A Little Help from a Snake // Tomarry

36: Something of a Riddle

Harry trudged downstairs, rubbing his eyes.

"Morning, pup," Sirius greeted him cheerfully as if he had not just interrupted their cuddle session.

Harry merely grunted in response as he grabbed a bowl and poured in some cereal.

"Tom coming down?" Remus said, yawning behind his hand.

"Maybe in a few days," said Harry. Tom's shower routine probably consisted of a million products, not that he needed them in Harry's opinion. That tall, gorgeous butthead, he thought mutinously.

Sure enough, Tom arrived and slid into the chair next to Harry, hair and skin immaculate.

A few minutes in, Harry announced, "Tom's a cuddler."

Tom shot a scorching glare at Harry, hissing when Sirius cooed and ruffled his hair. "Touch my hair one more time—"

"Isn't he adorable?" Harry said.

"Extremely," Sirius agreed.

"My adorable little Tommy-boy." Harry nuzzled into Tom's side. Sirius wrapped his arms around the pair.

Tom just sighed. "I hate you two."

"No, you don't."

'I wanna join!' Azure exclaimed, slithering up until she sat atop Tom's head.

"Remus, help me," Tom begged.

"Sirius, get off."

"Fine." Sirius reluctantly released Tom, who raised an eyebrow and glanced pointedly at Harry.

"He's your boyfriend, you deal with him," Remus said, leaning back in his chair.

Hedwig came flying in through the window and dropped an envelope on the table. She took one glance at Azure and Harry, both of whom still clung to Tom, and promptly joined them by sitting on Harry's head.

"Not you, too!" Tom groaned.

Hedwig just hooted in response and flapped her wing in his face.

Meanwhile, Sirius had opened the envelope. "It's the tickets to the Quidditch World Cup," he said. "I guess the Ministry is hoping to make up for my imprisonment. We're in the Top Box."

"We still need to think of a disguise for Tom," Harry reminded him. "Perhaps we should make him have neon hair and give him a high-pitched voice."

"No," Tom said, his tone indicating they discussed this before. "People don't normally go for outlandish appearances like that for disguises."

"Implying I'm a normal people, Riddle?" Harry retorted as he stood up, taking a last sip of his pumpkin juice, not seeming to care that Hedwig was still perched on his head.

"No, you are not a normal people— person!" Tom rolled his eyes. Harry was so infuriating sometimes.

"Your grammar is atrocious, Tom. Maybe you should be homeschooled."

"Says the guy who can't tell the difference between 'your' and 'you're.'"

"That was one time!" Harry defended himself as they began heading back to their room.

"One time more than me."

Their argument continued as they disappeared from view.

Remus and Sirius, who had been sitting in silence watching them, exchanged bemused looks before dissolving into laughter.

"Were we like that when we were younger or worse?" Sirius wondered as the laughter ceased.

"Both, I'd say," Remus replied. "At least these two don't call too much attention to themselves."