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False Ties (Prequel to: Family Ties)	By : JunjouSlashGirl Category: Harry Potter > Slash - Male/Male > Harry/Tom Views: 4583 -:- Recommendations : 2 -:- Currently Reading : 2
Disclaimer: Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, or any of the characters. All rights belong to J. K. Rowling. I make no money from this story.

Chapter List
- 2
- 3
- 4
Chapter 3: An Unexpected Friend:
Second Year - Part II
(Rhian age 8… continued)
"What are you doing up so early?" was Rhian's greeting as he blinked the sleep out of his eyes only a few hours later. What a strange dream that had been. Blushing, he looked over to where the wizard was sitting, remembering what he had done in that dream. He had nursed from the man that looked an awful lot like Marvolo. As if he had been a mere toddler; he felt totally embarrassed. Shaking his head, he tried to get rid of the image, but somehow he couldn't. It was stuck too clearly in front of his inner eye, and also the memory of how he had felt as he had been nursed and held tightly. It had felt so nice to have someone care for him. No, not someone, but a father who had cared for him.
Once again his old dream awoke inside of him, and his chest felt as if it was on fire with yearning. As a small child he had always imagined what it would be like to have one. He had lain for long hours in his cupboard and dreamed of how his father would wake him in the morning, tell him to get dressed and down to breakfast. He would put a plate in front of him with a slice of toast, bacon and sausages cut into small pieces like aunt Petunia had always done for Dudley. He then would pour him some milk or juice, take him to pre-school and fetch him later in the afternoon, before helping him with his homework.
On weekends they would go to the playground in the park nearby or maybe play a game of ball in the garden, and when he was ill his father would make him a hottie and read stories to him until he fell asleep.
He just knew, if he still had a father, he would do all of that for him. He would be the nicest person in the world. Maybe a bit stern, but caring…
Suddenly his mind reminded him that it wasn't completely out of the question to have a family one day. The Potters hadn't been his parents, so maybe his REAL father was still alive? Maybe even searching for him?
Shaking his head again, he pushed the thought to the side. Right now this dream could only hurt him. Even if his real father was still somewhere out there, he had no opportunity to search for him right now. Not with Dumbledore practically watching every step he took. So he stretched and finally climbed out of bed.
He had slept better than any night he could remember and everything inside of him was reluctant to get out of the heavenly soft bed, but he knew he had to get his daily chores done before school, otherwise he would have no time for his extra lessons with Marvolo in the evening.
The memory had moved from the armchair he had been sitting in after Rhian went to bed, over to the sofa where he had stretched out in a way that seemed lazy and sophisticated at the same time.
"If you are not even able to answer my question yet, it is only underlining my belief that you still belong in bed," Marvolo's voice pulled him out off his sleeping observations and Rhian quickly replied: "I have to get up and do my daily chores. Otherwise I won't get anything to…" he cut himself off as he realized that food would not be a problem any longer, but still, he had to do the housework if he wanted to avoid a beating.
"Or you do not what?" Marvolo asked pointedly and he winced inwardly. He needed to learn to think before he spoke in the Diary's proximity. Usually he had no problem doing so, but something about his new companion was compelling him to be as truthful as possible. Maybe it was because of the strong trust he had felt from the very beginning… he couldn't say.
"Nothing, nothing," he quickly tried to avoid giving an answer, but he should have known that such a simple excuse wouldn't work with the Dark Lord. Marvolo once again lifted his left eyebrow and gave him that questioning look that promised… he didn't know what it promised yet, but he hoped that he would know his tutor well enough to have such an answer soon. So with a sigh he changed his mind and decided to give a proper answer after all:
"I know food isn't an issue anymore… but I have to do my daily work or my relatives will be…" he broke off again as he noticed Marvolo's expression darkening.
"What will they do to you aside from obviously withdrawing food?"
Rhian looked down. He couldn't confess the truth to Marvolo. Knowing that he was a wizard and not able to defend himself against his abusive uncle and aunt already weighted down his small ego, but to talk about his weakness would only make it a hundred times worse. He just knew that Marvolo was the kind of smart person who would have found a way out of the situation by now and he didn't want to make a bad impression.
However, he startled when cool hands suddenly grabbed under his arms and he was suddenly picked up and lifted out of his bed. The decision was taken away from him as Marvolo pulled his pajama top over his head in one swift, fluid motion and his bruises and scars were revealed for the whole world to see, while at the same, electric sensation he had felt the day before washed all over his body.
"I see the old fool has not changed his tactics in the last couple of decades. One day he may realize, that he is not raising loyal followers but his own enemies," Marvolo growled, and as Rhian lifted his head to look at his tutor, he saw a gleam in those green eyes that should frighten him, but didn't. He knew that he had that same gleam in his eyes whenever he fantasized about taking revenge on the Dursley's and the thought that Marvolo wanted to avenge him only filled him with a warm, fluttering feeling.
For a long moment silence rang between them as Marvolo continued to hold him tightly. It made all his worries go away for a moment. Marvolo made him feel so protected, just like he had always imagined a father would. The man was clearly drifting far away in thought, but it didn't bother him as he relaxed into the touch. However the moment was interrupted when a near silent pop was heard and Malik appeared only a few steps away from them, bowing:
"Good morning my Lord; young Master. May Malik serve breakfast?" the elf inquired and Marvolo let go of Rhian all too soon. His skin still tingled, but he tried to ignore it and listen to the Diary who was telling his servant:
"You may serve breakfast. And fetch some healing potions for Rhian."
Malik disappeared after another bow and Rhian, even though he wanted to stay in his mentor's lap and cuddle a little longer, knew that he had better use the time to get dressed. So he went to his wardrobe and pulled out one of his old jeans and t-shirts. His eyes wandered over the pile of new, fitting and soft clothes. "A pity I can't wear them."
"No, not for your 'lessons' with Dumbledore," Marvolo sneered. "But you can change into them once you are back. Now, back to the topic of your chores. I will order Malik to do them for you. A wizard should not be forced to do such lowly work."
"But…" Rhian tried to interrupt, fear rising in his throat. He could not let the House Elf take over all his chores. Firstly, it would be unfair towards the poor creature and secondly, the Dursley's would grow suspicious if they never saw him doing anything anymore. They would accuse him of doing magic and punish him even worse than they normally did. Besides, they would never accept Malik in their house.
"Do not worry. Malik will not be seen," Marvolo waved him off, just as said House Elf returned with a tray full of breakfast goodies.
Rhian was momentarily distracted by the side of freshly baked pancakes with whipped cream and strawberry marmalade, but forced himself to turn back to the Diary.
"But... that won't be enough. They will grow suspicious if they don't see me doing my work anymore.
