Title: Just Tom
Author: Razberry
Genre: Romance/Angst
Rating: PG... will go up
Disclaimer: Roses are red, violets are blue, Rowling owns HP, so please do not sue.
Warnings: None for this chappie...
Summary: Response to one of QueenStrata's challenges. Harry is staying at Hogwarts over the summer, and finds a really nifty mirror that shows whoever looks into it the person that is most like them. Now Harry has to overcome the challenges of getting along with his so called "match"... The only problem? It's none other than Tom Riddle. And what does Dumbledore have to do with this?!
Notes: Sorry, but these notes won't be as cheery as normal. I am soooo pissed off at ff.net right now. They deleted one of my fics and you know why? Because it wasn't in the right fuckin format!!!!! I had it in a chat format, and now that's "unacceptable" so my account was suspended for a few days. But don't worry, I'm still going to post stuff here. But it will also be posted somewhere else, where i'm still not sure. Probably FictionAlley or something. But I'm still pissed. Everyone be sure to sign every petition about these unfair rules that comes your way. This totally violates my rights as an American!!! What happened to freedom of speech!?!? I know not all of you are American, but still, it's our right as people to express ourselves. Fanfiction.net is setting unreasonable limits. I mean, people who are too stupid to click on a fic that clearly says NC-17 on it have no right to complain, everyone loves chatroom fics, and my friend Sarah is devastated that they took away the music category. Okay, I think I'm done ranting. Just go on and read the chapter before I start again.

Also, if you see a number in a set of these [] that means I have an explanation for that word or phrase at the bottom of the chapter. And since ff.net does not seem to appreciate italics, the character's thoughts will be in /these/. All annoying inner voices will speak in \these\. And since some characters have telepathic abilites, anything that is thought-spoken will be in these. Everyone got that? If not, here's the simplified version for all you idiots out there(j/k).

[] - I have an explanation for that word/phrase at the end of the chapter.
/ / - Peoples individual thoughts
\ \ - Those cute inner voices everybody loves
- Telepathic speech
" " - Regular speech

Okay, well, I think that's it. Now get on with the fic!!!


*~*~*~*~*~*


Harry sat up drowsily in his new bed and glanced at the clock on the bedside table.

/Hn, 6:00am. A bit early to be up.../

Shrugging, the Boy Who Lived swung his legs over the edge of the four-poster and stood, wondering idly what could have awakened him at this hour of the morning. Wandering into Gryffindor's living room[1], he found out.

"WHY WON'T YOU PEOPLE LEAVE ME ALONE!!!" Godric yelled. He had a large bump on his head and looked close to tears. Apparently Rowena had hit him with the frying pan she had in her left hand. As for why, Harry had no idea, but he suspected it had something to do with a certain blonde-haired founder who was sulking in one of the red and gold tapestry's corners.

Rubbing an eye, he asked, "What's going on?"

Rowena smiled apologetically.

"I'm sorry, we didn't mean to wake you," She then turned to glare at the two boys. "I had to run over to keep them from killing each other."

"He was going to give me green hair!!!" Godric protested, still rubbing the lump on his head.

"Only because you deserve it!" retorted Salazar. The blonde-haired founder gave a look that clearly showed that he would have stuck his tongue out if he hadn't thought it beneath him to do so.

"BOYS!!!" Rowena growled and waved the frying pan threateningly. "Be quiet and stop acting so childish. Just because you disagree on some things doesn't mean you have to continuously torture the other person."

Harry shook with silent laughter as the two grown men cowered in front of Rowena. He walked back into the bedroom to get dressed. This was going to be an interesting day, he could tell.


*~*~*~*~*~*


"Hey, wake up!" Helga said from her usual perch in Salazar's tapestry. She was unsuccessfully trying to rouse a sleeping Tom(he had ended up falling asleep on the couch while chatting with Salazar).

"HEY YOU! WAKE UP RIGHT NOW!!!" she yelled. Tom grumbled and turned slightly in his sleep.

"Lemme alone," he mumbled. Helga huffed and stomped out of the tapestry. The orange-haired maiden retuned a few moments later with an alarm clock she had borrowed from a painting hanging across from the History of Magic classroom. She grinned wickedly.

"Let's see if you can stay asleep now..." She pushed a button on the clock and one of the most annoying songs one could ever hear began playing full blast.

