November arrived, bringing with it progressively darkening and chilling weather, accompanied by many stories of a similar nature within the Crime Department of the Daily Prophet. Harry found that he was slowly but surely becoming more and more interested in each new piece of work he subedited, as every new article build up the sections of history that he had learnt in his early years at Hogwarts, concerning this era. Attacks were begging to happen weekly rather than monthly now, and the Ministry, Prophet, and general public were finally starting to realise that it was indeed merely the Muggles, Muggleborns and 'Muggle-lovers' who were being attacked.

Many stories had been cut out of the paper, initially – perhaps because of the depressing and morbid tones that were being set upon the paper as a whole – but as the heads of the Daily Prophet began to see just how many stories there were, just how important and powerful these stories were together, and just how much attention and money they were getting for every murder case and disappearance they wrote about, barely any crime articles were being withheld or neglected.

The public craved both a good story and the idea of being informed upon topics as soon as possible, after all, so even if what they got was a vague untruth, it was no great wonder when the Prophet's sales nearly doubled within a few weeks of progressing crime. There were even rumours that well-known and respected reporters had offered to lead – or at least be a part of – the Daily Prophet's coverage on many new and unrevealed reports flying around.

But Harry could tell that around a third of the reports he read through had to be false or misinformed. These reports usually had no traces of evidence, no depth or believable outcomes, and no connections to the growing web of stories that gave an introduction to the impending doom that the entire country was feeling. These false stories were quite unnecessary for the paper, in truth, for there were theories that many attacks on Muggles were not even discovered or registered at all by the Ministry or general Wizarding Community, as bodies of people – young and old, English and foreign – were found as long as days or weeks after being disposed of.

It was difficult for anyone to work out whether general disappearances amongst Muggles and wizards were related to these attacks or not. Harry had read and heard many times that the Ministry itself was fully occupied with investigating every disappearance as quickly as possible, before Muggle officials were to find their citizens floating, dead, in a levitating cage constructed of the darkest magic the wizard murderers could muster, or lying in a ditch with extra limbs, or infectious diseases clearly upon them, or generally murdered in ways that would baffle the Muggle police, politicians, and public.

It came as no surprise to Harry when an attempted terrorist attack was made on the busy and tired Ministry of Magic one cold November morning, but it was a complete shock to him and the rest of the country when it turned out to be completely successful. Unlike the subtle, eerie and powerful incursions Harry had watched Voldemort do upon the Ministry in the eighties, with many Death Eaters acting as seemingly innocent workers, and the most powerful people in the Ministry being murdered when they became a problem, this was a more blatant terror-invoking event. It was early one Friday morning when half of the Department of International Magical Cooperation was blown to smithereens.

It was a shock mostly because of the precautions and protections that the Ministry had installed upon each one of their buildings. Many people had previously deemed the Ministry 'untouchable', because hundreds – even thousands – of years of research had been dedicated to keeping the Ministry safe from any havoc or damage. Many of the greatest witches and wizards known throughout history – including a few of the Four Hogwarts' Founders – had worked upon the magical barriers that kept the Ministry guarded, and the idea of someone finding a way past all of it was simply unheard of, especially when barely even the Ministers themselves were told and taught which enchantments and spells they were being protected by.

The attack upon London that had happened in January of this year had been a mere test, many critics now claimed. Since the Wizarding explosion had happened so close to the Improper Use of Magic Office before, witches and wizards now supposed that the attack was either an experimental assault or a secret failure. Harry could only imagine how the Death Eaters might feel about this, considering how gleeful they had been when the Muggles had been killed in January. They would all know this was about Muggle hatred, as slow as they might be.

Moody had said he was sure that the Ministry would try to cover up this story, as seventeen Ministry workers had died, more than thirty had been injured, and even more Muggles than that had been affected above ground, and Harry soon found that he was right. Yet try as the Ministry might, they couldn't quieten the Daily Prophet with something this big. The Minister for Magic herself was far too busy with the aftermath of the attack to ask the Prophet personally to keep away from the story, and unlike some of the Ministry Department Heads or Wizengamot Members, she felt that the public ought to know about everything, even if it meant a panic.

More bombardments were attempted upon the Ministry and other important Wizarding buildings and organisations as weeks passed, yet the Ministry was far too prepared for any of the attacks to be successful. It was nearing the end of November when the Ministry actually made a successful catch of the terrorists they were dearly searching for, and this was very well publicised indeed – with every Ministry worker's approval and encouragement.

