There were things I didn't like much in chapter 4 and parts I really enjoyed. Hopefully, this chapter will be much better.

Warnings: It's Shonen-ai, yaoi, slash, gay, whatever you call it. Harry Potter/ Tom Riddle

Notes: (X) is pov change and or time jump

Notes 2: I do not know French. I studied Japanese. So the minor conversation was handled by google translate. If it's wrong, and it probably is, blame that.

Chapter, 5

Harry sat, his mind numb, watching the events play out, his mind trying to piece things together once more. How many times had Tom destroyed his mentality? It just wasn't possible. None of this was possible. Tom Riddle was famous in both the Wizarding Community and the Muggle world? His Aunt Petunia, one of the most "normal" Muggles in the world, was aware of Tom Riddle. Was fawning over him like a teenage girl.

Like I can talk. He wanted Tom's attention on him, but that was crazy. Understandable it seemed, but still crazy. Even if Tom liked him as he claimed and Harry was beginning to think that was true, how long until he found someone else? It would be easy to find someone better looking, smarter, anything really then Harry. Anyone of the healers at the F.A.I.R.Y convention, probably most of the people sitting inside the restaurant. He was seated with the few who weren't, but everyone else? He gave the room a good look over. Not far to their left was what looked to be an older teen with his parents with short blonde hair and a nice face. A bit farther to the right was a beautiful girl with long brown hair wearing a whitish blue sparkling dress. She was laughing at something the girl with her said. Harry couldn't see her friend's face, but she had long curly blonde hair and was wearing a pink dress.

More looks around the room gave him the same results. Successful people out enjoying their evening. None of them looked out of place here. They were at ease, dining in a place they most likely ate at once or twice a month, maybe even a week. Anyone of them could be Tom's next victim.

Tom's Fancy, Harry reminded himself with a slight smirk. Even if the person would end up a victim soon after as he moved from person to person.

"What are you staring at," Tom asked, just a hint of anger in his voice.

Harry redirected his gaze towards Tom. The teen did not look happy in the least. In fact, despite the smile on his face, his eyes said he was ready to kill someone. Harry rolled his eyes. He was allowed to look at the competition. It wasn't like he was going to leave with any of the restaurant guests. Tom was. He was simply curious as to what successful Muggles looked like.

Granted… An image of Draco flashed through his mind for just a second. He couldn't do anything about it right now, Tom would murder them it seemed, but after Tom had moved on, why not ask Draco out? He'd thought it was mad at first, but the more he thought about it, the more he kind of liked the idea. If he could get Draco away from his father and they moved in together, perhaps Draco would stop being such a git to his other friends.

"Harry," Tom said. Harry could hear a hint of a growl now.

"The fountain," Harry said, since it was true. He had started out looking at the fountain. He couldn't help his gaze had wandered. Even if it wasn't one of these people, the chances of them being similar were high. Probably a witch or wizard though, he thought. Tom was wrapped up in both communities too strongly for him to date a Muggle.

"I loved your review on the Ginger layer cake with poached pears and cream cheese," Petunia said. She'd raised her voice in no doubt an attempt to get Tom to look her way again. This was the first time he'd heard excitement in his Aunt's voice when she wasn't speaking about Dudley. "You were quite right. The pears weren't necessary. I found the recipe and substituted the pairs with lemons as you suggested. It was delicious," she said beaming.

"I remember that cake," Dudley said his eyes going distant, a smile on his face. "It was good."

If he gets along with the Dursleys… There would be no chance that Tom and he would get along. The fact that they could have a decent conversation was proof enough. Not that the Dursleys would accept Tom if they knew he was a Wizard, but they wouldn't find out. It took a special kind of person to be friends with the Dursleys however, and Harry wanted nothing to do with it.

It doesn't matter. Of course, it did, but Harry didn't want to acknowledge that right now. What he wanted was to leave the restaurant and go to Sirius's house. He didn't even care if they went to Switzerland anymore, he just wanted to be around his family and around people that actually cared about him. People he could confine in with everything.

"Is your table ready to order," a waiter asked. This waiter was different from the one that had originally seated them. He seemed more refined, his clothes somehow of higher quality than the other staff. Harry wondered how he managed to keep such a pristine look since he was running from table to table taking orders and delivering food.

"I'm ready," James said. "Lils? Harry?"

"If everyone else is," Lily said giving James warning glare.

Harry nodded absently turning his attention back to the fountain in the room.

