Chapter Text
Chapter 12
The brief, knowing smirk Tom gave him was quickly replaced with a look of vague disbelief as Tom pushed himself up from the ground and looked down his own body.
Harry also couldn’t stop staring at Tom. He really was a very attractive man. Tall and lean and grinning like a man possessed as he stepped up to Harry.
“My wand?”
“Oh, of course.” For a second Harry had hoped Tom would perhaps want to touch him, hug him or even kiss him, but Harry understood that Tom probably had other priorities right now. Harry reached inside his wand holster and pulled out both their wands. He handed Tom his.
Tom’s eyes closed in obvious pleasure as he held his wand. Harry imagined that after all this time it must be very close to the first time any of them touched a wand that choose them. A huge magical rush that promised great and exciting things in the future.
Next Tom aimed his wand at Harry, his expression giving nothing away while his eyes narrowed.
Harry got a brief glimpse in his mind of Reggie’s disappointed expression while he muttered about knowing all along Tom Riddle was bad news and why had Harry not simply believed Regulus when he had the chance.
But Tom didn’t cast any hexes or curses. Instead he used a bit of gentle magic to pull Harry closer until they were practically face to face. Harry was no short guy by any means, but Tom still had a few good inches over him. Tom slowly, as to give Harry time to move away, bent his head and brushed his lips across Harry’s.
“I’ve been wanting to do that for a while now,” Tom whispered against Harry’s mouth.
“I’d love nothing more than to take this further,” Harry replied in an equally quiet voice. “But you’ve got basilisk breath. Perhaps a shower first?”
Tom threw his head back and laughed, and it was a wonderful sound, dark and deep. Harry grinned in reply and then led Tom up the stairs to the bathroom. He showed Tom where to find everything he needed, and then rummaged around in his own wardrobe for some simple clothes for Tom to wear for now. Tom was a very rich man, so they could visit Diagon Alley later and buy everything he needed.
Tom gave him a cheeky wink before sliding the toothbrush Harry had given in in his mouth. Harry left him to it and decided to fulfil one of Tom’s simple desires. He put the kettle on and brewed a large pot of Earl grey. He also fried up some eggs and bacon, and toasted some bread which he slathered with Molly’s homemade butter and strawberry jam.
By the time Tom entered the kitchen, clean and dressed, Harry had a small feast waiting for him.
“You are amazing,” Tom said, all but throwing himself into a chair at the kitchen table while Harry served him a steaming cup and a full plate. “Keep this up and you’ll never be rid of me.”
Harry chuckled as he sat down and tucked into his own lunch.
Afterwards, as Harry placed the dirty dishes into the sink, a very satisfied Tom pressed himself against Harry’s back and brushed a kiss across the back of Harry’s neck. Harry turned around in his embrace and met Tom’s lips with his own. Their kiss was long and slow and they explored each other with their tongues to their heart’s content.
“Whatever gave you the idea I wanted to be rid of you?” Harry asked as they finally pulled back. Tom had deep brown eyes, but Harry was sure he could see a fine sheen of gold over them still.
Tom shrugged, ducking his head a little, though his smile bordered on being smug. “I just don’t want to assume anything.”
“I want you to stay,” Harry said, blunt as can be, because he wanted there to be no confusion on this subject. “I enjoy your company. I’d love for you to fuck me silly later.”
“I have no objections to any of that,” Tom said as he stepped away from Harry. “Though I would like to go and get my affairs in order first and buy some necessities.”
Harry beamed at him. “Well then, let’s go to Diagon Alley!”
Severus had put all of Tom’s earnings in Harry’s vault, so while Tom opened up his own Gringotts account, Harry transferred Tom’s share to his brand new vault. Tom withdrew a sizable bag of gold, looking like he could barely believe all this wealth was truly his.
They stopped at Madam Malkin’s where Tom got a basic wardrobe, and then at Flint and Sons – Cobblers, where Tom got two pairs of shoes. Next was Flourish and Blotts where Tom bought fairly new books on just about every subject. Which led to a quick stop at the luggage shop for an expanded trunk with special library features.
“I’d like to catch up on all the new magical developments of the last five decades or so,” Tom said with an eager gleam in his eyes. “And this way I can easily take my books with me during our travels.”
Harry merely nodded in response. His chest felt like it was glowing and he didn’t think he’d ever felt this happy before. Finally Harry had found a potential partner who wanted to live his lifestyle, who wanted to spend time travelling with him. It was more than Harry had ever dared to hope for and it made him feel so ridiculously ecstatic, Harry hardly knew what to do with himself.
Tom visited a few more stores for a few more knickknacks, and Harry made a short trip to the grocers for some more canned peaches. He also picked up some canned pears, pineapple and cherries, just to see if those would help lure Rene back to their home through the floo.
