Torn Asunder
Chapter Two- Who is Voldemort?
By- IceWind
A/N:
Disclaimer: Harry Potter and everything in its franchise is owned by J.K Rowling and whoever else has rights to the books. I have no claim whatsoever to the characters; the plot is entirely mine though, as is any new characters that I might introduce into the story. Rating is PG-13; though it may turn to R later, no it will not become an NC-17 fic.
Lala, chapter two… *doesn't have anything to say* Oh ya, that summary I put up for the fic… I hate it. I'll probably change it when I have time lol.
Lady Geuna: Okies… *is continuing* hehe. Yeah, I know it's weird, most of my fics are weird.
Demia: *looks amused* Right, so I'm thanking you for saying that the plot was interesting… and now questioning you on the second part. Really, I don't know how to improve my writing if people write ambiguous comments such as 'but your writing isn't' couldn't you have at least told me what was wrong? *lips twitch* Oh well, let me make a guess for you! It's very impersonal isn't it? Yes, I have a problem with the first several chapters over how impersonal I make everyone…
Shadwmage7: It'll be sort of what you think, but I'm not going to make it exactly as such. ^_^ I'm strange and want some sort of originality, hehe, you'll understand what I mean.
Draconic Ragnorock: Ugh, I didn't really like the prologue that I put into place, maybe when I have time later on I'll fix it… (considering how lazy I am, the chances are slim though, hehe)
'Mes: *grins* Maybe people don't write about Tom and Harry because of how implausible it seems? ^_^; Which of course means I have to go out and try to make it plausible… o.o; but that's just me lol. Did you know that a cusith was actually a mythical creature? I tweaked its appearance a bit and it's function… (actually, the 'muggle' version in the story is the real version, amusing right?)
AtieJen: *mock affronted look* Harry isn't mental at all! Maybe a little depressed, a little crabby… hehe. I'm not that great writing angst… o.o; so there'll probably be less of it.
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Harry gulped, oh great, what am I going to do now? And got out his wand, glaring down at the prone figure. Why does this always happen to me? He pointed it at Tom for a moment, his eyes narrowed, why the fuck isn't he moving? He scooted closer and poked the body with his wand, poking it harder when he saw that the body didn't respond.
"Did I kill him?" Confusion swirled in his eyes as he reached down and felt for a pulse at the boy's neck, it drummed weakly, but it was there all the same. "Eh…" he blinked several times, debating what to do with Tom as he sat in the mud.
A soft groan caught his attention and Harry immediately brandished his wand at the other person once more, hand shaking slightly as he did so. Should I… kill him? Take him prisoner? Tom's body twitched slightly and the slightly older boy gave something akin to a sigh. Fuck this… Harry reached over and pulled Tom up, grunting slightly at the weight. He muttered softly to the unconscious body, pocketing his wand, "You're heavy, do you know that?"
Nothing answered him, but he didn't expect anyone to, he heaved a sigh once more and boosted Tom up, beginning to trudge out of the forest, "I really should have left you, ya know." That's it, I'm certifiably insane, I've started to talk to myself… He fixed a mock glare at the body, "You're more trouble then you're worth, why I must always be a courageous Gryffindor is beyond me."
"Which is why I'm in Slytherin," a weak voice broke through his musings and Harry yelped, dropping the body. "Ow… did you have to do that?" Slowly Tom opened his eyes, revealing a pair of gorgeous dark blue eyes that looked at Harry levelly. He weakly pushed himself up from the muddy ground and glared at Harry, asking the one question that Harry didn't expect, "Who the hell are you?"
Harry gaped at Tom for a moment, his wand in his hand (he whipped it out as soon as he heard Tom's voice), "Err… Harry Potter of course… You know, enemy of you, trying to stop you from doing dastardly deeds from my first year all the way to my current year." He was so surprised; he had actually answered Tom's question without thinking twice. He saw Tom sneer, and it was such a nice sneer too… I'm pathetic.
"Right, and I'm trying to take over the world," Tom looked at Harry quizzically when the boy twitched slightly, "…You should visit the hospital wing," he spoke matter-o-factly, looking blearily up at the sky, "Why am I outside, in the rain?" He scowled and wiped some rain and mud away from his face.
