Author's Notes: Yaayyy! My final written exam is over and I can relax a little. Those last three weeks were the horror but I believe you know what it's like. Anyway, I've had little time to write but I hope you'll forgive me.
Practical exam is at the end of January so it may take some time before part 4 is posted but now n to the last two chapters of part three. Enjoy them for I did love writing these even with barely any spare time. Enough ranting, here you are ... ^_^
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Chapter 15 - Explanations and Mr Malfoy or Decisions and Welcome Back!
"Harry stop! Don't do it," she yelled and Harry actually listened.
He pulled out the fang and the both saw two blurry forms on the ground. One was Ginny and the other was Tom Riddle.
"We have to save them both Harry. I don't know why but we have to. It just feels right. Please, brother, you have to believe me," she pleaded because Harry wouldn't let go of the diary.
Tom's form became even more blurry while Ginny's slowly became more solid. Time was running short and they had to act soon before it was too late. Harry still doubted the reasoning of his twin but reluctantly agreed.
He gave her the diary and she duplicated it like she had done with their homework so often in the past. She tucked the original into her robe pocket and threw the other to Harry. He knew what to do and meanwhile Carya talked to Fawkes who looked at her curiously.
"Please Fawkes. I know what he has said and done down here. But he's still a child, just like Harry and me. He isn't Voldemort yet. There's still hope. Your own Master once said that everyone deserves a second chance, so why not Tom too?" she asked looking the bird right into the eyes.
Fawkes stared for a moment and then turned around and just as Carya wanted to sigh in defeat the bird flew over to the still and quite blurry form of Tom Riddle. It shed a couple of tears over Tom's semi-solid body and started singing softly.
It was a beautiful song. They children had never heard anything like that before and thought it was the most amazing thing they would ever hear. With each note the forms of both Tom and Ginny became more solid and their breathing evened.
(A/N: This idea comes from another story and I couldn't think of another way to get Tom back to life. So please forgive me for borrowing this. I needed and wanted Tom alive and I will have him. The one or the other way.
But since I really loved this idea, I decided to borrow it. The creator's pen name when I found it was: Phoenix Tears Type 6 and I believe it still is. I hope you don't mind this little borrowing act. The story this idea was taken from is called: Tom Riddle Lives.)
Harry had meanwhile destroyed the second diary and was now waiting for his twin to explain her plan because he still didn't trust Tom at all. That boy had tried to kill them after all. Harry would most likely accept his sisters reasoning though when she told him why she felt the need to do this.
The Potter boy picked up Ginny while Carya stiffly kneeled next to Tom when Fawkes stopped singing. The other boy was lying in a pool of his own blood and midnight black ink. The diary in Carya's pocket had faded into nothing but air by then without anyone noticing.
Tom moaned in pain, slowly opened his eyes and looked into the tired but smiling face of one Carya Potter.
"Wh ... why?" he asked very quietly and utterly confused.
And she answered honestly, "I don't really know why. It seemed the right thing to do although my mind continuously tried to tell me otherwise."
"I ... I don't understand ... I cursed you and ... I tried to kill you and your brother ... and all I said to you, to ... Ginny ..." Tom whispered weakly.
It was obvious that he was in a great deal of pain right now. Not only physical but emotional too, just like the twins. His face showed a huge amount of emotions right now and wasn't cold and empty like it had been before.
The most prominent emotions visible were fear, confusion, pain and regret. Ginny seemed to be asleep now, her breathing deep and even. She would be alright given time. They all would be okay once they got some help and enough rest.
"Ginny's alright. I bet she'll be scared quite a bit once she wakes up but she's strong. She might not forgive you instantly but you can talk to her if you have good reasons, which I actually have ... Someone told me once that everyone deserves a second chance. I think that includes you too.
Now that you know what you could become and believe me, it's not pleasant, you can try and change that. You could try to stay true to yourself without getting lost. Just like I told you before, accept and don't fight the darkness within yourself," she said softly, nearly collapsing next to him.
"Are you alright Carya? Do you need help?" Harry asked concerned about his twin and quite tired himself since the fight had been exhausting both physically and emotionally.
"Nah, I'm okay. It's just, moving around hurt's like hell, but I'll manage!" she replied.
Tom looked at her in horror. He had caused this all and she still helped him. The boy hardly caught what she said next because he was in shock.
"Tom, are you listening? I asked you if you can get up," the girl inquired.
"Dunno. I'll have to try ..." he said and shakily pulled himself onto his knees and then to his feet.
