Ignorant

A History

Tom sat with Hermione, Ron and Harry -they'd introduced themselves even though they insisted he already knew them, Tom couldn't recall ever seeing them- inside the tent.
"Okay.", Harry took a deep breath and looked Tom in the eyes with.. was that concern?
Tom squinted suspiciously "You're telling me we know each other. I cannot seem to remember you.", Tom interrupted Harry before he could even speak. "I'm gonna tell you what happened, but you're going to have to promise not to... freak out or anything like that." Next to Harry, Ron and Hermione seemed to have completely different plans. They looked at Harry with their mouths wide open - very ready to freak out, in Tom's opinion. Hermione put a hand on Harry's arm "Harry..", she said in a warning tone.
"It's okay, Hermione. Don't worry. Tom can handle it."
Ron and Hermione looked at each other in horror, then back at Harry as though he'd lost his mind.
Tom was getting agitated. They all seemed to know something he didn't and he didn't like that.
But of course they knew something he didn't, he didn't know anything about him, for God's sake. "Wh- What is it?", Tom inquired. "We're at war!", Harry stated.
****
Of all times Tom could've lost his memory, it had to be a time of war. Harry explained everything about the wizarding world. And surprisingly, for both Tom and Harry, Tom believed every word of it. Tom sat and listened to all Harry had to say. Ron and Hermione sat there too, but they were silent the whole time, occasionally shooting nervous glances at Tom or angry ones at Harry.
"Now,", Harry paused for the first time since he started talking "about your past-"
"Aright, bloody hell! That's it, Harry. You're coming with me, we need to talk!", Ron stood up and stormed out of the tent. Harry looked, angrily, where Ron was sitting two seconds ago "oh, for Merlin's sake.", he muttered and then followed Ron out of the tent.
Hermione had a fleeting, desperate look on her face, as though Tom Riddle was a plague she'd been trying to avoid and was locked with now after so many close calls.
Tom didn't like that. He felt guilty, though for what, he knew not in the slightest. "What did I do?", he finally asked. Hermione looked up from her hands. "Wh-What? What do you mean?". She looked at the zip of the tent. "I mean why is everyone acting like this? Why do you look like you've seen a ghost? What did I do to-"
"Nothing! It's just-", Hermione looked up at Tom with wide eyes, as though she had just had an idea.
"It's just that we've all been close friends for a long time and..and now, you don't even remember us."

****
Harry PoV
"What are you thinking?", Ron shouted. Harry had foreseen that and so he had put the Muffiliato around the both of them.
"Ron. Calm down. I know what I'm doing.", Harry put his hand in front of him in a calming gesture, that turned out to be a futile attempt.
"A plan? Oh, really? One that includes killing him, I suppose and not making him our friend.", Ron said with mock-hope. "Why did you explain everything to him? We could've just left him here for dead and went somewhere else or told him nothing about the wizarding world, just that we were friends camping out in the forest and he's an amnesiac that fell on our doorstep! Now we're back at square one!"
"No we're not, Ron. He's with us now. I'm sure erasing his memories won't erase his ability to perform magic and as we all know, he was pretty darn good at that. We can use him as a weapon, Ron.", Harry waited for the plan to sink in.
"That's your plan?"
Ron put his hands on his hips, the anger seemed to be ebbing away "So you're aware that we are collaborating with the Dark Lord and you're absolutely completely sure you perfected that spell and he won't come strangling us at night?", Ron looked like he might be warming up to the plan, but Harry, in the haste of the moment, hadn't thought of what Ron had just said. What if the spell had failed him? What if it all came back to him?
"Hermione!", Ron suddenly said and they both ran for the tent.

****
"Everything okay in here?", Ron asked smiling nervously.
Hermione nodded returning the smile "I was just telling Tom here how we always used to come here to camp in the summer holidays."
"Yeah, God. Those were wonderful days. ", Harry supplied looking anywhere but at Tom Marvolo Riddle. The thought of camping with him in the woods, made him want to vomit.
"Anyways how about we return to the happy topic: war?"
Ron cast him a knowing glance, Harry raised his eyebrows in response as if to say "Here goes nothing. Just all of our lives and everyone else's"

****
Wars, dark wizards with masks, dead parents. All very confusing, depressing and everything bad you can think of, but none of it mattered to Tom.

Magic was awesome.

Hermione had extended the tent and now it was twice as big as it was before, just with as flick of the wrist. Tomy had also tried and he found he could do some spells perfectly. He already couldn't wait for the next day to try more spells, every spell there was and everything about the wonderful phenomenon that was magic.
He couldn't understand how he could possibly forget about something like this. But for a part it was a good thing.
He couldn't miss said parents if he didn't remember them.
Tom closed his eyes.
He dreamt of something his heart knew, but brain yearned to remember

A/N
Hope you enjoyed this one. It's a bit uneventful if you compare it with what's coming, but it's a bridge, it had to be there.
Anyways, sorry I didn't publish anything for a long while.
I was in England, drank British tea and treated myself to a British breakfast. Most importantly though, I went to the HP studios.
Thanks for the applause :p
Hope you're having splendid holidays, if you still have any at all.

P.S.: For those who haven't noticed, it's always Tom's PoV unless mentioned otherwise.
Next chapter you'll learn the content of Tom's semi-pleasant dreams.

Bye ( for now ;))