The timeline in this is... messy, to put it lightly. A lot of things were packed before christmas break, and I bet that eventually there will be way less on the other side, so let's just pretend the timeline makes sense while I crawl into a hole out of shame.

Friday, Tom made sure to hang by Umbridge's office around the time Harry was about to get out of detention. So far he managed to become the teacher's pet, getting perfect grades and somehow doing his best to act like a well behaved student. He wasn't sure how he did it to be honest, but it worked.

The door opened and Tom made a show of stumbling on Harry, catching his things when the backpack he carried slipped off his shoulder.

"Careful"

Harry mumbled a thanks and quickly hid his hand behind the folds of his tunic. Tom gave back the backpack and took the chance to grab his wrist, twisting the hand into view.

"Hey, what are you doing?"

He froze once he saw the words carved on his hands, horrified.

"Blood quill" he whispered, and quickly glanced around to verify there was nobody watching them.

He pulled his cousin along, half-running down the hall and towards an empty classroom, waving his wand to cast privacy spells before examining the wounds more closely. Etched on his skin, it said 'I must not tell lies'. Fuck that woman! How dare she do something like this! He was finding it very hard not to go after the damn woman and strangle her.

"Prince...?" Harry asked confusedly.

"Blood quills are used to sign very important contracts only" he growled, reaching inside his bag for something to soothe the pain "It's illegal to use them without regulation, specially on a child"

He carefully applied a soft paste on the wounds, before finally letting go of his hand.

"You'll be lucky if they ever disappear, since it looks you used it a lot"

"And why do you care?" he asked, weary.

Tom blinked slowly, and he put the bottle on Harry's healthy hand.

"Let's just say, I have interest on keeping you alive. And you're interfering with that goal by throwing yourself head first into danger... Umbridge isn't the Dark Lord, but she has power and you don't. Until you can prove her -and everyone else- that you're not a liar, you would be better off by ignoring her"

The green eyed boy clenched his fists "It's easier said than done" he spat "and besides, I have to come back tomorrow"

"Then make sure to apply this after each time" Tom shook his head. This was going to be harder than he thought... and he couldn't tell Harry about who he was until he could be sure that the boy trusted him, otherwise he would just run to Dumbledore, and even though as far he could tell the old coot had 'good' intentions, he didn't trust said old coot at all. Not even if his life depended on it. "You're a Gryffindor, so I don't expect you to act rationally, but if you are in trouble- well, you can come to me"

Harry squinted his eyes at him for a while, probably trying to see anything out of order with him.

"Why should I?"

"Because I'm not going to sell you to Voldemort? I swear that I am not affiliated to him in any way"

Still looking unsure, he nodded vaguely and started to walk to the door. Tom could only hope he would hear what he said.

Harry was a dumb child manipulated by Dumbledore since a young age, and if what he'd heard from the lions was true, he still lived with the Dursleys, which was another bad sign. Harry looked too thin and small for his age, and Tom could deduce that unlike him, he was still being starved and possibly beaten by those despicable muggles. He would need to do a lot of work before he managed to cut the strings attached to the old coot, and on the mean time he could start on some other necessary things. Contacting Voldemort was going to be hard, but maybe Snape was a Death Eater too, and that would also open the doors to maybe get closer to him? Tom still knew he wasn't his father, but like hell he was staying away- he needed some kind of support and he couldn't count on Draco for this.

Slipping away when Draco was busy with Quidditch practise, he made his way to the dungeon and knocked on Snape's door.

"Come in"

Inside felt almost like home, with the smell of parchment and ink, the faint scent of a recently brewed potion... it almost brought tears to his eyes. He quietly walked up to the desk, holding his potions journal close to his chest.

"Can I help you, Mr. Prince?"

He sat down, a little more rigid than usual, and slowly managed to let go of his journal like his life depended on it.

"Please forgive the intrusive question sir... but I really need to know, are you really loyal to Dumbledore?" he didn't dare look up just yet "I... I have nobody else I can trust"

Snape didn't answer immediately, but he put away his quill.

"Mr. Riddle, is your family pressing you to join the Dark Lord?"

