Blinded By The Past, Ignored In The Future

Chapter 20

TWENTY: Laughs And Some Tea

Response To Reviews:

WickedLee: I thought it was different so I decided to give it a try. I'm hoping it will work out alright.

DeadlyFate: I have no idea where you are. I think you're aboth on the 18th chapter but I can't reply to your reviews there so I'm gonna respond here. Maybe to both or something. 

Marauder1prongs: I'm updating as fast as I can.

Miss Mina Murray: I hope I can let Tom find security. I'm also going to start making the chapters as long as possible.

Emma Ackroyd: I can't wait until then. I need to make use of my computer soon!

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Previous Chapter: Tom re-read the letter three times before any thoughts registered through his mind. He hugged the letter tight as if afraid if he let go the parchment would disappear suddenly, never to be seen again. For the first time in his life he cried for his friends: he cried for the friends that he would never see again…

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Tom didn't get much sleep that night. He kept waking up from nightmares, sweating bullets and breathing heavily. At one point he even jumped up and checked his wrists, that were still healing, to make sure that he hadn't done anything to himself again.

At one point, probably around six in the morning, he woke up and decided to stay up. Having nothing to do, his mind wondered and he remembered his diary! Hermione still had it. He found Ruby's letter and pocketed it before leaving his room and walking down the hall. He found himself in a small but recognizable kitchen. Sitting at a table was Remus, who was reading The Daily Prophet.

"They still make those papers?" Tom asked a he took a set next to his temporary guardian. Remus looked up and nodded, taking a sip of something that looked like tea.

Remus noticed that Tom was watching him so, deciding to be polite, he asked "Want me to pour you a cup?" Tom was taken back by the nice question; he never had met an adult that wasn't looking for something in return when he or she did a good deed. Tom nodded, embarrassed because he had forgotten that Remus was watching him as he thought.

Smiling for the first time this morning, Remus got up from the table and busied himself with the task. Tom starred off into space for a bit, trying to figure out a way he could get his diary back. He was brought back to earth as Remus placed a cup of tea in front of him. "Thanks."

"You're welcome." Remus sat down at the table once more and picked up the paper.

Tom sipped at the hot drink and found that its taste was satisfactory. Then an idea struck him. "Umm, sir, may I make something?"

"You can call me Remus and what exactly do you wish to make?" the werewolf asked, again looking away from the paper.

"Not much," answered Tom.

Remus gave him a skeptical look and nodded. "Just don't blow up the house while I'm in it."

"Then you might wanna leave," Tom said. Remus almost jumped up but he realized that Tom was actually laughing. "I was joking."

"I knew that," Remus muttered like a pouting six year old.

Tom brought the cup into the main area of the kitchen and poured out his drink. He searched through the cabinets and found honey, a few tea bags, and sugar. He only filled one cup with water and he took it to Remus. "Can you heat this?" Remus pulled out his wand without looking and did as Tom asked.

Once he returned to where all of the items sat he put two tea bags in the single teacup and waited exactly thirty seconds before taking them out. With that done he added three spoon scoops of sugar and he went crazy with his favorite, the honey.

He taste tested it and whispered, "Mmm…Perfect." He looked at his unsuspecting victim and carefully brought it to him. Remus sighed and looked up.

"Mr. Riddle, I'm trying to-what is that?" asked Remus at seeing the mixture.

"It's tea now try it!" Tom commanded then he added, "Please?"

Remus shook his head in annoyance and took the cup from him. The werewolf sort of sniffed at it, and when he found nothing wrong with it he drank a small sip. Remus's eyes widened at the extremely pleasant flavor.

"Where in the world, my boy, did you learn to make this?" Remus asked as a surprised demand.

"When I was younger I just-"Tom caught himself and started again. "I used to mess around in the kitchen a lot when I was younger," answered Tom. "And as Ruby would say 'you're now a victim of Tom's Tea'." Remus laughed.

"Just so you know I'm never letting you leave now," joked the werewolf, taking another sip.

Tom didn't reply. He wouldn't actually mind never leaving. Here he felt Dumbledore couldn't tell him what to do or how to live out the day. To make sure that he wasn't fooling himself with false hope he decided to ask, "Sir, err I mean Remus, what can I do while I stay here with you?"

Remus took another sip and placed the cup upon the table. "Well you can start by making a teapot of this stuff." He noticed that Tom's facial expression changed. "I was only joking, Mr. Riddle."

"Call me Tom."

"Okay then. I wasn't serious, Tom. You can do whatever really as long as you don't leave the yard. Actually I have a few things I'd like you to help me with today."

"Okay. What do I have to do?" Tom wasn't afraid of hard labor at all. He was from a muggle orphanage after all and all he did there was clean.

Remus gave him a hard look. "You mean what do we have to do. I'm not letting you do all the work by yourself."

Tom shrugged. "It doesn't bother me."

"But I'm still not letting you do it." Remus fished off the tea and looked at the bottom of his cup sadly. After a few moments of that he handed the cup to Tom and asked, "Would you?"

Tom took the cup as he answered, "Sure." He got up from the table and headed to the counters so he could make more.

Three cups of tea later Remus told Tom to get dressed in some old robes so they could get to work. Tom reemerged from his room, warring yesterday's robes. After they had some actual breakfast Remus gave him a list of things that they both had to accomplish before Lunch. Tom looked read it and decided what he should get done first:

· Dust bookcase/Alphabetize books

· Wash front room windows

· Mop kitchen floor

· Clean dishes/ Wipe counters (basically clean the kitchen)

· Tidy up front rooms a bit

Tom shrugged. The jobs were all basically easy and predicable enough. He looked at Remus after the thought of using magic registered through his mind. "Hey, Remus?"

