It took a while for Harry to figure out what had woken him. He had been sleeping so well. So deeply that he hadn't even dreamed, just one minute he had been awake and the next he was being pulled from sweet slumber by....what was it?
There were a few things that stood out as 'wrong' in his hazy state. The pillow he rolled his face into, chasing after sleep, was too soft and big to be the one had been using lately, it also held a scent that was not his own. Though it was familiar, and nice. And though the blanket that covered him did not feel as heavy as the one he had grown used to, he was still very warm.
But none of these things are what woke him. There was some sort of pressure on his hand, something holding it, tickling movement over his palm, feather light but insistent.
He opened his eyes and...he was not alone! He was also, not in his bed. Tom lay across from him, dark eyes regarding Harry as he slept, between them on the bed their hands lay intertwined. Tom's long fingers cradling his hand as his thumb brushed lazy strokes across his palm. It never faltered, not even when Tom smiled upon seeing that Harry was awake, or when he greeted Harry with a soft and casual, "Good morning."
Harry pressed his face into the pillow to both hide his blush and growing smile. He was in Tom's bed! He had actually done it! And judging by Tom's light mood, and that he hadn't been hexed or tossed out, Tom was rather happy with the situation as well. Tom squeezed his hand, drawing Harry back out of the pillows to face him once more.
"I missed you." Tom said softly. It was so open. So honest. Almost, Harry felt the words as tangible things. Tom had missed him.
"I missed you too." He said with a hesitant smile. Maybe he should feel silly to say it. Embarrassed or worried about giving too much away, but he did not. Several things had fallen into place last night. He could not forget his past, would never dream to. His friends had always been what sustained him through trying times. But he couldn't rely solely on their memory anymore. He had an opportunity for a real friendship here and now, for something more if he were willing. He wanted to take it.
They didn't say anything for a time. Harry was still tired, the rest he'd gotten the night before hadn't nearly been enough to make up for lost time. But this was nice. Laying next to Tom, warm and drowsy. It felt very much like their shared dreams. Easy. Comfortable. Right.
Slowly the light changed around them. Murky grey fading to glittering sea green. The sun was rising. Had risen? It was time for them to start the day. "I should probably-" Harry began, sitting up. He didn't let go of Tom's hand.
Tom didn't rise with him, simply laid back and watched Harry with a smile and bright eyes. Harry squeezed his hand, relished the weight of it, the realness. He didn't want to leave.
He didn't want to explain his absence more though. Alphard would probably have a heart attack if he found out Harry hadn't been in his dorm.
Speaking of.
"Tom?"
"Yes, Harry?" Tom said, smiling still. He lifted their joined hands off the bed and rested them on his chest.
Harry leaned forward and fixed him with a serious look, "Did you punish Alphard because of me?"
Tom blinked at him for several seconds, "Harry-" he started but Harry cut him off quickly.
"You did, didn't you? You gave him detention because I fell asleep in class. He didn't do anything."
"He was tasked with making sure that you made it to and from your classes," Tom said empirically, "As a Prefect he-"
"Did he break a school rule?"
"I...well, no."
"Did he break a house rule?" Harry asked with a triumphant grin.
"Not exactly....?" Tom said, a little unsure now.
"Not at all!" Harry shot back, "he broke one of your rules," he said, poking Tom's nose with his free hand, "One of Tom Riddle's, 'I have to control mine and everyone else' lives' rules."
Tom snatched at Harry's hand but he was too quick, his little exasperated huff said what he thought of Harry's antics and the glare he was giving Tom. "You could have gotten hurt." He said simply. In the flowing dawn light he looked paler that usual. His hair, no longer perfectly kempt, curled wildly on the pillow. He had never been so open, so true, before. Like before, Harry could almost feel the raw emotion of such a statement.
"But I wasn't," He said gently, Tom's hand was warm in his own, the thumping of his heart in beat with his own, "and if I had been it would have been my own fault. No one else'."
Tom sighed, his eyes closing as he clearly thought about it, "Fine," he said, after a short pause added, "As of now his punishment is absolved. I'll let him know before this afternoon."
"Thank you," Harry smiled brightly down at him.
Tom returned his smile, though there was a twist of humor in it, "Is that it?"
