Chapter 1: Knowing each other
Chapter Text
You were raised by wolves and voices
Every night I hear them howling deep beneath your bed
They said it all comes down to you
You're the daughter of silent watching stones
You watch the stars hurl all their fundaments
In wonderment, at you and yours, forever asking more
You are that space that's in between every page, every chord and every screen
You are the driftwood and the rift, you're the words that I promise I don’t mean
We're drunk but drinking (Sunk but sinking)
They thought us blind (We were just blinking)
All the stones and kings of old will hear us screaming at the cold
Romeo, Juliet & Cinderella
"Please use it. At least one day a week."
"No, I don't want to."
"Lily leave her alone, you're going to torment her and she hasn't even come to school yet to be annoyed by Severus."
The red-haired woman recoils back with an exasperated gesture and to whom she was speaking, a short girl with bushy black hair smiles broadly, her round glasses falling down the bridge of her nose. She prances after the man with the same features. Black hair, messy, dense; dark as oil, uncontrollable like himself; small nose, round eyes, but less so than his daughter's. The most marked difference is that the man has the same features as her daughter. The most marked difference is that he has brown eyes while she has a stunning emerald colour.
So bright that they look like part of a spell. Standing apart and with some privacy, he stands at the girl's level, holding her hands.
"You're going to be away from home for a long time and I know it's going to be a bit complicated for you," he says gently and she nods, still smiling and excited, "but I want you to know that if you need help, you can send a letter. I'll help you as soon as I can, okay?"
"Yes daddy."
"And Harriet" gets his attention again. "No matter what way you want to show yourself, do it, okay? Don't let anyone stop you from that."
He nods and she hugs him tightly, letting herself sway back and forth. James Potter gives a sigh, looking over to where his wife shakes her head, accusingly glaring at him. Breaking away, Harriet runs and climbs onto the train and stands at the glass talking to her godfather Sirius Black.
James stands next to Lily and the awkwardness is accentuated to the extreme. As in every moment where he lets his daughter be and Lily wishes they could just a little bit of pressure. At the end of the day, she gets the impression that James is doing everything to make Harriet behave like a boy.
He wanted a boy. They were going to name him Harry.
So foolish was he that they called her "Harriet".
Lily had no problem with that. She was happy. She wanted a girl and she had one! Tiny, barely weighing a pound, too frail and sickly, but with too much spirit and the capacity to be an earthquake wherever she went. The problem began to emerge a few years later. Long hair annoyed her, she didn't like wearing a dress, she had a keen interest in quidditch and was easily bored by everything Lily considered good for her.
What she always wanted to experience with her daughter, she couldn't because she wasn't interested in anything! James, on the other hand, was more than happy, and Lily took some resentment in that. He always encouraged Harriet with such things instead of helping her to be what Lily considered more appropriate for a girl.
Sirius wasn't much help, he is more indiscreet with his obvious desire for a godson and in giving Harriet boyish attitudes. At least that's how the redhead perceives it.
Lily had to shoo him away to get him to stop putting ideas in her head. It didn't help. Her daughter still hates dresses, all her uniforms are trousers; her hair is cut short all over; her clothes are baggy and big; she has a total dislike of earrings, necklaces, pretty bracelets and things like that. In general, it's like having a boy when she's a girl.
"What did you give her?" asks James and Sirius smiles shaking his head.
"It's a secret. If I tell you it loses the fun," replies the man with the long, messy hair.
"That better not have been a authorization so she can get on the quidditch team." Lily warns before leaving, too annoyed to stand there. She'll wait until it's time to say goodbye herself. Sirius bites his lip and leans towards James.
"Do you think she hates me too much?" he asks quietly, James brings a hand to his face.
"I think you'll have to spend Yule somewhere else" Sirius gives a groan. "She's been more nervous and grumpy since the letter arrived. You're not helping me at all."
"James, it's not my fault that Lily hates that Harriet is the way she is," retorts the eldest Black son. "It's just the way she is. If she stopped liking quidditch I'm not going to hate her or try to convince her to love it. It's the thing I hate most about my family after all." He notes and James knows it to be so.
Sirius simply loves Harriet. A better best man he couldn't be. He's almost an extension of himself. He adores his daughter. Even if he likes the girlish things that "belong" to her, she would be his little darling in every way. James doesn't understand how Lily is capable of being so angry about something that changes over time. Tomorrow she might like skirts, make-up, have long hair.
And it's not going to change that she's his daughter! It makes James feel overwhelmed. He hopes that, with her at Hogwarts, he will be able to talk to Lily a little more, to improve the relationship that has fallen apart with his daughter's development.
It's ten o'clock, the express doors close and everyone says goodbye from the window. Lily stands next to James, waving goodbye to Harriet with a smile. Harriet does something that makes all three of their expressions tense.
"I'LL BE A SEEKER, I PROMISE!"
"Oh Sirius..." laments James quietly, still smiling so as not to make her think there's something wrong. Sirius closes his eyes.
"Well, we're done here. I'm going."
He disappears and Lily rubs her forehead with one hand.
"Shall we go eat, my love?" offers James with a strained smile and Lily gives him a bad look.
"Yes. I want to eat," she says heavily.
Harriet walks down the train corridor to enter the cabin she found empty. She has left her suitcase there with Sirius' signed permission autorization. Being her godfather he has power too. He looked into it to be sure. On the way, Harriet notices another compartment empty except for one person. She tilts his head, peering inside and finding a student already in uniform. Tall, elegant, he holds a book in one hand to read.
Feeling stared at, he looks at her and Harriet furrows her eyebrows. Is it possible to have red eyes? It looks very strange. Almost creepy. He pulls out his wand and closes the door curtains with it.
"How hateful." Harriet grumbles under his breath and adjusts her glasses.
She enters her cabin and sits leaning against the window to watch the scenery. She has spent most of her life hearing about the school life of her parents and relatives. It all sounds so much fun, even her mother's simple study stories. Harriet wants to live it on her own and have friends. The confidence that she will make it is high. Not because of anything specific, just a bit of faith about it.
She's not someone who has problems with others as a rule. He wouldn't even say he's bothered by Slytherins as long as they don't do anything to her. Maybe it'll happen. But, she's a Potter. She'll be thrown into Gryffindor as soon as the hat brushes her head. Knocks on the door break her concentration.
"Can I sit here? I couldn't find a seat on the rest of the train, they all seem to know each other."
At the entrance is a girl with deeply messy, tangled hair. Brown, her face round and slightly tanned. Harriet nods enthusiastically and she passes. As she sits down the girl takes a deep breath with an awkward smile.
"This train seems endless, but so do the students. It's every year, isn't it? I read that Hogwarts has over ten thousand students and that's impressive. That's more than any school in the world has. Plus, so many years, so many majors. It's impressive," she says hurriedly and Harriet can almost guess one thing. "Ah, sorry, I'm Hermione Granger. Nice to meet you." she extends her hand in greeting and Harriet smiles at her.
"Nice to meet you. I-"
"Harriet Potter" Hermione interrupts, Harriet smiles tensely How did she notice? "I saw you in a picture with your dad in the paper. When I went to Hogsmade" Hermione clarifies Hermione. "I also read that there's a lot of mention of black hair and really... I've never seen hair that black before. The scar is also a detail."
"Oops" she laughs awkwardly "I think if it's a bit obvious... My dad hated that picture. He thinks that's why there might be some crazy wizard looking to kill me... another one" Hermione sniffles. Admittedly, it's a bit unfortunate to put the picture of the daughter of the head of security for the English magic world like that. "Anyway, you're Muggleborn, right? You're the only one who will have read anything before you go."
"Oh... Oooh..." Hermione blushes, embarrassed. "I really like reading. I think it's great to be able to find out everything that way. Plus, not knowing anything and with people already knowing about it from being born here, I thought... maybe it was going to be a bit-"
"Dissonant? Maybe, but we can be friends. I have several books here," she points upstairs to where her carry-on suitcase is. "They're my godfather's. It's one of the oldest houses in the magical world. They talk about half-forbidden things."
"If you don't mind."
Harriet allows her to take whatever book she wants. Regardless of which house Hermione stays in, Harriet already chalks it up to being her friend and Sirius told her it was no problem.
"Can I come in? The train is full" Harriet nods to the red-haired, freckled boy who peeked out. He sits down and plops into the seat. It turns out to be Ron Weasley, he introduces himself, but again, Harriet was spotted by that picture and the hair. "Your dad was the best seeker in school!" exclaims Ron excitedly. "Next year, I'm going to try out for the team."
"I'm doing it this year. I got a pass. As long as I fly well class." she clarifies. Hermione sticks her nose in the book, forgetting everything else.
"Really? I have to ask my mum! My brothers are already on the team."
"Oh yeah? What are they?"
"They're beaters."
And the trip made short work of how good it felt to be with two new friends.
. . .
"The Potter puppy is already at school. I can't believe it," the teenager exhales in annoyance, folding his arms. "I thought that mini-beast was never going to come. I wish he hadn't."
"So much spite over a mere child." sneers the girl sitting next to him.
"You'd think the same if you'd ever come across it. She's worse than an animal. You can tell she's a Potter."
"All I see is a girl that a random breeze would blow away."
The dry, indifferent comment interrupts the small discussion that was forming. He closes the book gently and sets it down in his lap, picks up the newspaper clipping. He saw it the day it came out. Head of the Department of National Security for the Magical World, James Potter; His wife Lily Potter, Auror and Medic; Sirius Black, Auror First Class and finally, between them, a little girl who was barely ten years old at the time. Smiling and in the arms of her dad holding her up.
Being a magical photo, you see what was happening seconds later. The little girl hugging and rubbing her cheek with her father. He analyses the image with his bright red eyes. It is striking how much that little girl seems to shine between them. However, he must admit that, if no one told him it was a girl, he would not have noticed. The haircut and the clothes give the impression that she is a boy.
Not that it matters to him. Just like her. He doesn't care. He doesn't even understand why it's a topic of conversation. The one who hates her being here is Regulus Black, youngest son of the Blacks and younger brother of Sirius. On the other hand, there is Dhapne Greengas, from the same house and who, unlike everyone else there, shows no repulsion at the idea of a Potter. Theodore Nott, on the other hand, is merely silent.
Daphne, on her part, looks curious. There is a lot of talk about this family, and in general, it is the opposite of the usual gossip. It's not about dark magic, illicit dealings, some crime done generations ago - not at all! It's just that they're real madmen who will do anything to keep the solemnity of the magic world alive. Avoiding crimes, playing pranks, inheriting each other's magic so white it can blind anyone.
Seeing for herself the myth through Harriet's eyes would be interesting in Daphne's opinion.
She gives a casual glance at whoever is still by the window and stops the conversation. The only one of all who seems to be in his own world, he gives off a dense cloud of magic. So cold and dark that they must wear winter robes to keep from freezing. His name is Tom Marvolo Riddle. He hates the name. Nothing he can do considering he'll be like this until he comes of age.
Unlike those who are here: Malfoy, Greengas, Black, Crabbe, Goyle; Tom doesn't come from a family of the magic world with a great surname. Quite the opposite, he comes from an orphanage and although it can be assumed that he has some great ancestor, he is currently nobody.
Just himself, who has made a name for himself as the strangest student in the school. Not because of his attitude, which gives him a rather vain and flamboyant air, but because of his ability to manipulate dark magic as he pleases and know more than any other student with better childhoods than him. Tom is quite a character.
One who winks too much because ever since that little girl peeked into his cabin, it's been as if the spotlight of a camera hit him squarely. For him, the rumour is true and therefore, the girl could not be more annoying. However, as long as she doesn't come near him, he doesn't care what she does.
Wild or not, he doesn't care.
~ * * * ~
"It's half giant! How cool!"
"Did you know?"
"My parents told me, but I didn't think they meant it." replies Harriet to Ron and Hermione is still somewhat intimidated by the presence of Hagrid, the ranger who guides them across the Hogwarts lake. "Let's go with him."
"What? No-"
"We're going with you!" exclaims Harriet, raising her whole arm. She is one of the shortest of the entire first year group. Hagrid, the huge bearded, bushy-haired man admits surprise.
"Wow, a volunteer! Come on and everyone to your boats!" he prompts and with some trepidation, they all go to the wooden boats bobbing on the small dock.
Harriet jumps into hers and helps Hermione up, Ron almost falls into the water and by magic, doesn't sink when Hagrid climbs in. He holds the biggest and brightest lantern. The boats begin to move across the water and in the direction of the huge castle.
"You must be a Potter," Hagrid says suddenly. "Ah, I remember James Potter very well. He nearly flipped his boat over by playing with Sirius Black. I think Remus was close to tears." he relates with amusement and Harriet nods.
"They told me that if I'd been with you, maybe that wouldn't have happened. They also wanted to know if it wouldn't sink in with a lot of people on top of it."
"They sure have told you too many things about Hogwarts." hisses Hagrid and Harriet nods. She links arms with Hermione to give her some reassurance. Being that the girl looks close to fainting from nerves.
When they reach the shore, they stay at the front of the group. There are lots and lots of children climbing the stairs of the huge castle. Hermione keeps looking around, eyes sparkling with excitement and pulling Harriet by the arm to show her off. Ron blurts out witty remarks every now and then. The third says nothing. Silent between the two of them too excited to be here, to have someone to talk to to begin with; Harriet from one second to the next causes the lights to get brighter than before.
"So what they say is true" Harriet turns to the speaker. "Not only did you come from the only Potter descendant there is, you also have a lot of magic on you. You look like a walking beacon."
Among the group and standing on other steps is a girl with platinum blonde hair, so straight that it drips down her shoulder. Backcombed and showing off her white forehead. Grey eyes, delicate skin and the look of a perfect child, a dream child. Harriet can't shake the feeling that her mother would be very happy she was like that.
That she was born a redhead, that she liked to wear a skirt and comb her hair and stuff... She shakes her head a little, somewhere between embarrassed and a little self-conscious.
"I'm Malfoy, Drakonys Malfoy, although my parents call me Draco." She extends her hand towards Harriet. "It's nice to meet you."
"It's nice to meet you..." she murmurs between embarrassed and a little dazed. "It's true what they say about your family... Apart from the magic, your hair is very blonde."
"Yes. It is. Nicer than yours, too." Harriet drops her eyebrows, wow, she thought those comments would be passe and left in preschool. "We could be friends, even though you're a half-blood," she points with her hands behind her back. "And you've been talking to a muggleborn and... that red-haired thing over there." The way his gesture varies from boredom to disgust at Hermione and Ron is to be admired. "What do you think? That'd be a good plan."
"No thanks."
Drakonys furrows her eyebrows and the confusion on his face is clear.
"Uh?"
"I said no thanks. I'm not interested." Harriet grumbles pushing her hair back with one hand. Drakonys squints her eyes and clicks her tongue in annoyance.
"Well, that's your problem. When you end up in Slytherin and you're on your own, it'll be your own foolishness." He warns and returns to his seat with a small group. Harriet rolls her eyes and folds her arms, thoroughly displeased. Drakonys glances sideways at her with some resentment.
She's strong. She has too much magic. So much that she gets out of control, but she doesn't cause disasters, it just reacts to her emotions. Her parents have always told her that she should watch out for, look out for, and associate with strong but manipulable people. That way she would have many allies and in the long run, it would be good for the family. Of course, she doesn't understand everything yet, but as far as she does, she knows that Harriet would have been convenient.
Unfortunately, that was not the case.
"Who does she think she is?" asks Hermione quietly. "She looked at us like we were trash."
"It's the Malfoy's. They think anyone without blood purity, they're trash," explains Ron simply. "Harriet is a half-blood, but being Potter goes into being more or less important to them, but it doesn't matter! They're bad. They all go to Slytherin. Only evil wizards come out of Slytherin."
"Like who?"
"It's just that there's so many of them, I can't remember the names."
Hermione judges him with her eyes and Harriet grows impatient that they're not just moving on quickly and already. She wants to get through the ordeal by sitting at the Gryffindor table. An older woman comes through the huge doors and stands in front of them all, clasps her hands together and smiles. Her emerald green robes match her hat.
"Welcome, I am Minerva McGonagall, your Transformations teacher and the next Head of House for many of you," she announces with a smile of excitement and enthusiasm. "It is now time to move into the Great Hall for your house selection. Keep together, no straying and follow the instructions."
Hermione takes Harriet by the hand and they enter first. Both looking up at the enchanted ceiling. Hermione goes around saying things she read about it, Harriet doesn't pay too much attention to it, more fascinated in seeing it rather than thinking about how it was made and how many books it comes out in. Ron is in a similar state, glued to the Potter's arm.
Principal Dumbledore's little welcome is... boring. Very dull. It felt unnecessarily long and the beginning of the selection became insufferable. Harriet knows she's going a long, long way after that, her surname's fault. She'd rather be Evans and get the martyrdom over with quickly. First to go is Hermione, talking herself down.
Sitting down, Harriet and Ron give her the thumbs up, with Harriet giving her the lion gesture. Wanting to be all together.
"I see a lot of intellect in you" Hermione startles slightly as the hat speaks. "A lot of intelligence, a lot of ability, you'd make a perfect Ravenclaw..." She bites her lips and furrows her eyebrows. That's the quintessential scholar's house, "nevertheless All this rebelliousness! All this strength...! GRYFFINDOR!"
Hermione smiles and McGonagall gives her a little curtsy with a smile. She skips over to the table and is greeted by a red-haired boy who reminds her very much of Ron. He must be one of the many brothers she mentioned having.
"Drakonys Malfoy."
The blonde walks up and sits on the stool, crossing her leg at once. Tom pays attention for a moment. The Sorting Hat barely grazes Drakonys' head. "Slytherin!" she grins towards Harriet who is licking her reddened lips from eating them. Tom returns to his reading, turning the page. Drakonys sits up and...
"Harriet Potter."
She takes a deep breath and sits down on the stool. The Sorting Hat barely covers part of her messy black hair. Tom lowers the book for a moment to look over there. She is too small and too thin. It's noticeable because of the oversized clothes that are slightly slippery. On the other hand, it's also strange that she wears trousers as a girl. Is there nothing against that in the rules?
"A Potter... how curious... how curious... where shall I put you? All this ambition inside you, all this desire to be great. You could be a Slytherin just fine." Harriet furrows her eyebrows, inwardly asking for anything but Slytherin. Tom narrows his eyes, What's taking so long, what's that old hat saying? "So not Slytherin. That's pitiful. You don't see what it could make of you. The grandeur, the companionship, all that being among snakes can bring. That being the case I'm going to put you in... GRYFFINDOR!"
"Welcome Miss Potter."
Harriet smiles in pure excitement towards McGonagall and practically crushes Hermione once she goes to sit down. To no one's surprise, Ron is also left in Gryffindor and with that, Harriet considers the start to be more than perfect. For a brief moment she notices Tom watching her from the table in Slytherin.
"Who is he?" she asks Fred, one of Ron's brothers. One of the Weasley twins. Famed for being a walking bombshell.
"He's the prince of Slytherin."
"Tom Riddle." concludes George, the other twin.
"He's just a stuck up prig," Fred states nonchalantly, Tom returns to his food. "Some say he's a descendant of Salazar Slytherin, that his eyes are red because he drinks snake blood and stuff like that."
"Don't be left alone with him. His magic is horrible," says another person at the table, being Oliver Wood. "He makes the sunniest day turn into the worst winter."
"He's exaggerating," says George.
"He loves to scare." Fred continues.
Harriet doubts this is the case. She's seen what he can do and noticed it. That huge black mist on him is unnerving. However, she is a little curious about it.
Chapter 2: Act. 2. Rivalry and sympathy
Chapter Text
Act. 2 Rivalry and sympathy
The days at Hogwarts are spectacular. Although over time Ron and Hermione have started to clash, as she is very studious and he is very lazy, not to mention that Ron is quite repellent at times; Harriet keeps up well with both of them. Often the only one capable of getting them to reconcile and not be hating each other for stupid reasons.
Classes are going almost as well, Potions is a nightmare. She doesn't know why Professor Snape hates her to the extent of taking points off for not cutting the ingredients millimetrically exact, but she supposes it can't all be that good. The current Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher is also strange around her. A constant and irritating stare. Otherwise, pretty good; spectacular in her grades thanks to Hermione helping her study in the girls' dorm.
Apart from the two of them, she has no others that she is close to. Just acquaintances she can talk to from time to time, all the Gryffindor boys are part of that category and... Her worst nightmare happens:
"She looks like a boy."
James told her not to be intimidated by the comments, but it's starting to get tricky with how pushy they are. She likes to have short hair, so it is less complicated to deal with and also allows her to see better when she flies on the broom; the skirt is uncomfortable and over the years, she has started to get self-conscious about her legs.
They are very thin and unlike her relatives, her skin becomes sickly pale. She doesn't like the way she looks and hides it well with a pair of pants. The skirt exposes her and makes her feel pathetic among the others. Especially with Drakonys around.
Who called herself his rival practically. There isn't a situation where they don't compete and get into a standoff. It's frustrating.
Being November, the cold weather is here and Hermione and Ron fighting makes her lose her patience. Harriet doesn't want to see them for a while. It's as if they are directly expecting her to reconcile them and what a bummer! She went to go into the library. It's freezing outside, she has endless potions homework.
It's urgent to be in here.
"In theory... I should be able to catch up. Theoretically. Might as well burn this whole place down."
He looks with deep frustration at the bookcase where the huge tome he needs is. The ladder is nowhere to be found, the book won't fly on its own, and in general, his only option would be to levitate it to take it. At the same time, she is uneasy about burning it by accident. Her magic is quite given to tasteless pranks.
"Well, worse is nothing... Wingar-"
"Here."
She nearly falls on her face when the book is placed in her arms. Being heavier than she is. Looking ahead, she finds Tom, who with a scowl and a displeased gesture stares at her.
"Thank you." Harriet stammers.
"Don't burn the library. I haven't finished what it's good for."
"I-I didn't mean to." She straightens up and takes the book better. "You're Tom, aren't you?"
"Ummm..."
"I'm Harriet Potter." She introduces herself by extending her hand and Tom rolls his eyes, frowning.
"Yes, impossible not to know who you are with the pointless stir you cause" Tom notifies and Harriet picks up her hand. "Not to mention how profoundly useless you are at potions." The girl reddens.
"How are you supposed to know that if you're a second year?"
"Hogwarts is about as gossipy a castle as you're likely to find. It's worth noting that anyone who's even minimally decent at potions wouldn't look that book up." Tom points out and Harriet looks at him for a moment. It's a normal reference book. Turning back to Tom, she finds him sitting reading with a pile of books around him.
He gives a snort and turns away to go somewhere else.
"Idiot."
Tom sees her out of the corner of his eye, rolls them over and goes back to what he's reading.
"They should only levitate in the air. Nothing more."
Harriet stays a good few inches off the ground. What the flight teacher demands. Next to her, Hermione having difficulty being stable, Ron falling every now and then; in front of Harriet is Drakonys, grimacing confidently at her clear ability. Harriet is still grumpy from her little encounter with Tom and if it weren't for the fact that she likes flying lessons, she would be in a worse mood.
Impressively, even flying lessons are ruined:
"Neville Longbottom! I said levitate close to the ground!"
The poor Gryffindor boy flies too high and ends up accidentally taking flight. The amount of pirouettes and punches he takes is beyond name. It's huge, too much, unstoppable. It ends with the boy falling miserably to the ground, breaking an arm and having to stop class. Harriet pulls her hair back and pouts.
"Do you think I should help Neville? He's doing so badly, I'm starting to worry. He won't have any bones to break." Hermione and Ron nod.
"You're the best at flying," Ron affirms. "A tip or two would do us all some good." Harriet scratches her head. She's sure the others can do it alone. Neville... Neville needs electro shock therapy with everything. It's obvious he has potential and abilities, he's just too clueless about magic.
He's a sweet kid in Harriet's opinion.
"Huh, look what Longbottom left lying around" Harriet turns her head, having heard Drakonys. The girl fiddles with Neville's reminder. It came to her just this morning as a gift from her mother. "Looks like he forgot to skip so he wouldn't humiliate himself." The rest of Slytherin laughs at her dismissive comment.
"Give it to me," Harriet asks holding out her hand. "I'll give it to you when we're in the common room."
"Ummm... No" She tosses it and catches it. Her long blonde hair combed into a high ponytail flowing down her shoulder; lips with a light gloss and her pale skin looking like perfect porcelain under the sun. Her princess-like appearance is only reinforced by her cocky, insufferable attitude. "I'll keep it and if you want it, you'll have to ask me for it."
"By what right do you think you can do that? Just give it to me Malfoy." demands Harriet again. Drakonys gets on the broom upright, Harriet can't even explain how she flies in that position.
"If you want it sooooo badly take it from me and if he wants it so badly, let him look for it on the ceiling."
Harriet tries to snatch it out of his hand, but only manages to fall face first to the floor as Drakonys moved out of the way. The girl giggles before climbing nicely onto the broom, sideways and as if she were a lady on a horse. She goes at full speed to the roof to throw it. Harriet gets up in a hurry, grabs Hermione's broom and sets off at full speed. The broom between her legs, her uniform full of dirt, her glasses crooked and with a broken glass.
Drakonys throws it with all her might and gives an exclamation of fright as Harriet passes in front of her, nearly knocking her over. Harriet reaches out, even with the fracture in the glass and the light there, her eyes stay fixed on the transparent sphere and she catches it before it hits a pane of glass. Harriet makes a full turn on the broom to stop without crashing.
She sighs with relief, not realizing that the window she almost goes through is McGonagall's office. The woman looks out, somewhere between surprised and pondering what to do in this situation. Harriet flies back, with everyone in Gryffindor going to celebrate her for getting it. Drakonys snorts in disgust, doing her hair back and walking with the rest of her retinue of Slytherins.
"Miss Potter!" Harriet cringes, sniffling for air. Oh no... "I said everyone on the floor!" reprimands the professor. "To my office! Right now!"
"Too bad Potter." taunts Drakonys from afar, having put the broom on the ground.
"She was flying too!" accuses Harriet.
"Yes! She threw Neville's reminder!"
"If Harriet didn't go, it would be broken or lost."
"It was her!"
"Silence!" Orders the teacher. "Five points off for Gryffindor and Potter to my office." She insists amidst Gryffindor grumbling.
Harriet gives a snort, reluctantly leaving the broom on the floor, shaking the dirt off her face and walking towards the inside of the castle. Drakonys is still laughing, taunting her friends.
. . .
"Drakonys threw Neville's reminder and I just-"
"The explanation is not going to negate that he bluntly disobeyed Professor Hooch's orders and will have to serve a punishment for it" Harriet holds in frustration. "However, the reason I had her come in after this affair is not to follow up with a bigger punishment."
"A-ah no?" Harriet fears she'll say the worst possible thing: she'll tell her parents. Lily is going to want to kill her. It's barely two months since she got in and she's already with a summons and a punishment. McGonagall denies.
"You may come in Oliver." she announces toward the door. A third year student enters the office. Harriet waves and turns her face to the teacher. "I've already found your seeker." she states with a smile of delight and a mischievous twinkle in her eye.
"Excuse me?" stammers Harriet incredulously.
. . .
"So even though you got a month's punishment, they also made you the seeker of the quidditch team?" sums up Hermione with a gesture of shock. "Now that's lucky. Just before they held the auditions to get in" whistles the girl and Harriet eats with a huge smile on her lips. She swallows the huge mouthful and adjusts her still broken glasses. "Aren't you too little though? Freshmen aren't supposed to be able to."
"Yes I can. My godfather gave me a permission slip," Harriet clarifies. "He's going to be so happy when I tell him- Ah! I'll tell him to buy you something! I'm sure he'll be happy. He's very fond of Muggle-born wizards. He says they're like little puppies learning to see the forest."
Hermione blushes, somewhere between embarrassed and happy about it. She is curious about Harriet's whole family. She talks with such emotion and affection about all of them. Even her mother, from whom she admitted to being a little distant. She didn't state a reason, just that it's not very affectionate between the two of them.
"Since your parents graduated, Gryffindor hasn't won the cup again," Ron commented with his mouth full to Hermione's disgust. "It would be great if you bring the cup back to the house."
"Phew, no pressure huh?" he stammers with an uncomfortable grin. "Oliver got knocked out by a crazy bludger and was left in a coma for two weeks Haven't you thought that might happen?"
"Nah! You'll be fine!" assures Ron after biting into a turkey leg. "You just have to look for the Snitch."
"And that's why I could get knocked out!"
She feels squeezed from the sides, having Fred and George on her left and right. She blinks repeatedly. Fred fixes a few strands of her hair and George does the same with her glasses.
"We'll take care of you."
"And we'll make sure you get it."
"So you relax Harry, you're going to make it."
"No pressure." they say at the same time and he definitely has more pressure on her.
Harriet takes off his glasses for a moment, she's forgotten to fix them or ask Hermione to do it. She's deeply afraid won't do it right. She needs them, she has mole eyesight. She is profoundly blind without them. She puts them back on and even with the discomfort, she goes about collecting the books she will need for her homework.
She usually fetches one at a time, but with quidditch training she's afraid she'll need more time. The walk from here to Gryffindor is quite long. Her entire existence is consumed with walking back and forth... Why don't they make portals...? As Harriet picks everything up, her glasses slip down her eyes and she has to scrunch up her face more and more.
In the end, Harriet can no longer read anything. She abruptly leaves the books on the table, without seeing who is sitting there. Harriet adjusts her glasses and curses between her teeth as the glass cracks further.
"Don't you know a simple repair spell?"
Harriet looks to the side, between the cracks is Tom. The boy looking bored and half irritated at the interruption to his reading. Harriet gives a snort.
"I do know how to do it, I just don't want to risk ruining my glasses. I can't see anything without them."
"I can tell. Do you want to bake a cake?"
Harriet picks up the last book in the stack and complains aloud, it's a cookbook why is it even here? She reluctantly puts it in the first space she can find. Tom exhales shaking his head. He stops and makes her stand up straight in front of him. He taps his wand a couple of times.
"Oculus reparo."
The glasses return to their perfect state and Harriet looks up, peering slightly over them. Tom furrows his eyebrows Why are her eyes so green? They are spectacular, it gives him chills and at the same time, he realizes that his magic comes out for no reason at all.
Harriet half-opens her lips and freezes, frightened by the cold, dark current that gushes out of Tom, wanting to swallow ehr at the very least. She grabs the stack of books and hurries away, her expression disfigured.
"You're welcome, little brat." Tom whines under his breath, wanting to ignore how his magic did nothing but sink into her and as a result, he is now the one who is blinded How could anyone have such white magic?
"Is there ever a time when you're not in the library?" whines Harriet as Tom grabs books from the top, scanning the interior with speed.
"Unlike you who wastes your time, I must use it better." he replies without even looking at her. Harriet gives a snort.
"Thanks about my glasses." she grumbles before walking away. Tom shrugs and continues his search.
"You who seem to know a lot What book is useful for me to study potions?
"Your family invented bone potion and don't you know how to make a damn soapy solution? Essentially, soap." replies Tom without looking up from the book he's reading. Harriet blanches her eyes.
"They made it about a hundred years ago. I wasn't even in my dad's testicles by then, basically because they didn't exist" Tom raises his face, wrinkled and with obvious disgust. "Tell me what book I use. If you don't, I won't stop bothering you."
Somewhat surrendered and fearful that Harriet will make good on her threat, he rummages through the higher areas to find the one that best suits Harriet's needs. She thanks him with a smile and hurries off. Tom returns to his business.
"Harriet."
"Uh?"
"The... Lights."
Harriet looks around. The candle flames and lamps louder, a consequence of her magic coming out everywhere and however she feels like it. She tries to control it, but it keeps coming out and it's a bit irritating. He looks for why it's happening, following where it's going and where he has a feeling it should go.
The surprise is mild, cocking his head to find Tom asleep with a stack of books to his right. Hiding at the last table in the library as usual. Harriet notices the dark mist that gushes from him, the reason her magic shoots out every second. It shouldn't be strange that they "communicate" so much.
They are strong, opposing magics. What Harriet doesn't understand is what exactly is going on Is it repulsion? Is it fear? Is it like? Is it dislike? Is it danger? Tom asks himself the same question, opening his eyes and finding Harriet there peering out.
"Do you need something? " Tom asks quietly and Harriet straightens up, tugging at his fingers and grimacing sheepishly.
"No. Sorry. It's just that the lights started to fail, my magic went into meltdown as usual and I wanted to see what was wrong." she explains awkwardly. Tom reaches up and cricks his neck. He rubs the area and Harriet sounds her lips.
"Our magics react a lot. That's all."
"It doesn't react like that with anyone else."
"I can say the same."
The Gryffindor leaves and Tom looks to the right, finding that part of the seat is frozen. He rubs his face with both hands. He was so deep he didn't realize how he'd been looking for Harriet. It's a little embarrassing.
"Suddenly it stopped being so cold too." comments Hermione pending on what she reads. Harriet takes a seat again and Ron gives a loud snore. Harriet fantasizes for a while, trying to understand the reason why every step she takes near Tom, her magic fusses around looking to connect with him.
"You fly very well Harriet. By the first game we're sure to have those one hundred and fifty points."
Harriet is thrilled by Oliver's certainty. To have fulfilled his expectations generates pride in her abilities. She says goodbye to him and goes to Hermione and Ron, who came to watch her practice despite the polar cold. He is very grateful to Hermione. She cares so little about Quidditch that she literally came for affection.
Ron on the other hand starts the barrage of information about what she did right, what she did wrong. It irritates her a bit that he criticizes her so much. She's not going to play exactly the same as the professional players and she doesn't have the same stats as them either. Most of them are heavy, they have to make sudden movements. She is so light that her broom moves faster. Even being the ones the school has and they're no big deal.
"Physically, it's much easier for her to go downwind." Defends Hermione.
"But what's she going to do if the snitch doesn't go that way. She has to always go upwind because the others will." justifies Ron.
"My thirty-five kilograms of existence without being carried by the wind." ironizes Harriet.
Hermione opens and closes her mouth Does she weigh that little? Even for her size, that's nothing. He's seen her in her pajamas and she's tiny. Even she can't explain how Harriet is so thin. She doesn't seem to have enough food.
Worst of all, she's better than when she arrived.
"I have a game sequence from Bulgaria last year. I can show it to you so you can see what I mean." proposes Ron and Harriet nods. She wants to see it. What Ron thinks she should learn from there is all the same to her.
They get to the castle and at the entrance Drakonys is talking to her entourage. Harriet doesn't even feel like going near her, but unfortunately she notices her first. The blonde rises from her seat and her walk is one where she practically floats. Her ethereal and perfect presence helps to discomfort Harriet effortlessly. The girl has been giggling and teasing her even earlier.
"I thought the Potters had money, but clearly they shop at the same place as the Weasleys." sneers Drakonys. Harriet furrows her eyebrows. She's not going to put on her best clothes to fall to the floor. It's basic for anyone.
"Sorry to disappoint you, I forgot your clown party was today." Harriet replies grumpily. Drakonys rolls his eyes.
"You're going to the hobo one Haven't you ever thought it's bad to cheat on people? You're a pervert stuck in the girls' room?"
