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That which we make for ourselves	By : magentasouth Category: Harry Potter > Slash - Male/Male > Harry/Tom Views: 38078 -:- Recommendations : 2 -:- Currently Reading : 2
Disclaimer: I neither own nor profit from any part of the Harry Potter universe

Chapter List
- 1-That which we make for ourselves
- 2-Ch 2
- 3-Ch 3
- 4-Ch 4
- 5-Ch 5
- 6-Ch 6
- 7-Ch 7
- 8-Ch 8
- 9-Ch 9
- 10-Ch 10
- 11-Ch 11
- 12-Ch 12
- 13-Ch 13
- 14-Ch 14
- 15-Ch 15
- 16-Ch 16
- 17-Ch 17
- 18-Ch 18
- 19-Ch 19
- 20-Ch 20
- 21-Ch 21
- 22-Ch 22
- 23-Ch 23
- 24-Ch 24
- 25-ch 25 - provisional
- 26-Ch 26
- 27-Ch 27
- 2
- 3
- 4
Walking behind Riddle he felt safe
enough to examine him further.�

He was so very much like the
figure he remembered from the chamber of secrets.. only.. less tall and imposing.�

But then he himself had grown in leaps and bounds since second year.� Riddle was a little taller but in no way the
looming figure he�d been.�

The black hair of the other boy fell in artfully styled perfect waves.�� He thought discontentedly on his own mop of
uncontrollable mess.� It didn�t seem to
matter what he did to his hair, it just looked like he�d rolled out of bed and
not bothered to run a brush through it.�
He had permanent bed-hair.�

Admittedly it didn�t look quite as bad in blonde, he conceded.� It was ridiculous that Voldemort had actually
made him look better than he normally did.�

He could have made him look like anything.. anyone.. yet he looked essentially
the same.. better than usual in fact.� So bizarre.�

�� Ooof!� he
bounced off Riddle�s back.�

The other boy had stopped dead at
the foot of the stairs.�

He didn�t move as Harry rebounded off him, but turned and glanced over his
shoulder at Harry now sprawled on the lowest steps

�Sorry Piper..
force of habit.�
As a Slytherin, it is always better to be aware of the state of the
corridors here before you step into them.�
I did not intend to knock you over.�
Were you not paying attention?��

Harry scowled and didn�t answer,
climbing to his feet and following silently as Riddle stepped out into the
(empty, as it turned out) corridor.

The head boy walked slowly, turning every now and then to glance at Harry.� It unsettled him.�

And then unexpectedly, as they were walking down an empty first floor corridor,
Riddle said quietly �I�m sorry about your parents..��

The incongruity of the statement
stopped Harry in place and he fought to suppress the violent rage welling up
inside him.� He wanted to yell �No you�re
not! �You fucking bastard! You killed them!� but of course, he couldn�t
do that.� Instead he fisted his hands and
struggled against the angry magic that swirled around him, wanting to lash
out.�

Riddle looked surprised at his reaction and took a half step toward him.�

He jumped back as if stung. �Don�t come near me.� he growled and
started walking again, keeping his face turned resolutely ahead.�

He heard Riddle start after him and catch up quickly.�

Uncomfortably he suddenly realised he could also feel his presence beside him in some indefinable way.� His scar didn�t hurt..
it barely even tingled but there was a faint tickle of
awareness there.� Like a ghost pain in
comparison with his reaction to Voldemort in his own time.�

They walked in silence until they
reached the main gates of Hogwarts and then Riddle stopped him with a hand so that
he could open the gates and let them both out.��

On the other side they walked on down
the road in silence for a while.� The
pale winter sun had melted most of the snow and was making a valiant attempt at
evoking impressions of spring. �It felt
cool but not cold. ��

Harry, scuffing along on autopilot
was berating himself internally for his inability to conceal his hate even the
tiniest amount.� He knew he should talk
to the bastard, pretend that everything was fine..

Whether he wanted to kill him or try to make a life in this time, making the
proto-Voldemort suspicious of him wouldn�t help him much either way.�

He was just about to ask something
neutral and give the creep the chance to be all head-boy-ish
at him when a sudden hand on the back of his neck yanked him off the path and
into the dense bushes at the side of the road.�

He yelped as he was spun and propelled forcefully into a tree, half knocking
the wind out of him.

Tom was in his face before he could even orient himself properly and he found
his wand missing when he reached for it.�

He reacted automatically, pushing at the boy and trying to get away.�

This had no effect.� First of all,
pushing at the head boy was about as effective as pushing on the tree behind
him, and secondly, tom�s arms boxed him in on both sides, forcing him to look
into the face that was uncomfortably near.�

�What the fuck are you doing?!� he
demanded with more bravado than he currently felt. �Get off! And give me my
wand back!��

Tom�s expression hardened. �Listen ..Piper.. if that is your name.� We need to have a little conversation before
this goes any further.��

Harry blanched.� Tom already suspected him of lying.� Fuck.�
What would he do now?!� He�d made
it obvious that he hated him.� God.. stupid stupid
stupid.� What
was he thinking?! ��He hadn�t
been able to stand for more than a minute or two against Voldemort in a duel in
his own time � Dumbledore had had to do it for him.. and he didn�t think that he�d even manage the younger
version.�

What was stopping him?!�

Harry swallowed as the pale yew wand he knew so well was suddenly pressed to
his cheek lightly, almost tenderly.�

�It appears...that you have something against
me..�� Tom said
deceptively softly.� His expression was
hard.�

�I am certain that I have never met you before and I have gone out of my way to assist you.. so I am wondering just what
reason you have for your rather extreme reaction.� Care to explain?��

Harry, wide eyed, shook his head
emphatically.��

Tom, if anything, moved even
closer.� Harry could feel his breath
ghosting over his own lips when the boy spoke next.�

The midnight blue eyes were examining him, flicking between his eyes and his
mouth.

�Perhaps then..
you will explain why it is that Dumbledore lied for you when the man doesn�t even know you?��

Harry couldn�t prevent his eyes from widening further but he didn�t
respond.�� He felt the wand on his cheek
stroke down and along his jaw, onto his neck, the tiny sharp point travelling
slowly down toward his collar.

