The Life He Deserved

Chapter 13

The only words to describe Tom as he came into consciousness was broken. The moment he woke up all knowledge of reality in his mind shattered into irreversible pieces. His mind was a swirling storm of hazy memories, clashing beliefs, disturbing thoughts and actions, and unstable emotions. His body felt fatigued and brittle; how had he ended up in a body anyways? His normal tidal wave of magic was nothing but a messy puddle, unable to do any wandless magic. Trying to focus on his surroundings, he took amount to see he was in a bedroom. A nice one too. The room was generally peaceful, with the silk white curtains letting in a slight breeze, pastel blue walls, and a fluffy blue carpet. Outside, the shining sun indicated it was daytime. The room slightly relaxed him, but he couldn't concentrate with all the thoughts buzzing around his head. He clutched the soft covers tensely as a knock on the door was heard. Not bothering for his response, he watched a child who looked no older than 12 enter the room. He looked wearily at the boy with raven hair and green eyes who entered as he just smiled softly at him.

"Good morning, I see you are up," Harry greeted. Tom just kept staring silently. "I know you are confused, and that is understandable. I suggest you sort through your memories; you'll be spending quite a bit of time recovering." Tom's mind was whirling at the last sentence. Recovering? From what? He vaguely recalled some sort of ritual, but that was about it. Looking up at the boy, his eyes snapped up to the now familiar bright emerald eyes.

"You! You were the one who put me in some ritual!" He shouted, eyes blazing. What was he playing at?! The boy just stared a bit before calmy responding.

"I am Harry James Potter-Black-Peverell, and that ritual brought you back to life, sane and whole," Harry told him without falter. Tom gave him an expression as if he were the insane one. "Sort your memories, you'll come to understand. I'll bring you some breakfast and I'll drop by for your lunch." And with that, Harry left the room, leaving a bewildered Tom in bed. Tom stared down at the breakfast tray he was handed. He was confused as hell, but his stomach was completely empty and was screaming for food. So, with that, he ate his strawberry French toast in solitude, trying to solve the puzzle of his mind.

Harry closed the door and sighed. Tom was awake, but he didn't understand or remember things clearly. He'd have to give him space to bring himself together again. Tom was finally here, but what now? What if he didn't recover? What if he doesn't like him? Harry slid down the wall, hands covering his face with another sigh. This will be an interesting break. Today was Yule, so all his gifts had been sent out prior. He would be spending the dinner with Sirius and Remus opening gifts, but they would be gone beforehand to give Tom some space. Would Tom be up for dinner? He sure hoped so.

Tom currently was staring blankly at the window. He remembered. He spent the next few hours in his mindscape, sorting and watching all kinds of memories. Looking through his ideas, beliefs, and plans, what he saw disgusted him. How had he fallen so low? He was an ambitious teenager with goals and ideas, he wanted to change the world for the better. What happened to him? Well, he knew the answer to that. Each piece of soul preserved the ideas, memories, and beliefs of the time they were created. As the soul pieces got smaller, the less stable they became. The horcruxes sure flipped his life into pieces. Perhaps this was his punishment for past deeds. As he made more horcruxes his mind started to crumble, actions becoming blood thirsty and psychotic. He knew by no means was he a good person, but he wasn't that evil. He tortured his followers for now reason! He killed and tortured for fun! What good would that do? He watched as he supported the idiotic Pureblood supremacy, killing innocent muggles and mudbloods just for existing. Even he wouldn't snoop that low, no matter how much he dislikes them. And oh my Salazar, he tried to kill a baby... A BABY! A baby who couldn't even walk or talk yet was perceived as a threat to him. How far had he fallen to do such a despicable thing? He then recalled the horror of magic dispelling him from his body, banishing him as a spirit. So that was what happened to him. He escaped his mindscape feeling so lost and empty. The boy he saw earlier, he concluded was the baby he just saw. The boy who he ruined the life of, the boy he orphaned and tried to kill gave him a second chance. He had no clue how to feel about that. How could the boy forgive him? Why would he take care of him after all he did? The fact that the boy served his parent's murderer breakfast in bed was bewildering. These thoughts were interrupted by a series of knocks.

