Mirrorverse

~~Mirrorverse~~

~~Chapter Ten: Finding Fact Amidst The Fiction~~

'Harry...'

'HARRY...'

'HARRY!' a voice said now breaking into the thoughts Harry was having at that precise moment.

Harry grumbled and sighed, then turned to the offending person. 'What is it, Peter?' he asked sullenly.

Peter gave Harry a strange look then said, 'I've been calling you for five minutes, Harry. What's wrong with you?' he asked.

'Nothing, what did you want?' Harry replied staring back into the fireplace.

After Hogsmeade and what had happened with the duel, he'd brought Peter back to the commons, how though he wasn't sure still. It bothered him slightly that he had such powers that he couldn't really control, not that he was going to let anyone else know that of course. More importantly, he knew that by-passing the wards on the castle was magic of the darkest type, powerful even, and it frankly scared him a bit. Right now he was in control of himself, but he wasn't sure when the next time he'd lose that control would be, and he didn't want Peter to end up the brunt of his anger and fears, not again.

'Harry, Professor Riddle stopped in, he wants to see you right away in his office,' Peter said now cutting back in on Harry's thoughts.

'Riddle? Wants...to see...me?'Harry asked now in surprise, and turned back to look at Peter skeptically. 'About what?'

Peter shrugged. 'Don't know, but he said to come quickly, and alone. Will you go?' Peter said a bit worried.

'Yeah...I guess I will. Why doesn't he want you to come too though?' Harry asked curiously whilst getting up from the settee he'd been sitting on.

Peter shrugged again. 'He didn't say, just wants you to come alone. You'll be all right?' Peter questioned hesitantly.

Harry nodded firmly. 'I'll be fine, Pete, I'm sure it's nothing major or he'd have asked for both of us to come. Why don't you see if you can get someone to rustle us up some food for later. Oh, and have them send up some stuff from Honeydukes like we planned on, eh?' Harry said with a small smile.

Peter smiled back, nodding happily. 'Sure, Harry, I'll get right on that! I'll have them send up all your favourites,' he said.

Harry nodded and began to head towards the common room entrance when he stopped short for a moment and looked back at Peter. 'Peter?' he said now hesitantly.

'Yeah, Harry?' Peter asked.

'Later we'll ask Severus for some healing potions, all right? I want you healed up properly,' Harry said guiltily.

Peter walked over to where Harry was standing at the entrance and put his hand on Harry's cheek. 'I'll be fine, Harry, don't you worry 'bout me, all right? Now go see what Professor Riddle wants,' he said quietly.

Harry sighed and gave Peter a strange glance, then nodded and headed out the entrance way, wondering what Riddle could possibly want of him. He still felt completely guilty about what he had done to Peter, thatwas something he knew he wouldn't get over any time soon. Then of course there was the fact that he was going to have to deal with Dracowhen the time came, and he was definitely not looking forwards to explaining this to the man he loved. As well as there was Severusand Remus he'd have to deal with, and he truly hoped Severuswould have something for Peter to use so that he wouldn't have to go to Madam Pomfrey. The last thing Harry needed was anyone else to know what he'd done to the other lad, even if it was something the Harry of this world might have done in the past, he didn't like it at all.

As he got to the first floor where the Transfiguration classroom was he walked into his professor's classroom, only to be thoroughly surprised by who he saw there. 'Draco? Remus? Severus? What are you three doing here?' he asked incredulously.

'Harry?' Draco said as he ran up and stood for a moment hesitantly in front of Harry.

Harry's face lit up into a huge smile and glancing round quickly as if making sure they were alone he then pulled Draco quickly into his arms. 'Oh, Draco, Dray...Dray...I miss you so much!' he said sighing happily, then before Dracocould even respond Harry pulled him into a heated lipsto lips embrace.

A cough from behind them however made them break apart quickly, and Harry turned to face Severus and Remus. 'Ah, yeah...err...sorry 'bout that,' he said blushing. 'It's just that it feels like ages since I've been with Draco...you know?'

Remus chuckled and nodded. 'We know, Harry, but tell us what's going on here? Are you all right? What's happening to you?' he askcuriously.

