Greetings and Salutations!

I know...I know...I am shocking you right now with an update for both stories in one week. I have been in the mode for writing so I took advantage of that. I have the next chapter already brewing in my head for both so I may just keep on writing today and see if I can get another chapter up before the end of the day or the week. With the holiday, it may be impossible though. I am not sure I will be coming in to work Friday and I know I will not be here Thursday...so we will see.

For those in America...Happy Independence Day and I hope you all have a bright and spectacular fourth of July. My daughter Jewels has a thing with her ears that takes too long to explain but the fireworks always hurt her ears so we will be avoiding that this year and instead we will be binge watching season 3 of "Stranger Things"! Any fans out there for the show this is my shout out and crazy fan girl wave! Hope you all will be joining us in watching what they do next and I look forward to all the crazy posts that will happen on my social media accounts once everyone catches up lol.

A big thank you to all of my followers and reviewers who have kept me not only motivated to write but let me see that what I write is worth reading enough to have followers and reviewers. It melts my little cold Slytherin heart all to mush! You guys make me feel like a Hufflepuff sometimes!

I want to send a special thanks to Moon who is always there to help when I am stuck on a spot or need to talk out an idea or plot issue. I am very happy to have such a wonderful mentor and friend who shares my love of fanfiction and Harry Potter. Make sure to check out her fics if you have not yet done so. She is fantastic. You can find her under my favorite authors (Acantha Rayne Oak-Moon). She just posted a new one that I am in love with already yesterday called "Are you okay?" We share a love for the misunderstood snakes and she always gives great fluff lol.

Enough of me rambling on and on. Hope you all enjoy this chapter and know that time is going to start speeding up as I had no plans to write an 11 year old Tom Riddle for long. Must get him to the correct age to have loads more fun with the pair.

Always

~Tempest

Tom dropped his satchel on the library table and blew out a long breath as he slid into one of the chairs. It had been two months…two long months of getting the cold shoulder from his house mates, having to listen to them drone on and on about who was who and the lifestyle of the rich and purest.

The females in his house were all empty-headed sycophants who could not be trusted to make their own decisions but could be expected to fawn all over the few sacred twenty-eight male heirs as if they were gods among men. They made Tom sick to his very core and made him appreciate his conversations with HG even more.

The males were not much better. If they were not smiling some sickening smile at the cooing sycophants, they were boasting about their money or prestige and being utterly prat-ish about everything. There had even been a few times when he had considered teaching those idiots a lesson or two in manners and allowed HG to talk him out of it. She said it wasn't time to let them see his power just yet and that he needed to learn a better way to gain followers then through fear. Though, when he questioned her further, she would not elaborate on that subject just yet.

Thinking of HG only made his aggravation worse. Though he had enjoyed the intellectual stimulation that conversing with her afforded him, he wanted to actually talk to her. Having to try to write his thoughts, even with his new charmed quill, took too long and still did not have the ability to keep up with his mind or his dictation. He found he had to go back multiple times to correct something, add something, or slow down as he talked so that the quill could get it all.

Keeping to her word, she had not come to him at all in his dreams even though he slept with the journal under his pillow every single night. He had not agreed to any of her terms as of yet nor did he want to give in and do so in the future. In holding out the way he had, Tom came to realize she was not only as smart as him and most likely very close in power and ability…she was also as stubborn in getting her way as he was. He was beginning to see that there may be no other way to get her back in front of him except to give her what she wanted…compromise…his compromise. That thought really did sit like a splinter under his skin irritating him.

Pulling out his charms work, Tom attempted for several hours to concentrate on the topic at hand and found his mind or more so his eyes wandering to the journal that sat heavy in his bag. After several more attempts, he groaned in frustration and pulled the journal out. Opening it up to the next available page he put his quill to parchment for an entirely different reason.

HG,

This is really starting to become bothersome. We could talk so much better if you would just lift the ban on face to face. Every night as we leave you say that you have enjoyed the conversation and yet you avoid talking to me in a way we could talk so much more. I don't understand this reluctance on your behalf…

Not to be rude and interrupt but that is what I am going to have to do. Yes you do understand it you just refuse to acknowledge it and agree to my terms. I do enjoy talking to you and I would prefer to talk to you face to face because YES we could say so much more in a shorter amount of time but you have not agreed to my request…

You're right that was rude. I didn't know you could just interrupt me like that. You have always waited until I ended a letter before responding. I thought this magic required me to finish a thought in order for you to reply…is that not how it works?

No that is not how I designed it. The journal on my end heats up to let me know that you are writing in it. If I bothered to write when you were not it would do the same on your end but I always wait for you to contact me. Sometimes I am in the middle of something and I have to go somewhere private to respond. For you it would seem instant but for me it could have been a few hours after you have written me. Other times, like now, I am alone and I decided to just stop your bullshit in its tracks.

