Chapter 5: Faking your own Death, Chosen One Edition
A few days later, Harry could tell the old goat had likely stuck his nose in once more where it didn't belong when he was cornered in the common room by Weasley and Granger. Things had gone rather peacefully for the raven over the previous days and he had even made more headway in befriending Draco after explaining what had led to him being absent for half of their last potion lesson. The blonde now sometimes walked with Harry to their shared classes, talking about their homework, quidditch, and other topics on the way. So of course, it only made sense that now his two ex-best friends would decide to disrupt that peace because why should the Boy Who Lived ever enjoy a moment free of stress. He was convinced he had to have done something terrible in a previous life or something for all the trouble he managed to find himself in.
"Harry, we need to talk." Hermione led the start of the conversation with Ron standing behind her, arms crossed, his mouth set in a tight frown. Harry assumed the ginger was hoping to look intimidating, but the raven thought he looked more like he had eaten to many lemon drops. "Ron and I have tried giving you your space to have this little temper tantrum of yours, but enough is enough. It doesn't matter if you lied anymore or not, we're willing to let it go if you just apologize for your behavior as of late." The bushy haired witch proclaimed haughtily, Ron nodding his agreement behind her. "And stop hanging around with that prat Malfoy." Ron tacked on.
Harry glanced between the two Gryffindors before finally laughing in their faces. "Apologize for my behavior? You must be joking." He deadpanned when his laughter died down, watching both their faces flush crimson. "I told you both the truth, but you both were more willing to believe that I enjoy nearly dying every year!" He snapped at them, feeling his magic flare a bit around him. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have better things to do than listen to you two demand an apology that will never happen." With that he pushed his way past them and headed for the portrait hole.
He was growing tired of needing to defend himself from everyone around him. The taunting and jeers growing worse as they got closer to the next task. Many were unhappy with the fact he and Cedric were currently tied for first place, especially Hufflepuff house. He was beginning to look forward to disappearing from this bloody castle at the end of the final task.
As he was rounding a corridor, he heard a voice call out to him, "Potter!" The raven turned to see Draco striding towards him with Vincient Crabbe, Gregory Goyle, and Theodore Nott following behind him looking a bit uncertain. "Good morning to you too, Draco." The raven snarked, eyeing the three Slytherins behind the blonde. This was the first time the blonde had approached him with any of the other members of his house. "Yes, yes, good morning. What are you doing during your free period after Transfiguration?" The blonde huffed, already getting used to dealing with the Gryffindor's sass. Harry regarded the other a bit warily, unsure where this was going. "Nothing important, why?" Draco nodded approvingly, "Then I'd like to invite you to come study with us in the library." He glanced behind the blonde at the others, trying to gauge if they were only obliging the Malfoy heir or if they were actually interested in hanging out with him. "We don't mind you joining if that's why you're staring at us like that." Nott piped up, seeming to feel a bit uncomfortable at the stare. "Honestly Potter, we're just inviting you to study. Not sacrificing you to the dark lord" Draco smirked a bit at the raven's hesitation and Harry couldn't hold back a snort. Oh, if only the boy knew that the Gryffindor had basically sacrificed himself to the dark lord already.
"I guess since I don't have anything better to do Draco, but I have a condition." The lion grinned, holding up a single finger. "I've stopped calling you Malfoy can you please stop calling me Potter?" The blonde seemed to consider his request before nodding once in agreement. "Fine Pot…Harry." He corrected himself, nose scrunching a bit. "See that wasn't so hard now, was it?" He teased, receiving a deadpan look from the blonde in return. "Yes, it might actually kill me." He drawled out, but a small smirk covered his face after. Their banter back and forth seemed to put the other Slytherins a bit more at ease around the lion. "Well, if you're not too busy dying from trying to be nice, would you like to join me for breakfast before classes start?" He turned away and began moving towards the Great Hall once more.
The Slytherins fell into step with him and although it was a bit strange it wasn't entirely unpleasant. A small smile grew on his face as he and Draco chatted about quidditch with Nott joining in occasionally while Crabbe and Goyle talked about the homework that Snape had assigned the previous night. He may not know them well yet, but it was nice to be around people who weren't sneering at him.
