Posted originally on the Archive_of_Our_Own at https://archiveofourown.org/
works/2378180.
  Rating:
      Explicit
  Archive Warning:
      Graphic_Depictions_Of_Violence, Rape/Non-Con, Underage
  Category:
      M/M
  Fandom:
      Harry_Potter_-_Fandom
  Relationship:
      Harry_Potter/Tom_Riddle_|_Harry_Potter/Voldemort, Harry_Potter/Tom_Riddle
  Character:
      Harry_Potter, Tom_Riddle, Albus_Dumbledore, Horace_Slughorn, Armando
      Dippet, OC_Side_Characters_-_Character, Baby_Death_Eaters, Other
      characters_from_that_era, Billy_Stubbs, Orphan_Matron_Cole, Other_orphans
      and_matrons, Harry's_Muggle_Father, Abraxas_Malfoy, Orphanage_priest
  Additional Tags:
      Not_Time_Travel, School_Life, Child_Abuse, Starts_off_pretty_happy_but
      later_chapters_get_dark, NOT_Evil_Harry, Just_normal_kids_being_kids,
      They_both_Top_and_Bottom, Sex, Smut, blowjob, Anal, Rape/Non-con
      Elements, F/F_Background_Relationship, Abuse_and_Healing, Complete
  Stats:
      Published: 2014-09-29 Completed: 2015-03-20 Chapters: 35/35 Words: 63816
****** Kitties and Crowns ******
by Lillyleaf101
Summary
     Fifth year Harry Potter was known only for being the outcast,
     mudblood of Slytherin and also an immense bookworm, While sixth year
     Tom Riddle was of course the most popular kid in school. Harry
     however had never much liked Riddle, watching him like a hawk and
     waiting for him to do something suspicious, he was probably the only
     kid in school who would not bow down at Riddles feet, and mostly not
     worth the effort to force him to do so. Which is surprising seeing as
     Harry has a HUGE secret crush on him. So what is in store for these
     two very different yet so very alike boys?
     An AU in which Harry Potter is a muggleborn in the same era as Tom
     Riddle, No time-travel involved.
     COMPLETE.
***** Sweet Denial *****
The snow crunched under their feet as the three students walked down the
Hogsmeade road, it was the last Hogsmeade weekend before the students would go
home to be with their families over Christmas. Harry was walking with his two
best, and only really, friends, both of which were from Hufflepuff. He himself
was a Slytherin, but he was an outcast from them for several reasons, one of
which being the fact that he was a muggleborn, another being that he simply did
not get along with the other Slytherins, he would rather read and practice
magic, and throw out a few pranks here and there, than stand around talking
about how much money his parent made or how nice his robes were, though they
weren't really as nice as the others, his father was not rich.
Notice the fact he only said one parent, well that was because his mother had
died when he was very young, it had been in a car crash, Harry had been with
her and it was considered a miracle he had survived, since finding out he was a
wizard he suspected that his magic was the reason behind it, the accident had
left him with a lightning bolt scar on his forehead though, he hated it, it was
a constant reminder that he had survived the crash and his mother hadn't.
"Hey, earth to Harry, are you listening?" Monica practically shouted, she was
one of his friends, a very busty girl and not very tall, though still taller
than Harry, he hated being such a midget, she was usually very loud and
excitable, she was all for getting in trouble by helping Harry out with his
pranks. She had slightly tanned skin due to a foreign ancestry, rounded and
curvy features despite not being overweight at all, and thick, neat, light hair
that reached her shoulders, it was more red than blonde, giving off a golden
sort of look that shone fiery in the sun.
"He's probably spacing out thinking about all the books we made him leave back
at the castle." Sam laughed, Sam was the tallest of the group but tended to be
the most shy, he was very lanky, his skin was a healthy cream colour with
freckles dotted here and there, and had russet brown hair that was short and
stuck up at the front. He was usually the voice of reason between the trio and
was currently standing between them.
"Yeah yeah, I'm a massive bookworm and am going through withdrawals!" Harry
grinned back at her, the three had been heading back into the town after
checking out the snow covered field not too far off, it was just as Harry had
replied to his friend that a certain person caught his eye. Tom Riddle.
"Oh, Sam it looks like Harry's staring at his boyfriend again!" Monica
practically sing-songed, Harry spluttered.
"He is not my boyfriend! We aren't even friends!"
"Oh but you have a crush on him don't you? You are always staring at him!"
"I stare because he is suspicious, you know that!"
"But what suspicious stuff has he ever done?" Sam asked, his tone neutral
unlike the over-excited Monica.
"Everything he does is suspicious!" Harry huffed, folding his arms and
returning his attention over to Riddle, there was a Ravenclaw girl in front of
him, seemingly handing him a pink letter.
"Yet another admirer to have their hopes crushed no doubt." Sam intoned.
"Looks like." Replied Harry.
"Aw, not gonna get heart broken are you Harry?" Monica grinned.
"No! Because I don't have a crush on Riddle!" It wasn't actually entirely true,
he was attracted to the devilishly handsome student that was only a year above
him, but he was also suspicious of him and didn't very much like his arrogance.
"He's never had a girlfriend has he? Maybe he's bent?" Although thinking about
it Harry had never seen Riddle with any guys in that way either.
"Hopeful?" Monica raised a suggestive eyebrow at him but failed to keep the
cheeky grin off her face and out of her voice.
"Hopeful that he chokes on a shrivelfig." Harry watched as the girl ran off
crying, leaving Riddle seemingly unaffected by the exchange. Harry wrenched his
gaze around. "Let's go to Scrivenshaft's." Harry suggested.
Asked slightly breathlessly after she finished guffawing at his last comment,
"Need more quills already? How many notes do you take?"
"I swear you should have been sorted into Ravenclaw Harry." Sam sighed.
They headed into the quill shop, Harry's two friends simply looking around
while Harry choose out several ink pots, a new journal and two red quills, he
made his purchase and they quickly dragged him out of the store.
"Alright, lets go to Honeydukes now!" Monica exclaimed gleefully. Harry and Sam
followed the girl as she seemingly bounced her way down the street, over-
excited just didn't cover it. And getting sugar in her was even worse but
neither of them was willing to get in the way on Monica and food, especially
sweets. As they passed the stores Harry noticed two people down an alley way,
and of course it was Riddle, he was with a boy but Harry couldn't see him well
down the dark alley, not even to make out his scarf colour, he also seemed to
have just been rejected like that girl, Harry was quickly unable to see the
pair again as he followed his friends past the alley. Guess that rules out him
being bent.
Honeydukes was, as usual, filled up with students trying to fill up on stashes
of candy as if they weren't about to all go home to have sweets with their
families. Harry quickly got separated from his friends as he browsed for his
own sweets near the entrance and they moved further in the get to the giant
lollipops. Harry was just wondering if he should get some Fizzing Whizzbees
when the light from the door darkened and a large group of boys and girl walked
in, mostly Slytherins and a few Ravenclaws and Harry knew before he saw him
that Riddle was at the back of said group. Riddle paused at the entrance while
his group separated throughout the store to get what they wanted, once left
alone he starting to seemingly browse the wares with an uninterested air,
getting closer to Harry with every step, a move Harry tracked through an
unwavering side-eye stare. Riddle stopped right next to him, still looking down
at the sweets.
"Fancy meeting you here Potter." He kept his gaze down.
"Not really. Aren't you an orphan? I don't believe you have any money to buy
anything, going to steal it?" He replied nonchalantly. Riddle stiffened
minutely before relaxing again. Harry himself wasn't exactly loaded either but
his father regularly transferred money to his Gringotts account so he had
enough for a few sweets every now and then.
"I am merely here to accompany my friends."
"You mean your cronies. I don't believe you have any real friends Riddle."
"I'm not going to steal anything." Riddle's tone almost sounded humorous.
Almost.
"Sure you're not." Harry turned his gaze towards some acid pops on a higher
shelf.
"What have I ever done to make you so very hostile towards me? We are not even
in the same year." Riddle intoned, he still hadn't looked up. "Perhaps you have
a liking for me? I have seen you staring at me constantly, as if your eyes are
magnetized to myself."
"I don't. You are simply suspicious." Despite his words he felt his cheeks warm
slightly, just slightly, thank the cold that they were already rather pink. It
was true that Riddle had never really done anything explicit to make Harry
suspect him of foul behavior, although the people he hung out with had given
Harry quite the hard time when he was first sorted in Slytherin, thank his
blood status and non-existent wealth for that, but Riddle himself hadn't really
been a part of it, maybe only from the background. Harry supposed it was simply
his attitude that made Harry suspect him, he was an arrogant prat that waltzed
about as if he owned the school and he had a habit of ditching his friends to
sneak off around the castle.
"Oh really? How?"
"You just are." Harry huffed. "Why do you reject all the people who confess to
you? Both male a female?"
"That seems rather personal, but perhaps its because I am simply not
interested."
A silence dragged out between them, Harry was sure he was Riddles eyes shift
over to side-eye him but the action was over too soon.
"Yeah sure, whatever." Harry replied, it sounded reasonable enough, his gaze
darted around, looking for Sam and Monica and wondering how long they would
take, he really should make his purchase. He glanced back at Riddle. "Oops." He
stated, far too nonchalantly as he dropped 5 galleons, rolling them off his
foot so they didn't make a sound. "See you later Riddle." He gave a half-
hearted wave behind him as he walked over to the counter, leaving Riddle to
wordlessly summon the coins to his hand and a moment and stare after him before
continuing to look at the shelves of odd sugary treats.
Just because he didn't like him much didn't mean he couldn't throw him a bone.
Harry returned to his friends and they headed off to the three broomsticks to
finish up their trip with a warm butter-beer each.
 
 
To be continued...
***** Can't Stop The Snow From Falling *****
Chapter Summary
     Christmas holiday stuffs! And a chance to shove Harry and Tom closer!
     I don't expect the build to be TOO long but their relationship isn't
     gonna start over night, as I said before Harry and Tom haven't really
     interacted much, they do not hate each other but aren't very friendly
     either, Riddles friends have bullied Harry in the past about his
     blood status so there's that too. Christmas stuff may span over 2 or
     3 chapters depending on length, I don't like writing long chapters.
     This is non-beta'd and I am not even reading through it 3-4 times as
     I usually do, if there's any mistakes feel free to point them out, I
     won't take offense.
The snow was falling lazily outside the high windows, a backdrop of white that
covered the grounds below and shone brightly into the library with a soft
light. The students had all gone home for Christmas, well all but two, Harry
Potter and Tom Riddle had stayed at the castle and were the only students left,
usually there would be more students staying behind but the war with
Grindelwald was approaching Britain and many families were wanting to spend
more time together in case something bad happened in the future. So why hadn't
Harry gone home? Well he simply hadn't wanted to. He preferred to stay at the
castle reading the many books the library offered, and his father had not been
at all bothered by this, he hadn't even suggested for Harry to come home
anyway.
It was simply unfortunate that the only two students left in the castle were
always in the same place, whether that be the common room, library or great
hall at meal times. You'd think it would be easy for two people to avoid each
other in such a large place but no, not when they were so alike in their
interests, that being reading any and all books they could get their hands on.
As it was Harry was strolling past the bookshelves, seeking out a particular
table with a particular sixth year sitting at it, once he spotted him he went
straight over, practically slamming his book down on the table, satisfied when
Riddle flinches slightly, before exclaiming smugly.
"Asexual."
Riddle merely raised an eyebrow at him over his own book before glancing over
at the book Harry had mistreated, "A psychology book? Where did you even find
that?"
Harry sighed, "It was written by a group of witches and wizards to understand
the mind of magical people, though I doubt its much different from anyone else
but that is why I found it in the library of a magical school." He explained
before continuing, "You said you weren't interested in relationships and stuff
so I went and figured out why." He pointed over at the heavy book placed on the
table, "Asexual means you don't have an interest in that kind of stuff." Harry
smiled smugly, mentally patting himself on the back for figuring this so very
unimportant detail out, at least, it was only unimportant to other people but
Harry liked finding things out, especially concerning Riddle.
"Congratulations." Riddle intoned, seemingly unimpressed. "I don't really care
what you call it. You find psychology interesting?"
"I find a lot of things interesting." Harry stated, not very happy that Riddle
was so unmoved by his find, he was not pouting though! He would deny anyone who
said so.
"And is that the only reason you came over here? To talk about my sexuality, or
rather lack of one?" He spoke as if he thought Harry actually did have another
reason, he didn't really so he just crossed his arms and turned away, pouting.
Riddle laughed at him, more of a low pitched chuckle than anything.
 
===============================================================================
 
 
Harry was standing in the great hall, at the wall just next to the entrance,
watching the staff decorating the hall with all sorts of shiny things, even
some tiny fairies which were prancing about and lighting up the place like so
many bright baubles. He noticed as Riddle entered the hall holding three books
to his chest, glancing around before spotting Harry and sidling up to him and
staring out as Harry was.
"Looks bright. I don't know why they bother when there's so few people." Harry
stated by way of greeting.
"It horrid. They could at least celebrate in a more wizard fashion." Riddle
sniffed. Harry turned his head to him, looking him over before returning his
gaze to the immense hall.
"What do you mean?" Harry asked, being raised by his very religious muggle
father he had not even known there was another way to celebrate Christmas.
"Wizards celebrate very differently from muggles." Riddle sighed, looking to
his books and pulling out the middle one he handed it to Harry, the title read
'Magical Holidays and Celebrations'.
"So why are they celebrating in a muggle fashion?" Harry wondered, taking the
book and absently flipping through it.
"Most likely because of all the muggleborn students." Harry didn't miss the
fact that he did not say 'mudblood', "The whole bloody magical world seems to
want to cater to them, letting them bring in their own traditions by abolishing
our own. The purebloods still celebrate properly, that's why they always go
home, because at Hogwarts they don't get a chance to, every holiday is done in
a muggle fashion now, most likely due to Headmaster Dippet and Professor
Dumbledore being such muggle loving fools." Harry had grown used to hearing
Riddles speeches in the common room so was not at all shocked at his opinion of
the deputy headmaster or his thoughts on pureblood traditions being wiped out
for muggle ones. Harry actually felt himself agreeing, it wasn't very fair to
ruin the traditions of certain people in place of others.
"It would be nice to see how wizards celebrate these things, I never cared much
for Christmas personally."
"Speaking of, why aren't you at home like all the other students? Did your
father not want you?"
"Bit of that and me not wanting to go, like I said I don't care much for these
things." There was a short silence between the two as they simply stood by the
wall watching the teachers setting up the hall for dinner that night. Harry's
mind wandered, thinking about what his father would be doing at home right
about now.
"Are your parents religious?" The question almost surprised him but he guessed
it shouldn't considering what they had been talking about.
"My father is. Highly. He works at the church even. I was never religious
though, I just went along with it and by the time my father found out I didn't
believe in any of it I was too old for him to change my mind about it."
"What about your mother?"
"I don't think she was, father mentioned it a few times when he found out I
didn't believe in any of it, said she was a bad influence..." The thought
brought Harry's mood sour slightly, he was too young to remember much of his
mother but she had always been very kind to him but it seemed his father didn't
hold her memory in such high regard, almost as if he didn't really care at all
that she had died.
"Was? Did something happen to her?" Riddle asked, turning his attention on
Harry. Harry had never told anyone of his parents before, he never had any
reason to really.
"She died, when I was little, in a car crash..." There was a short silence
between the two before he continued, "I was in the car, but I didn't die,
father told me they found me outside of the wreckage, as if I had been thrown
out of the car but there was no impact or bruises from that, just this scar."
He gestured to his forehead, "I suppose it was my magic that saved me... You
live at an orphanage right?" Riddle tensed slightly beside him but relaxed
again before answering.
"Yes."
"Are they religious?" Riddle seemed to relax even more after that, perhaps he
had been wondering if Harry would make another jibe at his lack of money.
"Yeah but you wouldn't really know right away, they don't make us go to church
or anything, usually they just make sure they have enough food in store so no
one dies of starvation and the head matron is so drunk all the time its a
wonder she can get through an open doorway." Harry giggled at the description.
"They have some crosses up around the place and some of the lesser matrons say
prayers sometimes, also a priest comes around sometimes when he isn't busy
elsewhere but usually the kids at the orphanage all avoid him."
"I suppose you don't really have enough money to celebrate huh?" Harry grinned
evilly as Riddle tensed up again, he noticed as his hand dropped from the two
books left in his arms and a wand appeared in it but before he could even lift
it to curse Harry they were interrupted by the head of Slytherin, Professor
Slughorn.
"Tom my boy! Enjoying the decorations are you? Care to help set up a few, we
could do with more wands!" The professor was completely oblivious to the fact
that the two students were about to hex each other into oblivion.
Riddle quickly regained his mask, "Yes they are wonderful, I was just about to
offer my assistance."
Lies Harry thought and watched as Slughorn led Riddle away, the later placing
his two books on the table in the middle of the hall before continuing
following the potions master. Harry's curiosity got the better of him and so he
snuck up to the table and inspected the books, one of which was named 'A
History of Magical Traditions' and the other 'Magical Rituals and Tributes', it
seemed all three of the books followed the holiday theme, Harry quickly grabbed
them all and hurried out, not to be dragged into setting up shiny baubles like
Riddle was.
As he made off with the books he wondered just how mad Riddle would be when he
found all of them gone, laughing to himself he ascended the moving stairs.
 
 
To be continued...
***** Loveless Letters *****
Chapter Summary
     My hand keeps getting sore while typing, bad hand. Another chapter
     and another attempt to push these two together against their will!
     What fun.
Chapter Notes
See the end of the chapter for notes
Harry was in the library lounging at the same comfortable table surrounded by
couches when Riddle waltzed in, it only took once glance for Harry to see he
was not in a good mood. With a smirk he nudged the stack of books towards
Riddle without a word, he had of course skimmed through each of them and found
the information to be adequate.
"You really ought not take whats not yours Potter." Riddle sniffed, arms
crossed.
"Oh? I merely made sure you did not forget nor lose them in the chaos that is
the great hall during Christmas break. And now they are returned to you. Really
you should be thanking me."
"Did you read them?" Riddle asked as he settled down on the couch opposite
Harry.
"Why?"
"Just wondering if you were finally interested in higher learning."
"Higher learning? I read books most seventh years haven't bothered to touch."
"Oh I know, but most of those follow the course work, the classes you do, I was
talking about branching out from there and learning more about the magical
world and less explored magics."
Harry chewed his lip for a moment, looking at Riddle over the top of his open
transfiguration book, "I do. I just read the ones that follow the course more
often because that's what I am working on and getting marks for at school, I
want to get the highest marks I can, I only read the non-course books when I
have finished all my work or am taking a short break from it." He shrugged.
"I see. So did you find my books interesting? Certainly the wizarding
traditions are much more fun that muggle ones."
"Yeah, I guess so. I never really liked celebrating muggle traditions, they
always seemed so silly and money wasting."
"As most are." Riddle stated, "The great hall is a travesty. It almost makes me
want to just skip dinner."
"Will you?" Harry wondered.
"I suppose I could," Riddle sighed, "and I could just go to the kitchen to get
food but my presence would surely be missed as it is only the two of us and the
teachers have all been chatting me up as they made me help them set up, it
would raise questions I would rather not bother with coming up with excuses
for."
"Yeah, it would simply be easier to grin and bear it..." Harry agreed, Riddle
nodded and picked up one of his books, flipping it open to a page near the
center. They mostly read in silence, Harry stealing looks at the gorgeous boy
every now and then, and totally not blushing behind his book, but also looking
for any suspicious signs, what to be suspicious for? He didn't know. Maybe he
was just a naturally paranoid person.
 
===============================================================================
 
 
When the clock tower chimed time for dinner they both got up and left the
library together in silence, by the time they got down to the great hall there
were only two seats left which happened to be right next to each other, why
were the fates forcing him and Riddle to always be so close at the moment?! He
couldn't wait for Sam and Monica to return. They took their seats among the
happily chatting teachers and the feast started. Riddle's seat had happened to
be right next to Slughorn too, oh so coincidental Harry huffed, the damned
potions master was always trying to grab Riddle's attention, and the two
started a conversation right away, Harry heard snippets of Riddle attempting to
convince Slughorn to rally for bringing back original pureblood traditions to
Hogwarts, the Slytherin head of course lapped up his every word.
Harry didn't care much for the conversations going on around him, no one was
attempting to include him and he wasn't interested in joining in, instead
preoccupying himself with loading his plate up with food. The food was glorious
and when dessert was served Harry eagerly dug into a treacle tart.
There were poppers sitting all about the table between the dishes of food and
Harry watched as Professor Dumbledore, who was sitting on the other side of the
table and a few chairs down, popped one open with the charms teacher and with a
loud bang, a squashed looking top hat that was a deep blue with blindingly
bright yellow stars on it, and a bird charmed to fly about the heads of the
people at the table fell from the now broken popper in a shower of sparks and
colourful confetti. He smirked around his spoon as Professor Dumbledore
promptly discarded his faded deep purple wizard hat in exchange for the overly
colourful one, plopping it down on his auburn head with a grin that was not
quite shared by the other professor who seemed to still be taking in the
brightness of the stars as the small bird whizzed about his head in speedy
circles.
Harry wasn't much a fan of Dumbledore, mostly because the teacher seemed to
have something against anyone in Slytherin, Riddle especially but even those
who didn't suck up to the prefect still got the short end of the stick when it
came to the transfiguration teacher. But he could still appreciate his sense of
humour, after all having a single teacher not like him didn't matter much in
the scheme of things, a year and a half and he would be out and probably never
talk with or even see Dumbledore again. No point in making enemies, not that he
didn't give a more than adequate amount of backchat when he did get in trouble
by the teacher when he didn't deserve to be. It wasn't his fault that mouths
did not come with lock functions. Nor was it his fault that the professor
didn't like him just because he sported a green scarf or tie.
There was a flutter of wings from above and Harry saw his owl Hedwig descending
from the roof, Harry wondered if perhaps his father had sent him a gift or even
just a card of well-wishes, his heart rising. Hedwig landed neatly on his empty
plate and promptly stuck her leg out for him, ever the smug bird she was. Harry
quickly took the letter from her and opened it,
 
Harry
I put more money in that vault of yours.
Don't spend it all at once!
 
Your Father
James Potter
 
His good mood instantly crashed. Of course there were no well-wishes. He
quickly stuffed the letter in his pocket, not caring if it ripped or crumpled,
and gave Hedwig a few pats before she flew off again. He caught movement from
the edge of his vision and turned to look but Riddle was not looking at him, or
perhaps he had been looking and moved before Harry did? Suspicious, snoop. As
if Harry would ever let anyone know.
 
 
To be continued...
Chapter End Notes
     Yeah his father is still named James, its common and explains his
     middle name staying the same. His relationship with his father will
     be explored later on!
***** Tokens of our Non-effections *****
Chapter Summary
     Uncomfortable situations are a must!
Chapter Notes
See the end of the chapter for notes
The feast finished up and Harry and Riddle were walking down to their dorm, no
one had asked Harry about his letter and Harry planned to burn it before anyone
could have the chance of finding it.
"I noticed you got a letter, from your father I guess?" Riddle asked, far too
innocently, and Harry tensed. He contemplated lying and saying it was from Sam
but then Riddle would ask why Harry's owl was delivering it and not Sam's,
Hedwig was sometimes too good looking for her own good, or rather his, people
noticed her.
"Uh, yeah, why do you ask?" Harry blushed slightly,smooth Harry, smooth.
"Well you just didn't seem to happy with it, not what you expected?"
"Ah, well things haven't gone perfectly for him this holiday, so..." Harry lied
then quickly changed the subject, "Did you see Dumbledore's hat?"
"Yeah," Riddle laughed, "It was dreadful! Just his style."
"Yeah, and that bird flew into my head twice!" Harry exclaimed, smiling now
that Riddle seemed to have dropped the subject.
"I wanted to hex it!" The two laughed as they entered the dungeon halls.
"I'm just glad not all the poppers had such dreadful things inside them, a
ghastly hat and an annoying toy in one? Trust Dumbledore!" Harry laughed and
once again Riddle joined him before stopping. Harry stopped too just a step
ahead and turned back to face him, the question of why he stopped hanging on
his lips before Riddle reached into his robe pocket and pulled out a shiny
green popper, letting it sit on his palm as he looked at Harry.
"Want to pop this one? Together?" He almost sounded hesitant and Harry wondered
if Riddle had ever done so before with his so called friends, it was just a
popper so why? "We can each have an item that falls out of it, unless you don't
want it."
"Sure." Harry smiled, and he was not blushing it was simply cold! He grabbed on
to one end as Riddle held the other and they each gave it a good tug, the
hallway exploded with a loud bang and pink and orange confetti flew out along
with a bunch of magical sparks, once the smoke cleared up they knelt down and
looked at their loot, which was on the ground now. There was a golden crown,
which was more of a diadem really, it was a round band with three curved points
at the front facing upwards, the middle point was the largest and there was a
ruby on it, the smaller points had emeralds, Harry wondered if it was real gold
and gems or an elaborate fake, he then looked over to the other item, it was a
black statuette of a cat sitting down, its tail wrapped around it's back, it
seemed to glitter from the inside as if someone had stuck a tiny pitch dark
solar system inside it. They each reached out for their preferred prize at
once, Riddle's hand landing on the crown and Harry grabbing the cat which still
had him mesmerized. They looked up at each other, and in the silent agreement
each picked up their prize and stood again.
"A crown, how fitting for a pompous prick like you." Harry joked.
"I'm glad you think it suits." Riddle stated, placing it atop his head, and
Harry had to admit it certainly did look nice on him, but also increased his
arrogant look!
"Do I need to get a pin to pop your over inflated ego Riddle?"
"Me? Egotistical? Never!" He almost looked offended, almost, "I am simply
wearing gear befitting of my place." He smiled at Harry smugly.
"Your place is in the dirt Riddle, like any other snake." Harry jabbed.
"Now what's so bad about snakes?" Riddle asked, his tone still light with
amusement though.
Harry thought for a moment but he really couldn't think of too many reasons, "I
don't know, why don't you tell me, you're the parseltongue." It was common
knowledge that Riddle was a descendant of Slytherin and had his gift. "Maybe
its the venom."
"You'd want venom too if you didn't have arms or legs." Riddle laughed, Harry
saw his point. "Actually snakes are really lazy, the laziest animal you will
ever meet probably, aside from sloths. All they want to do it eat and sleep,
preferably in the sun."
"But don't they bite people all the time?" He was actually getting curious now,
he hadn't read many books on animals, certainly not non-magical ones, nor had
he had the chance to talk to Riddle like this before.
"Only if they are scared or defending themselves, usually both. If you were
taking a nice long nap in a forest and suddenly a giant boot landed near your
head you would be pretty startled too and likely attempt to bite said offending
boot." Riddle pointed out.
"So..." Harry started, "If you identify with snakes so much does that mean you
are a lazy, glutenous thing that gets rudely awoken from naps by offending
boots?"
"Least I'm not a tame little pussy-cat" Riddle teased.
"Hey! I'll have you know cats kill and eat snakes!"
"Ah! I suppose if I'm not careful I will have a fuzz-ball gnawing at my feet!"
Riddle laughed.
"Hey, I'll sneak up on ya while your attending to that offending boot!" Harry
joked and gave a cat-like hiss, making claws out of his fingers, "And start
chewin' on ya hide!" The two laughed at their ridiculous joke as they got
further into the dungeons, Harry felt a chill go down his spine and hugged his
jumper closer to himself. "It sure is cold down here, lets hurry it up and get
to our nice, warm beds."
"Agreed." Riddle stated, obviously feeling the cold too, damn the dungeons, but
at least the dorm has heating charms on the stones so no one froze to death
beneath the lake. They sped their pace up and quickly entered the dorm, only to
be assaulted by even more waves of freezing cold.
"What the hell is going on here?" Harry exclaimed. The windows that looked out
into the bottom of the lake were frosted over and seemed to be emitting clouds
of cold that drifted lazily to the floor, Harry swore he saw some ice forming
below it but knew it was from the clouds and not a busted window, they were
unbreakable and for good reason, being at the very bottom of the lake and all.
But that didn't explain why it was so cold, the windows should have been
charmed to keep the inside of the dorm warm like all the stones. He watched as
Riddle went over to the stairs to the boys dorm, placing his hand against the
stone at the side of the entrance and quickly bringing it away with a shout.
"The stones here a freezing!" he shouted before darting up the stairs, most
likely to check out the rooms, Harry hoped it was only a problem with the
common room and waited shivering for Riddles return, he didn't have to wait
long thankfully, "All the rooms are freezing too, even the beds!"
"What?! But where are we going to sleep?!"
"I don't know, we should go find Professor Slughorn and get him to fix this,
the heating charms must have failed."
"Do you think he's still at the feast?" Harry asked, following Riddle out and
back down the hallways, he certainly wasn't going to wait in there, he would be
an icicle by the time they got back.
"No, he's probably retired for the chance to give himself alcohol poisoning."
the answer made Harry giggle, walking fast they reached the Professors office
quickly, Riddle knocked and skimmed his hand over himself quickly, likely
attempting to make sure he looked good still, when his hand brushed the crown
still on his head he made an odd squeaking sound in the back of his throat and
quickly grabbed it, stuffing it in his cloak pocket and shooting a glare at
Harry who was grinning, he had fully intended not to do anything about the
crown in the hopes of Slughorn seeing it. The door was answered then by the
walrus-like man, a drink in his hand.
"Oh! Riddle its you, and Potter." Harry guessed the professor only knew his
name due to his good test results.
"Professor, so sorry to call on you after dinner but there seems to be a
problem we need your assistance with, the heating charms on the Slytherin
common room and dorms seems to have failed and it's rather cold down there."
despite the blurry look in his eyes it seemed the professor had managed to
follow Riddles words and after a moment to comprehend them he replied,
"Oh! Well that's no good! No good at all! Come! Show me!" He said, leaning over
slightly, Harry guessed to place his drink down, and then exiting the office,
the three then quickly made their way back to the dorm, the professor
exclaiming loudly as he walked in and was hit by the same wave of cold. He took
a moment to look around before walking over to a wall and touching it, feeling
for cold, "Oh! This is no good! I'll have to summon Headmaster Dippet and
probably Dumbledore too, yes best to." He turned to the two students, "You two
head up to your rooms and change into your nightwear, and pack anything you
might need overnight, you can't possibly stay here you'd catch your deaths!"
They hopped up the stairs, Harry reaching his room first as he was a year lower
but Riddle stopped him before he could enter.
"Use a heating charm," He said, "On your feet, so you don't catch cold."
"Yeah yeah, I know how to do a simple heating charm... You too." with a nod
Riddle ascended to his own dorm.
Harry dressed into his dark blue pajamas quickly, not wanting to chance
freezing his tits off, and stuffed a few books in his bag as well as his day
clothes for the next morning. When he exited again Riddle was coming down the
steps as well, dressed in simple, light coloured pajamas and carrying his own
bag stuffed full of books and things, they got back down into the common room
and saw Dippet and Dumbledore had gotten there already and were inspecting the
room.
"Ah! There you two are!" Slughorn spotted them and quickly pushed them towards
the exit, "I'll just show these two to there room tonight!" He called back to
the headmaster and deputy, it was clear he would rather leave the freezing room
as fast as possible too.
"Wait, did you say room? As in one? To share?" Harry asked.
"Yes, there's only one on such short notice, with only one bed too, but its big
enough and you're both boys, you can bear it for one night, you're lucky not to
be sleeping in the great hall." he pushed them down the corridor, getting
closer to the ground level. Harry blushed scarlet at the thought of not only
sharing a room with Riddle but a bed. He glanced over and noticed Riddle seemed
to be rather uncomfortable about it too, but he wasn't blushing, or at least he
didn't look to be, one could never tell when cold tinted everyone's cheeks
rosy.
They got to a room on the first level of the dungeon and Slughorn fiddled with
the key for it for a minute before it unlocked with an 'Aha!' and the two got
pushed in, the bed inside was indeed rather large, enough room that the two
could stay on opposite sides and not touch as long as they didn't move towards
the center in their sleep. The room was pretty plain other than that, it had a
single wardrobe, dresser, small drawers on each side of the bed, a desk with a
plain chair, and a vanity all in dark wood but the walls were just dark, bare,
smooth stone.
"Well that should do you for the night!" Slughorn exclaimed and quickly left
again, leaving them the key to the room. The two boys stood there for a moment,
having been left alone together in the room, before Riddle cleared his throat.
"Well, may as well get comfortable, it is only for one night, but if you try
anything I will hex you to oblivion Potter." with that he walked over to the
bed, placing his bag against the small drawer and sitting down on the bed,
which had a rather plush mattress. Harry moved over to the other side, placing
his own bag down and pulling a book out before getting under the blankets and
attempting to get comfortable and ignoring the fact that Riddle was slipping
into the bed on the other side. Just don't think about it Harry! Bad Harry! You
can't think that way, youshouldn'tthink that way! Bad! Bad!
They ended up reading in silence for a while before getting tired enough to put
their books away and lay down properly, their backs to each other and Harry's
face reddening again without the distraction of words on paper. Riddle used his
wand to wordlessly put out the light and the two were left alone with nothing
but the sound of each others uneven breathing and awkward shuffling in attempt
to get comfortable without bothering the other.
They were in for a long night, but at least it was warm.
 
