Year Six: Chapter Eleven

His bonded waited at the bottom of the stairs, save for Severus and Bella. Tom smiled tightly at them, on edge from the meeting.

"Thank you," Luna whispered once he was close enough to hear. She made to take a step forward, hesitated, then followed through and flung her arms around him, burying her face in the crook of his neck. "Thank you," she repeated.

Tom waited her out, ignoring the other three girls and staring at the wall while Luna got this display of emotion out of her system. At last she drew back, and Tom nodded curtly. "I did as I promised," he said. "I'm not finished though."

Luna hummed. "True, I suppose you aren't. Do you intend to tell them why they're being punished?"

"Of course," Tom said. "How else will they learn?"

He didn't catch the amused glance between the other girls, though he'd have understood if he had. Voldemort, or at least Voldemort as he was now, rarely cared to inform his followers just what transgression they were being punished for.

They split up not long after, Astoria grumbling to Luna about having been dragged along in the first place and Hermione walking off on her own. She was quite vague as to what she was doing, but Tom had other things to do, so he merely waved her off and pulled out the Marauder's Map.

Tom still had more to do that day. He'd gotten a reply from Sirius about Bulstrode's situation and needed to speak with her about it. He also needed to consider Bella's training. Now that he knew the cup was the last horcrux, he wanted to get that out of the way as soon as possible so he could summon the deity and ask for its assistance. He didn't quite understand why Luna wanted him to wait, but he trusted that she had his best interests in mind.

Would Neville be willing to keep working on Bella if Tom could create a way to keep him safe? It'd also be nice if he could make Neville a bit less… Gryffindorish. Honestly. Tom had a good idea what sorts of favors Bella might have offered, and yet Neville turned her down. It'd be one thing if he simply had no interest. Tom understood that perfectly well. However, given the conversations that took place between his dormmates, Tom very much thought this was simply Neville trying to 'do the right thing,' which was, in his opinion, the very worst reason for doing the right thing.

Bulstrode first though. Tom checked the Marauder's Map and sighed in relief. As much as he loved annoying Greengrass, it actually was a bit of a pain to have to go all the way to the dungeons whenever he needed to talk to one of his Slytherins. Luckily, Bulstrode was in the library with Davis and Zabini.

"Sirius says to come home with me over winter break," Tom said without preamble, pulling out a chair and sitting down beside the girl. Ginny sat down on the ground next to him, resting her head on his thigh. Tom obligingly rested his hand on her head, and left it there despite the distinct smugness he felt from her through the bond.

Bulstrode turned to look at him curiously, ignoring Davis, who'd squeaked and fallen out of her chair at the sudden intrusion. "Are you alright with that?" Bulstrode asked. "If it will make things awkward for you, I can find somewhere else."

Liar, Tom thought to himself. Ginny nodded minutely, letting him know she'd heard him. Tom sighed. "I wouldn't have bothered asking Sirius in the first place if it bothered me," he told the Slytherin. "I take care of what's mine."

"You speak very much like the Dark Lord used to," Zabini commented lightly. "That's something he often said when he was younger."

There was a beat, then Tom smiled self-consciously. "Ah… I've been doing that, I guess." He was acutely aware of the three sets of eyes on him. It was as good a time as any to reveal the truth he'd decided upon. "I… I'd appreciate it if you kept this a secret but, well, something happened, and I gained a lot of Voldemort's memories through the connection we share."

Zabini's eyes narrowed. "Define 'a lot.'"

Tom glanced away. "...All of them up until he tried to kill me the first time," he said quietly. He bit his lip and looked at Zabini earnestly. "But I'm still me!"

"Of course you are," came Hermione's voice from behind him. She sighed and sat down next to him. "You told them then?"

"They would have figured it out sooner or later," Tom said sullenly. He knew Hermione would be able to feel his amusement, but hopefully she'd play along now that she'd inserted herself into this act.

Hermione patted his hand. "I know," she said reassuringly.

Tom was surprised at how easily she'd joined the act. She'd been upset with him recently, after all, so he'd intended for Ginny to play this part. In any event, he hadn't expected Hermione to be a good actress, but she gave no outward sign of her exasperation.

