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Harry tried to focus on the book that was open in front of him. These days books were his only source of entertainment. Ever since Greyback had found him in the forest, he'd planted a guard outside the alcove so that he couldn't sneak out. It had been three days since he'd seen the light of day and he was getting pretty tired of being trapped.

The isolation had given him all the more chance to process what he'd witnessed and done that day in the forest. Tom had been crying at his grave. He'd been so unhappy. Did that mean he repented his decision? Was Tom really feeling guilty for killing him? He couldn't stop thinking about how miserable Tom had looked.

He'd wanted to step out of the bush and reveal himself. He'd wanted to console Tom but that hadn't been the right time for it. It hadn't been Tom, that had murdered him that day. It had been Dumbledore that had ensnared Tom's soul and was leeching off his vitality…channelling his wickedness through him.

What was he supposed to do? How was he supposed to break the curse? How was he going to free Tom from Dumbledore? The riddle had been playing in his head over and over again and he couldn't make sense of it.

Embrace the darkness, lose your soul.

Accept the curse and become whole

He'd already lost his soul once, hadn't he? What else was he supposed to do? He ran his hand over his face as he exhaled. This was going to be the end of him. He closed the book and rose to his feet. He couldn't deal with this. He was about to walk straight out of the alcove when the guard stopped,

"You're not allowed to leave."

He was about to say something when Greyback walked towards them,

"What's the matter, Harry?"

He moved closer to Greyback and spoke,

"I want to go out, Fenrir. I'm tired of staying here."

Greyback cupped his cheek gently ad spoke,

"Harry, you know it's not safe for you outside."

He sighed,

"I know but I'm tired of hiding."

Greyback wrapped an arm around his shoulder and led him back inside the alcove before sitting him down on the pallet,

"Harry, if you want to leave this forest then you're free to go. You have the liberty to leave and never come back."

He shook his head,

"I told Bella that I'm not leaving this castle…not until I break the curse and free you all."

Fenrir patted him on the shoulder,

"Harry, you're not honour bound to do this. Your safety is all that matters."

He rested his head on Greyback's shoulder and Greyback gently rubbed his back,

"I want to do this for you and Bella."

Greyback patted him on the back and spoke,

"The best thing you can do for us is to stay safe."

He nodded quietly but he'd already made up his mind. He was leaving these caves as soon as he could and confront Tom. Greyback fed him lunch and left to deal with some matters. It took him all the stealth he possessed to sneak out of the room and the caves. Once he was out in the forest, he weaved his way through the trees as fast as he could until he found himself in the garden of the west wing. It was partially cloudy but he savoured the sunlight as much as he could and soaked it in. He might not get the chance to feel it if Dumbledore killed him again. He ran his gaze around the garden and committed the sight to his memory. The sunlight conjured the most brilliant of mosaics, reflecting from each leaf and wisp of cloud. It was as if there was a pure joy in the light, as if it were happy to create art where it shone, warm and steady. It was so beautiful. Each tree was a masterpiece, each wand of grass something magical.

He could stand here all day. It had been days since he'd seen the sun… The warm rays came as an elixir. The air he breathed in was sweeter than anything in the world. The birds' chorus beautified the atmosphere further and he wanted nothing more than to lie back on the cool grass and take a nap.

Unfortunately, he didn't have the time for that. If Greyback discovered that he was gone, he'd come looking for him. So, without further dilly-dallying, he hurried inside the castle and made his way through the corridors. There was something incredibly soothing about being inside the castle's walls again. The corridors were as dusty as he remembered them and just as vacant. He imagined what these walls would like when they were resonating with voices, music, laughter…. life... It would truly be a sight to behold. It didn't take him long to find the statue of Salazar Slytherin.

He stood in front of it and just stared at it for a minute as he battled that the nagging feeling, he was going to die again. Well, not that easily…This time he was not going to present himself to be murdered…not before, he got Tom to see sense… not before, he told Tom all about Dumbledore and the conversation he'd had with him.

Taking in a deep breath, he spoke,

"Open."

Had he spoken that in english? It had sounded like it. He closed his eyes and tried again,

"Open!"

But the statue didn't budge and he realized that he was probably speaking in English. And then it dawned on him. The piece of Tom's soul inside of him had been responsible for his ability to speak in parseltongue. Now that it was gone, he didn't have that ability anymore. But, he couldn't allow that to stop him. He rapped his knuckles against the statue…once…twice…He was going to knock a third time when the statue moved out of the way and he stumbled forward.