Author's Note: I am infinitely sorry for this several month long wait. I was moving house to another country, and was so busy, changing houses, computers, and didn't get a chance to write this chapter. I'm mostly settled now, so I'm hoping for updates to start happening again. On a separate note, I started another story, one that is loosely based on this one, except it starts before Harry goes to Hogwarts, in first year, with Tom being the same age as him. It's called Influenced from an Early Age, so read it if you think it'll interest you.

Anyway, please enjoy the chapter, I hope it can at least try to make up for all of the lost time. Enjoy!

The Experiments of Tom Marvolo Riddle – Chapter 12

Written By YT12J

Harry walked into the Dormitory, still thinking about what Dumbledore had told him. The majority of the student population had gone home for Christmas to spend it with their families, including Ron and Hermione, so unfortunately for him, he was more or less alone with Tom, something that didn't really make him overjoyed.

"Ah, so he finally returns from the Hospital Wing." Tom said as soon as he walked in, not even bothering to look up from the mouse that he was levitating in front of himself for some unknown reason. Harry ignored his comment out of instinct and spoke to him directly, trying to not waste any time which could give Tom an opportunity to speak anymore

"Do you remember how I told you that my scar was given to me by your future-self?" He asked, knowing that Tom wasn't likely to forget that particular piece of information anytime soon.

Tom slowly nodded, not seeing where it was going and not particularly caring, though he was evidently interested due to the fact that he released the mouse and watched it scurry away in fear. Harry continued "Well, I didn't tell you the whole truth. You see, I share a connection with him, Voldemort, and from time to time I can see into his mind, get flashes of his mood. And now, the connection is starting to fade away for some reason, according to Professor Dumbledore. He also said that the only way in which it could be happening is if I am constantly physically close to Voldemort, so maybe because you've been around for a while it's been fading."

Harry had a bad feeling about saying all of that to Tom, mainly because it revealed that he had withheld information, something that he wasn't keen on doing again, but wanting to know the truth about it he had no choice.

Tom stayed silent for a few moments, an indecipherable look on his face, and then spoke. "First of all, I'm not very impressed that this was kept from me. Second of all, what exactly is this connection between you and him? It doesn't really make much sense, and I want to know more about it. It sounds very relevant"

"Well, it's just a connection that was formed when he gave me my scar. Apart from that I don't know much else; Professor Dumbledore knows a lot more than I do. I never really asked too much, and even he doesn't understand it too well."

"Interesting," Tom murmured, thinking heavily about what had just been said. "I've never heard of such a connection being formed, but of course the circumstances are unusual. Nobody but you has ever survived the killing curse, so it's impossible to know the side effects of it, including this connection. And I also don't see how being physically close to me would make it fade away, unless… No, it can't be!"

Tom had a horrified look on his face and was muttering to himself confusedly, clearly disturbed by something. Harry made no attempt to talk to him, instead remaining silent from fear of angering him. He had learnt his lesson a long time ago about disrupting Tom's thoughts.

"Harry, I think that I am probably wrong, but it is possible that my future-self created one or more Horcruxes and that you are one of them. It was most definitely by accident, when he tried to kill you, although I've never heard of a Horcrux being formed in that way, you have to follow a very detailed ritual, one mistake making it collapse completely." He continued

Harry nodded, not actually understanding it at all. "What's a Horcrux?" He asked, not especially curious, mainly because he had no idea what it was and what it was capable of. Tom glanced at him, and then rolled his eyes; clearly amused and annoyed that Harry had no idea what he was talking about. Taking pity on him, he spoke.

"Let me explain it to you…"

Break

Harry stared straight ahead, his reaction having not changed within the last half hour due to what Tom had told him. And of course Tom hadn't exactly helped by casually explaining it like it wasn't very much important, while Harry sat there quietly, his insides being torn into shreds. It was a big shock to him to find out that part of Voldemort's soul was in his body, and his only consolation was that it was slowly going away, although it was likely that it would cause a lot of damage until then.

How could Dumbledore not have seen this before? It was so obvious, he could speak Parseltongue, the Sorting Hat wanted to sort him into Slytherin, there was an endless list that Dumbledore should have linked a long time ago, and yet he didn't. What excuse could he possibly give?

He sighed. He couldn't really blame Dumbledore, after all, who would suspect that there was a part of Voldemort's soul in Harry? Only Tom knew, and that made sense, he obviously knew his future self really well. Even if Dumbledore had guessed, Harry doubted that he would actually want to believe it, he certainly didn't.

He got up off the sofa he was silently sitting on, and decided to take a walk, using it as an attempt to forget about everything that had been bothering him lately, which was quite a long list. As he left the common room, he noticed Dumbledore walking towards him. Harry sped up, and stopped when he was a foot away.

