Dance of Kings
by Iesh

Summary: A secretive Harry Evans joins Tom Riddle's fifth year and nothing remains the same. Rules and traditions get trodden upon; secrets are spun in lies and truths; love and hatred are twisted together. Beware Hogwarts! For the Dance of Kings has begun...

Pairings: Harry/Tom, Charlus/Dorea.

Tags: NOT TimeTravel!, Light!Harry, Muggleborn!Harry, Dark!Tom, Slash & Het relations,

Disclaimer: Harry Potter World & Characters belong to the talented JK Rowling. I'm just playing with them.

"…" - Conversations/Talking

'…' - Thinking/Thoughts

§…§ - Parseltongue

Italics - Dreams/written words…

Prologue

He hummed as the magic caressed his old wizened skin. His own magic yearned to reach out, to join the powerful aura but he steadily kept it under his skin. If he dared interfere with it during the ritual, the consequences would be disastrous. He had rarely felt such a magic- so calming, soothing yet at the same time intriguing. Many would have said it was the magic of the pure but they couldn't be more wrong. Had he been an enemy, the magic would have been snarling at him, rousing him for a confrontation.

It was light magic.

The true light magic. Not the drivel spouted by the anti-Dark factions. Leaning against the wall, he looked at the boy sitting in the centre. The runes self-drawn on his bare skin glistened with blood. A small pool of the red had amassed by his feet. Beads of perspiration tumbled down his forehead. One may wonder how someone so young, so innocent-looking could be capable of such a feat. But he knew better. He had seen the depth in those green eyes.

Two years had passed since he had first met him. One might think that meeting this out of ordinary child would have been under exceptional, even explosive situations. But it was a simple Saturday morning when there was a knock at his door. A young boy, barely out of his twelfth year, stood in front of him. And like that, he asked for an apprenticeship. Normally, his wife and he would have refused such an ordinary request, especially from what seemed to be an unlearned young one. They asked about him, his parents and his home. The answers given were clear and simple, but filled with lies. Living for many years had allowed them to decipher the many intricacies of the human kind. But where his truths started and where they ended, they never knew. How he managed to get pass the heavy wards surrounding their house, they never knew too.

Yet out of all his lies and half truths, one feature shone with sincerity. Those green eyes. Eyes of a weathered soul in such a young body. They spoke of loss, despair and maybe even fear. He knew that his wife was taken in by them. At her request, he tested the boy for his magical capabilities. And that in itself was a mystery. In certain fields, he was highly advanced. And yet in others, he was astoundingly behind. Levels truly bizarre for such a wild wizard.

It had been years since they had been intrigued by someone, especially such a young one. They took him as an apprentice. He worked well on his own. He only consulted them for the happenings, the way of life in the wizard world. For his studies, they just had to guide him through the laws of the wizard magic. He spent most of his time inside the library. The little time spent together was filled with enthusiasm, child-like laughs and smiles. Not entirely fake but definitely a cover to hide the secrets bottled inside him. Many times he tried to unravel one of those secrets but each time, he found himself with more questions and truths laced in lies. Sometimes, he wondered if he should even dare to pry those secrets. For this was surely no ordinary child.

On some rare occasions, he would receive an owl to which he would reply immediately. They never pried and at the same time, he never volunteered any information. No names were ever uttered, except his. No locations, except vague ones. He had blamed the lack of information on his parents' deaths. Then last month, he asked about one friend.

He spoke of a friend he had met before and who was apparently a wizard. He asked about a ritual to find someone by their magic. It was one which asked for a lot of concentration and magic control indeed. And the wizard had to be intimately aware of the aura of the person he was seeking, which he doubted would be the case for a childhood friend. But the boy remained adamant.

He was brought out of his musings by the rustling sound of a stone moving against parchment. He looked at the paper in front of the boy. A map in fact, detailing the different parts of Britain. He saw the blood-soaked stone nestled between the forests in Scotland. A name was hidden among those lines and curves.

He sighed as the magic withdrew from around him. His skin prickled at the lack of magic, already seeking more. He smiled at the boy who was looking at the map with his green eyes. A small smile tugged at the end of his lips.

"Looks like your friend is in Hogwarts."

"Yes."

"You never told me his name."

"Tom, Tom Marvolo Riddle."

A/N: Thank you for reading. This is my first fanfic, an idea I've been playing with for over a year. Please review or leave a comment to tell me what you think. Cheers!