Harry sighed and looked from Remus to Severus then to Draco. 'I wish I knew, Remus, I really do. It's hard to explain, these powers...they're so strange. It's like someone's controlling me, and I have no say in the matter. I lose all sense of reality, of what's right and wrong,' he said thickly. 'No matter what I do, the darkness...it's there...surrounding me...making me do things I don't want to do...'

'Like...with Pettigrew?' Dracosaid hesitantly and gave Harry an odd look.

Harry gasped and released Draco, stepping back several paces. His face paled, his body tensed, and a look of sadness, regret, and fear came into his eyes. 'You...oh Merlin...you know about that, Draco?' he said in a half whispered voice. Now that he was the one being confronted about it, he didn't like it at all.

Draco sighed and nodded slowly, then gave Harry a mixed look. 'Yeah, it was kind of obvious those marks on him, Harry. I don't understand though, you've never been that way with me...why with him?'

'Wait a minute here, aren't you angry with me for what I did to him?' Harry asked puzzled now.

Draco rolled his eyes and snorted. 'I should be, I know, but I'm not. It's not your fault, Harry, not really. Besides...I umm...well that is...' he said fidgeting now and looking towards Remus and Severus for some support.

'What Draco is trying to say is,Lily Evans, rather your mother, has been very persistent herself. She's kissed him,' Severus said dryly, a slight grin on his lips.

'If only that was the case!' Draco said in a heated tone of voice, then turned back to Harry sullenly.

'What do you mean, Draco?' Remus asked confused now.

'Don't you recall Lily dragging me off after we got back to Hogsmeade?' Draco asked Remus and Severusnow.

'Yeah, and? What 'bout it?' Remus asked.

Draco sighed and turned back to Harry, a stricken look in his eyes. 'I'm sorry, love, but she ahh...well...let's just say I couldn't avoid the ahh...er...situation...any longer...' he said sheepishly.

Harry looked at Draco oddly for a moment then surprisingly burst out laughing. 'You slept with her?' he said more amused than anything else.

Draco shot Harry a glare then coughed and nodded slowly, a huge blush creeping up his face. 'Oh hell, Harry, I wouldn't call it sleeping...she flat out attacked me! Sheesh, you're mum...she's an animal!' he muttered. 'You try saying no to her for long, it doesn't work!'

Now even Remus and Severus had to chuckle at poor Draco's predicament, knowing Lily Evans as well as they did. 'Well, that explains where you disappeared off to then. I have to say I do feel for sorry you, Draco, oh the horror of it all,' Remus said trying to stifle down a giggle.

'Oh sod off, it's not very funny, Remus! At least you have Severus to shag...but noooo...I only get Lily...a blasted woman none the less!' Draco grumbled.

'Oh stop it both of you, really it's not that funny,' Harry said trying to hide his own grin. 'Oh don't give me that, Dray, we're even now. Not that I want to be, Merlin knows I want to be in your arms, love, but I guess I did tell you earlier to do whatever you had to do in order to not raise suspicions. I guess I was hoping neither of us would have to do what we did, but it seems we had little choice,' Harry said with a grimace.

Draco nodded sadly. 'Believe me, Harry, if I could have shoved her off again, I would have. Having sex with a woman is...er...well...it's gross!' Dracosaid with a shudder.

'Tell that to the Draco Malfoyof this world then,' Severus said drolly.

Draco snorted again. 'That DracoMalfoy is a stupid arsedgit then for so-called pretending to fall in love with a woman. Let's not go there anyway, where's Riddle? He said he'd be here to meet us,' Draco said puzzled now.

'Yeah, what is this about, Draco? I take it though you've all figured out Riddle is our Professor, and not evil in this world,' Harry said glancing round the classroom now.

Remus and Severus nodded. 'When Dracocame and told us who was looking for us, we figured that part out. I wonder why though he did want to see all of us?' Remus asked curiously.

'That's very simple, Mr. Lupin, and if you will all come inside where less prying ears might overhear you, I'll tell you why,' a voice called out from somewhere's to their left.