"I think I have to agree with Petunia. We should let the expert order for us," Vernon said giving Tom a smile. "What would you suggest?"

Because thinking for yourself and possibly ordering something Tom wouldn't like would be a catastrophe! He rolled his eyes.

Petunia's smile was so large Harry was sure her jaw was going to break. Dudley looked somewhat disappointed, his eyes lingering on something on the menu. His mother gave him a sharp look and he reluctantly set the menu down.

"We know what we want," James said in a neutral tone. "Maybe Tom can let us know if we're in danger of something nasty when we order our puddings." He smiled at Tom. "No offense?"

"Some people just know when to ask for help, others…" He gave James a half-smile and winked at him before turning to the waiter. Petunia and Vernon looked thrilled at Tom's words. "Does anyone have any food allergies?"

"No," Petunia said. "None of us have any of those dreadful things." She raised her head high as if looking down on the would-be allergies.

"Wonderful." Tom turned to the waiter giving him yet another large smile. "The young man here will be partaking in your hákarl special drizzled with durian and served with a side of jing leed." He motioned to Vernon. "He will be having shirako paired with pinyin." The charm seemed to be flowing off him as he turned to Petunia. "And for the dear woman, arroz de cabidela with Skuon."

Harry noticed the waiter was trying to fight off an expression of some sort. His eyes shot from each person sitting at the table before settling on Tom.

"Monsieur, êtes-vous sûr?" Sir, are you sure?

"Tu me questionnes?" Are you questioning me?

"Vous ne devez pas aimer cette famille." You must not like this family.

"Je déteste les gros et la girafe." I detest the fat ones and the giraffe.

The waiter gave a small nod.

"Compris." Understood.

Of course, he would know another language, Harry thought now glaring at the fountain. Tom probably knew hundreds of languages, no all of them. He was scowling now and tapping his foot on the floor. No one was supposed to be this smart or perfect. Who even wanted to date someone so perfect? All it did was show all your flaws. He knew he had flaws; he didn't need to have them thrown in his face every few minutes.

"My son and I are having the steak meals," James said setting his menu down.

"And I'll have the chicken dinner," Lily said.

"How would you like your steaks," the waiter asked.

"Well done," James said. "Harry?"

"Well done is fine," he muttered.

"There's that grumpy attitude I know," Tom said cheerfully. He gave Harry a gentle shove on the arm.

Harry glared at him, his face turning red.

"Very well…I will place the orders," the waiter said removing the menus from the table and disappearing into the kitchen. Dudley watched the waiter go, almost looking like he wanted to cry.

"Dudley's never grumpy, are you Dudlikins," Petunia said, her voice covered in sugar. "He's always been such a cheerful boy."

Harry was pretty sure Dudley was grumpy right now. His cousin was staring at his plate as hard as he'd been staring at the fountain. He wasn't sure if he blamed Dudley either. He'd never heard of hákarl and there was no telling what Dudley was getting to eat. All of the things Tom had mentioned had sounded foreign and weird.

"Are you jealous they're trying something new," Tom asked.

"Hardly," Harry said. "I told you yesterday, I'm normal. I'll stick with my well-done steak."

"Probably for the best," Tom said. He dropped his hand on Harry's shoulder and patted it. "I don't think these dishes are for you." He seemed to think about something. "Stick with the normal steak."

"Whatever," Harry said.

"Don't be rude boy," Vernon snapped.

Lily's hand went to James' own. His father looked conflicted, but Lily shook her head.

Don't screw this up, Harry reminded himself. If Tom hadn't joined them he could have spent the entire evening staring at the fountain or his plate while his aunt and uncle rattled off insults, some more direct then others. He could have picked at his food, eaten some of it if it was good and then begged his father to take him to a burger joint or a chippy. There had to be one or the other somewhere in the area.

"I'd really—," James started.

"—Tom, I'm quite curious, how did you find us," Lily said cutting James off. "We were under the impression you were busy today," she said.

Harry hated how desperate she looked. If they started fighting now it would be his fault. All the planning and begging his mother must have done to get his Aunt Petunia to even consider having dinner with them again would be for nothing. He lowered his gaze back to the table, his fists clenching at his sides. His father and he could vent after the dinner was over. They just had to handle this for another hour or so.

"Oh, nothing a few phone calls couldn't handle," Tom laughed. "I realized my mistake when I awoke and found you gone." He might have been laughing, but Harry could feel the dark aura radiating from him. "And while I'm sure you were just so pressed for time this morning you couldn't wait, I admit I was feeling a bit, angry?"

