Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon or Harry Potter

Note: For those of you familiar with the manga, you know of Darien's pshchometry: the ability to see the history of things/people when he touches them. Well, I'm gonna put that power in this story to make things a little interesting.

Mere Memory 10

Darien Returns

Raye, Lita and Ami were surprised that Serena called a meeting. She didn't normally call scout meetings. It was mostly Luna or Raye that scheduled them. They were even more surprised to see that she had Tom with her.

"Hey guys, you know Tom," Serena said nervously, "oh, except for you, Raye…Raye Hino, Tom Ridder—or should I say Tom Riddle."

"Riddle?" Lita asked, looking from Serena to Tom. "I thought your last name was Ridder."

"Tom has dangerous people after him," Serena said softly. "We changed his last name to keep him safe."

"Why'd you bring him here?" Raye asked.

"Tom's the reason I called this meeting," Serena said and sighed. "You see, Tom is…well…"

"It's all right, Serena," said Tom, placing his hands on her shoulders. Raye raised an eyebrow. What was Serena's relationship with this strange boy? "You can tell them."

"Tell us what?" Ami inquired.

Serena looked at the ground then raised her eyes, now brimming with tears. "I lied to you. I didn't lose the book."

Raye gasped and was about to say something but Tom held up his hand to silence her.

"Go on, Serena," Tom prompted softly.

"I had it the whole time," Serena confessed, "I found out what it was the day after we discovered it. It was a prison—for Tom."

"What?" Lita looked up at Tom in confusion. "Your prison? But you said you were an exchange student."

"That's what we told you," Tom said, "but the truth is, I was trapped in that book for fifty years."

"Fifty years?" The girls sounded.

"You don't look over fifty to me," said Lita, gazing at Tom's face.

"I was somehow preserved so I wouldn't age," Tom told her, "The book was enchanted."

"This doesn't make any sense," Raye said, "why were you in the book? Who put you there?"

"An evil wizard," Tom replied, "and he's not alone. He and his followers trapped me in the book because they wanted to use me. I have a rare ability to speak to snakes and they wanted me to help them take over the world. When I refused, they trapped me in the book until I consented."

"For fifty years?" Raye said in disbelief. "They waited that long for you to change your mind?"

"It was their way of punishing me," Tom stated, "supposedly they thought it was worth than death. Trust me, fifty years trapped in a book is no fun at all."

"The reason we're telling you this now," Serena said, "is well, it's about Ramua. She's the woman that had the book."

"No way!" Lita said. "That's impossible!"

"Ramua is a shape-shifter," Serena explained, "she came to school disguised as a student to get the book. She kept calling it the 'Recluse Journal' or something. She and some old man knew of Tom and were after him."

"Were they the people that put you in the book?" Lita asked.

"No," said Tom, "some of the evil wizards are rivals. The wizards that did this to me are in England."

"Then how did you get here?"

"I'm not sure," Tom said.

"Perhaps Lucius," said Serena, "brought you here."

"Who's Lucius?" asked Ami.

"Remember the man in the hot springs?" Serena asked her friends. "He was a wizard too. He works for the wizard that imprisoned Tom in the book."

"And that woman took it from him," said Lita, "and if she's a shape shifter, she must've used a disguise to get it from him."

"What do we do now?" Ami inquired. "They may be after us."

"We're safe for now," said Tom.

"How can you be sure?" Raye demanded. "They already attacked Serena!"

"Ramua and the old man are dead," Tom said, "I knew if I kept them alive they'd go after Serena again so I told my snakes to kill them."

All the girls gasped, including Serena. The way Tom said it; it was almost as if he had no remorse about taking a life.

"I really did not have much of a choice," Tom said quickly, noticing the girls' expressions. "They would go after Serena again."

"What about the people that put you in the book?" Ami asked. "Would they come after you?"

"If they know I'm here," Tom answered. "They haven't come looking for me yet."

"We'll need time to make a plan," Lita stated. "We should tell Trista and the others about this."