Harry remembered now this was where he and Peter had gone before when they'd come to see Riddle, the room they were all now hesitantly heading towards was his private chambers. As they entered the room the door closed quickly behind them, and Riddle stood there putting up several locking and silencing charms. With a wave of his hand he bade them to sit down on the sofas near the fireplace, then he too sat down in a chair close by, giving them all a strange look.

'Professor? You ahh...you wanted to see us?' Harry asked hesitantly.

Riddle turned to Harry and nodded, a questioning look in his eyes. 'Why don't we start with who you four really are eh? Then we'll go from there,' he said.

'Err...w-who...we r-really are?' Harry stammered in confusion.

'Why don't you tell us why you think we're not who we are supposed to be?' Severus asked curtly.

'Let's just all lay things on the queue then shall we?' Riddle said. 'Harry, remember when I told you that my sources detected a disturbance yesterday when I spoke with you and Peter?'

Harry nodded. 'Yes, sir, I remember you said that. What about it though?'

'You were here with Pettigrew yesterday?' Draco asked Harry in surprise.

'Peter Pettigrew is a member of the resistance movement, as are all of you, or rather...the real Severus, Remus, Dracoand Harry are. We have been fighting against Master Dumbledore and his minions, including Maximus Potter and Armando Dippet for quite some time. Yesterday however something changed, and now I'm convinced it involves the four of you,' Riddle said slowly, looking at each of the boys in turn.

'Why do you think that?' Remus asked.

'As I was saying, yesterday my sources detected a disturbance, or rather a significant power surge coming from Salazar's Hollow, the ancestral home of the Slytherin-Potters. Originally we had thought that it was related to something Maximus was doing, but from my information now, it apparently wasn't. A secret owl to me earlier today showed that it's not possible for Maximus to have anything to do with the power flux, rather...it was Harry himself who had something to do with it,' Riddle said.

'I don't understand...me? What did I have to do with anything?' Harry asked puzzled.

'The trace my sources were able to pick up were not Maximus's magic trace, nor were they Dumbledore's. In point of fact, the person who was at Salazar's Hollow yesterday was none other than you, Harry, or rather, that Harrison Potter that belongs in this world,' Riddle said focusing his gaze on Harry now.

'You've still given us no reason to tell you anything, norwhy you think we're not the real people we're supposed to be,' Severus said crisply.

Riddle turned away from Harry and instead now locked eyes on Severus for a few moments, neither man nor boy blinking or moving. After near five minutes however Riddle pulled his gaze away, blinking rapidly and then turning back to settle a dark eyed gaze on Severus, who was suddenly paler than he had been. 'How old are you really? Thirty? Thirty-two?'

'Thirty-eight actually, Remus and I both are where we came from,' Severus said in a strange voice. 'How did you know?'

'I noticed it right away actually, I saw you when you exited the library last night . The fact that you, Severus, managed to change overnight astounded me though. I was surprised that Frank Longbottom hadn't noticed the difference last night, then I realised you must have still had a shield round you from the 'original' Severus Snape, so no one but myself who's quiet well versed in seeing what others don't, and the other three with you of course, knew you looked any different. How was it possible for you to change appearances so quickly though?' he asked curiously.

'Where we come from I use a potion to control what I am, the urges and all. Here I cannot use the potion, and the moon cycle is different, it sped up the effects and drained me of the potion immediately. Back where we come from we just went past the full moon, so in effect, it's as if a whole month had passed us by,' Severus said simply.

'I see, yes that would indeed explain that aspect. Was Remus your blood servant back in your world as well then?' Riddle asked.

'Whoa...a what?' Harry said now cutting in confused, and looking at Remus and Severus oddly. 'What does he mean by that?'

Severus looked at Harry darkly, thensighed. 'You may as well know, Dracoalready does. I am a vampire, Harry, a blood vampire at that. Back home, I could control the urges of the vampire with a special potion, but here...Remus and I quickly found that things were much ah...different,' he said with a slight blush now. Turning back to Riddle though he said, 'In answer to that, no, Remus and I were most definitely not together back in our world, though we quickly figured out in this world that was also ahh...different.