He is definitely mad, Harry thought. He wanted to rest his head on the table, or in his hand, but he knew if his elbow touched the table, his aunt would scream.

"Harry mentioned going out to dinner so I called around all the restaurants within your driving time and asked if there were any reservations under the name Potter."

Petunia sniffed at that, as did Vernon. Tom ignored them.

"When that didn't work, I thought myself out of luck, but I managed to locate you after all," he finished pleasantly.

That didn't explain anything!

"How did you even come to…meet them," Petunia asked struggling to get the words out. It finally seemed to occur to her that Tom might be more than just a food critic.

"We ran into him at a banquet," Lily said smiling ear to ear. "To celebrate doctors." The smile was so forced his mother's face was turning colors.

Why did I have to get dragged into this, Harry mentally groaned. They could have just left him with Sirius for the evening. Of course, if he stayed with Sirius, his father wouldn't have gotten near the restaurant and his mother would have been eating dinner with his aunt's family alone. Right now that seemed completely fair. Here he was, trying to behave, despite his uncle's jabs, and Tom provoking him and they weren't even trying to defend him. How could they call themselves his family? First, they'd forgotten him at the train station, now they were letting the Dursleys insult him. Maybe he'd been wrong. Maybe his parents didn't care about him nearly as much as he'd thought.

"Well we were certainly lucky that you found us," Aunt Petunia said. "I never imagined I'd get to meet you in person. I'd say we're the lucky ones."

"Quite right Petunia, quite right," Vernon said slapping the table lightly.

The waiter reappeared with a wooden folding table and a large tray with dishes, each one with a silver cover. He straightened the wooden table out with a quick jerk and set the tray down on top of it.

"Two steaks," he said placing one plate in front of James and the other in front of Harry. He removed the lids, a wonderful smell greeting Harry's nose. The steak had been grilled and juice dripped off it. Surrounding the meat was red potatoes, carrots, and green beans. Harry could smell a strong seasoning coming from the meat and vegetables and his mouth began to water.

"The chicken," the waiter said setting a plate in front of Lily. He removed the lid to reveal a chicken smothered in mashed potatoes, rice, broccoli, and cheese.

"Thank you," Lily said.

"Yeah, thanks," Harry added quickly, James following.

"The usual for you," the waiter said setting Tom's plate in front of him. He removed the lid to show an assortment of cooked vegetables and what may have been a small piece of steak.

"Thank you," Tom said bowing his head slightly.

Harry was surprised to see all the different vegetables in Tom's plate and brown rice on the side. Large mushrooms, colorful chopped onions, carrots, peppers, zucchini, and others Harry wasn't quite sure of. For some reason, he'd thought Tom would be eating puddings instead of real food for dinner.

"What," Tom asked catching Harry's gaze.

"I just…didn't expect this."

"A stir fry," Tom asked raising an eyebrow. "What did you think would be my order?"

"I don't know," Harry said. He wasn't going to tell Tom he thought he'd be ordering puddings.

Another waiter stopped at their table. The first waiter removed the large tray and the second waiter laid the tray down onto the table and then took the empty tray back with her.

"Your hákarl special drizzled with duriana and served with a side of jing leed." The waiter's expression turned grim. Tom glared at him and gave a sharp nod. Closing his eyes and backing away fast, the waiter removed the lid. Dudley's face turned green before anyone else's did. Petunia let out a small gasp that she seemed immediately to regret and Vernon began coughing.

Harry brought his hand up to cover his mouth and nose. He'd never smelt such an offending smell before in his life. His eyes began to water and he had to force himself not to gag. It seemed they'd accidentally covered Dudley's food with rotting flesh from a sewer and tried to disinfect it with ammonia. There had to be something dead lurking inside the plate too. When Harry could actually look at the dish, he was surprised that it was just small white and pink cubes drizzled with some yellowish sauce. In choice, places were small pieces of something dark red.

"It is rather smelly, but quite delicious," Tom said. He seemed to have been the only one who hadn't started gagging at the stench.

I'm shocked and I shouldn't be, Harry mentally growled.

The smell at least lessened and the waiter approached them once more.

"Your shirako paired with pinyin," the waiter said. Harry took it as a good sign when the waiter didn't try to retreat as he removed the lid. Uncle Vernon's dish smelled, but not nearly as much as Dudley's. In fact, Harry was more worried about what it looked like rather than its smell. Sitting inside a plate was what Harry could only describe as three small pinkish-white brains. Two black objects sat on each side of the weird-looking foods and a green blob of something adorned the side of the plate.

