenery within the Gryffindor's room had actually changed.
The only difference was that this time Ginny's outfit was different. Also, when Tom took over Ginny in what was presumably a later date, he immediately made for Hagrid's hut and then killed all of the roosters. This was the event that confirmed the existence of the Basilisk beyond a doubt for Harry, but he was curious as to why Tom made a point for Ginny to collect some of the blood and put it away within small vials that he had conjured with her mind.
Once complete, this memory returned them to Gryffindor, and Harry saw first-hand even more evidence that Tom matched Harry's abilities; for he couldn't help but note that Tom behaved in much the same way that he would have if he had taken control of another student and was trying not to be noticed. In fact, Harry knew that Tom must have studied Ginny's mannerisms and had to have had some idea as to the world he was exploring. Therefore, he made a mental note to see just what some of their conversations had been like, and just how much Ginny had inadvertently informed him of with what she had written in her diary.
Upon returning to Gryffindor undetected, Tom stored the vials of blood in a broken floorboard under her bed and then returned his focus to the diary that sat on her desk, when he soon disappeared for a second time.
The memory ended just as Ginny started to realize that something was not quite right.
The next time that this happened was much the same thing.
The only way that Harry knew that time had again passed was in the altered layout. First-year Gryffindor girls apparently loved to redecorate and had moved the furniture around to create quite a different setting.
Again, Ginny was alone in the dorm and writing line after line into the diary.
Harry moved around the landscape of her memory and waited for the important parts of the scene to begin, all the while noticing that Ginny looked somewhat tired. It wasn't a huge difference from the previous memory, and perhaps Harry was noticing it simply because time had jumped several weeks from the last memory given the date on her entry page.
Though the date bounced around Harry's own mind for several seconds before it hit him that this was the date when the writing on the wall appeared. Harry would never forget that night because it was when he had heard that ancient voice, the one that had now been confirmed to have been a deadly Basilisk in retrospect.
And no sooner had Harry thought that that the light in the room flickered and the older boy appeared again in Ginny's place. There seemed to be more to him this time and it was harder for Harry to find any trace of Ginny that remained under the thralls of his control in this memory.
However, Harry didn't have all that long to dwell on what he was seeing as the handsome boy stood up from Ginny's desk and made his way towards the exit. As Tom made his way down the spiral staircase and across the floor of Gryffindor's common room, he was able to notice just how captivating the boy truly was. What made the way he carried himself even more mesmerizing was that this image was only of how his consciousness saw himself, and that could never quite replicate the true beauty of how dominate someone was or could be in person with this much potential.
Especially when that person likely had the wherewithal to keep up some semblance of the person that they were impersonating with a room full of people that included family members. What Harry wouldn't have given to see this boy in person; it was something that his magic just felt strongly about.
And true to what Harry expected, no one gave Ginny a second glance as she exited and made her way towards the heart of the castle.
About Halfway into their journey down the stairs, Harry came to realize that perhaps he was on his way to discovering the location to the Chamber of Secrets. After all, he had more than enough evidence that Ginny - who was being controlled by this Tom person – had almost certainly unleashed Slytherin's monster.
Which would have meant that Tom was somehow a descendent of the powerful Salazar Slytherin. In Harry's mind, that helped to explain some of the delicious power that practically oozed out of Tom's body as Harry followed him into the very bathroom that he had seen Ginny running out of.
'Of course,' Harry exclaimed quietly, connecting the pieces to where they fit within the larger story.
Although, if Harry had been captivated by Tom before, he didn't think there was a word to describe the longing that formed in his soul when Tom soon began to speak in Parseltongue.
It was as if his insides were on fire with the way his magic surged in response to those sexy, sibilant hisses.
Never before had his magic encountered anything that was this close to a match to what it could do; however, just as quickly as Harry felt that, he became aware of several very important things.
The first and most important being that he didn't know the present location of this Tom. While it was likely that he still resided in the diary – because that would have explained what Ginny had been running from – there was the distinct possibility that this boy had already broken free. Though, and to Harry's second point, if he still resided in that diary then how would Harry free him? Which led him to point number three, and something that thrilled him as much as terrified him: was it the best thing for Harry to have to deal with Tom in the flesh.
