It was early morning, and vague sunlight was shining though the curtain that shielded the large window of the room where Harry and Tom were staying. It had been about a week since they had left Hogwarts, and in that time they had begun searching for a flat, and for jobs. But they were currently talking quietly as they lay in bed, discussing how they would spend the day amongst other unimportant things. It was simple for them to plan what they wished to do was they spent time within in this small Wizarding village.
Their conversation only subsided when they heard a tapping from the window outside. As Harry glanced around, he could see a shadow of what appeared to be an owl on the window ledge. Tom stood up before Harry could, and let it inside. It was a barn owl, and it didn't seem very eager to stay once Tom removed the letter that was attacked to its leg. As it flew out of the open window, Tom opened the parchment in his hands.
"It's from Hogwarts," he said.
"I hope it's not the NEWT results, is it?" Harry asked.
"No, it's far too early for that," Tom assured him. He scanned what was written, and smiled. "Armando Dippet has arranged to have a meeting with me in a week. For my wish to become the Defence Against the Dark Arts Teacher at Hogwarts, of course."
Harry forced himself to smile back. "That's brilliant."
"Indeed," Tom replied, his tone delighted. Harry felt bad that Tom blatantly adored the idea of this job, especially while it was so rare for him to show happiness. After closing the curtain again, Tom walked back towards their bed, still looking down at the letter. "He claims that he is 'satisfied with my offer', and that he's 'looking forwards to seeing what he can do about my request'."
Harry smiled again as Tom sat down. It wasn't as difficult to grin this time, as he watched how pleased Tom was. As long as Harry blocked out his knowledge of how he knew this job offering would end, he was almost happy too. He wished that Tom would get this job, in fact. It would save Tom from making more Horcruxes out of objects he'd find later on. "I hope the meeting will go well."
"Oh, I think it will," Tom said, smirking. "Dippet would never refuse a teaching post to someone as well-respected as myself. Especially not while him and I have somewhat of a connection, in his eyes. I was the best student he has and will see for perhaps his entire time as headmaster, so I doubt he will miss this opportunity."
Harry really didn't know what to reply to this as Tom gazed down at him contently. He only smiled, and asked, "How did you get Dippet to trust you so much, anyway?"
"As a result of a lot of situations," Tom said. "He first began noticing me when he discovered how well I was doing in all the tests and so on in my early years of school, I am assuming, for he already seemed to believe he knew me well when I met him properly, in my fifth year. I had just become a prefect, of course… and there were quite a lot of important things going on within the school at the time."
This had to have been the year when Tom opened the Chamber of Secrets, Harry reflected, and that was doubtlessly how Tom had become close to Dippet in the first place. As Harry thought back, he realised that Tom and he had never spoken about the Chamber of Secrets before. Harry wondered – and worried – whether Tom would tell his this story if he asked about it.
"But what actually happened for you to meet him personally?" Harry asked. "Because he's obviously more fond of you past you getting such good school marks. There are hundreds of students at Hogwarts…"
"It began when I sent him a letter, I believe," Tom stated. He hesitated for only a second here, before continuing. "In the letter I asked him if I could stay at Hogwarts over the summers, for the Second World War was affecting the orphanage where I had to stay, and I wasn't keen on risking my life so easily anymore. But he told me that I couldn't possibly stay at the school, at that time."
"Why not?" Harry asked, imitating innocent curiosity perfectly.
"Well, the Chamber of Secrets had just been opened, and there was still much danger in staying at the castle," Tom said. His voice was a little quieter than before, and Harry wondered whether he was deciding if truth was a foolish idea here. Harry felt anxiety fill him properly as he wondered whether Tom trusted him. He had admitted his murders… so why not this?
"The Chamber of Secrets?" Harry asked. He wondered how much he should know about all of that. He knew he couldn't have read about the Chamber being opened, no matter where he was, because it had all been hushed up, yet he was pretty sure that he should know what the Chamber was. "It was opened at Hogwarts?"
