Last Chapter...

With caution though, he slid one more look backwards. In this moment, he collided with a very solid something in front of him. Harry felt his chest injury smart horribly as he tumbled to the ground on top of the poor person he had walked into.

The person had dropped their books on the floor when Harry hit them, and Harry immediately scrambled to pick them up while the person began to stand back upwards.

With the books balanced in one hand, Harry stood.

"I apologize," he said, "I hadn't been paying attention to where I was-" Harry stopped dead in his words when he made eye contact with the man he had toppled over. A very familiar man, who was eyeing him in surprise and apprehension.

His name was Tom Marvolo Riddle.

Harry knew him better as Lord Voldemort.

Chapter 9

The Unlikely Invitation

Voldemort peered at him, his face betraying nothing more than a mild disgruntlement. If Harry was anyone else, he would be sure that the Dark Lord had been startled by the collision, and nothing more.

But Harry was Harry, and he could see that it was not, in fact, the accident that was bothering him. Something else was going on in the man's brain as he looked Harry over.

All Harry could hope was that he didn't draw anything from their similarities in looks- to be fair now it seemed Riddle looked different when he was a child, larger and stockier... He was no longer lean in that unhealthy I-live-in-an-Orphange way. He had filled out considerably and was a good couple of heads above Harry's small stature. His hair was the same, but his face no longer retained that gaunt look.

Harry knew it was perhaps too much to ask for, but he wanted this small mercy.

Okay, huge mercy.

Why did nothing ever go right?!

"Excuse me, for my odd posturing. You just remind of something, someone." He tilted his head. "By chance, have we met before? What's your last name? Perhaps I see a family resemblance." Tom Riddle spoke to Harry, who nearly had his mouth drop open.

Seriously?

Perhaps I see a family resemblance?

The man had to be kidding, but as far as Harry could tell he was speaking honestly. Though it was a little blunter than the Voldemort he knew. Maybe Fate was on his side for once, eh?

"No sir, we have not met before. And my family is dead." Harry answered semi-honestly. Well, he and Voldemort hadn't met in this universe.

"You are quite sure? I am often not this struck by someone's...appearance." He was genuinely thoughtful about it. Harry felt like the man was fraying his last nerve, though.

"Quite certain. I have lived in an orphanage all my life," he snapped. Then hesitantly and with a flippant tone added, "sir."

Tom Riddle's dark eyes tightened around the corners, making small wrinkles appear- whether with amusement or anger, Harry wasn't sure.

"Well, do continue on your way. You never know when an irate Healer might pop out." Harry stared at him.

"How do you-"

"You rubbed your chest in pain, and I was conversing with Dumbledore earlier about a certain first year whom had been hit with a Diffindo to the chest. A Healer would never let you go so early." Harry felt an inscrutable look pass over his own face. "Go on, I am not one to hinder you."

Hinder you? Lord, who talked like that anymore. It felt like Harry was speaking with adult Snape.

All the same, Harry continued to walk in the direction he was headed, as the man said no more. But he never heard the sound of Riddle's feet walking away and, though it could've been his imagination, he felt the prickling of staring eyes boring into his retreating back. Though at the end of the corridor when he turned around, no one was there.

Wow, Harry thought, that went surprisingly good. Now, to figure out what exactly Riddle is doing here. Great, I can add that to the list.

The boy had been odd, Tom decided. He looked almost fearful- but unwavering in stance- when near Tom. He looked like he was expecting something, and Tom didn't miss the shocked expression on his face when he said he saw a family resemblance. The boy was almost incredulous. An orphan was unlikely to look like anyone in the circles Tom was in.

But why?

He wasn't lying, the kid had looked annoyingly familiar. Tom quickly noticed that the child had evaded his question successfully, he never got the boy's (Hadrian's, he believes is what Dumbledore said) last name.

He watched the boy walk away, and as he reached the other side of the hall, Tom turned to leave himself- never seeing the child turn around again to look at him apprehensively.

Heart threatening to pound out of chest, Harry kept going around the corner. His stomach growled loudly, and he was suddenly reminded by the pain in his abdomen that he hadn't eat since the Welcoming Feast.

He decided that breakfast couldn't be over yet, at most it was like eight thirty in the morning. So, he headed for the Great Hall which was bustling with the student body.

As he swept into the dining hall, the collection of Slytherin students that were there turned to eye him. In the center of the close knit group was Lucius Malfoy, with a thick look. His pointy face was nearly screwed up in thought. He turned to his gangle of lackeys and associates, then said something.

Harry was too hungry to care about another tense run in with students. He was drained, and he'd barely arrived here.

He plopped down at the Gryffindor table heavily and reached for a slice of pre-buttered toast. With relish he bit into the bread, but made sure to appear as stately as possible while doing so... The Slytherins tended to watch their prey- and this prey didn't want to look like some stupid mouse just waiting for execution from the enemies above. It was wildly uncomfortable to eat with people watching you.