Marvolo's brows creased into a barely noticeable frown and Rhian kept silent as the Dark Wizard was thinking, which didn't take long at all. "He will at least take over some of your chores. What are your duties in this… 'house'?" it was clear that the memory didn't consider the neat duplex house something that actually deserved the title of 'house', which only strengthened Rhian's suspicions that Marvolo belonged to a rich and noble Pureblood family. Well, he was an ancestor of Salazar Slytherin, one of the four Hogwarts Founders. That family had to be rich.
"I have to keep the garden clean and the flowers watered. Then I have to do the laundry, the cleaning of the bathrooms and vacuum every day as well... and I have to cook breakfast and dinner if I am home early enough." He quickly listed his daily duties.
"It will be enough to do the cooking and the vacuum cleaning. They can watch you doing those. Considering the time you are away at Hogwarts I doubt they saw you doing all of these chores lately anyway. Besides, you still have to be able to do your training with me in the evenings. You should not stop working on your dream to become a powerful wizard by being burdened with such mundane tasks. Your magical core is powerful; such a gift should not be wasted."
Worrying his bottom lip, Rhian lowered his gaze. The offer was tempting, but how could he burden the small, old creature with so much added work? That didn't sound fair to his ears. However, as if reading his mind, his tutor spoke up once more:
"Your face is as open as a book; we will have to work on your occluding skills, but for now let me put your mind at ease and tell you that there is no need to worry about Malik. He will not be doing your chores by hand. He will use is elf magic and be finished in no more than an hour.
Finally, Rhian nodded slowly. That sounded like a plan which could work. So while Marvolo gave Malik his new orders, he sat down in front of the coffee table once more and began eating. He quickly found out that the pancakes as well as the double chocolate cupcakes and the treacle tarts were his favorites.
When he was finished, he said his goodbyes to Marvolo, who had gotten a book from somewhere, and went into his relatives' kitchen. Unlike the day before, the whole family was up already, but they were not down yet, so he still had enough time to prepare the bacon, eggs and slices of toast. His day took a sudden, painful turn, as Dudley walked in, threw him a nasty grin and started screaming for his parents. Within seconds aunt Petunia and uncle Vernon were down, Petunia gathering her sweet 'Duddykins' in her arms.
Rhian meanwhile was trying to make himself as small as possible. He knew how this scene would continue, it was not the first time Dudley used his parents absence to blame him for something that didn't happen. The only question was, what would it be today?
"Hush, my sweetheart. Tell your mommy and daddy what happened. We will make it better again," his aunt crooned, while Dudley wiped a few false tears from his face, sniffled and then wailed: "The freak… the freak splattered me with some of the hot fat from the pan! It hurts! It hurts!"
He had no time to listen to Petunia's soothing reassurances, as his uncle instantly turned to him, his face already red with rage, the vein on his temple throbbing dangerously.
"You useless freak! I will show you how hot a pan is!" he raged, grabbed his wrist and before Rhian could even try to break free, his right hand was pushed into the bubbling oil. He screamed out in anguish and began to struggle as hot tears blurred his vision. But his uncle didn't let go until the smell of scorched flesh could be smelled in the kitchen.
Rhian immediately pulled his hand out of the pan, but it was too late. His skin was blistering and red, and in some places even scorched away completely, leaving nothing more than raw, burned flesh.
Whimpering, he hurried out of the kitchen and into the living room. He wanted to ask Marvolo for a healing spell that was strong enough to take care of his burn, but his experience with the Episkey spell had taught him not to heal his wounds, it would only make his relatives even angrier, and also the thought of Azkaban still frightened him.
So instead of returning to his room, he just grabbed some of the floo powder and floo'ed over to Dumbledore's office.
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The Headmaster looked up as he stumbled out of the hearth as he always did. "You are quite early today, my boy. But let us use the extra time," he waved Rhian over, his eyes settling on his hand which he still held cradled to his chest, but they wandered further without lingering even a second, as if the old wizard had not noticed his injury.
"Today I would like to discuss with you what you had witnessed in the Chamber of Secrets," Dumbledore began without wasting any time. "You mentioned yesterday that you found a Diary when you saved Miss Weasley…" he continued, and gave Rhian in inquiring look, making it clear that he expected more details from him. Rhian however, knew that he could not tell the old coot the whole truth, but neither would he get away with telling him nothing. So what could he do? One thing was clear; he had to continue pretending that he had defeated Marvolo. However, that still didn't tell him what information he could share without endangering his new tutor.
After worrying his bottom lip a moment longer, he finally came to a decision and began retelling an altered version of the events from the day before:
"Yes, I found a Diary in the chamber… but it had to be magical, because Voldemort came out of it… or rather Voldemort as a student."
"Yes, yes," Dumbledore murmured, as if he had just confirmed something, before asking: "Did he mention something about using Ms Weasley to come back to life?"
Rhian hesitated again, but in the end, he decided that apparently Dumbledore knew that already. He could only hope that it was nothing more than a theory of the old coot and not that he had somehow watched the entire event. "Um… I think he said something like that…" he confirmed, making sure that he sounded like the naive boy the Headmaster believed him to be.
"Tell me, Harry, what impression did you form about young Tom?"
"Tom?" Rhian echoed with confusion, he had never heard that name before.
"Yes, indeed. Tom Marvolo Riddle is Voldemort's real name."
Knowing that he was just being told another lie by the Headmaster and also that he had to play along, he quickly listed all the things the old coot would want to hear about Marvolo in his mind, before he began to repeat them slowly, as if deeply in thought:
"I think… he seemed rather arrogant. He also tried to manipulate me, just like you described a Slytherin or Dark Wizard would do. The way he acts you can tell he is from a Pureblood family."
"And there we have the funny side of this story," Dumbledore hummed, a bright twinkle now in his eyes. "While Tom fights for the rights of the Purebloods, the rights of the 'superior' wizards and witches as he calls them, he is in truth a Halfblood himself. But not only that, he was brought up in nothing like the luxurious surrounding he likes to make his followers believe. Tom Marvolo Riddle grew up in a muggle orphanage, where he stuck out like a sore thumb, because he had inherited an evil, dark and sadistic soul from his mother's side of the family from the very beginning."
Rhian suppressed a scoff; he didn't believe that being a 'Dark Wizard' truly equaled being evil, and even less that any child was born with an evil soul. No, it was the environment, the people in ones close proximity that turned someone 'dark', nothing else. However, Dumbledore continued and he quickly concentrated back on the old man so that he could tell Marvolo every detail about the lies the Headmaster was spouting.
"At the orphanage he terrorized children. Very early he had a grip on his magic and parseltongue ability, and he used them relentlessly to torment those who could have, and should have, been his friends. He also had a tendency to gather trophies from those he disliked the most; mostly worthless trinkets he stole, but already a sign of his evil nature.