Upon reaching the Great Hall he started to split off from the Slytherins, but Draco grabbed his sleeve and tugged him along towards Slytherin table. "Draco what are you doing?" The blonde huffed, turning to look at the raven. "House division of tables was suspended for the duration of the tournament Harry. I'd like you to sit with us." Harry had forgotten about that, not that any of the other houses would have wanted to sit with him anyway. He followed the other teens and found himself sitting between Draco and Nott at the table, a few of the other house members glancing at them but quickly returning to their previous conversations.
The four around him began adding food to their plates and Harry took up his usual routine of nibbling at a piece of toast. He let the conversation flow around him until he finished his toast, listening to the boys discuss the classes they hoped to take the following year. "Harry surely you're planning on eating more than that right?" Draco suddenly asked, having observed the raven eating a single piece of toast and making no move to grab anything else. "I don't eat very much in the mornings." He shrugged, technically it wasn't a lie but the raven didn't each much period. He was fairly certain it had something to do with his lack of food growing up, but his stomach didn't handle regular amounts of food well.
The blonde seemed a bit skeptical but allowed the subject to drop. Nott picked up by turning towards the raven, "So Potter, what classes are you planning to try and take next year?" He was a bit unprepared for the question honestly, he was never sure how his years at Hogwarts would go so he didn't often plan ahead to the next one. "Please just call me Harry. I'm not really sure, something always happens during the school year so I haven't really been planning ahead. Mostly just trying not to die I guess." He admitted sheepishly, drawing surprised laughs from the Slytherins. "Bloody Hell Harry, that's a bit morbid." Goyle remarked, the others nodding in agreement with him.
As they all finished up eating, Harry parted ways with them as they headed for their first lessons of the day, promising to meet them at the library entrance during their free period. He managed to pay some attention in his classes but was distracted with jeers and whispered taunts from some of the Hufflepuffs. He did his best to ignore them and continued on with his day, but by the time he was due to meet the Slytherins in the library he was thoroughly annoyed. More so when he was grabbed by his arms on his way there and pulled into an alcove.
He was met with the sight of the Weasley twins and regarded them both wearily. He hadn't really spoken to any of the of the other Weasley's since his falling out with Ron. "Heya Harry." George began leaning his arm on Fred's shoulder, "We need to talk to you about something important." Fred finished for his twin, making Harry raise an eyebrow at them both. "We overheard ickle little Ronikins and Granger planning to corner you and hex you. Something about an attitude and having already cornered you in the common room this morning." George and Fred both wore twin smirks, "We confirmed that last part with some of the other Gryffindors. And well we decided we couldn't let that happen." Fred finished for them, "How do I know you're not in on it?" Harry asked directly, true he may have had a close relationship with the twins before but he wouldn't assume that they would side against their sibling.
"Our younger siblings and mother may have their heads up their arse but give us some credit Harrykins." They answered in unison, "We know you didn't put your name in the goblet. We also know that you've been spending more time with a certain Slytherin. We trust your judgement though." They continued together and he felt that they were both being sincere. He paused for a few moments letting his eyes flick between the twin gingers, both meeting his stare straight on but remaining quiet while he considered their information. "Alright, I believe you both, I was just on my way to meet Draco and a few others in the library. I'll make sure to avoid being alone for the time being to cut off their chances of cornering me." He finally sighed, deciding he would need to talk to the Malfoy heir about this new problem. Ultimately, the Slytherins couldn't be with him at all times either and he knew that, but maybe they could figure something out.
"Oh, Harrykins you've gone as mad as Moody if you think were about to let you go there alone." The twins grinned, each grabbing an arm and pulling the smaller lion in the direction of the library. Harry wasn't sure how the Slytherins would react to the two older Weasley's joining the gathering but he was sure that chaos was about to ensue.
