Harry Potter: Changing the Course of History-Chapter 2

This is Chapter 2 of a rewrite; to read chapter one, click here.

Chapter 2: Riddle Manor

“Harry…I know you said to be^____” Dudley got cut off by Harry, who was muttering something just a few minutes before.

“Yes, Dudley?” Harry asked, his eyes lazily looking at Dudley, he was tired and looked as if he was about to pass out.

“Harry. You're worn out, let’s take a break, Okay?” Dudley said sternly. Either Harry had an all nighter the night before or he was just tired and exhausted from walking.

“But^___” Harry began to protest. He had been up all night the night before but he wasn’t going to admit it.

“Harry, tell me where we are going. I’ll carry you and you can sleep.” As much as Dudley was willing to listen to his argument it would’ve wasted time.

“Fine.” Harry reluctantly explained that he needed to keep walking forward and then when he got to a old castle that had a nice crimson color and say ‘The Slytherin Prince”

“A guy named Snape will answer, don’t be rude and explain who you are. I highly suggest when you meet a person named Tom you shut your trap till I wake up.” Harry added. He knew how Tom was about strangers. Especially strangers that were carrying a sleeping Harry Potter.

“Oh...okay…” Harry climbed on Dudley’s back and closed his eyes before falling into a dreamless sleep. Snoring softly and on Dudely’s back he slept has Dudley carried him through the forest.

“The Slytherin Prince.” Dudley said sternly, just as Harry taught him a few minutes ago. He wasn’t standing up though, he was slouching because Harry’s lightweight had somehow gotten heavy as he slept.

“Who is it^___” A tall adult with dark, tamed greasy black hair and thick, long robes opened the door to the castle. His face was expressionless so it was hard to tell what he was thinking. He almost sounded like Dudley’s private tutor. “Who are you?”

“Dudley. Harry told me to come here, he’s dreadfully tired. Can we go in? He said he knew someone named Snape?” Dudley asked. He didn’t be rude, and asked before doing so. Something they had to practice for an hour before they got it down.

“Alright…” Severus Snape closed his eyes in a short, slow, blink. “Tom! Make Harry some tea!” Dudley sat on the couch with Harry sleeping peacefully on his shoulder. When he heard the name ‘Tom’ he remembered what Harry said. Then again, he said Tom would need an explanation of who I am.

“Why? He didn’t mention about^___” Tom’s eyes went from his light red to a threatening crimson. “Who’s this kid?”

“Dudley. He didn’t give me a last name and he said that Harry was ‘dreadfully tried’ so I let him in.” Severus said.

“Harry talked to a snake...Nagni or something.” Dudley interrupted their conversation. He wanted to prove that he knew Harry. He never had too before, but now he did. And he didn’t blame them, he looked nothing like Harry at all. Dudley had watery blue eyes and thick blond hair. If anything, he looked like Justin Timberlake.

“Nagni? When?” Tom asked, his eyes turning back to their normal color as he got interested in the kid. Even if he didn’t trust him, he was a muggle, and that meant he didn’t know about talking to snakes, and Harry never talked to snakes in front of anyone. Not even him. Was this the ‘someone’ Harry was talking about? He thought as he questioned if he was judging the kid too fast.

“Today...in the forest.” Dudley replied and then his face turned pale with fear. Harry had twitched^___not just any twitch^___a night terror twitch.

“N-no!” Harry muttered in his sleep. His hands grabbing, reaching for something. Or someone. “P-Please! D-Dudley! Don’t leave me!”

“What’s he saying?” Tom asked, seeing the change in expression from Dudley. Other than that, he had seen Harry’s twitching and had stopped a few night terrors himself.

“Harry.” He said, ignoring Tom’s question. He shook Harry. Roughly. “C’mon Harry it’s just a dream I’d never leave you...I promise..I promise..c’mon, wake up.”

“What’s he saying?” Tom repeated, getting irritated that Dudley ignored him. He knew about night terrors himself and he knew Harry had the more frightening bunch.

“D-Dudley?” Harry asked, then looked around as his eyes focused. His voice then dropped to a whisper. “Dudley. Which one?”

“....Number eighty three..” Dudley whispered. Now whether Tom heard them is a mystery you’ll have to figure out.

“Alright.” Harry said out loud. “Tom! Make me some tea!”

“I told you.” Severus said, with a small, sly, grin rarely seen by anyone.

“Oh shut up.” Tom clicked on the stove and opened a cabinet with tea boxes galore, “Which one?”

“The one made from flowers.”

“We have^__”

“I know how many we have Tommy, just pick one you’d think I like and put it on. I need to stay awake.”

“And why is that?”

“We’ve got to talk.” Harry needed to tell that he’d be staying with them till school started or...maybe just for the night. He hadn’t thought it through enough.

“I hate when you say that. You do know that right?”

“I do and we don’t do it often anyways so stop whining.”

“Oh, you're lucky you're my kid brother, I’d punch your teeth in right now.”

“You sure about?”

“Oh I am sure about that.”

“Cut it out! I don’t want to play ‘dad’ again. Last time I had to use my magic to break up a fight and Tom you almost broke Harry’s arm and Harry you almost shattered Tom’s skull!” Seveurs snapped as Dudley stayed quiet as can be but was practically dying of laughter from within.