"Yeah?" replied Remus, finishing his own list and making sure he didn't forget anything.

"Why don't we just use magic to do these things?"

Remus scribbled something out and looked up at him. "Now where's the fun in that?" he asked slyly then he finished up the list. "I like cleaning to pass the time. I've never been good at keeping this place neat, but with an extra set of hands around I'm sure I can get something done." Tom returned the smile Remus was giving him but it sill was a forced one. "You'll find all the cleaning supplies in the kitchen closet. Any questions?" Tom raised him hand, forgetting he wasn't in school. "No, Tom, I don't know why I have a kitchen closet." Grinning, Tom put his hand down. "Now let's get to work."

The Slytherin decided to start with the bookcase, taking each book off of the shelf, dusting it off and placing it upon the floor in its letter group. Remus on the other hand disappeared to his bedroom to tidy it up a bit and didn't reappear until Tom was done with the bookcase and was starting on the filthy windows.

He stood by the windows, scrubbing until they shined and sparkled I the sunlight that was pouring in through them now. Remus, who had been picking up various items from the floor, dropped everything in his arms to the ground, screeching dramatically, "My eyes! The light! It burns!"

Tom laughed at his idiotic act and turned his back on him, finishing up the windows. Raising an eyebrow, Tom strolled over to Remus and said as he picked up the things that the werewolf had dropped, "You're such a drama star." Remus took his items from Tom, grinning.

"I know," he agreed. Without thinking he ruffled Tom's sleek black hair and made his way to his room. Tom starred after him, tilting his head as he wondered if Remus had realized what he had done. Deciding to push it away, Tom went to the next thing on the list but by the time he was done with everything he still couldn't forget his moment of belonging.

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At nine o'clock sharp Tom pulled the brown, leather scrapbook off of the shelf and brought it to Remus who was sitting on the couch luxuriously. "You said you'd tell me more," Tom pointed out before Remus could protest.

"So I did," Remus agreed, taking the book from him. "But I wanna make a deal with you."

"What?"

"I tell you more about me and you tell me more about you," Remus proposed, indication for Tom to sit down next to him.

Tom bit his lip in consideration. If he was willingly going to tell Remus something about himself he didn't have to be complexly truthful. Remus wouldn't know if he bent the truth. "Okay," accepted Tom.

Remus looked quite pleased with him as he opened the book to the fourth page. "This is my favorite page." Tom looked at the picture closely and saw a graceful stag, big black (grim) dog that was grinning at them in a very human-like way, and a small gray rat was visible on the stag's head. They were standing by the Hogwarts Lake and it was clearly night. Underneath the male deer was a scribble, "Prongs." Beside the rat was, "Wormtail." And above the grim-dog was, "Padfoot."

"I took this picture of them a few days after they learned to become Animagi," Remus told him. "I knew keeping this picture was a bad idea because if I was caught with it they al could have been sentenced to Azkaban for a while."

"They were illegal Animagi?" Tom asked. He wasn't at all surprised by it. After all he, Ruby, and Lucius had learned how to too. "How long did it take for them?"

"About three years," Remus answered. Figures, Tom thought. It only took us about one year. "They all signed their nicknames here."

"What's yours?"

"Mine? Oh I was Moony. Of course James was the one who had started that little joke." Remus laughed at the found memory.

Tom smiled too, remembering his own nickname and how he had gotten it. "How did the others get their nicknames?"

"Well actually we sort of made fun of each other and stuck with the names," explained Remus, closing the book. "Now if I'm correct it's your turn to tell me something."           

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A/N: These lyrics are most likely the most important. It may even give you an idea of what could happen next plus their fun to read. If you all read them I'll never say I suck again unless you agree with me.

LINKIN PARK LYRICS

"Runaway"

Graffiti decorations
Under a sky of dust
A constant wave of tension
On top of broken trust
The lessons that you taught me
I learn were never true
Now I find myself in question
(They point the finger at me again)
Guilty by association
(You point the finger at me again)

I wanna run away
Never say goodbye
I wanna know the truth
Instead of wondering why
I wanna know the answers
No more lies
I wanna shut the door
And open up my mind

Paper bags and angry voices
Under a sky of dust
Another wave of tension
Has more than filled me up
All my talk of taking action
These words were never true
Now I find myself in question
(They point the finger at me again)
Guilty by association
(You point the finger at me again)

I wanna run away
Never say goodbye
I wanna know the truth
Instead of wondering why
I wanna know the answers
No more lies
I wanna shut the door
And open up my mind

i'm gonna run away and never say goodbye
(gonna run away gonna run away gonna run away gonna run away)
i'm gonna run away and never wonder why
(gonna run away gonna run away gonna run away gonna run away)
i'm gonna run away and open my mind
(gonna run away gonna run away gonna run away gonna run away gonna run away gonna run away gonna run away gonna run away)

I wanna run away
Never say goodbye
I wanna know the truth
Instead of wondering why
I wanna know the answers
No more lies
I wanna shut the door
And open up my mind

i wanna run away
and open up my mind
i wanna run away
and open up my mind
i wanna run away
and open up my mind
i wanna run away
and open up my mind