*Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Scotland, United Kingdom??*
Harry Potter found himself standing in what appeared to be the Gryffindor Common Room. He looked around feeling very confused, wondering exactly how he had gotten there. One moment he had been on a strange alien world and the next he appeared to have arrived at Hogwarts. He also noticed he was now wearing his Gryffindor school robes, which only added to the confusion. When he was magically whisked away from Surrey, he was still wearing his regular clothes. Not to mention he couldn't recall seeing any bright lights or stars this time around.
Harry was brought out of his thoughts when he heard someone walking down the stairs and turned to see who it was. An unfamiliar boy around Harry's age and also wearing Gryffindor school robes entered the Common Room. The boy walked over to Harry with a faint smile on his face; somehow the young wizard felt that he seemed oddly familiar though he couldn't recall ever meeting him before.
"Excuse me, but who are you?" asked Harry.
"It's me, Einar."
Harry just looked at him with a confused expression for a moment. Then he remembered that the serpentine alien he met by the lake had the exact same name and was able to put two and two together.
"Are you the snake?"
The boy frowned as he replied, "I'd appreciate it if you didn't refer to me as a snake."
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to offend you."
"It's perfectly alright, Harry."
Harry looked around the Gryffindor Common Room as he asked, "So none of this is actually real?"
Einar shook his head as he said, "Your own memories are being used in projecting this place. It is a common method my kind uses to communicate with human hosts while they're unconscious."
Harry nodded as he continued to survey his surroundings. "So if none of this is real, does that mean I am still by the lake?"
"Yes, you lost consciousness due to some rather severe injuries you sustained from your uncle."
Harry was taken off guard by Einar's statement regarding his uncle. "Can you read my mind?"
Einar smirked slightly as he said, "Only your active thoughts. Technically I am able to go through your memories, however, as a Tok'ra, that is something I will not do. Not without permission of the host, which in this case would be you."
"Host? What do you mean by that?"
Einar sighed as he replied, "I am a symbiotic lifeform known as a Tok'ra. We are capable of blending with human hosts both physically and mentally." Einar looked at Harry who had a look of disbelief on his face as he continued, "I am truly sorry for joining with you without first asking your permission. Unfortunately you had lost consciousness and I realized your life was in danger so I blended with you in order to save your life."
Harry's face paled as he realized what Einar was getting at. "You mean you're inside of me?"
Einar nodded as he said, "Yes. However as a Tok'ra, it is against our highest laws to take an unwilling host. I only did so because your life was in danger; your injuries were quite severe and would've certainly been fatal had I not acted."
"Were? You mean you're able to heal me?"
"Yes. Unfortunately, due to the extent of your injuries, the healing process still needs time to complete. I have also found evidence of prior injuries sustained over the years that haven't healed properly plus you're suffering from malnutrition."
Harry nodded in acknowledgment as he looked around the Common Room some more. Einar looked over the Hogwarts school robes that he was wearing with curiosity before producing a wand from his pocket.
"You are not exactly what I expected. The humans from my genetic memory lack the abilities you possess," said Einar as he looked the wand over.
"So what happens now?" Harry asked slowly coming to terms with his situation.
"Well once I am able to heal your injuries, you will have a choice to make," said Einar as he sat down in one of the Common Room chairs.
Harry did the same as he asked, "What do you mean?"
"Should you choose not to remain my host, I would be willing to leave you once I found a suitable host." Einar looked into Harry's green eyes with a hopeful expression as he continued, "However, if you want to remain my host, we would need to complete the blending by sharing our memories and experiences with each other."
Harry thought for a moment. Part of him was definitely a bit uneasy about the idea of an alien creature that he only just met living inside him. However, he also knew that Madam Pomfrey was quite literally half a galaxy away and that he needed Einar in order to survive. There's also the mention about the sharing of experiences, which would definitely solve the problem with him hardly knowing the alien symbiotic creature. He felt a grunt of annoyance from Einar, clearly insulted at the thought of him being a creature.
"What will happen with me if you stayed?"
"Your personality would still be intact, if that's what you're concerned about. Unlike the Goa'uld, who takes hosts and suppresses them against their will, the Tok'ra only accept voluntary hosts and we share control of the body."
Despite his uneasiness, Harry also couldn't help but feel intrigued. Maybe he should try to learn more about these Tok'ra before making a decision. "I would really like to learn more about your people," said Harry, albeit a little nervously.
Einar gave a small smile as he stood up from the chair. "We should go for a walk."
"That sounds like a good idea. You must be anxious to see the rest of the castle," said Harry as stood up and faced Einar.
