In your pocket, not one penny

[bestunrevealed]

WHO: Two Dark Wizards meet again for the first time. (Snape, Riddle, the rematch.)
WHERE: The MAC.
WHEN: Friday Evening
WARNINGS: More Slytherin bullshit then you can handle.
SUMMARY: Snape finally seeks out young master Tom Riddle; half-intending to murder him on the spot, half-intending to ... well, he's not really sure but murder may be the

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[anagrammatist]

Tom's expressions were just as tightly controlled, a mask within a mask, of surprise cautiously hidden but not completely controlled as it might have been with another student. The Head of House was different, special, considerably more of a surprise than a classmate, and considerably more welcome in a strange place as well.

Severus Snape. The one Bellatrix had mentioned by name, as someone to be wary of. Possibly the same Professor Snape Ginny had written about, the one who seemed set on making life difficult for Harry Potter for no reason at all. He had wondered if they might be the same person--Snape was not a wizard name, as far as he knew, so it would be less common. His feelings toward Professor Snape had been somewhat neutral--anyone who wanted to make life difficult for Harry could not be all bad, but otherwise the man held no interest for him--but after what Bellatrix had said...assuming Bellatrix really was loyal to him, and she wasn't just trying to make herself look good...

But it would look odd for a new arrival to not invite his Head inside, so he closed the door enough to undo the chain and opened it again wide enough for Snape to step through. "Yes, of course, sir."

His rooms looked very little like the standard MAC apartment and much more like the Sytherin common room might have if there had been a little more wood in the design. In fact, the only area left that looked at all Muggle was the kitchen and the lights in the ceiling. The chair Tom had been sitting in was farthest from the door and facing it, with a stack of books sitting on the table next to it. The sofa sits on one side of it and a small standing fireplace sits on the other by the wall, though it's unlit at the moment.

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Once the door is shut, his eyes flicker around the room.

"You've appointed yourself well, my lord," he says, without missing a beat. "But you are so young. I did not expect such- sentimentality."

He doens't even beat about the bush; there's no point. He needs to know more and know it quickly. There are lives at risk. He has to do this with care, but with speed, too.

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Curious. Bellatrix had accepted his age without question, though Tom had a feeling she wasn't entirely comfortable with it. Who would be? He was almost certainly half her age. But she hadn't questioned it.

And sentimentality was an odd word to use. Perhaps the man thought he was older than he appeared, even hoped for it? He would hardly be pining for Hogwarts after only a few days.

"It's hardly sentimentality," he said after a moment, fixing Snape with an appraising look. There would be no point in pretending to not understand; Snape knew who he was and was certain enough not to fall for it. "I'm afraid I'm as old as I've ever been."

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"I see," he says simply. "The next question is-- are you my lord, as he once was-- or are you his fragment? I mean no disrespect-- but it is important to know, that we may better protect you." Or kill you. "Protecting the man -- and protecting a piece of the man -- are two very different things."

He stands, face neutral as ever, calm in the face of his very important question. It would tell them much; if it's Tom Riddle, truly, he's a man who can die, can be contained. If he is not -- they must think differently.

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It took a good deal of effort for Tom to remain as outwardly calm as always, to betray nothing of the sudden whirl of his thoughts. How did he know? Not that he could be one of the Horcruxes--Ginny knew he'd been in the diary, she could have told anyone--but about the Horcruxes in the first place. He could not imagine being free with that knowledge, not to anyone. It was not for anyone to know.

And yet, this man knew. Or he had a good deal of reason to suspect. Tom had to wonder just how close he'd been to his other self, for him to know about that. He should be wary of this man, indeed.

"That's a bold question, Professor," he said softly, his tone making clear that it was one question too far and he was hardly using Snape's title now as a courtesy. "And one has to wonder why you would treat them so differently, if you truly understand what you're asking."

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"You are shocked, my lord! I see. You entrust your best lieutenant with one of your horcruxes, but you never bother telling her the truth," he says, smirk gracing his lips. "But I am different, my lord."

He knows.

He knows everything. At least, he wants Tom to believe that.

"We both studied under Slughorn, my lord," Snape's lies are easy, and ring with so much truth - because they are seeded with it. "We both had similar goals. But I have bent knee to yours, and surrendered my will to you. Whether you are my lord -- or merely a fragment-- I am ready to do what I must to preserve your safety. I need to know if I protect a man who cannot be slain, who sought to master Death itself, or if I guard what could render him -- vulnerable. The ways they may hurt you, my lord-- they will differ."

He turns, and says, "That man Lupin; he's a soft man, a family man - but an expert in the Dark Arts and their counters. He certainly will be able to destroy a horcrux, and he taught the girl Ginevra Weasley. They know what the Tom Riddle of the Chamber was, after the years since. Albus Dumbledore made sure that they did, when the time came. However, if they believe you are the man, and not the fragment, their plans will change."

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Shocked was a bit of an understatement. Even if the man didn't know everything, what he did know was more than enough.

And not for the first time since Ginny began writing in his diary, he cursed the man he was outside it. The most feared Dark Lord in a century, so feared no one would even speak his name, and he had been defeated by a one-year-old boy, and then again when that boy was eleven, and he couldn't even keep his most precious secret actually secret. He cursed Dumbledore too while he was at it, the one man he knew would have been able to figure it out and apparently had. Of course he had; Ginny was still alive so he himself must have been defeated--again--and Dumbledore would have had all the time in the world to examine his diary.

