"Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment."
~Buddha

'italics' = memory

Standing up, Tom straightened up his clothes before pulling his wand out of his thigh holster. Waving it, Harry saw his clothes appear beside him and hurriedly pulled them on, feeling strange that Tom was fully clothed and he was only in his boxers. Tom meanwhile was transfiguring a few stones, two became two cushions whilst the other a candle. He set the candle in between the two cushions before sitting down on one. Harry followed his example, crossing his legs feeling remarkably like a Buddhist monk. With one whispered word the wick ignited and Harry watched, fascinated by the rippling colours contained within the bright orange, squinting he could see golden yellows existing in harmony with fiery red before combining fluidly to form the amber that most people see. The candle itself was unremarkable - stubby and white - but the processes it contained were truly breathtaking. Harry observed the colours for a while before lifting his head and seeing Tom stare at him with such an intensity he almost flinched.

"I forget that you are so new to this, sometimes you seem older, wiser. Whereas other times you hold the child-like surprise of someone who has newly ventured into this realm" Tom's voice sounded gentler than normal, gone was the impassiveness and for the first time Harry fully saw the man beneath the mask, not just snippets gleaned from close observance. Smiling he fixed his eyes back on the candle, feeling Tom's gaze on him, this however did not make him uncomfortable as it once would have, oddly he felt at peace, the candle helping to ease his anxiety.

He was going to delve into Tom's mind.

Even now in his relax state he couldn't think this without a hint in incredulousness. It seemed surreal, he knew that the Voldemort he knew wasn't the man before him, their earlier actions had proved that much but this, this was beyond anything he had ever expected from the man. He guessed it was just another way Dumbledore had of turning him against Voldemort, dehumanising the enemy made him so much easier to hate without question. Automatically the thought of Dumbledore made him tense up, anger bubbling through him at the thought of his old mentor.

"Are you relaxed?" asked Tom.

"Yes" replied Harry, trying to calm himself down.

"Don't try and lie to me Harry" sighed Tom, "Focus on the candle, slowly relax your muscles one by one. As you relax imagine that all the negative energy is flowing out of you and being absorbed by the candle," doing as he was asked, Harry sighed as all the tension left his body, "Good, now imagine all the positive energy enveloping you, entering through your pores and filling you up. Open your eyes."

Feeling a lot more relaxed, Harry opened his eyes and was swallowed by Tom's blue orbs. He felt lost for a moment, caught up in the tide of emotion before Tom's voice brought him to the surface.

"Look me in the eyes and imagine two doors, one white and one black. I want you to go through the black door" Harry was confused for a moment as he realised Tom's lips weren't moving, then it dawned on him that Tom was in his mind. Slowly his view of the room faded, only to be replaced by darkness, through the darkness he saw the outline of two doors, one black and one white. Moving over to the black one, Harry grasped the handle and twisted the knob, pulling the door open.

"Step through Harry."

Stepping through Harry saw scenes flashing before his eyes before finally one stayed where it was.

Harry found himself in a room, it was cramped and the window was covered in black fabric so Harry couldn't tell if it was day or night. There was a shelf in the corner filled with a few knick-naks, Harry was sure he spotted a broken pennywhistle and bracelet amongst the items. Sitting on the bed was a teenage Tom Riddle, he looked younger than he did now, his hair was short and his eyes unnaturally cold for someone so young. He seemed to be playing with a yoyo, and Harry was mesmerised by the ball moving up and down the string. It carried on like this for a few minutes, the only sound the slap as the yoyo met Tom's hand. Seeing a black mist seep in through the closed window, Harry turned his attention to it, the young Tom too seemed to notice and stopped what he was doing. As the mist solidified Harry saw Alderan standing there. The ancient never looked any different than he did now, his black hair was tied back and his face smiling, the grandfatherly expression not belonging on such a youthful face.

"I was wondering when you would come" said Tom, his attention now back on the yoyo.

"By this should I assume you know what is happening to you?" asked Alderan, taking a seat on the end of Tom's bed.

"I did some research before I left Hogwarts, I'm turning into a vampyre aren't I?" It was phrased as a question but Harry could hear the confidence behind the words.

"Indeed you are. My name is Alderan, I am Lord of the Midnight Realm… a coalition of Dark creatures if you like. I am here to take you to the Castle of the Night. There you shall receive everything you need to help you with your transformation and after that I will train you personally in our ways."

"Why?" asked Tom harshly.

"Why what?" Alderan seemed genuinely puzzled.

"Why would you do that for me?" asked Tom, his voice still hard.

"Because it is the duty that was placed on me when I became a Lord and it has been foretold that you will help us in our struggle against the Light" replied Alderan calmly.

"Why should I believe you?"

"You already believe me, I can already feel your presence in my mind analysing everything I am saying. You are smarter than this dear boy, come with me I will answer all your questions in good time but if you don't complete the transformation soon then you will die."

"What about my things?" asked Tom, gone was the coldness and Harry could see the frightened little boy beneath the hard exterior.

"We can take them with us, there is no need for you to return here" said Alderan, looking around the small room.

The scene dissolved and Harry found himself encased in darkness, it lapped at him, tendrils of it caressing his skin and dragging him down into another memory.

They were on a hillside, the wind rustled through Harry's hair as he scanned the skyline. Dark clouds were gathered ominously on the horizon moving steadily closer. He could see a town down below, an old house stood out amongst them, surrounded by a graveyard and, with a start, Harry realised that it was Little Hangleton. Looking down, Harry saw Tom kneeling in the grass, his eyes were glistening with unshed tears. Dumbledore stood beside him, his hand on he young man's shoulder.