Harry looked at Remus and Severus who were now both blushing then broke out into a huge grin. 'Cool! So you guys are bonded or something now?'

'Err...well it appears in this world, yes...we are ahh...bonded to each other, Harry,' Remus said softly.

'I can bet some people won't like that idea when we get back,' Harry chuckled.

'If you get back that is,' Riddle interjected now.

All four turned back to face Riddle startled. 'What do you mean if we get back?' Dracodemanded.

'I mean, that if what I and my allies suspect is true, getting back may not be so easy, or impossible to do even all told,' Riddle said simply.

'No, no, no...you don't understand, Professor, we have to go back. We don't belong here!' Dracosaid heatedly.

'Calm down, Draco, let's hear what he has to say first,' Harry said putting a comforting hand on Draco'sarm.

'Calm down? Calm down??? I don't want to stay here shagging your mum all night long, Harry! I want to go back to our life together, remember that?' Draco argued.

'Of course I remember our life together you silly git, how could I forget?' Harry asked in surprise.

'Well you're doing a damn good job of forgetting it from what I see, Harry!' Draco muttered now and shot Harry a dark glare.

'I'm not forgetting, Draco, I told you, I don't exactly know what's happening to me now do I,' Harry said back angrily. Turning to Riddle he said now, 'If you're so smart and everything, tell us what the hell is going on here?'

Riddle looked at Harry intensely for a moment then went over and got something off the desk that was off to one side of his room. Walking back with a piece of parchment in his hand he handed it to Harry. 'Read this, maybe it will help clear up a few things.'

Harry took the parchment hesitantly and looked down,scanning the contents, then with a gasp reread the post thoroughly. 'Is this right?' he asked skeptically.

Riddle nodded and sighed. 'I'm afraid it is. I trust my sources.'

'Why are you the one people come to anyway? What's so important about you?' Draco asked curiously.

Riddle stared at Draco for a moment as if debating something then seemed to come to a decision. 'Can I trust the four of you?' he asked.

'Until you give us reasons not to, I dare say we'll cooperate with you,' Severus said, the others echoing his sentiments.

'Very well then, I'll tell you. I don't know about where you come from, but here I am the head of the resistance group, we're dedicated to fighting the evils that have become commonplace and acceptable. Here I am known within the Inner Council as "Lord Voldemort", a slight anagram of my name Tom Marvelo Riddle, though I suspect that where you came from you may already know that.'

Everyone nodded slowly. 'Except in our world you're as evil as they come, a blight on the world, one that is nothing more than a murder who destroys anything and everything he gets his hands on,' Severusmuttered.

Riddle looked startled for a moment, then pensive, and got up to pace the room again. 'So, the worlds are in reverse, the mirror effect. This could be even worse then I thought,' he said quietly.

'Will you stop being cryptic and tell us what you mean here? How can we go home?' Draco demanded.

'If I had the power to reverse the effects and send you home, young Malfoy, I would, unfortunately I do not. There is only one person I believe in this world who has the power to do that, and I'm afraid if my sources are correct...currently he may very well be residing...in your world,' Riddle said slowly.

'Whoa, wait a minute here, what do you mean...in our world?' Draco asked.

'Harry, please read the note that's in your hand. Perhaps it will clear this up a bit, or not, I don't know,' Riddle said nodding towards Harry now.

Harry nodded then in a strange voice began to read the letter:


Voldemort-

You asked us to keep you updated on the goings on here at Salazar's Hollow, what we have to impart to you now is something very odd and strange indeed. Yesterday we reported to you a power surge coming from the Hollow, which originally we thought was related to Maximus and his goals in bringing back the Dark Lord Dumbledore. However on closer examination, we find that is not the case.

I don't know exactly what happened here last night, but Harry Potter, Draco Malfoy, SeverusSnape and Remus Lupin were here, that has been confirmed. An ally of ours reported that he saw the four of them sneaking into the Hollow last evening, and he invisibly followed them. From what our ally could gather from the snippets of information he overheard, we now fear the four of them may have turned against us. Harry is being influenced somehow, we fear he may be lost to us, that his goal now is to use the other three half-bloods and bring himself to power, not just restoring the old Dark Lord.