He knew the reaction that he had to Tom, but would the reverse also play to his favor. That is, could he trust this boy to not attempt to take him over to further his own plans? And that was something that Harry couldn't answer because if roles were reversed he would consider doing any and everything in his power to regain his freedom.
At this point he had already taken it as a given that this Tom likely knew more about magic, and could thus do more with magic, because of how much older he was than Harry. No matter how exceptional he was it was clear that Tom was just as exceptional with magic and had a few more years on Harry in which to expand his knowledge of all types of magic.
Needless to say, it was a very contemplative journey that Harry endured in following Tom to what had to be the proper entrance to the Chamber of Secrets. While his mind had been paying just enough attention to his surroundings to be able to retrace his steps, he set aside his internal deliberations completely at the sight of the ornate steel door that was festooned with intricately carved green snakes.
It was a fitting door in Harry's opinion.
Again, Tom uttered those sinful hisses and the door opened to reveal a dark cavern. Tom then confidently made his way into the darkness, and as he did so great torches of fire came to life on either side of what was now an obvious walkway towards whatever was in the front.
Harry's mouth parted at the grand view that revealed itself before his eyes. Large statues of striking snakes lined the side of the stone floor and they directed his line of sight to an even larger stone bust that had to be of Salazar Slytherin.
Seeing Tom framed by the image of his forefather made the older boy seem even more powerful.
"Speak to me Slytherin, greatest of the Hogwarts four," Tom then shouted into the expanse of the cavern.
This time it wasn't the sound of those words in Parseltongue that sent delightful shivers down Harry's spine, for the sight of the large stone mouth parting before him had fully captured his attention.
"Master?" the ancient voice sounded again in Harry's ears.
For a moment, he couldn't help the turn of his head as a large shadow moved out of Slytherin's mouth. However, Harry soon reminded himself that this was all taking place in someone else's mind and therefore he did not have to be concerned with meeting the gaze of the otherwise deadly king of the serpents.
"Your power has only grown during my absence," Tom greeted the giant snake that encircled him and Harry with its large body.
"Master Riddle has returned, though you are in a different form than last time. How is this possible?"
So Riddle was Tom's last name? Harry quietly took note and observed the snake, feeling a rare sensation of awe wash through him at getting to witness something that people had died to see. Literally.
It was then that Harry noticed that the beast had a nictitating membrane that covered its eyes, which made complete sense to Harry. This way the snake could constantly have its eyes open and only deliver its fatal blow when it wanted to.
"I took over the form of a young girl," Tom then explained. "You see, I had taken certain precautions against death and stored part of my soul away in an old diary. It just so happened that this young girl came upon my Horcrux and I was reawakened. I will transfer her life force to mine over time and become flesh soon enough. There is more, but I'm sure you are hungry after years of not feeding. Come, my pet, we can talk later. Only I must ask that you do not kill yet. Petrify only, and I promise that we can work for much longer this time."
The snake nodded and moved to uncoil itself as Tom turned to face the exit that led to the castle above. Harry moved to follow, all the while filing away everything that he had just heard to go over when he had the chance.
'So the Tom that resided in the diary really was human', Harry thought to himself.
'Is that what a Horcrux is?' he asked to himself next as they made their way back to the surface. He wasn't even focusing on how Tom knew the snake could either kill or petrify, both of which must feed the animal in some way.
It didn't take long for them to emerge in the bathroom and the large snake was surprisingly silent as it slithered over the cold ground. The ghost of Myrtle was no where to be seen, but Harry knew that had had something to do with the flick of Tom's wand that had sent a cool breeze in front of them.
'Smart,' Harry recognized since the last people you would want to cotton on to your presence and secret activities were any of Hogwarts many ghosts.
The snake stayed behind Tom as he crept out into the hallway, but it couldn't stop the words that hissed from its mouth:
"Kill… eat… kill again."
Only it didn't have quite the same effect on Harry that it did before.
They continued on down the hallway, only stopping when Tom removed the rooster's blood from his robe to quickly spell those familiar words to appear on the wall.
THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS HAS BEEN OPENED: ENEMIES OF THE HEIR BEWARE
Tom chuckled softly to himself before the meow of a cat turned both his attention and that of the Basilisk's towards the lurking form of Mrs. Norris. Harry thought that the cat must have had a death wish since it jumped up onto the ledge that was right next to the drying blood on the wall and looked at Tom as if he were about to be in trouble.
