Reposted: January 29, 2022
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I had so much fun writing this chapter. Enjoy!
Summary: Yes, this is the sixty-ninth chapter. No, they are not bonding yet.
News of Harry's bonding spread rapidly over the next several weeks and by the end of July, practically nothing else was being talked about. Even the Ministry stepped in to lend a hand, although Harry could see it was a blatant attempt to smooth things over from falsely imprisoning Tom and Remus. Nevertheless, they accepted the help. The Ministry took care of reserving the Muggle church and putting up charms to deter Muggles who came too close.
As per Tom's suggestion, purple was the theme color for the party, but there were also shades of blue mixed in. So the hangings were deep plum and royal blue in color, the tablecloth a pale lavender. When Tom first saw the setup, he had to clench his fists to stop from flailing his arms again. At least until he was back home and could do it in private. Harry had thought he looked absolutely adorable.
Now Harry stood with his friends as they watched guests enter and mingle with others.
"I can't be the only one thinking of the Yule Ball," said Tracey. Her hair had been straightened for the occasion so it fell just past her elbows.
"Definitely not," Harry agreed. "Good news, though. I don't think I'll be stepping on Tom's feet when we dance."
"Good. Because my feet are aching just thinking about our dance."
"He couldn't have been that bad," Draco said.
"Bad enough," Harry and Tracey said together.
Luna and a man Harry assumed was her father came drifting into the room, both wearing yellow robes. Luna's eyes scanned the crowd and lit up upon landing on the Weasleys. Then she ran forward and embrace Ginny from behind. Ginny started but beamed when she saw who it was.
Tracey nudged Harry, who turned back around in time to see Sirius approaching with Minister Fudge.
"Hello," said Harry neutrally.
"Good to see you, Harry," Fudge said, shaking his hand. "And Miss Davis and Mr. Malfoy."
"Good evening," Draco replied. Tracey dipped her head slightly.
"I'm sure you're very excited tonight," Fudge went on to Harry.
"Extremely."
"Yes, yes. Tom is a charming young man. I was just speaking with him. Terrible what he went through."
Somewhere off to Harry's left, a camera flashed.
"Yes," he said. "He had a difficult time sleeping at first."
Fudge had the decency to look ashamed. "If I hadn't been so eager to listen to Dumbledore, I could have avoided this altogether."
"It was a tense time for us all," Harry said.
"Indeed. Well, I hope we can put this behind us now. We know better than to get too ahead of ourselves."
The reporters had moved on now. Dipping his head, Fudge excused himself and left.
Sirius rolled his eyes. "Finally. I had been trying to get away for the past fifteen minutes."
"Yeah." Harry didn't want to talk about Fudge. "Anyway, I'm gonna go find Tom."
He squeezed through the throng until he found Tom chatting with a couple wizards he didn't recognize.
Tom, looking as handsome as ever in velvet black dress robes, smiled when he caught sight of Harry and excused himself from the two wizards. "Hi."
"Hi. Been talking to anyone interesting?" Harry asked as they walked away.
"Not really. Everyone's mostly desperate to shake my hand, to say what an honor it is to speak to me."
"Welcome to my life," Harry said. "Although it hadn't been so bad after the first couple years."
"First couple... ugh." Tom made a face and Harry laughed.
They chatted a little more before dinner was served. The food was splendid, but it wasn't much different from the food at Hogwarts' feasts. As Harry ate, he observed the guests.
Many were casting glances at Severus. When they had been shopping for dress robes, Remus had said, half jokingly, that Severus was probably going to get black dress robes. Severus had responded by buying a set of navy blue ones.
Charlie Weasley was rambling about the dragons he worked with. Tracey, Daphne, and Millicent listened with rapt attention and asked questions. Harry didn't think he had ever seen any of them look so intrigued.
Fleur Delacour, who was apparently engaged to Bill Weasley, was making several of the boys stare at her with glazed eyes, although her attention was solely on her fiancé.