Harriet purses her lips. Sure, in such big, baggy clothes she looks like a boy. Not helped by her still not quite defined features and short hair "Let's go, it's not worth it. " Hermione takes her arm so they continue on their way. The area is full of students. It's the weekend, there's a desire to play in these plains, it's nothing unusual. Drakonys pulls out his wand and says the spell under his breath as soon as Harriet turns her back about two meters away.
The sound of breaking cloth makes everyone look in that direction. Drakonys chokes on her own laughter. "What's with those legs?! Haven't you ever seen the sunshine you chicken lady?"
Raucous laughter accompanied murmurs and signaling. Drakonys ripped Harriet's pants. Her goal was to leave her in her underwear, that would be more embarrassing. However, the sight of her shapeless, starving legs is also one of the best things that could have happened. She also ripped part of her shirt and they can see that on her torso, ribs are marked for no reason. He pushes Hermione and Ron away and runs off .
. . .
Tom has a feeling that there is something going on in the library, but he doesn't know what it is. Tom takes a little tour and is surprised to find Harriet in one of the less-used areas of the library. The lioness sobs and restores the fabric of her pants quite easily. Tom furrows his eyebrows, her legs are very thin and it almost gives the impression that Harriet has never eaten properly. He recognizes that this is what many children at the orphanage look like. Which makes the picture even more depressing.
"I know they're horrible, why does everyone have to know." she sniffles to herself, ending the process. The fabric is too delicate, it will do to get to the common room and put something else on.
Tom hides, watching her leave. Her coarse, masculine appearance being worse with her noticeable disarray. He doesn't comment on it, it didn't get his attention and it didn't need to either. At lunchtime the whole Slytherin table was talking about it. Saying that the Potters also fell into ruin, like the Weasleys, so their daughter is starving. Occasionally he turns his attention to Harriet at the Gryffindor table, where there doesn't seem to be much conversational distance.
She's cowering, pouting and eating hurriedly, being the first to bolt for her common room.
"Did you know your brother's goddaughter has chicken legs?" taunts Daphne to Regulus who laughs through his nose.
"The mini-beast is half chicken, lion head and monkey body. She's always been disgustingly deformed." Regulus scoffs. Tom rests his chin on his palm. He doesn't consider it a fair complaint. From the age of eleven the body really starts to take shape. Only some are blessed to have it happen earlier. Like himself or even Drakonys.
Divert his attention, the now so called little princess of Slytherin always with her airs of grandeur and pedantry. As if she owned the entire house. He supposes it's time to give her a reminder.
"Tom Riddle has been watching you." whispers Blaise and Drakonys smiles excitedly.
"Perhaps he recognizes that if there must be two people in charge of Slytherin, it must be me and him."
"You like him? He's handsome." mentions Adelaine Murton.
Drakonys doesn't respond. Yes, he is handsome, but she doesn't feel particular attraction to him and it's a bit strange. She doesn't know why she is incapable of such thoughts. A drawing comes into her hands and she can't resist laughing, being a doodle of Harriet with her hair in a tangle and chicken legs while wearing a hideous skirt.
"The official portrait of Harry Chicken Potter." between giggles they continue to add about names to the subject.
She tears up the letter and throws the remains in the trash. Throws herself on the bed with the curtains down and crawls under the sheet. Telling her dad about this will be a waste of time What is he going to do? James can't do anything and she doesn't want there to be a lecture trying to convince her that she has nothing to be ashamed of. Yes there is! Her body is horrible. It makes a point of looking sick and hates it. She has never liked anything about herself. Her comfortable style she likes because it is as she said, comfortable, plus it covers up everything she hates.
From a very young age she is aware of this. In preschool everyone said things about her hair. About her face. About her small and thin body.
She tucks her face into her pillow and takes a deep breath. Sirius told her that if she gets teased, don't make a big deal out of it and if it hurts, talk it over with someone you trust until you get over it. Turn the teasing into something she can join in on. She is clear on how to get her to stop teasing.
"Harriet caught the golden snitch! GRYFFINDOR WINS THE MATCH!"
Harriet raises the snitch, with a wide smile of triumph. The disappointment in Slytherin grows as do the cheers of excitement in Gryffindor. The whole team goes to Harriet to carry her and celebrate their first catch. The most comical part of the whole thing comes on the way out, where Harriet walks past Drakonys laughing.
"I didn't know Slytherin was so bad to lose to a flightless bird."
She waves goodbye and the team laughs about it. No doubt the jeering would subside a bit. Harriet doesn't exactly feel better, but at least Drakonys no longer has her pedantic sneer on her face.
Chapter 3: Act. III Lion and Snake in the Snow
Chapter Text
"Is everything a-okay?"
"Yes. Thank you for asking, Professor." Harriet shrinks back a little uncomfortably Is it so obvious that she's being bullied? Drakonys kept scattering notes teasing her. As much as she wants to tune it out, it's hard when the problem keeps screaming in her ear.
"I-I've noticed you a little d-distracted these days" Quirrel explains and Harriet shrugs. "S-so much so that you do s-spell a little wrong."
"Ouh... Sorry. I'm going to practice."
"I can help you. Right now I-I'm free." Quirrel informs with an affable, goofy smile. Harriet smiles and nods with an excited leave. That means she'll be able to improve more. She could help Hermione, Ron and Neville with this.
Professor Quirrel's presence is one that starts from the first moment everyone teases her about her legs. Secretly, almost every afternoon she practices spells with him. Sometimes they talk about other things. Harriet never tells that she spends time with him, thinking it would be a problem if he helped her more than other students.
He reminds her a bit of her dad, so when they've accidentally hugged - or so he says - she hasn't pulled away or felt anything strange. At most, that it fills a very specific void. When the discomfort about her looks and body intensifies, it's impossible for Quirrel not to know and a strange situation comes.
"You're a very pretty girl Harriet. I'd say l-the prettiest "he strokes her hair and Harriet closes one eye, her glasses askew at this. "D-don't be distressed. You're pretty. V-very pretty "Quirrel promises with a smile and strokes Harriet's cheek. "If y-you have m-more trouble, you just have to tell me and I'll help you."
She nods and hugs him. He reciprocates, his hands on her childish waist and pulling her close. Harriet feels it strange. Her dad doesn't feel strange, but he does. He doesn't know why. Maybe because he strokes her back a lot, her hip, and thinks he felt her hand on his buttock. He chalks it up to his imagination.
And apart from help, hugs and constant looks, Quirrel all the time tells her she's a pretty girl, without taking his hands off her.
The Christmas spirit, as usual, is felt throughout the castle except in Slytherin. The lost game and their usual sobriety make them the coldest house at Hogwarts. It's decorated, but it's not exactly festive. For Tom it's exactly the same as always with a couple of extra lights. His real problem is that this time he won't be able to stay in the castle to spend this time. They will be doing some sort of cleanup and recounting of the resources they have.
He doubts it can't be done with the students present. What change does it really make? None, just annoying him. He decides to go to the library, hoard as many books as he can and so take them to the orphanage. He'll have something better to do than watch the hours go by and put up with the other kids. He just hopes there won't be any more. There are enough of them already and he can't stand them.
He notices Drakonys with her usual entourage. It's almost ridiculous to Tom that she thinks she's such a big deal. There's nothing special about her other than everything her parents gave her. From looks to last name. Her magic is pretty average and that, is what Tom considers the most important thing of all.
No amazing magic, why all the fuss?
He hasn't had time to bring her down from her cloud. It's a very annoying task. So is she.
Tom arrives at the library, takes everything in his stride and stays a while to read. The space silent as usual.
"I live in Godric Valley, it's quite far from London, but we have Red Flu and if we open it at your house, I could get straight there."
"My parents would have a heart attack," says Hermione in a daze. Harriet taps her chin, trying to make a plan to go out one day with Hermione for a walk. "Why don't you just have your parents show up at the bus stop and we'll meet you there?"
"Ooooor you can go to my house, then we walk around the Valley; have a sleepover and then go to the movies."
Hermione folds her arms and judges her with her eyes. Harriet smiles with a shrug. She can't help it, she wants her parents to meet Hermione. Ron will be easier, James knows Arthur Weasley and meeting up for Christmas is almost a given now that there is this extra nexus. Hermione is a bit more complicated because her parents will be taking her on a trip and for obvious reasons, it won't be possible to invite her to spend Yule or New Year's together.
"All you wanted to say is that Right?"
"Can I take that as a yes?"
Hermione laughs shaking her head, Harriet gives her victory. They go downstairs to the bright and warm Gryffindor common room. No presents under the tree since no one is staying. Something about inventories. McGonagall explains and only Hermione pays attention. The atmosphere is lively, somewhat rowdy and energetic. Ron joins them as soon as he sees them.
"My mom sent a letter. She said you and your family can come home for Christmas" Ron says cheerfully and smiling. "And...I'm sorry if she's getting you a present. She makes ugly sweaters."
"I want one. I love ugly sweaters."
"You can have my closet." he says puffing out his cheeks and they both laugh at his pessimism. They chatter the three of them together, heading down the tower to go entertain themselves with something.
In the end it turns out to be Hagrid's house, with him counting all his twists and turns and pirouettes of creatures he considers adorable, not cuddly, but would love to have in his care
Tom hears a faint ruckus and when he goes to peek out, he finds Harriet chattering with Hermione and Ron. Tom whites his eyes, closing the book he was reading and ready to hijack everything to go read in his room. Even for him they are too many, so he finds no way to carry them on his own. Harriet and her two companions notice the problem. The shortest of the three turns up her lower lip and turns to them.
"Let's help him."
"Why would we help a Slytherin?" retorts Ron. "They're mean. Also insufferable."
"I know an insufferable Gryffindor too" comments Harriet raising her eyebrow. "Besides, it's just carrying some books. It's not like we're going to lay down our lives for him."
"Yes. It's also about who helped you in potions isn't it?" comments Hermione and Harriet nods approaching Tom who is still doing mental calculations.
"We helped you?"
Tom furrows his eyebrows and stares at her. He must take it as a serious question or is it a joke. He was about to respond in a bitter and repellent way, but it dawns on him that well... They're Gryffindors! They naturally like to stay well with people who have reached out to them. He's helped Harriet with potions more times than he can count. So, in theory, this makes sense.
"Yes. I suppose it does." replies Tom with no change of expression.
"Why so many books?" asks Harriet taking ten, the least fat ones, that way she's not going to fall over and keep looking straight ahead
"I'll take them to read on vacation." answers Tom.
"Why read on vacation, it's vacation!" complains Ron helplessly. Tom rolls his eyes
"Some people enjoy reading, Ron. Just because you can't read two pages of a book doesn't mean that's the case for everyone" Hermione scolds "It must also be said that Tom is the best student in the school for a very clear reason. He wants to keep it that way."
Tom doesn't usually go by houses so much, he prefers to do it by magic. Hermione's is strong and it helps her to have intellectual ability to match. Somehow, he feels there's a slight chance of getting along with her. Not seeing her as an absolute pest. Ron on the other hand...
"Because Snape doesn't taker her points! Harriet would be top of the class if it wasn't for that!" argues the red-headed boy. "Drakonys takes all the credit."
"Harriet is bad at potions. It's as simple as that."
"I hate it."
"Now you're doing well."
"For Tom."
"And what does that matter!"
"Hermione would be top of the class, not me." retorts Harriet uncomfortably.
Tom senses a strange dynamic. Ron and Hermione talk an awful lot, not to say too much. Harriet is strangely quiet. She had a different picture in mind. He thought it was just with him and in general, but it turns out Harriet is actually quite shy. This being told she's the best at something doesn't sit well with her, she actually seems to want to mimic into nothingness.
"I've heard that Hermione is the best when it comes to theory, but Harriet practices it by dodging potions obviously" Tom interjected. "Naturally they're top of the course, but in different branches."
Ron grumbles under his breath and Hermione looks victorious for having the support of the eldest. Harriet for her part is with her head turned away, with the four of them on a ladder that started to move. Her face flushed and slight embarrassment regarding Tom indirectly praising her.
. . .
"Are you a service girl? wouldn't put it past you. Though with that skinny body of yours, you'd leave everything dirty."
Harriet walks past them to where Tom directs them to leave the books. She ignores Drakonys for her own good. This is not her common room and to cause a problem would be to involve McGonagall. Synonymous of absolute death. All three find the Slytherin common room and dormitory impressive. Cold, grey, nothing out of the ordinary, but it's huge and the view at the bottom of the dark lake is extremely worth it.
It surprises them that Tom has a single room. They thought they would all have to share with the others, but he even has a bathroom to himself. They leave the books on the tidy, but cluttered desk with other books.
"They all have single rooms? Wow, Slytherin is great at some things." praises Harriet looking at the elaborate ceiling.
"No," Tom lines up each book so he doesn't feel like he's having a crisis with the clutter. "Just me. It opened when I got there. Usually everyone sleeps with everyone else from their year."
"That's odd. I've never read anything about a single room." admits Hermione.
"Maybe the castle knows where the biggest snake is- Ow! Don't hit me!" Ron shoves Hermione. Harriet trips over something on the floor, falling. She adjusts her glasses and opens her eyes wide, breaking into a cold sweat. A long, huge snake crawls across the floor and climbs part way up Harriet's body."A SNAKE!" Ron jerks back violently, whimpering. Hermione freezes in place with the same shocked look on her face.
"Nagini, get down from there, you're going to scare her and I don't need a fuss."
"YOU'RE TALKING TO HER!?"
"She's got lots and lots of magic... She's tempting. Just like a lot of dogs I've seen in the woods, though."
"Anyway, come here."
Slowly, the snake slithers down Tom's arm until it's coiled around him and head on his shoulders. Harriet stands up, adjusts her glasses and shakes out her clothes.
"She's Nagini. She's my pet."
"'She'?! Pet!?"
"Can you talk to her, just like Salazar Slytherin?" Tom nods at Harriet's question. "WOOOW! THAT'S AMAZING!" Tom have never seen her so excited and the light grows so bright, the room is clearly not ready for it."Maybe that's why he has the room! He's a descendant of Slytherin!"
"That just makes him a worse viper."
"But he doesn't look like..."
"I'm an orphan," he announces cocking his head to one side. "Anything about my origin, I don't know."
"It would be great to find out that you're a Slytherin descendant." says Harriet with her arms crossed behind her head.
Tom shrugs and pats Nagini on the head. It was a rather strange afternoon spent with people he didn't think he would even interact with.
Watching Harriet eat, it's no wonder everyone thinks she's a boy. Her slouchy posture, stuffing her mouth and going so far as to burp with her mouth open is frankly disgusting. Tom doesn't know if it's some sort of game with the others, though. The boys at the table do it, the girls look on in disgust nothing more.
It's only a few days until the train to London and they haven't spoken since that little help and introduction to Slytherin and Nagini.
It's been like it didn't happen at all. Tom doesn't really care, he's not looking for it to happen again. He dislikes Ron and he's not in a position to need friendships lesser than him either.
However, it is curious how his attention tends to drift towards Harriet. It is as if something in the atmosphere is determined to make him look in that direction, without knowing that the same thing is happening to her. Whenever he has to look up, it is as if he must magically turn to Tom. When he eats, he looks like a prince or someone of the highest nobility. As refined and delicate as anyone would expect him to be.
Does he do it because of that? Or because he really is like that? Harriet doesn't know. It makes her a little envious, she has never been able to be so decent at the table. She gets exasperated very easily. Eating is eating. Why take so long? Sure, she won't go to the extreme of Ron simply devouring everything in front of her and stuffing her face and clothes with gravy, but a healthy in-between.
Playing with her buddies is all the same to her too, but she keeps having her mom's voice echoing in her head.
"Are you okay?"
Hermione's question came to notice the sudden dip in her mood. Harriet nods, gets up from her seat and goes to the common room. Everyone is still in the dining room, so she has valuable alone time.
Sometimes Harriet feels that her mom hates her and that she would be happier if she had been born a boy. It's sad, because she considers herself a woman and has no problem with that. She has a problem with what is expected of her that she can't achieve because it doesn't fit her current personality or ability. It's frustrating.... Harriet wish her dad was there to tell her that nothing she thinks is really a problem.
It's the last day at the castle and Tom feels like he's going to have a meltdown. He doesn't want to go to the orphanage. No matter how many books he carries with him, it will be torture and nothing more. He only has Nagini for intelligent conversations, which soon wears thin, she enjoys taking whole days wandering everywhere. He would love to be allowed to stay here, even if it is just being with no one else and putting up with dust.
To make matters worse, he went out to try to find an ingredient for a sleeping potion and now he's soaking wet from the snow.
"Damn cold! Damn cold!"
Tom turns to the right, Harriet stands beside him rubbing her arms. She's soaked too, the difference is that she's also muddy and her clothes are a mess.Casual winter clothes and dirty as if they were worn in the rainy season. Harriet shivers and looks to the right, finding Tom freezing and in his wet uniform.
"D-don't you have any more clothes?"
Tom gives her a bad look, not liking to talk about it. Harriet deflects forward.
"What are you doing here? I-I thought you had an umbilical cord to the library."
"I-I need... roo-roots of Morpheus."
"Hagrid has some."
"I won't ask that smelly giant for anything."
"Hey!"
Tom groans at the blow Harriet gives him, rubs the area and looks at him offensively. She's worse, her warm magic making him dry due to the way it gushes out.
"Don't speak trash of Hagrid!" Rolls his eyes. Tom forgot she's friends with that giant. "He won't give you anything now. Stay awake, you idiot."
They stay a few more minutes where they are, waiting for the storm to come down. It came as such a surprise that they still can't believe it's not a blizzard.The breeze hits so hard that Harriet's glasses fly off.
"OH NO!"
Tom helps her search at the cost of getting equally wet, they end up with purple hands and in the same thought, they run off towards the palace. Tom grabs her arm, the breeze is too strong and could send her flying. Harriet holds her glasses and when they finally enter the palace, she drops to the floor exhausted.
"FUCKING SHITTY WEATHER."
Harriet looks at him in shock, she thought he never stopped being perfect, but clearly his humor to the extreme brings down the princely facade. She can't resist laughing, irritating Tom who walks off like the wet chick he is.
Everyone on their way to the train station is synonymous with scandal. Just like the beginning of the year. Tom is the one with the worst temper, surrounded by his friends, but with no say in the conversation going on. He wants this damn day to be over, he feels connected to the previous one. He has a slight fever, but it will go down on its own as usual. His magic doing the work that medicine should do.
"Tom! Hey!"
Tom turns stopping, turning finds Harriet dragging her trunk, the cage with the white owl inside and her existential mess. Tom never thought there could be such a little girl. Her magic is the only thing worthwhile there. Harriet for her part is intimidated by Tom judging her with vibrant red eyes.
"A girl from Slytherin told me you have a birthday on the thirty-first of December" Tom curses through his teeth, it must have been Daphne. "And you also said you don't have- well, the point is: thanks for the help in potions. Merry Christmas, New Year and birthday."
He thought it was just saying that, but on the contrary, Harriet pulls out of her coat a small gift wrapped in crumpled paper by design and a little red bow. Tom takes it and curious, opens the packaging.
"It's a copy of a book by my godfather. I don't know if you know this, but he's a Black. Since you like reading so much and your magic is dark, I thought you could use it." she admits somewhat embarrassed. It wasn't hard to pick out a gift for her. I'd say easier than Hermione.
"Thank you." he says awkwardly and apologetically.
He never gets gifts. He's had a couple from his friends, but they've been more so he wouldn't be left out than out of genuine interest.Harriet steps back and Tom looks at the book until he sits down in the compartment.
"WHERE DID YOU GET THAT?! IT'S FROM MY FAMILY!"
"Harriet. She just gave it to me."
"She can't-"
"She's theoretically a Black, she can do whatever she wants." announces Daphne, enjoying Regulus' tantrums.Tom reads it on the way over, it's much better than the discussion starts.
"Come here!"
Harriet squeezes James in a hug and lets herself be kissed on the face by him. In the distance, Tom is able to see the interaction. As effusive and insistent as he has ever seen in any family. It's even in contrast to the Malfoy's, who barely greet their daughter and are already walking to the exit. Tom bows his head and the vague thought of going to say goodbye to Harriet crosses his mind. After all, she was very loving in giving him a gift and leaving an ambiguous relationship formed.
She's a pretty capable witch who wants to be great and he respects that a lot. Not to mention her overflowing magic. It could has of connection with her again. Even a little. Nevertheless, Tom withdraws without approaching. He is no one really, just someone who will help her in positions and little else. He takes a seat on one of the benches. He'll wait for the crowd to come down so she can go.
"WIN THE GAME! LOOK LOOK LOOK."
Sirius doesn't wait a bit to take her, celebrating he has the snitch in his hand. Lily smiles clapping her hands.
"First match and you've already won it. Definitely some gamer left in your veins." comments the redhead. Harriet is placed on the floor and James shrugs the trunk to carry it more easily. Harriet walks hand in hand with Sirius, telling him about the match. "Wow, that girl is really pretty."
Harriet looks in the same direction, finding Drakonys. She wears a pleated skirt, high stockings, dress shoes, a long-sleeved blouse, and her hair combed into a tight high ponytail. Her lips have a frosted gloss and the earrings match the bracelets and necklace. Harriet squeezes Sirius' hand, drawing his attention.
"They must be the Malfoy's. Their features are very distinctive."
"Um... their daughter looks like a princess" Lily folds her arms and drops her head to the side. "She's absolutely everything looks perfect. A doll. I'm even envious." she admits on a sigh and looks towards Harriet.
Who wears baggy pants, gray converses, gray shirt with a striped one on top; barely there tendrils. Small so as not to lose the slit in her ears. His hair is messy, his glasses crooked.
"Too bad my daughter is anything but interested in being pretty. It's like she has a child." she grumbles frustratedly to herself.
"Lily." scolds James in disgust. Sirius strokes Harriet's hand with his thumb and shakes his head. Noticing his goddaughter's discouragement at Lily's hateful comments.
"Do you want us to go candy shopping? There's a new store in Diagon Alley."
Harriet nods. Sirius carries her off and takes her away. Tom closes his eyes in anticipation. Lucius Malfoy for his part doesn't cut himself short when it comes to laughing at the sight of Harriet.
"Another good example of how mixing with dirty bloods only succeeds in creating unfunny animals."
Drakonys tilts her head, watching as Sirius walks hand in hand with his goddaughter, laughing with her and going so far as to carry her without concern for her age or weight. She clasps her hands together and furrows her eyebrows, lowering her head. No one in her family is that close. Not even her mother or father, much less her godmother or godfather. She wonders how he feels.
Tom clicks his tongue, annoyed that the kids won't stop fussing in the playground Is it so complicated not to shout? Why do they even shout? The atmosphere in London is so depressing, they should not be this animated. He hates orphanage children, Muggle children in general.
He closes his book, gets up from his place and decides to go to his room. There he could read better than here. Unless one of the orphanage matrons decides to bother him. They have always told him that he should keep a cordial attitude towards others, that he should blend in. Tom obviously doesn't care about any of that.
In the middle of his walk, he stares at the pathetic Christmas tree in the center of the common room.
It's so old, it's falling apart, the ornaments are hideous; it's an abomination of a Christmas tree. There are no presents underneath it. There shouldn't be any.
They are the gift to those desperate families or pedophiles with good acting skills.
"Tom! Come here!"
He rolls his eyes, reluctantly going to the headmistress caller.Just what I needed .
. . .
"An exam...?" Tom repeats slightly confused. The woman senses. The one who runs the orphanage is a stout lady with a creepy face.Anyone would think she is the real pedophile in the story. She has a strange history of staring at little girls. "What for?"
"A few years ago, you took an entrance exam to a much higher year than you would enter for your age. They sent us an invitation to measure your IQ and that way find out if you are someone gifted." the woman explains and Tom rolls his eyes discreetly.
"I am. That's why I'm at the best boarding school in Scotland."
That's the excuse he gave himself.
"Well now you have to prove you're one of the best in London, who knows, maybe in the long run you'll get a good university; you'll win competitions."
There's the catch, Tom thinks remaining upright. He wants to take advantage at the expense of that. Nothing that really surprises him.
"How cute!"
Harriet hugs Hermione more, all too happy that they let her stay over at their house. It's not exactly a mansion, but magical magnifiers do their thing. Needless to say, to Sirius, it reminds him an awful lot of Lily in her youth. However, he'd say she's the fun, more carefree version of her.
That's why Harriet caught her. Having no doubts about it. He rocks the snapshot, having taken one of both girls in front of the Christmas tree at the Potter house.The detail of them hugging is especially cute for the photo. Harriet goes to look while Hermione checks a bit with her eyes. Harriet didn't give her time to do so.
She likes the very familiar atmosphere there. It's very calm and warm.The family photos feature all three Potters. It's funny how similar Harriet looks to James, to the point where he looks like a boy because they are so alike. The hair, the glasses, the clothes; having met Lily is also... a bit awkward.
"Harriet..."
"It's cold! I'm not wearing that!" retorts Harriet without accepting the suggestion to wear a dress that is cute, it's also Harriet's favorite shade of red.
But it's short.
Hermione knows she rejects it because she doesn't want them to see her legs.
Lily knows about it?
"Lily, let's not start that now with a house guest." asks James through his teeth. Hermione pretends she didn't hear anything, paying attention to Sirius and what he says about what they can buy for dinner.
Being that he took responsibility for that, wanting to spend time with his goddaughter and her best friend.
Lily's calls for Harriet's attention seem to have no end and Hermione gets a little overwhelmed by it. She never thought it was possible, but Harriet downplayed how badly she gets along with her mom. Lily complains about her messy hair, her clothes, the way she eats, laughs, goes like a hotrod all over the house; to Hermione it's normal, Harriet is like that when she's in a familiar, solitary environment. If there are a lot of people around, she is more shy.
And what's wrong with that? She's not super feminine, nothing can deny that, however, what's the problem? James and Sirius don't seem to care and there's even a moment that stands out hugely for Hermione.
"I bought this in a hyper hidden place" Sirius announces pulling the box out of his pocket, "but I know you'd like it.There are many more models. If you keep winning matches and getting good grades, I'll buy you every model."
Harriet excitedly takes the necklace. It's magical, so it curls around her neck elegantly. The funny thing is that it is in the shape of a dragon. It is a very elegant garment and it fits the size of the wearer. Harriet rushes over to hug Sirius, grateful for the gift. She then shows it to Hermione and comments on what she might wear it with.
"I also brought this one for Hermione. I wasn't sure what she might like better, so I went for easy."
Hermione takes in the detail. It's a simpler necklace, but on the charm is a miniature unicorn wiggling.
"That one's cuter." opines Lily.
"I like the dragon better."
"You obviously like the dragon better," Lily exhales, crossing her arms. "It doesn't look good with those clothes Harriet. It looks good with a dress or a blouse." Harriet pouts and Sirius snorts shaking his hand.
"It looks good with anything. I think it looks lovely on you."
Hermione concluded that it is a constant battle between what "should" be and whatcan be.
Except for those moments of light, disguised bickering, it was all very good. She had never had so much fun at a friend's house. Mainly because she hadn't had one until now.
Chapter 4: Act. IV The differents christmas
Chapter Text
The principal is aware that the school he goes to is not a normal one. Still, she wanted to take a chance on this. Tom may be a genius, but he is aware that he needs to study. Otherwise he will be embarrassed and that is the last thing he can afford in this life.
The course of December is colossally boring. The only thing that saves him, is that he has been able to dose off the book Harriet gave him and with that, he is very happy. It is the most interesting reading he has had in a long time. Part of him wants to send her a letter to thank her and ask for some more reading if he can. He doesn't consider it over the top or disrespectful.
They are classmates or something. It's just like Harriet asking him for help studying. He doesn't intend to steal the book either. It will just be a loaner. Tom promptly dismisses the plan because he doesn't even know where she lives, plus it would be awkward in the fact that he's not going to tell her anything about Yule or Christmas. Whatever his family celebrates.
He decides to dose the book more. Make it yield a whole lot.
Christmas was spent with the Weasleys, they would also spend New Year's. At Christmas Harriet was bouncing all over the place with Ron. It was clear how the two of them are friends, though James was not fascinated by it. Ron is very smashing and Harriet somewhat shy when it comes to giving her opinion. She's in her discovery phase and James can swear that his daughter won't exactly be an extrovert or social person.
At best, someone quiet who can interact, but she's not looking for it.
It is worth noting that for that day she wore pants, a shirt, an oversized sweater and her hair as usual. Lily pretended not to be bothered by James' lack of support on the subject. This time Harriet has a dress. It's red, comes to the knee, she wears black stockings and James only senses the immense discomfort. Not just in the air, in her too.
"Are you sure you don't want me to wear another outfit?"
"No. It's fine." she replies swinging her feet back and forth.
Harriet likes the dress. She chose it, but now that she has it on she feels ridiculous. Her perception is quite a bit more horrible to the reality. She also doesn't like her hair with a spray of frosting, having lip gloss. She feels ridiculous. She feels it doesn't look good on her because she is not pretty.
Lily told her she looks pretty today and for no valid reason in her opinion, that made her want to cry. She was able to suppress it without a problem at least. Once at the Weasley's house, it was like stopping a bullet train. Ron looks her up and down, scrunching up his face. As Molly prattles on about how good Harriet looks, Ron just says:
"Why are you so stupid to wear a dress? It's cold and your legs are showing."
"Ronald."
Harriet clenches her hands and James notices how uncomfortable his daughter is. He knew this was going to be a bad idea. Indifferent to how much Lily insisted she was going to be fine how could she be? Harriet looked unconvinced from home and Ron's childish comment only made the situation worse. For most of the Christmas evening he sees her sitting on the couch, barely moving or talking to anyone. The Weasley children talking amongst themselves and getting up to their usual antics. Lily even takes a picture of Harriet, where she forces a smile, but her disappointment is captured.
"Harriet" James calls and she turns around. "Do you need anything?"
"No...I'm fine" she replies swinging her legs. "Did you bring the gift I asked for?"
"Uh? Oh, yes, yes I did bring it who did you say it was for?"
"It's for someone who helps me in potions at Hogwarts" explains Harriet checking to make sure the gift is well wrapped "He has his birthday today, but he lives in an orphanage. It's kind of sad that he doesn't have a present. I thought it might be nice to send him something."
"Yes. Actually it is" He concedes with a smile sitting down next to her. "What's this friend's name? That he's good at potions earns my respect. He hated that subject."
"His name is Tom. He's really annoying. All the time he's a sourpuss." grumbles Harriet and James is amused. She sounds like the typical girl substantiating that boys are stupids.
He accompanies her to send Hedwig off to carry the gift and then they return with a little more pep in their step. Harriet's shy attitude in contrast to Ron's constant teasing about the clothes is not a good combination. Although she's glad to have had a Christmas with her family and friends, she still feels silly about wearing a dress, not having her hair done and her legs being the center of attention.
I wish it was less of a bother....
The more Ron and his brothers talk about it, the more ridiculous she feels. Ron's little sister Ginny has cute legs; her mother has said she's a very pretty girl. James just can't seem to come up with a way for Harriet not to feel bad; the most that could be done is that Harriet pretended to be happy at all times so as not to dampen the mood.
Tom gives a snort of annoyance closing the book. He is able to understand everything he reads, but he must say it exhausts him and in mathematical terms he needs a little more help. Practice. He decides it's time to go to sleep, dresses in his clothes to rest and hears rattling at the window. He is surprised to see Harriet's owl standing there. He opens the window and lets it in. The tame animal leaves the package and goes to the coat rack to rest for a while.
Tom takes unwraps the package, which turns out to be another wrapper inside, this time with a letter tucked inside. He sits on the bed with the package in his hand and opens the letter.
"I guess your Slytherin friends sent you presents, buuuuut I wanted too. Happy birthday. See you at Hogwarts ⭐ have a happy new year." Atte. Harriet.
He opens his eyes slightly, surprised. He has a couple of gifts what arrived for him. Nothing impressive and even a bit bland except for the one from Daphne, who sent him a casual tunic and sweater to match. He opens the gift and what he finds, without exaggeration, excites him. It's a rather large set of inks and pens to use. The colors vary, the bottles have fantastic animal prints and from what he understands from the instructions, if he uses the specific incantation they will regenerate.
Basically infinite ink that looks like a collection. It's a very simple detail, but again: Harriet knew very well what to choose. It's something that Tom in his constant annotation and research will use and would undoubtedly like. In itself, the whole gesture is very nice of her. For no apparent reason and returning to his desk he writes a letter that he will send in the morning along with Hedwig.
Harriet shifts in bed. Uncomfortable. It's not an unusual thing for her to have nightmares. She's thankful this one was normal. After all, usually, every one she has is a bodily discomfort. It really hurts. She gets exhausted. She can't sleep alone and has the feeling that something is haunting her. Today's just annoyed. This time it was a pretty weird one where she stood naked in the great room. The problem is that everyone was laughing at her saying things to her. Not for being naked.
They said she looks starving.
That she looks like a plucked chicken.
That a turkey has more meat on it.
Deformed.
Ugly.
Malnourished
Ridiculous.
Pathetic.
Hideous.
The list went on and on and she hates feeling bad about it. She doesn't know what's wrong with her that suddenly everything makes her want to cry. Everything about her body gives her that reaction. She hides under the covers and lies there for hours. Harriet wants to pretend she is not being melodramatic. So she can go down to the kitchen without feeling stupid and eat some of the cake they brought from the Weasley house.
Harriet loves Molly's cooking. It tastes so good
She is forced to get up to open the window. She pets Hedwig as she takes the letter she brings. It comes from the orphanage where Tom lives, so it can only be from him. The letter is short, but it brings a smile to her face:
"Happy New Year to you too. I'll assume you had a good time with your parents and friends. Thanks for the gift and see you.
P.S: Snake ink is the best." Atte. Tom Riddle
Harriet laughs and puts the letter in the drawer where she puts Sirius' letters when she travels. Harriet knew Tom would like the gift. Snakes are just like lions: easy to understand tastes.
"Ugly legs."
"Ugly hair."
"Dumb."
"Ugly."
"You think you're important."
"You're so useless."
"Stupid."
"Fool."
Harriet wipes her cheeks with her hands, crying profusely. All the children around her saying nasty things to her and saying things she doesn't like. Her crying gets worse when they throw things at her. One after another they start hurting her!
"Daddy! I want my daddy!"
"She's a silly baby calling for her daddy!"
"Stupid! Stupid! Stupid! Stupid! Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!"
"Coward! Coward! Coward! Coward! Coward! Coward!"
"Ugly! Ugly! Ugly! Ugly! Ugly! Ugly! Ugly!"
It becomes unbearable, cowering in place with her hands over her ears and suddenly, pure silence. There is no one in the room. All the children simply disappeared. Her hiccups become loud and she is very cold. She turns her head towards whatever is causing the cold, finding a man there. This one holds out his hand to her with a small smile.
"Why the crying?" he asks in a whispering tone. "A creature as wonderful as you, cannot be overcome by insipid irrelevant beings."
Harriet reaches out her small hand, taking the opposite one. It's familiar, she just doesn't remember who it is. The man stands up and still holding hands, they walk towards the exit. It is dark. It's onminous. Harriet squeezes the gray-haired man's hand tighter, they get there and at the same time, she wakes up screaming hysterically. Hands to her neck and collarbone, face swollen and red. James and Lily look over, they think something bad has happened. Harriet cries as if something bad happened. They both slightly judge it to be a nightmare.