He felt a bit disorientated and wobbly but apart from the aches in his body he felt fine. They slowly walked towards the entrance to the chamber when Tom threw a glance over his shoulder back towards the statue of Salazar Slytherin.
He recalled what Carya had said about him. Had he really hated Muggles out of necessity or did she make that up? It was utterly confusing. Tom felt her stumble next to him and out of sheer reflex he caught her before she fell to the floor.
The two Slytherins locked their gazes for a second and each felt a strange sensation cursing through their bodies. It felt disturbingly familiar yet foreign at the same time. Carya was the first to turn away and she was lucky that it was so dark down there. Otherwise they would've seen her blush.
The boys look which had been filled with loathing earlier was now one of worry. When they got back to the place where Draco was waiting, the blonde boy was kicking Lockhart and yelling at him how useless he actually was. Tom was shocked. This boy behaved strange.
"Draco! We're back ... with Ginny!" Carya said as loud as she could manage in her state of health.
'Draco' - Tom remembered now. This was the boy who Ginny was in love with.
~*~*~ Tom Riddle's POV ~*~*~
'The boy turned around and spotted us walking into his direction when Carya called for him. I remember that name. That's the boy Ginny is in love with. I'm curious what he really thinks about her. He suddenly jumped up and ran over to us.
When he arrived he gently took Ginny out of Harry's arms and held her close. This is surprising. Ginny had never said that he was this way when she wrote in the diary. Carya must've sensed my confusion because she asked me something,' I thought to myself.
"You remember what Ginny wrote, right? Well, let me tell you something. There are two pairs in this school who hadn't or haven't realised just how much they actually mean to each other. One pair was Harry here and ...
Hermione Granger. One of those who were petrified," she started and tried to cover the pause in her speech but I noticed anyway.
"The other two are Draco and Ginny. They love each other but think the other doesn't like them at all. It's sad, really, they're such a cute pair. The 'Ice Prince' and the 'Fiery Red Fairy'. I think that they are a perfect match and I hope that they'll realise that now, too," she whispered sadly.
'A fitting description of those two. I don't know where the fairy part came from but it's fitting. I really hope they can forgive me. But what about the others? Dumbledore, Hagrid, the world in general? I shudder at the thought of what might happen.
Once again Carya senses my discomfort. I wonder if she's actually an Empath without knowing about it.'
"What's wrong? Are you worried about the other's reactions? ... I see. Though I doubt they'll love you from the spot, I don't doubt that at least Dumbledore would try to understand and give you a second chance. I think you know why ..." she told me and I knew.
'The thing with the second chance sounds like something the old wizard would say and I really hope this girl is right. We stopped in front of the pipe, not knowing how to get up when the phoenix, Fawkes I think, pulled at Harry's shirt with it's talons.
The strange adult was still following us. I think that man's crazy. Hopefully that isn't one of the current teachers ...'
~*~*~ End Tom Riddle's POV ~*~*~
The children reached the pipe and wondered how to get back up. Suddenly Fawkes pulled at Harry's shirt with his talons, then hovered in front of him. They soon got the message.
"Hold each other's hand. Fawkes will help us getting back up," Harry said and carefully grabbed the birds tail feathers.
Soon they were up in the girls bathroom. Just that moment Ginny came to. She was still in Draco's arms.
"Draco? What happened? Where am I ... No, the diary, it was Tom Riddle, he came out ... I wanted to keep us both alive but couldn't, I ...," she stuttered until she saw Tom.
She let out a frightened yelp but took a closer look at the older boy. He looked different, not as superior anymore. He was more like the lonely child she herself was.
"How?" Ginny asked unable to say more since she was really tired and scared as hell.
"I'll explain everything to you Ginny but please don't tell anyone. I'll tell Dumbledore but no one else needs to know, okay?" Carya inquired with a serious tone in her voice.
Ginny knew there was no use arguing with her when she was like that. She meant every word and most likely would have a good explanation for this. But the redhead was still wary about the other boy. He had hurt her and her friends. That was not something she could forgive him easily.
"By the way Draco, do you know what happened to Lockhart?" Carya asked slightly amused.
"Yep, his spell backfired when it hit your power shield. Guess what? There actually is a spell he doesn't botch up. His memory charm was fantastic. Erased his own memory, the stupid, useless twit," Draco told them grinning like mad and the four friends laughed softly.
Tom was confused and Carya told him she'd explain him everything when this was over. Fawkes was hovering in front of the group motioning them to follow. He lead them towards Dumbledore's office.
When they reached it they could hear soft sobs from the inside. Harry carefully opened the door. Everyone's attention was on the arriving children. Carya and Tom stayed in the back while Harry and Draco brought Ginny inside. She was immensely tired and totally exhausted.
