In Nobis

Chapter 18

Five days had passed since Hara first arrived at the burrow. Hara whizzed by Fred, George, Draco, Charlie, and Bill on her broom. "Come on, boys, it's like you're not even trying!" She taunted as she held the snitch in her hand. "You're a shoo-in for the team once you get to Hogwarts! Follow in your big brother's footsteps for me, Harie. The rest of em' are a lost cause, I'd reckon. McGonagle said if I keep it up, I should be Captain next year!" Charlie beamed at her. "Oh, come off it, Charlie! We all know that Georgie and I will be on the teams shortly after getting to Hogwarts." Fred retorted. "Keep dreaming, you two!" Bill flew between the twins and shoved them playfully. Draco, on the other hand, looked at Charlie with admiration. "You play well, even for a Gryffindor! You HAVE to teach me everything you know! It's a shame you'll have already graduated once Hara and I arrive. We'll surely be sorted into Slytherin, but it would be loads of fun to play against you! Are you really aiming to study dragons after you graduate?" Draco asked curiously. "Yep!" Charlie said, popping the "p" proudly. "Wicked..." Draco beamed. "Draco, you're starting to speak like the twins!" Hara teased. "Oh, father will have my head!" He groaned. "Hara will be in Gryffindor; I just know it!" Ron interjected. "Ron shut it. What help were you during the game? You just hovered and creepily gaped at poor Harie the whole time. Harie will be in whatever house she wants." Fred said. "I wouldn't be surprised if she made her own, honestly." George chimed in.

The children shuffled into the burrow for the night. After dinner Hara retreated into her makeshift room within Ginny's, and Draco stayed in the room with Fred and George. He whined about it, but Hara knew Draco secretly considered them friends. She pulled the curtain shut in between her and Ginny and fell into a deep sleep.

Each day that passed without Hara being home caused Tom to become more irritable and unsettled. Sleep would not come to him without the aid of potions. But tonight, he was out of dreamless sleep draughts and settled for a standard sleep aid potion.

The Dark Lord found himself walking barefoot on a battlefield. He took in his surroundings, and he could see Hogwarts steeped in shadows. He heard his own voice echoing through the air. "Hara, stop hiding behind the feckless sheep. Come to me in the dark forest, and your friends shall be spared. Let us finish this." Dark creatures and wizards surrounded him, staring up at the castle. They were cheering and growling at his words. They were bloodthirsty... The voice he heard sounded enough like him, but there was a dark sibilance to it. He knew this was his prior form.

His dreamscape changed. An older Hara of about sixteen walked out from the trees where his followers were gathered. "You give your word that you will pardon them all. They'll all be able to live." Hara asked. "Yes..." He felt the words leave his mouth. Memories of a tiny Hara flicked through his mind. Hara sleeping on his chest... His face was squished in between her tiny hands. "We're together forever, right, Tom?" The four-year-old asked him with twinkling eyes. "Always, my little horcrux..." He recalled himself saying. In his dream, he felt his wand arm rise and level straight at Hara. He was screaming, "No, no, no!" In his mind. Then he heard another voice; it felt like it was somewhere behind him. It belonged to neither himself nor his serpentine form. "Do it... Just another child... You've tried to kill her once before. Finish it so you can reclaim your destiny. It's so easy... You know the words... Kill her... kill her... kill her!" The voice pushed. "NO! NOT HER!" He screamed again. But his serpentine form flourished his wand, and the bright green of the killing curse crashed straight into Hara's chest. She crumpled to the ground, and a single tear rolled down her cheek.

Tom shot out of his bed, drenched in sweat. The sheets around him are in tatters due to the thrashing he did while in his nightmare. He immediately through himself into Hara's mind. Damn the consequences, I need to feel her. He thought to himself. His little horcrux was sleeping peacefully. But even her sleeping mind recognized his presence. "Tom?" She turned to face him. But he was already gone.

Voldemort held his head in his hands trying to recover from that nightmare mentally. Feeling her still alive calmed his nerves, but only slightly. Who did that voice belong to? It sounded so familiar, yet I cannot place it. I know I have heard it before... Tom was painstakingly rifling through all his memories, trying to find other instances in which he had heard that voice before, but he was interrupted when he felt the wards on the Riddle Manor shift. He sensed her magical signature immediately. Hara... His feet hit the side of his bed, and he flew to open the door to his chambers. He didn't make it far before her small form slammed into his abdomen. She was running to his room, too, apparently.

Hara leaped to her feet and looked Tom over. Her magic was crackling around her. It was palpable. Sparks were cracking above her. "You-you-re alright!? What happened? I felt you... You were terrified!" Her emerald eyes were as big as saucers. They almost looked like they were glowing faintly. Tom's magic was now circling around them, too. No doubt responding to Hara's own magical core being so active. "Hara... I... Were you coming to rescue me?" Tom's mouth quirked, only slightly in the corner. He took in the 4'6 little girl standing in front of him. Her hair was wild. Her baby pink pajama set featuring dancing unicorns was in stark contrast to the behemoth of magical power that was whirling around her right now. Her magic pushed him back. "I thought you were dying... I don't want you to die..." Her head fell to her chest. Not wanting to make eye contact with him. "That's a start... Thank you, my little- excuse me... Thank you, Hara... for coming to my rescue and for still allowing yourself to care for me despite all the damage I've done to you." Tom said genuinely. "I didn't mean to alarm you. Embarrassingly enough, what you felt was me experiencing a dreadful nightmare." He admitted. "What happened?" she asked curiously. "Someone was trying to kill you." He said hesitantly. "No, my apologies... The truth is, Hara, I was trying to kill you. Only, I was as I was before... I was trying everything in my power to stop it, but I didn't have control over my own body. There was this voice behind me urging me to end you. I don't know who it was. But I have heard that voice before." He explained. "Oh... I've had that dream, too. Except I was older, we were in the forest..." Hara said matter-of-factly before spinning on her heels and walking out of his room.

"Wait, Hara!" He walked after her. "That's not typical, you know. For two people to have the same dream. Would you allow me to see?" He gestured to touch her head. "Nothing is normal with us. No, I don't want you to. Not now, at least. I want to sleep." Hara said exhaustedly. "Here?" Tom asked hopefully. "No..." she said without a single shred of apprehension. Tom watched her as she walked to the fireplace, grabbed a handful of Floo powder, and disappeared into green flames.