Made the other chapter quite long, but this one should be shorter, hopefully! Thanks for reading it, it means a lot!!! Review if you want, if its good/bad/waste of time/quite good/okay...well I'm sure you catch my drift!!

Thanx to all you lot that have reviewed, thanks!!! Gengi- loved all the little illustration thingys-very cool, I didn't even realise how much better I had made tom riddle sound until I read it out loud!! Oh the power of writing!!









Meetings with Old Acquaintances



'Harry, ent it? 'Arry Potter. Grand to 'ave you back 'Arry. Didn't recognise you under all them cloaks, but the 'air is unmissable, ent it? Harry had walked headlong into a large, oaf like person that still rose above him. He was a little on the grey side now and walked with a noticeable limp but apart from that Hagrid hadn't changed much.

'Hagrid! I haven't seen you for ages. But keep your voice down, if they all recognise me, then I'll be mobbed, its inevitable really, being who I am and all...'

'Know 'ho you sound like, Potter? Lock 'art, yeah, the author of all them fake books, remember 'Arry? Too big for your littl' boots now are we? Yeah, well 'Arry be seeing ye' things to do, you know, but maybe I'll have a mead with ye' some day.' Hagrid turned away, shaking his great mane of hair with a look of disappointment and sadness.

'Hagrid, I was only kidding, oh come on you didn't fall for the 'I'm better than all you lot' joke did you........Hagrid?'

'I knew, you had'ne changed, boy!' Hagrid turned round a big grin on his face, he clocked Harry one on his right shoulder in play, but Harry flew across the road. 'Whoops, did'ne know I still had it in me!' He gambled across the road and picked Harry up by his cloak.

'Thanks,' Harry said wincing slightly. 'Are you still up at the school, Hagrid?'

'Nope, that governors lot threatened me again when the ol' chamber was opened, bout Azkaban, y'know. But I wasn't havin' it, they got a new baddy to rule them all now, 'Arry, name's Godbalt, I'm thinking, but I could be wrong, memory's not up to what it used to be! Anyhow, I started workin' for an apothecary's up the road, in the garden and what 'ave ye'. Not been the same that school since Dumbledore left, and they was all gangin' up on me when he did. Still, I miss me ol' cabin, like. Got Fang though, getting on a bit as well, don't move all day, he doesn't. Still, dog's company, like.' Harry nodded, taking in the whirlpool of information that he had just heard. 'What brings you into Hogsmeade, 'Arry?'

'Meeting Ginny, actually. For lunch, I hope.'

'Oooh,' said Hagrid, winking, 'she always liked you didn't she?'

'No, not like that Hagrid.' Said Harry, emphasising the woeful expression to suit his audience. At that moment, Ginny called out to him from across the road.

'Harry, I've been looking for you, you're late! And I've got work!'

'See you Hagrid! Must go,' He pointed guiltfully across the street, 'she's not very patient.' Hagrid gave a bellowing laugh and waved Harry goodbye.

************************************************************************

'I'm sorry, Ginny, I met Hag...'

'Yeah, never mind, listen, I only have a little while so make it quick with lunch, where do you want to go? The ice cream pla...'

'Wherever, I don't mind, Ginny I have to talk to you, about before...' Ginny had already started walking across the street where she beckoned Harry to join her. Harry sighed and ran his hand through his hair in frustration, it got stuck among the knots, so he pulled it out with even greater aggravation. Ginny was almost running to sit down in a seat under a delightfully coloured umbrella. Someone else was already there sitting across from her, as Harry ran up to join her, he saw her throw her arms around him and heard her talk excitedly. Curious, Harry ran even faster. Ginny was sitting there contentedly, a big grin decorating her face.

'Harry, I'm sure you remember Neville.' Ginny pointed to the man sitting across from her, Harry lowered himself onto a seat under the umbrella, sitting there was someone he barely recognised. Neville, if it was the Neville Harry was imagining, looked nothing like he used to, he had floppy dark brown hair that flitted in and out of his eyes and a wide grin, he wore glasses but they were the stylish kind and made him look smart and knowledgeable. His clothes of what Harry could see, were casual but cleverly adorned. He couldn't help it; Harry stared for all he was worth.

'What Neville?' He said stupidly to Ginny, who socked him one playfully on his arm. 'Neville, you know, ' I won the Gryfindor house cup with ten points' Neville. Longbottom, Neville Longbottom, don't tell me you don't remember Harry! I haven't seen you for so long, Neville, I thought you had left me! Just been busy is that it? Neville nodded, smiling. Ginny's voice was bright and cherry but there was a touch of hurt mixed in there somewhere.

