Say You'll Haunt Me, Stone Sour

Little supernovas in my head
Little soft pulses in my dead
Little souvenirs and secrets shared
Little off-guard and unprepared
I was never good enough to find
I was never bad enough to mind
In the middle I will do my best
Take me in your arms and leave the rest

I will give you anything to...

Say you wanna stay, you want me too
Say you'll never die, you'll always haunt me
I wanna know I belong to you
Say you'll haunt me

She stayed with him, in the Room of Requirement, shocking him completely. He felt like he was sitting in the eye of a storm, that he couldn't stay in the calm forever, that soon enough he'd have to step out of the room into the madness.

Ginny seemed to be dealing with the same reality.

"Ginny…" Harry began, both still sitting in the armchairs, breakfast untouched between them; as the sun told him it was midday above their heads, "When- I don't know what you plan to do- if you- if you're seen with me now, Hermione…"

"Oh. I know. I think she'd… Already have guessed. That I'm here. She knows you've been staying in the room, and she'd know by now that I've… I'm not in class-" She sighed, "I still don't… This is crazy."

"Yeah," he watched her, heart in his throat.

It felt like at any moment the reality would dawn on her, properly hit her, and she'd run screaming from the room. The book was still on her lap, open. She kept looking down at it and up at him, frowning.

"You said that… Dumbledore faked the prophecy," it wasn't a question, but she looked at him like it was.

"Yeah. He did."

"And- you know what the other one… The- the real one? Says?"

"I don't want to talk about it."

"…Okay," she put her eyes back on the book.

"Hermione hasn't told anyone, about-" He didn't finish, couldn't think it, say it, or look at it.

"…No, but Harry… I don't think it will be very long," she looked mournful.

"Are they going to reform?" Tom asked.

She didn't say anything for a moment, tears threatening to fall from her eyes.

"I will not tell him, but I need to know if I am going to stop it."

"…No, not- not yet. But Hermione… She hasn't-"

"She has not stopped," Tom finished for her. He and Harry both had suspected as much.

"He swore an Unbreakable Vow…" She whispered, "That's- Why would he do that?"

"I didn't know, at the time, I- I knew something was wrong, that was it. Voldemort already knew I was a Horcrux, so he changed his strategy… The goal wasn't to kill me anymore it was to- control me. Protect me, I guess. Keep me safer than Dumbledore did, anyway... He wanted it secret until he could use me-"

"What did the Vows say? Specifically?"

"I- I don't remem-" Harry had been about to say he didn't remember it verbatim, but Tom started reciting.

"I, Tom Marvolo Riddle, swear that I will not intentionally seek to harm any student of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry by any means, with the exception of Harry James Potter, and any member of the Order of the Phoenix. Any who bear the Dark Mark will be ordered as such, on the following terms: Do you, Harry James Potter, swear that you will not discuss the nature, the contents, nor the occurrence of any correspondence between you and I unless I will it? Do you, Harry James Potter, swear to do everything in your power, by means of magic or otherwise, to maintain this secrecy?"

'How do you do that? Remember everything?'

'Necessity.'

"So, you were an exception to his Vow? Why would he release you? What changed?" Ginny asked rapidly.

"I- I didn't- he won, that's what changed. I lost and he won," Harry couldn't look at her.

Neither of them spoke for a long time, Harry fought the fear that kept creeping up on him.

"…It seems like he hates you almost more than before?"

"He does," Harry didn't want to say more than that, didn't ever really want to discuss the reason why.

"The other night- When he made you show… And now you're… You're almost a-" She stopped, eyes wide.

'I'm a Death Eater Tom,' Harry thought, standing suddenly, blood not making it to his limbs, horror washing through him.

There was no functional difference between him, the Chosen One, the Golden Boy Who Lived, and a boot-licking underling of the Dark Lord's. Tom sat him back down, summoned the darkness and squeezed his eyes shut.

"Why- why do you keep casting it?" She whispered.

"I don't really want to talk about that either," Harry said, cancelling it, cheeks flaming.

"Does it hurt you like- like it hurt… Me?"