Harry rose an eyebrow at him, "I don't-"
"You wanted to plead for Alphard's release form detention but not your own?"
"Oh," his cheeks heated a up a little in embarrassment. The truth was he had come to acknowledge that he had, in fact, broken a pretty important rule. The rule might have only been made by Tom to keep the house in line and under his rule, but if he had been caught sleeping in class by a teacher he would have been given detention anyway.
"No matter," Tom said lightly, "I wouldn't have relented on that anyway."
"Jerk," Harry said crossly, though there was no heat in the statement, he smirked as Tom made a show of being affronted. The silence stretched between them, suddenly feeling a little out of sorts under Tom's gaze, Harry made to leave.
"Wait!" Tom grasped his hand harder, frantic, as he sat up on his elbows. He took a deep breath, as though to steady himself, "Have breakfast with me." It wasn't exactly phrased as a question. Tom Riddle didn't ask things of people, he made demands and they were met. But this was different. He was unsure, hesitant. Worried, perhaps, that Harry would deny him.
"Sure," Harry said, smiling wide at both the sudden flush of warmth through him and the expression of utter relief that flashed over Tom's face. Before he could think too much about it, or talk himself out of it, Harry leaned forward and placed a quick yet tender kiss on Tom's lips before jumping off the bed and scurrying to the door. Tom's low chuckle following him until the door was firmly closed between them.
Harry took a moment, leaning against Tom's door to catch his breath. A part of him couldn't quite believe he had gone through with it all. Bridging the gap that had formed between him and Tom over their argument had just felt....right. His days had not been the same without spending his nights with Tom. Alphard was great, and the rest of the house was nice enough to him...But Tom's absence had been like an open wound. Painful. Impossible to ignore.
Kissing Tom had not been part of the plan. Neither truly had he thought to plead Alphard's case, but then the moment had come and well, there was no reason not to. He has spent the night sleeping next to Tom in his bed, gone was the time to be bashful over speaking his mind. The fact that Tom had been so agreeable was still something a surprise. But maybe he was also feeling the loneliness of the rift. For a while now Harry had thought that maybe their shared nights were as much for Tom's benefit as his own. It was nice to have that confirmation.
After a few deep breaths to steady his nerves Harry pushed off the door and headed to his own room. Not wanting to think about explaining why he was standing outside of Tom's door in his night clothes if anyone should peak out into the hall at that moment.
And he would really like to get a shower in before he had to face Tom's friends at breakfast.
~~~
There wasn't much that Tom could do right after Harry fled from the room, the glowing warmth that he had woken with, that only grew as Harry touched him, kissed him, short as it was, left him feeling light and oddly disconnected from himself. Tom had never felt as alive as he had in those moments. Everything was bright and clear and perfect.
Halfway through his routine Tom became aware of the ridiculous grin still on his face. It look longer than it should have for him to control his features, once he was sure that he was collected, properly, only then did he leave the room. He it made it to the Great Hall in good time, seated himself at the the head of the table, and waited.
The slow trickle of students proceeded as normal, perhaps a little more bleary eyed due to the festivities of the night before. There were certainly far fewer requests made of him than usual, only the most studious Ravenclaws forewent celebrations in favor of homework and scheduling.
His Knights trickled in in twos and threes, often being trailed by younger students. Children with potential and the right kind of ambitions and connections. They had a set routine by now, a rhythm. Rosier sat to Tom's right, as usual, at some point Abraxas had made it his goal to always be on Tom's left. A self imposed hierarchy in their group that Tom had seen no reason to counteract. Until now.
Tom held a hand out over the plat to the left, forestalling Abraxas as he made to sit. "You will be sitting one down today," Tom said airily, and nothing more.
"I..."Abraxas halted, blinked clear blue eyes at him, then straightened, "May I ask why, Tom?" The inflection on, Tom, was subtle, but there. Respectful, but wary.
"Harry Evans will be joining us for breakfast today," and lunch and dinner for that day and the next, if Tom had his way, "You will make room for him." He could be no clearer in his meaning. Harry was going to be enfolded in Tom's inner circle, and the others would make room. No discussion.