Tom quickly looked up to Snape's unreadable expression.

"No sir, it's just that- I don't believe Dumbledore has the best intentions. He scares me, if I have to be honest"

"And why is that?" he asked slowly, as if to trying to guess what he was up to.

For a moment, he tried to get his thoughts in order "He harmed me and my family, some years ago" he decided to say, without entirely disclosing the truth out of the bat "I don't trust Voldemort either, believe me, but I trust you. And I have nobody that can help me here"

"Help you with what exactly?"

"To help Harry"

There was a long silence in which Tom had to resist the temptation to cross his fingers, praying over and over to whatever god would hear that Snape chose to believe him and then he could tell him everything, and all would be alright. He could have help so he could fix the world and go back home.

"You want to help Potter" Snape finally repeated.

"Yes, sir. I want to end the war"

"Who are you"

More than a question, it was a demand. This wasn't going the way he'd planned, and there were only two possible outcomes if he told him right there and then; one, he would rat him out to the headmaster and his life would be over before he had the chance to see his family ever again, or two, he would reluctantly believe him and then he could have his help.

"My name is Tom Marvolo Riddle" Snape's eyes widened, evidently recognising his name and reaching for his wand, but Tom was quick to continue "I was born December 31st, 1978, and when I was two years old my mother was killed. People started calling me the Boy-Who-Lived, but I was not aware of this since I was raised by muggles until my letter for Hogwarts arrived on July 1991"

Snape pointed his wand at him, standing up from his chair.

"That's impossible" he denied, shaking his head "that can't— it can't be true"

Tom offered his journal forwards, now he could only press on and hope it would work.

"You… you were the only person kind to me in Hogwarts, and when Dumbledore tried to use me as a weapon in his war you risked your job as a spy to keep me and my father safe" he said in a pleading voice, desperate "you've always been there for me… please, I'll show you my memories, I'll swear under veritaserum, I'll do anything"

There was another long silence, in which they stared at each other with a wand and a journal in between them. Slowly and without lowering the wand, Snape reached for the journal and started flipping through the pages of elegant and neat handwriting, stopping sometimes when he probably found the notes made by Severus Prince. The journal was not the most organised, even if he had a very good handwriting. Tom often got distracted and started doing other things, sometimes even doodling on the pages or making notes for class.

Eventually, Snape looked up, reluctant.

"How did you get here and what's your relationship with me?"

"It's a long story but— I come from a different world. Over there, things are… well, different of course. Forgoing another long story, I'm a demigod. Well, the son of one, but regardless of it that's what people like me are called, even if we have nothing to do with gods. I am more powerful than a normal wizard of course, but it mainly means I can cross portals to other worlds. It's an ability I've only recently obtained, and I was too reckless when doing so, that's how I ended up trapped in here. I can go back home easily if I wanted to, but the portals in this worlds are either highly unstable or heavily guarded, aside from the fact that this place is just awful. I wanted to help, since I have the ability to. That and the fact I don't want to get grounded once I'm back"

Snape was very shocked, letting his mask slip.

"And… why tell me this of all people?"

"Back home, your name is Severus Prince" Tom played with the hem of his sleeve "and you married my dad. He— He's dead here of course. I'm assuming Regulus and Sirius -my babysitters as they often call themselves- are too. Draco is one of my best friends but he's just a boy and as far as I've managed to dig up, Abraxas died too. I had nobody else to turn to" he made a little pause "but even if I did, I would come to my father first, always"

The wand was lowered slowly, and the journal closed. Tom was taking a huge risk, and he could only hope it paid off.

Harry didn't come to him until after Umbridge's power trips started to escalate, and by then Tom had done a wonderful job of becoming one of her trusted pawns. Like a good boy, he joined her group of bullies and now had authority over the students like a prefect would, which he entirely used to overlook things that she would've punished people for. Once the Slytherins caught onto what he was doing, most seemed to give him thankful glances and some of the older ones like Draco and sixth and seventh years started doing the same. After all, Slytherins protect their own.