�You are in my house,
..Caedmon.. You should confide in me.� Perhaps I can help you.� ..you really should
not start out here making enemies..�.�

Harry struggled to focus on the reasons not to take that advice.� They were few and far between.� The reasons to give up the fight seemed much
more persuasive.� He was alone in an
unfamiliar reality.� Dumbledore was not
going to help him; didn�t even like
him..

Everyone else in this place, according to what Dumbledore had told him about Tom
while he was learning about the horcruxes, thought
the sun shone out of Riddle.� He�d
already offered to help him with his courses.

The head boy would be able to get into his room at any time while he
slept.�

He probably couldn�t beat him in a duel and he almost certainly had a group of
little junior death eaters somewhere too.�
�

He was alone.� It always came back to that.�

He was alone here.� In slytherin!�

Riddle had offered to help him, for whatever reason.� Obviously he was doing it for his own reasons
� Voldemort was many things but altruistic and sympathetic were not among them.�

Maybe he was only curious.. maybe
he�d end up attacking him anyway.. how was that any
different to now, though?!�

He couldn�t survive being Riddle�s enemy in this place.� What if he couldn�t go back? �

Making his decision suddenly, he
swallowed against the dryness in his throat.

�Dumbledore lied because I asked him to.�
I..needed a believable story.� Caedmon Piper isn�t my name.�

Riddle�s eyes glittered in
pleasure.� �I�m glad you�re being
reasonable...What is your name? Who
are you really?� Obviously not a poor
unfortunate orphan�� he
snorted softly.� There was something
almost disappointed to the sound however.�

Harry bit his lip uneasily.� �I..can�t tell you..
I couldn�t tell Dumbledore either.� I am
an orphan though.�

Tom�s expression darkened.�

�I�m not fond of the word �can�t� � I have found it is frequently used in place
of �won�t�� - Why exactly do you feel you cannot
tell me who you are?��

Harry shifted uneasily against the
rough bark of the tree behind him.� To
tell or not to tell.. he
wasn�t sure.�

If he told Tom, the most likely result would be that the other boy would then
spend the rest of Harry�s short life torturing facts about the future out of him.. if he didn�t tell him, he�d
probably end up doing the same thing eventually just to find out what he was
keeping secret.�

He realised with a slight jolt that there was
in fact a third option.� He could give
up.� He could just tell him
everything.��

The midnight blue eyes were calm
in their patient appraisal.� He felt as
if Tom could actually see the cogs turning in his mind and was waiting for them
to finish processing.� Reaching that
point, he hushed out in a breath

�I.. can�t tell you that
either..-that is � I can�t tell you yet.�
but I -..�

he gritted his teeth and forced himself to continue with what he needed to say.
�..- appreciate.. your
help.� I didn�t expect it.�� He darted a glance to Tom�s eyes, not really
daring to hope that this would be enough.�

He found a calculating expression there in the deep blue depths.� Tom was very close to him.� It made him feel uncomfortable.� He could actually feel the warmth radiating
off the other boy in the chilly shade of the trees.��

He swallowed and looked away again.�

The hand that brushed down his
cheek was so fleeting he might almost have imagined it and then tom was moving
back, stepping away from him.� �Fine.� For the moment
I will accept that answer.. But Caed-� Tom�s expression hardened and �Harry was reminded of the cruel sneer of the
boy in the chamber of secrets �-Do not delay too long or I will have to assume
that you have decided to refuse my generous gesture toward you.� You may not yet know me..
but you will find that my opinion carries considerable
weight within Hogwarts - particularly within Slytherin.� Your time here could be uncomfortable and
brief if you choose to make me your enemy.��

Harry had been thinking exactly
the same thing but what option did he have?�
Come out with � �oh ok then.� You
want to know?� Actually I�m from the
future.� I�ve spent the last six years killing
you in various ways and I�ve just finished killing off six eighths of your
soul.� Want to be friends?�� That would not go over well.�

He�d have to find some truth he could tell to assuage Riddle�s suspicions.�

Apparently seeing that his threat
would not evoke a sudden change in behaviour, Riddle informed him briskly that
he was going to apparate them both to the entrance to
Diagon Alley as they were �clearly wasting time
here�.

He didn�t have time to respond before the other boy had taken two quick steps
forward, gripped him by the elbow and disapparated.

The next two hours went past in a
wash of uncomfortable silences and curt commands.� Riddle had been glued to him the entire
time.�

For a moment he had thought that the other boy wouldn�t let him go alone into
the changing room at Habb and Dasher�s.� As it was, Riddle had stood at the other side
of the curtain and waited, as if on guard.��

Harry wasn�t sure whether he was guarding him from escape or from attack �
probably the former, but it was very strange all the same.��

In flourishes books he had
experimentally distanced himself while Riddle had been flicking through a book
on Morgan Le Fay and immediately the boy had replaced
the book and moved to his side, hovering like a personal stormcloud.

�Stay close, Piper� he�d instructed quietly.

Harry had shrugged it off.�

After they�d purchased the books and reduced them, Riddle had insisted upon
eating before they returned to Hogwarts.�
Harry had been reluctant.� He
didn�t want to sit down to dinner with the creep.� It was worse than the idea of sitting down
for a nice bite to eat with Malfoy.� Going to dinner with bloody Voldemort.�

Even so, he�d found himself soon
enough seated in a corner booth with tom at a seedy looking little eatery.� It certainly wasn�t a restaurant. �It reminded Harry a bit of the hogs head. �Tom however, seemed relaxed, even
pleased.�

When Harry shrugged uncaring at the question of what he wanted, he ordered for
both of them, actually selecting what Harry realised he would have probably
picked if he had had the will to bother.�

Picking at his lamb shank and
fried potatoes and drinking his butterbeer, he
couldn�t help but register the gaze of the other boy flicking frequently back
to him in between monitoring the room and consuming his own pepper steak and
chips.�

He felt uncomfortable with the way
Tom kept looking at him.� There was
something weird about it.� It wasn�t
exactly curiosity.. it was
something else.�

He couldn�t put his finger on it but it was far too familiar.�

Seeking to make tom equally uncomfortable he asked rudely �so..� what kind of name is
�Riddle� anyway?� I don�t recognise it..��

He was pleased at the way the other boy froze, his fork halfway to his
mouth.� He returned it to the plate and
looked up, a darker glint in the midnight blue of his eyes.� Harry took it all in and went on, pushing his
luck,

�Since I can�t see a mudblood
becoming head boy, you must be a halfblood.�

And in light of your little comment earlier about knowing disadvantage and
about my not even being an orphan � I
take it that your parents are dead.��

Unmistakeably a flash of crimson
flickered through the other boy�s eyes.�
Tom was apparently more than just a little uncomfortable.�

Harry decided it would be best to backpedal slightly.� He only wanted to upset him a little to get
him to stop staring at him, he hadn�t actually been angling to be cursed �
which was what those eyes were promising silently right now.��

He went for his wand in his
pocket, not missing the way Tom�s hand also slipped quickly below the level of
the table.� Startled he pulled his hands
back up.

