This is my first venture into the world of fan fiction writing. I've written so much other stuff but this is the first time others will be reading my work. I have a few projects on the go and updates may be irregular but I will finish everything I start, don't worry. This idea came to me out of the blue when I was writing an original short story. I was always fascinated by the possibilities having a human horcrux presented and this is me exploring that. Harry deserves someone willing to fight for him and only him so that's what I gave him.

Major Dumbledore bashing. Mild Ron, Hermione and Ginny bashing. Still unsure of pairings but will let you know.

When the killing curse rebounded that fateful Halloween night, a half of the pitiful remainder of the Dark Lord's soul was left behind. This fragment of soul stayed dormant for years, unable to communicate with the outside world but still capable of being affected by his host. You see, that fragment of soul was locked at the same age as Harry, his host, at least in terms of emotional growth. He still had all of his memories and they often gave them both nightmares. Being forced to grow up again in the body of such a kind, selfless individual had a marked effect on Voldemort. His whole character down to his very magic lightened from the inky blackness of before to a cloudy grey, reminiscent of the sky just before the rain falls. The insanity shrivelled away until Tom or Marvolo as he now thought of himself was left with only some anger issues. And then the master soul brushed against his Harry's mind. For Harry was his. His host, his companion, his saviour, his to protect. Marvolo accepted that going by the same logic, he was Harry's just as much but he didn't like to acknowledge that fact. Right now, Harry needed his help far more that he needed Harry's. He didn't have the awareness or control to communicate with Harry, but spending a year in close proximity to the master soul would certainly help with that.

The year passed, Marvolo worked tirelessly to defend Harry's mind from Voldemort, Dumbledore and Snape. Desperately attempting to warn Harry against Quirrel but there was nothing he could do in his present state. So he worked at the side lines, protecting his one friend who still didn't know he existed. And then they were standing in the mirror room and Quirrel was burning. As Voldemort rushed through them, Marvolo latched on and stole as much energy as he could, in his current state the spirit wouldn't notice.

Marvolo was scared, he could feel Harry's consciousness fading. His last thought was 'I don't want him to die. He deserves more.' Before despair and darkness overtook him.

The last thing Harry heard before losing consciousness was a strange boys voice screaming "Harryyyyyy!" He had the strangest urge to reach out and comfort the stranger, to tell him everything would be alright. He instinctually recognised the person behind the voice, though he couldn't understand how only having vague recollections of comfort to associate with it. He knew that the presence had always been there though, at the very edge of his awareness. Finally, the darkness pulled him under as Dumbledore swept through the door, surveying the room with satisfaction.

When Harry woke next, he was lying in the hospital wing. He was just in time to see the headmaster's lurid robes disappearing through the door. Lying back on the mound of pillows he thought back to the presence that had seemed so scared for him. He was sure he knew it but had no idea where the voice had come from. As if in answer to his thoughts the same voice echoed through his own head,

"You're finally awake! I've been tearing my virtual hair out these past three days. I spend years gathering enough energy to communicate with you directly and just as I do, you almost die on me." The voice sounded smooth and decidedly petulant.

"Um…" Harry hesitantly thought, "Who exactly are you? I know you somehow."

"You actually recognise me?" The voice sounded so hopeful that Harry's heart melted in an instant. "Of course! You remind me of the feeling of safety I would sometimes get at night, lying in my cupboard at the Dursley's." Harry got shyer the more he talked but the voice seemed overjoyed at the news,

"It worked!" It cried happily, "I always tried to make you feel better after our nightmares." Harry blushed in pleasure at that, before… "Our nightmares?"

"Oops. Sorry. I'm Tom Marvolo Riddle. I've been living inside your mind and soul ever since the attack by Voldemort. I was originally a part of that twisted things soul but having to grow up all over again next to you has changed me beyond recognition. I'd do anything for you Harry. Even defeat my master soul."

Harry sat there in complete disbelief for several minutes. He instinctually knew that they couldn't lie to each other, which meant that Tom was telling the truth. That thought made the lonely little boy overjoyed. Tom needed him, even seemed to love him. For the affection starved boy, that meant the world to Harry. And, Harry being Harry, he instantly matched that affection with all his heart and soul. "I love you too, Tom. Goodnight." He whispered before unconsciousness overtook him once more.