Dumbledore surveyed him through his glasses, something clearly on his mind. And suddenly something horrible occurred to Harry. Did he know about Tom? Did he somehow deduce from what he knew all of what Tom had just told him, including Tom's presence? All of these possibilities flooded his mind, however before he could speak Dumbledore opened his mouth and softly spoke.

"Harry, I was just wondering, is there something you want to tell me?"

It was just like in second year, when he didn't tell Dumbledore what he knew, and continued alone, and although this time he couldn't tell Dumbledore if he wanted to, he found himself not attempting to resist and blurt out everything that had been happening. He had finally reached the point where he trusted the situation enough to not need to tell anybody, although he far from trusted Tom himself, that was something he didn't think he could ever achieve.

"No sir, there's nothing I need to tell you. Can I ask why?"

"I simply was wondering, Harry," replied Dumbledore calmly, his eyes still looking straight into Harry's, an undecipherable look in them. "Have a good day."

Harry immediately continued walking, muttering "You too," hurriedly, fearing that what Dumbledore was thinking would be confirmed if Harry stayed in his presence for any longer. He trusted Dumbledore, he just didn't trust Tom.

As he walked faster down the corridor, he turned at a corner and suddenly bumped into Professor Muff. Harry fell flat on his face, and Muff fell backwards, his head hitting the hard stone floor. Harry immediately jumped up, and helped Professor Muff to his feet. As much as he hated the teacher, he knew that he was looking for the slightest excuse to expel Harry.

"Sorry about that Professor, I wasn't looking where I was going." Muff glared at him as soon as he finished speaking, and opened his mouth angrily.

"What do you mean you weren't looking?" He roared. "Are you blind Potter?"

Harry actually took a step back when he heard his voice, slightly intimidated. Muff noticed this, and his face softened. "Never mind, let's forget about it. Why don't we go to my office for a Firewhiskey, eh?"

"Erm, I'm not old enough to have Firewhiskey Professor." Harry replied, slightly taken back by the sudden change in the Professor's demeanour. Muff chuckled as soon as he heard this.

"No matter, a quick sip won't do you any harm. Come on!"

Without another word Professor Muff turned around and walked off, Harry following him from behind, not quite sure what to think. The same teacher he had dedicated a hate group to was now inviting him to his office for a Firewhiskey. Then something occurred to him. Veritaserum, the same drink that he had seen force-fed to Barty Crouch Jr the previous year. There was a chance that Muff was just pretending to be nice so that he could get Harry to spill his secrets.

With that thought Harry vowed not to drink a drop of the Firewhiskey that was offered to him just as he entered the office. Muff pointed at a table without speaking, and Harry sat down as Muff poured two glasses of Firewhiskey, leaving the rest on the table. 'Odd,' Harry thought, 'He couldn't have put any Veritaserum in my glass without me seeing. All of it must have some; he must be planning to do the same as me.'

"So, Potter, which Quidditch team do you support?"

After about ten minutes of discussing Quidditch, Harry noticed that Muff was getting drunk, and so must have been drinking the Firewhiskey. He would have thought more about that fact, but then something occurred to him. If he got Muff drunk enough then maybe he could get things out of him, like what the Ministry was planning, and other important pieces of information.

But before he could say anything, he noticed a slight shimmer in the air behind Muff. Before his eyes Tom appeared, evidently using a charm to keep himself invisible to Harry as well. Harry did not do anything however, knowing that Muff was not only drunk, but couldn't see or hear Tom. However Tom got out his wand and pointed it at Muff, a curse flying out of it and hitting Muff in the back. Harry cried out. "What are you doing? What curse was that?"

"It wasn't a curse," Tom replied. "It was a memory charm. I need something that belongs to this man, and my two previous attempts to steal it were unsuccessful and he still remembers an invisible thing attacking him. I took the item while you kept him busy, and now he doesn't remember anything, including his encounter with you."

Tom walked towards the door, and before he went out Harry asked him a question. "What was the item?"

Tom didn't even stop walking. "None of your business."

Break

Remus Lupin got out of his chair and started to pace back and forth down the room he was in, deep in thought. After a few moments he sat back down, and then a few moments later he got up again and paced back and forth exactly the same as before.

There was something wrong with his mind. He was physically in good health, but he could sense something in his mind, something that was quite right, but no matter how hard he tried he couldn't place it.

He was almost certain that it had something to do with the curse that Voldemort had hit him with, but seeing as the curse was still unidentified, along with what it did, there was nothing more he could do, except mention it to Dumbledore. And no matter how hard he tried to do this, every time he saw Dumbledore something else would come into his mind and he would forget to mention it.

