Chapter 3

The transparent form of Harry Potter walked (glided) along the sidewalk of the rather empty neighborhood deep in though. He would have been slithering along the perfectly trimmed grass parallel to the sidewalk if he had still been possessing the body of a snake. However the one he, and subsequently Marvolo, had been using could no longer play host and both snakes died. Causing both of them to leave the serpent corpses to roam about once more as huskless souls. It had been decided by Haden that he would be the one to go find another snake nest as the one in the shed dispersed and Marvolo could not be trusted to not return with a fresh corpse who met their premature end by his doing. So here was Haden on the lookout while killing the boredom by allowing his mind to roam.

One such thought was the acceptance letter.

It was nearing the time of the month when young Harry would be receiving their Hogwarts's letter. Haden filled in an uninterested Marvolo with the events that led up to his past self meeting Hagrid and thus first real introduction into the magical world. He knew the once Dark Lord had no recollection of the half giant beyond being an utterly loyal buffoon to Albus Dumbledore however Haden was hoping to get Marvolo onboard with the idea of them being the ones to teach young Harry about magic by informing the other of the Light's child version of their propaganda introduction he been given. And maybe even get the boy away from the Dursleys before any of the previous events leading up to first year could happen. Haden wasn't blind to the fact Marvolo had no real interest in Harry, or even Haden himself, but the man did take the exchange of knowledge seriously. He was pretty sure he was getting closer to swaying Marvolo's negative stance on the idea; it just needed a bit more pushing before he gave it any consideration.

Haden was brought from his thoughts when he took note of a small oddity. Well one for his current state anyways. So it was quite understandable for him to look rather confused at the shadow that appeared under his floating feet. It was weird to have a shadow. Ghost didn't have them after all. At least he and Marvolo didn't and he never recalled any of the ghosts at Hogwarts having one either. Since that was the case there had to be something else causing the shadow. The ghost form of Harry Potter abruptly got the answer barely a second later; his gaze jerking upward just in time for something to crash land directly on top of him.

"Fuck!"

Haden stood up from the abrupt landing to the pavement. He dusted himself off only to freeze. There were gloved hands in front of him. Motionless in mid movement upon leather clad arms that had tares in the otherwise relatively new looking fabric. Haden stared. Then moved his hand. The right glove moved in the same second. ….The fuck? He waved both his arms and the leather shifted in sync. What is going on? Wait… He looked down as a thought struck him hard. Instead of seeing the misty window view that had been his ghostly body his eyes were taking in the sight of the rest of the leather jacket from a wearer's pov. And sliding his gaze further down showed the matching black jeans, also in a ripped state with gashes of seeping red, and combat boots. "Did I just get a body?"

The 'how' was the only thing keeping him from freaking out.

With a look around it was revealed. There was the front of a bent thick bike wheel protruding through some lining brushes and a wrecked railing guard half bent over a section of brushes. Smoke was lightly rising from something on the other side that could not be seen so Haden walked toward it. His steps were faulty and pain shot up through his body causing him to pause. He hadn't felt physical pain in what felt like ages. However his curiosity was strong enough to push through the pain and get his new body to peer over the dividing hedge. He spotted the crashed motorcycle laying on its side at a weird angle instantly. Next to catch his attention was the black helmet reflected in the chrome pipes; it caused him to jerk his head to look behind him. No one was there. Then it hit him. It was him. Or rather the reflection of the owner of the motorcycle whose body he now piloted.

Having seen the crash sight Haden had an idea of what had happened. Whoever had crashed their ride died most likely upon impact and was thrown from the vehicle to land directly on top of him. And since there was no soul remaining within the body it was a free body to take on a new soul host; otherwise the decaying process would immediately start. However before he could mull it over more the sound of sirens hit the air gaining his attention. He looked around and noticed a few people were heading toward the wreck site. It would be weird for them to see him standing perfectly fine despite the clear bloodied wounds and producing leg bone. Never mind the dented in and cracked state of the helmet. Thinking quickly Haden transfigured a nearby piece of rumble into the biker and hid himself from view. He hadn't expected doing such a simple cast of magic would leave him completely drained though. His wounded limbs collapsed underneath him forcing Haden to drag himself the rest of a few inches to an underbush. He took off the helmet with some difficulty as another flood of pain coursed through him from his right eye but somehow he managed to get it off without further harm to his new body. He set it under the bush beside him and raised a hand up to the right eye. He winced upon bumping something that caused that pain to flood again.

Gently, with gloves removed, the object was taken out. There was a weird painful feeling this time then an odd wet noise followed by something sounding like a piece of glass hitting the floor. It was glass. A section of the helmet's black tinted visor. Deff' died upon impact then. Haden stared at it. Now that his brain registered it his sight had been a bit off. It would explain why he thought he had been closer to the brush he had hid under then he actually was. A battered body like this wasn't ideal but he couldn't bring himself to care as it was way better than having to inhabit another snake for who knew how many times now. He knew it was going to take some time to heal without magical assistance since this body clearly was muggle from the drain it took from a small bit of performed magic. Wonder how long it'll take for my magic core to form in this new body?

