Tears of Blood
Chapter 1
Tears of Blood
Chapter 1
"POTTER!!!"
Harry sighed. Another day at the Dursleys. He knew the routine off by heart now. Get up, cook breakfast, clean the house, cook lunch, do the garden, cook dinner, and then go to bed. He tried to get some homework done at night, but because he was so tired, it wasn't up to scratch, so he usually threw it away. He would have to do it all at the Burrow if he got an invite. He hoped he would.
He went through his routine mindlessly. It was all so boring; he didn't know how the Dursleys could stand to live here. Not that he really cared. They could jump off a cliff and die for all he cared. It would probably cheer him up if they did.
He decided not to go to bed straight after dinner, and sneaked out the front door to go for a walk. There was no reason why he couldn't do that, it wasn't like anyone would miss him.
His life really was pathetic. His biggest thrill was going for a walk to the swing park, for god's sake! He really needed to sort his life out. He couldn't keep letting people control the way he lived. Dumbledore might have the right to tell him where he lived, but he had no say in the way Harry lived.
These thoughts brought a smile to his face. All he had to do now was think of ways to change his life. He wouldn't change his friends, because he loved Ron and Hermione and he would never give them up. A new boyfriend perhaps?
He still smiled when he thought about boyfriends. The fact that he was gay amused him. He had somehow gotten involved with Draco Malfoy last year, and realised that it wasn't just Draco he was attracted to, it was men in general. He wasn't surprised really. Girls had never held any interest to him, apart from Hermione. He had often found himself walking by groups of them and feeling physically sick when Ron or Seamus whistled or catcalled. Imagining a girl naked was the most revolting thing he could think of.
Ron had thought that his lack of interest was just because he was Harry Potter, the Boy-Who-Was-To-Busy-Saving-The-World-To-Get-A-Hard-On. He had let him believe that, because Draco had not wanted their relationship to be public knowledge, and Harry had agreed with him. He had also thought that Ron was slightly homophobic.
That had proved not to be true though. He had realised that while he was gay, Draco and he were just not working. They were too different, not to mention his fathers influence. He had told Draco that he wanted to split up with him, and just to spite him, Draco had gone and dumped him in the middle of the Great Hall.
That was how Ron found out, along with the rest of the school. He had been a bit shocked, but the first thing he did was punch Draco for embarrassing him. He had just raised an eyebrow at Harry, before jumping over the table and pummelling Draco into the ground.
Harry had laughed at the look on his ex-boyfriends face as Ron came towards him, murder in his eyes. He was sad that Draco had made them split on such bad terms, but he knew that most relationships ended that way. Ron's advice after it was that if you like someone as a friend, don't date them. That had been the wisest thing Harry had ever heard the redhead say.
Now, though, he was slightly regretting dumping Draco. He was lonely, and he missed the midnight visits he had received from the blonde last summer. He knew that if Draco asked to get back together, he would refuse, but he would do anything right now for some company.
He entered the park, and headed for the swings. He was enjoying the silence of the night. He knew Dudley was out and about somewhere with his crazy friends, but he didn't care. If they saw him they wouldn't annoy him. His reputation preceded him apparently. He was known around these parts as angry, mean and slightly insane. It wasn't true of course, but they didn't know that.
It was refreshing to come from a world where everyone worshipped him to one where he was hated and feared. He felt like Voldemort himself sometimes when he walked down the street and parents pulled their children indoors and groups of people scattered.
He kind of liked it.
He looked up suddenly from his stationary position on the swing. There was a boy entering the park, much in the same way he had 10 minutes before; head down, hands in pockets, feet dragging. He had never seen this boy before, and that in itself was strange because in this area everyone knew everyone else. This boy definetly wasn't from around here, unless he had just moved.
He had dark hair, almost as dark as Harry's own. He was tall, but Harry couldn't see his eye colour in the dark, and he was too far away anyway. He was heading towards him, and before he knew it, he was sitting down on the swing next to him.
He looked up, and Harry was surprised to see the boys eyes were filled with tears. It took him a minute to place where he had seen this boy before. Then it clicked.
"Tom Riddle?!"
The tears in the boys' eyes fell. Harry was perplexed. Here was Voldemort, sitting right in front of him, in the swing park in Little Whinging of all places, and he was crying!
He sat there for about 30 seconds before he jumped up and pulled out the wand he had hidden in the sleeve. He pointed it at the boy.
"What the hell do you want?"
Tom didn't answer. He just looked at Harry, the tears falling down his cheeks and onto his lips. He didn't bother to lick them away.
Harry lost his concentration for a moment as he stared at those lips. They were rosy and pouted slightly, and he suddenly had the urge to kiss away the tears that had gathered on them.
