How to Prevent a War

Horcrux

Harry woke up with a start, gasping for breath he didn't seem to get. He blindly grabbed for his throat, trying to scratch off the tightening hands around it that kept him from breathing. His throat hurt and his ears were ringing, making his head throb painfully.

A pair of hands grabbed his wrist and he was pulled into a strong chest. Panic set in his chest instantly, his heart started hammering like a jack rabbit. He couldn't handle this anymore. He couldn't do this. Voldemort couldn't do this to him!

"Hush, Harry," a soft, soothing voice murmured in his ear.
"I'm right here for you, Love. Calm down, please."

Harry took a few deep breath and found himself doing just that. The ringing stopped and Harry realized that it wasn't ringing at all, but his own screaming, which immediately explained the pain in his throat. Once he relaxed a little, one of the hands let go of his wrist and instead wiped the tears from Harry's cheeks.

"You're safe now, Harry," Tom whispered softly.
"I've got you now. Voldemort won't be able to reach you anymore."

Voldemort. The memories of what that monster had done to him came rushing back in an instant. Harry's breath hitched and new tears came running down his cheeks. Tom's arms instantly tightened around him and he started shushing again while rocking Harry back and forth soothingly.

"W-why..." he whimpered, clamping onto Tom tightly.

"I won't let him touch you again, Harry," Tom whispered.

Harry sniffed and nodded his head weakly.

"You're still hurt," Tom told him softly.
"Rest while I try to figure out what we do next."

Again, Harry nodded his head. He hadn't opened his eyes yet since woken up and he didn't feel up to doing so just yet either. He wouldn't be able to stand seeing Tom's face just yet. Not after what Voldemort had done while wearing that exact face. Maybe... maybe Harry would never be able to look at Tom's face ever again without experiencing all that again.

"Don't make promises you can't keep," he whispered hoarsely.

Tom tensed halfway tucking Harry underneath the blanket that still smelled like blood and... other things... Harry just tried to ignore the flashes of memories the smell gave him and snuggled deeper into the warmth. With an exhausted sigh, he fell back into a fitful sleep filled with terrible nightmares about a red-eyed Tom Riddle committing the most horrible cruelties.

. . . . .

When Harry woke up again, he finally found the courage to open his eyes and look around himself. He was in a cave, lying on several cushions and a hurriedly transfigured mattress with the blanket from Riddle Manor still tightly wrapped around himself.

He was all alone for some reason, which both scared and comforted him. He didn't think he would be able to handle people just yet. He wouldn't be able to handle much of anything anytime soon, he feared.

"Harry?"

Harry blinked and looked over to the entrance of the cave, where Tom just entered, carrying a bucket of water. The other teen was smiling in relief, but all Harry could see was the menacing glinting of his white teeth. He whimpered in fear and scrambled back until he hit the wall. Instantly, Tom's smile fell and he looked away with a sigh. Harry trembled.

"I won't hurt you, you know that," Tom murmured, sounding disappointed.

Instantly, Harry felt guilty, but he couldn't get himself to say anything. Terror was still keeping his mind captive, his rational mind wasn't strong enough to break past.

"It's alright, I understand," Tom smiled.
"Take your time. You're still in shock."

The older teen sat down on a boulder and laid a wand Harry could clearly recognize as Bellatrix' next to another one that obviously wasn't Tom's either. It was easy to figure out that their own wands were still in Voldemort's lair and Harry was more than willing to consider them lost to him.