The morning of September 1st was decidedly hectic. The Weasley's, it seemed, were biologically incapable of doing anything in a timely and organized manner. It also appeared that packing ahead of time was a foreign concept to the males of the family. Even the twins were scrambling.
Mr. Weasley had arranged for a couple of magically expanded cars from the Ministry to take them from Grimmauld Place to King's Cross station. Even with the vehicles expanded as they were, two cars were needed to accommodate not only Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, Ron, Ginny, Fred, George, and Harry, but also the two Aurors, Kingsley and Tonks, Remus, Emmaline Vance, Sturgis Podmore, and a large black dog.
Sirius had taken Harry aside back at Grimmauld Place early that morning and given him a gift that he said was to make up for his shoddy gift on Harry's birthday. It was a specially charmed mirror. He told Harry that it was part of a pair and that he had the other. He would keep it on him at all times, and if Harry ever needed to talk to him, all he had to do was look into the mirror and say his name.
Harry had stowed the mirror away in his trunk and given his godfather a hug. Now the man was in his animagus form and following as the large group hurried through King's Cross station towards the barrier that lead to Platform 9¾.
The group made it with only minutes to spare before the train was scheduled to depart at 11 o'clock, and their goodbyes had to be brief. Harry had knelt down and given Padfoot a hug and earned himself a slobbery lick on the side of his face in return. Harry shook Remus' hand and gave him a significant look. Remus had nodded his head slightly, but still looked a bit ill and unsettled.
The teens finished their farewells and boarded the train. The twins went off to find Lee Jordon, while the rest found an empty compartment to stow their trunks in, Hedwig's cage, and Hermione's kneazle-cat, Crookshanks. Ron pouted as he was left behind with the pets while Harry and Hermione bid him a quick goodbye so that they could go to the Prefect meeting.
Harry and Hermione made their way to the front of the train where the prefect's car was located, directly behind the train engine. Upon entering the car, Harry's eyes were drawn to Draco Malfoy, who was relaxing in an arrogant pose, beside Pansy Parkinson, Miles Harper and Chastity Warrington, the Slytherin 6th year prefects, and Adrian Pucey, one of the Slytherin 7th year prefects. Their eyes remained connected for an instant, and Harry even let a small smirk curl his lips before his eyes darted away and he pointedly ignored the Malfoy heir.
He and Hermione sat down beside Nathan Lubbock, one of the Gryffindor 7th year prefects. Hermione greeted Padma Patil and Anthony Goldstein, the two Ravenclaw prefects for 5th year and Harry gave them a curt nod.
Cedric Diggory walked into the compartment then and Harry greeted him with a smile and a nod. Diggory was apparently the Head Boy that year, and Harry congratulated him on the position. Cedric gave him a warm smile in return and thanked him. Cedric then introduced him to Patricia Stimpson, a 7th year Ravenclaw who had been made Head Girl.
The meeting quickly got underway and the older prefects began to explain to the new 5th year prefects the duties they would be responsible for during the train ride to Hogsmeade. For the first half of the journey they would need to patrol the halls, stop any fights, and lend assistance to anyone who needed it. Cedric asked the eight 5th years if any of them knew the charm for expanding the train compartments, since that was one of the most commonly requested things during the train ride. Harry, Hermione, and Padma were the only ones who knew it. Draco scowled when he wasn't able to claim that he could do it.
Cedric then demonstrated the charm for the remaining 5th years, and told them if they still couldn't do it, and they came across a group that needed their compartment enlarged to make room for more people, to just find one of the older prefects.
The meeting didn't last too much longer. Patricia Stimpson finished up by telling them what they'd be expected to do after the Feast with the first years, and for their first rounds of the school that night, and then told them what time to show up for the first prefect meeting at school the following evening. Finally, they were all dismissed to start their shifts for patrolling the train.
It was nearly two hours before Harry and Hermione's patrol shift was finished and they were able to return to the compartment they had started out in hours prior. Harry slid the door open to find a disgruntled looking Ron sitting with his arms folded across his chest, sitting across from Ginny and a blond-haired girl that Harry only vaguely recognized, but did not know.
"Finally back, are you?" Ron spat sharply. Harry paused and gave Ron a hard look and raised a single eyebrow at him, daringly. Ron's eyes widened slightly for a moment before he ducked his head, slightly cowed. Harry had to swallow a smirk as he finished entering the compartment and sat down on the bench beside the blond girl while Hermione came in and sat beside Ron.
"Hey, Harry, Hermione!" Ginny exclaimed. "Um, this is Luna Lovegood. Luna, this is Harry Potter and Hermione Granger."
Harry turned to the blond girl and gave her a welcoming smile. She had very wide, pale-blue eyes that seemed to give her the constant appearance of being surprised. Her hair was dish-water blond and long, falling to just below her shoulders. At first, it appeared as if she were wearing a pair of earrings, made to look like radishes, but Harry quickly realized that she was wearing actual radishes as earrings. To add to the curiousness of her appearance, he next realized that she had what looked like a cork on a piece of twine around her neck.
