FREEING THE SOUL
LADY SHINIGAMI
DISCLAIMER: I ONLY OWN THE POT...UNFORTUNATELY.
CHAPTER 1
"What?" Harry bolted upright in the potions lab, finally awake from his strange dream, or vision.
"Mr. Potter, I would prefer not to have my students talk to themselves; it's the first sign of madness. Please, enlighten me to the musings of your mind." Said Snape sarcastically. Harry glared at him, then smirked.
"Fine. I was pulled into a dream. What if someone told you that Voldemort was a demon in possession of Tom Riddle's body and that the soul is still alive, still young, even, and slowly dying? What if that same person told you that the soul's life was in your hands alone and it was your job to save him, because he was your Soul Mate? What would you do?" Harry laughed inwardly at the look on Snape's face. The Potions Master was shocked, to say the least, but then he did something completely unexpected to Harry. His face softened and he held out a hand to help Harry to stand.
"I believe you, Mr. Potter. For now. I believe you because I have seen evidence of this during private meetings with Him. I'll do anything to get rid of the Dark Lord, and if that means destroying a demon and freeing the child trapped inside, then I will help you do it. To be completely honest, I'm not surprised that you and young Tom Riddle are Soul Mates. I must warn you of discretion. Dumbledore will not like this, for he is convinced that Tom Riddle is evil and should be destroyed. I ask that you come to me when you have more dreams."
"Sure. I better go now, or my friends will worry. Thank you for your help, Professor." Said Harry and Snape nodded then shooed him away. Harry gathered his books and went to the Great Hall, where he knew his friends were waiting for him.
Ron and Hermione cornered him at Gryffindor Table and asked what had happened in Snape's classroom. Harry assured him that everything was fine, and that he had a detention sometime during the next week; Snape would set up the date. Ron was furious at the injustice.
"That miserable bastard! Why is he always picking on you, Harry? You've improved quite a lot since last year, and he knows that, so why you?" Harry shrugged, but Hermione had an idea.
"Maybe it's because Harry's improved in Potions that Snape is being so unfair. I wouldn't put it past him. Harry, what happened when you collapsed? Did you have a vision of You Know Who?"
Harry shook his head. "No. It was something else, although the details are gone now. I barely remember what my dream was about." Harry knew this was a lie, but he didn't know how his friends would deal with the fact that Voldemort was actually a demon, and Tom Riddle was still only sixteen, in addition to being his Soul Mate. "I'm going to the common room to pick up my stuff for the next class, so don't wait for me, all right?" His two friends nodded and went back to talking about how Snape was a complete git. Harry shook his head and left the Great Hall.
He made it to the common room without any interruption, and he settled down in one of the armchairs and immediately fell into a deep sleep. He recognized the dreamscape and looked around for Exile.
"Welcome back, Harry. Are you willing to help Tom before he dies? Are you willing to save your Soul mate before it's too late?" Said someone behind him. Harry turned around and smiled at the shadowed figure.
"Of course I am. No one should suffer like Tom is suffering, and I would feel guilty if I didn't do something to try and save him. The demon must be destroyed." Said Harry and Exile nodded.
"Then watch Tom's memories, get to know him, and find a way to destroy the demon before your Soul Mate dies a horrible death. I'm sure that Severus will help you; he has witnessed Tom's fight recently, and he now has a reason for it. But for now, watch Tom's childhood." A large screen appeared amidst the blackness of the dreamscape and Harry found himself watching a small boy, maybe six years old, with messy black hair. He felt like he was watching his own life, because older kids surrounded the small boy and were laughing at him. Slowly, the screen expanded until it was like Harry was living the memories he saw.
Looking around, he realized that he was standing outside out of a poor orphanage in London, and the older kids living in the orphanage were bullying a small boy, who he assumed was Tom.
"Why don't you just go and die! No one wants you here, and you're a freak, so why don't you just take your freak pets and leave!" Shouted a boy of thirteen, shoving the six-year-old Tom to the ground. Harry watched, surprised and caught off guard, at what he was seeing. The little boy started crying quietly as he struggled to stand up.
"That's not fair! Leave me alone; I haven't done anything to you! Leave me alone!" Little Tom yelled, and the older children laughed, and one of them started to kick the little boy on the ground.