I do not like to talk bad about people, former students especially," Dumbledore continued and Rhian wanted to roll his eyes. The old fool was doing nothing other than talking bad about 'Dark Wizards' and teaching him spells to defeat them since their lessons had started over a year ago.
"...however, I was the one who delivered Tom's Hogwarts letter, and even at that first meeting I had bad feeling. It was like a dark cloud surrounding him, and in the following seven years my suspicions were only confirmed. I never could find any evidence, but I am sure that he killed a Muggleborn student in his sixth year."
Rhian's eyes widened. For a split second he could not imagine Marvolo would do such a thing, but then he remembered that Marvolo was indeed Voldemort, and Voldemort had killed a lot of people. However, he wondered if maybe the Muggleborn had been a tormentor like Dudley. He just couldn't believe that things were as easy as the Headmaster made them out to be, it never was. For example: while his cousin was a mean bully, he also believed that his parents were at fault. Dudley only copied what they did to him, nothing more. And then there was the first war. Was it really only about killing all Muggles, or had there been another reason hidden behind it? He knew Marvolo, and he believed the man had been brilliant, so in turn, Voldemort had to be brilliant as well, and brilliant people didn't do things without a good reason; that's at least is what he believed. Well, after meeting Ginevra Weasley, he could also understand if Marvolo had killed the student if he or she had been 'Light'. That type of magic just felt 'wrong'.
"Yes indeed," Dumbledore nodded, false sadness in his eyes. "As I told you during our first meeting, Tom is a parselmouth, and after what you reported yesterday, I am sure that he opened the Chamber of Secrets and let the basilisk loose. The ghost you had surely seen in the Girls' toilet was the victim back then.
Rhian hadn't seen any ghost, but he made a mental note to talk to her if he ever got a chance to go back to the second floor.
"Well my boy," Dumbledore said and rose to his feet. "It will soon be time for your lesson with Professor Moody. I will let you go a little earlier, because I imagine you would like to check on Miss Weasley and see how she is doing. I know she wants to thank you in person; you are her savior after all."
Rhian cringed inwardly; he didn't know what repulsed him more; the thought of getting close to the weak 'Light Witch' with her disgusting magic, or the fact that she called him her 'savior'. He certainly hadn't wanted to save her, but as Marvolo had pointed out, they had no choice.
However, he nodded in apparent agreement, but didn't actually plan on visiting her, before leaving the office to just wait in some hidden alcove.
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The rest of his day at Hogwarts was spent singularly with Moody, who first let him run for two hours straight and then worked with him on his spell dodging. Therefore, the Auror used a trainings method he had introduced only three month after the beginning of his training. Rhian had to duck, dodge and shield while Moody sent spells, hexes, jinxes and curses as quickly and as strongly as the old Auror was able to at him.
Moody had kept him even longer than usual, therefore, when he finally had returned home, prepared dinner and done the vacuum cleaning, he was so exhausted that the only thing on his mind was going straight to bed. The aching of his hand had faded to a constant burn in the background of his mind, so he yelped in surprise when he slumped past the Diary and his hand was suddenly grabbed.
"What happened?" Marvolo's voice was stern as ever, but there was the tiniest hint of worry in the man's words, and it was all it took for Rhian to recall every detail of his horrible day. Tears instantly pricked at his eyes and spilled over a second later. He was swept onto the ghostly cold lap of his mentor and instantly clung to the wizard's robe burying his wet face into the soft fabric while a strong, large hand started to stroke soothing circles on his back.
Somewhere in the background a pop was heard and Marvolo said something, but Rhian didn't listen; he just clung tighter to the sanctuary he found in the strong, broad chest and let his tears fall freely.
Something warm and soft was suddenly pushed into his arms and he let go of Marvolo's robe with one hand to hug the thing closer. Somehow, whatever it was comforted him and after a few more minutes of back rubbing he had calmed down enough to blink his eyes open again and examine what the Diary had given him. At first the image was still a bit blurry from his tears and he only could recognize something rather long, green and soft looking. Rubbing the tears away with his free hand, he lifted the thing up and finally he recognized that it was a snake. Not a normal snake, but a cuddly toy in snake form, and it had wings.
He stared at the snake, somehow it felt familiar. Suddenly a picture flashed through his mind and for a split second he thought that the Marvolo doppelganger was standing in front of him, giving him the toy he held tightly against his chest. But the hands reaching out for the snake were much smaller, as if they belonged to a toddler.
He blinked, and the image was gone. He blinked a second time to chase the strange feeling away that had grabbed hold of him. It had felt so real… but surely that couldn't be?
"It would be appropriate to say 'thank you'," Marvolo's voice brought him back to the present and the strange feeling and vision vanished from his mind, replaced by a wide, happy smile. He had a cuddly toy, his first ever toy. He didn't mind that it looked a bit rough around the edges; he would treasure it regardless.
"Does it have a name?" He asked curiously, looking up into those green eyes that watched him intently.
"His name is Jörmungandr."
Pulling a face, Rhian said: "That's a strange name."
"I believe his former owner called him Jörmy for short," Marvolo smirked.
"Did Jörmy belong to the person that was precious to you?" he asked, pressing the cuddly toy against his small chest; it was nicely warm. Were all cuddly toys this warm?
Marvolo gave a quick nod. "He named it after the creature from his favorite tale…" the wizard told him, and something was telling Rhian that his mentor was pondering something, so he kept silent, cuddled back against the chest and waited. Finally the Diary said: "I will tell you the story if you are interested."
His eyes widened. A story, no one had ever told him a story! He nodded quickly.
"Then, let us get you to bed first," Marvolo said and scooped him up. He was carried over and tucked in, then his mentor sat down on the edge of his bed as well and began to tell him the tale of Jörmungandr: the World Serpent.
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The next two weeks passed in a nightmarish blur of far too long lessons and too many chores. The Dursley's had gotten suspicious because he apparently managed everything in time and had not only started to watch him closely, but also added even more work to his daily schedule.
Marvolo was getting annoyed; he knew that, after everything, they had not managed to start his lessons so far, because whenever he finally returned late at night, he was unable to even talk to the Diary for a few minutes. He couldn't even tell if the man still tucked him in at night, because he fell asleep as soon as his body hit the mattress. But even worse was that he had not had any time to cuddle with the memory. He had gotten used to the comfort within a day and was missing it terribly. Once, during a particular hard lesson with Moody, he even found his eyes stinging with tears as a sudden wave of longing for the comfort of the man had overwhelmed him. The only thing that helped a bit was the cuddly toy he always woke up with in his arms ever since Marvolo had gifted it to him...
Therefore it didn't really surprise him when one evening, Marvolo announced as soon as he stepped into his room: "Sit. We need to talk."