"It's nice to meet you," Harry said, offering her his hand. She took it, gave it a quick shake and smiled back dreamily.
"Nice to meet you as well."
Hermione, who was sitting a bit too far away to reasonably offer a handshake, simply nodded and said hello.
"Luna is in my year," Ginny explained. "She's in Arithmancy and Ancient Runes with me."
"Oh, I'll be in there with you lot this year," Harry said. "I just switched electives. I was taking Divination and Care of Magical Creatures, but I realized I'd get more benefit out of the others. McGonagall let me switch, but I have to go down a year so I'm not too far behind."
"That's interesting. Does it mean you are no longer taking Care of Magical Creatures?" Luna asked.
"Yeah, I didn't want to overload myself too much. Three electives just seemed a bit much for me right now."
"That's really too bad. I'm quite fond of Care." Luna said, still speaking in a rather airy, dreamy voice.
"So you're taking three electives then?" Harry asked.
"Oh yes." Luna said, nodding her head.
"Luna is a Ravenclaw," Ginny pointed out, as if that explained everything.
"Oh, are you? You know, part of me has always been surprised that Hermione didn't end up sorted into Ravenclaw." Harry said.
Hermione's head shot up and her eyes widened a bit. "Why would you say that?" she asked frowning slightly.
Harry just blinked at her, raised a single eyebrow and giving her an obvious look.
"What?" Hermione persisted.
Harry grinned and chuckled, shaking his head. "Nothing. Never mind. So, Luna, how do you like Ravenclaw? I've come to realize I never really socialized with many people from the other houses."
"I suppose it's nice. Although, my housemates seem to think I'm a bit odd, you know. Some people call me 'Loony' Lovegood, actually."
No one quite seemed to know how to reply to that. Ron snorted quietly under his breath, and Hermione jabbed him in the rib with her elbow.
Conversation eventually resumed when Ginny asked Hermione and Harry how the prefect meeting and their rounds were. As Ron began a discussion on Quidditch, Luna pulled out a newspaper, turned it upside down, and began to read. Harry tilted his head slightly and peered at it, attempting to read the cover.
"Oh, The Quibbler," Harry said, realizing what it was. The house elves had brought in copies of The Quibbler a few times, but neither Harry nor Tom bothered to read it in any regular form, so they'd stopped bringing it and focused mainly on the Prophet.
Luna looked up and blinked at him owlishly.
"Do you read it?"
Harry opened his mouth to respond, but was cut off by Hermione.
"Of course not," said Hermione scathingly, before Harry could answer. "The Quibbler's rubbish, everyone knows that."
"Excuse me," said Luna; her voice had suddenly lost its dreamy quality. "My father's the editor."
"I - oh," Hermione said, looking embarrassed. "Well ... it's got some interesting ... I mean, it's quite ..."
"I did read it a few times over the summer when the house elves brought in copies," Harry said quickly in an appeasing voice, trying to cut through the thick tension that had suddenly filled the compartment.
Luna turned her attention back to Harry and her eyes lost their cold glare. "Did you? Which issue was it?"
"Um... I recall an article on the useful magical properties of using Billywig parts for magical items, and another article on the sudden increase in the Snidget population in Northern Wales."
"Ah, that was July's issue," Luna said, the serene smile returning to her face.
"Right..."
"What on Earth is a Snidget? I've never even heard of them!" Hermione exclaimed, looking frustrated at apparently not knowing what they were talking about.
"Snidgets are small golden birds with fully rotational wings. It's completely round, covered in fluffy golden feathers, has a long, thin beak, and its eyes are bright red." Luna explained.
"They're actually what the Golden Snitch in Quidditch is based on," Harry explained and Hermione turned her glare on him. "Although, most think they're extinct..." he finished.
"Oh no, they're not extinct. In fact, their population is flourishing now that the Wookalars in the region have all fled and are no longer feeding on them." Luna replied.
"Wookalar?" Hermione exclaimed.
Their conversation continued in this vein until the announcement came through the train, informing the students that they would be arriving in Hogsmeade Station in about twenty minutes.
Hermione was thoroughly flustered by this point. She had argued and bickered with Luna, insisting that most of the creatures she talked about where nonsense, while Luna insisted quite persistently that they were not nonsense at all.
Harry, after a while, just sat back and watched with mild amusement.
Once the announcement was made, the guys left the compartment to allow the girls to change into their robes, and then the group switched. The train finally pulled up into Hogsmeade and all of the students disembarked, leaving their trunks and pets behind to be transported to the castle by the house elves.
Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, and Luna all made their way to one of the large carriages, lined up just beyond the platform. Harry paused as he came to the large, winged, skeletal horse that was at the head of the carriage. His hand came up, almost instinctively, drawn to the beautiful and yet also horrible, creature.