Abraxas' expression twisted, darkened. He did not even fight to correct it, to hide it from Tom and others as he tried to hide how the mention of Harry usually set his pristine facade on edge. He took the seat next to the empty plate that was now Harry's and brooded.
It was sometime still before Harry walked in, Alphard at his heels. But oddly, any irritation that Harry, who had left to get dressed at the same time Tom had, yet managed to arrive to breakfast so much later than himself, vanished upon seeing Harry, cheeks slightly flushed as he smiled down at Tom.
"Good morning, Harry," Tom motioned cheerily to the empty seat, "sit down."
"Good morning," Harry said as he sat, after casting a look around, all of Tom's Knights eyeing the situation curiously, Harry added, "er...everyone."
"Alphard," Orion's voice cut through idle chatter around them like a knife, Alphard's attempt to sneak away from their group stopped short, "sit down."
"Yes, Alphard, do join us as well," Tom smiled at him with just a hint of teeth. Harry may have agreed to this one meal, but if Tom wanted him to feel comfortable around the other Knights having Harry's friend around would only help. To Abraxas' obvious displeasure Alphard squeezed himself onto the bench between him and Harry.
For a time the table was silent. The Knights hardly moved as they observed Harry and Tom. Tom handing him a cup tea and making small talk about class. Harry, unsuccessfully, trying to bring Alphard into the conversation. Finally a Hufflepuff came over to ask for Tom's help, their ditsy aunt had forgotten to send their Hogsmead form and they were afraid of not having it in time to present to their head of house. Though Tom didn't really have the authority to make them be allowed to go, he could at least promise to speak with their professor on their behalf.
After that the others seemed to settle into this new arrangement a little more. Conversation picked up, even if there are still glances, and in a few cases, glares, thrown at Harry. Tom could demand they compliance. Tell them they must give Harry respect. But issuing such an order would only be met with anger and resentment. It would sow seeds that would later bloom into mutiny. Abraxas was not the only one who did not want Tom's interests to steer towards Harry,
No, he needed to make sure that they came by their respect and admiration naturally. As Tom had. Already a plan was forming. Something, once seen, no one would be able to deny Harry's place at Tom's side.
He felt oddly unfocused all day. His mind either racing ahead to putting his plan in action, or lingering on the kiss that Harry had given him that morning. There hadn't been time to talk about it. To reciprocate it. There will be time later, a part of him knows. Plenty of time to speak with Harry and bask in each other's presence.
Tom had never had such a hard time being patient before.
At lunch Harry and Alphard decided to celebrate Alphard's new freedom by flying for a while after dinner. Something that Tom was more than willing to let happen. Harry had sat next to him on his own, without prompting or asking if he would be welcome, so Tom was feeling rather generous. It also meant that Harry was a little late to the common room giving Tom plenty of time to set his plan in motion.
Tom was already firmly ensconced in his usual place at the head of one of the study tables, lending an ear here and there where he was needed, when Harry and Alphard bustled in, disappearing into the dorms just long enough to deposit their brooms and gather their school work. Tom ducked his head to his own work when he heard them approach the study area, the seats closest to him were taken, but there were a few empty further down. He grinned to himself as Harry and Alphard took seats halfway down the table.
Perfect.
He couldn't be seen to have a hand in what was to come.
Before the room had filled with students eager to get their homework behind them, Tom had taken Gemma from her post and, after a few whispered words to her, had set her on one of the study tables. She was now making way up and down the table, hissing words of encouragement to the busy and often frustrated students. And even though they could not understand what she was saying, the looks of gratitude and thankful pets she received spoke for themselves.
And only served to bolster her in her 'helping'.
It wasn't long before she had realized Harry was at the table and singled him out. She loved him best of all, she had told him so as Tom divulged his plan to her. He was not surprised that she wasted no time in reaching him then. She paused in front of him, raising up to look at him directly. She was too far away for Tom to hear what she was saying, and the only indication that Harry had heard her was a flick of his gaze as he tried to scoop her off of his work. A few of Harry's neighbors laughed at his struggles until Gemma settled down in his arms.
Tom sat back, pleased with himself and suddenly very content with the world in general. All he had to do now was wait.
~~~
"Moonstones can be used in a pinch," Gemma said sagely from where she was curled around Harry's arm, "moonstones are good for many things."
