Dissindere Temporalis
So here we are again.
My personal love story went really well, and it was heartbreaking to have to say goodbye, even for now.
In this chapter: Harry seeks to improve to himself and Tom engenders envy.
I hope you enjoy!
Invidia
Here he is stronger too.
He will be more blunt and harshly honest,
forgiving no evil even if it does some good;
and where I'd dropped my pen: 'It isn't worth it...'
he'd assert: 'It's worth it! ' and pick up the pen.
- Yevgeny Yevtushenko, Envy
Things settled into a routine.
For Harry this was both comforting, and also a little daunting.
It had been a discomforting realisation over the last few months that he'd coasted through Hogwarts the first time around, relying on both his natural talent and Hermione's driven personality to drag him along in her wake.
He'd been crippled by his upbringing, a lifetime of not wanting to be noticed for fear of being beaten up or punished. And then again by sudden, all consuming fame.
He hadn't wanted it. It had been an imposition and had dragged him into horrible situations after another. He'd had to endure far too much for a teenager, and the scrutiny and condemnation had been overwhelming.
All he'd wanted was to live his life. And as he grew older, with the consequences and pain increasing to devastating levels…well. He'd never really had a chance.
So he hadn't tried to push himself, perhaps as his own kind of protection. He remembered Snape's jeers of him seeking fame and glory. The Slytherin's muttering of him thinking too highly of himself.
Had it been so wrong that he'd tried to subconsciously hide away in having fun with Ron?
No, it wasn't wrong. But it had been a waste.
And now, he had a rare chance to do it over.
To do it right.
To break the habits of a lifetime, and try.
He soon discovered that reading textbooks was not the best way for him to absorb information. Unlike Hermione, who retained an almost encyclopaedic memory, his brain didn't remember things the same way. The things he'd learned best had always been taught to him one on one, or spoken to him.
It was a struggle, trying to force himself to read and having the words make sense, but not…sense. It didn't click until someone read it out, or explained it.
And then he briefly, off-handedly, mentioned it in a letter home to Charlus and Dorea.
A few days later he found himself called to Professor Merrythought's Office.
"Hello Mr Potter," she beamed at him, her bright and bubbly face immediately reassuring him that no, he wasn't in trouble, "Come in, come in."
He walked in, giving her a small smile in return, and blinked in surprise at the sight of Dorea standing there, a warm smile on her lips.
"Harry," she greeted, her husky voice affectionate. For a moment she rocked on her toes like she'd meant to move forward, and then settled back, "You look well. Slytherin colours suit you. The green brings out your eyes."
"Uh, thanks," it was nice hearing that, "It's good to see you too, but, Dorea, what are you doing here? Is something wrong?"
"Oh no, dear boy," she instantly reassured him, "Nothing like that. Really you must learn that we're not here to cause you trouble."
He flushed.
Habits were hard to break…
"Sorry,"
"No apology needed," she waved it off, and smiled again, a small, soft, slightly sad smile, "I've been working on a solution to your problem."
He blinked at her, and she smiled as Professor Merrythought moved to join them.
"Tia here used to work the same way, and luckily for her, Charlus learned best by repeating what he learned out loud. He still does it now, you can hear him muttering all the time when he's in his lab."
The two women chuckled fondly, and Harry grinned. He'd heard Charlus muttering to himself before.
"Here," Tia handed him a book, "Open it to page one,"
Hesitantly Harry opened the book and suddenly he heard Dorea's voice say, "The Essential Guide to Wizarding Statutes: Volume 3." but when he looked up, her lips weren't moving, and the voice continued emanating from the book.
"We modified a memo charm," Tia murmured softly, "There are some limitations of course. If the text is handwritten it will only ever narrate it in the voice of the one who wrote it. Something about it, it resists forgery. I'm not sure of the intricacies of the magic. But if the text is from a printing press, well."
She gestured to Dorea who pulled out an object wrapped in dark green cloth and handed it to Harry. When he pulled aside the cover and picked it up he saw that it was a silver object that looked rather like a compass. When it opened however he heard a soft copy of Dorea's voice. "I, Dorea Potter, give full permission for Harry Potter, the owner of this Vestigium, to use the imprint contained within."
He looked up at them both, confused and curious, "Vestigium? Imprint?"