Every time he realized this happened he promised himself that he would remember the next time, and yet he still forgot, and the thought never occurred to him that something in his mind was preventing him from doing it.

And then suddenly, in the middle of him walking, he felt a blinding pain in his head, so intense that he couldn't even scream. All he did was collapse to the ground and not move again. However his mind was still active and he suddenly heard a voice in it, a voice that he felt compelled to carefully listen to, and to obey.

"Hear me Remus Lupin, and do my bidding"

Break

Ron and Hermione were sitting on a sofa in the common room, Ron holding his homework and a quill, and Hermione reading a book, glaring at Ron every time he asked her for help.

The common room was full of students doing various things, including Tom, who was casually sitting, Ron and Hermione the only people who could see him. Harry wasn't there; exactly why Tom felt comfortable getting out the item that he stole from Muff's office to examine it. He didn't view either of Harry's friends as a threat, and he knew that they wouldn't think to mention what he had out to Harry.

The item that had stolen, and was currently was a small vial which held some of the memories of Alexander Muff, and although he didn't care much about the teacher, he did care about the fact that it was labelled 'James and Harry Potter'. He was interested in seeing what the memories held, and he knew from overhearing a few of Muff's conversations that they would be secrets that he didn't want Harry to hear, secrets that if he found out he wouldn't tell Harry unless necessary, mainly because Tom always enjoyed knowing something about somebody that they did not know about themselves.

Having grown bored of staring at the vial he put it in his pocket, and went up to his dormitory, intending to view all of the memories. Whatever they may have held, it would definitely be interesting.

Meanwhile in the castle Harry was studying in the library, another attempt to keep himself distracted. While he was in the section of curses, he took out what looked like the book that he wanted, and begin to read at the section that he wanted.

Abscondes

This curse is usually related to the Imperius Curse, however this is an incorrect assumption. The curse is usually used in the case of extreme robbery, when a wizard is caught in somebody else's house and he has no other options. It is ideal for use in that situation because it prevents the caster from being attacked by the person he is cursing, and it also prevents that person from ever mentioning the caster at all.

The curse is very difficult to cast however, and requires a lot of magic to achieve, the main reason why it is rarely cast. However there are still some modern instances of this curse being used, the most well-known instance being The Silence of 1974, when an entire village was invaded, and the invaders secretly lived there, not being discovered until 7 years later. This was when a counter-curse was devised, and the villagers broke free of their 7 year silence.

Counter-Curse

If ever you find yourself to be in a situation where you have been cursed with this, which is likely never going to happen, the counter-curse is very simple, and also prevents the curse from ever working on you again when the same person uses it against you, however other people can still use it against you.

To use this, you must have be able to see a reflection of at least your face, preferably with a mirror, point your wand at the reflection of your forehead, and say 'Revelabunt'. The counter-curse will immediately hit your reflection and rebound, solid or not, hit your forehead, and free you of the curse completely. It can also have the side effect of a slight headache for several hours, but nothing else.

Break

The dormitory was empty. Harry knew because he waited for Tom to leave for fifteen minutes. He walked in, moving toward the mirror, wand at hand. Looking into the mirror, he pointed his wand at the reflection of his forehead, prepared to fire the counter-curse.

He wasn't going to tell Dumbledore, something he had already decided. The main reason he was doing this was so that he could attack Tom in case there was ever an emergency, something which he hoped would never happen, mainly because he didn't want to know the results of him attacking Tom.

He wasn't sure if he would tell Sirius, but he would decide on that later. It wasn't important, not while he was about to break free.

Tom had grown on him slightly. He wasn't sure if it was a form of Stockholm Syndrome, or just the fact that they hung around and did stuff so much. But he was quite sure that he wasn't ready to reveal Tom and watch him get sent back.

Taking a deep breath he spoke clearly. "Revelabunt!"

The jet of light rebounded off the mirror, hit his forehead, and created extreme pain. And then…

Author's Note: Harry is starting to not want to tell anybody about Tom. I wouldn't call them friends, but they are both definitely growing on each other somewhat. It wasn't made clear, but the counter-curse worked, so Harry is now free! I can't say the same for Ron and Hermione, so we'll see if he helps them out next chapter. As for Remus, there will hopefully be more on him next chapter, and also there may be a scene with the spy in the Order, although his identity won't be revealed.

Please review if you feel like you can, but as usual I'm happy that you had time to read it at all. Also please try to vote on my poll if you get a chance, it will be important at one point. Thanks for reading the chapter, I'll do my best to update soon. Bye!