Disclaimer I do not own Harry Potter and everything recognisable belongs to J K Rowling.
Thanks for all the wonderful reviews! Here is the next chappie. Enjoy!
Chapter Forty Two
Silence rang in the room and the two wizards stared at each other. Before Harry's eyes, the red hair started changing colour and began to grow. The beard disappeared, leaving Lucius Malfoy's rather haggard looking face.
Harry tried to ignore the state Lucius was in. It was clear to see that he had seen better days. The tired man gave Harry a small smile.
"I should have guessed that you would see through my disguise." he said in his normal voice. Whatever glamour he had been wearing to disguise his appearance and voice had been removed.
"Yeah, well, you don't suit the red hair." Harry answered.
Lucius smiled again and a small laugh escaped him. He looked up at Harry and his eyes showed the emotions he was going through.
"How have you been, Harry?"
Harry looked up at him before turning to look at the comatose Draco.
"Couldn't be worse." He answered honestly.
Lucius walked over to his son's bed and looked at him as well.
"I came as soon as I found out." He said, running a hand over Draco's hair. Harry had never seen the elder Malfoy act so paternal before.
"It took you long enough." Harry said, his attempt at keeping the accusatory tone away was futile.
Lucius looked up at Harry, grey eyes boring into emerald.
"It's not as simple as you think." He said carefully.
"It's simple enough. You ran away. You've been in hiding while you're family suffered." Harry answered.
Lucius looked away and turned his back to Harry, not wanting to look at him.
"My family disowned me long before I ran away. I didn't know they were waiting for me." He said in a voice, thick with resentment.
Harry didn't say anything. Both stood next to Draco's bed in silence. After a few minutes, Harry spoke.
"Where were you?"
Lucius turned around to look at Harry, a forced smile on his face.
"I decided to take a page out of your book and went to the muggle world. I figured no one would look for me there and I was right."
Harry gaped at him. Lucius Malfoy, aristocrat and prejudiced against muggles and muggle borns was living as a muggle! Harry knew that for Malfoy, who was a pureblood, living as a muggle must have been an awful and torturous experience.
"How did that work out for you?" Harry asked, trying to keep the smirk from his face.
"Can't you tell?" he said, gesturing to his ragged state.
"I can, but it will be much better to hear it from you personally." Harry answered.
Lucius stopped to stare at the teen.
"You still like taking pleasure out of my misery, don't you?"
"Some things never change." Harry answered with a smirk.
Lucius smiled at that.
"Yes, some thing never do change." He repeated with a sad smile.
Harry and Lucius spent the next two hours catching up with what was happening. Harry told Lucius about the Dark Prince impostor and how he was the one responsible for Draco's condition. Lucius was visibly stunned. He was seeing red by the time Harry finished re-telling the account of Draco's attack.
"He will pay for what he has done to my son! I will see to it!" he raged, getting up to pace the room.
Harry rolled his eyes.
"Yes, well, since you can't even leave this room without applying glamour, I think the revenge is going to have to wait." Harry scolded.
Lucius ignored him and continued to pace. He only stopped when he turned to look at Draco.
"I never thought I would ever see him hurt like this. I made assurances that Draco never came to any harm." He looked over at Harry and saw that he understood what he was trying to say.
"By being my friend." Harry said out loud.
Lucius nodded his head tightly. He let out a sigh and gripped the end of Draco's bed.
"I always thought that by being your friend, Draco would never come to any harm. Never in my life did I think that that would be the reason for him to get hurt."
Harry felt his face flush but he didn't say anything. Lucius was right. Draco was here because of him. If Draco hadn't helped rescue Harry last year, he wouldn't be in this mess.
"I don't blame you, Harry." Lucius added as he saw the look on the boy's face. "I'm just overwhelmed at the turn of events."
Harry looked up at the clock in the room and saw that he had been here for nearly three hours.
"We should get going. The Healers might come in to check on him." Harry said.
At once Lucius pulled out his wand and applied the glamour that changed his hair to red and the beard appeared on his face.
"I hope to see you again, Harry." He said as he moved towards the door.
He didn't get very far as Harry blocked him, looking at him incredulously.
"Do you think I'm going to let you go?" Harry asked.