An unnamed wizard had informed the Ministry of Magic that an explosion was going to happen in the centre of a large Wizarding community, and the Ministry, having received quite a few false reports of similar suggestions, had responded to the warning with a careful mix of distrust and preparation. Yet the warning had been true this time, and many now believed that the wizard who had tipped off the Ministry was the same one who told The British Wizarding Government who they were working for when caught, wand in hand, ready to give the newspapers another new story to terrify the public. And if the idea of someone correctly warning them about a terrorist attack hadn't surprised the Ministry, then the answer to who was behind it all definitely had.

"Grindelwald?" Eileen asked in disbelief, echoing the astonishment of the rest of the country. "Gellert Grindelwald, the German Politician?"

"The very one," said Moody. "Seems about right, mind you. With all of the odd whispers we've heard overseas, talking about organizations. It isn't surprising that Germany would end up holding the wizard behind it all – Germany's probably been attacked the most, even with too many other countries suffering alongside it."

"But why would Grindelwald attack his own country the most?"

"I'd guess that would be because he likes it more than the others," Moody said. "Or he might not be from Germany at all. He might have just taken the opportunity to rise to power whilst so many other things are going on. But Grindelwald seems like the type who wouldn't hesitate to hurt his own country, so long as his hatred for Muggles is known."

"So you think he went to Germany because of the Muggle World Wars?"

"He might have even been there before then, for all we know," Moody stated. "But yes, I'm sure he used that to his advantage."

"How many people do you think he has behind him?"

"More than he can count, I'm sure," Harry answered from his table. Moody and Eileen both looked at Harry. They were evidently caught off guard that he had given an answer to this as Eileen stood besides the desk where Moody sat. "I can't imagine that all of the attacks here, in Germany, and across Europe were by people he knows personally, anyway. There are probably followers who are just joining the crowd."

"Like the people you were talking about before?" Eileen asked. "The people you suggested were joining the 'fashion'?"

"Yes," Harry replied. He turned away from his two workmates, knowing that Moody was thinking about how this meant he, Harry, had assumed things correctly from the previous attacks in the paper. Harry didn't want to deal with the idea of being an Auror right now, and he didn't want to talk. He still felt guilty for what had happened to Emeric, and he couldn't bring himself to speak to Eileen properly because of it.

He was also almost scared of getting too close to Eileen, in case Tom took it the wrong way. He felt stupid for thinking like that, yet he wasn't sure whether he was wrong or not. He knew that she didn't like him very much, due to the blatant possibility of him getting Emeric fired… so he didn't attempt to see whether she still wanted to be friends. They now only spoke around once a week – if it was important.

It was a mere week after Gellert Grindelwald was revealed to the public as the main deranged terrorist behind Britain's greatest source of havoc when Harry was given a particular article to read over that startled him quite a bit. The article claimed that the Ministry of Magic had known about Grindelwald, or at least his group, for almost an entire year, which really wasn't all that shocking, but it also claimed that the Minister and a few selective Heads of Departments, et cetera, had been trying to choose a witch or wizard worthy of helping Grindelwald's downfall. What was more, the article suggested that the Ministry's top candidate for the job was no one other than Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore.

"It has to be a lie," Tom had said the moment Harry had shared this news with him. "Why on earth would the Ministry pick Dumbledore to bring Grindelwald down?"

"He wasn't the only person they wanted," Harry remarked. "But even so, he's strong enough to take on Grindelwald, in the Ministry's eyes."

"In the Ministry's eyes, yes, but the Ministry has fogged and obscured vision when it comes to such things. Dumbledore is indeed famous for what he as done, but he is simply too keen upon working with light magic to succeed in something like this."

"He worked with Grindelwald himself, Tom."

"Yes, but Grindelwald has done a great deal of things since teaching Dumbledore what he knew at seventeen. He's taken control over many people, and murdered many on his way, as you know only too well. Dumbledore has merely researched shallow subjects based on theory rather than experience, and engaged in a few unchallenging duels that were made out to be more than they really were."

Harry wondered for a moment, upon hearing Tom's words, whether Tom was in denial about Dumbledore not because he felt Dumbledore was weak, but because he didn't want to face the possibility of Dumbledore being the person who gets rid of the wizard who had apparently caused Harry so much pain and suffering in life… As a consequence of this idea being very new and plausible, Harry didn't voice it just yet.

"The Ministry has been waiting for Dumbledore especially to accept or deny this offer to help England," Harry said. "He was one of the only five witches and wizards to be told about Grindelwald's existence and power, and a lot of people are talking about how vital it will be if he accepts this."