"Tom let me help you" said Dumbledore, surveying the young man before him with worry.

"Help me?" sneered Tom, "You would rather see me destroyed."

"That isn't true and you know it" retorted Dumbledore.

"You knew, you knew he never wanted me and still you let me find out, you let me go in there and now they are dead. Are you happy old man?" Tom's words were filled with venom but Harry could hear the deep sadness beneath them.

"No, I am not happy. I had though seeing them would have helped you regain your humanity but it appears I was mistaken" sighed Dumbledore, stepping back.

"Humanity! I lost that a long time ago" laughed Tom, the laugh was chilling and struck Harry to the core.

"Will you ever change your ways?" asked Dumbledore wearily.

"You set me on this path when you made me go to the orphanage. You know I don't like it there and still you send me back year after year. I'm sure there are couples that would be honoured to have a child genius in the family but apparently I'm not deserving of that. As far as I am concerned it is because of you I am the way I am" said Tom bitterly.

"I'm sorry" said Dumbledore, disapointment lacing the words, before apparating away the sharp crack quickly being carried away by the wind.

"That was foolish Tom" came Alderan's voice, turning, Harry saw the vampyre stride towards them, his face was stern but his eyes were filled with warmth as he surveyed his protégé.

"He already knew, there was no point in lying" said Tom, his voice full of self loathing.

"I have already contacted the Elves, they have agreed to do the purification ritual, Dumbledore may know your allegiance but without solid proof no one will believe him."

"You knew this would happen" said Tom quietly.

"Yes."

"Why didn't you stop me?"

"Because there are some things one has to do to be able to move on" replied Alderan quietly.

"Thank you" came Tom's broken reply, so soft that Harry wouldn't have been able to hear it if his senses had not been heightened.

Once again Harry was plunged into darkness as the memory ended, disintegrating and scattering into the blackness, the particles shining like glitter in the otherwise desolate place. Feeling the familiar pull, Harry followed it once again, feeling himself fade as he entered another memory.

He was standing in Alderan's meeting room. The man in question was standing on the platform, his eyes for once not filled with merriment but with weariness. This alone managed to transform his posture and Harry could see the ancient leader underneath the youthful face. The door opened and Alderan glanced around expectantly, watching as Tom entered, his mentor walking smoothly across the room until he was in front of their Lord. Tom bowed deeply and Alderan smiled, albeit without the usual warmth Harry had come to expect from the man.

"You wished to see me?" asked Tom, evidently wondering why he was there.

"Yes, Pythia gave a prophecy, she said that the childe born at the end of July would aid us in our fight. This childe has been born but another prophecy too was made, this one by Sybil Trelawney, the new Divination professor at Hogwarts. Trelawney said that this childe would vanquish the Dark Lord and that neither can live whilst the other survives. She also said that he has a power the Dark Lord knows not. At first these seem to contrast with each other, however I believe there is a way around them. For this to work I need you to test this childe, challenge him to become the leader we need. I do not care how you do it just do not kill him in the process. Also he cannot be detected, if the Light get a hold of him they will mould him into a weapon against us, if this happens then we will be destroyed, Miranda is making the containing potion but I require your magic to bind his own, at least until he reaches magical maturity. To do this you must visit his residence on Samhein, this is when your magic shall be at its strongest and perform the ritual there. Can you do this?" finished Alderan, his voice emotionless as he sealed Harry's fate. This was another side of their leader he had not seen, this Alderan was more business-like, he seemed to exude power and Harry would have been surprised if Tom would have disobeyed.

"Of course, consider it done" replied Tom, bowing again before exiting the room.

Tom could feel that Harry was tiring, he too was slowly losing energy as more and more of his memories flashed by. He could feel every emotion that Harry displayed but so far there had only been sympathy and understanding mingled with the occasional sense of shock. It warmed Tom's heart a little, melting the frost that had accumulated around it over the years. He had expected Harry to be horrified, disgusted by his behaviour, not understanding in any way. Slowly he severed the link, watching as Harry slumped, completely drained, both emotionally and physically. Blowing out the candle, Tom gazed as the smoke curled in the air before dissipating leaving only the burnt smell behind.

Standing up, Tom stretched and rubbed his eyes, forcing himself to stay awake. Moving around to Harry, he gently lifted the young man up, careful not to jostle him as he slept on. Vanishing the candle and the cushions, Tom walked to his chambers, opening the door quietly with his wandless magic. Moving into his bedroom, he pulled back the sheets and slid Harry into his bed, his lover moaning a little at the loss of contact. Changing into his pyjamas, Tom climbed in after him, smiling when Harry snuggled up to him. Holding the young man, Tom let the blackness claim him, feeling contentment sweep through him for the first time since he could remember.

A/N: Thank you for the feedback! I know that this chapter is short but its purpose is getting to know Tom better and there were only three key memories I wanted to show, the last one ties in with the first chapter so I hope that the first chapter will make more sense now. As for the other memories, if you have any question feel free to PM me and I will do my best to answer them.

To readers of Aurora I want you to know I haven't given up on the fic, I know exactly where it is going but the words aren't coming to me, that said I will try and update in a week or so.

What house should Lysander be in: Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw or Slytherin? I find myself favouring Hufflepuff for some reason, I think its just because I can picture the others slagging him about it which would be rather amusing xD Anyway I haven't made up my mind yet so tell me what one you think would be best :)

I apologise for any spelling and/or grammar mistakes contained within this chapter, I wanted to get it out as soon as possible and so it hasn't been beta'd.

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter.

Please Review!