The Memory
"Well, if it isn't Potter. What are you doing here, in a library of all places?" Draco asks, teasing Harry as he loves to do.
"Sod off Draco. I need to show you something." Harry replies.
Draco pauses at the seriousness in Harry's voice. He places his hand on Harry's, interlocking their fingers on the table.
"What's up?" He asks, looking at the book in front of them.
"This diary, its Tom Riddles. But something's off with it, look."
Harry grabs his quill, dipping it in ink before flipping to a random page and scribbling down a sentence. Draco stares, confused at why Harry feels the need to show him this. Suddenly, the ink disappears, being replaced with a neat scrawl of writing. Draco gasps, reaching out to feel the page.
You showing your friend now? How cute, but still.
Write on the correct date.
Harry flips to the date, and all his handwriting is there.
"What is this, Harry?" Draco asks.
"I dunno. I found it in my trunk, but I have no idea how I have it."
"It's a very complicated spell to achieve this. It's like a Pensive. You store memories in there to watch, but this is years old. Probably when Tom was at Hogwarts himself. Should we talk to him?"
"Sure, what do I say?"
"Just write, 'My name is Harry Potter. Who is this?'"
"Alright."
Harry redips his quill and flips to the first page, September first. He writes down,
My name is Harry Potter. Who is this?
Almost immediately, the ink vanishes, being replaced with a new sentence.
Why, hello, Harry Potter. I am Tom Riddle, owner of this diary. May I ask, how do you have my diary?
Draco snatches Harry's quill here, dipping it in the ink pot before scribbling down something.
How can you talk to us? Is this a Pensive?
Draco waits, and soon the ink fades away.
Ah, Draco Malfoy. How nice to meet you. To answer your questions, yes, this is a Pensive. I can reply because of the enchantments I've put in place. Any more questions, or should we meet?
Harry and Draco exchange looks. What does he mean by 'meet'? They turn back to the diary. Harry takes his quill, writing down a message with the last of the ink.
Yes. Let's meet.
Harry places down his quill as his message gets replaced.
Very well, prepare yourselves. It's going to be a ride.
With that, Harry and Draco were whisked from their seats and dragged into the contents of the diary.
Harry lands with a thud, a groan from nearby shows that Draco met the same fate. Harry gets to his feet, helping Draco up before glancing around. It's the library, but something is different. Different students are sitting around, and different books are on the shelves. Harry sits down at an empty table, noticing that nobody can see them. Draco looks around, realising that they are in a memory. He sits beside Harry, resting his head on Harry's shoulder. They sit for a while before someone comes in through the library doors. They look up to see Tom smiling at them and walking towards their table. He sits down beside Harry, eyeing Draco suspiciously before smiling even wider.
"Hello, Im Tom Riddle. Pleased to meet you, Harry Potter? "Tom asks, stretching out his hand to Harry.
Harry shakes his hand, smiling at Tom, but the smile doesn't reach his eyes.
"And you must be Draco Malfoy. Pleased to meet you as well." He shakes Draco's hand before leaning back in his seat.
"What did you want to show us, Riddle?" Harry asks, staring at Tom.
"Well, I said I would show myself to you, and did I not? You can ask me anything, and I'll answer." Tom replies, winking at Harry.
Harry rolls his eyes, looking at Draco before turning back to Tom.
"How can you see us? I thought this was just a memory."
"Well, as I said before, I put some spells on my diary, so anyone who enters, I can see and communicate with them. My past is not affected by this; it's just a memory that future me does not have. Not really a memory in any way, more like a story, and you're the main character." Tom replies, eyes twinkling.
Draco begins to get uncomfortable, and soon, he realizes why. Except for him, Harry, and Tom, no one else is moving. Draco turns to ask about this, but suddenly, he and Harry are thrust back into their library today. They glance at each other before turning to the diary, which is now closed on the table. Harry reaches out to open it, but he hesitates. Draco puts an arm on Harry's shoulder, making Harry place his arm back on the table. Harry sighs, turning to Draco.
"Let's leave this for tomorrow, yeah?" Draco says, standing up in his seat and dragging Harry up with him.
"Yeah, alright. Meet here again, same time?"
"Sure. See you tomorrow, Potter."
They go their separate ways, Draco down to the dungeons, Harry up to the towers. Both thinking about the same thing, kinda.
Harry:
Tom was.. unexpected. I thought he was all evil in school, but.. he seemed.. alright.
Draco:
Riddle was weird. He was hiding something; I know it. I dont have a good feeling about tomorrow.