The man was sitting on the couch that Rhian by now called "Marvolo's" inwardly, but in contrast to the relaxed but poised position he found the memory in the last few evenings, he was sitting facing him, one finger tapping a rhythm onto the armrest that clearly spoke of his dark mood and he wore a scowl. It gave Rhian the odd, unfamiliar feeling of being called into a father's office or study to be lectured for some sort of misbehavior. Somehow, despite the fact that it wasn't anything like one of his 'nice dreams' he had constructed, the thought still made his stomach flutter.
Despite the clear foul mood of his tutor, he took that chance to climb onto the sofa next to the man. For a second, he still hesitated, but joy filled him as he cuddled closer and felt Marvolo relax the tiniest bit. An arm was wrapped around his shoulders.
"I am sure you realize that it cannot continue like this any longer," Marvolo began. Rhian wondered if he was supposed to reply, but his body and mind was too happy to snuggle up against the strong, broad chest (that always made him feel so safe) to be able to do so.
"However, I have found a solution," he continued and pulled a golden chain with a round pendant out of his robe pocket.
Rhian stared at it, not knowing how a necklace could help them, but he had a feeling that Marvolo would explain soon enough.
"This is a Time Turner. It will enable you to travel back in time, up to 24 hours, thus, allowing you to live your day twice."
Not sure how to answer, he chewed on his bottom lip. He didn't want to live each of his horrible days twice and to the same chores double, but he also didn't want to disappoint his mentor. Unfortunately, Marvolo had noticed his expression and asked:
"I can see by your expression that you are making assumptions, and with your amount of knowledge on the wizarding world they will most likely be wrong. So tell me what you are thinking so that I can put your needless fears to rest."
He hesitated for another moment, but when he saw the frown settling back onto the wizard's features, he quickly mumbled: "I don't know how reliving my day will help us… I mean, it will only mean that I am doing the same stuff twice, won't it?"
"Ah, of course, you have no idea how exactly a Time Turner works. While you will be reliving your day, your past self will be doing what you have already done, thus, it gives you the freedom to work on other projects; like our lessons and getting into a healthier routine so that you will actually be able to cope with the training I will put you through."
Rhian gulped, that didn't sound as if he would get any free time out of this, but then again, he would at least get a break from Dumbledore and the Dursley's every other day, and he really should just be glad that he would finally learn useful things.
He was about to nod in agreement, when another thought entered his mind, and quickly voiced it before Marvolo could grow impatient once again:
"What will happen if one of my relatives sees me and… my 'past me'?" he felt a bit awkward to talk about two versions of 'himself', but had no idea how to put it differently.
Marvolo's expression darkened and there was a warning, almost threatening glint suddenly in his eyes as the man looked down on him that made him want to hide in the Diary's robes.
"You will need to make sure that such a situation never presents itself. Manipulating time is a dangerous affair. If for example, you manage to kill someone, or even your 'past self', that person will be dead once the time flows regularly again. It also bears the danger of driving people insane, as going back in time is something even we wizards are not supposed to do."
Nodding in understanding, Rhian asked: "When will we start using the Time Turner?"
"This evening," answered Marvolo with a look on his face that told him the Diary clearly thought the question was stupid. "You will do your chores, and then go back in time and rest a little before we start with your training."
Perking up at the promise of some rest, Rhian quickly told his tutor:
"Um… I have already finished all my chores."
"Then take the Time Turner. One turn is 12 hours, thus, you should be arriving after your 'past self' has already left the house..."
The delicate gold necklace was dropped into his lap and reluctantly Rhian sat up. He hung it around his neck, but then paused as another question arose in his mind. "Don't we need to use the Time Turner together?"
The memory only lifted his left eyebrow mockingly and drawled: "It is enough to live each day once for me. And as I am a strong wizard, and made myself aware this morning that you would return in time, it will not be a problem."
Taking in a deep breath, Rhian took the pendant in his hand and turned it once. Somehow, he had imagined that he would maybe just disappear and reappear in his room, or that he wouldn't actually be able to see any change, considering that twelve hours ago he had already been at Hogwarts, but what happened was far more confusing. It was as if he had stepped into a movie that was playing backwards. For a very short moment he even saw 'himself' sitting in front of him, his 'past self' none the wiser. Then he went out of the room again and Marvolo lounged back in the couch, a book appearing in his hand. For the next few minutes nothing happened other than some pages being turned, then the sun lowered and finally the world came to a halt again.
Marvolo looked up from his book, smirked and said: "As I expected," before ordering him "Go to bed, I will wake you up in five hours."
Biting his bottom lip once, Rhian collected all his bravery and asked: "Can I sleep on the couch next to you?"
There was a strange look in his mentor's eyes for a moment, but then the Diary nodded. "But get your blanket first," Marvolo agreed and shifted on the sofa so that he would have enough space to lie down. Nodding eagerly, Rhian quickly rushed to get his comforter, before pushing it up onto the sofa and climbing up as well. He hesitated then, not sure if Marvolo would want him to use his body as a pillow for the next five hours, but then the man pats his knee, answering his question. Lying down, he smiled brightly up at the wizard and pulled his blanket up before falling asleep within seconds. The thought that the Diary sadly did not feel as nicely warm as a real human was a mere whisper in the back of his mind, as he relished in the feeling of security and care.
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It seemed as if only a few minutes had passed, when he heard a dark voice calling him: "Rhian! Wake up! It is time for your lessons!"
Stretching and yawning, it took a moment until the memory of the day came back to him, and he snapped his eyes open.
"I am up! I am up!" he said and practically fell from the couch in his haste to oblige.
"Then change into your new clothes, I will not tolerate those horrid muggle clothes any longer," Marvolo remarked, before turning around and walking back to their seating area.
Rhian meanwhile went over to his new cupboard, opened it and stared at the many items inside. He had no idea what shirt or trousers he should choose, so in the end he just pulled a pair of clothes out randomly. It turned out to be a silvery tunic and a rather tight looking pair of dark grey suede leather trousers.
When he was finished, he found Marvolo sitting at the coffee table with two scrolls, and to Rhian's confusion, two very ancient looking feather quills and ink bottles in front of him. One of the scrolls he could see was already filled with a row of letters and as soon as he sat down, the Diary started his first writing lesson.
"Words consist of syllables and each syllable consists of a different number of letters. Thus, to be able to write, you first have to know which letter stands for what sound and then recognize them in the word you wish to write down."
Marvolo continued to read each letter out, or rather the sound of the letter, because apparently their names and sounds was not always the same. Then Rhian had to repeat the line until he could do it without any mistakes, before the lesson continued.
"If we take my name as an example, what syllables does it consist of?"
Rhian pondered the question for a moment. He had no idea what syllables really where, even after the explanation, but he had once seen his aunt practice splitting up words with Dudley with the help of clapping. Could Marvolo be meaning that? Thinking that guessing would be better than giving up immediately, he split the Diary's name up in his head, before repeating it hesitantly: "Mar-vo-lo?"
