Stormseeker: Unwanted Destiny

A wolf Patronus bounds into the dining area of Grimmauld Place and says in Remus's voice, "Harry, are you alright? Where are you?" He sounds panicked. They must have found out what happened to Dumbledore.

"Expecto Patronum," I murmur, focusing upon the thought of the rainbow after the storm, and my duck Patronus shimmers into sight. I suppose it's a good sign that I have good enough mental control to summon a Patronus even now. "Tell Remus I'm fine. I got away. I'm at Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place."

Draco grunts. "So much for having a nice party."

"Reality is knocking again, it seems," I say. "Shouldn't be surprised. Alright, Theatre Club time. We're completely innocent and know nothing about anything."

"I'm good at that one," Draco says.

"No you're not," Cassie says, smirking.

I get up to go out and meet Remus, in hopes of preventing any unpleasant reactions from Walburga's painting. He hasn't come alone, but with Sirius Black as well.

"Why here of all places?" Sirius is grumbling as he steps inside.

"You!" Walburga shrieks. "Blood traitors and half-bloods, polluting my house with filth!"

"My apologies, Lady Black," I say quickly. "But I must speak with them for short while. They will doubtless not be remaining here long."

"Go soak your head, Mum," Sirius snaps at the painting. "It's not like I wanted to come back here."

Walburga starts screaming at him some more, and I sigh and drag them past into the parlor where Cassie and Draco are waiting. No help for it at the moment, I suppose.

"What happened?" Cassie asks, putting on an act of seeming worried.

"Harry..." Remus says. "I don't know how to break this to you, but... Dumbledore is dead."

"Oh, Merlin," I gasp. "What happened after I left?"

"Voldemort got him," Sirius says, scowling. "Someone saw the flash of the Killing Curse out the window, but by the time anyone could get out there, Voldemort was gone."

Draco puts on an admirable look of stunned silence. Cassie says, "Oh my... What's going to happen now?"

"This is terrible," I say. "I always thought Dumbledore could have taken him on in a straight fight..."

"We don't know what happened," Remus says. "Maybe Voldemort caught him by surprise. There weren't any signs that he was struck by any other curses."

"The Order's in a state of chaos," Sirius says. "I know it's your birthday and all, but you might want to come back and help deal with this. They might listen to you."

I take a deep breath and put on a brave, resolved face. "Alright. I'll see what I can do." I look over to my friends. "Cassie, could you take Draco home?"

"No way," Draco says. "I'm coming with you."

I glance over to Kreacher, who is grumbling about Sirius in the corner, and say, "Thanks for the cake, Kreacher. It was delicious. I'll be back later."

We Apparate back over to Caer Danas and head inside. The people in the house are shouting, running around in a panic, some of them looking to be packing quickly to flee the place. The actual members of the Order of the Phoenix appear to be making some sort of effort to organize things and calm everyone down, but are doing a poor job of it.

I step into the middle of it as though I own the place. Well, technically I do. And if I'd really been in charge here in the first place, none of this would have happened. Well, with my luck, something worse might well have happened, but at least then I'd only have myself to blame for it all.

"Quiet!" I shout. Eyes around the room turn toward me. "Listen up! Panicking isn't going to help matters any. I want everyone out of this house by tomorrow, but you can do it without falling over one another."

"But if this place isn't safe anymore, where else can we go?" asks a woman I don't recognize.

"Go home," I say. "This could have all ended in disaster. You realize that if the Dark Lord wanted you all dead, he could have done so easily? Instead, only Dumbledore is dead. You know what that says to me? He's not targeting you."

"But..." says a wizard I don't know.

"No buts," I say. "I will guarantee your safety if you return home now." Please don't make me a liar, Tom.

There's still fear and doubt in the wake of my words, but I did manage to calm things down somewhat. People continue to work to evacuate in a somewhat more sedate manner.

"You really need to learn Sonorus," Cassie murmurs to me.

I start casting spells left and right, in the guise of helping people pack and clean up. But what I'm really doing is making sure that my Killing Curse won't show up on Prior Incantato. I'm too paranoid to let myself get caught out in something like that, even if I doubt anyone is likely to suspect me anyway.