�Calm down.� Just
wanted to cast a muffling charm. Is that ok?��

The cold dangerous look on Tom�s face didn�t diminish but he nodded after a
moment.� Harry gingerly put his hand back
down and cast the charm silently, not removing his wand from his pocket.� When he felt it go up he put his hands back
on the table where tom could see them.�

Reluctantly, he mumbled what he
told himself was not an apology.� �Um...I shouldn�t have said that I
guess.�

I ..didn�t..mean.. that is.. I..well..obviously I�m not a piper��

There was no discernable reaction on the other boy�s face, this was not new
information for him.�

Harry took a breath and continued. �My father was a pureblood and my mother was
a muggleborn.��

They were both killed.� It wasn�t recent. ��

Dumbledore gave me this name and told me I�d be a pureblood because it was
�easier�� than
being someone of..lesser status � as he put it.� He is a complete wanker,
isn�t he?!��

The cold blank expression of the
other boy twisted into a small amused smile.�
Harry was relieved to see Tom�s midnight blue eyes no longer as threatening and cold.�

�Yes.� He is.� The other boy agreed. �How
exactly do you know him?� He certainly
didn�t know you last night � of that I�m certain - and you two didn�t
seem particularly chummy this morning either.�

Harry hesitated and bit his lip
slightly before looking down.� �I...�

�-can�t say� the other boy
finished for him. �You are altogether too mysterious Caed.� You do realise you�re tempting me to pry the
answers out of you?!..�

Harry darted a look up, taking in Riddle�s smirk and looking down again.� �I..I know..� he said softly. �that�s what I�m
afraid of.� He murmured to himself, but the other boy caught it.�

�You are afraid of me?� he asked
curiously, looking as if it pleased him.�
Harry scowled and bit back automatically �No!�

The other boy smirked and slid
gracefully out of the booth, taking out the purse and tossing a few galleons on
the table. �Come.. We should return and get you
settled.� I have other responsibilities, Caed.� I probably
should not have offered to sacrifice my time and energy to help you.�� He turned and began to walk toward the
door.�

Harry gaped feeling unaccountably bothered by his
some-day-enemy�s comment.� After tailing
him for the last three hours he wasn�t even looking around to see if Harry was
following now.�

He felt like he�d done something
wrong and it grated against him to realise that there was a tiny part of him
that didn�t like this feeling and wanted to fix whatever he�d done that
apparently made Tom Riddle walk off uninterested.�

Was he still upset about the half blood comment?� Was it that he didn�t tell him anything
again?� Probably.�

He slid out of the booth and
followed perhaps a shade quicker than he might have otherwise.�

Outside, it was already dark.� The street lanterns were lit, throwing bright
circles of light on the cobbles below them.��

Tom didn�t bother looking at him as they walked to the apparition point.

Harry looked over several times and the other boy was looking off at the window
of some closed shop or gazing over the remaining pedestrians in Diagon Alley with vague interest.��

They reached the apparition point
and Tom made no move to take his hand.� Harry
frowned, unsettled and offered his hand.�
It was taken and he was tugged slightly closer before the squeezing
sensation pulled them away.�

They reappeared where they had left, in the bushes on the road to Hogsmeade. �

Tom walked off toward the road immediately, again leaving Harry to wander after
him.

�Did I..do
something wrong?� he found himself asking, wondering why he even cared.� �Is this about what I said about you being� a halfblood?� Cause..I�m not going to apologise to you.� I already said I shouldn�t have said
it.��

Tom didn�t reply.� He simply walked
quietly beside him, his shoes not even scuffing on the road as Harry�s
did.�

His expression was indecipherable in the darkness.�

�Tom?� Harry asked uncertainly. �

The boy stopped silently and
turned to him, a silhouette.�

�Caed � or whoever
you are �I admit I was curious when I found you � I thought there may be more
to you than meets the eye. �However after
only three hours I�ve come to the conclusion that you are exactly what you
appeared to be.� Far below average
academically � possibly in need of remedial level tutelage in most of your classes.�

Magically weak and unused to any form of sparring � hence why you lost your wand
to me without even noticing.�

Your behaviour over dinner only leads me to conclude that you are not even intelligent enough to curry favour
with those who can assist you, which suggests you will be eaten alive in Slytherin
house - particularly since I sincerely doubt you will be able to adequately
emulate the pure blood manner and etiquette required of the alias Dumbledore
has given you.�

You would have been better sorted into Hufflepuff or
Gryffindor. ��

You are almost certainly not worth the
stand I made for you.��

�I am realising that I have committed myself � I have given my assurance to Dippet to see to it that
you are capable of holding your own in classes and I am regretting my hasty
actions.�

I expect you will take up a great deal of my time over the next weeks � time I
could be dedicating to infinitely more worthy pursuits, and, it appears to me
that in light of your dramatic secretive posturing, your social ineptitude and
your general ignorance of recent developments in any area I might consider of
interest, it will be very difficult to spend so long in your company.��

�That is what is wrong.� Your
opinion of my blood status would only bother me if I considered your thoughts
of any worth whatsoever. �Could we cease
wasting time and return to Hogwarts now, in order that I might deposit you in a
dorm room, explain the basics of your new environment and get on with my evening?!��

Harry felt his jaw hanging.� It had been so almost from the beginning of Tom�s
civilised if utterly venomous rant.�

The feeling he�d gotten in the restaurant when the other boy had simply walked
away was back and a hundred times stronger.�

He was nothing.� Not even worth anyone�s
time � especially not tom�s apparently.�

He was stuck in the past and he was now completely alone.�

He had had Dumbledore helping him but he�d somehow made the man into an
enemy.�

Tom � who would eventually be his
enemy had for whatever reason started to try to help him and now after only a
few hours he thought..all that.�

And the worst thing was �
everything he had said was true.� He was nothing.� He�d failed in every possible way.�

His entire time at school he�d
suspected that his professors might be letting him slide through with good
grades because he was the boy who lived.�

And then later he�d known that they were letting him skate
because they needed him to do something � defeat Voldemort.�

And then in the end he�d
understood that they gave him good grades when he didn�t deserve it because it didn�t matter..
he wasn�t ever going to work.� He was just going to die...