"Harry, I was beginning to think you stood us up." Draco commented boredly, but a questioning eyebrow went up when he noticed the two twins on each side of the raven. "Fred and George caught me on my way here. Granger and Ronald are apparently making plans to ambush me and something about correcting my attitude." Harry cut to the chase to give the Malfoy heir his new current predicament. "That attitude can be corrected? I assumed it was permanent." The blonde teased, but quickly turned serious a moment later. He shot a distrustful look at both twins, before returning his eyes to Harry. "And you trust them?" The raven nodded a confirmation, "They have no reason to lie to me. Although I could always ask for a magical oath if you're still hesitant." Harry was capable of casting the magic himself and if they refused the oath then he would have his answer anyway. He shot a look of his own at the twins, both regarded him with serious faces and held out a hand.
Harry locked hands with Fred first, "I, Harry James Potter, swear that I am loyal to the side I believe to be morally in the right." The magical bond began to twist around their hands, "I Fred Weasley, swear that I am loyal to one Harry James Potter and trust him to fight for what he believes to be right. I also swear that we are telling the truth about Ronald and Granger." He met Harry's eyes during the last part "So mote it be." Harry repeated the process a few moments later with George. It seemed both the Weasley twins were loyal to Harry himself, not the light or the dark side.
Upon finishing the oaths, he returned his attention to the Slytherins at the table, gaining a look of approval from Draco. "Fine they may join us, we'll need to try and avoid you being on your own as much as possible until we decide what to do about the Weasel and Granger. Having them be able to keep an eye on you will be useful." He sighed heavily as they all settled into the table. Harry felt a stab of guilt when he realized that he would be leaving all of these people to think him dead in a few weeks, telling them put his and Tom's plan at risk if Dumbledore saw any of their memories.
He was unsure if he would be able to reveal to them later that he was still alive or how long that would take, moreover he imagined they wouldn't be very happy with him having deceived them all. He was fairly certain that at least Draco's father was part of Tom's inner circle of Death Eaters, but with Draco still returning to school and being under Dumbledore's eyes he knew he would likely still have to keep the Malfoy heir in the dark. He would have to hope when the time finally came that he could reveal the truth that they wouldn't all be too upset with him.
His days leading up to the final task had been rather draining. The twins and Slytherins had done their best to make sure someone was always with Harry on his walks around the castle and he had taken to staying out of the dorm until everyone had fallen asleep and leaving before anyone awoke. So far, they had done very well in avoiding any incidents. Even Barty had kept an eye on him after the raven informed him of the conversation with Dumbledore and the potential threat of his ex-friends.
He met with Barty the morning of the final task and the older wizard was able to provide him a rough idea of what the maze's design was to be. He told the raven that the cup had already been turned into a portkey and that when Harry grabbed it, he need only say the word "Home" to activate it. As the task was set to take place later in the evening, that left the young lion all morning to worry about everything that could go wrong. It was for that reason that halfway through his second class he found himself hesitantly pulling the small diary out and penning down a single word.
'Tom?'
'Yes Harry?'
The raven was a bit surprised at the near immediate response, but also incredibly grateful.
'I'm nervous.'
As soon as the ink disappeared from the page, he felt a bit foolish. The older wizard likely had many more important things to do than listening to Harry talk about being nervous. After all, he was the one performing a complex dark ritual later, not Harry.
'Erm never mind Tom, sorry my nerves are just getting to me a bit. I'm sure you're busy with other things. I'll see you this evening.'
He quickly scribbled down an apology, mentally kicking himself for writing something so weak to the dark lord. He needed the man to believe him capable and here he was acting like, like, well like a child he supposed. He quickly tucked the diary away in his robes and buried his head in his arms, feeling both guilt and shame. He couldn't explain why, but he was already beginning to feel trust for the other wizard and for some reason he trusted the man to speak honestly with him which made him feel comfortable opening up a bit. He would have to nip that quickly, while they made need to trust each other for this alliance to work he doubted the man wanted to listen to him talk about his feelings. No, they were allies, but the dark lord was known for despising weakness. Harry very much doubted they would ever be anything close to friends, he couldn't explain why that thought brought for a pang of sadness in him either.
Tom's P.O.V.