"NOOOOO!" A flash of light burst from Tom and hit the older kids hard, sending them flying away from him. When the dust cleared, Little Tom looked around, seeing the other kids lying on the ground, burned. Scared, the six year old fled inside the orphanage, yelling for help.
Then the memory disappeared, leaving Harry standing in the dark dreamscape, shocked at what he had seen. He knew that Tom had lived in an orphanage, but he didn't know of the bullying that so reminded him of Dudley and his gang.
"Tom went through that everyday until he got his Hogwarts letter. While everyone was scared of his 'supernatural' abilities, the kids living at the orphanage quickly learned not to push Tom over the edge, beating up on the young wizard whenever he was around. The people who worked with the orphanage knew about the bullying and did nothing about it, leaving Tom to deal with his injuries, and getting him in trouble for accidentally injuring another child with the magic he didn't know how to use." Said Exile and Harry looked at the shadowy figure beside him.
"He's like me. He never had a true childhood, and the school became his home, but he returned every year to bullying and loneliness. It's not fair, no one should have to go through that." Said Harry, and he felt something tug at his heart, an emotion he could yet identify. Exile smiled and placed his hand on Harry's shoulder.
"You learned to deal with it, just as Tom did. You can bring him back to the world of the living, of sanity, and of hope, because you understand. Do you feel differently about Tom?" Exile asked and Harry nodded, slowly.
"Yeah, I do feel differently. I want to help that poor child, I want to free Tom from the demon's clutches, but I don't know how. Tom is technically my age, and I turned out ok, with all I've been through, and Tom's not that different."
"Good. There is someone who can help you, and I'm sure he's willing to help, but I know that the two of you haven't been on the best of terms. Severus Snape will help you, I'm sure. He has saved Tom's life numerous times, but it won't be enough this time. He will help you." Said Exile and Harry nodded his understanding.
"You should go now, Harry. Remember Tom and hurry, or it'll be too late!"
The dreamscape started to disappear and Harry found himself in the Gryffindor common room, and glancing at a nearby clock, he realized that only an hour had passed.
'Might as well go down to Snape's class and tell him what happen this time. Is it true that Snape wants to help me free Tom from Voldemort's grasp?' he thought on his way down to the Potions Lab, where he knew the Potions Master was teaching a class. He gathered his Invisibility Cloak from his dorm and quickly made his way down to the dungeons, making sure that no one saw or heard him at all.
In front of the Potions Lab, Harry removed his cloak and knocked on the door, hearing a muffled "Enter" from the other side of the door. Opening the door, Harry saw the class was full of seventh year Slytherins and Ravenclaws, the former House glaring at him.
"Mr. Potter, what do you want?" Asked Snape rather icily and Harry resisted the urge to flinch.
"Sir, it happened again." Was all Harry said before Snape realized what Harry was talking about and leading him out of the class into another room.
"Stay here, Potter, until I have time to come back. We will discuss your 'dreams' about Tom, and discretion is of the essence. I will be back shortly." Said Snape before leaving Harry alone in the room with just his thoughts.
Twenty minutes passed before Snape returned to the room and he sat down directly opposite of Harry and motioned for him to start talking.
"I had another vision, this time, Exile showed me a memory from Tom's childhood, when he was six years old. Little Tom was being bullied, and his magic exploded, severely burning the other kids around. Exile told me that in this aspect, Tom Riddle and I are a lot alike than previously thought of. I want to help him, and Exile said that you would help me free Tom. He said you saved Tom a few times, but this time, that won't be enough." Said Harry, and Snape paled, clearly shocked at the extent of these visions.
"I will help you, Potter, but remember that discretion is a necessity, and no one, not even Dumbledore or your friends can know of this. You must understand that to everyone else, Tom Riddle is Voldemort, not a sixteen-year-old boy trapped within a demon's mind. No one must know. However, I do know that Miss Granger is extremely intelligent; if by any means, she finds out, I'm not totally against her knowing, so long as she keeps her mouth shut." Said Snape and Harry nodded.
"I understand, sir. I know when to keep silent, despite most opinions about me." Said Harry and Snape nodded before telling Harry to get out and return to class.