"Now?" Serena asked.

"No time like the present," said Raye.

"Okay," Serena said and she looked at Tom. "Tom, this might take a while. You don't have to stay."

"You sure?" Tom asked. "Wouldn't the others want to talk to me?"

"They can meet you later," Raye said. "We've got to discuss 'Scout Business.'"

"I'll see you at home," Tom whispered to Serena. He nodded to the other girls. "Nice seeing you."

"Bye," said Lita.

Tom didn't want to leave Serena alone. He wanted to be with her. He knew she was still shaken up. He wondered who the other outer scouts were. Still, Tom was rather relieved that Serena suggested him to go. He didn't want to explain himself all over again. He believed Serena didn't want the scouts to make Tom feel guilty. That was probably why she didn't tell them about him in the first place. Tom wanted to meet the other scouts but not this way. Now they were going to think he had a part in Serena's encounter with Ramua. They were going to blame him for everything. Before Tom reached Serena's house, a couple of snakes came and found him. Two of which had Tom and Serena's school bags.

"You finished them?" Tom asked the snakes.

"Yesssss. We crushed and poisoned them to death."

"Excellent. Serena is at the Cherry Hill temple for a meeting. When the meeting's over, it is your duty that she gets home safely."

"Of course."

"Good," said Tom, "I am going to spend more time with Serena, but when I can't be with her, I want you to keep an eye on her."

"Very well."

Tom took the schoolbags from the snakes' mouths and he went to the Tsukinos' house. He explained to the Tsukinos that Serena was at Raye's for a while and should be shortly and then he went to his rooms to think things over. He didn't know how to feel. He didn't know what to think. Serena was almost killed because of Tom's foolishness. He somehow wished she never found him. The last thing he wanted was to put her in danger. The other scouts wer probably trying to talk Serena into sending Tom away. If something had happened to Serena, he never would've forgiven himself. Serena was the best thing that happened to him in…ever.

"Serena," Tom mumbled into his hands. "I'm so sorry…"

"Sorry for what?"

Tom pulled his hands from his face and looked down to see Serena's cat, Luna, looking up at him.

"I know Serena told you I can talk," Luna said, "so don't be surprised."

"I know," said Tom, "but I didn't think you'd talk to me."

"Where is Serena?" Luna inquired.

"She's in a meeting with the other scouts," Tom replied. "I don't know when she'll be home."

"You know what the meeting is about?" Luna asked.

"Yeah," said Tom, "it's me…you remember Ramua…the girl that came to see Serena a couple of times?"

"Oh yes, I remember her," said Luna with a nod. "Strange girl, I think."

"Yeah, she was strange," Tom muttered, "and dangerous. She tried to kill Serena today."

"What?"

Tom sighed. He might as well explain himself to the cat too.

--

As Tom explained things to Luna, Serena was explaining everything to the outers.

"I don't know if we can trust Tom," said Amara.

"Of course we can," Serena said, "he saved my life."

"What is this Tom Riddle like?" Michelle inquired.

"He's pretty smart and good looking," Lita praised. "All the girls at school really love him."

"He also gives me the feeling like he's got no soul," Raye muttered.

"What do you mean by that?" Serena demanded, appalled. "Of course he's got a soul!"

"I don't know," Raye said, "it's just the vibes I pick up from him."

"Serena, maybe it would be better if Tom starts staying somewhere else," Trista suggested.

"No, no!" Serena cried. "I'm the one who found him so he's staying with me."

"What if these people come after you again?" Michele inquired.

"Ramua and the old man are dead," Serena explained.

"Yeah, but what about the wizards from Tom's home country?" Ami asked. "The ones who put them there? It's only a matter of time until they realize he's missing."

"We'll wait until that comes," Serena said, "then we'll know what to do."

Most of the scouts didn't like the idea of Tom staying at Serena's house and the fact that she lied to them. They talked about the situation for over an hour. Serena was tired of explaining herself. She just wanted to be with Tom.


