Choices Without Regrets

Chapter XI: The Cease-Fire Talks Begin

It had been no less than another week that had passed them all by before Albus sat upright in his chair. As the few Order members there in headquarters stared when the phoenix of Death appeared before him. He cautiously reached for what the bird brought; though wary due to knowing it may as well have been cursed, and he realized that he had received the parchment from Tom and Harry about meeting in the secured location for the beginnings of the cease-fire talks.

Fawkes had squawked rather indignantly to the unannounced guest. Since the bird was oddly now not as bound to the castle as before; though Albus wasn't clear on why or how, and could travel away freely. Albus watched amusedly as soon he quieted when the other phoenix's electric green eyes rimmed in aqua honed to him and stared with a scowl.

As if to say, 'Act more dignified; like the rare creature, you are.'

As much as he was amused by the two's antics; he didn't waste time to open and read the missive. In all honesty, Albus was rather surprised; to put bluntly...at how well thought-out Tom's set-up for all this was. He knew Harry likely had a hand in these ideas, but they were rather acceptable to him to agree to.

However, Albus was also a bit hesitant as much as he was eager to see the changes in Tom for himself with his own two eyes. About as equally wary of seeing the new persona Harry utilized that was more true to himself. Severus had provided him with the memories of his experience when Tom acknowledged Harry as his partner to the Inner Circle. Though Albus got the distinct feeling that Severus had also hidden some parts to the overall sequence of events.

Several of them, and large sections of it; though he couldn't for the life of him understand why.

'Or, rather maybe, he actually could.' Albus thought idly to himself

He wondered if that was for the best; considering his most recent jaunt in memories not his own. Tom and Harry were not modest by far nor sparing anyone details; especially when they wanted people to know something and enjoyed sowing chaos, not that Albus had really expected either of them to or to be.

They both lived in a time far removed from the one where their relationship would be illegal in the magical world; though Albus knew most of the purebloods would disdain it while pretending to be accepting. Tom had also never been one to conform to the ideas of others for someone else. He never pretended to be something he wasn't; which garnered him as much respect as it did fear, hatred, and more by others.

Even in his school years; Tom had never pretended that he was interested in females just to be acknowledged by his peers despite his half-blood birth and status as an orphan. Tom's dalliances with the other male students of his time...they had been kept in privacy mostly, and respectfully behind closed doors to the majority of the school.

Tom had never gone out of his way to flaunt his sexuality; unless you counted him tormenting the school with his good looks, gentlemanly mannerisms, and polite conversations with real and absolute charm to him as flaunting. His dalliances also were nothing more than satiation and stress-relief for him at the time. Albus widely didn't believe that Tom ever cared for any of them; even when one or two of them seemed to last slightly longer than expected for the emotionless teen he had been then.

As for Harry; the teenaged boy he had so gravely underestimated...Albus had always known that Harry had hidden much from everyone; it was to be expected due to his past and his experiences. He had expected there to be a darkness to Harry; just not one as prevalent as the one he had. Just as he had been stunned to see how much he had miscalculated realistically.

Albus hadn't expected Harry's treatment at the hands of Vernon and Petunia to be quite so horrendous. He knew it would not be easy there for him, but he hadn't expected Petunia to allow what she had to come to harm her own sister's son as it had.