In Divination, Ron was getting really worried about Harry, considering his friend had told him that he would be in class, but hadn't shown up yet. He was going to wait for another ten minutes before ditching Divination to find Harry when suddenly, Ron was besieged by a blinding light, destroying his vision, and he saw random images, all about Harry. He watched as Harry fought a demonic monster, watched as Harry and another boy, face covered in shadows, sprout wings and fly in a black dreamscape, watched as his best friend held the same boy in his arms, both of them covered in blood, Harry crying tears of blood, and watched as his best friend destroyed the chains that kept the boy trapped in the demonic monster's grip.
Just as suddenly as the images came, they were gone, and Ron found himself, staring blankly ahead, before shaking his head of an oncoming headache. The old bat, Trelawney, rambled on as always, but Ron ignored as he did all the time, and asked to be excused from the class.
Once out of the class, Ron tried to find Harry, looking in the library, the Quidditch pitch, and finally, the common room. Harry wasn't to be found anywhere. Looking through the common room once more, Ron decided to try the Marauder's Map. When the map showed the castle, Ron searched it and finally found Harry out by the lake, on the far side.
"What's he doing there?" He asked himself quietly before wiping the map clean and hurrying outside to catch Harry before he disappeared again.
"Oy, mate! What are you doing out here? I thought you were going to class, especially after what happened in Potions today!" Said Ron as he finally came into range with Harry. The black haired Gryffindor seemed surprised at Ron's presence, but didn't ignore him.
"Nothing really, just thinking." Said Harry and Ron laughed.
"Well, lately, you're thinking more than Hermione is, and that's like a record!" Said Ron, joking and he sat down beside Harry. "What are you thinking of, anyway?"
"Everything in general. I don't know what will happen when Voldemort's gone, what I'm going to do with my life after Hogwarts, that sort of thing. Just the usual 'what am I going to do' line. Why'd you come out here, and how did you find me?" Harry asked and Ron laughed, looking guilty.
"I used the map, but I wiped it clean before I left. You'll never guess what happened in Divination! I actually had a vision!" Harry looked at Ron skeptically and Ron raised his hands in defence. "I'm totally serious, mate! A flash of light blinded me, and a bunch of weird images flew in my head! Oddly enough, they were about you."
Harry arched an eyebrow. "What happened?"
"Well, you were trying to save someone, except I couldn't his face, but you fought a monster, sprouted wings and all sorts of cool things. It was really awesome, Harry."
"What did this person look like? Could you tell what color his hair was? Any details like that?"
"Black hair, like you, but other than that, nothing. Sorry mate." Said Ron and Harry shrugged.
"Doesn't matter, if you couldn't see his face, then this kid isn't in that much danger yet. I'm sure with your new visions, you'll find out more later." Said Harry and Ron grinned.
"Yeah, it's still weird, I mean, I'm having visions! I mean, that's more your forte, when you think about it!" Said Ron, laughing, and Harry joined in the laughter.
"You know, we should get back before anyone realizes we're missing and they send out search parties," said Harry and Ron agreed. Together they went back to the castle, a few minutes before dinner. They decided to drop off their books and go find Hermione, so that Ron could tell her of his new visions.
Much later, when everyone had gone to bed, Harry lingered in the common room, thinking about his dreams of late. He thought of how he could possibly help Tom, but came up with nothing. He stared into the fire, watching the flames, until he found himself in the dreamscape once again.
"Exile? Where are you?" He asked, calling out in the darkness.
"I'm here, Harry. We only have a few months, Tom's losing the battle, and I doubt he'll last until Christmas. I must show you more memories tonight, I need you to understand how to help him, and Severus is working as we speak. The demon is realizing that Tom is struggling, and losing his battle against the darkness, and the demon wishes to destroy Tom." Said Exile, appearing beside Harry, looking slightly ragged.
"Time's running out faster than previously anticipated, and I don't know what I can do to help," Said Harry. "But I will try. What else must I see?"
"Let me show you." Said Exile.
Harry found himself at the orphanage again, leaves falling from the trees in the wind, everything looking desolate. A small boy, maybe nine years old this time, sat beneath a tree, and Harry recognized him as Tom. Even with the cold air, Harry could see several snakes surrounding Tom and the little boy spoke to them quietly, so that Harry could only hear the hissing, but not what Tom was saying to the small serpents.
"What do I need to know from this? Is something going to happen, Exile?" Asked Harry, still watching the little boy beneath the tree.