"What do you mean?" Lucius asked confused as to what Harry wanted to do to him.
"You're not going back to living like a muggle street rat! You're coming with me." Harry said.
Lucius shook his head slowly.
"I can't. It's too risky. The Ministry…"
"Is too busy clearing up their own mess to pay any notice." Harry interrupted. "I'm not letting you go. You need to be here, for Draco and for Narcissa."
At the mention of his wife, Lucius tensed. After a moment he asked.
"How is she?"
"Distraught. How did you imagine she would be?" Harry answered.
Lucius ducked his head again.
"Where are you planning on taking me?" he asked.
Harry smirked.
"To your in-laws."
xxx
Sirius stared at the blond haired man standing before him. He turned to look at his godson and then back at the blond haired man.
"You must be joking!" he said after a few moments.
"I'm not. I'm serious." Harry answered.
It was perhaps a testament to how shocked Sirius was that he didn't respond with the usual 'you're-not-serious-I'm-Sirius' answer. Instead he looked at Harry as if he were mad.
"You want me to let him stay with me! Him! A Death Eater!" he asked outraged.
"Ex-Death Eater." Harry corrected.
"Harry, you're losing it! He can't stay with me!" Sirius cried out again.
"I told you this would be his answer. I should go." Lucius said and made to leave but Harry stopped him. He turned to look at the other three people in the room. His parents were staring at Harry with the same expression as Sirius. Damien just looked like he was enjoying the scene. He had been dying of boredom lately, this was definitely entertaining.
Harry had brought Lucius Malfoy to Potter Manor and had asked Sirius to come over so he could ask him a favour. Whatever Sirius was expecting, it wasn't this. He had been asked to give refuge to Lucius-bloody-Malfoy!
"Harry, a quick word please!" Lily said, beckoning him over towards the kitchen.
Harry led his mum, dad and Sirius to the kitchen, leaving Damien alone with Lucius.
"What on earth do you think you're doing?!" Lily asked as soon as they walked inside.
"I'm helping a friend." Harry answered.
"You're helping Malfoy!" Sirius hissed at him.
"I know who he is!" Harry mock hissed back at him.
"Harry, you can't be serious about asking Malfoy to be allowed to stay at Grimmauld Place. I mean for a start that is the Headquarters!" James said quietly.
"Exactly! That will be the last place anyone will look for Lucius Malfoy." Harry answered.
James stopped to look at Harry. 'Good point' he thought mentally to himself.
"Harry, I'm not going to let him live in my house! It's just not possible!" Sirius said.
"It's a big enough Manor. Why not?" Harry asked.
"Oh my God, you're actually asking me for a reason? How about half a dozen? He's an arrogant, prejudiced jackass, he is a Death Eater, he walked out on his wife, who happens to be my cousin, he's been killing and torturing people all his life, we've always hated each other and he's a bloody Malfoy!" Sirius stopped to take a breath. "Give me one good reason I should help him!"
Harry stared at Sirius before responding.
"He helped me." All three adults stared at Harry. "Last year, at Riddle Manor. Lucius helped me when no one else did. I'll never forget his act of kindness and I don't care what anyone else thinks of him. I'm going to help him whether you are with me or not." He stated coolly.
James remembered also how Malfoy had mouthed the word 'Hogsmeade' to him when Voldemort had disapparated with Harry. James may have gotten to Hogsmeade eventually by himself but it would have been too late.
Sirius looked around at James, obviously asking for help. At seeing his expression though he faltered. He looked back at Harry's determined expression.
"Oh, bugger!" he cursed and walked out of the kitchen.
Harry smiled and followed him, James and Lily walking out last.
"Alright, Malfoy, you can stay." Sirius said, grinding the words out.
"Wonderful" Lucius drawled with a sneer.
Sirius turned around to face Harry. He was doing this just for Harry but the least Malfoy could do was muster up some honest gratitude. Harry gave Sirius a pacifying look. Sirius only gave Lucius a dirty look before stomping towards the door. Lucius applied the glamour before following Sirius.
Once outside Sirius turned to face him.