"It hurts. I don't know, though, if it's the same…" He ducked his head, shame repeatedly flushing his face, "I am sorry about that morning I really am I didn't mean-"

"It's- It's okay, Harry. I know."

He'd taken the map from his bed and kept it on his lap to be sure no one approached the room while they talked, and so far, Hermione had gone about her day regularly.

"What have people said about what happened?" Harry asked, and she shrugged.

"People talked a lot about you screaming in the vampire's face. And people wondered if you fought him, or if he cursed you because of the sound after he let us go… It was like," she shook her head, "I can't describe it. They talked about how nothing really… Came of it, that there was no punishment, from You-Know-Who. Some people think that you saved them but- but mostly now they think…"

Harry had put up a hand to stop her, already guessing what she was going to say. That they didn't trust him. That they'd assumed some sort of guilt, "I didn't fight him. He Disapparated. Which is something he can do on the school grounds which is… Great."

"We can just stay here for a bit, right?" She asked. She sounded exhausted.

"Yeah, it's worked for me so far."

Harry was given another heart attack when night fell, and he saw Cassiopeia standing outside the room on the map.

"Ahh…. Cassiopeia is here," Harry said, standing from the chair he'd not left all day, "We could just ignore her?"

"Best not," Tom said immediately.

"Uhh," Ginny said, also standing, looking at him like he'd sprouted a second set of ears.

"You can hide, if you don't want- want to see her, I kind of have to- to talk to her if she-" He stopped talking as she reached the doors.

Ginny did not attempt to hide, and so he opened them.

"Oh, good, alive, just properly- oh. Well, fuck- look who's here," the vampire seemed genuinely astonished to see Ginny, "Nagini will be so excited to hear. I'll let it slip in front of her, yeah?"

"…Hello, Cassiopeia."

"Hello snake boy. I'm assuming you finally cashed the cheque?" She pointed at Ginny and Harry flinched, "Aw. Sorry Harry. Sad week for you. My condolences," she grinned as she said it, eyes flashing.

Ginny was watching Cassiopeia, frowning.

"…And she's still here, huh?" She continued, "How intriguing."

"Was there something you wanted or were you going to stay and gawk?" Tom asked, arms behind his back.

"Is there an option to stay and gawk? I'll stay and gawk then, please," she rocked on her heels and looked between the two of them for a moment, "Okay no- but seriously, I did need to talk to you about that one thing that we've been putting on the backburner that we really should address?"

He followed her out into the corridor, and Harry felt somehow nervous leaving Ginny inside, as though she'd vanish while he looked away.

"New healer," Cassiopeia said, "Young, a little inexperienced but talented, dedicated. Plucked from Saint Mungo's after she proved amenable on another project Tom was working on. Her name is Lydia Duke, she is not a sworn Death Eater, but she is close enough. Very invested in her craft. Good?"

"…Yes, fine," Tom said. Neither of them had the strength to argue it, "What about Pomfrey? He's not going to-"

"Sorry, that's none of your business byeee Harry," she sing-songed as she walked away.

He re-entered the room and was relieved to find Ginny still inside.

"She's different with you. She's terrifying in class but with you…" She said as they sat back down.

"Yeah, we've- we had a lot of time to get to dislike each other," Harry said.

"I thought it looked almost like she liked you," Ginny said.

"She does," Tom said.

"This is really… I'm…" She trailed off.

"I keep saying that if it's too much, I'd understand. So much has happened, I know, and I wanted to tell you sooner, I- it got out of my control. But I need you to decide, Gin, because I couldn't take thinking that you were going to stay- stay by me even though- then if you didn't…"

"I don't want to leave you, I don't want- but the others, and my family…"

"Like I said, Ginny," he said through gritted teeth, "I would get it."

"You… Let them think it was you, who killed Ron instead of- of telling them what really happened, that he died, and I reanimated him, and you still are, even after… And you made a deal with You-Know-Who to protect the school and me, and then you did it again, I can't imagine that it's been easy…"

"No," he shook his head vehemently, partly because he wasn't sure how to express exactly how hard it had been, and mostly because he was resisting her attempt to paint him as a hero anyway, because he wasn't, "The things I've done, and the things that I'll- I'll have to do, are- there's nothing good, it will be nothing-"

Tom stopped him to breathe.