I am glaring at you which you would know if you were here! It was not bullshit…well okay maybe it was somewhat disingenuous…FINE it was utter bullshit but this has gone on long enough HG. I want to see your face and watch the expressions you make when talking about the things we talk about. I found in the few meetings we had that your face makes the topic even more interesting than just words. I refuse to beg or plead with you over this either!

I didn't ask you to beg Tom. All I want is for you to promise me that you will treat me with the respect I deserve and not like some pet you can order around or man handle. If you can promise to keep your hands to yourself than I will lift the ban and meet with you as soon as you are in bed tonight.

I cannot make that promise because sometimes my anger overrides my common sense. If I forget and get angry and grab you without really meaning to then you will disappear forever and I cannot allow that!

I'm laughing…right now…at you. I mean that full head back from the belly laugh. You cannot allow it? You seem to forget that if I had not come to you or left you the journal that there would be no 'anything' for you to allow. I came to you…I approached you…not the other way around. I would never presume to try to tell you what to do but when it comes to my actions…you are not in control Tom Riddle! That you need to come to terms with…very soon…

And if I don't?

You already know the answer to that Tom…

Growling as he slams the journal shut, Tom leans back with force against the chair and crosses his arms. Letting his head rest on the chair back and looking at the ceiling, he lets her words sink in. It seemed he was not going to be able to get around this hurdle like he wanted. If that was the case, he really was just wasting time trying to find a loop hole to use to get her to drop it.

Knowing he is pouting and being unable to stop it, Tom gathers his books and papers and stuffs them all into his bag. As he reaches for the journal, it is snatched up and away from him. Shooting to his feet in a burst of malevolent energy, Tom turns to face the culprit who dared lay on hand on his journal!

If he had not been paying attention the last few months to who was who in his house, he still would have recognized the platinum hair and gray eyes the Malfoy's were known for. Pulling his wand from his pocket, Tom glared at Abraxas and held out his other hand.

"Kindly hand that back Malfoy!"

The smile that Abraxas gave to him made the blood in his veins feel like it was boiling. Trying to remember HG's suggestions, he took a deep breath through his nose in order to try to keep his temper in check.

"The little half-blood has a diary…how quaint. Tell me Riddle…do you write all of your fears and wants and desires in here or just complaints about your inadequacies?"

Turning the journal over in his hand, Abraxas opens it to the first page to find a blank piece of parchment inside. His face taking on the confusion he is feeling he flips through several pages only to find them all blank as well. Looking back up at Riddle he sneers at him.

"Interesting trick! How did you get it to hide what you have written?"

Feigning disinterest and leaning casually against the library table, Tom meets Malfoy's gaze with his own steady one.

"That is not any of your business Malfoy. I am glad to know the charms are sufficient to hold against nosey upstarts."

Slamming the journal closed with a snarl on his lips, Abraxas stands up straight and glares down the few inches of height he has on Tom.

"How dare you talk to me that way you little fool! Do you have any idea who I am?"

Rolling his eyes with a smirk, his anger fading under his enjoyment of how flustered Malfoy was getting, Tom stood up straight as well and stepped into the older wizard's face.

"I know exactly who you are Abraxas Malfoy."

Leaning in as he lowers his voice so he can be heard by only Malfoy, Tom mutters a spell under his breath and then meets Malfoy's eyes as the air in his lungs stops moving.

"What you should be asking is do you know who…the…fuck…I am? All of you high born, inbred peacocks walk around with your nose in the air as if you smell something foul. Has it ever occurred to you that it is your own breath you smell? I may be young and I may be a half-blood but you are going to learn very quickly that I am not someone you want to piss off or have as an enemy Lord Malfoy."

Saying the wizards granted title with a sneer of his own, Tom watches as the fifth year grabs at his throat in an attempt to breath and stares at him in terror.

"Have you noticed yet that even Professor Dumbledore avoids being near me? Did it ever occur to you that there might be a reason for that?"

Gently taking the journal out of his now limp hands, Tom caressing the cover like you would a favorite toy or even maybe a lover before flicking his fingers to release the spell. As Malfoy gasps in one breath after the other, his eyes wide and locked on Tom, Tom leans down and lifts his bag from the floor where he dropped it and slides it over his shoulder.

"Watch your step Malfoy. Come around me again without the proper amount of respect and we will see how long the Malfoy line survives without an heir. Tell anyone about this moment and we see how long it takes before you can be pushed into insanity. I have been reading a lot lately and it seems there are many fun and varying ways to drive a person completely insane with just a flick of the wrist."

Stepping forward and smirking as Malfoy stumbles back and away from him, Tom starts to head for the exit when he thinks better of it. Turning his head and locking eyes on Malfoy, he lets the coldness inside bleed into his eyes.

"Touch my journal again without my expressed permission and I will do things to you before I let you die that you could not imagine in your worst nightmare."

Letting his face warm by degrees until he is smiling in a congenial fashion at the prefect Tom waves at Malfoy and throws a farewell over his shoulder as he takes his leave.

