Unveiling Shadows

"No, I am not."

:Tooommmm,: Harry whined in parseltongue, :It doesn't make any sense.:

Tom raised an eyebrow. "You're a naive child; I don't suppose that it would. So let me make it simple for you; purebloods monopolize the majority of the money, status, and influence in the wizarding world. It has been like this for longer than living memory, and it is not likely to change anytime soon. Lord Voldemort has no interest in the weak."

"I'm not quite sure I know what you're getting at."

"Then think about this, Harry. Purebloods are influential and wealthy, and their support as a whole is a significant advantage. Additionally, pureblood society is governed by etiquette and archaic traditions, making them easier to manipulate and control than, for example, muggleborns who have been immersed in the postmodern individualistic mindset of the muggle world.

It is also worth noting that most pureblood families keep a careful record of their members through family histories and genealogies – this makes finding information on purebloods very easy. On the opposite side of the spectrum, muggleborn wizards and witches are much more unpredictable, and tend to display more variation in background and behaviour, and the lack of birth records of them contributes to this. So tell me, Harry, if you wanted to gain and maintain control over the wizarding world, who would you oppress, and who would you coddle?"

Harry's eyes were wide with understanding. "I see. That's actually quite clever."

Tom smirked.

"Awful," Harry quickly corrected, "But clever."

"Now, while I can think of nothing more rousing than discussing politics and morality with a ten-year-old -"

Harry scrunched up his nose. "That was a veiled insult, wasn't it?"

"Insult, not veiled. That aside, we must have a serious discussion."

"Er...wasn't that what we were just doing?"

"That was Lord Voldemort indulging his apprentice -"

"I would rather not consider myself a dark lord in training..."

"- but now we must turn to more urgent affairs."

"I feel like you discount me sometimes, Tom."

"Stop being facetious. In less than a year you will receive your Hogwarts letter, and for the following seven years you will be under the watchful eye of some of the most dangerous wizards and witches alive. This is something that must be discussed."

"Uhh..."

"They cannot, under any circumstances, know about me."

Harry blinked. "Why?"

"Because they will do anything necessary to separate me from you, and in the process, you will die."

Harry paled. "C'mon Tom, I'm sure they'd be more understanding than that."

"There's nothing to understand, Harry. Lord Voldemort was one of the the most powerful wizard to walk the earth, and he slaughtered thousands without mercy. They are perfectly justified in using any means necessary to end me."

"But you're not doing anything wrong now."

"And this is the current topic up for discussion."

"Umm...how so?"

"In the initial stages of our interactions, I had a plan, Harry, to eventually take control of your body, and use it to construct for my master soul a vessel with which we could resume the war we were waging."

Harry grimaced at that, but was, honestly, not too surprised. He supposed that were he a dark lord in Tom's position, he would do the same thing. "Ummm...that was past tense you were using, right?"

"Indeed it was. I have since rejected that plan."

Harry laughed uneasily. "Why the change of heart?"

"You fascinate me, Harry Potter. I would rather make use of you than throw you away."

"Thanks...I think. I'm...honoured?"

"As you should be."

And he was - this was Tom's way of telling him that he cared for him, after all. "So...what's the new plan?"

"It will be revealed in time."

"Awww..."

"Right now, we must focus on ensuring our survival."

"Ok...and how do we do that?"

"I need my wand."

"Your...wand?"

"Yes."

Harry supposed that made sense. "Well, where is it?"

"Godric's Hollow, Cornwall."

Understanding dawned on Harry's face. "That's...where you...killed my parents."

"It is."

"But how do you know your wand is still there? Don't you think someone took it? It's been almost 10 years."

"I trust my wand to be loyal and clever enough to conceal itself until its master returns for it."

"That's awfully considerate of it."

"Indeed."

"But...how do we get there? By train? Bus?"

"No, you will enlist the help of your Aunt. I will leave the details to you."

Pride swelled in Harry's chest. Tom really did trust him.

"Speak to me once you have secured our transportation."

"What...now?"

"There is no time like the present, Harry."

Harry sighed as he placed the mirror back on his bed and quietly made his way downstairs, his silent footfalls fading into the stillness of the house. Dudley was away at summer camp, and Vernon was on a business trip in France, so it was just him and Aunt Petunia inhabiting Number 4 Privet Drive at the moment, bestowing upon the suburban domicile a new level of pristine tranquility, as per Aunt Petunia's preference.

Harry preferred it that way, too - he'd come to the conclusion that his childhood would have been much simpler and pain free were it just him and Aunt Petunia. He much preferred her to her rotund husband and son - she was quieter, and seemed to dislike him a lot less than the male Dursleys did.

She was also more inclined to take the time to do the housework on her own, when it was just her and Harry.

It was nearly noon, and the sound of carrots being chopped vibrated in the air as he passed by a familiar cupboard under the stairs and stealthily entered the kitchen.

"Aunt Petunia?"

The woman frantically spun around, startled, and pointed the stainless steel knife in her hands straight at Harry as her pale blue eyes went wide in fear.

.....

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