"Yes, it was." A shadow of a new smile appeared on Tom's lips, but it disappeared after a few seconds, perhaps by force. "Not many people knew about it, however… Least of all any newspapers, for it was all kept very secret. Even some of the students were blind to the truth, no matter how much evidence was left behind…"
Tom spoke very softly, as he gazed down at Harry carefully. An eerie tone and intent was hidden behind his every word, and even Harry noticed it, no matter how deeply he loved the other boy. Tom irrefutably enjoyed telling this story to someone, for Harry could almost see the enjoyment in his dark grey eyes. "But who opened it?" Harry asked. "I thought only an Heir of Slytherin could manage it, or something close. To be honest, I didn't think it really existed…"
"Many thought it was nonexistent," Tom asserted, "and many have guessed correctly in assuming that only an Heir could open the Chamber."
"So there was an Heir at Hogwarts?"
"Yes, there was."
"Did you catch him?" Harry asked.
"No," Tom said. "I would never stop the Heir of Slytherin myself, if I had the choice…"
"Then how did you convince Dippet to let you stay at the school?"
"I framed someone," Tom said. "That groundskeeper who I asked you to deliver that letter to, in fact. He had been known for keeping strange and forbidden creatures, so it appeared a perfect fit, minus the fact that Hagrid hadn't the power nor the actual creature strong enough to do the damage that was done by the real heir."
"Why did Dippet believe it?" Harry asked. He forced himself to stop thinking about Hagrid.
"No one actually saw the beast that I caught him taking care of," Tom explained, "and Dippet was simply too overwhelmed with the whole affair to question it – not while it seemed so plausible."
"But, why is he still at the school then?"
Some of Tom's enjoyment seemed to flicker away. "Dumbledore asked for him to stay… He told the headmaster that Hagrid had no family, et cetera, and that it would do no good leaving his fate in the hands of the cruel world so soon."
"Oh," Harry remarked. "But… somehow I'm not surprised Dumbledore would see through some if it."
"He couldn't convince anyone that I was wrong, anyway," Tom commented, perhaps telling himself as much as Harry, "even if he still distrusts me for that amongst other things…"
Harry didn't want to think about Dumbledore and Tom in the same thought right now, so he continued their conversation. He had something that he was generally curious to ask, anyway. "So do people think that Hagrid is the Heir of Slytherin? Or do people think he was just looking after dangerous creatures, and that the Chamber doesn't exist?"
"Many people have different theories, actually," Tom explained. "After they knew who did it, the students of Hogwarts didn't ask very much about such details. As I have said, it was all kept very secret under Dippet's orders, so nothing was really clear for just anybody."
"How many people were attacked?"
"Seventeen Muggleborns," Tom replied.
"Did they all die?"
"No… except for one. Yet that was partly an accident."
Harry doubted that, somehow. It could have been partly an experiment, but for him to agree or believe that it was an accident would be witless. "Then who's the real Heir of Slytherin?"
Tom contemplated this question for a while, and Harry waited in apprehension. When Tom spoke, his voice was very soft, and his eyes never left Harry's own. "I am."
Harry gazed back at Tom. It was a moment before he realised that a grin was forming on his lips, but this was a result of being relieved that Tom trusted him, rather than being happy at the idea of Tom being the Heir of Slytherin. Harry couldn't even bring himself to stop smiling for all those people who had been attacked, and killed. Tom must have taken his smile as a sign on awe, Harry reflected, but he wasn't sure he cared. "You framed someone for your own crime?"
"There wasn't much else I could do," Tom said, a light smile responding to Harry's.
"Weren't you annoyed that you had to close the Chamber of Secrets, though?"
"No, not quite… I had had my fun for an entire school year, after all, and thus I had made my point in terrifying the school and petrifying the Mudbloods."
Harry told himself not to laugh at this, but his smile widened a little. He knew this had to be from enjoying how enthralled all of this made Tom, and he determinedly avoided the idea of his smile being for anything else. "So you don't think Dippet will even hesitate in giving you this job?"