However before the thought could be mulled over the ambulance and police arrived on scene.

3 HOURS LATER.

Marvolo stared at the young man looking back at him with an apparently stuck expression of bewilderment. At first the Dark Lord turned-ghost-again was surprised someone had been able to see him since none other than the unfortunately un-deceased older Potter brat could. So to see a man motioning to him rather stupidly with waved arms beyond the Dursley's white picket fence was quite unexpected. More so when finding out that young man was Haden.

"Explain."

"It was an accident!" came an almost soft calming voice that was weirdly similar to his life rival's own despite the clear lack of similar features.

"Raising your voice isn't elucidating."

"I hate you."

"Mirrored." Marvolo gave a pointed look as much as a transparent being could. "Now explain."

Haden exhaled deeply with newly acquired lungs. It still felt so weird to be back in a body. More so one that hadn't been his since birth. He reached up to tug on some strands of black hair dyed an almost platinum blonde on the underside and sides in a rather tasteful way. (A/N: Think Narcissa Malfoy) Or was it blonde with black dyed on top? Either way, bold guy. "They died in a bike crash, their body fell onto me. And that's it."

"That is the terrible equivalent of-"

"Don't you dare say it." A new set of eyes narrowed. "It's the truth."

Marvolo's head tilted faintly while crossing their arms in thought; managing to look regal despite the informal pose. He took in the features of the new body the dolt had managed to obtain. Their facial structure was rather reminiscent of Orion Black's replacement heir, Regar or whatever that traitorous boy's name had been. That insolent brat had dared to think themselves sly enough to deceive Lord Voldemort without being caught and punished to the grave accordingly. The only telling differences between that boy and this one were the muggle fashion sense, two-tone hair style, and open blue eyes. No, one is… Marvolo ignored the flinch when he leant in closer. "Heterochromia."

"Hetero-wha?" Haden couldn't help flinching again when a vapor finger poked at something below one of his eyes.

"Do read a book."

"Insult noted, but for right now…?"

"This boy has one blue and one green eye."

"Oh…" Pause. "Oh wait, that's cool! Got a mirror?" Haden promptly looked away at the deadpan stare. He coughed lightly, only to nearly choke as something came up to land on the sidewalk between them with a soft splat. Blood. "See? Told you he died in an accident."

"Reanimated corpses are a foreign thought to muggles, if you recal-"

"Give me some credit." Came the huffed interrupting cut off. "I transfigured a nearby rock into his corpse. Nobody is gonna expect a pulse after a motorcycle crash like that. It worked out fine. I snuck off when they were loading the body into the ambulance."

"Then there are no grounds for your complaints." Marvolo stated while gliding through the dully normalic picket fence before turning away from number 4 Privet Drive and heading toward a destination only he knew.

"Where are you going?"

"To obtain a corporeal form."

Haden suddenly felt a bit panicked as killing people was still a no-go no matter how much either of them needed a body. The thought of dead bodies and trails of blood leading back to them caused Haden to act almost impulsively. Nearly launching himself at the spirit body to intercept the other's plan before their trip to the past ended up with them both either in new bodies but locked up in jail or beyond dead. Whatever that may be if possible. Instead he adjusted his movements promptly so he ended up just skidding around Marvolo and spread his arms out as if that would keep the other from moving forward. Marvolo did pause momentarily until Haden opened their newly acquired mouth to spew some nonsense about not killing people. The currently postponed Dark Lord faded through the living body only to feel a faint feeling of repelling; similar to when trying to force a negative side of a magnet with another negative side. It was odd but not surprising as this body was claimed by another soul. Marvolo stored the newly obtained knowledge while bluntly ignoring the diswaying attempts of the previous boy-who-lived. Haden had even offered up the ludicrous idea of Voldemort taking over the body of a deceased cat and acting as a wizard's familiar- Haden's familiar at that.

That idea was flatly ignored in blunt refusal.

The two ended up in a somewhat small graveyard beyond the tetanus looking playground one had to travel through a walkway tunnel to get to. There weren't a lot of graves as the site was a seemingly new one but decidedly more than enough to choose from. How one went about selecting a corpse to inhabit was another matter entirely. One Haden was rather curious about; part of him wondered if that made him a bad person. Marvolo of course had no such worries. The ghostly future Dark lord was making their way around the tombstones. Pausing at ones with more recent deaths before deeming the age of death a strike against them and moving on. It was a few minutes later the pair came across a suitable one. The dates of birth and death fit within the limits Marvolo decided upon that would best fit future plans. Haden huffed at the expectant stare and shuffled over with the grimy shovel they had come across during their stroll among the grave site.

"This is gonna take a while."

"Are you not a wizard?"

