Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN HARRY POTTER OR ANY OF THE CHARACTERS. Ow, that stings.
Harry swallowed as he stared alternately between the Potions Master and his arm. He had almost expected the mark to have vanished, but he supposed that the Death Eater had cursed the Mark as to make it permanent.
It wasn't really a Dark Mark, as the Dark magic radiating off of it was minimal, but it still served as a reminder of what awaited him. But Snape didn't know that. And Harry couldn't tell him because it would mean that he was admitting to knowing of its existence. The Boy-Who-Lived, savior of the Wizarding world, bearing a Dark Mark would cause a frenzy that no one could afford to deal with at the moment.
Well, you're in a bit of a conundrum, aren't you? Riddle obviously felt none of the nervous twinges that currently plagued him, as he knew that the… whatever Riddle was had never met Snape. As Riddle teased him for his cowardice, Harry stared at his arm and poked the Mark tentatively. He winced as the still-tender flesh complained at the gentle touch. In reality, he was just stalling so that he would have an excuse not to look up at his Professor. Snape did not approve.
"Potter, I asked you a question. What is that thing on your arm?" Harry took a deep breath and locked all of his conflicting emotions away, making his face melt into a blank mask. He forced his eyes away from his arm.
"I don't know… The Death Eater must have placed it there when my mind was occupied with other things, such as remaining sane. It wouldn't have seemed that important when I thought my arm was going to fall off from the tortures." It was mostly true, anyways.
Snape grimaced at the bluntness of the words. Riddle, however, was thoroughly amused. It made sense, as he was a psychotic maniac who shared Harry's mind, that he would understand the sarcastic undertone.
Hey, I am what I am, Potter. One could alternately call you a psychotic maniac who let a known psychotic maniac into his mind and besides, who made the sarcastic statement in the first place?
Harry went back to tracing the Mark on his arm absently. He felt the Professor study him for a moment more before muttering something under his breath and leaving the Hospital Wing. As soon as he left, Madame Pomfrey rushed in and bombarded him with an arsenal of healing potions, many of which Harry could only guess the purpose of.
One of them must have been a sleeping potion, as Harry felt himself sink into darkness almost immediately afterwards.
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Riddle was stretched out in a green leather armchair when Harry appeared. Harry glanced around, recognizing the Slytherin common room from second year. Riddle set down the book he was reading hurriedly and scrambled to his feet in an attempt to look dignified and stiff.
"About five seconds too late, Tommy." Harry chuckled and sat in the armchair across from Riddle, picking up the book Riddle had dropped. "Animagi Magicks? What's that?"
Riddle's scowl turned into barely guarded delight as he collapsed back into his armchair, legs swung over one leather arm and his back leaned against the other as he explained. "An Animagus, Animagi plural, is a witch or wizard that can transform into an animal at will. Usually each witch or wizard will have one creature that they can transform into, the creature usually depending on one's character or personality. The transformation takes about a minimum of three years, mainly depending on one's magical strength or compatibility with their animal form. After the first successful transformation, the ability will stay with you forever. In an Animagus form, the person still comprehends human speech and emotion, and is in complete control of themselves. A cat Animagus would feel no more compulsion to eat the family goldfish than one would as a human.
"An Animagus form is always a non-magical animal. The only magical Animagus ever recorded was a half-Veela who could become a unicorn, and she died over a thousand years ago. Animagi are forced to register with the Ministry after the age of seventeen, and an unregistered Animagus can spend up to ten years in Azkaban depending on the circumstances.
"An Animagus transformation traditionally begins with an incantation to reveal if the person has the potential to become an Animagus in the first place, and is then followed by transforming certain parts of the body to reveal the Animagus form of the witch or wizard, such as feet, hands, or patches of skin. This will be followed by months, or even years of meditation until their cores accept their animals as a part of their identity. Some wizards don't have the patience to wait until their meditation is complete, and would end up permanently an animal, or with certain animal parts forever, or even dead. Others simply don't get past the second step, because they don't like the animals they end up being or some such nonsense.
"Occasionally a person will want to change themselves so much after the second step that their personality will alter, giving them a new form. It takes so much willpower that only a few people would go to the lengths necessary, and the rest would either learn to accept what they are or give up.
"The Ministry, however, make it so that people are ashamed of learning new magic, and they have almost made the Animagus transformation seem dark. It's pathetic." Harry absorbed this information, remembering how the Death Eater had gotten into his house so easily by transforming into a scorpion.