What point even bothering to take the trouble to make sure he understood how to
brew a calming draught, transfigure a raven into a silver spoon, calculate a
geodesic vector or recognise asphodel from asmortem
shoots.�

He�d always had Neville for herbology and Hermione
for pretty much everything else.�

The only reason he�d really been
taught defense against the dark arts was because he
needed to stay alive in order to destroy all the horcruxes.�

His entire life.. practically
from birth.. had been a lie perpetrated in order to
manipulate him into doing what Dumbledore needed done and then being noble or broken enough to sacrifice
himself.�

He blinked.� Tom was some distance up ahead, walking
silently.� He could see the blacker form
moving, the edges undefined in the very dark darkness that you only got in the
countryside.� No stars tonight.�

He was walking back toward Hogwarts.. a place that held so many good memories.. but
most of them cloaked in lies.�

He had no real purpose there anymore.�
But he couldn�t just turn around and walk away either.�

He had no money. He didn�t know anyone
in this time.�

Well.. except Tom.. and Dumbledore.�

He didn�t know whether he could
even work at seventeen without any papers or qualifications.� If he could
it wouldn�t be something he�d want to be doing.�
It would be something even worse than being in Hogwarts with hundreds of
complete strangers and classmates thinking he was more stupid than Crabbe and Goyle.��

He wrapped his arms around himself
in mild panic.� He had nowhere to
go.�

For a moment he had thought to himself �I want to go home� but then he had had
to realise that there was no home anymore.�
There was only death back there.�

There was no Hermione.� Ron didn�t even
really want to know him.�

He�d thought he had friends but after he came back from the horcrux hunt he�d
realised he just had people who said hello to him and asked him about quidditch from time to time.� None of them really cared a jot what happened
to him.�

They didn�t even see him as a person � just as Harry potter.�

Someday after the war was over they�d be able to say they knew Harry potter �
went to school with him.� He was a nice
enough bloke. It was a real shame what happened to him.� Hero to the end.�

Harry felt sick.� He let himself drop down to his knees in the
cold dust of the road his arms wrapped around himself tightly, rocking forward
in abject misery.�

It hurt.�

It hurt so much.��

He had nothing..�
There was nothing left for him and nothing left inside him.�

Perhaps he should just take out his wand and end himself right now.� It would save everyone the trouble of
bothering with him.�

Tom looked around.� Where was the bloody little twit?� He was late.�
His knights would be looking for him soon and the blasted boy was
wasting his time ..�

He couldn�t see him anywhere.� Perhaps
he�d run off?�

Several different emotions
flickered simultaneously.� Relief that he
wouldn�t have to deal with the boy over the coming weeks; anger that his night
would probably be ruined when Dippet demanded answers; and disappointment.�

The last was the only one he didn�t understand.�

Admittedly he might have been
slightly harsh toward the other boy but he�d noticed that giving him the silent
treatment in Diagon Alley had seemed to make him perk
up and pay a bit more attention and by the time they got back to the road and
started toward the castle he�d realised the time and felt anxious to be back
and rid of the boy so that he could prepare for the ceremony tonight.�

Then when the boy had gone and brought up blood impurity again � in the open air near Hogwarts..he�d simply lost patience with the idiot.��

Growling inwardly he started off
back down the road, casting a spell silently to improve his eyesight.�

There.� He could see him now.� Some way away.� A small huddled figure on the ground.�

Had something happened to him?� Was he
ill? What was he doing?!!�

He hurried toward him, dropping to his knees and pushing the boy back slightly
till he could see his face.� Wet.� The fool was crying.�

He�d dressed him down a little and the sot was so weak that he�d literally
broken down and cried.�

Tom felt a wave of disgust well up.� The
other boy was turning his face back downward, his eyes were closed.�

He hadn�t even looked to see who had appeared next to him.� Idiot.�

And then very softly he heard him
whisper �I�m sorry.��

Tom lifted the other boy�s face
with a finger under his chin, undecided how to deal with this.�

He wanted to curse the wretch but that would only waste further time.� He could imperio him back to the castle and
into his room and then obliviate the memory..�

�this
isn�t my time.��

He almost missed the words, they
were barely breathed and the slight wind took them immediately.�

Gripping the boy�s jaw hard, he demanded �explain.�

The pale throat swallowed visibly
and he saw another couple of tears slide down the shiny tracks on the slender
face.�

�Someone cast a spell on me.� I don�t know what they cast.� This isn�t my time.� I..i�m
stuck here.�

But there�s nothing to go back to anyway.�
I don�t belong anywhere anymore.�

I..don�t want to be here.� I�m sorry.. for..wasting your time..� You-you�re right.. i�m worthless.�

My only purpose is to die and I do-don�t want to..I wish
I did but I.. I�m sorry.��

The blonde seemed to shatter into actual sobs then.�

Tom blinked, stunned.� The boy was the victim of a temporal spell of
some kind?� That would explain how he
materialised in the clearing and why he was so secretive, he thought to
himself.��

Absently he pulled the snivelling creature forward into his arms and held him,
rocking gently as he had seen others do in the past.�

For some reason it didn�t feel as strange and wrong as he might have expected..

This boy..there was something about him.� Tom generally avoided unnecessary physical
contact with others, although he did partake in their bodies when it suited him.. But this boy he found he enjoyed touching even without
the pursuit of his own release.� He had
fellated him without any expectation of reciprocation and now, even as the
strange little idiot cried a wet patch into the shoulder of his robes, he found
himself stroking his thin frame in a manner he hoped was comforting.�

He leaned his cheek against the
boy�s and said softly �I snapped at you because I was late for a prior
engagement..and because it irritated me not to know
anything about you..and yes..because of your comment and your
mentioning it again.�

I dislike remarks about my blood status.�
Avoid making any reference to it in future.�� He felt a nod against him.�

The boy�s cheek was hot and slick, tom felt another chilly little tear slide
down against his skin.�

The boy was taking the deep gaspy breaths of one who was trying to pull themselves back together and stop crying.�

He held him slightly tighter, observing again that it did feel pleasant to do
so.� It would feel better, he thought, if the boy would put his arms around him too.