He shook himself out of his daze angrily. What the hell was he thinking? This was Voldemort, and he was thinking about kissing him?! Something wasn't right here.
"Why are you crying?!" he asked, panicking slightly.
More tears fell, but Tom managed to answer him.
"I...I don't know what happened..." He wiped his cheeks angrily, and Harry was slightly disappointed to see the tears disappear from his lips. "I think Voldemort is dead... I woke up about an hour ago in a forest near here, and I just knew that I had to find you..."
"Find me? Why?"
"I told you I don't know! I think Voldemort is dead, and I'm all that's left. I know I'm Tom Riddle, and not Lord Voldemort, so I think that part of me is dead. Who killed him though, I have no idea."
Harry eyed the boy suspiciously. "How do I know I can trust you? The last time I met Lord Voldemort in this form, he tried to kill me and my best friend's sister, Ginny."
"Take me to Dumbledore."
Harry's eyebrows shot up. "What?"
Tom sighed. "If you can't trust me, then take me to Dumbledore. Here," he pulled something out of his pocket, "take my wand even."
Harry stared at the wand being held out to him. It was the same wand that he had seen his mum and dad come out of back in 4th year. It was the same wand that had sent the killing curse at him when he was one year old. This wand had killed hundreds, including his parents, and he wasn't sure that he wanted to touch it.
He reached out and held his hand over it, inches away from actually touching it. It was radiating power, and it tickled the palm of his hand. He knew that a wizard was powerless without his wand, even Lord Voldemort. If he was offering him his wand then he must be telling the truth. It was too much of a risk to call his bluff. That and the fact that he knew Lord Voldemort didn't take risks. Or cry for that matter.
With that in mind, he wrapped his fingers around the slim wood, a shiver going up his spine as he did so. He gasped. It felt exactly like the first time he had held his own wand in his hand and the wand's magic and his own had combined. He knew that that was not supposed to happen with any other wand for the simple reason that there was only one wand for any one wizard. The fact that he had experienced his magic combining with another wizard's wand was incredible. It just didn't happen.
"Tom?" he asked uncertainly, looking up at the slightly taller boy. "What just happened?"
Tom just stared at him, his mouth hanging open. He gaped like a fish for a bit, and then shook his head. "I have no idea. You... glowed!"
"I did?" Harry asked, confused. You didn't glow when you held your wand for the first time, or at least, he hand never seen it happen. This was unusual, and it just gave him more reasons to go and see Dumbledore. He stood, and looked around him. There was usually an Order member nearby him at all times, and he was sure that this was no exception. He was surprised they hadn't showed themselves when they heard his conversation. He waved his hand at Tom when he gave him a quizzical look and motioned for him to be quiet.
"You can come out now. I need to see Dumbledore."
It was a few moments before there was any reaction. Then bushes near them rustled and two figures stepped out. Remus Lupin and Tonks emerged, grins on their faces at the chance to talk to their charge.
"Wotcher Harry!" exclaimed Tonks happily, giving him a large hug. Her hair was in platinum blonde dredlocks, which Harry was surprised to say looked rather good with her present dark skin colour. He hugged her back enthusiastically, grinning at her when he pulled away.
"I like the look. It's... unique."
Tonks winked. "Wouldn't have it any other way Harry my lad, you know that! And anyway, it was funny when Molly saw me."
Harry raised an eyebrow. "I bet. Imagine if Bill did his hair that way. She'd have a cow."
Lupin stepped in at this point, before they could talk about the merits of the Weasley family actually owning a cow, and pulled Harry into another hug. "Good to see you again, love."
There was a choking sound coming from Tom's direction, and Harry turned with a highly amused expression on his face to see Tom gaping at them. He laughed out loud at Tom's disbelief at what Remus had called him. After Sirius' death last summer, Harry and Remus had become much closer, even to the point where there was some romantic interest between them. They were both healing, and it seemed only natural that they got together to help each other through. Harry had been particualy distraught after he and Draco split, and he had gone running straight into Remus' arms. Remus had been gentle and understanding, giving him the affection and love that he knew he craved.
Thinking on it, Remus was exactly what he needed right now. They had never been in a relationship, but there was an unspoken understanding between them that they were welcomed in the others bed at anytime, unless one of them was in a relationship.
He turned back to Remus and gave him a seductive smile. Remus raised an eyebrow, but smiled back, showing that he knew what Harry was implying, and that it was alright. Harry grinned, his spirits imeaditily raised, before giving his soon-to-be lover a peck on the lips.
Tonks, knowing about their arrangement, just laughed. She didn't really care what they did, as long as it didn't hurt anyone. Thinking there were more important things to be getting on with, she coughed, hoping to break up the two before things got any more serious.