"Hadrian! You alright, mate?" James was racing up to him. "Dumbledore said not to bugger the Healer lady, so we- I, Sirius and me- went back to the dorms. You all good?" He threw a worried look at Harry's chest. Just then Sirius came trotting in.

"Harry! Glad to see you out alive. Considering who that was, surprised it wasn't worse than a Cutting Curse." Sirius turned around a bit and glared in the general direction of the Slytherins. "Rodolphus Lestrange. Seventh year Slytherin, likes to dabble in Dark Arts. You're lucky, mate."

"Should have been faster," Harry said in honest sorrowfulness. "Then that idiot wouldn't have landed a hit." James and Sirius slid into the seats across from him with expressions of disbelief.

"Harry, that was not your fault. Lestrange is a git." James said through a mouthful of waffle.

"Yeah, what Jamie said." Sirius said while hungrily eyeing a towering pile of pancakes. "He's making off with my cousin, last I heard. She's been off since my Uncle passed though." James stopped chewing for a second.

"What did you just call me?" But he still had food in his mouth, so it sounded more like, "Wa do jah urst all mwah?" All the same, Sirius answered.

"Jamie." James swallowed deeply and choked a bit. Sirius pounded on his back while he tried to gulp pumpkin juice.

"I don't like it."

"Too bad, Jamie."

"Don't call me that."

"Okay, I won't call you that."

"Good."

"I'll call you Jamie."

"What?! No!"

"What isn't there to like?"

"Everything."

"Harsh, Jamie."

"Are you being serious? Just let it go. It's a horrible nickname. Like a girl or something. I sound like a girl-"

"Of course I'm being Sirius, who else would you want me to be?"

"That is the worst joke I have ever had the pleasure of hearing! This-"

Harry smiled faintly at the two boys' antics, and began to tune them out in favor of chewing more peacefully at his toast.

Then something strange happened. As Harry reached an arm out to get an apple, another hand from behind him snatched it away- to just hand it to him.

Harry turned, and found himself face to face with Malfoy.

"Wandless. Wordless." The Slytherin stated, still holding out the apple. "A first year. Assuming from the surname, muggle born. Assuming, of course. Who exactly are you?" The tone was altogether pleasant and genuine. A bit confused perhaps. It was clear from the first two words he was talking about the trunks incident.

Harry gently plucked the apple from Malfoy's hands. The blond looked down in surprise, he seemed to have forgotten the fruit was there.

"I do believe I'll be studying today again. I'll need my peace and quiet, and I'll find it in the same spot as before." Malfoy's eyes widened in recognition, he had obviously heard of what Harry said to that questioning seventh year in the Slytherin dorm earlier that morning.

"Of course," he said smoothly. "Now I ask a favor." Harry was surprised again by this second year, he was very forward. No subtlety lay in his words, but also considerably less derision. They had gotten off on the wrong foot, sure, but Harry would hold to it that Malfoy was the instigator. "May you eat with the Slytherins for lunch? Professor Slughorn is very excited to promote House Unity, and he specifically used you as an example. We all look forward to getting to know you."

Once again there was an underlying honesty. And that was a bit scary, the Slytherins honestly wanted to get to know him. He knew the wordless and wand less magic was a risk, but he'd hoped they would chalk it up to a trick, or use their prejudice to scoff at it.

But, clearly, they weren't as stupid as their yet-to-be children.

"Yes, I do accept your most generous... offer. I, also, look forward to getting to know all of you." Malfoy half smiled, dipped his head, then walked away, as unnoticeably as he came over. Harry chewed more violently into his toast.

"It was delish, if you honestly want to know!"

"This is completely off topic!"

"You asked, I answered, Jamie."

"If this continues, you're gonna find your wand in the morning when you wake up where the sun don't shine."

"We can improvise."

"Go on, then. Give me your best."

"J-man? Jama? Jamesie? James-a-nator? Jam? Jim? Make a decision, Potter!"

"How about...JAMES?!" Sirius rolled his eyes and broke away from their argument suddenly, to address Harry.

"Was that Malfoy again? What did he want?" Harry contained a grin, it was adorable how wrapped up in their fight the boys were not to notice a conversation two feet away.

"Oh, nothing. Just being a bother," Harry said, "same old, same old." He bit into the apple with a crunch, wondering how the two other Gryffindors would take to him sitting with the Slytherins at lunch. "I'm not starting anything, don't worry." James laughed.

"We'll take the smug bastard down a peg. Throw a snake at him, why not?" and Sirius laughed at that.

Oh, well. Hopefully they wouldn't have to duel it out one day.

Not to mention, Harry's lengthy to-do list. That was gonna take some time- and maybe an Invisibilty Cloak. Or a Map. Who knows?