Marvolo- Tom-He was Tom now as that was what Harry called him-remained frozen in shock in a corner of Harry's head. Harry loved him. Him. And so easily, too. He'd known Tom's presence instantly from their long hours spent in that cupboard. The trust in him was a joy to witness and feel. He already knew he would get addicted to the feel of that trust and swore to never break it. Tom fell to plotting then, he had to get Harry out of Privet Drive. He couldn't allow Harry to suffer a moment longer. To do this he needed to gather more energy while puzzling out a way to form a body without any death involved. Not only would Harry hate that, but Tom himself could no longer stomach the thought of taking an innocent life. He should be able to do that if he absorbed enough of his soul. He certainly felt enough remorse for it to work. He and Harry could go and retrieve the Diadem tomorrow, beyond that he would have to wait and see what Harry was up for. He didn't want to push his little host. He also needed to spend some time convincing Harry that he wasn't a murderer. So much to do, so little time. With plans still forming, Tom fell into whatever counted as sleep for a self-aware Horcrux.

When Harry awoke next, Dumbledore was sitting beside his hospital bed, beaming down at the small eleven year old.

"Senile old coot." Tom grouched, almost making Harry laugh out loud. Harry was still unsure about Dumbledore, he seemed harmless but the poor boy knew not to trust someone just because they seemed friendly. Plus, Tom didn't trust him and Harry wanted to know Tom's reasons before forming his own opinion on the Headmaster. He was rather abruptly dragged from his thoughts by a cheerful,

"Good morning, Harry." The Headmaster's voice was far too happy for the circumstances Harry though moodily as he struggled with the blankets cocooning him. Finally he was upright and able to respond with a curt,

"Good morning Headmaster." Now that he was sitting, he could see the vast array of sweets, toys and get well cards. And- Was that a toilet seat? It must be the twins' fault, he decided firmly. They had been talking about liberating one since the start of the year after all. Harry was surprised they hadn't sent it to Ginny.

"Tokens from your friends and admirers," said Dumbledore, beaming (again) "What happened down in the dungeons between you and Professor Quirrell is a complete secret, so, naturally, the whole school knows. I believe your friends Misters Fred and George Weasley were responsible for the lavatory seat." "I knew it!" Harry crowed internally. Tom laughed delightedly. Unfortunately, Dumbledore was still talking,

"…they thought it would amuse you."

Harry mostly tuned out of the conversation after that, answering rather mechanically when required. He only refocused when Dumbledore said that the stone was being destroyed, "Destroyed?" said Harry blankly. "You just destroyed a unique magical artefact of unknown possible capabilities?! The research opportunities alone! All gone!" Tom yelled furiously. Harry agreed, although for different reasons, "But your friend-Nicolas Flamel-"

"Oh, you know about Nicolas?" said Dumbledore, sounding far too delighted again. "You did do the thing properly, didn't you? Well, Nicholas and I had a little chat and agreed it's all for the best."

"But that means he and his wife will die, won't they?"

"They have enough Elixir stored to set their affairs in order and then, yes, they will die."

Dumbledore smiled at the look of amazement on Harry's face.

"To one as young as you, I'm sure it seems incredible, but to Nicolas and Perenelle, it really is like going to bed after a very, very long day. After all, to the well-organised mind, death is but the next great adventure. You know, the Stone was really not such a wonderful thing. As much money and life as you could want! The two things most human beings would choose above all-the trouble is, humans do have a knack of choosing precisely those things which are worst for them."

"That's certainly true. I'll be correcting my mistake for some time to come."

Grumbled Tom wearily. Harry made a note to ask about that one later before returning to staring silently at the headmaster. Eventually, Dumbledore frowned slightly at Harry's lack of further questions before standing to leave while muttering some pleasantries. Harry ignored him. He knew Tom had all the answers he needed, and unlike with Dumbledore, Tom would always tell him the truth.

Later the same day Harry was released from the Hospital wing, and following Tom's directions made his way to the Room of Requirement. Tom got him to ask for a comfortable sitting room first, they had a lot to discuss after all.

"Alright Tom. Can you please explain Voldemort's fascination with me and how you ended up inside my head. That still confuses me so much."