"I'm not the same... Person you remember. I'm someone else entirely," Harry finally said.

She reached across the space for his hand, and he took it, "Neither am I."

He let out a breath he didn't notice he'd been holding.

'Did you really say that I'm not his dog?' Harry asked inside his head, again.

It was late and Ginny was snoring softly beside him, both of them still not braving the world.

'Yes.'

'Why would you say that? I mean… I thought you'd be pleased with the idea… Of… Me being…You obviously liked the Dark Mark,' Harry thought about how Tom had felt when he'd laid eyes on it, unidentifiable but definitely not negative.

'…You are misunderstanding it. Which is fine.'

'Which part am I misunderstanding? No, it's not.'

'I am not pleased to have you at his call. I do not want anything he has in mind… Inflicted on you.'

'You're not? I mean… I thought you'd want to be near him? Be doing… Death Eater stuff. Even if he hates us.'

'No, not particularly, not in this position.'

'You're not in charge,' Harry thought as soon as it made sense.

'In part.'

'So, the mark, why…?"

'Harry, mind your business.'

'I want to know; I don't understand why you get to have all your own thoughts and mine too-'

'You won't like what I have to tell you, some things are better left alone. You should consider yourself grateful that I do not expose you to my thoughts or my emotions, because they would render you infantile.'

'…No.'

'No?'

'No, I wouldn't be rendered infantile.'

'Go to sleep.'

'Tell me,' Harry demanded.

'Leave it alone.'

'No, I'm sick of not understanding this, not understanding you, and I've done enough, I've paid enough, and you've seen every inch of my head, every thought I have, and you act like you understand them better than I do and you don't-'

'It means I own you, Harry. The mark means I own you.'

He sat up on his elbows, frowning, his stomach somersaulting without permission or obvious owner, 'You don't own me.'

Tom hid his thoughts again, and Harry scoffed out loud.

'Typical, hide it all away.'

'I know for certain you will be glad I do it, now enough, go to sleep.'

'You don't own me,' Harry repeated.

Tom yanked up the sleeve of his pyjamas and stared pointedly at the mark.

'So? You didn't put that there? If anyone owns me…' Harry didn't finish the thought, 'Why would the mark… Owning me… Make you feel like… Whatever that was? It was almost-'

'Go. To. Sleep.'

His heart kept skipping a beat, and he was certain it wasn't his sensation. Whatever Tom was keeping to himself, he was keen for it to stay that way. Which annoyed Harry further.

'All this talk about privacy is so important, don't do that, don't do this, don't think about this, don't ask about that, when I'm just an open book to you-'

'Yes, you are an open book to me, and I do understand you better than you do. I know everything there is to know about you. Would you like me to tell you all the things you've been hiding from yourself?'

'What, no, I want you to tell me all the things you've been hiding from me, not-'

'The way a thrill shivers through you when you know we are going to cast, even though you say you hate it; you want it, you want to think about it when you are not busy wanting it. And you do desire it, constantly, driving me… And your ears, your neck, your face… Go red when I command you, when I tell you what to do, your heart beats fast and you wish I was not feeling it with you, because it almost-'

'Stop it, I was-'

'-It almost makes you hard. You nearly are, right now. If I told you to, if I commanded it…'

'No, what, stop, I'm not… That's not… You're reading it wrong…."

'…Sure. Goodnight, Harry.'

His pulse thundered as he stared wide-eyed at the sky.

"We- we could go to Hogsmeade?" Ginny suggested.

"I'm actually not allowed to go," Harry told her, "He doesn't want us wandering around too free, I guess," he felt sick every time he mentioned Voldemort to her. He knew she had to feel the same.

He thought about the conversation that he'd had with Tom the night before, again, immediately annoyed with himself, because he'd lost count of how many times it had popped into his mind since he'd opened his eyes.

'I'm only thinking about it because it's crazy,' he hissed in his head, feeling Tom watching his thoughts, 'you were being crazy.'