"Listen here, Malfoy! I'm only doing this for Harry. I love my godson and this obviously means a lot to him. But I swear on Merlin, if you give me any cheek I'm going to hex the living daylights out of you before throwing you on the Ministry's doorstep! Understand!"
Lucius looked calmly at the worked up Sirius before lazily saying.
"You know, even for a mutt, you bark way too much." With that said he walked ahead, nose held high in the air.
Sirius muttered a few well chosen words before following him.
xxx
It was at breakfast that the owl arrived. It tapped at the window rather aggressively as Harry's added charms meant the owl couldn't fly into the Manor anymore. James got up from the table and moved over to the window. It took the letter from the annoyed owl and let it fly away, hooting in, what could only be described, a complaining manner.
James saw that there were two letters; one was addressed to Harry, the other to Damien. He knew what they were. He could tell by the green ink. He handed the Hogwarts letter to Damien and put Harry's next to his plate, waiting for his son to come down to breakfast.
Damien lazily opened the letter and took a few minutes to read it over.
"The book list gets bigger every year." He commented as he carelessly threw the letter aside.
Lily picked it up and looked through it as well.
"It's your fifth year, your OWL year. It's only natural you need more material." She said.
Harry walked in only moments later and took his seat. He started on his breakfast. He eyed the envelope lying next to his plate, with his name on the front but made no move towards it. James and Lily waited impatiently. Harry had finished Hogwarts, his letter wasn't the usual letter informing students of their coming year at the school. That meant that the letter was his exam results. But it seemed that Harry wasn't even bothered. He didn't spare a single glance towards the envelope lying on the kitchen table.
Damien waited as well, before taking a look at both James and Lily's fervent faces.
"Oh, for Merlin's sake, Harry! Will you just open it already!" he said, playfully to his brother.
Harry looked up from his plate and grinned at them.
"Why bother? It's not like it will make any difference to me." He said as he poured himself a glass of juice and sat back, sipping it slowly.
"Yes, but if you don't open it soon mum here is going to implode with impatience." Damien replied making Lily scowl at him.
Harry smirked and picked up his letter. He opened it, agonisingly slowly just to make James and Lily suffer. It was only when James let out a small, "come on!" that Harry pulled the award latter out of the envelope. He smiled as he read the letter. Without a word he handed the letter over to Lily, who took it eagerly. Her eyes lit up with pride as she saw all the 'Outstanding' next to the list of NEWTS he had taken.
"Oh, Harry! All 'Outstanding' well done! I'm so proud of you!" she beamed.
Harry only smiled and sneaked a look at his dad. James looked like he had just watched the best Quidditch game. He was positively glowing with pride. Damien gave Harry a punch on the arm and grinned at him as well.
Lily suddenly lost her smile as she studied the letter closely.
"Hold on, something isn't right here." She counted the grades Harry received and looked up at him. "There's one missing. Charms isn't on here." She said looking at the letter again to make sure.
Harry looked away and suddenly felt his face heat up.
"Um, mum!" whispered Damien with a meaningful look.
Suddenly Lily and James remembered why Charms wasn't on Harry's award letter. The looked horrified at Harry and then each other. Harry had been unable to sit his last exam, which was Charms as it was the night before his last exam that he had found Nagini's dead body in his bed. He had been too distressed to sit the exam. Lily felt very guilty for bringing up that awful memory, especially at a moment like this, when everyone was so happy.
"I'm sorry, Harry. I didn't remember." She apologised sincerely.
Harry, as usual, didn't say anything but shrugged her apology away.
"I would have thought they would give you an award for Charms, seeing that it wasn't your fault that you couldn't sit the exam. They could have easily awarded you based on your coursework." Lily went on, unable to fathom that her son had one less NEWT.
"Mum, its fine. I'm not bothered in the least." Harry told her.
"Still, it seems unfair." Lily complained, looking back at the letter.
"I'll survive." Harry said sarcastically.
Lily looked at him and blushed. Harry obviously had other things on his mind. Things that were greatly more important than exam results. They were still no closer to figuring out the impostor's identity, Harry was growing more fearful of Damien's safety with each passing day, Draco was still in a coma and Lucius Malfoy was having difficulties living with Sirius and Narcissa, who had refused to even speak to her husband. Lily looked over at her son and felt a stir of emotions. Harry was really a very selfless person. He always thought of others. Even when he was with Voldemort, he always thought of Voldemort before himself. She shook these thoughts away and got up to clear up the table.