"Are these brains," Uncle Vernon asked his face pale.

"No," Tom said smiling. "I wouldn't do that to you."

Vernon didn't seem sure of that anymore. He glanced at the waiter who nodded.

"It is not brains." He removed the last plate and placed it before Aunt Petunia. The woman flinched when the lid came off and closed her eyes. The waiter shook his head as he placed the last lid onto the tray, lifted it up with ease, and with another quick jerk, unfolded the table. He left without another word.

Aunt Petunia's dish was not nearly as frightening as the other two. Before her was a bowl with some large pieces of meat inside. For some reason, all of it was a dark brown color except for a few vegetables and whatever the black pieces floating around on top were.

"I assure you, they're quite good," Tom said. The innocence in his voice didn't fool Harry. There was no way the food in front of the Dursleys was edible. If it was, it couldn't taste good. Harry wasn't even sure he wanted to eat his food with the other things on the table. If nothing else the smell was making it quite difficult to look at his meal.

Petunia finally opened her eyes. She looked relieved to see that her order was a simple stew.

"Well, we should probably all dig in. If our expert here says it's good…" She eyed the food wearily.

"I'm not eating this," Dudley said pushing his plate forward.

"Don't get that near my steak," James said in surprise. He pushed Dudley's plate back while moving his own towards Lily.

"I don't want it," Dudley shouted. "I wanted the steak!"

"Well you're not getting mine," James said.

"Dudley," Aunt Petunia snapped. The guests around them were beginning to look at them. "You will eat your meal like the rest of us—"

"Why did they get to choose what they wanted," Dudley demanded. "It's not fair! I didn't want this stuff! No one would eat this!" He stood up.

"Sit down," Uncle Vernon growled. "We're paying good money for this food and you will enjoy it," he yelled at his son.

"Then take a bite of yours," Dudley demanded.

More colored drained from Vernon's face as he looked at his own plate.

"Wh, what is it," he asked Tom.

"Fish," Tom said. "Just fish. It's a Japanese dish."

"Japanese, huh?" Uncle Vernon picked up his fork and poked at the brain like object. It jiggled for a second before stopping. He looked at Petunia, his eyes pleading her not to make him eat it. She glared at him and his shoulders dropped. He shoved his fork into one and lifted it off the plate. "Y, you swear, it's just fish?" The food was in front of his mouth.

"I promise," Tom said. "It's just fish."

Uncle Vernon gave a small nod and popped the brain like food into his mouth. He cringed and then slowly began chewing. Everyone watched him. It took about three minutes before he swallowed.

"If you don't care for the fishy taste, perhaps dip a tiny bit into the wasabi first? The heat from the horseradish sometimes helps balance it out. It is spicy, however, so be careful."

"A little spice never hurt anyone," Vernon chuckled. Some of his uncle's confidence had reappeared and he dipped the entire brain looking food into the wasabi. He continued to do this with each item on his plate.

Harry wondered how his uncle's food tasted because he couldn't imagine smothering anything in horseradish the way Vernon was. Tom lifted his hand up to protest, but Vernon had already popped one of the black objects he'd covered in the green sauce into his mouth. His uncle made an odd choking sound. He struggled to keep the food in his mouth, his face turning a horrible purplish red. He spit the food back out seconds later and fell into a coughing fit.

Harry jumped back, chair and all to avoid being hit with any of the unknown substance.

"Vernon!" Petunia was up rushing to her husband's side. He thrashed about trying to grab his glass of water and instead knocked it over, water spilling everywhere. "Here!" Petunia grabbed her own water and held it up to his lips.

The people around them were once more staring at their table, this time most of them chuckling. The older waiter, Peter, came rushing towards their table, his nostrils flaring, his eyes narrowed, and his mouth a thin line.

"What nonsense are you…." He saw the mess on the table, Vernon desperately drinking the glass of water that Petunia was holding for him, and looked at Tom.

"He had too much wasabi. I did warn him."

Peter sighed rubbing his left temple with his left index finger.

"Your table is disrupting everyone else's dinner! If you were not who you were, I'd have you removed immediately!"

"I am so sorry," Lily said. She had the same look she wore when she apologized to someone about one of James' pranks. Both very apologetic and strained.

Peter 'hmphed'.