"Ginny!" Molly Weasley shouted, "How did you get her out Harry, how? Thank you so much!" she told him and pulled him into a big hug, "Thank you too, ... Draco."
The ice was broken and Molly accepted Draco as a friend of Ginny's rather than a Malfoy. Snape and Dumbledore seemed to be the only wizards who had noticed the two youths standing deeply in the shadows. But neither man said anything for the moment.
Snape knew that one of them was Carya Potter but he didn't know the male one. Dumbledore couldn't really see him either but had a fairly good idea who it might be. Although he had no clue how that was possible at all.
"I guess you want to know what happened, right?" answered Harry the unspoken questions.
"Of course, Mister Potter. Please tell us," McGonagall replied.
Harry decided to cheer them up a bit. He knew they wouldn't be expelled if he said this so he just did it, "Well apart from breaking at least two dozen rules it's actually like this ..." he said and started explaining everything. But not once did he mention Tom's name.
He always referred to him with his later name - Voldemort. All the Weasley's and Draco, as well as McGonagall flinched at the name and Tom strangely felt regret at that. He couldn't explain it. This was what he had wanted, wasn't it?
That everyone feared his name but he didn't feel happy about it at all, he was more ashamed than anything else. A very foreign emotion for him. It was an odd feeling and he definitely would have to think about it later.
Perhaps Carya could explain this to him then. When Harry's explanation reached an end they all gaped at him. Still no one asked where Carya was. It was perfect just like he and his twin sister had planned telepathically on their way up here.
Ginny was sent to the infirmary for a good nights sleep after getting reassurance that she was innocent in this affair. Professor Minerva McGonagall was sent to alert the house-elves for a feast as soon as possible and a few minutes later it was only the headmaster, Snape, Harry, Carya and Tom.
"Well, I think it's time you told us the whole truth, Harry, ... Carya!" Dumbledore said softly and Tom's eyes locked gaze with the blue ones in front of them.
Carya suddenly squeezed Tom's hand reassuringly. He didn't understand why this girl was so nice to him. Hell, he had cursed her with the Cruciatus Curse twice and tried to kill her through the Basilisk but she still was nice to him.
"Headmaster! I thought you'd know that we're here," she said smiling at him and then continued, "I suppose you remember Tom, don't you?"
Albus Dumbledore only nodded. He had suspected that Tom was the other visitor but hadn't actually dared to believe it. Now the boy was standing in front of him. Not older than fourteen, fifteen perhaps and very much alive.
"Please explain," he managed to say and Snape only stared in shock.
The headmaster had told him about Tom Riddle when he became a spy for the light. This boy would one day in the future be Voldemort. Carya started her explanation from her point of view and Harry added his side at the appropriate places.
When she left out the part of Tom cursing her, the Slytherin Heir stared at her wide eyed.
'What is she doing? Trying to protect me? I don't understand this. How could she possibly forgive me for that. It's completely irrational, she isn't supposed to be like this ... I don't understand ...' Tom thought utterly confused.
Dumbledore and Snape noticed the gaps but didn't interrupt their tale for now. Once they came to the point where Carya made the decision to help Tom they both raised their eyebrows. The twins hid something. Something important and it had to do with the 'second chance-part'.
When they were finished Dumbledore looked thoughtful for a second but then asked the question that weighed on his mind.
"Carya, would you care to fill in the gaps you left throughout your story? For one when you interrupted the argument between Tom and Harry here. And the other when you were talking to Tom and he became angry?" Albus asked softly because he knew her temper when she was being stubborn.
"I don't know what you mean headmaster. There's nothing left to tell you!" she said in a sulking tone.
She wouldn't release those bits of information without putting up a fight. Tom once again gaped at her. Snape was the one who spoke next and he was less than friendly.
"Don't play with us Potter!" Snape growled dangerously and Tom felt himself getting angry.
'How dare he talk to her like that? She hasn't done anything wrong. I did and she's trying to protect me ...' he thought and scowled at the dark haired professor.
"You have obviously been under the Cruciatus Curse for some time today. Don't lie to me, I know how the after-effects look like!" the Potions Master said icily.
"I refuse to talk to someone who effectively tells me that he doesn't believe a word of what I'm saying," the girl stated matter of factly and glared fiercely at her head of house and crossed her arms over her chest.
Now both Tom and the two men stared at her but Harry just smiled and shook his head. They could try all they wanted but nothing short of expulsion or Veritaserum could get her to talk when she was in one of these moods.