 
To be continued...
Chapter End Notes
     Hmm this one was longer than the rest... one more and the other
     students should be getting back to us. Hazzah! The title should now
     make sense!
     Yeah Harry's in some deep de-ni-a(na)l.
***** Waking on the Wrong Side of the Heart *****
Chapter Summary
     A lot of things that don't make sense atm will hopefully make sense
     in future chapters, yay for foreshadowing!
Harry slowly awoke the next morning wrapped in warmth and completely
comfortable... except for that thing poking him in the bladder... he cracked
his eyes open to find his vision taken up by the most gorgeous face he'd ever
seen and instantly felt his face heat up to the point he thought he might
combust. Tom Riddle's arms were wrapped around him and Harry could guess that
that was no knee poking into him. It seemed they had gravitated towards each
other during the night and had gone from being on opposite sides of the bed to
hugging in the center. He vaguely registered his own arms being wrapped around
Riddle the same way, and that he might be returning the favour downstairs,
before Riddle's eyes snapped open and they were thrown away from each other,
the blankets tossed about as they flew apart like some reverse magnetic
reaction, thankfully neither falling off the spacious bed.
"What the hell Potter!?" Riddle yelled, sitting himself up on the mattress.
"Didn't know you were a hugger Riddle." Harry spat back, doing his best to stop
his blushing, at least Riddle seemed to be blushing slightly too, he would
mistake it for embarrassment. His attempts to lessen his blush failed
completely when he saw the bulge in Riddle's loose pajama pants and he was sure
his face was on fire now. This was it, this was how he would die, death by
Riddle's man-bulge. During this mind-blank it seemed Riddle had gotten up and
started undressing out of his pajamas, pulling out his day clothes from his
bag, Harry wondered if it was possible to get heat stroke in the middle of
winter. He quickly got up and followed suit, totally not catching glimpses of
Riddle's near-naked body as he undressed himself. Ignore the smoking hot body
Harry, Ignore it...
"Hopefully the dorm will be fixed now and we won't have to do this ever again."
Riddle stated, Harry was sure it was meant to be reassuring but he felt his
heart drop, being held in those firm arms felt so right. But it shouldn't! He
told himself, Forget about it! He watched as Riddle tended to his hair in the
vanity mirror and he finished pulling on a jumper, his own hair would never lay
flat and it wasn't much point in trying but he still wandered over to the
mirror to attempt to pat it down, it immediately flipped back up causing Riddle
to laugh at him.
"Well we're both dressed so lets get out of here and see if the great hall is
less of a travesty than yesterday." Riddle laughed and walked over to his open
bag, Harry nodded and spotted a glint of something shiny in the bag and
suddenly darted forwards, plucking it out and holding it up with a cheeky grin.
"Not quite fully dressed yet oh mighty king of snakes." Harry teased, holding
out the crown.
"Ah, of course, can't have you thinking I'm anything less than a ruler." Tom
replied smugly, taking the crown and placing it atop his head with a shit-
eating grin. The two grabbed their bags and left the room behind, Riddle
locking it with the key Slughorn had given them, and laughed between themselves
as they made their way down the hall. The dungeon corridor didn't seem as cold
as the previous night so Harry guessed that the dorm must have had the heating
charms replaced, well at least he wouldn't have to fear his face turning into a
miniature replica of the sun.
"More like anything less than a prat." Harry bit back jokingly, "Are you going
to keep that on all day? Or should I magically glue it to your head?"
"As if I wouldn't know the counter to such a childish charm," Riddle laughed,
"And no, I won't. I do have a reputation to uphold after all."
"Right, keeping all the teachers under your perfect prat-y control." After a
few seconds of thought he added, "Except for Dumbledore. He doesn't seem to
like you at all."
"Or any Slytherins." Riddle agreed.
"Yeah, I mean, I don't even like you and he still gives me detention if I so
much as look out the window in class." Harry complained lightly. "But he
certainly does seem to have something against you, more so than other
Slytherins... So tell me, what kind of sneaky plans are you formulating that he
is seeing right through?" Harry asked, only half jokingly.
"Oh, just the usual," Tom replied with a grin, looking ahead as the two walked
down the dark corridor, "Get the students and teachers on my side, believing I
am a saint and bowing to my every will, passing every class with the highest
grades Hogwarts has ever seen, and then to charm a hoard of puffskeins to tap
dance around the castle under engorgement charms." At first Harry had thought
Riddle was actually sharing some super secretive plan with him, causing his
overly paranoid mind to momentarily go into overdrive, before having to do a
double take to register what Riddle had just told him. He then burst out
laughing at the mental image of giant, fluffy, yellow things dancing about the
castle, disrupting classes and generally causing a scene. "Glad you are
amused." Riddle commented, slowing down a little as Harry's laughter impaired
his pace.
"That's ridiculous." Harry stated through his laughter, fighting it down to
more of a coughing, Who knew Riddle had a sense of humour? Dammit, he's so
perf- No, no, don't finish that thought Harry! "I have a better idea!" Harry
announced, his fit of laughter over and his ability to walk down the hall
normally returned, "Instead of giant puffskeins dancing about the halls instead
you could charm them into tap dancing all the way into Dumbledore's office and
making off with his lemon drops!" Riddle laughed at that, a laugh that was a
bit less sophisticated in tune than usual which made Harry's grin spread wider,
"And instead of engorged puffskeins you could just get a couple of goats!"
Harry laughed.
"Fitting." Riddle commented, humour lacing every syllable, but Harry didn't put
too much notice into it, he was staring at the ground in front of his moving
feet, his mind was throwing idea's at him like crazy.
"We should do it." Riddle raised an eyebrow at him but remained silent, "We
should charm some goats to steal Dumbledore's sweets." Harry elaborated,
"Ya'know we have this whole castle to ourselves basically, we could do just
about anything and only have to worry about the few teachers or tattle-tale
ghosts and paintings getting us into trouble, why not take advantage of that
fact?" He said looking up at Riddle. "We could pull a huge prank on the
students when they come back." Harry suggested, "We are both at the top of the
marks in class, together we could come up with something truly memorable."
"I see your point but I did say I have a reputation to uphold, I will not be
ruining it simply to have some goats make off with Dumbledore's cavity-makers."
"I could take the fall for it." Harry suggested, having two of the most
brilliant minds in Hogwarts put together a prank over the days they had left
until the students returned was too good to pass up. Riddle stopped abruptly
and stared at Harry with a strange expression. "What?" Harry asked, stopping a
few steps ahead and turning back to him.
"You would do that?" Riddle asked, his eyes seemingly trying to bore into
Harry's soul, "Why? What do you want from it?"
"Uh, the opportunity to pull a massive prank on the entirety of the school? And
to take credit for all of it? That is enough 'repayment' for me." Harry laughed
a bit but was feeling slightly uncomfortable under Riddles stare, he had all
those friends of his, had they never done something like this before? Had they
never taken a fall for one another? Riddle seemed to asses him for a moment
before giving a slight nod.
"Alright, we can play a little prank on the entire school populace, but if you
don't keep your word I will make sure there is no way anyone would believe you
over myself and that you will pay dearly for it." Knowing the type of people
Riddle sometimes kept in his company Harry had no doubts about the threat so he
simply nodded. "Good. For a prank this size I suggest we use different types of
magics, not just charms, there are plenty of potions and transfiguration's that
are easy to reverse with humorous results, and we can even use your idea of the
tap dancing goats, if we can get some goats."
"Er, can you handle the potions?" Harry asked with a slight grimace.
"I thought you got good grades in potions?"
"I do, but that doesn't mean I like it, I don't have the concentration for
making potions and force myself to do so in class, I'd rather avoid mixing them
if I can." Harry explained.
"Alright, I will make the potions, and get my hands on some goats, you handle
the charms and transfiguration's then." Riddle agreed.
"Deal. We should check out the library and get a list of all the spells and
potions we could use, I know a few books with really good prank spells in
them." At Riddle's raised eyebrow he explained, "I do not just read books that
fit the curriculum, how do you think I found so many prank spells in the past?"
Riddle merely smiled in acknowledgement, "Where are you going to get goats?"
Harry wondered suddenly.
"Oh I have my ways, I'm sure I can work something out, if not then we could
just transfigure some other animal into a goat temporarily."
"Right. So breakfast and then the library?"
"Breakfast and then the library."
The two continued the walk in relative silence, both thinking over the spells
they would be using and how best to go about this so that it left a good
impression on everyone and had the school talking about it for days, possibly
even weeks, to come. Or at least that's what they were partly thinking on,
Harry couldn't shake the disappointment that soon the holiday would be over and
everyone would be back, meaning Riddle would be hanging out with his own
friends again and go back to ignoring Harry and acting as if he didn't exist.
Harry's chest hurt.
 
 
To be continued...
***** Light Up the Fire In Your Heart *****
They spent the last few days of the holiday either working on prank spells and
potions, setting them up or searching the library for more ammo. Harry was
anticipating the return of the students to be able to pull such a huge prank
and take all of the credit for it but he was also dreading it as it would mean
the end of having Riddle's attention on him, despite him telling himself it was
for the better and that he should not want to have his attention.
All too soon the students were arriving on the train and the teachers were
awaiting them in the great hall, Tom had gone to greet the students coming in,
sure to make his presence known to them so he would not be blamed for the
events soon to come.
Tom had greeted his acquaintances as they got out of their carriage and
proceeded to walk with them back up to the castle as they as scrambled to tell
him of their holidays and what their overly-rich families had done to out do
each other this year. Abraxas Malfoy was the loudest as usual, attempting to
hog Tom's attention all to himself. As they approached the castle doors Tom
wondered just how soon the events would start, he had already placed charms on
himself to avoid being hit by any of them.
The students made it all the way in to the great hall, Tom noticed the lack of
Potter anywhere, Headmaster Dipped made his welcome-back speech and the feast
began, as they all ate Tom wondered what was keeping Harry. Tom spent the
entirety of dinner trying to see if Potter was in the hall somewhere, perhaps
he had chickened out, but he couldn't find him. He only half listened to
conversations between his fellow snakes and soon enough dessert was served and
yet there had not been a single sign of mischief.
Then it started. Tom heard the clicking of magic, like a firework being lit,
and soon the hall was sent in chaos as potions and prank-objects of all sorts
started hailing from the enchanted ceiling, the results were numerous clouds of
colourful smoke, students plastered in paint-like substances and a few already
sprouting animal ears, horns and more embarrassing changes. Fireworks were shot
off, taking the shape of all sorts of creatures and chasing a few students
about, any student attempting to escape back through the door into the castle
found their hair and clothes changed in the most dreadfully bright, clashing
colours.
The purebloods in particular screeched about having their perfect clothes and
looks ruined, Tom quite enjoyed seeing them scurry about like trapped animals
and couldn't help but chuckle as Abraxas' hair turned bright pink and green
when a potion landed on him from above, the chuckling increased as the
pureblood screamed about how his perfect hair was ruined forever.
Just when there was so much going on in the hall that Tom was having trouble
keeping track of it the doors to the great hall burst open and twelve charmed
goats in two lines came tap-dancing in on their hind legs, throwing sherbet
lemons and confetti about at the stunned and panicking students, the procession
made its way up to the teachers table stopping in front of Dumbledore, two
goats then stole the pavlova in front of Dumbledore and the procession of goats
made their way back towards the doors, leaving a shocked Dumbledore chuckling
at the table.
As the goats neared the doors the potions and objects seemed to finally be
running out, only a few left to drop down randomly on unsuspecting students.
Headmaster Dippet stood up from his chair, Tom wasn't sure if he was livid or
simply red-faced from laughing too much, "Who is responsible for this?" he
called out over the hall, his answer came when the goats finally left the hall,
doors shutting behind them, and none other than Harry James Potter gently fell
from beyond the enchantment on the halls ceiling, using a spell to lighten his
fall, and gave a dramatic, sweeping bow. Tom noticed two students cackling and
cheering from the Hufflepuff table, Potter's friends. Dippet seemed shocked,
"Only you?" he asked Potter.
"Only me." Potter assured, and Tom was a little shocked at that, he had
actually kept his promise, he hadn't dragged Tom down with him despite him
being equally guilty.
"Well, amusing as I am sure it was you will still need to serve detention for
this." Potter didn't complain at all, merely waited patiently for his
judgement. "You will clean up this mess you created of the great hall and serve
two weeks detention with your head of house, Professor Slughorn."
"Fair." Potter stated and quite happily skipped over to the Slytherin table and
started digging into a pudding that had survived the chaos, earning him dirty
glares from many of the table, both for his prank and how uncouth he was.
The feast ended not soon after and the students were allowed to head off to
bed, many either talking excitedly over the events and some grumbling about it.
Tom noticed Potter had stayed behind, no doubt he would have to get a start on
cleaning up before curfew.
 
===============================================================================
 
Harry waved goodbye as Monica and Sam left the Hall, he would talk to them
tomorrow about their holidays and study plans. The caretaker came over simply
to hand Harry a bucket, mop and various other instruments for cleaning the hall
and left him to it. As Harry set to work cleaning up his mess he was glad that
these particular potions seemed easy to scrub up, the paint-like substances
were a little harder but Harry supposed he was accustomed to helping clean his
house the muggle way enough that it didn't bother him.
As he worked his mind wandered, he thought back over the events that had
transpired between himself and Riddle over the holidays, he knew he really
shouldn't be as attracted to Riddle as he was, even if he could openly be in
love with Riddle they had already covered the fact that he was asexual, or at
least Harry had researched it up and Riddle didn't openly accept or deny it.
Maybe if he did stop suspecting Riddle of suspicious behavior he would turn his
sights on some pretty girl he could fall in love with.
While leaning down to put more force behind mopping up a particularly nasty
stain made up of the paint-like substance that had seemingly mixed in with the
colourful dust from the smoke bombs a dark flash descended from his scarf and
swung about below him, it was the starry cat statuette, he had put it on a
small rope of twine to make it into a necklace during his time coming up with
the pranks. Harry blushed slightly remembering that awkward night sharing a bed
with Riddle. How hopeless he was. He quickly shoved the necklace back under
this scarf and jumper and set back to work, ignoring the grumbling of his
stomach from having missed a proper dinner to play out his pranks.
He was taking a momentary break after finally scrubbing up the difficult puddle
when he heard the door to the hall open, he jumped up quickly, ready to explain
that he was only resting for a moment when lo and behold it was Riddle that had
entered the hall, he seemed to be carrying a platter and the scent of chicken
pervaded Harry's nose.
"What are you doing here?" Harry asked, trying to hide his hunger in the face
of such a delectable meal, "It's almost time for curfew."
"Yes it is. But I am a prefect so that doesn't affect me, you however it does."
Riddle stated approaching him, suddenly he looked a bit unsure but Harry could
hardly know for sure when it came to Riddle, "I brought you this." Riddle
stated holding out the chicken, "Why did you wait until dessert to start?"
Riddle stated it as if it was a foolish thing to do.
"I needed to wait until there were sweets to be able to have the goats nick
them from Dumbledore." Harry replied, his face stuffed with the chicken he had
wasted no time in digging into.
Riddle made a noise at his lack of decorum. Time went by with neither of them
talking, the only noise to break the silence being the sounds of chicken being
devoured hungrily.
"Thank you."
The sound was so quiet Harry almost missed it, he took a moment to look at
Riddle, the older boy wasn't meeting his eye.
"Is it really so strange? To have a friend take the fall for you?"
As if the word was being tested on foreign lips, "Friend?" Oh man did I just
say I was his friend?
"That's what you call your lackeys, though it's clear that isn't what they
really are." Harry didn't think his guess at them never taking falls for each
other was really true.
Riddle seemed to just stare at him for a moment, Harry wished he would show
some sort of emotion to give away what he might be thinking, instead "You
should head to bed." was all that was said by the older boy before he turned
around and left the hall.
Harry did that, knowing the house elves would take care of the plate of
chicken, he went to wash his hands and face and headed to bed, wondering just
what Riddle might think of him, though he knew it was a subject he shouldn't
pursue.
 
 
To be continued...
***** Among Books and Quidditch Pitches *****
Chapter Notes
See the end of the chapter for notes
As students had come back on a weekend Harry spent the entire day before
classes cleaning up the Great Hall, students came and went for food, watching
Harry work and some laughing at him, others praised him on his pranks, stating
how much time and effort he must have put into it and that he did it all alone
was amazing to them, Harry merely smiled and continued his work.
Sam and Monica set up the work they hadn't finished over break on a table in
the hall and moved when Harry's cleaning took him too far and so that they
spent the day like that, Harry knew they would offer to help him clean up if
they had not been told by a professor not to. As they worked they would ask
Harry for help to explain things they didn't understand as he was the bookworm
among them, he would do so while cleaning and actually found he explained
things better when his hands where busy.
They told Harry about their breaks, the gifts they got and how happy they were
to see their families. Sam had a younger sister who wasn't at Hogwarts yet and
relayed stories about their antics, playing in the snow and hiding around the
house, it was very clear how fond Sam was of his baby sister. Monica was an
only child but even she had stories to tell about a Ravenclaw girl she had met
on the Quidditch field and been mailing over the holidays, apparently she was
now in a relationship with her, Harry and Sam congratulated her and only teased
her a little bit, they swear, they also made her promise to introduce them to
her.
By the time dinner was around the corner the hall was finally cleaned of the
remnants of Harry's prank and he could finally sit down with his friends, he
had already finished his work during the break of which he was glad for as it
had taken so long to clean the vast room. The friends talked and joked around
and when they finally asked about Harry's break he simply told them he had
spent the entire time doing his work and then coming up with his prank stuff,
very clearly leaving out any parts to do with Riddle knowing that Monica would
only tease him for it. She did tease him for 'being such a boring bookworm' but
Harry figured that was better than her finding out he and Riddle had shared a
bed and ended up in such an... awkward position, his face still heated up just
thinking about it.
When it was time for dinner Harry had to move back to the Slytherin table, his
friends waved to him as he went. There were plenty of spaces on the table still
and he sat down away from the people already sitting in their established
groups and waited for the other students to pile in and for dinner to start.
He noticed when Riddle walked in with his group of lackeys, Riddle did not
deign to notice him though and simply sat at the table further down, as if
Harry did not exist, Harry tried to convince himself that it wasn't such a big
deal and that that was normal behavior between them and he shouldn't want
Riddles attention or acknowledgement anyway. However he didn't seem to be as
lucky with Riddle's followers, the group was so large that they quickly filled
up the space around Riddle and reached where Harry was sitting, and just his
luck that Abraxas had to sit next to him, he knew the blonde would still be
fuming about having his hair changed to pink and green, despite the fact that
it was back to normal already.
Soon the hall was filled with students and the plates stuffed with food, as the
sound of clinking utensils and conversation filled the hall Harry loaded his
plate with chicken, potatoes, peas and gravy, he then dug into the food with
far less manners than the uptight bunch around him, his behavior would have
earned him a few glares at least but after so many years it seemed his house
had just gotten accustomed to ignoring him, usually.
Just as Harry finished eating a huge mouthful of his dinner he received a poke
in the side, swallowing and not bothering to hide his sigh he turned to Malfoy
and asked bluntly, "What do you want Abrax-ass?"
Malfoy sneered before continuing, "Did you really come up with all those pranks
yourself?"
Harry had been thinking Malfoy would chew him out about the hair incident so
the question took him off guard momentarily, "Yeah, I didn't exactly have any
other students around to help me out with it." Harry stated, "Besides, I'm a
one-man show Malfoy, you should know this by know." Harry hoped that Malfoy
didn't suspect Riddle being involved, though he reasoned with himself that that
would be silly as most people thought he and Riddle hated each other.
Malfoy leaned over the table a little bit, propping his elbow on the table and
resting his chin on it, some of his silvery blond hair fell over his shoulder,
almost brushing the table, "Tell me about how you found so many interesting
pranks and how you set them up." Malfoy prompted with an odd look in his eye.
Harry was only getting more and more confused at this point, Malfoy had always
been one of his biggest rivals since he was sorted into the snake house, yet
here he was being friendly and asking things? Trying to have a proper
conversation without insulting Harry? Odd. He figured Malfoy would probably
have some reason behind asking and being so polite, he decided to tell him
about it though, leaving out the parts with Riddle of course and making it seem
like he had done all the work.
===============================================================================
 
The next day saw the return of classes to their usual schedule, students
stopped talking about the prank they returned too and instead turned their
attention to exams and the latest gossip. The classes for the day had ended and
Harry was meeting up with Sam and Monica at their usual study spot in the
library, honestly the only reason Sam and Harry were able to get Monica to sit
down quietly for so long was because they always sneaked treats into the
library for her. Right now Harry had a pocket full of chocolate frogs and
another stuffed with Fizzy Wizzies.
He made his way up the moving staircase and reached the library, they usually
always had the same spot to sit at, in a quiet corner of the library where they
were least likely to be seen or bothered so he made his way over to it and
found only Sam had made it there before him, most likely because he had a class
close to the library.
He sat down and started taking books, parchment and quills out from his bag,
"Wheres Moni?" he asked Sam.
"Dunno, I saw her running through the halls like a mad woman, nothing unusual,
and tried to remind her we were going to meet here but she was so fast, I don't
know where she was heading."
Harry merely shrugged, tossing a frog at Sam, and the two began work without
her.
It wasn't long before footsteps sounded a few bookcases away and Monica showed
up, she was dragging someone behind her and Harry could only guess who, the
girl was a Ravenclaw and had very dark skin but eyes to match her house
colours, she was very thin and tall with hair that hung down in a wavy fashion,
she seemed very flustered to have been dragged all the way here by Monica.
"Now you know she's real." was all Monica stated by way of greeting, crossing
her arms and posing in a victorious stance.
Sam chuckled, "Are you going to tell us who she is at least?" the next he
directed at the Ravenclaw girl, "Hi, my name is Sam."
The girl was still obviously very shy and Harry wondered just how she and
Monica became close enough to actually be in a relationship, then again she was
his friend so he guessed it wasn't too far fetched. "I'm Harry." He greeted
her, "Are you going to study with us?"
"Um, yes," She replied in a shaky voice, "My name is Violet."
"Pleasure to meet you Violet." Sam responded, Harry nodding his agreement, she
seemed a nice enough person. Monica didn't bother to walk around the couch in
front of her and instead merely slipped over the back to take a seat, Violet
made the effort to walk around and sit next to her. "You said you met on the
Quidditch pitch, does Violet play?"
"Yep." Monica replied, munching on a chocolate frog she had snatched up from
the table as she pulled her work out of her bag, "She plays a chaser for the
Ravenclaw team." It made a bit more sense then, since Monica played as a keeper
for Hufflepuff, they had something in common then at least. "Vi is really quite
the talker once you get her going." Monica promised.
Once the bunch had all of their work ready they set to it, occasionally passing
around sweets, making small talk and getting help with things they got stuck
on. It turned out that Violet was a year younger than them and did indeed hold
good conversations once she warmed up to people and Harry could see her quickly
becoming part of their group.
 
 
To be Continued...
Chapter End Notes
     Not much going on here, just a tiny bit of plot and you get to meet
     Monica's new girlfriend, Vi probably wont be a huge part of the story
     but she will show up every now and then just like Sam and Moni.
***** Parchment Panic *****
Chapter Summary
     In case people still haven't gotten it, Harry is VERY paranoid and
     daft in this story, there's no real reason why, he just simply is
     like that.
     Uh more plot building? Honestly I knew this would be the long and
     boring stretch before summer nears on them, so bear with me aight.
Harry found he quite enjoyed talking to the new member of their group, Violet
proved to be quite entertaining, intelligent and also helpful in dragging
Monica to study session. He discovered that Violet also lived only with her
father, her parents marriage had fallen through so they split up, she still
visited her mother regularly though and had a good relationship with both
parents. The conversation reminded Harry of his own relationship with his
father and the letter he had gotten from his father over the yule break, he
still had yet to burn the thing, he vowed to do so as soon as he got to his
dorm later that night.
They were currently finishing up their latest assignments, Monica talking about
Quidditch and the matches coming up and Sam was checking out a book he had
found after finishing his papers. Soon enough it was time for dinner so the
group packed up and headed down to the Great Hall together, Harry and Violet
waved goodbye to Sam and Monica as they split up to their own respective
tables.
Just was Harry's luck that he ended up with Riddle's group squashed up next to
him again, and this time Malfoy was in front of him rather than next to him and
seemingly wanting to chat again. Harry wasn't buying it, the git had to be up
to something. Throughout dinner he did his best to derail any and all
conversation with Malfoy as well as adding in as many insults as he could,
apparently the blond wasn't swayed though, he must really want something from
me, especially with all the sweet talking, since when does he complement me? Or
anyone for that matter.
Harry was glad by the time dinner ended to finally be able to get away from
Malfoy and his prying, he practically sprinted down to the common room and up
to his dorm, being one of the first back from dinner and it not being late yet
the room was empty of his mundane dorm mates. Harry quickly dug into his bag
looking for his letter from his father, only after turning out the contents of
his bag onto his bed did he realize that the letter obviously wasn't there, he
tried his trunk next, quickly tossing items about the room that weren't likely
to break. It wasn't there either. Harry looked around the dorm next, in side
tables and dressers but the offending parchment was no where to be found. Could
he have lost it somewhere in the castle? Perhaps during a class... But then
someone would find and read it! It was signed with his last name and
everything!
After fighting off a small panic attack Harry finally decided that it was no
use, the castle was too large with too many people in it for him to track down
the letter to destroy it, his only hope was that it was picked up and thrown
out by the house elves, better than having a student find it. Reluctantly he
cleaned up the mess he had made, shoving his items haphazardly into his trunk
and bag, he then decided he may as well take a book down to the common room and
see if there were any comfortable chairs in any dark, secluded corners left for
him to take.
Harry managed to find a corner with empty plush chairs, not surprising
considering many students were probably testing their luck by staying out as
late as they could, he sat down and got to reading. Unfortunately for him
though his mind kept wandering to the missing letter, he really didn't need
anyone bringing up questions about the lack of any proper well wishes in it.
Harry's relationship with his father had always been rather strained, what with
their differing opinions on his mother, his lack of religious faith and then
his magic to top it all off, things weren't all sunshine and rainbows, but
nobody needed to know that.
Harry was again distracted from his reading when he noticed Riddle's group, in
their usual place taking up all the seats and tables closest to the fireplace,
most likely they were plotting world domination. Probably. Harry wondered what
it would be like to be an orphan like Riddle, surely he was better of having at
least one parent no matter their differences and clashes? Harry's eyes roamed
from Riddle to the blond seated on a couch nearest to Riddle, he thought over
the conversations the boy had attempted to make with him recently, trying to
figure out just what he wanted from him, as he was lost in thought the blond
seemed to have noticed the staring and turned his head to him and winked. A
full blown wink, shitty grin and all. Just what was Malfoy getting at?
Harry turned back to his book, shaking these incessant thoughts from his head
and attempted to pay attention to what he was reading. He could figure out
Malfoy and what Riddle was plotting some other time.
 
 
===============================================================================
 
 
The next few weeks continued on the same line, Harry never did find his letter,
he continued to keep an eye on Riddle and his group of friends, purely to
discover what heinous plans they were up to he would insist, and Malfoy kept
attempting to be friendly with him, which he wasn't buying at all. He still
remembered how Malfoy took to him, the upstart mudblood that couldn't keep his
mouth shut, when he first started Hogwarts, he wasn't about to forget all the
tricks and bullying,I mean they locked me in a cupboard all day until Slughorn
found me, I didn't even know how to do a simple unlocking spell, let alone get
out of the crate they had stuffed me in.
At that time Malfoy had been the biggest problem to Harry at Hogwarts, that
soon changed though when Riddle suddenly became more and more popular among the
other students and Malfoy seemingly got bored of tormenting Harry and found
better things to put his time into, such as plotting to take over the magical
world, thus he only bothered to 'put Harry in his place' every so often.
Currently Malfoy was in his last year at Hogwarts, you wouldn't think him a
year older than Riddle with the way he hung to the others every word.
Yes, Harry's distaste of his fellow snakes started early, no thanks to their
warm welcome.
Yet still Malfoy couldn't take a hint that Harry did not in fact want to talk
to him. Usually about the blond too, the git. And yet he still persisted in
attempting to drag Harry into conversation, perhaps he was trying to convert
him into a Riddle-boot-licker? Not happening. Though I wouldn't mind li- don't
finish that thought Harry!
Currently Harry was walking through the halls, on his way to the Quidditch
pitch as there was a game on, Hufflepuff versus Ravenclaw, and no Sam and Harry
had not made gibes at Monica and Violet about being on opposing sides and
positions. They swear. Harry was a bit late for the game, he had gotten
sidetracked with a book in his dorm and only noticed the time a little late,
though the game wouldn't start yet Harry usually got there in time to get a
good seat to watch and cheer for Monica, though he supposed he would be
cheering for both sides now.
Sure enough when Harry reached the Quidditch field and ascended the stairs up
to the Slytherin stands it was already packed full of students, he looked
around attempted to find an empty seat, his eyes landing on Malfoy who was
gesturing to him, there was a spare seat next to him. Harry looked around in
hopes of finding another empty seat to avoid being forced next to the clingy
git but he was out of luck. How usual. He made his way over to Malfoy, icily
thanked him for saving him a seat and set his attentions on the game.
Harry watched as the game started and Violet shot off after the Quaffle, Monica
was guarding the goals that Violet would be attacking with said ball. Harry
quite enjoyed Quidditch, he didn't have a broom of his own as his father had
never deigned to buy him one or give him enough money that he could get one
himself and even if he had tried for the Slytherin team he wasn't exactly very
popular and even with the right skill that counted for something as well when
it came to getting on a team.
As the game progressed Harry realized Malfoy had been attempting to talk to him
but he was both not listening, not caring and the cheers and jibes of the crowd
were drowning him out. Though it seemed Malfoy wasn't going to be put off so
easily, grabbing a letter from his robe he shoved it at Harry, Harry had a
moment of panic thinking that maybe the seventh year had found his fathers
letter but it turned out to simply be from the student himself. To Harry. Harry
quickly opened the unsealed letter and took the parchment out to read it,
 
Potter
 
Meet me under the stands after the game.
 
Your senior,
Abraxas Malfoy.
 
Harry shot him a questioning look but Malfoy was, for once, no longer paying
attention to Harry. Why would he want to meet me after the game? Perhaps this
has to do with his being so annoying lately? Maybe he isn't so loyal to Riddle
and has information to talk about? Harry wasn't comfortable meeting the older
boy in private knowing their past experiences but he wasn't about to miss a
chance to get information on Riddle. Silently he agreed to meet the boy after
the match.
Harry attempted to keep his mind on the game his friends were playing in but it
kept wandering off to think about what Malfoy would talk to him about later. He
suddenly couldn't wait for the game to end.
 
 
To be Continued...
***** Love Won't Thaw, Desire Unheated *****
Chapter Summary
     The most gittish and self entitled of blondes.
The game ended in a win for Ravenclaw and the players descended back to the
ground to the cheers and boo's of students watching. Harry watched as Monica
rushed over to Violet after landing, there were gasps in the audience who
obviously expected the usual after-game fights, the gasps sounded again though
when Monica pulled Violet in for a kiss in front of the entire school. Harry
couldn't help giggling at his short friends antics, of course Monica would be a
bit sore from losing but she never got in a huff over it, she was also the kind
to go and put on a show to shock the whole school, typical.
As the students filed down the stairs and onto the ground sodden ground to head
back to the castle Harry rushed around to a part of the stands where he could
get past the house-coloured fabrics and under the wooden structure. Below the
stadium was still very cold, the wind battering the materials hanging to the
wooden frame, some puddles of melted snow and rainfall had made it underneath
the structure, Harry hoped this wouldn't take too long so he could retreat to a
warmer place soon. He stood in the corner just across from where he had
entered, hoping he might find a slightly warmer spot between the frame and
fabrics, there he waited for Malfoy, wondering a million things he might be
told by the elder and watching his breath billow out in clouds every so often.
He wasn't waiting long before the fabrics he had entered through rippled and
Malfoy strode in, looking as cocky as ever, he didn't stop until he was
uncomfortably close to Harry, unfortunately Harry's earlier choice to seek
haven in the corner was a poor one. Doesn't the git understand personal space?
Not wanting to take longer than he had to alone with the elder, "Alright, spill
the beans Malfoy you brought me here for a reason."
"My, straight to the point aren't you Potter? If I knew you were so eager I
would have brought lube." That had Harry very confused, what did he need lube
for? Was he going to show Harry something that required it? Perhaps that's why
they were meeting at the pitch right after a game, all the equipment would be
easy to access. Malfoy decided to break his confused silence, "You know I'm
aware I am a sight to behold but your silence is bothering me."
Harry shook out of his stupor and bit back, "What are you getting at Malfoy?
Why did you bring me here and why would we need lube?"
Malfoy stared at him with raised eyebrows in a way most undignified, by the
pure-bloods standards anyway, and Harry wished he had a camera to blackmail him
with it later, "You really are that daft?"
"Don't insult me Malfoy, you're the one who brought me down here so tell me why
so I can leave your blasted presence faster."
Malfoy gave a long-suffering sigh before explaining, "Potter I have been
hitting on you since term started and it's all gone over your messy little head
hasn't it?"
"I-... What?" Was all Harry managed. Had Malfoy been flirting with him? Abraxas
Malfoy, heir of his wealthy, pure-blooded, muggle-hating family? Harry thought
back over their conversations and begun to realize the insane amounts of
compliments and things Malfoy had said to him that he found odd and misplaced
in their conversations at the time. Harry could already feel his face heating
up in embarrassment at the realization that Malfoy had indeed been flirting and
it went right over his head. Dangit. So that meant that Malfoy didn't have
anything to show to Harry at all, he wasn't giving away Riddle' secrets at all,
he just wanted to... to what? "Why exactly did you bring me here Malfoy?"
"Isn't that obvious? To see if my flirting has payed off for me."
"Which means?"
"You really are a daft son of a bitch Potter."
"Hey don't insult my mother Malfoy!" How dare he, he didn't even know her.
Malfoy apparently couldn't care less though and had closed the space between
them even more, leaving Harry's back pushed up against the wall and his head
tilted to look up at the seventh year, damn his short stature! "You can't
possibly mean you want... want to do... things... with me?"
Malfoy smirked down at him and Harry felt rather like a trapped animal, "Oh
trust me there are plenty of things I'd love to do to you Potter."
Harry did his best to calm his breathing and then, cocking an eyebrow, "Really
Malfoy? You've been a right git to me since I started here and that hasn't
really changed much over the years. Then there's the fact that even if I did
like you, which I don't and frankly never will, you are in your last year of
school right now, pretty soon after you graduate I'm sure your parents will
force you to marry some pureblood bint and you will have yourself a son to take
on the family name and bloodlines. Any relationship between us would not last a
couple months at best and I've no interest in being a bed warmer for a married
man. So what you are after really is sex?"
"Perhaps in not so many words." Malfoy replied bluntly, he then started getting
closer and it took Harry a second to realize the git was trying to kiss him, he
shoved his hands at the older boys chest, attempting to get the blond away.
"What the hell Malfoy? Didn't I just say I don't fucking like you?"
"I'm sure I could change your mind on that. Just come to bed with me." Malfoy
replied with a grin as he grabbed at Harry's flailing arms, pining them between
their chests.
Harry stopped fighting and glared at the blond, "Sod off Malfoy!" he yelled at
him angrily, no way was he kissing that bastard!
Before Malfoy could respond or continue his advances they were interrupted by
the split in the fabric shifting to reveal the shape of another student.
Riddle. Harry briefly wondered why the snake was even here. Was he looking for
his lap-dog? Probably. How embarrassing to be caught by Riddle while he was
squished up to Malfoy as the git held his arms between them, attempting to snog
him. Then Harry noticed Riddles eyes, he looked positively pissed. I wonder
why? Because he is attempting to get in with 'mudblood scum' like me?
"Malfoy." Riddles voice was icy and it sent chills through both Harry's and
Malfoy's spines, if the shaking was anything to go by at least. "Is this where
you have been? Attempting to molest confused children under the stadium?"
"My- Tom. I... uh." Harry caught the slip up and wondered just what Malfoy
almost called Riddle, his attention was quickly brought back to the matter at
hand though.
"Our friends are missing you in the common room."
Apparently that was all that was needed to make the blond release Harry and
practically run out into the grounds, briefly sparing Riddle an apprehensive
glance before he was gone in a swish of pale, long hair and dark robes.
Riddle only spared his apparent 'friend' a glance before he walked towards
Harry, the fabric opening he had been holding open swishing closed behind him.
"Are you alright?" His voice was no longer icy and his eyes no longer held such
a mean look.
"I'm fine." Harry muttered looking away, suddenly very aware that he was now
alone with Riddle under the stadium, "The git tricked me."
"He does that, though to be fair his flirting was quite painfully obvious."
Harry felt his face heating up again, so much for the cold weather, all he
needed was snakes bothering him to keep warm, "To everyone but me apparently."
Harry felt cold fingers under his chin and allowed them to bring his face
around to look back up at Riddle, and my was he tall, and what a strange
expression, I wonder what he's thinki- Harry's thought process stopped as lips
brushed lightly over his own. Riddle was kissing him. Was he? Was this kissing?
It had to be, that's obvious even to someone as daft as me. But why? Why would
Riddle kiss me? The action was over almost too soon, though Harry would never
admit to thinking that, and Riddle was staring down at him again. Harry was
sure his face was on fire, he must look so stupid right now.
"We should head up to the castle before it gets late." Was all Riddle said
before he turned around and left, the statement eventually got through to Harry
and he hurried after him, he stayed a few paces behind him, barely looking at
the older boy and neither of them said anything as they headed back to the
common room.
Harry felt more confused than ever now. Stupid snakes.
 