Tia nodded, "Often our bodies are conduits to some of the most powerful of magic." she gestured at her hair, "Polyjuice potion is a mild example. You take the form of the person but your magical signature, your essence remains the same. If they plucked a hair from your head during that time you were transformed, it would still be yours. Blood can be used in dark and powerful enchantments like wards. It's possibly where the idiotic Pure-blood notion came from, the linking of bloodlines to wards and such."
Dorea rolled her eyes at her, "In any case, often the only way to unlock such potential is with permission. Blood given willingly, is often far more potent, unless the spell is directly linked to the opposite."
Harry shuddered.
Tia continued, unaware of the unpleasant memory that had swept into his brain, "This is a Vestigium, it's a repository of imprints. In this case," she smiled fondly, "Voices."
Harry looked up at Dorea as she shrugged, "In case you'd prefer another voice, other than mine, dear one. You need permission to use a voice, to use another's imprint, unless it is of the darkest magic."
"Why do Polyjuice potions work then?" he asked quietly. "You don't need permission."
"No," Tia agreed, tapping her wand, a pleased smile on her lips, "But even the most experienced brewer can get no more than an hour or so from a single draught. However if one was to willingly give their hair or other imprint item… well."
"Willing polyjuice lasts for up to 24 hours Harry," Dorea murmured, and smiled at his surprise, "Quite a difference no? And there are theories that even that limitation is purely because it is an ingested vector. 'Tis the potion that wears off, not the imprint. Anyway, these devices, Vestigiums store imprints. Some clerks need them to affix seals to official letters and such. We tweaked it to store voices to read whatever texts you wish."
Tia cleared her throat, before gently taking back the Vestigium and resting it on a new book, swishing her wand " Vox Vestigium"
Nothing overtly happened, until she gave him back the silver compass and opened the book. Once again it started reading again in Dorea's soothing tones..
Harry eyed the Vestigium, impressed, "But what happens if someone steals it."
"It's keyed to you Harry," Dorea's cool hand lightly brushed his hair before withdrawing. "You touched it, and it's keyed to you. Even a polyjuice won't fool it.
Harry swallowed, it was clear both women had gone to a lot of trouble for this, "Thank you…" he mumbled, looking up at them again, "I really…."
Dorea's blue eyes had softened even more, and her smile wobbled a little, "Harry, it's my pleasure."
Tia nodded. "Same. You're a talented young Wizard, Harry. You have the potential to be incredible. And this will help you. On top of that, what you mentioned is that on top of remembering things said to you, you also prefer to learn by doing. The good news is that this is not uncommon, nor are you at all different for learning this way. Honestly people getting so parchment bound drives me absolutely-"
"Tia," Dorea chuckled, breaking her out of her tirade, and Harry grinned. He liked Professor Merrythought, and he knew that the others did too, including Tom. He was always more relaxed in her classes than others.
"Sorry," the Professor grinned warmly, "I like to ramble sometimes. Anyway, I would suggest you and your little band find a space and do your homework together. And by that I mean write your essays together, and the physical tasks too. And Harry, when I assign reading, by that I mean I want you to show me the technique. If you can show me it in the following class, I will consider the chapter read, not quiz you on the words. Do you understand?
"Yes," he hesitated, "I don't want any special treatment."
Professor Merrythought's gaze softened, "Nor would I ever treat you above and beyond any student, Harry. I will always offer help to any student that asks. You're here to learn, better do it the way that best suits you, yes? Now, pop that away and head off to dinner."
Touched, he tucked the Vestigium away, and only brought it out again much much later when he was in the Library with the others.
"This is an impressive bit of Magic." Tom murmured, fascinated, gazing at the Vestigium with open intrigue. Hermione's face mirrored his, and the two of them considered the device keenly.
Draco, who still avoided Tom where he could, turned to Harry, "Vestigiums are rare, and expensive, and this one is custom made. Your… they certainly care for you, to give you one like this."
"Not wrong," The Hufflepuff girl, Tierra agreed. She'd taken to joining them when they were in the Library and had lowered her book when he retrieved the Vestigium, "Identity theft is something many fear, so to give your essence to someone is a sign of great trust. Says a lot about how they trust you Harry, that your mother gave you such a gesture."
Harry's gut clenched at the word 'mother'. But he didn't correct her.
"Think of the applications…" Tom murmured, and there was a gleam in his dark indigo eyes that made Harry's already tense bones ache a little, "Fascinating."
Hermione shot a sharp look towards the dark haired boy.
Thankfully it was Tierra that responded, "It's all the applications that make it such a striking gift," and when the Slytherin looked up at her, she gave him a tiny smile, "It's value and its true potential lies in the trust. Such a powerful thing could be exploited, but she trusts Harry not to misuse her gift in such a way. That trust, and her consent makes it more powerful."
For a moment Harry wondered if Tom might scoff. He remembered Voldemort's scorn at attachment, affection…love…
But when he looked over at him, he saw him considering the Hufflepuff girl thoughtfully, "If the trust were broken, the gift misused…it would lose its value, and its power. I wonder if other magic adheres to this principle too."
"The whole study of magical vows suggests it does," Hermione pointed out, "But of course that takes it to the extreme."
Riddle's gaze turned even more thoughtful, while Tierra nodded, a small smile on her mouth, "Not to mention shielding and protection magic." When they all looked at her, she cocked her head to the side, "Sorry my family tend to err on the 'Old Magic' side. Many enchantments and such from that era were made more powerful by emotion. Specifically love."
"Love?" Riddle's lip curled, "Really Hawthorne?"
The Hufflepuff was unphased, "Sneer all you like Riddle, the facts are there. Much like many destructive and harmful spells are made stronger by hate, the converse is true."
"Love as a concept though," Riddle scoffed, "It's such a delusion. Such a weakness. How many powerful Wizards throughout history have been brought down by it? How could it ever be a strength?"
"Just as many have lost because their army, or followers, feared and hated them." Hermione remarked, "True loyalty comes from belief…and a small measure of love I think."
Riddle rolled his eyes and turned to Harry, "Women…"
Harry valiantly managed not to laugh, as the irony of him turning to Harry to back him up on the worthlessness of love was too much.
Still it would do him no good to join the others in the opposing view, so he shrugged, "I dunno mate. If it is actually that powerful, suppose it would need to be studied."
Tom's incredulity shifted, thoughtfulness taking over, and Draco ended up being the one to deftly steer the conversation away.
It was about a month into classes when trouble struck.
Tom and Hermione were tied, neck and neck, for their grades. Both were brilliant, leagues beyond anyone else, and where Hermione shrugged it off, choosing to be humble, eternally burying herself in more study, Tom walked with confidence, a proud tilt to his head.
Harry heard a couple of whispers from the older kids, particularly the Pure-Blood ones, muttering about his arrogance, and being put in his place.
But when he warned Tom, the other boy had brushed off his concerns, haughty and unphased.
"They're determined to underestimate both Hermione and me about our blood. No point hiding from them. It'll just make them more sure."
Still Harry's unease paled in comparison to what happened.
It was Sebastian that found Harry, coming in from the Grounds with Ron, Ross, Kara, Hermione, Draco, Tierra, Aurora and Druella.
The sunset had been spectacular and the last warmth of summer hung in the air. They'd stayed until it became dark, and all of them were relaxed and chatting happily. Tom and Sebastian had decided to stay in, work on an essay, and both of them had promised to join them. Neither had shown up.
Until Sebastian came charging up from the Dungeons, face pale but determined.
"Potter!" he called, his swift steps carrying him to the group, "Potter, they- Riddle."
"What-" Ross began to ask, but Harry cut him off.
"Riddle?"
"It's the fifth years." Sebastian stumbled over his words in his hurry to get them out, "Lestrange, Bulstrode, Parkinson…"
Harry's gut plummeted to his toes.
He remembered Ulvric Parkinson sneering at Tom.
"Where-" Druella barked at her twin.
"Classroom. We have to-"
"Show me." Harry commanded, and Sebastian nodded, turning on his heel and taking off again, Harry in tow.
He heard feet thundering behind him and knew that the whole group was with them.
It was a classroom down the hallway from the Common Room, close enough to swiftly pull someone in there, but not close enough that someone would hear something. It spoke of practice.
Harry felt fury sizzle through him.
"In there!" Sebastian pointed.
Without another word Ron lifted his wand, " Bombarda !"
The door exploded and Harry marched through, a spell ricocheting away from him as he did.
He turned his head, seeing Tierra with her wand raised, and the glimmer of a faint, gold, basic shield charm around them.
Then he looked back at the scene before him.
Tom was against the wall, white and shaking, tear tracks down his cheeks.
The six older boys in the room were now facing the intruders.
Harry didn't wait.
"Stupefy!"
The one nearest Riddle slumped to the ground as Parkinson whirled on them in a fury, "Little- you can't just."
"Petrificus totalus!" Hermione's spell hit him in the chest, sending him to the floor, stiff as a board.
The other four seemed to realise they meant business then and shield charms sprung up. A moment and then the fight was on in earnest.
Harry's blood sang in his veins, and for a moment he felt more like Potter the Auror again, rather than the first year that had become familiar.
He pressed the attack, feeling the others peeling into groups to fight the remaining four boys.
Druella and Sebastian were double teaming one of them, nasty little jinxes making the older boy jump back, before snarling and casting something advanced and nasty. In a flash Ron was there, and his spell blocked the curse, but stone chips flew through the air from the explosive impact.
Nearby Kara was duelling another with Ross, Draco backing them up as they pressed the advantage. He heard the fifth year shout 'filthy mudblood', before Kara's next spell blasted him into the wall.
Hermione and Aurora were fighting together, both of them pushing their target to his limits with more and more creative and nasty little spells. The Selwyn girl had a hard line to her mouth and Hermione, well Hermione was incandescent with fury.
He pitied that boy a bit.
But his own attention was taken with his own target. The leader.
Morgan Bulstrode.
Bulstrode's heavy face was curved in a cruel smirk as he began to cast curse after curse, advanced magic that was familiar and frightening, but he held his ground.
Beside him, Tierra backed him up.
She caught spells, cast shields and counter curses as Harry, seeing her focusing on defence, went on the attack. He stayed constantly in motion, as spells, advanced spells got through Tierra's inexperienced shields.
The girl was a first year student. She was doing her best, but she was outmatched. Especially since Morgan Bulstrode had a nasty streak a mile wild, sending a familiar, very dark cutting curse their way.
He had to end this.
He countered and pushed, forcing him to defend rather than attack the young girl's shields, until finally the older, sloppier boy gave him an opening.
"Expelliarmus!" he shouted, and felt a sharp surge of joy as the boy's wand soared into his hand.
Silence fell except for groans and panting breaths.
"Check Riddle," Harry murmured to Tierra, who nodded, hurrying over to their friend as Hermione and Ron moved to flank Harry, looking mussed and with cuts and bruises.
They were out of practice. Or they were just young.
Either way they'd done well against such older students. But right now, Harry was just angry. Angry that some fifteen and sixteen year old students had decided to target a young boy. A young boy beginning his magical journey. Talented, gifted, and likely more powerful than them.
A boy with a Muggle name.
He pressed his wand against Morgan's throat and saw his Adam's apple bob nervously.
"Potter…"
"I don't want to hear it." Harry growled, "What did you do to him?"
Morgan was sweating, despite his height and bulky build, he seemed to shrink now that he no longer had his wand in hand.
"Taught him a lesson. Potter you know how it is, your Family is pure-"
"Shut up!" Harry shouted, fingers almost going numb from how tightly he was gripping his wand.
"Harry-" Hermione whispered, voice low, "Harry."
Ron's hand rested on his shoulder for a moment and squeezed.
Slowly Harry lowered his wand.
Which of course was when Draco elected to punch Morgan in the nose, sending the boy sprawling to the floor with a wounded, high pitched, 'oof!'.
"So uncouth," the blond boy sneered, shaking out his hand and ignoring all three of them staring at him in utter and complete shock, "But strangely satisfying. I see the appeal, Granger."
Hermione's giggle was almost hysterical, as Harry facepalmed, a grin tugging up his lips despite himself.
Slowly he crouched beside the shocked boy, "Here's the story. You and your boys decided to practice dueling. One of them tripped you up, and you fell face first into a wall."
Ron barked a laugh behind him.
Morgan looked mutinous but then Harry leaned in, locking their gazes together.
"Breathe one word about this. Or touch Riddle again, and the next time we meet it will go even more badly for you."
Bulstrode swallowed, "He's a filthy-"
This time it was Ron who punched him, knocking him out cold.
"Malfoy's right." the red-head mused, to the stares of all their companions, "You're onto something there, Hermione."
Riddle was avoiding them.
It hurt.
Harry had quickly grown close to the other boy, drawn to him as much as Riddle was drawn to him in return. Their conversations were easy, and frankly interesting. He was reminded of talking to the diary, to watching all the memories, and the persistent feeling of familiarity and understanding.
He'd hated Voldemort, hated the man who'd chosen to kill his parents and try to murder him too. Hated the monster who murdered Cedric, who hurt so many.
Hated the loss of his life, even when he'd been the one to survive.
But he'd never hated Tom Riddle.
Tom Riddle was the child, the lonely, abandoned boy who had made all the terrible choices.
He wasn't inherently evil, even if he had a leaning towards control, manipulation, and mental warfare.
He'd rather thought they were becoming friends.
Now Riddle refused to speak to him.
He hung out with Abraxas, and Rexton, the latter of who had been furious that his older cousin had lured him away and then locked him in a closet. Neither knew the full truth of what had happened. None of them had wanted to tell them, and it seemed, neither did the boy in question. So the three stuck together as a trio.
Riddle avoided him.
"You're brooding,"
He looked up at the three girls who were watching him intently. One had soft blue green, one had golden amber, the other dark, fathomless brown eyes.
One was compassionate, one curious, and the other judgy.
He sighed.
"No I'm not,"
"Yes you are," Aurora laid down her book primly and gave him her whole attention, "Come on, spit it out and we'll sort it out. Your dark clouds are ruining my reading."
Hermione snickered and he gave her a betrayed look.
"Sorry Harry, but you do have a tendency to brood."
"I do not!" he was affronted, " Malfoy broods."
"Draco sulks," Aurora corrected, "Which is beside the point. Why are you brooding?"
He scowled at them, and turned back to his book, "None of your business."
"It's Tom, isn't it." Tierra's voice was soft, and he felt his gaze snap back up to her blue-green gaze, "It's because he's avoiding you, avoiding us."
"So you've seen it too!" Harry felt vindicated, until Hermione sighed at him, "What?"
"Oh Harry," she gave him that familiar, condescending look, "Isn't it obvious?"
"No?" he cocked his head.
"Well, the other day. And I'm not saying we did anything wrong, because we didn't but-"
Aurora rolled her eyes, "He's upset because we rescued him."
"Aurora!"
"What?" the Ravenclaw gave her her best deadpan look, "It's true."
"He didn't want to be rescued?" Harry glanced at Hermione and Tierra, "But-"
"Well, yes… but-" Hermione began, before Tierra gently interrupted.
"His pride is wounded."
"His pride?" Harry blinked at her, "What-"
"Come on Harry." Aurora scoffed at him, "You've seen how competitive he is. How brilliant. He's leagues ahead of any of you boys, apart from you when it comes to spellcasting. The only other one who comes close is Hermione here. And you both had to rescue him. He's embarrassed."
"But-" Harry blinked, "That's stupid!"
"Maybe," Tierra shrugged, "But I don't think Tom's used to people fighting his battles with him. I think he's used to being alone. Us seeing him that way…humbled. He's embarrassed."
Harry thought about it and slowly it began to make sense, "I don't see him any differently."
"I know that." Hermione gave him a small smile, "We just have to find a way to show him."
A few days later Harry sat himself down firmly in the seat beside Riddle at the Slytherin table as Hermione and Druella sat snugly on his other side.
Riddle's face immediately shuttered and he tried to stand.
"Tom," Hermione's voice was reproachful and he paused.
That hesitation was all that Harry needed to tug him back down.
"So," he said, locking his gaze on Tom's cold dark eyes, "What's the plan?"
"What plan?" Riddle asked slowly, glancing between them all, a small frown on his face.
Druella flashed him a wicked little grin back, as Hermione smirked. Slowly Tom looked back at Harry and he felt his own smile widen.
"What else? Retaliation."
For a moment Tom stared at him, face flickering through a gamut of emotions, before suddenly it settled on a slow, curling smile.
A big thank you to everyone who reviews. I don't think you guys know how much it helps me, and fuels this story and me continuing to write.
I really appreciate you.
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Reviews
Shiara - I mean despite aging back and regressing some emotionally, they were once adults. The traces of that maturity and what they had to go through would remain on them in this time. But I think you can still see the children they were. Or at least I hope so. Hermione was an unspeakable, Harry and Ron aurors. I don't think any of them took it easy after the war.
James Birdsong - Thank you, I'm glad you're enjoying.
amk41196 - We will. Just the others have been louder than him at the moment. I think he's waiting for the perfect moment, the diva. And yes they are far more assured, but that also makes them interesting...and even alluring no?
surya25addanki - Oh don't you worry! Harry definitely isn't window dressing. But he does like to go with the flow a little, which is why he's been quieter up until now. Hopefully this chapter scratched some of your Harry itch!
Sartel - Thank you. It's not the easiest thing, but I agree. I wanted it to be more of a all round exploration rather than one character. A single narrator is unreliable after all. Still I hope I don't get to a point where people dread reading a particular characters perspective!