***scene break***
As they entered the Great Hall, Einar continued to explain to Harry about the history of the Goa'uld Empire and how they posed as the ancient gods in order to rule over the human race. Harry had taken the opportunity to act as 'tour guide' to Hogwarts Castle during their walk from the Gryffindor Common Room to the Great Hall. As they sat down at the Gryffindor table, Harry noticed another boy around his age sitting at the Slytherin table and writing in a book.
"So tell me what sets the Tok'ra apart from the Goa'uld?"
Einar grinned with pride as he poured two cups of pumpkin juice as he answered.
"Well, physically we are identical to the Goa'uld. However, in addition to ruling through fear, the Goa'uld forcibly take hosts and suppress them, their personality. That alone, like I mentioned earlier, goes against our highest laws. Over a thousand years ago, Egeria and Jolinar renounced the ways of the System Lords and began a resistance movement that became known as the Tok'ra; which literally means 'Against Ra' in your language."
"You mean the Egyptian Sun God?"
"Yes. Ra is in fact the Supreme System Lord of the Goa'uld Empire and holds considerable influence over the other System Lords, with the exception of Apophis and Zipacna."
The mysterious Slytherin boy glanced towards Harry and Einar as they continued speaking with one another. He smirked slightly as he resumed writing in the old black leather-bound book. He paused momentarily to take a drink of pumpkin juice from a golden cup with a badger engraving.
Einar looked up at the Enchanted Ceiling with fascination. Harry saw the look on Einar's face and chuckled slightly.
"It's not real you know. It's just bewitched to look like the night sky."
"It certainly is unique." Einar said truly enjoying the wonderous place he found himself in.
Once Harry and Einar had finished their pumpkin juice, they got up and made their way to the large doors leading out of the Great Hall. Harry realized that he and Einar had so much in common despite being from different worlds. On that note, several Goa'uld that Einar described seemed like interstellar versions of Lord Voldemort, especially Anubis and Sokar.
Just as the duo was about to exit the Great Hall, they suddenly stopped and looked at one another with confused looks on their faces. When they turned around, they noticed the mysterious Slytherin boy standing right behind them and looking at Einar with an unreadable expression as he seemed to be studying the alien symbiote's persona.
Einar felt uneasy at how the Slytherin boy was staring at him. Harry was a bit confused as well as curious and was about to ask who he was but somehow the Slytherin boy knew since he turned towards him with a friendly expression on his face.
"Hello, Harry Potter. My name is Tom Riddle."
Harry seemed surprised that this Tom Riddle seemed to know who and what he was thinking before remembering that he was inside his mind. Tom turned his attention back to Einar.
"What in Merlin's name are you?" muttered Tom Riddle as he looked Einar over.
Harry heard Tom Riddle's remark and immediately discounted the possibility of him being another alien similar to Einar. He began to wonder if he might be a part of his personality, though he wasn't exactly sure which part. He then remembered last year when the Sorting Hat had considered placing him in Slytherin. He noticed something on Tom's finger; a gold ring inset with a black stone with odd markings he couldn't quite make out.
After a moment's hesitation, Einar responded to Tom Riddle's remark. "You're obviously not a symbiote and yet you're clearly foreign to my new host. So I believe I am the one who should be asking that question."
Tom Riddle's expression slowly changed from a friendly smile to an eerie grin. Einar glared at Tom Riddle with suspicion for several moments before his eyes suddenly widened.
"Harry..."
"Silence parasite!" snapped Tom Riddle as he drew out his wand and pointed it at the alien symbiote's persona.
Einar found himself slowly being levitated from the floor, unable to speak or move. The flames on all the candles throughout the Great Hall went from bright orange to dark green. At the same time, dark storm clouds filled the night sky on the enchanted ceiling.
Harry tried to draw his own wand, however he found that he too was unable to move, though he was still able to speak. "Leave him alone!"
Tom Riddle gasped in mock surprise and walked right up to him as he replied, "Harry! Why I almost forgot you were here. I really should be thanking your new friend. I am becoming stronger with each passing moment. Soon I will finally be ready to take control of this body."
Harry could only look at Tom Riddle with disbelief even as the Great Hall became darker with lightning flashing across the enchanted ceiling as cold raindrops began to fall. He refused to believe that there was some part of him capable of the sadistic behavior that Tom Riddle was showing at this very moment.
"Who are you? What are you?" asked Harry while shivering in the freezing rain.
