A Little Help from a Snake // Tomarry

13: Thnks fr th Mmrs*

"Please, I insist." Dumbledore's eyes twinkled.

Harry glanced at Tom, who would surely be suspicious of the professor's insistence. To his surprise, Tom took one. "Am I in trouble?"

"No, no, don't worry. However, I would like to ask you something." Dumbledore leaned forward, blue eyes boring into Tom's brown ones. "Did you go to Gringotts over the holidays?"

Tom nodded. "I did, sir. Headmaster Dippet allowed me to."

"And what did you find?"

Harry could see Tom was starting to look wary of the questions. "My father was a Muggle, my mother a witch."

"Is that all?" Dumbledore pressed.

The hairs on the back of Harry's neck rose. He knew...

Tom had frowned, as if he too had reached this conclusion but was unsure whether it was true or not. "I'm sorry, Professor, but I do not see how this concerns you."

Harry watched Dumbledore's face carefully. Outwardly, he didn't seem to take offense, but his eyes dimmed for the smallest moment. "I have heard you have found out something else."

"Heard?" Tom said sharply, straightening in his chair slightly. Harry stiffened as well. "Heard what?"

"You have a soul bond," said Dumbledore. "With someone named Harry Potter. And don't try to lie, Tom."

Tom's eyes widened. "H-how did you find out?"

"I have my sources," Dumbledore replied mysteriously.

"That's an invasion of privacy," Tom protested, beginning to stand. "You shouldn't know that."

"Sit down, Tom," Dumbledore commanded.

Tom sat down with a thump, but the rising panic in his eyes told Harry that had not been his intention. "What did you do?" he demanded, his eyes flicking to the lemon drops and back.

Harry took a step back as Dumbledore stood and removed his wand. Tom's gaze followed the movement and he began struggling.

"Professor —" Tom began, only to be silenced. His eyes widened and his breathing quickened.

"I do apologize, Tom," Dumbledore said as Tom gazed up at him in fear. "But I cannot allow you to continue."

He waved his wand, and Tom went limp, eyes going blank. "You will forget about the soul bond," he commanded. "You will hate your half-blood status. The Dark Arts will be your passion, and you will learn all you can. You will do everything you can to ensure immortality."

While Tom sat there catatonic, Dumbledore pulled out a roll of parchment and a knife. Harry watched, sick with apprehension, as he pricked Tom's finger, letting three drops of blood drip onto the parchment.

He's adding compulsions, Harry realized as words began to appear. Compulsions to hate Gryffindors, hate Muggles and Muggle-borns, fear death, worship Salazar Slytherin...

Tom had begun to groan in pain, eyes squeezed shut. His head turned from side to side, but he did not respond. When no more compulsions were added, Dumbledore put the parchment away and spoke to Tom once more. "You will go to your dorm, remembering I asked about you going to Gringotts and then normal school-related topics. Now go."