"Are you saying that he's their first choice, now?" Tom asked. "You claimed he wasn't the only person they wanted."

"He isn't the only, but he's the main," Harry explained. "I'm just wondering why he hasn't accepted or declined the offer yet."

"The answer to that is obvious," Tom argued. "Dumbledore is hesitant to take on a duel with the man he so long ago fell in love with… This also explains why Grindelwald chose to attack Britain so very late. He's cautious about Dumbledore, for some reason."

"Probably because he's scared," Harry remarked.

Tom went on as though he hadn't heard Harry. "Dumbledore will be perfectly caught between his old love and old hate towards Grindelwald, which makes me wonder whether he still has feelings for his old friend… Yet perhaps Dumbledore is merely unable to choose between his urge to avoid the Dark Wizard, and his obligation to help the county and maintain his fame."

"What do you think Dumbledore will choose to do?" Harry asked, generally curious to hear Tom's answer.

"Hopefully he will accept," Tom said.

"Hopefully?" Harry repeated. "Then you think he stands a chance against–?"

"I think he stands no chance what so ever," Tom interrupted firmly. "Hopefully he'll accept so he can die in the process of fighting Grindelwald, giving us an early warning of when Grindelwald will take over England."

There was a pause. Harry was shocked that Tom said this all so bluntly. "So you think Grindelwald will win?"

"I think it's a little late for the British Ministry to succeed in fighting him back," Tom said. "Grindelwald's tactic for taking control over this country seems to be relating to launching a lot of powerful attacks in places we all believed untouchable. We have no way of knowing what he could manage next, and thus I think England will fall under his power."

"So you think he'll take over all of Europe, or at least Germany, England, and a few other places?" Harry inquired. "You think he'll become the ruler of all of this, and gain power over the Muggles?"

"He'll attempt to," Tom said, "and he'll probably succeed, considering how many people are willing to do what they can to spread Muggle hate."

"But someone will do something to stop it," Harry insisted. "The Wizarding World can't just sit around and watch him seize power – that would be insane! People are already panicking and preparing for the worst, and even if that doesn't mean they're all ready to fight, it has to be on a lot of people's minds… If Dumbledore does fail, there will be tens of others, maybe more, willing to fight Grindelwald themselves. Dumbledore isn't the Ministry, and Grindelwald won't live forever."

When Harry finished speaking, he found that the room was rather quiet. Tom was contemplating something in the silence, but Harry had a feeling it wasn't related to Grindelwald rising to power anymore. Tom never hesitated to give his opinions on things they spoke of, so it was surprising that he hadn't commented upon anything yet. A late reply meant that a new, vital-to-evaluate thought would have to be taking up quite a lot of space in Tom's mind.

"You sound like a Gryffindor," Tom voiced after a time.

At this, Harry was greatly taken aback, though he did not show it.

To be called a Gryffindor by Tom was the equivalent of being called weak, as Harry had learnt from months of being near the Death Eaters. Harry wasn't quite sure how this fitted in Tom's mind, considering Harry's apparent past and relation to Grindelwald. But then Harry wondered whether Tom didn't mean it in a cruel way – his voice was neither accusatory nor hateful, after all. Tom could merely mean that Harry was acting braver than he expected… though this was still an odd choice of words.

"Yet I cannot say that I am surprised," Tom added in reply to Harry's silence. "Many would be this confident or brave in such a situation… Some even more so, if they were born a Gryffindor. But one born a full Gryffindor might have gotten themselves murdered by chasing after Grindelwald thoughtlessly… I shouldn't be surprised that some of these characteristics would come out in you, I believe."

Harry wasn't truly sure what to reply to this either. He wondered whether Tom was hinting towards the fact that Harry would get killed if he tried to take on Grindelwald alone. Maybe Tom was concerned because of this alone…

"We will have to run away, you know," Tom said, quieter than before. "If it is that Grindelwald succeeds in his wish to rule this land."

"I know," Harry replied, dropping his gaze as Tom analyzed him continuously. "But it would be really difficult of him to–"

Harry froze; his eyes locked upon an object sitting on the table besides Tom, which he had evidently overlooked when arriving home. Amongst a few pieces of parchment, some quills, and books dedicated to the Dark Arts, mostly, rested a small black volume, plain and discreet. It was a diary; it's pages white as opposed to aged and yellow, as Harry had remembered it. It was Tom's diary.

Harry wondered suddenly where Tom had gotten it, and moreover when. It didn't look brand new; it looked closer to a few years old. But Harry had never seen Tom with it before now, and he knew that the only explanation to this was that Tom had kept it hidden. Harry didn't particularly care about this fact, had it not been for the knowledge that Tom would not make a mistake if he didn't want the diary to be seen…

"Whose diary is that?" Harry asked.