**I love you, you love me, we're a happy family...**

Tom promptly fell off of the couch and began thrashing around in his tangle of covers blindly.

"AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!! KILL IT!!! KILL IT!!!"

Helga giggled and shut off the clock. "Awake now?"

"Unfortunately..." Tom rubbed the light bump on his head where it had hit the floor and glared at the girl.

"Well it's your own fault, you wouldn't wake up!"

"Stop being so damn cheerful, it's too early to get up."

"Not a morning person, huh?"

Tom shook his head. Helga laughed. Groaning, the crimson-eyed boy decided that now he was awake, he may as well go eat breakfast. Sending one last glare in the direction of the Hufflepuff founder, who merely flashed him an innocent smile in return, he walked into the bedroom and over to the giant wardrobe to select his clothes, which Dumbledore had so kindly provided for him. Today was not shaping up to be good.


*~*~*~*~*~*


Sirius paced back and forth anxiously as he waited for Dumbledore to arrive. The headmaster had asked him to be at his office at 6:30 for reasons unknown to the animagi. However, the older wizard had yet to arrive.

"I wonder what's keeping him?" Sirius asked the empty room.

"Talking to yourself again, Black? I hear that's the first sign of madness."

Sirius scowled as Severus[2] entered the office.

"What do you want, Snape."

"Dumbledore asked to see me this morning," the Potions Master replied smoothly. "Not that it's any of your business. I suppose he requested to speak with you as well?"

Sirius nodded, then turned to examine the pictures on the wall, obviously making an effort to ignore the other man. His gaze at last settled on a wrapped bundle laying on the the headmaster's desk.

/Funny, why didn't I notice that earlier?/

Walking over he cautiously picked up the object and began unwrapping it. Severus' eyes widened when he realized what the animagi was doing.

"Black, stop! You really shouldn't-"

Sirius turned and smirked, "Something you don't want me to see? Hmmm... what could it be?" He then continued to unwrap the mysterious package. Severus reached out to snatch the object from his rival's hand, but Sirius anticipated the move and raised the parcel above his head and out of the other's reach. The Potions Master grabbed onto Padfoot's arm, which threw the animagi off balance, and they both landed in a heap on the floor. The cloth finally fell away and revealed the mirror.


*~*~*~*~*~*


Harry sat at the circular table in the main room eating the breakfast feast that had been set out by the house elves. He was in a stupidly good mood and had no idea why, considering the circumstances. Perhaps it was the comical scene that he had awoken to. Yes, that must be it. Why else would have such a pleasant disposition, considering all that had occured yesterday?

Taking a sip of pumpkin juice, he pondered these new developments. His godfather was staying at Hogwarts, the four founders lived in tapestries, he was staying with his greatest enemy(not to mention said enemy was his "match"), and he was going to have special training during the summer in preparation for the inevitable battle against what Dumbledore said was the "other half" of Tom. All in all, it was a lot to take in in less than 24 hours, and Harry personally thought he was taking this all rather well.

His fine mood was dampened, however, when Tom stalked into the room, wearing an irritable expression. The ruby-eyed boy paused when he saw Harry at the table, but not for long. Determined not to look the coward, he continued toward the food and took the seat furthest from the Potter boy.

"Morning," he said gruffly, obviously still wary of the Boy Who Lived. Harry nodded in acknowledgement, but otherwise made no attempt at a conversation. The rest of the meal was spent in tense silence.


*~*~*~*~*~*


Sirius and Severus peered into the now revealed mirror.

Their reflections shone back at them clear as day. Sirius was confused. What was so bad about this? It was just an ordinary mirror. Why would Snape have such a problem?

The professor, however, was looking horrified.

/This can't be right! ...Maybe... yes, perhaps the mirror doesn't work properly if more than one person is looking into it. That must be it./

To verify this new theory, Snape stepped away from the mirror.

"What do you see, Black?"

Sirius looked into the mirror again. It blurred, then showed a reflection of Severus.

"Huh, that's odd..."

"What's odd? Tell me what you see," Snape snapped.

"You..."

Snape's horrified expression returned full force and he snatched the mirror out of Sirius' hands. The reflection blurred and the image he had feared would be there shone back at him. Sirius Black.

"No..."

"What? What's going on?"