"No more outbursts! Or I will kick you out myself!" He glared at each one of them in turn before leaving the table.

"Is that better," Aunt Petunia whispered to Uncle Vernon. She was rubbing his back gently.

"S, so hot…"

"I did warn him," Tom whispered leaning back in his chair. He picked up his fork and used it to pop a mushroom into his mouth.

Harry couldn't stop the smile tugging at his lips and looked down to hide it. If his mother's family realized he was enjoying this display they'd never forgive him or his mother.

"I want to eat somewhere else," Dudley mumbled. "I don't like it here."

"The staff is rather rude," Aunt Petunia said glaring at the direction Peter had vanished in. "Perhaps we shouldn't have trusted the Thompsons," she seethed. "They gave us a bad restaurant recommendation on purpose!"

"Why don't all three of you just order something different," Lily suggested. She had just finished cleaning up the water on the table with her napkin.

The three Dursleys glared at her.

"You would defend this place. It's probably one of your places," Petunia said coldly.

Uncle Vernon's eyes widened.

"You don't think they put something in my food, do you?!" People were shaking their heads now, a lot of them whispering. They'd become the main source of entertainment in the restaurant.

"We should leave," Petunia said.

"Should we stop at the hospital," Vernon asked.

"You don't have to leave, this is a normal restaurant," Lily protested. "Really, I would have warned you if it wasn't!"

"I want to get food from somewhere else," Dudley whined. "I'm hungry."

"We're all hungry, for some good food," Aunt Petunia said. "You can pay for this filth." She motioned to the table with her hand.

"Petunia," Lily said getting up from her chair. "Please, we can all find another—"

"Just stay away from my family," she hissed. Lily just stood there for a moment, her shoulders slumping. She looked so sad and Harry began to feel guilty for enjoying the Dursleys' restaurant experience. They gathered their things and stormed off, Uncle Vernon screaming he wanted to speak with the manager. More and more people began turning towards the table or watching the Dursley family go. Lily's face turned bright pink.

"I need to use the restroom," she said quietly and dashed off through the tables.

"I should probably make sure she's okay," James said standing up. "Nice work Tom." He gave the teen an approving grin and then went after his wife.

"I'm glad you enjoyed it," Tom said, his voice smug.

Harry was torn. He had indeed enjoyed watching Tom ruin the Dursleys' evening and yet it had caused his mother a great deal of grief. She should have just visited with his aunt when his father and he weren't around. It hadn't actually been their fault but had she just gone out with Petunia for lunch, this disaster would have never had a chance to happen.

"What is that," Harry asked pointing to the brain like object. It was sitting on the table now as some horrid centerpiece.

"It is fish," Tom said snickering. "Just a little different from what most people eat, unless you're from Japan."

"So what is it," Harry repeated. "What's all of this?" He thought he deserved some sort of explanation. Perhaps he could explain to his mother that Tom had not ordered anything strange, smelly yes, but some foods just were.

"So, hákarl is a dish from Iceland," Tom explained. "It's fermented shark, to say the least."

Harry examined the small cubes from a distance.

"It must ferment for a long time. It smells like something died, they tried to clean it with dirty toilet water, and just gave up."

"Well, the shark is drained from six to twelve weeks. After that, it's dried for months. It's actually not the worst tasting thing in the world." He shrugged taking another bite of his own food. "People in Iceland eat it all the time."

"Those people must be crazy," Harry said shaking his head.

"Well, hákarl smells bad enough. I told them to use durian for the glaze. It's a very bad smelling fruit." He pointed to the small cut up red pieces. "And those are cut up fried grasshoppers."

Harry couldn't believe what he was hearing. His cousin had almost eaten rotten shark and fried bugs. It was a shame it'd smelt so bad. Dudley might have actually tried it otherwise. On the other hand, it was probably best that he hadn't. If his mother ever found out what Tom had ordered from Dudley, she might never let him speak to Tom again.

He blinked a few times, surprised at how much that thought hurt him. It was worse than it'd been the night before. It almost made him sick to his stomach.

"What about the other two," he asked trying to distract his thoughts. "What did my uncle actually eat?" He could only imagine what Uncle Vernon's food was if Dudley's had been rotting fish. Dudley's had at least looked acceptable, but his uncle's dish had just been strange.

"Male Cod egg sacks," Tom said smirking.

"Wh, what?"

"And an over preserved egg."

"And Aunt Petunia?"