Tom had been able to secure the body they needed for the transformation ritual rather easily. He had just been double-checking the book to ensure everything was in proper order when he had seen the flash of light from the little diary on his desk.
He was not surprised when he saw that Harry was feeling on edge about their plan, even he knew that there were a number of things that could go wrong and any of them could mean extremely terrible consequences for both wizards. What did surprise him was that the Gryffindor was choosing to confide those worries in the dark lord himself. Tom had never really had friends during his time at school, even then he had mostly had followers. Sure a few of them may have been privy to seeing a more accurate side of Tom than the rest, but he didn't share secrets with them or talk about his desires or dreams with them. Even now that was still mostly true, he would occasionally seek council from Lucius or Severus when he was divided on how to approach a situation, but both men were still not people he would confide secrets to.
He could admit the little Gryffindor was more interesting than the majority of people Tom had encountered in his life and he did enjoy discussing magic with the small wizard, but he wasn't certain how much further that could go. He certainly wouldn't be confiding secrets or fears or any of that other nonsense that friends typically shared to the boy, but he found that he didn't mind if the boy wanted to confide in him. True the dark lord had lived with very muted emotions during his stint of insanity while his soul had been split so the boy may not find him to be the most helpful in that area.
He was more surprised to see Harry's last response in the diary while he had been thinking, that was twice the raven had backtracked after having written to him about something. He had already made his conclusion the first time , but this confirmed his initial thoughts on the matter. The boy was too selfless for his own good, he cared more about being a burden to those around him than he did about having his own needs met. That was something Tom would have to work on once the Gryffindor resided in his manor and if he could maybe figure out what had caused it.
He dipped a quill in an ink pot on his desk and decided now was as good a time as any to begin correcting this behavior.
'Harry. You are my ally and I need you to be comfortable expressing these thoughts to me. You care far too much about possibly inconveniencing others when they have not expressed that sentiment at all. You are not wrong to feel nervous about what we plan to do today, I would be far more concerned if you were not. What we are doing has many complex parts and any of them going wrong could lead to this plan failing. That being said, I would like you to put your trust in me that I will ensure nothing goes wrong with the ritual. Just as I am trusting you to complete the maze and get to the portkey. I have seen firsthand that you are cunning and resourceful, personally I feel you would have made a better Slytherin than a Gryffindor, but I assume that headstrongness and fearlessness of yours is what led it to be otherwise. From my understanding when you encountered my diary you faced down a sixty-foot Basilisk and killed it, forgive me if I find a maze to less than a challenge for you after a feat like that. Not to mention arranging a meeting with supposedly the darkest wizard of the last century and someone you believed still wished you dead at the time.'
As he finished writing he shook his head slightly, perhaps some praise and reminder of his past accomplishments would do the boy some good to calm him down. Considering everything the raven had experienced since his first year, the dark lord did find the maze to be incredibly underwhelming, especially with the other having an advanced preview of what it would look like. The boy was only sixteen though and there was a lot of pressure currently resting on whether or not they could pull this off and fool the old goat. He was pulled from his thoughts when the diary alerted him to a new reply from Harry.
'Thank you, Tom, I do trust you. Funnily enough the hat tried to convince me to go to Slytherin, but I begged it to reconsider because I was afraid of being seen as a dark wizard. How ironic considering what I'm about to do.'
The raven had shocked him once again with that piece of information, he would certainly have to question the boy further about that in person. He had never heard of anyone requesting the sorting hat to change its mind, nor the hat listening to them if they had. Very curious indeed. He considered leaving Harry's message unanswered, but decided one final reply to set the boy's nerves at ease likely wouldn't be unappreciated.
'You're welcome, Harry. I am glad to hear that you trust me, although we will definitely be having a conversation about your sorting results once you are settled into the manner. I can't say I've ever heard of someone changing the hat's mind and I'm very interested to know what did. Now then I have final preparations here and you have a task to get ready for, I will see you safe and sound in Riddle Manor this evening.'