"Correct," the memory confirmed and went on.
His writing lesson continued for three more hours. Marvolo let him split up more words, until he was sure that Rhian had understood the concept perfectly, before making him practice the capital letters and lower cases.
Learning reading and writing took more time and concentration than Rhian had imagined, but Marvolo told him that once he could read fluidly, he would send Malik for some of his old school books which Rhian then could read and practice basic spells with at the same time.
Marvolo truly was a good teacher, so Rhian was confident that he would be able to read in a couple of days, maybe a week at the most. Also, during his first lesson, he had gotten the feeling that he was not as stupid as his relatives always told him he was, and quite quick on the uptake.
Next he was taught some basic math, which took another three hours. Afterwards, even though his past self was not supposed to come back for another six hours, he was totally exhausted mentally and Marvolo actually let him catch up on some more sleep.
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The following few weeks were brilliant; not even Dumbledore seemed as annoying as the Headmaster had been for the past two years, or at least, he felt so. But he also knew that it was only due to the fact that he was finally getting enough rest. Maybe he was also on some kind of knowledge-high, as it had indeed only taken him two more days to get the hang of reading and writing completely. Afterwards, as promised, Marvolo had given him a Charms textbook, as well as one about Transfiguration, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Herbology, Potions and even a very ancient looking book on Basic Dark Spells. He had worked through them in record time, finishing all of them in only a month.
He knew he had been unbelievably fast; even Marvolo had raised his eyebrow and not believed him until he had tested his knowledge thoroughly. But while reading, it had been as if he had known most of those things already and only forgotten it at some point. Some information however, didn't feel right to him, but he had no idea where the feeling came from. So for now, he just repeated what the books had said and hoped that he would find out in the future.
However, his good mood got a damper as his cousin's Summer Holidays started. Dudley, being home the whole day, quickly grew bored and began tormenting him even more than he did throughout the school year. Of course he got blamed for everything that happened, be it a black eye he sported or the destroyed roses his cousin had cut down one morning to get him into trouble.
Once again his body was aching permanently (not that it had ever stopped completely, but with the Time Turner and Malik's help the beatings had at least lessened somewhat) and especially Moody's lessons had become hell. The Auror was a relentless trainer and in a way, even more ruthless than Marvolo.
While Marvolo had told him that at one point, they would start with practice duels and that he would not hold back (meaning that Rhian would be hit with a dark spell or curse if he wasn't fast enough to shield or move out of the way), he also had said that they would not start dueling until Rhian had learned all the basics and at least some advanced magic.
Moody on the other hand, just kept sending curses after him to train his physical fitness, and even though he by now knew shields that would at least protect him from most of the Auror's attacks, he could not use them because otherwise Dumbledore would find out that he was getting additional training.
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"I want you to get something for me," Marvolo said one day as he was eating his breakfast. Having his mouth full, he threw the Diary a questioning look, who explained further:
"My former familiar is still down in the Chamber of Secrets. She is unbound right now, so I want you to fetch her and bind yourself to her. Her name is Orsana. The releasing phrase to open her chamber is 'Speak to me Slytherin, greatest of the Founders Four'."
Blinking, Rhian flushed a little as he didn't understand what a familiar was. Neither Dumbledore nor Marvolo had told him anything about such a thing, but before he could ask, Marvolo had caught onto his expression: "What do you not understand now?" he asked sounding slightly exasperated. Rhian believed that the Diary had not quite realized how much Dumbledore had managed to keep him oblivious about, so each lesson consisted of a large amount of questions.
"What is a familiar?"
"A familiar is a magical pet that binds itself to you and helps you with small tasks. Most common are owls, as they can carry letters; Orsana however, is a Basilisk," Marvolo explained smoothly.
"A Basilisk?" Rhian repeated. The memory had mentioned such a creature before, but he had no idea what exactly it was.
"It is a rather large snake. You will need to shrink her to smuggle her out. And command her to lower her inner eyelids; otherwise her eyes are deadly, until she is bound to you."
Nodding, he made a mental note to find a chance to sneak down to the Chamber of Secrets again. Maybe on his way to Moody… Maybe if he asked, Tonks would let him go a little earlier.
"Okay. I will try to get her today... see you later then," he said his goodbyes for the day and exited his room to floo over to the old fool.
As he stumbled out of the hearth a moment later, he blinked in surprise when he found two other boys sitting on chairs in front of the great desk.
One was chubby, with dark brown hair, moss green eyes, a pale complexion and seemed very nervous. The other, was the complete opposite. He was a strawberry blonde that reminded him of a younger version of those surfer boys he often saw in one of Dudley's series. His eyes were a bright ocean blue; he was tanned and wore a happy, eager expression.
"Ah Harry, good morning. Sit down my boy."
His head turned to Dumbledore, who was smiling his false grandfatherly smile once more and motioned him over to the empty chair, probably to introduce the other two boys. However, he didn't understand what they were doing here. Dumbledore was not the kind who would care about his lack of friends, and as far as he knew, he was the only 'Boy-Who-Lived'.
Sitting down to the chubby boy's left; he shivered slightly as a weak pull seemed to draw him to the other kid. It wasn't strong, and for a moment he didn't realize what it was, but in this office, full of unpleasant, 'Light' magic it stood out strongly. The boy, while not a 'Dark Wizard', had to have a sort of 'Dark Grey' magic, if that was even possible. Marvolo and Dumbledore had only told him about dark and light so far, but he would ask the Diary when he finally returned in the evening. It certainly felt much nicer than anything else in this room.
"This, Harry," Dumbledore started the introductions "is Neville Longbottom and Elijah Cohen."
The two boys smiled at him in greeting, Neville a bit shyly, and Elijah brightly and excitedly.
"They will join you in your lessons from now on. They both have very strong 'Light' magic, just like your own, and I hope that they will be of great support in your future"
He quickly suppressed a snort. While the description fit the Elijah boy, Neville certainly wasn't a 'Light Wizard'. He may not be as 'Dark' as they come, but he was not far from it either.
"Now," Dumbledore picked up the conversation again "I will send you to Professor Moody's classroom. It is still fairly early, but you can use the time to get to know each other better. Off you go my boys."
Surprised by the sudden dismissal, they all needed a moment to start moving. Rhian's mind was running a mile a minute. This was the perfect opportunity to fetch Orsana, but he needed a good excuse to slip off. Thinking quickly, he decided on a simple story, and as soon as they had reached the gigantic staircase and were a good distance away from the old fool's office, he excused himself:
"Is it okay if I catch up with you in a bit? I lost my money pouch on my way to a lesson yesterday…" He crossed his fingers that neither Neville, nor Elijah would find his story important enough to tell Dumbledore, and that they wouldn't realize that he was going into a direction where they never needed to be.