Harry avoided that question, having a faint inkling on what happened, They are sooo dead… why They do these things is beyond me. Finally he spoke in a tentative voice; "Do you remember being Lord Voldemort?" Should I help him up or not? This may just be a trick…
"Lord Voldemort? What are you talking about?" Disbelieving eyes stared at Harry, "I don't know any Lord Voldemort's or anything of the such… are you going to help me up or not?" What is with this boy? He doesn't look a bit familiar… He raised a brow at the mechanical way that Harry reached out a hand to help him up; Maybe I should talk to Headmaster Dippet when I go see him next time, and clasp it with his own, ignoring the slight tingle that raced up his arm.
Harry helped pull Tom up and wrapped his arm around the boy, for all of Tom's bravado, he was still weak. He leveled a penetrating look towards the taller boy, asking rapidly, "What about the chamber of secrets then?"
Tom gave a start and suddenly glared at Harry, "How did you know that I was looking for it?" Damn it… what is with this boy? He suddenly said haughtily, "I assure you that I'm looking for it for interest only and would tell the Headmaster as soon as I found it."
"You haven't found it yet?!"
"Of course not! It's harder then it may seem… though it might have something to do with being a parselmouth… Don't tell anyone of the last bit will you?"
"I already know that you're a parselmouth…"
"What?!" Tom gaped at Harry for a moment, giving him his best haughty look, "Have you been stalking me or something?" Wouldn't I have noticed him? I haven't even told anyone else about being a parselmouth! This 'Harry' person, however cute he may be, is beginning to startle me… and I don't startle easily.
"Oh god…." Harry muttered to himself, seemingly completely forgetting about the mild depression he had sunk to before, "I'm going to get in so much trouble… How am I supposed to explain this to the Headmaster?"
Tom mentally rolled his eyes, seeing the familiar sight of the castle loom up ahead of them, "Really now, why would you get in trouble for helping a Prefect? Dippet would love you…" he looked around, "Though I still have no idea how I got there."
He sighed and shook his head, "Not Dippet… Dumbledore, Headmaster Dumbledore." Harry watched Tom carefully to gauge his reaction.
"…You're a bit touched aren't you?" Tom looked at Harry in surprise; "Dumbledore is the transfiguration teacher, not the headmaster!" He looks so… honest; he bit his bottom lip slightly.
Harry winced and stopped by the main doors of Hogwarts, muttering lightly to himself, "Dinner should be over, I should be able to sneak you in…"
"I don't need to be 'sneaked in'. I'm a prefect!"
"Prefect or not, you're not in Kansas anymore…" Inwardly Harry berated himself over his cheesy muggle lines.
"Hn, cheesy Potter, do you know that?"
"Ugh, you sound like Malfoy when you call me Potter."
Tom quirked a brow at Harry, "Fine then, Harry, though I don't know who Malfoy is either… are we going inside yet? I rather not get any wetter then I am currently." He glanced down at his soggy robes, "Though that may be impossible."
Harry gave him a slight smile, a little arrogant, but not too bad actually… "I'm still going to sneak you in you know…"
Waving his free arm around airily, Tom gave a half shrug, "Suit yourself then." He didn't pay much attention to Harry's speech about the different Headmasters and Dippet not being there… or something like that.
"Right… Hmm… I should bring you to the staff room I suppose, nearer then the Headmasters office anyway," Harry opened the doors and peeked inside, muttering to himself, "Considering how many people don't know about Tom Riddle… this should be easy."
"What do you mean? I'm known!" Tom's question remained unanswered as Harry began to tug him towards the staff room, walking quickly while trying to avoid all of the students that milled around near the entrance hall.
Harry tossed Tom a slightly irate expression, "SHH! It would just be my luck to have someone like Ginny recognize you for who you really are." He pulled Tom quickly through the entrance hall, ignoring the large amounts of water they both were trailing on the ground. They headed towards the staff room, which was just off the entrance hall.
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"How have your lessons been going Severus?" Minerva McGonagall inhaled the pleasant smell of tea as she took a sip, "Everything going well I suppose?" She shook her head at Flitwick when he offered her some sugar.
Severus spoke dryly as he stared into the fireplace, "As well as they could with Neville Longbottom in my classes, and with the inaptitude of the first years." He settled himself comfortably in his chair, ignoring the patter of rain outside in favor of the roaring of the flames, "and with the amount of coddling the Potter boy receives."