"Of course Harry. You deserve this explanation more than anyone. They're linked so I'll have to tell you the whole story I'm afraid." Tom seemed to hesitate before going on, "This all starts while I was attending Hogwarts. I lived in a muggle orphanage all my childhood which was bad enough as you can guess. It was made a thousand times worse by the fact that the Second World War was raging right over our heads. I spent my summers in constant fear for my life. I hated it and formed a trauma based phobia of death backed up by an underlying current of PTSD that was never addressed. Then, I found out about a type of magic called Horcruxes. This magic allowed me to split my soul and store parts of it in inanimate objects of my choosing. I was hooked. Here was a way to escape the thing I feared with a burning passion. I made my first one while still a student of Hogwarts but my mania drove me to make far more than anyone before me. The more I made the faster my sanity drained away until I was left an arrogant megalomaniac with a sick thirst for torture. Then word was brought to me of a Prophecy that predicted the birth of someone with the power to vanquish me. I reacted violently. Upon hearing news of the birth of you and Neville Longbottom I chose my target and set out to destroy the whole family. That was the Potters of course. But your mother's willing sacrifice and love cast a powerful protective ward over you, embedded into your very skin so that when I cast that last killing curse, it was thrown back in my face. My Horcruxes saved me, but the backlash forcefully tore my soul from my body." Tom hesitated again, voice soft and ashamed, "Now, this is where it gets tricky. You see, I'd mutilated my soul so badly that a fragment of that soul broke off and attached itself to the closest living thing, you. That's how you got that scar, Harry. My soul entering your body. The protection of your mother allowing me through only because I wasn't seeking to harm you. Because I'm such a tiny fragment of the main soul I was easily dominated by your pure, whole, innocent soul. Your simple, childlike emotions have dictated my emotional growth ever since. Growing up again with your soul pressing against mine on all sides created a great change in me, the madness fell away and gradually my own soul lightened from the pitch black it had been previously. I used to be the Darkest wizard in Wizarding Britain for centuries. Now my affinity is more a light grey. That's all thanks to you, Harry. You singlehandedly swayed the Dark Lord Voldemort away from his own faction. You should be proud."

Harry didn't know what to say, what to think. How could he have done so much for Tom? He was just Harry, a tiny, scrawny little boy who only succeeded at being an average wizard. He wasn't anything special, couldn't Tom see that?

"Stop that this instant! You are small because of those filth we are forced to live with. I'm already making plans to get you far away from them at the earliest opportunity, once that is done we can work on correcting the damage done to your growth and fix your eyesight at the same time now that I think of it. As for being an average wizard, I can see your magical core Harry and it's far from average. You're a very powerful wizard Harry, you're sabotaging yourself though. You need to remember that the Dursleys won't care about your results here, you can do your best without any fear of repercussions. Also, I'd like you to do well, Harry. I don't want you unhappy, I want to see you successful and fulfilling your full potential."

Harry was sobbing quietly by the end of Tom's impassioned rant. Tom had only been openly there for two days and he was already promising to rescue Harry from his own personal hell. In a matter of days, Tom had done more for Harry than any other person since he was left on that doorstep.

"Oh Harry." Tom whispered softly and suddenly Harry was enveloped in a sense of warmth and affection. There was nothing physical to see yet, but it felt exactly like what Harry thought a comforting hug should feel like. With this foreign sensation clouding his senses, he released a storm of weeping built up from years of neglect and heartache. Tom kept up his evanescent attempt at comfort through it all and only withdrew once Harry had calmed.

Wiping his eyes, Harry snuggled deeper into the armchair sending a thick "Thank you." Out into the silent room. "You're welcome Harry." Tom replied, voice soft.

Taking a moment to gather his thoughts, Harry whispered out, "Can you explain your dislike of Dumbledore to me? I want to know so I can start to make my own opinion of the man. So far, I don't know what to think. He's too cheerful though."

"I'd be happy to. Dumbledore was the one who first introduced me to magic. Not only did he set my only possessions on fire, but he formed an instant dislike and suspicion of me upon discovering that I was a Parselmouth. This dislike only grew as the years passed. I was a powerful, confident Slytherin already gaining political followers. He kept Headmaster Dippet wary of me and made sure that my annual requests for sanctuary were refused outright. Damning me to the tender mercies of the orphanage and the muggle war." Tom stopped there and took a deep breath, obviously attempting to calm himself before going on,

"More recently, with you, he left you on the doorstep with nothing to protect you from the weather apart from a blanket. You could have woken up and wandered off, caught pneumonia or even been kidnapped! Then, then! He never bothers to check up on his little saviour, leaving him to be abused. Dumbledore thrives off of manipulations, it's his life's blood. For instance, you're the last heir to the Most Ancient and Noble House of Potter. You have many vaults and properties that you should have partial control over. Yet you have only received your trust vault key. And even further! I've had to spend the whole year protecting as much of your mind as I can from his careless rummaging. The amount of times I've caught the old goat trying to go through your memories is criminal! I'd bet my life on the fact that he set up the whole Philosopher's Stone incident to test you."

"What?!" Harry yelled, sitting bolt upright. "He's been going through my head?! He set this whole thing up? Does he want me to die or something?"