As she passed by Harry she gave him a quick kiss on the cheek and congratulated him on his achievements again. Harry blushed and rubbed at his face, wiping away at the spot were Lily had kissed him. Lily noticed that although Harry was making it seem he was wiping away the kiss, his fingers trailed over the spot on his cheek.
"Well, it seems you have a lot to live up to, eh, Damy?" James joked, taking the award letter and having a look himself.
Damien groaned and buried his head into his hands.
"I'm telling both of you now; there is no way I'm getting all Outstandings on my results. I have a reputation to take care off!" he joked.
James and Lily laughed at his words but Harry looked around slowly at Damien and for a minute he just stared at him. His eyes spotted the opened letter sitting next to Damien and he recognised the school crest on the torn envelope.
"I'm warning you too, Mr Potter. No more pranks. From now on, you have to pay attention to your studies." Lily reprimanded lightly.
"Come on, mum. It's Hogwarts. I can't wait until I get back and prank Mrs Norris and her pet, Flich!" Damien replied.
"You're not going."
All three Potters turned to look at the one who had spoken. Harry was still sitting down but his body was all of a sudden held much tenser. Damien's letter was in his hands but he wasn't reading it. Damien blinked in surprise at him.
"Pardon?"
"I said you're not going to Hogwarts." Harry repeated, looking at Damien to show he wasn't fooling around and was serious.
Damien looked from Lily to James and saw that both parents looked just as shocked at he felt.
"I'm sorry, but what are you talking about? Of course I'm going to Hogwarts." Damien replied, trying to stop his anger from taking over.
"I don't think so. You're staying here until I catch him. You won't be safe in Hogwarts." Harry explained.
Damien was about to argue when James spoke up.
"Harry, I think…"
"Please, dad. You know that I'm right. Anything can happen in Hogwarts. Damien's not going back to that school until the impostor is caught." Harry's tone had hardened by the end of his statement.
"I'm sorry, but I don't think you get to decide!" Damien all but yelled. "Regardless of how you act, Harry, you're not my father!"
"I'm perfectly aware of who our father is!" Harry seethed back at him.
"Boys, boys. Calm down, okay." Lily said, rushing forward. The atmosphere had been so relaxed and playful only a few minutes ago. All of a sudden the two boys were at each others throats.
"Dad! You're not going to seriously listen to him, are you?" Damien asked, turning to James.
"Look, Damy, Harry's got a point…" was all James managed to get out before Damien erupted. He shot to his feet.
"I can't believe this! You're taking Harry's side?" he shouted.
"I'm not taking his side, I'm just saying…" James started.
"I know what you're going to say! 'It's for my own good. My safety!' I'm sick of this! The only thing getting me through was the thought of going back to Hogwarts. I thought I could handle being cooped inside for so long because when I go back to school, I'll have my freedom again!" Damien shouted in frustration.
"Damien, I'm not saying you can't go back at all. I'm just saying you have to stay here until I catch him." Harry explained, a little calmer.
"And when are you going to catch him? How long is it going to be? Face it, Harry. You have nothing on him. Nothing at all. We don't even have a name! Just his initials. How long will it take for you to track him down and catch him?" Damien asked, eyeing Harry angrily.
"That's crossing a line, Damien. You know how hard Harry is working, how hard everyone is working to find this guy. Sooner or later we will have him." James said.
Damien calmed a bit and turned to Harry.
"I know that. I know you're trying but Harry, you can't keep me hidden forever. I don't even think he was serious about getting to me. I think he only said that to you so you focused on keeping me safe while he planned on doing something else." Damien had been thinking about this for awhile.
"Regardless of whether he meant it or not, you're not leaving the Manor. Not until I get him." Harry said.
Damien turned to his parents and pleaded them to let him go.
"Dad?"
With a tired sigh, James turned to both of his sons.
"Look, Harry does have a very good point, however…" he added quickly as Damien got ready to throw another tantrum. "…however, I think we can sort this out so you can attend your fifth year."