Tom tore his gaze away from Harry to look at the diary. He watched it for a moment, his expression blank. "It's a journal, actually," he said, "and it's mine."

"I didn't know you had a journal," Harry lied, surprised that Tom had corrected him on what to refer to it as. "I've never seen it before."

"I've neglected it. It's never used at all, actually… not to write in."

"It's a Muggle design," Harry commented, wondering somewhere in the back of his mind whether he was saying this in response to Tom claiming he sounded like a Gryffindor.

Tom took a moment to respond to Harry's words, perhaps because he was ashamed or annoyed by the fact that the diary was indeed Muggle made, or that Harry had noticed it. "Which is why I've never written in it."

"It has your name on it," Harry pointed out carefully.

Tom made no reply to this.

"Which makes me think," Harry added, "that maybe it's only posing as a Muggle Diary."

He watched as Tom's expression changed a little. As opposed to very, very faintly annoyed and brooding, Tom now appeared impressed by Harry's guess, and perhaps a little proud that Harry thought and knew that he would do something like use a seemingly innocent Muggle diary for darker purposes.

"What do you use it for? Why did you make it?" Harry asked eagerly, wanting to hear Tom confess to his creation of Horcruxes. "What does it do?"

At this, Tom's pride and surprise faded away. "It doesn't do anything," he said. "As I said, I've never written in it."

"You can be honest in telling me about it, you know," Harry claimed. "Whatever it does, I–"

"It doesn't do anything," Tom repeated forcibly.

A silence lay here, stronger than any previous one. Harry was confused as to why Tom had suddenly gone from potentially willing to tell him about this secret to completely defensive, annoyed, and determined in his claim that the diary did nothing. He thought again about the possibility of Tom accidentally leaving the diary there. This merely confused him more, as he knew this being a mistake was highly unlikely.

The subject was dropped soon after this, but it was a while before their conversation to become normal again.

—X—

Nearly a week passed before Harry finally understood why Tom had left his diary waiting so clearly on the table, why he had backtracked himself upon perhaps telling Harry about his Horcruxes, and why he had become somewhat quieter and distracted over the last few days. It was raining, yet again, as Harry and Tom sat within their living room, reading separately.

Out of the corner of his eye, Harry had seen Tom look up at him between reading frequently, but each time Harry had asked if Tom wanted to say something, Tom had replied a simple 'no', occasionally accompanied by a smile and a comment close to, 'I merely enjoy looking at you.' Harry might have found this believable, had over an hour not passed of this being the only conversation.

It was past midnight when Harry finally got Tom to speak. He hadn't expected Tom to voice his mind any time soon, so he was surprised when Tom interrupted his reading, finally, to speak.

"I've been thinking rather a lot about Grindelwald, as of late," Tom began, as though carrying on an earlier conversation. His voice was only just audible over the sound of the rain falling outside. "About how far he might have ventured into learning and experimenting the Dark Arts, most of all."

"I think most people have probably been thinking about that a lot, lately," Harry replied, looking up from his book. He was unsure whether Tom had started this conversation for the mere sake of it or not.

"Yes, I sure they have, yet it is not merely how powerfully he is in battle that concerns me."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that I wonder what sort of Dark Magic he has been looking into," Tom explained, apparently choosing his words very carefully as he spoke at a calm, even pace. "There are many different fields, as you and I both know… I worry about the private magic he might be practicing, rather than his soon-to-be publicised shows of strength."

"I don't think we'll ever be able to find out what his personal favourite magic is, if that's what you mean," Harry said. "We could only guess."

"I've been doing quite a lot of guessing, lately," Tom said quietly. Harry waited for him to continue, only to find he wasn't going to.

"What have you worked out?" Harry inquired. "We don't really know much about him as a person, besides for where he was before seventeen…"

"His personal life and where he has been is of no interest to me," Tom specified. "I care only about what his plans for the future might be, and what his preparations are."

Harry truly didn't see where Tom was getting with any of this. "We'll never find out any of that until we hear about it in the papers, Tom. Why are you thinking about this all so soon?"

"I want to be prepared to help you get away from him, no matter what happens," Tom said. "It would be unwise of me to not linger upon every possibility concerning his rise to power, and hopeful downfall."

Harry still didn't see what use these words, and the thoughts behind them, might be. "I really don't see where you're getting, or were you'll get, with this. We don't know anything about him."