 
To be Continued...
***** Let's Not Get Mushy *****
The days following Harry's first kiss he mostly kept to himself, he still stuck
with his friends but he wasn't as drawn into their conversations as normal, his
mind kept going back to that muddy field. Riddle had not made any indication to
acknowledge that the kiss had even happened, he simply ignored Harry as he
usually did, leaving him to question what the kiss meant or even if it meant
anything at all, perhaps he had finally gone crazy and imagined it? But then he
remembered the feel of Riddle's soft lips pressing against his ever so lightly
and he knew his imagination could not come up with that.
Malfoy on the other hand was another matter, despite obviously having been in
the shit with Riddle, if his sulking the days after the incident were anything
to go by, he was still attempting to grab Harry's attention, and now that Harry
knew what he was doing he was very uncomfortable whenever he saw the blond. He
had already told the blond exactly what he thought of that and yet he still
persisted, all for a few rounds in bed before he had to go off and get married.
What a douche bag.
Of course Harry couldn't go too long like this without his friends noticing, it
was Sam that spoke up first.
"Anything wrong Harry? You seem rather out of sorts lately."
Harry looked up from the work he had been attempting to do, 'attempting'
because he kept zoning out and thinking of Riddle, more specifically his lips,
"Yeah, I'm fine." He tried to give a smile but he just knew it came off
awkwardly.
"You sure?" Monica wondered, he must have been doing badly if even she had
noticed.
"Yes, I am fine!" he stated, he didn't want his friends prying, they didn't
need to know what happened, no one needs to know.
"Oh yeah? And how's Riddle?" She asked with a cheeky grin.
Harry spluttered at that, did she already know? She couldn't! "What? What do
you mean by that?" He asked.
"Only that you have been staring at him even more than usual since winter
break. Did something happen between you two?"
"No! Nothing happened! Why would anything happen between me and Riddle!?"
"Because you have a mega crush on him."
"I have told you a thousand time's I do not have a crush on Riddle! He's
just... He's just always up to something!" That was his usual defense but for
once he wasn't sure of it, sure he still suspected Riddle of being Satan spawn
but that wasn't why he was staring lately.
"Are you sure? So nothing happened between you two recently?" Monica pried.
"Nothing at all." Harry bit out.
"Shame." She went back to her book.
Harry just knew his friends probably weren't convinced, they really had his
number on the matter, but that didn't mean he had to stop denying it, he
certainly could never admit it.
"You know Harry..." Sam started after a moment of silence.
"Not this again..."
"No, not that, but have you not noticed that Riddle keeps looking at you too?"
Harry blushed, Riddle was watching him? He never noticed. Then again recent
events had proved he really was a dunce at noticing these things. Harry tried
to sound only vaguely interested, "Does he?"
"Yeah, I can't tell why though... It's like you are some interesting bug to
him."
"What a nice thing to say, thanks Sam." Harry replied sarcastically, so Riddle
thought he was a bug huh? Just like him.
"That's only how it looks to me," Sam defended, "It just looks like he is
trying to figure you out, or something about you. But I may be wrong." He added
the last part hastily.
"Let's just drop it." Harry said, though inside he wanted to know if Sam wasn't
wrong and if Riddle really was watching him.
 
===============================================================================
 
 
The whole school was filled with energy, with students rushing around and
talking excitedly. Harry didn't exactly feel their enthusiasm, if the day
caused him any feelings it was only one as if a black hole had opened up in his
stomach. It was Valentines day. A dreadful time of the year that Harry usually
didn't have such a problem with, he would do his best to ignore all the
excited, love-struck students, and be satisfied that no one bothered to give
him anything.
Despite being one of the smartest students in school not many people showed an
interest in him, probably because he was always getting into trouble, either
random occurrences or with the other Slytherins, people generally just kept on
neutral grounds with him. Unlike Riddle who was certain to be returning to a
bed filled with thoughtless gifts from his large fan-base.
It was because of Riddle that Harry felt like there was some animal trapped in
his gut and trying to claw its way out, the older boy had kissed him after all,
what if he did something today? Riddle never seemed to care for Valentines,
merely accepting gifts and letters with a smile and promptly chucking out the
letters and trading the gifts for more useful things he wanted. But he had
never seemed the type to randomly kiss me before so...
Then there was the issue of Malfoy, he still had yet to get the message through
his thick skull that Harry did not want to warm his bed, not for a few months,
not even once. But that didn't stop Malfoy from flirting every chance he got
near Harry or winking from across the room, he had even tried to approach Harry
in the common room but Harry had simply gone up to his dorm.
The day had only just started and Harry was already filled with dread.
He had started the day as usual, getting up at a reasonable time to be able to
leave the dorms and make it to the Great Hall before most of the other
Slytherins got the chance to bother him. He ate a regular breakfast, ignoring
the fact that the eggs seemed to be heart shaped, and that the students around
him were excitedly talking about how many cards they had to give to people. He
supposed he should at least be glad that the staff didn't bother to decorate or
even acknowledge the event, everyone but Slughorn of course.
Professor Slughorn would likely talk happily of the event and make them do some
love related work in potions, at least Harry didn't have to make any love
potions, only 6th and 7th years did that stuff. He dreaded the class already.
From his position that allowed him to keep an eye on the doors he saw Monica
walk in with Violet, they were hand in hand and only spared enough time to wave
at Harry before sitting down together at the Ravenclaw table, most likely they
would be spending the day together like any other couple. Not too long after he
also saw Malfoy enter the hall, the git noticed Harry and sent him a wink,
Harry glared in return and was rather pleased when Malfoy's friends got him to
sit with them. Riddle did not arrive at the hall until later, with just enough
time to eat a decent meal before class, he always arrived early to the Great
Hall but never on this day, Harry supposed it was to avoid all the mushy fans,
he probably read a book in his dorm until he came up to the hall, or practiced
his speech for world domination.
Harry wasn't sure if he should be glad or apprehensive when classes started, on
one hand students had to pay attention and not act all mushy, on the other it
brought him closer to potions class and the awkwardness that would ensue with
his head of house.
His first class passed easily enough but then he had transfiguration with
Professor Dumbledore, it seemed Dumbledore and Slughorn must have made a pact
to embarrass the students for he had them turning thimbles and pins into
intricate heart-shaped broaches. Harry briefly wondered if Riddle had
transfiguration that day before shoving said thought out of his head, he didn't
need to know if Riddle was making useless heart trinkets.
At lunch Harry wondered if he should even bother showing up at the great hall,
he did not want to run into either of the elder Slytherins that day, but his
grumbling stomach seemed to have other thoughts in mind. When he made it to the
hall he quickly scanned it for Sam and sat down at the Hufflepuff table with
him, doing his best to avoid the Slytherin one. If Sam noticed then he did not
comment on it, for which Harry was grateful, but merely made small talk
instead. Sam had never shown any interest in all in such mushy things and now
Harry was very much glad for that fact. One sane person in the nuthouse.
All too soon lunch was over and so were Harry's other classes and he found
himself heading towards his last class of the day, potions. Heading into the
open classroom he sat towards the back of the room, an unusual thing as he had
learnt long ago that he concentrated better at the front, but today he did not
want a good seat to the show and the tables were already filled with giggling
students.
It was a painful process sitting through Slughorn's sickening enthusiasm about
love, Valentines and mushy feelings. He spent most of the class going on about
it and talking about his past fondly and that it was only in the last half hour
that he got to talking about the potions related to love and at the end of
class told them to write an essay on a certain one or just love potions in
general.
Harry wandered back in an exhausted fashion to the common room where he wasted
no time sticking around to watch the students keep up the mushy act. When he
got to his dorm he saw a small pile of things on his bed and felt his stomach
flip, perhaps one was from Riddle? Certainly one was from Malfoy.
Sitting on his bed Harry picked up the closest card, it was from a student he
had never met before, seems not everyone is as put-off by the reputation as I
thought. Picking up another he saw it was indeed Malfoy's, it was nothing but a
fancy way to say 'will you sleep with me' signed with his name... and?... harry
sniffed...perfumed? Was that lavender or something else? Odd old git. Picking
up the last card he saw it wasn't signed, heart dropping as he read,
You really should take better care of your letters.
Someone had found his letter... But who? He couldn't tell from the writing who
the sender was, it was neat and looked like it could have been ripped out of a
page in a book if not for it being stuck to a silly bit of pink, heart-shaped
card. Whoever the sender was he had to admit it was clever to use the
Valentines event to send it without it being traceable, there were so many
students getting letters and rushing about no one would be able to tell Harry
if someone had ducked into the dorm specifically to plant the one specific
card. Harry shoved the letter in a draw in his bedside table, it was no use
bothering with it right now, and looked at what was left of his pile, a heart-
shaped box of chocolates and a treacle tart, neither was signed.
Pulling the chocolates over he lifted the lid of the box and peered inside, no
note inside either. Pulling out his wand he performed a few spells to detect if
there was anything off with them, a spell he had learnt himself because he
thought it necessary with all the nasty tricks his housemates pulled on him,
Harry wasn't very surprised when his test came up that the chocolates were
laced with a love potion, no doubt they were from Malfoy. He promptly shoved
the box of chocolates in the bin.
Harry then did the same with the tart, pulling it over and checking it for
sabotage, but was quite happy to find it had not been sullied by any potions or
spells, digging out a slice he sat back and ate it on his bed, he could just
spell away any crumbs after all. He wondered who had sent him the treacle tart
and if they were even aware it was his favourite, he supposed it didn't matter.
Munching away on his tart Harry decided he would make his potions essay about
how love potions could be used as a drug to force people into sex.
 
 
To be Continued...
***** Else My Heart Is Going To Pop *****
The only thing Harry could think of the days after Valentines was who had found
his letter, and why they let him know about it? Better yet why did the whole
school not know yet? He had to find the person and find out why, also then
maybe get to burning that thing and erasing their memory of it.
Harry had tried figuring out who it was by the writing but there were too many
students for him to study each of their writing and it was so flat and bland,
like the person knew he would try that and had purposefully put effort into it
looking the way it did.
He tried asking around if anyone saw who entered their dorm room that day, most
people assumed he had a secret admirer he wanted to find, but the sources
turned out duds too. People told him they saw Malfoy enter the dorm at one
point as well as a bunch of other students, tracking down said students only
lead him to find people who had given love letters and gifts to his dorm mates
and the friend of the student that had given Harry his first letter, which was
embarrassing for both of them really.
None of his sources led him to the person that left the note about his letter
on his bed.
He supposed there was one good thing about those following days and that was
handing in his essay to Slughorn and seeing him skim over it as his face fell,
the professor was obviously shocked and rather embarrassed to be handed such a
paper but he couldn't take points away or give Harry a bad score as it was
still a good paper with solid points to it. Perhaps next year he won't be put
through the same Valentines ordeal with that professor again. He could hope.
Although handing in his essay had lightened his mood for a while the looming
threat of someone having his letter hung over him like storm clouds and washed
away those light feelings pretty quickly. The whole thing had put him in a bad
mood, not that he was having that many good moods lately between everything
that had happened since the winter break, how could things change so much in
just a few short months? He wasn't even in a good enough mood to truly enjoy
the hex he had put on Malfoy after seeing him for the first time after being
given the laced chocolates.
Harry was sitting in a dark corner of the library, not the usual one with his
friends and he was currently alone but for the piles of books stacked up around
him. He was staring at the black goldstone cat he got during that break, a
habit he got while thinking over things. The person who had his letter was
either one of the people who had been seen sneaking into the dorm, though many
of those people were only passing things on from friends in other houses, or it
was a person who was able to sneak about undetected, likely with the help of
spells. Someone with that kind of magical knowledge to be able to sneak about
must be a higher year student, there were plenty of seventh year students who
would not be able to pull off such a feat, and it is likely whoever the person
is would be a Slytherin to get into his dorm so easily.
Hmm... and older student, smart, and a Slytherin. Riddle immediately came to
mind, He had been there when I got the note! He even asked about it! What if I
never lost the damn thing but he took it while we... Shared that room... Harry
shook the last thought off before a blush could take over his face like a new
accessory and got up hastily, knocking over a nearby stack of books and sending
them flying, before he practically ran from the library, the librarian yelling
after him about his bad manners.
Dashing through the halls Harry wondered where he would find Riddle at that
time of day, he had been in the library long enough to know the Slytherin
wasn't there, he surely would have been hard to miss with the giant group of
students that would crowd him. He practically flew down the moving staircase,
causing many students walking them to swear loudly and dive out of his way.
Finally making it to the ground floor he peaked inside the great hall to see if
Riddle was there, he wasn't.
Harry sped on past to the Slytherin dorms hoping to find him there, practically
slamming into the brick wall he shouted the password at it and was greeted by
the entire common room staring at him, obviously hearing the commotion outside.
Grinning sheepishly he edged inside and sighed in relief when they stopped
staring, scanning the room he looked for Riddle's group of friends, a large
number of them were gathered in a corner under one of the windows that looked
out into the lake, he took in each person present and noticed the lack of
Riddle, he wasn't sure if he should be frustrated or relieved that he didn't
need to confront him in front of a crowd or wait for a better time to.
Exiting out of the dorms again he rushed up the halls, perhaps Riddle would be
found on the grounds somewhere. As he rushed past a few potions classrooms he
found himself suddenly engulfed by arms and pulled behind a tapestry, whoever
his attacker was they were behind him and had grabbed him in such a way that
his arms were stuck to his sides, even if he could reach his wand he didn't
have the movement required to cast a spell at them. Just as he was thinking of
more physical ways to get them to release him said attacker spoke,
"Looking for me are you?"
It was Riddle. And he was talking right in his ear, his soft, sensual voice
sending ripples through Harry's spine as his breath gusted over his ear and
neck. "Riddle." he stated in way of a harsh greeting, "Let me go." He was
actually rather surprised when Riddle did indeed release him. "Th-thank you."
he stated, turning around quickly and taking in his surroundings, the space
behind the tapestry was small and there were crates of various sizes pushed up
against the walls. Turning his attention back to Riddle he wondered about how
he would confront the other, deciding to use his own words against him, "Why do
you think I am looking for you?"
"Because you have been rushing about the castle like a mad man." Riddle stated
it like he were talking of the weather.
"That doesn't mean I was looking for you."
"No. Yet here we are and you seem to find it perfectly reasonable to pass the
time with idle chatter instead of rushing about again. Thus you must have found
what you were looking for, or rather who."
"Well tell me then," Harry insisted, rather aggravated by Riddle, "Are you who
I am looking for?"
"That depends," Riddle stated with a grin, looking Harry over like an animal
would its food, "Is this what you are after?" Riddle pulled a folded up bit of
parchment from his robe pocket and held it up squashed between two fingers.
Harry gasped, "How did you get it?! Did you steal it from me?!"
"How I got it doesn't really matter right now, what matters is what you will do
to get it back and stop me from telling anyone that you seem to be having daddy
issues."
Harry practically growled in frustration,how dare he take what isn't his and
then ask for something in return for it? How very fitting for the snake, "What
do you want Riddle?"
Riddle grinned and Harry wasn't sure if he should take it as a sign Riddle was
happy or if he should run for his life, probably both, "I want a kiss."
The answer struck Harry dumb, He wants a kiss? He wants to kiss me? Again? Why
would he want that? The events under the Quidditch pitch came back to him, how
Malfoy had tried to force himself on Harry, how Riddle had basically saved him,
how he then kissed Harry and acted like it hadn't happened. Would he do that
again? Kiss him and then ignore him? Was he just intent on using Harry like
Malfoy tried to? A quick bit of entertainment to be forgotten so easily? The
thought of Riddle only trying to use him brought a feeling of lead being
dropped in his chest, suddenly it started burning like lava in his heart and
before he knew it he was running from out of the tapestry up to the grounds.
Harry didn't stop until he reached the gardens on the grounds just outside the
entrance to the dungeons, leaning on his side against the castle wall he
noticed he had started crying and wiped furiously at the tears, what if someone
saw him like that? But the feeling of having Riddle only want to use him came
back and new tears flowed freshly, he hated himself for having such emotions,
for being attracted to Riddle in the first place at all.
So lost in his emotions as he was he didn't notice someone approach him from
behind until arms had wrapped around him gently, the same arms as just a moment
before. Harry startled but was unable to utter a sound before soft lips brushed
his cheek. He then felt a folded bit of parchment being shoved into his hand,
he absentmindedly closed his fingers around it.
"Consider the ransom payed." Riddle whispered in his ear gently.
"Why?" Was all Harry could muster up to say, his voice almost cracking despite
the fact his tears had stopped and the feeling in his chest had lightened.
"Because you didn't tell either."
And then Riddle was gone.
 
 
To be Continued...
***** Hearts Sailing on Wind *****
Harry was surprised he could even keep up with his school work with how messed
up his head was feeling lately, he felt like it was constantly lost in the
clouds and he could not get a grip on anything even if he tried. Though he
reasoned it was probably the escape his work provided for him that had him
still holding onto steady grades.
He was currently in the library with his friends, the same corner as usual, at
least some things don't change, and Harry felt he needed all the solidity he
could get lately. Between his work and the state recent events had left him in
everything else just seemed like a blur in the background, he even had trouble
keeping track of his friends conversations, of course they were well aware of
it but had given up trying to draw Harry in or ask about his mood, it got them
nowhere so they figured they would leave him to sort it out himself, which he
was grateful for, he didn't need them prying into it.
Harry just could not wrap his head around the situation, Riddle had kissed
himtwice now. He had even asked the second time and was really nice about it,
which surprised Harry despite the fact Riddle had never actually done anything
bad to him before and was always polite. Harry wondered if it meant Riddle
liked him but he was too afraid to ask, for all the times Harry had randomly
picked a fight with Riddle in the halls and accused him of wrong doings it was
now of all times that he didn't have the courage to confront the older student.
Perhaps because he was afraid of the answer. Thinking back on the same line of
thoughts as that day he wondered if Riddle was just using him, if he merely
liked to mess with Harry like Malfoy wanted to but was merely less blunt about
it. Harry's chest hurt again.
Harry wanted an answer so badly, but he also didn't know what he would do with
it, there was no way he could have a relationship with Riddle, it made no sense
considering how much he suspected him of being evil incarnate. But he also knew
his head got light, his face got hot and his heart felt like a hand was
gripping and squeezing it tight whenever he was near the other boy and he could
hardly stop himself thinking of those lips again.
But he had given the letter back. He hadn't shown it to anyone. Harry reasoned
that Riddle probably could still tell people, evidence or not, and they would
believe Riddle over him on it. But he hadn't. Nor had he asked for anything in
return apart from that kiss. Harry had never felt more lost in his life.
Harry was so out of it he didn't notice it was time to leave the library for
dinner until Sam was shaking him out of his thoughts, he thanked his friend and
followed the group out of the library and down to the great hall.
Dinner was a short affair, Malfoy kept trying to grab his attention but Harry
did his best to ignore the blond idiot. At this rate I will have to hex his
dick off before he gets the message... He found himself staring at Riddle a lot
though, not with the usual 'I know you are up to something I just have to
figure out what' stare, it was more of a blank stare as he thought about recent
events and tried to piece everything together.
During dessert Malfoy tried to offer Harry a pudding but he promptly ignored
him, turning further away from the blond he noticed a slice of treacle tart
being pushed his way, looking up the pale arm to the person offering said
dessert he blushed to find it was Riddle, who winked at Harry and popped a bit
of his own tart into his mouth. Blushing Harry took the tart and made sure to
keep his eyes on the food rather than a certain other, delicious looking
thing... like Riddle's lips... coated in sugar... damn it.
Staring down at his tart a revelation came to Harry, it was Riddle who had left
me the treacle tart on Valentines day! Harry remembered Sam telling him Riddle
had been watching him, he could have easily seen that treacle tart was his
favourite dessert, but why leave one for him? Was it to do with Riddle wanting
to kiss him? It just made Harry wonder all over again if Riddle really did like
him. Not knowing was killing him.
 
===============================================================================
 
 
Harry thought he must be crazy but he could not stand it any longer. He was
looking for Riddle. He needed an answer, he needed to know how the other felt.
Even if he didn't know what he would do with the information he needed to have
it.
He just had to find where the tall bastard was hiding. Running through the
halls Harry was reminded of another time he had been hunting down Riddle, that
had ended in tears and a kiss, he wondered if this would be similar.
Running through the halls he kept an eye on the grounds outside the windows and
checked behind tapestries for hidden rooms and pathways where he might find the
other boy, not ruling out the chance after last time. Steadily making his way
up the castle floor by floor he wondered if he would even find the other before
dinner, he was glad he was such a good runner but even he would run out of
energy eventually. The more he ran the more aware he was of the waning time, he
wondered if it would be more fruitful to just wait for dinner and follow
Riddle, but then he would likely be surrounded by his cronies all night long.
Stopping to lean against a wall and catch his breath Harry thought about where
Riddle could be, considering he had now covered all seven floors of the castle.
The only other places were the astronomy tower and the grounds outside, he
doubted he would be able to make it to the grounds or be able to search very
long before dinner started.
Pushing himself off the wall, his breath caught up to shallow pants now he
headed towards his last hope, the astronomy tower. Pushing open the heavy door
he stepped inside and could already feel the chill of the winds, he ascended
the stairs slowly, hand on rail and catching the last of his breath back. There
was no need to rush now, if Riddle wasn't here then he had failed and would not
get another chance tonight. He doubted he would be able to talk himself up into
chasing after the elder again.
Heart fluttering in his chest he reached the stop of the winding stairs and
sure enough there was the older boy, looking out into the sky and seeming to
chart something down on bits of parchment, perhaps he was studying?Should I
bother him now then? Maybe I should just go? No! It took too much to get here,
I have to have my answer!
Taking a few steps forward the wind at the highest point in the castle hit him,
his scarf flying out to his side and billowing silently in the wind, his shoes
sounded against the stone ground drawing the other boys attention. Riddle
turned his head enough to look at who had disturbed him, noticing who it was he
turned towards the other boy.
The two stood in silence staring at each other, clothes being buffeted by the
sweeping wind, Riddle's hand holding down his work, the sound of the parchments
edges being lifted and smacked against each other the only sound not muffled,
loud and scratching in the otherwise silent area. Neither seemed to want to
speak first.
Harry drew in a deep breath, he had the courage to find Riddle now he needed
every bit he had in him to will the words out of his mouth and keep his feet
planted where they were, he could not run away from this, he needed this.
Willing his heart to still, "What do you feel?" he asked, "For me? I need to
know."
Riddle didn't make a move, for a moment Harry wondered if the other had heard
him, if his voice hadn't been so small for the wind to take it away. He was
about to repeat himself when Riddle spoke up, "That's hard to say."
The response confused Harry, why couldn't the other just give him a straight
answer, the longer he stood atop the tower the more his knee's shook and the
weaker his heart felt, "How is it hard?" Harry demanded, voice still not as
strong as he would have liked, it almost cracked and Harry hoped he would not
burst into tears before he even got a proper answer, "Tell me, do you love me
or not?"
"I can't say, I don't exactly know how love works, I never thought about it
before." Riddle answered, frustrating Harry ever more, "But I know I want you."
"How?" Harry's voice was a near whisper.
Riddle stepped forwards, his hand leaving the parchments which quickly blew
away, scattering into the wind and drifting ever further, the tower now only
occupied by the sounds of wind ruffling clothes, "I want to touch you, to wrap
my arms around you. The thought of kissing you does not appall me. There are
many things I would like to do with you. Much more. I have never felt that way
about another person." Riddle had not come too close, only halving the distance
between himself and Harry, Harry could still turn and run if he wanted and he
was sure the other would not catch him, "Sometimes I think about you and my
chest hurts like I have been cursed with a blood boiling hex. The thought of
Abraxas taking advantage of your idiocy angered me, I wanted to be the first to
kiss you."
"But I thought you were asexual..." it was all Harry could think to say.
"You came to that conclusion on your own and I did not bother to correct you,
at the time I almost believed it myself. Ever since you took the blame for the
prank played when the students returned I could not stop thinking about you,
then thinking about you caused me to feel strange things that only grew inside
me."
"So you do love me?"
"If that is what you call it then yes." Riddles voice was low but it carried
easily to Harry despite the wind, "Do you feel the same? I have seen the way
you look at me."
Harry did not know how to respond, he had his answer now, Riddle did love him.
He knew he felt the same but could he really return the feeling openly? Harry
didn't think he could decide right now, stepping back from the other boy, "I-
Uh... Thank you."
And this time it was Harry who left.
 
 
To be Continued...
***** Kiss Me Gently *****
Since Harry had learnt that Riddle was in love with him he had done his best to
avoid the other, after all he had just ran away and left him alone at the top
of the tower after confessing his love, very unkind. Harry didn't think he was
ready to face Riddle again just yet and so he did his best to avoid the older
student, doing things like arriving at the great hall with only enough time to
eat and sitting at either the Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw tables with his friends,
and disappearing to his classes or dorm before the elder could catch him if he
tried.
Since the confession Harry's heart only seemed to react even more violently
against him with the knowledge that the feelings were returned, but was it
something Harry could really do? Even if he wanted it, was a relationship with
Riddle possible? Did the good outweigh the bad? Was he ready to face the
backlash of dating the most popular male in the school? A male, just like him.
The thought of not being in a relationship with Riddle now was so painful he
had taken to spending his free time on his bed in his dorm, away from even his
friends. He did not want to risk being with them in the middle of the library
while his heart decided to betray him, he did not want to cry in front of
others. So away from others he hid.
At the same time the thought of what might happen if he did go through with it
also scared him, his relationship with his father was strained enough, what
would happen when the highly religious man found out his freak son was also
gay? Harry knew everyone said family were meant to look out for each other and
care no matter what but that didn't mean it would not anger his father.
Harry was confused, he was hurting and he was scared.
Bitterly Harry thought that things probably would have been easier if Riddle
didn't feel for him, at least then he would not have to make a decision such as
this, he would have been in pain but he could at least avoid the fear. Now he
felt everything and still had to decide.
Through all the pain Harry could not help thinking about how it would feel if
Riddle were there, if he could he held by the other boy, would it make him feel
better? Probably. He wondered just how much those arms could fix. Perhaps they
could protect him if he did choose the other boy? He was sure if he did go down
that path that things would blow over eventually, people couldn't be mad
forever, could they?
And so his mind was made up.
 
 
===============================================================================
 
 
 
Harry wandered down the stairs from his dorm to the common room, looking around
the grandly decorated space he located Riddle, it only took a moment for the
other boy to raise his head and meet Harry's stare, Harry held it for a moment
before leaving the common room.
He did not stop or wait around, he kept walking, heading to a lower part of the
dungeon where they would not be disturbed. He only stopped once he was sure
there was no way another student would be down there without having followed
them.
Turning around he waited for Riddle, he wasn't left waiting long at all, Riddle
must be rather impatient with me. The two stood facing each other, Harry was
rather reminded of the events atop the tower but this time there was no wind,
no ruffling of clothing that was so quiet then yet seemed too loud now. The
hall was dark, being in the depths of the dungeon, and Riddle only stood a step
or two away from him. Harry was suddenly unsure of how to tell Riddle how he
felt, even knowing the other felt the same. Did he just come right out with it
or did he need to go into a long speech about how the other made him feel?
Before Harry could speak Riddle's voice sounded in the dank corridor, "Don't
tell anyone."
"What?" As usual Harry was confused, he wished people would stop doing that to
him.
"It's obvious you don't seem to return my feelings... It was obvious once you
ran away from me." Riddle's voice was low, "Just don't tell anyone about how I
feel for you, and... I won't tell them about your relationship with you
father."
Harry was shocked, "But I do like you! I love you! That's why I came down
here... I just wanted to tell you... That I feel the same."
Riddle looked like he had been slapped, which was not the expression Harry
thought he would have but he supposed it was better than the usual blank mask,
"You... love me?"
Harry nodded, "Yes... It's... Like everything you described but more." an
awkward silence stretched between the two, "So... what now?" Almost as soon as
the words were out of his mouth he found himself pushed up against a wall with
Riddle's lips crushing against his.
Harry's brain seemed to short circuit and all he knew in the world was Riddle's
lips on his own, how soft and perfectly shaped they were, and how gently they
pushed against his own was all that seemed important in the world, he didn't
even have time to return it, just let the other boy take control as he was
flattened against the dark, dungeon wall.
The wonderful lips were removed from his own and he almost whined, catching
himself at the start of the sound and blushing deeply, Riddle merely chuckled
at him, a low soft sound, "I guess this means we are in a relationship?" Riddle
answered the question Harry almost forgot he had even asked.
"Yeah... I guess so." Harry grinned, Riddle returned the gesture and was
descending upon Harry again, those same perfect lips meeting with his own.
And this time he kissed back.
 
 
To be Continued...
***** Broken Hearts Abound *****
The next day the students of Hogwarts had little room to guess what happened
when Tom Riddle and Harry Potter walked into the great hall together holding
hands, the most sought-after, popular boy in school was holding hands with 'the
mudblood of Slytherin' that had been known to distrust the other student. It
seemed like a crazy dream, yet there they were, walking quite happily together.
Tea was spat.
Harry sat down next to Riddle, I guess I should get used to calling him Tom
now, attempting to ignore the stares of students all around them, he could see
Monica sitting at the Ravenclaw table with Violet, the chubby girl practically
bouncing up and down with her hand waving in the air at him before doing an 'I
told you so' gesture. Harry merely sighed and rolled his eyes. Sam at least
just deigned to give him a thumbs up.
The two boys had risen rather early, not unusual for them, so there were many
students still in their dorms and not aware of the current change in the
perfect prefects availability. Harry got a feeling not many students will be
taking to kindly from it, if the looks he was getting from some of the other
students had anything to say about it. Wonderful, first year all over again but
this time its the entire school, not just one house...
They did not talk much as they ate but anyone who walked past their bench would
be able to see their hands entwined beneath the table.
When Abraxas Malfoy strode the hall he was the essence of well-bred, pure-
blooded wizard, the image quickly shattered though when he saw the two dark
haired boys sitting together and seemed to do a double take. Seemingly
remembering he was standing in front of so many people he quickly recomposed
himself and came to sit down in front of the two. He said nothing though and
soon enough the hall was filling with more and more students, Riddle's group
surrounding the two of them after giving similar reactions to what Malfoy did.
Harry tried to ignore them and continue eating as if nothing was wrong, his
hand squeezing Tom's slightly when Mulciber sat down next to him.
Just when Harry was sure all of Tom's usual group were there Avery spoke up,
"So now that everyone is here would you mind telling us what the mud-ggleborn
is doing here?" Harry had heard the start of the insult and had guessed from
Avery's sudden jump that it had been an under-the-table hex that had him change
the word before he got too far.
"Why else would he be here for?" Tom replied nonchalantly, "He simply wants to
bask in my glory in the hopes some runs off on him." Harry choked on his egg at
which Tom let go of his hand to pat him on the back, "If you weren't all so
daft you would see Potter and I are in a relationship now," he stated, "Or
should I call you Harry." the way the word rolled off the other boys tongue
made Harry shiver and before he knew it he was being pulled in for a kiss right
in front of the entire great hall.
The kiss ended and Harry was released, blushing he tried even harder to avoid
the stares going around now, if they didn't hate him before they certainly did
now. At least Malfoy looked like someone had slapped him with a kipper.
 
 
===============================================================================
 
 
 
That first breakfast had been eventful, Tom had spent quite a bit of it
defending, he would call it explaining, their new relationship to his friends
and by the time they left the great hall Harry's group of friends were waiting
for them just past the doors and demanded a full explanation of how it came to
happen, Monica teasing Harry the whole time and doing an 'I told you so' dance
while sing-songing the phrase, prompting Tom to ask him later on just how long
Harry had liked him, to which Harry merely blushed and brushed the other off,
like he would admit the years-long crush that was only returned recently.
When it was time for classes Harry insisted to go alone as he usual did but,
unless his class was on the opposite end of the school, Tom insisted on walking
him to many of them, usually leaving only after giving Harry at least a peck on
the cheek, causing Harry to start many classes with a face he was sure would
burn any work given to him, or even a foot near him.
Harry found it easier to concentrate on classes and work than he had been able
to in a while now, though there was always an underlying excitement for classes
to end so he could see Riddle again, and maybe snog him in a forgotten hallway
or hidden passage. He even invited Tom to his friends study place in the
library, only after asking them if it was okay first of course and having them
aware he would likely bring friends, which he did. But Harry found it very
relaxing to study while laying against the other boy and that he even did
better because of it.
As Harry had suspected the news was not taken in a very friendly manner, 'He is
dating Riddle?', 'Why him over me?', 'I thought they hated each other!', 'It's
so unfair!'. This caused Harry to be the target of many stray hexes and curses
in the halls, he even received a few bits of mail, either carrying nasty tricks
or howlers. Some students even resorted to throwing spells at him in classes
and attempting to sabotage his potions or transfiguration work.
Honestly the whole ordeal served the purpose of pissing Harry off, amusing him
slightly at their weak attempts, and making him thankful he had been such a
huge nerd for most of his time at Hogwarts and thus had little incident with
the pitiful attacks.
The most surprising thing to Harry was how Tom took to it when he found out
just how much the student body had turned against Harry for their relationship,
Harry was both touched and scared for the other students, Tom was terrifying
when pissed. He made a mental note to either avoid pissing the other off, or to
do it so often it becomes comical.
As Harry had thought the backlash wasn't so bad when he had Tom's arms around
him and lips to sooth him, the brunt of the attacks stopped soon enough as
well, dwindling down until very few students actually took any action other
than bemoaning the fact that Tom was now off limits to them. Harry supposed it
also helped that Tom set his friends to 'return any ill favours' thrown Harry's
way, though he noticed the lack of Abraxas participating unless it suited to
amuse him at the time.
Everything was alright, perhaps he and Tom had a chance after all he thought to
himself happily one evening in the Slytherin common room as he sat in the older
boys lap, the elder talking energetically about something or other with his
friends, Harry himself immersed in a book.
Yeah, things were good he supposed, for now at least, and that was enough for
him right then.
 