Tom looked at Harry and questioned him with his eyes but Harry just shrugged and looked at his sister once more. Dumbledore decided to try a different approach though and he was actually successful for once.
"Carya, we're not going to punish anyone. We are only worried about your health, child," Dumbledore added gently and Carya raised an eyebrow at this and gave him a disbelieving look after shooting a glance at the Potions Master.
Sensing the implied question he added, "I promise you that neither I nor Professor Snape will tell or punish anyone if you tell us the truth," he said with a brief look at Snape that left no room for arguments for the younger professor.
Carya sighed heavily and gave in, "Yeah, I have been under it twice. The first time for one or two seconds, the second time for two minutes or so. Don't really know. Lost my sense of time during that whole thing."
She answered the question but added in an afterthought to emphasise her position and opinion, "But you couldn't punish anyone even if you wanted to. The responsible person isn't present."
This got her strange looks from everyone but that didn't disturb her in the slightest.
"Believe it or not, I don't care but Voldemort isn't here right now, is he? He cursed me. This is just Tom, and he didn't do anything. He is innocent!" Carya stated calmly but dead serious.
Snape didn't believe what he was hearing. This girl wasn't only powerful and smart enough to scare Fudge out of his wits, no, her mind worked as queer as Dumbledore's and she seemingly had been able to turn the young Voldemort away from the dark side for now.
Severus thought it was better to leave now before he became even more confused. He had given up trying to understand Dumbledore long ago and he wouldn't even start and try to analyse the Potter girls behaviour now.
He told the headmaster that he would send a potion for Carya to the infirmary and left towards his dungeons before anyone could stop him. Personally though he believed that the girl was making a huge mistake by trusting Tom Riddle regardless how young the wizard was.
"Well, I think your three should head to the infirmary too. The feast will be the day after tomorrow. By then the petrified students will be cured too. Yes, Mister Potter you heard me right, your friend Hermione will be back with you by tomorrow evening or the morning after that.
And now off with you. I believe you know the way. And Tom! You should let Madam Pomfrey have a look at those cuts. I doubt you'd like them to scar, do you?" the headmaster said and witnessed something he'd never seen with Tom Riddle before.
The boy actually blushed slightly and Albus thought that he looked much different from the boy he had known but that could have been his imagination.
"Thank you, Professor Dumbledore!" Tom stated softly and was led out of the headmaster's office by his hand from a suddenly very energetic Carya Potter.
Before Tom could really comprehend what was happening the girl had already dragged him to the infirmary. Madam Pomfrey gave them the usual speech about not taking care of themselves and sent them straight to bed.
She was very surprised when Snape came in with an after-effects potion for Cruciatus victims and placed it on the girl's nightstand. Carya eyed him carefully and slowly drank it, shuddering slightly at the taste.
Tom was currently fussed over by Poppy and it was annoying him to no end. He didn't like this at all. The strangest thing was that the Potter girl was grinning at him apologetically. She seemed to be used to this kind of treatment.
Tom found Ginny, Harry, Draco and even that Lockhart person sleeping in the other beds. It felt weird to be in the same room with them. The young Riddle boy still didn't understand Carya's reasoning completely.
He had realised though, that her mind seemed to work just like Dumbledore's did if the need arose. Madam Pomfrey gave him a light sleeping potion and soon after Tom fell asleep. Though his night was everything but restful.
His old nightmares plagued his sleep. He was tossing and turning and he kept telling how sorry he was and begged someone to stop. Carya woke from Tom's murmuring and tried to find out what was wrong with him.
She remembered that he had said something about abuse in the Chamber of Secrets and suddenly she suspected what was going on. One of her former best friends had done the same as Tom currently did at night for years.
She'd had terribly nightmares. When the female friend had tried to commit suicide it had come to light that her own father had been abusing her physically. He had even gone so far and raped the barely eight year old girl.
Whenever she had slept at her friends houses she had fitful sleeps and tried to make someone stop. It seemed that Tom's childhood had been far from nice as well. Carya slowly got out of bed, ignoring her aching muscles for now and sat down at Tom's side.
She knew that she should be quite angry with him but for some strange reason the anger never came. She didn't pity him either. Fact was that Carya didn't really know what exactly she felt but it was clear that she wouldn't and couldn't leave him alone.
She never figured out why she had done what she did in the Chamber of Secrets but she also hadn't regretted the decision. She was determined to help him and carefully as not to startle him put her hand on his shoulder, squeezing it slightly.