A few hours later, Serena finally returned home. Tom and Serena did not have time to talk because the moment she came home Mrs. Tsuknino made dinner. Neither Serena nor Tom ate much but they put on a good show so nobody worried. After dinner Serena and Tom went to talk in his room. There was so much they wanted to say each other.

"I'm so sorry, Serena," said Tom as she shut the door. "I'm sorry I got you mixed up in all this."

"Oh, Tom, don't blame yourself," Serena said, "it's not your fault this happened."

"Yes it is," Tom said, "it's because of me Ramua went after you. I put you in danger, I'm sorry."

"You didn't know this would happen," Serena said.

"Sure I did," Tom said, "I just hoped it wouldn't. I told you dangerous people would be looking for me. I'll understand if you want me to leave."

"Well I don't!" Serena exclaimed, marching up to him. "I want you to stay here."

"I'm sure your friends disagree," Tom sighed.

"They do," Serena admitted, "most of them thought it would be better if you stayed somewhere else but I told them since I was the one who found you, you ought to stay here. Besides, it would raise questions in my family."

"So I'm staying?" Tom asked.

Serena nodded. Tom walked up to her and took her into his arms. Serena melted in his embrace. Something about Tom has changed since she first met him. His touch was cold then and now he felt very warm and soft. She could stay in his arms forever.

"I thought I lost you back there," Tom said. "I kept thinking about our argument last night. The things we said to each other—I didn't want to leave things that way. I wanted a chance to put things right."

"Oh Tom," Serena murmured softly. "Don't worry about it. It was a misunderstanding."

"A misunderstanding that nearly got you killed!" Tom cried in a whisper, holding Serena tighter to him. "I was afraid I'd never see you again."

Serena was touched. He really did sound upset. When Tom had found her, Serena was the one upset and Tom was consoling her. Now Tom was the one upset and Serena was being strong. Tom now realized how Serena felt when Serena felt so guilty when the book burned and when he almost drowned that day when they went to the beach. Serena sighed and reached her arms around Tom.

"I'm all right now," said Serena, "you found me in time."

"I'll make sure nobody comes after you again," Tom promised her. "I'm going to be with you all the time."

"And when you're not there," said Serena, "your snakes will?"
Tom stepped back. "Yeah. I told them to watch you. I guess you saw them?"

Serena nodded. "I saw them in the grass watching me. One of them even tried to bite someone that was asking me for the time."

Serena laughed but Tom didn't.

"You don't have to worry, Tom," Serena said, "I've been in danger before. Ever since I became a sailor scout I've been in situations like this."

"I know," said Tom, "I just don't want anything to happen to you."

"Thank you," Serena said softly. "Listen, I have an idea. Tomorrow is Saturday and we can spend the whole day together. Let's go see a movie or something. I don't think you've been to the cinema, have you?"

"I haven't," Tom said, "cinema sounds like a great idea. I just want ot be with you, my love."

Serena grinned. Though she wasn't in love with Tom, she really loved it when he called her 'love'. His accent really was evident when he used words like that.


Tom and Serena went to the cinema and watched a funny new movie to get their minds off of everything. Though it wasn't a romantic movie, Tom and Serena held hands. After the movie, they went to the mall to go shopping. Everything went back to the way things were before Ramua messed everything up. In fact, Tom and Serena were closer because of Serena's encounter with Ramua.

After their date and they went back to school, Tom and Serena came to school together each morning. There was no sign of the Death Eaters or anyone else trying to get Tom or Serena. Tom believed everything was going to be just fine, but he found out how wrong he was when Serena and Tom went to Fruits Parlor Crown after school for hot cocoa and cake.

"I'm looking forward to when school lets out for the Christmas Holidays," Serena said.

"Me too," Tom agreed. "We get to spend them together."

"What's Christmas like in England?" Serena asked.

"Well, for spending all my Christmases in an orphanage," Tom said thoughtfully as he blew on his hot cocoa, "they weren't too bad."

"Really?"

"Yeah, sometimes we went out Christmas caroling," Tom said, "and we watched Christmas plays."