"Rabbit, cooked in its own blood and garnished with spider legs."

Harry gaped at Tom. He wasn't sure what was worse, that Tom had ordered the food, or that the restaurant actually kept those things in stock. He'd definitely been wise to stick with the steak. There was no way he'd ever be able to tell his mother what Tom had ordered for the Dursleys. She'd disown both of them.

"All of these items are normal everyday foods in other countries, well. ThehHákarl is sometimes reserved for holidays," Tom said giving a slight shrug. "But nothing poisonous and nothing truly out of the ordinary."

"You are horrible," Harry said grinning.

"Maybe, you seem happy enough and that's all I'm concerned with." He set his fork down and took Harry's left hand in his own. "You're lucky I found you."

"How did you find us," Harry asked lowering his voice. "I tried to leave a message with that girl behind the desk and she told me your room was privacy protected."

"I had forgotten about that," Tom sighed. "I woke up around ten and went downstairs to find your room empty. When I realized what had happened I simply used a location finding spell."

"Unbelievable," Harry said shaking his head.

"It merely allowed me to prove a very important point. You have no chance at ditching me, so don't bother trying." He released Harry's hand. "And stop looking at other people. Your attention is for me only now."

His attention only? Was he kidding? No one cared if they had Harry's attention. Besides, Tom's attention was much more important. He wanted the other teen to only think about him, but that was never going to happen.

"Why didn't you send an owl?" The question brought with it emotions Harry hadn't even realized he'd been trying to hold in. "I had no idea what was going on. You snogged me and then I woke up and found out you had a privacy request in place. I don't hear from you all day…."

Don't cry and stop shaking!

"Have I not proven to you how much I care?" Tom's confidence was gone. "Do you realize how mad I was when I found out you'd left without me? The fact that I didn't burn the inn down was a miracle and only spared because of Dumbledore." His face was red now and scrunched up. "I couldn't understand how anyone could just leave me like that."

"I didn't want to," Harry said digesting the words. Was Tom actually as insecure as he was? How was that possible? Or, was he just acting? He was a master manipulator. "I wanted to leave a message, but the woman wouldn't let me. She said you couldn't get any owls until the privacy request was lifted." He shook his head. His parents had wanted to leave and Harry had thought Tom had used him. "I had thought once you made out with someone you were done with them and I couldn't get myself to find out if that was the case." There, he'd admitted how much of a coward he was. "I'm sorry."

"What kind of person do you think I am," Tom asked. He looked both mad and surprised.

"...There are plenty of students I know who will ask other students out as a joke. They date for a few days, sometimes a week, and then end it. They tell the other student it was a joke, that they did it for kicks, that they'd never date that kind of person." He gave a small shrug. "You keep going on about previous partners and you're pretty famous, you're handsome. I don't understand why you're even talking to someone as plain as me."

"So, because I'm smart and good looking that makes me an arsehole," Tom demanded, his face now clearly showing disbelief.

"Not just that," Harry said quickly. "You just acted like you were a pureblood sympathizer and most of them are arseholes. You were a jerk in the bookstore and in front of the hotel. We didn't even know each other's names and yet you insisted that you wanted to date me. It just felt like you were trying to see if I was dumb enough to keep believing you. When I found out about the privacy request, I was sure that was the end of all of it. You'd snogged me and since you'd gotten that, you were done with me!"

Tom released Harry's hand, his eye narrowing.

"Let me make something very clear. I have had plenty of partners, yes, but none of them would I consider a joke. Not everyone with a brain or a good looking face is an arse, and while you may be plain compared to me, you are not compared to others." He grabbed Harry's shirt collar and jerked him forward. "And I may not have met you directly before the award ceremony, but Dumbledore has talked about you quite often. I have had mild interest in you for years, but have never had the chance or the time to meet with you." He released Harry's shirt.

Harry's heart pounded and he sat back in his chair. Why was Dumbledore talking about him at his home? He hadn't done anything impressive enough to speak with Tom about or to anyone.

"I'm sorry," he said quietly. "I had no idea…."

"Ask before jumping to conclusions," Tom snapped.

Harry nodded, an uneasy silence settling around them. The Gryffindor wanted to crawl away and hide for the next five years or however long it took for everyone in the restaurant, Tom included, to forget he existed. So, he'd misjudged Tom, to an extent. Tom was an arsehole and a jerk. He might not admit to Harry that he thought any of his previous relationships were jokes, but how could he know for sure?

