Chapter 13

Pomfrey’s examination showed that while Harry’s "energy burst" had weakened him significantly, he would be able to recover from it by the time he woke up provided that it didn’t happen again.

The next two days passed without incident, but Severus Snape still insisted upon watching over Harry day and night. He never left Harry’s bedside. As a result, the students were treated to an unusual, but very welcome, break from Potions.

Inside Harry’s mind, however, things weren’t quite so peaceful.

"Tom? What exactly did you mean when you were talking about the Dementor’s Kiss?" Harry asked. He was lying on his stomach with his head resting on his forearms, looking at his double sitting cross-legged in front of him.

Tom smiled at Harry. "I told you before that you and I are one in the same, correct?" Harry rolled his eyes and nodded. "Well, think about it. If one half of the whole dies, the other goes with it, right?" Harry sighed deeply.

"But this just doesn’t make any sense! How can you be a part of me if I didn’t even know about you before all this? It shouldn’t effect me. It shouldn’t, and it’s not fair that it does!"

"No one ever said it was fair, Self. Far from it, in fact. But, quite frankly, we have the advantage," Tom said, raising an eyebrow and smirking slightly. Harry frowned.

"What advantage? What are you talking about?"

"I told you before that you could succeed where Voldemort failed because you are stronger. In fact, you are probably the strongest wizard alive. Not even Dumbledore could stand up to you. And you have another advantage." Tom’s eyes gleamed. "How many wizards do you know have talked with their own magic before? How many do you think truly understand their own power?" Tom smirked. "None, Self. You are being given an opportunity that none before you had. And once I get you to understand me, Self, you will be the most powerful being to have ever lived. Isn’t that delightful?"

Harry stared at Tom in disbelief. He weighed his options. He could ignore everything that Tom was ranting about, or he could take Tom up on the offer being presented to him. He had no desire to become the next Voldemort, of course, but gaining a full, working understanding of his own magic could be very useful, and who said that he had to use it for dark purposes? If he really would become more powerful than Dumbledore himself, he’d be able to protect so many more lives than he’d ever imagined. No one else would have to die. Most importantly, he’d be able to avenge everyone who died because of him: Ginny and Colin…Remus and Sirius…his parents… Harry made up his mind. "Alright, Tom, what do I need to know? Let’s get started."

By the end of the short time that he and Tom had worked together, Harry had learned how to control his magic perfectly with or without a wand. There were very few spells that he had trouble casting, and his knowledge of the Dark Arts could rival that of Voldemort himself. He could manipulate his magic in ways he’d never even heard of, to the point where he could revive a person on the brink of death with a single spell. In fact, the only thing that Tom couldn’t teach him was Potions, but the again, Potions had always been Harry’s weakness.

"You know, Self, that man you fancy so much could teach us quite a bit about Potions if you asked him," Tom pointed out at the end of their training. Harry sighed.

"Snape? You want me to ask Snape to tutor me?" He shook his head. "You must be out of your mind. He’d never agree to that. Besides, with everything I know now, I don’t need Potions…"

"Don’t be so hasty, Self. Potions are still very useful. Besides," and here Tom took on a conspiratorial grin, "it certainly would help you to get into his good graces." Harry’s eyebrows shot up and he couldn’t help but smile ever-so-slightly.

"I’ll keep that in mind."

It was three o’clock in the morning when Severus was awakened from his doze by a quiet groaning. He looked up to see Harry awakening. In his sleep-hazed mind, the thought ‘It’s about bloody time! Trus him to oversleep from a potion…’ made its presence known. Harry was supposed to have woken up the previous afternoon. Suddenly, his mind slapped itself into awareness. Harry was awake!