"Not yet." Tom thought grimly. "He still needs you to defeat Voldemort in whatever convoluted way he's cooked up in that senile mind of his. He most likely already suspects about my Horcruxes and further suspects you of being one. He probably plans for you to die heroically in battle after destroying the other Horcuxes before he swoops in to finish me off."

"That's-that's…" Harry stuttered, unable to think, let alone talk.

"Shh… Harry. I won't let him hurt you. I'm going to need your help though Harry."

"Anything." Harry thought, jaw jutting out determinedly. A wave of happiness caressed the boys senses before fading as Tom's voice echoed through his mind,

"Thank you Harry. I need to start reassembling my soul so that I can get my own body. Once I have that, I can work on creating an alias and getting you away from the Dursleys." He spat the last word out like it was the worst curse imaginable.

"There's one hidden in this room. Simply ask for the Diadem of Rowena Ravenclaw."

Harry did as requested and an intricate circlet appeared in his lap, shimmering softly in the glow of the fire. Then, Harry felt the presence he knew to be Tom surge forward to connect with the dormant soul in the diadem. Slowly, carefully, Harry felt Tom's ethereal presence strengthen, almost seeming to form a ghostly form for a second before withdrawing back inside of Harry's mind.

"Once the new piece of soul has been fully assimilated, I should be able to appear for short periods of time as a sort of ghost. If we manage to get another one over the summer I may even be able to look almost fully real. What we really need is my Diary, that contains the biggest piece of soul and would make this all so much easier. Unfortunately, that's currently with Lucius Malfoy."

Harry grinned at the news. He wanted to be able to see his unusual friend, he was so curious! Would he look his age? Or older? What had Tom even looked like? So many questions… Harry fell asleep that night with his mind whirling with half formed questions and ideas. That night, he dreamed of a handsome, dark haired boy coming to save him and take him far, far away.

He woke the next day to find a ghostly figure sitting against his headboard, one slender hand playing with his hair as he stared into space. Harry lay still for a moment, regarding what he knew to be Tom. Tom was beautiful, that was the first thing Harry thought. His dark brown, almost black hair was sleek and tidy and framed his narrow face and defined cheekbones perfectly. His nose was slightly turned up and made his face more beautiful with it's imperfectness. His eyes were a deep reddish brown that Harry had never seen before. All in all, Harry thought Tom was perfect. As if sensing his thoughts, Tom looked down at the tiny boy curled into his side and smiled softly down at him. He hated how small Harry was as it reminded him of all the years he'd been unable to step in to help the adorable creature beside him. Adorable really was the best way to describe Harry too. His messy black hair and huge emerald eyes would make anyone's heart melt and with his malnourished frame he could easily be mistaken for a nine year old not his real age of eleven. Harry was the first person Tom had ever loved and he was struggling to understand his feelings for his friend. He supposed it didn't matter, he had years to learn all about emotions and he was sure Harry would help all he could.

"Good morning Harry." He greeted softly, "sleep well?"

Harry beamed up at him before stretching and answering,

"Morning Tom. I slept very well, thank you. I'm guessing it worked?"

"It worked very well indeed, I'm so glad I can finally talk to you in person."

They both grinned at this, expressions light and happy before Harry pounced on Tom, glad to discover that he could actually touch him even if he could see the bed through the other boy. This established, Harry deposited himself in the taller boys lap and hugged Tom for all he was worth. Tom could only sit there, completely stunned, for a good few minutes. Eventually, he regained awareness enough to wrap his own arms around the figure currently occupying his lap. They stayed like that until they began to here signs of life from the opposite side of Harry's bed curtains.

"Time to get up, Harry." Tom whispered into Harry's ear, "I'll be right here all day. Remember that. I'm always with you."

And with that, Tom faded slowly away, leaving Harry sitting alone on his bed. Well, not really alone. He was never truly alone. As if to prove that, Tom sent,

"Have a good journey. I'll deal with the Dursleys so that they won't harm us until we can leave." Smiling at this, Harry pulled back his curtains and prepared himself to face the day.

