Disclaimer. Harry potter or any of the other characters are not mine.

A/N. I'm sorry for the delay. I have been cut off from the internet for more than a week. I have been writing, but I had to do it without internet so I might have used some wrong names for I couldn't check it. I also decided this story is going to be slash. While I was writing this chapter it just seemed like the right thing. I also have some good news, I like black clothes offered to beta this story! I'm really happy about it, but because of the delay I will upload this chapter without it being checked over. I want to get the first few chapters checked as well, and I will put them up again after that. All the next chapters will be beta'd before posting, so I hope the story will improve from that. Thank you to the people who reviewed, and thank you for reading. Please leave me a review after reading.

In Darker Times – chapter 7

A week had passed after the conversation Harry had had with Edmond. Harry still hadn't asked Tom for help. Tom had kept his distance from Harry, and Harry felt more uneasy with every passing day. Humphrey had noticed as well. He had told Harry that morning that Tom had been sending letters to someone outside of Hogwarts. Harry didn't think that strange at all, but Humphrey said Tom had never been sending letters before, since he didn't have any family.

That day, during lunch, the usual owls flew into the great hall, each carrying a letter or package. A big brown owl flew over the Slytherin table and dropped a thick envelope in front of Tom. Vincent stopped eating to watch Tom grab the letter, as did Harry. But to their disappointment Tom had put the envelope in his bag and continued to eat his lunch.

The first class of the day was History of Magic. Harry hated that class in his own time, and he still hated it here. Professor Binns was the teacher in this time as well, and just as boring as in Harry's time. The ghost professor was still talking in the same monotone voice, and the students here weren't really paying attention either. Of course the good thing was that Harry had time for other things like figuring out about that letter Tom had received. It was probably nothing, but he was too curious to let it pass.

Harry took a seat next to Tom in the back of the classroom. The room was dimly lit, only a few streams of sunlight filtered in trough the high castle windows. Dust was collecting in the sunlight, dancing around in the air. Students started to get out their books, as did Harry. Professor Binns ordered them to open their books to page 261 and started talking about the goblin war against wizards in 1525. Harry quickly lost interest. All the other students did as well. Harry heard some girls giggling from the other side of the classroom and noticed them passing on tiny notes. Vincent and Edmond were writing something on a piece of parchment, while sniggering with an evil glint in their eyes. On the other side, the Gryffindors weren't doing any better with their concentration; he saw a girl drawing little hearts while staring at the boy in the front row.

Harry noticed Tom wasn't doing any better on his concentration; he was staring of in space, obviously lost in his own thoughts. Only now did Harry notice the ring on Tom's finger. He was twirling it around. It was an old looking ring, some heirloom maybe, with a crest on it. Harry wondered where Tom had gotten it, since he didn't have any family who could have given it to him. Suddenly, Harry remembered that he still had to ask Tom for some help with spell work, and decided now was a good time. He got out a piece of parchment and started to write a note to Tom.

Tom. About the other day with the Unforgivables: Remember you offered to help me with them ?

He slipped the parchment over to Tom's desk and saw how the boy read it over quickly before grinning and writing a reply.

Of course I remember. I thought you didn't want to know anything about it ?

I changed my mind.

Obviously… what made you change your mind then ?

I thought it over, and I think it might come in handy to know as much as possible. Not only about the unforgivables but other spells as well.

Hogwarts doesn't teach us enough about fighting, only teaching us how to defend ourselves.

I agree on that. So what about it, you still want to help me ?

Alright…

The parchment was exchanged quickly between the two boys, but Tom was hesitant about his last answer. Harry was afraid he wouldn't do it because of the delay, but let out a relieved breath after he got the parchment back. He looked over at Tom and smiled at him. He saw Tom replying with a small smile of his own. He had never seen Tom smile at anyone since he came to Hogwarts. It looked almost foreign on the boy's face. But as quickly as it came, it had vanished to the same neutral expression he wore around everyone.

The rest of class was rather uneventful. Binns was talking on about facts that didn't interest anyone and ordered them to write a two feet essay before next week. The class sighed and stood to leave. It felt as if the class had taken forever, the light in the hallways were hurting Harry's eyes after the little light in the classroom. But he was relieved to have their next hour free. Edmond and Vincent where going to the quidditch pitch and asked the rest to join them. Harry liked the change; maybe he could fly again. He had missed flying after his ban from last year. Humphrey and Paschal were going to start writing their essay already, and Tom surprised everyone by going to the pitch as well. Vincent looked at Tom strangely before smiling openly and swinging an arm around the boy, which Tom shrugged off with an angry look. Vincent only laughed harder at that and jogged up to walk next to Edmond again.

Tom came up next to Harry, but stayed silent during their walk. Harry looked at him from time to time, and saw that Tom was acting very uneasy, shifting his gaze over to Harry every few seconds. Harry laughed at him, trying to make him feel a little bit more comfortable, but Tom didn't return the smile this time and turned his gaze to the floor.

'So, Tom, you're a good flyer ?'

Tom shrugged, 'I guess.'

'Of course Tom can fly. He played Seeker on the team for the last two years!' Vincent cut in. Harry saw Tom give Vincent a pointed look, and Vincent joined Edmond again.

'Why aren't you on the team anymore this year, Tom ?'

'I just don't enjoy flying anymore. I've got other things to do instead of practicing for every stupid match.'

Harry didn't know what to answer to that. He saw Edmond and Vincent giving each other a knowing look. He wondered what they knew about Tom that Harry didn't know yet.

Finally the boys had reached the quidditch field. Tom sat down on the benches, while Edmond and Vincent picked out a broom from the broom shed. Harry decided to join Tom on the benches, although he would rather go with the other boys to fly. Tom saw Harry's dilemma and smiled a little.

