Updated: 12/22/21

In terms of revision, this is the one that is the most brand new material. Also, this is literally going to come in handy for future chapters, but trauma is a serious aspect in this story. I really do want to explore different aspects of trauma, how one person can bottle up everything while someone can have that same trauma, but display it in a different way. Trauma is different for everyone, and is valid no matter what.

Chapter 15- Yule

It was practically black empty space inside the diary. He just existed merely within its pages as his sixteen year old self, still in his Hogwarts robes, and a Slytherin prefect badge right near the collar. Simply existing- floating within, with no form of entertainment or anything that could pass the time. It was lonely and time was moving slowly. At first, he didn't mind, glad that he found a way to make himself immortal, but at what cost?

There was no form of communication; he simply had to wait until someone picked up the diary, until a quill would appear on a desk and he would write his responses down. In the past, he had regular communication with his older self who simply updated him with current news, what his future self was planning, or simply wished that his followers weren't so dimwitted when it came to things. It made time pass, and gave him sort of amusement- that is until his older self stopped talking to him.

Now, no one had picked up the diary. No one picked up the object in years, and made Tom Riddle wonder why no one picked up the diary. It also meant that he needed to do something with his time, so he sorted through his memories, relishing every minute he knew, sometimes keeping tabs with his older self, or thinking about getting someone to open themselves up to him and he would have a chance to escape this prison- but as time went on, he knew that was a silly dream.

No one was going to pick the diary.

Instead, he merely slept. It wasn't exactly like he needed, but he found that time passed and he wasn't losing his mind stuck in his prison. At least, until someone realized that a black little book, with nothing in it, would enchant someone.

His brown eyes opened as soon as he felt hands handling the diary- someone becoming curious about the artifact that made him smile in delight. He could tell it was someone with a rather dark magical core that was larger than an average wizard. For a moment, he thought it might have been his older self, but the last thing he knew was that the wizard had found some fool to possess. He would have felt if his older self had returned- the other ones would have, besides the magical signature was different.

He felt someone open the pages, and began writing in it. Just like clockwork, a quill appeared, along with parchment and a pen. He nearly ran to the desk, picked up the quill and began writing down his responses, becoming curious on who the rather unfortunate soul was.

When the boy introduced himself as Harrison Peverell-Slytherin, he was immediately curious. He knew no one in centuries had ever carried on the surname, Slytherin or Peverell. He once chalked off about the possibility of the Peverell family, and the Deathly Hallows existing. And now, he was faced with the fact that the once brushed off story about the Tale of Three Brothers was true, and maybe he should go find the three objects that Death crafted, when either he or his older self regained his body. If that didn't make him curious, it also the fact that the boy also carried the surname- Slytherin.

He wanted to know how the boy was related to Slytherin. He knew he was the only heir left of the Slytherin line. Besides, he also made sure that he was the sole heir after he killed off any of the Gaunt family- including its heirs. So the question remained, how was the boy able to claim the line?

It was only then that Tom Riddle refrained from possessing the young individual. He wasn't going to do his original plan- he wanted to keep the individual, wanting to know his secrets. He was something that Tom was going to enjoy being able to crack. After all, Lord Voldemort gets what he wants.

It wasn't until Harrison wrote something that made him freeze.

How are you connected to the Dark Lord?

At first, he considered not telling Harrison anything, but somehow the little snake figured it out. He erased his tracks well right after he left Hogwarts, and made sure there was no one alive that knew his real identity- besides Dumbledore of course. The old fool was always suspicious of him, when he was in school and after. He wasn't going to trust the boy until he proved his loyalty, so he just distorted the truth.

I'm a fragment of a memory.

There wasn't any response for a couple of minutes. He knew that the boy was still on the other side, a quill in his hand, probably thinking about the next response. Tom Riddle was quicker as he produced his own question.

How did you figure out that I'm a part of the Dark Lord?

Almost immediately, a response came by.

It wasn't hard to figure out.

Tom's eyes narrowed as he wrote another question,

Did Dumbledore put you up to this?

