In the beginning of January, the quietness that had reigned inside the castle during Christmas holidays was usually replaced by the joyful chaos of students happy to see each other again, discussing the gifts they had received and how promising the second term seemed. But none of that happened this year. The amount of decree was reducing the students to only talk about their classes in the corridors.

Umbridge came back with a new resolve concerning her methodic destruction of everything that was making Hogwarts the great place it was. But Harry was determined to let that put him down. Many students who had taken the habit of commenting on his lie in his presence got the surprise of being stared down by Harry. Every look he felt, he was withstanding it with defiance. It was exhausting but Ron and Hermione were helping him in this task. Also he noticed that a few students who didn't believe him in the beginning were starting to follow his example and take his defence whether he was here or not.

He took a few days before going back to the Chamber. He had managed to free the basilisk on the passageway on the fourth floor so he could back while bringing the Horcrux with him, but Harry wasn't ready to deal with Tom yet.

He had asked Harry for forgiveness before Christmas and Harry wasn't sure he would be able to grant it.

The first Saturday of the month, he found himself in the Headmaster's office who showed him Ogden's memory about the arrest of Marvolo and Morfin Gaunt. Harry recognised the glade in which he had felt the magical field that had prevented him from going in.

When he pulled his head out of the Pensieve, his heart was heavy. Tom hadn't lie. His broken mother had seduced a man who didn't want her in the beginning. The gaunts were worse than what he had imagined.

'Aren't you interested to know what happened next?' Asked Dumbledore surprised by Harry's silence. He had thought the boy would have a lot of questions afterward.

'Well, I am not quite sure about the reason you are showing me those memories,' replied Harry. 'I can get why we study Voldemort's past, but the family he has never known? I don't see why.'

Dumbledore studied him behind his glasses and chose his words carefully before answering.

'Whether we knew it or not, family is important, Harry. Even if we are not aware of it, who our ancestors were, shape us. Learning about them can reveal many surprises about ourselves. I am not saying that it is impossible to branch our path off the one that our family traced for us. But it requires a lot of determination and a strong will.' Dumbledore paused for a few moments to let his words sink into Harry's mind. 'In second year, you told me how similar you thought you and Tom were. And in a way you were right. He never knew his family, and he entered the wizarding world the same age as you did. Also… he wasn't treated correctly in the Muggle World. But there is a fundamental detail that makes you different from him. Can you guess what it is?'

Of course, he knew what Dumbledore was implying, he had guessed it himself through his conversations with Tom. Tom had been abandoned while Harry's parents had been murdered.

'My parents loved me.'

'Precisely,' replied Dumbledore, pleased with Harry's answer. 'You were wanted and still are. You know what love is. Tom never did.' Dumbledore went back near the Pensieve and contemplated the translucent and bright liquid. 'I sometimes wonder how things would have turned out if I had discovered him earlier. People often underestimate the power family can have on its members. We may forget it and even ignore it. But one day or another we have to face it.' He turned back towards Harry. 'This is why those memories are important to Harry. Understanding where Voldemort comes from will lead us to understand the man he has become and the decision that turned him then into the darkest wizard of our time.'

'Do you think it is possible to regret such decisions?' Asked Harry suddenly very focused. 'Do you think that someone could sincerely regret decision that led horrible things such as… such as death of innocents?'

'Yes,' replied Dumbledore in a voice so deep it surprised Harry. The Headmaster's eyes were suddenly covered by a veil and for a brief moment Harry could feel he was very far away. 'People may not realise how wrong they are until it is too late. And once the wrong is done, only regret remains.' He raised his eyes again and cleared his throat. 'But for Voldemort, I am afraid that this has sailed since a long time now.'

Harry stayed a few seconds still while the Gargoyle was closing behind him. Dumbledore had never seemed so old and sad when he has asked his question. He knew that a wizard like him must bear secrets. But he had never imagined they could be so terrible. He realised that he couldn't stay in front of the entrance of the Headmaster's office. With all the students Umbridge had hired to help her maintain the order in Hogwarts corridor, it was dangerous to hang around them to long. Especially when we were alone. He glanced left and right.

'Revelio Hominem,' he thought.

The way was clear. He pulled his Invisibility Cloak out and headed toward the girl's lavatory in the second floor.

The cold air of the Chamber greeted him like he had left yesterday. He arrived near Salazar's statue and looked for Tom. The boy was standing near the remains of the basilisk deep in his thoughts.

'What did you mean when you said you were sorry?' Asked Harry in a loud voice. 'What were you talking about exactly?'

He saw Tom's shoulder go up and down and they remained idle for a few seconds before the boy turned toward him.

'Dumbledore has always been the great Defensor of the idea that we always have the choice,' he started. 'Though this might be true I can't say I have ever felt I had many options concerning my life.' He paused and buried his gaze in Harry's eyes. 'What is a child supposed to dream of when he ever knew was the cruelty of others?'