He had not forgotten that Snape was a teacher under Dumbledore, and he had to wonder why Dumbledore would hire a man who had been loyal to the other side. He had not forgotten what Bellatrix had said either, though it was now in full contridiction to the words coming out of Snape's mouth. He could not tell whether Snape was lying or not, which was frustrating all on it's own, but it didn't sound like it.

He really had no reason to trust either one of them. But the truth would come out one way or another, with Ginny Weasley around, and he would prefer if it came from him. He could, at least, correct how Snape was thinking of him at the moment. "Merely a fragment" indeed.

He takes another moment to get his emotions under control, silently crossing the room to take his seat again.

"I am far more than just a 'fragment', I assure you," he said at last. "The Porter has seen to that. I am, in essence, as much of a man as you are. The Horcrux is not here to be damaged. It is back in Hogwarts, sitting in Harry Potter's lap." In fact, he was unsure as to whether damaging the diary here would have had any effect on him, but it's better that there's no chance of finding out.

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Yes! Snape revels in the information; not Voldemort himself, but still, he knows now that the man remains... dead.

This is merely a piece of him. A young, talented piece, but only a piece. The mass of knowledge and dark power is elsewhere. This is the best news he's had in days.

"I would not tell Bellatrix this, my lord. She will not - view you the same." At least this, he believes, is the unvarnished truth. "She does not understand. She does not know. Those secrets were not for her ears. She loves you, truly, and would die for you -- but she let herself rot in Azkaban rather then use foresight and cunning, predict your return, and place herself where she would be most useful. She has her uses, as a trusted lieutenant, but they are limited."

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Tom sneers at him before he can catch himself. "You think I'll be handing that out to just anyone? If you had not already known about them..."

He lets out a faint hiss, not quite Parseltongue but close enough to help calm himself down. All the information about Bellatrix really is good to know. Now he just needs to get Bellatrix talking about Snape in return.

"Ginny Weasley is here. I ran into her not far from the Porter building. I do not expect my identity to remain secret for long, at least among the other side." The only other reason he'd said a word about this. "It may be inevitable that Bellatrix learns the truth."

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Too bad Bellatrix has little to offer that Snape won't give himself. Within... careful reason, with the patina of lies that it needs to be palatable.

"I see," he replies. Bloody Weasleys everywhere, always in business that was better handled by smarter and more capable men. "It is, then. Whether or not she will believe it; she had difficultly grasping the truth of her own death at the hands of a house wife when told of it by her own sister, so -- she may not believe them. It may seem a careful, terrible lie to her, to shake her faith. For your own safety? I would encourage her to believe that they are again attempting to 'fool' her."

Still, Ginny's knowledge is good for him; he can't be perceived as the leak of Tom's true nature. Beautiful.

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"For my own safety...?" Tom repeats, his voice tinged with amusement. Bellatrix had been the same, concerned for his safety in this new place with unfriendly wizards. He does appreciate the thought, since of course they would want their lord to remain safe, but it's still odd to think about coming from two people he'd personally never met. "If what you've said about her is true, I hardly think she would deliberately harm even a piece of me."

Not that he'll be testing that any time soon, of course.

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"A piece is not the whole. She may not understand. But you may be right, my lord." Deference is given to the Dark Lord's. "But her ideas of protection may be- smothering."

Not that HE wants to test that anytime soon, either.

[anagrammatist]

He nods, absently tapping his wand on the arm of the chair, and bites back a remark that the 'whole' is no longer whole either because that is beside the point. He would hope his loyal followers would protect a piece of their lord nearly as feverishly as their lord himself, but he is not keen on testing the idea.

Nor does he wish to keep talking about it. He's still a little perturbed that Snape knows about the Horcruxes at all, and it's more than a little strange discussing them with someone. So when he does speak again, it's to bring up something else that's bothering him.

His gaze flicked back up at Snape, unhesitatingly meeting his eyes. "I do wonder, Professor, why Dumbledore would hire you if you're as loyal to me as you claim."

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"Because he was a fool," Snape says, black eyes giving away nothing. "Who believed the the best of all, and that all could be redeemed."

Even, briefly: Tom Riddle.

More the fool Dumbledore. Should have cut the boy's throat before he ever reached Hogwarts.

"It was I who ended his life, my lord, for the gift of his trust. Even Bellatrix would never lie to you about who slew the head of the Order of the Phoenix." Saving Draco the trouble... giving Dumbledore a mercy. "I, my lord, when one of your lesser servants could not."

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Tom tries not to feel impressed, at least until he has time to confirm that with Bellatrix, but, well, it's Dumbledore. He had never liked the man, nor had he been liked in return, but even he could acknowledge that Dumbledore was a great wizard.

He does manage to keep that feeling out of his eyes and his voice, projecting instead some incredulity. "You killed Dumbledore?"

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"Yes, my lord," he says simply, voice still as silky as it ever was. "Lucius Malfoy had displeased you. You set his son to the task. He enabled us to seize the school, and atop the Astronomy tower we found him. He had been weakened, over the years, by struggling against you as you rose again to power. He could not stand against us."

Some part of Snape's soul curdles, knowing that his friend-- his dear friend, Albus -- would have his death used so, but... at the same time, he knew that is exactly why he arranged it that way. The only reason that they had been able to go so far...

The coup de grace, that release from pain, he told Snape would not fracture his soul the way that a real murder would. But sometimes, he wonders.