The slender form stiffened against him and then he could feel it pulling away.�

Reluctantly he released him and
sat back on his heels, watching the confused, troubled and guilty expressions
twisting the damp face in the dark.� Caed managed to get out in a husky voice that wavered
slightly �I�m sorry.� You said you were
late.� I.. we
should go.�

Tom nodded and then realised the boy probably could barely see him.� He cast the vision improving spell on him and
smirked when the boy gasped and then blushed darkly.

�Thank you� he mumbled, embarrassed.�

Tom nodded again, gliding gracefully to his feet and extending a hand to help
the other boy up, who hesitated, looking at tom�s hand and then took it
gingerly and allowed himself to be drawn up to his feet.

Tom held his hand just a second or two longer than absolutely necessary before
letting it fall, turning back toward Hogwarts.�

He walked slower.� Meeting or no meeting,
now was the opportune time to find out more about what could prove to be a very
advantageous acquisition.�

His knights would not dare to question his lateness anyway -� and if they should ask why he was late for a meeting that he had ordered, they would feel the lick of his wand for their imprudence.�

He flicked up a muffling spell
he�d recently created.� Obviously the boy
had one too � he�d felt it in the crone�s cup earlier.�

�Are you from the past then?� he
enquired neutrally.� It would explain why
the boy had not performed well in the tests Dumbledore had given him.�

There was a silence and then the boy responded nervously. �no.� About fifty years in the future.��

Tom looked over at him surprised
and delighted.� He bit off the dozens of
questions that flooded his mind at the thought of having access to a window
into the future.�

Coming from the future explained perfectly why the boy was so nervous about
telling him anything about himself.�

He was worried about the timeline.�

Tom had read a number of books on temporal theory and most seemed to present
the theory that a wizard or witch travelling any distance into the past might
accidentally destroy space and time by creating a paradox � killing their own
grandfather as it were.�

Tom did not subscribe to this theory.� He
held it to be illogical and unfalsifiable.� The only way it could be proven was to create
a paradox and end the universe.�

Personally � he believed that if a
person went back in time then whatever they did would create the future they had
previously existed in.� An orouboros loop.�

This was a paradox but it didn�t involve the destruction of the universe � it
merely suggested that free will might be an illusion.�

However if the boy thought that
the entire universe was at stake, he�d have to be very careful in his
questioning if he wanted to get anything out of him.�

And..he realised.. it didn�t
explain why the boy was so abysmal in his academic tests.� Surely- he should be ahead of the curve if
anything.�

Perhaps the boy was simply a very poor student.. or had had limited access to magical study?� Had the magical world become more stupid in
the future?!� Was that even possible?! �

�Were you home schooled?� he asked
curiously.� Caed
looked surprised, as if he had expected an entirely different question.�

The blonde thought for a moment,
probably considering whether answering the question could be dangerous and then
replied uneasily. �No.. actually I went to Hogwarts.� But..um.. I just
found out that my professors hadn�t really been teaching me over the
years.� They�d just been giving me E�s
and A�s and not really caring whether I could do the work or not.�

Don�t ask me why.� I...really can�t tell
you that part.� I thought I was pretty
good � not the best or anything � but an ok student.� Now it turns out I�m not even good enough to
get into the classes I was taking.��

Tom blinked, shocked.� Why would Hogwarts professors do something so
awful to a student?!� Had his parents
bought his way through?� Tom remembered
that Caed had said he was an orphan.�

Did his professors simply not care enough to even bother trying to teach him?
Was this general practice in the future?!�
What would he do when he graduated and could barely manage in the real
world?�

�What would have happened at your
NEWT�s?� he questioned, morbid fascination propelling him.� �I assume they are still ministry tested at
least.��

Caed swallowed and looked away.� He didn�t answer for a while and tom wondered
what was wrong with the questions.� Had
there been some colossal change in the wizarding world such that the ministry
no longer existed and the boy didn�t want to mention it?

The answer when it came was
offered in a strangely flat voice that troubled Tom for some reason.�

�I don�t think I would have ever had the chance to sit my NEWT�s so it wouldn�t
have mattered I guess.��

The gates loomed up ahead and Tom
went automatically through the process of letting them both in, his mind still
on the answer Caed had offered.� �He wouldn�t have had the chance to sit his
NEWTs so it wouldn�t have mattered.�� Tom
inferred, although he recognised that the inference was not solidly based, that
the professors had recognised that Caed would never
be sitting his NEWTs and had not bothered to teach him for that reason.��

Why was it expected that he would not be able to sit his NEWTs?!�

�Did they start simply passing you
in first year?� Fourth
year with your OWLs?� Later?��

�I don�t know��

�How did you do on your OWLs
then?� They�re ministry tested.�� Caed hesitated
again for a long time.� He scuffed when
he walked.� Tom made a mental note to add
it to the long list of things that he needed to fix about the boy. �

�I did about as good as I did in my grades before and
after.�� I guess they probably started in
first year.� My grades were about the
same all the way through.��

Tom frowned, detecting a problem
in the theory.� If his OWL scores were
fine and the same as his other scores then he was probably adequate the rest of
the time too.� The ministry wouldn�t fake
a student�s exam results even for money.��

�How do you know that your professors gave you marks you didn�t deserve?!� You said you achieved the same level on the
OWLs.� Are you suggesting that the
ministry results were somehow tampered with?�
You do realise how it sounds, don�t you?!��

The other boy stopped and Tom saw
him fist his hands for a moment and then force himself to calm down.� He didn�t look at him but his voice was tight
when he responded.

