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Once the healing was finished, everyone sat in the sitting room in a silence Harry could only describe as awkward. It was like all of them had something to say, but none of them actually knew how to say any of it. Pretty normal for him. Less normal for the other three, he thought.

But they remained there in silence as the birds chirped away outside, until eventually it was Harry himself who broke the silence by looking to Snape and saying, "The hell's up with the Order, by the way? Where've they been? I figured when they threatened Uncle Vernon back at the station, they'd actually, y'know, follow through."

"I...do not know," said Snape with only very brief hesitation. "I understand you have no real reason to believe me, but Dumbledore removed me from your guard for unrelated reasons and assured me you would have a constant guard outside the house."

Harry frowned, ignoring both Riddle and Malfoy as he looked at Snape. He was looking right at him, and it was one of the very rare times where Harry couldn't see any anger in Snape's eyes. If he had to put any kind of emotion to what he was seeing, he would honestly have to say it looked like confusion. Snape never looked confused.

So what did that mean?

There were a couple of different things. It was possible Snape was lying to him and knew the real reason this happened and wasn't telling him because he was a dick, or because he'd been ordered not to, either by Riddle or Dumbledore. It was almost equally possible that he was telling the truth and really didn't know, which meant Dumbledore really hadn't told him anything, which in turn meant maybe Dumbledore didn't trust Snape as much as he always insisted he did-and insisted they should.

That was pretty worrying. Or was it? Harry wasn't quite sure, but it did remind him of something else. "I got a note the other day," he said out loud, getting everyone's attention again. "It was delivered by owl in the evening. It wasn't signed, but it said, 'Don't trust the old man'. Did one of you send it?"

The three men exchanged glances, but all of them shook their heads, and then Riddle asked him if he still had it.

"I didn't toss it, so it should still be in my room somewhere."

"You didn't bring it with you?"

"Does it look like I brought anything with me?"

Riddle almost looked amused at that, but instead of further addressing it, said, "Shall I kill them for you? Your relatives?"

Harry just stared at first, eyes wide. "W-what…? No!"

"They've abused you and clearly have been for a very long time now."

"Well, yeah, but that doesn't mean they deserve death!" Harry exclaimed, actually kind of appalled. "I know you're the Dark Lord and everything, but there are ways to solve issues that don't involve murdering the problem."

Malfoy released a noise that sounded suspiciously like a snicker, but when Harry looked at him, he saw that he was perfectly straight faced. His eyes narrowed slightly.

"You're no better, you know. I haven't forgotten you trying to hit me with the killing curse at twelve just because I tricked you into freeing your house-elf."

Snape looked both alarmed and horrified when he heard that. Riddle's brow only rose even higher. Malfoy paled.

"But anyway," said Harry, deciding to move past all of that, "while I'd like to get my things from Number Four, I'd rather not go back there alone. I had to sneak out to come here and I left before Uncle Vernon was...finished. I probably made him and Aunt Petunia even angrier than they already were."

"...You say the most concerning things so casually," said Riddle just as casually.

Harry just shrugged. Really, what could he say in answer to that? It wasn't like Riddle was wrong. He knew he had a tendency to downplay things that were normal for him, but not quite as normal for most other people. It was more habit than anything else. It wasn't like he ever intended to make people uncomfortable or worried. It was just that, this was his life and all he really knew.

"Lucius, go with him to gather his belongings," Riddle ordered abruptly. "Do not harm the Dursleys. You may stun them if need be."

Malfoy seemed surprised for a second, before he inclined his head. "As you wish, my lord." He stood and looked to Harry. "Come along then, Potter."

Harry hesitated, but figured it would be best not to argue. He wanted to get his stuff anyway, and going to Number Four with Malfoy had to be better than going back alone, so he'd make do. At least Malfoy knew how to be intimidating, so he figured the Dursleys wouldn't try anything against him.

Probably.

Harry led Malfoy next door to Number Four and paused in front of the door, unsure if he should knock or just let Malfoy break in. He reached for the knob and when he turned it, he wasn't sure if he was surprised or not when he realized the door was unlocked.

Those idiots.

Maybe he could just sneak in, grab all of his things, and sneak back out. He didn't think he was lucky enough for that, but maybe it was worth trying. Malfoy was there with him if he got caught, so he didn't really have to worry about things going wrong.

"Most of my stuff is in there," he told Malfoy quietly, nodding at the padlocked cupboard under the stairs. "If you can get my trunk, I can get everything else from upstairs."

Maybe out of concern of what Riddle would do to him if he didn't cooperate, Malfoy just nodded and approached the cupboard, pulling his wand out of his cane. Leaving him at it, and hoping he wouldn't make too much noise, Harry made his way up the stairs and slipped into Dudley's second bedroom.