Just as they were about to call it a day and have some dinner in one of the little restaurants in Fantastic Alley, a very unwelcome voice sounded behind them.
“Mr Potter, I heard some interesting stories about your latest quest,” Albus Dumbledore said, leaning on his cane while he gave Harry a searching look. “That you caught and killed a lethifold.”
“Technically, that wasn’t me,” Harry said with a strained smile. He gestured at Tom standing beside him. “My friend here did the beast in.”
“Your friend…” Dumbledore stopped speaking, his face draining of all colour as he stared at Tom in absolute disbelief. “Tom… my boy… how…” Dumbledore bent down a little, releasing a pained groan, his free hand pressed to his chest while he leaned his entire weight on his cane. A passing woman rushed towards him and placed a hand on his elbow.
“Headmaster, are you well? Do you perhaps need to sit down?” the woman asked in obvious concern.
“I’m fine, just had a bit of a shock.” Dumbledore pushed himself up again, though now his face looked a rather sickly white.
“I was cursed,” Tom said, apparently eager to stave off any more questions from his despised former professor. They had decided along the way they would tell people the truth of what happened to Tom since it explained where he’d been for so long and how he was still so young. “I’ve been stuck as a basilisk for 60 years, hiding away in an Indian forest. Harry found me and helped me return to myself.”
“Oh, Harry, my dear boy,” Dumbledore said with a tired sigh. “What have you done?”
“Saved a man’s life,” Harry said with a hard stare. “If you’ll excuse us, Headmaster, we were just about to go and have dinner. Good day.” And with that Harry turned on his heels while Tom did the same. They marched off without a backwards glance.
They ended up in a little bistro named The Golden Goose, where they enjoyed generous portions of fish and chips, with a huge slice of chocolate cake for afters. They made small talk along the way, talking about countries they wanted to travel to and creatures they wanted to see. They studiously avoided talking about Dumbledore and that unwelcome confrontation, even though Harry was certain they hadn’t heard the last of the headmaster just yet.
Harry turned out to be right when they returned to Harry’s cottage in Hogsmeade. In the backyard they heard the Augurey wail and Harry glanced up at Tom as he opened the garden gate so they could enter the yard. “It seems he wants to stay. We should probably name him.”
Tom peered up at the bedraggled grey bird up in the apple tree. “How can you even tell its gender?”
“The male’s plumage is slightly more colourful than the female’s,” Harry said with a chuckle.
“That is colourful plumage?” Tom asked in disbelief.
“It’s very subtle.” Harry couldn’t stop grinning at Tom’s wide-eyed look. “How about Paul?”
“Fine by me.” Tom turned towards Harry and stepped a little closer. “How about we let Paul practice the song of his people while I take you to bed and give you something you seemed to rather desperately want earlier.”
“Let’s,” Harry agreed and brushed a kiss against Tom’s lips, body heating with anticipation of what was to come.
The backdoor banged open and a furious James Potter stood in the doorway. “Harry James Potter, get inside! Now! And bring that criminal with you!”
Harry could only gape at his father. “What the fuck,” Harry muttered, and behind him Tom muttered the exact same thing. “Let me do the talking,” Harry said with a quick glance over his shoulder. “How the hell did he even get in here? The floo was locked.”
The answer to that question became clear the moment Harry and Tom stepped inside the living room. There stood Severus, face carefully blank. Severus was Harry’s emergency contact and he was tuned into all of Harry’s wards for this very reason. So Lily had probably begged her old friend to open the wards for them. And Severus being the secret drama queen that he was, wasn’t about to miss some good old-fashioned Potter family dramatics, now live in Harry’s living room.
But Severus wasn’t the only guest. Sirius and Remus stood beside Lily, looking as though they both regretted ever becoming friends with James in the first place. Against the opposite wall Regulus and Barty stood, looking very much as if they weren’t sure what was going on and why they were there in the first place.
“You weren’t answering your floo,” Barty said with a bright smile.
“We’re here to remind you to come get your pet,” Regulus added with a bit of a scowl.
“Also, nice to meet you.” Barty gave a little wave in Tom’s direction.
“Thank you for your invaluable help,” Tom replied with a polite nod.
“Is this an intervention?” Harry asked as he glanced around the room while his father quietly fumed with his arms crossed tightly.
“Harry,” Lily said, head tilted to convey some extra sympathy. “We’re all here because we love you.”
“That’s nice,” Harry said in a snippy tone. “Now please all leave. I have plans for this evening.”
“We’re here because you’re housing a criminal and participated in some dubiously legal rituals to allow this man entry into the country,” James finally said, voice almost a growl. Sirius sighed and rolled his eyes, seemingly not at all in agreement with what James was trying to pull.
