Summary: A thoroughly impossible freak accident transports our favorite attractive psychopath forward in time from 1942 to 1996. Harry Potter/Tom Riddle slash. Now that Tom is in the future, what is to be done with him? Will he get a Killing Curse up the arse, be sent to Azkaban, or… ?
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, Tom Riddle, or any other people, places or objects that may appear in this humble work of fiction.
Warnings: Possible spoilers up to the fifth book. M/M, obviously. Rating is down as T for now but may, possibly, increase to M as things progress.
Author's Note: I hope you enjoy this chapter! No Tom in it whatsoever, I'm afraid, but that will change very soon:)

Chapter Seven: Inviable Alternatives

'Kill him,' said Harry immediately.

Dumbledore stroked his beard. 'I'm afraid I cannot do that in good conscience. It is true that he is guilty of murder, but we do not kill our prisoners, least of all ones so young and relatively harmless.'

Harry blinked. Relatively harmless? 'But we know what he'll grow up to be! We know that he's capable of murder and that he's not at all sorry for it!'

'It is highly unlikely that this Tom Riddle could possibly follow the exact same path as his predecessor, Harry, though it is true that he is a remorseless killer,' said Dumbledore kindly. 'Miss Weasley,' Ginny looked up at him with wide eyes, surprised to be drawn into the conversation. 'You are the person who knows this version of Mr. Riddle best. I would like your opinion on the issue.'

Ginny thought for only a brief moment and then replied, 'I think you should throw him into Azkaban for murder and practicing the Dark Arts. Maybe killing him is a bit much; we don't want to become like him, after all.'

Dumbledore beamed at her. 'Yes, that would appear to be the best solution. However, there is a serious problem with it.'

'What's that?'

Dumbledore's expression turned grave. 'I received word shortly after breakfast that there has been another breakout from Azkaban; those involved were the Death Eaters who were captured at the battle in the Department of Mysteries. The new Minister for Magic is furious and has decided to remove the Dementors from Azkaban entirely. In their place will be a team from the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, but I doubt that would stop Voldemort if he wanted to get in badly enough.'

Harry closed his eyes. 'And if he found out that his younger self was there…'

'He would most likely abduct him to further his own power. The boy would be nothing more than potion ingredients to him. I can well imagine what sorts of life-enhancing concoctions Voldemort would be able to create with Tom's flesh and bone. He would become more powerful than ever he was,' Dumbledore said, looking worriedly thoughtful.

'Of course, that's not even taking into account how odd it would seem for me to be attempting to throw a sixth-year student into Azkaban for a murder that took place over fifty years ago.' The Headmaster chuckled softly at the thought. 'And if I did explain the whole story –'

'They'd kill him,' Harry frowned. 'They'd never allow him to live, even in Azkaban.'

'Worse,' said Dumbledore. 'I think they'd be too afraid to kill him, too afraid that he might return in the same way Voldemort did, no matter how ill-founded such fears would be. They'd give him the Kiss, Harry.'

Harry couldn't find it in his heart to feel very sorry for Tom Riddle, but even if he was a murdering bastard who didn't deserve any kindness, Harry didn't really think that anyone short of Voldemort deserved the Dementor's Kiss, no matter what he may have discussed haphazardly with Ginny. And maybe Bellatrix Lestrange deserves it, too, he found himself thinking, a simmering well of rage rising within him at the thought of her, for what she did to the Longbottoms and Sirius.

'So that's it?' Ginny said in a high, panicky voice. 'If he can't be killed, and he can't be sent to Azkaban, then where is he going to go?'

Harry was wondering the same thing. That leaves only one safe place to keep him… 'You're intending to keep him here at Hogwarts, aren't you?' he said accusingly.

Dumbledore sighed. 'I don't see any other viable option.'

'He can't stay here!' Ginny screeched.

'If the other students found out he was here, it would only be a matter of time before the Ministry or Voldemort got hold of him.' Harry said slowly, looking over the rim of his glasses at Dumbledore as they slipped down his sweaty nose. Harry was speaking mostly to himself; the gears of his mind were turning, and they were coming to a sickening conclusion. 'That's why you brought us here, isn't it?' he said softly. 'Ginny and me, we're the only ones here who would know who he is. We're the only ones who know he's Lord Voldemort.'