"What if I were to suggest that he couldn't die?" Tom asked very quietly.

Harry watched Tom, searching for some sign of an expression upon him as they both contemplated this suggestion. "Do you mean by using a Philosopher's Stone or something?"

"Not exactly," Tom said slowly. "What if I were to tell you that I knew of another way, an exceedingly dark and far more efficient way, for some wizards to make themselves immoral to the most literal extent? What if I were to tell you that Grindelwald could be murdered in any way imaginable – his body ripped to shreds, his soul leaving him completely – and still he could find a way back to the world of the living, just as whole and powerful as he was before?"

"I'd say that was impossible," Harry replied, willing Tom to go on. "No one can come back after being murdered that well."

"It isn't impossible," Tom assured him, "and Grindelwald could come alive again on the very battle field where he and Dumbledore may duel, if it is that he has succeeded in discovering and learning about this piece of magic."

"What is it?" Harry asked, trying very hard to make his act of curiosity convincing. His heart was racing.

"It's called a 'Horcrux'," Tom said, choosing his words more carefully than ever, his words forming slowly. "But rather than it being a mere piece of magic itself, it is instead simply an object of the creators choice… designed to hold and secure a piece of one's soul."

"How?" Harry asked without hesitation.

"There is a long progression of magic involved," Tom began, "but in general, it works by keeping one's soul grounded in the world of the living, so that even if the main shred of soul that lives within you is separated from your body, you will be unable to die completely. The main shred of soul will attempt to return to your body, thanks to the minor shred, stored within your Horcrux, and if it is unable to do that, it will drift for a while, until you are able to possess and another's corpse."

"The main piece of soul will just go back to your old body, if it's still there?" Harry asked, generally curious. "How soon?"

"That depends upon how badly you died," Tom said. "It is usually within a matter of minutes, however."

Harry stared in disbelief. "How long does it take to get a new body when yours is completely destroyed?"

"A few days, maybe a month," Tom replied. "That depends upon whether you care about who you find."

This confused Harry more. "What if you were… blown up, or in some sort of explosion that made you weaker?"

Tom didn't seem to think this question was particularly different from the last. "I doubt it would take longer than a month for one to regain their energy, even as a soul," he said. "But explosions mean nothing."

"What about killing curses?"

"They are more powerful, if used by the right wizard, but much the same."

Harry could tell by his tone that Tom was beginning to become suspicious of Harry's questions here. But Harry was very curious to know why Voldemort had been gone for so many years if he had died from a mere rebounded curse… The only answer to this question that Harry could find was that Voldemort's curse had been so powerful that it pushed him to the very ends of the world of the living. The curse may have even doubled on rebound for all he knew.

Harry decided to move the conversation on a little, sensing Tom becoming more suspicious with his pause. "But how can someone take a part of their soul out, and seal it in an object?"

"They must split their soul," Tom explained.

"How?"

"Through a supreme act of evil. Murder, generally. Thus I believe that Grindelwald is more than capable of making a Horcrux."

"But if Grindelwald has made a Horcrux," Harry said slowly, feigning a trail of thought, "Is there any way we, or anyone, can ever stop him?"

Tom took a moment to reply to this, in which time he surveyed Harry very carefully. "There are ways to destroy a Horcrux," he assured Harry softly. "Very few ways, I must own… yet they work perfectly every time, if one can find the correct equipment."

"What ways are they, then?" Harry pressed, curious to see whether Tom would tell him.

"We don't know whether he even has a Horcrux yet," Tom observed, "so I don't see the use in me boring you with a long description of possible weapons tonight. Yet I believe that, if Grindelwald has indeed made a Horcrux, we stand a chance of destroying it. It would be exceedingly difficult, and could take years or decades of waiting, but it is very much possible… I promise you that."

"So we could get rid of him? You would help me?"

"Well, I can't merely sit around and wait for him to decide your fate," Tom replied, smiling softly.

"But I can't imagine you and I becoming renowned heroes for saving the Muggles from slavery, and for bringing down the leader of all of Europe, somehow."

"We shan't be heroes at all," Tom affirmed. "We shall merely be the new leaders."

Harry gave a faint smile back, his mind gong over the possibility of this actually being the outcome of everything. Both he and Tom thought for a moment, absorbed in their own evaluation of chance. Harry suddenly remembered that he hadn't made Tom admit to the creation of his own Horcrux, or Horcruxes, yet. He struggled to find a lead back to the topic.

"How do you know so much about this all?" he asked carefully. "Horcruxes, I mean?"

"I've merely read about it in passing," Tom lied smoothly.