"So. What do you want to speak to Dumbledore about Harry?"
Harry looked at her, surprised. "You weren't listening?"
Tonks shook her head. "No, we like to give you your privacy. We just watch, and if we see that you are in any danger, we step in."
"Well, first I'd like you to meet someone. If what he tells me is true, he is all that's left of Lord Voldemort." The two gasped, but Harry knew it was not from hearing the Dark Lords name. Being trained as Aurors and members of The Order, they were pretty immune to it by now due to the fact that they heard it on a day to day basis.
"Seriously? When did this happen?" Remus asked, shocked.
Harry bit his lip. "Eh, I don't know the full story, but I thought it sounded serious enough to take to Dumbledore."
Remus gaped. "Damn right it's serious enough! Let's go now." Eyeing Tom suspiciously, he pulled out a marble from his pocket and performed a spell to turn it into a portkey. They all grabbed hold, with Remus grabbing onto Toms arms to make sure he didn't try and make a run for it. He didn't try, but the situation warrented caution.
They arrived in the Headmasters office, and Dumbledore's eyes widened in surprise at seeing them there. They were not expected. His eyes widened further at seeing the 16 year old Lord Voldemort there next to Harry Potter. Harry was probably the only one in the group who would recognise Tom Riddle if he saw him and it surprised him to see them standing there and that one of them wasn't dead.
"Why, hello!" he greeted, unsure of the situation.
"Hello Headmaster," Harry said, a small smile on his face. "I have something to tell you, or rather, he has something to tell you," he said, pointing his thumb at Tom.
"Indeed?" Dumbledore pondered, both eyebrows raised. "Well you had better all take a seat then. Let me ask you Tom, are you here in peace?"
Tom nodded. "Yes, Sir."
"Very good, very good. Well, why don't you start at the beginning? I find that that is always the wisest."
"Of course," Tom stated, taking a seat on Harry's left, while Remus took his left. "Well... I can start by saying that I am not Lord Voldemort. I know that for certain. I am Tom Riddle, what Lord Voldemort was before he started dabbling in the Dark Arts. I am 16 years old, and as far as I know, I haven't graduated from Hogwarts yet. I say this is what I know, but I know this is not what is. I know that Voldemort is over 70 years old, but it appears that his age had been reversed, or his ‘evilness' has been destroyed, and I am all that's left. Maybe I'm his soul, or whatever, but I know that I am not evil, and that I have no intention of killing muggles and muggleborns."
He sighed, and rubbed his hands over his face in a sign of tiredness. "I have all of his memories and experiences, but I know that I am not him anymore. He was trying to make himself more powerful, and he found a spell that would make him immortal, but when he tried it, it killed him. I remember him dying, it was agonising. I know because I felt it. His body died in flames, but his soul was carried to some other plain. The next thing I knew, I was waking up in some bushes, and I just knew that I had to find Harry Potter. It was as if my whole being was aching to find him, and I just knew that if I didn't something awful would happen. I wandered for a while, before I realised I was in Little Whinging. I went to the park, intent on waiting until morning to visit Harry, when I found him sitting there on the swings. I went over to him, and we talked. He threatened me of course, and I had to get him to bring me here so that I could get him to trust me." He looked up at Harry suddenly. "You can trust me Harry. I'm not going to hurt you. I promise."
Harry surprised himself by whispering, "I know," softly as his eyes met Tom's. There was that strange urge to kiss him again, but he knew this was neither the time nor the place. He wondered about that urge. It was similar to the way Tom had described feeling when he woke up with the urge to find him. He decided to ask Dumbledore when he found the right moment.
The Headmaster seemed lost in thought. Everyone was silent as they each assessed the situation. Harry and Tom were still looking at each other, but they were sneaking glances, both hoping the other wouldn't catch them. Remus was frowning, his head in his hands and a headache threatening. Suddenly the silence was broken as Dumbledore started laughing.
Everyone's head snapped up in surprise. Dumbledore just laughed harder. When he finally stopped, he stood, still smiling. "Tom my lad, come here. I need to cast a few spells to make sure you are not lying, although I suspect that you are not."
Tom stood obiedently, and allowed the aging headmaster to cast spells and charms on every inch of him to make sure that he was not bluffing. With a final Polyjuice Potion Detection Charm, Dumbledore declared him trustworthy and genuine, before he burst out laughing again.
Harry frowned, slightly annoyed. "Headmaster? May I ask what you are laughing at?"
"Oh my boy, of course you may! Don't you see what this means? Voldemort his gone! The only thing left in his place is a 16 year old boy without any training or intention in the Dark Arts at all. The war is over!"