As quickly as we work, they aren't all ready to move out by the end of the day. It's three days before all of the unwanted house guests are gone from my home. I continue sleeping over at Grimmauld Place until they're all gone.

The morning after my first night back at Caer Danas, I get up, get dressed, and head downstairs for some breakfast. There, at the dining table, is Tom Riddle, casually eating pancakes. I stop still in the doorway, gaping at him in shock.

Tom looks up from his plate and over at me, looking vaguely amused. "Are you just going to stand there staring, or are you going to join me for breakfast?"

I snap my mouth shut and stop gaping with a deliberate effort. "I wasn't expecting to see you here."

"Did you want me to evacuate too?" Tom asks innocently.

"I-- gah," I stammer.

"What's going on?" Cassie wonders, coming up behind me. "Who-- oh, it's you."

Tom casually forks another bit of pancake into his mouth. "Good morning. Are you going to come and eat? Dobby made plenty."

"Oh, to the Abyss with it," I grumble, and go to sit down instead of standing around gaping like a fish. "Dobby! Two more plates, please."

"Right away!" Dobby says gleefully.

Cassie shrugs and goes to sit down as well. "I must admit that you're not quite what I would have expected, given the rumors of the last war."

"That's not surprising," Tom says. "I'm not the same me who fought in the last war. Not exactly."

"What do you mean?" Cassie says as Dobby puts another plate of pancakes in front of her.

"I was resurrected from a diary that was created when I was sixteen years old," Tom explains. "I was frankly shocked when I discovered how far I had later slipped into madness. I had long since lost sight of my original goals and motivations."

"So, wait," I say. "Does that mean you don't remember anything that happened after that point?"

"I didn't initially," Tom says. "I later claimed that ragged, pathetic scrap of soul that was calling itself Lord Voldemort, and forcefully merged with it. He wasn't even still strong enough to gain control."

"I see," I say.

"What's going on here?" Remus demands, standing in the doorway and staring in a much more hostile manner than Cassie and I had.

"Obliviate," Tom mutters quietly before I even noticed he had his wand pointing at Remus. "Ah, hello, Professor Lupin. I was hoping to speak with you. I am Tom Riddle, the new Headmaster of Hogwarts. Is Professor Black around? I'd like to speak with him as well."

I really don't like seeing my friends Obliviated. I scowl a little at that, but I say nothing.

Remus blinks for a moment as his modified memory settles in. "Ah, Tom Riddle. It's a pleasure to meet you. Sirius is still asleep at the moment, I'm afraid. It's a wonder he's willing to get up before noon for his classes. I'll go and get him, though, if you want."

"Please do," Tom says, and Remus goes and leaves the room.

"What did you do to him?" I ask quietly once Remus is gone.

"I just made him forget the tiny detail of 'Tom Riddle is Lord Voldemort'," Tom says. "I did the same with the Weasleys and anyone else I could find that knew about it and was likely to react poorly."

I can't argue about why Tom would want to do that, whether I like it or not.

"You're the new Headmaster?" Cassie says.

"Indeed," Tom says, grinning. "And it would be most inconvenient if anyone realized that, wouldn't it?"

Remus comes back shortly, with a still-sleepy Sirius in tow. "Bah, what was worth getting up so early for?" Sirius grumbles, rubbing his eyes and clearly not even seeing Tom yet.

"Obliviate," Tom whispers discretely. "Ah, good morning, Professor Black. I wished to discuss staffing and curriculum for the upcoming year at Hogwarts. I apologize for the inconvenience. Please, have a seat."

Remus and Sirius sit down, and Dobby also brings them some pancakes. "Dumbledore's loss is a heavy blow," Remus says. "But it's good that a new Headmaster has been selected so quickly, especially one as well-regarded as you. I would have expected you to be older, though."

"There are more people sitting at this table who aren't as old as they appear to be, than those who are," Tom says wryly.

"You know about that?" Remus says, raising an eyebrow.

"Of course," Tom says, smiling. "I'm well-acquainted with these two."

"I see," Remus says. "So what did you wish to discuss? You still want me to stay on as Battle Magic teacher, right?"

Tom shakes his head. "I think you'd do better with Magical Creatures, honestly."

"What about me, then?" Sirius says.