He brushed his hand over its leathery head, running his fingers through the surprisingly soft black mane on the back of its head.
"Hullo beautiful," Harry cooed to the majestic creature.
"So you can see them too?" Luna's airy voice cut in from behind him.
Harry blinked and looked back at her. "You can see them?" he asked, mildly surprised.
"See what? What are you doing, Harry?" Hermione asked coming up from behind him.
"I've been able to see them since my first day here," Luna answered Harry, pointedly ignoring Hermione.
"Who did you see die?" Harry asked in a soft voice as he dropped his hand from the Thestral and began to make his way towards the carriage with an increasingly flustered Hermione following behind them.
"My mother. She was a quite extraordinary witch, you know, but she did like to experiment and one of her spells went rather badly wrong one day. I was nine." Luna replied.
"I'm sorry," Harry said sincerely.
"Yes, it was rather horrible," said Luna conversationally. "I still feel very sad about it sometimes. But I've still got Dad. And anyway, it's not as though I'll never see Mum again, is it?"
Harry hummed noncommittally and climbed into the carriage followed by Luna and a disgruntled, glaring, Hermione.
"What are you two talking about?"
"The Thestrals, of course," Luna said in an obvious tone.
"The what?"
"Thestrals pull the carriages," Harry said, as if that explained everything.
"Don't be silly Harry, nothing pulls the carriages! They're just charmed to move on their own or something." Hermione insisted.
"No, actually, they're pulled by Thestrals." Harry said in a slow voice, as if explaining something to a young child. This was probably the wrong approach to take because it only seemed to infuriate Hermione further.
"Are you pulling my leg? There's nothing there!" Hermione exclaimed, pointing at the front of the carriage where there seemed to be nothing but empty space to all but Harry and Luna.
"Only people who have seen death can see a Thestral. You've seriously never read about them? Hagrid has a herd of them that he raised himself. They're kept in the stables not far from his hut." Harry explained.
Hermione looked as if she were about to retort something, but suddenly came up short. She blinked again at the empty space and then looked back at Harry and Luna.
Ron and Ginny, who had chosen to remain silent and were now seated in the carriage beside Hermione, also seemed to suddenly have a dawning understanding in their eyes.
"Oh..." Hermione said, softly.
"While I can see the Thestrals that pull the carriages, I still can't see the Dobhar-chú that pull the boats the first years take across the lake," Luna said.
Hermione's mouth tightened into a thin line that reminded Harry of McGonagall. "And what exactly, are Dobhar-chú?" she asked in a clipped tone as she attempted to refrain from sounding angry or accusatory.
"They're water hounds of course. They originate from Ireland and look somewhat like an otter." Luna paused and looked back at Harry. "Can yousee the Dobhar-chú?"
Harry blanched and sputtered slightly at Luna's rather personal question. Finally, he recovered and chuckled lightly as he ran his hand through his hair. "Er... yeah. Well, I would assume so anyway. I haven't exactly been over by the lake yet and I er... well, it only just happened this summer."
Hermione huffed in exasperation, folding her arms across her chest and shooting Harry an irritated look. "Okay, so what exactly allows a person to see these Dobhar-chú, then?"
"Only those who have engaged in sexual intercourse can see the Dobhar-chú, of course." Luna answered with a dreamy smile.
Hermione blanched, instantly going a bit pink. Ginny squeaked before shooting Harry a stunned, and yet also amused look. It seemed to take a Ron a moment longer than the rest to process the full implications of what had just been revealed. Harry could tell the very moment that realization finally dawned on the ginger because his face suddenly went as red as his hair and he gaped at Harry.
"Wait, you can see them? But that would mean..!"Ron choked out before Ginny smacked him on the shoulder and then turned back to Harry.
"Harry! Are you serious? So, it happened this summer? You and Nick..?"
Harry laughed and ducked his head sheepishly. "Well, yeah... I mean, it was just me and Nick in the manor, alone with nothing but house-elves and Hedwig for company, for two solid months. You can't honestly believe that all we did was study the whole time?" He chuckled and smirked devilishly.
Hermione gasped and her hand flew up to her mouth. "You didn't!" she exclaimed.
Harry laughed and gave an unapologetic grin and shrug.
The carriage finally pulled up at the front steps of the castle and the group piled out of it. Hermione stood, looking hesitantly at the empty spot at the front of the carriage. Luna walked over, took Hermione's hand and guided it up until it came to rest on the Thestral's side. Hermione gasped in surprise at suddenly coming against a solid surface where her eyes told her there was nothing but empty space.
"Just because you cannot see something, does not mean it's not there." Luna said dreamily, giving Hermione a small smile before turning away and following the crowd inside the castle.
Harry and his 'friends' followed her lead and also made their way inside. Just as Harry was about to follow the others into the Great Hall, McGonagall called him aside and led him into an empty side-room.