"Fine." He stood up and started for the entranceway. He needed a few minutes to himself so he could think things through. He needed to be able to figure out what he was going to do. His mother was going to be furious when she found out about Tom's intentional wrecking of the dinner and tell him to never speak to Tom again. Tom was mad at him for judging him against the other people his age that Harry actually knew. The only one who wasn't mad at him was his father. Sirius would understand too, but he wasn't there.

A thought clicked in Harry's mind. Sirius indeed was not here, but Harry could always go to him. All he needed to do was get outside and keep walking until he found an owl.

He walked passed the bathrooms; neither of his parents were there. Harry wasn't sure what that meant, but the host did not stop him when he walked by. He stepped outside, the warm evening air calming him somewhat. At least it wasn't raining or anything. He would be able to find a way to contact Sirius in good weather.

"Where do you think you're going," a voice whispered coldly to him. He felt a wand tip touch his neck and he froze. Was Tom out of his mind?! They were outside of a Muggle restaurant in a Muggle city!

"What is wrong with you," Harry hissed quietly. "If anyone sees you with that we'll both get into trouble!"

The wand was jabbed into his neck then.

"Shut up!"

A hand wrapped tightly around Harry's wrist and then a loud crack. Harry was suddenly being pulled in every single direction at once. Nothing made sense anymore. He couldn't focus on a single spot, it was like he'd been standing in front of the restaurant and then his consciousness had tried to force itself out of his body. Without warning it stopped. He staggered forward landing on his hands and knees.

"Search him," a voice ordered.

Before he could react, hands were padding him up and down. When the hands found his pocket, they removed his wand and the two Galleons he'd been keeping on him just in case.

"What are you doing," he demanded. One of the hands shoved him hard and his face collided with the ground. He groaned, his world spinning again, but thankfully, nothing like it had a few minutes before. Ropes wrapped themselves around his wrists and a set of hands grabbed them. With a harsh tug, Harry was jerked onto his feet.

"Take him into the building."

Harry started to turn, but another hand jerked his head forward. In front of him stood a huge stone building with tons of windows and a single large door in the middle. It looked like some abandoned castle. The entrance looked like a tower and even had conical spheres on top. Ivy and other plant life had wrapped itself around the outer walls. As they moved, closer Harry noted a giant clock set just below the roof of the entrance. Trees grew on both sides of the muddy path, most of it buried beneath the grass, and in front of the castle itself.

When they entered, Harry's eyes began to water. The inside looked worse than the outside. From the outside, the castle looked put together, but there were no illusions once you stepped in. A lot of the floor was missing; some parts actually had mud and grass showing through. The staircase, from what he could see of it, had collapsed in on itself in most places. Dust covered almost everything.

"You'll get to see the Chateau, don't worry. You're going to be here a while." The man started laughing at that.

"What in the hell is the point of this," Harry demanded, his temper flaring. What could Tom possibly "teach" him with this? Don't leave him behind, ever? Fine, he'd sit in the next hotel lobby for hours if need be until Tom came and retrieved him. Don't consider him an arse? It was way too late for that. Tom was beyond an arsehole if this was his way of punishing Harry for something he really had no control over. "You realize my dad is an Auror right? He's going to arrest you, genius or not," Harry growled.

"Genius?" The person behind him stepped into view. He was a short bald wizard with a large nose and a couple of boils on his head. He was wearing filthy pants with a shirt just as dirty. "Never been called a genius before." He grinned and scratched at his bald head.

"W, who in the hell are you," Harry asked his eyes widening.

"I'm Mather," the short wizard said.

"Are you working with him!?"

"With Brian, yeah," Mather said grinning. He was missing a few teeth. "Bet you didn't think we'd find you so fast!"

"Who's Brian," Harry asked now at a complete loss. "Did Tom hire you?"

"Don't know a Tom," Mather said. He used his free arm to run under his nose and wipe it. Harry had to stop himself from gagging. "Brian be mad if I don't get you to the kitchen!" He moved behind Harry and shoved him forward again.

The kitchen turned out to be as bad looking as the rest of the house. The only difference was, this room had all of its floor. Mather pulled Harry towards a spot in the middle of the room. He could make out a metal loop hanging from the wall. When they were standing next to it, Mather removed his wand from his pocket and tapped the ropes. The rope twisted and stretched wrapping around the metal loop and solidifying. The rope around Harry's arms also melted into itself before forming into shackles.

"If you don't know Tom, why are you even doing this," Harry demanded.