Harry snapped his head around to stare at James while Damien let out a breath of relief.
"What?" Harry asked not able to believe that James was willing to take the risk.
"I have a way that will keep Damien safe while he's at Hogwarts." James said, a smile gracing his face.
"Oh, what's that?" Harry asked, half intrigued and half annoyed.
"I'm going to be at Hogwarts." James answered.
Both Damien and Harry stared at James.
"You're going to guard me. No, no way!" Damien objected at once.
"I didn't say anything about being a guard." James said. "I've been offered the Defence Against the Dark Arts post."
Damien and Harry gaped at him. He had kept that very quiet.
"When did this happen?" Harry asked.
"A few days ago." Lily answered, coming to join the rest at the table. "Dumbledore sent him the official letter, asking him to join the staff at Hogwarts."
Harry looked back at James.
"And you're taking the job?" he asked.
"I told Dumbledore that I would think about it. But I did enjoy teaching. If I take the job it would mean that I can be there to keep an eye on Damien."
Damien was looking a lot happier at the revelation. Harry however, still wasn't convinced.
"Dad, if you're going to be teaching, then you won't have the time to watch Damien. It's still too risky."
"Harry, come on!" Damien said, pleading him to give in.
"No! Why are you guys acting like this isn't a big deal? Is Hogwarts that important that you're willing to risk your life?" Harry asked, turning to Damien.
"No, but…"
"But nothing! You're not going and I don't care how much you whine and complain. Once I catch that bastard, I'll take you to Hogwarts myself." With that Harry got up and left the kitchen, leaving the rest in awkward silence.
xxx
Harry appeared in the living room, his feet unsteadily hitting the ground. Harry straightened up and turned to face a grim looking Ginny. Harry had just come back from the pensive after watching the memory of Ginny's attack again.
James moved towards Harry in concern, he didn't look too good. Harry sat down and closed his eyes, trying to get the image of the attack to leave him. He thanked all the Gods that Ginny had survived without much damage. He had taken an awful risk. Pushing those thoughts aside Harry looked up to face James.
"Any luck?" James asked, hoping against hope that this time Harry had managed to recognise the impostor.
Harry shook his head.
"No, nothing." He said rubbing at his forehead in frustration.
"Oh, well, it was worth a try. Don't worry, Harry. We'll get him." James said patting Harry on the shoulder.
Harry absent-mindedly nodded his head. They would get him but how much longer was it going to take? Damien was still in a mood with him because he was still refusing to let him go to Hogwarts.
He looked up to see Ginny sit next to him. She gave him a reassuring smile.
"Don't worry, Harry. We'll find him." she said quietly.
Harry looked away. He was running out of time. He needed to find that bastard before he made any move to hurt anyone else.
"By the way, was the memory intact this time?" James asked, sitting opposite to Harry.
"Yeah" Harry answered.
He had been surprised to see the memory without it becoming distorted. It seems James' theory was right, that if the memory was from a secondary source and not the person whose memory it actually was, then the memory became distorted and fuzzy. Since Harry took the memory directly from Ginny this time, he saw it without any problems.
A thought suddenly occurred to Harry. If that was true then maybe the reason he couldn't see Bella properly in his recurring dream was because that memory wasn't being sent to him by Bella. Maybe what Harry was seeing in his dream was a memory of that memory. Maybe it was someone else's account of the attack that was being projected to him. Harry felt his heart clench tightly at the thought. He knew, without a doubt that it could only be one person who could see that memory and send him it in his dream.
But the question was, why was Voldemort sending him this memory? What was it about that memory that had any connection to Harry? What did Bella have to do with anything?
xxx
Harry let out an annoyed growl and threw the useless paper work away from himself. It was no good. No matter how much he studied, he wasn't any closer to finding him.
"Harry, you need to rest." Ginny stated, picking up the papers that Harry had scattered.
"Yeah, mate you've been doing this without a break. You should rest a bit." Ron added.
The group of teens were sitting in Damien's room, once again, looking through the mass of paperwork trying to piece together the identity of the Dark Prince impostor. Harry rubbed at his eyes and looked back up at the next file. His eyes were red and bloodshot from lack of sleep and rest. He was spending every moment he had on searching for the impostor.