"Yes, Professor?" Harry asked.
"I have your time-turner. I thought I ought to give it to you now so that you'll have it for classes tomorrow." McGonagall said, curtly.
Harry's eyes brightened a bit.
"Oh, great!"
"Yes well..." she reached into her robes pocket and pulled out a small hinged box and a pamphlet. "Here it is. The pamphlet has all of the information you will need to know how to use it, as well as the rules set about by the Ministry regarding what you can and cannot use it for. I trust you will handle this object responsibly?"
"Of course, Professor. Thank you for your assistance in this. I truly appreciate it."
McGonagall gave him a curt nod and dismissed him so that she could go deal with the first years.
Harry quickly made his way into the Great Hall and over to the Gryffindor table where he found Ron and Hermione waiting for him. Ginny was a bit further down, sitting with a couple of girls in her year. Hermione asked him what that was about but Harry dismissed her question by telling her that they could talk about it later. The hall was filled with excited chatter until the time finally came when McGonagall led the group of first years into the Great Hall, lined them up, and then placed the small stool and the Sorting Hat upon it just before the Head Table.
The small rip in the hat's front opened up, startling the tiny first years for a moment before it suddenly began to sing. Harry tuned out the song and opted instead to let his eyes move along the head table. His gaze found Thor and their eyes met for a moment as the two shared a quick, secret smirk. Next, Harry let his eyes travel to Snape who seemed to sense it because his eyes instantly snapped to Harry's. The dark man glowered at Harry and his upper lip even turned up a bit before he looked away.
Harry had to swallow a chuckle.
His eyes made another pass of the head table and for a moment, Harry only knew that something seemed missing when his eyes fell upon an unfamiliar face. There was a woman that Harry did not recognize sitting at the head table in... in Hagrid's seat! Harry frowned, wondering where the giant man was, and who the woman was who was filling his seat.
The sorting began and Harry's attention was drawn to it. He recognized the names of a few of them. He knew that at least three of them were children of current Death Eaters. One surprise happened when a young boy, that Harry knew was the younger brother of one of the new recruits, was sorted into Gryffindor. Too bad they wouldn't be old enough to be any use to their cause, but these kids were fortunate to be coming in during a year when they'd get a decent Defense Professor. Certainly better than Harry had to endure his first two years - although, admittedly, Quirrell was pathetic mostly to prevent anyone from ever suspecting him.
The sorting finished, Dumbledore stood and greeted them all with a large grandfatherly smile. Harry heard Hermione suddenly gasp beside him and his eyes were drawn to Dumbledore's blackened and shriveled hand.
"What happened to his hand?" Hermione said in a worried hush. The hall was filled with quiet whispers and worried mutterings, but Dumbledore seemed to be pointedly ignoring them.
Harry didn't respond to Hermione's panicked question either, but was instead intently focused on the ring that he could clearly see adorning the man's mangled hand. Reaching out with his senses, Harry could feel the gentle Dark presence that still inhabited the ring. Tom's soul was still in it. Dumbledore hadn't destroyed it yet. Harry let out a small sigh of relief, but still felt horribly tense knowing that his enemy was in possession of a piece of his Tom's soul.
Dumbledore continued on, ignoring the whispers, filling the hall, and simply welcomed them and with a flourish of his hands, causing the tables to suddenly fill with food and he bade them to enjoy the feast.
Harry quickly found himself the focus of a lot of questions from his fellow housemates. Most asking about the articles printed about him over the summer, but some of the girls seemed intent on focusing on Harry's love life instead and asked him an endless series of questions about 'Nick'. A few questioned him about his earring, to which he responded it was a birthday gift. Hermione, it seemed, had been dying to ask about the earring but hadn't found an appropriate opportunity before that point, and jumped on this one.
She asked him why he'd gotten his ear pierced, about the symbolism behind it and if he was sure he was even allowed to wear an earring in school since it possibly went against the dress code. Harry managed to push his way through her questions and pacify her concerns with a few dismissive comments.
Once the puddings were all finished, Dumbledore stood from his chair again, waved his wand and all of the food vanished from the tables leaving behind spotless, sparkling golden plates and cutlery. The hall instantly fell silent as all attention was focused on the headmaster.
"Welcome to another year at Hogwarts. For those of you who are just joining us this year, I hope you are ready to begin your learning experience, and for those of you returning, I hope you all have enjoyed your summer holidays and taken advantage of the opportunity to empty your heads so that we may fill them up again.
"I would like to begin by introducing our new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor Rowle," Dumbledore paused and waved his hand in Thor's direction. Thor had on a stern, cold, mask and gave the students a curt nod. A rush of excited whispers came from the Slytherin tables. This seemed to catch Ron's attention because his eyes darted from the Slytherins to their new DADA teacher and back before he narrowed his eyes and scowled slightly. Hermione was frowning lightly and glanced over at Harry with a worried expression.