Harriet knows it's not real. She always has. It's scary, true, but it doesn't involve this screaming in the middle of the night. It resolved with the little girl asleep in the marriage bed and hugging her dad as if her life was depends on it.
It's been going on since she was six years old. It's happened at Hogwarts a couple of times, but he's been able to control not screaming and doesn't sleep the rest of the night. Even now, she'd like to know what cause it. What has her so scared. She hates it...
There are so many things about herself that she hates.
Chapter 5: Act. V. Bad timing
Chapter Text
Returning to Hogwarts felt as good as could be expected. Harriet and Drakonys are still getting along very badly. There is nothing to stop it. At the same time, can tell she has an established relationship with Tom. It is cordial and quite normal, but much more amiable than before. You can tell that, somehow, they struck a chord with each other.
If Tom has any. Harriet doesn't stop joking about it, Tom doesn't mind.
On a side note that Harriet has yet to decipher, she continues to have short sessions with Quirrell to improve her practical skills. She notices a great improvement and that perfection in content might be possible. Despite this, Harriet begins to sense something strange. She doesn't know if it is good or bad. It's just there.
Accompanied by that "you're such a pretty girl" which helps with a little extra self-esteem. Considering she can only trust male and adult figures. Boys call her ugly. Girls tell her she's ugly. Her mom told her she's not pretty.
Only men tell her that and without realizing it, she is urged to have this approval because it is the only approval she has.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
"So, suppose hypothetically speaking you do my intro-"
"I won't do your homework Ron."
Harriet laughs and nearly slams her forehead against the table. Ron's discretion leaves much to be desired. The redhead scrunches up his face and then looks at Harriet.
"Snape is going to fail me for the whole year from now on if I don't give him a good report. Help meeeeee Please Harriet!" He shakes her by the arm and Hermione looks up from her parchment. Harriet doesn't have time to speak.
"Don't. It's his duty. If you don't, he'll never learn." says Hermione. It's almost a scolding. Again, Harriet is left with her mouth hanging open. No time to speak.
"Don't be selfish, I need to pass!" whines Ron in exasperation.
"Then read the book and get to writing." Hermione demurs before returning to her homework.
"You two are so selfish and bad friends You want to see me repeat the year for getting a T!" whines Ron and Hermione rolls her eyes, still intent on her own potions homework about to finish.
"You just write something and then correct it. You write in pencil. Then in ink." proposes Harriet, trying to run the party peacefully between the three of them.
"That's going to take up my time."
"Harriet has time for homework, practice and attending classes. Surely you can do that because you have nothing else to do." chides Hermione. Harriet wanted to say something else to help, but Ron speaks up first.
"Of course she has time! She does if you help her! Between you two, you don't need it!"
"Of course I do!"
Ron answers him again, they continue to bicker, and Harriet is left awkwardly in the middle. It's totally real that these two are only good for fighting more than being friends. It's a wonder they can stand each other for a while. Turn to the Slytherin table, Tom writes some homework and responds to the conversation around it with his friendships. Or who they can be construed that way. Harriet turns up her lower lip.
She prefers to study with him. There she is not part-not-part of a discussion.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
Tom has found himself looking at Harriet and still thinks the same thing: there is nothing special about her except for her green eyes. It's not bad. Just as he doesn't think her a beauty, he doesn't consider her to be as everyone in Slytherin strives to put it. Ugly, little thing; they describe a real abomination and she isn't.
She's a girl of eleven and that's where it ends. In the realm of the physical he can make note of something else: she has a charming smile. It's like in those books where they spend a page describing the smile of the female character. Wide, beautiful, full of hope and joy. It's a gesture he can't say he's ever seen.
He likes her eyes and her smile. So bright and genuine. He wonders if others notice the same. After all, it's what would be worth mentioning. Not whether her legs are "ugly" or thin.
Tom is curious what happens when everyone here gets hit by puberty. Who knows what the hormones will do.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
"Y-you are pretty go-ood. I have no doubt you'll be va-valedictorian next to Miss Granger if you keep it up." Harriet smiles and returns her gaze to what she just transmuted. Quirrell offered to help her with Transformations as well and why not? He's a teacher. He knows more than just his area.
Lately, though, the man grabs her shoulders and arms. Harriet gets chills all the time and more than one glass has exploded. Her magic is restless and will react to her restlessness. It's something her dad, godfather and uncle do a lot. It's normal.
With Quirrell it doesn't feel normal.
James has told her a lot that if adults touch her, she should walk away and say so.
She is embarrassed to feel bad about something that is not bad, about a person who wants to help and is not a bad person. She continually belittles herself. It is a silly worry for no reason.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
Drakonys takes a discreet glance to her right, where Harriet writes down everything McGonagall says. She loses herself watching her. The big cheeks, the glasses sliding down her nose, and the hair as black as raven plumage. It's curls, it's waves, that mane simply has no shape at all, it just looks fluffy and messy. She gives a slight sigh, her cheek resting on her palm.
There's a lot about Harriet to observe. From the mannerisms to the physical. She is an ordinary girl. She's ugly from how ordinary she is. How coarse she is. Harriet raises her hand to McGonagall's question.
"A wizard can turn into an animal by being an Animagus, but any other wizard can turn into any animal they want. It has no bearing on his personality or magic. Animagi do."
"Very well Miss Potter. Five points for Gryffindor."
Harriet smiles huge and excited. Hermione is the one who usually wins the participation points. Affectionately, Harriet calls her "bookworm". Hermione takes it as a good thing, better than Ron calling her a "smart-ass". Drakonys gives a slight sigh, watching Harriet smile and mutter something to Ron before going back to jotting in her notebook.
Drakonys returns to her notebook, not remembering at what point she drew Harriet's profile. She makes a huge cross-out, annoyed.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
"Wait a moment, I must regain all the patience that just died."
Harriet stretches her lips down. She knows her question was a bad one. She is aware. After all, it's asking the very thing she started with.... After twenty-five minutes of explanation from Tom. She doesn't blame him for being angry at this point. She would also be exasperated and feeling like a waste of time.
"I-I'm really sorry. I'm tired from training, also from studying History, Transformations and Charms." she excuses embarrassed. Tom rubs his face with both hands and puts them together on the table.
"I'll start from the beginning again and if you don't understand, you get out of my sight. Understood?" Tom smiles strained and cruel, almost venomous. Harriet nods, flushed with embarrassment.
The explanation goes again and frankly, Harriet thinks Tom is speaking to her in another language. She doesn't understand how potions can be so complicated. Every day she is more and more convinced that this is why, there are magic spells: cooking is bullshit. It's essentially what you do in potions.
A soup.
That's the whole problem
A fucking soup ruins her life.
"Got that?" asks Tom with barely the capacity for interaction. Harriet purses her lips, looks at her notebook and tries to sort out her thoughts. Barely giving a soft stammer, Tom slams his fists on the table" . I walk away.
"Y-yes I understood. Half of it, but I got it!" she hurriedly assures me. Tom levitates the books into a pile so he can take them. "Help me Please! Tomorrow is the exam! Snape is going to destroy me if I don't have something decent!" Harriet leaves everything on the table to chase after Tom. "Please! Tom! Don't...!"
She grabs his arm and they both gasp in surprise. Harriet lets go abruptly, startled by the sudden spark that formed between the two. It wasn't repellent really. It was more like an accelerated bonding. Tom looks at her equally impressed, his body trembling. Harriet stammers backing up a couple of steps.
"S-sorry."
Tom can see the glowing white magic.
Harriet can see the deep, black magic.
The teenager sets the books aside and rushes over to grab her by both forearms. Anxious and desperate. It is not a voluntary gesture or one that he controls. His body is guided by her magic that demands he do this: initiate contact and mingle. Harriet's response is the same, to stay in contact instead of letting go and leaving.
The air vibrates, the lights in all their forms rise and fall, their hair flutters, and the magic continues to surge. Endless and strong until it begins to blend. Harriet squeezes her eyes shut, breathes through her mouth and feels her whole body bristle hair by hair. She doesn't know how to explain what this feels like.
It is as if there is part of her soul playing with and joining another similar, but opposite in the extreme. Letting herself be covered, letting herself be embraced, letting herself be absorbed. She gives a stifled moan at the unconscious caress of Tom, who slides his hands down the student's bare forearms.
Tom for his part cannot close his eyes. He admires the huge swirls formed by the dark and white magic. The darkness tries to absorb, to cover and possess, but at the same time the same thing happens to him. It is like a loop, like a paradox that cannot be defined. Without beginning or end. His skin burns, anxious for something unknown that makes him feel alive as he has never been.
It is so strong and so strange.
They let go at McGonagall's call, both left in pain from the way their magicks pull back into themselves.
"What are you two doing?" Tom breathes through his mouth. He hadn't realized how much he's sweating and shivering. On the floor, bookcases and furniture is a dense layer of frost. He grits his teeth. "It seems to me that I spoke very seriously to you, Mister Riddle, regarding not letting your magic come out this way" scolds the teacher. "Not to mention look what it caused in Miss Potter."
Tom is barely able to squint. Harriet has a lot of frost on her skin, the crystal of her glasses cracked and lying on the floor. Her lips are purple and her skin is crystalline from the cold. Tom vaguely muses that she didn't apply the same pressure. She didn't know what to do. So what prevailed was the cold of dark magic and the only thing with a trace of warmth, is him.
McGonagall says something else, but he is unable to hear her. His vision dims, just like Harriet's, and they both fall to the floor, unconscious. The green-robed teacher rushes for help to take them to the infirmary.
. . .
"I'm fine. It was just a weird moment." she says, not wanting to elevate the subject.
"He could have killed you." complains Ron.
"What really happened?"
Harriet shakes her head. She doesn't want to talk about it. It feels uncomfortable. How if it's something intimate she can't reveal. She has to stay in the infirmary for the day. He was on the verge of magical hypothermia. Something worse than normal. He needs to take a potion every three hours and Madam Pomfrey is supervising that.
She woke up four hours later, barely soon enough to see Hermione and Ron who came to see her. On the gurney next to her is Tom. From what they said, he still hasn't woken up. Harriet doesn't hear well what Hermione and Ron tell her. Dull. Full of shivers that cause a pleasant whirl inside her body.
That moment when their magics came together....
It's easily the most mind-blowing moment she's ever experienced. She still has the fluttering of butterflies inside her. Hermione and Ron leave and when she drinks the necessary potion, she is left alone. He keeps his head to the right to watch Tom. He doesn't move beyond his breathing. He looks fine. He's not hurt or anything like that.
Just lying perfectly lie on the bed.
Harriet gets up and stands to the side. No one came to visit him. At least not leaving any trace of it. Dubitative and somewhat fearful, she ends up taking his hand. Tom's magic is strong, it is direct, but now it feels timid compared to the moment in the library. Harriet allows her magic to wrap itself around his. She gives him of her warmth and energy.
It's a less invasive feeling. As if now that they've been able to make contact, both energies don't merit consuming each other in that desperate aggression. It feels so good. It's a satisfying warmth that fills her body. She gently lets go of Tom's hand and takes a couple of steps away. It doesn't look like he's going to wake up any time soon, but it's better that way.
Harriet wouldn't know what to do or say to him if he woke up now. Goes back to his stretcher, blows into her hands for warmth, and lies down to sleep. She falls into Morpheus' arms with great speed. So deep that it is complicated to give her the potion when it is time.
Tom wakes up at that moment. Nurse Pomfrey checks him and doesn't tell him much more than that he will have the day off from class to recover. It is not that he is sick or on the verge of death, he just needs time to normalize and not freeze anything around him again.
When she left, he stared at Harriet for a few minutes. Equal parts curious and surprised, yet willing the subject not to grow. Not only would it be strange, he convinces himself that it could be lethal for both of them to go to such extremes.
He will keep in his memory what it was and the sensation it produced. The whole mental process along with what it caused.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
Drakonys mutters a curse as he returns to the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom. She sets down one of the many books he must use for homework. In the process he barely sets a foot before stepping back and peeking out inconspicuously. His brows furrow as his heart races.
Harriet is here, talking animatedly and even closely with Professor Quirrell. She purses her lips and stands back, hands balled into fists. She talks to the Weasleys, to Mudblood, she chose Gryffindor house and now she's talking to the useless Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher like they're great friends, but rejected her? Who does she think she is?
The Potters not only lost their blood purity, they are also inferior to the Malfoy's. Drakonys is unable to understand or accept that Harriet didn't choose her as a friend; that she would go for anyone else as if they were a better choice.
How stupid she is.
It's not enough for her to look as bad as a boy and have horrible legs.
She lifts her chin and walks away. She can take the book from Goyle and be done with it. Also needs to spread the new information. If Harriet intends to have so many bad choices, let her stick to the consequences of it.
. . .
"Are you s-ure y-you're all right? I ha-have n-o problem with later accepting your assignment."
Harriet forces the smile slightly. Quirrell squeezes her hard on the shoulder, as if he intends to make her stay longer. Harriet shakes her head.
"I'm fine," she assures him with a soft, shy smile. "Madam Pomfrey already said I'm fine. It was just a little misunderstanding... I'll hand in my homework like everyone else," Harriet announces as she tries to stand back.
Quirrell doesn't let her, grabbing her now by both shoulders to say:
"You are a very pretty girl Harriet" He massages the small, thin shoulders. "Even with this problem, you are so cute" Harriet has trouble keeping the gesture What is he talking about? She's confused now. "You know, we can practice next week. I don't want you to hurt yourself."
"Sure. Thanks Professor." mumbles Harriet, overwhelmed by the shock. Quirrell smiles at her and when he lets her go, Harriet heads for the exit.
For a small moment, she has to turn around, pick up something she accidentally dropped and in that brief moment, she is able to notice how Quirrell looks at her. Starting to sweat from nerves, she hurries to leave. The serious gesture, fixed gaze and sense of danger towards her person.
She doesn't understand the way he looks at her.
No one has ever looked at her like that before.
With such... violence.
It scares her so much.
So much so that she just walks away clutching all her belongings against herself.
And she reaches the library without realizing it.
"Is something wrong?"
Harriet shakes her head, sitting down at the same table as Tom. It is anomalous to him how much she watches the entrance, the way she came. Nevertheless, he has no opinion on the matter.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
"Do you think, if I ask McGonagall to give me the exam the next day, she'll take it?"
Hermione laughs in her face and Harriet drops her eyebrows in a bored gesture. The teasing was unnecessary. A yes or no was enough and to spare.
"You should plan your schedules better."
"I do, but everyone has more time than I do to study. Oliver won't let go of me." whines Harriet and to her credit, almost everyone on the Quidditch team of any house is the same year. Their respective house teachers don't do assessments on match days. Her case is special. Being a first year McGonagall just goes through the motions.
And that means that as soon as Harriet come out of the match, she has a huge exam in Transformations. She's studied, she can defend herself well, but it's not going to be a grade she's going to be happy with.
"You'll have to stop sleeping so much."
"Athletes need a good night's sleep."
"And so do those who study hard. McGonagall should understand." Defends Ron and Harriet can sense an argument about to start.
Interrupted by something objectively worse. Dean approaches them, more specifically Harriet.
"They're all talking about something" He starts to say, discreetly. "Which isn't true is it? We've been saying it isn't" Harriet's face makes the matter obvious What are they talking about? "They're saying that they saw you with Professor Quirrell. That they saw you kissing him."
"What?"
Those who passed by her don't help but laugh. It's the most genuine and confused "what" you could ever hear. Harriet doesn't understand where that could have come from and as she enters the large dining hall, there is indeed talk of it among the freshmen. She notices that not far away, sitting at the Slytherin table, Drakonys stands up, "Are you done getting your grade yet, Potter!?"
Harriet turns red, fists clenched, and suddenly the torches and candles grow in volume. Some of the flags on the ceiling start to catch fire. That it's Quirrell who comes to put it out and draw attention to himself doesn't help this at all.
"When do you get a life, Malfoy?!"
"Miss Potter, please."
Hermione looks towards Drakonys, towards Harriet and finally notices that Tom has an expression of total strangeness. Simply confused as to what is going on here. Sadly, the damage has already been done.
From that day forward, the rumor mill grows. While the professors haven't heard about it yet, it's obvious to them that there is some tension between Slytherin and Gryffindor. More than usual. The lion house took sides with Harriet, assuming Drakonys just nagging as usual to leave her bad, by derivation, to everyone here. Hufflepuff as far as it goes is out of it and Ravenclaw maintain a margin of doubt. Many of them consider it to be true and just mix it up with the same thing:
Who would accept that about Harriet if she's not pretty?
The string of comments regarding her body only increases and she is aware of most of them. Hermione is not sure if they affect her or not. It's somewhere between heavy and confusing.
On their way through the library, needing a book for History, Drakonys and Harriet pass each other. The blonde instantly changes her posture. She wants to look haughty, elegant and superior in front of Harriet. She is always like that. A slight smile on her lips exposes how confident and satisfied she is to achieve what she is aiming for. Harriet eyes her suspiciously, reluctantly picking up the book as she adjusts her glasses.
The uniform looking too baggy for how thin she is, the messy hair, the loose tie, the robe covering her hands and the glasses twisting after a few seconds.
"Are you done with the professor yet? That was quick. I don't know which of us is worse." says Drakonys with every intention of annoyance and nothing more.
"Get lost somewhere else with your bullshit." Harriet turns her back on him, but Drakonys speaks again:
"I know no one is going to want your hideous legs, but this is pathetic!" chides in a laugh. "If you were better at magic, you'd just manipulate it. You wouldn't spread your legs."
"What the hell are you talking about?" she asks in exasperation, turning around to face her again. "Spread your legs to what, why?"
Drakonys goes blank for a few seconds before laughing. A raspy, mocking sound escapes his throat. The expression on her face is one of disbelief. Harriet really doesn't know what she's talking about and considers that she's the only one who doesn't understand what's being said about her. What she really means: "Are you seriously telling me that you don't understand? How stupid you are!"
She bursts out laughing, indiscreet, and Harriet becomes more confused What should she know? Now she is more lost than before.
"Ah, how pathetic. I can't believe it."
"What are you talking about, you're unbearable!" claims Harriet. The light in the hallway grows brighter. Blame it on Harriet's magic and her nervousness. "This is why you have no friends! Just idiots who want to make nice with your family!"
Drakonys raises an eyebrow and crosses her arms.
"Says the one who doesn't even know what spreading her legs is? Well, I shouldn't be surprised" Drakonys approaches her without changing her posture. Harriet is a couple of inches shorter than Drakonys. Her intense green eyes riveted on her gray ones. "With how ugly and pathetic you are, no boy-or no person, rather, would want to touch you. The hair, the glasses, everything here" points at her in full. "It's hideous. No wonder they keep you hidden. You embarrass anyone."
Harriet squints and mutters simply:
"At least I know what it's like to have parents who love me. Unlike you."
Drakonys takes a step back, offended. Harriet snorts and walks away. She knows she leads a very hidden life. Her dad made sure of it. They are still Potters, a very important family and one that has made many enemies over time. James never wanted to risk his family, especially his daughter and even with that, Harriet has the scar on her forehead. In contrast, Drakonys is as public as his family and there have been many attacks against them. Talked about even in the newspapers.
To Harriet, that's evidence that they don't love her that much. If they did, they wouldn't expose her to danger. Once in Gryffindor she lies down on her bed, closes the curtain and hides. She doesn't want to think about anything else today. Not even about what she should study.
With the echo of everyone mocking her for something she can't control and hates about herself.
Chapter 6: Act. VI. Hisses of help for the roar of fear
Chapter Text
Professor Quirrell told her that they had to talk today, at the same time, Harriet wants to tell him that she can no longer take these private classes. She doesn't want the strange rumor to continue to grow. Especially now that she didn't seem to understand what it meant. She still doesn't. Harriet is uneasy and when the request comes out, Quirrell looks at her the same way he did that time.
"I don't think I can take your classes anymore professor. They say such nasty things and I wouldn't want-"
"You're a very pretty girl. You shouldn't pay so much attention to what other people say."
"I-it's not about...that. They say things about you too and I wouldn't... I wouldn't want you to..."
He looks at her that way.
He keeps looking at her that way.
"You'd better come with me to my office."
And he gets too close to her. Harriet purses her lips, intimidated and confused in equal measure.
Harriet can't move and it's not even about magic, she's paralyzed with fear. Quirrell's closeness is too much. She shakes her head, slowly... her body moves again. She tries to leave, obviously running; Quirrell holds her arm, forcing her to stay put.
"Don't run. We're still talking Harriet."
"I-I have something to do. And-"
"I'll say you were helping me. You don't need to hurry. Come here."
He forcibly takes her inside his office. Harriet puts up as much resistance as she can, until Quirrell pulls her down and drops her sitting on the office couch. With a non-verbal spell and no wand, Harriet is petrified in place. Quirrell slowly reaches down to remove her pants revealing pale, graceless legs. He massages the thighs with his hands and Harriet begins to hyperventilate. As if her body is not capable of even trying to fight the spell.
Quirrell takes a deep breath, rubbing the childishly tender flesh. He reaches between her legs and Harriet gives a whimper of confusion and fear, with the man sniffing her between her legs. He licks over her underwear and gives increasingly insistent exaggerated breaths.
Until Quirrell removes her underwear and slurps the vaginal fluid that comes out from the stimulations. A lamp shatters, a consequence of Harriet's magic breaking through in relation to what she feels. Fear. Deep fear and anxiety. Quirrell opens Harriet's shirt, pulls up her sports bra and takes Harriet's breasts in his hands. He squeezes them, pulls them and sticks his tongue into the moistened vagina.
"You are spectacular Harriet, you are the prettiest girl in school" he praises without stopping licking her sex. Another lamp explodes and with it even a piece of furniture. "So small and fragile... you are perfect, perfect."
Quirrell stands up and unzips his pants, revealing his erect penis and masturbating in front of Harriet. He grabs her legs and pulls her in, pressing down on the manhood until it simply being throw out violently. Harriet gasps awkwardly, crying her eyes out. She staggers to her feet, about to fall to the ground. Quirrell gets up and stops her from grabbing his pants. She runs off, covered with the black tunic of her uniform and fleeing as fast as her legs will allow. The first thing on her route is the library and hiding there is her best plan at the moment.
In the middle of her run, she violently collides with another person. Some books fall to the floor and the roar is quite loud "HARRIET!" The girl shrieks and had she not been grabbed by the arm, she would have run again. However, the one she knocked down was Tom.
"What's the matter, are you...?"
Harriet gives an anguish-filled sob. Tom notices that under her tunic she has no pants and no shirt on properly either. He stands up and takes her with him to a rather small corner that is never used, pulls up a bookcase and enters the small hole with her. Tom closes it with magic and even though Quirrell's screams can be heard outside, he has no way of finding them.
"What's the matter?" asks Tom sharply. Harriet is breathing rapidly and still crying profusely. "Why don't you have your clothes?
"It's just... the prof... he..."
Her voice refuses to come out and she stomps her feet a few times in frustration, cringing and covering her face. Tom clicks his tongue, impatient. He detects her restless magic. Cloudy in a way it hasn't been before. Tom is no fool. He's seen this happen at the orphanage many, many times and truth be told, it bothers him. He's not a fan of feeling regret or anger for the harm done to others. Generally speaking, he doesn't care. However, he believes that there is a fine line that should not be crossed. As simple as not mistreating small children without any idea of what is going on.
Harriet has a pretty big cluelessness. Tom is not the only one who noticed Quirrell's strange closeness to her. The way he looked at her, the way he talked to her, looking for any excuse to touch her. At the same time, he knows that Harriet didn't look for something like that unlike what he rumor in Slytherin says.
She has no need for a relationship to improve her grades.
And even if it was, why be here crying? All signs point to something horrible happening and she ran away as soon as she had the chance.
Tom stands over her with his wand in hand. He mutters transformation spells to spread her clothes out, make them denser so she's not so vulnerable.
"Hey" He puts a hand on her shoulder, Harriet looks up at him with those huge green eyes. The tears add more sparkle to the one she had and make them look even more shocking, but depressing. "What happened?"
Harriet for a moment, a very brief one, thinks Tom looks like her dad. The elegant face, the calm, but steady gaze. Most remarkably, he gives her the same reassurance James does. If something bad will happen, he'll be there to help her and take care of her when she can't alone. That only makes the crying worse. She wants James. She wants him to be here and hide her until she can feel good.
Tom throws up his hands and looks sideways with a wrinkled gesture Why the hug? Harriet stammers, barely understanding what happened, not knowing how to express it and not let the embarrassment eat her alive. Tom breathes a soft sigh of relief. At least it didn't amount to the most terrible thing, but on a scale of fatality, it's easily one step away from being so. He pats her back, uncomfortable and not knowing what else to do.
"It's okay. It's okay."
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
"Professor Quirrell is acting very strangely."
"Yes."
Harriet tightens her grip on Hermione's arm, walking past the professor without even looking at him. Not far away, Tom frowns Why hasn't Harriet said anything? It's been two weeks and although Harriet has been more attached than ever to Hermione and Ron, Quirrell and the matter is still in the dark. With the peace that Harriet is too cowed to say anything. It's implausible to Tom What's not bothering him, doesn't he want them to do something about Quirrell? The likelihood of him trying again is immense.
"Tom" He diverts his attention. Harriet in front of him, Hermione almost confused to be spoken to. "Are you going to help me with potions this week?" She drops her head to the side. "We have exam with Snape next Monday and I don't think I quite know what I'm supposed to do."
"If you go to the library at the usual time, yes." replies Tom simply. Harriet smiles at him and pulls Hermione to keep walking.
Nothing.
Nothing seems to have happened.
She is as calm and steady as ever.
Tom thinks for a moment: maybe she told her dad and that's why she's like this, but by now there should be an answer. The situation is conspicuous by its indifference and irrelevance. He exhales in annoyance, he doesn't have much choice but to do it himself.
Because it bothers him too much and he doesn't want to continue living with a pedophile teacher.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
"Your accusation is very serious, Young Riddle Are you aware of that?" McGonagall looks for any hint of a lie in Tom even though he is clearly telling the truth.
"I know, but it is necessary," Tom replies with a chivalrous and confident smile. "It's been a while and it's very likely to happen again."
"It is very likely" agrees McGonagall. "I must confess that I am surprised at your support in this. I have noted on many occasions your closeness to Miss Potter, but it is still remarkable to me."
"We just have a certain... Compatibility," Tom excuses. "Nevertheless, in the situation and with the person, I would come to notify you."
McGonagall doesn't buy Tom's continuing act. She knows he is someone who is very cold and uncaring. However, she must admit that, on this occasion despite his paraphernalia, he is being sincere and that is all that is relevant. He was about to leave, a thought violently tackles his mind. No one better than McGonagall to clarify:
"I thought lions were brave, but she... she the lowed the head with this." comments Tom and McGonagall shakes her head, walking towards him.
"While bravery involves stupidity for what you think is right and throwing yourself off the cliff for showing that confidence and lack of fear; lions are proud, Tom" The student furrows his eyebrows. "They will roar and attack whoever hurts others, but being hurt themselves, they will pretend nothing is happening to prevent the attacker from knowing the damage they did."
That's so silly it sounds like a Gryffindor thing to say. Definitely and without a doubt.
"At the same time" McGonagall clasps her hands together. "Women tend to feel guilty about these kinds of situations. Some talk fast, some take longer, eventually they do. My mention of closeness with you, is because you had the ability to tell her unlike her family and close friends" Tom bites his lower lip. "You seem to be someone trustworthy, young Riddle. Also disinterested enough to come and tell me this."
Tom reddens slightly and walks away.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
"It is something that did indeed happen."
"Severus, Minerva, I need you to take charge of taking Professor Quirrell to the dungeon" Severus does not suppress the small, cynical smile. "In the meantime, Miss Potter and I will send a letter to the capital. Her parents will want to know about this problem." enunciates Dumbledore and the pair of professors agree. Harriet is left alone with Dumbledore.
She looks back at the Pensieve, full of annoyance and disdain that they saw what happened. Despite her slightly fuzzy memory, it is impossible not to say that Quirrell did indeed almost rape her. Not to say that, if he did, just not all the way. She takes a seat at the director's desk and turns only to continue glaring hatefully at the pensieve.
"I'm surprised that, with your explosive personality, you didn't say anything, Miss Potter."
"I didn't... feel like it." excuses Harriet taking parchment and quill. Dumbledore gives a chuckle.
"Fear and shame do funny things to the mind," he concludes thoughtfully. "I would like to tell him that fear is never a bad thing, however, allowing ourselves to be intimidated by it will bring misfortune in the long run" Harriet shrinks back in her seat. "I sense that something is unsettling you."
"I just... I would have liked to run from the beginning, but..."
"Weakness is human. We all have it. We all get paralyzed," Dumbledore assures him. "The important thing is not to let it control every time it tries to consume us."
Harriet nods and writes the same letter for the millionth time. She's been meaning to tell her parents about this. To James. However, restlessness made her tear the parchment over and over again. She doesn't know how he will react, and it scares her to think that he would be disappointed in her. That she should have run away, that she should have fought; that now he would be disgusted with her as she keeps feeling it every time she is naked and the soap doesn't seem to be enough. There is so much on her mind and she inadvertently explodes a glass. Harriet gives an exclamation and looks in that direction.
"My, what lovely magic!" praises Dumbledore. The phoenix, Fawkes, lands on Harriet's shoulder. "The Potters have always had that charm. Your dad had a bad habit of burning things when he got too excited. However, it seems he was able to make someone much stronger than he was."
"S-sorry."
"Not at all. Magicks like that are to be admired and with my age, the more I observe the wonders that arise, the better." states Dumbledore in admiration of Harriet's magic.
So dense, so pure; despite what has happened, she shines as bright as the sun itself. It is as if indifferent to whatever wounds there may be in her body or soul, Harriet is a beacon of light that will be extinguished only on the day of her death.
"And...if someone has black magic...do you think it's just as impressive? Or enchanting?"
"What do you think?"
"That it's cold, but..." Thousands and thousands of times run through her mind where Tom just goes around with his rozagant black magic. Giving him such a high status. Like he's different from everyone else. Not human. Because it's so.... "It's so beautiful. So just...beautiful." Harriet concludes with her mind elsewhere. Dumbledore laughs again.
"Magic in all its existence is beautiful. Its inclination merely demonstrates a bit of the personality of the one who possesses it."
Harriet nods and returns to writing the letter.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
James looks for the millionth time at his watch. The train pulls up a few seconds later and James insists on tapping his foot against the floor. The doors open and only one person gets off. James hurries up the walk. He is several wagons away. Harriet ruffles her hair and to the right, notices James arriving. She hurries towards him and as soon as she is facing him, she hugs him. The man carries her and squeezes her to himself.
"Are you okay, why didn't you tell me before, he didn't do anything else to you?"
Harriet denies, not pulling away and still leaning against James' shoulder. The man kisses her on the head and rubs her back. His soul almost left his body when the letter arrived. Harriet is his preciuos baby girl. The thing he loves most in life. Having someone hurt her AT school brought him a thousand and one paranoias. Her daughter is so small and bright. All around her, everyone looks like shadows that are going to devour her.
"I want to go home." says Harriet. She doesn't like it here. Let them know there's something wrong with her. No one leaves Hogwarts early. Only if there's a huge emergency.
Like hers, where she was given two weeks at home while the matter with Quirrell is resolved and her parents do the necessary check-ups. James turns around and heads for the exit, not letting go of her charge at any point.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
"Is there any reason why you stayed close to him? He made you feel uneasy, but you stayed there."
The psychologist listened to everything Harriet had to say. Being alone, without her parents being able to intervene or make her feel any specific way. For comfort, Harriet is sitting on a couch, dressed in an oversized sweater, pants and sneakers, her hair disheveled and barely wearing her glasses.
She looks too fidgety and so small in this huge space. She stutters, scratches her neck and arm constantly. It's already a trait she made note of: her urge to rub her skin, as if somehow, there's discomfort in it.
"It's just... he... he said I'm pretty," Harriet repeats, and the woman frowns a little. "And I liked hearing that."
"Is there a special reason, does it make you feel safer?" Harriet nods. "Is there a reason you don't feel pretty?" The girl looks away, somewhere between embarrassed and uneasy. "If it makes you too uncomfortable, we can talk about something else. Although you should know that resolving this will be possible if you tell me the truth... One way to heal, is to let it all out." she explains gently with a soft smile.
Harriet pouts and adjusts her glasses again. He doesn't look at her. She's too embarrassed. She feels dramatic about what she's about to say:
"My mom always says I dress badly, that I don't look like a girl; at school they make fun of how I look. That I'm too skinny, my hair, my glasses and" Her eyes water, her voice trails off. "My dad is not like that, neither is my godfather, nor Moony. They don't say mean things to me."
"I see" She notes the relationship so obvious and that Harriet dare not say, she's already exposed herself too much. "You have friends? Girls" Harriet nods. "And what do they tell you?"
"I think they lie to me to make me feel good or being awful to me. I think my dad lies to me too so I won't be like mom." she echoes anxiously. She's been thinking about it a lot and it's...horrible.
She doesn't want to believe her dad would do something like that to her. James isn't like that. What if he is, though? It terrifies her. It makes her feel even more ridiculous than usual.
"Do you usually dress like that all the time?" Harriet nods. "Do you like these clothes better than the more 'girly' ones? Maybe skirts, tighter pants..." she tempts carefully. Harriet rubs her face roughly.
"I don't look good in those."
"Ah, you don't like the way they look on you, but you do" Again she nods, shy. "If I gave you those clothes now, would you wear them, or are you embarrassed?" The answer is a vague I'd be too embarrassed. "Harriet, you consider yourself a woman, don't you? A girl."
"Yes... My mom thinks I'm a boy. That's why I'm not pretty like she would like."
While they elaborate by talking more, the overriding thing and what the psychologist noted most was this. How obvious the problem is in Harriet and the fact that it helped cause such a serious problem at school. Telling Lily and James was complicated, especially because of the small perception she has of them.
Lily as a dissatisfied mother.
James as an overprotective parent.
They're a pretty bad combo when it comes to noticing any problems their daughter might have, unfortunately.
Chapter 7: Act. VII. A glimpse
Chapter Text
"This is your fault."
"Mine? James-"
"If it wasn't for you insisting every moment that she's no good, this wouldn't have taken so long to find out-it wouldn't have happened to begin with!"
"What I say has nothing to do with it."
"It does! Some guy was abusing our daughter and all that was going through her mind is him telling her the way you insist on denying her!" claims James almost hysterically. "Didn't you hear what the doctor told us!? Harriet is suffering and it's your fault!"
"No, it's your fault for not supporting me" claims Lily quickly. "If you would support me our daughter wouldn't be going through this. If you hadn't gone along with her whims from the start, nothing would have happened."
"Support you in what, using everything she doesn't want? Pretending something she isn't?" rebukes James. "Our daughter is the way she is and you must love her that way."
"Says the one who's been turning her into a boy all these years." Lily folds her arms angrily and James runs his hands over his face.
"All I did was not force her to wear a damn dress to fit what you want" He corrects firmly. "She's a little girl. Not a doll for you to dress her up as you please" James reprimands and Lily shakes her head. "Because of you she's making insecurities that shouldn't be there. You're making her doubt her own identity."