Harry remained silent.

'My dream was to take my revenge,' continued Tom. 'I believed that if I could show them who I really was… If I could show the World how strong I was, it would leave me alone. But to make sure no one would ever think about laying a hand on me, I had to become the most powerful wizard of all time. I had to become invincible.' His eyes were glimmering. 'I had nothing else… But the truth is I never allowed myself to seek something else. I was so convinced to be better. My bloodline may have been corrupted by my father, but I was still the Heir of Slytherin.' Sorrow started to point in his voice. 'I was so blind. When I stole my first human life, I was so focused on creating my first Horcrux I never took the time to reflect on what I did. When I took my second, it was my father's life and I remember feeling nothing but satisfaction when I saw the despair fill his eyes as he understood there was no hope. By then I had already removed two fragments of my soul. And it never stopped until it was too late.'

He paused to catch up his breath. Unraveling everything was exhausting.

'When I say I am sorry,' he said eventually, 'this is what I am talking about. I am sorry I couldn't see further than revenge. I am sorry I let my emotions lead my actions. I am sincerely sorry I never thought about the fact that I was inflicting the very pain that had haunted me during my childhood.'

At this very moment, the superb proud young man that had emerged from the ring was nothing but a shade of himself.

'You thought it would bring you peace?'

'I know how delusional it sounds. I started a war for peace,' chuckled Tom. 'And from what I understand, I am about to do it again. Guess I'll never learn.'

'You' re not starting a war,' replied Harry softly. 'He is. You're not Voldemort. You never were. You took the decision that led you to become this monster. But Tom Riddle is not Voldemort.'

Tom raised an eyebrow.

'How can you be so sure?' He asked.

'Well, for one thing Voldemort would have never told me he was sorry,' said Harry. 'He would have been to busy trying to kill me.' He finished with a sad smile. 'I am not sure I will ever be able to forgive the wizard who murdered my parents. But you… I can forgive you.'

Tom's eyes widened.

'You..'

'Believe me,' said Harry still smiling. 'I can perfectly understand how hate and wrath can make you want to destroy everything.' He glanced towards the statue he had made exploded a few months ago. 'I totally get you may even want to inflict a pain so immense to your persecutor they might forget who they are.' He turned his gaze back to Tom. 'I know how tempting it might be to shut someone down forever and make sure they'll never bother you anymore.'

'Then why didn't you do it?'

'It's not worth it,' replied Harry calmly. 'Loosing friends, the people we love it's like losing yourself. In the end you are alone. Nothing is not worth it.'

Tom nodded and stood quiet. There was nothing else to add. Harry turned to face the white statue and called his basilisk. The snake rushed towards him. He was very pleased.

'I still find it very curious you're not at Slytherin,' said Tom while looking at the snake.

'Why because snakes like me? I am an Horcrux of Slytherin's Heir remember?'

Tom smiled and shook his head.

'It's not just that, you have many talents that my House values.'

'Yeah,' replied Harry while patting the basilisk. 'I've been told this many times.'

The snake put the locket in Harry's hand and headed towards the pipes. He was hungry.

'Where did you find this one?' Asked Tom while furrowing his eyebrows.

'An elf gave it to me,' replied Harry casually.

Tom looked bewildered for a moment and smiled briefly.

'So in the end he betrayed me,' he whispered for himself. He looked at Harry again. 'What do you intend to do with the Horcruxes.'

Harry sat while looking a the shadows dancing in the locket.

'I don't know. I don't think I will have the strength to pull a discussion with each and everyone of them given how hard it was with you.' Harry smiled mischievously.

Tom approached and sat near him.

'Don't you want to destroy them?'

'Well I could,' said Harry. 'I could try to find a way to locate them and destroy each and everyone of them. And if I am not dead by then I could even find the stupidity of defying him and kill him… Out of sheer dumb luck,' he laughed remembering how McGonagall had reacted when they found they had rushed against a Troll to save Hermione in his first year. 'But then what?' He asked while putting the locket down and turning toward Tom.

'What do you say we first try to gather them?' Asked Tom like he was proposing something as simple as taking a walk in the park.

'Excuse me?'

'Don't look at me like that!' Scoffed Tom. I mean it!'

'And how do you propose we proceed then?' Asked Harry still very suspicious.

'I am a Horcrux,' replied Tom while smile, 'but unlike you I am not embedded in a stubborn fifteen-year-old you tried to explain how the World was working to the future Voldemort. Which means that my connection to the other Horcruxes is clearer as it is less tainted by foreign thoughts. I may not remember everything between the time I created this Horcrux and the time you beat me. But there are some memories that are brighter than others. '

'Are you saying you could be able to tell me how many Horcruxes there are and where I could find them?' Harry asked in a blank voice.

'Precisely,' smiled Tom.