He also watched the change in Riddle's demeanor as he spoke. At the beginning of the lecture, he was as stiff as a board, uncomfortable in such a vulnerable position. As he went on, however, Riddle seemed to soften. He was now stretched out, eyes glazed over slightly, motioning with his hand as he spoke. An unconscious smile seemed to tug at the boy's lips as he explained.
It was quite unnerving.
He shook himself off of his current train of thought and asked a question. "Were you ever an Animagus?"
Riddle's features hardened as he realized that Harry was still there. "No, I, sadly, did not have the potential to become an Animagus. I'm not sure exactly why, but I have my suspicions."
"But you did read the spells?"
"At the time that I went to Hogwarts, the school library did not include any books on that particular subject." Harry's face fell, causing Riddle to smirk.
"Salazar Slytherin's personal library, however, had quite a bit to say on the subject."
Harry gaped at him for a minute, before scowling. "Did you have to do that?"
Riddle's smirk grew wider. "Yes, I believe I did. You wouldn't be interested in becoming an Animagus, would you?"
Harry sat up straight in his chair.
"Would you be willing to teach me?"
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Harry awoke groggily, the Sleeping Draught still wearing off. He froze as he heard two people arguing outside of his drawn curtains. He decided to close his eyes and listen to what they were saying. He quickly identified the two people as Dumbledore and Snape.
"…Severus, you are overreacting. The boy is recovering from a very traumatic experience, and-"
"No, Albus! He is hiding something from us, and you know it!" There was a sigh.
"Severus, it is completely normal for someone's memory to be splotchy after an event like this. Harry is just a boy. Our minds will edit out certain things that would otherwise leave us scarred, especially for one that young."
"That wasn't just splotchy! Those memories were tampered with by a master Legilimens, Albus. I have only seen a few memories that have been fixed like that throughout my entire lifetime. There is no way that Potter could have done something that elaborate, or even planned that far ahead. The boy is no Ravenclaw."
"Perhaps. I am still quite strongly held to the belief that Harry will remember the entire thing when he is ready. To cause him to remember too soon may be traumatic."
Snape huffed. "Fine, Albus. We'll wait. But for all we know…" Harry felt his nose itch as a feather floated out of his pillow. No! He twitched his nose, trying to disperse the urge to… To… CRUD!
"ACKTCHOO!" He sneezed. Loudly. Snape and Dumbledore opened the curtains to find him sprawled halfway off of the bed, clutching his ribcage. "Ow…"
"I believe that would be qualified as a rude awakening." Dumbledore stated, eyes sparkling. Snape merely scowled at him. Harry just winced as another sharp pain racked his side. He wanted to groan, but he didn't want to cause himself more pain.
Help came in the form of Madame Pomfrey, who ran out of her office and helped Harry pull himself back onto the bed. "The poor boy needs his rest! Go on! Go!"
Riddle snorted. That woman is the only person alive who can shoo both Albus Dumbledore and Severus Snape.
You haven't met Mrs. Weasley, yet.
I can barely contain my excitement. Harry smirked and relaxed back into his pillow. He quietly nodded and accepted the potions that the Healer offered. Before long, he felt the effects kick in, and he slipped into dreams once again.
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Riddle stared at the wall of his room, the taunts of freak and weird creep echoing in his mind. He clenched his teeth and glared at the wall, which he was certain was the cause of his problems.
He so wanted to make them all pay, to kill them all with a single word and a flick of his wand. He should have realized earlier that he would have to return here when school ended. He should have known better than to assume that Dumbledore would save him from this hellhole. He growled and tossed his pillow at the wall, wishing that he could do magic outside of Hogwarts not for the first time.
He pulled out his sketchpad, flipping past detailed, graphic drawings of certain people being eaten by a giant snake, burned, sketches of snakes lunging at the person watching the picture, various designs of a faceless man wearing hooded robes and a white mask, and a single drawing of the man wearing a white mask shaped like a human skull circled. He finally turned to a page embroidered with the image of a human skull with a snake for a tongue. In sharp letters, TOM MARVOLO RIDDLE was spelled out. With a single poke of his fingers, the letters rearranged into I AM LORD VOLDEMORT.
He smirked and poked it once more, returning it to it normal form.
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Harry winced as he returned to his own mind. Riddle's first summer back from Hogwarts had strange parallels to Harry's own, which most definitely did not skip Harry's attention. And in both cases, the fault was Dumbledore's.