Harry lips twitched, Gemma had been giving him advice on his homework for nearly twenty minutes now. Her little interjections were hardly helpful, but there wasn't much Harry could do to stop them besides setting Gemma down somewhere else....which just felt rather rude. So he bore her interruptions as well as he could.
Even though he was pretty sure that adding moonstone to the mixture in the question would make it toxic. Now curious, Harry flipped through his book to see if there was information about moonstones that would be helpful. Five minutes later, he knew a little bit more about moonstones, but had gotten no closer to answering the question. He turned back to the parchment, trying to refocus.
The question was for a simple healing potion, something that could be whipped up in a pinch if one was in need and, Harry supposed, without their wand. What was giving him difficulty was this, "Imagine that you are injured in the Forbidden Forest in the middle of winter. Using water from a nearby river and anything you can forage from the forest, to concoct a quick healing potion." Harry muttered the question under his breath. Again. But he still had no idea what to do.
He had never learned what the hell grew in the forest in winter versus any other time of year. Snape certainly had never asked them these sorts of theoretical questions. Always more focused on the making of the potions than instilling knowledge about the individual ingredients and how they might be used in the wild.
"Oh that's easy then," Gemma said, evidently hearing what Harry had said. Harry sighed softly, resigned to another oh so helpful tip. "Just brew the berries and leaves of the Amber Ferox bush and drink it." Her whole body wiggled happily as she said this.
Indulging her only because he had no other ideas, Harry found the plant she was talking about, and...it did say there were healing properties to it. That the berries shouldn't be eaten but that if made into a tea it lowered fever, the risk of infection, sped up the healing process, and helped rejuvenate ones magic if they had expended too much energy.
"I'm right, aren't I?" Gemma hissed softly, peering at the tomb as though she too could read it.
"You got lucky," Harry said in exasperation. How could a snake sound so smug? He started writing in the answer anyway.
"You can also throw in a moonstone, for added benefits."
Harry sighed, but it was far more fond than it had been before, now that that damned question was finally answered, so he said, "you can't just add moonstone to everything, Gemma, it doesn't always react well with other compounds, and only enhances the properties of other ingredients on the full moon." After a moment of thought Harry did add that if the night happened to by a full moon a moonstone could be used to speed the process up. Suddenly he was very happy to have done that little bit of extra work.
Someone close to him dropped their quill, oddly loud as it clattered to the tabletop and rolled away. Harry glanced up to see who had dropped it, only to pause when every eye at the table was pointed to him.
"Wha-" Oh! Oh no! He looked down at Gemma in horror. He had, they had been...
"What?" Gemma asked innocently, her little tongue flicking out to taste the air.
"Harry..." Alphard said hesitantly, "Did...did you just-"
Harry laughed nervously, "Just?"
"He can speak to snakes," a fourth years across him yelled suddenly, "just like Tom. I saw it!" Everyone began talking then, excited, frantic. Several students turned to try and get a good look at Harry and Gemma. Who basked lazily in their attention.
Harry shrugged at Alphard, cheeks heating beyond his control. "It's not a big deal." Except that it was. It had made him a target in his second year. Made people fear him, accuse him of awful things. He had been determined to keep it a secret now, he was new here, he had no one he could really turn to if things became nasty for him.
Alphard's shocked expressed lasted a few moments more, before breaking into the biggest, brightest smile Harry had seen from him yet. "That's amazing!" It was the last coherent thing he could make out from Alphard or any of the others as the room seemed to explode around him. Questions flying at him from every angle, hands reaching out to clap his arm or tug on his robes to get his attention. It was all he could do to clutch Gemma to his chest and ride it out.
He didn't know how much time had passed but eventually he noticed that Tom and his friends were making the others back off of Harry. Orion had Alphard by the back of his robes practically dragging him out of the study despite Alphard's complaints that he still had work to do. Soft pressure on the back of Harry's neck drew his attention up.
Tom stood behind him, smiling gently down at Harry for a time, before giving Harry's shoulder a quick squeeze and walking off to help corral the room.
Why was he so happy? Tom's initial claim to fame in the Slytherin world had been his ability to speak with snakes. If anything he should be angry that Harry was able to pull out his favorite parlor trick for himself. But that wasn't what the look he'd just given Harry said.