"It would have to be a pretty hard thing to find," Harry said, "or else hundreds of people dedicated to the Dark Arts would be making them. But from what you've made it out to be, it seems unlikely that even someone like Grindelwald would know about it, somehow. If this was something easily found you would have assumed that Grindelwald made one for sure, no matter how difficult it might be to make, and you wouldn't need to settle with just guessing. It being complex wouldn't stop it being known."

"I study quite a bit more than general witches and wizards who are interested in the Dark Arts, Harry," Tom said. "It isn't unheard of for me to discover rare magic."

"But why did you look into this so much?" Harry asked.

"It was intriguing," Tom stated calmly.

"Why would you remember about it when thinking about Grindelwald?"

"I feel compelled to view each possible outcome to his rise to power," Tom replied. "That was merely one of my many ideas."

"But you don't seem to know about destroying Horcruxes, or else you're hesitating to tell me how to," Harry remarked, "and there would only be one reason behind both of these facts."

Tom paused for a minute when Harry said this. They stared at each other, grey eyes meeting green, and determinedly not looking away. "What reason might that be, may I ask?" Tom inquired quietly.

"You've made a Horcrux," Harry said, "and don't want to tell me, or don't want to know how to destroy one in case something bad happens."

Tom made no reply to this at all, giving Harry a moment to think.

"Though I don't think you would not research how they're destroyed," Harry decided. "Anyone who makes a Horcrux would be stupid to not know everything about them. I think you just don't want me to have weapons against you being immortal. I think you don't trust me."

"I do trust you," Tom said without hesitation.

"So you've made one?"

Tom was mute, frozen in the act of deciding what to do here.

"If you trust me, then you can tell me," Harry said.

Tom remained quite for a time, blatantly trying to see a way out of this again. Yet Harry had trapped him. "Yes," Tom admitted in little over a whisper, so that Harry wouldn't have noticed he was speaking had he not been watching the Heir of Slytherin closely, "I've made a Horcrux."

Merely by hearing these words, some peculiar form of relief was pouring through Harry. Tom had finally owned to his greatest kept secret – with quite a bit of prompting from Harry, but that was surely inevitable. Tom would only ever admit to something so importantly secretive and evil if Harry showed signs of working it out beforehand. It was Harry's duty to be smart enough to catch the hints of such things, in Tom's mind, in the same way that it was Tom's duty to inquire as many facts as he could from Harry relating to his past, to be sure that he felt he knew everything.

But this bizarre feeling of relief was quite a surprise to Harry, who had expected nothing more than subtle satisfaction and perhaps fear at hearing Tom confirm what Harry knew about Horcruxes. Relief was mixing with happiness at being told the final truth, and before Harry could stop it, a grin was spreading across is face. He stood silent for a minute, looking up at Tom with pure elation, and a freedom from worrying about him lying again.

Tom was taking his smile the wrong way, Harry knew. As opposed to being plainly unhappy with having this secret worked out, and accepted, Tom now watched Harry, reading his expression of joy, and thinking that Harry was amazed and awed with his achievement. It was again with no hesitation that Tom spoke, acting upon Harry's reaction.

"Would you be willing to make one too?" he asked.

Harry's smile faltered somewhat, finally. Tom didn't seem to care much as Harry was silent.

"It would be brilliant, if we both made one," Tom carried on. "We would be immortal, and together forever. Think about all of the things we could accomplish, how far we could research the Dark Arts. We could see things beyond our wildest imagination, and go where no wizards have ever gone before us. It would be brilliant."

"You seem to have given this a lot of thought," Harry managed, his smile long gone.

"How couldn't I have?" Tom inquired. "It is an exceedingly useful piece of magic. I would very much like you to be a part of it too – you could have and use the ring as an object, if you wanted."

"I've never killed anyone before, Tom…"

"But Grindelwald is waiting to be killed right now. Who else would be better to split your soul over? He has done so many terrible things to you; it would be the ultimate revenge."

"I don't know," said Harry slowly.

"We would become the rulers of the world," Tom said quietly, the same inhumane smile Harry had seen a few times before creeping up upon his handsome features. "We would have hundreds at our command, doing whatever we wish. We would be the closest things to gods upon this earth, and our power would be inextinguishable."

Harry didn't know what to say to any of this. He hadn't expected this reaction from Tom at all. He felt a sickening sensation spread through him at the thought of joining Tom in these immeasurably deep waters of the Dark Arts… the side of him that was oddly fascinated and enthralled by the offer made this revolted feeling ever stronger. Harry wasn't even able to think by this point.