"James for Merlin's sake just look at her She's not a normal girl! She's not like any of her classmates!" exclaims Lily exasperated that her husband doesn't want to see her point. "She doesn't even wear a compulsory skirt. All you accomplish by indulging this nonsense is that she ends up a boy. She was supposed to be a cute little princess and she's a... Tomboy! A macho-girl!"
"Why does she have to be the same for you to love her?" Despair consumes him. Lily blinds herself too much to traditional femininity and rejects the possibility that it is a flexible trait. Especially now. "What does any of that have to do with you making her feel bad and seeming to not love her?"
"I want what's best for her."
"You want a life through her that's different. Harriet is the way she is. She's smart, she's gorgeous in her own way, Quidditch seeker, good grades what more can you ask of her?"
"That she stops being influenced by you and starts being a woman. It is what it is, she has to change and you know it."
The discussion continues, with Harriet listening from her room.
. . .
Harriet flattens her hair with her hands and it only returns to its chaotic position. She gives a heavy sigh and goes to lie down on the bed, hugging her huge occamy plush doll. Sirius sends it to him, promising to arrive soon to spend time together. The door to the room opens and James walks in with a bag in his hands.
"Hey how are you?"
"I'm fine."
James sits on the bed and pats her arm. Harriet pouts, hidden by the plush doll.
"Listen-"
"Am I weird?"
"Not at all." replies James quickly.
"Then I am." Harriet concludes. James always wants to make her feel better. James shakes his head.
"You're not weird. Maybe you're four-eyed with nest hair, but hey... Hermione has huge teeth and messy hair; Ron is always hungry; everyone has their own way about them. Doesn't make them weird." Harriet presses her face into the stuffed animal.
"I'm weird."
James scratches his brow.
"Listen," he repeats. "You're at an age where everything bothers you and affects you. A lot of times what you believe isn't true. I thought I was king of the world and well, I'm pretty far off. Whatever problems you have are normal," James promises and Harriet pokes her head out of her hiding place. "The important thing is, if you have a problem, you should look for a solution: if none comes up, ask for help. Your friends, the teachers, me. Whoever fits you best."
"You can't solve that I'm weird or that I'm not pretty."
"You are pretty, Harriet," James says with concern. "You just need to grow up. When we grow up we all change. We lose childlike features, the body changes; it's all a long and tedious process" Harriet exhales despondently. "Although if you want to help make it a certain way, we can exercise. It'll do you good for Quidditch."
"I do."
"Good, we'll start over the vacations." James pats her on the arm and sets the bag down on the bed. "Sirius is very concerned, but also very busy. He sent you another present and at least this time, I picked it out."
Harriet sits on the bed to go through the bag. What she finds are some very long converse. They must be knee-high. Her eyes sparkle with excitement. She read that they had made some like this, but didn't think she'd ever get to see them. James smiles weakly and relieved that he'll like the detail. Sirius sent about six letters on the same owl, all saying he was going to arrive soon, that he would have presents, that he would be spending time with Harriet.
Anyway, Sirius being Sirius with the girl of his eye.
James feels it is necessary. The procedure with Harriet will be a bit invasive. The psychologist proposed to remove part of the event so that it does not affect her sex life in the future. Alienate her from all the crisis it caused her and have her be detached. Harriet will recognize what happened, she will know she was there, but in the long run it will not be a bother. Which is clearly urgent according to the tests she had.
Harriet bathes too much, she covers herself more than usual when she goes out and the way she holds her person is one where she is afraid of being taken elsewhere. She hides it well, Gryffindor at last exposing bravery. However, in the long run it would be terrible. It's a relatively new procedure, has had excellent results in children over all and although risky, James and Lily felt it was the best alternative for Harriet to have a normal life.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
Harriet runs her hand down his side, where her ribs are marked and she seems to have nutrition problems. As if she has no one taking care of her, therefore, no one to feed and love her enough to avoid this state. It goes up her chest a bit, her breasts flattened and so small that even if she takes off her shirt, it doesn't look like a girl's chest.
Harriet doesn't feel like she looks like a girl. She twists her lips and in front of the mirror she tries to flatten her hair, tries to make it look good and it doesn't work. Harriet tugs gently at her hair until she pulls it out, complaining about the pain she creates for herself. She sits on the floor, half hidden by her knees and thin legs.
"Why am I not pretty? why I can't be pretty?" Harriet whines under her breath, digging her nails into her head. "I want to be pretty." she sobs in despair.
If she were pretty, she wouldn't need others to tell her so; she wouldn't feel this desperate urge because others think of her that way. She would just be happy. There would be no problems. Wouldn't be teased or picked on, her mom wouldn't tell her she was a boy, and would be happy with the way she is.
Everything would work out if she was pretty, but she's not!
"I think you're pretty" Harriet gives a soft exclamation, feeling a hand on her back. Adult, familiar in an unpleasant way. "I consider you a wonderful creation..." It's a soft, almost hypnotic voice, gentle and whispery. "Full of power, full of strength" Harriet squeezes her eyes shut, feeling the weight on top of her. "Come on, lift your face a little."
In the reflection she sees someone, but she is unable to remember who it is, or even make it out well. The only thing there is, is that his scar is bleeding and that person is holding the knife she got the wound with. Harriet starts hyperventilating and feels trapped.
"I can show you how pretty you look to me, Harriet."
Harriet wakes up choking, everything in her room thrown on the floor, many things broken and ending in shrieking panic. Her soul itself vibrating with panic from the impression that someone was touching her, someone wanted to break her and she couldn't fight it. James arrives in the room and Lily soon after, both equally confused by the hysterical fit the teenager is having in bed.
Remaining as another occasion of strange nightmares that won't let any of the three of them sleep.
The biggest difference is that this time and to James' surprise, Harriet has blood on her scar, which looks fresh as if it was the wound she got years ago.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
"Harriet!"
Hermione nearly knocks her over from how hard she throws herself at Harriet. The Gryffindor hugs her back, swaying back and forth. Separated, she greets Ron as she usually does and smiles broadly. Her mood looks restored and there is not that rare specter in her eyes or presence. He looks radiant and happy. He's wearing the long converses, an oversized sweater and red pants that go all the way down to his shoes.
"Everything okay? What was really going on?"
"I don't want to talk about it here" admits shoving her hands in her pockets. "Besides, everyone in Gryffindor is going to ask. Better to talk about it later with everyone do you think?" Harriet cocks her head and Hermione nods."
"But how should I know?! You promised you'd tell me!" claims Ron.
"Nah you I can tell you later." scoffs Harriet walking off and the pair following her. Ron argues, Hermione laughs and in the distance, Tom notices she's changed. She looks the same as before the trouble happened. He shrugs and continues on his way.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
"HE DID WHAT!"
"I thought he was just normal weird. Not weird asshole."
"Too bad, I liked his class, but now I think he was really seeing me."
"Good thing they fired him. Although that explains why there was no cause in the newspaper!"
"My dad threatened all the newspapers and made legal excuses so they wouldn't reveal anything," Harriet recounts, rocking back and forth on her bed, the other Gryffindor girls around her, with Hermione sitting next to her. Their shock at the confession just responds to the bizarre events about the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. "I went to the trial, it was a day before I came, though I didn't say anything and I didn't see him either."
"That would have been horrible!" exclaims Hermione. "It's just that you shouldn't have even gone. If all the evidence was already there- Rriety are you sure you're okay?" she puts a hand on her shoulder and Harriet smiles at her in assistance. Sirius once called her that in front of Hermione and well, her friend found out that she really likes to be called that from time to time.
"There's a procedure for situations like that. It's new. It disconnects your mind from the thought. It's like it didn't happen to me and I see it from afar" explains vaguely. "It's still really weird" he admits leaning back against Hermione, "but I'm fine. I do feel good now... And Sirius gave me presents! I brought you candy!"
There's a feast in the girls' room in Gryffindor. As they eat all the goodies the England magical world has to offer, they look at the gifts Harriet received. From clothes in her usual style, large, dark colors and in some cases being masculine garments; plush dolls, pajamas, magical school supplies such as colorful quills, enchanted journals, smelling and tasting ink, post it changes color depending on the urgency.
All in all, you can rest assured that that at least Harriet ended up standing up very well from something horrible.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
"Hello."
Harriet sits down across from Tom. The opposite looks up barely and closes the book with a sigh, assuming he won't be able to read as long as she's in front of him. Harriet ruffles her hair and adjusts her glasses.
"Thanks for helping me."
"You're welcome." Tom replies dryly.
"My dad wanted to thank you. I don't know if that makes you a little uncomfortable, though. He's effusive," Harriet admits, "but I wanted to give you this. To thank you for your trouble."
Tom declares himself curious. He wasn't expecting anything special or even anything at all. After all, he did it more out of annoyance than anything else. He takes what Harriet holds out to him, wrapped soberly in beige paper with the Potter house seal affixed to close it. She tears the paper carefully and pulls out what looks like a simple leather hardcover notebook. Harriet half climbs onto the table, legs up on the chair.
"It's an infinite journal. It doesn't matter if you tear out pages and when you write in it, you can command it to save the information and summon it whenever you please" Harriet explains pulling out her wand. "Like this. Revelio message."
"With this you don't overload your huge head. It's going to burst from so much reading :P"
Tom laughs through his nose and closes it. Truth be told, it's very helpful. He remembers at some point mentioning to Harriet that he should reread a lot so doesn't forget or mix up information. Just like the set of pens and inks he received at Christmas. These are simple, even basic things. However, Harriet clearly decided to go for something safe, that she will use and need before mere candy.
"Thank you for the thoughtfulness."
"Thanks to you... I'm going to study for an exam. Bye." Harriet says goodbye and leaves. Tom opens the book again and starts jotting in the diary, below the note that he could have erased, but for no reason decided to leave there.
Thus his first year at Hogwarts ends. Quite turbulent, but Harriet can say that there are many things that made her happy. Among them having new friends, being in Gryffindor, managing to win the quidditch cup; getting the house cup even though it seemed impossible; includes Tom in the list of good things.
They didn't touch each other again, nor did they get too close. Intimidated that that togetherness would happen again and end just as badly. However, it didn't stop them from talking and seeing each other in the library as usual. The topics of conversation became very diversified.
For Harriet talked confidently about the books she had read from Sirius' library, drawing silly or not so silly conclusions about them. Tom for his part seemed to have a tongue at the time. Very few see him talk so much, have that twinkle in his eye and smile even if cynically. It's an effect Harriet had on him.
Someone more affected by her, it should be noted. By that particular gleam that lets no one escape.
What would stand out as bad, ignoring the obvious happening, would be that Snape took Defense Against the Dark Arts class, so she had to go very carefully in every class. Avoiding the (pathetic) man wanting to take points off just for existing in the classroom.
Drakonys was annoyed as usual, even blaming her for Quirrell being out of school. Harriet didn't bother to talk to him about anything about it. Harriet let her go on in her stupidity. Some believe her, some don't. Most don't fortunately.
Being the last days of the year, they have nothing to do. They enjoy the castle as they have not been able to. Harriet insisted on going for tea and spending an afternoon with Hagrid, ending up really well; spending most early mornings in the kitchen and trying to get the map that her dad and his friends made during their time at school. That didn't turn out well, no one knows where it is.
And finally her time with Tom:
"You can't take books with you during summer vacation." scoffs Harriet. Tom continues to go through book after book and put it in a pile.
"No, but I can copy some important stuff. I found an information transfer spell. I'll put it in the journal." he explains, hurried and a little anxious. He hopes it goes well. Harriet scoffs and swings her legs.
"If you're that bored, we can talk on vacation," she proposes and Tom raises an eyebrow, finally seeing her. "I'll give you my home address so your owl doesn't get lost and we'll talk." she shrugs and Tom mulls it over for a bit.
He doesn't usually talk to anyone. Not even his friends. Although that might be because they aren't much of a talker either. Not to him at least. It's never bothered him. He is fine and comfortable with his solitude. It's what he's always had consistently and certainly. He likes being able to survive on his own.
At the same time, the slight sparkle that works its magic with Harriet's leads him to respond," It's okay. Just don't expect it to be every day.
"From you? I'd be surprised once a week or every vacation" replies Harriet, teasingly and Tom widens a smile. "Have you ever... ever been lonely?" asks curiously. Tom shrugs.
"Nothing new. Been that way all my life."
"Oh."
"I guess when I was younger I was into it. That thing about having company" Tom analyzes the cover of the book better, opens it and flips through a couple of pages, "I was eager to know if I was a mistake, if my parents died.... It was morbid in a way I wouldn't know how to explain" admits returning the book to its place, "but the interest fizzled out."
"You talk to snakes" Harriet mentions, as Nagini passes by the table. She doesn't dare pet her. "At least one of your parents is- Was? A wizard. You must be related to Salazar Slytherin... My dad is Potter, duh, but my godfather is a Black and they've told me a lot about it" he relates, catching Tom's attention. "Maybe you've got a lot in store. Maybe there's a lot for you in your magical legacy. We'd have to find out."
"Or maybe there's nothing."
Harriet notices a glint of interest in Tom's gaze. As cocky and aristocratic as he is, he would surely be happy and more than proud to come from a bloodline like that. He won't admit it, but Tom wants to think that's real. That those illusions Harriet throws in his face are fact.
It would make him superior to everyone here, far more than he already is. The only thing he's ever had in his life, is excellence. To mock the uselessness of the rest, to be exceptional in any field. As a Muggle, was in his classes the child prodigy and most noticed, with a brilliant mind; as a wizard, has his magic strong and so distinctive. Strong as that of no other who wants to take it upon himself.
Tom wants his name to be marked as someone special and great. Someone no one can match. Adding Slytherin blood would work for that aspiration. The possibility of changing his last name and letting go of the Riddle, which as far as he knows, is purely Muggle.
Much runs through his mind at the possibility, but like his magic, it's something that feels abnormally cold.
Like his life in general.
It's noticeable for only one reason: for an instant, for a brief moment, it didn't feel cold; it was warm, its bright. He had never known light, neither had he known warmth or what that entails. Tom becomes a jumble of thoughts. All because of Harriet. Be it her assumptions or her presence.
And so, the year ended and everyone must go home.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
"Why do you talk to the beastly Potter so much?" asks Regulus. The only one in the wagon next to Tom. The others are buying snacks. They were late, so they run after the lady with the cart. "It's no big deal. You know that, don't you?"
"I know." replies Tom. Harriet's just like anyone else...
Just a little more special.
A huge difference to Tom, who considers the rest inferior and insignificant.
"So?" tempts Regulus reluctantly. Tom looks up at him. His vibrant red eyes riveted on the Black heir. "You shouldn't get so close to her. It'll make you stupid."
"And since when do you have such concern for me? Regulus."
"Ever since I saw you talking to your damn snake" he mumbles back. Nagini steps out from under Tom's sweater, exposing her fangs, she feels slightly threatened. "Don't you understand? You must be a Slytherin heir."
"Of course I understand perfectly," Tom assures with a smug smirk and Regulus slumps back in his seat slightly. "It would make me more important than any magic family in this country. Including yours." concludes in a low, hissing, hypnotic voice. Nagini steps back and Tom places his arm so that it slides over the window sill.
"The last Slytherin descendants were miserable beggars. That's why there can't possibly be any more" Regulus informs. "Just as it would be very difficult for you to get to the information without help? My family could help you. I could support you."
Tom raises an eyebrow and looks him up and down. There's some interest behind it. Regulus licks his lips and looks outside for a moment before speaking towards Tom again:
"My mother and father trust that your existence as a descendant is a sign of a new beginning. Of having someone to elevate wizards and blood" Regulus explains. "If it is confirmed to be you, of all students, it is you" he emphasizes more strongly. "With the purest magic, with the greatest intellect? Tom, you could have the English magical world."
Tom gives a laugh and looks toward the window.
"And change it all. Make it the way it should be. The way Slytherin wanted it to be."
"The way it always should have been." he croons and Regulus smiles, considering it the best answer to get.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
As soon as they arrive at the station, Tom gives a snort of genuine annoyance. Having to walk to the orphanage gives him pain throughout his body. It's a long distance, unfortunately. His path is interrupted by two people. Harriet holding James Potter's hand. Tom maintains his bearing and appearance. He greets quietly and contrary to intimidating, there is a certain defiance in his eyes, in his posture and his magic.
"This is Tom," Harriet introduces. "Tom, this is my dad. James Potter."
"Pleasure to meet you."
"Pleasure to meet you" James reciprocates. The handshake sends a shiver down his spine. Tom's magic is so strong it feels like a lie. Tom for his part tries not to blind himself. So much light together. These two together are a threat to anyone's vision. "I wanted to thank you for helping Harriet through everything that happened. I dread to think what would have happened without you." he confesses and is genuine in what he says. So much so that Tom is embarrassed.
"I was at the right time nothing else," Tom justifies. "It was nothing."
"Being at the right time doesn't mean being a good person, it means the actions you take at the right time" James notifies playfully. Tom purses his lips slightly and cocks his head to one side. His confusion at the sudden lecture is clear. "Do you want us to take you home? Harriet told me you're going alone."
He opens his eyes and James notices how red they are-is it natural, or is it a thing of his magic? Tom has instant crisis: he doesn't want anyone to see the place he lives in. It's humiliating in too many ways. Besides, if it's true that he's a Slytherin heir, he'll only feel worse for living there. So much panic sets in, he doesn't even notice the words James used:
"You're going alone."
Most likely he doesn't know he's in an orphanage or that he has no family. Harriet, again, interferes:
"We can drop him off at the park across the street from the ice cream shop. I want ice cream."
It's less than a block from the orphanage, so it would be a hell of a lot less walking than from here to there.
"Oh, well, if that's what you'd prefer? Would you like some ice cream too?"
"If it's no trouble."
James smiles kindly and holds out his other arm. Uneasy, Tom holds it and they disappear from the station in tandem with all their belongings.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
Tom rolls his eyes in annoyance. Hardly arrived and already there's a fuss. There seem to be more children than the last time he was here. His hatred of Muggle people grows for reasons that, in essence, don't affect him. One of those reasons, is the inability they have to avoid fathering children and throwing them away when they give them life Why not abort? Oh, right, they're too moronic to know that aborting is normal if you can't support or care for a child.
It's insufferable.
Licks his lips, the slight taste of ice cream still present. He knows it made James uncomfortable, but he was too kind to expose it. In that, you can tell he's a nobleman. It still has Tom amazed at how similar Harriet is. The only distinctive thing, is that Harriet's eyes are the deepest green there is in the world.
James also has a lot of magic, unlike Harriet who makes light grow, James sets things on fire. It was an amazing display that he set a small tree leaf on fire to expose him. The Potters in general he finds fascinating so far. A family that, despite linking themselves to a Muggleborn, keeps their legacy intact.
One that now falls to Harriet.
Maybe with more years she will be more mature and can carry it. To judge that ability now is unfair and foolish.
Tom turns in bed and closes his eyes. Has to find out whether or not he is a Slytherin heir, whether or not he has money, any special belongings. He will talk to Regulus in a few days, they will go to the registry where they must have his birth certificate or family tree.
When it is confirmed what he has known, this dumpster will be less than a memory for him and he will be able to say goodbye for good to the Muggle world as soon as he turns seventeen.
Chapter 8: Act. VIII. Letters and more Letters
Chapter Text
Exercising in the morning and evening is a routine that doesn't cost much to initiate. Harriet is determined to achieve at least a minimal change in her body. It doesn't want to cooperate as it should. It has become a habit to do routines with her parents. James in the morning, Lily in the afternoon. Sometimes both hours with both or all alone when they work.
The flesh on her thighs-not much of it-feels firmer and there is a very slight showing in her rear. Or maybe it's just her seeing it. It's not a problem. Quite the contrary, it just gives her encouragement to keep at it to keep doing it. There's a chance she'll have a nice body afterwards.
At least that's what James told her and Harriet wants to believe in it.
As she starts the second week of vacation, doing her potions homework with almost no problems, she thinks of Tom. She can't help it. It is thanks to him that she understands what is on this endless parchment. She can tell that Snape has nothing better to do with his life. She comes to doubt that he reads all this. Or maybe he does to highlight every last mistake.
So she thinks about asking her mom to proofread it later. Harriet wrote first on paper, then on parchment and so, she'll tell what's right, what's wrong, all done and dandy. No chance of Snape messing it up as usual. In this process, she decides to send her first letter to Tom:
"I'm doing summer homework (which never seems to end What a bummer!) and I realized it's not that hard because you even explained to me what ancestral metal pewter cauldrons are usually made of. Awesome. Five stars as a teacher even if you don't have much patience with your one student.
Have you thought about what you're going to be when you graduate? Or do you just plan to be a bitter nobleman as soon as we get our hands on the fact that you are indeed heir to Salazar? It would suit you. a less obnoxious version of Lucius Malfoy."
"By the way, I haven't told my parents you're an orphan. I didn't know if that would make you uncomfortable Do you mind if I tell them? That way it won't be so weird if I tell you to go out somewhere."
Harriet folds the letter, opens Hedwig's cage, and her energetic owl takes off. She throws herself on the bed and listens to music on the headphones Sirius bought her in the USA. That's the advantage of having a relative who travels so much.
She'll always have the most curious things within reach.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
Tom tidies up all the summer homework he was left with. It was a lot, but so simple he could do it in the blink of an eye. Not that he had much to do either. Just studying for another IQ test, a spelling bee and other things that, in the long run, only help the orphanage. They've taken in forty children in the two-week time frame he has here. The food is less, the silence is less, the space is barely holding up.
Tom hates being in this place.
Tom is surprised by the arrival of Hedwig. He pets the animal, getting a couple of gentle nibbles from her, and takes the letter. He doesn't avoid snorting a laugh, amused at what Harriet wrote. Tom has nothing better to do beyond looking at the ceiling and rereading some book, his notes, what he did manage to transfer from the Hogwarts books.
"I was patient enough to help you, which is a lot. I don't help anyone from Slytherin. They're a bunch of good-for-nothings with good last names. It's unbearable that people like that, think they're superior to me. None of them get an E in half their classes."
"Anyway, it's gratifying to know that my time investment worked. It means that underneath that hair, there's brains. More than I can say for everyone in your house (except Hermione, I still can't explain why she's not in Ravenclaw). As for what I'll be, I haven't thought about it, but I'll most likely go for politics. It's something that catches my attention. I could change things. A lot of things. I don't know whether to say I'll be like Lucius Malfoy. I don't know him. Only by name and by seeing him from afar from time to time."
"Regarding me living here: no, I don't have a problem with that. It strikes me as odd that you didn't say it to begin with, but thank you for not doing so. Anyway, try not to leave everything to the last minute. I'm pretty sure you'll do it with history of magic."
He leaves the letter on the desk. He'll send it tomorrow, he doesn't intend to put the poor owl to going back and forth such long distances. Harriet lives in Godric Valley, it's far away par excellence. After some thought, she decides to immediately compose the letter to Regulus.
He needs to know about her blood ties as soon as possible.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
"If it makes you feel any better, considering you have an ego the size of a cathedral: my dad said he thought you were the son of some pureblood family, because you look very elegant and very refined even in simple clothes. So yeah... he freaked out when I told him you're an orphan."
"And we finally agree on something about Slytherin! A lot they talk about everyone, but in the long run they are very useless. At least the ones I know first hand. You're the exception, you're the biggest snake. I like you because of that. Maybe? Be that as it may, if you become a Salazar, please make that house truly great and not just people who mock. I leave that little job in your hands haha."
"Being a politician sounds so, SO boring that it must be your quintessential job. Hours stuck in the library are the perfect preparation for living in endless boardrooms. My dad was supposed to be there, but decided to be an auror because it was more fun and he could get more good through that. I don't know how true that is, but at least it's helped a lot."
"Maybe if you became a politician, he and you could really help each other do good things in the magical world. Like not wanting to kill any magical creature that attacks. Hagrid told me that many are killed for acts of defense. It's so unfair. There are a lot of unfair things that maybe you can change if you're a politician."
"I won't leave last History of Magic! I promise I won't drop it last. I'll finish everything this week so I can hang out with Ron on vacation, get letters from Hermione (She went on a trip to France :c left me alone) and maybe hang out with you Wouldn't you like to see each other? This time without having books in between. There must be something outdoors that you like. Like working out, going to the movies, I don't know."
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
"I don't have much to do, just study for IQ tests and things like that. I happen to have to contest. The prize is a lot of money. Of which I won't see anything, but what else to do. So they don't bother me in here."
"Do you work out? As you're on the quidditch team now, a reputation to uphold, your dad's an auror, your mom's a nurse. They must be healthy people by default right? I don't know how families work. That part of life I didn't have it (Yes, I'll tease you all I want about not having parents)."
"About going out I don't know if I'd like anything really. It's kind of annoying to be out. If it's a muggle environment, there's a lot of fuss and smoke, if it's a magical environment, I keep thinking I want to get close and all in all, it's very annoying to have someone waiting for me."
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
"It must be so boring living in an orphanage. Apart from depressing What are you supposed to do all the time? I wouldn't want to be cruel, but teenagers aren't usually adopted. So that miracle probably won't happen. Unless you force it somehow."
"In my house we already have a new routine that my dad implemented. I must say my mom's been a little less attacking since then."
"One day you could come over and we'll go to Diagon Alley for ice cream. Or anywhere we fancy. Sirius wouldn't deny taking us all the way to Italy just to see a museum if that's your big plan."
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
"The thought of being adopted gives me the creeps. Being among Muggles is bad enough without having Muggle parents without knowing anything. I'm fine in this dump. I'd much, much rather have a woman come in here and demand that I call her 'mom'. The days are so boring. We have to stay inside the building most of the time and when we go out we have to go out as a group. Those over twelve can go alone in the area. They are 'grown up. "It's helped me escape a couple of times to magical areas."
"What exactly do you mean by routine? If it's to study potions, it would be the best thing you can do for yourself and your agonizing S in the subject. You came within a hair's breadth of getting an A. But, anyway, at least something goes right at your house. Given how much to mention getting along with her. Funny how you get along better with your dad Electra Syndrome maybe?"
"About going one day, as much as I'd like to I have a slight feeling your parents aren't going to like me. Which they share with everyone at the orphanage. Even if I want to go to Italy, I guess it can wait. Besides, these days they enrolled me in some sort of IQ test. The orphanage wanting to make pounds at my expense. Nothing new there. However, I could take the money for myself when no one notices."
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
"It's okay an S! Don't be such a jerk! Just because you get an E in everything doesn't give you the right to think you're better than me. It's the only subject I don't get an E in, but even you have to admit that it happened because Snape hates me. I don't even know what I did to make him hate me so much. I exist there and Pufff! How dare you sit in my classroom Miss Potter. Hes insufferable. He need to find another hobby other than torturing school children. It's pathetic."
"I don't have the foggiest idea what that syndrome is, but I don't. I just love my dad very much. He understands better that I like my hair short, big clothes and stuff. My mom absolutely hates everything I like. Sometimes I think she does it on purpose. She and my dad fight a lot lately. They haven't noticed that I listen to them. I don't say much either. They must think I don't know anything they say Do you think I look manly, much?"
"You can ignore that question if you want. I don't have much parchment and I don't want to write it all over again either. About your exams On vacation? At that place they really hate you. Or they want to inflate your ego more by having an IQ through the roof. Either one will make you more cocky than you already are."
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
"The truth if it's embarrassing to see him fighting with first graders, now second graders. However, it's the only thing he has in his pathetic life and I guess there's nothing more that can be done about it. Other than you want to complain to his face. I don't recommend it. Gryffindor points would go down the drain and you'd get blamed. Quite rightly so, who would do something stupid like that? On the other hand, it would be fun to see Snape humiliated. Maybe I'll pass that way if you decide to do it."
"Electra complex is when a girl has an affection and predilection for her father and a rivalry against the mother. It is very common, but not very dangerous most of the time. After all, there is rarely such a rapprochement. That you prefer your dad and reject your mom is a sign of competition. You know you are not the important female figure and your mom is his partner, but you want to take that place with him. There's a sexual explanation that I'm not going to bother giving. So answering both questions... you're not manly, you're just lazy to look like traditional girls. I understand the sentiment perfectly, it's annoying unless you want to have long hair and wear the skirt."
"My ego doesn't need to be elevated and I don't need a test to know my IQ. I know I'm extraordinary."
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
"I'm not in love with my dad. That would be weird. I don't hate my mom for that either. You're crazy. Really crazy. The cocky thing went to your head since before the exam."
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
"I'm just talking about a psychological pattern that has been studied and fits your profile perfectly. Whether you accept it or not is up to you. And I can't get my head around something that has always been sky high. How the reality to what I am extraordinary."
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
"Extraordinarily conceited, foolish and conceited. That's what you are."
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
"Says the girl who kept bragging about catching the snitch for four games in a row. Being that it even hit you in the glasses."
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
"I'll show it off because I got all four in my house and Gryffindor has the cup again Whoo! Slytherin lost. Poor ugly little things."
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
"Normal snakes don't fly."
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
"Neither do lions and chickens, but there you see me."
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
"Lion hair you have, but I don't think your legs are that bad."
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
"Did you see them? I got the impression that you didn't."
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
"I didn't see them, but chicken legs are impossible for an athlete. I mean, one more exaggeration from Drakonys."
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
"She hates me, too. She's just like Snape."
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
"Of course she hates you. She envies that you have a family that loves you and you achieve everything with hard work, not with your dad getting everything for you to please your tantrum."
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
"Awww, thanks for noticing that the dirt on my face and broken glasses mean something. Nice of you, Mr. Show-off."
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
"You're welcome, esteemed miss lioness who thinks she's camera flash."
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
"Harriet Who are you writing so much to?"
Harriet fumbles with the scrolls bought for her. The messages with Tom drain the existence at home. At least Hedwig is happy about how much she can wander back and forth. Taking turns with Tom's owl so she doesn't exhaust herself. She spins on her heels and looks up at Lily, who with hand on her waist waits for a reply.
"To Hermione, to Ron, and to Tom."
"Tom?"
"He's a friend from Slytherin."
"Oh... A boyfriend maybe?"
"Lily." scolds James in the distance. Harriet shakes her head.
"Just a friend." replies Harriet without shame or embarrassment. She doesn't even understand why her mom asks if they're boyfriend and girlfriend. "He lives in an orphanage. Doesn't have much to do other than talk to me and read. He told me we could talk like this."
"I see," Lily smiles and tilts her head. "If he says anything strange to you, let us know Yes?"
"Strange What level? He said I have an Electra Complex."
Lily tenses her expression and James chokes hitting himself in the chest. James hurries over to his daughter, crouching down to be at her level.
"What did he tell you about that?"
"Something about I'm in love with you or something. I don't pay much attention to him. He wants to show that he knows more than everybody else nothing else. He also said that's enough to know." James rubs his brow. It's no big deal. It's just a term that exists and well the psychologist mentioned Harriet's almost unrealistic attachment to him. He reassures himself and pats her on the shoulder.
"You don't have that."
"That's what I told him!"
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
He gives a snort of annoyance. The supply list arrived, he must buy everything, and he wanted to take the moment to review the issue of his ancestry. It should be easy, he told Regulus he would be qui and he agreed. He, his mother, father and a cousin would come. A girl he knows exists at Hogwarts, but personally avoids with all his might.
Bellatrix Black gives him the creeps.
She is about to graduate, she will be a senior. Yet she strikes him as a genuinely strange woman. The way she laughs, the way she behaves. Tom thinks she's demented and is amused by the fact that she's a close relative of Regulus.
He complains about Harriet being a "beast, "but Bellatrix is his favorite cousin. It's very ironic. He looks at his wristwatch again and gives a groan of annoyance, determined to go buy his things and if Regulus is still around, they'll do what they came to do.
He doesn't plan to waste any more time.
He buys half the things and fortunately, Daphne's gift a year ago, an extensive bag, does its job well of saving him the hassle. He would order it in his room later. What Tom didn't expect, is to bump into someone halfway through.
"Ah, Tom, good to see you."
Tom replies quietly, not knowing how to rush off. He didn't think he'd find James here, let alone that he'd also be with Lily and even less, that there would be Harriet. He mentally corrects himself, it makes all the sense in the world that they already want to buy everything. Harriet told him.
They're doing it as soon as possible because James' work is so time consuming, but he doesn't want them to walk around alone at the risk of some attack. Especially now, with so many rumors of possible altercations. Harriet says hello, cheerful and with her usual smile. Lily puts a hand to her chest in surprise.
"Is that Tom?" repeats Lily, turning to Harriet.
"Yes. I told you he's a year older, tall and looks about to order his servant to bring him a drink." jokes Harriet. Tom smiles slyly and snorts derisively.
"I wish that were the case, I've been here four hours and at this point, I'm starving."
Lily watches them alternately. From the first time she's seen an interaction like this between Harriet and another male. How she plays with the Weasleys is different from how she talks to Tom. The constant banter and prodding between them strikes her as suspicious? Though at the same time, it gives her a very specific hope.
"We can eat" She offers with folded hands and a smile. Jame looks at her quizzically. "Right? We have plenty of time here, too."
"Well, there was paperwork to finish for the Saeta."
"So much for a broom. The Nimbus is perfect, James." scolds Lily under her breath.
"But the Saeta is so much better, it'll be a few units. Having that one will serve you better...when they allow it." James repeats stretching his lips for a moment. Harriet leans towards Tom.
"A new broom came out, it's called a Fire Saeta. Dad placed an order to give it to me as a gift" Tom raises an eyebrow and Harriet reads the question perfectly "Don't you already have a Nimbus 2000?" in his gaze "Yes, but the Saeta is better. Besides, Dad overheard Lucius Malfoy buy a lot of Nimbus? Coincidentally enough for an entire quidditch team."
"I can't believe the importance they put on a bloody sport!" complains Tom under his breath. Disgusted.
"In my defense, I didn't ask for it. It just came to me and I'm not going to deny it." he retorts with a show of hands. "You're coming to lunch?" Tom looks back. He should wait a couple of minutes for Regulus...
He's hungry.
"Yes. I'd love to."
Chapter 9: Act. IX. A matter of Blood
Chapter Text
The food was very good, too good. Not the first time eating so much, but the first time having a familiar setting at the table. It was strange. He can't tell if he liked it or if it made him feel out of place. At the end and having bought everything else after the meal, he commented on the urgency he had. James had to go, Lily also had to go somewhere else and in conclusion, it's just him and Harriet on the register.
Many think it's her brother, few notice it's a girl in her oversized sweater, loose pants and dirty converse. Contrasting horribly with Tom.
"Name?"
"Tom Marvolo Riddle." answers the receptionist. The person, an old woman of who knows how old, looks at him over the top of her glasses.
"Age?"
"Twelve."
"And who is she?" she points to Harriet with the pen.
"She just wanted to keep me company. She's a companion."
The woman snorts and hands Tom a key. Harriet peeks in to see it. It's dirty and rather ugly. The two follow the path that is syndicated. The corridors are gloomy and out of inertia, Harriet grabs Tom by the wrist. Causing the oh-so-sudden clash, with the difference being that Harriet's magic doesn't want to blend in this time, it wants to hide. Tom pauses for a moment and looks at the grip.