"Here is where Dumbledore first makes an appearance, I want to show you how Tom met the Headmaster, and why Tom feels trapped and unwanted even from the 'family' he wished he had. Watch." Said Exile, his voice floating around Harry, but slightly faded.
Harry turned his attention back to Little Tom just as the little boy used wandless magic to make one of his snakes fly around him, and Harry heard the snake's joy at flying. After a few minutes of this, Harry noticed that someone had Apparated in the alley beside the orphanage, and he recognized the stranger as Dumbledore.
The Transfiguration Professor walked swiftly to where Tom was sitting beneath the tree, and Little Tom finally noticed Dumbledore, and tried to hide his magic, although Harry was sure that the boy didn't think of his magic as 'magic', but whatever.
"Are you Tom Riddle?" Dumbledore asked and Little Tom nodded, quietly telling his serpent friends to hide. Tom looked up at Dumbledore and Harry saw that he was afraid of the wizard, something that doesn't happen on a first meeting with Dumbledore.
"What do you want?" Tom asked and Dumbledore glared at the little boy, startling Harry.
"Be careful of what you do, snake-speaker. People are always watching you and if you're not careful, something will go wrong and I know that you will be there." Threatened the wizard and Tom started trembling.
"I try to control it, but...I don't what is wrong with me, sir. I know I'm...a freak...but I don't want any trouble!" Tom said, sounding close to tears and Dumbledore glared further.
"I don't care, boy. You have been warned. You will see me again in two years time." Said Dumbledore before ducking into the alleyway and Disapparating with a pop.
"Dumbledore threatened Tom? The kid's only nine, why would he do something like that?" Harry asked and Exile's voice answered.
"He knows that extent of Tom's power, even at this young age, and he thinks that Tom is a threat. It's a whole cycle, and Tom feared Dumbledore before he realized that the old fool was trying to control him. That's when Tom started dabbling in the Dark Arts, in an effort to piss off the old fool, thus eventually leading to the demon taking over Tom's body that fateful day. In fact, it was Dumbledore who told Tom that the diary was safe, although when I look back on the incident, as I often do, I see that Dumbledore was hiding." Said Exile and harry grew angry.
"Show me that memory." The current memory faded and was replaced.
LADY SHINIGAMI
DISCLAIMER: I ONLY OWN THE POT...UNFORTUNATELY.
CHAPTER 1
"What?" Harry bolted upright in the potions lab, finally awake from his strange dream, or vision.
"Mr. Potter, I would prefer not to have my students talk to themselves; it's the first sign of madness. Please, enlighten me to the musings of your mind." Said Snape sarcastically. Harry glared at him, then smirked.
"Fine. I was pulled into a dream. What if someone told you that Voldemort was a demon in possession of Tom Riddle's body and that the soul is still alive, still young, even, and slowly dying? What if that same person told you that the soul's life was in your hands alone and it was your job to save him, because he was your Soul Mate? What would you do?" Harry laughed inwardly at the look on Snape's face. The Potions Master was shocked, to say the least, but then he did something completely unexpected to Harry. His face softened and he held out a hand to help Harry to stand.
"I believe you, Mr. Potter. For now. I believe you because I have seen evidence of this during private meetings with Him. I'll do anything to get rid of the Dark Lord, and if that means destroying a demon and freeing the child trapped inside, then I will help you do it. To be completely honest, I'm not surprised that you and young Tom Riddle are Soul Mates. I must warn you of discretion. Dumbledore will not like this, for he is convinced that Tom Riddle is evil and should be destroyed. I ask that you come to me when you have more dreams."
"Sure. I better go now, or my friends will worry. Thank you for your help, Professor." Said Harry and Snape nodded then shooed him away. Harry gathered his books and went to the Great Hall, where he knew his friends were waiting for him.
Ron and Hermione cornered him at Gryffindor Table and asked what had happened in Snape's classroom. Harry assured him that everything was fine, and that he had a detention sometime during the next week; Snape would set up the date. Ron was furious at the injustice.
"That miserable bastard! Why is he always picking on you, Harry? You've improved quite a lot since last year, and he knows that, so why you?" Harry shrugged, but Hermione had an idea.
"Maybe it's because Harry's improved in Potions that Snape is being so unfair. I wouldn't put it past him. Harry, what happened when you collapsed? Did you have a vision of You Know Who?"