He looked away from Tom, as Tom watched him intently. The unearthly smile had faded away almost completely now, thus Harry knew Tom was noticing his struggle to fathom this so soon. Harry and heard tom get up to sit closer to him. Tom looked more solemn, and far less deranged as he took Harry's hand. But there was still some sign on madness within his dark eyes, even if Harry perhaps overlooked it.

"I don't want to lose you," Tom said very softly. "I want you with me forever."

Harry gazed into Tom's dark eyes, not wanting to agree with Tom upon the idea, but wanting to deny this offer even less. He didn't want to murder anyone, and split his soul forever, but the idea of staying with Tom for a timeless continuance… Harry was extremely close to agreeing, before Tom spoke.

"You would never have to see the people you've lost again, you know," Tom said in a low voice. "You would never have to face them again."

This did quite the opposite of what Tom was planning, as Harry's heart sank. He didn't know what he felt about his old friends and family anymore. He didn't know what they thought of him, either. Would he have to choose between Tom and his past, if he was to contemplate being immortal? Harry wasn't sure whether he could make that choice.

He remembered, suddenly, what Tom had asked him months ago. Harry, you aren't avoiding the people you have lost, are you? This wasn't the first time this question had come back to haunt Harry, either. To hear Tom guess that Harry was ignoring his past, that he was avoiding and trying to forget about his friends, had scarred Harry a lot, likely because Tom was right. But since Harry had had time to think it over again, he had, of course, begun thinking about his past more and more.

Tom believed that he feared the dead, and wanted to neglect every memory and connection to the people he had lost. He even thought this so strongly that he offered it as an idea to convince Harry to make Horcruxes, and to stay alive forevermore. Harry didn't know how he felt about that. Was Tom right in thinking that this was a bonus to staying immortal, or was he merely projecting his own experiences with losing people? Was Tom, perhaps, scared of death merely because he didn't want to face his mother again, or the people he had killed?

"You could see them again with the ring, if you wanted to," Tom remarked, perhaps catching onto the idea that Harry was now torn between his choices. "You evidently know how to use it, so if you miss them you could always bring them back…"

Harry hadn't expected Tom to find a solution to this so considerately, especially not when only a few minutes ago he had asked Harry so many questions without wavering in his belief that Harry understood his obsession with life, whilst he appeared abnormally enthusiastic about it all. Harry contemplated this, feeling Tom's hand within his own. Now Tom thought of Harry caring about the dead as an option…

"I would like that," he said quietly, "but I don't know about Horcruxes yet."

"What if you killed Grindelwald?" Tom asked. "You've said before that you're willing to do so."

"He might not even need me to kill him," Harry said. "Let's just wait and see what happens."

Tom appeared close to pushing the subject more, but he refrained from doing so. They sat together quietly, moving onto more conversation after this, but remaining with their hands entwined as they contemplated Horcruxes, not sharing another word about it.

—X—

Two days later, Harry was sitting at his desk at work again. It was late in the day, nearing time to go home as he finished up on the last report he would have to edit. Eileen and Aidan had already departed, which left Harry and Moody alone. Harry was still a little concerned about the conversation Tom had had with him, relating to him creating a Horcrux, but he tried hard not to worry himself with it too much now. He wanted to go home, for the office and cold and quiet, and he was bored of working.

It was about half an hour since Eileen left when Harry was finished for the day. He got up from his desk, and made for the door. No sooner had he passed Moody's table, however, the old Auror spoke to him through the silence. "A lot on your mind, Richard?"

Harry turned around to face the older wizard. "Yes," he admitted, knowing a lie was no good here. "How did you know?"

"You're only ever one of the last people in here when something's troubling you," Moody said. "Though I have to say I only guessed. Can never read your expression, even if your silence tells me what I need to know."

"Why are you staying late?" Harry asked, not giving Moody the chance to ask what was wrong.

"I just got a memo informing me about an important article that has to be published for the morning edition. I'll be here until about midnight."

"Oh. I'm sorry," Harry said.

"Don't be," Moody replied. He smiled faintly, his eyes kind this time. "I'll get plenty of compensation for my time tonight. This is even bigger than some of the surprise attacks that have been happening."

"Why don't you just come back in the evening to help with it?" Harry asked. "It will be hours until then."

"I'm staying voluntarily," Moody responded. "I wouldn't miss this, if I could help it. A lot of people are staying around, actually. Minus the reporters."

"What's going on?" Harry inquired.

Moody pointed down to the article he was beginning. Printed in tall, bold letters were the words: "Dumbledore Accepts; Grindelwald to Fall?"