There was some sort of spell casted last night from the Hollow creating the power surge, and our ally heard talks of 'otherworlds'. He then saw them all read in turn from something in Harry's hand, and hear him say they would use their powers, combining themselves with something, or someone rather, from another place. The next thing our ally knew there was a blinding flash of light and the boys were gone, but not before he swears on his life he saw images of eight people in the room rather than the original four. Duplicates of the four boys from what he managed to see, but all eight disappeared, though now we know they somehow got returned to Hogwarts mysteriously.

After the power surge in the Hollow we ran a detection spell, and I need to warn you now, the traces we found are darker and stronger than anything we've yet come across. Even the old Dark Lord's magic wasn't this powerful, and the trace resounded from one person alone - Harrison Seth Potter. We fear he has now combined himself, and the others as well, with another Dark Lord's power from another place, and if he is left unchecked for too long, we fear the worst. Maximus and that old Master of his will look like child's play compared to what this new 'improved' Harrison Potter will become.

Take heed Voldemort, keep a close eye on Harry and the other three. We fear Harry is going to use the powers of the vampire, werewolf and Naga-Veela to influence people to join him in taking over. Should that happen we are all doomed...

Your most faithful and trustful allies,

V. Crabbe and G. Goyle

Harry's voice was near broken by the time he finished reading the note, and he closed his eyes in pain. 'So...what...what does this mean now?' he asked in a small voice.

Draco wrapped his arms round his lover tenderly, pain in his own eyes. 'Oh, Harry...this...this can't be right...' he said softly.

'Boys, listen to me, and listen well. It seems you were not just 'casually' picked to come to this world, you were chosen, influenced even by the ones in this world,' Riddle said.

'So you're saying it was no accident that we found that book in our world?' Severus demanded.

'Book?' Riddle said quickly, 'what book?'

'Y Llyfrau Y Gan Melltigedig,' Draco said in a hushed voice.

'The Book of the Cursed,' Riddle repeated under his breath and paled slightly. 'So it exists in your world as well, of course. I knew that thing should have been destroyed years ago, but it disappeared in this world before I could do so. Apparently Harry must have found it, and is using it to his advantage. However, I am not strictly of the opinions of my allies in this matter,' Riddle said.

'What the hell does that mean?' Severus asked cooly.

Riddle turned to Severus a moment, thenrefocused his gaze back on Harry, a thoughtful expression on his face. 'My allies are under the impression that Harry was doing this to bring forth even more darkness, to become the next Dark Lord, I disagree.'

'Why?' Remus asked curiously.

'Because I know the Harry, Draco, Remus and Severus of this world, and I can tell you this much, if they were intending harm I think I'd have known it. I'm under the impression that Harry wasn't trying to create 'evil' for himselfand the others, but rather searching for a way to tap into powers that would counteract that. If anything, I can almost guarantee that he probably meant to use the book to tap into another world in which he was not 'evil', enhancing his ability to fight off the powers in which he is subjected to,' Riddle said.

'So your saying the Harry of this world wanted to find a 'good' version of himself basically?' Remus asked.

Riddle nodded. 'Exactly, by enhancing himself with powers of his Gryffindor blood-line, he would be guaranteed to be able to stop his father and Dumbledore from taking over again. Unfortunately I have a good suspicion that he found the 'wrong' Harry to combine with.'

'What do you mean the 'wrong' Harry?' Draco asked coldly. 'There's nothing wrong with my Harry!'

'Wait, Dray, I think I know what he means,' Harry said quietly, then turned to face Riddle. 'He wanted a 'Harry Potter' that wasn't tainted by Slytherin blood, right?'

'I do believe that might have been his goal, yes,' Riddle said nodding at Harry.

'Instead...he got me...' Harry said quietly, dejectedly even. 'I understand why he wanted to get rid of the Slytherin blood and power line...but with me, well...'

'Harry? What is it?' Draco asked pulling Harry into him tighter.

'Dray, I should have told you a long time ago on this but...well I'm not exactly 'clean' you could say,' Harry fidgeted.