"Not after everything I know, and have done for him and the school."
Harry wondered vaguely how Dippet would manage turning this job offer away. Tom was a model student, and would indeed be a brilliant teacher…
"But what about the job that you wish to take?" Tom suddenly asked.
"I still haven't decided what I even want to do," Harry admitted. He puzzled over why Tom had swapped this conversation over to talking about him, when they could go on for hours more about Tom's potential job at Hogwarts.
"What would you say to the idea of w orking for some sort of newspaper?" Tom asked. "As an subeditor, for example, you could read the news sooner than anyone else, and in the case of newspapers like the Daily Prophet, stories are often only a few hours old. Thus if anything truly important happened, you would know, and would be able to do something about it."
Harry was unsurprised that Tom had found something so logical and plausible for his job, even before he himself had. Harry liked this idea, as he thought about Tom's consideration. "That actually sounds like a pretty good plan."
"What is more, you will be able to read the articles that the Prophet might plan on omitting later on," Tom noted. "It's of vital importance, if you wish to have somewhat of an instant view on what's happening with other countries and so on. You could be a part of the newspaper that deals with general crime, for that is doubtlessly where you'll get most of the stories of personal interest."
"That would be brilliant," Harry said truthfully.
"It will doubtlessly take a few days or even weeks before we can get you the job, but I don't think it's impossible."
Harry smiled, and moved over on their bed a little. He was relieved that Tom trusted him, and glad that they were again planning their future. He kissed the Heir of Slytherin lightly, before saying, "Thanks, Tom."
"Anything for you," Tom replied softly.
Harry would be satisfied with any job, thus having one particular idea finally prominent in his mind was somewhat of a relief. All he had known was that he didn't want to work in Hogsmeade anymore. He wasn't sure what he was going to do about Dumbledore, and he merely wished to stay away far from him, for now at least. Did Harry still want the Deathly Hallows, now that he knew how he was connected to Tom through their souls? Would they even be of any use to him by this point? Would he want to use the Hallows as a weapon, in the end? He wasn't prepared to answer any of these questions, nor to acknowledge the endless stream of others… but he still knew only too well that he was turning a blind eye.
~&~
"I hate him," Tom hissed in anger.
"So do I," Harry said, "but there's nothing we can do about him."
Tom was pacing the room, running his fingers through his hair when his hands weren't clenching in anger. "That old fool's determination to ruin my plans is too much to bear while I remain so forcefully suppressed in all of my desired retorts…"
"Dumbledore's not our teacher anymore," Harry reminded him. "You don't have to be fake with him anymore.
"Oh, but that would only prove what he has been saying to the other Professors for all these years," Tom said, his teeth half clenched. "It would only prove the seemingly improbable truth that he has uncovered."
Tom's words confused Harry a little. He understood exactly what Tom was saying, of course, but there was something off. It wasn't the fact that Tom's anger made Harry worry, but rather the fact that Tom was so plainly worried, and not at all scared. Countless Witches and Wizards had claimed that the only person Voldemort had ever feared was Dumbledore, and yet here Tom was, close to contemplating the murder of Albus Dumbledore tonight as Dumbledore annoyed him in this way. Was Tom hiding his fear? Perhaps behind that shield of anger Dumbledore warned Harry about?
"Are you scared of Dumbledore?" Harry asked quietly.
Tom looked around, and almost glared at him. "Why would I be scared of Dumbledore?"
Harry contemplated how to answer this. "If you don't want to fight him–"
"Oh, I want to fight him," Tom interrupted. "I want to fight him more than anyone else in the world now, but he plays a sly game. As infuriating and sightless as he is, he has more power of me than I'm willing to stand… but I will make him regret his mistakes."
Harry decided it might be good idea to change the course of this conversation a little, before Tom would decide on launching any irrational plans. "Explain to me what happened with Dippet again."
