Controlling

Chapter 25

Halloween could have been better at Hogwarts, because rumors of someone going missing started to circulate between the castle's walls.

And Harry could only sigh, after all, he has been busy with making plans for the future and worring about his relationship with Tom to really pay any attention to rumors, especially when he was the reason behind them in the first place.

He now had to retrive the diary just so it wouldn't cause any more trouble, but knowing the Headmaster he probably wanted trouble but it just backfired instead when he did nothing and ignored DADA classes and anything related to trouble, he already had enough of those.

Dumbledore had hoped that by having Lockheart here, it would give him an edge on the boy by sending a few promising young studants to his side to help Harry study and keep him under his eyes.

But that plan went down the drained as well as the one around the book.

He had called Ginny Weasley over when he found the book was in her possession and he had devised a plan around it, obviously without her knowing, a few words here and there and she would do as he wanted.

But that plan also went down the drain as even with the rumors going around, the boy didn't show a dash of curiosity about them as he hoped nor did find fault with the Slytherins, even with all the potions put on his food to guide him to right path didn't seem to have an effect.

It's probably the fault of those dark wizards who approched the poor boy and were now leading him astray.

He also has been exhausted lately, keeping track of the dark object in the school grounds, dealing with the responsibilities of being a Headmaster, although he leaves the majority for Minerva to take off, and lastly, the one giving the biggest headache so far, where the Potter boy is living.

He has been leaving the school grounds during weekends, trying to follow the kid's magic signature and locate him, but so far to no vail.

If things continue like this, then he either puts a track on the kid or he must use some ritual to pin point where he is and it sometimes envolves a bit of dark magic.

And Albus Dumbledore doesn't mind meddling with what he hates for the sake of the Greater Good.

Harry went to the girls bathroom on the 3rd floor during dinner of the same day he heard the rumors.

He didn't bother Tom, knowing very well that he is busy making plans and spreading his net around the school and eventually out of it.

After hissing at the sink, it sank and gave away for the path that led to the Chamber, he ordered for stairs and only then did he started the journy down to the basalisk's lair.

After half an hour of walking down, plenty of time for Ginny to die and Tom come back, he finally arrived at the bottom.

He passed through the paths, that honestly left shadows on his mind, but now, not even his heart raced like before.

The sound of his steps echoed through the large halls until he stopped when he saw the almost solid 16 year old Tom Riddle standing while looking at the pale and unconscious Ginny.

He forced his heart to slow down, knowing that it's just a fragment of the original that will, soon, be back where it belongs to avoid more trouble.

He aprouched the young Tom, his steps attracting his attention, making him glance at him.

Harry stopped close by, not moving more to help the girl laying on the cold ground, instead, he curiously gaze at the young and slowly corrupted Riddle.

"Are you not going to help her?" a smooth and mature voice asked him, making it clear that this was already a young man.

Harry shook his head instead of replying, fearing that, perhaps, his voice will fail him.

"Hmm, why, then?" he asked, no longer playing attention to his sacrifice, but on the boy who seemed quite interessanting, for now atleast.

"I don't particular care about her" Harry replied, trying to keep the disgust and hate out of his tone.

"So, you don't mind watching her dying?" Tom asked again, coming a bit closer as his eyes held a glint of interest.

"No, not really" Harry replied, the amount of death he saw, that too of his friends and acquaintances, made him numb to death, that and the fact he is the master of them.

"Strange, even a radom person would care about someone's death if it happened in front of them" Riddle said, more to himself than anything.

"Maybe" was Harry's brief answer before he turn his gaze from the fallen and pale girl with red hair to the tall, handsome and brown haired one beside him.

He practically was an exact coppy of the one currently eating and socializing among the children of the influential.

But Harry's keen eye and senses had long noticed the dark magic crackling around him and the slightly reddish hue around his iris.

He sighed and suddenly an invisible wave of magic washed over the surroundings with Harry in its center.

Riddle groaned and almost fell to his knees, but he subbornly kept standing, his face was pale and contorced in pain as sweat tingle down his forehead.

With Riddle weak and focused on standing, Harry calmly went to grab the diary and took it from the Ginny's clentched hands.

With the book in hand, he cast an isolation spell around it, preventing Riddle from stealing Ginny's soul.

Riddle let out a grunt of pain and fell over, because the connection was cut off he got even weaker and couldn't support Harry's pressure anymore.

Death's Master approched the pained soul with steady steps until he was back in front of him.

He knelt down and gently patted the boy's head, making Riddle's eyes widden in suprise just before he was sucked back to the book.

Harry hummed as he caressed the book, he got up, glances at Ginny's and ignored her, choosing to go back up without bringing her.

"Hmm, i feel like i forgot something" Harry whispered to himself "Ahh, the rat" he said with a small smile after searching his memory and remembering the rat he caught.

He has yet to decide what to do with him.

'Maybe gifting him to Tom?'

(Revised)