"Haven't you figured it out yet, you dumb git!"

"Why don't you just tell me what's going on instead of insulting me, you prick!"

Snape growled, but preceded to explain through gritted teeth. "That mirror... it was the Mirror of All Souls. Ring a bell?"

Sirius thought for a moment, then a look of horror(much like Snape's) crossed his face.

"You... you don't mean to tell me that- that mirror is the one Harry was talking about?"

"The very same..." Our dear professor was trying very hard not to scream or strangle a certain animagus.

"Oh..." For the first time in his life, Sirius fainted dead away on the floor.


*~*~*~*~*~*

To Be Continued....

Notes: Okay, I know not a lot happened in this chapter, nor was it very long, and I'm very sorry. Especially since I made you all wait such a long time for such a shitty part. However, I've been suffering from the dreaded writer's block disease, and this piece was just kinda to help me get over it. I really wasn't planning on having Sirius and Sev look into the mirror so soon, but Siri insisted. He's just too curious for his own good. I also want to apologize for the lack of Tom/Harry in this part. I really didn't mean for it to turn out this way... but the muses made me do it! Eh, what can you do... oh well. I'm gonna try reeeeaaaallllyyyy hard to get the next chapter out quicker. Feel free to e-mail me with a swift kick in the ass if I'm taking too long. ^_^

EXPLANATIONS AND DEFINITIONS
[1] In case I didn't make this clear, each founder has their own WING. Meaning they had their own kitchens, living rooms, bathrooms, bedrooms, etc. Just thought I'd clear that up. Also, the tapestries are hanging in the living room(or main room) of each wing.
[2] I know I referred to Prof. Snape as both Severus and Snape in this chapter. You see, I have a tendency to type Severus when it's more from his POV(or Dumbledore's). Basically, if the person whose POV it is in calls him Severus, I will type it. But if they call him Snape, that's what I'll type. I also seem to say Severus when he's being nicer... I dunno, weird habit of mine. *shrugs*


*~*~*~*~*~*


And now to thank my wonderful reviewers....

Lina Inverse the Dramata - Yeah, I thought that idea was nifty too. Amazing I could have come up with it, ne?

GreenEyedLily - Dont' worry, I really don't mind you reviewing all 3... actually I rather enjoyed it. And you're right, that pic of Voldie is hilarious!

Fiera

Sera Luanma - Uber-kawaii?! Wow, thanks! ^_^

Tavalya Ra - Yeah, I tried to stay away from the stereotypical images of the founders. I don't really think of Slytherin as an evil bastard, I just believe he had different ideas. And now I know you're going to ask how he could be good if he made the chamber of secrets. Well, I have an explanation for that too, it will come later in the story.

AJ(Adrienne) - I know what you mean about a beta, I really should get one... but the fact is, I don't want to. It's just an issue with me. *shrugs* I do understand about the errors though, because I'm super-picky about grammar and spelling myself. Unfortunately, I'm stuck using wordpad, which doesn't have spellcheck, so I have to go re-read every chapter about 4 times before I post it. Let me know if you catch any errors when you read this though, because I know I've missed some in the past.

Kyoko

Jessica Black - o.O You're right, that wouldn't happen, at least not in this fic...

Duck Sorceress - Why can't I base Salazar off of an arrogant-hot-elf guy? They're both cool as hell... (Can you tell I love Slytherins?)

Lady Geuna

Death Eater - LOL! ^_^ You remind me of my friend Sarah...

The Plot Bunny Whisperer - Razberry-sama?! Wow, I'm honored you deem me worthy of such a respectful title! ^_^

IncubusSuccubus

kandra - Oooh, I hadn't even thought about the parselmouth thing! I gotta put that in somewhere...

Sirius Black - O_O ....okay....

OueenStrata - Glad you like my portrayal of the founders. And about the fanart, the strangest thing happened the other day. I was doodling in my sketchbook and I ended up drawing a girl that looked scarily like a female Snape... very odd. But I can't seem to get Draco or Sirius looking the way I want them to... arg... they just won't cooperate. . Very frustrating, that is. Anywho, sorry for taking os long with this part, I'll try to get the next one out faster!


*~*~*~*~*~*


Okay, well, I have to go watch Dogma again. I'm determined to memorize every one of Alan Rickman's lines. ^_^ He's so cool...