"I don't think that's a good idea."
"Well, this place isn't a good idea..."
Tom gives a snort, also nervous. He ends up taking Harriet's hand and allowing their magics to remain in contact. It's not as embracing a feeling as it was at school. You can tell that this time, there is less longing. Just a simple longing and mutual urgency. Totally controllable.
It helps make the road less creepy and suspicious. You get the feeling that at any moment some magical creature would jump down their throats. It's not fear of the dark, it's wariness of it.
They reach the door and when they open it, what is there is a simple table with a huge book in the middle. Tom and Harriet look at each other with equal confusion. It's a lot of travel, a lot of paraphernalia for the blandest thing they can see. They approach the podium. The door closes behind them and they finally let go of their hands.
Tom picks up the book and opens it. The pages turn by themselves, right to the end. Normal, he tells himself. He was born in December, in the last days of December. Naturally it will be all the way to the back. He gets four pages from the end and there's his name. The ink lifts from the page.
Harriet half-opens her lips, amazed at the number of branches emerging on Tom's family tree. There are too many. Long, elegant and full of glittering emeralds. When gets to the end, to what Ton clearly wants to know, the whole thing wraps around itself and transforms into a snake. Tom's eyes gleam with the same intensity.
"Name?"
"Tom Marvolo Riddle."
"The last heir. The last hope of our blood."
The snake returns and with it, the book closes. Harriet licks her lips and Tom smiles with a triumphant, almost disbelieving smile. Opening the book again, there is a recounting of their entire family past. The oldest counted, it is, indeed, Salazar Slytherin.
"Gaunt."
Harriet went to the end, curious about Tom's parents. He directs the attention there and is struck by the distinction in his dad's name. Tom Riddle, written in black ink and not red like everyone else.
"Do you know who that was?" asks Tom and Harriet closes one eye, scratches her head.
"I'm not sure" Tom rolls his eyes. "I think they were a pureblood family, but fallen into misery" she replies uncertainly. Tom furrows his brow In misery? "It's one of those big surnames you know, but truth be told... There's no one with that surname now. That's why there are no Parseltongue speakers."
Tom looks back at the book What does this mean? He muses that the solution may lie in looking up his mother's family tree or his father's family tree. That way he would find out the difference in color and what happened to the rest.
He hurries out and Harriet follows close. Once outside, the same receptionist laughs in Tom's face.
"They had eyes like you" she comments pointing at him, much to Tom's displeasure. "Injected with the blood they cared so much about. Yet, when it came time for you to be born, they didn't come to put your name in blood. Funny."
"The red ink, is it blood?" retorts Harriet, disgusted and frightened in equal measure.
"The purest blood of all. So much so, it was damaged." scoffs the woman. Tom twitches his jaw and raises his jaw.
"And the black ink, what does it mean?"
"That he's a Muggle What else could it be?" Tom clenches his fists and Harriet notices it's colder now. "Among so many emeralds Didn't you see that fragile little flower? Ordinary and common as any Muggle."
In one swift movement, the Gryffindor takes Tom's hand and he looks at her with annoyance and surprise, not understanding why she is doing so until he notices his surroundings: large ice stalactites everywhere, frost and a cold atmosphere. "Can you give me mine? I was born a year later."
The lady smiles and holds out the key, less dirty than the previous one.
"Go ahead."
The path is just as creepy. Harriet keeps her grip on Tom. He refuses to let go of her hand as well as release the cold, destructive magic out of anger. They reach the room, the book exactly the same. Harriet looks at her hand and Tom's, then at him. "Don't freeze anything." she asks Tom looks at her with disdain. When they are free, Harriet takes the book in her hands. It opens in the middle with enviable symmetry.
What emerges is a long, lovely root. The Potters depicted as nummites and the Blacks, with star sapphires. Tom is unable to hide his envy at how shapely that root is, only interrupted by one thing: a green garnet flower.
"My mom's a muggleborn," Harriet announces quietly. Also fixated on that flower. "My family didn't care about blood purity. They just saw that flower and loved it, not knowing it was garnet" she relates with a certain admiration and fondness in it. "An extraordinary spark among the common... That makes me a half-blood."
Tom averts his gaze with a frown. He'd heard the rumor, but thought Lily was a half-blood, not a Muggleborn. She's just like Hermione. Which explained why Harriet was so offended when Hermione was called a mudblood and a little thing.
It's insulting something she and her family hold precious.
"I dreamed about this," Harriet comments. "The nummites, the sapphires, the flower.... But in my dream-"
There is a branch that suddenly emerges. Shy and silent, almost invisible. They don't know what that diamond means. Secluded and nameless. As if it is a part of the family that must remain a secret. Harriet leaves the book on the podium and at the same time that the plant withdraws, she meditates that, in her dream, something else was happening.
Something strange that still doesn't make sense and that maybe it was just a dream.
"How strange. There's no nothing of- owff."
She puts her finger to her mouth and sucks the blood. Tom reads and there's nothing further than four generations behind Harriet's great-great-grandparents. That branching is a mystery. Before closing the book, they both open their eyes wide, with the sensation of a large, strong hand on their shoulder.
"Would you be my heir?"
Harriet turns sharply, looking for the one who spoke. Tom senses nothing but Harriet's glowing magic, accompanied by the heat it causes. Seconds before closing the book, Tom manages to visualize a line that wasn't there before:
Magical Inheritance: Godric Gryffindor.
They both walk out, Tom says nothing about it, thinking that maybe he hallucinated it .
. . .
"Well..."
"Don't say anything."
Harriet purses her lips. They dared to go to the bank and as soon as they asked about the Gaunts, what they got was a sneer from the goblin. The bottom line is that the Gaunts were indeed a very poor family. A family that squandered their entire fortune almost a generation before Tom was born. Not to mention only with paltry belongings did they pay off their debts to the bank.
In conclusion, Tom wants the fucking earth to swallow him up. It should have been a moment of glory and now, it feels pathetic from many points of view. Sanguine, monetary, reputational What will happen when people link him to that? It's a common strategy in political games. He would be the laughing stock.
It's obvious he's angry. Harriet would like to do something to cheer him up. Make it just as lively as it is by correspondence.
"Maybe it's not as... Good as you'd hoped, but... At least it is what we suspected, isn't it?" Tom gave her an irritated, angry look. Accentuated by his red eyes and clenched jaw. "Besides... We're the same."
Turn, offended Equal in what way? She has money at least. One that grows rather than fades. Harriet clenches her hands and pulls her knees together, hunched over.
"We are half-blood. We're the end of a pure line and all the other families will look down on us for it." The disappointment is tangible.
She clearly doesn't care. Her family doesn't either. However, the continued hammering at it makes her feel less. Proving it is out of the question, yet Tom senses it easily.
What angers him.
It makes her insecure.
"And we're not alone. At least we can both walk it don't you think?" She gives him a friendly nudge and Tom exhales sharply.
"Yeah. I guess so."
For ten minutes they watch the wizards come and go. Mentally, Harriet counts everyone they pass in green and red robes. Tom tries to push away the negative thoughts, concentrate his magic inside him and maybe calm down at all. An idea suddenly serves.
"Tom? Hey!"
Clumsily Harriet follows it into the bank. Stumbling and causing his glasses to twist. Tom in front of the goblin in charge and saying:
"I want Salazar Slytherin's vault."
The silence in the entire bench is stupefying. The creature peers out, judging him. Tom stands his ground "Key?" He stretches out his hand and Tom extends his own, making a fist and releasing his blood into the other's palm. Salazar cares about blood. He wouldn't lock that with a key.
It must be something all his descendants have. Harriet thinks he went mad until the elf returns to his place and fills another to guide them.
How did that work? It's a mystery to her. They are guided to a vault deep in the depths of everything. So much so that there is even a dragon guarding it. The door is not like the others. It has an intricate system made of snakes. At first they just stare at it, for even the elf doesn't know what to do. Everyone talks about that vault, no one has seen it being opened. Not even the elders.
Tom moves his jaw and approaches. "Open."
The whole mechanism starts to work and finally, when it opens, it is a huge cave full of gold and other treasures impossible to count. Harriet whistles, the Potter vault now looking small. Tom broadens a smirk of belief and satisfaction. In the end, it's not all going so badly.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
"I'll go wait for my mom at the Leaky Cauldron," Harriet informs. "Don't let it go to your head too much that you're a Slytherin."
"You can't get on anything that was already up in my head."
Harriet laughs through her nose. She dismisses simply and walks away. Tom gets sudden discomfort. It is colder than before and dark for no reason. The small, warm, glowing figure walks away, losing herself among the people circulating Diagon Alley. He opens closes his hand before looking at it.
He rubs his fingers together and bites his lips. It's strange how unpleasant it feels to be alone after having been in company.
"Ah, there you are. I thought we were never going to find you Where were you?"
He drops his eyebrows and boredom takes shape on his face. Regulus couldn't show up later. It would be a crime.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
"He's a very handsome boy."
"Aha."
"Don't you like him?"
James is left with food on his cheek, looks at Lily, then at Harriet. The girl shrugs.
"He's a good friend." she replies, even though she has no real relationship.
Lily doesn't insist. She continues at her food, and so does James, with some relief at that. So far, he hadn't feared for Harriet and a boyfriend. She is so anti-parabolic that it seems impossible. He chides himself over the matter. It's what caused the trouble to begin with. His daughter will sooner or later have some suitor or someone to annoy her.
He gestures to Lily who nods. They should have done this earlier, but it's time for the talk.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
It's back to class.
Everyone is getting back together.
Tom has no specific direction, he's just moving forward with nothing on his mind. Which is a lie. He's cold and an unpleasant feeling nags at him. Nagini tucked into his clothes only accentuates that feeling. By inertia he heads towards that which negates the cold a bit and stops, surprised to be a couple of feet away from Harriet.
She says goodbye to her father, to her mother and finally, to the one Tom assumes is her godfather. The one he keeps mentioning all the time. He looks a bit like Regulus. By derivation, he is Sirius Black. Panicked, embarrassed to be there, he gets on the train and into the first empty cabin he can find
"Why did I walk towards her?"
"Naturally you are attracted to her. Your magic and hers harmonize very well," Nagini says, slipping out from under Tom's clothes and facing him. "The difference is that your magic is repellent, hers is alluring. She'll never go to you, you'll be the one going to her."
"How pathetic."
Nagini gives it a sense of dependency that he hates. He doesn't want to need anyone. Only from himself and barely from Nagini, who looks older than a turtle.
"Can't I stop that thing out?"
"No. You don't want to either."
"Of course I do. This-"
"Humans, wizards, aren't so good alone. Whenever they're in solitude, they lost their lights" Nagini points out and Tom frowns. "They become weak and their existence is meaningless. Magic tries to unite, to be one with itself. That's why, by isolating itself, it ends."
"It's not going to happen to me." he states reluctantly and grumpily.
The discussion is interrupted by the cause of it. Harriet greets Nagini, patting her head for the first time and causing satisfying hisses from her.
"How did your summer end? Great lord of Slytherin." ironizes Harriet and Tom couldn't finish formulating the response when he gets distracted.
"You're... Changed." He raises an eyebrow, unsure how to say it. Harriet lowers her head and looks at herself.
"Oh. Yes... Don't ask me how. They just happened."
Although there is a noticeable increase in her musculature and mass, the most striking thing is that her bust is very large. It looks almost disproportionate, though it's the fault of the large clothes she's wearing. Harriet shrugs and shakes her head, her hair messy as usual.
"It bothers to sleep."
"I figured... I did well," he says after it dawns on him. "By the way, I couldn't send it that day. I had the test, I won, in case you care to know" Harriet laughs through her nose. "Happy birthday." Harriet takes the gift and smiles slyly.
"Thank you. I thought it would be a book."
"I couldn't think of anything you might like to read. I went for something safer."
"How sweet."
Harriet doesn't get a chance to open it when Tom grabs her hand. He looks annoyed, to Harriet, no reason. He, however, wants to feel that warmth again, staring at her. It's an impulse that comes from his subconscious. It always happens. He looks at her and looks at her, she reciprocates and holds him too. The magical swirl they cause is gentle, it's a simple reunion. Harriet smiles at him, with graceful shivers all over her body.
Until she notices she can feel Tom's heart. The way it beats racing, how his thoughts are a restless snake.
Tom can feel Harriet's heart. Racing, simple, excited, fast, warm, anxious. Her thoughts simple and restless. Just like a deer leaping across a plain. A deer approaching the snake and sniffing its head, indifferent to the exposed fangs.
"Could you-"
"What did you come for? Potter."
They let go and Harriet gets defensive. Regulus is tall, his wavy black hair falling past his shoulders. The girl folds her arms, gift in hand and brow furrowed.
"Nothing you'd be interested in. I was just leaving."
"With your mudblood and the weasel? You're the same and even worse than Sirius, always looking for scum to befriend. How pathetic-"
"Regulus, be quiet." orders Tom, before the light bulbs explode and before Harriet hits him. He sees Harriet as very capable and honestly, he'd enjoy it. "Sit down. Stop being a five year old." Black sits down and Harriet scoffs.
"I didn't know you were a dog. It suits you. Considering there's nothing you know how to do alone." Harriet points at Regulus. Tom says nothing. It's a certainty. He saw it that day in Diagon Alley.
Regulus only does what his parents tell him to do. Knowing him so well you can tell he doesn't have much thinking of his own. He's a Black. Nothing more. Harriet is pulled back by her hair. Nagini exposes her fangs and Tom stands up abruptly.
"Aw, my horrible lil' cousin," Bellatrix shrieks. Harriet whimpers under her breath, she feels like she's going to lose her scalp. "What are you doing here, regretting not being in Slytherin? Too late. Too- Ow!"
Harriet looks around and bolts for another carriage. Bellatrix rubs her eyes, blinded and feeling like she has a burn on her hand. Tom moves his jaw, annoyed that the Blacks came to interrupt.
"You shouldn't hang out with her," Regulus opines, trying to clear his gaze. "Not only is she inferior, she's also a bad influence" Tom turns to him with a raised eyebrow "Sirius wasn't perfect, but he was a Black. Until he met James Potter."
"The Potters are like bitches who will romance anyone. Veelas or hidden mermaids. Their little sparkles and stupid smiles that convince everyone. They make them blind" Bellatrix drops reluctantly into the seat. Tom sits back down and Nagini climbs into his lap. "I'm not going to blind you, Tommy." she purrs leaning against him. Tom immediately pushes her away and Nagini giggles.
"What a useless warning. That's already happened."
Tom adds nothing to this conversation. He doesn't know what to think and refuses to accept that this could be true. Deep inside himself, on the contrary, he knows that it is reality. That a whole year of studying and spending time together is the other reason he tries to see her all the time.
Because her smile is cute.
Her company is comfortable.
Her magic gives warmth and glow.
At the end of the day, even though he denies it and hates it, there is a feeling of attraction to Harriet and just as he doesn't understand it, he is also unwilling to let go of it even though he feels it is necessary. He wants to be independent and he wants Harriet's company.
Tom wishes social relationships were less complicated.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
"What happened to you?"
"Bellatrix pulled my hair. I'm starting to think Sirius was right when he told me she's crazy." grumbles Harriet rubbing her head. Hermione enters and Ron locks the cabin once he's inside.
"Bellatrix?" repeats Hermione. "She's not in seventh year? Why would she be...?"
"She was with Tom. I went to greet him, he showed up and she went berserk" sums up Harriet dismissively. "That's the first time she's ever done that. What's wrong with her? I think she ripped the neurons out of my brain."
"The Blacks are crazy. All of them. Except Sirius" Ron says confidently about it. "He ran away. He got that germ out of his system."
"People aren't a germ, Ron," Hermione criticizes Hermione. "Though yes it is very odd that he attacked you" opines thoughtfully. "And what's that?"
"Ah, this... a present, though I didn't have time to open it."
Harriet tears the paper and tosses it carelessly aside. At first, she can't find any shape for it and has to think about it a lot. It embarrasses her how long it takes her to understand that it is a purse. It is folded and she will have to flatten it with something to get it back into shape. It is square, black with gold clasps.
When she opens it, she puts her hand inside and because of the difficulty of getting to the bottom, she realizes that it is extensive. Harriet whistles in amazement. She asked her mom for one like this, but all the options were either too bland or pink. It doesn't match anything she has in her closet, plus they would look ugly with a sweater and baggy jeans.
Harriet feels something and although initially startled, giving a squeal and causing a sparkle, she reaches for it and pulls it out. Tenderness overcomes her, "It looks just like Hedwig!" she whines, shaking the plush doll. Hermione takes it for her while Harriet rummages around.
The stuffed Hedwig has a note on it that reads "1/2."
After some more rummaging, she finds a snitch made of plush and about the size of a watermelon. Harriet carefully tears off the note.
"So you can sleep in Gryffindor. I'll assume the bag will do for the next Hogwarts homecoming and bring the tons of cushions you use." TR.
"Who gave it to you? It's very pretty." opines Hermione. Ron plays with the plush snitch.
"Tom gave it to me" replies Harriet folding the note and putting it inside again. She picks up the owl plushie and holds it in her lap. "I didn't think he was going to give me anything. The greeting he sent me was enough for me. It made me happy." she admits with a smile and her green eyes twinkling.
"I don't think it's good. Maybe it's a plan to attack you later" Ron opines, paranoid. "Think about it - Drakonys set all of Slytherin to taunt you. Maybe this is to find out about you and taunt you later."
"How far-fetched." complains Hermione. "Harriet and Tom are friends. It's obvious."
"Harriet and I are friends, but I don't give her stuffed animals that might be cursed to find out her secrets." Ron retorts shaking the snitch and Hermione stretches her lips.
"How do you know they're cursed?"
"They could be."
"Prove it."
Harriet pays no attention to the argument. There's no way Tom would do it with that intention. He's not like Drakonys. Even when she felt foolish to admit her mania for plush dolls, Tom took it as a random taste and now, he collaborated to aggrandize the collection. As well as carrying it around.
The lights grow brighter. While they fight, Harriet only gets more and more embarrassed, thinking about Tom as usual and in it, feeling the fluttering in her stomach. As if they were bringing their magics together again and she could sense the same thing he feels, her magic so cold, but dancing elegantly.
Harriet keeps thinking about what Dumbledore told her. That every magic is beautiful in its own way?
To Harriet, there is no magic more beautiful than Tom's. It's a thought that takes hold with the times she sees it. Always around him like a nocturnal halo that protects him from a world so complicated and strange. He raises the stuffed animal to his lips and presses his chin.
Tom is the quintessential Slytherin's prince. Now they know that with good reason being his heir. It embarrasses her in a way Is it embarrassment? What do you call what it causes her? She doesn't know. It's what drives her to look at Tom more often when they are in the great dining room, studying or just bumping into each other by accident.
Taking her eyes off Tom, is like taking her eyes off a fantastic creature in itself. Perfect and beautiful. Tom doesn't seem real. He never has. Harriet reddens and hides her face, not knowing how to explain what causes more detail in him.
The way he smiles.
The way he talks, always so sure of himself.
The certainty in what he knows.
The passion with which he talks about magic and wants to learn from it.
The way his red eyes pierce to the point of feeling like they penetrate her soul.
There is too much in Tom that causes Harriet this "shame" and it is worse in thinking that she would want to tell Tom. To confess it to him as an embarrassing secret.
"Harriet?"
"Huh? What?" she stammers in a daze.
"You're red. Do you have a fever?"
"Nope. I just...got hot."
All three see the lights and they're so intense, they're both red too. The excuse is left believable and Harriet, saved from further explanation. As her mind is totally diverted into fantasizing about Tom.
She needs air.
Or jump out the window.
That would also save her from this.
Chapter 10: Act. X. Kinda close
Chapter Text
Drakonys shakes her head and gives a snort, scratching behind the ear. How long has she been here? She can't even remember the moment he sat down to... To see what? Drakonys gives a snort and rolls his eyes, looking at the window again.
Although she enjoys being at home and likes having vacations, compared to Hogwarts she doesn't have too much to do. Drakonys is bored out of her mind at home. She's done her homework, received a few letters from friends, but in general: nothing worth mentioning. She gives a grumble, hugging her legs and resting her cheek on her knees, a fleeting thought passes without permission, leaving her lips:
"What could Harriet be doing, is she bored too?"
Surely she is. Weasley must not have to buy even twenty centimeters of parchment and the dirty blood must have her Muggle stuff. A chuckle furrows her lips. Maybe when the year starts, Harriet will realize the mistake he made in not choosing her as a friend.
And Harriet will ask her to make amends for that mistake.
It became, in a way that she herself is not aware of, the only thing she fantasizes about during all the vacations: how Harriet comes to her, begging for forgiveness, begging to be friends and how she has pity on stupid people, she will give her that chance. In conclusion, Drakonys only thinks about Harriet and how they will be friends in the next school year. How they will be together like they should have been together from the beginning.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
Tom doesn't avoid the laddish grin as he notices Harriet carrying the bag crossed across her chest, he can assume she's already seen the contents. He goes with Hermione and Ron, the usual. She waves to Hagrid and continues on her way. Tom is momentarily distracted by Drakonys passing by, talking quietly and with no one with her.
"Another year, again stuck with the dirty blood and the weasel. As if they weren't a bloody pest around her." Is she angry? She's furious. Her fantasies formed out of thin air during the vacations simply vanished in a single second with an act Harriet isn't even aware of.
Tom raises an eyebrow, curious at the comment so... Specific?
"Tom," He turns his attention back to Regulus. "Let's go quickly, before all the second years get stuck with the carts."
"There are plenty of wagons to spare." Tom retorts annoyed at the rush he's in.
"You shouldn't take it so easy on your way back," Bellatrix opines with a long smile on her lips. "After all, it will be time to announce that you are the heir of Slytherin. The faster everything happens the sooner you will have your position!" she exclaims excitedly and leaning towards him.
Tom rolls his eyes. Bellatrix's attitude is irritating. Too invasive for his liking. He likes his space, she invades it every now and then. Besides, sooner or later, it will be a warning to give himself. He has the ring he got from the bank to prove it. So he wouldn't be getting a cut every time he goes.
The ring already has his blood in it.
The order doesn't alter the outcome, Slytherin will know they have an heir to their founder and who knows, maybe that will help bring some order to everyone.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
Drakonys keeps her eyes on the Gryffindor table. He moves his lips from time to time, watching Harriet who is talking to her two friends and at the odd moment, the Weasley twins. Drakonys gives a heavy sigh. She's bigger now, or is it her idea? Her shirt looks a little tighter than before, hair just as messy, new frame, this time gold and the glasses bigger.
It helps to show off her green eyes better. Drakonys looks down at his food and gives a dejected sigh, entering the sad stage of her disillusionment. Crabbe and Goyle are at her side, but they both just devour like animals, plus they're not worth talking to. They never have anything to say.
It's... overwhelming.
She looks to the right, where she notices Tom. Drakonys sees him the same as always. Nothing worth mentioning. As princely as ever. All the girls in his year look up to him, sighing and wanting to make conversation with him. In vain. Drakonys loses interest, turns to Harriet who laughs out loud before saying something.
Whatever they talk about. Drakonys tilts her head, her long blond hair falling over her shoulder Why does Harriet like being with them? That they're so little. Unlike her, who is a Malfoy, who could make the best duo for being of great surnames, intellect, and remarkable magical ability.
Harriet chose them.
Harriet prefers them. Why, Drakonys doesn't know.
"Did you see Harriet?" whispers Blaise Zabini under his breath. "I think her parents got desperate because she has chicken legs and had her breasts surgery."
"'Breast surgery'?" Drakonys repeats, confused.
"I passed in front of their compartment on the train. They didn't close the window properly. Her breasts are huge" Drakonys wonders why Blaise was looking in? They all change at about the same time, so he could see anyone. "Her mom's a muggle, they do weird stuff. They have surgery to have what they naturally don't ever get. They put that on him." he expostulates mockingly.
"I think it suits him better to be a stick, rather than have that" scoffs Pansi. "She's going to fall forward when she walks." laughs indiscreetly.
"Oh please" replies Drakonys. "They must be no big deal... Even her parents wouldn't invest that much money in a lost cause like beautifying her. That doesn't exist." scoffs Drakonys, downplaying the matter.
It turns to a talk of how pointless Muggle aesthetic processes are and when they leave, Drakonys can't resist looking towards Harriet. Notes that Blaise was right that Harriet has a lot more chest, but also that her body itself is bigger. Stronger. Drakonys watches Harriet until their paths diverge.
Harriet towards Gryffindor tower and Drakonys towards Slytherin.
After Snape's introduction and warning like the year before, they are free to go to their rooms or fool around in the common room another while to talk. Or so they should be. As soon as he leaves, Daphne, Regulus, Bellatrix, Theodore Nott and Marcus Flint make them stay there. It's almost a cultist situation judging by the formation. Drakonys frowns as soon as sees Tom stand at the front, hands behind his back and his usual smug gesture.
"Up until a few minutes ago, Slytherin was said to be the house of greatness, where there is nothing but supremacy... Yet last year, we took third place in the house tournament" Tom points out. "Of course, this complaint does not involve those who have just arrived, but the warning I am going to give is: this year we must win the house cup and we must stop the vulgar behavior that has made us the target of nicknames and even disrepute in front of the other houses and multiple teachers."
"What are you talking about?" retorts Blaise crossly. "The only thing that happened, is that-"
"I'm not interested in mediocre excuses" Tom interrupts, pulls out his wand and with a fancy flourish, pops four bubbles. "Gryffindor, by contrast, was a very willing house to win, and it succeeded. No wonder. It's the usual, however, we were outclassed by Ravenclaw" The pair of emblems above Slytherin. "This year it can't happen. I care little for your lives, your supposed weaknesses: practice, study and behave yourselves" Tom orders disdainfully as he looks at them all. "Prove why this is the best house at Hogwarts."
"And who do you think you are to spout all this lecture?" retorts Emma Vanity. "As far as I remember, you're just-"
"Heir to Salazar Slytherin."
A long, cynical smile widens on Tom's face. For many, it's the first time they've seen him smile. Tom calls out to Nagini, who passes through them all. Most turn away at the exclamations of fright. The snake rises to its shoulders and exposes its fangs. Drakonys between opens his lips and breaks into a cold sweat.
"They smell of fear."
"Maybe they'll do some good this way."
Bellatrix laughs openly at the panic Tom caused. It's a good introduction, also a good warning. Slytherin is always ruled by power. Whoever has the best family will have the final say and the right of claim. Indeed, Tom beat all of them without even having said a word before.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
"Heir to Slytherin? But Harriet -"
"It's no big deal to us. We won't have to put up with it. Don't freak out." recommends Harriet. She lays her two new plush dolls on the bed. She loves the way they look. Hermione stretches her lips.
"It could be serious Don't you know the legend?"
Harriet looks aside and none help her. Lavender, Lee, Parvati and Alicia give her a dirty look.
"Harriet, your parents are students here. You should know."
"That's, that's false, you didn't see my dad and Sirius!? They were getting into trouble on their own, not because of palace rumors."
Hermione would like to give her the pass, but she still thought it was very strange that they didn't mention it to her. Considering Harriet knew about Hagrid, also about the forbidden forest, there are too many things that don't help in her favor. The only thing she can think of, is that she forgot about it because she wasn't interested.
"It is said that when a Slytherin heir arrives at the palace he will unleash Salazar's fury by opening the chamber of secrets" Hermione explains. "And whoever the heir's enemies are, they will be eliminated."
"And Slytherin's enemies are very obvious."
Harriet frowns. That would make all half-bloods enemies of Slytherin. However, Tom is a half-blood too. She doubts very, very much that that will happen. Harriet rubs her forehead and gives a snort.
"Don't be ridiculous. It's not going to happen. Tom is... Weird, but not a racist, classist murderer or anything."
"Well, Slytherin is Slytherin. It can happen." opines Lee and Harriet sits on the bed. She hugs the owl doll and looks out the window. It's not going to happen.
Tom is not like that.
The first few weeks are curious to say the least. Slytherin in general behaves more secretive, but cocky at the same time. It's an achievement, no one would think they could get any worse. At the moment they are in the lead, although it's also easy for them with little or no points off on behalf of Snape, who is dedicated to taking them away from everyone else.
They talk a lot in class, they're also some of the best in practice. From what she's heard from everyone, it doesn't just happen sophomore year, it happens every year. It's creepy. At the same time, they start Quidditch practice and... They can't make it.
"We ask for space h-"
"Here's Professor Snape's signature. If you want to check it out. It's reserved for us." expounds Marcus. Oliver reluctantly takes the paper, Harriet twitches her jaw, annoyed to see Drakonys here.
Even wearing a Quidditch uniform doesn't stop her from looking like she's perfect. Hair braided and pinned up neatly, uniform perfectly to her size, Nimbus in her hand. Just like the rest of the team. Harriet already knows what to complain about in the letter she will send to James.
"That says it will be for two weeks."
"We have a lot of new players." excuses Marcus and Oliver opens and closes his mouth. They didn't get that treatment with Harriet.
Who was still in flying lessons.
"Let's go." Oliver concludes, sulking and determined to complain to McGonagall. She'll know what to do. Annoyed, they all leave. Drakonys can't resist laughing, and Harriet just stands there with her anger on her face
"Harriet! I can't see!" whines George and she ignores him. Right now, she doesn't care that her magic decides to be a camera flash .
. . .
"How strange, I doubt it could look like that."
"I hope not . Not to be hateful, but Slytherin lately is being unbearable." Tom laughs and Harriet grumbles, irritated.
"I commanded them to be better. Unfortunately I also made them worse than a plague. The cost of perfection" Harriet rolls her eyes. "Am I unbearable too?"
"Always, but I've grown accustomed to the polar cold of your soul." Harriet ironizes returning to her task. Tom laughs lightly, doing the same.
This time, they are not face to face, but side by side, accidental contact happens every so often and with it, their magics have frictions that generate unconscious shivering.
Something else happens these first weeks and it is the urgency to get in touch. Every day they see each other, every day they rub against each other, every day they hold hands and every day the same problem arises in their minds.
Tom hates needing it, but loves it when it happens. The warmth is lovely along with the companionship.
Harriet doesn't understand it, but she loves it when it happens. She loves that pleasant shiver next to the company.
Gryffindor and Slytherin can't get along any worse with so little time, unlike them who only get closer and closer.
Starting November there is a change.
Starting November there is something.
"I want your homework to be in pairs" Harriet, unsurprisingly, half gets up to go do her work with Ron. They made the agreement to rotate every so often. This time, Hermione is out. The next, it would be Ron and so on, "but, given how problematic this start of the year has been, I have dedicated that it is mandatory that her partners be from another house."
The complaints start instantly. Harriet keeps her face scrunched up. With only one Slytherin does she get along, and he's not in this hall.
"I took the time to put you two together, as I know how impossible it is for you to get along" McGonagall watches them over the top of her glasses. It's impossible for her not to know, unfortunately. "Hermione Granger and Blaise Zabini" Hermione covers her face with her hand as Zabini celebrates. He'll have the best job of all. "Ronald Weasley and Vincent Crabbe" Ron bangs his head against the table. "Harriet Potter and Drakonys Malfoy."
"NO. ANYTHING BUT HER."
Hermione and Ron scrunch up their faces, used to Harriet's sparks. Her shriek couldn't have been worse and neither could her hysteria. McGonagall's glare alone announces that it won't change her mind. Drakonys furrows his eyebrows further What's wrong with teaming up? It's the first thought, quickly hidden by the... "Professor, there's a whole classroom, you can put me with someone else." complains Drakonys, unwilling to have to share her note with Harriet.
"This is precisely why I put them together" she announces, closing the list. "As ladies, you should stop pointlessly fighting amongst yourselves and realize that this childish behavior must cease. Although it very well applies to everyone here."
Harriet reluctantly sits up and brings her hands to her face, pushing her hair aside and thus, her crooked glasses. This is a fucking nightmare. It can't be anything else.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
"I have practice, I also have to slit my wrists because I have to team up with Drakonys... I'm sorry, but I won't be able to come."
"Team up with Drakonys? That's pretty cruel of McGonaggall." says Tom, genuinely surprised.
His fortune is that he has to work with Ravenclaw, so he's hopeful that he won't clash too much with his partner. Putting Harriet and Drakonys together is just plain mean of McGonagall. He imagines her laughing evilly in her office.
This happens in late October. Days without Harriet coming to him because she doesn't have time. Whether it's other things or Quidditch on a strict schedule and hoarding. As November begins, Tom realizes how lonely he feels.
How much he hates the feeling of being in a place that shouldn't feel that way. It should be the way he remembers it, but Harriet isn't there. Sometimes Regulus is there, Bellatrix too. There are essentially more people around him, but with none of them he feels satisfied.
With none Tom feels he exists.
They see The Heir of Slytherin. It is satisfying and alienating at the same time. The way they look, behavior, and words changed make him feel different. Tom wanted it. He really wanted it. It's the superiority he seeks. At the same time it overwhelms him.
Because he already knows what it's like to have company. Someone on the same level as him and who understands what he feels in an inexplicable and silent way. To have someone who appreciates him and seeks him indifferent to his most ancestral heritage. Harriet only talks to him, keeps him company and seeks him out because Tom is Tom. Not because he is a descendant of Slytherin and all the power he can have.
Harriet seeks him out because he is Tom.
The others, they seek the last Heir of Salazar Slytherin.
And he never thought it would hurt him so much not to have someone to look up to him because he is Tom.
As November begins, he realizes how much Harriet means. As November begins and on the anniversary of their meeting, Tom wishes he didn't know her so he wouldn't have this ache inside him.
Chapter 11: Act. XI. In november
Chapter Text
"You write dreadfully."
Harriet continues to note.
"And how the hell do you not get your hair out of your face? It can't be anything. That's why you can't get it right."
Keep writing...
"I can't explain how you can be a seeker if-"
Harriet slams the table and Drakonys falls silent.
"This homework is due in two days and you didn't research anything you were supposed to. So for two hours, for two freaking hours, stop talking about how I look and focus!" she expounds looking at the ceiling and then at her. "Can you?" She lets go through her teeth and Drakonys licks her lips.
"I wasn't planning on doing it all by myself."
"I gave you exactly half the work. This" Harriet shows the chaotic scroll. "That's all I did. I just have to put it in order" scratches her head and smudges ink on her cheek. "Then transfer it to the parchment."
"That's working triple." Drakonys points out.
"It's either that or turn in the mess. I appreciate my good grade."
Drakonys rolls the eyes and has no choice but to start doing her part. She does have at least half of it found, the rest is missing and to write it up. They are both supposed to do it and Drakonys has the first questions. So she has to start.
For long minutes they manage to be silent and peaceful. This is the greatest achievement there has been since the previous year. They can never stand each other and rarely are they not fighting. There must be class for it not to happen.
"Hey."
"Hmm?"
"I don't understand the question."
"What is it?"
Harriet shifts and what was two hours to put it all together turns into four of figuring out everything they have to do. They can tell that this is why McGonagall did it in pairs. On their own they would never have reached the resolution. They take a break and irritated, Drakonys hands Harriet a handkerchief.
"Your whole face is full of inks."
She takes it suspiciously and wipes it off in fear of getting worse.
"You have good skin, but if you don't take care of it, it'll make a mess." complains Drakonys without looking at her.