"Dumbledore's going to duel Gellert Grindelwald?" Harry inquired sharply. "Tonight?"

"Yes. It was announced under an hour ago," Moody said. "By this evening's edition of the Prophet the whole country should know about it."

Harry's heart was suddenly beating rapidly.

"They might even release a midnight edition for this story. Who knows? Either way, this is very important news. Decides the fate of the whole country, I should think."

Harry didn't know what to do. He wanted to stay here with Moody, to know what would happen straight away, but he also wanted to be with Tom. Yet Tom might react badly to this news, and force Harry to leave England with him. Harry wanted to know what would happen in this battle, and whether History would go as he had learnt. This would decide weather he had messed up anything, somehow, by just being here.

"Are you alright, Richard?"

Harry suddenly remembered what he has said to Dumbledore about Tom not being Grindelwald. Could something like that even effect time? He needed to know what would happen with Grindelwald tonight. He was impatient already to hear about it. But then a better idea than staying around in this office occurred to Harry. He only wondered what Tom might think of it.

"Sorry, but I have to go," Harry said, turning to leave. Moody said nothing as he headed for the door, but Harry caught one last glimpse at him before he left. He was smiling, whilst also appearing somewhat concerned – about the duel, or Harry himself, Harry didn't know. He didn't think about it much as he hurried down the corridor.

Past many floors and up many flights of stairs, Harry soon found himself in the entrance hall. There were people all around, and the building was as busy as it was in the mornings, which was rare. But instead of the usual morning talking, there was only one subject being voiced by the reporters and general workers of the Daily Prophet now: the potential downfall of Gellert Grindelwald.

Harry hurried past the crowed and made his way to the exit of the building without stopping. It was snowing outside, and he headed straight home. Tom was his only concern as he found their flat, and went inside, climbing another staircase to reach their floor, three stories up. With a tap of his wand the lock on their door opened, and he hurried inside.

Tom was waiting for him, quietly contemplating something as he sat on an armchair; a few neglected books close by. When Harry closed the door, and didn't remove his travelling cloak, Tom seemed more interested in his arrival. When Tom saw that Harry was somewhat unsettled, he stood up.

"Dumbledore accepted the Ministry's plead to fight Grindelwald," Harry managed breathlessly the second he could.

Tom stared at Harry, bemused. "Have they fought yet?"

"No, but they're going to soon."

"Where?"

"In England," Harry said. "I heard some of the reporters mention it was going to be near Northumberland."

"One of the least Muggle populated places in England," Tom remarked.

"Makes sense," Harry replied. He walked further into the room, trying to think properly.

"Where are we going to go?" Tom asked. "Where shall we flee?"

"We have to go and see the duel," Harry stated.

Tom froze, and looked at Harry as though he wondered whether he was joking. "You want to go and watch the duel?" he asked incredulously.

"Yes," Harry replied firmly. "Think about it; we'll be able to Apparate away the second something goes wrong, and we can even see for ourselves if he's immortal, if he dies and comes back to life on the battlefield."

"What if it's a trap?" Tom demanded. "What if they try and kill anyone who watches the battle?"

"We won't get trapped," Harry assured him. Then an idea came to him. "We can bring my invisibility cloak of you want, to be sure we're safe."

Tom still didn't look at all willing to agree to this.

"If you don't go, I'll go alone," Harry said.

Tom stared at him. "It would be foolish to go there, Harry."

"It would also be foolish not to."

"How so?"

"We might never know the truth. The papers could be corrupted, and lie to us the moment Grindelwald wins."

Tom made no reply. Harry had no patience to wait for Tom thinking this over.

"Please come with me, Tom," Harry insisted, moving closer to him from across the room. He took Tom's hand in his own. "I need to know what happens right away. Please trust me."

There was a long pause, as Tom remained impassive, staring at Harry.

"We'll be together the whole time," Harry said. "I promise."

Harry watched avidly, and saw a slight change in Tom after a few minutes. "Will we leave this country the moment something goes wrong?" he asked quietly.

"Yes," Harry replied. "I wouldn't risk staying here."

There was a long discontinuation of speech again, before Tom looked away from Harry in defeat, perhaps knowing that Harry was completely decided on going there. "We should leave as soon as possible…"

Harry smiled, feeling both nervous and glad that Tom was actually agreeing with him. He couldn't believe that he was going to go and see the duel between Dumbledore and Grindelwald as he hurried away from Tom, to search for his invisibility cloak… He just hoped that nothing would upset this vital mark in History.