'You don't have to sit with me, you know. I can clearly tell that you rather go flying.'

'How do you know what I would want to do ?' Harry knew it was obvious he loved flying. Flying was his life and he knew it showed on his face every time he saw other people flying.

'Pretty obvious isn't it? Your whole face lit up the moment we entered the field.' Tom rolled his eyes. Harry almost laughed out loud at that. The idea that Lord Voldemort rolled his eyes! But he sniggered a little instead. This wasn't Voldemort after all: not really. This was Tom Riddle. A sixteen year old boy. It was hard to imagine the snake-like face with the piercing red eyes when he looked at Tom. Why would he ever trade his handsome appearance for the ugly features Harry knew so well ?

Tom saw Harry staring and raised an eyebrow at him. Harry quickly looked back at the field, and Tom let it slide, thankfully. The boy bent down to grab a book out of his bag. The same book he had been reading in the dorm. It still looked like the fifth year Defence against the Dark Arts book, but Harry knew now what it really was.

'Aren't you afraid someone else will find out what's in that book, Tom ? They might tell a professor about it.'

'No Harry, they won't tell a professor. And the professor's wouldn't believe them anyway.'

'How do you know ?'

Tom looked up at Harry. 'How do I know they won't tell, or that the professor's wouldn't believe them ?'

'Both I guess.' Harry held out his hands, gesturing for the book. Tom gave it to him, and Harry started to leaf through it.

'They won't tell, because they know the professor's won't believe them and because they know what I'm capable of; or at least they heard the rumours. And the professors won't believe them because they didn't believe the stories before.' Tom shrugged at that, watching carefully how Harry continued to look at the pages of the book. After a moment of silence, Harry looked up at Tom.

'What stories ?'

'About Moaning Myrtle, and the monster.'

Harry remembered those stories from his own time of course, but he couldn't let Tom know that. He knew Hagrid was framed for Tom's actions with the Chamber of Secrets, and he also knew Moaning Myrtle had died because she looked the basilisk in the eyes. Tom had set it free and Hagrid got expelled.

'What monster? And who is Moaning Myrtle ?'

'Nothing important, really. The rumour goes that a monster was set free which had killed a student. Some students said I was the one to set the monster free. In the end, a half giant was expelled because he owned a big spider. Of course, a half giant isn't supposed to be in Hogwarts, so it was good riddance in the end, anyway.'

Harry was silent after that for a moment. Tom hadn't said he'd done it, but he hadn't said he'd not done it, either.

'So, did you do it then ?'

Tom looked back at the field at that, but didn't answer the question. Harry took that as his answer. He began to study the book, again. He didn't know most of the spells mentioned in the book. He knew the Unforgivables, of course, but there were other spells in there, as well. He felt disgusted at some of them, but some others could be very useful to him. They were dark spells, but only if used incorrectly. In the right situation, they could prove to be rather helpful.

One spell in particular caught Harry's attention; it was a spell that would make the opponent temporarily blind. Tom saw Harry's interest and leaned in to see what he was reading.

'That's a stupid spell Harry, why would you want to make someone blind ? It won't do you any good. They can still cast curses even when they can't see.'

Harry understood what Tom was thinking. He had heard Dumbledore say enough about Voldemort to know that the man didn't think logical.

'Yes but if you can't see your target you won't be able to aim properly anymore. You could really use that in your advantage.'

'The book says it's a torture curse to use on someone when you want to break them. But I can't imagine being afraid if someone turned me blind.'

'I can. My relatives locked me up in a cupboard until I turned eleven. I remember when I was a little child that I was afraid of the dark. I could hear and feel the spiders in there, but I didn't know where they were. I didn't know the time: it could be night or day. I wouldn't know because no light would enter in the cupboard. I used my imagination to escape. Dreaming that I was in a bed, under the covers, and that that was the reason I couldn't see. When I grew older, I got more used to it and the dark wouldn't scare me as much anymore.'

Tom nodded at that. 'I know what you mean. I wasn't afraid of the dark either. I used to hide in a cave near the orphanage, so I was used to the dark. I just can't imagine anyone being afraid of darkness.'

Harry knew the stories about Tom Riddle's childhood, but suddenly he saw the similarities between them. They both had horrible childhoods, and both of them had never recieved any love when they where children. But Harry had known love when he had entered Hogwarts. He had met Ron and Hermione. The Weasley family had always been very kind to him. Tom hadn't known that kind of love. Harry felt a pang of pity for the other boy. How could no one see what had happened to Tom. No one seemed to care about him at all. He had friends, but they kept their distance, as if they were afraid of him. Even the professors didn't notice him, not really. They spoke highly of his marks, and his intelligence, but they never spoke about the real Tom, about the person he was.

Tom seemed to be lost in his own thoughts as well. He was watching Vincent and Edmond playing with a bludger. They were laughing loudly, trying to hit the bludger and sent it flying at the other person. Harry decided he had seen enough of the book and closed it, setting it down on the bench beside him. Harry and Tom continued to watch the two other boys having fun. Suddenly, Tom got up. He put the book back in his bag and motioned for Harry to stand as well.

'So, you wanted me to teach you some of these spells right ? We've still got some free hours left. If you'd like we could start now.' Tom gave Harry a crooked half grin, and Harry felt a little bit of weight lift of his shoulders, again. He stood as well and followed Tom back to the castle. He was here to save the future and he was going to do just that. And maybe he could help Tom a little, as well. Dumbledore had said that Tom didn't know love, but Harry was determined to make it change. Tom deserved a good friend and Harry could be just that.

A/N. Thank you again for reading.