Thankfully the other boys nodded. Elijah seemed a bit disappointed and asked: "But you will come back soon, right? I have been so excited about meeting you since Professor Dumbledore told me that I would be taught with 'Harry Potter'!"
Rhian cringed inwardly; he hated hero worshipping, even though it was only the second time he came across it. But his survival, if Dumbledore had even described it correctly, had been a fluke in his eyes, nothing worth getting overly excited over. And even if there truly was more to it, he couldn't understand why people wouldn't wait to see if he would be able to prove himself as an adult again. Furthermore, in his eyes, heroes were only normal people, maybe with a great gift in one area, or maybe they had just worked hard to achieve their goals. And anyway, what did those people think hero worshipping would get them? Surely not any favors?
Waving at them, he ran off into the direction of the Second Floor. Just as he had reached the unused girls' toilet, he stopped, remembering Dumbledore's tale about the ghost residing there. While he would have liked to talk to the girl and find out if she had some interesting information, he knew right now it was not a good idea. The ghost could be loyal to Dumbledore and tell him that he had opened the Chamber of Secret a second time.
Scowling, he peaked around the corner, but to his relief, he saw nothing. After calling out for the ghost and receiving no answer, he finally stepped inside and walked swiftly over to the sink.
However, as he tried to hiss out the command to open it, something inside of him clamped down on his magic, making him groan at the uncomfortable feeling. Dumbledore must have strengthened the restriction on his core again. He should never have allowed him to put it there in the first place, but with a sour expression, he realized that he would never have been able to stop the Headmaster. The manipulative old codger would probably have done it anyway, and grown suspicious of him on top of that.
But he needed to open the passageway. If Orsana had truly been alone down there since Marvolo's sixth school year, that would mean she had been lonely for around 65 years and he could only imagine how horrible that must have been. He had been lonely for eight years and it had already drained nearly all of his spirit.
So he closed his eyes and pushed with his magic against the restriction. Maybe he would be able to break it if he only tried hard enough? The barrier around his core stretched and stretched until it was so thin that he could see through it, however, it did not give in. Collecting all reserves of his free magic, he pushed even harder, but nothing happened. His heart was by now racing at an alarming pace and he could hear his own blood swirl in his ears. His head began to throb, his heart rate grew irregular, but just as he was about to give up, a bit of his restricted magic leaked out of its containment, and knowing that this was his only hope, he mentally grabbed it and croaked out:
"Open!"
The sink began sinking down into the ground and he let go of his magic again, but to his surprise, that little bit of his parseltongue magic kept leaking out. Did that mean he would be able to speak to Orsana when he reached her? Well, he would find out once he was there.
Quickly, he jumped into the pipe and started to run as soon as he had reached the ground. The way to the Chamber of Secrets was not far, especially not now that he knew where to go. He had found the round gate open as he had left it, and thus stood in front of Salazar's gigantic statue only two minutes later.
Concentrating again, he hissed "Speak to me Slytherin, Greatest of the Founders Four!"
For a second he was surprised at how easy parseltongue had come to him again, but then grinned broadly as the statue, which had stood with its arms crossed in front of its chest, stretched them out as if in welcome and opened his mouth.
However, the loud hiss that echoed through the chamber a second later, wiped the grin from his face and he took a cautious step backwards. And then the Basilisk appeared. When Marvolo had described her as a "rather large snake", he had imagined something like a boa constrictor, but the reptile that slithered out of the open mouth like a gigantic tongue, was far bigger. She was wider than a tree trunk and at least 25 feet long. Her tongue flickered out, tasting the air, and just as her head snapped around; Rhian remembered Marvolo's warning, lowered his head and hissed:
"Orsana, lower your inner eyelids. Marvolo has sent me!"
For a moment everything was quiet and Rhian crossed his fingers. Hopefully Orsana would believe and listen to him, otherwise he had no idea how he would ever get away from the impressive predator; he was only a primary school student after all and had just started to learn magic about four weeks ago - the time with Dumbledore he did not count, as the old fool had not taught him much besides ducking and some light Defensive and Offensive spells that seemed rather weak in comparison to some things he had read in Marvolo's books.
His nervous thoughts were interrupted when Orsana finally responded: "You may look up now, young hatchling."
Relief washed through Rhian's body and he let out a sigh he had not been aware he had been holding.
Lifting his head, he saw that her eyes seemed strangely dim, but he supposed that it was due to the second pair of eyelids she had lowered.
"Where is my Master, hatchling? The bond broke," Orsana suddenly hissed accusingly, stopping his train of thoughts. She lowered her gigantic body to the floor, and to his surprised, curled around him in what could only be called a protective or even affectionate move.
He blinked at the word 'hatchling', but then just presumed that it had to mean something similar to 'child' and just answered her:
"He…" he began, not really knowing how to phrase it. The truth would be that he had destroyed her former master's body and that the wizard was now closer to death than to life, but he was afraid of what would happen if he told the snake. So making up his mind, he said:
"He had an accident a few years ago and is unable to fulfill his bond right now. But he sent me to bond with you if you accept me. I could take you to him afterwards so that you can speak to him in person."
Orsana examined him for a long moment. Her tongue flickered over his cheek and her eyes seemed to look directly into his soul. Finally she nodded as if she was satisfied with what she had found.
"I will accept you as my new master. I see strength of mind in your eyes, your magic is powerful and you are the hatchling. Look up into my eyes, baby serpent" she ordered and raised her head so that it hovered above him.
Rhian hesitated for a second. Looking directly into her eyes could potentially be deadly, but so far she had not attacked, and she had accepted him just now, hadn't she? So he collected all his bravery and turned his face upwards. However, instead of meeting her yellow eyes, he was faced with her long, dagger-like fangs. Before he could process what was happening, two drops of some whitish liquid dropped down onto his face. His eyes started to burn like nothing before and belatedly he realized that the liquid had to be her venom. He hissed in agony and tried to rub the poison out, only to notice that it was drying quickly, before absorbing into his skin and eyeballs.
The burning stopped and as he blinked his eyes open, he was relieved that he could still see. In fact, his sight was better than before; he would not need his ugly, broken glasses any longer.
Knowing that far too much time had already passed, he pulled his wand out and explained: "I will shrink you for now. I know it will not be very comfortable, but you have to hide in my pocket or somewhere where no one can see you. I still have some lessons before we can go home this evening."
Orsana merely seemed to wait for his spell, so he quickly shrunk her to the size of a garden snake, but before he could pick her up, she slithered up his shoe and into his trouser leg. He squirmed as her scales tickled his skin, but soon she had reached his stomach and curled around it.
Wasting no more time, he quickly turned around and made his way back into the Girls' toilet. Luckily the ghost was still nowhere in sight and so, he found himself running down the second floor corridor only a few minutes later. Not looking where was going, he suddenly bumped into a slightly larger body as he stepped onto the staircase.