"Next, I would also like to introduce Professor Grubbly-Plank, who will be filling in for Professor Hagrid for Care of Magical Creatures while Hagrid is away on personal business. He will likely be rejoining us for second term. Until, I hope you will all welcome Professor Grubbly-Plank."
Dumbledore continued with the standard announcements about the forbidden forest being forbidden, and about Filch wanting to remind the students that casting magic in the halls between classes is against the rules. Harry wondered why 'personal business' Hagrid could possibly be away on.
"Finally, I would like to take a moment and discuss something that I personally feel is of great importance," Dumbledore said, his voice shifting to a graver tone. "It is my belief that a great change is on the horizon. There are powerful forces at work in our world, and we all must be on alert. For many years, those who would wish to destroy our peaceful way of life have remained quiet, and their prolonged silence has allowed a sense of complacency to wash across our minds and the minds of those who govern our world.
"But there is Darkness in the shadows, and it seeks to use our stubborn blindness to pull the world right out from under us. We must not allow this to happen. We must all remain vigilant, and know when to act. Keep your eyes open and do not allow complacency to blind you when Darkness is staring you right in the face. We teachers and staff here will always be available to help those who seek our aid."
Dumbledore paused and looked out over the silent room and it's thick, heavy, atmosphere for a long minute. Finally, he clapped his hands together and suddenly his face was genial and smiling again.
"Enough of that. Now, pip, pip! Off to bed!"
Deafening screeching noises filled the air as the benches slid back across the rough stone floor, and the hall was instantly filled with the sounds of chattering voices.
"What do you suppose that was all about?" Ron whispered.
"Isn't it obvious?" Hermione said, exasperatedly.
"No," Ron shot back with an annoyed glare.
"He's talking about Voldemort, Ron."
"Oh..."
Harry and Hermione quickly went over to help the other prefects in gathering up the first years, leaving Ron to huff in annoyance and quickly tag along with Dean and Seamus instead.
The Gryffindors made their way through the corridors, towards the Grand Staircase, up and across a few staircases that decided to move as soon as they'd gotten off, and up to the entrance of Gryffindor tower on the seventh floor. They explained about the portrait of the Fat Lady and the weekly passwords and then gave a few informative announcements to the group of eleven-year-olds before splitting them up by gender and directing them to their dormitories.
Harry was already exhausted after his long and boring day on the train, but it wasn't over yet. The Prefects still had to do their rounds and Harry intended to take advantage of it to slip out of the castle. Just before heading out, Harry ran up to the fifth-years dorm room and directly over to his bed where he found his trunk waiting for him. He opened it up and pulled out his invisibility cloak and marauder's map before stuffing them into the inner pocket of his robes. Next, he grabbed the locket from his parsel-warded third-compartment and slipped it around his neck.
He hurried down the stairs to find an impatient-looking Hermione, tapping her foot on the rug-covered floor. Harry gave her a sheepish grin before following her out the portrait hole and into the castle to do their rounds.
It took nearly twenty minutes before Harry found an opportunity to split away from Hermione. He made his way to the second floor, just down the hall from the Defense classroom, and to the statue of the one-eyed witch. He spoke the pass phrase, Descendium, and it moved aside. He climbed down and sprinted down the long winding tunnel that would lead to Hogsmeade. He didn't go all the way there though, since he really only needed to go as far as the end of the school's wards.
He felt the tingle across his skin as he crossed through them and instantly pulled the left sleeve up to reveal the old leather cuff portkey that Tom had given him what felt like ages ago, now.
A hissed morsmordre later, and Harry felt the tug behind his navel and the dizzying spinning of portkey travel. He landed in the entry hall of the manor, quickly strode over to the time-turner room and used it to go back the full twenty-four hours. While in there, he also removed the glamor ring from the chain he had around his neck and slipped it onto his finger.
When Harry exited the small closet-sized room, it was no longer the evening of September 1st, but instead the evening of August 31st. He paused for a moment, thinking that at that very moment his past self was sleeping in a lumpy little twin-sized bed at Grimmauld Place in London. It was a strange idea to grasp, even with all of the time-turner use he'd done the previous year. As soon as he exited the small closet, he found Tom standing there, waiting for him.
The two silently stared at each other for a brief moment before Harry took a few quick strides forward and wrapped his arms around the elder wizard's neck, and pulled him in, desperately close.
"Is it ridiculous that I missed you?" Harry whispered as he buried his face into Tom's neck.
Tom chuckled weakly and Harry could feel the strain over their link. Tom was still feeling the stress of having his horcrux in Dumbledore's possession and knowing it, made Harry's heart break a little, deep inside.
"If it's ridiculous, than I'm ridiculous as well," Tom whispered back.
Harry pulled back and looked up into Tom's brilliant red eyes with a soft smile on his face.
"Is anyone here?"
"No one."
Harry smiled. "Good."
"Let's go up to the study. Or are you too tired?"
