Tom froze, his
face drained of the little color it had left.
Harry who had
been about to take his permission to borrow Lily saw her coming towards him as
the rest of the class around her dispersed.
"You've
dismissed them early. Are you going somewhere?" Harry asked him shrewdly.
Tom gulped down.
Lying to Harry Potter the first time they ever had a one to one conversation
was something that he had never dreamt of yet here he was. "Yes, something urgent
came up. I am afraid I will have to take your leave, Professor."
He strode right
past Harry and disappeared down the same corridor Duds had as quickly as he
could.
******************************************************
Harry told Lily
to return to her third unit and told her he would find her during the lunch
break. Right now he had something else to worry about. Tom Riddle's less than
happy expressions at Harry's arrival on his sudden departure were more than
curious.
Harry pulled out
his wand. But it wasn't his Phoenix wand, it was his Elder wand. The moment Ron
had told him Tom had no clue he was being followed by him, Harry had put his
Phoenix wand aside and pulled out his Elder wand. If the power of the Hallows
could penetrate Tom's powers that was all Harry needed. He had already given
his invisibility cloak to Ginny but he didn't need it now.
He went inside
an empty classroom, shut the door from inside and disillusioned himself. He was
dead sure that Tom wouldn't be able to see him now.
*******************************************************
Tom looked
behind him as if expecting a disillusioned Harry Potter following him but to
his utter relief he wasn't being followed by anyone. He had to know where Duds
was. He remembered he had a bit of cleaning left in the Trophy Room the day
before Harry Potter had arrived at Hogwarts. Perhaps, he had had a sudden fit
to finish it up. Tom was going to kill Duds if he found him there. He was
brewing more trouble for both Porch and himself than either of them had
expected.
Personally, Tom
felt it was time Duds met Harry Potter but would he ever listen to them. He
decided he would knock some sense into him once he was safely back in his room.
Tom finally
reached the Trophy Room to find it buried in darkness. Duds hadn't even lit the
torches. Perhaps, he had thought since he was invisible, it would look weird
for an empty room to be all lit up. Whatever the case, he was glad it was dark
here. Harry Potter wouldn't be able to see him in this dark.
Tom pulled out
his wand. "Lumos!" His wand tip ignited and its beam fell on a bulky figure
with his back to him scrubbing what looked like an age old medal which had
actually begun to shine.
"Duds!" Tom
nearly ran him over when he reached him "What the hell are you doing here?"
"Tom, blimey,
you scared me. I thought I would finish up a bit of cleaning. Since I can't be
seen, I don't have to stay put in a room, right?"
"For your kind
information, your disillusionment charm has worn off. I have been looking for
you to take you back."
"What?! It can't
be. You can see me, not everyone else."
Tom conjured out
a mirror and put it up in front of him. "Guess again."
Duds looked like
he was going to faint.
Tom put the
mirror aside and grabbed hold of Duds. "Are you alright?"
"Tom, what if he
saw me? He didn't see me, did he?"
"No, he didn't,
because if he had, you'd be sitting right in front of him."
Duds took a huge
breath of relief. "Well, then, re do it. What Porch did in the morning. I don't
want to be spotted by him."
"I told you, I
can't do it. If I cast the spell even I won't be able to see you. How will we
know where you are."
"I'll tell you,
won't I?"
"Yeah, like you
did about half an hour ago?" Tom replied sarcastically.
"I'm sorry,
alright. I won't leave again. But cast it before Harry sees me."
Tom had,
although reluctantly, just raised his wand when he heard a voice.
"Don't even try
it."
It was Harry
Potter's voice. It froze both of them.
"Do it now,
please." Before Tom could think of anything else Duds whimpered again and he
did it. He disillusioned him and turned off his wand light Nox!"at the same
time as Harry Potter shouted "Lumos Maxima!" The Trophy Room lit up entirely.
The sight that
met Harry as he removed his own disillusionment charm was of Tom standing in
the middle of the Trophy Room pocketing his wand all alone. Harry, however, did
not pocket his wand, he pointed it at Tom and advanced on him threateningly as
Tom backed away.
Tom was a little
more than astonished. He hadn't been able to see through Harry Potter's
disillusionment charm, What did this mean? Was Harry Potter more powerful than
him?
As Tom backed
away Harry swished his wand and locked both doors in and out of the Trophy
Room. Now, whoever had been disillusioned moments ago, could not escape. Harry
had only been able to see a bulky profile in the dead dark as Tom's wand's beam
was directed towards the floor. It didn't matter though as in a few minutes he
would find out who had been trying to hide from him so desperately.
"Show yourself."
Harry said aloud to the room but only silence met him. "Remove your
disillusionment charm." Harry ordered Tom who backed further away as Harry
closed in on him.
"I didn't cast
any." Tom lied.
"Who are you
trying to hide?"
"No one."
"Stop lying!"
Harry stopped a few steps away as Tom felt his way blocked by the wall.
"I am not lying,
Professor. What are you talking about? No one is hiding, I haven't
disillusioned anyone." Tom had never been so solemnly lame and at the same time
produced a white lie. He only hoped Harry Potter bought it. However, judging by
his menacing advancement he didn't think he was going to.
"I heard you and
the person who stands invisible at the moment very clearly. Why are you hiding
someone in the Castle? Is it someone who's working with you, or is it someone
that is working for you?"
Tom had not
expected any such questions and allegations. But these had made one thing
clear, he was a suspect for having done something and Harry Potter felt he had
an accomplice. Why?
"No one is
either working with me or for me." He replied icily. "No one is hiding here. I
was talking to myself. You must have misheard something, Professor."