"See you around Lord Malfoy."

Walking past the common room and ignoring the jeers and whispered comments from the other Slytherins, Tom went in to his shared dorm and sat down at his desk. Pulling out the journal one more time, Tom opened it to the last entry and after a moment of hesitation, he put quill to parchment again.

I agree to your terms of engagement HG. I need your help before I make a mess of my own future as you say so I am willing to compromise even though I feel like I am setting myself up for failure or walking into some trap I cannot see yet.

Other than taking your hair down if you decide to defy me and put it up again, I will not put my hands on you in anger or in any other way unless you ask me to.

And make no mistake HG…in time you will ask me to…

TMRJ

Another six months passed with no word from HG and it almost seemed like she had never existed at all. Tom went through different emotions over this before finally being able to settle on indifference…or so he had convinced himself.

Christmas break came and went with absolutely nothing interesting at all happening. Unlike the summer, which Tom was now dreading because he knew he was going to end up back in that Merlin forsaken orphanage, he was able to stay at Hogwarts and spend the entire holiday reading and learning.

After much searching, he had found several books on a magical art called Legilimency and another on Occlumency. Both were mind magic and were going to be very useful for him. He spent the rest of the holiday doing the meditations and working up to creating his mind space so that he could start to employ Occlumency. It was the only thing he had found to help him control his anger and the better he became at it the more in control he felt.

Enjoying this little bit of a victory since it seemed he had somehow lost his battle with HG in some unexplainable way, Tom let the smile form on his face as he made his way to his room. After his run in with the Malfoy heir in November, he had not had another issue with the other Slytherins. He was surprised that Malfoy did not go running to Slughorn crying about what Tom had done but it seemed the upper classman had taken his threat very much to heart.

The journal, which was tucked up under his arm, suddenly began to warm and with a quickening pulse which he did not understand Tom hastened to get to his room and the privacy of his bed.

Tossing his bag and robes on the chair at his desk, Tom jumped onto his perfectly made bed and Accio'd a self-inking quill to his hand before opening the journal to the entry.

Tom…are you there?

I'm here HG! What took you so long to respond…I was starting to worry!

Charmer…you were not…you don't worry about anything

I can assure you HG that in this I was worried. You talk sometimes about your time and it sounds like there is fighting and some sort of war as well and not in the muggle world. You are the first person in my entire life that not only understands who and what I am but will still talk to me. I was worried something happened to you!

…..

That is my way of letting you know I was speechless there for a moment. I don't know what to say or how to react to you being worried for me. That is not normally a feeling you would have… let alone admit to. I am sorry I worried you. It was not my intention. Things here got a little…hectic…and I was away from my journal for longer than I anticipated.

I normally wouldn't admit to it and I had every intention of just ignoring your next message or being completely distant if you ever came back but it seems that plan went right out the window the moment I felt the journal warm. Hectic how? And why do I feel like that is a synonym for what you really wanted to say?

Probably because you are smarter than most people and you have learned how to read between the lines when I say something that is less serious sounding than what really happened. I was catching up on the entries you made and I am sorry I was not around to help you with Malfoy or your studies over the holidays. Happy Christmas by the way. I know it is late but again…could not be helped.

I am not worried about that pompous arse and thank you for the well wishes but hectic how? Now you are conveniently avoiding my question…

Can we talk about that tonight once you are asleep? I have opened up the dream door again so that you and I can talk face to face. I can agree to your hair stipulation even though I rolled my eyes at that. My awful hair is better out of the way but if you insist on it being in the way then so be it. That is a small concession to make on my behalf to make you happy.

I compromise…you compromise…isn't that how relationships work?

We are not in a relationship Tom. You are eleven and I am seventeen.

Is friendship not a relationship?

Well…yes I guess it is…but would you really call us friends Tom? I am trying to steer you in a direction that keeps you from being a dangerous wizard in the future and you are attempting at every turn to charm and manipulate me to get the answers you seek in order to get your way. I think we are more like chess opponents than friends…

I would say I'm hurt except I am not sure I know how to feel hurt. I think you have to have a heart in order for it to be hurt and I may have been born without one. However, when I need to talk you are there. When I am having an issue or need a problem solved you are there. When I fuck up and need to be reminded you are there. When I feel the need to laugh, which is very rare, it is normally you who is there making me laugh. I know I am different…cold…but is that not what friends do?

There is a lot to friendship but that is as good of a start as any. I did not really realize we had made it to the first stages of friendship. I have been distracted with my own time line. Talking to you has already had some odd effects here and we have been unable to pinpoint what has changed and what is going to change. Hence it being 'hectic' all of a sudden.

Then I look forward to a few hours from now when I can set my eyes on you personally and make sure you are okay. I must head to the Great Hall for dinner. I was coming to drop my stuff off in the dorm when the journal heated. See you in a few hours HG…do not be late!

I will be right here waiting. See you then. Oh and Tom…you have a heart you just have not been given the ability to use it…yet