AN: Well, NEXT CHAPTER. This one is dedicated to my friend, Cakethief, who got me to update. EVERYONE THANK HER AND READ HER STORIES! If you like Hunger Games or Naruto. I beleive she's working on a Harry Potter one. I will also be cowriting a fic with her, so be on the look out. Anyways, I'm going to bed soon, and Meg and Luke are already asleep. Harry's the one who won't shut up.
Harry: UPDATE! UPDATE! UPDATE!
Ann: SHUT UP HARRY! I knew it was a bad idea to give you coffee. Stupid Meg
Meg: *mumbles in sleep* I…heard…that…
Ann: O_O
Harry: UPDATE! UPDATE! UPDATE!
Last Time:
"I take it you have many questions Harry? If I may…" Ragnok asked, holding out his hand to take the scroll.
Harry nodded and held it out for him to take. As he read down, Harry watched his eyes get larger and larger. Not even a quarter of the way down he jumped up and grabbed Harry by the arm. Running out the door, he pulled Harry into a large room with strange symbols along the floor and walls.
"Harry, this is very important!" Ragnok said hurriedly. " I need you to stand here while I activate the right runes. This may sting, but it is needed. This spell may turn fatal at any time. I will explain further when it is done!" And with that, Ragnok ran around the room, touching certain parts of the wall. He was done within the minute.
Harry watched as Ragnok ran out and the walls began to glow.
Pain. All he could feel was the pain. It was like someone was tearing him apart limb from limb. He felt his skin stretch like rubber as his bones began growing slightly. It was unbearable. He tried to scream, but found he couldn't. As soon as he opened his mouth, all the air rushed out his lungs. It continued for what felt like days, but was really only a few hours.
Then, it stopped. He wiped the mixture of blood, sweat, and tears from his face and tried to stand up. Then, he collapsed as it began again.
The pain was almost tripled, but completely concentrated on a point under his chest. He felt something being torn away. He screamed in agony as his throat bled. Then, he heard another broken scream, a little boy. This wasn't his scream at all, it was so innocent. He felt the need to protect the poor child.
So he fought back. He gave all he had, but it was too much. His vision clouded, and he started to feel faint. Just before he passed out, he felt the pulling go away and the piece fall back into place.
When he woke, he was back where he had started from, Ragnok's office. He felt weird, and there was a lot in his mind he did not recognize. He made a mental note to check that later.
"Ah, Harry. I see you're awake now."
"Yeah, thanks for the warning by the way."
"I had no choice. The spells on you were literally destroying you."
"Ah. Well then…"
"There is something, Harry, which we do not understand."
"Yes?"
"Do you know what a Horcrux is?"
Harry looked up at Ragnok as if he were crazy. "No, should I?"
"A horcrux is considered an ultimate evil. It splits your soul in half, and places half of that soul into an object."
Multiple thoughts raced through Harry's head, many of them were undistinguishable, but one stuck out.
"The diary in Second year!"
"Yes, that is an example of a Horcrux. Unfortunately, Tom Riddle made more than one. Seven, we believe."
"Is Tom…?" Harry was scared to ask.
"No. He is not a Horcrux."
Harry sighed in relief. Now he just had to know who Tom really was.
"The tom that is sitting in our waiting room is the real Tom Riddle. He has been de-aged."
"WHAT!" Harry jumped up in horror.
Ragnok snapped his long fingers and Harry found himself back in his chair. "Let me explain."
"Fine."
"The Tom Riddle out there has no memories of what he has done. If you do go out and kill the boy, you will be killing an innocent child."
"But…"
"We believe that his soul had become so broken that the remaining parts made a last ditch effort to fix themselves, resulting in what you witnessed earlier this morning."
"So, what is it you were confused by?" Harry was still doubtful, but everything was making sense. It was also why he couldn't seem to kill Voldemort.
"Harry," Ragnok spoke gently. Well, as gently as a goblin could. "On that fateful night when he tried to kill you, his soul was so broken that a piece fell off and attached itself to the closest living thing in the area."
"So, you mean…?"
"Yes, a part of his soul lies in you."
The first thing Harry felt was disgust. A piece of his soul? Then, he felt understanding. This was the connection. It was why he could see inside Voldemort's mind. It was why he could speak parseltongue. It was the answer to so many things.
Then he had a new revelation. No way would this have gotten passed Dumbledore. The Headmaster had to know. Now that he thought about it, why did he trust the guy so much? What did he do for him? Oh yeah, Harry was a weapon. He sent him to the Dursley's for crying out loud!
Another surprise hit him. He had to destroy the diary to get rid of the Horcrux. That would mean he would have to…
He swore. Now it all made sense. Everything in his life had been set up. Meeting the Weasley's on the Platform. Why else would Mrs. Weasley forget the platform number? Or why Ron sat with him, he doubted his compartment was the only open one. Heck, the battle with Quirrel was set up. If three 11-year olds could get to the stone, that can't be much protection.
And second year. And third year. And fourth year. And fifth year. All of it! It was all set up, but why? If he was going to die anyways, why bother testing him at all?
He stored this information in his brain for later. Right now, he had one last question for Ragnok, then he could concentrate on his vaults.
"Ragnok?"
"Yes, Harry?"
"Why is Tom now my son?"
"That, is an interesting question. Would you be willing to share a memory with me?"
"I guess so…which one?"
"Your trip to the graveyard."
AN" Oh my! What does that have to do with this? Brownie points to whoever can guess!