"Do you get treatments or things like that?"
"I say that for your sake. Unlike you, blood heredity is on my side." Drakonys expounds, giving away how perfect she is without needing to take care of herself more than usual.
Face wash, sunlight potion and another to stay hydrated. Harriet rolls her eyes. Harriet vaguely thanks for the handkerchief.
"Those things bore me. I don't see any use for them."
"Are you sure you're a girl? How are you so disinterested?" complains Drakonys.
"Why should I be interested just because I'm a girl?" retorts Harriet.
"You're a Potter, you're the heir to the family name. You must look good. You'll be the face of your family...unless you manage to marry someone important and that's forgotten."
Harriet feels she is worse off with that answer. For long minutes they say nothing to each other. Drakonys watches her out of the corner of the eye. Outlines Harriet's profile, the red marks from rubbing too hard, eyebrows slightly furrowed.
It's the closest she's been to her in a long time. Above all, the first time they've been without arguing. Drakonys bites her lips lightly, feeling like she's sweating. Her magic, shy and unobtrusive, oozing out of her like a misty cloud. She tries to make contact with Harriet, but as soon as Drakonys realizes her own senseless impulse, she pulls back.
It is the same time Harriet speaks to her.
"My mom says similar things to me sometimes. That I should be more feminine, take care of myself more and stuff, but... it bores. It's not my thing." she comments, not sure if it's a good idea.
Maybe it is? Maybe McGonagall is right and she should behave differently with Drakonys. Be the mature one of the two, leave all the problems behind and start over. Have a friendship similar to the one she has with Tom Maybe? Less intimate.
Yes, maybe it's her responsibility.
Maybe.
"You should listen to her. Everyone thinks you're a boy because of how bad you look." Harriet presses her lips together.
"I don't like it."
"Huh?"
"I can't dress like you. I can't fix myself up either. What am I supposed to do?"
Drakonys mouth opens and closes, unsure how to take the question. She answers herself the Why couldn't you? With a: her legs are horrible and she looks malnourished, the same clothes wouldn't suit her.
"I like those clothes, but they don't fit me. So I don't wear them." sums up Harriet and Drakonys purses her lips.
"Your mom doesn't know about it?"
"No. She thinks I'm a boy, too. Actually, she'd like me to be like you. She asked me in what way. That she wanted a redhead, she couldn't marry the strongest genetically pureblood in the magical world." he grumbles and Drakonys laughs through his nose.
"The Blacks and the Potters are all the same."
"It's like they're a baby photocopier."
"So is my family, though it may vary."
"The Malfoy's beat the Black's."
"The Malfoy's always win."
"Will it be like that when you have children?"
"Errr" Drakonys stretches her lips. Oddly enough, she's never thought about that subject. "I don't know. Maybe. I just have to get away from the Blacks. They're my uncles. Gross."
"Run away from Crabbe and Goyle."
"More respect Potter. I'd rather be dead and buried than with either of them."
Harriet laughs through her nose and although the conversation continues, they get down to writing homework. They still have another hour in the library.
"Blaise mentioned that you had surgery."
"Me?" Drakonys nods. "No. I mean, it just grew up okay!? Annoying, but it grows on their own" she replies somewhat sulkily. "And I have a scar, but it was from something else. Someone almost killed me when I was little."
"Oh yeah?"
"Yes. Myself. I levitated a knife and cut myself."
"I don't believe you." admits Drakonys, incredulous.
Harriet opens her uniform. She has a sports bra on, it's essentially a T-shirt for her. She pulls up the elastic and reveals the long scar near her armpit. Then, with her clothes in place, she shows her forehead. The characteristic lightning bolt scar that everyone knows.
"Some idiot wanted revenge on my dad for turning him into the most wanted criminal in the English magical world and it ended up here. Other than those stitches, I've never had any surgery." Harriet assures and Drakonys whistles.
"Death and you have a close relationship."
"We love each other very much, even though we don't see each other often." Harriet ironizes and Drakonys laughs.
It becomes a constant recounting of tender childhood silliness. With that, the last hour passes quickly and Harriet has very little left to finish her part.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
"I knew it wouldn't be a total disaster to get the two of them together."
Harriet turns up her lower lip and Drakonys folds her arms, both sitting at the same table out of obligation. Hermione hasn't said anything about the time with Blaise. She can imagine what he's going to tell her after here. On the other hand, she holds out hope that maybe her endless fight with Drakonys is over.
They talked a lot and well these days, it had nothing to do with homework. They were conversations like she has with Hermione or Ron. Even about Quidditch, what's annoying about being on the team and stuff. It can work.
Harriet convinces herself that it can work enough.
Drakonys looks at Harriet out of the corner of her eye, fidgeting with her hand in her notebook without noticing.
As Drakonys leaves class, she notices Harriet looking for Hermione and Ron. Squints the eyes and clenches the jaw. Harriet must have noticed that they are perfect for a friendship. That she is someone more relatable than those two. Yet she's determined to keep looking for them Why? They're not needed in any way. Even when Drakonys tried to let her see her, she didn't listen.
"If you're going to talk this badly about Hermione, we'd better change the subject. I'm not interested in making friends over surnames."
"Why should it matter that she was Muggle-born? It doesn't matter."
Harriet insists on defending them. Why should they matter. They shouldn't matter. Only they should. Even if Harriet must excuse that she went to Gryffindor and not Slytherin. Drakonys reluctantly gets up and leaves, Harriet spins around in herself, wondering where Drakonys went. "Ah, what a pity... I thought we could all eat." Omitting the annoying and unpleasant comments, she's quite fun to talk to - just like Tom!
And he gets along well with Hermione.
Maybe Drakonys and Ron can talk Quidditch and get along.
Some other time it will be.
. . .
"Unicorns?"
"Yes. Hagrid got a herd that needs help and maybe we can see them," Harriet explains as they walk towards the bridge. "They like girls. Naturally they come close. And well... We'll see what we do." she laughs nervously at Ron's grimace.
Does that mean they're going to ignore him or what?
Harriet rolls up the shirt sleeves tighter, tie loose and disheveled and her hair more tousled than usual. For a moment she feels a kind of dullness. It is very momentary, almost imperceptible. Harriet comes down the stairs and stumbles, falling face first to the floor. Breaks her nose and also her glasses. Getting up, she coughs and sits on the floor. Hermione and Ron rush to help Harriet up.
"Are you all right...? Oh no, Harriet-"
Harriet tries to stop the bleeding with her hands, but cannot. She feels colder than she should. She looks down, not only is her white shirt dirty, almost all the buttons are broken, the fabric is split open. Her eyes water and the laughter behind her back makes her spin around.
"No. They don't bounce, they billow."
"I told you Blaise. I saw it. They're more watered down the coffee at the Weasley house."
Harriet furrows her eyebrows. She can't see anything, but she recognizes the voice. Ron picks up the glasses and hands Harriet his robe. Drakonys folds her arms and smirks, pointing at Harriet:
"See? All her torso is showing. The food went to her breasts" Drakonys sneers. "As deformed as she is, no wonder even her mom doesn't love her" Harriet shivers in her seat Why is she talking about that? Why here and now in front of everyone in Slytherin with her? Did she tell them? "She realized she gave birth to a rickety chicken."
"That's enough Malfoy!" complains Ron pulling out his wand. Drakonys laughs some more.
"What are you going to do weasel, protect your girlfriend? I didn't think you had such low standards. How pathetic." Drakonys laughs harder and harder along with the others. The bleeding stopped and Harriet wants her glasses.
She wants to get out of here.
That's all.
She doesn't feel well.
Between dizzy and with burning eyes.
Ron shouts a spell and Drakonys returns it, Ron is thrown away by the impact. Hermione hands the glasses to Harriet and hurries after Ron. Harriet takes a deep breath, tries to calm herself, but groans under her breath as water falls on her.
"I saw so much dirt on your face, I figured you'd need that." chirps Drakonys.
Harriet twitches her jaw, looks at her, and Drakonys stands still for a moment.
"I hate you."
She's so blunt and so soft about it. Drakonys holds her breath and before she can say anything else, Drakonys pushes her roughly, so much so that knocks Harriet back to the ground "Don't give me that nonsense! You're pathetic! You how your whole family and everyone you hang out with!" she scolds. Harriet stands up, glasses slightly askew and more disheveled than before.
"You just...!"
Harriet hits her, hits her so hard that Drakonys screams and bursts into tears instantly. Harriet quickly makes a run for it. She knows she wasn't supposed to do that, but how else did she let out what was inside her? How else could she let out everything she wanted to explode? Without making a mess with his restless magic.
Starting November she thought she could be friends with Drakonys.
And starting November, she realized that couldn't happen.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
It's distant, but there's something calling to him. Tom was tempted not to pay attention to it, but in the end what does he lose by it? His path directs him to one of the many towers of the castle. This specific one is not used. Hogwarts is huge, so there are several empty spaces. At first he does not know what he is looking for, but the feeling of warmth makes him analyze the surroundings better.
Unsure, because Tom thinks he is hallucinating, he approaches what looks like a small halo of light. He reaches out his hand and furrows his eyebrows more, feeling around until he reaches for the invisibility cloak. Harriet looks up, her nose bleeding again from how much she's rubbed it.
Tom looks concerned to notice her so bruised, her magic isn't having the usual effect of healing her soon, her glasses look a bit odd, warped in shape, as if they were repaired wrong. Harriet averts her gaze and lets out a sob.
"Can I have it back? I still don't want to be found and sanctioned." Harriet holds out her hand and Tom furrows his eyebrows.
"Sanction you for what? What happened...? Rather: What happened to you?" rebukes Tom, more accurate in his last questioning. Harriet wipes her cheek. Her rambunctious, overflowing magic causes burns in places.
Tom hopes he doesn't end up the target of it by accident.
"I hit Drakonys in the face. I broke her nose."
Tom sits down and hands Harriet the invisibility cloak, but keeps it held on one end. That way he makes sure she doesn't hide again.
"That doesn't answer the second question."
Harriet moves her jaw and lets out air, tense.
"At work I talked to him about things. I wanted to try to make us merge friends, make it work instead of fighting all the time" Harriet clarifies and Tom nods in agreement. It sounds good in his opinion, "but she told everyone" repeats in a more broken voice and again shedding lots and lots of tears. "To all her Slytherin friends! She made me fall just to make fun of this being big, she also said that... I just don't understand why she has to do that to me."
She pulls her hair, hiding in her knees. Tom averts his gaze and is slow to do more than just listen to her. He's not good at comforting people. How do you even do that? This isn't his thing. He's never been good at interacting with others. He also doesn't understand Drakonys' rationale.
What motivated her to do something like this? From what Tom could understand, she and Harriet got along well in that short period of time where they were partners. It could have lasted longer and Drakonys stabbed her in the back?
Doesn't even seem proper for a Slytherin. She's much better off having Harriet as a friend than an enemy. There is no valid reasoning.
Tom's way of helping is not corporeal per se. He barely makes contact with her, placing his hand on her shoulder. Harriet raises her face, looking up at Tom. His usual undaunted face, the soft red eyes that are directed at her all the time.
Dark magic picks up the traces of light, gathers and surrounds her, protects her from the chaos and confusion she feels. Harriet shivers and tries to pull herself together, embarrassed to be seen like this.
"Calm down a bit. Then we'll go to the infirmary." Tom proposes quietly and Harriet nods.
Tom wraps his arms around her in a hug and puts the invisibility cloak over, covering them both. Harriet clings to his arms tightly. She takes a deep breath and tries to control and suppress her chaotic emotions, to follow Tom's pattern of swaying. Tom kisses the top of her head and Harriet lays her cheek on his arm. "Thank you for being with me."
"You're welcome. I missed having you around."
Harriet nods, he missed her too.
┈ ⋞ ⟨ ✷ ⟩ ⋟ ┈
"So here you are, Miss Potter."
As you assumed, in the infirmary are most of the school's teachers. Not only Snape, but also McGonagall, Mrs. Sprout, Mrs. Hooch and Gilderoy Lockhart. Only to make it terribly worse. Harriet keeps her gesture up, undeterred to know what bad things are coming her way.
For it's not just that he hit Drakonys, it's that she's there with a bandage on her nose, for a single potion isn't going to magically fix it. A total disgrace. Judging by how they look at her, it's because Drakonys already told what happened. Harriet is slow to notice that Dumbledore is here too.
To make it worse.
"I see he decided to show up. Though I find it odd that it's not Sir Nicholas who's here, but Mister Riddle." comments McGonagall and that, that's already odd on its own.
"Sir Nicholas?" she asks back, confused. "I-I-I did-I did hit her in the face, I broke her nose and made her fall down" Harriet admits and McGonagall not only hardens her gaze, she also tries to understand her.
"I told you so!" exclaims Drakonys getting up quickly. "She's an animal! She wanted to break my face!" whines the blonde.
Harriet doesn't even look at her and pulls Ron's robe tighter. It's huge on her, so she crawls on the floor. Tom sees them alternately and slaps Harriet to get her to move.
"I made her come because she was bleeding from her nose and has a lot of scrapes" Tom informs, Harriet looks at him with annoyance, furrowing her eyebrows. "I also felt her magic out of control. A lot. It burned me." he mentions showing the robe and his ruined area.
"Nose bleeding? What happened?" Drakonys takes a step back and Harriet purses her lips. "Would either of you care to explain what really happened here? Why did you hit Miss. Malfoy?" asks McGonagall more directly and Harriet stutters before speaking.
It is Drakonys who steals the moment from her.
"She punched me in the face because she can't stand me! Because she can't take a simple comment! That's not why she has to hit me!" claims Drakonys and Harriet immediately reacts badly. The lights shine brighter and some plants catch fire.
Dumbledore finds this especially funny. It's seeing James Potter here again.
"You didn't tell me anything! You threw me off the stairs!"
"You slipped!"
"No! You hexed me into falling and that's why I can't even see properly! My glasses were damaged!" whines Harriet, almost hysterical. "My clothes got torn! You started calling me names! You pushed me and now it was just me attacking you?! YOU'RE CRAZY!"
"All right, girls, hush, hush" They both roll their eyes at Gilderoy's intervention. "This can be solved very easily" he assures them with a hand on his waist. "If it really happened Harriet must have dirty clothes! And-"
"A-ay no."
Mrs. Pomfrey hurries over to see what's bleeding. She gets so upset, the scabs break off. Tom helps her loosen the robe to show that she has the pants, shirt and everything on her soiled and torn. Essentially worse than Drakonys, who is grabbed by the shoulder by Snape before she decides to leave.
"But... For Merlin, what is all this!?" McGonagall is shocked. She doesn't tend how they got along so well in her class and now they're this bad. "And why did you hit Mrs. Malfoy?"
"Drakonys since the beginning of the year has been spreading rumors to taunt Harriet. She did it after she was pushed."
"You were there?" asks Snape, considering that Tom is making too much effort to defend Harriet. Tom shakes his head.
"No. It's common sense: it doesn't make sense for Drakonys to push her after a blow that clearly incapacitated her. Much less with everyone there surrounding her as usual." Gilderoy and Sprout grimace. That's true. It's not physically possible, not logical either.
"We can summarize that, although it was a very extreme measure... Harriet was defending herself," Dumbledore says. His voice soft and calm as usual, making himself the center of attention. "I am extremely disappointed in the unfolding of these events" he admits. "However, I am grateful that Mr. Riddle decided to help on behalf of the one who is the victim of the situation."
Drakonys lets go a frustrated and annoyed groan.
"My nose is the one that's broken and disfigured!" Drakonys claims pointing to her face. "Not her, who's just as dirty, ugly and badly groomed as ever!"
"Miss Malfoy, that's enough!" says McGonagall, angry and impatient. A few moments of silence before concluding the following. "You cannot condone any kind of aggression or annoyance to other students I find your lack of head unheard of, Miss Malfoy!" Drakonys breaks out in a cold sweat. "And to make it worse, the presence of other students, aware of the whole problem and encouraging it" grabs her forearm and finally says, "Two hundred and fifty points less to Slytherin."
"WHAT!" yells Drakonys. "SHE HITS ME AND SANCTIONS A...!"
"Of course Ms. Harriet is twenty-five points off for attacking you, Miss Malfoy, as that should not be a pattern to promote" informs McGonagall. "However, that punch wouldn't be in your face if you hadn't struck first would it? Miss Malfoy" Drakonys barely contains her tantrum. "And it will be ten points off for each of your classmates. It won't be difficult-"
"I have the list Professor!"
Hermione's voice echoes in the infirmary. Ron at her side with his hand on his abdomen. They scrunch up their faces, Ron has just vomited up a slug. Hagrid behind both students and vaguely explaining that he helped Ron vomit up most of the slugs he accidentally hexed on himself.
"On the other hand," Dumbledore adds. "Young Riddle scores fifty points. His sincerity, even against his house, deserves to be rewarded... Madam Pomfrey, have Miss Harriet stay the night, an owl needs to be sent to fix those glasses."
Tom makes a small gesture to Dumbledore and then looks with annoyance at Drakonys. She knows she's in trouble. Not with Hogwarts, that would be easy. She's in trouble in Slytherin and that, would be far worse than Dumbledore taking the matter as shuffled.
For her part, Harriet says nothing. She accepts the loss and is slightly relieved that it didn't end up being worse for her. She thought that saying what happened would end in the same thing, so she thought she would just accept any retaliation and live with it. Tom keeps his hand on Harriet's back, leans toward her.
"See you tomorrow."
"See you tomorrow."
Gilderoy gives a chuckle and leaves, sighing a simple "ah, teenage romance." With everyone out except the nurse, Hermione, Ron, Drakonys and Harriet, she passes the curtain so she can remove her torn clothes.
"Thanks for the robe Ron!"
"You're welcome!"
And Ron throws up another slug.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
"We lost in all three hundred and twenty-two points, where I recovered fifty. Tell me, Drakonys Do you have a brain?" asks Tom, leaning toward her, his eyes wide open and gesturing blankly, the blonde says nothing. "I asked... " He steps closer to her. "If you have... brain" He repeats and Drakonys doesn't answer, head bowed and shaking with fear. She's cold, feels as if Tom's snake is climbing up her body. "I'll assume no... That none of you" He looks to the group to the right, turned away there specifically. "Have brains."
"I-it was just a joke-"
"That it could cost us the house cup! The image in front of all the professors!" interrupts Tom, gruff, his voice tremulous and angry. "We're the house of elegance, but it just so happens that more than six members, you find them having an altercation with a Gryffindor... I'll put it very simply."
He smiles for a moment with his eyes closed and playing with his wand between his fingers. Nagini not far away, fixated on Drakonys.
"This kind of stupidity: I don't want it." Bellatrix laughs at the way they all tremble. In that they are all afraid of Tom and what he might do. They don't know what. They just feel... intimidated.
Tom's magic so strong, cold and heavy over the entire common room. It evens a knife at everyone's throat.
"There's still enough school year left to recover, but I'm not about to allow another altercation like this one. Am I clear? It's-"
"It wouldn't have been like this if you hadn't stood up for her! If you really cared about it you would have taken my side and not-!"
Drakonys screams and bursts into tears, falling sitting down on the floor. Nagini hits again and again the magical barrier Tom raises. It is invisible, but the shocks are very obvious, as is the venom coming from her fangs. It's a huge snake. One attack from it would kill anyone.
If Tom doesn't put up that cover, Drakonys would be dead by now. She trembles with fear, half lying on the ground and crying copiously. Tom stops Nagini and the snake slithers down her body.
"Fifty points is all we have Don't you know?" he bows, elegant and his cold eyes locked on Drakonys who can't even look at him. "A true Slytherin takes any chance... This was mine to fix your bloody mess... I recommend you start using your head. You wouldn't want Nagini to crush all your bones Would you?"
He walks past her, walking towards his room with Regulus, Bellatrix, Daphne and Theodore following.
"Everyone else, there's your warning. I hope it's convincing enough."
The cold leaves the common room, the fear and uncertainty does not. His snake is a threat, but what if there are more consequences to failing? To letting Slytherin down badly. Tom doesn't care when they don't earn points, when they simply can't respond. He's angry about tarnishing the image and losing the points.
Or so it seems?
They don't know anymore.
That doubt is what makes the fear grow among everyone, who run to their dorms. Blaise helps Drakonys to his feet, giving hera handkerchief to wipe herself.
"They believed the muddblood before they believed us." mutters Blaise. "We'll sort it out." he promises quietly and Drakonys nods, giving a louder sob.
He thinks of how Tom touched Harriet with such care, almost affection; his closeness gentle and not intimidating at all. As if Harriet were special and deserved special treatment. Drakonys wonders what the difference is between her and Tom? Who just threatened her life. Harriet is so happy around Tom.
Who is a psychopath.
But around her person, it's unheard of to be.
Drakonys hates her...
Hates Harriet so hard for being so stupid, so hypocritical and dead fly.
I hate you.
Drakonys brings her hands to her face and breathes through her mouth, nose throbbing and Harriet's words echoing in her head. This is so unfair. Maybe her dad can fix it.
. . .
"Harriet causes too much trouble."
"Drakonys who doesn't know how to accept that she didn't want to be friends with her" Tom corrects with boredom. He discards his tunic and tie. "I'm counting on you guys to help me get those points back."
"Of course how could I not? Anything for you, Tommy."
Tom manages to fluidly dodge Bellatrix's embrace, who falls to the floor awkwardly. She giggles and stays on all fours. Regulus rolls his eyes and Theodore mutters a question," Why did you really defend Potter? You could have left it at that. Perhaps it would have been a less severe punishment."
"Dumbledore was there," Tom points out. He pulls out a parchment and writes a note which he hands to Nagini. The snake leaves without either of them knowing how. "He is a hopeless romantic. He would appreciate the act of heroism." Theodore gives a snort. That's true. Tom pulls his hair back, having forgotten to cut it.
It's longer than he usually has it, the waves become more obvious that way. Also a little curl coming into his face. Regulus leans back against the wall and stares at it. The profile ivory and as flawless as the skin. He shakes his head softly and averts his gaze.
"I can prop my little niece up," Bellatrix proposes, swinging her legs back and forth. "So there will be no hard feelings with lions."
"I've got this, Bellatrix."
Regulus gives a snort. Every time it comes to Harriet, Tom says he'll take over. The Potters milling about as usual. Tom for his part stares at his diary, ink bottles on the side and bites his lower lip.
In early November there's a problem...
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
Initially, Harriet freaks out at the feeling of something slithering across her bed. Identifying Nagini, she calms down a bit. Pats her on the head and she hisses with pleasure. Harriet takes the letter and furrowing her brow heavily, manages to read what it says.
"Tomorrow after school go to the north lawn."
She folds the note and puts it under her pillow. "I don't know if you understand me, but you can sleep here if you want."
Nagini slides back down, Harriet first thinks she's going to leave, but discovers it's just her way of going under the sheet. She feels the huge lump curled up in front of her stomach. He wishes her good night and resolves to sleep. Tomorrow will be a long day without glasses. He will have a headache all the time.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
"Where were you?"
"I slept with Harriet."
It is very unusual for Tom to expose emotions when talking to Nagini. For everyone it's purely formless hisses, but they follow a pattern. Right now he sounds offended, confused and upset. The snake up on his lap and coiled in his arms even shows her fangs every now and then.
"Why would you do something like that? You know the teachers aren't supposed to see you."
"Are you envious?"
"That's not what we're talking about.
"Maybe you are," Nagini scoffs. "She's very comfortable to sleep with. You should invite her over to sleep over sometime."
"Don't change the subject on me." he insists through his teeth.
"Calm your temper. Maybe touching on specific nerves is weak, but you're well aware of how much and how bad the fight can be."
Tom isn't sure what angers him more. Whether it's how exposed Nagini was or the fact that his nearly ten-foot snake has more possible proximity to Harriet. Whatever the answer, it starts his day irritated.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
The lost points were no big deal in Gryffindor. There had been worse tragedies. She was made to feel better by the support of Fred, George, Neville, Ginny, Seamus, Dean and all the girls in her year. Ron and Hermione gave the abridged version, the one where not everyone has to know what Harriet's concerns are. It all came down to a simple: if Drakonys approaches, keep as much calm as possible and let her go down on her own.
She can't see well, her glasses would arrive in three days according to a letter from her dad. James demanded an explanation and well, Harriet doesn't plan to give one yet. That can wait until she's home, knows how to deal with her insecurities and all is well. It's not about her not trusting her dad.
It just makes her feel vulnerable and weak that so much is known about her low body esteem. It's overwhelming.
For the general good, she and Drakonys have the farthest stalls. Harriet does not try to look at her at any time, even by mistake. Doesn't want to deal with her any further than necessary. Which translates to the Quidditch match they don't have yet and will be for next year. Second on her day is trying to guess what Tom might want to talk about.
It's unusual for him to send letters to arrange a meeting. They usually come for some test or homework and must review. Classes go slower because of curiosity. As soon as class is over, she puts everything away and hurries to leave.
"Where are you going?"
"I have to do something. I'll be fine. See you at lunch." Harriet waves goodbye at full speed. Hermione turns to Ron and drops his arms. Sometimes Harriet is quite the case.
She bumps into everything in her path, but manages to make it to the covenanted garden. Tom closes the book he was reading and gets up from where he is. He puts his hands in his robe pockets and faces Harriet.
"I think I like Nagini better and better," Harriet admits with amused amusement. "Does it bother you that I let her sleep with me?"
"A little. I don't want her to be seen" Harriet nods, Tom never to mentions it, but it's easy to assume. Still, it struck him as odd that Nagini stayed. She obviously understands the situations around her. "I get the impression that it won't make anyone happy to have a snake over ten feet in the school. Even if it is a pet."
"Yeah, I should have thought so." she admits embarrassed and Tom denies.
"She knows she can't stay just anywhere. She just played dumb- Nagini." Tom punches himself in the abdomen, Harriet giggles, noting that she is, indeed, curled up on Tom.
Harriet smacks her lips and ruffles her hair with one hand.
"So...well, what did you want to tell me?"
Tom is someone haughty and very sure of himself. The slight curve in his posture is a sign of something different about him. Tom furrows his eyebrows and purses his lips. He thought about this a lot, but now he doesn't know how to say it. It's embarrassing. He opens his mouth and closes it quickly, still thinking about how to say it. Harriet doesn't avoid the sarcastic comment, "Take your time."
He looks bad at her and snorts, pulling his hair back, long and wavy; Harriet can tell he didn't try to style it as usual today. It looks a little messy, but lovely. Tom clicks his tongue and takes a step closer.
"I don't like to depend on people. On anything. I'm used to being on my own" he reports. Nothing new or that Harriet wouldn't assume on her own. "I cherish my independence. The idea of not urging anyone."
And now she has the feeling Tom wants them to not see each other anymore or cut down on time. Harriet disguises the unease that causes her, as well as the aching feeling Is it because of yesterday? Does Tom want to get rid of her because of that? Her magic goes on a rampage and by accident, causes a burn on the grass. Tom ignores it, staring into her eyes.
Giving himself strength and way in what he has to say and not losing focus. As well as not running off. He can't handle this. It's terrible. It's easier to bully everyone in Slytherin rather than set up something simple:
"And in general I hate feeling needy, of any kind" he says a little more accelerated, being aware that he's sounding really bad. "S-so" He stalls and reddens Why is he so embarrassed? It's nothing weird or embarrassing to begin with It's easy! It should be easy! "No, look, forget everything I said.
"Okay?" stammers Harriet, starting to worry.
"What I'm getting at" He holds up his hands, as if trying to focus on the fact that he should be direct. "It's just that I like your company" Surprise marks the only Potter heir. Her eyes wide with raised eyebrows. "And I like seeing you. In the literal and figurative sense" Tom feels his face burn. "I hate dependency, but at the same time, I like your presence; actually: it makes me happy and I checked that it doesn't happen with anyone else. So..."
He lets out air and although he looks a little hesitant, his magic betrays the lack of control he has on him. The fact that her emotions are never in charge and now, they're calling the shots.
"I was wondering if you wanted to be my partner."
Harriet throws her head back and Tom tries to decipher the lack of expression, how suddenly unexposed she is. Is that good, is that bad? Harriet stammers.
"You mean, being your girlfriend" She points it out and Tom nods. "Really?"
"I haven't been trying to say a sentence for twenty minutes without getting stuck, just to have you answer that." admits Tom, somewhere between disappointed and a little annoyed.
"No, I know, it's just that" Harriet brings a hand to her face and rubs it. Her nose hurts and so does her head. She needs the glasses. "If it's because of our magics-"
"Partly," Tom admits, "but also because of your company. I like having you around. Even if we're not mixing our magics."
Harriet lets out a breath of air.
"Do you think I'm pretty? Do I look pretty to you?"
Harriet doesn't think of herself that way.
No one does.
Only James.
For Harriet, there's no point in being with someone she doesn't like physically. That's why there are so many people who pair up because they see someone being pretty. In her case, she doubts very much that this is the case. Much less from Tom, who is basically perfection miraculously made into a person.
"Yes. I like your eyes" He tilts his head. "Green is my favorite color, plus, they're very expressive...and they go really well with your hair. It's messy, a lot, but that way it helps it look better and soft. The curly part in your face, the wavy in the back and the swirl on the top right." His account exposes something:
He looks at her too much.
Almost exaggeratedly.
"And I like it when you smile."
Tom averts his gaze, abashed at how exposed he is. Harriet purses her lips and averts her gaze equally.
"I thought you thought me dumb or silly."
"You're the only person I can talk to without feeling like it's a waste of time. There aren't many I talk to, but in the long run, it's only you I don't want to run away from," Tom explains quietly. "It makes me feel better to talk to you. Even topics I hate. It's different. Everything is different with you, so different only for the better."
An uneasiness flits through her mind.
"Don't you like me?" asks Tom, he thinks that's the problem.
It's the only reason Harriet is so ambiguous in her reply. Maybe he misunderstood a lot of things about her. They've known each other for a year and a bit already, but maybe that's not enough. Harriet gives a soft snort.
"That's not what this is about. Yes I like you a lot, but... it's you" Tom raises an eyebrow What does that mean? "I'm not refined like you, I don't have any plans for politics or power plans either. I like quidditch, goofing around, stuffed animals and dressing like this" Harriet points at herself in full. "I don't know if I'm really... I'm... good enough to be a girlfriend for you."
"I know all that and yet I hated not seeing you for more than two weeks."
Harriet bites her lips.
"I also resented Drakonys hurting you" He takes Harriet's hand, with her tangling fingers with his. "I know I love you very much being all that. Also that I wouldn't want you to change because you think you have to in order for someone to like you" He tightens his grip. "I know I have feelings for you, just not as simple as friendship. It's too vague, too shallow."
Tom is darkness by nature.
He's not capable of living on the shore.
He's not capable of not seeking depth and that's what burdens him.
It's an extreme. It's an exaggeration. And that right now, is to give that depth to what he lives with Harriet. To stop it being bottomless and turn it into an abyss. Harriet drops her head.
"You promise you'll do this to make fun of me later?"
"I promise."
Harriet smiles slyly and nods. As she hugs Tom, he lays his cheek on her head and suffers tremors throughout his body, with the sensation of sweating and glowing at the same time. As if he is embracing a burning star right now. Harriet tightens the embrace, hiding the smile of excitement that emerges on her face.
Standing apart, Tom wasn't expecting the tug on his clothes to make him bend down, be at her level and feel Harriet's lips pressed to his. His eyes widen in shock. Harriet releases him and takes off.
She runs, so fast that she disappears from his sight in just seconds. Tom blinks repeatedly and rubs his neck.
He marches to the Slytherin common room, needing to lie still to stop shivering. He doesn't understand what he feels in his body, which is nothing more than simple joy and satisfaction at being reciprocated in his attraction.
And finally, at the beginning of November, he begins his romance that seeks its shape and color.
Chapter 12: Act. XII. Closeness and more
Chapter Text
Harriet takes a deep breath and smiles, throwing her head back. Excited and incredulous that it's not a dream. That it is not a fabrication of her mind. She gets up and hops down the hallway, reaching the common room without a hitch. Slipping into the room she hugs the Snitch plushie, hides her face and continues on oblivious to her own attitude.
"Harriet?"
Hermione doesn't know what's wrong with her. She hasn't seen her this happy in months. Harriet doesn't answer, self-absorbed in her own good feeling and indifferent to the amount of magic she lets go. How it makes the lights irregular, the manifestation in fairy-like glow and the cozy warmth it brings to the bedroom. It must be good, and for that, Hermione doesn't put much emphasis on questioning it.
In spite of everything, Harriet considers November to be a beautiful month.
Just because Tom told her that he missed her in her brief absence, he thinks her beautiful and wishes to have more of her company, in a more intimate and meaningful way.
How not to love the beginning of November that has brought so many good things.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
Nagini slides down her body, seeks accommodation on the bed. Harriet reads the small note the snake brought.
"I personally hate people knowing more about my life than necessary. I'd like to keep the relationship private. Just the two of us. Although if you want to tell your friends, I have no problem. Only they should matter right?"
"If you're not interested in letting everyone know, I guess I can deal with it."
Harriet folds the note and pouts. She feels like keeping it a secret, too. Every insecurity or intimate thought that has been exposed has caused problems and more discomfort in her life. She doesn't want whatever might come up with Tom to be ruined by someone on the outside. Be it Drakonys or whoever spreading unbearable rumors.
She trusts Hermione and Ron, at the same time that she wants this all to herself. It's her relationship. It's her intimate life. Until it's well formed, discovered, and established.... She prefers to keep it to herself. It's a relief that Tom wants this. All her mental images of the situation are horrifying.
Also, Harriet has it confirmed that she is happiest when it is just Tom in the picture. The more private her interactions and deeds are, the better he feels. In the note also comes a small key with extra signage.
"Seeing each other alone in the library is tedious. You can come to my room if you want. Just ask me first. Walk past someone, wear the invisibility cloak and you're done."
"Great." Harriet whispers fiddling with the key.
Harriet goes three or two times a week to Tom's room. It's not unlike the library, they read or just hang out together, but it's an environment that allows them to be snoozing together or just mumbling absurd thoughts.
Why is Quidditch about brooms?
Who was the madman who made the first potion?
Why isn't Expelliarmus illegal if it can make wizards lose their wands?
Why don't they teach non-verbal magic or magic without a wand?
Why aren't Squibs trained in making potions instead of being made useless in magical society?
Who wanted to turn a rat into a cup?
The answers are usually silly on Harriet's part, conspiratorial on Tom's part, but in the end they end in some laughter and pooling their magics together to enjoy the fluctuating sensation that becomes a little more natural as time goes on.
Understand what kind of emotion it causes. Mostly it's calm, a state of peace that has put them to sleep more than once by accident and they wake up with half the room frozen and the other wet. It's also a feeling of euphoria. A certain spark of eagerness to do more, usually ending in making out until they run out of air. It also helps to reach certain parts of their minds. Like it unlocks the passage to a specific subconscious.
They haven't explored it much yet. They don't know what they can really do with it either.
Christmas vacations are approaching, term are closing their first term and although it cost, Slytherin got their points back. Mainly thanks to Snape and that Tom has put everyone to work on that.
"They're in third place" Harriet mutters. "For what could have been, they're doing pretty well."
