Could've Been Saved ⇢ 𝒕𝒎𝒓 & 𝒉𝒋𝒑

5

The next time his lids slid open everything was washed over with an aquamarin tint, and almost like swimming around in that were odd shapes in gold fuming with an occasional light beat. With his head still spinning, Harry pulled his torso up and leaned back against his elbows, blinking heavily around the change of scenery.

For a while he couldn't figure out what was going on. Something told him that he wasn't in his dormitory any longer, or even anywhere near Hogwarts for that matter. As he lied there his eyes were latched helplessly to the sky, and he felt the ground bobbing beneath him...

Almost like he was floating above waves, being carried by them over a frightening big and wide sea, and for an awful moment he suspected Aerorca had failed him and somehow sent him to the ocean instead of...Harry actually didn't even know where he was supposed to be sent.

He felt incredibly stupid in that moment, not even asking beforehand what was going to happen! What was he thinking. The last thought was voiced in Hermione's accusing tone, which brought some calm into him, however, this only lasted for a minute before the sound of a chair being scraped across hard floor tore him out from his delusional state of mind.

The entire ocean drained away with the sound of a young voice parting it like a ship sailing through.

'How would you get in here?!' It said, either somewhat piercing and cold, or just seeming so to Harry's ears who weren't able to hear clearly just a minute ago.

Harry craned his neck up, finding a dark figure towering in front of his feet. Not even a tall one, but the presence it gave off was almost suffocating and taking up the entire space.

'I am dangerous. So you will better tell me how you happened to appear out of thin air, or there will be major consequences drawn.' The figure went on, openly threatening him despite his short height. 'Answer! Will you!'

But Harry seemed arrested in that moment. He just couldn't believe that he was lying in front of an eleven year old Tom Riddle, standing there four feet something in his stockings, a boring dark gown draped over his small shoulders and matching a gloomy face to his overall attire.

In that moment, even just staring at him, Harry seriously had to wonder how Dumbledore couldn't have foreseen that this kid was going to grow—with the help of Hogwarts' festive foods—into the darkest wizard of all time.

There was a sudden impulse overcoming Harry to whip out his wand and call Avada Kedavra on him, save everyone the trouble Tom was carrying like an unfortunate shadow behind himself.

But of course he couldn't do it, changing such a huge chunk of the past could be seriously fatal.

'You are leaving me no other choice...' Little Tom muttered, bringing Harry back to the room in one panicky second.

He sat up, and found his voice again, but since Tom was already hissing something it came a second to late, so the only thing he could say was 'Wait!' before he felt something moving inside his pants.