 
To be Continued...
***** Weather Warming *****
Chapter Notes
See the end of the chapter for notes
The first Hogsmeade weekend since Harry started his relationship with Tom
approached fast, when Tom had asked Harry to spend the day with him at the town
Harry had blushed quite thoroughly, he had never been on a date before, but he
agreed readily. Harry was just glad that Hogsmeade wasn't exactly the mushiest
place ever, ignoring Madam Puddifoot's tea shop it was a simple, non-romantic
location, and Harry severely doubted Tom would ever take him to the pink tea
shop, which he was glad for.
Harry had woken and for once made an attempt to look nice before going down to
the common room where he found Tom waiting for him, if possible he was looking
even nicer than usual while still wearing the same old school uniform. The two
had had a brief breakfast in the great hall before leaving the grounds to take
a carriage into the wizard town.
The weather was warming up now, the only remnants of the snow that had covered
Hogwarts not so long ago being nothing more than mushy puddles. Harry rested
against Tom as the carriage took them down the wet and bumpy path to the town,
Tom wrapped an arm around him and played with his necklace with the same hand.
Since they had gotten together Harry had taken to wearing his black goldstone
cat on the outside of his clothes rather than hiding it away, when Tom first
noticed, which was right away, he took a moment to inspect the cat and how
Harry had gotten it onto the twine string, he also confessed he still had his
crown, but he kept it hidden in his trunk. It had become somewhat of a habit
for Tom to rub his fingers over the cat while he held the smaller boy.
The ride to the town was short and the two stepped out of their carriage and
right into a sloppy puddle, much to Tom's distaste. Harry laughed at the others
scowl and dragged the older boy off by the arm, their first stop would be a
bookstore, how romantic! Though Harry did not care for the romance really, he
was just happy to be with Tom and they both liked books so it was a good first
choice he thought. It might also take Tom's mind off his muddy shoes.
As Harry had thought it worked like a charm, their wet arrival soon forgotten
among the many towering bookshelves, Harry noticed when Tom was drawn to the
books of a darker nature, remembering the days he would have jumped right down
the others throat about it, now he found himself wanting to know what was in
those books as well as why Tom wanted to read them.
After spending quite some time holed up in the book store, eventually being
told by the owner that it was not a library and being shooed out when neither
wanted to actually buy anything, they headed towards Dominic Maestro's music
shop. Neither boys played an instrument but the store also had wizard records
and players to listen to them on in the store. Entering the store they found it
filled with a few other students, Harry was sure at least most of them would be
part of Hogwarts choir.
The shop was filled with all sorts of magical instruments, many looked similar
to regular muggle ones but with odd bends and extra parts, Harry even saw a
horn with strings and a harp with an arm of its own, Tom noticed his stare and
told him it was to add extra notes to music, but that they also tended to
malfunction. Heading over to the records Harry noticed Tom seemed interested in
the instrumental ones only, while Harry himself had started browsing ones from
wrock bands. The two only listened to a few songs, teasing each other for their
tastes, before leaving to another store.
Harry was almost surprised when Tom dragged him off towards Dogweed and
Deathcap, a herbology store. Harry understood it better when he found the store
sold herbs for potions, both dry and fresh, as well as live potted plants. They
even had a small shelf stacked with books on herbology and a few on potions and
even organic alchemy. Harry took time to browse the entire store and its
wonderful plants, or not quite so wonderful in the case of the ones that
snapped or sprayed weird mists at him. By the time they left Harry was sure Tom
had not left empty handed, Harry's paranoid self wondering what and why.
"Just a little extra credit." was the only answer Tom gave him when he asked,
well at least Harry knew he wasn't the nerdiest of them. Sighing at the lack of
getting a real answer Harry decided to drop it, convincing himself that he had
to trust his boyfriend a little more than he had done in the past. As they
walked down the sodden road Harry barely had time to register what was
happening before he was blinded by orange locks of hair while simultaneously
having his ribs crushed. His friends seemed to have found him. After exchanging
greetings Tom butted in, "Why don't you go spend some time with your friends
Harry? You can go to that sugar store or the joke shop."
"And what will you be doing?" Harry asked suspiciously.
"Just checking up on something, might say hello to a few friends of my own. We
can meet at the three broomsticks in an hour?"
Harry didn't think it was exactly normal for a date to be split up by sugar,
jokes and friends but he wasn't about to say no, he did want to spend some time
with his friends and he also wanted to show that he trusted Tom more by letting
him go without too many questions, "Alright, an hour then."
As was suggested Harry did spend the hour with his friends at Honeydukes and
Zonko's, telling them about his day with Tom so far while Monica teased him
until Harry mentioned the fact that Violet was with them, making Monica blush
and snatch a lollypop from a shelf with a huff. When the hour was up the group
headed towards the three broomsticks, Harry's friends leaving him with well
wishes once they had ordered drinks and went to find a table of their own while
Harry looked around for Tom.
After being sure he had checked every nook in the pub he sat down at an empty
booth table and waited for both his drink and his boyfriend to show up. The
drink showed up first and Harry was about a third of the way through it before
Tom plopped down on the chair in front of him, shooting him a smug, lopsided
grin.
"What took you so long?" Harry practically demanded, first Tom had split up
their date and then he made him wait for the bastard to show up.
Tom's voice was light, "Calm down precious, I was merely attending to a few
errands, did you have fun with your friends?"
"I did, and you better hope I don't use some of the dungbombs I got at Zonko's
on you!" He threatened.
"My, you are cute when you are angry." Tom teased.
Harry flustered, "I -I am not angry! I just didn't know... I thought dates were
meant to mean just two people together the whole time."
Tom put on a pout, mocking Harry, "Are you upset I left you precious?"
"Maybe I am." Harry stated, sipping at his drink, "What would you do if I was?"
Without answering Tom got up from his seat and rounded the table to Harry's
side, sitting on the cushioned bench he slid over to the smaller boy until
Harry was being squished into the wall with no way to escape. Tom took Harry's
drink from his nerve-weak hand and placed it on the table before answering the
previous question, "This." and closed in on the other boy, their lips meeting
in a kiss that soon became more and more forceful, though Harry made no
complaints.
"I could get used to making you apologize..."Harry murmured breathlessly before
going in to continue their business, not stopping until a cough sounded above
them, the two boys looking up quickly to see a maid carrying a drink obviously
for Tom. Harry found it amusing to watch Tom give an elegant grin, as if he had
not just been having a snog-fest, take the drink, and thank the maid before she
left.
Giggling, Harry found he much liked these 'dates'. He went in for another kiss.
 
 
To be Continued...
Chapter End Notes
     'wrock' stands for wizard rock.
***** Kiss Me, Hold Me, Fuck Me *****
Chapter Summary
     Uh... long chapter? ENJOY
A week after their Hogsmeade date found the two snogging in a secret passage,
which was quickly becoming one of their favourite pastimes. Harry had expected
Tom to be more forceful and domineering like he was with everything else but
was pleasantly surprised to find that Tom seemed to have no complaints about
letting Harry take the lead in their snog fests and allowing the smaller boy to
explore his body through his clothes, Harry also found that if he wanted
rougher sessions he usually had to be the one to instigate them.
Harry knew he had barely any idea at all of what he was doing but he didn't
care for his lack of experience, he just wanted to feel the others body as much
as he could with just the two hands he had, holding the other closely as they
tried to keep quiet despite their privacy charms.
Since getting into the relationship they didn't waste time in snogging whenever
possible, Harry certainly noticed an increase in his hormones, causing him many
intimate sessions with his hand before bed, thank Merlin for privacy charms.
Sometimes he wondered if Tom was feeling that change too, thinking of Tom
having a bat to thoughts of him only caused him to blush and get hard all over
again. Harry wasn't sure if he was in hormonal heaven or hell.
It was during this hidden snog fest that Tom had confessed to him in close,
breathless pants, "I want to have sex with you..."
Harry had been taken off guard by the words, stopping his movements to take
them in fully, "When?" Harry asked shakily.
Tom backed off a bit to look him in the eyes, "When ever you are ready."
And as if those words weren't enough the intensity in those dark eyes made his
crotch twitch in its painfully tight confines, could he do it now? Was he ready
for... that? But Harry was one for living in the moment, and who knew how long
he could be this happy. Deciding to go with it, "Now?" his voice shook with
slight uncertainty and apprehension for what would happen next.
"Not here." Tom answered, backing off further and releasing Harry he neatened
his ruffled clothes, barely giving Harry enough time to do the same before
grabbing his hand and heading down the hallway. At first Harry thought they
were heading towards the Slytherin common room, perhaps to continue in Tom's
bed but the older boy continued pulling him further down the dungeon halls.
They stopped before going too much deeper into the dungeons and Harry finally
recognized where they were, it was the same room they had shared a bed in
during the winter holidays. He watched as Tom pulled out the key for the door,
grinning mischievously at him.
"You kept the key?" Harry asked incredulously, "Does Slughorn know you still
haven't given it back?"
"No." Tom answered simply, putting the key in the door to open it, "And if he
has noticed then he has certainly not brought it up."
"Why did you keep it?" Harry wondered suspiciously.
"I figured it might come in handy, it serves as a good place to practice my
spells for classes or extra credit work."
"Of course..." Harry replied flatly, Tom was certainly a sneaky bastard.
The door creaked open and Harry was suddenly reminded of why they were there,
they were going to... do it... Tom lead him in, closing and locking the door
behind them as well as placing a few privacy wards on the room. Harry wasn't
exactly sure what do with himself now, looking at the bed he wondered if he
should get on it,or should I strip first? Will Tom want to take my clothes off
for me? Feeling very awkward at that moment Harry wandered over to the bed and
sat on the edge of it, feeling the soft mattress squish underneath his weight
and the silky sheets under his hands.
Tom came over to him and sat on the edge of the bed next to him, Harry could
see some of his own uncertainty in those beautiful dark orbs, neither of them
had had sex before. Rubbing a soothing hand over Harry's cheek Tom pulled the
smaller boy closer to him, "Relax precious, I will be gentle with you, I
promise." and those lips were on him.
Harry felt himself being pushed back on the bed and he wiggled into the middle
without breaking the kiss, the two boys lay there for a while just kissing each
other, soon Harry's confidence grew and he started running his hands over the
older boy like he did when they snogged, in fact it felt just like that but
they were laying down on a comfy bed rather than being pushed up against walls
or crates in cold, hidden passageways.
Before Harry had even noticed it Tom had already opened his cloak, gotten rid
of his tie, and unbuttoned his shirt and was laying kisses down his chest as
his face flushed, they had only ever felt each other through and under
clothing, and never below the waist. Kisses anywhere other than his face, neck
and shoulders was new to him. Tom sat up and tugged at his clothing, getting
the message Harry shrugged off his cloak and shirt, he was then pushed back
onto the bed as Tom laid more kisses upon him.
Getting braver Harry moved his hands up and started removing Tom's cloak, tie,
and shirt, the elder complying and shrugging them off once Harry's part of the
job was done before descending upon the smaller boy again. The two went back to
mere kisses and touches, leaving their pants alone as their bare-chested bodies
hugged each other close, kissing and feeling the newly exposed territory.
Harry moved his hands down to Tom's pants as the other continued lavishing his
chest in kisses and touches, fumbling with the buttons Harry found it hard to
remove the pesky article in the position they were in, after what felt like too
long he finally had them undone and started pulling them down, Tom had stopped
what he was doing, lifting himself up on his hand on either side of Harry's
head to watch as the younger pulled his pants down to his knees, revealing his
y-front underwear and the very noticeable tent in them.
Harry blushed when he saw the bump, suddenly wondering how that thing would fit
inside him if it looked so big while still hidden away. Entranced he ran a hand
over the bump gently and, blushing further, looked up when Tom shuddered and
let out a sound between a hiss and a moan. The older boy dropped his head again
to stare at Harry, the look in his eyes so intense Harry's breathing
momentarily hitched. The moment was over quickly as Tom backed off from Harry
to kick his pants of entirely, taking off his shoes and socks in the process.
Noticing he was still wearing his as well Harry kicked his shoes off too, not
caring where they landed, and started pulling on a sock when he was, almost
roughly, pushed back against the pillows again.
Looking up Harry saw Tom holding him down with a hand on his chest, that same
intense look in his dark eyes, when it seemed he was sure Harry would not move
he let up the hand pinning Harry's chest and moved down, gently pulling his
socks off for him and running a hand up Harry's leg as he came back up to
Harry's hips and started unbuttoning the pants. Not sure what to do as Tom set
to work on getting their clothing amount on the same level he contented himself
to watch Riddles underwear, specifically the bulge in them that would twitch
and move as the older boy did, thinking about what was soon to happen.
Harry moaned as a warm, gently pressure was rubbed up his crotch, only then
noticing that Tom had finished removing his pants and was repaying the favour
from earlier, and boy could Harry understand why Tom had moaned the way he did,
being rubbed through his underwear seemed to be rather pleasurable.
The two started kissing again, hugging each other close and reveling in the
feeling of their naked skin rubbing together, legs entangled and chests
touching. Both boys moaned aloud when their crotches rubbed together, Harry
wanted more and started bucking his hips to make them rub again, Tom merely
moaned in response and Harry was sure he even said something in parseltongue.
Harry had only managed to make their cocks rub together like that a few times
before Tom seemed to want more, sliding down Harry's legs again he hooked his
fingers under Harry's y-fronts but made no further move, instead looking at
Harry who got the point and nodded, giving Tom permission to take it further.
Tom easily pulled the underwear down Harry's legs and flicked them away as if
they were the most unimportant, useless thing he had ever seen in his life.
Leaning down Harry watched with a face on fire as Tom gripped his member in one
of his warm hands, and boy did that feel so very different from holding
himself. Tom seemed to merely inspect the hard cock in his hand like it was
some sort of potion he needed for a good grade in class, Harry squeaked in a
most undignified manner when he saw Tom close in on his member, tongue coming
out of his mouth and Harry had no doubts about what the older boy was going to
do, and when that tongue made sweet, soft, slightly wet contact with his penis
he practically howled in pleasure.
The tongue dragged up his member, from just above where Tom was gripping him to
the head. Tom leaned back again for a moment, seeming to savour the taste,
before going in to lick again, this time he flicked his tongue around the rim
at the head of the cock and Harry nearly squealed in delight, writhing on the
bed as Tom lapped at him. It was over all too soon though, with Tom backing off
and sitting up.
Harry whined at the loss but Tom merely chuckled at him, "We don't want this to
be over so soon do we?"
Harry got the message he was saying, much longer and he would have came,
probably all over Tom's face, that thought made him almost want to continue but
he also knew he would not be able to get hard again and that he wanted both of
them to feel good and to actually do what they came to do.
Harry sat up, panting lightly from the experience he had just gone through and
crawled over to Tom who gave him a questioning look before Harry slipped his
fingers under the elastic in his underwear and he got the point, allowing Harry
to take them off and leaned back on his hands as Harry returned the favour of
inspecting and tasting his member, Harry found the flavour odd and could not
decide if he liked it or not, he supposed the come would taste different, and
that he might get a chance in the future to taste it.
The two sat on the bed, Harry was sure that now they would... continue
further... but he was suddenly reminded of something, asking anxiously, "Won't
it hurt?" He asked Tom, "I mean... how will it go in? Not dry... right?"
"Of course not precious." Tom placated him, leaning over to place a hand on his
messy head and kiss it before getting off the bed and walking over to his
cloak, Harry watched as the very naked and very hot boy pulled something out
from one of the inner pockets, it was a bottle of lube, "We will use this."
"When did you get lube?" Harry asked, wondering just how long Tom had been
carrying it around, had he been expecting this? Did he plan it all out?
"I got it at Hogsmeade, when we temporarily split up our date," He replied and
then laughed at Harry's indignant gasp, "I got it and have been carrying it
around just in case, don't worry love, I did not trick you, I was merely
prepared," Tom rejoined him on the bed, grinning cheekily, "You can't fault me
for that."
Harry supposed he couldn't, and that he would be rather disappointed that they
got this far and would not be able to continue if Tom hadn't thought ahead.
Harry laid back on the bed, some of his previous apprehension coming back, "Is
this how we'll do it?" He asked.
"Yes, I want to look at you while this happens." Tom replied, crawling forward
and adjusting Harry's legs so that he sat between them, Harry was hyper-aware
of his movements suddenly and wondered how he looked to the other, he didn't
bother to ask though and just watched as Tom opened up the lube and wet a
finger with it, "I think that's enough," Tom muttered, seemingly to himself, as
he inspected the slick finger before setting the lube on the bed next to Harry
and moving the finger downwards, "Tell me if I hurt you, okay?" Tom told him,
looking him in the eye.
Harry nodded and prepared himself for the finger, slightly surprised when all
Tom did was rub it over his entrance, it was wet and cold but Harry found it
wasn't exactly bad. Tom smeared the lube over him before wetting the finger
again and placing it at the now slick entrance, "Relax love." Tom soothed him,
running his free hand over Harry's side gently. Harry tried to even out his
breathing and relax, he then felt the finger start to probe him and momentarily
stiffened up before once again attempting to relax, Tom's hand on his side
helping to sooth him.
The process was slow and Tom would stop often, either to make sure he wasn't
hurting Harry or to try to find a better angle, eventually though another
finger was added and he started a slow scissoring motion, Harry moaning and
finding himself enjoying the steady stretching, finding every move Tom made
turned him on even more. Tom added a third finger and stretched him further
before pulling all of the digits out, Harry making an unintelligible sound at
the loss.
Tom chuckled at him, "It's okay love, you will be full again soon." the older
boy spent a moment putting a good amount of lube on his cock before positioning
himself above Harry, he made no further movements though and looked up at
Harry, "You're sure you want this? You can say no."
Harry thought it was an odd thing to ask after how far they had come but he
nodded anyway, "Yeah, I want this, I want you."
Tom nodded back, "Tell me the moment it starts hurting okay? I will stop."
Harry was touched by how much Tom seemed to care about his consent and not
wanting to hurt him, he allowed those feelings to squash down his apprehension,
knowing the only reason it was there was because he had never done this before.
He did his best to stay relaxed as Tom's cock pushed against his entrance, the
lube and stretching helping it ease in and Harry gasped loudly at the
intrusion. Seeing Tom's hesitance at that he merely smiled up at the other boy
and motioned for him to continue.
It took some time, with awkward, novice movements and Tom making sure Harry's
wasn't being hurt but eventually the two lay panting together as Tom's cock
fully sheathed itself inside the smaller boy beneath him. They spent a moment
like that, allowing both of them to adjust to the feeling while laying tender
kisses upon each other before Harry felt he had had enough waiting and bucked
his hips, making Tom hiss and seemingly get the point as he started thrusting
slowly at first before building up into a faster pace.
Harry moaned appreciatively beneath him, his legs hurt a little from being held
up and to the sides of Tom but the pleasure in his backside was enough to make
him forget about the slight ache he felt. The feeling of his body rocking back
and forth as Tom drove in and out of him was odd but he didn't find it
unenjoyable, Tom's arms around him held him to the same spot of the bed even
during the rougher thrusts and Harry found himself shoving his hips forwards to
create more movement between them.
Snaking an arm down to play with himself Harry quickly lost himself in the
pleasure, it wasn't long until he came shouting Tom's name as his cum sprayed
both of their stomachs and his body spasmed violently. Tom thrusted into the
other a few more times before reaching his own climax, hissing loudly in
parseltongue as his body shook, Harry feeling every vibration and loving the
fact that he had brought the boy he cared so much for to that point.
Tom fell on top of Harry, panting in the aftermath and after taking a moment to
catch his breath he pulled out of Harry, his now flaccid cock easily slipping
out of the stretched and used entrance. The two lay embracing each other as
they caught their breath and reveled in what they had just done.
After a while Tom grabbed his wand and spelled them clean before pulling the
blanket over them and settling down to sleep, it was still Saturday so they
would not be missed if they stayed in the room for very long, though they would
have to leave eventually to avoid suspicion and clean themselves properly,
scourgify could only do so much.
"What did you say?" Harry wondered in a tired voice, perfectly content to stay
in the room, naked with his lover, for a while longer.
"What do you mean?" Tom mumbled, his eyes were closed as if he could just drift
off to sleep right then, Harry got the feeling Tom was more tired than he was,
perhaps also relieved he had not hurt him.
"When you came," Harry elaborated, blushing despite the fact he had just had
sex, "You spoke in parseltongue."
"Oh..." Was Toms only response for a moment, "I didn't know, it sounds like
normal English to me... maybe a bit hissier..."
"So... what did you say?" Harry prompted.
Tom smiled but didn't open his eyes, "Your name."
Harry couldn't help smiling at that and leant over to kiss Tom on the cheek,
whispering, "I love you."
Tom mumbled a response that sounded like 'lub you too', Harry giggled and noted
that was the first time since the incident on the astronomy tower that Tom had
admitted to loving him, perhaps he merely needed Tom to be dead tired to get
him to say it more, and personally he could not wait for another chance to do
this again, but for now he merely snuggled under the blankets, hugging the
other boy and fell asleep quite happy.
 
 
To be Continued...
***** Jealousy Plays Dirty *****
In the days following the loss of their virginity Harry's mood was lifted to
new heights, finally understanding the muggle term of 'walking on clouds'. The
mood was not missed and his friends easily figured it out, along with cornering
Harry and forcing him to tell confirm it. The teachers either did not comment,
made remarks that likely went over the heads of some of the less attentive
students, or sneered at the knowledge that students were involved in such acts
inside the castle.
The gossip mill started up but aside from a few glares and dirty remarks no one
really bothered Harry, even if they had tried Harry felt it was unlikely they
would succeed. Just remembering waking up hours after their escapade in Tom's
firm, warm arms with their bare bodies pressing together was enough to keep
Harry's mood up.
Sneaking back into the dorms and to the showers was an amusing ordeal, Tom was
not a student that was easily missed due to his popularity but the two did
their best to not engage in conversation until they had cleaned and were sure
there was no lingering scent of sex, which Harry found was a very distinctive
scent indeed. An additional benefit was that the both of them seemed to have
more confidence during their snog sessions and let their hands roam more
freely.
Harry was currently walking back to the Slytherin common room after having been
in the library with his friends studying, the halls at that time and place were
rather quiet and Harry found himself enjoying the peace, sure the library was a
generally silent place but it was still filled with many students and had the
sounds of them shuffling around books in the isles, working, and talking. To be
alone sometimes was nice.
The grounds outside were puddle-free now, all of them dried up and seemed to be
making way for the many plants around the forest and lake to grow lush and
flower. Harry liked seeing the magical plants in action, as well as the
creatures that sometimes popped out of the forest to sniff around at the grassy
hills. He knew he would not get a job working with either but he fancied the
idea of a wizard house surrounded by all sorts of magical life, blooming and
fruiting, drying and hiding away, it was all so appealing to him.
Thinking about such things made him also think of Tom, the other boy lived in
an orphanage, he didn't have any place to call home at all, at least Harry had
a home, even if it wasn't always the nicest place to be and he couldn't perform
magic and had to listen to his father complain about mundane, muggle things. He
wondered if he and Tom would live together one day, would Tom like to have many
magical plants and animals? The thought of sharing a home with his love, and
all the simple, house-life things that went through his head, brought a smile
to his lips. Neither of them had much money though, but he was sure it wouldn't
take too much to get themselves a place to call their own, they could move up
from flat, to block, to a nice big land where they could do whatever they
wanted together.
So lost in his thoughts as he was he didn't straight away notice the sounds of
another pair of feet making their way down the hall, turning about to look
Harry saw the long blond hair that could only belong to one student, Malfoy.
"What do you want Malfoy?" the seventh year was making no attempt to hide
himself, merely strolling up to Harry like they were good friends before
pushing him back against one of the large windows, easily holding back the
smaller student. "What the fuck do you think you're doing?!" Harry demanded.
"So are the rumours true?" was the only answer Malfoy gave him, his face
suddenly giving off a feral expression and Harry wasn't sure if the upturn of
his lips was from any happiness, unless the older was enjoying holding him down
and questioning him in such a viscous manner, which was a possibility.
"What ones?" Harry asked, trying not to show just how scared the older student
was making him, "The ones about Tom and myself, or the ones about you being a
giant prat?"
"You know what I mean!" Malfoy practically growled, shoving at Harry as if the
smaller boy was not already squashed up against the window, "The ones saying
you and Riddle fucked!"
"So what if we did?! It's none of your bloody business what Tom and I do
together!" Harry yelled back, attempting to shove himself off the wall but
finding that Malfoy's grip on his was stronger than he was.
"My point is that you denied me sex but here you are giving it out right after
startling a relationship!" Malfoy yelled back, proving once again what an
entitled jerk he was, all this was about sex? Pathetic. "You gave me a stupid
line about not wanting to have sex with someone you weren't close to but here
you are spreading your legs for fucking Riddle! He isn't even pureblooded!"
"I thought you liked Riddle?" Harry asked, trying to pry the elders hands from
his shoulders, they where digging in painfully and Harry just knew he was going
to have bruises, "You always went around licking his boots but now you hate him
because he got his dick wet and you didn't? You really are stuck up."
A growl rose in Malfoy throat, "You said you wouldn't have sex with someone who
will leave you but here you are with Riddle, and you seem to have no problem
letting him put his dick in you."
"What- What makes you think Tom will leave me?" There had been no indication
that their relationship would only be temporary, and as far as things stood he
still had a better chance with Tom than the pureblood, Tom wasn't required to
go and get married and have kids right after school.
"What makes you think he would ever actually keep a mudblood like you around?"
Malfoy replied angrily, "He hates your kind as much as the purebloods he hangs
around do, or are you really too daft to see that?" spittle was flying from the
blonds mouth as he raged and Harry turned his head in an attempt to avoid being
sprayed, "You are nothing but a quick fuck and some fun while he is still at
school! The moment he leaves this place he will leave you behind with it!"
Harry felt like he had been slapped and the force of it reached within him,
rattling his ribcage and the heart that lay within like a bird in a cage,
"That's bullshit Malfoy, you are just a jealous, pathetic piece of kneazle
shit." Harry knew he couldn't take the blonds word, he merely wanted to split
up Harry's relationship with Tom and have Harry for himself.
Malfoy shoved him one more time, this time his hands let up and Harry scurried
backwards away from the other boy, raising a hand to feel the skin on his
shoulders that would definitely be bruised, "Don't believe me then. Believe
whatever you want mudblood, but soon enough Tom will get bored of you, or you
will bother him too much. One way or another you will be left with nothing but
the knowledge that people like you are only good for a few rounds in bed."
Malfoy looked practically feral even as he backed off and Harry wondered if the
student had lost his mind, "And when you finally realize and embrace the only
thing you are good at... I will be waiting."
Malfoy turned and stalked down the hall, looking like some vicious predator
that had just ripped apart its prey, and Harry rather felt like he played the
part of the prey well at that moment. Harry's legs buckled under him and he
fell to the floor on them, watching the spot where the blond had left, hand
still on the tender shoulder.
He wondered how he would hide the bruises when they were in Tom's favourite
place to kiss him.
 
 
To be Continued...
***** It's Not Your Problem *****
Chapter Summary
     Tom's stance on muggleborns is smoothed out now! Huzzah. Will this be
     the last they see of a certain blond hide though?
It took Harry a few minutes before he got the strength to lift himself off the
ground and head towards the common room, deciding to just head straight to bed
and deal with everything later he slipped into the common room without being
noticed, Tom was there surrounded by his friends but if he saw Harry he gave no
indication of it, instead talking about whatever had all his cronies latched to
his every word.
Malfoy however, who was part of the group surrounding Tom, did see him. The
look he shot Harry was filled with malice and triumph, Harry was tired, sore
and shaken up so all he managed was a half-hearted glare before turning and
heading up to his dorm to see if he could do anything about the bruises and to
mull over what had happened.
The next morning Harry stayed in bed for a while before heading down to the
great hall, almost all the other students were already there, including Tom.
Harry decided to head over to the Hufflepuff table instead of his own, despite
how close the two had been since they had gotten together it wasn't unusual for
either of them to take time away from the other to spend instead with their own
friends and lives, if Tom made any indication that he didn't approve then Harry
did not notice as he set all his attention on talking with Sam.
Once breakfast was over Harry made use of his small size to slip between
students and exit the hall quickly, rushing off to his first class without
waiting. Usually Tom would see him off, either walking with him to class or
giving him a kiss before they parted, but Harry didn't think he could deal with
being around the other just yet. Harry did his best to avoid running into Tom
and by the time lunch rolled around Harry made an excuse to his friends that he
had left work behind in his class and spent the time down near the forest
instead of eating in the hall with everyone else.
It wasn't that he was trying to keep secrets or hurt Tom, he simply didn't know
how to handle the situation. He knew he should talk to him about the issue but
he was scared that Tom would confirm what Malfoy said. Malfoy had been right
after all, they hadn't been in their relationship for very long before Harry
let Tom have sex with him, he was also right about Tom not liking muggleborns.
So why was he with Harry? Would he really leave him? Was he just being used?
Harry hated that he was letting Malfoy get to him, but he hated even more the
fact that Malfoy could very well be correct.
Sitting out by the forest served to calm him at least, the steady swishing
sound of waves from the lake hitting the shore and the wind in the trees made
the area a peaceful place to sit alone. The bruises on his shoulders had set
into a dark blotchy marking, filled with purples, blues and sickly yellow
colours. Harry had tried to heal the bruises but his knowledge of healing
spells wasn't too great, especially since his entire knowledge of the branch
came from books alone and he didn't have too many opportunities to test his
theory. The bruises covered his shoulders like a dark shawl, outlining his
collar bones and clearly showing off marks where fingers had dug in.
Harry knew his time was running out, eventually he would have to face Tom,
either from being in the same place or from the other seeking him out. He also
knew that he would not be content until the situation was spoken and dealt
with, he would not be able to sit in the others embrace without thinking on
what had happened. He could not ignore the situation but words would not come
to him, how could he bring it up? Would Tom be angry he tried to hide it all
day? What if he was already angry that Harry had avoided him?
With a sigh Harry headed back up to the castle and to his next classes, he had
at least until dinner to try to find the right words.
 
===============================================================================
 
When it was time for dinner Harry decided there was no right way to tell Tom so
he would just face it and try to get through it, hopefully without his heart
breaking. This time when he entered the hall he went to the Slytherin table and
sat next to Tom without a word, he expected to be yelled at right then and
there and thus was surprised when he felt his hand being gently squeezed by
another, looking up he saw Tom give him a brief but reassuring look, though his
eyes seemed to hold more than just that but Tom made no indication to bring it
up right then. Harry supposed that everything was alright, for now.
Dinner was silent with obvious tension between them but every so often Tom's
hand would brush against his and he remembered to breath again. When dinner
finally ended Tom grabbed Harry's hand and led him silently out of the hall,
heading past the common room and continuing on until they reached the room
where they had spent their most intimate moment, Tom unlocked the door and led
Harry in.
Harry's nerves where jumping about, like crickets in his chest trying to
escape, and he wasn't sure if he should sit on the bed or remain standing,
going with the later he tried to find a way to start explaining things but Tom
spoke first.
"What is wrong?"
Harry was surprised by the lack of anger in his voice, he merely sounded tired,
perhaps a bit agitated. "You aren't angry that I have avoided you all day?"
Harry asked tentatively, forgetting to answer the original question.
"I am," Tom stated, "but I know there must be some reason for why you have done
so, and I would rather direct my anger at that." with a dangerous look, "Did
someone do something to you?"
Harry didn't like to feel like he was being a snitch but he figured the only
way to properly convey what was wrong would be to tell Tom everything that had
happened, and he figured Malfoy probably deserved what ever punishment he got.
Harry sat on the bed, Tom followed and sat close to him, paying him his full
attention as Harry told him what had happened. Once he was through telling the
other what Malfoy had told him Tom looked livid.
"It's none of his bloody business what we do together!" Tom seethed, turning
away and looking as if he was making plans in his head, "I'll curse that git!"
"It's not true though is it?" Harry asked, fear muffling his voice, "You won't
leave me will you? You won't get bored?"
Riddle turned back to him, "I would not have started this relationship if I
planned on it to end. I don't plan on using you, there are easier ways to get
people to do what I want, and certainly not for sex."
"But what about me being a muggleborn? He was right about that, I have heard
you and your friends talk about people like me... Doesn't it bother you?"
Tom sighed and Harry felt he was in for a long talk, not that he minded so long
as he was put at ease from his fears, "I will admit I am not particularly fond
of muggleborns but I wouldn't go so far as to say I hate them as much as my
associates do." Harry noted the lack of the word 'friends' but he supposed Tom
was including Malfoy in that bunch and knew he himself would not be very
friendly to the other at that point, "For a long time I thought I was a
muggleborn myself, along with everyone else in Slytherin. My problem with them
is what they do to the magical world, they bring in their own muggle beliefs
and traditions and kick out the wizard ones, and the ministry and Hogwarts just
lets them. They live in both worlds risking the secrecy of our kind. They are
strangers who come in and ruin our culture without bothering to even try to
learn it. When I joined the wizarding world and learnt of them having their own
culture I did my best to study it, which is why so many purebloods now flock to
me, I am not only powerful but I am not trying to shove their lifestyle under a
rug for my own convenience, and neither are you."
"So... You just don't like muggleborns that come in and try to change things to
fit them?"
"Exactly. The wizard traditions have to be passed down or they will be
forgotten. There is so much the ministry could be doing to solve this problem
without even harming anyone but they don't want to, likely because many of them
are the muggleborns that want the world to fit them."
"So you don't hate the fact that I am muggleborn? You won't leave me?"
"Of course I won't leave you Harry, I thought I made that very clear when I
confessed to you my feelings." Tom replied as if it were the most simply thing
in the world, but there was a touch of softness to his voice, "The fact that
you are muggleborn certainly isn't something I jump for joy about but I don't
hate you for it, you can't help it..." For a moment Harry almost felt that Tom
was talking to himself as well as Harry, "My associates hate muggleborns but
that is because they have been taught to, when it became noticeable what
muggleborns were doing to wizarding culture the pureblood houses, who had the
most knowledge about the old customs and how things had been, were angry, and
they taught their children to be angry, but many of them never bothered to tell
them why. It's not about blood, not really."
"I see." Harry was feeling better about their talk, he also liked knowing why
Tom felt the way he did about muggleborns and couldn't help but agree, how many
muggleborns were there in their world now? How many would have been taught
about the culture they now live in? Harry knew he hadn't been given any guide
books or tips on what to expect. They were left wandering in the dark, it was
no wonder they clashed so much with the people who had always been a part of
it. Thinking about it in that light Harry felt rather angry that the ministry
didn't do more for him and other muggleborns, surely it couldn't be so hard to
locate them earlier and have them learn about the world they would live in
before they joined it?
Harry was so lost in thought that he jumped when he felt an arm pull him in for
an embrace, "So are you feeling better now precious?"
"Yeah, I guess." Harry smiled up at Tom but couldn't help the wince when Tom
gripped one of his shoulders, Tom obviously noticed.
"What's wrong with your shoulder?" the older boys tone was a demanding one.
Harry pulled away as Tom tried to move his school robes out of the way to look,
"N- Nothing... Really..."
Tom's eyes narrowed dangerously, "Did Malfoy hurt you?" he hissed.
"He... uh..." Harry figured he may as well tell Tom, Malfoy be damned, he
didn't deserve Harry protecting him, "He gripped me really hard when he was
yelling at me... It's just some bruises..."
Tom had Harry pinned down on the bed so fast Harry almost thought he must have
used magic. Tom quickly removed the clothes in the way of Harry's shoulders and
looked over the bruises on both sides, Harry felt rather uncomfortable as Tom
was sitting on top of him while undressing him, he couldn't help but think of
the last time they used the room and tried to avoid blushing, or worse.
Above him Tom growled, like a savage animal and far more scary than any noise
Malfoy could have ever made. "I will kill that blond arsehole!"
"I really recommend against murder Tom," Harry spoke to the boy above him,
"Maybe just a few hexes and curses will do?" Harry really did not want Tom
getting into trouble because of him.
Tom huffed, "We'll see."
The two boys spent the rest of the afternoon in that room, Harry lay against
Tom as they talked and after a while they pulled out their work. Harry felt
much better and was glad everything had been smoothed over now, he just had to
keep an eye out to make sure Tom didn't do anything illegal to the blond git,
even if he did deserve what ever was thrown at him.
 
