With love, Harry

Summary:

In which Harry goes back in time, adopts his arch nemesis and pulls one infamous Dark Lord into his madness somewhere along the way.

"Surprise! Tom, meet your grandfather!"

"Harry. That's Gellert Grindelwald."

"I know. Isn't it exciting!? And he'll be tutoring you to be the greatest Dark Lord ever!"

"What?"

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. J.K. Rowling is the boss of it all.

Warning: Grammar, perhaps?

A/N: In which there's a minor time-skip, it's revealed that Harry's a tad messed up all because of time and Tom is just a kid so he obviously has bad tantrums. *shrugs*

Four

Harry Potter— Mortimer stared at the wand in his hand.

Elder wood, fifteen inches and Thestral tail-hair core.

"Not again." He groaned before quickly sending it back to its current owner with a wave of his hand, as though he had been burned just by touching it.

And look! He even made sure there was another apology note attached to it!

He swore he'd never done it on purpose. If anything, it usually happened out instinct and the fact that he'd been very used to carrying around the Elder Wand before coming into this timeline.

On another note, he just had a really bad memory.

When one turned into an entity that neither death nor time could touch, things turned out pretty messy alright.

Harry sighed.

Mister Gellert Grindelwald might have already noticed it seeing how the Elder Wand (which he currently was the owner of) had begun to take on the bad habit of disappearing just as randomly as it reappeared back in his pocket.

With untidy notes bearing cookies or chocolates sometimes.

And it was becoming more of a frequent routine lately, especially with Harry's ward beginning to grow up.

Ah, yes.

Tom Marvolo Riddle.

He had taken in everyone's favourite resident Dark Lord (in miniature form) to be raised and brought up under his care. A soft snort escaped Harry's lips at that. He could very well imagine the look on Ron's―

Harry put an abrupt end to that thought.

Because the thoughts of his past life never brought him happiness; not since everyone he loved had gone and left him behind to carry them in his memories, forever.

The Boy-Who-Lived.

How fitting of a term it seemed to his predicament.

…

"I've been looking everywhere for you."

Speak of the devil and ye shall appear.

"Tommy!" Harry exclaimed as he turned around from staring out the huge French windows that faced the gardens. "You were looking for your Papa? Did you miss me?"

The boy sighed in exasperation at both Harry's question and that ridiculous pet name. "No, Harry."

Harry involuntarily shivered at how his name rolled out of Tom's tongue, in a lazy drawl with much emphasis on the vowel.

Somehow, it made always him remember Voldemort.

(It wasn't really the best memory, or the worst. But there were times he just didn't want to remember.)

"You didn't miss me?" Harry pushed aside his thoughts as he gasped.

"I came to tell you to hurry up or we'll be late!" Tom only huffed as he pinched the bridge of his nose.

And then Harry thought to himself that perhaps it was a bad thing his little boy was living around beings that had lived for centuries— because Tom seemed far too mature for child who was turning ten in a month's time.

He's not your little boy, you do know that don't you?

Harry shook away the voice that nagged him in the corner of his brain and concentrated on something else instead. Like how time had really flown by and soon, Tom would begin his schooling in Hogwarts.

Harry blinked. "Late for what?"

Tom stared at Harry with an unimpressed look which made him begin to fidget.

Wait, was he forgetting something?

"The festival of the fae?"

"It's today!?"

"Yes, Harry." Tom sighed, looking a little disappointed. "It's today."

(Sure, the boy hid his emotions far too well under a perfectly sculpted mask but Harry hadn't been around him all these years for nothing. He was even surprised with how easily he could read the boy at times.

But Harry knew that in a few more years, Tom Riddle would simply become impossible to read.)

He opened his mouth to apologize about forgetting the festival which Tom had been very excited for but then stopped short when an idea suddenly popped into his mind. Not entirely the brightest idea but— fine, it couldn't even be called an idea. It was more of an intention to tease his son.

"I will come with you, but only on one condition." Harry said.

Tom's eyes suddenly dilated and narrowed at Harry's reply. He straightened his back, looking rather tense.

"Come on," Harry raised a brow, "you don't have to be so wary. I'm not going to ask you to do anything terrible."

Funnily enough, not only could he read the boy, but Harry even seemed to be able to understand Tom Riddle.

Not always, of course; but he liked to think he did most of the time, at least.

He wondered if it was something to do with the fact that they had shared similar childhoods once upon a time, along with being Tom's horcrux.

...and now I'm his adoptive father.

"What condition?" Tom asked tersely.

"CallmePapathroughouttheentirefestival!" Harry gushed out immediately without taking a breath.