"Look where you are going!" snapped the voice of a boy, and as Rhian looked up, he saw that he had run into a boy that had to be around eleven years old. He had a pale, shimmering complexion, a pointy face, light blonde (almost white) hair and silver-grey eyes. A pleasant feeling was coming from him and without having to concentrate on him any further, Rhian knew that the boy had to be a 'Dark' Pureblood.
"Um… I am sorry, I didn't see you," he apologized, and even meant it.
The boy looked down at him, arrogance shining in his eyes, and with the additional height of two heads he made Rhian feel rather small.
A single, perfectly shaped, thin blonde eyebrow lifted and he drawled: "Harry Potter. What are you doing here at Hogwarts? You are not of school age yet. By the way, my name is Malfoy, Draco Malfoy," the blonde added, as if the name should ring some bell, which it probably should have done, but he was still lacking a lot of knowledge about the wizarding world.
Rhian examined the boy for a moment. Sure, he seemed arrogant, but his dark aura was enticing. It felt kind of familiar, and he could feel his own magic trying to connect to it. He would have liked nothing more than to try and form a friendship, but with his situation as it was currently, he couldn't do that. However, what he could do was try to give the boy a hint as to why he had to be careful right now:
"I am being taught by Dumbledore, together with two others, Neville Longbottom and Elijah Cohen." He hoped that at least the first name would be familiar to the boy, because Neville's power level suggested that he was a Pureblood as well.
"Personal lessons with Albus Dumbledore? Congratulations, many students dream about having such an opportunity." The blonde replied sounding totally sincere, but his sneer was a direct contradiction
"Thank you. It really is great. I mean, he is the greatest 'Light Wizard' of our time," he nodded in false agreement, making Draco's sneer even more viciously.
"He is a good teacher; I couldn't imagine a better one. He is not only teaching me what I need to defend myself from 'evil' wizards and witches, but also how to play wizarding chess." He continued, hoping that the young aristocrat would get his hidden hints.
"I can imagine. Professor Dumbledore was always one for 'helping' the weak and helpless."
"Oh yes, I am really grateful. No one ever took such good care of me. Well, it was nice meeting you, but I have to go to my next lesson now. Ex-auror Moody is training me and I wouldn't want to keep him waiting," he told the blonde with a wave, knowing that he would get into trouble if he spent any more time with the Pureblood, regardless of how much he wanted to.
"Understandable," Draco replied, waving as well. "I wouldn't wish to be late for his class either. I will give father your greetings. It was nice meeting you."
There was a strange, excited gleam in the blonde's eyes, but Rhian had no time to ponder about it further. Turning around, he ran all the way to the training room. Fortunately, the auror was still nowhere in sight, but he found Neville and Elijah sitting on a windowsill, talking quietly.
"Finally!" Elijah exclaimed as soon as he stepped into the room. "Neville was boring me to death with his stories about his Greenhouse!"
"You have a Greenhouse?" Harry asked, turning to Neville.
"Hm… yeah… I know it's a boring hobby…" the pudgy boy stuttered, his face growing bright red.
"Don't say that, plants are great. Taking care of my aunt's garden is my favorite work around my family's house… that and cooking," he told him, thinking back to the time when he had still been able to communicate with plants.
His mood dropped a little, but seeing Neville's face brighten, he smiled back thinking that the sad memory was worth it. And besides, one day he would get his magic back and be able to connect to plants and animals again.
"No, not you too!" Elijah groaned and threw his arms into the air. "Don't tell me gardening and cooking are your only hobbies. I mean, I have read all there is about you and your family. Your father was an Auror and a Quidditch player when he went to Hogwarts…"
Rhian sneered inwardly as he thought about his 'father'. Outwardly, however, he answered: "Yeah, but my mum liked books; I guess I just take more after her. What do you like to do in your free time?" he asked to move the conversation away from him.
"I really like all kinds of sports. I was on the football team at my school and on the weekend I often met up with blokes from the neighborhood to play some basketball. That was before the attack and before I knew about magic. Now in my new home, I have started to practice flying. Andromeda only has an old Cleansweep Four, but maybe I will get a newer model for my birthday," Elijah said excitedly, and it took all Rhian had from wrinkling his nose. Doing something to keep one's body fit, like jogging, or even some martial arts to further battle skills, he could understand, but standing in midst of a loud crowd and cheering for some people who were chasing after a ball, he could not. That just sounded like a waste of time.
However, their conversation came to an end as a dull noise alerted them of the arrival of their Professor.
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When he finally returned to Marvolo, it was in a state of excitement. Sure, Elijah was a bit too hyper for his liking, but he was also not a bad guy, and he really liked Neville. The brunette was clearly a shy person, but he truly hoped that he would be able to befriend the quiet boy. That would make him his very first friend, as Marvolo continued to be adamant that they were only Student and Tutor, nothing more.
And also, he had managed to get Orsana. He had a familiar now! Maybe the Basilisk would become another friend in the future. Right now however, she was muttering and cursing about feeling sick and stupid exercises, from where she was still hiding under his t-shirt. Apparently, the hours of dodging, ducking, running around and changing directions had gotten to her stomach. Add to that the fact that the great beast was now merely 30 inches long and Rhian could understand her bad mood.
Entering his bedroom, he found Marvolo busy in a conversation with Malik. Or rather, he was ordering the House Elf around, who was apparently adding another room to their living space. Malik, Rhian had noticed, had quickly realized that his Master was currently not able to summon him, and Rhian assumed thus, that the servant had made it a point of checking in on Marvolo a few times each day.
Humming, he flopped down on his favorite armchair and watched the proceeding.
"I know there is a chance of being discovered, that is why you will use the summoning-illusion to install the library."
"Yes Master, is Malik supposed to omit any kind of books or titles?" the elf bowed quickly, before straightening again.
"No. I trust Rhian's mental capabilities," the Diary replied and Malik disappeared. Whether he had returned to Marvolo's house or into the new room, Rhian couldn't say, and he wasn't interested in it either as his brain was stuck on the word library and all the possibilities that could mean.
Marvolo had promised to teach him more than just the typical school curriculum of Hogwarts and to lend him books, but he had not expected that he would get them so soon, or that the memory would transfer his whole collection to Privet Drive. But then again, they were progressing quickly with the textbooks, and after a few weeks of very thorough basic explanations of all kinds of magical theory, they were becoming more and more boring with each additional lesson from Marvolo.
The Diary stepped to the side then, and Rhian's eyes widened. The extra room was not the only change in his former cupboard. New shelves had been added close to his bed, filled with drawing materials, puzzles and children's books, not textbooks, but real novels written for his age group. In a way, Marvolo had just given him a children's room.
"What a rare occurrence," Marvolo's voice interrupted his musings then. Looking up, he gave his tutor a questioning look.