Harry couldn't tell if Tom was more annoyed by this or not. Perhaps he was just annoyed in another way with remembering any aspect of the evening. "When I arrived at the school, I went almost immediately to Dippet's office," Tom said. "Dippet was waiting there for me, but so was that invasive bastard who everyone calls such a 'great' Wizard… Dumbledore was leading through Dippet as efficiently and determinedly as always, telling Dippet what to do and not to do as if he was a puppeteer… Dippet gave barely one sincere statement as he interrupted constantly, suggesting that I was too young and needed more experience. Yet I've had more experience in the Dark Arts than half of this country, and I know enough defence against it all to write a book – a series of books – if I cared about giving away such faulty information to those who are too stupid to understand just how powerful the Dark Arts really are, and to those who don't know how useless they would be against dark magic – my magic."
Harry wasn't sure what to think of this rant as Tom continued pacing. Somewhere in his mind something seemed to click, and Harry understood that this must be one of the main things that would push Tom into studying the Dark Arts so greatly. As Harry found no reply, Tom carried on.
"Dippet won't even know what he's missing. He's being forced out of hiring me even when he knows how brilliant I would be as a teacher. Though I have no official records telling the world just how much I know about the Dark Arts, and countless other subjects, Dippet knows. All of the teachers know… including Dumbledore." The curtains were yet again drawn over the window as Tom walked, and Harry sat upon a chair that rested next to the desk. Tom continued, blind to all else but his hatred.
"Hogwarts has suffered a great loss in what it could have learnt. Dumbledore will probably bask in the glory of getting his way, while the secrets of the Dark Arts are not shared within those walls. But he will live to regret it. The world will live to regret it as everything around that school becomes darker. Even without my help, the world is becoming a more sinister place. The Dark Arts not being taught at that school will lead to the greatest of consequences…"
"You can always try again in a few years," Harry stated. He dearly hoped that Tom was only exaggerating with some of what he talked about. "Dippet only said you were too young, even if Dumbledore suggested that you were also too inexperienced."
Tom contemplated this. His expression of vexation didn't change, but his tone was quieter and less forceful when he spoke again. "This is true… yet Dippet is getting old quickly."
Harry replied nothing. He knew Tom wouldn't actually apply for the job again soon, so he really didn't have much to worry about. He was just concerned on getting Tom's tempter back down.
"I'll have to seek a new job," Tom said, sounding greatly displeased. "But I prepared a backup plan, of course."
"That's good," said Harry, who watched Tom determinedly. "So what's your next plan?"
Tom seemed to contemplate this for a few minutes. "There's a shop in Knockturn Alley that sells very rare – and often very dark – artefacts to any Witch or Wizard that can afford it. It's called 'Borgin and Burkes', and though it is probably not hiring at the moment, I can doubtlessly find a way to get a job there…"
"Why do you want to work there?" Harry asked carefully. He knew the answer to this, of course, but he wanted to hear what Tom would answer.
"It holds many items that relate to the Dark Arts," Tom answered simply. "There are even books and so on that I would be unwise to refrain from looking at. I could learn a lot there, when not helping immediate or long-term costumers and so on."
Tom's pace had slowed in the course of talking, and he now stood facing Harry, but not looking at him. He was twirling the gold and back ring around his finger as he thought, blatantly reviewing his new plans for the future other than contemplating Harry's question again. He hadn't mentioned even a hint of his Horcruxes.
"There are a few proper Dark Arts shops you could work in," Harry stated. "Why this one, when it's not so eager to hold just dark magic?"
"Better pay," Tom said absentmindedly. "Less suspicion, too. Borgin and Burkes is almost respected within the Wizarding World."
"But you could get an even better job than this," Harry said. "One that pays better and is also way, way more respected."
"Again, the Dark Arts seen within that shop is what intrigues me," Tom replied.