"It's been a long day, but I'm fine for a bit longer." Harry said as the two began to climb the stairs and make their way towards the study.
The two entered the room, Tom sitting down in his high wing-backed chair and Harry sitting down on the lounge. He reached up and pulled the locket off from around his neck and handed it over.
Tom took it into his hand and heaved a long quiet sigh. Harry could feel a small bit of relief flood across their connection. Harry was sure that Tom was extremely anxious to reassure himself about the status of the rest of his remaining soul pieces, and having one of them returned to his hands was undoubtedly a relief.
"Thank you," Tom said quietly as he ran his hand over the surface of the locket.
"I saw the ring on Dumbledore's hand during the feast. I could still sense your energy from it so the horcrux is still intact." Harry said.
Tom nodded his head slowly, still looking down at the locket.
"I'm going to get it back," Harry said with determination. "I won't let him destroy it."
"Don't do anything rash, Harry." Tom said sharply, suddenly looking up at the younger wizard with a piercing gaze.
"But I have to ge-"
"You will do nothing that will risk exposing your position. Our plans are too important to risk blowing your cover this early. I am not willing to risk you."
"And I'm not willing to risk you!" Harry shot back.
"I am not at risk here. My other horcruxes will continue to guarantee my immortality should anything happen to the ring."
"How can you be okay with this? It's a piece of your soul, Tom! It's a piece of you!"
"The horcruxes serve a purpose, Harry. They guarantee my immortality, and as long as one of them still exists, my continued existence is guaranteed. Ideally, I will always have more than one, and it is my desire to maintain a seven-way split, but I can certainly make do with what I've got for the time being. I still would prefer to reacquire the ring undamaged, but it is not as important as you are. And maintaining your cover while you are stuck in such a hostile and dangerous environment is far more important that recovering the ring."
Harry was shaking his head slowly but suddenly something Tom had said caught in his mind. "Are you actually considering making another to replace the destroyed diary?" Harry gasped.
Tom sat back and looked at Harry for a silent moment. "I'm considering it."
Harry was shaking his head again, more vigorously now. "No, Tom, please don't! I mean... I just don't know... it just seems to me like you're mutilating your soul with all this. I'll admit that I don't understand what exactly is involved in this whole horcrux thing, or what sort of long-term damage it does to you, but it can't be good."
"I'm fully aware of the risks Harry, you do not have to concern yourself with this."
"But I do! You're important to me Tom! I love you for Merlin's sake! You're... you're the most important person in the world to me, and the thought of you hurting yourself for this is just... it tears me up inside. And knowing that if someone like Dumbledore manages to get a hold of one of these objects and destroy it means that a piece of your soul is destroyed... I just..." Harry huffed out in frustration and roughly carded his hand through his hair. "I just don't like it, Tom. It worries me."
Tom looked at Harry for a very long, silent moment, with an unreadable expression on his face. Suddenly he stood from his chair, took two long strides forward and sat down beside Harry on the lounge. With a natural fluidity that only came with two people who had truly grown utterly comfortable with each other, Tom wrapped his arm around Harry's shoulders, and Harry melted into Tom's side and buried his face into the elder wizard's neck.
"Don't worry yourself over this Harry," Tom said in a soft voice.
"I can't help it."
"I won't make any new horcruxes for the time being, alright?"
Harry nodded his head, keeping his face pressed against Tom's neck and shoulder. "What about the ring?" he mumbled.
"We'll go after it if an opportunity arises." Tom said gently before bringing his hands to rest on Harry's shoulders and pushing the teen a bit away from him so he could look into his bright green eyes. "I want you to promise me that you will not do anything reckless in attempt to retrieve it."
"Tom, I -"
"No, promise me!"
Harry held Tom's intense gaze for several long seconds before he sighed, sagged slightly and nodded his head. "I promise."
"Good."
"But I still need to try to do something. I can't just sit back and not even try." Harry insisted desperately.
Tom nodded his head and looked, unfocused, across the room for a moment. "There is a spell I saw mentioned in one of Slytherin's parselmagic books you copied for me from the Chamber. I know that the spell in question is described in length in one of the other books that still resides within the Chamber. I had skimmed it once back when I was a student but that was just before Dumbledore began to suspect the location of the Chamber and my trips down there, so I was unable to frequently return after that."
"So you want me to get this book for you? What's the spell do?"
"From what I have gathered from the description, it is a very powerful stealth spell. It allows the parselmage to phase slightly out of normal space. It leaves them completely invisible to others, and allows them to pass through most walls and doors - although some highly powerful wards will still prevent their passage. You cannot directly interact with physical objects while phased, you will pass straight through them. In order to pick something up or move something, you would have to cancel the spell and unphase, thus revealing yourself. But it would still be incredibly useful for both spying, and for sneaking into places you wouldn't normally be able to enter."
"Like Dumbledore's office," Harry said with wide, excited eyes.