�Yes.� I know how it sounds.� You don�t have all the information, ok.� I wasn�t supposed to live to take my NEWTs � and the ministry is more corrupt than.. ..look - It doesn�t even matter,
alright.� Forget I mentioned it.�

I�m just basically a shit student and retarded to boot.� This is all just an excuse, alright!��

Tom was disturbed.� What the hell happened in Caed�s
time?!�� He wasn�t expected to survive to
17?? No.. Worse.. He had said
supposed.. he wasn�t supposed
to survive to 17. �And his professors
and, according to him, the ministry
knew about this and condoned it � facilitated it in fact, simply passing him
for convenience?!�

That was beyond belief!!� He must be
delusional in some way.�

But the way he reacted didn�t give that impression at all.� The way he�d cried..� He seemed, generally speaking, reasonably
rational if a little emotional.�

Not that Tom had a lot to base his assessment upon but the boy had reacted
rationally in the forbidden forest until he�d decided to run with a pointme in the dark and lost his wand.�

�Alright.� For argument�s sake � i�ll
believe you.� He offered quietly, noting the way the boy�s shoulders relaxed
almost imperceptibly.�� They continued
walking, each apparently preoccupied with their thoughts, till they reached the
main entrance.�

Tom noted that Caed
turned toward the staircase instead of down the corridor toward the dungeons.�

�Caed�
he called.� The other boy seemed to shake
himself and look around.� His eye flicked..somewhat wistfully Tom thought.. up
the stairs and then he turned away and came back to where tom waited.

�You weren�t a Slytherin in your
time, were you?..� he asked slowly, realising that Caed had been absently wandering back to whichever of the
other houses he belonged to.�

He doubted it was ravenclaw.�

So he truly was a Hufflepuff
or a Gryffindor.� How unfortunate..�

Caed
looked at him sheepishly and shook his head. �No.. in my time the hat wanted to put me in Slytherin but I asked
it not to.� I was a Gryffindor.� This time round it didn�t really listen to me
� just said I didn�t like Dumbledore and belonged in Slytherin.��

�Perhaps you belong in Slytherin.. but
I�m not convinced you�re going to fit in there very well.�

It makes sense in light of the fact that you were.. essentially are.. a Gryffindor.� You
don�t behave in the manner all Slytherins tend to behave.��
Tom sighed. �Perhaps..something can be done
about it.� Time will tell.�

He gestured for Caed to precede him, curious whether the boy would know the
way to the Slytherin common room.�
Apparently he did.� He walked down
without any trouble whatsoever, stopping in front of the correct shield and waiting.�

Tom smirked.� �The current password is �Ophiuchus�.� I change it weekly,
or more often if there are concerns about security.� The new password is posted inside the dorm
rooms on the morning it is changed.��

Harry leaned close, whispering the
strange word and the shield popped away from the wall slightly, opening the way
for them both.��

There were a few students sitting around the common room inside, almost all
younger years, and they all looked up with varying degrees of interest.�

Harry tried not to blanch in reaction, thinking that Slytherins
would probably see that as a sign of weakness.�

He tried instead to fit a blank look on his face and waited for Tom to lead
him.�

The common room itself looked
pretty much how he expected it would � and quite similar to how it would look
in fifty years when he�d sneak in as Gregory Goyle.�

The furniture was different but it was all black and there was a lot of old and
expensive looking wooden tables and sideboards with various silvery trinkets
and objects about the massive stone pillared room.�

The large fireplace and massive
oval window opening under the lake dominated the view.�

�Come, Caed.� We shall find you a room.� Tom spoke behind
him, gesturing toward an arch at the back of the large room, which seemed to
lead downstairs.�

Harry walked toward it immediately and started down, stopping on the first
level and waiting for further instruction.�

Tom looked at him approvingly.�

This was so surreal somehow.� He was actually trying to make friends with Voldemort.� Voldemort
was probably the only person prepared to help him here.�

He might even be..dependant.. upon
him.�

If he couldn�t go back.. (and
he really couldn�t go back)..then he had to somehow make a life here.� He had to learn everything he hadn�t learned
before and find some kind of work.� Tom
might help him do that.�

The tall and undeniably graceful,
boy led him down the corridor, stopping outside a room and seeming to
hesitate.�

He turned around quickly, fixing Harry with a
speculative look, his head slightly tilted, and spoke quietly, a strange little
smile playing at the corner of his lips faintly.�

�There is a bed free in this dorm room.�
It is in fact the only bed
free among the seventh years.� ..however..�

he took a half step closer�

�In the dormroom shared by my...friends � there is one individual who might be moved here
instead of you.�

You could take his place in that room.��

Harry noticed the slight pause
before tom had said friends.� In his mind
Harry was substituting �death eaters in training� and the hair stood up on his
arms in gooseflesh as his eyes widened.�
Tom was going to put him in a room with death eaters.� He swallowed.�

Tom took another half step closer.

�To translate for your Gryffindor
mind� he said, an indecipherable expression on his
face �I am generously offering you an
introduction and a possible affiliation with my associates.� You would be
safe within Slytherin if you had such a connection.� The most important thing that every first year
learns in Slytherin is that, while one is always at core alone, it is dangerous
to be without association.��

Tom moved another few inches closer and Harry stepped back uneasily feeling
once again off balance.� He didn�t
understand what tom was about.� Maybe he
realised that Harry was uncomfortable with him invading his space and did it
just to intimidate him.�

It bloody worked.� Harry took another
step back and his heel hit the wall.�

He slid along it quickly and put the open corridor at his back, glancing behind
him briefly to make sure no one else was there.�

He was gifted, incongruously, with
another approving look from Tom.�

�Caed -
This is the kind of offer that many in Slytherin would give their wand arm
for.� ..well.. someone�s wand arm,
at least.�� He added, smirking again.��

�My circle is composed of the brightest, strongest and most well-connected of
the Slytherins in seventh year. �

In case you did not realise - �I am offering you my protection,
Caed. �

But it is your choice.� I can put you in
this room.� You need only say the
word.��

Harry�s eyes flicked to the door
and then back to tom.� He�d only just
finished telling himself how he needed to make friends with Tom and try to get
his help if he wanted to survive.� If he
didn�t take tom�s offer, he had a feeling it would be interpreted as an insult
or something.�

He really didn�t want to put himself in a room with death eaters while he was
sleeping and vulnerable.. but
maybe.. maybe Tom really would protect him.�

Maybe the safest place for him to be would be in the middle of them.�

�I�d ..like..
to stay in your friend�s dorm then.� He said.� Remembering as an afterthought.
�Thank you..again..Tom.��

The dark blue eyes glinted
slightly and the other boy nodded, smiling faintly and gestured for him to
follow.� At the door at the very end of
the corridor he motioned stop.�

�Wait here Caed.� He instructed and, knocking twice,
entered the room after a couple of seconds.�

Harry didn�t hear anything and
after a few minutes he started to think that maybe he wouldn�t have to stay
there after all if whoever was in there refused to move, but then the door
opened and� a short boy with messy brown
hair and pajamas came out looking more than a little
ticked off.�

Harry stepped out of his way quickly as he� stomped past and down the corridor
into the room that Harry had just declined.�
Tom appeared at the door and smiled at him with bright amused eyes.�

�Seems that Willowbank was a little
reluctant to give up his prime position.�� I managed to persuade him in the end
though.�� Come in and meet your new dorm
mates, Caed.��

Harry blinked, wondering just how
Tom had persuaded the pissed off looking boy who�d stomped past.� He stepped forward gingerly and then stopped
again and forcibly pulled himself up by his bootstraps.� No weakness.�
Slytherins are like sharks or something.� And.. and death eaters way more so.�

I�m fine.� Tom�s practically vouching for
me.� Probably.� I need to just stay cool.�

He walked forward with confidence
he didn�t feel and was surprised to find that every other boy in the room was
dressed.� He�d thought they�d all be in
bed, like uh.. Willowstead
seemed to have been.�

The room held eight beds with four
on each side and a door at the end that was closed.�

He supposed it might be a bathroom.�

The bed closest to the door was conspicuously without belongings or trunk
around it and Tom nodded�
at his speculative look at it. �Yes.� That will be yours � but I�d like to
introduce you first.��

He looked up and mustered the
other boys.� They all looked somehow
older than the seventh years he�d known back ..back in
the future.�

Perhaps people got softer over the decades or something.�

Three boys sat on one of the beds
at the back� and
two on another bed.� The remaining two
were on their own beds and one had been reading while the other was writing something,
it seemed.� They sat up and paid
attention.�

�This is Caedmon Piper� Tom
informed the room. �He has entered Hogwarts only this evening and will begin
classes tomorrow.� I would appreciate it
if you might watch over him a little.� He
has been home-schooled and might have some difficulty adapting to the
workload.�

I think.. given time.. he will fit in here very well however...� Caed.. come here.�� Tom walked over to the first boy who was
lying on his stomach working on something.�
Harry recognised it as ancient runes.

�This is Roan Mulciber��

The boy in question was slender
with brown hair and light grey blue eyes.�
He had an alert watchful look about him but his smile was friendly
enough as he extended his hand for Harry to shake.� His grip was firm and his hand warm.�

Harry thought he didn�t seem much like his impression of death eaters.�

�Nice to meet you� the boy said.�

Tom told him �Roan�s family are predominantly involved in academic research, Caed.� He is
strongest in runes and languages � neither of which you are taking, however he
is also quite good in transfiguration, charms, arithmancy and of course Defense and Duelling � but then everyone here is good in
that.��

There was a quiet snigger from some of the other boys.� Harry got the joke but nevertheless tried to
pretend that he didn�t.�

Tom moved on to the next bed where
an athletic black haired boy with black eyes sat.� He had a sharp hard look about his features
and reminded Harry a tiny bit of Victor Krum. �

The boy looked up at him with a calculating expression, as if sizing him
up.� He had been reading a book.� Harry blinked at the strange writing.�

�Antonin Dolohov, Caed.� Antonin�s family are mainly centred in Eastern Europe,
particularly in Russia.� They are
...quite well connected there.� �He gave
him a meaningful glance which Harry didn�t know what to do with.�

�Ok?� he said uncertainly.�

Antonin
laughed softly and glanced up at Tom, the two sharing some form of quick
communication before Antonin told Harry with a faint
accent �He means we are involved in the Russian wizarding mafia.� He was perhaps being a bit too..delicate.� You might
as well understand now.��

Harry fought to suppress the blush
that lit his cheeks, feeling stupid. �oh.. ok.. thanks� he said and offered
his hand.�

The boy took it with a slap and pumped it once, glancing at Tom again and
smirking in faint bemusement.�

Tom smirked back and informed Harry that Antonin�s
strengths were in arithmancy and runes, he spoke several languages but did not
study the subject and he was absolutely brutal in a duel, to which the Russian
thanked him, laughing but added �compared to most other students � perhaps.. compared to you � not so
much.��

Tom smiled thinly and moved on, leading Harry by the elbow to the bed on which
three boys sat.�

�Caed �
this is Gyphus Lestrange,
Palmer Avery and Darius Nott.�� He
gestured to each boy and Harry shook each hand quickly in turn.�

Gyphus
had a more muscular form, a bit more heavyset than the others, Harry noted,
with dark brown hair and light brown eyes.�
A thin white scar ran along the cheekbone under his left eye
horizontally.�� Harry wondered what it
was from.�

Palmer Avery next to him had dark
sandy blond hair and pale blue eyes.� He
looked a bit.. well.. it seemed wrong to say psycho when he didn�t even know the
guy but this boy kind of gave him the creeps a bit from the getgo.�

His eyes were just ..dead.. somehow.� He smiled but there was just nothing behind
it.� His handshake had been limp and Harry
had been pleased to release the hand.�
His build was somewhere between slim and athletic.�

Harry had shifted his gaze away from him quickly, unaccountably discomforted by
him.�

Darius Nott was a smaller boy with
light brown hair and quite pretty large blue eyes. He had a dreamy kind of
smile and Harry was reminded a wee bit of Luna.�

Not quite as spaced out as Luna maybe but something of that otherworldlyness.� That was the end of the similarity
however.� Darius wasn�t at all waiflike,
in fact he was pretty strong looking � a bit like seamus the last time Harry had seen him.�

Harry was starting to feel like he was at one of Slughorns
awful parties with the way Tom introduced his friends.�

Apparently Gyphus�s
family was in trade and finance while Palmer and Darius had parents high up in
the ministry.�

While Gyphus was best in charms and defense and good in magical creatures and herbology� � tom told Harry not to ask him for
help in arithmancy because he was balls in it.�

This earned a growled �hey!� I am not! I
got an A on the last test!� The others
laughed.�

Tom snorted. �As I said. Balls.� A is short for Abysmal, Gyphus.�

Harry smiled.� He was feeling surprisingly good.� Tom was...different..
than he�d thought he would be, knowing who he was and
all.� He was actually enjoying meeting
these guys and the faint glimmer of hope was dawning faintly that maybe.. possibly.. it
might be alright somehow to be stuck here.�

If..he could make friends.. and
somehow catch up on a million miles of work and pass his NEWTs...�

Tom was going on about Palmer�s
strengths but he was only half listening.�
He had a feeling that he would not go to Palmer for help anyway.�

Darius was apparently best in potions and arithmancy and tom advised him to go
to him for assistance in those subjects if he couldn�t find tom himself.� The stocky boy smiled up at him and winked,
grinning.� �Don�t worry.� You�ll be alright.� Sluggy likes Slytherins and if you�re set with Tom, you�ve pretty much
got it made with him.��

�Sluggy
is professor Slughorn, Caed� Tom explained
unnecessarily. �he teaches potions.� He is somewhat... overwhelming.. at times.� You�ll see.��

Harry nodded agreeably.� He knew Slughorn
was overwhelming.� The man was a huge
annoying pompous lard arse who�d just wanted to show Harry around like some
kind of trophy to a bunch of other boring people he had no interest in knowing.�

He was still better than Snape of course..�

Tom turned around to the bed
behind them and Harry followed his cue.�

The boys on this bed were incredibly familiar looking.� It was some relative of his godfather Sirius
and probably the father of Lucius Malfoy.� They looked
like blacks and malfoys

�This is Alphard
Black and Abraxas Malfoy, Caed.� Harry shook the
hands, somewhat hypnotised by the familiarity of the boys.� Was he staring?� He looked back at tom uncertainly.��

Tom raised an eyebrow a microfraction of a
millimetre.� Yes.� Apparently he�d been staring.� Damn.��

He turned back to the two boys and
swallowed, managing. �It�s an honour to meet you.��

Abraxas smirked but relaxed somehow as if he received faintly awed reactions
from time to time and was used to it.� Alphard looked to Tom with a faint questioning look in his
eye.� Tom shook his head almost
imperceptibly.�

�As you would know, Caed � both the Malfoy�s and
Blacks are mainly involved with finance, investment and international trade
and, correspondingly � Alphard and Abraxas are
strongest in arithmancy and defense.� Alphard is also
very good in transfiguration and Abraxas in charms.� Neither are even taking magical creatures and
they�re both mediocre in potions so don�t bother going to them for those
subjects.� �

Harry nodded and wondered whether
he should have been making notes of all this.�

�You do know i�m probably not going to remember what
everyone is best in, don�t you?� he asked uncertainly.�

Tom snorted.� �I know no such thing.� Tell me � who would you go to for arithmancy
if I were not available?�

Harry looked around and said after
some thought.. Darius and then Antonin
and if they weren�t available.. maybe
Alphard and then Abraxas.��

Tom shot him that approving look again, however it was much stronger.� �See.. you did remember..�
Who might you ask about charms?��

Harry informed him that he�d probably go to Gyphus
and then Abraxas and then maybe Palmer.�
Over the next few questions Harry determined that he also knew who to
see about transfiguration and potions too.�

�What about defense?�
Tom asked softly.

He hadn�t told Harry much about the relative abilities of the boys in that
area, with the exception of Antonin.�

Harry swallowed and looked around
and then back at Tom.� �Um... You first.� Then...Gyphus, Antonin,
Abraxas, Alphard, Palmer, Darius and Roan.��

Tom looked surprised and pleased.
�Why Gyphus first?� he asked curiously.�

Harry shrugged.� �I don�t know.� If I had to fight someone in the room � other
than you, he�d probably be my last choice.��
Tom considered this.�

�Gyphus
does indeed have a broader knowledge of defense than
the others.� You seem to have judged
everyone quite well in fact.� That
is...useful to know.�

How are you in defense,
Caed? �Where
would you place yourself among the others?��

Harry stiffened, his eyes widening
in unease. �I..I don�t know.� He mumbled.��

Tom looked thoughtful for a
moment.� �Nevermind.� We
have defense tomorrow afternoon � I�m sure we�ll soon
see.��

Harry swallowed and flicked his
eyes away and back at Tom uncomfortably.�

Great.� Tomorrow
he would be having DADA as critiqued by Lord Voldemort.� That was going to be fun.� Harry had sometimes had dreams in which he�d
been in DADA and Voldemort had stood by watching and ridiculing him for every
move.� It was unpleasant.� He�d had a lot of sympathy for Neville in
potions because of it.

Tom looked at Caed
speculatively.� He�d been quite impressed
when the boy had, off the cuff, estimated the abilities of his knights exactly as Tom himself privately rated
them.�

He wondered now whether the boy might actually be more use than previously
assumed.� He would observe him carefully
in defense.� Perhaps
he might be skilled in that area.. or
at least possess some natural talent
that might be developed.��

On that thought, casting tempus he
noted that it was already after midnight.�
He could still carry out the ceremony with his knights, however it would
be cutting it thin on time and he would not be as alert as he now desired to be
for tomorrow�s defense class.

�As if reading his mind, Abraxas questioned
obliquely. �Another day?��

He nodded to him and thereby to
all of them.�

Suddenly remembering he rummaged around in his pockets and pulled out Caed�s bags and books, taking them over to his bed and
enlarging them again before turning back to the peculiarly endearing blonde boy
hovering indecisively between Gyphus and Abraxas
beds.

�I shall leave you to get settled
now, Caed.� I
will see you at breakfast.�� He shot a
last meaningful look around the others and turned and left, making his way out
of Slytherin house and up to the head boy�s room.� The painting � an irritating mermaid � tried
to tell him off for coming in so late.�

He smiled a charming smile and explained how he was helping a new student,
telling the wretched daub that she was lovelier each day.� When the portrait closed after him he rolled
his eyes.� He needed to find some way
around that blasted scribble.�

Divestoing
his clothing, he didn�t even bother with his nightshirt but simply crawled into
the wide double bed that was one of the main perks of being head boy, rolling
over and relaxing.��

In his mind�s eye pale emerald
eyes floated and he ran his fingers through messy blonde hair.� �He
sighed and turned over, falling asleep almost immediately.

Author note.

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