Snape had seen his memories and now believed his crazy story. He of course wasn't immediately treating him like a son or doing all he wanted, but Tom was sure that he'd earned his trust and that he would listen to his plans. So far, everything was sort of… peaceful, or at least some mockery of peace.

In any case, the plan was going as it should.

The Boy-Who-Lived came to him one morning before heading to Hogsmeade, accompanied by Ron and Hermione although they stayed back while they spoke.

"You said I could trust you, and believe me when I say I do not, but at least I think you were honest when you said you're not on Voldemort's side" Harry took a deep breath "Hermione thinks that we need a competent teacher, and she wants me to do it. Can you help?"

Oh, so they were planning on making an illegal club! That definitely sounded like fun.

"I am terrible at casting spells" Tom replied with a smile "but my boyfriend is obsessed with Dark Arts so at the very least I know the theory and how the spell should go. And of course, I can make sure she doesn't know about the meetings of this… little class"

Relief washed over the other's face.

"Good. Then… you should come. We're about to speak with some people that want in"

Tom shrugged and followed him back to Ron and Hermione. They were watching him closely all the way down to the small town, but he ignored their stares. This was a huge improvement, even if Harry didn't think of him as a friend and probably still thought highly of the old coot.

They entered a run down bar that was fairly empty and sat in relative silence while waiting, until suddenly a big group of at least twenty people came in.

"Hermione you said a two or three" Harry hissed at her.

"Well—"

She didn't actually explain herself, as they started to pull tables together and order drinks. Tom waved his wand under the table to make sure they were engulfed by privacy spells and he waited patiently while they settled in.

"What's he doing here?" Ginny glared at him, frowning.

"I asked him to" Harry received baffled looks and he was quick to explain "I know you may have not noticed, but Prince has been letting people go for things Umbridge would hate. In fact, he warned me against her when she first gave me detention after the first class… and he also knows Dark Arts, which means he can actually tell us about spells we could encounter out there"

Some seemed satisfied, others didn't. Ginny was definitely in the last group.

"What makes you think he won't tell on us? He's a Slytherin!"

Tom rolled his eyes, as he often did when it came to her.

"I'm sure I told you this when we met in the train, but my house has little to do with anything. Are you even listening to yourselves? You often get into stupid fights just because your tie is a different colour! Have you not noticed how stupid you all seem, attacking others because they have a different personalities and different wants and likes? Being in Slytherin or Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw or Gryffindor doesn't mean shit! It's just a label! Get a grip!"

The Weasley twins looked delighted, even though their sister and brother were as red as their hair was, and many if not everyone sitting around the table were sheepishly looking down at their laps, embarrassed as they should be.

"Now, can we all speak like civil human beings, without screaming or throwing insults? You're here because you want to learn DADA, not to have childish fights. Miss Granger, if you will"

Perplexed, Hermione took a second to compose herself, clearing her throat and looking over the still silent group.

"Right. You already know that Umbridge isn't going to teach us how to defend ourselves, so we've decided that the best course of action would be to get a competent teacher. Of course we cannot do this by complaining to the headmaster since the Ministry is looking closely at us, but we can definitely teach ourselves. Harry already has experience fighting V-V-Voldemort, and like he said, Prince knows a thing or two he can share. Questions?"

They seemed reluctant to talk, but one finally did.

"Do you actually expect us to believe he's back?" a boy sneered at them.

Tom looked at Harry for permission to speak again, and he nodded eagerly.

"What's your name?"

"Zacharias Smith"

"Right. Well, even if he isn't, don't you think it's a good idea to know how to defend yourself in extreme circumstances? If you don't, then the door is right there. Any more stupid questions?"

He shrank back on his seat and Hermione gave him a thankful glance.

"Where will we meet to have the sessions then?" A girl with a Ravenclaw scarf and Asian features asked.

Harry blushed when looking at her and looked over to Hermione and Tom for help.

"Well, since any empty classroom would have to be warded, and it would still be easy to find, we could maybe do it outside the school…"

"Or" Tom interjected "use a hidden room. I've heard about the Room of Requirements, but if you want the best security— there's also the Chamber of Secrets. Provided the basilisk is taken care of, of course"

Everyone stared at him "How do you know about the chamber?" Ginny snapped at him.