Dumbledore had left him at the Dursley's, where he had been treated like the scum of the earth for eleven years. Dumbledore had also ignored Riddle for being sorted into Slytherin, not giving him the help that was needed.
Harry felt his anger pool inside of him as he lay there on the bed. All of a sudden, he sat bolt upright. Bed? He looked around him. Surely enough, he was no longer in the hospital wing. He recognized his surroundings as those of his dorm in the Gryffindor common room.
He stretched lazily and, purely out of habit, reached for his glasses. Instead, he felt a small piece of parchment crinkle in his grip. He smoothed it out and read;
Harry,
I am sure you will be happy to hear that Madame Pomfrey has deemed you healthy enough to be allowed out of the Hospital wing. She has told me to warn you, however, that if you are caught overexerting yourself for any reason, she will put a permanent sticking charm on your cot so as to make you unable to leave.
Since your relative's house is not secure at the moment, you are to finish the rest of the summer holidays at Hogwarts, until we ward their house for further protection.
-Headmaster Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore
Harry grinned as he pulled himself carefully off of the bed. There was a whole two weeks before the rest of the school arrived on the First. He walked over to his trunk, which a house elf must have recovered, and pulled out his invisibility cloak. He shoved it hastily into his robes and dashed down to the common room, exhilarated at the prospect of being away from curious students.
He hopped out of the portrait hole, and thought for a moment. This would probably be the only chance he'd get to go into the Chamber alone. He was rather cautious of being followed, however.
There's a secret passage over on the wall, about twenty steps ahead of you. Harry started, surprised, at Riddle's sudden appearance, but began to walk in the direction indicated. However, he was startled by the faint sound of footsteps behind him. He glanced back, seeing a shadow coming from around a bend not far behind him. He yanked out his cloak and flung it over his head just as Filch appeared. The revolting man cast accusing glances through the corridor before continuing on his way.
Harry sighed and turned back towards the wall. Where Riddle had told him to stop was a blank portrait, with just a stone wall on the canvas.
Say something in Parseltongue! Encouraged Riddle. Harry was curious.
Why? Riddle groaned.
Just do it!
If you insist… Harry took a deep breath, focusing on a crack in the wall underneath the portrait. If he turned his head just so, it looked like a little snake engraved in the brick. :Open:, He hissed.
Nothing happened, or so he thought. Riddle chuckled at Harry's cluelessness.
Put your hand out and touch the wall. Harry did so, and nearly yelped when he saw his hand go through the wall. He pulled it back out and exclaimed, It's an illusion!
Yep. Harry grinned and stepped through the wall, glancing around at his surroundings. A sudden thought froze him in his tracks.
Is this how the basilisk got around last year without anyone seeing it? Riddle hesitated, giving him all the explanation he needed. Harry winced, but continued walking. Riddle explained the location of each archway that they passed, so as to give them a general location of where they were. Gryffindor tower was relatively high up in the castle, so the guidance was gratefully accepted.
Before long, Riddle proclaimed them to be right outside of the girl's bathroom that held the entrance to the Chamber. It's here. Now just step through the wall.
Harry was hesitant. Do I have to say anything, first?
Are you doubting me, Potter? The sarcasm in Riddle's tone caused Harry to roll his eyes. He stepped directly through the wall, not meeting any resistance. Harry stood there for a second, trying to figure out how the system worked for future reference. Riddle searched through Harry's mind, trying to find a worthy comparison.
It's like a push/pull door. From one side, you can just shoulder your way through without having to think about it. But if you tried doing that from the other side, you'd just bang against it, doing nothing. Harry nodded, satisfied. He walked up to the sink, allowing his hand to skim across the surface of each faucet seeking out each bump and scratch until he found the one engraved with the serpent. With a single hiss, he opened it.
He stared down into the black abyss as Riddle told him to ask for stairs. He nodded slowly, feeling the memories from last year wash over him. The dueling club… Being shunned by his classmates… The accusations… Being stalked by Lockhart… Malfoy doing his best to ruin his reputation… Dobby trying to kill him…
His voice was completely empty as he hissed :Stairs:. He trudged down emotionlessly into darkness, until he could see nothing but the blackness that enveloped him as he descended.
He couldn't find it in him to care.
A/N: Hey guys! Sorry this took so long to write, but it's considerably longer than my other chapters, in my own defense. I appreciated all the reviews you gave me, as well! I would just like to add that unless it's been more than five months since my last update, I am still working on the story and want you to review. REVIEW! I can never get enough of you guys's opinions on how I'm doing.