Why would I trust that scheming bastard? My allegiances are to the Death Eaters only- I just simply wanted to know how you were connected to the Dark Lord.

Tom Riddle set down the quill, wondering what to put next. That confirmed any suspicions he may have had. He noticed that the quill disappeared and he was alone in the dark empty space, wondering what to think about one Harrison Peverell-Slytherin.

Though one thing for sure, he was left with one emotion.

Curiosity.

…

Harrison finished his chat with Tom Riddle, and pocketed the diary inside his pocket. He knew no one was going to notice the black little object, and he doubted anyone would notice its disappearance. The object was valuable and poor little Lucius Malfoy who had no idea how priceless the object he was enlisted in.

He would keep the book safe, with him to make sure no one knows its secret that it carried. It also connected him with the Dark Lord in a way.

…

Yule was fast approaching. The elves had quickly set up the fresh pines, and the berries to make wreaths and decorations. Strands of bright, white lights hung through the walls, and the outside, decorating any life source. The elves had also set up a rather large pine tree that had yule decorations like fresh pine, berries, and lights on the tree. Underneath the tree, were presents that varied from small to rather large sizes.

There was a fresh powder of white snow that fell over the night, so it covered the branches of trees, and the decorations. It also meant that anyone who went outside, would be trekking snow inside the manor, causing wet floors near the doorway. It would also mark a white Yule celebration, where later they would huddle next to the fireplace- celebrating the renewal of magic, and the renewal of life.

It also meant that Harrison had forgotten to buy gifts for the Malfoys, and to buy some robes for the ball that the Malfoys were hosting this year. He knew it would look bad when the Malfoys had invited him to stay at their manor for the duration of the break, and he wanted to show how their friendship to him was important.

Harrison had just finished applying the warming charms to his robes, when the door to his room opened all of a sudden. He looked at the intruder, with killing green eyes and his wand about ready to curse, but relaxed when he saw Draco Malfoy. His pale features that normally were perfectly composed, had a while look to them- with his silver eyes scanning the room, and he looked absolutely panicked.

"Harrison! Have you finished your Yule shopping yet?" Draco asked, in a high-pitched voice.

The blonde's fingers streamed through his pale blonde hair, and fixed his hair to make it less frazzled looking. Draco took a deep breath before he continued on,

"I may have gotten sidetracked as I completely forgot to get Theo and Blaise their gifts, and besides- I would like someone to accompany me."

"I also need to go to Diagon Alley," Harrison told him.

Draco sighed in relief, and headed out of Harrison's room with Harrison in tow. The corridor muffled their footsteps as they headed down from the east wing of the manor. He could see portraits that had pale-blonde, and the same Malfoy features hung on the walls, surrounding the wing along with several expensive statues.

They eventually got into the drawing room, and Draco grabbed a handful of grey floo powder from a small, black pot that contained the silver powder. Draco dragged Harrison by his sleeve into the fireplace with him, and in a very clear voice, Draco said,

"Diagon Alley!"

The heat from the fireplace was extremely noticeable, and the whirling, and the rush against Harrions's ears, made him close his eyes until his feet landed safely on the ground. He could fear Draco clutching his robes tighter, and slightly stumbled onto the fireplace, and immediately regained his pureblood manners.

Diagon Alley was extremely crowded by the time they got out of the store that they floo'd in. Witches and Wizards, some wearing muggle clothing and some wearing heavy winter cloaks. Many of them had hats, scarves and gloves on them. Most of them carry some form of bags for last minute shopping before the holidays. Many of them bore red marking across their noses, and cheeks from the winter cold air as they walked through the crowded street that held the bustling and colorful shops.

Through the massive crowd, Harrison had lost sight of Draco, which was just fine. He had his own shopping to do anyway. He quickly spotted the first shop- Quality Quidditch Supplies and went in there. There was a massive crowd in the shop, mainly around the clerk. Everyone was clutching what they needed as they stood in line. Brooms like the cleansweep, miniature broomsticks meant for toddlers and little kids who wanted to experience flying for themselves. He also spotted the Nimbus 2000 display, and quickly ignored it, to find what he was looking for.