"Exactly." Tom said with a smirk. "Once you retrieve the book, you and I will work on learning the spell and you can practice during your days here at the manor when not in meetings or dealing with other matters. I also intend to try and create a replica of the ring that can be left as a substitute decoy."
"Won't Dumbledore notice that the decoy is not a horcrux though?"
"I have no doubt that all of Dumbledore's knowledge on horcruxes is purely hypothetical, and I doubt he ever had access to the same manuscripts that I came across in my journeys. In fact, I'm quite sure I know exactly which books he did have access to, and they would tell him very little as to what exactly to expect in response to destroying the horcrux's vessel. I'm convinced I can sufficiently simulate the reaction he would be expecting. I can recreate the same layers of protections that I applied to my horcruxes, only without the actual horcrux to protect. In the end, it may still fail at fully convincing him, but the possibility remains that it may work. If nothing else, it will at least buy us some time."
Harry nodded his head, feeling a bit better knowing that there was at least some sort of plan in the works.
Tom's hands came up and cupped Harry's face, tilting it upwards and peering down into Harry's eyes intensely. "You look absolutely exhausted." Tom remarked with a slightly concerned edge to his voice.
Harry shrugged one shoulder and averted his eyes slightly. "I'm fine," he mumbled.
Tom sighed and stood up, pulling Harry with him. "Let's retire to the bedroom. I suspect we could both use a good night's sleep."
Harry gave Tom a small smile and followed him out of the study, up the stairs and into their bedroom. Tom stood before Harry and began to work at removing the younger wizard's school robes. Releasing the clasp, and then working loose the red and gold striped tie, grimacing at it slightly and causing Harry to chuckle.
"Never thought you'd end up with a Gryffindor, did you?" Harry whispered in amusement.
Tom snorted and continued to disrobe the younger wizard. The black robes were soon removed, followed by the white button-down shirt beneath them.
*begin lemon*
Harry's hand stretched out and began to undo the small clasps that held together Tom's outer robes and then began to work at the buttons of his high, straight-necked, black silk shirt. Harry's shirt was off first and Tom's hands began to slowly and sensuously explore his pale flesh while Harry's breathing became shallow and he rushed a bit to finish his work on Tom's shirt. Finally, he pushed it back over Tom's shoulders, allowing it to fall to the floor in a puddle of soft, fine, fabric.
Harry's eyes hungrily drank in the sight of Tom standing before him. His flesh was toned and sculpted, flawlessly. He wasn't overly muscled at all. He was just perfect.
And he's all mine... Harry thought to himself and a pleased smirk graced his lips.
Tom raised a single questioning eyebrow down at Harry; no doubt sensing the possessive nature of Harry's emotions over the link. Harry just smiled up at the man, wrapped his arms around Tom's neck and pulled himself up so that their lips could meet.
The kiss was slow and sensual at first, growing in depth and desire as their tongues began to battle for dominance. Harry usually allowed Tom to win these battles, but for some reason he didn't want to this time.
His hands began to explore Tom's pale chest while Tom's hands ghosted up and down Harry's back before going down and cupping Harry's rear. He pulled Harry close, melding them together and brushing their erections together. Harry groaned hungrily into Tom's mouth and his hands became more desperate as his need grew.
Harry pulled back suddenly, and Tom actually growled lightly at the sudden loss. Harry smirked up at him devilishly and began to walk backwards towards the bed.
"I want to try something a little different tonight," Harry whispered.
Tom's eyebrows rose in mild surprise, but it was quickly replaced with lustful curiosity.
"Is that so? And what exactly have you got in mind?" Tom asked, huskily.
Harry's grin widened and he wiggled his finger to draw Tom closer. His interest obviously sparked, Tom complied, coming to stand directly before Harry, who then guided him to turn around so he back was facing the bed.
With a sudden shove, Tom was pushed back onto the bed. His eyes widened minutely, but there was also an inferno of burning desire beginning to blaze behind them. Tom acquiesced as Harry pushed him so that he would scoot further back onto the bed, and raised his hips into the air as Harry began to remove his slacks and boxer-briefs.
Tom's erection sprung free and Harry felt his desire and arousal spike dramatically at the sight of it. Every part of Tom's body was beautiful, and Harry was of the opinion that his cock was one of the most enticing parts. Harry moaned slightly at the sight of the mostly clear precum leaking from the top and quickly moved to straddle the older wizard.
"You're still clothed," Tom growled as his hands came up and grabbed Harry's hips.
"All in good time," Harry responded, looking up and meeting Tom's eyes for a moment and smirking, despite the heavy desire clouding his face.
Tom narrowed his eyes but nodded his head.