"Tom, wake up! It's only a nightmare. Come on, you can do it, just wake up. I won't leave you and I won't hurt you. Listen to me. You're safe Tom, everything is alright," she whispered and slowly the troubled boy calmed down.
Carya Potter was surprised that she could soothe the older boy. If she'd counted right he would probably be about one and a half years older than her. When she turned her attention back to him she looked right into confused crimson eyes.
"Why ... what?" was the startled question.
"You were having a nightmare, Tom. Not something I'd envy anyone for. I have them too, sometimes. You don't have to tell me anything. I think I know what they are about in general. But you'll need to talk to someone soon.
They'll destroy you otherwise, you know?" she sad with a very sad voice.
Tom just looked at her waiting for an explanation to her sadness. And he was right, Carya explained her advice.
"I used to have a friend when I was little. Her name was Emily. She was always helping Harry, Dudley and myself with playing pranks on the older kids when we started pre-school, you know? At first everything was okay but then she started flinching when anyone tried to touch her.
We didn't find it odd at all. That was our first big mistake ... It started when we were five and went over a course of three years. I ... she sometimes stayed with us or we stayed at some other friends home. She often had nightmares and started calling for help or pleading with someone to stop ...
Of course, being the ignorant children we were we didn't think about it twice. Until shortly after Emily's eighth birthday that is. A week after her birthday she tried to commit suicide by jumping off the school roof.
She was paralysed from the waist down after that. It was then that people found out her own father had been abusing her and her mother had known and done nothing. The man even had raped her and on her birthday too.
Can you imagine that? She was sent to a foster family that took in abused children for some time but she never recovered fully. Last thing I know is that she is stuck in a little child's mind and can't even brush her teeth alone.
I've never seen her again after she was taken away ..." Carya told him and at this point she had already tears in her eyes.
"It was then that I realised how much cruelty and darkness was in the world and I was scared. At first I blamed her for not telling anyone and then I blamed myself for never noticing anything. If she'd only told someone ...
Everything could have been different. I know my aunt and uncle would have helped her. They loved Emily dearly. If she'd told me I could have tried and help her myself. Perhaps I could've even saved her ..." she whispered and was crying now.
Tom was stunned. He had never expected this. No one before had ever opened up to him, especially not someone who barely knew him. But now he understood why she'd said that he didn't need to tell her now. She already knew most of it, just not the personal details.
She was right though. Those who don't search for help either try to escape by death or turn their fear and anger towards the world and everyone weaker than them. That was exactly what he had done before.
Tom paled at the realisation, that hit him like a ton of bricks. He didn't want this anymore, he wanted to be just Tom, not anyone else. He wanted to be happy for once and not be looked upon like something not worth living.
"Please, ... please help me," he pleaded barely audible but Carya heard him nonetheless, "I don't want to become like Him, please!" he murmured scared and started falling asleep again.
He was just able to hear her whispered reply, "I'll help you, Tom. Don't worry. I won't leave you alone," she said and before she fell asleep next to him the girl said, "I will never fail one of my friends again ...!"
This was how the headmaster found them the next morning. Tom's face was still wet with tears and Carya was holding his hand carefully with one of her own. He smiled and shook his head, then waved his wand and levitated the girl back to her own bed.
Albus looked over the other occupants of the infirmary. They all seemed to have recovered quite well, except Tom and Carya that is. Both children were breathing heavily and seemed to have developed a fever.
He went to get Poppy and she confirmed his fears. The strain of the last night simply had been too much. Well, on a more happy note, the mandrake draught would be ready the next night and the petrified students would be cured then.
Albus had thought about what would happen to Tom. He couldn't sent the boy away now. The headmaster partly blamed himself for what Riddle had become the first time he was around during the nineteen-forties.
Something had gone wrong along the way but he was not sure when or what had happened. Of course, he had been a model student and every teachers pet but he had a dangerous liking for the Dark Arts.
How could he prevent that from happening again when he didn't know what went wrong the last time? At lunch Harry and Draco were released from the infirmary. Ginny was still too tired to leave and Madam Pomfrey insisted that she stayed until breakfast the next morning.
Lockhart was kept there because of his lack of memory. Carya and Tom had to stay though. Not that they could have argued. They were still sleeping because of the potion the nurse had given them in order to lower the fever. With a bit of luck they'd be alright by the next evening.
The afternoon was not very eventful. The Slytherin's left Harry and Draco alone. And the other houses did the same but for a different reason. Dumbledore had announced at breakfast what had happened the last night and now the other's felt guilty about suspecting them in the first place.
When they visited their friends in the infirmary Ginny was already up and arguing with Pomfrey to be let out early. Harry noticed Carya sitting up and watching the scene with an amused smile on her face.