He wanted to give Draco something- especially since the blonde was always talking about Quidditch. He knew the blonde probably owned the latest broom, but he had no idea if the blonde owned a broomstick servicing kit, so he grabbed one and found a pair of dragonhide, Quidditch gloves that he knew the blonde could appreciate when he played Quidditch after his first year for Hogwarts, or just flying on his broomstick.

It took a while, but Harrison managed to get up to the clerk, and paid the gallons and the sickles that he owed to him. He shrunk the gifts into his pocket, and headed outside of the shop. Snowflakes were starting to fall from the sky, and the crowd worsened. Harrison quickened his steps, and headed towards the white building that belonged to Gringotts until he found the shop that he was looking for- Twilfitt and Tattings.

Twilfitt and Tattings was a shop similar to Madame Malkins, but was considered the go-to shop for the purebloods in terms of clothing. There were also significantly less people inside the shop when Harrison opened the door. There were a few people munching on the biscuits on the table that had a red tablecloth over it, along with plush furniture. Gold mannequins displayed the current wizarding fashion, with chandeliers hanging down from the ceiling with many candles that lit up the polish wood on the walls.

A greying witch, with the hair in a messy bun appeared right in front of him. She held quite a bit of tailoring tools in her hands as she approached him.

"Welcome to Twilfitt and Tattings, what are you needing to look for?" The witch asked.

"I need jewelry and something that has some rare material with it. I also need more robes for myself for the Malfoys' ball," he told her.

The witch didn't say anything and simply gestured for him to follow her into the back. She held out some jewelry that was quite nice looking at first, and he chose one, and did the same process for something that had a rare material with it. He then stood on a white platform, and the witch tailored his robes for him.

It took a little more than an hour, before he was able to exit out of Twilfitt and Tattings with all of things shrunken to fit in his pocket and he headed back to where he and Draco first entered, to take the floo back to Malfoy Manor.

…

Yule had finally arrived. They opened up presents right after they ate breakfast, which Harrison was surprised that Harrison received a few from Draco, and some of his housemates, even though he didn't talk to them unless it interested him. He got some robes, books and some chocolate though as much as he wasn't too much of a fan of sweets, the thought was there. They even set up the yule altar onto the fireplace mantel, which supported all types of candles, unlit, decorated with fresh pine and berries.

The rest of the afternoon passed quickly and the Yule celebration would be starting once the last rays of the sun disappeared and only darkness remained in the night sky.

Harrison made his way down into the drawing room where the rest of the Malfoys were gathered, using the guide of the moonlight that shone through the windows and the small glow of the candles that flickered softly on the lights.

When he got into the drawing room, the fireplace was already lit. The fire crackled every few minutes when one of the woods collapsed from the heat, sending glowing embers upwards, and eventually disappearing as they extinguished itselves. The Malfoys were quickly setting things up for the ritual, offering traditional plants like pines, berries, mugwump.

Once they were done setting up the Yule altar, Lucius started saying a prayer, while lighting the candles.

"The longest night has come once more,

the sun has set, and darkness fallen.

The trees are bare, the earth asleep,

and the skies are cold and black.

Yet tonight we rejoice, in this longest night,

embracing the darkness that enfolds us.

We welcome the night and all that it holds,

as the light of the stars shines down."

Once the candles were all light, Lucius started what he was thankful for,

""We give thanks for the magic that blessed us with our lives."

Narcissa went next,

"I'm grateful for the continued great health of my family."

It was Draco's turn, "I'm grateful that I got some amazing friends that I met at Hogwarts."

Various pairs of eyes looked at Harrison and Harrison murmured what he was thankful for, "Thank you for setting me free from Azkaban."

Lucius threw the Yule log into the fire, landing with a thud on top of the other burnt woods. The flames ate up the Yule log, and sent out quite a bit of glowing embers out of the fireplace. Magic hummed in the air, stronger and satisfied with their offerings and giving.

Update (12/22/21): Added a lot more material, a lot cleaner, less clunkier version than what was uploaded orginally.