With that final answer he returned the diary to its place and gathered up the ritual book and ingredients. If he was correct the final task should begin within the next hour and a half. He would need this time to perform the ritual and ensure there were no inconsistencies with the body double. There was no time for dillydallying when this was the first step to bringing that old fool down and failure absolutely was not an option.
Harry's P.O.V.
Harry's conversation with Tom had done wonders for his nerves about their plan. He was currently readying himself for the final task which he would need to report for soon. As he finished putting on the champion's uniform and descended the staircase, he saw the twins waiting for him at the foot. "Heya Harry! You ready?" They asked in unison, both taking up a position on either side of him, this had become their regular formation. "Ready as I'll ever be I suppose." He gave a weak smile to them, guilt stabbing through him as he once again realized he was about to have to deceive all of his friends. To allow them all to believe him dead.
Upon exiting the portrait hole, they were joined by the quartet of Slytherins. "How are you feeling Harry?" Draco questioned, a glimmer of concern in silver eyes. "Nervous and like I wish I didn't have to do this." He answered honestly, he knew no one present would judge him for that. "You'll be alright Harry, you're on par with if not ahead of those fourth years in your charms knowledge and Defense." Theo clapped him on the shoulder with a reassuring smile. Over their study sessions the last few weeks all of the Slytherins had come to insist if they were expected to call him Harry then he should refer to them by their first names like he did Draco.
He hadn't expected to grow as close with the other three Slytherins as he had. He had found out both Greg and Vince were skilled in charms and Theo was gifted at potions. All of them offering insight when they studied together, regardless of if he actually needed it, he appreciated that they genuinely wanted to help rather than make him feel dumb as Hermione had often tried to do. In return Harry had helped them with Transfiguration and Defense as those were areas he greatly excelled in and found easy to teach to others.
He felt bad that while he had certainly become friends with the three and felt bad about deceiving them, he felt worse about having to lie to Draco. He and the blonde had bonded quite a bit over the last few weeks, falling into old banter and teasing but now in good nature with each other. They had often spent any free time they had during the day talking even when the other three hadn't joined them. It made him regret turning the blonde's offer down all the more his first year, seeing the type of friend's he could have had if he hadn't. He still held onto a small hope that maybe when he could tell them the truth, they would forgive him. He failed to notice all six boys around him exchanging concerned glances as they continued to walk down to the area where the final task would take place.
Upon reaching the area where he would be entering from, the other boys were forced to leave him. All of them gave him reassuring smiles and to his surprise he received a hug not only from the twins but Draco. "Try not to die on us Harry, we've only just now become friends after all." The blonde teased him trying to lighten the mood before leaving with the others as they took their places with the other spectators seated around the field.
He faced the maze entrance, noting how dark it looked despite the sun shining overhead. He assumed it was likely enchanted to limit their visibility and make it more challenging. While he waited, he recited the directions Barty had given him in his head on how to reach the cup. He had just finished them a third time when a hush fell over the crowd and he heard Dumbledore's amplified voice. "As Mr. Diggory and Mr. Potter are currently tied both will enter the maze with a head start, Mr. Krum will enter two minutes later, and lastly Miss Delacour. Good luck to all off our champions and remember should you wish to forfeit you need only shoot a stream of red sparks into the air." As soon as he finished his speech an official gave Harry the go ahead to enter the maze.
Harry found himself to be correct upon entering that it had been charmed to be rather dark and mist crept along the ground obscuring his feet. He began following the directions that Barty had given to him at a slow pace, keeping an eye on his surroundings for possible traps or magical creatures that would attempt to slow him down. He knew that the beasts conjured for this task were meant to be mostly low-level threats, but those could still cause him problems if he wasn't careful.
He was about two-thirds of the way to the cup when a beam of red light went past his head, narrowly missing him. Turning he found himself staring down Cedric Diggory, but something wasn't quite right. Diggory said nothing as he advanced on Harry and as he got closer, the raven understood why. The Hufflepuff's eyes had a glazed overlook to them and judging by his current actions the Gryffindor was almost certain the boy was currently under the Imperious curse. The older male cast another spell, sending a jet of blue light towards him this time that Harry quickly evaded and fired back a binding spell of his own. He didn't have time for a drawn-out fight if he wanted to win.