'Clean? I'm confused,' Draco said.

'I think what you mean to say, Harry, is that where we come from,you already have the powers of Slytherin in you, don't you. That night you destroyed our Voldemort the first time, the night your parents died...you received a lot of Voldemort's powers, in essence, Slytherin's powers, since in our world Voldemort, Tom Riddle that is, is an heir of Slytherin. Am I correct?' Severus asked Harry quietly.

Harry blushed and nodded slowly. 'Yeah, I found that out when I met up with him in second-year, in the Chamber of Secrets. Dumbledore...er...ours I mean of course, told me that's what he suspected. Why I could speak Parseltongue and all,' Harry said.

'So, you've been fighting that darker side of you all this time,' Remus mused. 'And now it's been projected a hundred fold because the Harry from this world is a Slytherin heir not just in power, but blood, so in actuality - ' Remus began but was cut off.

'You've gotten the worst end of the stick,' Riddle finished up with a sigh. 'What webs we weave eh? It seems, young Harry, that the Harry I know was a bit rash in his ideas, and he did indeed pick the 'wrong' Harry to combine with,' he said quietly.

Harry sighed, nodded, then groaned, snuggling deep into Draco's embrace. 'So what do we do now? What am I supposed to do? I'm already being taken over by the darkness,I don't know how much longer I can hold out even. It's really powerful, I'm doing things I don't even know what or why I'm doing, but I just 'know' I can do it,' he said dejectedly.

'I'm afraid, there isn't much we can do, Harry,' Riddle said sadly.

'Hold on, you're saying that we just let Harry go evil and do nothing to stop it?' Draco demanded angrily.

'I'm saying that we don't have the resources or the power to stop what's happening to him, not yet anyways. The old Harry was just beginning to try and fight his 'evil' side if you would, and his rashness at his attempts to purify himself and failing means we don't know what this Harry is capable of fully yet. What we've seen so far is only a taste I believe, a small thread in a very big tapestry. If we try to unravel, change or alter anything right now, we could do more damage,' Riddle said.

'No way, there's got to be something we can do! I won't let Harry turn bad or evil. I won't lose him!' Draco said with a trace of fear now in his voice.

'Dray...Draco, listen to me, love. Riddle's right, I'm scared too, but somehow I know he's right. Okay so the Harry in this world messed up by pulling us from our world, making the book show up for us when it shouldn't have...but there really isn't much we can do, just play it by ear and hope for the best,' Harry said.

'Don't be daft, Harry, I'm not letting you go bad!' Draco said firmly.

'You know, there might just be a way here to prevent this...I'm not sure though...' Severus said thoughtfully.

'Sev? You have something in mind?' Remus asked curiously.

Severus turned to Remus and nodded. 'Yeah, I do. The potion I take to control the urges of the vampire, perhaps, just perhaps, I can alter it.'

'What good would that do?' Draco asked puzzled.

'If it can keep the vampire side of me from becoming dominate, a very strong part of me mind you, than it can possible control the same urges to use the darkness within Harry is what I'm thinking,' Severussaid.

'You think it would work?' Harry asked more hopeful then he'd been so far.

'I hope so, Harry. It may not be a permanent cure or anything, but it will for now, keep you clear-headed until we can come up with something better,' Severus said.

'What do we have to do then?' Harry said matter-of-factly.

'Now wait a minute, Harry, you don't even know if this is safe!' Draco argued. Turning to Severushe said angrily, 'You can't be sure this will even work, can you. It could make it worse!'

'And maybe it won't, Draco, at least give Severus the chance, as well as Harry,' Remus said firmly. 'It's Harry's decision after all, he's the one fighting the darkness more than any of us. He has the most to lose here.'

'Remus is right, Dray, it's my decision, and I say go for it. I don't want to lose who I am, I don't want to lose you again...' Harry said softly and looking up at Dracolovingly. 'I love you too much, Dray, please...let me do this...'

Draco looked back at Harry and sighed deeply. 'I love you too, Harry, I don't want to lose you. I just want to go home, back to the way things were. I hate this lying and messing round with things, I hate not being with you.'