Tom Riddle looked at Harry with a sadistic smile before turning away from him and using his wand to write his full name in fiery letters: TOM MARVOLO RIDDLE. With one swipe of his wand, the letters rearranged themselves until they read: I AM LORD VOLDEMORT. Harry could only stare at the words with disbelief.
"What? No that's not possible!"
Tom Riddle, or Voldemort, let out an evil cackle as the freezing rain that drenched the Great Hall continued to worsen. Harry just couldn't believe what he was seeing. Voldemort, the Dark Wizard who murdered his parents and then tried to kill him when he was only a baby, was somehow standing right before him, which confused Harry even more. How could Voldemort possibly be inside his mind?
"Harry, you know it's not safe to remain out in the freezing rain like that," said Voldemort in a tone of mock sympathy.
The rain stopped suddenly and they were no longer standing in the Great Hall. Harry was able to quickly determine that he was now in the cupboard under the stairs back at the Dursley household. Voldemort stood out in the hallway with a wicked grin on his face and holding a petrified Einar captive.
"What are you going to do with him?" Harry demanded to know.
Instead of answering, Voldemort laughed as he slowly closed the door. Moments later, the small door vent opened and Harry heard his captor speak in a calm sadistic tone.
"Once I have replaced your parasite friend's very being with my own, your mind and body will be mine!"
The small door vent was slammed shut with a loud snap that brought back some particularly awful memories. An unnatural darkness filled the tiny room Harry was trapped in. Even the real cupboard under the stairs where he practically grew up never got this dark even in the middle of the night during a power outage. He slammed his fists on the door once again before sitting down on the small mattress that was his bed and happened to be more uncomfortable then the one he slept on in the real cupboard.
Harry thought about everything that had just happened from meeting Einar in his natural form in the lake to awakening in a dreamscape version of the Gryffindor Tower where he spoke to a human projection of Einar who he learned was actually a symbiotic alien that was trying to heal his injuries. He was admittedly uneasy at first to the idea of blending with an alien lifeform however the more he learned about the Tok'ra and their struggle against the Goa'uld, the more he realized how much he had in common with his new alien companion.
But then Lord Voldemort showed up and was somehow able to subdue Einar. That was something he had a very hard time understanding. How was Lord Voldemort, or Tom Riddle, inside his head to begin with? His hand went to the back of his head instinctively as he remembered what happened with Professor Quirrell near the end of term but then immediately discounted that as a possible explanation. Madam Pomfrey would've noticed immediately and so would Professor Dumbledore for that matter. Unless...
"No, that can't be right," said Harry as a new theory formed.
He now had to consider the possibility that Voldemort was inside his head all along which didn't make sense unless Voldemort had the ability to be in two places at once. However then signs were there with his scar hurting in Voldemort's presence being the most obvious. He then remembered the start of term when the Sorting Hat wanted to place him in Slytherin as well as that day at Ollivander's when he learned his wand shared the same core as his enemy's. His wand! Harry's eyes widened as he quickly reached into his pocket and drew out his wand. In his overconfidence, Voldemort must've forgotten to search him before locking him in the cupboard.
Remembering the unofficial lesson he had received from Hermione last year for the Unlocking Charm, he stood up and aimed his wand at the locked door.
"Alohomora."
The sound of the door unlocking was heard much to Harry's relief. He took a deep breath before carefully opening the door which fill the tiny room with a green glow that was eerily familiar. Unable to see what was beyond the opened door, he slowly stepped from inside the cupboard.
The young wizard found himself in a dark hallway made of stone and filled with same green light he saw moments before exiting the cupboard. Looking behind him, he found that there was only solid wall and concluded that he was no longer at #4 Privet Drive. Harry proceeded down the corridor with his wand at the ready.
Eventually he arrived in a dungeon-like room with chairs, leather sofas, a few tables, and greenish lamps. The relatively familiar layout as well as the green tinge led Harry to believe that he had arrived in the Slytherin Common Room and that Voldemort couldn't be far off. Sure enough he spotted Tom Riddle aka Voldemort sitting comfortably on the leather sofa closest to the fireplace with his wand pointed at Einar who was currently held in midair and in a Full Body-Bind. He hid behind the nearest table in order to avoid being spotted. After waiting a few seconds, he carefully moved towards fireplace while keeping low and using the furniture as cover. Harry had almost reached Voldemort and Einar when he noticed that the snake in the magical portrait over the fireplace mantel had risen it's head and was looking right at him.
{The hatchling has escaped and now approaches,} hissed the snake.
Voldemort immediately turned and spotted Harry trying to sneak up on him. Harry was just barely able to dodge a curse that Voldemort cast towards him.