"I suppose they are. Besides, there's still a lot of year left" replies Tom relaxed. "As long as no one screws up again, maybe I'll take the cup from you."
"We'll see about that. I have a weapon called: Hermione Granger and I know very well how to use it." She jokes lying on the bed with her eyes closed. Tom laughs lightly, turning to look at her.
"I have that weapon in mind. It's my only current risk." the teen confesses.
"Speaking of Hermione... She and the others in the dorm are afraid about the secret chamber" Tom is left confused. "I told only them about your inheritance and it came up."
"Why is it scaring them?"
"They think you might kill all the impure ones. Indirectly, that's what Salazar wanted" Tom widens his eyes, "but there's no way you want that Right?"
Tom shakes his head. It would never cross his mind to do such a thing. At the same time, he gets the impression that others expect that of him. Regulus has made it very clear that he and his family, from his cousin, his parents and uncles to slightly more distant relatives, expect him to carry out Salazar's wishes. He can over understand the same thing Harriet tells him: massacre and disappearance of half-bloods from the magical landscape.
Tom does not know what he thinks of the idea. Dislike or not, he finds some fair and valid points. At the same time as reality it is a senseless and very dangerous act. It could diminish magic, not just the population, as usual his biggest concern is the magic itself, not so much who takes it.
"I want to find it nothing more. Killing people doesn't enter into my plans going forward."
Harriet laughs through her nose, with that answer, that's more than enough.
"You know, I asked my parents and they said it's no problem if you're going to spend Christmas with us" Harriet informs with her cheek in her palm. "Would you like to? Instead of going to the orphanage."
Initially, Tom thought about saying no. The thought of being faced so quickly with spending time with her family terrifies him. He knows how to pick his battles based on their outcomes. He couldn't even confess properly, his legs were shaking and he said silly things that almost ruined everything.
He's not ready to have James and Lily Potter around him. That would be too much. Despite his good acting ability, he will lose the facade and doesn't want to be embarrassed.
The one he went through in front of Harriet was enough for the rest of his life.
On the other hand, Tom thinks that being in contact with annoying letters and not only that, it means she would go a month without seeing her at all. Christmas plans consume her and she is in the process of getting used to a relationship. Also cementing the relationship well. In theory, this is the perfect time. It jumps into her mind that this way she has an excuse not to go with Regulus and Bellatrix. That would be worse and genuinely painful.
Tom concludes that the worst of all evils, is to cower to something that will be objectively better. Not only away from the Orphanage, the scandal of dozens of children, disgusting food, the Headmistress; Regulus, Bellatrix and whoever else is involved; he will also be with Harriet and be able to better understand what he feels as they continue to get to know each other better.
"Yes, yes I would like that."
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
"With the Potters?" repeats Regulus. Tom has just closed his trunk. "Why are you going there? It doesn't make any sense. Besides, their house is garbage."
"I'll figure it out on my own."
"You'd be better off at The Black Manor," Regulus retorts, noticeably displeased by the contrarian's decision. "My mom's counting on you to go." Tom raises an eyebrow, looks him up and down, and gives a snort.
"Who made her think I would do such a thing? I'm not responsible for delusions." Tom notifies shrinking the trunk and thus stowing it in his pocket. He stretches his arm out to the bed for Nagini to climb onto.
"It's the normal thing to do!" Regulus claims stubbornly. "We are the ones support you. Who are willing to serve the Slytherin legacy." he emphasizes and though he thought that would help, Tom is as neutral as ever. Nagini already coiled around the teenager's body.
"I don't remember servants being so outrageous." Tom complains before leaving first.
Regulus watches him go, his intense gaze locked on him and mentally wondering: why is he so intent on orbiting around Harriet? Around his cousin? Unfunny, with nothing interesting beyond being an embarrassment. It's all about convincing that it's Tom making a play to curry favor with the Potters.
Having lost blood purity doesn't take away from how respected the family name is. Everyone knows about James Potter, even if he doesn't participate in the chamber of nobles at the ministry, he has a vote there. He has also maintained his fortune and it has increased.
Yes. That must be it. It's not about Harriet, it's about the Potter name and the benefits that brings. He ruffles his hair with one hand and hurries to his bedroom to grab his trunk, repeating endlessly in his mind:
He's not interested in Harriet, just the last name.
He's not interested in Harriet, just the last name.
He's not interested in Harriet, just the last name.
He's not interested in Harriet...
He's not interested in Harriet. He could never be interested in her.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
"Why would you want to take him to your house?"
"Ron, he's a person, not a dog I just adopted."
"It's the same thing!" claims Ron as they walk out of Gryffindor tower. "The vacations are supposed to get us away from Slytherin, not to keep them even closer."
"Tom is my friend."
"That's a very bad idea."
Harriet forces a calmer gesture. She doesn't want to exasperate herself any more than she has to. This year, Ron and his family will be going to the house in Godric Valley, so she thought it a good idea to tell Ron that Tom is going to be there. She knows that Ron is suspicious of all Slytherins, but she was hoping that for once he would stop being so annoying about it.
Harriet forces a calmer gesture. She doesn't want to exasperate herself too much. This year, Ron and his family will be going to the house in Godric Valley, so she thought it would be a good idea to tell Ron that Tom will be there. She knows that Ron is suspicious of all Slytherins, but she was hoping that for once he would stop being so annoying about it.
After all, nothing ever happened with Tom. Not only because of his lack of interest, also because being friends, Tom avoids saying things that maybe make her uncomfortable and trying to change his thinking about it. It is those bad traits that he must change and inwardly he knows he must do so whether he is dating Harriet or not.
Ron on the other hand, refuses to understand and Harriet begins to wonder how to keep him happy if everything seems to bother him.
"Sounds like a good idea to me. Tom is a good influence." opines Hermione.
"Talk to the snakes! How can he be a good influence!"
They begin to argue, Harriet relegates herself to her thoughts and falls into the realization that if she said Tom was her boyfriend, Ron would be angry.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
"Don't tell her anything about whether she looks good or not."
Lily looks at James with confusion and annoyance. James for his part is impatient. He knows things have happened at Hogwarts and Harriet hasn't told him, he wants to know all about it. Also has that Tom is going to be at his house for a month. He was planning to say no to Harriet on the subject, but there is really no reason to refuse.
Besides knowing him, Tom is very quiet. As Harriet rightly told him in the letter, he is saved in an emergency from the Orphanage.
Therefore, it distresses him that Lily does not resist her usual impulses. Embarrassing her in front of a relatively new friendship is bad. Bad enough in itself, however, this enters into Lily's capacity for rationing. She shouldn't have to be told to behave.
The train arrives, everyone gets off, greeting Ron, Hermione and the odd child they recognize, Harriet is among the last to leave. Obviously carrying Hedwig's cage costs her too much. The difference is that this time it is not her carrying it, but Tom. Harriet just drags her trunk.
"I could have shrunk it."
"I shrunk it once and my stockings were like thimbles."
"Because you didn't practice enough."
Harriet pouts and, squinting, sees James. She doesn't delay in leaving the trunk to go and pounce on him. Tom tilts his head, admits it's kind of funny that Harriet doesn't even look at Lily. Doesn't greet her, doesn't try to say anything to her. It's as if she doesn't care. At the same time, Lily looks anxious, wanting to say something.
Tom moves forward dragging the trunk and Hedwig's cage in the other hand.
"The cage is my size," whines Harriet. "Tom is taller."
"That's true... Well! You're temporarily Riddle-Potter" jokes James towards Tom. It makes him nervous how serious he is. "For this week we're not going to Godric Valley, we're going to Sirius's apartment... I trust you're not a mob infiltrator and we can show you where it is" he ironizes and Tom gets confused.
"What do you mean?"
"It has Fidelio enchantment. It's a Black property that belongs to him, but he doesn't trust that his family won't try to take it from him. There's a library in there" Tom raises his eyebrows, that explains a lot. How all those times Regulus and Bellatrix have branded him a thief. "And there are some problems I still haven't quite solved" Harriet pouts. "It'll be another week before I'm free."
"Can I go to the movies with Tom?"
"Preferably don't go out. Neither of you."
Harriet gives a snort and Tom shrugs. It doesn't really bother him. If he can enter that library, he's willing to not see sunlight. He can relate that there's trouble. Otherwise, James wouldn't be being so careful. He notices that Lily hasn't been paying attention and that her gaze is fixed on Drakonys. She wears a strapless dress over a white shirt. Hair in a black headband and even gloves.
"Be that as it may, then we lock ourselves in. We're going to eat first... Lily." He snaps his fingers to bring her back to reality.
"Ah, yes, eat. You haven't let me eat all day."
"To make you hungry."
"You're going to make me starve. Beautiful."
"It was only a few hours."
"When there's nothing on Friday Night, it'll be to hold you for a few little hours."
Harriet laughs through her nose and they walk to an emptier place to disappear. They don't want to take anyone with them by accident. She takes Tom by the hand and is able to see out of the corner of her eye Drakonys. Not far away and that maybe she wants to get closer. Both she and Lucius. He says nothing and they disappear from the station.
"I suppose that will be a conversation for another time." concludes Lucius and Drakonys nods. Narcissa fixes a couple of her daughter's blonde locks before she starts walking.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
After lunch, where it was hard not to laugh a couple of times (James is funnier than he should be), they arrived at the right place. Watching the buildings move as if the reality itself was splitting was very entertaining. The place in question is quite large, walls with black wallpaper and everything needed to be a good place for a large family.
Harriet leads him to the room he would occupy, ironically it was the one that belonged to Regulus. She would be up front in the one that was Narcissa's and her parents in the one that belonged to Walburga Black. After dropping everything in his room, releasing Hedwig from her cage, Harriet directs him to what she knows he is interested in: the library.
"My godfather doesn't use it much, only when he wants some particular spell," Harriet comments. "Just be careful of the top. Books like to fall over to scare you on purpose."
"I'll keep that in mind. Thank you." He gives her a soft kiss on the lips and Harriet laughs.
It is obvious that James and Lily have bigger worries, for they think nothing of leaving Harriet alone with Tom. She exercises alone and Tom reads as it happens. He has allowed me to see her in fewer clothes. How if she is slowly unwrapping herself in layers of fabric. Her ribs are noticeable, there is also thinness in her legs and arms, however, it is much less than it was before.
Watching her from where he reads is something Tom get used to very quickly. It's lovely how seriously she takes the matter. How she wants to improve her body condition because she doesn't like it.
Harriet for her part and secretly, has taken a couple of photos of Tom. One while he's reading, the gestures he makes and doesn't know he's making; the other is when he's asleep. The level of peace in his countenance is one she loves. He has them safely tucked away in a journal that he will start filling out next year.
Or at the end of the year, where she can put those photos next to others to say how good it was.
"How does a television work here?"
"No idea. Sirius maybe he'll come over and you can ask him. He's a dog, but he doesn't bite." assures Harriet.
"In what way is he a dog? In the metaphorical or in the literal- what does the literal look like?"
"He's an animagus, but don't tell anyone, they'd fire him."
"Just for that?" scoffs Tom, flipping through the channels. "I think he has active search in many, many countries."
"Shhh, it's a secret." she insists, rubbing his jaw. Tom licks it and Harriet clenches her hand, disgusted.
The other routine is watching TV from five o'clock. Both on the same couch and with minimal distance. Tom is not used to contact, so he dodges every time someone tries to do it. There's no reason for it, he just appreciates his personal space. James and Lily have noticed this by how much Harriet avoids touching him.
"Is there television in the orphanage?"
"Only for the workers."
"When you were younger didn't you want to be adopted?" Tom averts his gaze from the television to Harriet. "Before I knew you were a wizard." he clarifies and although they've talked about it, he gets the feeling he hasn't been very honest or complete on the subject. All because he's unable to expose that he feels things.
Tom shrugs and turns back to the TV, crossing his legs. Harriet is lying on her stomach, so there's not a lot of seriousness about her. It's a casual setting.
"No. Truth be told, I don't know why I've always been so devoid of feelings or longings for human relationships."
"Tom, you use the word devoid: already that exposes you."
Tom laughs at that.
"I came to think I had no heart," he admits with a hand on his chest. "Not the one everyone talks about when it comes to love. I didn't care about animals dead or alive. So did the other children. I didn't understand why they were amused by silly things or wanted to be carried by strangers" He lays his temple on his knuckles. "Both love and joy and even sadness are emotions I don't understand. When they happen, they bother me."
"You know how to feel anger."
"It's the only thing we humans know how to feel by default. Anger, envy, contempt."
Harriet sits with one leg crossed and grabs him by the face, shaking him a little to tease him.
"I don't think so" She releases him and Tom moves his jaw. "I think the first thing we feel, is fear."
"Huh?"
Tom expected some cheesiness. Expected him to say joy, love, or maybe confusion, but that response is rather more interesting coming from Harriet. She diverts her attention to the side, where there are some pictures of her family. James, Lily, Sirius, Remus and herself.
"The first thing when we go outside, there's confusion and fear because of a new environment, there's nerves because of the lights, because we learn to breathe and suddenly it's not a safe, enclosed space" She swings both legs up onto the couch. "And then we feel protection, we feel warmth... because we're being hugged."
"I don't think I was hugged."
"Is that why you don't like hugs?"
"Maybe." replies with a cynical, mischievous smile. Harriet pouts. They still don't know anything about Tom's mother, what happened to her. What they do know, is that he was a newborn when he arrived at the orphanage.
"It's sad... Because really, you've only felt cold" Harriet arranges the lock of hair coming to his forehead and Tom purses his lips slightly. "You've only felt yourself."
Sometimes Harriet thinks too much. Her mind flies strangely to another plane and her conclusions sound even more profound than they should, especially being she is so simple when it comes to expressing herself or thinking. Tom grabs her face, lifting her glasses, leaving her face uncovered, including the lightning scar.
He looks her straight in the eyes, furrowing his eyebrows slightly "Do I have something?" she asks a little startled. Tom shakes his head, slowly releasing her.
"No. Nothing."
Tom keeps thinking that it's so weird that Harriet has green eyes. That it's such a naturally cold color and she's so warm. It overwhelms him how much he loves that color and that somehow, in his life, it means warmth.
In Slytherin he feels at home, he feels like he fits in and that it is his destiny (And it is, indeed.).
In green spaces he is happier, even more so than in the library.
Seeing Harriet's eyes and standing alone looking at her there.
He loves the color green and perhaps, that's where the warmth Harriet explained comes from. Even coming from her that, despite such a cold color in her eyes, her magic is light and warmth.
"Do you think it's too late to learn to love?"
"No. You have a lifetime for that." replies Harriet with a smile, leaning back in the seat and Tom nods.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
"Do you think you'll mourn your mom if she dies?"
"Of course I will, what a question that is." she hits Tom with a cushion and he doesn't vary his expression, watching TV.
"You get along so poorly and little with her...that's a doubt I have." he admits indiscreetly and Harriet snorts. She adjusts her glasses and ruffles her hair, swinging her legs up onto the couch.
"Yes I would feel bad. I think the problem is that I love her too much and I wish... I'd like to... feel like she loves me the same" Tom narrows his eyes, brows furrowed and confusion obvious. "All the time she looks at me... she's disappointed. I wish it were different."
"And what if James dies?"
"I die with him. I can't live without my dad."
"You see? You do have a preference."
Harriet hits him with the cushion again.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
"Does it bother you that I see you?"
"No... Or are you secretly joking me?" asks Harriet wiping sweat from her forehead and neck.
"No."
"Then I don't mind." she replies quietly. Tom frowns.
"How do you know I'm not lying?" Harriet believes him everything and Tom doesn't know whether to think her gullible or that she has some secret plan. Harriet sits on the armrest of the couch, sipping water from a bottle.
"You don't know how to lie. I noticed that recently" The strangeness in the Slytherin is noticeable. "You just embellish reality in a way that accommodates what you have to say. For example" She gives her chest a couple of thumps from a gas bothering. "You left the milk out by accident."
"It was going to get rooten anyway-"
"And you said that's how you avoided wasting electricity on a product that would no longer be useful and could cause indigestion" She finishes for him. Harriet smiles mischievously and Tom looks like a child about to be a tantrum. "If the answer is short, it's because you're not lying."
"How stilted." Tom shoves her and Harriet accidentally falls off the couch, getting soaked with water. Tom leaves, grumbling and embarrassed at being exposed.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
"Sirius is going to Godric Valley!" announces Harriet, excited to see her godfather soon.
"I'm afraid he and James will get together if what you told me is true." he admits flipping through the channels.
According to Harriet, Sirius is much more flamboyant and outgoing than James. Which is saying a lot. James is already energetic enough to make Tom feel drained. Adding the eldest of the Black sons will only make for an explosion with too much ripple in his opinion. Harriet sits next to him, still reading the letter Sirius sent her. She unconsciously swings her legs up into Tom's lap and though he looks at her with some surprise, she does nothing to push her away.
One of his hands goes to rest on her thigh and she has the same reaction he had a few minutes ago. She decides not to remove herself and enjoy the touch. Nothing more.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
"A gift is good when it's something you like. Not that someone else likes. Those clothes-"
"I know she's going to like it," Lily argues. "It's just like what she's picked out before, but in a different color. There's no way she won't like it." James rolls his eyes.
"She's not going to wear it. There's stuff going through her mind and she won't tell us. Something about clothes. You ignore it as if-"
The discussion ends abruptly. To have opened the living room door expecting something is saying a lot. Today, the last day in this dwelling, they realized that leaving Harriet alone with a teenager a year older than her could be dangerous. Better late than never. While they expected a disaster or something involving a lot of fighting, what they find is surprising.
Tom and Harriet are asleep. She's lying totally on top of him. They have never seen him so relaxed. Tom always looks elegant, perfect, almost princely. Now he's just stretched out on the couch with his head on the backrest, his hand on Harriet's back and the other dangling from the armrest. Harriet settles in and mumbles something in her sleep. Glasses askew on her face and mouth ajar giving her that usual chaotic air.
James finds no reason to wake them. He grabs a blanket and pulls it over them. Tomorrow they will go to Godric Valley, maybe they need a lot of rest today. He doubts Harriet doesn't want to fly all day.
They quietly retreat, missing Nagini who crawls under the blanket and sleeps between Harriet's body and the couch.
"What are you doing?" James judges Lily with his gaze. The redhead grabs the camera and quickly moves to the living room, snapping a couple of photosof the two of them like this.
She returns to the kitchen and reviews the pair of pictures with a smile on her lips.
"Oh, Lily." complains James.
"They look so cute like that Can you imagine them becoming boyfriend and girlfriend?" James keeps giving her a bad look. "You know she'll eventually have a boyfriend won't you?" asks with a chuckle. She leaves the photos on the counter. James squeals.
"Of course I know."
"Good!" exclaims Lily. "Because it sure will look like that."
James gives a snort of annoyance, leaving for the second floor. He knows Harriet isn't going to be his girl forever, but it's still too early for that. The paranoia isn't helped by Lily talking about it, almost begging for Tom being the chosen one and that maybe with that, Harriet will be a little less messy and disastrous. Lily thinks Harriet needs that motivation and will support it as much as possible.
For something as simple as both of them asleep on the couch, a dangerous contrast is created: James who doesn't want Harriet to be with any possible interest yet, preferably until she is sixteen or seventeen (or thirty) and Lily who will push or support whatever happens, all in order to get the girl she dreamed of having.
Chapter 13: Act. XIII. Time Together
Chapter Text
Tom senses that there is tension with James. The problem is, he doesn't know why. As far as he remembers, he didn't do anything. His usual lack of emotion helps keep his confusion from showing. Beyond that, he's doing quite well.
He must say that he likes Godric Valley very much. He can sense the magical atmosphere very easily. It's better to the area where the Black apartment is. Harriet promised to show him around later. They arrived at night and arranging his few things in the guest room along with the food exhausted him.
He had never eaten as much as he had in this single week.
In the morning, an invitation arrives: "Do you want to exercise with us?" offers Harriet, carrying a huge shiny ball to do Yoga? Tom isn't sure what the huge ball is. James behind her waiting for his to respond.
"First we exercise here, then we go jogging all over Godric Valley" announces James. "It's a secured magical zone, in case you're worried."
"Uh... No..." He furrows his eyebrows. Exercising... he is lazy, he's not going to deny it. He's the type who prefers to exercise his mind - and magic - rather than his body. "I don't have any clothes." admits, scrunching up his face. All his clothes are casual and for working out, it would be uncomfortable.
"Oh, I have old clothes. They might fit you."
Not only does he have no excuse, he also feels bad about staying alone in a house that isn't his - and that belongs to his girlfriend's parents. Tom ends up agreeing and Harriet notices that he's somewhere between uncomfortable and nervous.
She's curious to see him working out....
It was worth all the trouble in the world.
She has never seen him be this clumsy, sweaty or even lose his temper. He gets tired so fast that it's impossible not to laugh, even to stop and wait for him for a while. The routine today was gentler so as not to kill him.
"SIRIUS!"
Harriet runs and jumps on Black, who manages to hold her without a problem, spinning around a couple of times. Harriet can tell he's only recently arrived, as he doesn't have any of his bags. James wipes off his sweat before coming over to say hello. Lily keeps an eye on Tom, who, pale and sweaty, is holding onto a fence.
"You're heavier and bigger Or is it my idea?" Sirius asks genuinely quizzical once he lets go of her.
"Really?" Harriet asks excitedly. Sirius nods. "Good!" exclaims quietly, eyes closed.
"It's on target, she's so small she doesn't look twelve" James mentions half mockingly. "How did it go, did you get what you needed to do?" interjects with a worried gesture. Sirius nods wrinkling his face a little.
"It was complicated, I still can't figure out what's going on" Sirius admits. "And who is he? He looks like he's going to die." They both turn to where Sirius points.
"He's-"
"HEY!"
Tom faints, he's never had so much exercise in his life and he wants to die.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
"I can already tell you're made to be pretty, but exercise isn't your thing." taunts Harriet with a wide, bright smile. Tom is barely able to hold his breath. Exhausted and consumed by all the exertion he put in.
He needs to take a bath urgently.
It doesn't explain how everyone in this house seems to be exercise maniacs at this level if they do this every day, it doesn't explain how they are still alive. Especially Harriet who is celebrating gaining muscle mass and defining her figure.
Tom stays as he is, thank you very much. Walking around Hogwarts is all the exercise he needs in life. Harriet strokes him under the chin with her index finger and gives him a peck on the lips.
"Don't be manipulative, you little of shit" Tom ruffles his hair and Harriet keeps laughing. She can tell he's frustrated. Otherwise he wouldn't be able to say a rude thing. "Damn it... How are you so calm... We ran the same thing and did the same thing!"
"I've been working out every day since freshman year," Harriet replies, dropping her head to the side. "So I can look my age and not like I'm eleven yet. I don't get fat."
"I already told you why it happens" replies Tom. "Your magic is so strong that it keeps you young. The same thing happens to me, but on an almost reverse level. It made me grow up and now I don't change a thing." sums up the older man and Harriet pouts, leaning back against Tom and rubbing her forehead a little with his opposite one. Bright, white magic meeting dark, shadowy magic.
"It bores me how technical you get. It's just magic Tom. Just feel it and if something happens, it happened. You wonder because it's missing that way."
"Silly girl." he taunts without being offensive, but the tender playfulness they have for each other. Where he tells her so without thinking about it, while Harriet claims him for being bitter and stubborn even though at this point, she already loves it that way .
. . .
"Little did they put the snooty looking kid through exercise routines," Sirius points out and James nods, sipping his cup of coffee. "They're going to end up killing him. I get that you don't like Harriet having male friends, but this is overkill. " Sirius scoffs. Tom slowly and delicately eats the food on his plate. He barely pays attention to the conversation.
"He wanted to come. I'm not guilty of suicides."
"Even if it's in our garden... or halfway down the road" scoffs Lily from the kitchen. Harriet lifts her head with somewhat full cheeks and swallows.
"Did you pass out at some point?" Tom doesn't want to talk about it, more than once his vision darkened.
"HAHAHA! Poor guy" Sirius laments with amusement. "Anyway are you on the quidditch team?"
"No. It bores me."
"What house are you from?"
"Slytherin."
"And what year?"
"Third.""
Sirius opens and closes his mouth. He squints towards James who opens his eyes for a moment and continues with his coffee. Sirius turns to Harriet.
"He's that friend you mentioned who helps you with potions Right?" Harriet nods her head. "Huh... I see... S-So do you have any special interests?"
"Just studying the nature of my magic and discovering a way to get to my full heritage. The one that belongs to me and no one seems to know how to deal with" Tom explains delicately pushing the plates aside. "It's a complication because of my age... It seems I'll only be able to have full information when I turn seventeen."
"Inheritance of what? You're an orphan. If you don't have parents, or is it because they died? A-ay-"
Harriet kicked Sirius. She knows her godfather is indiscreet, but she didn't think he would go to such a wild extreme. Tom doesn't make it a big deal. He stretches out his arm and looks down at the ground. "Nagini, come here. You haven't introduced yourself to Harriet's family yet."
The way he enunciates sends shivers down almost everyone's spine. Harriet finds it normal. To the point of patting the snake on the head before climbing up Tom's arm, climbing up and up his whole body. It helps him look small and thin. Nagini is gigantic and as she opens her maw, revealing impossible fangs as well as threatening, she causes Sirius to nearly fall off his chair and James to back away as well.
"She is Nagini. She came all the way from Bulgaria and is now my pet" Tom introduces. Intentional or not, Nagini had kept herself very hidden from them. The huge snake wraps around his shoulders. "Or protector. I don't know exactly what duty she has. Despite being able to communicate, she herself is unaware of her magical duty to me."
"We discovered that Tom is a direct descendant of Salazar Slytherin," Harriet recounts on an excited note. "That's why he can speak the serpent tongue. Out of curiosity I checked our heritage and we may be related to Godric Gryffindor!"
"I-I don't think so, honey" denies James nervously. "Can you... take it down from...?"
"You're scaring them. You'd better go to Harriet's room. I'd rather stay here this vacation for a change." says Tom to Nagini. The snake laughs.
"Stay close to Harriet. If you don't, they'll kick us out of here. These two men see us as a threat."
"Exaggerated."
The snake slowly slithers off to go to his destination and Tom fixes his hair and clothes a bit. Lily sits at the table, grimacing uncomfortably. Harriet cleans up and carries her plate and Tom's. James dares to ask:
"Does anyone know about this...?"
"All of Slytherin. Otherwise they'd still be a nuisance." he replies upright in his seat.
"By all Slytherin you mean their families as well Right?" Amplifies Sirius and Tom nods. "Oh no way" Sirius holds his hand to his face. "Tell me please my family doesn't-"
"Regulus was the first to insist I look into it" Tom interrupts and Sirius scrunches up his face. "I've been to Black Manor a couple of times. It's pretty grim. It looks like the stereotypical horror house and Bellatrix can't keep her hands to herself. It's unbearable."
Sirius is left with the word in his mouth, as Harriet speaks first:
"Tom! Let's go see the library I mentioned!"
The boy stands up, asks to be excused, and leaves at a silent pace. As if he himself were a snake and contrasting with the commotion Harriet's footsteps make. Sirius, James and Lily let out a breath, as if suddenly the pressure in the room vanished. Sirius blows out a breath and drains into the seat.
"How the fuck did Harriet end up befriending this guy?" Sirius wonders quietly. "With the amount of people there are at Hogwarts."
"At least he's polite," Lily says on Tom's behalf. "And he's also quite mature, attractive... it might do Harriet good to have someone like that around. She might like him."
"And what good would that do?" grumbles James. "She's barely twelve. She's too young for that sort of thing."
"She's not. It's normal at that age to start feeling attraction" informs Lily. "He's polite, he's studious, he's got a good record behind him. You should be happy it's him and not someone like... Ron."
"What's wrong with Ron?" asks James with a raised eyebrow.
He's a good friend, James is also aware that Harriet has headaches about him, but using him as an example of a bad relationship is a bad move in his opinion. Lily shrugs. "He just motivates her to be messy as usual. I mean, he's just like you two. It matters more about quidditch than anything else, so... Yeah, it's a bad choice. Besides, it's better if he's a year older."
"In what world?" asks Sirius in annoyance. "It's Harriet. I don't want her with anyone behind her or being able to do things to her that she's not ready for yet."
"Yes she is. She's not that young."
"She's twelve." insists Sirius.
"She's a woman. She knows how to deal with that."
James averts his gaze, having a bad, vivid memory of a conversation he had years ago with Remus. He gets up from his seat and leaves Sirius and Lily arguing, hears one last thing. "If he's older than her he'll know how not to be annoying and say what to do. Being the same age, it would end up being painful in every way."
It bothers him.
Frankly, it bothers him-
James doesn't like this way of handling the situation if that's the case. He peeks into the library, finding Harriet explaining the order of the books to Tom. She is very enthusiastic about it and Tom just listens intently. James shivers at the way he looks at her.
It's not mean. It's not like he's wishing her bad or anything. It's just... desire. A kind of craving to consume and it worries him. it disgusts him. Harriet hasn't said anything, so he's confident that they're just friends and he'd like them to stay friends.
That what Lily says isn't reality.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
The door is open and Harriet turns at the same time. Embarrassment overtakes her, noticing Tom looking at her. Harriet is in nothing but a sports bra, for the first time without the oversized sweater or shirt she wears to work out. Her tidbits are obvious, her collarbone marked, but there is more noticeable musculature on her arms. Harriet, though nervous, is not rushed in her reaction. Tom's eyes are still fixed on her and what's in them is not mockery, nor his usual lack of expression. In his vibrant red eyes there is curiosity. She closes the door carefully and Tom continues on his course.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
Tom is not the type to oversleep or to wake up badly. That morning he did and in his slowness to get dressed, he took too long. Harriet peeks into the room, advises that breakfast is ready and Tom still doesn't quite react to what he's alive.
"Do you want to sleep another while?" asks Harriet between amused and shy. Tom shakes his head. It's the first time she's seen him so disheveled and shirtless. His chest is large, but flat, with barely any definition.
Harriet can see the pair of markers running up his groin, his arms thin and spongy. He doesn't exercise of any kind, so it's natural that he has no defined muscles. Harriet slowly pulls away, reddening.
Thinking she had a very nice view and asking for a repeat.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
He's been waiting for twenty minutes and finds it odd that Harriet doesn't come down. They are supposed to go to the movies and Tom is already stressed that they might be later than he wants them to be. He goes up to Harriet's room and peeks in. The door is open, so there shouldn't be a problem.
In theory there is. Her in her underwear and her entire closet lying on the bed. Tom still thinks it's amazing how much she's developed in the bust and without huge pants, can tell her buttocks are also more bulging.
"Why aren't you ready?" he asks without failing to expose his impatience. Harriet grabs a plush doll to cover herself and Tom holds onto the door frame, not knowing what reaction he gets from seeing her like this.
"I wanted to put on something... Better, but" She ruffles her hair with her hand. "Everything looks awful on me."
"It shouldn't be that bad."
"It's really bad."
"You know not everyone's really going to see you, right?"
Harriet scratches the bridge of her nose, twisting her glasses in the process. She knows that's the way it is, she tries to convince herself that's the reality: it's not that big of a deal, but at the same time it's impossible to avoid. Her brain insists on reminding her how bad she looks, how ugly her body is and that everyone is going to make fun of her in whatever space she goes to.
"Aren't you embarrassed when people see you like this?" Lily has said whenever Harriet grabs the biggest clothes she can find.
"Dressed like that, everyone is going to see you." Lily says when Harriet wears a skirt or shorts.
In neither case does she feel good. In the first, less judged, but she still frets.
And today she worries that as always, Tom looks like he's out of a novel where he's the millionaire boy full of elegance; she doesn't want to look ridiculous next to him.
"You can wear my sweater."
"It's huge on me."
"That's the point. Besides, it's black. It gives depth."
Harriet pouts.
She didn't feel particularly proud of her appearance, but she liked it well enough in the end. The oversized sweater that covered her hands, a pair of red pants and her long converse.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
They go to a swimming pool. There are people everywhere. Tom doesn't go in the water, refusing to be there because it's certain people have peed and it grosses him out. Harriet just jumps in and plays with Sirius. The man has the bright idea to throw water on Tom. Causing him to have to take his clothes off and be in a pool look and not as if he's going to the library or central London any minute.
"I'm going to get sunstroke."
"Who gets sunstroke in London?" scoffs Harriet putting on her glasses.
Tom says something to her, she ignores him, Staring at him. The white chest, which has several moles on the left side of his chest and going up his neck. Despite his dark hair, the hair is transparent and he looks hairless in entirety.
She crosses her legs and looks away, pushing her hair back. Tom discreetly looks at his girlfriend Where did she get a swimsuit that is a pair of pants? He has no idea, but it doesn't change that it outlines the slim, petite figure. The curvature of the bust, of the buttocks. Harriet over jumps, feeling Tom run his finger down her back.
"Uh?"
"Your back is nice."
Harriet giggles through her nose, crossing her legs and standing there for a little while, with Tom watching her.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
James and Lily are gone. They said they'd be back quickly, so they know they shouldn't be doing what they're doing. Harriet keeps hold of Tom's face, a little anxious and heated. Tom holds her by the nape of her neck, curls his fingers in her black hair, and as they part with almost no air, Tom makes a slight attempt to pull Harriet's shirt off.
She thinks about it, doesn't seem to love the idea, but ends up doing it. She feels a thousand shivers at the same time, with Tom watching her. He caresses the sides and anchors his hands on the female back. Harriet unbuttons his shirt, slides her hands down the smooth, pale skin, pressing a couple of moles in her path.
They take off their pants as well, and to hide the embarrassment she feels, interspersed with an exasperating, unresolved heat, they kiss again. Tom pulls her closer to himself, feeling Harriet's chest pressed against his. He interrupts to give her short kisses, turning in bed to let her lie back and kiss her neck.
"You're tickling me."
"Ujum?"
"OUCH! NOO! THAT LOOKS IT!"
"You always wear sweater, no one will notice."
He purposely bites her on the neck and Harriet laughs it off, making little circles on Tom's back. It continued to be a little awkward to have almost no clothes, but the more they repeated it, the more normal it became. The risk is the same: James and Lily could arrive at any moment.
And they did.
"Harriet! We're here! Did you finish the decorations?"
Harriet gets up and runs out to her room. Tom summons his clothes, hurriedly dresses, takes a deep breath, and comes out of his room with a book in his hand. Harriet comes down like a hotrod.
"Decorations of what?"
Tom discreetly adjusts her sweater so the bite on her shoulder doesn't show. Good thing she wears pants. Today he gave her a hickey on her thigh. Lily scolds her for not doing what he asked, that eliminates how suspicious they look, fidgeting and with extremely tousled hair.
"Did you fall asleep?"
"Nooo... Yes I slept late!" Harriet squeaks as an excuse and Lily gives a jaded groan.
"Not even for having visitors, you can't get things done!" complains Lily. Tom and Harriet look at each other.
She slept late because of him. ThatLily he doesn't have to know. Fortunately James arrived a little bit later and by that time, they were both very quiet and pretending not to kiss half naked in the empty house.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
"Where did they say they were going?"
"I don't know. Maybe it's a problem. It's usually a problem when they leave scared like that." replies Harriet. Tom nods and rubs his neck.
