Disrupting the 'norm'

A/N Thank you for the reviews!!! I'll try to watch the typos, thanks for reading it!!


Last time:

The know 18 year old looking Tom Riddle looked over the crowd, whispered something, and collapsed in dead faint. The words he spoke shocked his audience to the core.

"I'm free."


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The Order of the Phoenix was in an uproar. Since the end of Harry's fight with Voldemort, and the fleeing of a dark soul confusion and fear had taken hold. No one agreed with Dumbledore and Harry's decision to bring the unconscious Tom Riddle back to Hogwarts for healing, and interrogation.

"Albus, he cannot stay here!! He's evil, and dangerous!!" Minerva McGonagall screeched.

"Minerva is right, Albus, we should just kill him and be done with it!" Moody growled, fiercely.

"No!" Harry yelled, "You didn't see him, he was so relieved. He was so different from when I met him in the Chamber of Secrets. I saw his eyes, in the chamber the were so cold, vacant, like he was dead!! Today, before he collapsed, there were bright, and warm. I've never seen such a difference in a person."

"Harry is right," Albus said, nodding, "If nothing else, we will be able to get information out of him. As for him being dangerous, their are 20 Aurors in the infirmary with Tom and Poppy, the boy has no wand, I'm sure we are all quite safe. Severus has gone to retrieve a bottle of Veritaserum. When Poppy notifies us that he is awake, myself, Harry, Lucius, and Severus will go and question him."

"Are you out of your mind?" Molly Weasley cried, "You can't take Harry anywhere near the monster! It will devastate him, or Riddle will attack him!"

"As I said, there will be a large number of Aurors standing by, I'm sure we will be quite safe. Naturally, if you don't find my protection enough for young Harry, the rest of you are invited to accompany us to the hospital wing," Dumbledore replied, eyes going slightly cold.

"Mrs. Weasley, I'm going to talk to Riddle. If Lucius, my soul mate, can't talk me out of it, nothing will," Harry stated, calmly. Molly's shoulders slumped in defeat, and she agreed that Harry would probably be safe. Lucius looked at her for a moment, before stating, "Nothing will happen to Harry, I would protect him with my very soul." Molly watched him, and nodded, smiling slightly, at the blonde wizard. "I trust you, dear." Lucius smirked, slightly, at the 'dear' comment and was about to respond, when Poppy Pomfrey's disembodied head appeared in a flare of green flame, in Dumbledore's fire. "Headmaster, the boy has regained consciousness."

"Has he tried anything?" Sirius demanded, having been uncharacteristically quiet, throughout the earlier conversation.

"No he seems very upset though. He doesn't appear to remember much of the last 50 years, he is also being very cooperative. Also, I treated Tom Riddle when he was a boy here, his magic is different." Poppy reported.

"Different? In what way is it different?" Severus inquired, Having returned with the Veritaserum. Poppy looked at Dumbledore, "You were at the meeting with Headmaster Dipet, in Tom's third year, remember? He had broken his arm and I had healed it. When I scanned his magic, it was strange, like something was covering it up with a different type of magic. Every time I scanned it after that it was worse, I'd never seen anything like it. But he didn't seem to have any trouble controlling his magic so I never really pressed the matter."

"What is it your telling us, Pomfrey?" Moody asked, impatiently. Poppy looked at him, "Tom's magic is completely different now. To put in simple terms, when he was at school here it was like a darker, more sinister magic blanketed his, now that magic is gone. Before his magic aura pulsed with greyish-brown, over brilliant green, now it's just brilliant green."

"Well, that is interesting. We will be down in the Infirmary shortly." Dumbledore said, getting to his feet, followed by Harry, Lucius, Severus, and the rest of the order.

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As the group, led by Dumbledore, rounded the corner of the hall of the hospital wing, they saw a fat, disgruntled man, pacing up and down the corridor, twisting a lime green bowler hat in his hands. On either side of the Infirmary doors, three aurors, including Tonks and Shacklebolt, stood, wands drawn, ready for anything. Standing of to the side, much to the chagrin of the younger members of the Order of the Phoenix, who remembered her brief reign has Hogwarts Headmistress, was Dolores Umbridge. Fudge completed his current pacing lap, and turned around to start another, his eyes fell on Dumbledore, and he seemed to swell with hot air. "What is the meaning of this Albus?" He bellowed, pompously, " Why have you brought that thing to Hogwarts, when he should have been destroyed immediately? Who gave you the authority to order MY Aurors to guard your infirmary? Why are they refusing me admittance to the Infirmary? Why-"

"Cornelius, be quite!" Dumbledore snapped, in a rare moment of 'visible' anger, "I have brought Tom to Hogwarts for questioning. I ordered your Aurors to guard the infirmary to protect the other patrons of this castle, and I have know no idea why they would deny you access to the Infirmary."

Tonks smirked slightly, as she responded, "Madame Pomfrey said if we let anyone but Dumbledore through those doors, they wouldn't need to fear Tom Riddle, they'd face her wrath. We were only protecting you Minister."