"Harry, how did you get out?" demanded Voldemort as he stood up from the sofa.
Harry decided that fighting Voldemort now would likely fail and result in him being returned to his cupboard without his wand. The 12-year-old wizard aimed his wand towards Einar, shouted the incantation "Finite Incantatem" to cancel the out charms, and caught his friend in his arms before he could land on the floor. Harry quickly ducked behind the table with Einar just in time to avoid yet another curse. Voldemort grinned wickedly as he slowly walked around the table.
"Never mind, I'll just lock you back up again after giving you a lesson in pain. Crucio!"
Pain! The instant Voldemort's curse made contact with Harry, the only thing he could feel was pain. Even the physical abuse he suffered at the hands of the Dursleys paled in comparison to this spell. Einar just looked at his host with horror on his face and realized that Harry was right in his assumption that this Lord Voldemort was just as evil as Anubis and Sokar. To make matters worse, he was able to determine that the pain from this curse was translating into his host's actual body and was disrupting the healing process. Einar then realized that he had regained full control over his abilities since Harry had freed him from whatever Voldemort was using to hold him in place.
Einar closed his eyes and concentrated as he very carefully released a minuscule amount of symbiote toxin into Harry's scar. Almost immediately, Voldemort stumbled backwards a couple steps and placed his hand over head as he moaned in pain. As a result, the Cruciatus curse was cancelled out and Harry had stopped convulsing. With Voldemort temporarily incapacitated, Einar quickly focused on helping his host.
"Harry, are you still with me?"
Harry nodded as Einar helped him to his feet. Einar recovered his wand from the nearby table and pointed it towards Voldemort who was beginning to recover. Harry quickly did the same.
Voldemort laughed as he said, "You think you can stop me that easily, parasite? Crucio!"
Harry and Einar quickly reacted by narrowly dodging the curse.
"Flipendo!" shouted Harry only for his target to easily block the spell.
"Really Harry? A pitiful Knockback Jinx?" said Voldemort mockingly as he threw several more curses at the duo.
Harry and Einar continued casting a few charms of their own however they were spending most of their time dodging spells. While Harry had shared everything he had learned at Hogwarts with Einar, the fact remained that they were using first year spells while Lord Voldemort was using more advanced and darker curses. Harry tried to improvise with a Levitation Charm to float the leather sofa over Voldemort and drop it on him, only for his target to jump out of the way. Einar cast the Full Body-Bind Charm twice however it was countered each time. It was now clear to both Harry and Einar that they wouldn't be able to win this duel and Voldemort was probably allowing them to wear themselves out.
Einar closed his eyes and concentrated as he released another dosage of symbiote toxin into Harry's scar, this time twice as much. Voldemort once again stumbled back as he moaned in pain. Unfortunately he wasn't the only one affected. Harry felt a wave of dizziness accompanied by a headache and would've fallen had Einar not caught him.
"We've got to go now!" said Einar.
Harry nodded in agreement as he and Einar ran from the Slytherin dungeons before Voldemort could fully recover. The duo ran down a number of corridors before eventually stopping in one of the classrooms to rest a moment. Einar used this opportunity to check on the condition of his new host.
"Are you alright, Harry?"
Harry nodded as he replied, "Yeah I think so. What happened back there? It sort of looked like Voldemort was in pain or something."
"Symbiote toxin. I was able to use it to temporarily debilitate him though I wasn't certain if he was vulnerable or not. Turns out he was however it's nowhere near powerful enough to destroy him."
"And something tells me you can't keep using it?" asked Harry.
Einar sighed as he replied, "Unfortunately not. If I were to do so, it could prove fatal to you. Even my healing abilities wouldn't be able to compensate for all the damage that a large dosage would do to your body. You saw how a very tiny amount affected you back there."
Harry nodded and thought for a moment. "How is this possible? How can Voldemort be inside me?"
"Of that I am uncertain. I only know this infestation isn't anything like the Goa'uld and he appears to reside within the scar on your forehead."
Harry's eyes widened as his hand instinctively moved to his forehead where his scar would normally be in the waking world. "How?"
"Unfortunately I do not know the answer to that. When I tried to use my abilities to heal your scar, I realized that 'Tom' was connected to it and that he wasn't as friendly as he was letting on. Unfortunately the instant I tried to heal your scar, he was somehow able to incapacitate me before I could break my connection or warn you."
"And I would rather we don't go through that again. So what are we supposed to do now?" Harry replied.
"It is might still be possible to stop him but I'm afraid I can't do it alone. He has already gained enough strength to..." Einar stopped speaking and closed his eyes.