He really did only have a few small things in here, so it only took him a minute to gather what he needed before he headed back down the stairs. Fortunately, Malfoy was waiting by the door, and since no one was screaming, he hadn't been caught yet either.

"I have your trunk and broom," said Malfoy quietly as Harry approached. "I have shrunken them for convenience."

Harry nodded. "Thanks." He glanced over his shoulder down the short hallway. "We-er, should probably get out of here before we get caught. I'd rather avoid that if possible."

They slipped out of the house as quietly as they'd entered, leaving the Dursleys none the wiser to their presence, and headed back next door to Number Two. Riddle and Snape were still in the sitting room, clearly waiting for their return.

"Did you get the note?" asked Riddle when Harry and Malfoy were seated once more.

"Yeah, here." Passing the scrap of parchment over, Harry watched as Riddle's eyes scanned over it, his brow furrowing slightly.

"Was the owl that delivered this familiar to you?"

Harry shook his head. "It just looked like your everyday generic brown owl. I would never be able to tell it apart from any other one."

With a thoughtful hum, Riddle passed the note over to Malfoy, and after he'd had a look at it, it was handed over to Snape, who frowned the second he saw it.

"Severus?"

"This handwriting looks familiar," he said slowly, dark eyes locked on the scrap and the letters scrawled across it. "I...cannot quite place it though."

"I actually thought the same thing," said Harry, surprising them. "It's familiar enough that I can tell it doesn't belong to any of my friends-or any of my professors, or him either," he added, nodding towards Riddle, "but it's unfamiliar enough that I can't place who it actually belongs to."

"Do you have any idea who it could belong to?" asked Malfoy.

"Not really," Harry admitted. "I figure the note's talking about Dumbledore, cause I mean, who else would it be talking about? But I don't really know anyone who doesn't trust him."

There was a brief silence where Snape continued staring at the note, the frown on his face deepening. No one said anything, perhaps hoping the silence would help the man recall whatever it was he was trying to remember.

"This...may have been written by Black," said Snape suddenly.

Harry's head snapped up. "Sirius!?"

"It's just a guess," said Snape. "I can't confirm that."

"Would Black have any reason to write something like that in the first place?" said Riddle. "Ignoring the fact that he is dead at present, naturally."

Harry flinched, but all he could say was, "I don't know. We never had much time to really talk. He didn't seem like he was against Dumbledore, but then again, it isn't like we were ever alone long enough for him to tell me how he really felt about everything."

"Severus?"

"Black and I may have attended Hogwarts together, but we were hardly close, as you know, my Lord."

"Lucius?"

"I don't believe I've ever said a single word to that man, my Lord."

Riddle folded his arms. "Is there anyone who is more familiar with Black who might have an answer for us?"

Harry hesitated slightly, and said, "Remus...probably knows. He and Sirius were really close, and I can't imagine him not telling him everything. I can't say whether he'd want to tell any of us though. Or at least, any of you. He might tell me. Maybe. I'm not really sure."

Riddle didn't seem surprised to hear that, but then again, did anything surprise this guy? "Contact him," he said. "See what he might be willing to tell you."

"A-alright."

Since it was starting to get dark, Riddle dismissed Snape and Malfoy, telling them to go home and that he'd summon them again tomorrow. He also asked Snape to try to find out where Harry's Order guard was and why they weren't doing what they were supposed to be.

With words of understanding and a bow or two, Snape and Malfoy left the house, and Harry very quickly found himself alone in Number Two with Riddle. He felt a flutter in his stomach as they made eye contact.

"You should sleep," said Riddle.

His tone was even, but Harry was getting the feeling that Riddle didn't really want him asking questions right now. Not in the mood to be tortured, Harry just decided to do as told and quickly headed up the stairs, pausing on the landing before he headed into the smallest of the four bedrooms-the room that in Number Four was Dudley's second bedroom and at least temporarily, his bedroom. It was fully furnished, though was fairly plain.

The whole house was like that. Harry knew this wasn't going to be Riddle's permanent home or anything, but he'd clearly gone through the effort to make it look like it was. Why?

He wrote a quick note to Remus, but before he could even start wondering how he was going to send it to him, Hedwig appeared at the window. Harry grinned, pleased.

"Perfect timing, lovely," he said as he opened the window. "Sneak away from Hermione, huh? You up for a delivery? I have something for Remus."

With a hoot of what sounded like affirmation, Hedwig held out her leg and with another grin, Harry tied the roll of parchment in place. With a treat, a thank you, and a fly safely, Hedwig was off and Harry figured he would just head to bed. It wasn't like there was anything else left to do right now anyway.

Except hope he didn't get killed in his sleep, of course.

That's it for now. Looking forward to reviews! Laterz!