"Sirius, you know you only took a teaching position because you were bored," I say. "And you grabbed the first opening that popped up."

"My reports indicate that you were attempting to teach the Patronus Charm last term," Tom says. "While being unable to cast it yourself. And you'd brought in a Dementor which very nearly Kissed a student."

I put my face in my palms. "Oh, Sirius."

"Well... maybe that wasn't the best way that could have been handled," Sirius says sheepishly.

"I'm also told that you are repeatedly late for your early classes, and sometimes don't even bother to show up at all," Tom says. "You also don't even seem to look at your students' papers, and simply give them all top marks, no matter how poorly they're doing. Except for the Slytherins." He narrows his eyes at Sirius.

"They were being little prats in class!" Sirius protests.

"I'm afraid this is unacceptable behavior for a teacher," Tom says. "However, if you still wish to be part of the Hogwarts staff, I am certain that I can find another position for you."

"Sirius, I told you you're not cut out for teaching," Remus says.

Sirius grumbles dejectedly, and spears his pancake viciously.

"On the other hand, you, Professor Lupin, I have received nothing but complimentary remarks regarding," Tom says. "However, I understand that you require time off every month, which might lend itself better to an elective rather than a core class."

"Er, yes," Remus says. "There is that. I would be just as capable of handling the Magical Creatures class. And I can cast the Patronus Charm, but I would not be foolish enough to bring something into class which I could not handle myself."

"Of course," Tom says.

"So who is going to teach Battle Magic, then?" Remus says.

"I have a few names I'm considering for the position," Tom says. "But I'm open for recommendations."

"Barty Crouch, Junior," I say.

"Wasn't he sent to Azkaban?" Remus says. "For being a Death Eater?"

"He was cleared recently, even as someone else at this table was," Tom says, looking at Sirius.

"Yeah, but didn't they clear any of the Death Eaters that weren't so far-gone that they were babbling out their crimes constantly?" Sirius says.

I snort softly. "He was a good teacher," I say. "I wouldn't suggest him otherwise."

"Well, if you say so, Harry," Sirius says, shrugging.

"I'll be certain to look into your recommendation," Tom says, smiling at me. He finishes up his breakfast and stands up. "I hate to eat and run, but I have a lot of work to do. I must finish solidifying the curriculum in order to give everyone a chance to buy the books and materials that they may need."

"Are there going to be many changes?" I ask.

"Probably not," Tom says. "I can't imagine that Trelawny's students will be all that disappointed that her class has been canceled, however. Except, perhaps, that they might now need to actually take a useful elective instead. Perhaps I should see about introducing a few more options. There's such a pitiful selection of electives at the moment."

"I could teach one!" Sirius suggests. Tom pins him with a look. "... maybe?"

"Don't get your hopes up," Tom says. He gives a casual wave and heads out.

"He seems like an intelligent, competent fellow," Remus says. Sirius is still grumbling. "Oh, do relax, Padfoot. It's not like you really wanted to be a teacher anyway."

"Barty Crouch Junior," Sirius grumbles. "I could have taught Battle Magic, too!"

"That seems like an even worse idea than you teaching Magical Creatures," I comment dryly. "And there probably won't be a Pranking Club, either."

"I wonder if there will be any interesting new electives," Cassie says thoughtfully.

"We already have three electives, Cassie," I say.

"It was a thought," Cassie says.

"Perhaps we should be more concerned about what will happen with the Order of the Phoenix and the war with Lord Voldemort now that Dumbledore is gone, than with the electives in school," Remus says. "You two have already been through it all anyway, after all."

"I've only been through fourth year!" I say. "And with some different teachers, I'm getting all sorts of new material already, anyway."

"Education is very important," Cassie says. "Knowledge is power, they say, isn't that right?"

"I suppose," Remus says. "Well, with Sirius having more free time now, he can help with the Order of the Phoenix more, I suppose."

Sirius grumbles some more.

After breakfast, Cassie takes me aside to talk to me in private. "Do you think we can trust him?"

"Probably," I say.

"You know I'll be right behind you no matter what you decide to do," Cassie says. "Whichever side you choose to follow."

"I'm less interested in sides, and more interested in people," I say. "And I think I've had quite enough of killing myself for the sake of people I don't even know."