"Really now, that's unfair to the boy. He has been through a lot recently, with He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named and everything," Professor Sprout smiled lightly at Severus, ignoring the scathing look he leveled towards her.
"Even though he wouldn't tell any of the teachers or even Dumbledore about what he did to You-Know-Who?" He shot Sprout an annoyed look, "That boy attracts more trouble then the all the Weasley's combined!"
McGonagall spoke up, fingering the edges of her emerald green robe, "But he doesn't ask for the trouble does he? Sometimes I get the feeling like he doesn't want to be 'Famous Harry Potter' and really Severus, talking about favoritism…" She let the rest fill in unspoken, it was no secret that Snape favored his own students.
About to retort with probably a most scathing reply, the door was pushed opened and the person they had just been talking about made his appearance all muddy and wet. Harry's green eyes seemed wider then normal, and he was unconsciously showing more of his feelings then he had since the start of the school year.
While that did catch the teacher's attention, they were more concerned over the person Harry seemed to be supporting. They were able to discern that it was male from it's form, and looked remarkably like Harry except he was larger, a bit more filled out build, and he had tired dark blue eyes.
Tom raised his head and looked at the teachers, his dark blue eyes holding slight traces of confusion, "They're not the teachers… We're in the staffroom, but none of the teachers are here. Harry, where the heck are we?"
"Potter!" Snape glowered at Harry and the person he brought with him, "What are you doing here?" he then focused his attention on Tom and scowled, "What are you getting at boy? We are the teachers." McGonagall nodded in absentminded agreement, her gaze thoughtful as they moved from Harry to Tom.
"Umm… is the Headmaster around?" Harry asked tentatively, eyeing Snape with mutual dislike, while asking Professor McGonagall, "It's rather important really…" Maybe… we should have risked being seen by Ginny and just have went to the Headmaster's office. I'm not even sure if she would recognize Tom by sight.
Suddenly the door opened once more and Dumbledore swept into the room, grinning cheerfully at everyone, "Anything the matter Minerva? You and the rest look a bit shocked," he glanced at Harry and continued on speaking, "Harry! Nice to see that you are here, care for a lemon drop?" He peered closer at the person that Harry was supporting, noting that he looked vaguely familiar, though he couldn't completely recognize Tom with his head turning away from him.
Before Harry could decline or McGonagall could answer, Tom looked up right into Dumbledore's twinkling light blue eyes and gaped. He continued on in that mode for several seconds before he managed to smooth his face over and ask in a slightly shaky manner, "Professor Dumbledore? …You look… old. Where… Where is Headmaster Dippet?" He noticed that Dumbledore's beard and hair were no longer auburn and instead a snowy white color, and that the man had many wrinkles now.
For once it seemed that the Headmaster looked shocked, his gaze looking over Tom. He regained his composure quickly; shooting Harry a quizzical (perhaps the first time Harry has ever seen that expression) look. "Tom… Riddle?"
The other teachers, all having been informed if they did not know the true identity of Lord Voldemort after Harry's second year, showed varying degrees of shock. McGonagall gasped and nearly took a step backwards, Sprout and Flitwick just gaped, while Snape looked stunned with a touch of anger in his dark eyes.
Tom shot all the people in the room, well except for Harry, a confused mixed with annoyance look, asking coolly, "Why are all you looking at me like that? I demand to know where Headmaster Dippet is!" He struggled to stand by himself for a moment, but found that he couldn't, so he contented himself with leaning slightly on Harry.
Harry sighed and used his free hand to rub his head, muttering softly to Tom when the other people in the room still seemed shocked, "Well, didn't I tell you that Dumbledore is the Headmaster now?" Wonder what will happen now…
"Harry," Dumbledore finally transferred his hard stare at Tom back to Harry, his eyes softening slightly, "Does this have something to do with what you did to Voldemort before?" He remembered Harry's vehement refusals to tell him what he did with Voldemort, only that the man was still alive…
"…Yes Headmaster," Harry intoned softly, his eyes downcast.
"You still cannot tell us what you did can you?"
"…No Headmaster."
"And why not?"