'Is that why you are broaching the topic again? Because it is crazy, and you do not want to talk about it anymore?'

"We could go to the library? Or something? I don't know. Hermione might… Do something if I'm missing too long," Ginny said.

"And if we go out there together, you're- you're going to be walking with me," Harry said.

"I mean, yeah," Ginny said.

"You know what I mean. Soon enough… And Tom will- he won't tolerate- and honestly, I can't really handle it either… He wants to scare them, Gin."

She gnawed her lips and looked over his shoulder, "I think… I think I'm with you, Harry. If they can't… If they can't see you the way I see you, that's their fault…"

Harry crushed her into a hug, squashed her to his chest, and kissed the top of her head before he let her go. His heart hurt at the thought that she didn't quite know it all, but a small hope was growing that she would stay, even if she did.

"Thank you," he told her, and she half smiled, nodded.

Harry pulled the doors open and let her go first. It was a Saturday, and it was past nine, so they'd hoped that not that many students would be wandering the halls. He kept the map on him and checked it for Hermione repeatedly as they walked, though she remained in the Great Hall with Lavender and Seamus.

The first students they saw were a pair of younger Hufflepuffs, and they erupted into whispers at the sight of Harry and Ginny, then ran away in the opposite direction.

'This is… Not going to go well. Is it?' He asked Tom in his thoughts.

'No.'

Ginny let out a sigh as she watched the students retreat, then looked at him and sighed again.

Every student they came across on their way to the library -nine in total- whispered or rushed away -or both- at the sight of them. He was glad that they didn't find any DA members, but he knew that was also just a matter of time.

"You know, someone will tell Hermione, that we were seen…" Ginny said as they sat down in a dimly lit far corner of the library, as though she had been thinking the same thing.

Harry looked at the map and saw that Hermione was leaving the Great Hall, and he could practically sense her zeroing in on them, "I think you're right. It's… It was bound to happen, right? I'm not… I'm not telling her anything, I can't, she was- she's too-"

"I know. I'm not going to say anything," she was chewing her lips and leaning in to look at the map.

Lavender, Hermione, and Seamus. Possibly the worst combination of people.

"I… Think Tom is going to scare them, Gin," Harry warned, "If you want to leave…" He looked away, heart in his throat.

"I said I'm with you. He's not going to- to hurt them, right…?"

"No," Tom said, though Harry could feel him wanting to, itching to fight someone, barely restrained rage making his pulse palpitate, begging for a target.

Sure enough the three of them came towards the library. Tom tucked the map into Harry's back pocket as he stood up as they reached the doors. Ginny looked at him and then she was standing too, brows furrowed.

"Ginny, Ginny what are you doing with-" Hermione began as the three found them.

"She's with her brother's murderer, like she always is, shouldn't surprise you-" Seamus began, and Tom summoned the darkness, whipped it around them like a tornado in an instant; tearing books from the shelves to be shredded by the green fluorescence, and locking them inside a writhing dome.

Sound was lost in the black writhing clouds, so an eerie silence fell before Tom snarled, "Do not touch it. It is… Quite painful."

"Ginny?!" Hermione moved toward her, but Tom stepped in between them.

"Any Hogwarts student found to be a member of Dumbledore's Army will be executed, Granger," he told her, looking over her head at Seamus and Lavender, curse pouring from his left hand, "She is no longer a member of Dumbledore's Army."

He finally looked down at her, half sneering, half frowning, teeth bared, tears swimming. She slapped him -he barely flinched- then she stepped back, eyes wide.

"What happened to you!? Who- who are you? What are you…? What happened-" Hermione had moved further away from him, and he could see her mind furiously whirring from the outside.

Lavender had collapsed into a crying heap, and Seamus had drawn his wand. Tom flicked it from his hand with Harry's free arm, disarming him with the curse. In response Seamus panicked, turned to run; touched the blackness and fell, howling, backwards. He grasped his arms to his chest and scrambled away on his back, closer to Harry.

"I warned you," Tom glared down at him and finally released the curse.

He looked at Hermione, helping Lavender to her feet with her eyes on him, and told her, "I will not warn you, again."