"Such a good mood after a whole day in Dumbledore's proximity."
Rhian sneered, but his good mood came back quickly. "I got two classmates, and one of them is really nice. I also managed to sneak away and get Orsana," he explained, before remembering that he had yet to tell her that she did not need to hide anymore. However, before he could do so, Marvolo hissed a short command and the serpent started to slither down his stomach until her head was poking out from under his shirt.
"Old Master," she hissed in greeting and bowed her scaled head.
Marvolo stretched his hand out and Orsana slithered quickly up to his shoulder.
"Welcome to our current home, my dear. I apologize for the lack of space, but Rhian is currently forced to share a house with Muggles."
The snake hissed, narrowed her already slit eyes and looked around.
"It will do for now, old Master. But how did the hatchling find himself among filthy Muggles?"
"They are supposedly his family, although they do not deserve the title."
If possible, Orsana sneered at that remark, but Rhian, who was listening intently, was not sure if snakes could actually do so.
"Of course they are not worth the title of your…"
"Hush, Orsana, the time is not yet right to expose this secret."
"What secret? Is it about me?" Rhian perked up and shot Marvolo a curious look, who turned to him, lifted his left eyebrow challengingly and replied: "It is, but as I said, it is not yet time for you to know."
"But I have a right to know!" he shot back.
"It is not yet time," Marvolo told him with a warning look, and Rhian knew that there would be no sense in pursuing the topic further at this point. Besides, hadn't the Diary kind of given him a promise that one day he would tell him?
Huffing, he gave up for the moment, but only because there was still another thing he wanted to ask about.
"So, we have a library now?" he asked as nonchalantly as he could manage, which wasn't very impressive if the look Marvolo gave him was anything to go by.
"Not quite. The library you will find behind this door is merely an illusion. However, it is a strong one and will allow you to pull books out, read their covers and the table of content. You will have to say 'summon' and the title you desire to read, to receive the actual book."
"Great!" Rhian exclaimed and jumped to his feet, but before he could take even one step into the direction of the new room, Marvolo stopped him:
"Not so fast. Sit. I have a few questions myself and you will not leave until you have answered them to my satisfaction."
Having an awful feeling that his tutor was about to quiz him on the lessons of the past few days, he grumbled quietly, but startled in bewilderment when all Marvolo asked was:
"Tell me about the new students that now share the lessons with you."
"Um…" he began unintelligibly, before he pulled himself together, shook his surprise off and shrugged.
"The first one is Elijah Cohen. He is a Muggleborn. He said his parents died recently, but Dumbledore asked some old witch to take him in so that he wouldn't have to live in an orphanage…" he stopped when he saw Marvolo's eyes flash with rage, but it was gone so quickly, that a moment later Rhian wasn't sure anymore whether it had been the emotion which he had seen.
"Continue," the Diary said and he decided that he must have been wrong, and continued with his description. "The other student is a boy named Neville Longbottom..."
"Interesting," said Marvolo, and Rhian paused in confusion. "Interesting?" he echoed. Marvolo was silent for a moment, pondering if he should answer this question or not, Rhian assumed, but finally the memory spoke up:
"The Longbottoms were a well known 'Dark' family. However, when the Dark Lord Grindelwald rose to power in the early 1900's, Dumbledore started influencing them, especially their daughter Augusta, who was a few years under me during school. Due to the old coot's influence, the family started to fear the Ministry who had began to chase 'Dark' wizards and witches viciously. While Augusta's magic was 'Dark' as it was supposed to be, her son's core was already graying, due to a marriage with a 'Light' witch. I presume that this Neville is her grandson. Have you felt more at ease in his proximity?"
"Yes," Rhian nodded. "I had the feeling that his core was more 'Grey' than 'Light'."
"It most likely is," Marvolo agreed, before falling silent, apparently deep in thought.
"How can that be? I thought there are only two types of magic?" Rhian wondered, remembering his earlier question.
His tutor only sneered.
"Originally, there was only one kind of magic and it had nothing to do with 'Light' or 'Dark', and till today this fact has not changed, even though people like the Headmaster likes to spout this nonsense and divide our world."
Frowning, Rhian scooted closer to his tutor and said: "I don't understand," knowing that Marvolo would explain further.
"Magic is the most powerful force in the universe. However, at the same time, it is nothing more than that; a power. It has no moral code. There is no good and evil part to it. However, at some point in history, people began to moralize it. Certain spells fell from grace, however, by avoiding and denying certain aspects of the powers that has been given to us so generously, those people started to weaken their bloodline. With each generation that followed those new practices, the heirs grew weaker and weaker. Their lifespan shortened and their wisdom and wealth slowly disappeared as magic stopped to bless them."
"As magic stopped to bless them? Is magic a real person?" Rhian echoed.
"Yes and no. You could say that for us, magic is what gods are for Muggles. Only that magic truly exists, while the muggle gods are nothing more than a figment to soothe their souls. Magic is true, it is a living entity and it guards over those wizards and witches who follow her laid out path."
Frowning, Rhian tried to work through what he had learned. It sounded so simple at first, but the more he thought about it, the more complicated everything seemed. After a long moment he decided to give up for now, as his eyes swept over to the new door in his room and he asked:
"So, can I go to the library now?"
The Diary, even though he must have startled him, didn't show anything and just answered "No."
"Why not?" he asked slightly annoyed. A library. That had always been his dream, after learning how to read and write of course. Now he had one only a door away and Marvolo insisted to ask questions which, in his opinion, could wait another day or two.
However, instead of answering his question, Marvolo asked: "Did you have time to get to know Orsana? The bond to a familiar, at least if the creature is as powerful as her, can still break if it is not nurtured enough. You need to trust and rely on each other."
Searching with his eyes for the shrunken basilisk, Rhian shook his head. "I just had time to fetch her and get to class. I had to tell Neville and Elijah that I had lost my money pouch to get away in the first place… but I will spend time with her and get to know her, I promise," he quickly added.
"Good," Marvolo inclined his head in acknowledgement. "You may leave, but I expect you to lie down in an hour. We cannot afford to disrupt our schedule."
Rhian wanted to protest, but he knew Marvolo was right. Besides, the memory had not told him that he would not have time to go back to the library during his second day, thus he quickly scrambled from the armchair and left the room.
AUTHOR NOTE:
Hi everybody :-)
Thank you all for following me so far. I am so excited about the positive reviews I have gotten so far.
I also want to announce, that any announcements that may pop up in the future will only be posted on my Facebook page, as I am posting on three different internet pages by now and it will just be much simpler to post those kind of things in one place where everybody has access to. Please check the link (in Author BIO) and FRIEND me if you want to see what is happening update-wise and in my other fictions not yet posted, but that I am busy writing!
Yours: JSG
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False Ties (Prequel to: Family Ties)