/You know? It's good to see that Ginny's back to her former fiery self, isn't it/ she asked her brother.
/Right you are, my beloved sister. How are you by the way and ... how is he/ Harry replied, scowling lightly when mentioning Tom.
Carya frowned but then raised an eyebrow/You're still angry about my decision, aren't you? I'm telling you again. It was the right thing to do. I already knew I'd have to make an important decision by the time the ceiling dropped between Draco and us.
This was fate Harry, as little as I actually believe in Divination, this was meant to be. It felt right then and it does now. I know it is irrational but it still feels right in here,/ she told him and put her hand over her heart.
She knew that she and Tom were connected in some way. They just would have to figure out why that was. Carya was sure the boy had felt it during that moment when he had caught her on their way back to the pipe that led into Myrtle's toilet.
Harry sighed mentally and just shook his head at his sister, 'And people think I'm the most stubborn student in school ...!' He knew his sister often relied on her feelings and she had always been right to do so. They had yet to find out why that was.
Tom was stirring and Carya looked at him. When the boy woke up he looked right into her eyes watching him. Her brother was sitting next to her, eyeing him carefully as if to dare him to try something stupid. Tom stared right back at Harry.
"Eh, would you two kindly stop your stupid staring contest? You look ridiculous like that!" she told the boys and laughed at their expressions, "See? Much better now, isn't it?"
"Potter? Is she always like this?" Tom asked carefully.
"You mean jumping from angry to cheerful to annoyed to overly happy in a matter of mere seconds?" Harry asked smirking and Tom nodded, "Yep, that would be Carya, I guess ... " Harry said and suddenly squeaked.
His sister had thrown a pillow at his head and hit the target.
"That's what you get, my dear twin brother, for embarrassing me like that!" she said smirking at him.
Tom's face became extremely sad, "I envy you, you know? I wished I had a sibling who cared for me just like you do for each other ..." he murmured and Harry finally got over his hesitation at Carya's decision.
"You know Tom, even if you can't have siblings you could still try and make true friends now," Harry said softly and offered his hand.
Tom looked at the hand, back to it's owner then to Carya and started smiling shyly. He carefully shook Harry's hand, "Thank you, I'd really like that!" he said.
It was settled that they would try and become friends despite what had happened before. Harry thought if Carya could forgive him, then he could try to do it too. Ginny was a bit more difficult to convince but in the end she too agreed to at least try.
The headmaster had decided that Tom would stay at Hogwarts for the holidays and would be introduced to the students after the holidays as a transfer student who had been attending school in Canada until now if they thought he wouldn't pose a danger to the other students.
This meant he couldn't be seen before the end of term. He got a special room next to the infirmary and had to stay inside. The twins and their friends visited him quite often. Not that Hermione, Draco and Ginny really wanted to but they refused to let Carya go alone.
On the day when the mandrake draught was ready something else happened. Carya had just been released from the infirmary and she and her brother were sitting in Dumbledore's office discussing how Harry got the sword and why Fawkes appeared when the door burst open.
Right into the room stalked a furious Lucius Malfoy with a scared house-elf behind him. The twins recognised the creature and frowned. Why was Dobby here? Had he told Malfoy about them or Draco?
"I see you have returned, ... Albus." Malfoy sneered.
"Ah, yes Lucius. It seems that some of the governors thought you'd curse their families if they didn't suspend me. And when young Ginny Weasley was taken to the Chamber two nights ago, well they ordered my immediate return," the headmaster replied calmly.
"The culprit has been ... caught?" asked the blonde wizard with a sneer.
"Yes Lucius, everything is taken care of," Albus said.
"And who was it?" Lucius wanted to know.
"The same one as last time, Lucius. Though this time he acted through another person by the means of this diary. Could you imagine what would happen if people thought that Miss Weasley, a member of one of our oldest pureblood-families, is attacking Muggle-born students?
Thankfully Mister and Miss Potter here were able to bring out the truth," the headmaster stated.
"Ah, yes the Potters. How ... fortunate. We can only hope that they will always be there to save the day," Lucius Malfoy sneered.
"Yes Lucius, fortunate indeed. Although I would advise you not to hand out any more of Voldemort's old school supplies," Albus stated seriously.
All the time the twins had been watching the strange little elf. He kept motioning to the diary with his eyes and the smacked his own forehead and glanced towards Malfoy. Suddenly Carya knew and told her brother.
/Harry, I think he is trying to tell us that Malfoy somehow gave Ginny that diary/ Carya yelled mentally.