"Uh, because my father is a Gaunt? Descendant of Slytherin?" He replied as if it were obvious, because it was "I am a parselmouth too, in case you've forgotten"

"The basilisk is dead" Harry confirmed "and you and I are the only ones capable of opening the passage, but isn't the chamber too uncomfortable for that?"

"Harry, we're wizards, we can make it a little brighter and cosier" he dismissed.

"Then the chamber it is" Hermione pulled out a piece of parchment and wrote something on it, before passing it on to the next person "write your names please"

When it got back, Tom managed to see that she'd wrote him and Harry as 'professors'.

"We should choose a name" Ginny suggested "to make it more official"

"Defence club?" One of the twins suggested half-heartedly.

"It's simple, but it fits" Hermione wrote it at the top of the parchment "then we will meet in the afternoon of… let's say Tuesday, on Myrtle's bathroom"

"Wait a second" Tom interrupted before anyone could stand up, once again getting all the attention "I severely doubt we will be discovered in quite some time, but just in case: have your DADA book with you for every meeting. We can always say we are having a group study session"

Hermione nodded, pleased with the suggestion, and everyone else slowly agreed.

Right. Now to see how it would pan out.

Tuesday after class, Tom sneaked inside the girl's bathroom and waited for the rest to show up. Since they had different classes, they appeared in small batches, which also help to not call much attention. He let them in through the sink while Harry was down by the gate to the actual chamber, and once everyone from the list made it inside he and Hermione followed last.

It was Tom's first time in the Chamber of Secrets, and the place was certainly gloomy and very humid. The body of the basilisk lay at the feet of a statue at the end of the chamber, where there was more than enough space for them to work.

"Right… let's get to work"

Tom pulled his sleeves up and levitated the body out of the way, applying several charms to get rid of the moss and mold growing by the water, before enchanting the ceiling so that the water would run all the way until it fell on the pools. Hermione conjured some dummies to practise spells on, and some seating so they could also rest, but later on they could keep bringing more items to make it better.

"What spell are you teaching them first?" Tom asked Harry while they cleaned.

"Expelliarmus" the green eyed boy answered without doubt "it has saved my life multiple times"

"Not my first choice I must admit but it can be useful" he replied politely.

"What will you teach them first?"

"Patronus. It's a complicated spell, which works good to see who has more potential"

"You can cast a patronus?" Harry asked, surprised.

Tom gave him a little smile.

"Yeah, I can. I only recently made a completely corporeal one… didn't have happy enough memories for it"

Harry stayed silent for a couple of seconds, before speaking up.

"I get what you mean. I myself think of my godfather. And you?"

"My parents" Tom smile turned a little sad but stayed on "I think of being in their arms, safe and loved. I miss them terribly"

Surprised, the other boy didn't say anything for another while, probably not knowing how to react to such a confession.

"You know, Prince… you're nothing like other Slytherins. I think I'm starting to like you"

He chuckled softly "I could say the same about you"

With the chamber made habitable, Harry proceeded with his first lesson, and so was born the Defence Club.

Hermione's galleons we're a wonderful invention, and now two reunions later it was Tom's turn to be the teacher. Harry hadn't been satisfied until everyone managed to cast a decent expelliarmus, which was a very amusing sight, but now it was his turn to shine.

"So, the patronus spell" Tom put his hands inside his pockets, feeling like a professor with the rest of the club seated in front of him, eagerly listening for the most part "as you know, this is the only way to ward yourself against a dementor, but it is also used as means of emergency communication since it's capable of transmitting messages. The patronus is the reflection of the soul, and it takes form according to your souls of course. This means it shall take whatever form represents you best— often when people fall in love the patronus changes to reflect that. However, unlike other spells, to cast this one you need happy memories. The happier the chosen memory is, the strongest your patronus will be. Harry, do you want to show them?"

The raven haired boy stood up and called the spell, producing a majestic stag that galloped around the room, to which the rest reacted with wonder.

"And yours?" Luna asked him.