“Sev, we always fight. Don’t we?” Harry asked.

“Oh shut up Harry.” Seveurs said in his best professor voice he could muster. For he’d become good friends with the two. They were like family to him and he to them. And for that reason, it was hard to keep his stone cold look and professor feel.

“I win!” Harry smiled and slid off the couch.

“Dudley come on, we need to take a shower. We’ve got mud all over us. Tom you have a change of clothes?” Harry led Dudley up the stairs.

“In my room, to the left!” He called after them. After they took they’re showers Harry went downstairs with Dudley and his tea was still piping hot. After an hour or two.

“How is it…?” Harry asked before he saw Severus had conjured a spell to keep it hot but was asleep while doing it. “This idiot…”

“Hm?” Dudely asked, “And what’s that coming out of that..that twig?”

“It’s called a wand Dudely, Tom showed it to me the last time I visited here. I don’t exactly get it either^____wait.” An idea popped into Harry’s head. “Where is he?” His eyes widened. His voice quivered. He went back to that sensitive person and then realized what happend. Had he gone through my thoughts? Harry said, a grim look on his face What if he read them and^___he...oh bloody he^__

Harry’s thought got interrupted by Severus, who must've noticed the terror in his friends eyes for he titled his head to this side. A classic sign for confusion and need of answers.

“Harry? Where’s Tom?” He asked, knowing that if there was any panic caused in the Riddle Manor was usually made by Tom Riddle himself.

“Gone! He’s gone! He’s going to kill someone again!” Harry cried, talking fast. Fidgeting with his hands. He didn’t really know if he was going to kill someone but it was still a very good chance.

“Woah, woah, woah, slow down. What?” Severus sat straight up, not even in his regular slouch like he normally was when conjuring a spell and trying to sleep at the same time.

“So I think Tom read through my thoughts and memories and I think he might have..” Harry’s voice trailed off, but when Seveurs opened his mouth a new voice came out. It wasn’t even his voice.

“I didn’t leave.” said Tom. “Not exactly anyways, I was out feeding Nagni. But why are you panicking, I go through your thoughts a lot, but never your memories. Do I need to?”

“U-Um..I know I shouldn’t be getting in this but he killed someone? You did say again.” Dudley forced himself in the conversation.

“Dudley j-just shut up!” Harry’s cheek felt hot and tears rolled down his cheeks. “Please…” He didn’t feel like answering a question that needed at least an hour to explain.

“C’mon we need to talk, and Dudley was it?” Tom said, having everyone sit in the circle as Dudley nodded. He hated talking when Harry said that they needed to and he knew Harry hated when he said it. “Alright, well Dudley, you're going to be joining us.”

“I don’t want to talk…” Harry whispered.

“It’s not what you want to do, you cried Harry. That’s a problem.” Tom explained.

“You never cry Harry. Not once.” Severus added.

“They..um, Harry they are true.” Dudley agreed. And if Dudley agreed with them then it was three against one.

“Fine..” Harry finally said after a while.

“Now, what’s so bad about your memories?” Tom asked as Dudley and Harry stared at each other, their expressions matching.

“Uhhh...I didn’t know we’d be talking about...this…” Dudley said finally after a few minutes. “We never talk about it….”

“This? What’s this? Is it bad?” Seveurs asked. Dudley and Harry looked at each other, unable to speak.

“Harry…? Do you um..” Dudley looked with a asking look on his face.

“No. I do not.” Harry crossed his arms and stayed there. Until Severus took out his wand and said “Bewitched Sleep!” and fell into a deep slumber.

“Dudley, take Harry to his room, it's labeled, “Kid brother” and yours is next to it. Get a good night's sleep.” Severus told him.

“Well erm...actually, I need to sleep next to Harry...sometimes he has^___” Dudley was interrupted by Tom.

“Nightmares. We know, he doesn’t tell us about it.” Tom said. “Now go to bed.” Dudley climbed up the stairs and as soon as he was out of sight Tom’s hand started turning gray^____as if he was taking the form of Voldermort once again.

“Tom. Calm down.” Severus said, reaching for his wand. Not grabbing it yet^___just reaching for it. “Think logically.” Tom did an exercise that Harry had told him the last time he’d come.

“Out one...in two….out one...in two…” He muttered as the gray started to fade and his tan skin came back. (Doesn’t this seem so filmar?)

“Now, what is it?” Severus asked.

“Well...I’m worried about Harry.” Tom responded.

“And why is that?”

“It’s just...he’s ten and it’s only the summer^___july will be here soon and he will be eleven and then he’ll meet^__”

“Don’t you even say what you're going to say. Use the proper name.”

“Fine, Dumbledore.”

“How hard was that?”

“Very.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

“And what if…”

“He is not going to leave us.”

“How do you know that?! You can’t possibly know that!”

“I’m a professor there aren’t I?”

“...yeah...that’s^___” Their conversation was interrupted by Dudley, who was knocking on the door frame.

“I’m sure Harry wanted me to tell you this,” He said, “Good night.”

“Well..thanks. Good night.” Severus and Tom said in usion.