Damien watched from his seat. He felt terrible. He knew that Harry was trying to find the impostor before the first of September, so he could go to Hogwarts without any threat. He felt very guilty for adding this stress to an already fretful Harry.
Harry was growing more anxious as time passed by and he got no closer to figuring out who this impostor was. The only suspect they had was the wizard Cole Bailey. Harry had asked Remus and Sirius to look for anything the Ministry had on Cole Bailey but it came back with nothing. There was nothing on him. It was as if a wizard with that name never existed. Harry had even asked Lucius but he hadn't heard of him either. Harry had then asked Hermione to see what she could get from muggle sources. The impostor had made one mistake when he threatened Harry. He had made a phone call. He had used muggle technology, thus indicating that he was familiar with muggle items. Harry was certain that he was muggle born.
Hermione was currently with Sirius in the muggle world, doing as Harry had asked her.
"Harry, go and lie down." Damien said quietly as he saw how his brother fought his tiredness.
"I'll sleep all I want after I catch him." Harry replied.
Damien sighed and got up. He walked over to Harry and pulled the file away from his fingers.
"I swear, if you don't go to bed, I'll hex you and force you to sleep!" he threatened.
"Damy…"
"Harry, please. I'm sorry about what I said about going to Hogwarts. I swear I won't go until you find him. But you don't have to do this. Go and rest, you're literally falling asleep. Rest for a bit and then we'll keep looking."
"I'm waiting for Hermione…" Harry started.
"We'll wake you when she arrives." Ron said at once.
Harry tried to argue but his fatigue was catching up with him. He gave up when Ginny dragged him to his bedroom and guided him to the bed.
"You don't have to tuck me in." Harry said, fighting a yawn.
Ginny only smiled and kissed him.
"Sleep." She ordered and left the room, closing the door over gently.
Harry's eyes fluttered closed of their own accord and he was asleep in a matter of seconds.
xxx
Harry squinted against the sharp glare of the sun. He looked around himself and saw that he was in a park. It looked like a muggle park. There were children everywhere, swinging on the swings, chasing each other around the grass, queuing in front of the ice cream van. The parents of the children were sitting on the grass, watching and laughing at the sight of their children playing.
Harry looked around in amazement. He knew he was dreaming since he had never been to a muggle park before. He walked amongst the giggling children as they played, oblivious to Harry's presence. Harry watched in fascination at the happenings around him.
Just a few steps ahead of him was a young man. He looked slightly older than Harry, nineteen, maybe twenty years old. He was leaning against the green railings surrounding the park and was watching the scene with just as much interest as Harry.
Harry spotted him and for a moment he stared at the young man. He took in the familiar appearance, tall lean figure, black hair, handsome features and striking green eyes. Harry was taken aback as he caught the sight of the green eyes. The young man had looked over at Harry and as their eyes met, Harry felt a thrill of familiarity hit him. The young man looked away from Harry, a smile on his face.
Harry looked away as well and wondered what was going on. He chanced another look at the dark haired boy and saw that he was still smiling.
"I guess you like this appearance more than the other one." The boy said as he turned to face Harry, a smirk on his face.
Harry felt like the ground under his feet had moved. He stared at the boy, gaping at the sight. He could recognise that smirk anywhere.
"Voldemort?" Harry asked his voice breathless with shock.
"Actually, it's Tom Riddle." The dark haired boy replied, still smirking.
xxx
Ginny, Ron and Damien were quietly studying in Damien's room. Each engrossed in the file or paperwork before them. They were so deeply concentrating that they didn't hear the doorbell ring downstairs.
James opened the door to a strange sight. Hermione and Sirius were standing at the door, along with the blond haired ex-Death Eater.
"Malfoy?" James asked looking at him in complete surprise.
"Potter. Can we come in now?" he asked rather annoyed.
James ushered all three inside looking at them as they were mad.
"What the hell are you playing at? You can't walk around like this in daylight! What if someone saw you?" he asked the man.
"There's no time to worry about that." Lucius said, brushing aside James. "We have bigger problems."
James saw the look of worry and panic on all three and felt his own heart rate speed up.
"You found him, didn't you?" he asked.