Tom paused for a moment before dropping his apprehension.

A deep sigh escaped his lips.

"Really?"

"Not once have you ever called me papa since I took on the charge of being your father!" Harry stressed as he tried his best not to sound like he was whining. "Not. Once. And don't you throw in another excuse like that time Clymene asked you why!"

Tom's forehead wrinkled into a frown. Then, after a moment of thought, he spoke, "Are you coming to the festival? We'll be late if you don't hurry...papa."

Harry gasped in shock and stumbled back before spectacularly tripping over the chair behind him and landing flat on his back with a groan.

"Harr- Papa!" Tom exclaimed in alarm as he rushed over to his side. "Are you alright? What happened to you?"

"Y-You just..." Harry openly gaped, still having a hard time processing the fact that the boy had actually obeyed him!

Not that he ever disobeyed...but!

"I just what?" The said boy looked terribly confused.

"You called me Papa." Harry breathed out, still in a state of disbelief.

Tom blinked. "Didn't you ask me to?"

Harry had initially just meant to tease Tom.

"Yeah...but I― no, you―"

"You're crying." Tom sharply sucked in his breath. "You're crying. Harry, why are you crying?"

Harry paused as he brought a hand up to his face.

It was true.

There was a single tear running down his cheek.

How strange.

It was in this moment that an old, old memory suddenly flashed before his eyes. Of his first son, running up to him with a big grin, just four years old.

"Papa!"

Ginny stood by the door with a fond smile on her face as she watched the two of them.

And then…

And then there was death and decay.

How sad it was.

The mortality of man—

"Harry! What's wrong!?"

"James?" He snapped out of his trance. "Ja―...oh, Tom. Tom. It's…it's just you."

Harry shook his head to clear off his mind.

And missed how a particularly dark look passed through Tom's eyes; and the way his little boy drew back like he had been burned.

Jealousy.

Tom didn't even realise the emotion that suddenly boiled inside him was jealousy rearing its ugly head. He was angry, angry because of a name Harry had called out with so much affection before dismissingTom like he was…nothing.

James? Tom wore an incomprehensible expression. Who is this James?

He suddenly stood up. "I'll leave now then." Harry didn't seem to notice how cold Tom's voice had become. "Do join us at the earliest if you plan on coming along."

Tom needed to get away.

There was a strong urge to destroy coursing through within him.

Burn even.

The door shut with a loud bang.

Harry blinked a few times.

He tilted his head to the side in confusion as he stared at the spot where Tom had been standing just a few seconds ago.

"Did I do something wrong?"

"He's not talking to me!" Harry burst into Septhis's bedroom, expressing his disbelief loud enough for the pale man to actually feel the exclamation marks in his sentence. "Why is he not talking to me!?"

The pale man who had just been preparing to tuck himself into bed for the night shot Harry a glare for the sudden interruption. Not that he even needed sleep but he had become accustomed to the traditions of man, a result of constantly watching over his lonely master that this had become a habit which was hard to kill.

"Why don't you ask him yourself?" Septhis replied in an annoyed tone. "And could you have at least knock― wait, I specifically remembering putting up wards…never mind. Just get out. I need my rest."

"No!"

The expensive antique Chinese vase containing white chrysanthemums on the bed side table suddenly burst, creating a mess of broken shards, water…and Septhis's favourite flower.

The two stared at each other.

"I got those from a lovely funeral in Japan just yesterday." Septhis said in a tone that told anyone he was doing his best to repress his anger. "And I really liked them."

Harry just waved his hand and the vase was back in one piece on the table with the flowers intact as though it hadn't been destroyed in the first place.

"Septhis, he talked to you the whole time during the festival!" Harry wildly waved his hands in the air before shoving an accusatory forefinger at the pale man's face. "You!"

Septhis deadpanned. "You say that as though he doesn't like me."

"Of course he doesn't!" His green eyed Master exclaimed. "And that is why I know something is terribly wrong here."

"Or maybe he's changed preferences and likes me better now." Septhis smirked. "After all, am I not the one who spends more time with him these days?"

Harry's words died in his throat as Septhis continued talking.

"I'm the human here. And besides, we both know he rarely even regards you as his father but more like an overbearing guardian. Maybe he's just…stopped liking you. The evidence clearly lies on what happened today."

In Septhis's defence, he had not intended for the mess that would soon take place to even happen. But it did anyway.

Harry's eyes grew wide and he drew back into himself.

Oh.

There was a moment of uncertainty reflected in Harry's eyes as he slowly turned around and headed for the door. Septhis thought he had been a little too harsh on his Master but honestly? Harry was just too easy and fun to tease.