It was worded a question but clearly came out as a snide remark with no infliction. Haden rolled his eyes while un-shouldering the shovel and stabbing it into the ground. "I got some but this body is still new." There was no reply, just a disinterested gaze. "Ugh, fine! You'll know what I mean when you get one. Prat."

The process to unearth the deeply buried coffin was indeed a long one but it was done. Marvolo sank into the coffin in a guessing mirrored position to the dead body encased within. There was no flashy light or any type of sign that the soul to body fusing went well or was even taking place. At least not until a soft knock sounded. Haden snickered at the thought the great Dark Lord of all time was stuck inside a box. He used the shovel like a counterweight to pry open the lid only to have not much luck. With a grumble the small amount of gained magic was used to cast an 'Alohomora' spell to unlock whatever locking mechanism was used on the coffin.

Haden watched on with grotesque fascination as a hand pushed open the lid of the now unlocked coffin. Following the hand was another planting itself upon the disturbed dirt mound and pushing to lift the body it was connected to; bringing a dark haired head into view. Wait, I think I've seen this guy before as a kid. The face to the engraved name sparked the distant memory of the alive version of this man jogging past the Dursley's house and giving a wave to a young Harry working on the assigned chore of painting the fence white. Huh, guess this explains why he stopped coming around. Back then he had thought the nice man who waved to him every morning had learned of his freakishness or something and started to avoid him. Haden reached over to poke the slightly mused bun set atop the head only to get his hand smacked away. He nearly yelped at the glaring golden-brown eyes peeking through strands of long dark bangs.* His own hands were raised in mock surrender as he stood up and back away; indirectly giving Marvolo more room.

The Dark Lord's new body was apparently sturdy even beyond death. Haden gave the reanimated corpse such a sour look but it went completely ignored as Marvolo was more focused on testing the mobility of their new body by taking a few steps around. His steps were a tad wobbly as it had been for Haden the first time but soon enough he got used to the movements of flesh again. Next Marvolo tested the tendons in his limbs. Turning over their hands and arms, flexing fingers, and squeezing areas of the body for muscle strength. He then reached upward to free the bunched up hair sprinkled with bits of dirt. Dark straight strands of ebony fell down to brush along the shoulders in a bit of a ruffled state.

"Have you always been this vain or is it a side effect from the cauldron-birth thing?" Haden asked teasingly when Marvolo ran his fingers through their newly acquired hair.

The amused grin was easily dismissed as Marvolo continued to test the contained limits of his newly obtained form. This body was taller and slightly more broad than Haden's new one– as well as his old one from the cauldron and yet somehow similar to the body he had originally been born with as Tom Riddle. Minus one factor. It seemed whoever had previously occupied this body was an athlete or a man who took physical maintenance very seriously. Marvolo lifted the shirt and wasn't surprised to note the definition of muscles on the torso. To still have some definition even after a month of being dead and buried was a telling sign to the previous owner's dedication. "This body shall do, however muggle born it was."

"I don't wanna hear that when you get a better body." Haden poked his own stomach. "This guy is toned but he's slim and barely comes up to your nose!"

"Grating voice as well."

"Don't talk down to me in that smooth voice!"

"Contain your jealousy." Marvolo waved a hand down the length of their body with applied magic; causing the grime to disappear. However not a complete head to toe cleaning of appearance as he had intended. "This body has faults."

Haden rolled his mismatched eyes with a soft snort causing the other's eyes to narrow faintly at him. "You just got it. And as you said, it's muggle. Your magic is gonna need to take some time to seep into the body fully. So whatever spells you want to cast are just going to have the bare minimum effect. Unless you wanna a crumpled heap for an hour or two?" He grinned almost wickedly. "That would be hilarious to see."

"Hn."

There was a lull of silence as Haden assisted in tidying up the clothing on Marvolo's body so no eyes were drawn thus no questions. They set the grave back to how it was before Haden had dug the coffin out to allow Marvolo an easier exit from the confinement after the man's ghost form had merged with the body. The two made their way back toward the Dursley's home at a slow pace as both of them were adjusting to the new bodies; Marvolo more so than the other. It was just as they turned onto the sidewalk where number 4 was built that an important thought struck Haden.

"I just realized something." Mismatched eyes lifted from watching their own combat boot clad feet to the man walking beside them. "Harry has no idea we now have bodies."

"Such a development is expected by the boy."

"That's different than actually having them." Haden pointed out further with a hand gesture. "Also, how are two complete strangers supposed to-"

"Just do as you always have." Marvolo stated simply; gaze forward and clearly not sharing the same concerns as their time travel companion.

"And what's that?"

"Barrel in without thought."

Lips parted to go against that comment only to close as previous memories showed proof of backing the statement rather than going against. Which honestly rubbed Haden the wrong way. "Did I mention that I despise you today yet?"

A/N:

NOTE:

A little child trafficking in the next chapter.

Anyways- Hope ya enjoyed the chapter.