Mather laughed. It sounded like a mix between a donkey and a hyena.

"Don't you know who we are," Mather asked.

"If I did I wouldn't be asking," Harry said glaring at the wizard.

Another form, this one taller, walked into the room.

"You're both quite noisy," the wizard said. As he came into view, Harry was annoyed that he still didn't know who either of these people were. This newcomer was much better looking and at least wearing clean clothes. Harry recognized the voice as the one who'd held a wand to his neck. "Welcome to your new temporary home," the man, said throwing his arms into the air and smiling at harry. He approached Harry, the smile never leaving his face. "You have to tell me, what does it feel like to be kidnapped thanks to your father?"

"Huh?" Harry stared at the wizard in front of him, then at Mather. Kidnapped? He'd been kidnapped? Okay sure, he'd been stopped at wand point and side along apparated, but kidnapped? And because of his father? His father had, had him kidnapped? Why would he do that?

"You seem confused. Do you not recognize me," the taller wizard asked.

"Why would my father want me kidnapped," Harry asked.

"…perhaps you hit your head a bit too hard when we arrived." He sighed shaking his head. "This is for revenge, and ransom money," the wizard explained. "Your father got us sent to Azkaban and we plan on returning the favor. We can't get him sent to Azkaban, but we can make him feel as helpless as we did."

My father doesn't get people sent, he sends them for doing shite like this, he thought sighing himself now. So, this was it. His last few days alive had been one long string of unlucky events leading up to him being kidnapped at a restaurant. Well, at least he couldn't say he didn't have an interesting ending. He'd been forgotten, somehow caught the eye of the teen genius Tom Riddle, and had watched his mother's family be embarrassed and pressured into eating strange foods. He'd managed to lose Tom's interest by judging him by normal standards. They could write a book or make a movie out of the last few days of his life.

"Did he die," Mather asked worriedly. "We won't get the ransom money if he's dead!"

"I know that," the taller wizard said rolling his eyes. He straightened up. "You're going to be here for a while; you might as well sit down."

Harry did as he was told. There was no point in causing them any trouble at this point. They had his wand and until they announced to his family that they had him, no one would be looking for him.

"When are you going to tell them," Harry asked.

"We're going to let them worry a while, and then we'll tell them," the wizard said.

"Could you not wait," Harry asked.

"And pass up the chance of seeing them frantically searching for you," the wizard asked with a laugh. "I think not!"

"No really…they probably won't even know I'm missing until you bring it to their attention. My parents haven't exactly been keeping tabs on me."

"You expect me to believe your parents won't notice you're missing?"

Harry grimaced at that. His mother was probably still crying over his Aunt Petunia and his father would be busy trying to console her. Tom had probably left the restaurant shortly after he had, so when his parents returned and saw both Tom and Harry gone, they'd just assume the two had run off together. His mother may even be mad that he'd "chosen Tom over them" and tell his father not to bother. They could go to Switzerland without him.

He could feel the blood draining from his face, his energy depleting. No one was going to come looking for him until school started and he didn't show up. Even if Sirius asked about him, his parents would just tell him he skipped town with his new boyfriend.

A groan escaped his lips and he dropped his head. This was a great situation he'd gotten himself into. At least this wizard intended on telling his parents they had him eventually.

"You really don't think they'll notice," the taller wizard said in slight awe.

"Hogwarts will tell them I never showed up," Harry said. "So if you could do it before that…"

"Brian…do you think he's trying to fool us," Mather asked.

"It doesn't matter; we'll be holding him for the next week or two before informing his parents. So you can say whatever you wish, but until then, you'll be here with us." He turned his back on Harry and strode out of the room. Mather glanced back at Harry before chasing after Brian.

Harry watched them go. Well. He'd managed to ditch his parents and Tom just like he'd thought, though he hadn't dreamt of doing it in this manner. He wouldn't have to deal with any of them for another week at least. And, if he was going to be staying for a week, they'd have to feed him.

He should have never angered Tom. He could have used that location spell he'd used before to find Harry again.

Not once had Harry ever thought that his father's profession would eventually get him kidnapped. Sirius and his father were great at their job. They sometimes ran into a nasty witch or wizard, but his father had never mentioned any particularly bad ones. The name Brian hadn't come up in any of his father's recent letters. Mather hadn't either. He couldn't remember Sirius mentioning the two either. It didn't really matter. Whoever they were, they'd caught him.

I'm such an idiot.

(TBC)