He turned and took off at a sprint in the direction he knew the cup to be, he needed to reach it before the other could break the binding spell. He'd have time later to think about who had cast the curse and why, but now he needed to focus. He burst into a clearing a few minutes later and was greeted with the sight of the white marble column that held the Tri-Wizard Cup. He rushed up to the column, hearing footsteps close behind him. Unsure of who was closing in he lunged the final few feet and grabbed hold of the cups handle, calling out the word "Home." In a slightly panicked voice. The cup flared to life and the world shifted into a swirl around him but not before a flash of green light and excruciating pain lit up his side.
Tom's P.O.V.
The dark lord was waiting in the manor entry hall where the portkey would drop the young Gryffindor. On the floor beside him lay an exact twin of the boy in question to send back with the cup, the ritual had gone off without any errors and Tom had made sure to match the tournament outfit that Harry should be wearing. He paced in front of the stairs as he waited, knowing that the raven should be appearing any second.
He was not disappointed when a few moments later he heard the distinct sound of a portkey deactivating and a body landing on the solid marble floor. He turned to face the Gryffindor, assuming he had lost his footing and maybe offer a snarky comment to mess with the younger, but the words died on his tongue as his eyes registered the state the other wizard was in.
Harry had landed on his knees, emerald eyes glazed in pain and blood quickly coloring his shirt crimson as it bloomed from what appeared to be an extremely deep cut along the younger's side. Tom was kneeling beside him almost instantly once his mind had caught up with what he was seeing. The Gryffindor had lost a lot of blood during the portkey trip and was currently losing even more. His eyes were unfocused and Tom was certain he was beginning to lose consciousness. He quietly uttered a cauterizing spell, feeling just the slightest bit bad when the boy jumped and hissed at the pain from the heat, but he couldn't afford to lose anymore blood so sealing the cut was top priority. "Harry, I need you to try and stay awake for me." Tom tried to keep his tone soft, but inside he was feeling a creeping bit of panic he wasn't sure just how much blood the boy had lost and while the dark lord prided himself on an extensive knowledge of magic, he had never been very strong where healing spells were concerned.
Trying to focus on what his next steps needed to be he sent his patronus off with a message demanding that Severus come to the manor at once. Looking over at the corpse on the floor he placed the cup into it's waiting hands and sent the double back to Hogwarts needing to complete their plan for Harry's demise. Looking back at the real Harry he noticed the other was beginning to sway slightly on his knees and his eyes were fluttering rapidly as he tried to follow Tom's request to stay awake.
Tom moved to pick the Gryffindor up and began carrying him swiftly towards the potions lab that Severus maintained within his manor, knowing the dour man would need him there to treat him. "Tom…it hurts…" Harry managed to whimper out, his voice weak and carrying a very noticeable tremble. "I know Harry, I've stopped the bleeding but you lost a lot of blood from the looks of it and could potentially have some internal damage depending on how deep that cut actually was." Tom explained nudging the door open with his shoulder, he deposited the young wizard onto the cot along the wall and went to search for a blood replenishing potion at the very least to buy them some time until Severus arrived.
He finally found a small vial of one and returned to Harry's side, tilting the boy's head to help him swallow the bitter liquid. The boy made a face at the taste, but it relaxed soon after as he continued to fight what seemed to be a losing battle to keep his eyes open. "Harry, I really need you to stay awake if you can." Tom urged, trying to rouse the boy back into a more stable consciousness. Green eyes managed to open for a few moments staring directly into red, "Tom..I don't want..to…die.." The raven managed to whisper, eyes falling closed on the last word. Tom felt that creeping panic return and he placed his ear to the Gryffindor's chest. His heartbeat was slowing and incredibly fast, Severus wasn't going to make it in time. If Tom didn't think of something quickly, the young Gryffindor really would be as good as dead.
(A/n: I know I know what a terrible place to drop in a cliffhanger, but as I've said before reviews fuel my desire to write! Don't worry there's plenty more in store for this story.)