"What was the best thing you got for Christmas?" Serena asked.

"Well, the orphanage didn't really get us anything special," Tom said. "We would get chocolate or stuffed animals, small things like that. I think my favorite thing was a book about mythology. I loved reading books when I was in the orphanage."

"You're just like Ami," Serena smiled. "She has her nose in a book all the time."

They sipped their hot chocolates and nibbled on their cakes in between small talk. When Serena put her chocolate mug down, he reached across the table to put his hand on hers.

"You're so special, Serena," Tom whispered. "I'm so glad I got to meet you. If Voldemort sends his followers after me and if anything happens, I just want you to know how much I love you."

"Tom," Serena mumbled, "I…I'm flattered. I really care about you too. But you'll be all right. I'll take care of you."

"It's not just me you have to be worried about," said Tom, "it's you too. Voldemort may hurt whoever helps me."

"I'm not scared," Serena said, "I've fought really dangerous enemies. I'm sure I can handle a dark wizard."

"Yes, I'm sure you can," Tom said with a smile, squeezing Serena's hand gently. He leaned forward and gave her a small kiss on the lips. Serena blushed slightly and looked down.

"You shouldn't have done that," Serena said.

"I know, Serena," Tom said, "but I don't care. Your boyfriend isn't here."

"Maybe not but…"

"Serena!" shouted a familiar voice.

"Darien?" Serena mumbled, seeing Darien enter the café and nearly knock a waitress down to get to her booth. "Darien, what are you doing here?"

Darien pulled Serena out of the booth into his arms. Tom's hand remained outstretched on the table and then he went back to sipping his hot chocolate. Serena and Tom were having a perfect moment. What was Darien doing back in Japan? Darien ruined all of Tom's plans. What was he going to do now?

"I had a dream that you got hurt, baby," said Darien and Tom nearly choked on his hot chocolate. Baby? What a horrid pet name! Tom used better pet names for Serena than that. He called her my love, love, my sweet, sweetheart, my pet, my lovely, darling but nothing as cheesy as baby and Tom would never, ever call her Meatball Head, like Darien has always done. Tom thought it was stupid he called her that and if Tom ever caught Darien calling her Meatball Head, he might just hex his lips together.

"I'm fine," said Serena.

"I dreamed that a monster attacked you," Darien said, "I rushed over."

"You could've just called," said Serena.

"I've tried," said Darien, "but I couldn't get through."

"That's odd," said Serena and she didn't notice Tom's grin behind his chocolate mug. "What about your schooling?" Serena asked

"It's all right," said Darien, "it's almost Christmas break anyway. How are the others? Are you fighting new enemies?"

"Well, no, not really," said Serena, "Chaos hasn't returned or anything like that. It's a long story."

"Tell me about it."

"Well, you see," Serena began, "after Mina left, me and the other girls found this witch and wizard fighting and…"

"Ahem!" Tom said loudly.

"Oh, Tom!" Serena cried and she felt so embarrassed that she had forgotten about him. "Tom, this is Darien. I believe you two talked on the phone once?"

"Oh, yeah, we have," said Darien coolly, looking over at Tom. "Tom wasn't it?"

"Yeah, the English muffin," Tom muttered.

Serena looked at Darien in surprise. "English muffin?"

"A little joke," said Tom, "well, a pleasure to meet you, finally, Darien."

Tom and Darien both knew it was a lie but for Serena's sake, they pretended to be civil.

"Of course," said Darien and he reached out to shake Tom's hand. When Darien shook hands with Tom, a strange sensation went over him. His blood pressure went up and he began to perspire. For a split second he saw a horrible image involving Tom and…something else. Darien released Tom's hand as Tom's hand was a hot iron.

"Well, I believe you two have some catching up to do," Tom said.

"Oh, you don't have to go, Tom," Serena said.

"It's all right," Tom said, looking over to Serena and smiling. "My love."

"What?" Darien mumbled.