Despite his previous scoffing of the Weasley twins' shop, Draco was asking Fred and George about some of their products.
Bella was sitting with Narcissa and two people Harry didn't know. One of them looked a lot like Bella, so he guessed it was Andromeda. And the wizard would be her husband. They had a daughter, Sirius once said, but she wasn't sitting with them.
Music began playing after dinner and people began standing for the dance floor.
Tom extended a hand. "Shall we?"
Harry's hand slipped into Tom's and they stood up and walked out. One hand went around Harry's waist, the other gripped his hand firmly. And they were off.
It felt much more natural to let someone else take the lead, Harry reflected as they glided across the floor. He had enjoyed the Yule Ball, but it didn't feel right dancing with Tracey — although it wasn't just because she was only a friend.
Couples flitted in and out of Harry's line of sight. Sirius and Remus drifted by; Remus looked nervous, but Sirius had maintained the dance lessons he took when he was younger and supported Remus when he tripped over his own feet. Draco and Pansy and Theo and Daphne waltzed together. And many others Harry didn't know danced all around; their dress robes seemed to blend together in a whirl of colors.
Harry turned back to Tom. Their eyes met — vivid green and dark brown. Tom's freckles seemed to stand out even more in the light that bathed them.
Tom leaned down and closed the distance between their lips. They had kissed many times before, but each time Harry felt like he was experiencing it for the first time.
Even when they broke away, Harry couldn't concentrate on much else.
Eventually, he found himself getting tired, so they headed off to a table to take a break. Many of the other couples remained on the dance floor, but a few had wandered off elsewhere, some disappearing from the room altogether.
"Butterbeer?" Tom asked.
"Yes, please."
Tom disappeared back into the crowd.
As Harry waited, he looked around. Remus and Severus were dancing now, while Sirius watched them contently. Hermione, Ron, Luna, and Ginny were all sitting together a few tables away with a young woman Harry didn't know. As he watched, the woman screwed her face up and what appeared to be a pig's snout formed. Ginny and Hermione laughed.
Tom came back clutching two goblets of butterbeer. He handed one to Harry, who murmured his thanks and took a sip.
Snap!
Harry blinked at the dazzling light that flashed in his face. "Could you not take pictures so close?" he groused. At least the others had maintained a reasonable distance.
"Sorry, Mr. Potter," said the reporter. He looked young, probably in his early to mid thirties. "Can I ask you and Mr. Riddle a couple questions?"
"No," said Tom shortly, willing the spots out of his vision.
"Please, Mr. Riddle, if you don't mind —"
"He said no," Harry said
The reporter thankfully took the hint. "Terribly sorry, Mr. Potter, Riddle."
He took off to interview someone else, pouncing on the nearby Weasleys, Hermione, and Luna. Ron let out a short exclamation of surprise and whipped around.
"Idiot," Tom muttered. "Even Rita knew when to back off."
"Is she here?" Harry asked. Ever since the articles on Dumbledore had been published, they hadn't spoken. Her work had been done.
"I'm pretty sure I saw her scribbling away with that quill of hers."
Harry turned around to see if he could spot her. He didn't, but he did catch sight of Remus flinging himself at Severus with such enthusiasm the potions master stepped back. Sirius joined in a second later. "They look happy about something," he remarked.
Tom followed his gaze. Severus was only just visible within Remus' and Sirius' embrace. "We'll hear about it soon enough knowing them."
"Yeah." The room felt a bit stuffy despite the large space. "I need some fresh air."
They walked out to the balcony overlooking the Muggle world.
Night had fallen. They could see the lights from cars flickering in and out between buildings. The buildings themselves were dotted with golden lights coming from the windows.
Harry took a deep breath. The air was cool despite the summer heat during the day. Tom's arm wrapped around his waist and he leaned into his touch.
"I don't know who's going to be the one who goes on and on about us finally being bonded, you or Sirius," Harry commented.
Tom's nose wrinkled. "That's a trick question. It'll be you."