 
To be Continued...
***** Paradise Lost, Closet's Suffice *****
Chapter Summary
     What do you mean 'NOT write copious amounts of porn now that the two
     are together'? Nah. Next few chapters (until summer beak) will likely
     have more porn. Ye be warned.
After their talk Harry was back to being his happy 'walking on clouds' self, if
a bit more down to earth again now that they had been together for a few week.
While they had been alone together in the dungeon room Tom had healed Harry's
bruises, which were now only slightly discoloured and only hurt a bit, he had
then seemed obsessed with kissing Harry's shoulders, so much so he even did it
in the common room when it was just the two of them sitting together, though he
did not move Harry's clothes out of the way to do so thankfully.
A few days later Abraxas Malfoy turned up in the hospital wing, Harry wasn't
sure how he ended up in such a state, just that they had found the blond
hanging upside down somewhere, but he was sure Tom was behind it, despite the
fact that there were no signs linking him to Malfoy's 'accident' and Malfoy
himself didn't seem to want to say if Tom had been behind it, if anything Harry
thought maybe Malfoy had lost the ability to speak at all -until he let off
some fire crackers in the hospital wing to test that theory and Malfoy
screeched like a banshee and fell off his bed.
Malfoy wasn't exactly let off easy but Harry had to admit that the school
hospital wing was better than Saint Mungo's or dead. So he let Tom off with
nothing more than an exasperated look upon hearing of Malfoy's fate. The blond
would likely make a full recovery but it would be a week or two before he would
be let out of the hospital wing and back to classes.
Harry wondered if that would be the last of the trouble they would see but knew
he probably couldn't hope so much when so many students liked Tom, some of them
might get brave. Or stupid. Probably both. For now things seemed alright
concerning that matter though.
Not everything was so fantastic though, one afternoon after classes Harry had
headed down to the dungeons to meet Tom, who had just had potions, and found
Slughorn inquiring about the key to the dungeon room, Tom had played it off
well so that the professor did not expect he had purposefully kept it but it
did mean that Tom now had to return the key. Meaning they no longer had their
own special room to be alone in. Bollocks.
The return of the key was the exact reason why Tom and Harry were squashed into
a broom closet at that moment, Tom's dick in Harry's mouth as the smaller boy
tried to find a position on the cramped floor that didn't hurt his legs and Tom
tried not to make a sound as the boy sucked on him.
Harry had been the one to suggest it as he had wanted to try it since that day
they lost their virginity. As of now they had only gotten so far as Harry
shoving Tom into the broom closet, throwing up a few charms and getting on his
knees to suck the recently-freed penis into his mouth, grabbing the base with a
hand to steady it.
Harry wasn't exactly sure what he was doing, besides the obvious 'stick dick in
mouth and suck'. The taste was like soft, sweaty skin, which wasn't really
surprising, and that whole general area of the taller boy smelt of hormones.
Harry wasn't exactly pleased with the taste but he didn't find it too bad, and
the sounds Tom was trying to hold back made it worth it he reckoned.
Tom was resting his back against the wall of the closet and spreading his legs
for Harry to get as his privates, there were a few crate-like boxes in the
closet as well as the standard mops and buckets that Tom leaned against
slightly, propping himself up with a hand on one as his other hand was raised
up, his arm placed in front of his mouth to muffle his noises.
From his position between the other boys legs Harry could see that Tom kept
himself well shaved, which he had already seen from their time in bed but now
it was right in front of his face, Harry was rather glad that Tom did as he
didn't fancy having a nose full of pubes if he ever managed to get the damned
dick past his throat. That being his current predicament, he was trying to see
how much of the boy he could fit in his mouth but whenever it reached the back
he felt a sensation like cotton in his throat and instinctively pulled back. It
was rather annoying as he wanted to have the dick go further down but he found
it very tough to fight his instincts on this matter, damn life-saving throat
mechanisms.
Deciding to give up on that endeavor for now Harry licked around the penis,
dragging his tongue over the head Harry enjoyed the muffled moans Tom made
above him, it felt good to have the stoic boy create such sounds because of
him. Harry ventured down the shaft with his tongue, licking and kissing as he
went until he made it to the ball sack and started sucking on that, finding it
tasted even sweatier than the penis as his nose was assaulted by hormones that
really only made him hornier.
Harry released the sack from his mouth and licked his way back up the shaft
again, stopping to look up at Tom who's eyes were filled with lust and his face
flushed. Harry grinned up at Tom, a devilish expression which the other scowled
at, or at least tried to but it seemed he found the task a little too difficult
at that moment.
Harry went to lick the head of the penis again and pulled away straight after,
pre-come had leaked from the cock as he had been sucking on Tom's balls and
Harry had just gotten a good taste of it, he had known it would taste 'salty'
from what he had heard and read but those sources didn't warn him of the
intensity of it, it was like really bad seawater and Harry had never quite
enjoyed the sea.
Tom seemed to have noticed Harry's sudden draw-back and moved his arm away from
his mouth to speak, "Something wrong precious?"
Harry looked at the dick he was holding before turning his eyes up to Tom, "No,
it just doesn't taste so good apparently, I'll continue though." He stated the
last part with finality, he wanted to do this, taste be damned.
Harry sucked on the head again, tasting what was left of the come, hoping the
taste would get better or that he would adjust to it, but only managed to
scrunch his face up at it as he continued to suck. The hand that had been
muffling Tom's mouth came down to rest on his head, not pushing or pulling him,
just resting there, the fingers messing into his untidy mop. Once again Harry
tried to get the penis down his throat but was stopped by his own self-
preserving body.
Harry wished he could just force it but it didn't seem to want to work that
way. Tom's moans and pants were reaching a new high and Harry figured he must
be close to cumming now so he gave up his hopes of fitting the whole thing in
and set himself to sucking and licking on it fervently, his hand massaging the
base were his mouth would not reach, the other hand gently fondling his balls.
Tom moved his other hand so that both were on the back of Harry's head and
started moving it slightly, fastening the pace as Tom's noises filled the
closet and Harry was sure both of them were thankful for privacy charms. Harry
was staring upwards at Tom's face, wanting to see him when he came and just as
Harry was sure Tom would come soon the older boy shot him an evil grin, pulled
him back and came all over his face.
Coughing and spluttering it took Harry a moment for what had just happened to
sink in.
And then he was cursing.
Tom had just enough time to put himself back in his pants, spell-clean the come
off Harry's face and dodge out of the closet before Harry was tearing after him
through the halls.
"You could have bloody well asked first you bastard!" Harry screeched as he
charged after the manically laughing boy down the halls.
The chase lasted quite a while, Harry found Tom was as good at running away as
he was and the two swapped spells every now and then, Harry would blast one
Tom's way who would dodge and have it hit a wall instead, and Tom would send a
charm or hex back it him to slow him down. Luckily for them it was dinner time
so no one saw the precious head boy being hunted down by an enraged midget and
when the two finally slowed down, panting and huffing as if they had never ran
so much in their life, Harry pulled Tom into a nearby secret passage for a
snogfest.
 
 
To be Continued...
***** I'll Always be the One to Hope *****
The days passed easily enough, the weather slowly warming and sending Harry a
reminder that it would be all too soon before he had to leave the place he
called his home and return to his father, in their house where shadows grew
darker in both home and heart, and too many words were left unspoken despite
voices being raised so high.
Abraxas Malfoy was released from the hospital wing after a week and a half,
having made a full recovery he was now putting the majority of his time into
work he had missed as well as catching up with the latest news and gossip. So
far he had not caused Harry any trouble, not so much as an ill-meant glance was
sent his way. Harry wondered if it would last, currently he felt rather... off
about the situation. He should be glad Malfoy no longer bothered him but he
couldn't shake the feeling that it had been his fault Malfoy had ended up in
such a state, something had happened, likely involving Tom, and the blond did
not want to speak of it, when other students asked he diverted the conversation
instead of basking in their attention.
Harry felt guilty.
Tom had since returned Harry's favour of getting down on his knees to suck on
the other, Harry had found it a wildly enjoyable experience and could not wait
to try more. The more he explored his sexuality and body the more he wanted and
the closer he felt to the boy he fell in love with. Harry was sure he couldn't
get any happier than when he was with Tom, they could be doing the most mundane
things, like walking together through the halls, and yet Harry found himself in
a good place, the arms of the other boy were his favourite accessory and he
wouldn't trade them for the warmest jumper or blanket in the world.
Life was just so easy and happy when the whole world fit right inside your
arms.
With the inevitable end of the year approaching tests and exams became more
important to the student body, teachers were swamped with students asking
questions and getting advice, which raised the levels of excitement in the
teachers too, though not in a good way. Furthermore Professor Slughorn could
not go ten minutes without an eager seventh year student approaching him about
their future, after all it was well known that Slughorn had connections and
liked to use them to benefit both himself and the students. Mostly himself.
Harry was pretty confident in his ability to handle the upcoming tests, with
his love of knowledge and regular study sessions he was sure to ace them all
easily and get his O.W.L.s without trouble.
And so it was both due to his confidence and the fact that he was a Slytherin,
not a Gryffindor, that he was taken by surprise when Professor Dumbledore asked
him to accompany him to his office. Harry had not displayed any desire to talk
about his transfiguration work or the tests he would take on them, and if it
was about the exams in general then he would be talking to Slughorn about them.
So what did the old man want?
Walking to the transfiguration professors office was an awkward affair, the man
seemed content to hum a tune as they walked, Harry stayed a few steps behind
the teacher and tryed not to be blinded by his gaudy robes as passing students
glanced at the pair, obviously thinking Harry had gotten into trouble.
The professors office was just as bright and extravagant as the man himself,
covered in colourful decorations and shiny trinkets, though he did notice a
good amount of bookshelves among the displays of shiny bits and pieces.
Dumbledore sat himself behind his large desk and looked up at Harry with a
smile, eyes twinkling he offered, "Lemon drop my boy?" how Harry hated that,
'my boy' he scoffed mentally, he was no ones boy.
"No thanks. Sir, why exactly am I here?" Harry replied, sitting awkwardly on
the chair in front of the desk.
"I merely wish to express my concerns for you my boy." Dumbledore explained, a
concerned, grand-fatherly like look upon his face which Harry wasn't buying.
"About?" Harry pressed.
"Your..." Dumbledore seemed to struggle to find the right word, "relationship
with Mister Riddle."
Of course, what else? "My relationship isn't really any concern of yours sir."
Harry replied tersely, "Or any one else in the school. It's between myself and
Tom."
"Ah, but as your teacher it is my responsibility to look out for my students."
Dumbledore replied, quick as a whip, "I'm just not sure its entirely healthy
for you to be in a relationship with him, he isn't the nicest person, polite as
he is. I fear for you my boy."
Harry crossed his arms, leaning back in the chair a little, "Tom has done
nothing to hurt me sir, and I don't expect he will. I can assure you your fears
are for naught." Why did the old fool have to meddle?
"Not yet no, but I do worry about your future, if you wish to continue it with
Tom. What should happen if he hurts you when there is no one to help? I have
reason to suspect that he is the one that sent Abraxas Malfoy to the hospital
wing an-"
Harry cut him off, "How would you know that?" He demanded, "If he did even do
it, how would you know?"
Dumbledore sighed, "I have no solid proof yet, but I have reasons to suspect
Mister Riddle of being behind quite a few things that have gone on at the
school since he started here and I feel that that is enough to at least warn
you my boy. If he can hurt his own friends then surely you yourself are not
safe? He is a manipulator, if it would benefit him to harm you do you not think
he would do it?" Dumbledore was silent for a moment while Harry scowled at him,
"I don't mean for my words to hurt you my boy, I just wanted to warn you. If
you heed my advice or not is your own choice."
"Thank you for your concern professor," Harry said through gritted teeth, "but
it really is unnecessary. May I go now?"
"You may." Dumbledore sighed, that old grandfatherly look on his face again.
Harry got up quickly and left the office, making his way swiftly down to the
dungeons. How dare the old fool tell him his relationship was bad and that he
should end it. He had gotten enough shit from the students when it started, not
to mention Malfoy as well, he didn't need teachers butting in too.
"Someone steal your treacle?"
Harry turned, he had been walking so fast and lost in his own grumbling
thoughts that he hadn't realized he had already made it down to the ground
floor and had been walking past a section of wall that opened up into the
grounds outside. Tom had been leaning against one of the pillars, he vaguely
noticed a book that was now laying forgotten on the floor along with his school
robe which he probably shed in favour of feeling the cool wind coming in, with
the summer approaching such winds would be few and far between until the season
ended.
The tall boy approached him, "Did Dumbledore tell you to dump me?"
Harry looked up at the other boy, damn his height, "How did you know?"
Tom cracked a smile that was too handsome for any face to legally have rights
to, "He gave me the same speech, said he didn't want to see me hurt you, that I
should leave you for your own good and that if I really cared I would stay away
from you." Tom went on amused, "All that rot. I figured he must have gotten to
you too, what with you stalking around like a cat that had its tail trodden
on."
Harry grinned back, "Yeah, the old fool should really stay out of it."
"Not going to dump me now are you precious?" Tom asked in mock concern, smile
still in place and there was a name Harry rather liked to be called.
"Nah, then who would I use as a human pillow in the common room?"
"Cheeky sod." Tom replied, wrapping his arms around Harry's waist, Harry
instantly relaxed into the other, enjoying the embrace.
Harry ended up joining Tom in sitting down and reading in the sunlight, leaning
against the taller boy happily. Perhaps now they could finally be left alone?
Harry could only hope.
 
 
To be Continued...
***** What it's Worth *****
Other than a few meaningful looks during classes and in the great hall
Professor Dumbledore gave Harry no more trouble. Harry returned each of his
concerned glances with ugly faces, huffing impatiently when the man did not
relent. Tom had noticed too but made no actions against the professor other
than to complain about it to his friends in the common room, they all hated
Dumbledore so it gave them fuel to talk about yet another problem they had with
the old coot.
Harry did not join in with the complaining, he certainly didn't like that
Dumbledore saw fit to mess with his relationship and was never one for liking
the professor due to his stance towards the house of snakes, but Harry felt
that the old man had really been concerned and just wanted to warn him, even if
he had no right to do so.
The grounds swarmed with students these days, all of them enjoying the rays of
warm sun as they studied for exams or attempted to wind down from doing so,
there was hardly a bit of ground outside that one could walk without seeing
other students lurking about in sunny places, lounging like cats, playing
games, or sitting comfortably together. Fifth and seventh year students were
the most on edge, having to take the most important tests, but even they were
seen relaxing in the good weather between visits to the library.
Harry's group of friends were personally enjoying the warm rays of light
filtering in through the large window at their favourite haunt in the library,
Monica had gathered up many pillows littered around the couches and seating
areas so that she could lay among them under the warmth. Harry and Violet made
sure Sam and Monica were up to date with their work, which wasn't hard with Sam
as he usually timed himself well, and the group was sure they would do fine
with their exams, there was no need for unnecessary panic.
Harry was walking with his friends to the great hall for dinner when they
became aware of another person walking a few steps behind them, turning around
they were faced with Abraxas Malfoy, the blond's eyes were glued to Harry, not
even glancing at his friends, just when I thought I was done with him.
They all stopped and Malfoy spoke, "I'd like to speak with you."
"Really?" Harry asked sarcastically, raising an eyebrow.
Malfoy briefly glanced at this friends before his eyes returned to him, "Yes.
Alone."
"And why should I trust you?" Harry asked, not forgetting about the bruises he
had gotten last time he was alone with Malfoy.
"I won't hurt you this time, I swear." and something in his voice made Harry
believe him.
Harry sighed, he knew he might regret this, "Alright. Guy's you can go ahead
alright?"
They agreed to leave him but all sent Malfoy hateful and distrusting glares as
they turned and continued down the hall. Left alone in the empty hall the two
were silent, Harry was glad for the few steps of distance between them, not at
all prepared to get close to Malfoy. He got tired of waiting and was about to
ask if Malfoy had wanted to talk at all when the blond opened his mouth.
"I'm sorry."
So odd it was to hear such words from the blond boys mouth, usually one to
blame and belittle others and never take responsibility, "Are you?" his words
were not accusatory, merely questioning.
"Yes. I... realize that what I did to you was wrong, I should not have pursued
you in the way that I did." The blond had turned his head away and Harry could
see it was taking a lot for him to say such things.
"Did Tom make you do this?" Harry wondered flatly, an apology meant nothing if
it was forced.
"No." Malfoy's hand was grabbing his other arm in a clear gesture of
awkwardness, "I wasn't forced to do this. I... felt I should."
"Okay." Harry replied, waiting to hear more.
"I... was hurt when you rejected me, and in turn I hurt you. It was selfish of
me and I should not have treated you the way I did... or have said the things I
did." His eyes rose to meet Harry's again, "I'm sorry for hurting you. I've
been really foolish lately and made a huge dick out of myself. I won't chase
after you any more, even if you leave Tom. If you don't want me then I won't
make a problem out of it."
Harry was surprised by the seventh year student, "I... Uh... Thanks. It means a
lot to me that you apologized and won't continue what you were doing."
"So..." The blonds eyes met his, beseeching, "You forgive me?"
"Uh, yeah, I guess."
The blond smiled a bit, awkwardness still evident between them, and offered a
hand, "Friends then?"
Harry took a moment to stare at the limb before he took it, "Sure, friends."
They then walked to the great hall together to join the rest of the students
for dinner.
As they walked Harry asked, "Was Tom the reason you were sent to the hospital
wing?"
The blond merely gave him a small smile and replied, "Does it matter? It's over
now, let's not think on it."
Harry never thought that Malfoy would ever apologize, much less want to be
friends with him, but he found himself glad for it. The two would most
certainly but heads in the future but Harry hoped that their new found
friendship would last, and perhaps in the process he could teach the blond to
be more open to halfbloods and muggleborns. He could try at least, he doubted
the older boy could really change that much.
When Tom saw the two enter the hall together he seemed to bristle with fury,
Harry sat down next to him expecting what the other would ask.
"Is Malfoy causing you trouble again?" Tom hissed to him, eying the blond
dangerously.
"Nope." He replied, happily piling up a plate with lamb chops and vegetables,
"Actually he said he was sorry."
"He... apologized?" Tom obviously found it as hard to believe as Harry had.
"Yeah, even offered to be friends." As Harry stuffed a roasted sweet potato in
his mouth he added, "Hope it lasts."
Tom turned back to his own dinner, seemingly in thought, "Well, it's better
than you being at each others throats for the rest of the year."
Harry agreed.
 
 
To be Continued...
***** Love is No Test *****
As Harry expected not everything was sunshine and rainbows after he and Malfoy
called a truce, they still butted heads often and there were a few hexes thrown
about the common room every now and then, but their fights ended in apologies
now instead of trips to the hospital wing, which Harry supposed was an
improvement.
All too soon it was time for the students to take their exams and for the first
time Harry was feeling nervous, he knew he could perform everything that would
be expected for his year level, higher even, but he worried that he might
fumble something in front of a scrutinizing examiner or that they might just
not like him. He had finished up most of the written tests as well as being
called into a room for the examiners to witness what he was capable of casting.
He only had to do one more practical examination and he was done.
He envied Monica who happily bounced into each exam, completely unfazed despite
not being the smartest nor most competent student of their year. Sam went with
more dignity, only the shaking of his hands giving himself away as he attempted
to hold his head high. Harry only hoped he would be able to enter the room
without making a complete fool of himself.
For the past few weeks the student's schedules had been filled with tests and
exams, today would be the last of them, specifically the one Harry was waiting
to complete was in the last portion of the tests. Harry knew Tom's exams had
been two days prior as the tall boy had been pouring over books for the days
leading up to them, Harry didn't know why as it was clear Tom would pass any
test with flying colours even if he didn't expect it but the older boy merely
said he wanted to be prepared and that it was always good to know more before
hand, even if the knowledge wouldn't be used.
Finally it was his turn, entering the room he walked up to the examiner who
instructed him what to do and he did so, adding as much power as he could into
each spell while simultaneously keeping them under his control. Luckily the
last subject was defense against the dark arts, which Harry excelled in and so
he found all the spells to be very easy, the examiner noticed this and talked
to him about the subject, confirming that Harry was indeed good at it and even
asked him if he could show the man higher level spells, which he happily did
and ended up walking out knowing that he had certainly passed that one.
Sighing happily Harry was glad to finally have the tests over, now he just had
to wait to get his results owled to him, he would know in the summer how well
he did and until then he may as well relax. He knew his friends, Monica
specifically, had intended to celebrate the last day of their exams with a
feast filled with food nicked from the kitchen, or perhaps nicked was not the
right word as the house elves practically and quite happily threw food at
whoever entered the hidden entrance.
Due to the celebration being between multiple houses it was to be held out on
the grounds, in a rose garden close to the castle, Harry remembered Tom kissing
him there with a pleased sigh, back in those days he had thought the older boy
to simply be messing with him. The garden overlooked the lake with a good view
of where the sun would set behind the distant mountains. A perfect place to
have a party after so many stressful days.
When Harry arrived he found many people already there, Monica and Sam were
setting up food on conjured, leg-less tabletops that had been charmed to float
at a decent height. Tom was there with all his Slytherin friends, all of them
having been invited by an over-excited Monica and surprisingly few being
opposed to the idea of a food-filled celebration. Harry even saw some Ravenclaw
and Gryffindor students he wasn't too familiar with hanging about as well,
either knowing Tom's group of friends or Harry's own, he was sure many of the
Ravenclaw's would have been invited by Violet who was checking out how many
different kinds of foods Monica had managed to pilfer.
Tom had seen him and approached, "How did your test go precious?"
"Is that how you greet me?" Harry asked in amusement, wrapping his arms around
the tall boys neck and grinning up at him, Tom grinned back and bent down to
kiss the short boy, after which Harry continued, "It went fine. Best subject."
The two loosened their grip on each other to turn towards the garden, "Your
friends are certainly excited to have this party." Tom commented, "I must admit
they have done well with procuring the food and means to set it up."
Harry grinned, "They are Hufflepuffs." Was his only comment as they walked
towards the group of happily chatting students.
"Harry!" Monica shouted in greeting after finishing setting up what looked to
be the last table of food, "Like it?"
Harry beamed at her, "It's brilliant! You guys did a great job!"
"It's nice and close to the castle too!" Sam butted in, "So we can head inside
easily if it gets past curfew."
"Stiff." Monica said, jutting an elbow into Sam's ribs before turning back to
Harry, "My only regret is that I couldn't get my hands on any music, I was too
busy grabbing food."
A shout sounded a few thorny hedges away, "We got it covered!" The group turned
around to see Lestrange and Nott carrying a record player into the garden and
setting it up.
Monica stared owlishly, "Where did you get that? I looked everywhere for one!"
"Nicked it from Slughorn's office!" Lestrange replied, everyone laughing at
that, knowing that Slughorn probably wouldn't be too angry if he found out as
long as it was brought back in one piece.
The two Slytherins set up the music easily enough and the garden was filled
with the sounds of happy tunes and chatting students, the sweet scent of some
of the foods mixing with the aroma of blooming roses. Harry stuck with Tom for
some of it before being pulled away by his friends, Monica putting on jumpy
tunes and dancing around to them without a care, laughing along with the
students that could not contain themselves at her behavior. Harry found himself
overjoyed at the party and the fact that there were students from every house
there, enjoying the company and shenanigans. The bright sun climbing its way
from its position over the castle grounds to head over the lake, casting it
into a warm golden shine that reflected a burnt glow on the surroundings,
seemingly setting the colourful roses alight.
Harry was busy watching the beautiful lade-side scenery when a hand was placed
on his arm, looking the other way he met Tom's dark eyes before soft lips were
upon him, those arms moving down to his hips, he vaguely heard an amused and
mocking 'ooh!' from Monica as his thoughts were taken over by that wonderful,
and deliciously sweet?, mouth.
Pulling back he only sported a questioning look for a moment before a half-
eaten slice of treacle tart was held up before him, grinning he quickly took a
bite before Tom could pull it away and laughed at the tall boy's indignant
look.
The other students were converging in the same spot as them now, all silently
looking out over the lake as they watched the sun steadily descend behind the
mountains, the golden glow reaching a crescendo before the orb started being
hidden by tall and jagged peaks, the sky turning red and pink and then purple,
the few scattered clouds in the sky taking on an orange glow. An entire rainbow
of warmth flooding over the sky before darkness overtook it and they would be
forced to move inside the castle.
Harry rested himself against Tom, their hands gripping each other tightly even
as their eyes stayed fixated on the scene before them.
 
===============================================================================
 
 
Harry spent a lot of time after their end-of-exam party with Tom as there were
only a few days left before the summer break.
The clean-up of the party was made easier with the fact that many of the
students that had participated offered to help. The Slytherins had returned
Slughorn's music player, the potions professor easily letting them off the hook
without so much as a punishment. And if a few students had had hangovers after
the party? Well everyone simply turned a blind eye, not wanting to ruin
anyone's good mood in the hopes of ending the school year on a positive note.
For Harry the end of year wasn't too positive no matter what anyone could do,
even after such a fun party it still meant he had to leave Hogwarts to return
to his muggle home in the middle of muggle suburbs. It also meant that he would
not see Tom until the next year, as the older boy lived in a muggle orphanage
and informed him it probably wouldn't be good to visit him for several reasons,
Harry couldn't even send Hedwig with mail to Tom as the muggles he lived with
would start asking questions about why owls were delivering letters, he also
told Harry that the matrons would likely read the letters before they let Tom
have them anyway.
And so it was with an inexplicable weight on his shoulders that he watched
Hogwarts castle become a smaller and smaller feature in the scenic view of the
train window, he sat with Tom in a compartment filled with other Slytherins,
Sam and Monica were in another with Violet and some of their housemates.
Despite the fact that he was still with Tom for the next few hours he could not
shake the feeling that there was already a distance between them, like a dark,
gaping hole that sucked the contents of his chest into it with no hope of
fishing them out.
They didn't talk much during the train ride, only a few words exchanged every
now and then, despite the compartment being full of chatty students. Their
hands remained clasped together tightly as Harry watched the world outside the
window speed past them, hardly noticing it change between flowering fields,
open lakes or dense forests.
When the train reached kings cross station the two pulled their luggage over to
a discreet corner and held each other for a while, Harry basked in what would
probably be their last moment together for what felt to him to be far too long
a time. Harry wished the two could run away together right then and there, that
they could go get lost and never be found. But he knew they both had to go
their respective residencies until the next school year came around, Harry just
hoped the lack of communication wouldn't put a rift between them.
Sighing unhappily they exited the barrier together, both pushing their trunks
along on rickety trolleys, Hedwig balancing herself in the shaking cage and
giving Harry a dirty look, as they made their way directly out into the car
park outside. Harry's father was not yet there but he saw a women dressed in
nun clothes sitting in the seat of a standard Flying Ten beckon Tom over, it
was clear from the older boy's expression that the woman was from the
orphanage. Tom shot Harry one last meaningful look before he shoved his trunk
into the car and got inside himself, Harry watched as the automobile's engine
made loud popping sounds as it started up and drove away, Tom watching him
through the dirty window.
The car turned a corner around some dark buildings and just like that Tom was
gone. Harry's heart felt tight and he desperately wished to chase after the
noisy car, to grab Tom and never let him go, to loosen the invisible rope that
seemed intent on crushing the vital organ in his chest.
Harry was left waiting around for about an hour before a dark 1940's Cadillac
pulled up with his father inside, unlike the nun his father got out of his car
to help Harry shove his trunk inside, Harry making sure Hedwig was placed down
gently without the chance of her cage getting tipped over before he got in the
front passenger seat.
And, with far less noise than the orphanage one, the car started up and took
him away from the train station. Let the summer begin, Harry thought with a
heavy heart.
 
 
To be Continued...
***** Shadows Grow Darker *****
Harry's father did not talk to him much, other than a greeting the car ride
home was spent in tense silence. It wasn't anything Harry was unaccustomed to,
his father being a devout pastor and he an unbelieving wizard put distance
between the two, more often it was best to stay quiet than to risk an argument.
Any conversation they did have tended to be bland and filled with small talk.
Sometimes Harry wished he could have a closer relationship with the one parent
he had but the old man was too set in his ways to put aside their differences
and talk to his son like they were actually a family and not just two people
living together without a choice.
He supposed things could be worse between them, his father may have raised his
voice many times, and kept his silence at others, but he had never raised a
hand at Harry, had never struck him aside from when he was a whiny child in
need of discipline.
Harry thought back to the day when his mother had died in the car crash that
should have killed him as well, his father had seemed stressed then, rushing
about and asking questions, but Harry quickly realized there wasn't much grief
inside the man, he didn't know much about romantic relationships back then but
he supposed his parents had already been falling out of love. His father's main
concern had been Harry at the time, not his dead wife, a fact that gave Harry a
bitter taste in his mouth, the woman that had died that day was his mother
after all and he still had some good memories of her, even if he couldn't
remember her face.
His father had been loud that day.
Harry wouldn't say that the two weren't close during the years after his
mothers death, but his unspoken lack of faith and realization that his father
did not care for his deceased mother had put distance between them even then.
Harry hadn't been ready to tell his father that he did not believe that there
was a giant person in the sky judging people for simply being human, it wasn't
until he was nine years old that he did tell him, or rather shouted it at his
father when the man was insisting Harry put more effort into the religion.
As expected his father had not taken the news of that too well and the two had
argued loudly, his father telling him that he was straying from God's path and
that he was dooming himself and all that rot, but Harry had not relented, he
could not believe in the same thing as his father did. Eventually the man had
relented but there was a darkness that hovered over the house and followed the
two, like someone had let in a storm cloud that did not wish to leave until
everything was sodden and splintering.
His father had been simultaneously loud and all too quiet that day.
The day that Harry learnt the weird things he could do was magic and that there
was a hidden world beyond the muggle view had been another remarkable day in
his life. Dumbledore had come to see him and tell him what he was and that he
would go to a school full of magic to learn even more. It had been wonderful
news to him, he had always loved the fairy tales his mother read to him every
night and now it seemed he was to be part of one.
His father had not taken the news in the same light as him, questioning the old
wizard rigorously and attempting to talk the wizard out of having Harry go to
Hogwarts. Harry had been angered by his father's actions, it was his life, not
his fathers, and he would make his own choices without the man stopping him.
But at the same time he could understand the mans concerns, his entire life
beliefs were being shaken down in front of him by a stranger he had never met
before. In the past they had ignored Harry's strange abilities, his father
putting it down to God protecting him as it usually only happened when Harry
was in trouble or need. But now it was so much more and very different to what
the man had tried to play it off as.
Once Dumbledore had left, giving Harry his letter with the list of things he
would need, his father had refused to look him in the eye, not speaking and
leaving the room if Harry entered it when he was inside.
His father had been silent that day.
The silence had seemed to become drawn out, the two growing further and further
apart, like they were sitting on opposite sides of a gorge that only got wider
as each day passed and Harry wondered when he would no longer be able to see
the man he had once looked up to as a toddler, before his mother died, before
he confessed his lack of faith, before his father looked at him like he was a
freak. Harry had already begun to realize though that that man may never have
truly existed at all.
The house he returned to that summer would have looked bright, clean and
expensive to anyone else but to Harry there were shadows in every corner,
leeching over the white walls and consuming the fancy objects littered about on
neat tables and counters, licking at his arms and legs as he walked the narrow
halls.
Harry did not have many possessions, only a few toys from before he had started
going to Hogwarts laying about forgotten in his room, a room that was mostly
empty and hardly lived in, Harry supposed it was a testament to the fact that
he felt Hogwarts was his one true home. Harry was fine with not having much
though, it meant he had time to put into doing his summer homework and going
over the theory for spells he had yet to try but would once he got back to the
castle.
Harry also helped with cooking, cleaning and tending to the garden when it
wasn't so hot outside. His father wasn't good at those things so once Harry had
been old enough he had taken over doing them, he rather liked cooking and
spending time with pretty flowers and didn't care if some people labelled him
being girly because of it, Harry didn't think it was a girly thing to look
after yourself and others. It also gave him something to do, he found it was
easier to deal with hard homework questions if he left the parchment in favour
of scrubbing dishes and let his mind think on it, it also gave him reasons not
to be in the same room as his father as he simply couldn't handle how thick the
air became when they stayed in the same room for very long, sitting to eat
dinner together was the longest they stayed near each other.
Harry was glad that his fathers duties as a pastor kept the man busy in the
summer so he often had the house to himself, the shadows all over the place
receding slightly, if only for a short while.
There wasone issue though, Harry felt he should tell his father about Tom.
Despite their lack of closeness he felt he needed to do it, to tell his father
he was in love with another boy and hope that his father would not look down
upon him too much for it. Harry knew it was inevitable that his father would
disapprove but Harry didn't want to hide that part of himself, family was an
important thing to Harry and he wanted Tom to be a part of his, a hopefully
accepted part.
He wanted his father to know, to understand and hopefully be proud of the fact
that Harry had managed to fall in love with someone, to concentrate on the fact
that Tom was so great and smart and that he loved Harry back, not on the fact
that they were both male. He wanted to be able to talk about Tom and hopefully
be able to invite him over to their house one day without having to hide the
reasons why.
Harry knew he was probably thinking too wishfully, he knew his father didn't
approve of homosexuality but he couldn't help hoping he, as his son, would be a
different case, that his father would bare it for him.
He would only know once he told him.
 
===============================================================================
 
 
His chance came during dinner a few days after the start of summer.
His father had been out working all day and still had his pastor garments on,
Harry really wished that the man had changed before dinner as the clothes got
his nerves shooting to the heated sky but he knew the man never saw any point
in it, the clothes being an everyday thing to him.
Harry had cooked a rather bountiful meal for just two people in preparation to
confess his sexuality to his father, the table laid out nicely with candles and
dishes of buttered vegetables and seasoned meats and yet Harry had no thoughts
for any of them, only filling his plate with mechanical actions, barely
noticing or caring what was piled upon it.
When his father started eating Harry took his chance and spoke, "Father, I'd
like to tell you something." Harry hoped his voice hadn't shaken too much, he
felt like something in his throat had dislodged itself.
"And what is that?" His father prompted before putting another bit of potato in
his mouth.
"Well... I got into a relationship since winter..." Harry tried to ease into
breaking the news.
"Really? Another magical person I suppose?" Harry didn't miss the way his
father's voice wavered over 'magical person' like he could barely bring himself
to say the word magic, he hadn't even bothered saying witch or wizard and Harry
wasn't sure if he should be glad of that.
"Yeah... They are in the same house as me but a year older..." Harry coughed in
an attempt to get his voice back under control, he felt like his ribs were
trying to rip through his sides and turn into wings. Harry almost wished they
would so he could fly away from this conversation.
His father seemed oblivious to his nervousness as he continued eating, "Well
it's not bad to date someone older than yourself, what's she like?"
"Well... they are very smart... real classy..." Harry decided it was now or
never as he felt his body continue its 'flight' reactions, "Also... they are a
boy..."
His father stopped eating and looked at him with narrowed eyes, turning his
head a little as if to hear Harry better, "What was that?"
Harry wasn't even holding his eating utensils anymore, "They..." his voice rose
and he ended up almost shouting the words, "He's a boy! I have a boyfriend!"
His father leant back in his chair, putting his elbows on the table and
crossing his fingers, "No you don't." He spoke calmly and with finality.
Harry felt a heat stir within him, boiling in the center of his chest and
rising up the back of his neck, he stood and slammed his hands on the table,
"Yes I do! I have a boyfriend dad! I'm gay!"
His father did not rise, "Think about what you are saying boy-"
Harry cut him off, tears welling and stinging his eyes, "I know what I'm
saying! I love him dad!"
His father rose, a dark expression on his face, "You go against God by saying
these things, is that what you want?"
"I don't give a fuck about God dad! I don't even think he exists! I exist
though! Don't I matter to you?!"
His fathers voice was filled with venom, "If you have any sense child you will
stop seeing this boy before things go too far. I won't stand for that. It's
enough that you're as foolish as your mother and magical to boot, I won't stand
for having a fag for a son!"
Harry flinched as if he was struck, it hurt more than he could describe for his
father to have called him such a thing, getting some of his strength back he
shouted back in a shaky voice, "Well you'll have to stand for it, because
that's what I am! I love him and you denying my feelings won't change that!"
breathing in deeply, "We even fucked, okay!"
The look his father gave him held so much hate that Harry could not utter a
word as the man stormed out of the kitchen, a few seconds later a crashing
sound signified the man had left the house.
Harry sat back down at the table, uninterested in the vast amount of food
before him, the fire in his chest feeling like it had been doused with ice
water.
 