"Yeah. James, you're not going to believe this." Sirius replied gravely.
xxx
Harry stared at the young Voldemort, Tom Riddle, in shocked surprise.
"Really, there is no need to stare." Tom said as Harry was yet to speak.
Harry snapped out of his daze and took a step back.
"How is this possible?" Harry asked.
Tom looked away from Harry and surveyed his surroundings, his eyes, so similar to Harry's, scanning the area. Harry was staring at the young Voldemort. It was definitely him. But his eyes were still their natural colour, they hadn't turned red yet.
"Why are you here?" Harry asked, regaining some of his senses.
Tom turned to Harry.
"I think the question is; why are you here?"
Harry looked around him again and this time his thoughts were clear to read from his face. Tom laughed making Harry jerk back to look at him.
"No, Harry. We're not in hell."
Harry felt his heart somersault in his chest as he heard his name being spoken again by Voldemort. It wasn't like his nightmares; there was no malice or hate in the voice, just comfort and a sense of belonging.
"Where are we then?" Harry asked, his voice sounding strangely calm for how he was feeling.
"It's called the Realm of the Erised." Tom stated. "It's a place where your deepest desires are brought before you."
Tom wasn't looking at Harry as he spoke. His eyes were fixed on a spot before him. Harry followed the direction of his gaze and saw two people, a man and women, sitting on the grass, laughing and smiling lovingly at a small child. The child had black hair and striking green eyes. He looked to be around the age of three, maybe four years old. He was trying to run in circles around the pair but the man would grab the child as he made to run past him. The dark haired man was laughing as he tickled the child making the child squeal with happiness. Harry saw that the handsome, dark haired man bore an uncanny resemblance to Tom Riddle. Harry saw the blonde women sitting next to him and suddenly he knew who he was seeing. It was Tom Riddle senior and Merope Gaunt. Voldemort's parents.
Harry looked back at the dark haired boy standing next to him and saw that he was gazing at the small child, who was still giggling and playing with his parents, with a yearning look. Tom looked over at Harry and smiled.
"Abandonment is perhaps every child's fear." He said in explanation.
Harry didn't know what to say and so just stared at the scene before him. He had never thought underneath Voldemort's exterior, he still craved the one thing that he was denied, parents.
"Why am I here?" Harry asked with difficulty.
"I brought you here." Tom answered, looking away from his parents and focusing all his attention on Harry.
"Why?" Harry asked. "Was haunting me every night not enough? Why did you bring me here?"
Tom looked at Harry carefully.
"Is that what you thought I was doing? Haunting you?" he asked truly surprised.
Harry was taken aback.
"Weren't you?" he asked.
"I wasn't haunting you. I was trying to reach you though. But every time you detected my presence your guilt took over, making you see what you didn't want to see. It was your own guilt that troubled you. I didn't do anything to you."
Harry stared at him, not sure if he could believe him. All those nightmares and visions he had of Voldemort dying, all of that was his own guilt? It wasn't Voldemort trying to drive him insane?
"Why were you trying to contact me if you didn't want to haunt me?" Harry asked with difficulty.
"Because you needed me." Tom answered, a playful smirk on his face.
Harry didn't say anything. It was true. He did need him. He needed him even now.
"Why would you want to help me after what happened? I…I killed you." Harry almost whispered the last part.
Tom didn't speak. He looked towards the fabricated image of what his childhood might have been like if his parents were with him. After a few moments he spoke.
"I killed him." he gestured towards Tom Riddle senior. "I killed him as well as my Grandparents. It was one of the murders I felt were justified."
Harry looked again at the image of the playful father with his child and looked back at the teen Tom Riddle. He understood what he was trying to say. Even though Voldemort killed his father, it didn't change what his deepest desire was. He still wanted his father's love, even when in reality he was responsible for his death.
Harry felt like a weight had come away from him. The guilt that had plagued him ever since Voldemort's death, had suddenly evaporated. He looked at Tom and could see the small smirk play on his lips.
"Why did you bring me to the Realm of the Erised?" Harry asked, feeling a lot more relaxed than before.
"It was the only place I could bring you to help you." Tom answered.