“Accidentally turning yourself into a basilisk is not a crime,” Harry snapped, unable to contain his rising anger. His father always had that effect on him. “And me helping to turn him back to himself isn’t against the law either!”
Severus gave Harry a very subtle yet very pointed look. Ah yes, Harry was on the verge of having full blown verbal diarrhoea and desperately needed to be stopped. Harry knew full well that the Slytherin code clearly stated that when confronted with an adversary, one should stop talking. But it seemed that being surrounded by his Gryffindor kin rubbed off more Gryffindor values on Harry than he wanted.
“How about the student he murdered while he was at Hogwarts?” James said, a challenge in his voice, daring Harry to deny that accusation.
Harry did what he had to and kept his mouth shut, lips pursed tightly. In the corner of the room near the door Regulus could barely contain a smile and he quickly ducked his head. Tom, being well aware of the Slytherin code of conduct, also kept his mouth shut and merely looked at James with barely enough polite interest.
“Well,” James said, expression turning into one of triumph. “Got nothing to say to that, have you?”
Regulus cleared his throat. “Was Mr Riddle ever officially accused of this crime?” For some reason, this made Sirius grin widely and he beamed at Reggie with pride. Harry was briefly confused why Regulus would even want to speak up in Tom’s defence, but then he remembered the Slytherin code of conduct once again. When confronted with hostile Gryffindors, Slytherins always banded together. Always.
James gave Reggie a very snooty sort of look. “Not to my knowledge. But Dumbledore was adamant that this man was behind the brutal murder of a girl at Hogwarts during his time as a student.”
“Ah yeah,” Barty said with a thoughtful frown. “I think I’ve heard about that incident. Didn’t Hagrid do her in by accident via that man-eating spider he was illegally keeping as a pet? I’m quite sure he was expelled for that very reason. He’s told me about it often enough over the years.”
Harry had trouble to hide his laughter. Hagrid was well known for telling everyone the story of how he got Aragog in vivid detail, so it wasn’t the least bit of a surprise that Barty knew of it.
James’ expression had turned completely sour, as though he was sucking on a lemon. “That’s neither here nor there. Dumbledore is certain this man is a murderer.”
“But the law clearly says that a man is innocent until proven guilty, Prongs,” Sirius said, pushing himself away from the wall to stand beside James. “If you’re really certain Dumbledore is right and this man has committed a crime then go and find evidence and bring him up on charges. But simply standing here accusing him of a crime someone else was already convicted for is wasting everyone’s time.”
James squared his shoulders and got that haughty expression on his face he always did before laying into Harry for his poor life choices. “This has gone far enough, Harry. You’ve abandoned your family, rejected our values and now you’re shacking up with a criminal.”
It took Harry everything he had not to rip into his father. Surprisingly, Harry didn’t need to, because Severus did if for him.
“It sounds as though you’re jealous of your own son, Potter,” Severus said, smooth as can be with an entirely bored expression on his face. “Of course, it’s no surprise, since Harry is far more successful in his career than you are in yours. He makes more money, he gets more job satisfaction and he is much better regarded by the general public for his entertaining books and articles.”
“How dare you,” James breathed, going for his wand.
“Oh, I dare,” Severus said, reaching for his own wand and aiming it at James.
“No, stop!” Lily stepped between them, holding up both hands to try to calm the situation down. She had no success, but someone else did.
“ENOUGH!” Tom bellowed, making everyone, even Harry, jump. “I have been a literal beast for 60 years and I still have better manners than you both. You are uninvited guests in Harry’s home, yet here you are trying to duel in his living room. If you are so eager to do each other some serious damage, you will go outside and do it there. And with that I mean the street, not the yard. We don’t want Paul to get injured because of your inability to control your emotions even as grown adults.”
“Who’s Paul?” Barty whispered, leaning over a little in Harry’s direction.
“An Augurey I rescued from Draco’s woodland. He now lives in my apple tree,” Harry whispered back with a chuckle.
“Ah. Thanks.” Barty was back to smiling now that he had another answer to one of his many questions he ran into on a day to day basis.
“This isn’t over,” James said, shoving his wand back in its holster and marching out of the room. He shouldered Severus to the side as he did so, but thankfully Severus let that slide and merely sneered in response.
“Sorry, Harry,” Sirius said as he briefly stopped in front of Harry. “I’ll make sure he calms down.” And with that, Sirius and Remus hurried after his friend.
“Harry,” Lily sighed while giving Harry a hug he didn’t return. “Think about what you’re doing.”
Harry blinked at his mother in genuine confusion. “What I’m going? I’ve saved a man’s life and I made a new friend. That’s it. Whatever crawled up James Potter’s arse has nothing to do with me.”
The stern look Lily gave Harry in response was full of disappointment but Harry couldn’t care less. He was done with orchestrating his life to his parents’ wishes. He was his own man, plain and simple.