"Good," Cassie says. "Call me selfish, but I think I'd rather keep you to myself." She grins at me.

I chuckle softly, and say, "I won't hesitate to kill myself to save you, Cassie."

She grabs me and presses her lips against mine hard. You know, I think I could get used to this. I'm very... comfortable with her.

Tom hasn't quite moved in, but he certainly spends a lot of time around my house. I wonder what he finds so fascinating about it. Or me. At least he's not trying to kill me or anything.

New letters arrive by the end of the week. There's one major difference. Apparently, Muggle Studies is now a requirement for wizard-raised children, and a new Wizarding Culture class has been added for Muggle-raised children. I must admit, I'm more than a little surprised at that.

"Looks like we'll be learning about Muggles this year," Cassie says. "I probably don't know nearly as much as I should as it is."

I just have to wonder exactly what a Muggle Studies course directed by the Dark Lord might teach. Maybe I'll get to learn more about Muggle weaponry. That could be fun.

At least I have too many other things on my mind to take the time to be depressed of late. I've been caught completely off-guard, and I have no idea where my life is hurtling toward now. It's all I can do to hang on for the ride.

One morning, I have another private chat with Tom over breakfast. "So, you've gone back to using your birth name, now?"

"Funny thing," Tom says. "I had an epiphany."

"Oh?" I say.

"I always hated my name, you know," Tom says. "I always thought it was such a common, filthy, Muggle name. It didn't help that my mother could not be more creative than simply naming me after my father."

"So what happened?" I wonder.

"I realized how childish I was being," Tom says, chuckling. "And how stupid 'Voldemort' sounds. And... French. Why French? Past me clearly had no taste."

"Better Muggle than French?" I say wryly.

"Exactly," Tom says. "Tell me, where did the name Lexen Chelseer come from?"

"It's my name," I say. "The name I went by until I came here when I was ten."

"You were raised under a different name?" Tom says, raising an eyebrow. "It must have been difficult to adjust to being Harry Potter at first, then."

"At first," I say, shrugging. "I'm used to it now."

Dumbledore is dead. There's no reason to keep this a secret anymore. I could only benefit from Tom realizing that the prophecy wasn't even about me in the first place. But how am I to tell him that?

I sigh, and look around to make sure nobody else is skulking about, making sure the privacy spells are still up. "I'm not Harry Potter," I say in barely more than a whisper anyway.

Tom raises an eyebrow at me. "What do you mean?"

"Do you know the Naming Charm?" I say. "Sirius said it was fairly obscure."

Tom frowns a little, and points his wand at me. "Nomino. Lexen Chelseer? How did you get it to magically change your name like that?"

"Lexen Chelseer is my actual birth name," I say. "I'm not a Potter at all. I'm actually, well, Harry Potter's second cousin on his mother's side."

"You're... not the real Harry Potter at all?" Tom says. "Why were you willing to put yourself in harm's way for that by impersonating him?"

"Dumbledore convinced me to," I say, sighing. "He didn't bother telling me what the prophecy was at first. But it was all to save his own reputation. The real Harry Potter died at the age of five years old. Dumbledore left him with his abusive Muggle relatives, who hated anything to do with magic, apparently. And, well..."

Tom's red eyes flash in anger. "Forcing a magical child to live with Muggles is a terrible thing to do. And this was how he treated his supposed savior? The one who was to have the power to vanquish me?"

I give a nod. "This isn't the first time I've been Harry Potter. I wasn't even going to do it this time. But Dumbledore dragged me into it again. I made him agree to change the Hogwarts curriculum to my satisfaction before I would agree to anything. That was the reason why there was Politics and Battle Magic. He refused to just call it 'The Dark Arts'." I snicker softly.

"You would have wanted Hogwarts to teach a class in the Dark Arts?" Tom says, raising an eyebrow. "You're full of surprises."

"You're more surprised about that than the fact that I'm not even the one the prophecy was talking about?" I say, smirking.

Tom gives a shrug. "I'm disturbed by the fate of Harry Potter more than anything else. But... it sadly does not surprise me at all that Dumbledore would do this."

"Does that mean you'll quit trying to kill me now?" I ask.

Tom chuckles. "I already stopped trying to kill you."