Dumbledore lowered his head, which was all the confirmation Harry needed. 'You are not the only ones, Harry; Professors McGonagall and Hagrid would recognize him, as well, and I will speak to both shortly.'

'You want us to keep our mouths shut,' Harry continued. 'What if we refuse?'

'I want you to do a great deal more than that, Harry,' he whispered. 'And I know that neither of you will refuse, because you have come to the conclusion yourselves that there is no other way.'

There was silence. Harry frowned into his lap. 'But you do intend to keep him under lock and key, sir?'

Dumbledore took a deep breath and looked as though he was bracing for an impact. 'Hogwarts is not a prison, Mr. Potter. It was never intended to be. Even if I were to lock him up in the deepest part of the dungeons –'

'But Barty Crouch managed to keep Moody under control for a year, and he was a full-fledged Auror!' Harry argued.

'I am not Barty Crouch, Mr. Potter,' Dumbledore said, his eyes piercing Harry's. 'I cannot keep Mr. Riddle in such inhospitable conditions, and I do not believe that either of you would. We must not stoop to the level of our opponents,' he said, with steel in his voice, 'lest we wish to become them.'

Harry bit his lip. He didn't want to become Barty Crouch, Jr., but what other way was there to keep Riddle under control at Hogwarts? 'Fine then, we'll find some other way, we'll lock him somewhere he can't get out of and slip him food and let him out to go to the bathroom and –'

'And he would eventually escape us. He is too clever to hold,' Dumbledore concluded, folding his arms.

'Professor,' Ginny said softly, 'he would stay at Hogwarts as long as he thought that it benefited him to do so.' She looked towards Harry sharply. 'As long as he thinks he can gain knowledge and power here, he'll stay of his own free will!'

'Or if he had nowhere else to go,' Harry added.

Dumbledore nodded. 'I believe that the best way to go about it is to allow Riddle some modicum of freedom. A bird in an invisible cage will not wish to be set free.'

'Not until it flies into the bars,' Harry muttered.

'I believe he will find my restrictions agreeable, given what will happen to him if he does not abide by them,' Dumbledore said with a dangerous tone in his voice. 'I will attempt to make him aware that he would be endangered if he left Hogwarts. I do not, however,' he continued, staring seriously at Harry and Ginny, 'want him to know about Voldemort. Not yet.'

'But sir, it'll be impossible to keep it from him!' said Ginny.

'Indeed, it will be, in the long run. But I think it would be best for Mr. Riddle to find out about Voldemort after he has settled in here. I imagine that he will have enough trouble adjusting as it is, and the less conspicuous he makes himself, the better.'

'What if he does something stupid, though?' Harry asked. 'He was already going by the name of Lord Voldemort when he was at school. What if he walks into the Slytherin common room and says 'Hi, nice to meet you, my name is Tom Riddle, but you can call me Lord Voldemort?' just because he doesn't know better?' Harry couldn't help but be reminded of how Dumbledore had taken five years to tell Harry about the Prophecy when, by the Headmaster's own admission, he should have done so much sooner.

'I believe I have planned a way to ensure that he doesn't do that. I intend to finalize that plan directly.' Dumbledore stood, adding a sort of finality to the conversation that made Harry and Ginny stand, as well. 'Miss Weasley, I thank you for your input. I ask you only not to breathe a word of Tom's identity to anyone, and that you try not to be openly hostile towards him, lest your immediate dislike of a new student draw too much suspicion.'

'I still don't like this plan,' she said. 'He's too dangerous. He'll get someone killed.'

'If he does that, Miss Weasley,' Dumbledore said, 'I will take full responsibility. However,' Dumbledore added, 'Mr. Riddle did not go about murdering people willy-nilly in his school days. He had no desire to get caught, and he will be watched constantly. Harry, I would like you to come with me. You and I are going to have a few words with him. I do apologize for dragging you into this,' Dumbledore said, with sincere sadness in his voice, 'but I'm afraid it's necessary.'

'I understand, Headmaster,' Harry said strongly. The three of them walked out of the office together, down the stairs and through the gargoyle. Ginny went one way, and Harry and Dumbledore went the other.

As they walked, Harry wondered how Dumbledore intended to ensure that Riddle was watched 'constantly.' Then he realized that he and Riddle were in the same year, that he was the only one who was supposed to know about his true identity – aside from Ginny – and Harry got a very funny feeling about just what Dumbledore was expecting of him.