'I do too, Dray, I do too. I promise, I'll find a way to get us home, my love. Besides, we have a cruise to take again right?' Harry said with a slight grin.

Draco chuckled and pulled Harry close to him. 'That we do, and this time we're not coming back till we're ready, the world be damned eh? All right, take the potion, and meanwhile Severus, Remus and I will also keep looking for a way home,' he said quietly.

'Can't we just use the same book to get home that brought us here though?' Remus asked now curiously.

Riddle shook his head. 'I'm afraid it's not that simple, Remus. The book may have brought you to this world on your end, but it was Harry's magic that influenced it. Until we know for sure what spell he used for that, the book could end up sending you anywhere, there's no guarantee it would even send you back to your own world.'

'Ah, I see. Well that wouldn't be good now would it.Who knows what else is out there,' Remus said with a slight shiver. 'Honestly I'm finding this world isn't so bad actually,' he said giving a cursory glance to Severus.

Harry and Draco however saw that and grinned. 'Sure, you two get to be in love and shag all night long, how bad could that be?' Harry said dryly.

'Very funny, Potter,' Severus muttered, though a slight blush crept up his face. 'Err, at any rate, I'll need to do some serious recalculations on the potion. It will take me at least a day, and I'll need to do some research first. Riddle, I'll need a way to get ingredients and a place to brew this in secret, is that a problem?'

Riddle shook his head. 'Not at all. I can get what you need from Professor Jigger, he's a bit dense most days, thank Merlin. As for a place, I can think of a very good one, the library, no one ever goes there,' he said.

'Well not that much is different in this world then as far as that goes,' Harry chuckled. 'Hermione's the only one who ever uses the library pretty much.'

'Though it does make for a good meeting spot, don't you think, love?' Draco said with a grin.

Harry laughed and nodded, snuggling into Draco'sarms. 'That it does, or did rather, until this happened. If...when...we get home, Dray, let's find somewheres else to meet up eh? I think I'll avoid the library back home from now on less I have to,' he said with a groan.

'I totally agree, love,' Draco said with a groan himself. 'Well, I guess there isn't much more to do tonight eh?'

'No, I think for now we'll have to wait until Severusmakes his concoction up, and go from there. Harry, if there is any time you feel like you're losing yourself, come to me all right? I'll do what I can,' Riddle said.

Harry nodded. 'Right, if I can that is. I don't always know what sets it off, or when it happens. Sometimes it's just there before I can do anything or run from it. But if I can...I will,' he said quietly.

'I think you should all go now. I'll have my allies discreetly look into some avenues of resources as well, see what they can come up with on mirrorworlds and power combining. There are some people I trust more than others who will get this information for me,' Riddle said heading towards the door.

'Riddle, a question first?' Severus asked now getting up.

'Yes, Severus?' Riddle asked.

'What do you think is happening in our world? Has the Harry from here gone there? Have all of us from here gone there?' Severusasked curiously.

Riddle thought on that a moment. 'Honestly, I don't know. The fact that you have the original memories from this world leads me to believe that it wasn't just a 'power' combination, but a physical one as well. Of course I could be wrong, the Harry, Draco, Severus and Remus of this world could very well have gone to your world, but as to what they are doing there, that I have no clue. This is something that's never happened before, there is no telling what has truly happened here,' Riddle said quietly.

'Well, whatever the case is, I hope if they are in our world...they're behaving,' Remus said. 'Would be interesting however to see if anyone's even noticed we're gone from our world.'

'Time may be moving differently, or the same in the two worlds, again, we have no way to know this though. Mirrorworlds are basically theory over fact, no one has ever done what you four have, so until things are put to right, we won't know,' Riddle said.

'Let's go then, I want to get started on the potion reconfigurations. I'll get you a list by tomorrow hopefully, Riddle,' Severussaid.

'Just be discreet, Severus, right now no one can know there is anything different than what is going on, understood?' Riddle said.

Severus nodded. 'Right.'

With that Riddle undid the locking and silence charms and the four boys headed out into the classroom, then out into the corridor. Riddle redid the locking and silence charms, then turned back to the fireplace, his thoughts in contemplation.