"Who else knows?" Davis asked with a frown.

"The fifth-year Gryffindor boys, Luna, and Astoria," Tom said. "So, you know, if you want to tell Daphne, that's fine."

Bulstrode's eyes narrowed. "Lord Black doesn't know?"

Tom gave her an incredulous look. "Of course not. He'd completely freak out."

Zabini leaned back in his chair, looking satisfied. "Don't mistake me for one of your Gryffindorks," he said. "I don't care whether you're Potter or Merlin reborn or the Dark Lord from an alternate universe so long as our interests align."

Davis swatted her boyfriend's arm and smiled. "Really, I'm a little relieved. It's like you're getting tutoring from the Dark Lord without having to be all evil like." She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear self-consciously. "Daph and I were kind of… We knew there was something, and we were worried."

Tom glanced at Bulstrode, eyebrow raised. The girl nodded. "I've got no problems with it. Having his memories will make it easier for you to kill him at least."

Tom wondered about that. If he were really Harry Potter, wouldn't having Tom Riddle's memories make it harder to kill Voldemort? That's what empathy was about, wasn't it? That sounded like the sort of nonsense Gryffindors were prone to. Not that it mattered. Let Bulstrode believe whatever she wanted, since Potter's actual feelings would never factor into it. Tom would have absolutely no problems killing Voldemort - he was rather looking forward to it.

Ginny tilted her head up curiously. What are you so excited about? she asked silently.

Tom frowned. He really preferred not to use this aspect of the bond too much. It made him nervous. He was already not entirely himself anymore, given Potter's memories and biology. He didn't need to risk becoming even less himself. Instead of answering, he just shook his head slightly. To his surprise, a clumsy, probing sort of touch slid across his Occlumency shields. He looked down in consternation, but though he could clearly feel Ginny's curiosity in the contact, it didn't seem like she was doing it intentionally. Was this another aspect of the bond he hadn't discovered yet?

"Potter?"

Tom started, noticed everyone else looking at him, and shook himself. "Sorry," he said to Zabini. "What was that?"

Zabini rolled his eyes. "I wanted to know how you plan on killing the Dark Lord. It clearly didn't take the first time around, so how do you intend to make sure he stays dead?"

"Oh," Tom said, considering it. Was there any particular reason to hide this information? No, probably not. Even if Voldemort found out, it shouldn't change anything. "I'm not technically going to kill him. As you said, it didn't work the first time after all. Instead, I intend to extract his soul and seal it away." And from there, he'd have a perfectly good empty body lying around, so where better to stick Potter's soul, once he obtained it? Of course, he still wasn't clear on how he'd be moving Potter's soul from the dementor to Voldemort's body, or what he would be storing Voldemort's tattered soul within, but everything else was ready. He even knew what rituals he would need to do to fix Voldemort's body, because while Severus probably wouldn't care, Hermione would likely consider it a breach of contract if he left her friend looking subhuman.

It was, Tom thought, an enjoyable sort of irony, putting Potter into Voldemort's body while he kept Potter's form. He looked forward to watching Potter realize it.

Davis cocked her head curiously. "Do you really think you can manage that?"

"Of course," Tom said. Extracting a soul shard and sealing it within an object was, after all, something he'd done many times already. There were differences, yes, but Tom thought that his identity would allow him to bypass some of the protections that typically prevented one from doing this to another.

He left the library some time later, leaving Ginny and Hermione with the Slytherins and asking that they give him some time to himself. Hiis next objective lay within Severus's personal potions stores. He took two vials while his servant was busy teaching, storing them in his pocket. Then he headed to the Room of Requirement to work on his own projects.

Other than that, his week passed in utter boredom save for one piece of correspondence.

"What's it say?" Hermione asked, pretending disinterest.

Tom snorted and handed over the letter before praising Hedwig for her efforts. The owl preened at the attention and nipped his ear affectionately. Tom found himself smiling despite himself. "You did so very well," he murmured softly. She really had. Even using the magics available for owl post across long distances, intercontinental travel was hard on owls. Most would have taken far longer to return with a reply.