/Yeah, okay but what to make from this, we have no proof .../ replied Harry.
/I know but we can try to help him. You know how to set a house-elf free, don't you? We'll do just that. And if I'm not mistaken the diary will help a great deal/ she told her brother smirking.
Just that moment Malfoy turned to take his leave and kicked Dobby towards the exit. Once he was gone the twins turned around to ask the headmaster something.
"Sir, would you allow us to give this back to Mister Malfoy?" Harry asked pointing at the diary on the desk, his sister smirking ever so slightly.
"I don't see a reason why you couldn't Harry. Good bye you two. See you at dinner," he told them with a strange twinkle in his eyes.
He could guess what the twins had in mind. He had watched them closely during Lucius Malfoy's visit. It was a very Slytherin move he had to admit. Perhaps they weren't in the wrong house afterall. It seemed to suit them perfectly.
~*~*~ In a Hallway of Hogwarts ~*~*~
"Mister Malfoy!" Harry exclaimed.
"Potter?" Lucius inquired with a sneer.
"Eh, I thought you might like this back," Harry said and gave the older wizard the diary that was wrapped in a piece of cloth - an old t-shirt to be exact.
Malfoy carelessly ripped the cloth off and threw it to the floor where Dobby picked it up. Lucius stared at the diary and at the twins with a look of disgust and turned to leave.
"Come, Dobby!" he ordered.
"Master has given Dobby clothes. Dobby is free. Master has given Dobby a shirt!" the small elf said.
"What the hell?" growled Malfoy and turned around to face the twins and the elf.
He saw the t-shirt in Dobby's hands and the smirk on the Potter's faces.
"You'll pay for this Potter!" he said and grabbed for his wand but Carya beat him to it.
"I wouldn't try anything within the walls of Hogwarts, 'sir'," she stated spitting out the title with obvious dislike.
"Why should I be scared of a little mudblood like you?" snarled the older wizard smirking.
"I don't know, perhaps because of what the rest of the house has started calling me after second year?" she replied casually and was smirking too, not even reacting to his insult.
Harry knew she was stalling and most likely bluffing. She still wasn't strong enough for a duel. Let alone a duel with a fully grown dark wizard. But Malfoy didn't know that, did he?
"And what would that be, you silly little girl?" Lucius wanted to know.
Harry noticed that he had to say something before his sister exploded. It wouldn't do her health any good right now.
"Oh, they only call her the 'Dark Princess of Slytherin' you know? Even the brave and almighty seventh year Gryffindor's are scared of her," Harry told him off handedly and exaggerated a bit,
"And I doubt that he would let you harm us either," he said smirking and pointed at Dobby who had taken a defensive stance which Malfoy only knew too well.
"This isn't over Potter. You'll end just like your pathetic parents did!" the elder Malfoy growled but Harry just waved him off.
"Yeah, yeah, right. See you then ..." Harry said and grinned. This angered Malfoy even more and he stumbled over the last step falling to the floor in a quite pitiful heap of limbs and clothes.
Both students resisted the urge to laugh at him because the last thing they needed was a Dark Wizard on a rampage right now. The feast would start soon and they had promised to visit Tom before then.
~*~*~ End In a Hallway of Hogwarts ~*~*~
When they reached Tom's room they were surprised to see the table in the small living room set up for six people. Hermione had come with them because their groups of friends at least had to know about the whole story. Draco and Ginny joined them too albeit a little reluctantly.
Tom looked at them with a worried expression. He didn't know what to expect from them. But even his dislike for Muggleborns couldn't stop Hermione from gaining his respect. They talked the whole evening and the twins told them about the episode in the hallway with Lucius Malfoy.
Once they'd finished Draco openly gaped at them.
"You did what? And you're still alive? Must have been the fact that he was at Hogwarts. Otherwise he would've killed you for that, you know?" Draco said gulping audibly.
"Is he that bad?" asked Tom because he didn't know him.
"Eh, ... I think you could say that. Not that I can actually prove it, but that man is one of the Dark Lord's most trusted Death Eaters, you know?" Draco replied shifting in his seat.
"Oh, ... good to know, eh, ... I guess I have much to learn concerning history, huh?" Tom asked carefully.
When he saw the amused faces of Harry, Carya, Ginny and Draco he asked what was wrong.
"Well, if you want a good History of Magic tutor, then I'd recommend Hermione. The only third year who actually listens to more than the main topic. The rest of us just writes down the topic for later research and goes straight to sleep," Carya told him smirking.
"Who's teaching that you are so disinterested?" Tom asked innocently.