So really, whatever took place next was not Septhis aka Death the Great's fault.

"Oh, maybe you're right. Okay. If Tom doesn't want me around then..." Harry bit his lower lip, emotions raging through him as he released a shaky breath.

This was one of his bad days.

"I'm going out."

Harry was...gone.

With no warning.

Nothing.

The manor had grown absolutely quiet and everything just felt so different without the green, green eyed supposed nymph around. And it had already been almost a week since his "disappearance".

Even Septhis didn't seem to know where Harry had gone.

(Which was troubling and very worrisome because the pale man always knew where Harry was.)

With Harry no longer around, though he would not like to admit it, Tom was having a very hard time concentrating on his lessons. He was beginning to make mistakes while brewing potions, cast wrong spells, blunder up while identifying herbs and other species of plants— even spacing out through his lectures with Septhis.

This was not good.

Not at all.

"Yes, Tom. Just add that Murtlap tentacle into the brew to conjure an explosion that will destroy the room." Septhis's drawl drew Tom out of his thoughts. The boy blankly stared at the tentacle in his before crushing it into nothing with his magic. "Wonderful! Waste a rare ingredient while you're at it too."

Tom turned his attention to the bubbling mixture before him which had turned a faint yellow. Which step was this supposed to be in?

No.

Which potion was he supposed to be brewing today?

His thoughts were once again brought to an abrupt halt when the pot before him disappeared.

Septhis clapped his hand. "Alright, that will be it for today. You are hereby excused from the rest of your classes for the entire day."

Tom snapped his head up to look at the pale man in surprise. "But I—"

"Think of it as a holiday. You're not going to be receiving much of those so be grateful. Class dismissed. Have a good day ahead of you, Tom."

Tom could only watch helplessly as the pale man strode out of the manor's very own potions lab— and then something inside him snapped.

How could Septhis not know where Harry was!?

Was he lying to him?

Unbeknownst to him, dark tendrils of magic were slowly escaping his form, taking up the space in the huge lab and filling the empty corners with darkness.

Does Harry hate me now and so he's decided to leave me?

Then in a blink of an eye, everything in the room promptly burst and shattered into a million pieces.

Tom Marvolo Riddle simply stood in the middle of the pandemonium, staring at nothing while being oblivious to everything.

"Harry." He called out softly in the language of the serpents. "Where are you?"

Meanwhile in a place far away from home, a certain raven haired male stood on the edge of an old bell tower and stared at the battle taking place below him with indifference.

Several men and women draped in white cloaks were caught in a duel with the commoners of the area, sending them down like flies.

"So much death." He sighed to himself as he settled down, his legs swaying in the wind. "The lives of mortals are so fickle."

Suddenly, the tip of a wand sharply dug into his back from behind.

Harry had felt a presence cautiously watching him the whole time before whomever it was decided to approach him. And even though they had very skilfully hidden themselves, the raven haired male could still sense their presence without a problem, so it hadn't been much of a surprise to him.

"Who are you?" The smooth voice of the wand's owner demanded.

Oh but it wasn't their wand.

No, it's my wand.

He slowly tilted his head back, his green orbs clashing against vivid heterochromatic ones.

Harry grinned like a mad man.

The other frowned.

"Hello, Grindelwald."

A/N: Well, I hope this chapter wasn't too heavy seeing that some of you liked how this fanfic started off on a light note and hoped it would remain that way. And of course, I intend on keeping it light, though with just a few heavy moments such as this perhaps?

And Harry's not actually a nymph, for those of you who are confused; he's just under the pretence of being one. Tom will come to find out about it soon enough though.

A big thank you to my reviewers, SakuraLuck, Guest, halfblood hufflepuff, Plogop and D C JoKeR H S. Can I just be really cheesy and say you guys light up my world? Lol, thank you again :')

And to all who placed this fanfic in their favourites and follows list as well as you who have given this a try, thanks.

Thank you for reading!

[EDIT: 23-01-2019] I was never really satisfied with this particular chapter before but now that I've straightened some things out, I can finally breathe a sigh of relief.

Thank you mizzrazz72 and Gurgaraneth for leaving your reviews! :')

Also, here's a funny story, just yesterday (23-02-2019, omg it's been one month since the initial edit lmao) I realised there was a hell lot of virus in my laptop after the screen to suddenly went blue. I panicked and asked my friend what the hell I'd do— and all she did was laugh while telling me, and here I quote, "It's the blue screen of Death".

My first thought was— SEPTHIS, WHAT DID I DO TO YOU TO DESERVE THIS!? lol