"That's a relief," I say.

Tom grins broadly and leans close to me. "Not that that's my only interest in you."

There's the sound of a throat clearing from the doorway. I glance over to see Cassie, looking somewhat cross.

Tom sits up straight again and says, "I really should be going now. Much work to do." He gives a casual wave and leaves, Cassie glaring at him until he's gone.

"Say," Draco says. "Are you two going to the Quidditch World Cup?"

"I'm really not interested in Quidditch, Draco," I say. "You know that."

"Ah, come on," Draco says. "My father got the best seats in the place, too!"

"Hmm, maybe it could be fun," Cassie says. "I've never been to a Quidditch World Cup before."

I can't help but think of the unpleasant circumstances of the last Quidditch World Cup I attended in another life. I'm sure that none of that will happen this time, but I'm still not sure that I want to go, regardless. Still, I let myself get dragged along, since Cassie seems so enthuasiastic about it.

"It'll be great!" Sirius says.

"We really should be concentrating on other things," Remus says quietly. "And not sporting events. We're going to need to keep our eye out to make sure nothing happens at the game. It's not just going to be a fun outing."

"Oh, relax a little," Sirius says. "I haven't been to a professional Quidditch game in forever!"

The Order of the Phoenix puts forth a lot of precautions around the game, and I think every last one of them is there somewhere. I run into Tom there as well, in the top box along with my party.

"Fancy seeing you here," Tom says. "Nothing like a good game of Quidditch, hmm?"

"I'm just here for the food," I say, ignoring the fact that Cassie is glaring at him. She finally huffs a little and goes to take a seat without me.

Tom comes up close and casts a quick privacy spell around us. "I see the Flaming Chickens are out in force today. Funny, if someone were actually planning something today, it would be an excellent opportunity to do it anywhere but here."

He gives me a wicked grin, leaving me wondering if he's indeed planning something or not. But before I can ask, he cancels his spell and goes to take a seat, leaving me to go and take my own next to Cassie.

Cassie grabs onto my hand and mutters, "He's way more interested in you than is healthy."

The game proceeds without incident, and especially without any random Death Eater attack on the campground at night. I find myself a little worried about what he might have meant about something going on elsewhere.

But, the next day's Daily Prophet doesn't mention any unfortunate events, nor the day after. He must not have been planning anything after all, and was just making a wry comment, I suppose.

And then the bells go off in the main hall. Dumbledore must have refined the contingency spell on it, since they haven't been ringing when people have been coming and going constantly. I head out the back door to see who it is.

Standing in the gazebo is Tom Riddle, holding Hermione Granger's arm reassuringly. She looks a little beaten and burnt, and her face holds a rather stunned expression.

"Ah, Harry," Tom says. "I don't suppose you would mind another house guest?"

"I don't see any house here..." Hermione says. "Oh, is it hidden by magic?"

I give a nod. "Rispy!"

The elf appears. "Another guest? Alright. The headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix is at Caer Danas. Except it's not actually anymore, and I don't know why this is still even necessary."

"Wow, that's a big house," Hermione says, stumbling along inside. "The Order of the Phoenix? Oh, I read about them."

"They aren't here anymore, though," I say. "You heard about Dumbledore, I presume?"

Hermione gives a nod. "It's terrible news. But Headmaster Riddle has been good to me. He... he saved me."

"What happened?" I wonder. "Are you alright?"

"There was a horrible accident in the underground," Hermione says.

"Hundreds of Muggles dead," Tom says.

"And you saved her?" I say, looking at him a little incredulously.

"He couldn't save my parents," Hermione says quietly, looking at the floor. "But he risked his life to pull me out of the burning wreckage! He's so brave..."

Tom squeezes her shoulder. "Now, there's no need for flattery. With my magic, I wasn't in that much danger. I'm sorry about your parents, though." He almost manages to make that last bit sound sincere.

Hermione gives a small, distant nod. "It was an accident. Nobody could have foreseen something so horrible would happen."

She isn't looking at Tom, but I'm guessing from the look in his eyes that this was no accident at all. I just have to wonder why he went to the trouble of killing so many Muggles, but went out of his way to save Hermione. I don't feel like I even know this new Dark Lord.