A Ghost

Albus had indeed managed to reconcile with his friends and open up to them about his struggle with his identity as Harry Potter's son. The boy was delighted with their acceptance and understanding, Scorpius even gave him a hug, and his cousin Rose took her mother's stern tone and lectured him about being a member of this family no matter what and that they all loved him. When he said this to his new weird friend, aka the old Dark Lord, Tom just snorted and muttered furiously about love, something Albus didn't quite understand. 

The only people who gave him any trouble were, as usual, his parents. They asked why he had suddenly changed his behaviour and what had caused his distance from them and his friends. 

"Nothing that concerns you," Albus muttered. When he was younger, he had been pleased to know that Hogwarts now organised a weekend visit for parents in a dedicated room. Harry and Ginny came to see them every weekend. Now it just annoyed him that they insisted on seeing all three of them, not just Lily who was twelve and still young, but also James who was seventeen and himself fifteen.

Harry frowned, "You're our son, of course it concerns us" James was long gone of course and so was Lily, they insisted on talking to him privately today. Albus was getting more and more annoyed. 

He let out a deep, long suffering sigh, "Can I be my own person with my own secrets?" His father frowned even more "I'm sorry dad, I know you don't really understand...but...I really need to be my own person too, I don't have to tell you everything" His mother looked at him with understanding. His father had always wanted to have parents he could tell everything to, but he hadn't had that, Albus was lucky and he knew it. But it frustrated him that his father couldn't understand that he didn't want to tell him everything. 

Ginny nodded, "Yes, yes of course Al, but we're worried, you seemed more lonely, depressed and angry than ever and suddenly Rose sent me a letter saying that everything was back to normal, we're a bit lost and we just want to understand and help you Albus, you're our son and we love you" His mother took his hand gently. 

The boy swallowed, if he was honest with himself, he was ashamed. He had fallen so easily for the Dark Arts and he hadn't realised how much until bloody Voldemort told him it was too much. Voldemort, for Merlin's sake. He knew how much his parents hated the Dark Arts, their lives had been changed forever by it, his mother had been badly possessed for a year and, well, he didn't need to explain for his father. 

"I...I...I met a ghost a month ago, and um...well, I was a bit interested in dark magic, I never use it, I swear!" His parents' eyes were wide and alarmed. "I've just been reading a lot of books, and I didn't realise how much I was actually reading, and... and well this ghost, he... he showed me how... how obsessed I was in my lecture. Now I'm done with it, I swear." He said firmly without looking at them. 

There was a silence and he felt arms around him, "Oh, Albus, I'm sorry we didn't see any of that," it was his father murmuring in his ear. 

His mother stroked his hair gently, "We don't blame you, Al, you're so young," her voice trembled. 

Harry sat back in his seat, "I really want to meet this ghost, he saved you after all. 

Albus frowned, "Um, well, I don't really know why he did it, well, he told me it was because dark magic destroyed him, but..." 

A voice cut him off, Tom was here, behind his parents, "It was to make amends. In a way. And also because I saw a bit of myself in you, not too much, don't worry" It made Al smile a little, but not for long. 

At the sight of Tom, his parents blanched drastically, causing Tom to smile bitterly. "Don't worry Potter, I'm quite dead, the worst thing you could do now would be to exorcise me, something yet to be discovered." 

"Tom Riddle," his father breathed, Ginny gripped her husband's wrist tightly. 

"Not in the flesh, but yes," the ghost drawled. 

"How?" His father's voice was hard. 

"Well, the little piece of my soul took its time to reunite, and when it finally did, well, I reformed as a ghost," Riddle explained in a bored tone. 

"Al said you stopped him from reading more about the Dark Arts," it was Ginny who spoke this time. 

"Ah, Mrs Weasley, I believe you met a piece of my soul, you will have to forgive me but the memories of each piece are a bit fuzzy, after all my soul was divided into eight entities. Anyway, I apologise for the trauma. And yes, I helped Albus, believe it or not, what I became wasn't exactly what I had in mind when I was sixteen".

His mother blinked and said nothing. On the other hand, his father's eyes glowed with hatred. "Stay away from my son," his tone was firm and he gripped his wand tightly.

Tom looked confused, "Or what? I'm dead, Potter. I can't do shit here." 

Albus spoke quietly, "Besides, he's really helping me..." Harry's head snapped towards him.

"How so? He's a monster Albus!" 

"He's not Voldemort, he's the ghost of Tom Riddle! Voldemort was a monster! Tom Riddle is... was a real human being, well not the most likeable but the least worst of all the version of him and and he had a whole soul... at least for a while" It caused Tom to snort. 

"Your son is quite right, try to think of Voldemort and me as two different people, in fact try to imagine that each version of me that made another Horcrux was a different person."

Harry frowned, "You mean there are seven versions of you? For seven Horcruxes?

"Eight, Potter, don't forget me, the one with the whole soul." Tom looked tired. 

His father seemed to understand then, "Oh, you're Tom, not even the one in the Chamber in second year, just Tom" There was a silence, his mother looked a little more relaxed too. "So you really regret what you became?" 

The ghostly form of Riddle saw "Of course. Nobody wants to end up like that, it's a fate worse than death in the end," Harry nodded. "I had a great plan for this world and I failed phenomenally. I am dead. But I haunt Hogwarts where I can see all the little minds that will shape this world. Albus is amazing Potter, he reminds me of myself," his parents shuddered, Tom smiled, "Don't look so scared, he is certainly not the second Voldemort, he reminds me of myself in the way he uses magic. 

"What do you mean?" Al asked in a whisper.

His confidant turned to look at him, "You're speaking to it, Albus." 

The boy frowned, "Of course I am, it speaks to me too." His parents looked puzzled. 

Tom smiled, "It shows great strength and a great mind to be able to hear magic whispering, very few are able to do that."

"What do you mean, it speaks to you? What does it say?" His father asked with obvious interest. 

Al looked thoughtful "Well, it doesn't speak, it's more... like a feeling, it's like it shares an emotion with me". 

"Exactly, and this ability to communicate with magic gave Albus an advantage in his ability to cast spells, make potions, grow magical plants, he understands magic on a whole new level. That's why I had to show him another way, not the one I took," Tom's voice was almost pleading now, something Albus had never heard before. The ghost had always been very collected, terribly sarcastic and sometimes a little biting. 

Harry and Ginny looked at each other, then his father spoke, "Well, there's nothing you can do, you're dead," they rose from their seats and turned to their son, "Al, you can tell us anything, if he bothers you, tell me and I'll find a way to kill a ghost, I swear," Tom snorted. 

Albus smiled softly, "Thanks Dad, don't worry, he's a bit annoying sometimes, but I can handle him," this time the ghost sputtered. 

"We love you so much, Al, don't forget that," his mother kissed him on the head and then they disappeared into the floo. 

Tom sighed deeply, "Finally! It went quite well." 

Albus just shook his head in dismay.