"You could work with the Dark Arts and so on in loads of other places," Harry remarked, pushing the subject. He wanted Tom to tell him about Horcruxes. "Even somewhere in the Ministry would let you see dark magic, more than you would in a shop that sells things. What do you want to work there specifically? Is it the objects?"
Tom turned to look at Harry, but he didn't answer for a minute. Harry felt as though he had crossed some invisible line with his last question, and he waited, trying to withhold any expressions he might have. Was Tom confused with Harry's last comment, or wondering whether he should spill the truth? It was impossible to tell. Harry just wished Tom would confide in him about Horcruxes, which was perhaps his last and most important secret.
"Yes, it is about the objects," Tom said quietly. "They are full of unusual and powerful properties, to which I am drawn, as I suggested previously…"
"Right," Harry responded, careful not to do anything more.
Tom gazed at him for a time, before turning away. He wasn't at all as angry as he had been before, and Harry knew that had to be because he had a plan that he now considered more useful and important to him than being a teacher at Hogwarts so soon.
"We shall have to go and visit one of the Daily Prophet's offices in Diagon Alley or another similar location tomorrow," Tom commented lightly, his tone becoming more normal again. "I believe we will be able to convince them into hiring you, even if it takes a little effort."
Harry was glad the subject was moving on. "Definitely."
"Let us merely hope that Dumbledore doesn't ruin that too, somehow."
"He won't know who I am, so I think we're safe."
"We have to remember to give you another new name," Tom said, "and perhaps a vaguely new identity."
"As usual."
"How many false names have you used before, Harry?" Tom asked with a sight smirk.
"Too many," Harry replied, smiling back slightly. "I don't think my real name even counts, anymore."
Tom looked more relaxed than ever by this point, and walked forwards to sit down on the bed, facing Harry. "Now that we have begun sorting out jobs, however, it only seems logical that we contemplate and plan what flat we will move into."
"I think we should probably just go for somewhere in Diagon alley," Harry said.
"Yes, but that is a rather busy place," Tom replied. "I again suggest Knockturn Alley."
"Or we could go somewhere far away from there."
"Yet we shall both work within Knockturn and Diagon Alley," Tom reminded him calmly.
"It doesn't even matter where we go," Harry said, "just as long as no one wonders why we share the same flat."
"No one will wonder," Tom assured him. "If we move into Knockturn Alley, that is."
Harry smirked. "We'll have to work it out."
Tom lent back to rest against one of the bedposts. "In much the same way that Dumbledore will work out his mistake," he said quietly.
"Don't bother with him again," Harry advised. "He won't change."
"What will ever happen to old Dumbledore, I wonder?" Tom asked, glaring into space.
"He'll get older, and die some lonely and forgettable death," Harry suggested. "Or get pushed off the Astronomy Tower, you never know."
Tom gave a slight hum of laughter. "That would certainly be quite amusing…"
"I think you should just ignore him until then," Harry said.
"Will you just ignore him?" Tom asked quietly. "For all that he's involved with, and has caused?"
Harry knew Tom was referring to what they had talked about in relation to Grindelwald, but he also saw how it fitted into his real life. He wondered if he had planned that, somehow. "No… Well, not forever, anyway."
Tom watched Harry for a minute. "We should seek revenge upon him, you know," he said in little over a whisper.
"He's too powerful," Harry commented, almost liking this idea in truth.
"No," Tom contradicted him. "I think his reputation of power is a lie or exaggeration for the most part."
"I think you'd be surprised."
Tom paused. "What else do you know about him?"
"I know that he duelled against Grindelwald when they were young, and I know that his sister died as a result. He also probably won… even if that means Grindelwald just backed away."
"They were young then," Tom said.
"The same age as we are now, actually."
Tom smiled. "We still have a lot to learn."
"And they've learnt a lot, no doubt." Harry wondered again why Tom wasn't scared.
"Dumbledore is no threat to us," Tom commented. "Perhaps we should indeed ignore him…"
Harry was about to make a response to this, before he decided it wasn't really needed. "Yes, we should."