Harry immediately became concerned by Einar stopping mid-sentence. "What is it?"
Einar drew out his wand as he said, "He's recovered from the toxin and he's actively searching for us."
Harry quickly drew out his wand and stood up facing the door. "Perhaps we should leave this room before he finds us?"
Einar gave a quick nod of agreement as he said, "Let's go."
Harry and Einar had exited the classroom and ran down the corridor as fast as they could. Behind them, the corridor began to darken as the flames on the torches began turning a dark eerie green one by one. Though they couldn't see him, they knew that Voldemort was within the darkening corridor since they could hear his laughter.
Eventually the duo were making their way up the Hogwarts Stairway. Upon reaching the fourth floor, Harry stopped for a moment to catch his breath. Einar placed his hand on Harry's shoulder as he looked down over the railing. The Stairway below the Third Floor was now virtually dark with only green torches providing a very low illumination. From what he could tell the darkness that was seemingly following them had stopped for now.
"Any sign of him?" asked Harry.
Einar shook his head as he said, "It looks like he stopped just two levels below us since he hasn't been able to assert enough control yet."
From what Einar described, it appeared that Voldemort controlled everything from the Dungeons to the Second Floor but was stopped at the Third Floor.
"I wonder what stopped him," commented Harry as he looked down the stairway.
***scene break***
Meanwhile in the Third Floor corridor, Tom Riddle stood with his back to the wall as Fluffy, the gigantic three-headed dog, was barking at him and viciously trying to bite him.
***scene break***
"I don't know but we should find a safer location while we still can," said Einar.
"I think I know a place," said Harry who concluded that their best strategy now would be to get higher up.
After reaching the seventh floor, Harry and Einar ran down the hallway at a steady jog. Even though there was still no sign of further pursuit, they weren't taking any chances. Eventually the duo reached the Fat Lady's magical portrait that guarded the entrance to the Gryffindor Tower.
"Password?" asked the Fat Lady.
Harry huffed in frustration as he said, "What? You're joking!"
"That is correct," said the Fat Lady as her portrait swung open much to Harry's astonishment.
Harry and Einar stepped through the portrait hole into the Gryffindor Common Room as the portrait closed up behind them. The same storm that formed in the Great Hall earlier could now be seen outside the windows of the Tower. Feeling they were safe for the time being, the duo sat down in two of the Common Room chairs which were the same exact ones they sat in earlier.
"When she said 'that is correct', did she mean that you got the correct password or that she was joking?" asked Einar with a bemused expression.
Harry shrugged his shoulders as he simply replied, "With her, anything is possible."
Einar smirked with amusement before regaining a serious expression. "Like I was saying earlier, Voldemort has become too strong to for me to confine on my own as you have unconsciously done for the past decade. Even now he is still on the move and it's only a matter of time before he finds us again."
"So the only way to stop him is to kill him," said Harry as he looked Einar in the eyes. "And just how are we supposed to do that?"
Einar closed his eyes as he appeared to be in deep thought. Eventually he opened his eyes and looked directly at Harry as he said, "It may help if I understood the circumstances on how you got your scar and was able to examine the memory surrounding the event. In doing so, it might even be possible to weaken Voldemort significantly enough to defeat him.
Harry could tell from the expression on Einar's face that there was more to this solution. "Something tells me there's a catch."
Einar nodded as he replied, "Very perceptive, Harry. Unfortunately Voldemort was right about becoming stronger and it's all thanks to my failed attempt at healing your scar. I doubt very much I would be able to defeat him alone."
"So we would have to work together to beat him. But how..." Harry paused for a moment when he saw what appeared to be a hopeful expression on Einar's face. "You mean we have to...well you know?"
"You are correct, Harry. The only way we can effectively defeat him is for us to undergo a full blending and focus on the memory surrounding the infestation. I doubt we would actually be able to destroy him but we might be able to weaken him enough for us to be able to suppress him as before. That way he wouldn't be able to cause us anymore trouble," said Einar.
Harry while still feeling slight apprehension at the idea of sharing his mind with a symbiotic alien knew that Einar was right. If Voldemort was allowed to win today, the wizarding world along with the entire galaxy would be in grave danger. Harry's face turned from one of nervousness to one of determination as he looked directly into Einar's eyes.
"I am prepared to do whatever it takes to stop him." Harry took a deep breath as he continued, "Yes Einar, I will blend with you."
"Thank you Harry," said Einar as he reached for Harry's hand.
"So exactly how..." Harry went silent the moment Einar took his hand...