Harry entered the room with a tray full of different sandwiches along with tea and scones. He set the tray on Tom's lap gently, smiling at him.

"I see you are awake and have had time to organize your mind?" Harry lightly asked. Tom stiffly nodded. This all felt surreal to him. "I can tell you are still confused, so I'll answer any questions you may have. I promise to answer everything honestly and to the best of my knowledge," Harry told him. Tom just stared at him intently.

"Why?" was all that came out.

"Why what? You'll have to be specific."

"Why'd you save me?! I was a psychopathic murderer who ruined your life and orphaned you over a stupid prophecy! How can you even look at me?!" Tom vehemently ranted. Harry looked at him with soft eyes.

"Because I understand. I know what it like to be orphaned, to be alone against the world. All your actions weren't your fault, it was because of the horcruxes. You deserved a second chance," Harry answered. That answer wasn't what Tom expected but he decided to move on.

"Okay then, how? I mean I saw myself trying to gain a body, I couldn't do it. How did you resurrect me, with a whole soul and all?" he asked, trying to wrap his head around all this.

"Well first off, let me give you an in-depth introduction. I am Harry James Potter-Black-Peverell, the lord of three houses, a magical prodigy, and the Master of Death," Harry introduced. Tom's eyes snapped up at the last one. "This is my second life. In my first one, I killed you and later discovered after Death that I was betrayed by those I loved. I decided then and there I'd live my own way, the way I deserved this second time," Harry continued, "I spent time learning, doing magic, and heard about you from Death. I discovered your true goals and ideas. Your hopes and dreams for our future. How that dream was crushed because of one single mistake. And so, I decided to help you," Harry finished. Tom couldn't believe his ears. This has got to be a dream. This person was either a saint or an idiot.

"You're joking right?" Tom couldn't help but ask. Harry chuckled at that.

"I'm afraid not, Tom." Tom stared at nothing, trying to process this.

"What's going to happen to me?" he questioned nervously. He was after all, at his mercy; he couldn't do much on his own right now and owed him a life debt.

"Well, you are now under my care. I must return to Hogwarts by the end of break, however. It is currently Yule which is why I'm here. If you would agree, I want to house you in the chamber of secrets. For now, you'll spend your break healing mentally, physically, and magically. You are currently frail and need a couple weeks to adjust. We can decide what to do after together," Harry informed him.

"And my horcruxes?" Tom couldn't help but know. While he understood what he did was wrong, he couldn't help but be afraid of Death. Harry smiled at the paranoia.

"You have one left. Every other one is back in you, but the smallest one left is currently still a Horcrux. The one you left in me." Tom gaped blankly. This boy, the baby he tried to kill was a horcrux?? "And I happen to be immortal, so you will be too," Harry continued. This news gave him a jolt. He was immortal?! Taking a couple seconds to breathe, he looked Harry in the eyes.

"Harry, I... I apologize for what I did. Your parents, to you..." Harry cut him off.

"Tom, it's okay. Just get better yeah?" Harry brushed off. Tom nodded.

"Okay, Harry. Thank you, for everything," he said with a hint of blush. He never apologized or thanked people before. Harry meanwhile was having an internal crisis of how fucking cute that was. With a nod Harry stood up.

"I'll see you soon. My dads will be home to have Yule dinner today. You are welcome to join us if you feel up for it." And with that, Harry headed out the room.

Tom looked at the spot Harry was at, soon missing his company. Knowing he and him would be together for a while, he might as well meet his fathers. Tom then realized that Harry said fathers. Was he adopted? Shaking out of his stupor, he spent the next few hours rethinking his goals and beliefs. By each horcrux his beliefs became more twisted and off the mark to the point he didn't even know what he supported. His youngest soul piece had bright ideas, but they were structureless and unclear with childhood hope. The older ones were all just insane, focusing on purity and cleansing with mass genocide. He'd have to figure all of this out soon. He decided to take a nap to recharge his low energy, giving his mind time to rest from all the revelations made.