"What does this mean, exactly?" Hermione asked.

Tom retrieved the letter and the description of the experiments within. "They say that they've tested dementors' energy levels multiple times in the past several generations, and the levels have steadily increased over time, but are identical for each dementor at any given point in time. Additionally, an increase is measured every time a soul is consumed." At Hermione's impatient nod, Tom grinned. "This tells me two important things. First, that the souls remain with the dementors rather than dissipating over time. What state that soul might be in is another story, but at the very least, the energy produced by consuming one doesn't fade, so there's no manner of digestion occurring."

Hermione's face went a bit green, possibly at the idea of digesting souls. Tom wasn't a fan of the concept either.

"Next, that the souls are spread across all dementors equally. The soul seems to instantly manifest within each one. In other words, dementors are all just extensions of the same concept."

Hermione tilted her head, eyes narrowing. "Quantum entanglement," she murmured.

Tom blinked, then ignored the foreign phrase. "What that means is that I don't have to find the specific dementor that ate Potter. I can use any dementor I come across, because his soul is in all of them at once, doing whatever it is souls do in there."

There was a moment, then Hermione swallowed thickly and lowered her gaze to her hands. "So you're closer to saving him," she said after a moment. Her emotions spiked erratically, and Tom felt an annoying abundance of conflicting feelings pulsing through the bond.

One of them was fear. Tom frowned. "What are you afraid of?" She was supposed to be happy that Potter would be returned to her.

"What - oh." Hermione grimaced. "It's… nothing important."

Now it was shame and guilt that she felt, but before Tom could make her explain, she hurried away. He glared at the doors to the Great Hall as they shut behind her. He turned to Ginny, who had remained silent throughout the conversation. "You're not going to go weird too?" he asked, aware he sounded more than a little petulant but too irritated to do anything about it.

Ginny shrugged. "I've always known you would bring him back."

"So?" Tom snapped.

Rolling her eyes, Ginny scooted closer to him. "So, I can do things like this," she kissed him, then took his hand in hers with an impish smile at his glare, "without worry because for me, Harry's just… on a particularly unpleasant trip. I miss him, and I'm worried about him, but I have no doubts that he'll be back."

"...I don't understand," Tom bit out. It was possibly his least favorite phrase to say.

Ginny sighed. "I'm just guessing here, mind, but she's probably afraid that Harry will never forgive her for becoming yours while he was gone." She shrugged. "Additionally, I expect that Hermione feels guilty that she's been happy here, with you, instead of spending all her time miserable about Harry." Ginny eyed Tom's expression for a moment. "In other words, she's failed to live up to her own standards of friendship and expects Harry to hate her for it."

Tom pondered that. "That's stupid," he eventually declared.

Ginny spat out a laugh that dissolved into giggles. "Yes, well, it happens," she eventually managed to say.

Tom stood and stalked out of the Great Hall, intent on locating Hermione. It wasn't difficult. She'd simply returned to the Gryffindor girls' dorm. That said, it did make it harder for him to actually reach her. He debated the various methods of entering the dorm. Unfortunately, the Founders really were masters of their craft, so most methods of making his way up there would be too obvious.

Irritated, he left again. Hermione could be stupid if she wanted, he supposed. And it really wasn't any of his business if she thought Potter would hate her, no matter how ridiculous the concept was. After all, looking through Potter's memories, one overriding truth became obvious: Potter would never, could never hate Hermione.

This new tension, on top of everything, led to Hermione moving back into the girls' dorm. After asking Luna to let him know if it seemed to be negatively affecting him, Tom left Hermione to it. He had no interest in dealing with the girl while she insisted on being upset about everything and anything.

At last, Sunday morning, Tom finally had all the Ravenclaws yet to be punished within his grasp. He locked the doors as the last member of The Gray entered. Most of the students just nodded, while those Ravenclaws he'd warned looked incredibly nervous. Hermione stood in the back, arms crossed.

"As you know," Tom said as he walked to the front of the room. "Luna is one of my favored. A member of my Inner Circle, if you will. And yet, for some reason, her housemates have been treating her quite poorly. Naturally, I've dealt with those who've not even the sense to join us, but a few among our number require punishment as well."