"Professor Benjamin Binns, resident History professor, ghost and incredibly boring at that ..." Harry answered.
"He's still here? I think I know what you're hinting at. And even if he hadn't been boring already fifty years ago he definitely would be now," the older boy said.
"So you're staying here and finish school?" Ginny wanted to know but she was shivering slightly.
Draco put an arm around her in a comforting gesture and Tom looked sad.
"Uh, I wanted to but ... I'm sorry Ginny, if you feel uncomfortable around me, then I understand that ..." Tom began but trailed of and looked away.
For a reason unknown to him he felt deeply ashamed of what he had done to these children. Especially Hermione, Ginny, Carya and Harry.
"No, it's okay, really. I ... I know you want to change, it's just hard to forget everything," Ginny told him, taking a deep breath, "It's not easy for all of us. Not even for yourself," she continued but Tom as well as Harry and Hermione looked over at Carya.
"Okay, perhaps not all of us but she's always been the hot tempered and incredibly weird one of this group," Draco said picking up where Ginny left off.
Carya pouted at that comment, smirked mischievously and tackled Draco. She knew he was extremely ticklish at his sides and immediately used the moment of surprise for her advantage. A few minutes later everyone was laughing while Draco still tried to regain his breath.
The Slytherin's and Hermione said goodbye to Tom at one in the morning and went back to their Common Rooms. They promised to visit him sometime again. Carya though vowed to herself to get to know Tom better before end of term.
At breakfast on June 1st there was another big shock for Hogwarts student population. Headmaster Dumbledore announced that in the light of the recent events the exams had been cancelled. The time should be used for studies, especially for those who had missed so much due to being petrified.
Later Ginny, Hermione, Draco and the twins found out that Lucius Malfoy had been removed as school-governor. This brought a wide grin onto Draco's face. Another step towards freedom. Now his 'father' had even less to say in his life.
They days flew by and everyone enjoyed the exam free weeks. Well almost everyone, many Ravenclaw's were upset but they were the big minority. Draco and Ginny finally admitted that they liked each other and it was very obvious that Cat Williams and Terence Higgs were an item too.
Those two would never be seen without the other now. Just like Harry and Hermione or Draco and Ginny. Carya often felt like the fifth wheel and gave them some time alone. In those hours she usually visited Tom and kept him company.
She found out that he could actually be very nice if he tried. Although she suspected that he still felt guilty about hurting her and the other's so much. It was annoying at times but it was a step into the right direction.
If he knew he had done the wrong things he could try and change his behaviour. There was another point that made her enjoy being with him. Even if Draco knew some Dark Arts and had a Death Eater for a father he had never tried to understand that form of magic.
Carya had already done that with reading Theory of Magic books on the Dark Arts in her first year at Hogwarts. She had a deeper understanding of how they worked but no one of her friends shared this knowledge.
Tom knew though. He understood her feelings and shared certain opinions with her. The boy had studied them himself and they would discuss some minor curses and spells when they didn't find a better topic.
That went on until a day before the children had to depart for their homes. Tom was sad since he would be alone for the summer, always under the watchful eye of Dumbledore, McGonagall or Snape.
They had of course told the Deputy Headmistress about everything as well as the heads of houses but for now no other teacher knew. They would wait a few weeks and then decide if Tom would be allowed to finish his schooling at Hogwarts or not.
The twins and their friends came up to his rooms one last time on June 18th just after the 'End of Term Feast'. The Riddle boy was surprised that for the first time he wished that they wouldn't go that they'd just stay with him and be his friends.
He really feared they would forget about him over the holidays and that thought scared him since he had never had any friends at all. Other than snakes that is. Speaking of snakes, he idly wondered what had happened to his pet.
'I wonder if Nagini is alright? Does she even live after five decades? Well, I think I should get a new pet if I'm allowed to stay. Hell, I don't even have a wand anymore!' Tom thought sadly and waved his new friends goodbye.
The wand he had used in the chamber was a simple memory of his old one. It hadn't been brought back with him when Fawkes saved his life. That evening would be the first time he would be allowed back into the Great Hall.
He was sure it would be strange without the other students. But then again, no students meant no questions or rather no stupid questions since the professors would surely want to know things about him.
He was reluctant to admit it but he already missed Carya. Talking to her had been incredible. He somehow felt understood and safe with her. A strange combination of feelings for him but anyway ... she wouldn't be back until September.
The boy didn't really know why but he felt comfortable in her presence and he vowed to protect her because she had given him a new life - a second chance.
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Please Read and Review,
Carya
2005-12-12