'So now what?' a new voice asked from the shadows, a figure stepping out from underneath an invisibility cloak.

'Now we keep an eye on them, on him in particular. If Crabbeand Goyle are right, we may have more trouble than we had before,' Riddle said in a huff.

'Blast that boy, why did he have to go and do this now? We were so close!' the new person said heatedly.

'I don't think Harry knew what he was doing exactly, I don't blame him. Still, I agree, this was the wrong timing, not with Dumbledore already back in serpent form,' Riddle agreed.

'I detected Dumbledore's form on Maximus in Hogsmeade, it's only a matter of time before Harry will give in fully you realize. When that happens, Merlin helpus all,' the person said with a heavy sigh and sat down on the recently occupied sofa.

'If Severus is successful with his idea, we may have hope though,' Riddle said.

The other person snorted. 'For how long do you think eh? A few days? A week? A month?Face it, Voldemort, Harry is a danger, a threat to us all. No matter what form, no matter what changes he's trying to make to himself, by doing this he's only speeding up the situation. His words today in Hogsmeadeonly prove his true intentions for the future.'

'Maybe, maybe not. He's trying to fight it at least, you have to give him that,' Riddle said defensively.

'He's a Potter, Voldemort, they are evil from the word go' the person said.

'You're not one to talk now, are you,' Riddle said staring daggers at the other man.

The other person paled under the scrutiny for a moment then shook his head and chuckled. 'Nothing escapes you, does it,' he said.

'When you're being careless, no, it doesn't,' Riddle said coldly.

'Careless? I'm never careless, Voldemort, I know what I'm doing, have no worries on that area, or do you suddenly doubt me?' the other person said with a raised eyebrow.

'Look, just do your job, and I'll do mine. Now that we know which book Harry used, find it. I don't care what you have to do, who you have to kill, just find it. And for Merlin's sake, don't you touch the bloody thing, let one of the others do it for you,' Riddle said angrily.

The man stood up and stretched, then picked up the invisibility cloak and chuckled. 'You think I'm that stupid? I happen to like the life I've carved out in this world, so no worries on that fine point. I'll be round tomorrow, I have some unfinished ahh...business to attend to,' the man said draping the cloak round his shoulders.

'You just better make sure you're not caught. Oh, and you'll bring you know who to me when you think he's ready to accept things as they are,' Riddle said firmly.

The man grinned and nodded. 'Of course, he will be soon, not yet though, he's not broken enough just yet. Draco had a far easier time of it I can assure you, but I always did love a challenge.'

'For the sake of us all, just be careful, I need you by my side if we're going to win this war. I won't let Maximus and Dumbledore win again. If only Harry hadn't gone off and done something as stupid as this now, but if need be we'll kill him before he loses himself completely to the darkness,' Riddle said.

'Draco won't like that idea much I'd wager,' the man said wryly.

'Draco won't have much of a choice now will he,' Riddle snapped. 'Now go, I'll see you tomorrow, report to me before you leave.'

The man nodded. 'Tomorrow then,' he said, and with a few sharp words the locking and silencing spells were off the door and he was slipping out invisibly into the night, the spells relocking themselves behind him.

Riddle looked at the now relocked door and shook his head. 'Merlin help us all if we fail in this Lucius, for if we do...then we're all truly lost,' he said sadly. With a shiver at that very thought even he then went off to write a note to a few well chosen associates, the evening weighing heavily on his mind. The war between good and evil was now beginning all over again, and this time Tom Marvelo Riddle wasn't going to let the evil win, no matter who got in the way, or what the cost would be. Good would triumph, even if it wouldn't bring back his wife or child, at least he would feel vindicated.

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I know I said there would be more H/D in this chap but it didn´t seem to work out that way sorry mates :sigh: I promise however next chap there will be more of our dear Harry and Draco, after all they need a moment to themselves after all this eh? :chuckles: Promise! (and I´ll smack Scabbers if he tries to sway me off that! :nod nod: )

November 09, 2002 8:18PM ©Piriotessa/Piri Lupin-Snape/Piri Malfoy