Harry shook his head. "No. It was something else, although the details are gone now. I barely remember what my dream was about." Harry knew this was a lie, but he didn't know how his friends would deal with the fact that Voldemort was actually a demon, and Tom Riddle was still only sixteen, in addition to being his Soul Mate. "I'm going to the common room to pick up my stuff for the next class, so don't wait for me, all right?" His two friends nodded and went back to talking about how Snape was a complete git. Harry shook his head and left the Great Hall.
He made it to the common room without any interruption, and he settled down in one of the armchairs and immediately fell into a deep sleep. He recognized the dreamscape and looked around for Exile.
"Welcome back, Harry. Are you willing to help Tom before he dies? Are you willing to save your Soul mate before it's too late?" Said someone behind him. Harry turned around and smiled at the shadowed figure.
"Of course I am. No one should suffer like Tom is suffering, and I would feel guilty if I didn't do something to try and save him. The demon must be destroyed." Said Harry and Exile nodded.
"Then watch Tom's memories, get to know him, and find a way to destroy the demon before your Soul Mate dies a horrible death. I'm sure that Severus will help you; he has witnessed Tom's fight recently, and he now has a reason for it. But for now, watch Tom's childhood." A large screen appeared amidst the blackness of the dreamscape and Harry found himself watching a small boy, maybe six years old, with messy black hair. He felt like he was watching his own life, because older kids surrounded the small boy and were laughing at him. Slowly, the screen expanded until it was like Harry was living the memories he saw.
Looking around, he realized that he was standing outside out of a poor orphanage in London, and the older kids living in the orphanage were bullying a small boy, who he assumed was Tom.
"Why don't you just go and die! No one wants you here, and you're a freak, so why don't you just take your freak pets and leave!" Shouted a boy of thirteen, shoving the six-year-old Tom to the ground. Harry watched, surprised and caught off guard, at what he was seeing. The little boy started crying quietly as he struggled to stand up.
"That's not fair! Leave me alone; I haven't done anything to you! Leave me alone!" Little Tom yelled, and the older children laughed, and one of them started to kick the little boy on the ground.
"NOOOOO!" A flash of light burst from Tom and hit the older kids hard, sending them flying away from him. When the dust cleared, Little Tom looked around, seeing the other kids lying on the ground, burned. Scared, the six year old fled inside the orphanage, yelling for help.
Then the memory disappeared, leaving Harry standing in the dark dreamscape, shocked at what he had seen. He knew that Tom had lived in an orphanage, but he didn't know of the bullying that so reminded him of Dudley and his gang.
"Tom went through that everyday until he got his Hogwarts letter. While everyone was scared of his 'supernatural' abilities, the kids living at the orphanage quickly learned not to push Tom over the edge, beating up on the young wizard whenever he was around. The people who worked with the orphanage knew about the bullying and did nothing about it, leaving Tom to deal with his injuries, and getting him in trouble for accidentally injuring another child with the magic he didn't know how to use." Said Exile and Harry looked at the shadowy figure beside him.
"He's like me. He never had a true childhood, and the school became his home, but he returned every year to bullying and loneliness. It's not fair, no one should have to go through that." Said Harry, and he felt something tug at his heart, an emotion he could yet identify. Exile smiled and placed his hand on Harry's shoulder.
"You learned to deal with it, just as Tom did. You can bring him back to the world of the living, of sanity, and of hope, because you understand. Do you feel differently about Tom?" Exile asked and Harry nodded, slowly.
"Yeah, I do feel differently. I want to help that poor child, I want to free Tom from the demon's clutches, but I don't know how. Tom is technically my age, and I turned out ok, with all I've been through, and Tom's not that different."
"Good. There is someone who can help you, and I'm sure he's willing to help, but I know that the two of you haven't been on the best of terms. Severus Snape will help you, I'm sure. He has saved Tom's life numerous times, but it won't be enough this time. He will help you." Said Exile and Harry nodded his understanding.
"You should go now, Harry. Remember Tom and hurry, or it'll be too late!"
The dreamscape started to disappear and Harry found himself in the Gryffindor common room, and glancing at a nearby clock, he realized that only an hour had passed.
