A letter to the past | A Tomarry fanfiction

A strange letter

It had been a week since Albus Dumbledore had died and Harry had been left with a lot of unanswered questions; what was he going to do now? He knew he had to look for the Horcruxes but he didn't know where to begin. He just wished he could have learnt more from Dumbledore before he had died. Harry sighed, sitting on the edge of his neatly made bed at Hogwarts. The red of the Gryfindor dorm made Harry feel warm, the suns ray's a heavy contrast to Harry's dull mood. It was almost empty in here now, only Harry remained in a futile attempt to avoid leaving the castle's walls. He didn't want to go back to the Dursleys. He wouldn't find answers there.

Finally, Harry stood up and took one last walk to the late headmaster's office, wishing to say farewell one last time. It must have been fate for Harry to walk there because Harry was not alone when he arrived. There was an ominous presence, papers flying all around Harry until one fell neatly at the foot of Harry. It was in a red envelope, much like a howler. Harry opened it, scared of what the letter may read. Once he opened it, he gasped. The handwriting was unmistakable - the letter had been written by Albus Dumbledore.

'Dear Harry,

If you are reading this it means that I am now dead. I am sorry, Harry. I know I left you with a lot of unanswered questions. I am sure you are getting ready to start your quest in finding all the Horcruxes that Tom Riddle had made. I'm afraid you must ditch that plan now, Harry. It is time for plan B.

You see, some things are better left unweathered and I know I ask too much of you Harry but I need one last thing from you. Harry, as you know Tom has done many bad things as an adult. He killed your parents, he tortured and killed many others and he even tried to kill you as a baby. But as a child, nobody saw these things coming. They saw a nice, respectful young man with many talents. Perhaps if we were to bring out the best of him none of this would have happened.

What I am getting at Harry is, simply, you must go back in time and save everybody who died at the dark lord's hand. You must befriend Tom Riddle and show him that he can love. Remember Harry, the Tom Riddle you will meet has not committed any of the wrongs lord Voldemort has. You must remember that or the mission will fail. If this does not work, if he truly cannot love, then there will be no other option but to kill him. There is a drink in the goblet on my desk. Drink it and all will become clear. You won't be able to come back as the barrier will close forever. Farewell Harry.

Albus Dumbledore.'

Silence. Harry had never been so shocked in his life. He knew however that Dumbledore was right. Shakily, Harry walked to the desk and picked up the goblet with both hands. The drink smelt like mint, chocolate and freshly baked bread.

"For my family, for my friends, for wizards and muggles alike," Harry said. He drank it but found the taste did not match up to the scent, tasting strangely like goblin piss. Once he had drank it the room began to swirl and the whole of Dumbledores plan appeared in Harry's mind. Harry Lotter, fourteen, transfer from Durmstrang. Black and white faded into more of a reddish hue, making his eyes feel sore as he spun through time. Then it stopped. He was in the great hall as if he had always been there. He was with the first years. He felt awkward as he knew everybody could see that he was older.

Slowly, Harry looked over to the Slytherin table, his eyes scanning to see if he could see the boy that had brought him here. Sure enough, Harry's eyes landed on none other than Tom Riddle. He was sat, watching the sorting unfold. He seemed happy to be here yet he didn't smile or anything. He seemed cold. Harry hated Tom. He knew that he would have to move away from that in order to get closer to Tom.

"Harry Lotter." Albus Dumbledore called out. Harry walked up shakily, aware that for this plan to work he would have to be sorted into Slytherin. The hat was placed on his head and it laughed slightly. 'Hello, Harry Potter.' Of course, the hat fucking knew. 'I know that you have been here before. You were Gryffindor. Now I don't know what stupid hat sorted you because you are a -'

"SLYTHERIN!" The hat bellowed. The Slytherin table cheered. Harry walked over to the table and sat down opposite Tom, trying to make sure it wasn't obvious that he was interested in him. Harry watched the rest of the sorting before the feast began. The feast was the same as it was in the future. Everyone on Gryffindor stocked their plates high but the Slytherins seemed to have more etiquette. Harry followed suit, wanting to fit in. It wasn't long before the chatter begins, Harry staying quiet in an attempt to listen. Tom only really spoke when spoken too, seemingly uninterested in idle chatter. 

"Lotter, was it? My name is Riddle, Tom Riddle." Tom said, seemingly bored of the chatter around him and trying to find a scapegoat. "Please help me drown out these unintellectual idiots. I really could use somebody to help me out."

"Well, maybe you should shut them up. Harry, Harry Lotter." Tom reminded Harry of Draco, drawling, irritating. Harry snorted, taking a sip of his pumpkin juice while trying his best to look amused. Harry couldn't help but hate the boy in front of him. He just tried to remember that he hadn't killed his parents. Not yet, anyway. Harry didn't want to get too involved straight away and ruin everything. Harry kept mostly to himself, not having much of an appetite due to the confusion of being here. After dinner, they all retired to their dormitory's, Harry, having slept in the Gryffindor commons, was not used to the cold of the dormitory. He didn't get any sleep, instead, he shivered and thought about the strangeness of it all. What was going on?

Everyday Harry had to see the boy who became the man who killed his parents and it made a pit form in the bottom of his stomach. He was angry, frustrated. Why did he have to be here? He would never be able to see Ron and Hermione again. He would have to act now before it was too late and Tom would be beyond love. Harry approached Tom and throught about what he could say to him that would motivate him to be friends with him. It was hard but Harry came up with something.

"Riddle. I know you are a half-blood. I am too." Harry told Tom, waiting for Tom's response. Tom's widened and he seemed embarrassed and hurt as if he didn't want anybody to know that which he probably didn't. It was frowned upon to be anything less than a pureblood in Slytherin. "Also, I know what it is like to be a poor orphan. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to find out, I will keep it a secret. And I can speak to snakes. Me and you are the only ones in the world who can. It means that we should be friends. We could learn together."

"How do you know this? What is wrong with you?" Tom shot back, looking very hurt. Harry shot something back in pastletounge and Tom was stunned. He seemed shocked to find someone else with his rare talent. Tom put his hand out to shake Harry's. "Okay, friends it is."

AN - Please leave a comment if you enjoyed!