"I can't tell you that either, I'm not allowed," he looked at Dumbledore's eyes beseechingly, letting everyone else wonder what was going on, "Even I do not know the full extent of what I have done."
"That isn't safe Harry."
"…I'll be fine."
Suddenly Tom's voice cut in smoothly, his eyes thoughtful, "Are you telling me that I'm in the future? But how did that happen? People don't just wake up one day in some forest far off into the future without any explanation."
"You were in the forest? The forbidden forest?" Severus looked at Tom and Harry sharply. Upon observing Tom's nod, he focused his attention on Harry and bit out, "Mr. Potter, do you not know that the forbidden forest is just as its name? Forbidden? What were you doing out there?" The last sounded accusing and demanding, his tone imperious.
Harry fidgeted slightly under the looks all of the people in the room gave him, finally saying softly, "Thinking." Though his tone was soft, it had a certain quality that brooked no argument, which of course made Severus sneer and get ready to fire out more questions, and most probably a point deduction as well.
"Severus," Dumbledore's tone was mild, though everyone in the room knew what he was doing.
Snape turned away from Harry and looked piercingly towards Tom, finally he asked, "And what are we supposed to do with Mr. Riddle? I suppose that Potter had thought that we'd figure that out for ourselves once he finished with his little soiree with You-Know-Who now?"
"Call him Voldemort, Severus," a calm Dumbledore gave the potions master a light smile, "Remember, there is nothing to fear from just saying his name."
An annoyed Tom broke in, "Nobody answered my question… and Harry and I are rather muddy and wet, I wouldn't say no to a bath." True, both boys seemed a little worse for wear, but nothing unduly serious though.
Everyone's attention snapped back to Tom as Dumbledore said carefully, "I don't think that your from the past… but Harry is the only one to answer you with any sense of knowledge on what has happened, afterwards we'll give you both a bath, Harry?"
Heaving a soft sigh, Harry answered Tom as honestly as he could, "You aren't from the past Tom, I know that much… but you used to be Voldemort, but something happened… I'm just about as informed on you as the rest are." He gave Tom a sweetly apologetic smile, his green eyes honest.
"Well then!" Dumbledore swept a gaze over the surrounding people and suddenly spoke seriously, "I don't have to tell you all that Tom's true… or used to be true, identity cannot be revealed. Both boys will stay in the hospital wing for the time being, tomorrow, we'll figure out what to do."
"Headmaster?" at Dumbledore's inquiring look, Harry plunged right into his question, "Could you tell Ron and Hermoine that I'm all right? I kind of got into a fight with them both and they might be a little worried right now." He ignored Tom's interested look, propping up the other boy better.
"Of course I will Harry… Right! Now that bit of business is behind us, would you boys care for some tea before you go up to the hospital wing?"
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Wow, I don't believe I have ever finished a chapter so quickly before. This only took me a day to write. *beams* I'm so proud of myself, of course, this type of story is fun to write as well. Ugh, which reminds me that I really should start on my other little 'projects' once more. …By the way, don't expect chapters to always come out this fast *large sweatdrop*
I forgot to say this before, but the cusith in the previous chapter is a real mythical creature that people used to believe in. The wizard version that I told you about is incorrect; in fact, the 'muggle' version is the real version. *giggles* Fitting no? I didn't want to do something that's been over used, like a dragon, or even a phoenix, so I settled upon a cusith. It was either that or 4 other obscure mythical creatures, but my friend liked the name of the cusith the best, so I decided to use it.
I always have trouble writing the first part of a story (first chapter, whatever) because I feel that I'm kinda of impersonal while writing it… (don't ask) and I really shouldn't be writing at 2 o'clock am… yeah, so that was bad as well. If I have any time, and if I feel like it, I may just go back and rewrite the prologue over. (though the chances of that happening are slim)
Heh, I bet all of you are as confused as heck right now with who Tom is, (well you know who he is) how he got there, why he doesn't know anything, and everything else. Also why Harry is so dodgey in answering the questions the professors ask him. You'll all find out in the up-coming chapters, now just drop me a little review and I'll be happy lol.
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My e-mail address is flyby311@hotmail.com and put Torn Asunder, so I know what the e-mail is about. Anything you want to add/criticize/comment/whatever you guys just review it… please?