Harry thought it was quite an achievement that he kept Dumbledore ignorant to the anger coursing through him. Growing up with the Dursley's, he had been left with his fair share of marks. Tom had never commented on them, and there seemed to be a shared understanding between them that Harry never wanted to dig up the past. However, there were some things in the past that he could not ignore.
The young Tom had said they thought he was cursed. Muggles, not understanding the concept of magic would have used the punishments available to them on children in those times. Chastising children was not as frowned upon in those days. The Moral Panics associated with child abuse had died down by the time Tom was in the Orphanage, and it wouldn't surprise him if Mrs Cole, at her wits end, had tied him to his bed without meals as a punishment. Harry remembered more than once the Dursley's doing that to him, except they never had to tie him up. It wasn't as if he could get out of the cupboard anyway.
Harry understood that Dumbledore had left him at the Dursley's to interfere with his magical development. Whilst it angered him, he could recognise that this was a war, and he would do anything to aid the Dark, just as the Headmaster would for the Light.
Tom's neglect had no excuse, however.
There had been no prophecy referring directly to Tom. No indication to Dumbledore that he was indeed a vampyre. There were plenty of magical families that would have taken him in. Quite simply, there was no rational reason for why Dumbledore had left him there.
For some time Harry had thought Dumbledore cared about the minorities. Before his change, he had thought him the champion of the little people. It was bitter to see he had been wrong. A casualty was allowed if it was 'for the greater good' in the aged wizard's eyes. As long as the whole of society benefited, then it never mattered who was stepped on to get there. Tom was just one of many who had fallen through the cracks. Who was not deemed important enough to aid the greater good, and who could just be ignored.
It was slightly ironic that in his quest to aid the Light, Dumbledore had inadvertently created one of its greatest opponents.
Looking upon the Headmaster with new eyes, Dumbledore clearly assumed the change in his features was due to the memory, and it was, just not in the way he thought. The wizard's eyes had brightened. He thought the conversion was working, that he was turning Harry against Tom. How wrong he was.
"So you see Harry. Tom's powers were surprisingly well developed for such a young wizard. There has been evidence that he even began using them consciously on others at the Orphanage. Not in the ways one normally experiments with magic, but in ways that bullied and frightened," Dumbledore's eyes were sad as he said this. Harry had to bite his tongue to stop him saying 'Well, Sir, if it wasn't for you, then perhaps he wouldn't be the threat he is now.'
As it was, he just nodded. "Wasn't he also a parselmouth?" asked Harry, wondering what Dumbledore's take on the skill would be.
"Yes, as you saw in your Second Year, Tom is also a parselmouth. This is supposedly connected to the Dark Arts, but there are those with the same ability among the great and good. You see, Harry, nothing about Tom unnerved me more about the boy than his sense of cruelty, secrecy and domination. Perhaps these should have hinted to what he would become, but alas, I am an old man, and old men make mistakes - And if I may say so, being rather cleverer than most men, my mistakes tend to be larger," Dumbledore looked rather bashful, but Harry could hear the message beneath the words as if the Headmaster had spoken plainly. 'Even those with abilities associated with the Dark can be redeemed and turn Light again.'
"What happened to Tom at Hogwarts? Did he find Diagon Alley?" Harry remembered how lost he was even with Hagrid, the fact that the eleven year old Riddle could make it baffled him.
"Yes, I trust you noticed how highly self-sufficient Tom was. He was also friendless, and this made him learn quickly how to operate alone. To this day he prefers it. Albeit many Death Eaters and followers claim to be in the adult Voldemort's confidence, that they alone are close to him, even understand him. They had deluded. Even from an early age he had no friends, it is even highly unlikely he ever wanted one." Again the message was plain. 'Tom is a master manipulator, he doesn't care for you and never has.'
"That's rather sad," said Harry quietly.
"Why Harry, you cannot possibly be feeling sorry for Lord Voldemort, can you? Please, indulge me and witness this memory," Dumbledore poured another phial into the basin, "Then we shall see if you can still pity the man."
Harry tried not to gasp as the office faded, the colours rushing in painting a setting that he recognised immediately.
They were on a hillside. The dark clouds crackled ominously as they had last time, and a few metres away sat a Manor that if he had any doubts where he was, this would eradicate them. Sure enough, Little Hangleton lay below them, the sleepy town unaware of the scene unfolding above them.
Harry's eyes were immediately drawn to Tom. The sixteen year old was kneeling in the grass, unshed tears glistening in his eyes. Dumbledore stood slightly above him, magenta robes swirling around him in a storm of colour.
"Tom, let me help you," said Dumbledore, but unlike last time he reached out his hand towards the crumbling student.
"Help me?" sneered Tom, "You would rather see me destroyed!"
"That isn't true and you know it" retorted Dumbledore, withdrawing his hand a fraction.
"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 as with last time, and oblivious to Dumbledore, he could hear the deep sadness beneath those words.
"No, I am not happy. I had thought 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. For a moment, and unlike last time, Tom's eyes flashed red, eerily similar to that of Voldemort.
"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, disappointment lacing the words, before apparating away the sharp crack quickly being carried away by the wind.
Quickly the scene melted away, and Harry once again found himself in Dumbledore's office. Dumbledore looked even sadder than before, and this only served to anger Harry further. But still, he had a part to play, even if he was barely holding onto it.
"He killed his father?" asked Harry numbly.
"Yes, and grandparents. I had thought meeting them they would perhaps have taken him in, given him back some of his humanity through the love he should have gotten from his mother."