 
To be Continued...
***** This is the Part Where I Break *****
Chapter Summary
     RATING HAS BEEN CHANGED TO EXPLICIT - DO NOT READ FURTHER IF THAT
     BOTHERS YOU
     Thanks to everyone who helped me out after that last chapter! Really
     appreciated!
Harry was left sitting at the dining table in a stunned silence for so long
that by the time he finally pieced himself back together and started to clear
away the forgotten meal it had already grown cold.
He shoved everything salvageable into their fridge and threw the rest outside
into a compost bin before heading into the bathroom, he filled the small tub
with steaming water and let it fill as he ripped his clothes off, barely caring
when the heat of the water hurt him as he slipped into the tub. The water
wasn't so hot as to scald him and Harry welcomed the small amount of pain as it
brought his foggy head slightly back to the earth again.
The world kept spinning around him and he found himself unable to take hold
onto a single coherent thought, he barely registered his neck rotating his head
about randomly as if to follow the moving walls as they swayed about the bright
room, his body rocking back and forth from his hips upwards.
He attempted to direct his eyes in front of him, to stop their incessant
moving, as he lay backwards, letting the over-warm water swallow him up,
feeling his dark, messy hair swish into his face as he closed his mouth.
Staring up through the water at the roof, which was finally not moving, Harry
vaguely thought he felt like one of those pose-able wooden dolls, with his
joint all out of place yet exactly where they should be, he felt like he was
under the influence of something strong.
Harry's eyes started to sting from holding them open under the water, his chest
constricting as if being crushed by a mighty weight and his mouth and nose
begging to take in air despite the fact that they would only find lung-filling
water.
Harry stayed under the water for a few seconds more, allowing himself to feel
his bodies protests before he gripped the sides of the tub and hauled himself
up, gasping loudly.
Wet hands moved hair from his face, water pouring down his cheeks and dripping
over his nose. He grabbed a bar of soap and began rubbing it down his legs, to
give his hands something to do, to give his eyes something to center on, to
keep his mind in one place, he didn't know but it seemed to work for whatever
purpose he had done it for.
Only when the water was cold and foggy from soap did he lift himself from it,
rinsing the suds off himself in a stream of water from the shower head,
uncaring that the water from it was freezing cold, before wrapping a towel
around himself and heading out into the hall, not bothering to do anything
about the clothes he left scattered around the bathroom floor.
He stumbled down the hallway, keeping a tentative hand on the wall as his eyes
seemed to forget their purpose once again, he got halfway to his bedroom before
he heard the sound of heavy feet, turning slightly in the direction of the
noise his mind supplied for him that his father must have returned home at some
point while he was in the bathtub. Harry vaguely thought about calling out to
him but a jolt in his chest stopped him, did he want to face the man so soon
after their argument? No. He turned back to continue down the hall again but
didn't make a single step as he heard the boots approach him, stop close behind
his back, then suddenly there was a cloth over his mouth and everything was
filled with chemicals.
And then nothing.
When he awoke the first thing he noticed was that something was chaffing his
wrists, rough in texture and holding him up, the next was that he was still
naked but without his towel. Blinking his eyes he found himself to be in their
dark cellar, wine racks and dusty wooden shelves pushed up against the walls
with spiders making their homes among them. His mind was sluggish as he
wondered what he could be doing down here, hadn't he been heading to his
bedroom? Attempting to shift his legs he found them bound too, the ropes on his
limbs holding him up spread-eagle with only a little room to move them.
A light flashing on caused him to shut his eyes quickly before squinting them
open and adjusting to the yellow glow the simple hanging bulb cast upon the
cellar, the weak light not making it to the darkest corners but doing enough
for Harry to see his father across the room from him, standing at the power
switch.
"Dad?" Harry's croaked out, his voice weak and filled with confusion, why were
they down here? "What's going on?"
His father did not reply, his eyes hard like cold stones and his face
expressionless in the shadows of the light as he slowly approached, Harry
wondered if he would untie him, it wasn't very comfortable to be strung up with
such harsh ropes. His eyes still stung from the bath making it hard to see, the
dimness of the light not helping, and his mind kept rolling over and over, he
wished it would stop, that he would think more clearly, he was sure this wasn't
right, this wasn't ordinary.
His father stopped a few steps away, turning his attention to items on one of
the wooden shelves, as if Harry wasn't there at all.
"Hey," Harry tried again, his voice like cracked pavement, "Don't ignore me,
whats going on?" He attempted to tug on the ropes, seeing if any would come
loose.
"Be still." Harry stopped moving and snapped his head over to look at his
father, the man still paying more attention to the shapes Harry's tired eyes
couldn't make out.
"Are you gonna tell me whats going on?" Harry asked, voice slurring his words
together.
His father turned to him, a dark object in his hand, "I am going to punish
you."
The first spike of panic jolted like static in his chest, "Punish me? Why?"
"Because you are a sinner. By declaring yourself homosexual you have fallen
from God's path and into the hands of the devil, the things you have done with
that other boy are illegal-"
"Not in the wizarding world they aren't." Harry butt in, having read books on
wizarding laws he found that unlike muggles they held no prejudice against
sexuality or skin colour in their world, and surely his father wasn't serious?
He was his son!
"I don't care what those sinners think, they would deliver you to Satan." His
father approached him, the start of adrenaline had his eyes seeing better now
and Harry could see that he was holding a small whip, he wasn't going to use
that was he? "You are a child and it is my duty as your parent to punish you,
to show you God's will."
"That's crazy! Whipping me won't make me believe in God and it certainly won't
change how I feel for Tom!"
His father raised the whip and Harry's wide eyes followed it, his heart beating
erratically, "If I had my way that boy would be punished too, people like that
need to learn that what they do is wrong." and the whip was brought down.
Harry cried out as it made contact with his skin, his scream filling the room
momentarily, the strike leaving a gash on his side, the soft skin torn by the
rubbery material.
"Don't." Harry pleaded shakily as the whip was raised again, his father didn't
seem to hear him, if he did then he clearly didn't care for his sons pleading,
not looking him in the eye as he brought the whip down again and it hurt, oh
Merlin did it hurt. Hot tears ran down his face as another tear opened on his
skin and blood welled down his leg.
His father continued to bring the whip down upon his skin, Harry tried to
steady himself for each lash but found it impossible to block out the sudden,
striking pain. His cries coming out shrilly as each new blow tore him open and
he felt hot, sticky blood run down his clean, pale skin. Harry's voice grew
hoarse from the screams he could not hold back, blood trickled from his mouth
as he bit his cheeks and tongue every few lashes, his legs and sides covered in
an odd pattern of red slashes.
Harry had flinched with each blow, still not given up the hope of staving off
the pain, and blinked his eyes open tentatively when the next lash did not
come, instead his father had returned to the shelf, Harry sighed lightly, his
body relaxing, hoping it was finally over, that he would be let down and could
tend to his wounds, he briefly thought on the fact that he would likely need to
bath again, but his father seemed intent on messing with something on the shelf
making worry bubble up inside him, what more could he do? Do you really want to
know?
"Father," Harry panted desperately, "Dad... Please." He just wanted to be let
go, he didn't want to suffer more, he hadn't done anything wrong! Couldn't his
father see what madness this was?
His father turned to him, "Do you denounce those sinful feelings? Do you give
in the God's righteous will?"
He couldn't, it wasn't right, "No." He whispered out harshly, voice shaking,
heart boxing his rib cage.
"Then we aren't finished here yet." His father stated, reaching for the object
on the shelf he had been messing with, it was black and cone shaped, Harry had
no idea what it was meant to be or how it would be used, "I'll show you just
how wrong the path you walk is."
His father approached him and lowered the object between his legs, Harry could
see it was slicked with what looked to be lube and the sudden realization of
what the object was for had him shouting, "Father! Please don't do this!" The
object was too large, it would tear him apart! His father didn't seem to care
as he knelt down to position the object, Harry squirmed in the bonds,
desperately trying to get loose and run away before that thing was put inside
him. His father grabbed one of his legs, thumb-nail digging into one of the
many cuts and making him cry out.
With the hand on his leg steadying his squirming he felt the lubed thing bump
against his anus and his heart just about jumped out of his chest as tears and
snot streamed down his face, his words meshing together in a constant, drowned-
out plea of mercy. A plea that fell on uncaring ears as the hand on his leg
gripped tighter, wounds being pulled and stabbed into, and the object was
rammed upwards, Harry's body resisted it but the pushing did not stop and he
felt the small tip of the cone intrude into his body, Harry screamed as it
penetrated him, thrashing about and pleading for his father to stop, to take
the object out and to let him go. The cone slid in deeper and stretched him as
it got wider and he screamed more, without any preparation or lubing he felt
nothing but pain and discomfort as his body was violated by the dark object.
As the object got as wide as his wrist Harry felt himself tear and screamed
ever louder, his whole backside was on fire, his spine growing sore and his
legs shaking from the pain of stretching. His surroundings were a wet blur as
tears blinded his eyes and he chocked on his sobs, tasting the snot dripping
over the top of his lip.
The cone continued being pushed in, breaking more skin and tearing screams from
his ragged throat, until it finally stopped, which Harry was glad for but it
was so wide that he could not stop his crying, wishing for the immediate
removal of the unwanted object.
His father stood from the position between his legs and took a step back, Harry
wasn't sure if the man was watching him as the cellar was now made up of
coloured blurs to his stinging, half-blinded eyes.
Through his pain Harry wondered how the man could do this to him, weren't
family meant to protect and look after each other? Family wasn't supposed to
whip and torture each other! Couldn't his father see how wrong this was? Why
couldn't he just let him down and stop this?
"Have you learnt your lesson yet boy?" His father asked and Harry barely
recognized the mans voice, this wasn't the man he knew, or was that a false
image that had finally been shattered?
"Please..." Harry begged, the word was met with a growl and a kick that landed
between his legs where both his ball-sack and the object were, momentarily
crushing his balls and shoving the object further inside him, causing him to
scream again, the sound filling the dank room and shaking off the walls.
Harry hurt. His ass hurt, his back hurt, his wrists hurt, the cuts on his body
hurt, his mouth hurt, his eyes hurt, the constant crying and screaming caused
his head to hurt. His entire being hurt inside and out and yet there was no
escape from the onslaught of pain.
Harry hung his head, giving up his begging as it got him nowhere with the man,
his tears dropping onto the concrete below him, mingling with the blood already
there from his numerous wounds.
His head was spinning again, his tired body running out of adrenaline as fluids
ran freely from it, his heart burned like a spike of molten earth was lodged
inside it, his throat was clogged with saliva and mucus, and his lungs were on
fire from screaming for so long and so hard.
Finally darkness took him.
 
 
To be Continued...
***** Lost and Found *****
When consciousness returned to Harry the first thing his groggy mind registered
was that he was moving while laying on his back, trying to get his bearings he
noticed there were a lot of people around, one person was standing over him,
walking as he was moved, to where he did not know, he did know though that the
person was hiding a wand back up their sleeve, said sleeve being in his direct
line of sight and in front of his face.
A wizard. He was saved.
Lazily moving his eyes about in their burning sockets he noticed that while
many of the people seemed to be muggles a good amount of them had wand
holsters, how could the muggles not notice he did not know, nor did he have the
mental activity to ponder the workings in place to hide his world from such
daft people.
He noticed his father being surrounded by muggle and wizard alike, all of them
speaking with him, before he registered that the man who had likely spelled him
awake with an 'Rennervate' was trying to talk to him, he picked up the words
'it's okay now' and 'taking you to Saint Mungo's, they'll fix you up' before he
lost his hold on the fast paced voice again.
He was being taken to his world, he wasn't being thrown in prison for being
homosexual.
Sighing he let darkness take him again as he only vaguely registered being
lifted into a cab.
 
===============================================================================
 
The next time Harry awoke he quickly squinted his eyes shut again for the
brightness that surrounded him, he was in a white room, a window had been left
open and the sun was glaring through the glass, lighting up the pale walls like
the inside of a light globe.
Blinking a few times to adjust his eyes to the harsh light he realized that he
must be in Saint Mungo's magical hospital, lifting his blanket he saw delicate
linens taped onto his legs, likely holding a salve in place over his cuts.
Shifting a bit he felt his arse and spine tingle in pain, like a poorly made
construction threatening to collapse. Not wishing to test the extent of his
wounds or the healing upon them he lay back down on the squishy pillows.
Pushing his mind to wake up more he tried to recall what had happened, images
of the dim cellar and ropes and whips assaulted him, the sight of that cone in
his mind had him whimpering and drawing the covers up over his head.
How could this have happened?
He knew he and his father had their many differences but he had never in his
life imagined that the man who helped bring him into this world would hate him
so much. Never had he thought that he would be unsafe with a person he had been
taught his whole life would look out for him, parents were supposed to love and
care for their children, wasn't it an unconditional thing?
Yet here he was, proof that a father can hate their own child enough to have
him end up in such a place. The knowledge that his father must hate him had
that painful spike return to lodge itself squarely in his chest. He wondered
when he would see the man again, would his father hit him? Would this happen
again?
Harry curled himself up under the blanket, pulling it over his head and not
caring when his muscles protested at the movement. Hugging his legs Harry
almost felt like he wasn't even part of the world at all at that moment, just a
lonely bit of nothing drifting through the empty, white space that was under
the covers. The thin, white material coupled with the rays from the sun allowed
beams of light into his hideout, letting him see the contours of his own body
and the measures taken to preserve it.
He tried to find a safe place to be, because right now 'safe' felt far too
valuable and far away.
He felt at peace under the blanket, his breathing relaxing and the ache in his
chest slipping to the back of his mind, wrapped in a protective shell that was
as delicate as he felt.
No matter how much peace he found wrapped up in his own cocoon Harry could not
help but feel that things were not quite right. He almost wanted to believe it
had never happened, that he would wake up and find that he had fallen asleep in
that bath, that he would go down the stairs and find his father and that they
would be alright, that his father would not hurt him.
But he knew that the world outside his fort was blank and white and sterile.
That there was no love out there for him, not from that man at least.
He barely noticed when the sheets under his cheek started getting wet.
Harry didn't keep track of time while he hid from the world, trying to be as
disconnected from the earth as possible, but every so often mediwitches would
come in and tend to him, checking his bandages and casting spells on him, even
getting him to swallow down some nasty potions. He gave no protest to any of
this, despite the disgusting flavour of the brews, the discomfort he felt from
having the sticky linens peeled from his sensitive body, or the boredom of
having to lay still while spells washed over him. He supposed that at least
some of the spells felt nice and he was assured that he shouldn't have any
permanent damage once he was healed.
He didn't ask about his father, he wasn't sure how to and every time he tried
to open his mouth he felt like a frog had dived into it, blocking anything that
might have come out and causing him to swallow heavily.
 
===============================================================================
 
Harry stayed at the hospital over night, and then the next too. Harry wasn't
sure when they were going to release him but most of his wounds had healed into
nothing more than tiny scratches and sore muscles that worked just fine. Harry
wasn't about to ask what would happen when they did let him go, he would just
wait and see, and face whatever it was, despite the thought of facing his
father terrifying him to no extent.
During Harry's third day of sitting awake and bored in the hospital bed he was
visited by none other than Albus Dumbledore, the door being knocked on gently
before the tall, old man entered with a small but kind smile.
"Hello, my boy." The man greeted as he transfigured the stiff chair beside the
bed into a more comfortable one.
Harry had to clear his throat before he could talk, this being the first time
he would properly speak after the incident, "hello sir," he greeted neutrally,
"Why are you here?"
"Ah, well, Dippet was a bit busy so as the deputy headmaster I came in his
stead."
That didn't really explain anything. "Yes, but why are you here sir?"
Dumbledore's smile vanished somewhat, "Well there's some things we must discuss
my boy." despite his tone still being light Harry could sense the serious mood
settling in over them and gave the old man his full attention, "You see, you
won't be returning to your father's care."
"What?" Was all Harry could manage to say, he wouldn't see his father again? He
didn't think of that being a possibility.
"Indeed, I'm sorry my boy but after the way he treated you we cannot allow you
to stay with him, as he isn't a wizard he won't be getting trialed by us, he
will face a muggle court under changes of child abuse, whatever punishment he
gets is in their hands, but asyou are a wizard and thus protected by our laws
we have deemed it necessary to take you out of his care."
Harry wasn't sure what to say, he was relieved that he wouldn't have to face
his father again, never even see him again possibly, but at the same time... he
had now lost the only family he had left. The thought bringing back that nasty
spike of pain. Then there was another problem, "Where will I go sir?"
"Usually we would have you handed over to your closest of kin or a godparent
but it seems that you have neither, not surprising considering there is so much
going on with both muggle and wizarding wars. Also as it is such short notice
we don't have any family homes to send you to, we could try to contact some
wizard family's that would be willing to take you in if that is what you wish,
but until then I have a suggestion that you might not be adverse to."
Harry had known that he had no relatives or even anyone close to him to take
him in so the first part wasn't surprising, the next merely had him wonder what
it would be like to live with a purely magical family, even if he would not be
truly part of it, the last one had him wondering where the old man was going,
"And what would that be sir?" he prompted.
"Wool's Orphanage might just be convinced to take you in." Dumbledore answered
cheerfully, Harry was sure the name was familiar somehow but it was slipping
from his grasp, what he did know though was that when Dumbledore said 'might
just be convinced' likely meant that there would be magic involved if they
didn't willingly take him. Harry wondered just how legal that was.
The fact that he could not place why the name was familiar was making his mind
itch, "Why this place sir?"
Dumbledore merely smiled serenely up at him from his place on the comfy chair,
"Because you will not be the only wizard there, indeed I know for sure that
Mister Riddle resides there."
Harry felt stupid, of course that was why a muggle orphanage sounded familiar
to him, "But... I thought you disapproved of my relationship with Tom?"
"Indeed I do Harry," The old man replied honestly, "But I never said I would
keep the two of you apart, your choices are your own my boy. In addition, given
current circumstances I think it would be best for you to be sent there to be
with him, you will have something familiar waiting for you there then."
Tears started welling in his eyes, he could see Tom! The thought of having
those arms wrapped around him at that moment made his heart ache to be there
now. Rubbing the tears from his eyes, "Thank you sir, I would like to go
there."
"Good, we'll make all of the arrangements, we can send some people to get your
things from your fathers house, you don't have to be near him, you just stay
here and heal up more until we come get you." Dumbledore stood, patted his
shoulder as Harry continued to wipe away tears, and took a few steps towards
the door before turning back to add, "I almost forgot, you won't be able to
have your owl at the orphanage, she might disturb the muggles, she is welcome
to stay at Hogwarts though, she will be well cared there."
Harry nodded, face still in hands and croaked out a "Thank you sir." before he
heard the door quietly shut.
So that was it. It was over now. He would never see his father again.
The tears started falling with renewed vigor.
 
 
To be Continued...
***** You're Something Special *****
It was morning when Harry awoke, the sound of people shifting about in the
halls stirring him to life. He was completely healed now, aside from a few
pains in an unmentionable place every time he had to go to the bathroom. He was
rid of the linens and their sticky pastes, his back no longer feeling like it
would crumble and his wrists and ankles without a mark.
He was more than ready to leave the hospital now, long since having tired of
the plain, white scenery and lack of entertainment in a room that had begun to
feel like a cell. As he had suspected the people outside opened his door, Albus
Dumbledore strode in wearing his usual serene smile and gaudy robes, he was
followed by a mediwitch and mediwizard.
Dumbledore explained to him the obvious fact that it was time for him to leave
the hospital in favour of starting to live at the orphanage, the old man
informed him that his belongings had been collected already and would be
waiting for him, minus Hedwig's cage which had been taken to Hogwarts with her.
He was discharged from the hospital easily, his father would have to pay the
fee so Harry wouldn't have to worry about it at all, the man had also been made
to transfer an amount of money to Harry's Gringotts vault, it wasn't much but
Harry was glad for it.
Harry let Dumbledore do all the talking and merely followed the man, nodding
his head and keeping his sentences short when he was required to participate in
any conversation. There was a cab waiting for them outside and Harry followed
Dumbledore in, staring blankly outside the window, not really seeing anything
that passed by as they drove down the streets.
The spike in his chest was a constant presence, the one thing that the healers
couldn't seem to fix, Harry wondered if they could even see it as clearly as he
could in his mind, if it was obvious or not. He felt like he was screaming but
no one could hear him, that he was drowning in some dark sea, with no breath to
inhale as his lungs somehow kept working despite this. He felt ashamed, that he
was hurt so much by his own father, that someone so important to him was lost
to him forever now, and despite it all Harry wished he could go back to how
things were before he had told his father about Tom, but he knew that if he
ever did return to his father he would likely suffer again, that staying with
the man would not make him love Harry.
The man had gone too far and now things would never be the same.
He wasn't looking forward to the orphanage, despite Tom's presence their that
lifted his spirits somewhat, it would mean getting used to living with so many
others, even if only for a short time, likely having a schedule to live his day
by. He didn't know if he could handle it, everything about his life was
changing now.
The cab stopped with a jerk, Harry lurching forwards in his seat, Dumbledore
seemingly nonplussed, that smile still on his face, like all was well in the
world. Stepping out of the cab he looked up to see a ruddy building, looking as
cold as the stones it stood upon, a dingy sign with missing letters telling him
that this was Wool's Orphanage. This is where Tom lives. Looking to the side he
saw a man leaning against the brick wall that met the cold iron gates, his
trunk resting next to the man who was obviously a wizard.
Dumbledore led the way through the gates, a signal from him had the man
following behind with Harry's trunk, and for the first time Harry was glad he
was not a hoarder and only had so much that it could fill the trunk without
needing any extra bags or trunks to carry it all.
The door that lead inside was old, chipped and had peeling splinters in some
areas. Friendly.He thought sarcastically,Perfect place for children. Harry
sighed heavily, a great gust of wind leaving his lungs. If Harry had to
describe the orphanage with one word it would be 'harsh', harsh stones, doors,
windows and grounds.
Glancing up at one of the higher levels of the building he could barely make
out what looked to be a bunch of children around the age of seven looking out
of one of the heavily stained windows at him, likely gossiping about him
already.
He wondered if Tom knew he was there, had anyone told him what had happened?
Following Dumbledore inside he was glad to see that it was at least kept clean,
only a bit of dust clinging to the higher parts of the walls. They were met by
a skinny, harassed-looking woman named Mrs Cole, she must have been told about
Harry already as she seemed to have been expecting them. Harry followed
Dumbledore into her office, the man with his trunk waiting dutifully in the
main entrance.
Harry sat quietly as the two talked, he figured they were finalizing a few
things for allowing Harry to stay at the building. He wondered where he would
find Tom, he was nervous about it, after what had happened he felt almost
afraid to face the other boy, he wasn't sure he was ready to find out what Tom
thought of the situation. The talk did not last long, Dumbledore handing over a
few papers that Harry guessed his father must have been made to sign and
sharing a few words before they were heading out into the main hall again,
Dumbledore left briskly, instructing the man carting Harry's trunk around to
help Harry get it to his room before he left.
"So, Harry Potter is it?" Mrs Cole said and Harry supposed that would be his
only greeting.
He turned to her, "Yes ma'am."
"You're from that same school as Tom right?" She said, her eyes squinted and
face scrunched slightly as she looked him over.
"That's right ma'am. Tom and I are... friends." he wouldn't say what they
really were, not after last time, these people were muggles and he had learnt
all too well that that was too dangerous, they would have to hide that fact
about them.
"I see, we don't have many rooms but I am sure we can fit you in somewhere."
she stated, heading towards the staircase, Harry heard the wizard pulling his
trunk after them, he also heard Mrs Cole mutter quietly when she obviously
thought he wasn't listening, "Too many unwanted children with the war going
on..."
Harry nearly jumped from fright when a dark figure descended the stairs, eyes
darting to the side he saw the old matron had had a similar reaction. Looking
up he saw that the figure was, of course, no other than Tom Riddle. Sneaky
bastard trying to kill me before I even get settled...
"Oh!" Mrs Cole exclaimed shakily, a hand clutched to her chest, "Tom! I didn't
see you there! Always so quiet..."
Tom put on a very fake smile, "My apologies ma'am, I merely wished to see my
friend and make sure he was alright, current circumstances and all." The tall
boy said 'friend' as if he was challenging the matron.
"Ah, of course." Mrs Cole seemed to have finally got her wits back, "I was just
getting him settled, need to find a room for him, I'm sure you two will have
plenty of time to catch up then."
"He can stay with me." It was said so fast Harry wondered if Tom had meant to
let it slip, "I don't have a roommate after all."
Mrs Cole looked at Tom like she knew all too well the reason for that, after a
moment of giving Tom a similar, judging look that she had given to Harry
moments before she replied, "Very well then." she didn't sound entirely
confident but turned to Harry and the man still holding his trunk behind him,
"Well I suppose that settles it, you can stay with Tom in room 27, alright?"
she didn't give Harry a chance to actually reply, not that he would say no to
staying with Tom, "Now I have to go check on some things, I'm sure you can get
settled just fine yourself, just follow Tom." and with that she rushed off,
carrying the look of a woman that had no time at all.
Tom gave his so very fake smile to Harry, likely keeping up the facade due to
the man waiting behind him with his trunk, he seemed to wait a moment but Harry
didn't return the smile, the very thought of doing so slipping over his wind
like water over hands, he wasn't even sure those muscles would work if he
tried, "This way then." Tom said with similarly fake cheer and he turned
briskly back up the stairs and led the way through the halls, wooden and
chipped, scratched and bland. Old lights hung from the high ceiling, not too
bright and reminding Harry for a second of the light in the cellar, the doors
all looked the same apart from the small iron plaques nailed to each that all
held different numbers.
Tom's door was scratched up quite a bit, the markings placed low on the wood as
if a child had gotten bored at some point and done it themselves, the door
creaked when it swung open and Tom moved inside, sitting down on his bed, Harry
could see Tom's own Hogwarts trunk sitting at the foot of it in the small space
between the bed and the cupboard.
While the wizard pulled Harry's trunk in and set it up at the end of what would
be his bed he took a moment to take in the surroundings. The other bed sat on
the opposite side of the small room, it was nothing but a metal frame and bare
mattress, he supposed he would be given sheets, blankets and a pillow by one of
the matrons. There was a desk with a single chair sitting in front of a window
that was placed between the beds, Harry saw bunches of scrunched up paper lined
up along the dirty glass and wondered what they contained. Looking behind him
to the opposite side of the room to the cupboard he saw there was nothing more
than a laundry bin sitting there.
He turned back around and noticed Tom was staring at him intently, like a
curious child.
The wizard left with a simple nod and 'Mister Potter', the door closing behind
him and then it was just the two of them.
Harry didn't know what to do, so he merely stood on the spot, a hand raising to
squeeze his upper arm as he turned his eyes away from Tom's. Tom extended a
reaching arm out to him, beckoning him over, "Come here precious." it wasn't a
command, simply a softly said request, like talking too loudly might bring the
roof down upon them. Harry wondered if it might. He gave in though and wandered
over to Tom, sitting on the older boy's bed and leaning against him, eyes
trained on the bare mattress in front of him as a warm arm wrapped itself
around his ribs and soft lips made contact with his head.
They sat in silence for a while, Harry was glad that Tom wasn't questioning him
right away and leaned further into the other boy, turning his head to bury it
in Tom's shirt as the taller boy wrapped his other arm around him, holding him
close. Harry didn't know how long they sat like that but eventually Tom moved
his arms and pulled Harry up from his chest, Harry had not cried yet his eyes
were tired and burning despite that.
Tom put a hand under Harry's chin, forcing him to meet the other boy's eyes, "I
want to know everything he did to you." Tom stated, Harry could guess from the
tone that there would be no talking him out of it, could he really talk about
it though? Vocalize what had happened, to give it recognition and make it that
much more real?
Pulling his head away from Tom's gentle grip he murmured, "I don't want to."
His voice cracking as tears threatened him.
Tom's hand moved to stroke his hair, a kiss was placed on his forehead, "I
know, but you can try." his voice was soft and Harry could tell Tom was trying
his best to be patient with him.
Harry looked back up, meeting Tom's eyes and wishing he could name all the
things he saw swirling in their dark depths. Sniffing he relaxed against Tom
again, laying in the older boy's lap and staring at the far wall. He was silent
for a time, so long that he saw Tom make a move to talk again from the corner
of his eye, but Harry cut him off, he opened his mouth and the words came out,
he found himself unable to stop once he had started.
Harry cried, having to stop talking every now and then to wipe his tears away
and get his breath back from the sobs that were stealing all the air from him,
Tom gripped the grey sheets of his bed so tight Harry thought they might rip,
he could see how much Tom was trying to stop himself from letting his anger
out, how much the older boy wanted to scream and curse with each new assault
Harry spoke of. 
Harry told him everything, every heart-wrenching detail, starting at his bath
and finishing at the hospital. His heart hurt but some part of him lit up with
the knowledge that he had Tom, that he older boy wanted to listen to him and
help him through this.
And Harry felt some of the pain go away.
 
 
To be Continued...
***** New Life, New Problems *****
After their talk Tom let Harry stay in what was now their room as he got the
sheets, pillow and blanket for Harry's bed and helped him set it up, Harry not
speaking a word now that he had told Tom everything, his voice lost somewhere
down his throat in a place he could not reach it.
Once the bland, grey covers were all in place Tom tucked Harry into the bed
before moving over to his own and slipping under the thin blanket. Tom didn't
say a word after that, seemingly waiting for something as his dark eyes stared
up at the roof, Harry knew what that thing was when a matron came by to check
that they were in bed, obviously doing a headcount before the lights went off
for the night.
As soon as the woman was gone Tom looked over to Harry and lifted his blanket a
little, Harry needed no more prompting and swiftly rushed over to the other
boys bed, not caring that his own blanket had been sent flying to the end of
his own bed in his haste. He slipped under the cover next to the older boy and
snuggled against him, Tom's arms wrapping around him easily and holding him
close, like a snake holding its prey, but Harry liked that tight grip, he felt
he needed it, he felt that it kept him there.
It wasn't until Harry was already drifting off to sleep that he realized they
had missed dinner in favour of talking.
The next morning Tom woke Harry from his peaceful slumber, the early light
barely filtering in through the stains on the window, Harry grumbled and
attempted to roll over and hide his face in the lumpy mattress but Tom merely
prodded him until he relented and got up.
Yawning he noticed he was in the same clothes as he had been at the hospital
and was just wondering if the orphanage had some sort of dress code when a
bunch of grey fabric smacked into his face, turning he saw Tom grinning at him
from the wardrobe, Harry poked his tongue out at the other boy before he picked
up the scraps and started dressing into them, thankful that the belt managed to
keep the plain shorts from slipping down his thin waist.
Looking over to Tom he almost couldn't hold in his laughter, he knew it was
probably mean but the sight of the tall, skinny boy in the unfitting orphanage
clothes was almost comical somehow, his bony knees showing under the wide legs
of his shorts and the off-white socks pulled their full length to halfway up
his shins.
Tom saw his grin and glared at him, "You look just as ridiculous you know."
"Yeah, but at least my knee's aren't showing." Harry retorted with a grin, and
it was true, he was so short that the clothes covered just past his knees.
Tom sighed but didn't push the issue further, merely leading Harry downstairs.
The halls were still dark as light barely passed through the place and Harry
wondered if they were the first people up at that time.
"Why'd we wake up so early?" Harry asked.
"Do you want to risk someone barging into m- our room and seeing us in the same
bed?" was Tom's only reply, Harry noticed that he had almost said 'my room' but
he couldn't blame him, it was still a new change.
"I see your point." Harry agreed as they made it down the stairs, "Where are we
going?" he wondered if they would be getting some food, having missed both
lunch and dinner his stomach was gnawing at him in angry revenge.
"Breakfast won't be served until later," Tom replied and Harry's heart sank,
schedule's. Just like I thought. "We can go outside for a bit though, it
shouldn't be too hot out yet."
Harry let Tom lead him outside and was relieved for the brightness as opposed
to the darkness of inside, he followed the tall boy around the side of the
building, noticing that most of the exterior was rather bland. Looking around
he saw concrete in some places that held the fading chalk markings of
children's games and bricks in other places with weeds poking their heads
through the cracks between them. As Tom led him to the back of the building the
hard, concrete and stone ground turned into unkempt grass, yellowing under the
summer sun, he could see a sandpit with swings to their left but Tom lead him
past them to a small swath of bushes, as equally uncared for as the grass under
their feet seemed to be, Harry wondered how the shrubbery had managed to grow
in such a dismal at all.
Tom lead him through some of the branches and into a tiny clearing between the
small tree's and overgrown bushes, if Harry ignored the glimpses of stone and
dieing grass through the leaves he could almost imagine it was a forest. He
couldn't help but feel reminded of the hidden places in the garden he used to
tend to, the fact that he would never see those flowers again causing his mood
to dampen.
He sat down on a fallen trunk, long dead and looking as if it had been brought
down long ago with no intent for it ever to be moved from the yard, and looked
to Tom, the older boy wasn't looking at him though, instead he was facing one
of the small trees, it's trunk no wider than a human. Harry wondered what the
boy was doing but when he looked up at Tom's face all he could see was a dark
expression, seemingly fueled by anger and hatred, making Harry worried for a
moment before he reminded himself that Tom wouldn't hurt him.
He wasn't surprised when Tom started tearing into the bark of the tree angrily,
ripping bits off with his nails. Harry figured he must be getting rid of the
anger he had felt the other night after hearing Harry's recount of what had
happened to land him in the orphanage.
Harry let his mind wander as he sat on the dead tree trunk, wondering when
breakfast would be served and subsequently lunch and dinner as well, he also
wondered if there was anything else that he would only be able to do at a
certain time of day, he hoped showing wouldn't be timed, it would certainly
mean less time to enjoy the warm water with so many other children who would
want to use them too. Tom's angry yells and grunts as he beat up the
defenseless tree were pushed to the back of his mind as if the suddenly scary
teen was not raging so close to him.
So lost was he in thoughts about his new life that he jumped when Tom sat down
on the trunk next to him, looking over at the teens victim he took in the
scratched up trunk and bits of fresh bark laying on the ground, taking in the
amount of damage and feeling glad that Tom's nails were not sharp claws.
Tom sighed as he rested his hands behind him on the trunk, "Sorry you had to
see that Precious."
Harry hummed, still looking at the scraps of bark, "It's alright, I figured
you'd be angry, I'm just glad you took it out on the tree rather than a
person."
An arm snaked around him and Harry turned to look at Tom as the boy lay his
head against Harry's shoulder, Tom's eyes were closed and there didn't seem to
be a trace left of the previous dark expression that had taken over the
handsome face. Harry smiled before he closed his own eyes and moved his lips
over the other boys, pressing their soft flesh together before pulling away and
opening his eyes again. Tom was watching him now, eyes wide open in a childlike
manner that made Harry want to grin, for someone so intelligent and mature he
so often reminded Harry of a small child.
Tom lifted his head and moved the arm around Harry so that he cupped the back
of the messy head and pushed their lips together again, this time the flesh
parted and tongues met gently, rubbing and tasting. Harry liked kissing Tom
like this, they only ever did it alone and it was never a fight for dominance,
just two people sharing themselves with each other. After a minute they broke
their kiss and grinned at each other.
Tom then stood, offering his hand to help Harry up, "Breakfast should be
underway soon."
Harry followed Tom back around the side of the large building and inside, this
time they passed the stairs and ventured further into the first floor, through
a hallway and into a large room that had several long tables with many chairs
seated in front of them, nothing at all like the great hall in Hogwarts, the
place looked like it suffered a severe lack of cheer.
Tom lead him to the end of one of the tables, Harry sitting right at the end
when Tom gestured to it and Tom taking the seat next to him, it was still
rather early so they were the first there and merely sat quietly as they
waited. Harry knew that their relationship had to be kept secret and felt that
would probably be one of his hardest struggles that summer along with adjusting
to living at the orphanage. That thought in mind though Harry supposed subtle
things probably wouldn't be that bad so he bumped his hand against Tom's under
the table, the older boy giving him a tiny smile before latching onto it.
They were only waiting for a few minutes before the first children started
filtering into the dining hall, Harry noticed that the smaller children seemed
to wake first, followed by the teens that looked about ready to leave the
orphanage to find their way in the world, the last to enter being those
starting or mid-way through their teen years. The two had to unclasp their
hands when children started passing them to find their own seats.
Harry noticing that they seemed to have formed their own groups like the kids
at school did with their friends, he also noticed that most gave Tom a wide
birth while also trying to get a look at Harry, their seemingly conflicted
emotions on the matter showing in their back-and-forth behavior as they passed
the two. Harry sent Tom a questioning look, eyebrow raised but Tom waved him
off without a word and he guessed that it wasn't a matter to explain right
then.
Harry noticed a counter on the far wall that seemed to peer into a kitchen, a
separate room which had a door leaning to the dining hall, that had women
working behind it, stirring pots and rushing about with large amounts of raw
foods. Eventually the ladies started placing plates and bowls onto the counter
and the children moved to line up and take them back to their seats, Harry
hurriedly followed Tom as he swiftly made his way over, gliding past smaller
children as if they weren't there while Harry barely dodged around them and
headed to the counter before the line could form in front of them.
When they reached the counter, before most other children who were forced to
form a queue behind them, there was another group of teens already there, there
were about four of them in all, three boys and one girl, the girl and one of
the smaller males paled when they saw Tom, the largest of the boys, who wasn't
all that large really but seemed gifted with a certain amount of muscle, glared
at Tom before harshly picking up one of the plates so fast that Harry almost
thought it would slip from his hand and fly across the room like a discus. One
of the other boys followed suit, giving Tom a dirty, distrustful look as he
took his own meal, a little more gently, and followed the larger boy. The other
teens backed off slightly and let Tom and Harry take their plates before they
grabbed their own and rushed off after the two boys.
Harry wondered what the issue with those kids was, they didn't seem to like
Tomat all, though it seemed none of the other orphans were very fond of him
either, especially not if the empty rows of chairs next to where Tom was
sitting was any indication compared to the rest of the hall having tables
loaded with kids. Harry then wondered if Tom had made Harry sit at the end of
the table so that other children would not sit beside him.
But Harry figured that the explanations for all that could be left until later,
for now he had his first meal since breakfast the day before and was ready to
dig into it, uncaring that it didn't look as good as the food he made for
himself in the past.
 