"What did she say to you?" A first year had, somehow, managed to sneak past Tom and his gang to stand at Harry's elbow, eyes wide with wonder.
Harry gave him a little smile, "she just helped me figure something out for a potion." He moved Gemma to the table, she had begun to drift to sleep in his grip and stirred sluggishly on the cool wood.
"Can you teach me how to talk to her too?"
Harry tried to soften his frown, "I don't think it's something you can learn, I can just do it...I don't know how. I'm sorry." The little boy's face fell, and for a few painful moments he stood there in silence. Then Harry perked up, "But I can tell her anything you want."
"Really?"
"Sure! What do you want to say?"
The boy spend a little time thinking, the tip of his tongue poking out of his mouth. "I know! Tell her I think her scales are pretty."
"Alright, um, what is your name so I can tell her?"
"It's Kyle," he said excitedly, leaning over as close as he could get as Harry roused Gemma enough to give her the message.
"She says thank you and that...she likes the way your hair sticks up in the back." Kyle had some rather impressive golden curls, Harry had to admit.
He smiled up at Harry, "can you tell her something else?"
"I...suppose..." That was how Harry found himself surrounded by first and second years, who were evidently immune to the rule of letting Harry do his homework in peace. Everyone had something they wanted to tell Gemma, all of it usually about how lovely they thought she was, which of course she ate up, preening for everyone on the table next to Harry's forgotten books.
Eventually Harry found himself yawning, the group around him hadn't grown any smaller, but the noise in the common room had quieted down. Harry stretched, groaning as his back popped loudly. "Okay," he said over the chatter of his small group, "I think that's it for the night." There was a chorus of 'No!'s as Harry rose and began gathering his work.
"We can talk with Gamma tomorrow, alright? It's time for bed now." Harry slung his bag over his shoulder and scooped up Gemma, ignoring the groans as the kids shuffled out of the study area and to their dorms. In his arms Gemma twisted lazily.
"I wasn't done yet," she hissed pitifully.
"Yes, you are." He placed her on her perch where she curled up on her heated rock, "you're such a drama queen, aren't you?"
She blinked her luminous eyes at him in thought then said, "yes," and curled up on herself to sleep.
Laughing softly Harry turned to head to bed, he didn't get very far before a curt, "Evans," drew his attention to the fire. Abraxas sat alone, perched on one of the large chairs by the fire. It must have been later than Harry realized if the rest of Tom's crew had already left for bed.
"Malfoy," Harry said, taking a hesitant step towards the fire. He had kept his distance from Abraxas so far, he tugged on Harry's heartstrings in a similar fashion as Alphard. It was like looking at a carbon copy of Draco....only, perhaps, a little taller. Abraxas' hair was longer, more like how Lucius Malfoy wore his. It didn't matter that Harry had few pleasant memories that involved Draco and his family, seeing someone just like him still hurt a little.
"So," Abraxas said, his pale eyes raking up and down Harry's form in a way that had Harry itching for his wand, "that's why Tom is so interested in you."
"Pardon?"
"The trick with the snake," Abraxas said, crossing his legs as he relaxed back into the over-sized chair, "it was impressive, I have to say. If a little contrived." His scowl deepened, his lips twitching into a ugly sneer.
Harry simply blinked at him. This guy was mad. "Okay...you're having some sort of episode," Harry said, taking a step back, "I'll just leave you to it, then."
"You aren't fooling anyone, Evans."
Harry signed out, what was it about him that set every Malfoy in history off? He looked back over his shoulder and shrugged, "Well that's good, I guess." He wasn't really trying to 'fool' anyone. Well, other than wanting them to believe he was from this time and all the lies that implied. Parsletongue hadn't really been part of that. It wasn't like someone could figure out he had been displaced from his time just because he could speak to snakes. He felt relatively sure that Abraxas was just being a dramatic Malfoy.
Hah, a dramatic Malfoy.
That was like saying a cold snowflake, or a hot cup of tea.
They seemed to be incapable of anything else.
Harry didn't hesitate in the hall. Made sure to head straight to his room without pause. He'd had plenty of time to think about it, he didn't need to physically be in the room with Tom to get some sleep, to join Tom in his dreams. So he headed to dorm and got ready for bed.