'Might as well go down to Snape's class and tell him what happen this time. Is it true that Snape wants to help me free Tom from Voldemort's grasp?' he thought on his way down to the Potions Lab, where he knew the Potions Master was teaching a class. He gathered his Invisibility Cloak from his dorm and quickly made his way down to the dungeons, making sure that no one saw or heard him at all.
In front of the Potions Lab, Harry removed his cloak and knocked on the door, hearing a muffled "Enter" from the other side of the door. Opening the door, Harry saw the class was full of seventh year Slytherins and Ravenclaws, the former House glaring at him.
"Mr. Potter, what do you want?" Asked Snape rather icily and Harry resisted the urge to flinch.
"Sir, it happened again." Was all Harry said before Snape realized what Harry was talking about and leading him out of the class into another room.
"Stay here, Potter, until I have time to come back. We will discuss your 'dreams' about Tom, and discretion is of the essence. I will be back shortly." Said Snape before leaving Harry alone in the room with just his thoughts.
Twenty minutes passed before Snape returned to the room and he sat down directly opposite of Harry and motioned for him to start talking.
"I had another vision, this time, Exile showed me a memory from Tom's childhood, when he was six years old. Little Tom was being bullied, and his magic exploded, severely burning the other kids around. Exile told me that in this aspect, Tom Riddle and I are a lot alike than previously thought of. I want to help him, and Exile said that you would help me free Tom. He said you saved Tom a few times, but this time, that won't be enough." Said Harry, and Snape paled, clearly shocked at the extent of these visions.
"I will help you, Potter, but remember that discretion is a necessity, and no one, not even Dumbledore or your friends can know of this. You must understand that to everyone else, Tom Riddle is Voldemort, not a sixteen-year-old boy trapped within a demon's mind. No one must know. However, I do know that Miss Granger is extremely intelligent; if by any means, she finds out, I'm not totally against her knowing, so long as she keeps her mouth shut." Said Snape and Harry nodded.
"I understand, sir. I know when to keep silent, despite most opinions about me." Said Harry and Snape nodded before telling Harry to get out and return to class.
In Divination, Ron was getting really worried about Harry, considering his friend had told him that he would be in class, but hadn't shown up yet. He was going to wait for another ten minutes before ditching Divination to find Harry when suddenly, Ron was besieged by a blinding light, destroying his vision, and he saw random images, all about Harry. He watched as Harry fought a demonic monster, watched as Harry and another boy, face covered in shadows, sprout wings and fly in a black dreamscape, watched as his best friend held the same boy in his arms, both of them covered in blood, Harry crying tears of blood, and watched as his best friend destroyed the chains that kept the boy trapped in the demonic monster's grip.
Just as suddenly as the images came, they were gone, and Ron found himself, staring blankly ahead, before shaking his head of an oncoming headache. The old bat, Trelawney, rambled on as always, but Ron ignored as he did all the time, and asked to be excused from the class.
Once out of the class, Ron tried to find Harry, looking in the library, the Quidditch pitch, and finally, the common room. Harry wasn't to be found anywhere. Looking through the common room once more, Ron decided to try the Marauder's Map. When the map showed the castle, Ron searched it and finally found Harry out by the lake, on the far side.
"What's he doing there?" He asked himself quietly before wiping the map clean and hurrying outside to catch Harry before he disappeared again.
"Oy, mate! What are you doing out here? I thought you were going to class, especially after what happened in Potions today!" Said Ron as he finally came into range with Harry. The black haired Gryffindor seemed surprised at Ron's presence, but didn't ignore him.
"Nothing really, just thinking." Said Harry and Ron laughed.
"Well, lately, you're thinking more than Hermione is, and that's like a record!" Said Ron, joking and he sat down beside Harry. "What are you thinking of, anyway?"
"Everything in general. I don't know what will happen when Voldemort's gone, what I'm going to do with my life after Hogwarts, that sort of thing. Just the usual 'what am I going to do' line. Why'd you come out here, and how did you find me?" Harry asked and Ron laughed, looking guilty.
"I used the map, but I wiped it clean before I left. You'll never guess what happened in Divination! I actually had a vision!" Harry looked at Ron skeptically and Ron raised his hands in defence. "I'm totally serious, mate! A flash of light blinded me, and a bunch of weird images flew in my head! Oddly enough, they were about you."
Harry arched an eyebrow. "What happened?"
"Well, you were trying to save someone, except I couldn't his face, but you fought a monster, sprouted wings and all sorts of cool things. It was really awesome, Harry."