Harry glared at him in mock anger. "It will not!"
"You're totally right. It'll be Bella."
"You bet I'm right. Anyone but me," Harry said, tossing his head importantly.
After a while, they went back inside, but kept out of the way of the reporters flitting between guests.
At one point, they heard a noise and looked to see Ginny and Luna in an alcove, locked in their own world of bliss.
Luna spotted them first. She broke away from Ginny and went very pink. "Oh, hi!"
Ginny whirled around. "Harry! Tom! I, er — we were just —"
"Having a good ole snog?" Harry finished, grinning.
Ginny pushed back a strand of hair. "Yeah, you could say that."
"I guess I should have seen you coming," Luna joked. "Ginny knows," she added at Tom's questioning look.
"Well, don't let us interrupt," Tom said, lips twitching.
Luna ducked her head and Ginny rolled her eyes and waved them off. "And I wouldn't go much farther if I were you. Ron and Hermione went for a walk and hadn't reappeared."
"Thanks for the heads up," said Harry. "And the imagery."
"Call it payback for interrupting us," Luna said with a sweet smile.
Harry huffed as he and Tom walked off. They returned to the main room, where a few reporters immediately pounced on them. Several questions were asked, but only a few were actually answered. Those that weren't were more personal — and hinting at things Harry would rather not think about.
They managed to escape several minutes later and went to sit down again.
"Enjoying yourselves?" Sirius asked, taking the seat on Harry's other side.
"Yeah. It's great," Harry said. "What were you, Remus, and Severus talking about earlier?"
Sirius shifted a little. "Well, Moony made a comment about how you're bonding before we are."
Harry sat up straighter, eyes lighting up. "Are you three making it official?"
"Rather quick on the uptake there, pup," Sirius said, grinning. "Yes, we are."
"That's wonderful, Padfoot." Harry wrapped his arms around him. "Congratulations."
"About time, too," Tom added. "Honestly, you three are hopeless for each other."
"You're one to talk," Sirius retorted, nodding to Harry.
"Exactly!" Tom said. "I have experience, so I can back up my statement."
Sirius rolled his eyes at Harry, who sniggered into his hand.
Remus and Severus came over.
"Is it just me or is it hot in here?" said Remus, fanning himself.
"Sev and I can leave if you want," Sirius said.
"That's not — you know what I meant!" Remus shook his head at him. "So many people, so much body heat."
"Yes, and I'm sure it's not helping that you're dating two very handsome men." Sirius winked at him.
Remus crossed his arms, scowling. "Yeah. It's all your fault, both of you."
"What about you?" Harry said. "You're not bad-looking yourself, Moony. Maybe it's you that's making it so hot."
"It's possible," Sirius mused, his eyes trailing over Remus' body.
Remus' face flushed, and it didn't help that Severus was also watching him intensely.
Harry and Tom slowly slipped away and took seats at another table as far away as possible.
"How much do you want to bet Remus won't be able to walk tomorrow?" Tom said.
Harry gave him a deadpanned stare. "I only just got the image of Ron and Hermione out of my head, Riddle. Do not plant a new one in it."
"Apologies," Tom said smoothly. He leaned in close to Harry's ear. "And speaking of Riddle, you might want to get used to hearing it for you."
Harry shivered a little at the way he had practically purred the words. "Yeah," he rasped. He cleared his throat. "Harry Riddle. Has a nice ring to it, I suppose. After all —" he smiled innocently, which told Tom he was about to — "I am quite the riddle."
— make a joke. Yep, that was his Harry. Tom rolled his eyes. Why did he love this mischievous little shit?
He looked back at Harry, whose face was alight with enough joy to produce a thousand Patronuses. This was why. Because Harry gave Tom that same joy.
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Now you know why I added the Ginny and Luna moment a few chapters back. I wanted to give at least some indication there may be something besides friendship between them instead of just springing it out of nowhere.
Aside from that, the actual bonding scene is coming up in the next chapter. So yay!