Not the Help you Sought

In the beginning of the evening, Harry found himself sitting on the floor of the Chamber of Secret, his gaze floating over the calm water of the fountain. After dinner, Ron had left for an evening Quidditch practice and Hermione needed to join an Arithmancy study group. He had come back to his dormitory to find a letter standing on his night shelf.

'Dear Harry,

I trust you are feeling better. I will be happy to meet you tonight after dinner and will be waiting for you in my office. The password is Lemon Pie.

Sincerely,

Albus Dumbledore'

He didn't really know why he had preferred to go in the Chamber instead of answering the invitation. He just knew that he wouldn't be found there. And maybe that was exactly what he wanted.

'I didn't expect you to be back so soon,' said a voice.

'May I ask why?' Replied Harry who didn't even turned towards the young man standing a few feet behind him.

'I thought it would take you more time to process what you learnt last week.'

'Sorry to disappoint,' said Harry with a small smile. 'But I am used to bad news. I suppose I have learnt to cope with them. More or less consciously.'

He felt the Horcrux approaching but didn't move an inch. Tom sat near him and casually said:

'Though I had never doubted the quality of my company, I guess this isn't the reason that brought you here tonight.'

'How insightful of you,' replied Harry. He glanced towards Tom and pulled the letter out of his pocket before putting it on the floor between them.

Tom read it and considered Harry a few seconds.

'Are you hiding or something?' Asked Tom confused. 'I thought you liked Dumbledore.'

'Hiding, yes,' repeated Harry absently. 'That is the correct word. I am hiding from Albus Dumbledore.'

'Why?'

'Because I don't want to see him.'

'Again, why?' Asked Tom annoyed. 'Don't you trust him?'

'I don't really know anymore,' replied sincerely Harry. He turned his gaze towards Tom. 'It's complicated.'

'It always is,' chuckled Tom. 'Do you want to talk about it?'

Harry considered him, a bit surprised by the offer, but weirdly tempted. He straightened up and gathered his thoughts.

'Dumbledore is the only wizard Voldemort ever feared,' started the boy, 'and for that I have always seen him as this almighty reassuring presence standing between me and Voldemort. It's not like I used to see him often, but knowing he was there in the castle… It was comforting.' Harry sighed and paused a few seconds. 'When I told the Wizarding World about Lord Voldemort's return, he was the first one to believe me without question. It was quite a surprise for me when I learnt that the Ministry didn't.' He stood up, stretched and went to sit on the edge of the fountain, facing Tom.

'I knew something was up,' he smiled. 'I spent my summer alone in my muggle family, not knowing what the Wizarding World was doing to prepare for the coming war. I didn't know why no one was telling me anything. Even my best friends didn't send me any letter about it.' His tone was now bitter. 'Then I discovered I wasn't only considered a liar, but also a troublemaker. An attention-seeking boy who had invented everything for fame. But it didn't matter as long as Dumbledore was on my side.' I bit his lips. 'Or so I thought as he has done nothing but avoiding me since I saw him last June.'

He looked at the letter that was still lying on the floor and swallowed. His throat was aching.

'And now this,' he added while nodding towards the letter. 'Months of silence and now a nice letter inviting me over for a little chat.'

'But he knew you wanted to see him, right?' Asked Tom.

'Unless he has turned deaf and blind, yes he definitely knew.' Harry chuckled.

'It's not that complicated,' finally said Tom. 'He lost your trust, and you don't want to see him. So you hide in the only place where he can't reach you. The fact remains that you'll have to get out of here at some point. So you only bought yourself some time and earned an embarrassing moment where you'll have to answer for you absence. But to be honest, I expected more.'

Harry raised his gaze towards Tom and considered him a few seconds. The young man caught his look and smiled.

'Unless you didn't tell me everything, of course.'

Harry took a deep breath and decided to go with the whole truth. He had told too much already.

'You might not believe me, but here goes.'

And on he went. He told Tom about his first encounter with the Founders. The branch of Arithmancy they had discovered and used to ensure the protection of Hogwarts and predict that he was the only able to avert the crisis that would end up destroying the castle. A certain crisis name Lord Voldemort. He explained how he had been trained towards this purpose even though he had stopped a few days ago.

'Wait a minute,' said Tom who stood up and started to pace. 'So the Founders left spirit guardians behind them?'

'Not all of them,' replied Harry. 'Slytherin is a Horcrux though the others aren't aware of that.'

A brief smile passed on Tom's face but his look was still concerned.

'Why you?' He asked again. 'Why are you the chosen one to protect the school?'

'The Chosen One… That sounds quite nice,' smiled bitterly Harry. 'One you've removed, of course, the implacable curse associated with that title.' Tom glanced at him with an impatient look. 'Apparently I have the power to defeat Lord Voldemort,' he added.

'Power? What power?'

'Love,' simply said Harry.