Tom flicked his wand wordlessly and the light coming from it formed a serpentine form. Once looked upon closely however, one could see it was not a snake but a dragon, thin and with small horns atop its head, still a youngling.

"A dragon" Susan Bones gaped at it "I would've never expected that from you"

Tom watch it fly across the room with nostalgia. "My father's patronus is so huge it would barely fit in this chamber, bigger than the basilisk. My dad's is barely smaller than that…"

"Dragon hatchling" Luna nodded with a smile.

Tom cleared his throat and made it vanish.

"Well, let's see how you all do"

The hours passed by and even though some still could only produce a vague mist, others had achieved a corporeal patronus already. Hermione, Ron, Ginny and Luna in between them, although they still needed practise so that they could keep it there longer, and even more practise so that they could send messages with it. So far, not even Harry had managed to do that last thing.

It was all so surreal, to be in Hogwarts, teaching his classmates. Tom was a terrible student, back in his world- his raw power was too much for him to handle at he found it hard to cast spells, most of the time using wandless magic like he used to when he lived with the Dursleys. He was also rather known for being a brat, always getting into trouble. How different things were, so that in here he had top grades, and he was loved by the professors. It sure seemed like a weird dream.

He couldn't wait to go back home and tell everyone. His parents would be furious of course, but his friends would probably find it fascinating. Abraxas would surely laugh on his face.

Abraxas... Tom would be lying if he said he didn't miss him almost as much as he missed his parents. They'd only recently started officially dating, ever since the Yule ball during that dreadful tournament, but they'd been fooling around since the year they shared in Hogwarts. He missed his sharp words and his ramblings about the latest spell he was interested in. Every time he spent time with Draco, he expected to see a head of golden curls next to him, only to find that he was alone because this Draco had no siblings.

"Prince?"

Tom turned around. Everyone was leaving the chamber, leaving only Hermione, Ron and Harry behind. The golden trio were looking at him strangely, and he quickly composed himself, waving his hand to turn off the candles illuminating the chamber.

"It's nothing. I'll see you next week" he smiled weakly to them and walked past towards the doors.

Keep yourself together, he thought to himself, you'll be home soon enough.

"Oh dear, can you even believe it isn't even Christmas yet? I am so tired, I don't think I've ever worked this much in my life"

"You should rest, master"

Tom sighed, caressing the top of Buttercup's head. It was very late, just after a session of the Defence Club, and on top of that he'd passed through Snape's office so they could discuss some of the plans Tom had made to end the war. Luckily he had the freedom to overlook curfew, as long as he pretended to be on the look for rule breakers.

"Ebony" he spoke to the wall, and he slipped inside the Slytherin common room at last.

Most of the other Slytherins had already gone to bed, with only a few left behind doing homework or simply relaxing by the fire. Draco, Theo and Blaise were sitting on a corner, playing chess with no worries. He smiled, feeling more relaxed as he dropped down in the empty seat next to Theo.

"It was time you appeared" Draco raised a brow towards him "what were you even doing out there? It's past curfew, I even finished my own rounds"

"Had an extra lesson with professor Snape" he lied, presenting his alibi "lost track of time"

"You spend a whole lot of time with extra lessons, when you're the top of the class" Blaise shook his head "I don't even know why they placed you in fifth year! It's obvious you could have graduated already"

Tom shrugged, pretending he was as puzzled as they were. It was better (and easier) to pretend he knew less than he actually did, specially around his house mates, whom he didn't want involved in the whole mess he was in. The less people knew who he was, the better.

"Say, Draco.. why don't you like Potter?"

The blond boy scrunched up his nose, while Theo rolled his eyes.

"Because he's insufferable, and stupid" he crossed his arms in a huff, forgetting all about the game of chess "everyone is always worshipping the ground he walks on, when he's just an incompetent idiot"

Ouch.

"Well- what if we could convince Potter to be on our side of the war?"

The three Slytherins stared at him in absolute silence until Theo dared break it.

"Potter is Dumbledore's pet, he would never…"

Tom shook his head, cutting him short.

"But what if I had a way of showing him what the old coot is really like? Hear me out, this is a really simple plan…"