Harry had been impressed with how tightly he had held onto his anger, but now he felt something snap at the blatant lies.
"You don't get it, do you Professor?" asked Harry, bitterness shining through his voice.
"Don't get what, Harry?" Dumbledore's face was a mask of confusion.
"You may have meddled with these memories - Yes, I can see the alterations, I'm not stupid - but to me they still show you as having condemned a boy to live with abusive carers for years. I'd say I was surprised, but after you left me with the Dursley's, I really wouldn't put it past you to have known and just not cared," sneered Harry, getting quickly to his feet.
"I put you there to protect you, there was nothing I could do," said Dumbledore quietly.
"Nothing? Really now, Sir, you must try harder than that to sway me to the Light!" mocked Harry. Several of the portraits had woken up. Harry was certain he heard one of them say 'Well I never!' whilst the rest grumbled, watching the scene unfold. He never cared, he was too far gone in his anger to stop now.
"And so you have gone Dark, Harry. I had suspected, but I never thought you fall so quickly," sighed Dumbledore. It was as if he was talking to a pupil who had scored lower than expected on a test, and Harry felt his anger peak.
"You manipulate, you fight for the greater good, but what about those in the minority? I've seen what the Light has done to them, and it is sick. For years I thought you were a kind man, but you are only kind to those you deem worthy!" Cold fury emanated from the words, and Dumbledore shrank back a little, as Harry let the his vampyrism show.
He let his power fill the room. It flowed freely from him, and some of the spindly instruments that Harry recognised from destroying last year shattered again. The glittery dust coated the floor, only to be swept up as another wave of power coursed through the room. Dumbledore was standing now, his wand was drawn, and Harry deflected what he could feel was a very powerful containment charm.
The curtains billowed, and the candlelight flickered ominously as Harry advanced. Summoning all his magical strength, he released it. Dumbledore hastily pulled up a shield and it glowed silver as the magic pelted it, flowing over it trying to find a weakness.
And then Tom was there.
"Harry, Albus, stop this!" his voice echoed throughout the room, and slowly the magical storm quietened down. Dumbledore's wand was still raised, but Tom seemed not to care.
"You shouldn't have come here tonight, Tom," said Dumbledore gently.
"You should not have tried to turn Harry against me," retorted Tom, his eyes flashing dangerously.
"I see now that that was a mistake. You have polluted him far more than I had thought," Dumbledore's face turned into one of disgust. Before that would have been enough for Harry to ask for forgiveness, but now he was just happy that Dumbledore was showing his true emotions for once.
"What you see as pollution, I see as enlightenment," remarked Harry coldly.
"Instead of settling this in an office, which I can see now is hopeless, how about we settle it as we did in times of old," suggested Tom.
"Does Lord Alderan agree?" asked Dumbledore, and Harry could hear a mocking edge to his voice as he challenged Tom's authority.
"As you know, it is I who rules the Wizarding World for the Dark, Albus. I had thought you were above such petty shots," replied Tom calmly, but danger underlined his words neatly.
"One week from now. That should be adequate time to prepare for both sides," Dumbledore chose to ignore Tom's remark.
"Agreed," said Tom, and Harry felt his fingers encircle his arm, before being led out of the office.
When they were at the bottom of the stairs, Harry was surprised to see Ron, Hermione, Draco, Blaise, Lysander and Luna gathered in the corridor.
"I had difficulty finding you," muttered Tom, "It appears that word spreads fast." Despite the seriousness of what had just occurred, Harry bit back a laugh at Tom appearing in Gryffindor Tower. He really must have been desperate.
"What's happening?" asked Lysander, his normally cheery disposition gone, replaced by apprehension.
"It has begun," said Tom simply, and everyone's faces paled in the flickering candlelight, and Harry took this opportunity to speak to his best friends.
"Ron, Hermione, please don't get involved in this," he pleaded, his eyes begging them. Facing them in battle was unimaginable, and he wasn't sure if he would be able to do it.
"I told you I'm neutral, mate," said Ron, trying to act nonchalant, although Harry could see that he was worried, "There's no way I'm getting myself killed for something I don't understand. As for my family, I'll try and convince them. I know my mum can be pretty irrational, but she won't take this lightly."
"Thanks, Ron," Harry's eyes burned with tears and he vehemently repressed them.
"I'm going with Ron, Harry," said Hermione, "Whilst I think it's barbaric what the Light has done, some of what the Dark has done has been just as bad. For once I don't know enough," she smiled weakly. Harry nodded, remembering what Tom had told him month ago and knowing that that was true in any war.
"Thanks, Hermione," he couldn't hold back the tears this time as he hugged his two best friends.
"Harry," Tom sounded almost apologetic, "We need to leave."
"Good luck, Harry. We'll see you after," said Hermione, the 'maybe' hovered in the air between them, and he embraced them once more before reluctantly moving back to Tom's side.
Phasing, he was glad it was their faces that were the last thing he saw in Hogwarts. They were his home, not the castle, and he prayed that he and Tom survived this so he could see them again.
A/N: Thank you for the feedback! The ending of the chapter was really difficult to write, I hope it doesn't disappoint! The next chapter is the battle, there should be only two chapters to go and then it's finally finished! I can hear the sighs of relief already! Anyway, they should be done in the next two weeks. :)
As with the last chapter, I used some lines from HBP, but the memory that Dumbledore shows Harry is from Chapter 13 - Creatively called Memories.
I would really appreciate a review, as I'm not confident at all in this chapter. :S
DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter.