Somebody Someone, Korn

I can't stand to let you win
I'm just watching you
And I don't know what to do
Feeling like a fool inside
Feeling all the love you hide
Thought you were my friend

Seems it never ends

I need somebody, someone
Can't somebody help me?
All I need is to be
Loved just for me

Giving you with this and that
Giving gave nothing back
It's all related to
All the things I do
Feeling like a fool inside
Seeing all the things you tried
I am nothing


Nagini woke him, shaking his shoulders. He'd been drooling on the wood, so he wiped it away with his sleeve, embarrassed. She grinned at him, eyes glittering. Sunlight was streaming in through the large window, at least nine in the morning. The Dark Lord was gone, as were the letters.

"Can we talk here?" Tom asked in Parseltongue. She shook her head, still smiling as she dragged him out of his seat, mostly with his help.

She led him out through the entry room, the manor empty. Despite sleeping upright with his face planted on a table, he couldn't remember the last time he'd felt as well rested.

"Did I talk in my sleep?" Tom asked as they walked the white gravel path.

"No," she said in English.

Harry released a relieved breath while Tom took mental inventory, falling quiet.

'I feel really good,' he thought, almost frowning. Tom didn't answer, and Harry felt watched in his mind as they stopped at the gate.

"How is it going? He… Caught me in his head. I don't know if he told you," Harry asked.

"He is sleeping more. Eating. Not drinking. He hasn't asked for my magic. But he keeps the information to himself, lately. I think… This is going well. He does not like that it's going well. Try not to anger him," she shook her head as she spoke.

"He makes that difficult," he said.

"He is in pain. In his head." She was walking backwards, away from him, "You're late."

"Yeah," he said, more to himself as he exited the wards and Disapparated.

He passed the gathering of Death Eaters at the uneven wooden bridge, another group in the clock tower courtyard, and more in the clock tower proper. He didn't go to class; he didn't even know what he had. Instead, he cut through the defence tower to get to the dozens of staircases that led to his room.

He showered and changed into the Nurmengard gear, Tom deciding it was best to be ready. Harry felt like his Gryffindor uniform had grown bizarre, and his new robes were stranger still.

"Is it lingering more for you? Because I feel pretty neat," Harry repeated. Then, he summoned Dobby and requested breakfast.

'You have said,' Tom thought, and again he felt observed.

The elf vanished after clicking his fingers and summoning eggs, bacon, and toast with a jug of orange juice.

"What?" Harry asked.

'Eat.'

He did as he was told but didn't stop questioning, "What? Why are you being all… Weird," he gestured at nothing.

"Everything is fine," Tom said in Parseltongue, not answering his question.

"And?"

Tom smiled before he forced it away.

"…Right," Harry poured a juice.

"Your first Death Eater meeting incurred no casualties," Tom said, feeling like a distraction.

"Yeah, and why are you being odd?" He asked.

"You tell me."

"What?"

"I have genuinely no idea how you do it." Tom thought.

"Do what?"

"It is like there is a hole in your brain. Where does it go? Mystifying."

"What are you talking about?" He'd put down his juice, thoroughly confused.

"Tell me, Harry, your perspective of last night. Recount the events."

"…Why?"

"Humour me." He was fighting another grin.

"Er, okay, we went; Crouch was a twat; there was lots of talking about plans. Everyone left; Voldemort told us he wanted to put some new professors in the school; he touched our arm, then he read some letters, and I fell asleep."

"Amazing, thank you." He did smirk then.

"What?" Harry repeated, fighting the smile into a frown aimed at the remainder of his toast.

Tom didn't say anything, making Harry uncomfortable.

"What? Just because I said… It does something to me. When he touches us- you know it does. I don't feel the same when- and he looks like you, so."

"Of course."

"Don't say it like that."

"Of course," Tom didn't smile again, but he felt it in his cheeks.

"Piss off." He scooped up his bag to check the map.

Students were moving through the halls, heading for their second classes. He checked what he had and instantly knew he wasn't attending History of Magic. He decided to run instead.


'Skeeter tomorrow,' Harry thought. He'd stayed outside into the lunch hour.

He'd picked a secluded spot, away from the Death Eaters and everyone else, but as the students released for the break, two Ravenclaws and a Hufflepuff—first or second years, were beating a fake Bludger nearby as he sat against a tree.

'Excellent,' Tom looked away from the probably second years.

'Would he be mad if we attacked her?'

'You know the answer to that.'

'Yeah, fun idea. Scaring her is an option, though, right?' Harry dug his heel in the dirt and watched some crows fight over something in the fallen leaves.

'It would be a shame if we did not at least frighten her.'

'What if we got her after she asked questions? She gets her interview; we get to-'

'Torture her, Harry?'

He paused his thoughts to examine them, shaking his head, 'No, I didn't say torture-'

'Just some physical harm?'

'Well, yeah-'

"Hey, can you throw that over?" One of the kids called, and Harry looked back at the Bludger they'd been batting, not far away.

As his hand touched the leather, the pull of a Portkey triggered a rush of adrenaline; the blurred image of the three children running away warped. He was already trying to cast as he landed in a concrete room surrounded by people. They were ready; multiple stunners hit him directly in the head. He toppled onto his back, his limbs stiff. Still, they fought to summon the darkness, snaking it weakly from his skin and earning more stuns, greying his vision.

He could see some of them, recognised none. They forced chains onto his wrists, metal shackles that almost cut into his skin. Several potions were forced down his throat, guided with magic by a stranger, his eyes blazing with rage. He knew the taste of Calming Draughts, and they gave him seven. The eighth was colourless, flavourless, and, according to Tom, a near-lethal dose of Veritaserum.

"Is she here yet? Did they make it out?" Lupin.

'The Order. Why would you touch a random object thrown at you?!'

'It was a fucking ball, Tom. Some twelve-year-olds threw it.'

The draughts felt like they'd done nearly nothing as his heart hammered, suffering whiplash and fighting the stuns.

Remus's face appeared before him, significantly aged, his frown lines deep. Harry could do nothing but flare his nostrils and narrow his eyes.

"Harry… What's happened to you," he said. He pulled up Harry's right sleeve as though he knew what he was looking for and made a sad noise, not quite a sob.

"Remus, she's here," another voice said. Then he heard Hermione talking to someone else as she entered, but it was too quiet for him to make out.

Lupin stepped back, and Rennervated him. Instantly, he reacted, whipped to his feet and tried to explode, only to find that his magic didn't respond.

"Everyone, please, give us the room," Lupin said, and the gaggle of strangers cleared as Harry blinked at his restraints.

He couldn't reach Hermione or Remus, nor could he cast anything, even an attempted possibly suicidal close-quarters Bombarda.

"What is happening?" He stared at his hands, fury and confusion making them unreal.

"Has he been given the potions?" Hermione asked, pulling a notebook from her pocket.

"What is this?" He repeated, looking from her to him, tugging the chains, first in disbelief, then in earnest.

"Yes. Too much, in my opinion," Lupin said.

"Professor Dumbledore said that he was a powerful occlumencer. Veritaserum can be resisted. I have my questions," she held up the book and narrowed her eyes at Harry.

'Is that true? Did they give us too much to resist?' He wondered, panic joining the fury.

"Harry, was Avrom Dermot Voldemort?"

Sneering, he looked up at her and said, "…Yes."

Lupin's mouth dropped open while Hermione pressed on, "Are you a Death Eater of your own free will?"

"I—don't—know," he had begun to lean heavily against his restraints, not facing her as he tried uselessly to yank the chains free from the wall.

"Did you kill Ron?"

He spun and screamed at her, "No! Why would I kill my best friend you stupid bitch let me out! Let me OUT!"

"…Hermione," Lupin said, and she ignored them both.

"Who did?"

"Someone—at the—Ministry," both he and Tom were struggling to clamp his mouth shut, to no avail.

His face felt insane as he fought, his heartbeat painful as they tried to form a plan amidst a torrent of adrenaline and Veritaserum.

"At the Ministry? What? When was he in the Ministry?"

"With—Sirius—" Every word was like removing teeth.

"What? With Sirius? Remus?"

'I am going to do something now. We do not have another choice.' Tom didn't wait for him to respond, pulling the thread that bound them to the Dark Lord, his relief tangible that they were still capable. At first, they were rejected with force, but Tom persisted, hammering like a woodpecker until Voldemort relented.

When he did, Tom pulled him without a word into Harry's head.

He looked down at the shackles, then up at the people in the room, as Tom rapidly thought at the Dark Lord.

'Our magic is not responding. And Veritaserum. Too much. I cannot—'

Voldemort immediately moved to strengthen their Occlumency, winding the silver thread within Tom's shields, eradicating the compulsion to answer her and subduing some of his panic.

'What have you done.'The Dark Lord demanded.

"What does that mean, in the Ministry with Sirius? Harry?" Hermione asked. He blinked at her.

Tom showed Voldemort the memory of the Bludger and felt white hot rage in his skull in response.

"Did you send those children to endanger their lives, Granger?" Tom asked.

"…What? Remus, how much did you say they gave him?"

"Too much, Hermione. I won't give him more." He frowned at both of them.

"Answer me, what do you mean with Sirius? He died over a year ago; what do you mean?"

Tom sat down cross-legged on the concrete floor and glared at her.

"Why did it stop working?! What was the dose?" She asked again.

"…Hermione, maybe it's time for a break—"

She shocked Harry when she stepped forward and tried to kick him. She didn't surprise Tom, who caught her leg and pulled her off her feet onto her back with force. She yelped on impact, gagged for breath, and tried to roll, but he dragged her in and went for the throat, squeezing until he was stunned again.

Remus got her to her feet while she gasped, looking at him with wide eyes while he glared from the floor.

Lupin guided her out while she held her chest and neck, sobbing.

The Dark Lord was still in his head when the stunner wore off. Tom took in the room, a blank space with a mattress on the floor and a toilet in the corner. Bars in front of a wall with a door. Chained between the bed and the toilet, unable to reach the midpoint of his small, barred area.

'You will alert me when they return to question you,' Voldemort told him. 'Otherwise, you will allow access to your mind.'

They gave an affirmative, and then he was gone.

'Tom.'

'Harry.'

'What do we do?' He could tell he was struggling to find an immediate solution, and his question triggered little more than rage as they pulled at the chains again.

Tom tried to move the mattress and found it firmly stuck, with no blankets or pillows.

'…they know he died at the Ministry,' Harry thought, pacing as far as his bindings allowed and rattling them as he went.

Tom yanked again as though it would help. As soon as they heard the door handle—what felt like less than half an hour later—they were both scrambling for the thread. The Dark Lord had been waiting and slammed back into their head the instant they made contact, strengthening their Occlumency with the softness of a train crash.

Lupin had returned with Mad-Eye. Moody looked him up and down several times, his magic eye swirling in his head. His mouth was downturned, and he gripped his cane with white knuckles.

"Do you see anything? Enchantments, spells, curses, the Imperius, anything?" Lupin asked.

"His robes are finely enchanted, Remus. But the rest of him… Nothing."

"…There has to be something, Alastor… Harry, please, this doesn't make sense," Lupin was holding the bars and openly heartbroken.

Harry forced his eyes away, guilt washing through him.

'Don't. I don't want to hear it,' he snapped at Tom in his head when he averted his gaze.

'I was not going to say anything.'

"Where is he keeping Minerva, Hagrid, and Filius?" Moody snapped at him.

Tom looked up at Mad-Eye slowly and deliberately.

'Look, he has us mistaken for someone who knows anything,' Harry thought bitterly as he sat down on the concrete, not breaking eye contact.

'A mistake, clearly,' Tom thought.

"How much did you say they gave him?" Moody asked Remus, who shook his head.

"If you want to kill him, give him another dose."

Mad-Eye used his cane to tap Lupin on the shoulder, "Something more to this. I'll leave him with you and make some inquiries." He was out the door as he spoke.

"Harry, what has he done to you?"

Tom reacted, locking eyes with the werewolf, "What has he done to me?"

"What has he done to me?" Harry repeated, then scoffed, "What did Dumbledore do to me? What are you doing?"

'Stop speaking,' Voldemort warned, and Tom shut their mouth.

"What do you mean, Dumbledore?" Remus asked, and Tom returned to quietly glaring.

"Harry, this isn't over; you mustn't give up. I know you may feel things have gone too far, but those Horcruxes are out there, and we're still fighting-"

He hadn't said anything, but the look on his face stopped Lupin. Somewhere between shame and malice.

"We'll get you through this, Harry," Remus seemed to be reassuring himself as he left him.

'How did Granger get out of the school? She was not reported leaving. Several students are missing. There are no remaining secret passages,' the Dark Lord asked.

'…Look, he has us mistaken for someone who-'

'Do not,' Tom and Voldemort thought at the same time.

There was an awkward silence in his head, where he and Tom waited for the Dark Lord to leave. When he didn't, Harry's thoughts spilled out anyway.

'What's the damage if I yank my hands out?'

'They are tight. Arteries are a concern. Nerve damage. Bone breakage.'

'So, I couldn't move or feel them?'

'No. We could still fight, though we are severely outnumbered. You have a penchant for losing consciousness,' Tom thought.

He tugged at the chains, though he'd abandoned the idea.

'Not just me passing out. My brain was falling out of my head,' he thought, 'What's your plan then?'

Harry had asked Tom, but it was Voldemort who answered:

'I am in the process of taking all suspected Order members into custody. They will be questioned. You will stay alert.' He vanished from his head, and they were alone in the cell.