Tom had merely
taken one step forward when he felt Harry's wand tip buried in his chest. He
stopped short.
"You ought to start
being honest with me. Remember, I do have other methods to make you do so."
As Harry
prepared to do it, Tom penetrated his occlumency and saw quite clearly what
Harry was about to do.
"Impe-_" Harry
who was about to imperius him had only uttered half the incantation when Tom
pushed past him to the other side of the room. Harry's wand fell away.
"I am telling
you the truth, trust me!"
"Stupefy!" Tom
had just turned back to him and had said as much when Harry had retrieved his
wand and stunned him.
"Stop it!" A
scared voice had shouted.
"Show yourself!"
Harry ordered it.
"I can't remove
the charm. Only Tom can."
"Enervate." Although
Harry felt he had heard this voice before he shook this feeling out of his head
for the moment and revived Tom who sat up clutching at his chest, coughing at
the same time. Harry's stunner had caught him in the chest. He couldn't believe
Harry Potter had penetrated his protection. He had expected the curse to be
deflected but it hadn't.
"Tom, remove the
charm, please." Tom heard Duds' scared voice. He had obviously not been
expecting things to get so dead serious.
Tom got back to
his feet. He had never known he would loathe Harry Potter. He was seeing a side
of him he had never expected to see. All his life at Hogwarts all he had heard
of was how great, kind and humble Harry Potter was. Today, however, all he had
seen was a sheer show of.
"Do what he
says." Harry ordered Tom who felt his anger getting the best of him.
"You're more
powerful than I am, surely, you can do it yourself." Tom retorted back at him.
Harry froze. He
ought to have thought of it before. The Elder wand wouldn't deny him any spell.
He could remove Tom's disillusionment charm himself. It needn't have become the
mess it had become. But Tom had practically insulted him. Harry, who had
cornered many vicious Deatheaters in his time at the Auror department wasn't
going to be spoken to like that. He would have to pay for his insolence. He
raised his wand.
Tom, who had
felt Harry's anger was getting the best of him could see through his
occlumency. Harry Potter was going to show no kindness to him. He knew exactly
what was coming but this time he stood his ground. He wanted to see whether he
had been right in judging him at all or he had, perhaps, been on the wrong side
all along.
"Crucio!" Tom
closed his eyes, ready for the curse to strike but it never came.
The Trophy Room
was filled with screams within seconds. Harry removed the curse almost instantly
as Tom caught the invisible weight falling through the air.
Before Harry
could do anything else, as if in a flash, Tom had pulled out his wand and cast
a shield charm around himself and the fallen man. He removed the disillusionment
charm but Harry couldn't see who he was as Tom levitated him the next second,
blasted the front door off and left breaking into a run. Tom parted the crowd easily
as he made his way to the Hospital Wing as no one could get within 10 feet of
himself and Duds' levitating figure.
Once he had laid
Duds on an empty bed and drawn the curtains around it he sent a patronus to
Madam Brown. She arrived at exactly the same time Harry Potter entered the
Hospital Wing. Tom put up his shield again, covering, himself, Duds' entire bed
and Madam Brown who was examining him.
Tom stood in front
of Harry with his wand out as if daring him to take another step forward.
"What happened
to him?" Madam Brown asked coming out from behind the curtains and freezing at
the scene before her.
"Harry Potter
happened to him. He's cursed him."
"What?! Harry,
do you even remember who he is?" Madam Brown asked astonished.
Harry was taken
aback by her question. "I don't even know who he is. He was too busy hiding to
tell me. And the curse," Harry turned to Tom, "wasn't meant for him, it was
meant for you, it wasn't my fault if he decided to take it for you."
Madam Brown
looked from Harry to Tom. What was going on? Did Harry even know whi he was
talking about? "Have you seen him at all?" Madam Brown asked him once more.
But before Harry
could answer Tom answered. "He doesn't deserve to."
Harry wanted to
blow him to bits. With one swish of his wand he had removed Tom's Sheild Charm
and again stood facing him as Tom blocked his way to Duds' bed.
"Don't mistake
my patience for my weakness."
Tom smiled
sarcastically. "I wouldn't, because you have no patience, but you are
definitely not weak. After all, all of this was nothing but an exhibition of
your powers, wasn't it? You have proven you're the strongest, but do let me
know if you ever find out exactly what you gained out of all of this, because
as far as I can see, you've lost a great deal today. You've lost the respect I
had for the man who defeated the Dark Lord."
Harry hadn't
expected to hear anything of the sort from Tom Riddle. He stood rooted to the
spot as Tom stood glaring at him angrily. Harry wanted to kill him or give him
to the Dementors right now. Who was he to judge him when he, himself, had
perhaps, been doing what-not. Harry had only just grabbed him by his collar
when someone bigger than the two of them broke them apart. It was Porch.
"Let him leave!"
Porch shouted at Harry as Harry tried getting back at Tom who backed away but
didn't leave.
"Leave! Let me
handle this." Porch turned to Tom. Although, Tom didn't want to leave Duds, he
knew Porch wouldn't let anything happen to him.
He left.
"Porch, stay
out-_" Harry had just started when Porch pulled the curtains of Duds' bed
apart.
"Would you at
least look at him?" He said angrily to him.
Harry who had no
idea where this was going, pocketed his wand and turned to look at the man
lying on the bed.
He froze at the
sight of him. A little more bulkier than before, with slightly graying hair and
lines upon his face, Harry stood staring at the face he could never quite
forget. It was his cousin, Dudley Dursley.
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