18 October 1992, Hogwarts
"I'm not asking you to trust me, all I'm asking for is a chance to change the world. The people petrified aren't in pain, they aren't in danger, they're only a message. And muggleborns would gladly miss a few months of their lives in exchange for getting a better future, wouldn't they? What I am doing is a gift to everyone. Are you so inflexible that you wouldn't risk improving our world, just out of pettiness?"
The Potter scion gave the older boy a warm smile before speaking, "You're full of shit, Riddle."
The stupefied look on the older boy's face almost made Harry burst into laughter. Riddle just froze as if he didn't really consider the fact that Harry could call him out on it and just muttered, "What?"
"You know, you're good. You're very good. I bet you have people eating out of your hand very easily. That charming look, it's just a mask, isn't it? It's just a persona. When you're attractive, when you so easily persuade people that you're actually at their side, they stop considering you to be a threat. It gives you some sort of power, doesn't it? You're there and yet you're not really there. It's like having a cloak of invisibility of sorts. Ambition is a hard road, isn't it? And that's what you're all about, ambition. You're a predator masking yourself to be an ally like a wolf pretending to be a sheep. You like giving people the instruments of their own downfall, it gives you pleasure to see the little people just flailing about with their meaningless lives."
The older Slytherin protested, "I don't know what you're talking about."
"Yes, you do. It's in the eyes, you see. Normal people can't really see it, see you, for what you really are. Do you think I never noticed how you kept changing your arguments for your ambitions fitting my reactions to what you said before? That's how you do it, don't you? In a single conversation, everyone ends up confessing something important, a goal, a dream, even if they don't feel like they've given you their heart and you use that to gain their trust and have them join you. It's so easy, isn't it? How gullible everyone else really is."
The Riddle boy's eyes widened, "Seriously, you got it all wrong…"
"Maybe I am, maybe I'm not," Harry responded, "But Voldemort had to come from somewhere, didn't he? Oh, you hate Dumbledore, that's for sure, and you want to discredit him. But that's not the end goal, not really. It's just a stepping stone. You only made it so when you noticed my distaste for the man. Your eyes lit up like a predator having found its prey, a pressure point for you to push. You should be proud, by the way. Not many people can read me so easily and your act was very convincing, but come on, stop pretending, it's getting sad. You might as well continue this conversation as your real self. Why don't you talk to me Riddle, there's no point in hiding anymore. I can see you."
Immediately after Harry finished speaking, the smile on Riddle's face disappeared and his eyes hardened, like that of a snake ready to attack at a moment's notice. The Potter scion grinned, "Hello, Tom Riddle. It's good to finally meet you."
"You're a very irritating boy, Harry Potter," Riddle said with a confident and threatening tone that wasn't there before.
"Just because I can see through you, doesn't mean that I'm irritating," Harry responded.
"And yet no one had ever done it before," the older boy retorted.
"Dumbledore did. There's a reason that he disliked you, and it was because he saw it. This fake persona that you showed the world, he's the same. He's like you, like us. His thirst for power rivals yours, only he has a different mask. He chose the grandfatherly kind man, and you chose the mysterious charming boy. They're all masks to hide your ambition for power," Harry retorted.
"And where's your mask then?"
Harry grinned, "I don't need one. After all, you do all of this to get supporters, to start a movement. I have practically no political aspirations. I don't want to rule the world. I don't want to change the world. My ambition is beautiful in its simplicity. I want to study magic."
Riddle burst into laughter, "What a joke. That's your ambition? That's your goal in life? To study magic. And you call yourself a Slytherin. Magic is a means to an end, a power to use to fulfil your desires, not an ambition in itself. To think that all this potential is being wasted on someone like you."
"What's wrong with studying magic? You want power because you once felt powerless, and you don't want to feel like that anymore. You saw Death and you ran away. I can see it in your eyes. You're terrified. I did the same, but instead, I found serenity. I saw the beauty of life. Your entire life is based on a single ambition, on a single moment, no, a single emotion. Fear. So, how is my ambition that's based on wonder and curiosity any worse than yours?"
"That's not true," the boy protested.
"Do not try to lie to me. I told you before that I can see through you," Harry said, "for all your preaching, this isn't about changing the world. This isn't about saving it or giving muggleborn rights. No, you want power, you want safety, you want immortality."
"And what's wrong with that?" the older boy exclaimed.
"Nothing. I can see the benefits of someone of your intelligence and cunning being in charge. Every politician wants the same. It's not that terrible of a goal. Many have tried before you, and many will try after you. It is the way of the world. But I thought we were being transparent, that you would stop lying. This is a meeting between us, so why don't we just set aside the bullshit and start making this conversation progress. So, here I am first, why are you planning on attacking the students?"
Riddle glared at him but still answered, "I want Dumbledore out of the castle."
Harry nodded, "That's true, but why would you need him out? He will return pretty quickly considering his ties and political position. His replacement will probably be his deputy, McGonagall, which will be the same."
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