Three Ravenclaws in particular looked nervous, but a fourth seemed anxious as well. Had he missed one? "Luna," Tom said, keeping an eye on that student, "would you care to describe some of what's been done to you?"

Luna, looking cold and hard in a way she never did, rose and joined him at the front of the room. "I imagine most of it was done 'just in good fun,'" she said without a flicker of emotion. "Like when I had to go to Madam Pomfrey because all my shoes were gone, and I'd gotten frostbite. Or when I woke in the middle of the night, unable to take a breath, wondering if they would release me, or if this time they'd keep the spell going until I died. Or when I was shoved into a cupboard containing a boggart. Spending three hours in the arms of my dead parents was good fun." She licked her lips, trembling now. "Or when the lovely dress my father bought me vanished. Or my homework. Or my clothes. Honestly, being in Ravenclaw has made me really appreciate my breasts as they are. If they were any larger, the constant destruction of my bras would be a problem."

Tom took over then, seeing that the students appeared angry enough for his purposes. "Thank you, Luna," he murmured and let her cling to him as he continued speaking to the rest of the room. "Luna put up with this all without complaint until I discovered what had been happening for myself. I'm afraid I'm not nearly as kind as Luna."

He snapped his fingers, and the three students he'd come prepared to punish found themselves pushed to the room just in front of him. He eyed the fourth student. "Miss Flockton. You appear nervous. Is there something you'd like to share?"

The girl in question flushed bright red and stared down at her hands in her lap. "I, uh, well…" She glanced around, but the other students either glared suspiciously or looked away. Her shoulders slumped. "I followed her and, um, took… pictures. For the others." She winced. "I know it wasn't nice, but I mean… they paid, and I wanted to get a new outfit for a date so…"

Luna put a hand on Tom's shoulder. "It's fine. I knew about her. I chose not to mention her name."

Through the bond, Tom could tell that this was utter bullshit, but if Luna didn't want to press the issue, he would let it lie. For now. "Understood. Remain where you are, please, Miss Flockton." His smile sharpened. "As for you three… Hold out your left arms."

Tom stepped before the first student and took their arm. He pressed his wand against his Mark and concentrated. Slowly, the image shifted, a moon appearing within it. He did the same for the other two. "The three of you will serve Luna. Not just by doing what she tells you to do, but by proactively considering what she might want that she isn't saying and attempting to provide her with that as well. We will revisit your progress before the winter holidays. If you've done well enough, I will change your Marks back. If not…" Tom shrugged. "Well, I won't, and you'll find out what this change does." He smiled brightly at them, and they shuddered.

The rest of the day's lesson went the same as usual, but Tom noticed that many members seemed to think he'd let those three off too easily. He heard all manner of whispered complaints and irritated mumbling. Tom hid his smirk. At least one of these three would test him, he was sure, and no one would think he'd been lenient then.

If, in the meantime, his followers took out their frustrations on these three and added to their punishment, well, he could hardly be blamed for that.

Once everyone who thought he was actually Harry Potter had left, Ron cornered him. "What's going to happen to them?" he demanded.

Tom hummed curiously. "Why do you want to know?"

Ron rolled his eyes. "Because I don't trust you to have any idea what an appropriate level of response is." The tone was teasing, but he was probably quite serious about this.

Fair, but annoying. Tom scowled at the boy, who looked entirely unrepentant. "Fine," Tom grumbled. "If only because Hermione's going to want to know too. The lines of the moon I added are made with quicksilver. The magic in the Mark is keeping it from spreading from that site, but around Yule, the magic will begin to dissipate." He grinned toothily, unable to hold back his pleasure at his idea. "They all think Luna's 'mad as a hatter,' yes? It's nothing less than poetic justice."

Ron frowned. "I don't really get it, but all I really need to know is whether it'll kill them."

Tom shook his head. "The amount in the Mark isn't nearly enough to kill a person. At worst, I expect they'd end up with long-term neurological effects."