"There you have it Cornelius," Albus said, smiling benignly," They are only looking out for your protection." Saying that, he walked in to the hospital wing with Harry, Lucius and Severus in tow. When the Minister and his 'Undersecretary' (said sarcastically cause that's such a double entendre) started to follow, Dumbledore said, " The only way you will be allowed in this room Cornelius, is if you promise not to say a single word. If you can't do that you will have to remain here." As Fudge started spluttering indignantly, Dumbledore shrugged and started to close the door. "Fine!! We'll be quiet!" the Minister snapped, shoving past the Headmaster into the room.

The six of them strolled past the remaining Auror guards, towards a curtained off area. Behind the curtains, they found Tom Riddle sitting in a bed, with staring sadly at his hands.

"Have you come to kill me now?" the apparently young man, whispered.

"Look at me Tom," Dumbledore said calmly. Tom raised his had, looking at the Headmaster with soulful green eyes. Dumbledore seemed entranced for a moment, then shook himself. "We are here to ask you some questions, Tom. We need information, and we need to know what you meant by that last comment you made before you collapsed."

Tom looked confused for a moment, then remembered, "You mean when I said I was free," not waiting for a response he said, "How can you be sure I'll tell the truth?"

"We will be having our Potions Master, Severus Snape administer Veritaserum, you will be unable to tell a lie." Tom looked at the men in the room, he had no clue who Severus was. Dumbledore watched him for a moment, then gestured Snape forward, "Give him the potion."

Snape looked at Tom then said, "Open your mouth, I will place three drops of this potion on you tongue. Professor Dumbledore will begin asking you questions." After administering the truth serum, Severus stepped back. Tom eyes glazed over, and a drugged out little grin appeared on his face. Dumbledore cleared is throat then asked, "What is your full name?" (A/N Okay, I'm not going to do he asked, he answered for the next bit, I'm sure everyone reading this can figure out whose talking. If someone other than Dumbledore asks a question I'll put the name in)

"Tom Marvolo Riddle"

"Are you pureblood?"

"No, my mother was a witch, my father a muggle" Fudge's eyes bugged at that, but a look from Lucius kept him from opening his mouth.

"What was your mothers maiden name?

"Merope Gaunt."

"How old are you?"

"...I don't know"

"What is the last clear memory you have, before today?"

"I stopped Him from murdering a baby."

"What baby,?" Severus asked

"A little boy, I couldn't let Him, he was just a innocent baby!"

"How old was this baby?"

"I'm not sure, probably a little over a year."

"How long ago was this?"

"I don't know, before we almost died."

"What happened with this baby?" Lucius asked.

"He cast the killing curse on him, I pulled as much of the magic back as I could. I didn't think it would be enough, but it rebounded on us."

"Do you know why you were trying to murder the baby?"

"I think He was afraid the baby."

"Why?"

"I don't remember."

"Do you remember anything before that?"

"Things are hazy. They were like that for so long."

"What is your last clear memory?"

"I was getting ready to go out, for my eighteenth birthday, I looked just the same as I do now. Then I felt Him in the back of my mind, I always dreaded that feeling."

"Are you saying you felt another persons inside your mind?" Harry asked.

"Yes."

"You had felt that feeling before?"

"Yes."

"When?

"When I was at school, and when I was in the orphanage."

"When did it start?"

"When I met Him."

"When was that?"

"I was 6."

"What happened on the occasions you felt him in your mind?"

"I don't know, I only remember what happened after."

"What sort of things happened after?"

"Billy Stubbs rabbit was hanging from the rafters, Amy and Dennis got sick, they were afraid of me. He told me they deserved everything that He made me do to them. He said they were evil. Myrtle was found dead in a bathroom." Tom seemed to falter after that.

"What happened after Myrtle died?"

"He left me alone, He said I wouldn't need His protection for a while."

"How did you feel about Him?"

"I thought He loved me, I didn't realize He was using me until just after my eighteenth birthday."

"What happened then?"

"He didn't leave my mind after my eighteenth birthday, He had control. It was like I was a prisoner in my own body, I could think for myself but He had control of my body. He did terrible things, and I couldn't stop Him. I shut out the outside world, I refused to face the things He was doing. I had only myself for comfort."

"But there were brief moments when you could make a difference?"

"Yes, I paid attention when His emotions were running high. That's why I was awake when He murdered that man, and his pretty red haired wife, they were so afraid, but not for themselves. They were afraid for their baby boy. The man fought Him... us, he died. His wife begged Him... us to spare her little boy, He was going to let her live, but she wouldn't leave her baby so He killed her. They gave their lives for their baby, I couldn't let Him destroy something so innocent."

"Do you remember any names for that family?"

"Potter."

Harry was crying softly on Lucius broad shoulder, Tom looked at him in surprise, "You look like that man! Your the baby!"

"Headmaster, the Veritaserum should be wearing off soon," Severus said quietly, slightly shocked by all that he had heard. Dumbledore nodded then turned back to Tom to ask his final question.

"Tom, who is He?"

"Grindelwald."


A/N What do you think? Reviews please.