It was...a little more difficult than that, though. He wasn't the only one still up, eyes followed him as he crossed the room, as he brushed his teeth, as he hung up his robe and crawled into bed. He pulled the curtains around the bed with another tired sign. Their stares hadn't been malicious, not like Abraxas and his sneering. No, they were just curious about Harry's new...gift? Talent? As the first and second years were. The only difference was that they were taking whatever warning Tom had given them to heart.
Harry's lips twitched at the thought that the first and second years had no real fear of their great Head Boy, and saw fit to go against his orders. The great Tom Riddle, nothing more than glorified babysitter. He fell asleep with a smile on his face, only to open his eyes a second later to sun a drenched meadow.
It had been so easy to fall into the warmth that meant Tom's shared dream. Now that he knew how to actively ignore it, it was so obvious where the connection had been. It had never been something he had wanted to poke at before, but Tom wasn't Voldemort. Leaning into the connection, the, whatever it was, that existed between them, filled Harry not with fear, but with peace.
Tom was there, of course, smiling at Harry. looking for all the world as though nothing out of the ordinary had happened. Just another night. Life as usual. Isn't it a lovely evening?
Harry threw a pillow at his smug face.
"Harry!" Tom scolded, though he was unable to keep his amusement from his voice, "such barbaric behavior. Really, I should be rethinking this friendship."
Harry snorted, friendship, sure. He crossed his arms over his chest and did a much better job of pretending to be cross than Tom had, thank you very much.
"How long have you known?"
"Known?"
"About the parseltongue, you jerk! How long."
Tom smirked, not even trying to act as though he were not guilty of such a thing. "Since the first night of school."
"Wha-" Harry sputtered, "How!" Then with a gasp he breathed out, "Gemma!"
Tom just kept smiling that serene smile at him.
"I should have known...she's such a...a...a blabber mouth!" He tossed his hands into the air with abandon. The little sneak, of course she was whispering in Tom's ear. She probably loved him.
"She's exceptionally fond on you, you know."
Harry blinked at him, taken a little aback by how close Tom's statement came to replying to his thoughts. With a vicious shake he put that notion out of his head. It was bad enough...or good enough? That he and Tom could share dreams, he didn't want to add mind reading to it!
"You could have said you knew." Harry said with a slump of his shoulders.
"You obviously wanted to keep it to yourself. I am not in the habit of making people give secrets they don't want to tell."
Which sounded like a lie, Harry conveyed this theory with a glare that did nothing to lessen Tom's mirth.
"Are you angry with me?" And damned if he didn't actually sound concerned. Again, what a jerk!
If a frustratingly endearing one.
"I suppose not," Harry said with a little grin, "this time." He was willing to set aside that fact that Tom had known and simply kept it to himself, even after they had grown close. It was actually sorta nice, in its own way. Tom realizing that Harry had things he would rather not talk about...except.
"Is that the only reason you started talking to me in the first place?" Harry asked with a scowl.
"Well, not the only reason," Tom answered smoothly, "it certainly added to your," he cocked his head thoughtfully, "appeal. But there were other things about you that caught my attention."
Harry grinned widely, oh was there, now? "Like what?" He asked, scooting a little closer to Tom on the blankets. "Do tell."
With a roll of his eyes Tom sighed, "it is unbecoming to fish for compliments, Harry." But Harry just kept smiling up at him until he finally got what he wanted. "Fine, if you insist." His tone may have said that he was just humoring Harry, that he found such things as confessions of the heart worthy of lower humans only. Yet the way he shifted just a hair closer to Harry, the slight pinkening of his pale cheeks, spoke volumes.
"It is intriguing whenever a new student comes to the school so late in their education. We've lost more students than we've gained due to the war. You were something of a curiosity, and I took it upon myself to make sure you could navigate the school and Slytherin House in one piece." After a pause he added, "As I would have done for anyone."
That was mildly disappointing, Harry pouted harder, though that time he had honestly not meant to. It did have the benefit of eliciting another sigh from Tom before he continued to speak.
"Then you showed up in a seventh year class." Tom's lips twitched into a fond smile, "That, as far as I know, has never happened before. Consider me suitably impressed."