The journey home had been a trial in patience. Now that Harry knew he had someone who loved him despite everything, he was able to clearly see the faults in his best friends. Ron was still crowing over the faces made by the disappointed Slytherins at the leaving feast. He couldn't understand why Harry was so upset by what Dumbledore had done and Harry was appauled that he hadn't noticed how bigoted and slow Ron truly was. Hermione on the other hand had an inferiority complex a mile wide that depended on the approval of her teachers. This wouldn't have been so bad, but somewhere along the way it had twisted into a blind faith of authority figures and books and not being able to believe that she's wrong about anything. Harry really did care about the both of them but he quickly realised that neither of them were very good for him as friends at the point they were all at. He would stay friends with them of course, but maybe it would be good if he pulled back slightly and looked for other friends that would actually be good for him. The Weasley twins would be a good place to start. He'd always enjoyed their company more than Ron's if he was completely honest. Even Tom liked them, although Harry thought that was mainly due to them managing to hit Voldemort in the face with their enchanted snowballs. He was still laughing about it after all.

Tom literally snarled when they saw the Dursleys again. The pure, unsurpressed rage showed Harry once and for all how much Tom cared for him. Harry had the vague feeling that he should feel worry for his relatives instead of the glee that was currently buoying him up but these were the people who had made his childhood a living hell. He felt nothing for them. Anyone else, probably, but never them. Uncle Vernon meanwhile was already thinking up ways to punish the freak for existing, unfortunately for him, he would never get to carry them out.

They were barely through the front door before Tom was forming and standing in front of Harry protectively, Harry's wand clutched in his hand. That brought the whole Dursley family up short.

"Listen," Tom hissed out, eyes flashing furiously, "Harry is under my protection from now on so if you know what's good for you you'll leave him alone. You'll continue on as usual and if anyone asks then Harry is staying with a muggle friend. He'll be coming with me until I can work out a way to get him away from you legally. Understand?"

The Dursleys clearly had some self-preservation as they only nodded frantically from where they stood. Seeming satisfied, Tom turned to Harry,

"Alright Harry, I'm going to guide you through apparition from within your head. I'll give you everything you need, you've done this before so you'll be fine."

That said, Tom sunk back inside Harry and soon enough knowledge flooded Harry's brain. Breathing deeply, Harry focused on the location provided and apparated away.

He arrived to find himself in a small cottage that felt strongly of magic. Tom's magic. Looking around, Harry discovered that the house had a small kitchen, sitting room, bathroom and bedroom all done it shades of green and blue with cream highlights. Harry loved it. He liked Gryffindor tower, he really did, but it was far too bright. This felt so much more relaxed and he instantly felt at home.

"Welcome home Harry." Tom whispered from the back of his mind, voice warm. A wide grin broke out across Harry's face at that, he had a home and someone who loved him to live there with him. This summer couldn't get any better.

The two of them spent the first week of the holidays organising the house and buying in food to last them a while. That went surprisingly well as the house had been under stasis wards the whole time Tom was absent. The next month was spent shopping in Diagon Alley and Tom tutoring Harry in Pureblood history, customs and etiquette, how to write with a quill and also taking time to go over all of Harry's subjects with Harry actually putting in all his effort to do well instead of holding back like before. To say that Harry excelled was an understatement. Not only was Harry naturally highly intelligent but Tom was a natural teacher. Through this all, Tom had been feeding Harry nutrition potions and other healing potions and salves to erase the effects of the years of abuse. He even helped Harry make the extremely tricky eyesight correction draught as the final project in his potions lessons. Potions had become Harry's favourite and best subject along with ancient runes once Tom finally introduced Harry to them. They'd also been working on improving Harry's friendships with other students. So far, Harry had become very close with the Weasley twins and they'd been exchanging letters discussing prank ideas and potions knowledge all summer. Harry had also reached out to Neville as he felt a sort of kinship with the nervous boy. They'd exchanged several letters and Harry learned that Great Uncle Algie had actually been banned from the manor after the window incident and that his Gran was really trying to raise Neville right. Harry managed to coax Neville into asking his Gran for his own wand. Apparently, Augusta Longbottom had at first been appalled at the idea, then horrified at herself before rushing Neville straight to Diagon Alley. It was discovered that Frank Longbottom's wand was still loyal to it's original master as well as being a terrible match for Neville. The fact that Neville had managed to get the wand to work at all was a miracle and spoke of his considerable magical strength and strong will. That had been a shock to the system for both Augusta and Neville and she'd been trying to make up for her mistake ever since. Harry had yet to receive any letters from either Ron or Hermione so hadn't bothered to write to them. Altogether, the pair of children spent a very enjoyable summer interrupted only by a visit from an overexcited house elf that Tom helpfully identified as belonging to the Malfoys. Harry managed to politely turn the house elf away but it left both him and Tom in a state of confusion. Tom's only explanation being that Lucius was up to something. How right he was as they discovered the week after in Diagon Alley.

I'll be starting in on second year next chapter where I can really start changing things and going into more detail. Hope people enjoyed this!