"What did this person look like? Could you tell what color his hair was? Any details like that?"
"Black hair, like you, but other than that, nothing. Sorry mate." Said Ron and Harry shrugged.
"Doesn't matter, if you couldn't see his face, then this kid isn't in that much danger yet. I'm sure with your new visions, you'll find out more later." Said Harry and Ron grinned.
"Yeah, it's still weird, I mean, I'm having visions! I mean, that's more your forte, when you think about it!" Said Ron, laughing, and Harry joined in the laughter.
"You know, we should get back before anyone realizes we're missing and they send out search parties," said Harry and Ron agreed. Together they went back to the castle, a few minutes before dinner. They decided to drop off their books and go find Hermione, so that Ron could tell her of his new visions.
Much later, when everyone had gone to bed, Harry lingered in the common room, thinking about his dreams of late. He thought of how he could possibly help Tom, but came up with nothing. He stared into the fire, watching the flames, until he found himself in the dreamscape once again.
"Exile? Where are you?" He asked, calling out in the darkness.
"I'm here, Harry. We only have a few months, Tom's losing the battle, and I doubt he'll last until Christmas. I must show you more memories tonight, I need you to understand how to help him, and Severus is working as we speak. The demon is realizing that Tom is struggling, and losing his battle against the darkness, and the demon wishes to destroy Tom." Said Exile, appearing beside Harry, looking slightly ragged.
"Time's running out faster than previously anticipated, and I don't know what I can do to help," Said Harry. "But I will try. What else must I see?"
"Let me show you." Said Exile.
Harry found himself at the orphanage again, leaves falling from the trees in the wind, everything looking desolate. A small boy, maybe nine years old this time, sat beneath a tree, and Harry recognized him as Tom. Even with the cold air, Harry could see several snakes surrounding Tom and the little boy spoke to them quietly, so that Harry could only hear the hissing, but not what Tom was saying to the small serpents.
"What do I need to know from this? Is something going to happen, Exile?" Asked Harry, still watching the little boy beneath the tree.
"Here is where Dumbledore first makes an appearance, I want to show you how Tom met the Headmaster, and why Tom feels trapped and unwanted even from the 'family' he wished he had. Watch." Said Exile, his voice floating around Harry, but slightly faded.
Harry turned his attention back to Little Tom just as the little boy used wandless magic to make one of his snakes fly around him, and Harry heard the snake's joy at flying. After a few minutes of this, Harry noticed that someone had Apparated in the alley beside the orphanage, and he recognized the stranger as Dumbledore.
The Transfiguration Professor walked swiftly to where Tom was sitting beneath the tree, and Little Tom finally noticed Dumbledore, and tried to hide his magic, although Harry was sure that the boy didn't think of his magic as 'magic', but whatever.
"Are you Tom Riddle?" Dumbledore asked and Little Tom nodded, quietly telling his serpent friends to hide. Tom looked up at Dumbledore and Harry saw that he was afraid of the wizard, something that doesn't happen on a first meeting with Dumbledore.
"What do you want?" Tom asked and Dumbledore glared at the little boy, startling Harry.
"Be careful of what you do, snake-speaker. People are always watching you and if you're not careful, something will go wrong and I know that you will be there." Threatened the wizard and Tom started trembling.
"I try to control it, but...I don't what is wrong with me, sir. I know I'm...a freak...but I don't want any trouble!" Tom said, sounding close to tears and Dumbledore glared further.
"I don't care, boy. You have been warned. You will see me again in two years time." Said Dumbledore before ducking into the alleyway and Disapparating with a pop.
"Dumbledore threatened Tom? The kid's only nine, why would he do something like that?" Harry asked and Exile's voice answered.
"He knows that extent of Tom's power, even at this young age, and he thinks that Tom is a threat. It's a whole cycle, and Tom feared Dumbledore before he realized that the old fool was trying to control him. That's when Tom started dabbling in the Dark Arts, in an effort to piss off the old fool, thus eventually leading to the demon taking over Tom's body that fateful day. In fact, it was Dumbledore who told Tom that the diary was safe, although when I look back on the incident, as I often do, I see that Dumbledore was hiding." Said Exile and harry grew angry.
"Show me that memory." The current memory faded and was replaced.