Harry smiled at the praise, though it quickly faltered. There were reasons that he was above and beyond his year in defense and the tale was not a pleasant one. Loss and uncertainty panged in his chest. With it came the familiar fear of the future. Of a world that relied on him. Friends and strangers who had put all their hopes on his shoulders. All things he had worked so hard to forget, to live around, cropped back up in such a short amount of time.
There were hands on his face, lifting his gaze back to Tom. He hadn't even realized he had looked away. Everything coming back so suddenly had just been a bit overwhelming. Nothing he couldn't come back from. He was a pro at pushing down unpleasant thoughts and unwanted feelings. Harry was ready to get to it, to apologize for zoning out when Tom had been belittling himself to say nice things about him.
But Tom's eyes were dark and warm, liquid amber that glowed a faint red in the perpetually setting sun. The pain that was there, reflected back at him stole Harry's breath, stalled his heart. For a time Tom simply regarded him, long and agile fingers tracing soft patterns on Harry's cheeks, he seemed to be working up to something vast before finally saying.
"You don't have to talk about it if you don't want."
"It?" Harry had to swallow the lump in his throat before he could ask.
"Whatever it is that always has you pulling away when we talk about the past," Tom said gently, "Whatever it is that causes you so much pain."
And, okay, that hit very close to things he had thought he'd been keeping to himself a little better. Swallowing a lump in his throat, he blinked rapidly to clear the pressure behind his eyes. The small new thing growing between them was one thing. But Harry was not yet at a point where he would be comfortable openly weeping in front of Tom.
He settled on releasing what tension he could through a deep exhale and shaky laugh that he did not feel. "Yeah...maybe some other time." Tom fixed him with an unreadable gaze, there was something sharp about it, and Harry looked away rather than try to figure it out. They might be sleeping already, but Harry suddenly felt immensely tired.
Shifting forward in Tom's hold, Harry leaned in until he was resting with his face against Tom's chest. After a short pause Tom's arms wrapped around him, soft and hesitant at first, then harder. More secure. Smiling, Harry took a deep breath, Tom smelled like sandalwood and something infinity light and sweet that might just be part of the dream itself. "I'm just going to rest for a little while, okay?"
"Take as long as you need," Tom said gently, shifting until he was leaning on something, probably more dream pillows, Harry didn't feel like opening his eyes to see. Instead choosing to focus on how nice it felt to he cradled in Tom's arms. How soothing the gentling shushing of the stream was. It was easy to fall asleep, feeling lighter and happier than he had in days.
~~~
Tom had never felt so much in his entire life!
How did Harry stand it? How did he not explode from all of the emotions that raged through his body?
No wonder he was so tired all the time! Was he perhaps so small because his body was working over time to compensate for everything gong on inside him, that it was eating up all his energy before it could used to help him grow?
No...no, that was simply ridiculous. That wasn't how the human body worked, Tom was just overrating. Not that he could be blamed. Being next to Harry always did something to his emotions, to him in general. Made him feel better....whole. He could not fathom why, had not yet found an answer in any book. There wasn't much he could do other than enjoy the pleasant sensations of being near Harry. Then, this.
Touching him amplified everything ten fold. Touching him when he was suffering some sort of internal pain. Tom had not been ready for it. How it cut like a physical thing. He was so sure that if he looked he would find an actual wound on his own chest. Fear and agony beyond anything Tom had ever felt. And Harry had looked the same as he always did when his past was brought up.
Was this what he went through every time someone asked him about where he was from? How could someone keep going through that? How could someone go through such torture over and over and yet turn out as gloriously bright as Harry?
Tom had to take a deep breath, force himself to centre and calm. Harry was sleeping soundly in his arms, face peaceful, the current of emotions that Tom was sure were not his own had settled and were quite....pleasing.
He had already realized that he needed to keep Harry close. Needed to be there to protect him. To make sure nothing in life ever hurt Harry again. But in that moment something inside Tom twisted, fell into place, and solidified. A fundamental part of him shifting and changed. He had not eve realized it was there, hadn't noticed that there was a place inside him that had been empty until it was full with great purpose. Tom would not only make sure that Harry was happy and taken care of. He would tear down the world to make it so.