Tom stopped and considered him, baffled.

'It worked once,' reminded Harry. 'But I agree with you, I don't really understand what love can against a vengeful and unstoppable Dark Lord. Especially when you are a fifteen-year-old student.'

'Destroying Hogwarts,' repeated Tom slowly. A veil of pain covered his eyes. 'Have I gone mad?' He looked at Harry again. 'You can't let that happen! You have to stop him!'

'I wanted to,' said Harry. 'Then again, I am only a student. This is why I doubled my efforts to see Dumbledore. And he still dismissed me.'

'But he agreed to see you!' Tom studied Harry's face. 'Don't you care anymore?'

'It's not that,' said Harry forcefully. 'Look, I just discovered in a span of a week that Voldemort left Horcruxes behind, making him virtually immortal, and that I am one of them, meaning I'll have to die at some point.' He stood up in his turn. 'Believe me when I say that I don't want to see Hogwarts destroyed for anything in the world. It is the only home I have! And I know what needs to be done to protect it!'

'What needs to be done?'

'The Horcruxes need to be found and destroyed,' replied Harry with a loud voice. 'All of them. He will be mortal again and someone will have to kill him. Then, and only, then will Hogwarts be safe.'

'You are aware that you know more than Dumbledore, now?' Asked Tom quietly. 'You might not know what is being done to destroy him, but you know how to do it.'

'I know!' Replied Harry angrily. He took a deep breath to calm down. 'I know. This is why I have to speak to Dumbledore. I just…'

'You just?' Pressed Tom, his gaze fixed on Harry. The development of their conversation had caught his interest. He had guessed why Harry didn't want to go see the wizard he trusted the most. He just wanted to hear him say it.

'I just don't think he deserves this knowledge anymore,' finally said Harry while looking away. 'And I don't want to see him take this information and use it as he sees fit while keeping me in the shadow again.'

Tom smiled, satisfied. For a whiny fifteen-year-old brat, the boy had potential. A lot of potential even if he seemed to be unaware of it.

'So what is the plan to save Hogwarts?' Finally asked Tom.

'What do you mean?'

'Well obviously you're not going to tell Dumbledore,' said Tom with patience. 'And you perfectly described what needs to be done. So, what is your plan to find the Horcruxes and destroy them?'

Harry considered Tom, not knowing if he was joking or not.

'Well first,' he started hesitantly, 'I would need to learn how many Horcrux he created.'

'Seven,' replied Tom quickly.

'What? How can you know that?'

'It was the plan all along,' said Tom with a calm voice. 'I have always liked symbology. When I started, I already knew I would create seven Horcruxes.'

'Seven,' repeated Harry shocked. It was too much! 'Ok well… Then the diary is already destroyed. That's one. Then there is the diadem, two. I know about the ring of Gaunt, three. There is me, which brings us to four. And that's all I have.'

'Only three missing,' smiled Tom. He gestured towards the diadem of Ravenclaw which hadn't moved since Harry had extracted the Horcrux from it. 'As I said, I like symbols and Hogwarts has always held a special place in my heart. I wanted to turn the emblem of every House into a Horcrux. When I created the diadem, I wanted to go back to Hogwarts to hide it and find the legendary sword of Gryffindor. I had already found Slytherin's Locket, and I know I had a good lead on Hufflepuff's Cup. However, I can't assure you I found it since my memory seem to stop at the time a piece of my soul was embedded in the diadem of Ravenclaw.'

'The sword isn't a Horcrux,' said Harry categorically. 'I found it and it didn't have an aura like the diadem. It isn't an Horcrux.'

'Then that leaves us with the Locket and the Cup. We'll have to look for the last one.'

'We? You actually want to go on with this plan?!'

'As I told you, Hogwarts is and will always be my Home,' replied Tom softly. 'I can't let anyone destroy it. Had I known what I became, I would have never started.' He paused and looked straight at Harry. 'You need stop thinking your not powerful, Potter. You need to start acknowledging that even though luck was on your side, you have an incredible resourcefulness and that you are talented. I don't know many fifteen-year-old who managed to manipulate wandless nonverbal magic like you. In fact, apart from me, I just know one.'

'And what do you want me to actually do?' Asked Harry while holding his gaze. 'Leaving Hogwarts? Hunting the Horcruxes down by myself and face Voldemort on my own? I mean you, more than anyone else, know what he is capable of! I am no match.'

'That is true,' approved Tom. 'Unless I help you.'

Harry couldn't deny that Tom was the best ally when it came to identify Voldemort's weaknesses. But would that be enough?

'I don't know,' he sighed. He glanced at the time. The curfew would be up in twenty minutes. It was time for him to leave.

Tom nodded. Such a decision couldn't be taken in one night. But he had given the idea and he was starting to get what kind of wizard Harry was. He would need time, but he would come around.