 
To be Continued...
***** Billy Bunny Boy *****
After breakfast Tom lead Harry outside again, a group of eager children milling
about their feet so close together that they were unable to get around them
this time and merely went along like a human flood out of the doors, the
excited children quickly rushing off to where Harry had seen chalk markings.
Tom stuck close to the wall of the building, staying in the shadow that lay
there which Harry was thankful for, the sun already growing in power above
them.
Tom led him behind the building and they stopped at the wall there, just past
the corner, Tom sitting down on the hard ground, eyes trained on the ground.
Harry sat down next to him and decided now would be as good a time as any to
ask, "So what was up with those children back there? You don't seem very
popular here, particularly not with them."
Tom kept his eyes on the sandy patch of earth in front of him, "They don't like
what I am."
"They know you're a wizard?" Harry was surprised, muggles are meant to know
unless they are the child's parents!
"No. But my magic showed when I was younger and they didn't like it, they
didn't like that I could do strange things that shouldn't happen, so they hated
me, labeled me a freak and kept their distance."
"I see." It certainly explained why Tom was so withdrawn, "What about those
four kids in particular? They really don't seem to like you."
"Billy is a bully." there was resentment in his voice, "And an idiot." Tom
mumbled under his breath, barely audible enough for Harry to catch, "Rabbit
boy..."
"Billy... is that the big guy?" Tom nodded, his eyes hard, "That girl and the
smallest guy seem afraid of you though, did you do something to them? By
accident?"
Tom's eyes shifted to look at Harry, narrowed and searching, "When we were
younger we went to a beach, I wanted to check out a cave and got them to come
with me, I did magic and they got scared. They are cowards."
"I see... and did you ever... do anything to Billy and that other kid?"
Tom was silent, staring at the dirt again, and Harry wondered if he was going
to talk at all. Just when Tom moved as if to speak they were interrupted by
heavy footfalls from around the corner, looking up Harry saw the face of the
large boy, Billy he remembered, round the corner, followed by the other three
orphans. Billy looked down to see the two boys sitting against the wall, an
unfriendly grin taking up his features as he looked between them.
"So," the boy said, voice loud, "You're Tom's new friend huh?"
Harry didn't like how the boy mocked the word, he nodded anyway, not bothering
to get up, glancing to his other side he saw Tom was now glaring at the dirt,
his eyes shifting up to look at Billy sometimes before shifting back, as if he
wasn't sure if he should ignore the boy or not, likely too interested in what
Billy was saying to Harry to truly ignore them.
Billy's attention was on Harry, eyes squinted and grin in place, "So how well
do you actually know Tom, huh?" he glanced to his friends momentarily before
continuing, "You know he's a total freak right?" Harry wasn't given a chance to
retort as the larger boy continued, "You know, I thought he had been sent off
to some mental school or something. You aren't mental are you kid?" the tone
was accusing, as if Billy already thought Harry was mad.
"No. And our school isn't for mental people, if you had been good enough to get
in you might know that, but here you are wallowing like a pig instead. Rather
fitting though." Harry had meant for his comment to indicate a lack of
intelligence but he wasn't sure Tom took it that way, sure that the small grin
on the angered teens face was a sign he had taken it as a jibe at the larger
boys lack of magic.
"Think you're funny kid? What's your name anyway?"
"Why does my name matter to you? I don't think I will tell you." Harry
retorted, craning his neck to look at the boy towering above his position on
the ground.
Billy snorted, "Whatever, we can just ask one of the matrons. So how did you
end up here anyways? Parents die? Sent of to war?" the boys face got meaner,
grin attempting to reach his ear, "Or did your parents not love you enough to
keep a freak around?"
Harry was diving at the larger boy before he could even register that his legs
had moved, screeching in anger as he clawed at Billy, How dare he! How dare he
say that! the chant repeated in his mind, blocking out all other thoughts other
than to throttle the one who dared suggest his father had not loved him for
being what he was, the truth of the words hurting too much. The large boy
reacted by trying to pry Harry off of him, failing to do so as Harry clung
tight and kicked and punched any part of the boy that he could reach. Harry
only came back to his senses when he was roughly shoved against the wall, his
head hitting the bricks harshly and causing him to see stars, the other boys
hands on his chest and stomach winding him with a sharp gasp.
Tom had been watching wide-eyed from his place on the ground but once Harry had
been slammed into the wall the small boys gasp seemed to snap him out of his
trance and he launched himself at Billy with a animalistic cry, throwing
punches and scrabbling at the boy in a similar manner as to how he had treated
the tree earlier that morning. Harry was surprised to see the usually level-
headed boy fight like a muggle, scratching desperately at the boy only slightly
shorter than himself but much bigger in muscle mass in an attempt to help
Harry.
Harry slid down the wall as Tom's attacks forced Billy to back off a few steps,
the dark haired boy following, not relenting in his attacks as a crazed look
took over his face, eyes sparkling with darkness. Harry watched as the second
boy jumped into the fight, Tom battling against both at once now as the trio
fell to the ground, still punching and kicking as dust filled the air from the
dry grass.
The terrified girl and boy from earlier standing back and looking on with
horror as if they thought an explosion was imminent, which probably wasn't the
wrong thing to think as it was Tom who was fighting with the two boys. Other
orphans were turning their attention to the commotion, some pointing at the
fighting group with excitement and others looking afraid.
Harry wondered if a fight like this was a regular occurrence, it certainly
seemed normal to the boys writhing on the ground.
Looking at the boys Harry noted that Tom was on his back, slashing and clawing
at Billy's face as he kicked both boys, the larger boy pummeling his chest with
fists as the smaller one tried to hold Tom down, the snarl on Tom's lips
reminding Harry of some large, feral cat.
Harry quickly picked himself off the group and flew at the boys holding Tom
down, shoving his shoulder into the side of the closest one and sending both of
the attackers skidding across the grass as Harry leaned over Tom on all fours,
looking down briefly to make sure that his love was not hurt, the adrenaline in
Tom's eyes reassuring him for the moment.
The two larger orphans were picking themselves off the grass but before they
could throw themselves into a fight again a woman was yelling, Harry turned his
gaze to see one of the matrons rushing towards them, one hand holding her skirt
up and the other waving about in the air.
"Stop! Stop this madness this instant!" She screeched in distress as she
approached them, Tom sat up as she did, his back to the woman so that he had to
twist his neck around to look at her, Harry still on his hands and knees over
the older boys lap. She took a moment to look between them and the other two
boys before she continued, her voice less panicky and more of a demanding
anger, "What is the meaning of this? Who started this fight?" As she looked
around to the watching orphans they all shook their heads, having not seen the
start of the fight from their side of the building, only noticing after Tom had
sent Billy backing off into the playground.
Just when Harry thought that the matron would have to make up her own mind on
the matter the girl from Billy's group raised her arm, pointing at Harry she
stuttered, "H- he started it ma'am, the new kid attacked Billy!" his mouth
dropped open, Billy had started the fight by insulting him!
"Well, Mr Potter is new here but that is no excuse for this kind of behavior."
The matron looked at him sternly, "I'll let you off this time but another
incident like this and you'll be punished." she then turned and hurried back
inside, shooing off the children still milling around.
Harry sighed.
 
 
To be Continued...
***** It's a Hard Knock Life *****
After the eventful incident outside Tom and Harry had retreated to their room,
both boys fuming over the fact that only Harry had gotten in trouble when it
had been Billy who started it by saying such a mean thing to Harry.
"That kid, Billy, is a complete arse!" Harry shouted angrily, pacing the room.
Tom hummed his agreement, "Amy is such a snitch, ratting you out, she's the one
who should be punished." there was a dark look in Tom's eyes as he said the
last part but Harry chose to ignore it, sure that Tom was simply angry for his
sake.
Once Harry calmed down enough to not want to kick something, really hard he
might add, he turned to Tom who was sitting on his own bed, his hands wringing
the sheets being the only clear sign that he was still pissed off as well.
"Are you hurt?" Harry asked, approaching the taller boy, in response Tom simply
shrugged off his shirt, revealing bruises that were already forming on his
chest and stomach, Harry guessed he probably had bruises elsewhere too, on his
legs maybe, "Strip." Harry ordered, Tom raised an eyebrow at him, "I want to
see everything they did to you."
Tom sighed but started throwing his clothes about, "All right, but you have to
strip so I can see yours too."
Harry complied and soon both boys were on Tom's bed looking over each other,
Harry learning of a rather nasty bruise on his back when Tom pressed
exploratory fingers into it. As he had thought Tom's legs held bruises too, all
of the bruises on him seemed small though and unlikely to turn too bad before
they healed, Harry hated to admit it but he also found himself enjoying
watching Tom flinch minutely as he pressed each bruise gently. He felt better
with the knowledge that Tom seemed to enjoy returning the favour though,
grinning devilishly at Harry as he poked different marks, the tingle of pain
not such a bad thing.
Within minutes their lips were locked, naked bodies rubbing together as hands
roamed. Harry was barely aware of when it had started but had no complaints,
the earlier fight being pushed to the back of his mind as he reveled in the
feel of warm skin brushing together.
Harry lay on top of the older boy and inched down his body, sucking on his neck
and licking down his chest, he stopped at a nipple to suck on it, enjoying the
gasp Tom let out before moving on down to his conclave stomach, the lack of
meat and muscle on the boy a testament to his lack-luster life at the
orphanage. Harry dipped his tongue experimentally into Tom navel, lapping at it
as the boy moaned, he could feel the half-hard cock nudging into his chest and
enjoyed prolonging Tom's wait for Harry to reach it, which was affecting Tom
exactly how Harry wanted it to if the sounds Tom was making were any
indication.
Finally Harry moved down until he rested between Tom's legs, grabbing the
still-soft cock he pumped it slowly with his hand, purposefully taking his time
with it and enjoying watching it harden fully. From between the boy's legs he
could see Tom's face perfectly and saw him trying to hold back his moans as
Harry slowly stroked him in full hardness.
Once Tom was fully hard Harry learnt forward and slowly licked him from base to
head, running his tongue along the thick vein on the underside of Tom's cock,
said boy barely managing to swallow his moan, turning it into a needy sound at
the back of his throat in the attempt to do so. Harry grinned and continued to
slowly lick him, loving the slow torture he was putting the other boy through
and the heady scent and taste he was receiving in turn.
Harry turned his attention to the balls hanging below the now-hard instrument,
licking and sucking at them, enjoying how soft they were and the texture of the
wrinkled skin against his tongue, Tom spread his legs wider for Harry to have
easier access while trying and failing once again to be silent.
Harry drew back with a grin, "You know," he started, loving the look of the
other boy, his hair messed up like a dark halo against his pillow and a flush
taking up his face, "if you aren't more quiet someone might hear us." The
thought honestly scared Harry more than it turned him on but he couldn't help
teasing Tom.
Tom groaned lightly but Harry was sure it wasn't from any displeasure, "No one
is inside at this time of day..." he said, draping an arm over his eyes as he
rested his head back, "idiots won't come in until they are all have sunburns,
it's too boring in here for them."
Harry made a noncommittal 'Mk' noise before he lowered his head to Tom's cock
again, kissing the tip gently, the kiss evolving into sucking on the head until
Harry was drawing half of the length into his mouth at once, tongue sliding
over the tip and around the shaft, Tom moving his arm to cover his mouth as he
moaned and rolled his hips, bucking into Harry's mouth lightly. Harry adjusted
his arm that lay beside Tom, propping him up so that he could try to take more
of the other boy into his mouth, his other hand moving from the base of the
cock down to the balls to lightly caress them.
The position over Tom on the bed wasn't very comfortable and Harry found his
arm aching soon, the small space of the bed meaning his legs were bent above
him in the air to avoid having them hanging off the edge of the bed
precariously, and Tom kept shifting around.
Harry sighed as he pulled off of Tom's cock, he tugged on the other boy's leg
as he moved off the bed, "This isn't good, move over here." Tom eagerly
followed as Harry directed, sitting on the edge of the mattress as Harry knelt
before him, taking the hard cock in his hand again and lapping at it, his
tongue flicking over the head and looking up at Tom while he did, the boy's
face was flushed deeply and Harry loved being able to see the closed-off boy in
such a state, knowing that he was the cause was an added bonus.
He resisted the urge to smile as he took the cock into his mouth again, trying
to get it as far in as possible but that annoying gag reflex of his kept
stopping him from taking the full length. He tried to fight his bodies
instincts on the matter, constantly trying to shove Tom's cock into himself
only for his head to bounce back involuntarily, as if he had some rubber band
around his head that was attached to the other wall, Tom gasping and moaning
quietly every time the tip of his cock reached that point in Harry's throat
that he had to back away. Harry was quickly becoming annoyed with his body, it
wasn't as if he would literally choke on the cock as it was attached to Tom and
thus easy to remove, yet his body persisted in telling him that it was a bad
idea. Stupid body, stop trying to save my life, it isn't welcome at the moment.
Smiling Harry came up with an idea, sucking Tom into his mouth as far as he
could go without his throat protesting he grabbed Tom's hand and lifted it to
the back of his head, putting pressure there until Tom got the message and kept
it there, he looked up at Tom, he could feel spit leaking out of his mouth
around the cock and loved the look in Tom's eyes as he watched the scene
intently, when Tom met his eyes he put more pressure on the hand on the back of
his head and Tom seemed to get the full picture.
Tom placed his other hand on Harry's head and with one last look into the
smaller boy's eyes Harry was slammed forward, cock forced roughly down his
throat, his gag reflex attempting to pull off but Tom's hands keeping Harry
there as he moaned loudly.
Both boys froze, knowing that that last moan was far to loud, they listened for
any approaching footsteps but thankfully none came.
Harry was still battling with himself, his mind trying to tell his body that
this was a good thing and his body freaking out as it tried to pull away,
attempting to tell Harry that he would die even when his brain knew better. It
hurt and was uncomfortable to have the cock so far down but Harry loved it at
the same time, the reaction from Tom was enough to make it all okay, even as
his eyes watered terribly.
Tom wiped away the tears that leaked from Harry's eyes, keeping one hand on
Harry's head as he raised the tear-stained finger to his mouth, as he sucked on
the digit he started rolling his hips into Harry's face, cock never leaving the
small boys throat as it inched backwards and forwards, Harry struggling to
breath through his nose as he practically hugged the older boys hips, his
conflicting feelings over the experience making his heart rate pick up, he was
sure Tom could feel the pulses the organ in Harry's chest was creating.
The pace got faster and a bit rougher as Tom seemed to near his orgasm, putting
his other hand back on Harry's head again and pushing and pulling him to meet
the thrusts, Harry tried to stay limp for him, enjoying the breathless sounds
Tom was emitting above him, the angle making it so he could not look up into
the other boys face and instead stared blankly at his lightly convulsing
stomach as he concentrated on moving his tongue along the shaft while keeping
his mouth open and throat loose.
With one last thrust down Harry's throat Tom came with a grunt, his hips
shaking spasmodically as Harry felt the warm liquid squirt down his throat, the
older boy pulling back as his orgasm calmed, the last traces of come leaking
out onto Harry's tongue. Harry fell away coughed once he was cock-free but did
his best to keep the come in his mouth, wanting to swallow every bit he
received, managing to do so between coughs as he knelt on all fours over the
wooden floorboards, coughing freely once he did so and getting his breath back
before he lifted off his hands and turned back to Tom.
Tom was still sitting on the edge on the bed, his cock now flaccid in his lap
and a serene look on his handsome face as he stared at Harry. Harry grinned at
him and hurried over when the older boy reached out an arm slightly to beckon
Harry to him. The two boys rested back on Tom's bed, cuddling their naked
bodies together.
"Was it alright?" Tom asked, his eyes closed as he lay his head against
Harry's, "I didn't hurt you did I?"
"Nah, it was alright." Harry replied lazily, shifting to get more comfortable.
"We should probably get dressed soon though." He added a bit sadly, he didn't
like having his private time with Tom disturbed due to the muggles they had to
live with.
Tom made an agreeing sound, they rested for a minute more before Tom got up
first, laying a kiss on Harry's head before he searched out which clothes were
his from where the two had dumped them all over the floor, throwing Harry his
clothes as he went through them.
Once the two boys were dressed again they lay together again, grinning at each
other. Just as Harry was drifting off hot breath assaulted his ear and Tom
whispered, "I'm glad you're here."
Harry merely smiled in response and hugged Tom harder, knowing the other boy
meant well with the comment, and, in a way, Harry was glad he was there too,
for it meant he was with Tom.
 
 
To be Continued...
***** Horrible Kids *****
After their, thankfully undisturbed, cuddle session it was time for lunch.
Harry followed Tom down into the same hall they had eaten breakfast at and to
the same seats, this time the other orphans didn't seem quite as interested in
Harry as they had been that morning, still sending him furtive glances every
now and then and obviously talking about him with their friends but being not
quite as up-front about it as before, not wanting to get too close after the
fight they had witnessed.
When the four orphans from before entered they glared at both of the boys, or
at least the two that had fought Tom and Harry did, the others merely glancing
at them quickly while scurrying after the larger boys, their heads down and
eyes lowered to the floor as if they were afraid Tom might literally glare them
to death like a basilisk.
"So why do Billy and that other kid hate you?" Harry whispered to Tom, leaning
towards him so that he wouldn't be overheard by others, Tom had only told him
why the girl and the smallest boy feared him.
"There was... an incident... with a rabbit Billy had when we were children."
Tom replied in low murmur.
Harry could guess that whatever had happened must have been bad but he wanted a
better explanation. "What about the rabbit?" He pried nervously.
"It died."
"How?"
"Billy was mean to me, I wanted revenge on him and my magic acted out to exact
it."
"So... you killed the rabbit?"
"In a sense. I didn't know it would die. I was a kid and I was angry."
"I see." Harry didn't like the knowledge that Tom had been responsible for the
death of an innocent animal but he figured he couldn't hold it against him, as
the older boy had said, he had been a child at the time and didn't know it
would happen, it was just a reckless accident. Nothing more.
"What about that other kid? Why does he hate you?"
"You mean Eric Whalley? Mostly because he is Billy's best friend, Eric also
tried to bully me when I was smaller." Harry wondered if Tom only added the
'tried' to save his pride a little, admittedly Harry was surprised to learn
that Tom had been bullied but it made sense with what he had said before about
the others fearing the 'strange' things he could do, it also explained why the
fight earlier that day had seemed so normal to them.
"I don't suppose you just sat back and let them push you around then?" Harry
asked, recalling the feral expression Tom wore during the fight.
"No. I didn't know it was magic either until Dumbledore came and told me before
I went to Hogwarts, but that didn't mean I didn't use it to my advantage. I am
not weak enough to just roll over and let them do what they want." The
conviction in the older boys voice made Harry sure of that fact, now he fully
understood why the other orphans didn't come near him, he had turned the fear
that had caused them to hate him into a defense against their hate. He supposed
that was fair, especially since Tom didn't even know what it was at the time,
let alone be able to control it. Harry silently admitted that he probably would
have done the same, if people like them had hated him for his magic, a thing he
could not control, he probably would have learnt to defend himself as well,
even if that meant using the strange force against them.
Soon the food was served and they ate in silence, no other orphans daring to
sit near the seats they had claimed. As he ate Harry vaguely wondered what
would happen to someone if they tried to repress their magic, to hide it so
that people like Billy didn't hurt them, surely such a powerful thing as magic
could not be hidden? Harry certainly preferred the thought of turning his magic
into a defense rather than trying hiding it.
After lunch the orphans stayed inside, the sun outside far too hot now and the
matron locking the door so that the smaller children did not go out and hurt
themselves. Harry noticed that many of the matrons' dresses were dirty, spots
of milk and goop running down their chests, he guessed that they must spend
most of their day tending to the smallest of the children in their care, the
ones that couldn't do things for themselves.
Harry expressed wanting to see the baby orphans, having always liked babies,
but Tom shot the idea down, going on about how horrible a place that part of
the orphanage was, and also that they would likely get in trouble for being
there, the matrons thinking they might hurt the small ones or get in the ladies
way as they tended to them. Harry wondered if there was more to Tom's aversion
of the nursery but didn't pry, he could at least agree on the getting in the
way part anyway, he was sure the matrons had to deal with enough without them
under their feet.
The two returned to their room and worked on some of the homework they had yet
to finish, Tom only had two more to do but Harry had more as he had spent most
of his holiday either working around his house or being in the hospital. The
thought of his old house and his reason for being in the hospital making that
familiar pain in his chest remind him of its presence.
Harry wondered what his father was doing at that moment, if he was already done
going to court, and what his punishments were if he got any. Mostly Harry
wondered if the man missed him, if he regretted what he did.
He was pulled out of these thoughts when he was dragged into Tom's lap, the
other boys arms embracing him, his head resting on Harry's shoulder until Harry
turned to him and gave him a kiss, pushing out all of his emotions with it,
focusing instead on Tom and the love he felt for the boy and the love the boy
seemed to return to him.
Hours later Harry exited the room, in need of finding the toilet, he descended
the stairs and looked for the door Tom had described to him, it being in the
same hallway leading to the dining hall. The offices were to the right, four of
them in all, and the bathroom would be the fifth door.
Harry had passed the third door when someone grabbed his shoulder and slammed
him into the wall on the left, it was of course Billy Stubbs, Harry wondered if
this boy had a thing for shoving people into walls.
"Shove off bunny-boy!" Harry growled.
Billy's eyes flashed dangerously before he narrowed them at Harry again,
closing in on him, "Think you're better than everyone else do you? Just like
Riddle?"
"Better than you." Harry retorted, glaring at the larger boy.
"I didn't think Tom had the ability to make friends," Billy went on as if they
were in a normal conversation, "Or do freaks attract other freaks? You
certainly seem freakish, especially since you went crazy outside."
"Maybe people wouldn't hate you so much if you learnt to keep your stupid mouth
shut!" Harry growled, getting annoyed with the other, remembering the things he
had said that morning.
"Right." Billy leant closer to Harry, an unfriendly grin on his face, "But if
you weren't such a freak people wouldn't need to put you in your place. Are you
just like Tom then? Do you do freakish things? Do you kill animals?"
"No!" Harry would never kill an animal, or anything else. He tried to pry the
large hands off of him but was unable, his fingers too small.
"Sure, I bet you and Tom are just the same, just as weird and twisted." Billy
pulled on Harry's shoulders before slamming him against the wall again, the
small force not really hurting Harry but enough to put him off balance, the
hands digging into him holding him up as his legs slipped momentarily, "People
like you shouldn't exist!" Billy raised his voice slightly, seemingly getting
angrier as he went on, "You are sinners! Demons! We should tell the priest so
that he can do to you what he did to Tom!"
"What?!" Harry asked, dazed from being shaken about, what did they do to Tom?
"He was certainly eager to have you room with him, I bet you guys are gay too!
Do you fuck each other huh? Does Tom want you're dick inside him? Does he beg
for it?!" The larger boy seemed absolutely crazed and Harry's full bladder
threatened to empty itself in the hall right then, the muggles can't find out
about me and Tom! I can't have that happen again!
"No! Let me go!" Harry shouted as he kicked out at the larger boy, one of his
legs landing in his groin, the older boy immediately dropped Harry as he howled
in pain. Harry made a break down the hall, ripping open the fifth door and
slamming it shut behind him before he backed away from it, wondering if the
older boy would follow, if he did then Harry would be trapped, he hadn't
thought about that when he ran, he simply wanted to get away and headed to
where he had been going, his bladder still in desperate need of release.
Harry nearly pissed himself again right then when the door slammed open,
banging loudly as the larger boy entered the bathroom, his expression
murderous. Harry tried to assess if he could slip past him and escape the
bathroom, to run to Tom and be safe.
Currently he was being backed into a corner near some dirty, porcelain sinks,
deciding it was now or never he attempted to make a break for it, darting
around the larger boy and thinking he would succeed until a hand grabbed his
leg, dragging him back and throwing him to the corner.
Harry tried to back away but he was stuck between the tiled walls, the large
boy closing in on him, he flinched away from the boy, trying to stop any
contact at all but he was trapped and it was inevitable, a swift punch to the
stomach had him unable to scream his protests as Billy hit him again and again.
Harry thought it might be over when the boy stood again but a foot making
contact with his head proved him wrong, he tried to shield himself with his
arms as the heavy limbs pounded him, the blows battering him against the hard,
tiled wall, black spots taking over his eyes every time his head was sent back
into the solid material.
Billy stepped back, breathing heavily as he watched Harry cower on the floor,
the smaller boy sure that he would have even more bruises now, his nose felt
hot and painful from one of the blows, his breathing irregular as he drew in
shaky breaths, eyes wide as he looked at the older boy, hoping it was over now
but once again proven wrong when Billy reached for him, dragging him up by his
shirt, so high that Harry's shoes did not reach the ground.
Harry gave the larger boy his best glare, blood trickling from his nose. Billy
didn't seem to care though as he smiled cruelly at Harry, Billy brought his
face closer to Harry's, smile in place as he moved as if to whisper a secret in
Harry's ear, "Light's out freak." Harry barely had time to register the words
before Billy pulled him away from the wall then he was smashing him against it,
the hand that wasn't holding his shirt moving to grab his hair as Billy slammed
him against the tiles with all his might, bashing Harry's head against the wall
repeatedly, every strike hurting more than the last, Harry tried to scream but
the sound was cut off as he bit his tongue, blood trickling from his lips,
being spat out as Harry continued to yell, hoping that Tom, or anyone, would
hear and save him, the pain in his head feeling like his skull would split
open.
Harry's kicking legs made contact with the floor and he pushed himself back,
away from Billy, landing between two sinks, his back to a large, long mirror
that took up most of the wall. Dazed and in pain he had no time to escape
before Billy was grabbing him again, both hands holding Harry's head now as he
smashed him against the wall, parts of the mirror shattering to the floor in
shards around Harry, the sharp edges left on the wall cutting into Harry's
cheeks as Billy continued to shove him against the wall, Harry pushing at the
larger boy, his legs kicking at the large shins.
The glass on the floor made their footing uneven and Harry managed to push away
from Billy as their shoes slipped on some of the shiny debris, sliding down a
sink and to the floor he struggled to crawl away, not caring for the tiny
shards of glass piercing his hands and legs, not as long as he got away, he had
to get away, his head was spinning to much and he could barely focus on the
door, still hanging open from when Billy came crashing in. He barely registered
the fact that he must have pissed himself at some point during the ordeal, the
sticky liquid inflaming his legs as it dried and making him itch as much as the
glass pricking into his skin like thorns.
He vaguely registered Billy moving behind him, probably to grab him and drag
him back again, perhaps smash him into the broken glass on the floor he
thought, but then there was a screeching sound from the hall, a woman, a dark
dress rushing through the door.
And then he blacked out.
 
 
To be Continued...
***** Snakes and Ladders *****
When Harry awoke he had a few moments to look about and see that he was in his
and Tom's room on his lumpy bed before dark hair was taking up his vision.
"Harry?" Tom's voice sounded above him from the dark mass, "How do you feel?"
"Dizzy..." Harry replied, his vision adjusting after just waking, he shifted
slightly and felt scars on his body being pulled, "What happened?"
"Well for one Billy beat you senseless in the bathroom." Tom growled out, his
voice low and dangerous, almost slipping into parseltongue, "One of the matrons
heard the glass break and came in, she said you fainted once she got there."
"What happened to Billy?" Harry asked, wondering if the boy would be punished
for what he did.
"He's up in the attic."
"The attic?"
"They put naughty kids up there, so they can 'calm down before they are let out
again'." Tom seemed familiar with the attic, "Honestly they probably would have
given him the cane if you hadn't bloodied up his shins so bad, he's going to
have some nasty scabs." Harry wondered if that would be all the boy had once
Tom got to him, the older boy sounded positively pissed. Harry shifted himself
up the bed, trying to sit up but Tom pushed him down again with a hand, "You
suffered a minor concussion but other than that you only got some bruises and
cuts. The matrons already pulled all the glass out of you and tended to your
scars, they even tried to tend to the one on your head before I told them that
one was old."
Harry felt like he had been ran over but it seemed it wasn't as bad as he
thought, likely his fear at the time had made things worse for him, he was glad
that Tom didn't mention the fact that he had pissed himself. The concussion was
the most worrying part but he figured he woke up fine from blacking out and
didn't feel too bad so he must be alright. "How long will Billy be up there?"
"That depends on when the matrons feel like letting him out, they will probably
bring his meals to him if they leave him up there for long."
The thought of children being locked in attics worried Harry slightly but under
the circumstances he couldn't bring himself to care as it was Billy that was
locked up there. Tom was resting on the side of Harry's bed, his knees on the
floor, a mix of emotions swirling in his dark eyes, anger and worry being some
of them, Harry lifted a hand to card it through Tom's hair and watched as the
tall boys shoulders lost some of their tension.
"Next time I will go with you." Tom stated, "Anywhere you go I will follow,
alright?" Harry didn't feel he had a choice in the matter, but he was rather
flatted by the statement and didn't mind at all if Tom was always by his side,
such a thing was his greatest wish, perhaps he should have kicked Billy in the
nuts earlier.
"Whatever you want Tom." Harry replied, his groggy mind finally catching up to
speed, the room seeming to finally stop tilting, "Hey, Billy told me something
about a priest doing something to you, what did he do?"
Tom's shoulders had immediately regained their tension, the dark eyes intent on
looking at the thin blanket covering Harry rather than meeting his eyes, "It's
nothing you should worry about." He stated firmly.
Harry groaned, "Tom, tell me... I can just find out from someone else if you
don't."
Tom sighed but after a minute he spoke, "Some of the kids, Billy, Eric and some
others, told the priest that comes around here sometimes about the weird things
I could do, he believed I was possessed by a demon or something and tried to
exorcise the spirit out of me..."
 "They tried to exorcise you?" he repeated, shocked, "What happened then?"
"Well... it was scary... and some parts of it hurt me. But I wasn't
possessed..."
Harry tried to imagine how scary such a thing would be for a child, Tom must
have been young at the time when it happened. It certainly seemed to have left
a mark on him, however invisible, if he was so reluctant to talk about it. He
returned his hand to stroking Tom's hair. "I'm sorry they did that to you."
Tom leaned into his touch a little, though his expression got no happier, "Why
did Billy tell you?"
"He threatened to do the same for me."
"That bastard!" Tom was on his feet yelling within a second of Harry telling
him, shocking Harry from how fast his mood went from sombre to aggressive in
less than a second, "How dare he suggest such a thing!"
"It wouldn't really happen though, would it?" Tom merely looked at him with
those dark eyes, not giving him a response, before he turned away again, pacing
the floor in anger and muttering under his breath.
After a few minutes he seemed to have calmed down a bit and he turned back to
Harry, "Harry, what ever you do, if you see that priest here at the orphanage
stay away from him, okay?" It was an order and Harry knew he wouldn't be able
to fight Tom on the matter, though he honestly wouldn't want to, if the priest
was such a bad person as to exorcise a child based on rumours. He remembered
Tom telling him a long time ago that the children avoided him.
"Alright, I won't go near him if he comes here." Harry agreed, Tom sighed and
sat on the bed, Harry was surprised to see him so riled up over the matter, it
must have been a truly bad experience.
Once that talk was out of the way Tom settled himself next to Harry, talking to
him as they embraced, the two talking of less important things while Harry
rested up, glad for whatever the matrons did that made the cuts on his body
sting less.
 
===============================================================================
 
 
The next day Harry was permitted by Tom to leave his bed, rolling his eyes at
the fact that Tom was acting as his personal care-taker. While flattering it
tended to be a bit annoying, especially since Tom got into a habit of treating
him like he was some prized, fragile possession that should not be touched or
even looked at by anyone, glaring at anyone that so much as walked down the
hall too close to them.
They ate breakfast to the same stares and whispers as the previous day, Whalley
sending them death glares from across the room.
Harry's cuts had already scabbed up, his bruises had set in and caused Harry to
hiss when something so much as brushed against them, not helping his situation
with trying to get Tom to see that he wasn't fragile, and his head only hurt if
he thought on something too much or looked at something too bright.
During the first half of the day Tom and Harry spent time outside like they had
before, this time no one attacked them though and they were able to stick to
the small clearing between the bushes, sneaking kisses when they were sure no
other orphans were near enough to see. After a while of sitting together Harry
rested against the fallen trunk, sitting on the ground with his back to it,
eyes closed and enjoyed the shade the trees provided from the glaring sun, as
Tom got up and paced around the clearing.
They stayed like that for a while until Tom came over and nudged Harry,
informing him that it was time for lunch, he helped him up and they went
inside. Harry noted that Tom seemed to not be clinging quite as much anymore
and was glad for that, it was getting to be suffocating.
Lunch was a short affair and Tom didn't seem to want to speak much, opting
instead to watch the people around the room suspiciously, Harry wondered if he
thought that they might jump up and attack them but didn't bother to ask, after
lunch Harry headed up to their room as per usual and only noticed once he was
there that Tom hadn't followed, looking out the door and down the hall he could
not see the boy, he wondered where he had ran off to, perhaps the bathroom?
Harry wasn't overly bothered by it though and mere minutes later Tom entered,
confirming he had gone to the toilet.
It wasn't until hours later and after dinner that Harry discovered that to be a
lie when a snake was found in the attic, having been attacking Billy
apparently, it was a small snake really, and nonvenomous too, but Harry knew
instantly who was behind getting the snake there, a certain boy who could talk
to the scaly creatures and wanted to see Billy hurt.
It didn't help Tom's case that he was grinning like a madman about it.
The snake had been shooed out of the attic by a matron using a broom, zipping
down the halls in a bid for escape. Tom opened the door a crack and hissed for
the snake, it entered and he hid it quickly, grinning all the while. The matron
fumbled around in search of it, asking the occupants of rooms if the creature
had been seen, Harry didn't want the snake to be hurt so he easily lied that
they hadn't seen tail nor scale of it, he did shoot Tom a dirty look though.
In the end Harry decided not to hold it against Tom, the snake had only bitten
Billy a few times and caused no real damage other than tiny pin-prick marks
from it's teeth, and he had to admit that the large boy deserved it too. Tom
kept the snake around, not being able to put it outside for the fact that it
was light's out and they were on the second floor, Harry didn't mind though,
the snake was actually rather cute once he got over the initial fear of it
biting him.
That night they two boys shared a bed as usual, their new friend curled up on
top of them.
 