'Oh, its okay, Ginny, don't get flustered about it, I have been working on this large scale film and I really couldn't leave it, I don't know where I got the idea to come here,' Neville looked around and shrugged, but still kept that infatuating grin firmly placed on his face, Ginny giggled, Harry was almost sick. Awful one for getting flustered is my girl,' he added to Harry. Harry smiled sarcastically.

'I bet she is...'

'Guess what, Harry?' Gushed Ginny.

'What?' said Harry despondently.

'Neville's in your muggle films, you know the ones you see in the err...chinemas.'

'That's cinema's, Gin.' Whispered Neville, winking at Harry, who ignored him.

'Oh really, fascinating, what does he do? Cater for the actors does he?'

'No...he's a director actually. And a really good one too.' Finalised Ginny, with a look that silenced Harry into oblivion.'

'You know what? I gotta go, there's err...things I have to do, there always is when your famous, isn't that right, big director film guy? Ha, ha...ha? Harry pushed back his chair and stood up, banging his head on the umbrella

'You know, Harry, Laughing at your own jokes is the only way they are ever going to get laughed at, so carry on, will you?' Ginny muttered furiously, disturbed by Harry's weird behaviour.

He ignored this and started walking up the street towards the apothecary, thinking of going to see Hagrid and moan jealously about that stupid prat Neville for the rest of the afternoon. But just as he reached the door a thought occurred to him, He stopped in his tracks, his eyes widening. His mind went quickly over the events of the morning, Ginny's forgetfulness of the events that had occurred the night before, Neville's sudden appearance without any notification and his unusual jealously, there could be only one reason......Riddle...' Without thinking, Harry raced back up to the castle, with one thought on his mind, Ginny and 'memoritus Necuistis.'

He had never been one for running and was on the verge of collapsing as he reached the castle. As he spluttered, he thought stupidly 'oh yeah, I could have apparated.' But logical thoughts tended not to cross his mind when other things weighed heavily down on it. He thought about it now, however, and apparated quickly to the prefects bathroom. It had changed. It was as if a bomb had exploded within it. Everything was overturned and the pool-sized bath tub was filled with something that Harry had never seen. It was a grey substance, it swirled and turned in the container with the movements of a darting school of fish. Harry stared widely around the derelict room, the tub and its contents reflected in his eyes. The taps had been ripped off and thrown in places around the room, breaking the large ornate mirror hanging on the wall, the fragments were scattered on the flagstone. Harry glanced at them, something moved in them and a face appeared, it was haunting. Like something from a distant nightmare that you had never forgotten. Harry gasped and clapped his hand over his mouth, which had fallen open in shock. There was something of recognition in the eyes of the creature, but the face was unnatural and Harry saw nothing he discerned in it. But he knew.

'Riddle.'

'Ssstupid girl, left the wand, didn't ssshe?' A snake-like tongue protruded from a slash of a mouth. The words that emitted, Harry knew were different but he understood them perfectly. He turned around. The body had changed, it was mangled, like it had been put in a box of knives and thrown around in undaunted hatred, but Harry kept staring at the face, if it could be called that.

'H-how?' He could hear himself reply in the same manner as he had been spoken to in, but he didn't know who he did it. Riddle was in a state different to anything Harry had ever seen, but he was not a snake. The only way that Harry knew he could speak Parseltongue in was to be looking directly at a snake, but he wasn't.

'Oh-you are ssstill familiar with the language, boy, thisss will make it eassssier to kill you. How marvelousss. How? Thisss is hard to anssswer. Mmmm, let me sssee. Slytherin, Salazar Slytherin wasss quite helpful. He stored power for me, that sssilly girl thought that ssshe could dessstroy me, but ssshe only incresssed my power. I ssshall find her and take her life from her. Ssshe dessservesss to die. I am cleanssssing the ssschool of filthy mudbloodsss, she is hindering the processs.' Harry swallowed nervously.

'Kill her? But it was-it was...me, I killed you, kill me, not her...'

'Niccce try, boy, but it didn't work, I am not dim-witted, I know what ssshe did and thought it quite clever for finding it out. But I thought that Sssslytherin wasss of greater intelligenccce for ssstoring his power in between life and death for anyone who wasss going to fulfil his dream. Very, very clever man, wasss my massster.' With that, he shot out of the door throwing Harry against the wall with the force of the airstream that passed him. He fell slumped to the floor and knew no more.

See, I told you I'd make it shorter! I'm pretty proud of myself, normally I drag it out. Thank-you very much 4 your reviews. I can write more, but you'll have to tell me if you want to read it, so shall I write more or just leave it. Tell me what you think!! Thanks -*A*-