"I'll see you at home," Tom said, "I just remembered, I promised Sammy I was going to help him with his homework."

"Well, okay," said Serena, "bye."

Tom waved at Serena and left the café. Darien turned to Serena. "Did he just call you 'my love?'"
Serena giggled into her hand. "Oh, yes, Tom always calls me things like that. Sweetheart, my love, dear…I really like his accent. Isn't it cool?"

"I guess," said Darien.

Serena sat back down. Darien remained standing.

"You all right, Darien?" Serena asked in concern.

"Yeah, it's just that…Tom…something about him is weird."

"Oh, Darien, please don't be jealous."

"I'm not jealous," said Darien defensively. "When I shook his hand, I sensed something bad about him."

"Oh, well, that's because he was trapped in a book for fifty years," Serena said.

"What?"

"Yes, you see, Tom isn't just a foreign exchange student," Serena said, "he's a victim of dark wizards. They imprisoned him in a book for fifty years and I saved him."

"Why didn't you tell me this?" Darien demanded, taking Tom's vacant seat.

"I didn't want you to worry," said Serena, "I just told the others last week."

"Tell me how exactly you found Tom," said Darien.

Serena sighed. She hated repeating herself. "All right, well, we found this woman attacking a man in one of the hot springs…"

"…and so far," Serena finished, "we haven't met anyone after Tom."

"I knew something was funny about that guy," said Darien.

"Darien, Tom's harmless," Serena said, "he saved my life. The reason why you sensed those vibes is because he was trapped in a book by dark magic."

"It seemed more than that to me, Serena," said Darien. "Maybe the others are right. Tom shouldn't be staying with you. He can stay at my apartment."

"No, that's fine," Serena said, "he'll stay at my house."

"Serena…"

"Look, Darien, I know what I'm doing," said Serena, rising to her feet. "Tom likes it at my house. Sammy adores him. He told me he thinks of Tom as his older brother. Tom helps my mother out a lot and even my father likes him! I can tell that you don't really like him and I don't want to send Tom someplace where he would feel awkward. Right now he feels like I'm the only one he trusts."

"Serena," said Darien, "I'm not going to hurt him or anything."

"Please, for him to move out of my house would raise many questions," Serena said, "my parents would think he's done something. And besides, you don't have an extra room at your apartment anyway! Where would Tom sleep?"

"Oh, right," said Darien.

"Thank you for concern," said Serena, "but I'll be fine. Now that you're here, we'll be prepared for anyone that might come to hurt Tom. I had better be going now. It was so nice to see you again."

"Yeah," Darien smiled, "I'm so glad you're all right, baby."


When Tom got home, he flung his stuff down, picked up a pillow, tossed it aside and slammed his hand on the dresser.

"Damn you, Darien!" Tom snarled. "Why did you have to come back to Japan? Why couldn't you stay in America? Serena was almost mine. Now you come and ruin everything!"

Tom's blood boiled and he started pacing his room. He had to come up with a plan. Should he kill Darien? He could send snakes to him. Yes. He could picture a dozen snakes biting and crushing Darien all at once. No, wait, everyone knew Tom could talk to snakes now. They would know he did it and Serena would never forgive him. That wouldn't work.

"Think, Riddle," Tom told himself. "Think!"

He had to come up for a way to keep Darien and Serena apart. Serena was most likely telling Darien the whole story and once Darien knew everything, he wouldn't go back to America. No bright ideas entered Tom's mind. Frustrated, Tom sat down on his bed. He had always been so good at coming up with solutions. He had to think of something.

The Christmas holidays were coming soon. Serena would probably spend it all with Darien, or expect Tom and Darien to get along and spend it together. Then it clicked. Serena asked Tom what Christmas was like in England. Perhaps if he played his cards right, Serena might just get to see for herself.

A sly smile spread across the Heir of Slytherin's mouth. He was still cunning as he always had been. He'd take Serena and the others to England and get the Death Eaters to kill Darien and then Serena would be Tom's for sure. It was flawless.

TO BE CONTINUED