Harry ducked his head and began to kiss, suck, and nip at every exposed inch of Tom's neck, collar, and chest. His circled his tongue around Tom's nipples, played with them, and nibbled his way down Tom's ribs, all while slowly grinding himself against Tom's exposed erection, earning him some utterly maddening and delicious sounds, growls, and hisses, in response. Finally, he worked his way down, shifting his whole body and taking Tom into his mouth. The man's member was so perfect. The thickness to length ratio was just right. It was ridiculous that Harry could feel so attracted to a single portion of Tom's anatomy, but it didn't bother him any. He knew Tom was quite fond of his, as well.
He swirled his tongue around it, playing with the front of the head, and then the slit before taking it all in again and hallowing out his cheeks. Up and down he went in a steady, and maddeningly slow, rhythm, for several minutes.
Enough foreplay, Tom hissed with an obvious air of sexual frustration and impatience in his voice.
Harry nodded his head, vigorously, as he was finally ready to admit that his own intense arousal was growing extremely painful with need.
Harry released Tom from his mouth with a popping sound, backed up off the bed, and a moment later had divested himself of his pants.
He straddled Tom again, came up and kissed him deeply. Tom's hands came up and buried themselves in Harry's hair, pulling and holding him close at the same time. Their bare cocks ground against each other for a few moments, winding the two of them up even further, and making both of them moan out in desperation.
Harry pulled back, panting heavily and looked down at Tom. They were both heavy lidded and intensely aroused. Harry grinned and with a flick of his wrist, wandlessly summoned the lube jar, a trick he'd picked up from Tom.
He scooted back down so he was straddling Tom's legs and the elder wizard eyed him warily for a moment but did not say anything.
Harry dipped his fingers into the lube and began to coat Tom's cock. His eyes glance back up to meet with Tom's as he felt the tiniest prickle of relief travel over the link. He wondered for a moment if Tom ever would be willing to bottom for him, but pushed the thought aside as something to explore much, much later in their relationship.
Tom sat up slightly and reached for the jar, making Harry blink in surprise but he relinquished it. Tom coated his fingers, reached around and began to slowly prep Harry, more directly. The angle was poor for deep penetration, but it was more than enough stimulation considering how exceedingly aroused Harry already was. His back arched slightly and his head fell back on his shoulders as a low moan escaped his throat as he felt Tom's long agile fingers probing his insides and spreading the lubricant.
Finally, Harry let out an impatient groan of his own and pushed Tom back down onto the bed. The elder wizard looked up at him and smirked at the hunger in Harry's eyes.
Harry shifted himself higher, positioning Tom's member at his entrance before crashing down upon it, impaling himself. He called out in shock at the intense, glorious, sudden sensations of pleasure and pain that shot through him. Tom gasped slightly in pleasured shock as well, and his hands came to grip on each side of Harry's hips, guiding him up and down, and holding tightly as Harry began a quick rhythm.
The two were moaning and panting, and hissing quiet unintelligible words, as their pleasure grew exponentially, and they felt the powerful waves of their combined magic swirling around them.
Each peak of pleasure was more intense than the last. Each nerve was on fire. The coil, deep inside the base of Harry's gut was winding tighter and tighter, and his cock was rock solid, and so insanely sensitive. He continued to move up and down on Tom's member, his voice getting louder and more desperate with each sequential movement. Tom began thrusting his hips up in time with Harry's movement and the two were practically screaming in pleasure when Tom's hand released Harry's hip and grabbed hold of his straining member instead.
Two quick strokes and both of their worlds exploded with lights and pleasure. Wave after wave of jerking, spasms of bliss flooded their systems.
Harry felt his body jerking involuntarily for several moments before he collapsed onto Tom's chest, pinning his still throbbing cock between them, and twitching slightly with the aftershocks of his intense orgasm. Even cool, calm and collected, Tom, continued to shake for several minutes with the intensity of it all. A moment after everything had settled down, Harry felt and heard Tom sigh in contentment, and wrap his arms around Harry's shoulders. Tom shifted his hips and slid out of Harry's backside, causing the younger wizard to whimper slightly at the loss.
Tom held Harry there for a moment before flicking his hand and summoning his wand into it. With a few quick swishes, they were cleaned up and the covers that were beneath them suddenly vanished and reappeared over-top of them instead. Another wave of Tom's hand and the wand flew back to the bedside table and he used his now free hand to pull the covers up over Harry's shoulders.
Harry hummed happily and shifted his body so that he was only lying partially on Tom's side, with his head resting in the crook of Tom's neck.
"Love you, Tom," Harry mumbled sleepily.
Tom chuckled. "I love you too, Harry."
Harry opened his drooping eyes and rose his head just enough so that the two of them could meet eyes. He gave Tom a wide, appreciative, yet soft, smile that conveyed without words, just how grateful he was that Tom was finally willing to say it back.
Tom gave him a smile in return and bent his head down and gently kissed Harry's forehead.
"Go to sleep. You've had a long day." Tom ordered, softly.
Harry chuckled and let his head fall back onto Tom's shoulder. Moments later, he easily slipped into unconsciousness.
- -