From Enemies to Allies

'So, what you're saying is that Dumbledore knows there is something, how did you put it… "Wrong" with you, but he doesn't know what it is.'

Harry nodded stiffly.

'But you don't think he knows you are an Horcrux?' Asked Tom.

'No, I don't,' replied Harry while massaging his temples.

'How can you be so sure?'

'Because if he knew… I am not sure I would be here to talk to you about it.'

'You think he would detain you somewhere?'

'I don't know,' shrugged Harry. He paused and reflected on what had happened in the office. 'It seems like he was genuinely trying to help me up there. But after what happened over the last few months, I don't know what to think of him anymore.'

'You don't know if you can trust him anymore, do you?' Completed Tom.

Harry raised his head and looked at the Horcrux. He had come to the Chamber and had found Tom standing near the fountain. He didn't really know why he had started to talk about his encounter with Dumbledore, but the dark-haired boy had listened attentively. Strangely, Harry felt it was exactly what he needed.

'That is the question, isn't it?' He admitted.

Tom nodded and started to pace slowly. This conversation was boring, Harry had all the elements he needed to take his Fate into his own hands. However, he was still chaining it to the will of others. He was young and still had much to learn. But he had so much potential, it was quite a shame to see him wasting it for the love of people who were nothing but unworthy of it.

'Aren't you tired to be used?' He asked abruptly.

Harry looked at him bewildered.

'Why do you think Dumbledore is trying to share information with you?' He asked impatiently while keeping a careful study of the boy's face and reaction.

'Because I am now ready to hear it,' replied Harry half-heartedly. Formulating it out loud made him realise how unconvincing it sounded.

'Dumbledore is the most powerful wizard of all time,' said Tom while rolling his eyes at Harry's pathetic answer. 'He is a brilliant mind. If he decided to share his knowledge, it means he doesn't have the choice anymore. You have been trained by the Founders. He might not be aware of that, but he has certainly sensed that you've been growing. And most of all, he knows he lost your trust. That is why he is allowing you in.'

Harry didn't reply immediately. Dumbledore was brilliant, that was unquestionable. As for the reason he was allowing him in, maybe Tom was onto something.

'Think about it,' continued Tom. 'He is aware of the true danger in which the Wizarding World is. A World that refuses to believe him. He knows he is the only one able to stop the threat, he already did it. Twice if you take Grindelwald into account. Of course, he is going to manipulate information.'

'Yes, but this time, it is not up to him,' retorted Harry. 'According to the Founder's prediction, I am the one with the power to defeat Voldemort, and…' He interrupted himself. If Dumbledore was only trusting himself to stop Voldemort and if Harry was the key, then it wasn't information Dumbledore had been manipulating.

'Now you see it,' smiled Tom.

Harry glanced angrily at him and began to pace back and forth.

Tom had a fair point, but he could not bring himself to see Dumbledore as a cold manipulator. Granted he had withheld information about the reason Voldemort had tried to kill him. But at the same time, would he really have wanted to hear, at eleven years old, that he was the one supposed to defeat the Dark Lord? No… He could understand Dumbledore's struggle and why he hid it. However, this didn't explain why the Headmaster had deliberately avoided him.

'In the end,' he finally said, 'I am not sure it does really matter.'

'And why is that?'

'To put it simply,' replied Harry while pivoting to face Tom, 'if he really is manipulating me, then I should stop seeking his help since he can't be trusted. On the other hand, if he truly cares, I can't risk having him helping me.' He saw Tom raising his eyebrows questioningly. 'Hogwarts is in danger, the last thing we need is to deprive her of his best defender.'

'So, you really think he would care enough to abandon the school and follow you?' Asked Tom with an amused look.

'I want to,' said Harry. 'Then again, does it really matter? In the end the outcome stays the same.' The glimmer of amusement shifter into something more intense in Tom's eyes. Harry raised his resolved gaze to meet them. 'I'll leave Hogwarts and I'll hunt the Horcruxes down. I will destroy them.'

'What then?' Asked Tom who hadn't taken his eyes off Harry. 'Will you face him? Are you ready to fight him?'

'I say we go one step at a time,' replied Harry as calmly as possible. 'It is not said I'll even manage to get all the Horcruxes. So, I suggest you ask me this question again when we'll be there.'

Tom blinked and smiled genuinely.

'What?' Asked Harry.

"You said "we",' answered Tom still grinning.

Harry smiled back briefly and nodded. Yes, he would bring Tom with him. To be honest he didn't stand a single chance alone. But with the help of the wizard who had become the very Dark Lord he was about to hunt down, maybe he did.

They spent the next hour hatching various plans so that Harry could leave the castle as discreetly as possible. Since he couldn't Apparate yet, it was clear that Harry would need to get his broom back. Given the close surveillance under which Harry's Firebolt was kept, it would need be retrieved at the very last moment. As for travelling lightly abut efficiently, Tom had some advice to give. Harry noticed the young man's enthusiasm to share his knowledge. He was still suspicious about Tom's true intention, but for a moment it really felt like he was talking to a friend.

With a pinch in his heart, he thought about Ron and Hermione. He still hadn't decided what he would tell them and if he would at all.