The Calming Draughts wore off not long before the Veritaserum, and he'd been left to seethe, growing progressively more enraged as the hours ticked by. He had no way to tell the time; his room was lit by fluorescent bulbs and had no windows.

He'd been sitting against the wall, on the mattress, waiting. He was tired, so he guessed it was late. As the door creaked open, Tom sprang for the thread, pulling the Dark Lord in as Hermione, Seamus, and Lavender entered, whispering until Hermione closed the door and silenced the room.

"Are you sure he can't hurt us? Is this a good idea?" Lavender asked as Hermione opened the barred door, wand in hand.

"He can't hurt us with magic, but don't… Get close," she said. "We need to consider that it was a bad batch of Veritaserum."

Finnigan seemed gleeful to see him in chains, and Harry's hands twitched. Voldemort had strengthened their defence, so he wasn't concerned about another dose of the potion. He was worried about his well-brewed fury. They stunned him as he'd expected. Hermione was the one to administer the dose, and he didn't blink or look away from her as she stepped back.

Before she removed the stun, Seamus kicked him twice in the side, yelling that Harry wasn't so tough now, was he? He was trying to land a third when Hermione shoved him back.

"Stop it! Either you're here, or you're not!" She snapped at Seamus.

She removed the stun, and Harry refused to make a sound in response to the pain blooming in his probably broken ribs.

Tom sat up slowly, eyes still on Hermione, expressionless. "If I were not in these chains, I would kill you," he said.

Harry found he agreed. That he would let him. That he might even assist if the need arose.

Seamus moved to hit him again, but Hermione stepped in the way. Lavender had sequestered herself on the other side of the bars, crying.

"What happened at the Ministry?" Hermione asked, spinning on him, eyes wild.

'I'm gonna lie,' he thought.

'I assumed.'

"Sirius died."

"There was something else, I know it. And you said that Ron- that he died there?"

'Help,' Harry immediately thought.

"I attempted the Cruciatus Curse on Bellatrix Lestrange. It did not work," Tom said. "I do not know how Ron died."

"But you said," she insisted.

"A bad batch of Veritaserum." Tom gripped the chains in both hands, his tongue between his teeth. The pain in his ribs brought rage, clarity, pleasure, and shame—because he wasn't alone in his head.

"…Hermione, can we go? We shouldn't be in here; we're gonna get in trouble for-" Lavender tried.

"Why was Ginny with you? At Skulmadras?" She ignored her.

"She was not with me."

"Yes, she was there are photos everywhere."

"She came with another group. I do not know her reasons."

"Another group as in- as in those necro- necromancers…"

'Great. Look at her face.' Harry thought because he could see her realising.

"She's… Ginny is-" She opened her mouth and left it there.

'If I pulled my hands out real quick? Really fast? Like how long would it take me? And then we just proper blow the roof right off?' Harry thought rapidly, looking at his wrists again.

'Too long.'

"And Ron…" She seemed to be piecing that puzzle together as well. "If he died at the Ministry—then she… What!?"

He narrowed his eyes at her while he tried to control his breathing, Tom willing them to move within his range.

"Was Ginny… Keeping him," she gestured wildly, "Animated?"

"That's foul," Seamus said, and Lavender wailed.

"I don't know," Harry forced out.

"How can you be sure the potion is working?" Seamus asked.

"I can't.' Tears streamed down her face.

"Let's just go, please, can we go? Who knows how long they'll be knocked out for-"

"Lavender shut up," Finnigan said.

"What were you doing in the Room of Requirement?" Hermione pressed on.

"The Slytherins kidnapped me. A door in the Room of Requirement leads to an abandoned house in Hogsmeade. Some Death Eaters took me to Voldemort. After that, we met every two weeks to discuss our dastardly plans for world domination," Harry said.

Hermione was furiously scribbling in her notebook, though they'd find none of what he was talking about.

"So, when you said they weren't up to something," he continued, "You were being a fucking idiot. Now get out. Get OUT!" He stood up, suddenly unable to contain it, desperate for her to be within head-butting range. He pulled against the chains to get a few more inches, still not enough to bite her face. He earned himself nothing more than another rush of agony, causing a rage and pain-fuelled erection that made him angrier.

Lavender stumbled to do as she was told, yanking the creaky door open and leaving her friends behind. Hermione pulled Seamus out by his arm, crying and clutching her notebook.

Voldemort had watched the entire altercation, and when the door closed, he disappeared from Harry's mind.

He paced repeatedly, shaking his head as though he could dislodge the fury.


(AN: The chains are, of course, a flagrant rip off of the manacles in Manacled by SenLinYu. It's a compliment; I consider them Canon, don't me xx)