Tom didn't even have to say anything to the snake for it to speak once more before striking.
"Masters says strike!"
And just like that Flich's cat was petrified.
"Come," Tom hissed softly to the snake.
"We will make sure you are well fed this time, and make sure that Dumbledore doesn't interfere with our plans again," Tom said as the memory began to retreat to the bathroom.
Which struck Harry as odd since that dated Tom and identified that he had first been a student at some point in the past when Dumbledore had also been there. While Harry knew that that still left a span of about seventy years to go through, it gave him some way to find out more about who this Tom person really was.
Once inside the bathroom, Tom sent the snake on its way and made a hasty retreat back to Gryffindor, carefully avoiding the throngs of students that rushed to the loud cries of Filch. As expected, the moment that Tom made it to Ginny's dorm room, his control over her abruptly stopped and she took a few moments to come out of her daze.
And then the memory changed again, and this time it was Cedric who had been the victim. Though, it was during this memory that he learned as to why Muggleborns were no longer targeted. Tom had a plan to throw the old coot off and therefore was going to target several purebloods with petrification before he hopefully had the energy to regain his own physical form.
The next memory that flashed before Harry's eyes was even quicker as Millicent became the next victim. Tom was very efficient in how he used the snake and moved her throughout the castle without being seen. It really was ingenious to use the plumbing – and the occasional Enlargement Charm on the pipes – to strike at different locations.
But he never shared as much about his plan with the snake as he did during his reunion with her; it was almost as if he regretted saying anything at all. Harry recognized many of the same traits that he saw in himself, except he at least had Justin and Neville – and soon to be Cedric – to share some of his life with. Tom was alone and was obviously quite content with not having someone else to get in his way.
It made Harry want to speak to the boy in a strange way, and as the last memory that Tom had hidden from Ginny ended, Harry wondered how that conversation would even begin.
Harry exited Ginny's mind and found himself in an unused room being guarded by Neville and Justin.
The second that he moved, he had the attention of his boys who immediately came to his side.
"Harry, what did you find out?" Justin asked after kneeling down to be at Harry's height.
"Much," Harry replied with a perplexed expression on his face.
He wasn't entirely sure how much to share with them at this point, and as the last thing that he had seen upon leaving Ginny's mind was her memory of throwing the diary into the bathroom, he knew that he would have to tell them something.
Because Harry couldn't just leave Tom lying around for anyone to find, but at the same time he didn't trust himself with the diary either. He was tempted, oh so tempted to open the pages and see what Tom's reaction to his presence would be.
But that would have been a gamble, and one that Harry didn't think that he was ready to take yet. Simply put, he knew that he needed to learn more magic.
While Tom most certainly could become Harry's equal in every way, at this particular point in time Tom was miles above what Harry could do.
Which didn't exactly make Harry's want to meet him diminish; if anything it only added to the mystery of who this boy was and why he complimented Harry so.
However, as Harry looked into the faces of Neville and Justin, he had no idea what to do about that diary since it wasn't an option to leave it where it was. Neither could he tempt himself by taking it, nor would he allow Neville or Justin the opportunity for Tom to take them under his thrall.
So the three boys sat there in silence – alongside a numb and disoriented Ginny who occasionally blinked – as Harry thought about everything and anything that had to do with Tom and his diary.
However, the hour soon became very late and curfew had ended hours ago. As much as he didn't really know the right thing to do, he knew that he needed to do something and therefore did the one thing that made the most sense in his mind.
Therefore, Harry gathered his might and took control of Ginny. His instructions to her were clear and his magic helped her open the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets and Harry stood outside the bathroom as he heard the diary fall into the abyss.
He knew it was risky to leave the diary down where the Basilisk could presumably find it, but reasoned that Tom would not be able to regain human form if no one was available for him to suck the life out of.
It would also give Harry an idea as to when he was ready to meet Tom, because if he could venture down into the chamber and easily deal with a Basilisk then he would know that he had the skill to be able meet Tom and learn just why the other boy called to him so.
So, thoughts? Went back and forth with the ending. In the end I just did what I would have done.
Happy Holidays.