To be Continued...
***** Days Fade, Love Won't *****
Harry awoke the next morning and nearly jumped out of the bed when he saw the
snake resting atop them, he managed to stop himself though and after a moment
he extended a hand out from under the blanket to touch the scaly creature,
still surprised that such a thing was actually very soft, not at all rough or
slimy like one would expect. The mouth having a cute puckered look to it that
made the creature all the more cute to Harry, he almost wanted to kiss it, but
he figured it might not take kindly to having Harry's mouth so near to it's
delicate body.
Tom's prone form stirred next to him, cracking open an eye and watching Harry
stroke the snake for a minute before he rolled over and sat up, the snake
sliding down the blankets into Tom's lap.
"Liking him are you?" Tom said, not really much of a question, as he started
stroking down the snakes neck.
"Yeah." Harry replied, stretching out his arms and yawning widely, "It's a he?"
He hadn't known that part.
"Yeah, he is." Tom replied in an amused tone, "We should get up."
Harry agreed and the two quickly got changed, Tom hiding the snake under his
shirt, and went down for breakfast. Afterwards they headed to their spot
between the bushes, Tom letting the snake out to slither around.
"Are you letting him go now?" Harry asked from his place on the log.
"Yeah, it's not safe for him inside." Tom replied, watching the snake nuzzle
through some dried leaves, "Did you want to keep him?"
"Uh... well he is cute but if you say it isn't safe... and he is a wild animal,
he belongs out here."
Tom turned to him, a small grin on his face, "When we leave this place we can
get a pet snake," Tom informed him, "but for now its better like this."
Harry took in Tom for a moment before he asked, "Did you ever try to keep a
snake before?"
Tom's face darkened instantly, eyes seemingly focusing on something in the
past, "Once. Billy saw and told the matron and she took a shovel to it."
Harry watched the small snake that was venturing further from them now, "That's
terrible." surely the snake from then must have died, likely in front of Tom
too. Harry wondered what that must have been like, Hedwig had been his first
friend and the thought of her being killed in front of him was too painful for
him to linger on for long, it seemed the longer he stayed with Tom and the more
he spent time at the orphanage the more he learnt about why the tall boy was
always so cold and closed off, "I guess this is better then."
Tom called the snake over and Harry got to hold it and say goodbye to it before
they let it go again, it disappearing under a pile of crisp leaves not to be
seen again. Harry missed it right away but felt better with Tom next to him, an
arm around his waist. Harry couldn't wait to be able to leave the orphanage
behind and start his life with Tom, unfortunately neither could leave until Tom
was eighteen, which left them until the next summer. Tom had already promised
Harry that he would take the smaller boy with him, that he would talk the
matrons into it and Harry didn't doubt that the silver-tongued snake could do
it.
Harry hated the orphanage after only a few days of being there, he wondered
just how eager Tom was the leave the place behind and never look back.
The next few days were relatively peaceful for the two teens, Harry finally
managed to finish all of his summer work with Tom helping him out a little,
never giving him the answer but pushing him in the right direction to find it
himself. They only ever spent time either in their room or between the bushes
outside, their snake friend long gone now, and only straying when it was time
for food or one of them needed to use the bathroom. Harry didn't mind really,
he wished they could do other things but the matrons didn't let them wander the
streets beyond the orphanage gates and everywhere else was occupied the other
children and neither boys wanted to spend much time with them.
A week passed before Billy was let out of the attic, Harry was with Tom in the
hallway when they saw one of the matrons leading the boy to his room, the look
he gave Harry as he passed them was a dark omen, a promise of pain to come in
the future. Harry hoped not to give the other boy the chance to follow through
with the silent threat.
Despite that look in the hall weeks passed and the only incidents they had with
Billy were a few jibes thrown about outside and poorly played pranks that only
served to be slight inconveniences as best. Harry hoped that the larger boy
would leave it at that and not try anything more, hopefully having learnt his
lesson from his week in the attic. Harry was learning how to block out the
things Billy said, to not react outwardly when the larger boy accused him of
being an unloved, abandoned freak.
Every time Bill's words cut Harry that little bit too deep Tom would take him
to their room and cuddle with him, Harry was forever thankful that the other
boy seemed to realize that he wasn't as strong as Tom was, that his wounds
didn't heal so easily and he still hurt inside.
Towards the end of July their Hogwarts letters came bearing the list of things
they would need for their next year, along with money for both of them to buy
the items, Harry remembered still having money in his bank at Gringotts and
told Tom about it, the older boy suggested he not touch it but rather save it
for when they leave Hogwarts and the orphanage, Harry agreed, seeing how it
could help them acquire a decent flat without having to work up to it first
while living with a friend or on the streets.
Tom eagerly went to inform the head matron, Mrs Cole, that they had to get
their school things, not wanting to waste a minute when they could finally
escape the confines of the cold brick walls for a while, making plans to stay
at The Leaky Cauldron overnight with the excuse to make sure that they had a
chance to get everything they needed. Mrs Cole put up no resistance, seeming
rather glad to be rid of the two teens for a short while, and the two
immediately left, lists and money on hand.
Harry couldn't remember feeling quite as relieved as the moment they were
dropped off in London far from the orphanage, a weight he didn't know he had
seeming to lift from him. Diagon Alley was just as wondrous as all of Harry's
previous visits, the two boys set themselves to getting their school things
first, having to settle for second hand books to have enough to afford all of
the potions supplies they needed and new robes for Tom, Harry showing his
displeasure at the fact that the older boy was still getting even taller and
Harry had barely grown at all. Though for once he was also glad for it as it
meant they could put more money into getting Tom nicer robes, not the patchy,
ragged ones that the teen only made look good on him by some miracle.
They then enjoyed window shopping, flipping through books that held their
interest and staring at objects neither would be able to afford, such as the
newest broom sitting in the Quidditch store window, Tom had to end up dragging
Harry off by an arm to get him away from where he was seemingly trying to meld
himself into the window. They stopped by the ice-cream store once they had
payed for everything they would need for school, Harry got chocolate and mint
double-scoop while Tom got strawberry and vanilla with honey swirls, they each
let the other taste their treats while they reveled in their day of fun and
freedom.
Afterwards the two returned with their bags to the pub and payed for a room,
thankful that in the wizarding world they got no disapproving or odd looks for
only asking for one bed, it was cheaper to rent a room with a queen sized bed
than one with two separate ones anyway. The pub owner merely nodded to them in
what seemed like understanding of their hesitance, Harry wondered if their
muggle clothes gave away the reason that his hands were shaking and if
terrified, homosexual muggleborns were a common sight to the man.
Both boys merely dumped their bags on the floor of the small room and collapsed
onto the bed together, exhaustion finally catching up with them after rushing
about the alley all day long. They kicked their clothes of and cuddled
together, Harry trying to ignore the nasty fact that a cheap room in a pub
still had a better bed than they had at the orphanage.
As he drifted off in Tom's arms Harry wished that they wouldn't have to return
the next day.
 
 
 
To be Continued...
***** It's You I Love So Dearly *****
Harry woke in a very pleasant mood, the bed he was on was softer than any he
had felt in a while, the blankets perfectly soft with no hint of the
scratchiness that the orphanage ones had, not to mention he had the most
perfect body laying next to him, and he just couldn't help but grind his
morning wood into said other body.
He rolled his hips repetitively, rubbing against the other boys side and
attempting to cause as much friction as possible, the movement was instinctual
and Harry barely really recognized he was doing it, far too caught up in the
wonderful bed and skinny body hugging so warmly against his, his sleep-foggy
mind hardly conscious until said other body rolled over and dark eyes stared at
him in exasperation.
"Good morning to you to precious." Tom stated in a voice as flat as his
expression.
"Mmm..." Was Harry's only response, he had meant to say 'morning' but his mind
had drifted off to his lower regions again before the words could properly come
out.
"Are you going to continue humping me then?" Tom asked, body shifting ever so
slightly as Harry's hips continued their circular motion towards the taller
boy's body.
"Mhm." Harry responded, not once stopping or slowing his actions, enjoying the
way the clothes on his body tugged on his manhood and softened the thrusts, one
particular thrust met with Tom's hips and he could feel a similar bulge in the
pants of the other boy, grinning more at that he continued to grind, aiming for
that hard lump.
Tom seemed to content himself to watching Harry, propping an arm on his pillow
to hold his head up and get a good look at the body writhing under the blanket
like some injured snake. Harry tilting his head up to return the stare, bright
green eyes glazed with lust and amusement as he continued to grind against the
other boys hips. He was quite enjoying rubbing his body against the other but
he was starting to want more, to rip their clothes off and get some real
friction.
Harry decided to act on his wishes and, throwing away the blanket, straddled
the other boy easily, the move made all the easier as he was already moving
against the others hips and the look on Tom's face showing he hadn't expected
that to happen. Harry grinned down and him and rolled his hips again, this time
his weight was behind it and the slow movement had their cocks moving between
them, Tom letting out a low groan and raising his hands to Harry's hips.
Harry quickly started undressing, pulling his shirt over his shoulders and
throwing it away swiftly before starting on Tom's, the taller boy lifting off
the bed slightly to help Harry when he started tugging on it, next their pants
followed, Harry shifting them off awkwardly, not wanting to get off Tom's hips.
After following suit with their underwear Harry sat proudly on the taller boys
hips, a smug smile in place as Tom watched him.
"Enjoying yourself are you?" Tom asked, a grin tugging at his lips.
"Quite." Harry replied, running a hand down Tom's chest, making sure to touch
one of his nipples on the way down. Suddenly he was feeling hesitant though, he
wanted to try something new but he wasn't sure Tom would want to, he decided to
ask anyway, nervousness creeping into his tone, "Tom, can I be on top this
time?"
"On top?" Tom repeated, clearly not quite understanding exactly what Harry was
asking for.
"I want to be inside you..." Harry was blushing from saying it, it wasn't as if
they hadn't had sex before and yet he still got riled up over things like this.
Tom seemed to think for a moment, intent eyes staring at Harry, before he gave
his response, "Alright, you can be on top this time."
Harry beamed and the look must have been entirely too much for the situation as
Tom coughed down a laugh, Harry didn't really notice though, he was going to be
inside Tom! Tom was going to let him! He could barely contain his excitement...
until he remembered that he had no idea what to do and there was the
possibility he could hurt Tom. Suddenly he was even more anxious than before he
had asked.
Tom seemed to pick up on this, "It's okay Harry, I trust you won't hurt me."
"I don't..." Harry replied but Tom shut him up by pulling him down into a kiss,
when they broke apart Tom had a bottle of lube in his hand and was offering it
to Harry who raised an eyebrow at the taller boy, he justhappenedto have this?
"I figured we might use some of our freedom for a truly private moment." Tom
supplied as Harry took the bottle. Harry nodded and backed off Tom's hips,
settling instead between his legs, half-hard cock laying against the skinny
body. Harry placed the lube as his side for now, reaching out to stroke Tom's
length to full hardness, dipping his head down to lick and suck at the tip
before moving down, licking down the thick vein and to the balls, stopping at
Tom's entrance to lick at it, prodding his wet tongue in, happy when Tom made a
pleased sound and spread his legs further.
Harry found that the position wasn't too comfortable, Tom had to lift his hips
for Harry to get a good angle and even then it was awkward. He pulled away and
put a hand on the side of Tom's hip, putting pressure there until Tom got the
point and rolled over. Harry then dove down to his hole again and started
licking and prodding at it, the angle much better now that Tom was on his
stomach, his tongue delving further into the tight ring.
As Harry continued to rim Tom, the older boy panting and moaning lowly into his
pillow, he pulled the lube back to himself and slicked up some of his fingers,
tentatively he placed one at Tom's hole, the older boy craning his neck to
look, at Tom's nod Harry slowly pushed the finger in, careful not to move much
except for pushing the single digit in, watching Tom the whole time for any
sign that he should stop. Once the finger was fully in he stopped and held it
there, "Is it alright?" he asked the older boy.
"It doesn't feel like much at all, try putting another in."
Harry did so, pulling the digit back to align a second one up with it and
pushed them both into Tom, this time the older boys expression changed and
Harry couldn't tell if it was discomfort or pleasure, he stopped anyway. Tom
panted, eyes readjusting to Harry, "Continue." again Harry obeyed, continuing
to push the digits in until they would go no further before looking to Tom
again, the boy's dark eyes glazed over slightly, "Try stretching it now, like
this." Tom demonstrated a scissoring motion with two of his fingers and Harry
mimicked it, causing Tom to moan and drop his head into his pillow again, his
legs shifting as Harry continued until he started using his knees to push
himself against Harry's fingers, "Another." Tom demanded, his voice uneven as
he continued trying to push Harry's fingers further into himself.
Harry grabbed the other boy's hips to steady him as he pulled the digits back
again and lined up a third, squeezing them into the slightly stretched hole as
Tom moaned loudly into his pillow, a leg flexing as the fingers got deeper,
toes curling in the sheets. Once they were fully in Harry stilled them for only
a moment before he started moving them in and out, stretching his fingers as he
pulled them out before plunging them back in again.
Tom's cock was beginning to drip pre-come from where it dangled between his
legs, completely forgotten as Tom moaned and bucked against the fingers. The
sight reminded Harry of his own forgotten need, surely Tom was stretched enough
now?
"Tom..." Harry said, it came out more of a whine though as he suddenly became
more aware of his own aching privates, "Are you ready now?"
Tom nodded into his pillow, the action fast as if there was nothing better at
that moment than the thought of Harry burying his cock inside the older boy.
Harry grabbed the lube again and wet his hand before running it over his shaft,
the slick sensation easily bringing him to full hardness as he shoved the lube
aside again with one hand and lined himself up behind Tom, who had turned his
head again to watch Harry through dark, glazed eyes, irises almost black in his
pleasure.
Harry held himself in place as he pushed the head of his cock against Tom's
stretched hole, looking to Tom who gave a tiny nod before he started pushing
in, gasping and then moaning loudly at the still-tight pressure that met him,
the lube helping guide himself in easily as Tom joined in his moaning. And
Merlin was he glad these rooms came with privacy wards on them, lest they would
surely be caught in the act by some worried passerby.
Once his cock was half sheathed Tom started bucking against him, seemingly
getting over the initial feeling of intrusion and trying to get the full length
in sooner, Harry placed his hands on Tom's bony hips, pulling him back as he
bucked forwards. It only took a few thrusts before Harry was fully inside Tom's
ass, thoroughly enjoying the sensations of wet warmth and muscles contracting
against him. He rested on Tom's back, arms around the older boy's chest, as
they panted together, seeing why Tom had enjoyed himself so much when they had
had sex in the dungeon room. Of course Harry had quite enjoyed playing the part
Tom did now but the feeling was so different from before, this was an entirely
new experience and Harry was going to enjoy every part of it.
Tom started bucking his hips back again and Harry got the message, pushing
himself up and grabbing a hold of those bony hips again he pulled out, making
the action and not stopping until he was sure that if he went any further it
would have him slipping from the slick hole, he then pushed back in, faster
than he had pulled out and relishing in the deep moan Tom let out, the older
boy's arms bent under him to keep him from suffocating in his pillow as Harry
pounded into him.
The pace got faster as Harry lost himself in the feeling of tight muscles
around his cock, continuously pulling out and pounding back into Tom's hole
like a crazed animal as he gripped the skinny waist so tightly as if to keep
the other boy there, like he might let go and Tom would vanish.
Harry could feel heat pooling in his groin, a sensation like a coiled spring
that could not wait to be let lose, and reached a hand around to stroke Tom's
cock, running fingers over the head and dragging sticky pre-come over the
length, fondling with balls for a moment before going back to tug on the hard
shaft, trying to get the movements of his wrist in sync with the thrusts of his
hips. Tom moaned below him, moving his hips frantically, one movement sending
Harry's cock further inside him and another assisting the hand on his shaft.
The hot, coiling sensation was building until Harry was sure he would burst,
gripping Tom hard as he shoved himself in as far as he could go and then he was
moaning his pleasure, body shaking and hips bucking uncontrollably as hot come
shot out, Harry felt the warmth of it on his cock and grinned to himself at the
thought of it being in Tom.
Noticing Tom was still not done yet he tightened his grip on the cock in his
hand and gave a few meaningful tugs, all that was needed before the older boy
was spilling himself on the sheets with a throaty sound.
Harry backed on then, pulling his flaccid cock from Tom's stretched entrance
before collapsing next to him, panting heavily in the aftermath and trying to
get his breath back as he came down from his high.
"Merlin," Harry sighed, looking to Tom who turned his head to return the stare,
"I love you Tom."
Tom grinned at him, "I love you too precious."
It took them another hour before they had energy back, were cleaned up, and
ready to go back to their personal prison, heavy bags seeming less of a
pressure upon them than the dark stone building they would be returning to for
another month.
Harry rather thought a 'Welcome to Hell' sign wouldn't be out of place.
 
 
To be Continued...
***** Pray For Salvation *****
To both boys' horror when the returned to the orphanage they found that during
their time at Diagon Alley the infamous priest had shown up, neither met him
but were notified of his presence by the matron blabbing about it as she opened
the rusty gate and let them inside.
Tom had immediately pulled Harry upstairs and into their room, as if the mere
thought of the priest showing up and seeing Harry was terrible. Harry made no
protests, the older boy's earlier warnings ringing in his head and the mans
religion reminding Harry painfully of his devout father, he felt in no way
ready to face such a religious man after what he had experienced prior to his
arrival at the orphanage.
Harry didn't get to see the priest until dinner, having stayed in their room
with Tom until it was time to head out. They stuck close together as they went
to the dining hall and it was there that Harry saw him, a balding man with a
rounded belly wearing dark robes, he sat at a table with a bunch of children,
Billy and his friends included, all of them listening to what the old priest
was saying.
"What are they talking about?" Harry whispered to Tom as they grabbed their
food and settled in their usual seats.
"God probably." Tom replied with obvious disdain. "Some of them aren't even
religious, they just want bonus points for sucking up to the old creep. That's
why Billy does it."
Harry wondered how hanging out with the creepy priest could possibly give
anyone 'bonus points' but then he remembered the matron and the way she had
talked about the priest being there as if it was some great blessing and
figured that the matrons would look upon the children hanging on the priest's
words in a better light than other children who didn't. Looking around the room
Harry noticed other orphans either attempting to ignore the old mans presence
or sending shifty glances in his direction, like an animal prepared to make a
run for it from a predator. Harry wondered why so many children seemed to not
want to go near the man, did he exorcise them too?
They ate quickly and made to leave the hall, the priest thankfully still
surrounded by children and not looking as if he would follow them, Harry
wondered if that was even a valid fear, but the old man did look up as they
left and the look he gave Harry definitely made him feel like a predator was
watching him, the way the mans eyes took in his form before flicking to Tom
unnerved him to an extreme, the change in his expression upon the switch giving
Harry a feeling that the man had indeed had a nasty history with the other boy,
and wasn't happy about it at all.
Harry shuddered and was glad when they returned to the safety of their room,
the dingy floorboards and cramped space seeming much more inviting than the
dining hall or anywhere else that the priest might go to.
Thankfully nothing seemed to happen, the priest never followed them or even
spoke to them, but Harry did notice him watching them sometimes, the familiar
prey-like feeling returning and making his heart speed up. Harry also noticed
that while many of the children crowded around the man in the hall and outside
the building very few of them actually visited the office that seemed to belong
to him, and usually went in groups of at least three when they did.
Harry decided it was best if he ignored these things and just tried to stick
with Tom where he was safe, the two rarely ever leaving their room aside from
meals and toilet trips, the occasional slink outside to soak up some sun was
spent lurking about, Tom eying the priest intently as if he could see malicious
intent rolling off the man in waves, expecting some sort of attack at any
moment.
Harry was just glad the man hadn't done anything, Tom told him that the priest
usually only hung around for a week or two at most, it had already been over a
week so Harry was waiting with baited breath for the man to disappear,
hopefully forever and to never show up in either of their lives again. Then he
would breathe easy again.
Unfortunately that day didn't seem to want to come soon enough, Harry was
tiring of hiding away and jumping at every shadow, he had always known himself
to be a paranoid person but since they started their relationship it seemed he
wasn't the one winning in that category. Tom went to every length possible to
attempt to avoid the priest, including cracking the door open to peek out
before entering the hall and listening down the stairwell before descending.
Harry was so tired of it.
He wanted the man gone, he wanted Tom to relax, he wanted to be able to sleep
without some unfounded fear of something happening to them in the night.
Tom's constant vigilance had a large downside too, that being that the boy was
tired and only getting worse the longer he stayed on edge about the priest,
large dark bags hung under his eyes and the usually sharp boy kept missing
details, this being evident when he tried to eat his soup with a fork until
Harry corrected the matter and got him a spoon. Harry managed to talk the older
boy into getting some proper rest, informing him that he could hardly keep an
eye on the priest if he could barely even keep them open at all.
Unfortunately once Tom was sound asleep Harry suddenly had a desperate urge to
use the bathroom, he contemplated waking Tom up but quickly dismissed the
thought, it wouldn't be fair to wake him after he just convinced him that it
was safe to sleep. At the same time though he really needed to go, damn him for
drinking so much that morning. He tried to hold it in and ignore it, hoping the
need would pass, but that didn't seem to work at all.
Peering out into the hallway he remembered the last time he had gone to the
bathroom alone, he had been beaten into the walls by another orphan until he
had passed out, but he couldn't let his fear stop him, would he never use a
bathroom again without holding someone else's hand? It was undignified! He was
sure he could do it, just this once.
Creeping out into the hall Harry cautiously made his way to the bathroom, he
reached it and managed to relieve himself without incident and was silently
praising himself as he ascended the stairs again and made for his and Tom's
room.
And then a voice sounded behind him and Harry froze before turning around the
face the speaker.
The priest stood a few steps behind him, Harry realized that the man must have
followed him up the stairs, his heart started up a frantic beat, unsure if he
should run or if that would be inappropriate, he might be punished for it,
especially since he had already given the priest his attention. Instead he
remained frozen in place, watching the priest with wide, fearful eyes.
"So you are the new orphan," the man spoke politely, stepping closer to him,
"I'd like to talk with you if you don't mind." the priest said, gesturing down
the stairs again.
Harry would have very much liked to tell the man exactly how much he minded but
knew it wasn't really a request he could deny, lest he be locked in the attic
for his rudeness or given the cane. Instead his only option was to follow the
man back down the stairs, giving one last longing look down the hall, wishing
Tom would abruptly wake right then and come searching for him. Unfortunately no
one came to his rescue as he was led to the mans office, damning his bladder
Harry hoped this would just be a talk about his short time at the orphanage and
that nothing sinister would happen.
The man closed the door behind them when they got into his office and sat in a
chair behind a large desk, motioning for Harry to sit on another chair before
the desk. His whole body was tense as he sat on the slightly cushioned seat,
joints seeming to be spring-loaded to jump up and escape at any moment.
The priest seemed to not notice Harry's nervousness and began talking, "I hear
from the matrons that you were brought here after being abused." Harry merely
nodded, not daring to open his mouth for he feared he might wail like some
trapped animal, the priest clasped his hands together on the desk in front of
him, "Can you tell me what kind of abuse?" Harry didn't answer him, he didn't
want to speak, certainly not about that, and he still felt the only sounds he
would make were certain to be unintelligible. The priest pressed on, "It was
physical was it not?" Harry nodded, averting his eyes from the man, not liking
the way he was looking at him, "Sexual?" Harry spluttered, the man was
certainly prying far to much, was this part of his job here? To question
orphans like himself on their past? The priest leaned back in his chair with a
sigh, obviously taking Harry's spluttering for an answer, "I see you are close
to Mr Tom Riddle, tell me child, what is your relationship with God?"
Harry felt a slight sense of deja vu, having had this talk with his father so
many times in the past, Harry turned his head up to look at the man, "I don't
believe he exists sir." blunt but still respectful, he shouldn't get in trouble
for that, right?
The priest sighed again and Harry was reminded ever so slightly of Dumbledore
when Harry refused to go along with the mans ideals, "I hate to see that you
think that way."
Harry was getting aggravated now, reminded far too much of the many arguments
he had had with his father over the matter, standing up Harry replied bitingly,
"You and many others, but I don't think he exists nor will I ever, so I'll be
going now then." he turned and headed for the door but thudding footfalls
sounded behind him until the priest passed him, blocking his path, the
predatory look in his eyes glinting dangerously.
Harry backed up nervously as the man advanced on him, "Billy Stubbs tells me
you are a lot like Riddle, just as strange and evil. A sinner." Harry tried to
say something in protest but was distracted as he bumped into the desk and
quickly slipped around it to keep his distance from the looming priest, his
plans failing once he realized he had backed himself into a corner, just like
when Billy had assaulted him in the bathroom, he really had to think about
escape routes earlier.
The priest was hovering over him now, a hand placed on the wall that provided
the largest gap between it and the man, trapping Harry in place, sure that if
he ran he would be caught like Billy had caught him. Harry dared to look up,
the priests eyes were more predatory than ever and Harry noticed with horror
that there appeared to be a good amount of lust colouring them, the truth to
the looks the priest had been sending him since he arrived suddenly and
horrifically dawning on him.
He gasped aloud when hands were upon him, tearing at his belt and tugging it
down, the tight band pulling at him and the force nearly knocking him over,
what was this man doing? He must be crazy! "Get off me!" Harry shouted, trying
to push the man away even as his shorts slipped down to his knees, the priest
was too large however and Harry too small to put enough force behind his
shoving, the man easily pushing him back against the wall.
The priest grabbed Harry's shoulder roughly and turned him to face the wall,
the clothes hanging around Harry's knees stopping him from holding his position
and making him stumble as his face was squashed up against the wall. The priest
roughly tugged his underwear down to join the shorts around his knees, Harry
whimpering in protest and attempting to shove off the wall with his hands but
the man merely rested an elbow against his back and put his weight on it, Harry
could hear the sounds of shuffling clothes and thought with dread that the man
must be unsheathing himself, he struggled again but it was as fruitless as
every other time, he tried crying out for help but found his voice weakened
with fear to pitiful wails that likely didn't reach the hall outside.
"You said this happened before," The priest said, grabbing Harry's hair and
tugging so that his head was pulled backwards, putting an uncomfortable curve
in his back as his hips and head stuck out from the wall as his chest was
pushed up against it, "So you best be good at this."
Harry felt the man lining himself up with his small ass, he isn't even going to
use lube?! Harry tried crying out again but the priest cut him off by yanking
his hair roughly. Harry's heart was pounding frantically, at least when his
father had abused him he had the common sense to lube up the cone first, and
that had still hurt like hell!
The head of the priest's penis was just rubbing against Harry's small hole when
the door was flung open, from his awkward position against the wall all Harry
saw was a blur until the priest was yanked off of him and he was being
practically dragged out of the room, pulling his pants up Harry saw his saviour
was Tom and thanked the stars as he tried to keep pace with the older boy as he
was dragged through the halls, praying to Merlin that the priest would not
catch them.
 
To be Continued...
***** The Hardest Thing *****
The two boys rushed up to their room, Harry wondered if the priest would follow
and hoped that the man pulling up his pants again would save them time, surely
he wouldn't rampage through the orphanage with his junk hanging out?
Once inside the room Tom didn't stop, instead he jumped up on the desk and
unlatched the window, shoving the pane up to open it, he then started climbing
out shouting a "Follow me!" to Harry, Harry hesitantly climbed up on the desk
and skeptically peered out of the window, they may have only been on the second
floor but the ground floor had high ceilings making the drop from the window a
dangerous one. Turning his eyes to Tom he saw the taller boy climbing a pipe
heading to the roof, he wondered just how sturdy the pipe was but the thought
of the priest coming after them and barging into the room was enough to have
him stretching his body out of the window to grasp at the rough and dented
metal.
Harry tugged on the pipe experimentally before carefully slipping the lower
half of his body out of the window and tentatively searching for footholds as
he followed Tom, the older boy more confident and seeming to know where to dig
his feet in already, as if he had climbed the wall many times before, Harry
copied him as he made his way up, expecting to hear their bedroom door crash
open at any moment, his heart thudding so much he thought it might push him off
the stone wall.
Harry hung awkwardly in the air for a moment as he clambered over the gutter
onto the roof, the tilted surface making his heart lurch until he steadied
himself and crawled over to where Tom was sitting halfway up.
"Will we be safe here?" Harry asked as he reached Tom's side.
"Do you think that priest will haul his chubby ass up here?" Tom retorted,
pulling his knees to his chest and hugging them, "We should be fine for as long
as we stay up here."
"And when we come down?" Harry wondered, afraid of the answer.
"Hope that the cane is all we get."
Harry sat back, resting his hands behind him, and thought over what had
happened, his panic was dulling into a steady, hard beat of his heart, fears of
the priest showing up being pushed away for later. He hoped that when they came
back down they would not be bothered by the priest. Harry hadn't expected that
to happen, that the man would molest him, but looking back he figured he
probably should have, the reactions of the other children to the mans presence
making so much more sense now.
Harry sighed dejectedly, hating himself, "I'm sorry." he said in a quiet voice.
Tom turned his head to him in an almost surprised gesture, "For what?"
"For leaving the room when you were asleep, I let my guard down, despite all
the shit that has happened so far this year I am still so stupid and let myself
get caught."
"You can't blame yourself for things that he did." Tom reasoned, looking out
over the roofs of the surrounding buildings again, his voice turned bitter, "He
is the sick one that hurts kids."
They were silent again for a while, Harry scratching a fingernail over a stain
on one of the shingles, a thought crossed his mind and he decided to
tentatively voice it, "Did he... ever hurt you like that?"
Tom didn't meet his eyes, didn't even twitch or turn his head, perhaps having
expected the question, "Yes."
Harry's heart fell and he returned to scratching the stain, the repetitive
motion keeping the gears moving in his head, keeping him grounded, "What
happened?" he asked then hastily added, "If you don't mind telling me."
Tom sighed, eyes lidded as the sun started dipping down and setting the roofs
alight in a fiery glow, "It was before the exorcism, he got me in his office
and then he tried to do it, just like with you. He got as far as pushing the
head against me before I realized what was happening and my magic kicked in."
Tom's eyes shifted to the edge of the roof that they had climbed over, "After
that he decided I was possessed because of the magic... I suppose he also
wanted revenge for my getting away... I was six."
Harry had no words, to have such a thing happen when a person was only six was
unimaginable, the pain and terror he felt from his own memories making him
hardly believe that a person could survive such an ordeal at an even younger
age. Tom was a stronger person than he had thought. Harry's hand lay still, no
longer incessantly scratching at the shingle, his whole body seemed frozen to
him, the summer sun doing nothing to cool the shards of ice that had made their
way into his heart.
Harry was jerked out of his thoughts when a hand rested atop his, turning to
see Tom watching him with a calm expression, "It's okay precious, it was a long
time ago and I'm still here aren't I?"
He didn't know how to respond, knowing now that the pain he felt was shared by
the love of his life, that the most perfect person he had ever met was just as
damaged and hurt as himself, which in turn hurt him even more. But he was still
here. Harry felt that said a lot about the strength the other boy had, to live
his life with that darkness inside him but continue on anyway. Harry wondered
if his experiences would stick with him for so long, if the pain in his chest
would be a constant reminder that there was such cruelty in the world, that
people he trusted and strangers he never knew were equally capable of causing
him suffering. But Tom had lived for so long with it and seemed determined to
continue doing so, so he could be strong too, right?
His thoughts returned to Tom, how much he loved the other boy, that feeling
only seeming to strengthen with the new revelation of what had happened to him,
making him want to wrap his arms tightly around the other boy and never, ever
let go. His fantasies of their future together suddenly seemed so far away, the
brightness of an old dream dulling with time and the harshness of reality, but
he still thought about them being together, being able to return to Tom every
day in a comfortable, private place, even if it was just a shabby room in a
pub, and having someone he loved near to him, to deal with him when he was at
his weakest and make the world seem better again.
Words slipped from his mouth before he could stop them, before he could even
think about them, "Stay by my side." Never before in his life had he wanted
someone to be so close to him and he never wanted to let that feeling go.
Tom smiled at him and shifted closer until their sides were touching, their
hands still together behind them, "Always."
Harry rested his body against the taller boy, his hand slipping from under the
other to wrap around Tom's side, wishing still to be closer, as if to meld with
the other boy and become a stronger entity that could deal with the pain
better. The anguish he felt in his chest making him feel at a huge distance
from the world, even Tom, despite the boy being right next to him. They were so
close yet at that moment Harry couldn't have felt further away, barely part of
the world at all despite the way it kept moving around him.
When an arm wrapped around him he thought he had never experienced a better
feeling in his life, the warmth of the limb combating the chill of the cooling
afternoon air, seeping in and breaching the shards of ice in his chest, melting
them away to a soggy puddle he wished would dry sooner.
Vaguely Harry's mind reminded him that they were missing dinner but he didn't
care much, knowing that the empty hole in his stomach was not from hunger and
he was not at all willing to leave the safety of the high roof, sitting among
the tops of the many stone buildings making him feel miles away from the
orphanage beneath them.
A feeling of gratefulness washed over Harry, pushing back his feelings of
worthlessness and despair, he had Tom but that also meant that Tom had him.
Thinking about it Harry didn't think Tom had much of anyone other than him,
which made him sad, the beautiful, intelligent, charismatic, slightly messed up
and dark boy was everything to him, cracks and dents and all. Harry vowed he
would try his best to prove to Tom just how much the other boy meant to him,
that he would show him what true love was, that he would give every bit of love
he had to this broken boy, his Tom, his everything.
As the sun was hiding behind tall buildings and stars began to glow in the
night-darkening sky they heard the sounds of a door opening somewhere far below
and heeled boots clacking on stone. Crawling across the roof to look down at
the front gates Harry flinched back momentarily to see it was the priest,
peering back over when it was clear the priest was not going to turn around and
see him the two boys watched the man walk with Mrs Cole to the rusty gates, a
black cab waiting for him.
He was leaving.
"It's been two weeks." Tom whispered to thin air, as if a reminder to himself
more than as a statement to Harry.
The priest and head matron hung about for a minute exchanging farewells before
the priest got in the cab and with a loud popping sound from the engine it
drove off down the street, away from the orphanage.
"He's gone." Harry said, barely believing it, elation rising in his chest, they
didn't have to worry about the man anymore, they could return to their room and
walk the halls with their only fear being Billy and his bunch of friends, the
rowdy bunch of teens hardly a worry in the face of the evil that had just left.
"He's gone." Tom agreed with a relieved sigh, turning to smile at Harry.
Harry returned the smile and hugged Tom, the force of it pushing them back on
the shingles, both boys laughing and smiling, relieved tears streamed from
Harry's eyes and blurred his vision of the beautiful face before him.
Harry wiped at the tears, still smiling and laughing, "I love you Tom." he
stated, and never before had he felt truer words come from his mouth.
Tom smiled up at him from his place beneath Harry, his back on the roof, "I
love you too Harry, my precious treasure."
Pale hands reached up and pulled him down swiftly, lips pressing together,
emotions being let out and shared between them in a passionate embrace.
It was over now, they had survived and there was only a week left before they
would return to Hogwarts and never again have to deal with the orphanage or its
dreadful residents.
They had made it.
 
 
The End.
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