When it became clear Harry wasn’t going to apologize, Lily simply sighed and shook her head. “We’ll talk later.” And with that she disappeared after her husband.
“Thanks,” Harry said to Severus, who merely nodded in return and also left.
Regulus gestured to the floo. “Get your pet, Harry. It keeps creeping out Kreacher. His heart can’t take much more of an invisible animal sneaking about and stealing his cabbages.”
“Yeah, all right.” Harry pulled on Tom’s wrist while he stepped up to the floo. He picked up his backpack and made his way to Grimmauld Place.
That is how Harry found himself stalking through the dark hallways of the Black ancestral townhouse with an opened can of peaches in his hand. “Rene, I promise you, the scary snake monster is gone. There’s now a very nice and polite gentleman who is not going to hurt you.”
Barty glanced at Tom. “Looks like he might be a while. Want to see the library?”
“Do you need to ask?” Tom gave Barty a cheeky little smile and followed him to the next floor up.
It was probably a good thing Reggie was busy comforting a very upset Kreacher, because Harry doubted he’d have been as eager to let Tom inside one of the country’s greatest private libraries. Even if Reggie had spoken in Tom’s defence, he didn’t yet seem quite eager to fully accept him. Harry figured Regulus wanted to wait and see what Tom would get up to in the coming weeks and months before making any final judgements on his character.
“Come on, Rene. I know you love peaches.” Harry sighed and put down the opened can. He reached in his backpack and got out the can of pears instead. “Let’s try these then.”
It wasn’t until Harry opened a can of pineapple that he felt a small, invisible hand reached inside the can and grab a small, yellow chunk of fruit. “Ah, so you love pineapple even more than peaches.” Harry grinned down at his new invisible friend. “Well, come along then and you can have the whole can. Reggie, I found him! Open the floo!”
Carefully, with the can becoming emptier and emptier, Harry lured Rene back to his cottage. There was a moment of some confusion when Harry wasn’t sure if Rene had followed him through the floo, but eventually the can of pineapple on Harry’s coffee table moved on its own accord and Harry knew he’d gotten his wayward friend home.
“I’m closing the floo,” Harry yelled at Reggie’s face dancing in the green flames. “I don’t want Rene to slip through again. Tell Tom to apparate home.”
Harry didn’t mind that Tom was having a little fun with Barty in the library. Tom was a bibliophile who had been deprived of books for 60 years. Harry understood Tom had some catching up to do. While Rene kept snacking on the pineapple and the other cans of fruit Harry put out for him, Harry decided he might as well take a shower before turning in. He was exhausted by the day’s events.
As Harry stood under the warm spray massaging shampoo in his hair, the curtain drew back and Harry felt a hand on his shoulder. “Oh Rene,” Harry said with an exaggerated sigh. “We must be careful before we are caught.”
Tom’s chuckles were warm and deep as he squeezed Harry’s wet shoulder. “Mind if I join you?”
“Not at all,” Harry said with a smile as he looked over his shoulder. Tom had already undressed himself and slipped right into the shower with him. “Have fun with Barty?”
“Oh yes,” Tom said, wrapping his arms around Harry, pressing himself to Harry’s back. “But then I remembered that I could be having even more fun with you.”
Harry rinsed out his hair and then gave Tom an apologetic smile. “I’m sorry, but I’m exhausted. Can we leave the fucking until tomorrow?”
“Of course.” Tom leaned over to give Harry a soft kiss. “How about I give you a hand instead?”
“Now that’s an excellent plan,” Harry mumbled, returning Tom’s kisses with eager touches of his tongue. They brought each other off with quick strokes of their hands and afterwards they dried off with a few charms and crawled into Harry’s warm bed.
“How are you?” Harry asked as they lay cuddled together, naked bodies entwined. “This was your first day as a human again.”
Tom chuckled and rubbed his nose through Harry’s hair. “It’s been rather surreal at times, I must admit. But I’ve also felt happier than I ever have, I’m sure. Overall…today I’ve been at peace.”
Harry gave him a kiss in response and then let sleep claim him.
They were rudely awakened the next morning with banging on the door. “Whoever that is can fuck off,” Harry muttered, pressing his face into his pillow with a groan. Beside him, Tom reacted much the same. And Harry was absolutely determined to ignore whoever that was. But then they started hacking away at his wards and that wouldn’t stand.
“Fucking hell.” Harry jumped up, grabbed his wand, summoned his robes and then hurried down the stairs. Tom was right there by his side as Harry ripped the front door open.
James Potter stood outside the door, an absolutely glowing look of triumph on his face while a few Aurors Harry didn’t know were trying to bring Harry’s wards down without much success.
“Tom Marvolo Riddle,” James said, wand out and pointed straight at Tom. “I hereby arrest you for the murder of Albus Dumbledore.”