"You don't stay here?" Harry asked, thinking that maybe this was where Tom Riddle had been the whole time.
Something flickered in Tom's eyes and he looked away.
"No, Harry. I don't belong here." His tone was quiet. Since Harry came here it was the first time Tom lost his smile.
Harry didn't want to ask where he belonged. He already knew the answer and he couldn't bear thinking about it.
"I could really have used your help lately." Harry said, leaning back on the railings, head bowed. "I've tried everything I can think of but I still can't get to this impostor that's threatening me. I don't know what else to do." Harry said dejectedly.
"Come on, Harry. You can't tell me you still haven't figured it out." Tom said, his smile back on his face.
Harry looked at him in surprise.
"You know who it is?" Harry asked.
Tom only smirked and suddenly started walking away.
"Hey!" Harry yelled running behind him. "Where are you going?"
Tom kept walking and didn't slow down. Harry ran after him, dodging the playing children.
"Voldemort! Tom! Wait!" Harry yelled.
Suddenly Tom stopped in the middle of the park. Harry ran up to him.
"What happened? Where were you going?" Harry asked.
"To give you your answer." Tom replied.
Harry didn't know what he was talking about until he felt a shadow fall over him. He looked straight ahead and the sight took his breath away. Standing before him, smiling at him was Bellatrix Lestrange.
Harry couldn't find the words to speak. He just stared in numbed belief. Bella walked over to stand before Harry, her smile held such sadness it made Harry want to look away. He didn't though.
"I don't understand." Harry whispered.
"We're here because you want us to be here, Harry." Tom explained. "It was your deepest desire to be with us that allowed us to come here. I've been trying to get you to come with me ever since last year to show you what you need to know. You must have dealt with your guilt since you managed to come with me today."
Harry never got a chance to ask Tom what he was talking about for at that very moment Bella reached out and touched the side of Harry's head. Her fingers touched Harry's temple and suddenly Harry found himself being thrown into a whirlpool of memories. None of them were his own.
xxx
James stared at the three people before him.
"What?" he asked, not able to understand why they were so flustered.
"We know who the impostor is." Hermione said again, echoing Sirius' words.
"Who is it?" James asked at once, wondering why they hadn't yelled the name out yet.
"It's Cole Bailey." Sirius said.
James felt a sense of relief flood him. They knew the name of the impostor. He didn't know who Cole Bailey was but at least they would have an easier time tracking him now.
"Okay, why are you all so worked up?" James asked, not understanding why everyone looked panicked.
The three exchanged looks with each other. Sirius stepped forward.
"James, do you know who Cole Bailey is?" he asked.
"Um, he's Cole Bailey." James answered.
"Have you ever heard of him?" Lucius snapped, clearly impatient.
"No" James answered.
"Neither has anyone else. He was a Death Eater but I've never heard his name before. Doesn't that strike you as strange?" Lucius asked.
"I guess, but I just thought he was a nobody." James admitted.
"That's not the case." Sirius said, looking quite pale.
"What are you talking about? What's the matter?" James asked, now clearly unnerved.
"James, what would have happened if Voldemort was ever captured and put on trial? What name would have appeared on his paperwork? Would it be the name he fashioned for himself, Lord Voldemort? Or would it be his given name, Tom Riddle?" Sirius asked.
James looked at Sirius in confusion.
"It would be his real name, Tom Riddle." James answered.
"That's the reason why we don't recognise the name Cole Bailey. That is why Harry doesn't recognise the name either. The problem was that Cole Bailey wasn't known to the wizarding world by that name. He was known by another name" Sirius' words faltered and he looked like he couldn't believe what he was about to say.
At the same time Hermione pulled a photocopy of a muggle newspaper from her bag and wordlessly handed it to James. James looked at the black and white unmoving picture of a handsome dark haired man. He snapped up to look at Sirius, his breath caught in his chest.
"Cole Bailey was known to the wizarding world as Rodolphus Lestrange." Sirius managed to choke out.
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Okay, the what, how, when, where will be explained in the next chappie, the last chapter of 'A Part of Me'.
Please remember that since the story is AU, the characters and their backgrounds are also AU. I will explain everything in the next chapter, Promise!
Please review! Cheers!