"Alright," Ron said, expression clearing. "And as long as they try hard to help Luna out, you'll get rid of it all together?" At Tom's nod, the boy smiled and headed back toward Gryffindor.

Later that day, Tom cornered Neville by the greenhouses. To his surprise, the boy had Bella's necklace off and was talking to it. Tom fingered a bottle of the antidote to the Draught of Peace in his pocket. He'd nicked it from Severus's rooms, but he hadn't honestly expected to be using it anytime soon. However, perhaps Neville would be more amenable to the idea of waking Bella than he'd thought. He cleared his throat.

Neville stiffened and turned. "Tom," he said evenly.

"Neville," Tom replied with a smile. "I was hoping to speak with you about Bella."

Neville's fingers tightened around the necklace charm reflexively. "What about her?" he asked.

"I need her to go to Gringotts and retrieve or destroy an item within her vault," Tom said. "The sooner the better."

The Gryffindor boy's eyebrows furrowed. "You're talking about reverting her and continuing…" Neville glanced down at his hand and forced it to unclench. "Continuing training her."

"Yes."

Neville licked his lips nervously. "Is it really necessary now? It couldn't wait until winter break?" At Tom's flat stare, Neville nodded shortly. "Right. Right." He took a deep breath and glanced around, then pulled Tom with him into Greenhouse Eight, designated for use by Professor Sprout and a few talented students. As soon as the door closed, Neville sighed and handed over the necklace. "I… I don't think I should be the one to do it," he said.

Tom took the necklace. "Oh?" he asked distractedly, already casting the spells necessary to end the transfiguration.

Neville stared at the dirt. "I've had some… dreams. About her. About what I could…" He shook his head almost violently. "No matter what she deserves, I don't want to become someone who could do those things."

Gryffindors. Tom shrugged indifferently. "Alright then."

Neville's head snapped up. "What?"

Raising one eyebrow, Tom fed the antidote to Bella. "I never expected you to follow through in the first place. Honestly, I'm impressed you lasted this long. I thought you'd have given up ages ago."

Bella's eyes fluttered open. "Master?" she asked dazedly. A moment later, her eyes cleared, and she looked around. Seeing Neville, she beamed. "Master!"

Neville reddened as Tom gently touched her shoulder. "No, Bella. I'll be taking care of you now."

Bella's expression crumpled. "What? Why? Did Bella do something wrong?" Her lower lip trembled, and tears threatened to spill over.

Tom patted her head. "No, you did nothing wrong. It's just that -"

"I'll keep watching her," Neville interjected. He grimaced. "I'll need somewhere to keep her though. It'd be a problem if she was seen."

Bella brightened. "Oh, it was just a misunderstanding then?" She smiled, eyes closing in apparent happiness and relief. She scooted closer to Neville from her spot on the ground and rested her head against the boy's leg.

Tom marveled at her ability to appear completely innocent. Judging by Neville's expression, he'd more or less entirely forgotten, for the moment at least, that he was meant to hate her. He shrugged and considered the storage problem. He didn't much want to have Bella in the castle at all, lest the house elves notice her and inform Dumbledore. On the other hand, restraining her outside would be difficult at best. Even if he assumed she would be good, he still had to give the appearance of restraints, and she would need shelter as well.

Ah. There was one place. It was technically within the castle but still outside the domain of the Hogwarts house elves. Better still, an entrance existed not far into the Forbidden Forest, though it would require some repair to be usable.

Tom smiled at Neville. "How do you feel about the Chamber of Secrets?"

AN: Ahhhhhhh I just want to get to the deity summoning and Luna won't let me. … Which, by the way, I have absolutely not forgotten about. I just can't get to it until the cup's gone, because Luna said so.

As far as Astoria's illness…. She lived long enough to have a kid in canon, so it clearly isn't a super urgent matter. I haven't forgotten about it though.

No guarantees about Fleur and Gabrielle, but I don't much want to try writing a French accent. So I'd say it's possible but unlikely that they'll make an appearance. They definitely won't be part of the bond though. That is closed - no one else is joining.

It totally is iffy about how many people know his secret, and I'm sorry about that. Maybe Tom's a bit more Gryffindorish than he'd like to believe.