Backwards Sense of Truth

Chapter 7

Harry POV

I gaped slightly, Voldemort sent Nagini to confront me? Why not have Wormtail, or whoever his spy is,do it? That would be easier and a lot less suspicious.

~He is interested in me? Why should I trust the Dark Lord?~

~Yes, he is, it would be wise to decide on you own why you should or shouldn't trust him.. I have permission from my Master to tell you the truth about him. Will you listen and not run, or attack?~

I sat on the hard cement floor, contemplating what she had said. The truth about him? Will it be completely different like everything else has been? I suppose there is only one way to find out.

~Very well, Nagini, I will listen. However, I will not promise to follow him, even after you tell me the truth.~

~That is fine, all I am required to do is speak with you, and decide whether or not to give you something before I depart.~

I spelled a cushioning charm on the floor underneath myself and the three snakes around me. Zuna and Aphroda had been calmly sitting and listening, so if they also find Nagini as no threat, I see no reason to do so myself. I nodded to Nagini to show I was ready for her to begin.

~I will start at the beginning, when Tom Riddle was still going to the Orphanage. There, he suffered much abuse. Because of this, and knowing he's different, he lashed out. However, he also learned. At first, he was afraid of what he could do, then the more he practiced the more comfortable with his magic he became.~Nagini's tone seemed sad, near the end, as though she wished she could have found him sooner to help him. She probably did wish that, as she probably would have been able to save Tom from becoming Voldemort.

~Then Dumbledore came to see Tom, and promised him a great life, one that's far away from his abusers. Where he can be happier. Tom, of course, eagerly agreed to go with Dumbledore, not realizing he had intentions of damaging Tom even more than he already was. Because Dumbledore was afraid of Tom's potential, of being stronger than he was.

Dumbledore wanted to eliminate the threat before it became too strong. Dumbledore's fear grew stronger when Tom was sorted into Slytherin, and became the smartest wizard in the school. This caused Dumbledore to make many mistakes, and inadvertently pushed Tom into becoming Voldemort.~

I raised an eyebrow, somehow the fact that Dumbledore made Voldemort doesn't surprise me.

~Dumbledore made Professor Slughorn tell Tom about the Horcruxes, and put compulsions on Tom to create multiple. Dumbledore thought that, this way, Tom would destroy himself in the process. He didn't expect Tom to be able to succeed in creating more than one. Dumbledore saw how Tom was becoming darker each year, and more insane, thus weaker.

However, he did not count on Tom finding me, on one of his strolls in the Forbidden Forest. I saw what Tom was becoming, and knew that he didn't want to be such a monster, so I helped him. I left at random times, usually when Tom was able to remain in control of himself, and found each of his hidden Horcruxes. After I would find one, I brought it back to him, and forced his body to reabsorb the soul piece.~

'Wait, what? This isn't... so, me being here changed Tom's timeline as well? Could this be bad, or good? I am not sure... but I am sure that Dumbledore is the bad guy in this time. Although, what Dumbledore has done to Tom isn't all that different than what he did in the time that I grew up in, for the most part. Though I didn't know a whole lot about his past.'

~When Dumbledore realized what was happening, he tried to kill me. He nearly succeeded in doing so three different times. However, Tom managed to save me each time, to the annoyance of Dumbledore. So, he eventually decided to try and simply kill Tom. He failed miserably. In his attempts, he destroyed four different muggle towns, and killed thousands of bystanders without a single care. Women, children, old, young, he did not care. If they were in the way, Dumbledore would simply kill them.