It's strange not to have the rush on them, both in their underwear and alone in bed doing nothing in particular. Tom thought about offering to watch a movie on TV after making something to eat, but gets distracted. Nagini has taken to curling around Harriet's body. The girl suffers shivers and giggles, petting the snake. Nagini's body is immense and Tom is opening his eyes wider.
She coils on the right thigh and passing exaggeratedly glued to the female crotch, zigzags on the firm abdomen, tucked under the sports bra and almost encircling Harriet's neck. The Gryffindor continues to caress Nagini and Tom....
He doesn't know what exactly is wrong with him watching that.
Is it envy?
He doesn't know.
Only that there's a twinge in his crotch and he gets up in a rush, too ashamed of the betrayal his body is subjecting him to.
"What's wrong?" asks Harriet sitting up. Nagini slithers further and Tom just continues to watch her thick snake slither past his girlfriend's spongy breasts.
"I have to go to the bathroom... S-start dinner. I'm coming."
Tom leaves in a hurry and Harriet shrugs. Nagini laughs.
"How silly of him, as if it wasn't obvious." she scoffs and continues in her position even as Harriet gets dressed. She loves her body heat.
Also teasing Tom.
Who gets in the bath and covers his mouth, masturbating under the cold water. This has never happened to him before. Never. Not so spontaneously, with someone nearby. Sure, he's had erections before, Harriet keeps rubbing herself all over him when they kiss like this, but at least there it's because of provocations.
Not from seeing anything else.
It feels very awkward and ordinary.
This only happens to annoying teenagers his age, not him who is different or maybe not so much.
Wiping his hands with the water, he comes to the conclusion that there was simply nothing to provoke him like this and now that Harriet exists, he can say that he is someone more normal than he thought. It doesn't take away his embarrassment and that he'll leave Nagini locked up next time.
"I thought you went down the drain. Took you long enough."
"I had tangled hair."
Harriet shrugs and goes on with what she's doing. Tom joins in. Usually when Lily and James are late, Tom and Harriet leave dinner ready for them. Tom is the one who can do the cooking spells, Harriet does the manual part and that doesn't come off so well with magic. Entertaining themselves in this helps Tom not to hear Nagini still laughing at him.
"It's very comfortable in here you know?"
"Your cage is also very comfortable and I wouldn't mind leaving your food in there." Harriet ignores the whispered discussion and laps it up every now and then.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
When Christmas comes, the house is invaded and Tom is honestly stunned and threatened by so many people around him. It doesn't surprise him that Harriet is entertained and absorbed with the Weasleys and Hermione. It's the norm, they've barely spoken in this time and given how close they are, so much unbearable distance.
He stands slightly apart. His annoyed face might cause discomfort and well, that's not the idea. He must also say that he is less annoying and outrageous than he expected. Arthur, Molly, Lily, James and Hermione's parents talk animatedly elsewhere. It's a perfect family setting and very warm. Sirius is at his side at a moment's notice. His long black hair combed into a ponytail, his clothes with a rocker vibe.
It's so far removed from the refined and somber he's seen from the Blacks. It's refreshing. No wonder he's considered the wayward sheep, either.
"Are you friends with Regulus?"
"Sort of." replies Tom. He doubts that's the best way to describe his relationship with Regulus. They're more like allies.
Hermione is more of a friend than Regulus. With that the comparison is clear.
"Jum, he must be unbearable" laughs Sirius . "Has he said anything to you about me?"
"A disgrace to the Blacks." Sirius lets out a laugh and Tom keeps looking straight ahead for a specific reason.
"Yeah...well, nothing he didn't willingly seek out" he admits throwing his hands up in the air. "You know, be careful with them. They say they want what's best for you, but really they're only interested in taking advantage of you." informs Sirius and Tom lets out an unfunny laugh.
"Like any noble... I'm not interested. I just need to get people on my side if I want to have a future career."
Sirius gets a bad taste in his mouth. Listening to a teenager speak in such a calculating manner is chilling. His eagerness to get into the world of politics. He doesn't have to. Being a Slytherin doesn't tie him directly to that world. Especially without sharing any last name and still being in hiding.
He can make his life as he wishes, but he chooses that path.
Maybe he'll change over the years. Sirius hopes he will.
"I insist: be careful. I know my mother. I know how annoying she can be. So do my cousins. My whole family in general."
"Is that why you ran away?"
"Partly." Sirius smiles impishly and Tom squints. He gives him a brief glance, but doesn't dwell on it much." Truth be told... my life was pretty depressing at Black House. I keep thinking that it's years I threw away because I had no way to make the most of them. It's depressing."
"It helped you become powerful."
"I became powerful on my own. because I had strong magic and the ability, but if I had wanted to be stronger, maybe I wouldn't exist. Maybe I'd be someone horrible," he comments lost in thought, "You see it Right? The light."
Tom nods his head. What he sees is Harriet, talking animatedly to James, asking him for something before dinner. Maybe convince him to open the presents now instead of waiting. James is playing hard to get, that he's not going to accept, even though he already plans to comply with what he wants.
He too has that halo of light around him. It's dimmer than Harriet's, but it's still as strong. None here is capable of even being similar. Their magics are flimsy and pathetic in contrast.
As for Sirius, he has dark magic and it overwhelmed him to be able to perceive it so easily. He is strong, elegant and at the same time, relaxed. No one known in the Black family matches him. It explains why they resent Sirius loss so much. Sirius sighs and leans against the back of the furniture.
"I came to Hogwarts and suddenly I couldn't see any of so much light... James was the brightest person I had ever met, also the most beautiful... I went like a stupid dog after him and even now I'm like this" Tom frowns and turns his head towards Sirius. What a strange way to put it. It almost gives him the impression that he's talking about another way. "Sometimes you just follows the light and can't let go."
"I suppose so." Tom replies, dropping the subject and giving up on the other matter: he doesn't want to let go of the light that is Harriet Why do it? Why go back to the gloom?
"The Potters have such a particular charm" laughs Sirius. "James, then Harriet... I was just thinking about how I might die of sadness if either of them went off" Harriet celebrates and jumps on James, who pretends to give up and let her go for the presents. "It's a way of thanking you for helping her with what happened. James told me about it."
"It's a natural thing to do."
"Regulus wouldn't have done it," Sirius assures Tom quickly and firmly at that. It's sad, as he speaks of his younger brother. "Neither would Bellatrix, others would have ignored her, maybe laughed" Tom presses his lips together and questions what he would think of if he knew all the trouble with Drakonys. "You are a good person Tom. Anyone who wants to go on and hold the light rather than turn destroy it is a good person. Don't become someone who wants to destroy it."
Tom senses some pressure. A certain threat from him, as well as a request. The threat is obvious and simple: I will not forgive you for doing anything to hurt Harriet; while the request is: please remain a good person, don't be influenced by others.
Tom wonders where the line is between what he wants and what others will try to manipulate him into doing. When he knows he is being himself, neutral and good at times; to being someone evil with no trace of neutrality.
It's complicated.
He doesn't know how to deal with it.
"Merry Christmas."
Tom awakens from the reverie and receives the gift Harriet hands him. He opens it without tearing the paper and pulls out the long scarf. The fabric is thin, but dense. It is different from the scarves that everyone at Hogwarts usually wears. It is more elegant and thinner.
He thanks quietly with a smile. "Don't let him get so excited, he'll go into cardiac attack." Hermione scolds Ron under her breath and Tom puts on his scarf, ignoring the comment.
Gifts come and go. The ones they brought for Harriet are the last, just to annoy him a bit. Most Weasley gifts are hideous sweaters and Tom avoids looking at them, so he'll swallow his venomous comments. Harriet asked him and he wants to oblige. What Tom didn't expect is for Molly Weasley to come over and pat him almost maternally on the shoulder. Tom turns to look at her quizzically.
"I didn't know you were going to be here. Ron didn't say anything to me" The boy averts his gaze and shrugs, with his usual gesture of crisis. Harriet gives him a soft I told you to say it to her. "Had I known, I would have brought you a present too. A good student and a good friend deserve that." she assures him with a smile and Tom cocks his head.
"Thank you. No need to bother."
"Oh, of course I do, of course I do. Isn't that right Lily?" The redhead nods. "Too bad we didn't talk earlier."
Tom receives with obvious strangeness that Lily is giving him a gift. It says on the card that it's from her, James, Sirius and Remus - he hasn't met him yet. Removing the packaging, he freaks out as it grows on his legs. It's a huge trunk. It has his initials on a silver, oval plaque, being surrounded by a snake.
"Harriet told us you like useful gifts," Lily comments. "More useful than this, there isn't one. " she laughs giving it a couple of taps with her knuckle. Tom opens it. Inside it's red satin fabric, several pockets and judging by what looks like a ladder, it's expandable."
"Thank you?" he stammers in a daze.
"Cheer up a little! Let the heat between your veins!"
Harriet wrinkles her nose a little, she can tell how oblivious Tom is to disinterested, familiar affection. All this makes him uncomfortable in a way that is not really uncomfortable, but a certain longing.
Realizing that really, if he would have liked to have this feeling in his life. People who simply think of him, who make him feel welcome in their existence. At the same time, why is it so hard for him to understand? To accept it. For a few seconds, Tom questions if there is something wrong with him and dismisses it.
Coming from a space where it made no difference whether he lived or died, it's a radical change and one that ends up causing a huge stalactite to come out of the floor. "I PREFER THAT TO FIRE! I'M NOT GOING TO LIE TO YOU!" shrieks Sirius. Tom averts his eyes and closes the trunk, it shrinks down to look like a handbag.
"Sorry, it doesn't usually happen." Tom stammers and Harriet laughs.
"He expelled ice from his heart." she jokes and Tom gives her a bad look.
When it's her turn for her gifts... What didn't she get? Hermione gives a broom maintenance kit, Ron a poster of the Bulgarian team, Molly a blue sweater with an owl on the back, Sirius a plush dragon doll and finally it's James and Lily's turn.
Lily gives him a dress and Harriet squeals so genuinely that it's clear he likes it. A black corset, loose wide sleeved shirt, black stockings and she admits she couldn't find booties. It's the first time they've seen her hug her so tightly.
James gives her something she was already expecting, but not for now.
"AH! IT'S THE FIREBOLT!"
Harriet covers her face and then looks at it, taking it as he keeps jumping up and down. She removes the paper carelessly and both she and Ron run outside. Tom is the first of the crowd to arrive.
"Watch out for the whiplash." Tom warns in a low voice. Nagini crawls up to stand to one side of Tom.
Harriet screams in fright, darting off into the night. Tom laughs through his nose, shaking his head. Harriet comes and goes, being barely a blur. Who knows if that picture will ever look good. It was strange for him to be in one of the family photos.
It's the first time he's had one.
Also with the others who are students. He doesn't suppress his annoyance at being with Fred and George around him. Harriet laughs at it as does Hermione and Ron makes a silly grimace of disgust; Percy is the normal one in this.
"Harriet, with Tom." prompts Lily and Harriet nods hurriedly.
She climbs onto Tom's back, who initially nearly falls off, but laughs at Harriet's strong grip, straightening up and swaying a little. Lily places the photo next to the one she has of them both sleeping.
All unaware that at some point in the wee hours of the morning, Tom and Harriet pull away for an almost shy and simple kiss, staying silent and mingling their magics away from everyone else, enjoying the small space in solitude.
Chapter 14: Act. XIV. Thinking, flaying, talking
Chapter Text
"Happy Birthday!"
Celebrating early in the morning is very bad for him. Tom looks at the cake with contempt and only causes laughter in the family around him. He blows out the candle and rubs his face with his hands. There's a waste of light here and he's going to go blind at this rate.
"Someone's not much of a party animal." scoffs Sirius.
"Tom's very quiet. Too refined for that sort of thing."
Sirius laughs through his nose and Tom mumbles a thank you for the piece of cake. It's vanilla, he's thankful it's not chocolate, that would have just killed him. It's December 31, so it's only natural that they're focused on the New Year's Eve party that will also be held in this house. However, the point is that a party was included for Tom.
It is small and nothing extraordinary. He wanted it to be that way. He doesn't like so much noise, nor does he like the chaos that can come with what people his age naturally prefer. In that respect, Tom is very different. Anyone might even say he has an old man's soul.
The day feels short and lazy. When the Weasleys arrive as well as the Grangers, Tom receives more congratulations than he has ever received in his life. More presents, too. They are simple, mostly having to do with bookshop supplies. Mostly from Hermione.
Tom didn't think she would give him anything. He didn't expect it, but appreciates the book collection. Tom doesn't usually read things that aren't about magic, plus novels don't come amiss. Daphne has mentioned that they are good. The four "Flowers in the Attic" books.
"I didn't know if you'd like that or prefer something else... A Tale of Two Cities, but I'll save that for next year." Tom laughs through his nose, but without curving his lips. It's tactful enough to make Hermione feel he did well.
She asked Harriet for help, feeling bad about showing up with nothing to give. Harriet was so vague it hurt: Tom likes to read. And that was the end of the conversation. Molly for her part arrived with the expected: a sweater.
It's dark green and frankly, Tom wouldn't wear it in his damn life if he saw it anywhere else. The gesture on the other hand, is that weird family feeling that he doesn't know how to process and so his gesture is more and more awkward. He tried it on and took it off almost instantly, not wanting to make ice everywhere.
Harriet was the last and well, Tom wasn't exactly expecting what she gave him. It's a necklace, the striking thing is that the charm is enchanted, so the silver snake is constantly moving and the more you look at it. It has emerald eyes and is constantly coiled in a circle that has silver flowers.
Almost a carbon copy of what could be seen in Tom's family tree.
"Thank you." Tom smiles slyly at her and Hermione watches them alternately.
She really gets the feeling that she doesn't understand what's going on here.
With an hour to twelve and to say happy new year as euphorically as it is usually done in the magical world, a huge cake appears from the fridge. Tom stares at the candles, questioning if this is what everyone lives for on a regular basis.
Which is fine and should be had...
Blowing out the candle, Tom asks to have Christmas and birthdays like this again. Even if it's not his favorite environment or his most desired interactions... It made him happy in a way he didn't know he had. As if among that old spirit he has, there's a child enjoying it all for the first time.
As if this place, this specific Christmas, made him appear. Even though he gives groans from the hug he gets as a whole, between hating it and loving it, he does nothing to stop it even though he can. Tom likes it.
He enjoyed his birthday very much.
He enjoyed the new year very much.
He enjoyed Christmas very much.
And Tom thoroughly enjoyed his second month of dating Harriet.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
Drakonys runs her fingers through her hair, looking at herself in the mirror. It's New Year's, but it feels like any other day. There was a big party, that's never lacking at Malfoy Manor, nevertheless Drakonys feels inevitably bored and annoyed. He looks out the window and notices that far away, over there where there must be another manor, they are launching magical fireworks.
She opens the window and stands leaning out, elbows resting on the sill. She wonders vaguely what Christmas must have been like at Harriet's house. She knows Tom is in there. She also heard that the Weasleys and the Grangers would be there.
If the Potters weren't the way they are, Lucius would invite them, Drakonys is aware. Perhaps Harriet would have been here. Perhaps they would have offered Harriet to stay, they would have shared a room, or she would come to see her in the guest room.
Possibilities abound and in all of them, it's the beautiful fantasy where Harriet doesn't leave her behind by preferring options that are far, far less worthwhile. Or worse, options that are dangerous. Tom is a threat. The heir to Slytherin who is destined to wipe out all impurities.
Not just at Hogwarts.
But of everyone in the magical world Salazar Slytherin so loved and wanted to save from destruction.
The Blacks believe in it, that's why they support it, they are the first ones without affirming their side. Lucius followed them without thinking about it. Partly because of his wife, who was once a Black and because he has faith in the same ideal. Where blood traitors do not deserve so much joy or privilege, to go to the school that gives them everything and allow it to be tainted Is a privilege! They do not deserve it.
They are traitors who put others before magic.
Drakonys doesn't understand her own disinterest in Tom. There are too many people in Slytherin pining for him. Years above and below wishing for at least a moment of his attention, a bit of closeness, to feel the touch he delivers to Nagini as if she were the only living being worthy of his touch.
To the only Malfoy heiress, these are pathetic aspirations of people who have nothing.
"Who could possibly care about Tom Riddle? Even being heir to Slytherin isn't a big deal." Drakonys says aloud, furrowing her brow.
He's no big deal and yet... Harriet wants to be with him all the time. Indifferent to how mean and cruel he is, why? What's so special about all those people she surrounds herself with. All those silly moths running after that light and covering her.
To the point where they won't let anyone else get close...
To the point where they won't allow anyone else to try to take it.
"How stupid." Drakonys complains under her breath, closes the window, turns off the light and lies down to sleep.
. . .
"Me? With him?"
Drakonys repeats the pro-security information. She thinks Lucius has gone crazy. There's no way he'd ask her to be with Tom, or would he?
"Clearly Walburga Black intends to unite the Blacks with him," Lucius comments, eating his breakfast without even looking at Drakonys. Narcissa does not comment, but watches them carefully. "We cannot be left behind."
"The Ancestral House of Black-"
"It can sink if the Ancestral House of Malfoy gets it right" Lucius interrupts sharply. Drakonys bites her lips, tense. His hands clench his cutlery. "You are a Malfoy. A very beautiful woman."
"Lucius, she's twelve-"
"If she's capable of causing a scandal at school where she beats up her classmates, colluding with other classmates, she's a woman," Lucius argues, not wanting to start this fight. Narcissa remains silent, lowering her gaze. "You have charm, your magic is strong. You are capable of getting a teenager to notice you. Especially one in your condition."
"What is that condition? Because as far as I can see, the one with a death threat from a huge cobra, is me." mentions Drakonys, hoping that will change Lucius' mind.
"He's an orphan, even with Slytherin's fortune, he must be conditioned to use it. He is not as powerful as you think," Lucius assures Drakonys. "He just has a good starting position and a good way to get allies. We, must be more than allies, we must be part of that side and that, is what you must take advantage of."
"But how do I do that?" she stammers at a loss.
"He's a teenager. Like I said before: you're a beautiful woman. Use it to your advantage."
Drakonys looks down at the food and drops the silverware, lowering her hands from the table. A vague and even Dumb? Think crosses her mind. Drakonys wonders: is James Potter also urging Harriet to try to get an alliance with Tom? Is he also pushing her to make herself useful to the family? Thousands of similar questions follow that course and it dawns on her....
No.
He doesn't do that.
Because he sees Harriet in a way that Lucius has never seen Drakonys.
She doesn't know what to call it, but she's convinced that, if her dad saw her that way, this conversation wouldn't have happened.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
"Too bad you didn't get to meet Moony. He's quieter than Sirius, sure if you got along with him." sighs Harriet disappointed. Tom doesn't know why he couldn't make it.
It must be pretty important. Apparently, those three hang out together even years after graduating Hogwarts.
"It'll happen eventually, I guess," Tom says nonchalantly. "I'll go sit with the others. Before they ask why I'm spending so much time with you and start picking on you. Which they will."
"I figured as much," Harriet admits. "See you in the library." she dismisses quietly and leaves to find Hermione and Ron.
Tom rubs an arm, frowning. Wow...this is what it feels like to be alone: cold. Inevitably cold. So long stuck in the same house as Harriet, orbiting around her, it made him forget what his own existence as a unit feels like. It's not bad, initially it's pretty good.
It stops being so as soon as Regulus, Bellatrix and Theodore enter the cabin. Tom hears them talking, but doesn't participate in the meeting; soon after Dhapne joins in. The shivers that run through his body are unpleasant, and this is not to disparage dark magic. Sirius had it and yet, it did not generate this bleeding.
It is they who do and it is... curious.
"Didn't they kill you with their bullshit all month?" asks Regulus and Tom shakes his head. Looking out the window. His red, sparkling eyes fixed on the surroundings outside. "Sirius was there?"
"Yes. Most of December."
"Being a dog after James Potter" Bellatrix scoffs and stretches until she's almost on top of Tom. "It's pathetic isn't it? Even the ability to take what he wants, he left it." Tom furrows his eyebrows and looks at her What are you talking about?
"Sirius and James Potter?" retorts Theodore with a smirk.
"My mother thinks that's the only reason he left: he's been in love with him since he was a teenager," Regulus says and Tom feels that, somehow, yes it's true what he thought. "I don't believe that. Not even Sirius in his stupidity would do something as silly and disgusting as that."
"Yes. He wouldn't like a man. What nonsense." Bellatrix ends up lying on Tom and he shoves her without regard or finesse, causing her to laugh and try to do it again, only to end up on the floor with a blow to the head from the doors.
Tom looks back to the window. He doesn't know what to think of that information beyond: whether he likes James or not, it's exactly the same thing.
Coming back to Hogwarts, for the first time, didn't mean a sudden change between hating the reality outside and just loving what's going on inside. Spending all that month at Harriet's house helped him to have a long time without exaggerated bitterness and to resume his school routine with a lot of comfort.
The routine he has with Harriet returns. They often see each other in the library and at other times, in Tom's room. Whether talking, studying or kissing the way they did in Godric Valley: half naked and on top of each other.
Drakonys has kept quite a distance from Harriet, which is a relief to anyone in Slytherin after the fight they had. At the same time, Tom wants to ignore the looks of confusion and reluctance the girl has for him Does she think he should talk or what?
Tom hopes she doesn't.
By derivation, he has taken too much hatred for Drakonys and is sure it would be crueler than necessary.
Problematic in itself.
"Do you know if the rumor out there is true?"
"What rumor?" asks Harriet quietly. It's study time nothing more and they're not supposed to be able to talk. Ron moves closer so he can whisper.
"That Drakonys and Tom are boyfriend and girlfriend."
Ron gets a smack upside the head from Snape, who is still pacing the desks, waiting for some relevant question. Ron rubs his head and Harriet scrunches up her face.
"Who says that?"
"Pansi told me because I hear him say it about Emma" Ron replies. "She says they see each other a lot and act weird in Slytherin."
"It's just a rumor. I don't think he's with Drakonys. Besides, it's not something we care about." says Hermione.
"If he hasn't said anything to me, it must be a lie," Harriet dismisses. Not wanting to talk about it anymore. "Snape's coming." she says in a whisper so low it can't even be heard well. It's barely distinguishable that she says "Snape." Ron gives an anxious groan.
"Or maybe he's planning bad Slytherin people things with her. You haven't- Ouch!"
Ron rubs his head again and Snape gives a snort of annoyance. Harriet writes in her notebook, heedless of Snape's attacking gaze glued to the back of her head. It's unbearable how much he stares at her. She continues on her way and Ron speaks again:
"Maybe she's going to convince him to stop talking to you Drakonys is mean like everyone else in Slytherin!"
Harriet prefers not to even answer him. It will end in an argument. She doesn't have the time or patience for this .
. . .
"I think I'll go to Malfoy Manor on vacation," Tom comments, distracted with his reading. "Maybe at that time, they'll tell me they'd like me to marry Drakonys or something."
"And what do you think of that?"
"That I hate marriage. It's nothing more than getting together to then steal each other's riches. I'm not interested."
Harriet laughs through her nose. Tom obviously sees it from a social and economic point of view. The subject itself, she's not thrilled about, so Harriet decides not to add fuel to this fire. She lays her head on Tom's thigh, opens the month's quidditch magazine and reads. At the same time, Tom is busy studying a potions book that Regulus handed him just a few hours ago.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
Harriet takes a deep breath and keeps the eyes closed. She already has to go out to play the match against Slytherin. First time they're going to play against the new quidditch team. Oliver gave Harriet an endless lecture about controlling her temper, having heard about all the drama that happened with Drakonys.
Harriet didn't bother to contradict him and has done the meditations he recommended. She must remain calm, keep an eye on the snitch and ignore anything Drakonys pretends to tell her. Pretend it doesn't exist for both their sakes. On this occasion, they would end up throwing themselves off their brooms dozens of feet in the air.
Harriet doesn't want to go to Azkaban for murder any more than she wants to go to the infirmary for a broken bone. McGonagall is another person who expressed concern, but was a bit more sanguine about it, thanks to recent behavior.
Harriet still close to the Slytherin, has remained calm, doing everything to ignore her and not initiate conflict.
She opens her eyes, climbs into the Nimbus (they wouldn't let her bring the Firebolt for this year) and walks out onto the pitch. She stands at the indicated height and Drakonys in front of her shortly after. The blonde with her hair neatly tied back in a braid. Drakonys smiles pedantically.
"No birds about to make a nest in your hair, Potter?"
Harriet furrows his eyebrows and clicks her tongue, just as usual: she can't stand to be annoyed! The match kicks off, Harriet admires part of it, trying to keep an eye out for the snitch. Her hair is in the way, but even with that, there was no way to get it out of her face. She didn't get any of her hooks.
Gryffindor had some concern and that is that the two matches that have been made, were against Slytherin and in both, Drakonys caught the snitch. They have faith in Harriet, they always do. However, that is why there is a bit more pressure this time around.
Even if they score a lot of points, the 150 points are the ones that make the difference. They need them to take the lead and win the cup this year too.
The snitch appears, it's right next to Drakonys and she doesn't hear it! Harriet shoots out at her and Drakonys thinks it's to knock her down, so she moves out of the way. Harriet curses through her teeth and chases after the little golden ball. Drakonys opens and closes her mouth, chasing after her, embarrassed that she didn't notice.
"COME ON HARRIET!"
"HARRIET, HARRIET, HARRIET!"
Dodging two teams is more complicated than ever. All of Slytherin is determined to take Harriet down. They've already thrown two Gryffindor players in a not exactly legal, but impossible to prove anything. Who it matters most to throw, is Harriet, who despite how blind she is, seems to have a motion sensor in her eyes.
She reaches out, almost catches the snitch, but is struck horizontally, making it spin on herself and her glasses fall off "NO WAY!" she shrieks in fright. Harriet looks around. Everything is such a blur. Red and green silhouettes, blotchy people moving in the stands. She gets another sharp shove that sends her tumbling and having to hold onto the broom with both hands.
"NONONO!" Harriet pulls her whole body up, climbing back up and moving.
Not exactly after the snitch She can't see it! But to get away from Slytherin and avoid going to the infirmary. It becomes her goal. The all-too-recognizable buzzing makes her chase the snitch in desperation. She knows that's it, Drakonys is very close. The blonde clueless and not realizing that Harriet doesn't have glasses.
Drakonys thinks Harriet bumps her on purpose, pushes immediately. They both reach out and shove each other until by Who? Someone passing by, they both end up falling roughly to the floor.
Drakonys shakes her head and pats her head, sore, turning to the right, Harriet gestures to vomit. "DON'T VOMIT ME!" she gets up in a hurry and Harriet stands up, taking another straddle and spits something out. She scrunches up her face Is it round?
"HARRIET CATCHES THE SNITCH! GRYFFINDOR WINS THE MATCH BY ONE HUNDRED EIGHTY POINTS TO FORTY!" announces Lee Jordan and Harriet grins goofily. Drakonys gives a jaded groan, grabbing her broom and getting the hell out of there, before the Gryffindor pack crushes her.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
"I'm going to make an enchanted chain to make sure they don't fall off again while you're flying."
"Thank you."
She told Tom how the match went. He wasn't interested in quidditch, not even for Harriet would he go to watch a match. He wasn't doing it for his house either. Harriet is fine with that. She wouldn't go to those study meetings that Tom attends regularly. It's something they can't agree on.
However, they talk to each other about it and it's more entertaining that way. Add complaints, criticisms, comments about it.
What happened today worries him, it's something he needs to talk to the Slytherin team about. He had heard that it is very common to have injured players during matches with Slytherin, but he did not think it was such a recurrent tactic and done with dubious levels of legality. He must say it bothers him the most because they could have seriously injured Harriet.
Not enough of that, leaving her to see nothing. She could have been killed. The solution is to enchant those glasses so they don't fall off. They live longer fallen off, than they do on Harriet's face.
"Congratulations on winning."
"Thank you very much." she croons, showing off the snitch.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
"We're up by five points." exhales Harriet pessimistically. The points somehow went way up in Slytherin's favor.
They can rightly assume that Snape has helped a lot with this.
"We have plenty of time to get over them," Hermione assures Hermione, unconcerned. "We just have to keep them from taking points off us in potions."
"We've already lost the house cup." say Harriet and Ron at the same time.
"I know it's two years from now still, but are you going to the Quidditch World Cup Final?" asks Ron and Harriet tilts her head. "It's going to be here in England. My dad, Fred, George, Ginny and Percy are going" informs with a smile. "I thought maybe we could all go. If they want to. It would be great to see it all together."
"I think my dad mentioned it to me, but I'm not sure... I'll send him a letter. I don't think he'll say no... I'll tell Sirius too!"
"Yes! It'll be great with him there!"
Harriet and Ron continue their chatter about the Quidditch final. They get to the great dining room and are still chatting about it. Non-stop. Sometimes Hermione wonders if they have another topic of conversation. One that doesn't exclude her for a change. Although she admits she would be interested in going to that event. The whole magical world gathered to see that.
That must be fun.
The owls arrive and leave the mail on the table. Harriet pats Hedwig under the beak and blows her a kiss before she flies off to go to the aviary. She flips through her letters. One from Sirius, one from Remus, one from her dad, the newspaper, the monthly subscription to the Quidditch magazine, the Quibbler. The shriek to her right startles Harriet.
"Ronald Weasley! You damaged the car! Did you think we wouldn't notice!? How could you even think of using the car without permission!"
Ronald goes crumpling his face in fright as the vociferator continues to scream. It won't stop for quite a while. Ginny exhales, bored and annoyed. Harriet tenses a smile and turns to her. "Why do I feel like I don't know Molly Weasley who talks to Ron?"
"Because he always gets on her nerves." the redhead replies and Harriet lets out a long 'aaah'.
"That's why you'll be the favorite. Cute, doesn't use the car without permission, smart, good at flying and quidditch. I wouldn't worry too much" Harriet states nonchalantly, she does her hair behind her ear, exposing the pair of silver earrings she's wearing today. "And if you get caught in anything, just say you were with me. That fixes everything." She concludes with a smile and a wink.
Ginny reddens and Hermione narrows her gaze at Harriet Was that a flirtation? It sounded like a flirtation. Though of course, she gets them every day. Harriet is one of those people who say compliments and profess affection almost by accident. Just like James. In Harriet's case it's more dangerous.
Because Ginny is feeling flirtatious today and has to cover her face from how red she gets.
Harriet looks at her mail. First she reads the paper and worries her that like last year and the weeks that have passed, the news is almost the same: dead wizards with their magic drained, some killed with magic, others left with nothing in their pockets.
There is a picture of James on the front page, explaining that this is an international problem and they are taking care of the matter as best they can. Harriet scratches her head and rests her cheek on her palm.
Harriet hopes it doesn't spread. She doesn't want her dad involved in such a big problem. He's already got another one, with a couple of murderers who got off for lack of evidence and hate him for putting them in jail to begin with.
Also some thieves...
And some werewolves...
All in all, it's a mess.
And she's afraid of how her family is in the thick of it.
Chapter 15: Act. XV. More touch
Chapter Text
Tom looks up from the book, Harriet asleep on the bed with Nagini entangled in ner. Tom purses his lips and orders the snake to leave. His girlfriend settles back in and sighs once she is in the perfect position. Tom brushes a couple of strands away from her face and kisses her on the forehead, levitates the blanket on top of her and then continues with what he's doing.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
Harriet slowly moves Tom. The boy babbles sleepily with no sign of waking up. Fully reclined in the seat and with better posture, Harriet tucks him into the black robe. She carefully closes the books and then sits down on the other piece of furniture at the table in the library. Harriet reads quietly so as not to disturb her boyfriend's sleep.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
If there is one thing that Hogwarts suffers from, it is that their Defense Against the Dark Arts teachers don't last more than a year and to make matters worse, sometimes they are one more incompetent than the last. Quirrell was a good teacher, unfortunately a pedophile.
This year, it is Gilderoy Lockhart's turn and although he is present, he is a sort of ghost to everyone. They prefer to ignore that he exists -except for the girls who pine for him-. Not only is his attitude unbearable, his incompetence is what really casts doubt on whether he is as good as his books testify. No one knows why Dumbledore want him here in the first placer. It's a horrible decision.
Tom has had to hold back the urge to scream in his face that he hates him and is hopelessly useless; Harriet falls asleep in class and can barely keep track of what they're talking about. Even in transformations she does better in class. Their grades are good, so that's not a problem.
The problem remains the same: Gilderoy is useless.
They never know where the skill he boasts so much about seems to be.
He's a pain in the ass.
And to make matters worse...
"Ah Miss Potter! How kind of you to help me. So much correspondence for one person complicates anyone."
Harriet doesn't bother to disguise her annoyance. Gilderoy asked her to stay and help him with his letters. She had no way of saying no, he almost kidnapped her here. It's his bad habit: taking her to his office to help him with his letters. All under the justification that she's a good student and needs that kind of support.
She usually stays late with him...
Or Ron makes up some excuse for Harriet to go out. The usual is that McGonagall needs her. A lie, they run off to the kitchen to eat some candy the elves made.
Today was different.
"Oh? Mr. Riddle. What a surprise to see you" Tom keeps his expression serious and bored. The usual for him. "Do you need help with anything? You know there's no problem I can't solve." states the blond man with animated smile. Tom diverts his gaze to Harriet.
"I need Harriet. Professor Snape sent me, advised that he needs her in his classroom as soon as possible. After all, her potion was left unidentified and she's going to lose her grade in all these classes if she doesn't go claim which is which among the rest of the Gryffindor potions. It's very urgent." he explains and Harriet twitches, grabbing her backpack.
"NO! LATE HOUR DOING THAT!" Harriet rushes off, pushing Tom in the process. The student shrugs, giving a click of his tongue as he glares at Gilderoy, turns and walks away. Gilderoy blinks repeatedly What did he do?
What with that look?
Tom catches up to Harriet on the stairs, standing next to her. It's not hard to keep up with her. He grabs Harriet's arm once there is the turn to the potions room.
"What now? Snape is going to kill me-"
"Not at all. It was a lie. He didn't call you. I just wanted you to come to my room."
Harriet freezes in place for a second and gives him a shove that could have knocked him over. Even Nagini pops out from between Tom's clothes, surprised by how hard the blow was. Tom groans breathlessly, hugging his abdomen.
"Don't do that to me, you know I'm really bad at potions, that scared me! Shoot!"
"I-I thought you knew when I lied."
"Not when we're talking about potions...! S-sorry, sorry."
Tom leans against the wall, which push so hard. Harriet kisses him on the temple and the Slytherin lets out air. Okay, he'll have to come up with better excuses or he won't have one of his kidneys.
"Thanks for the help." says Harriet, smiling and for the first time, Tom understands why Regulus calls her an animal.
Such strength and such a snappy reaction is not normal. At the same time, his brain formulates a strange picture: Harriet can very easily push him down on a bed and get on top of him....
Ummm...
"Saying that you are aroused is not a sin you know?."
"Shut up Nagini."
. . .
Drakonys loses the thread of the conversation she's having with Emma, looking to the side at Tom and Harriet talking does he have a stomach ache or what's wrong? Harriet laughs and strokes the snake, causing Drakonys surprise How can she do that?
At the same time, it makes Drakonys angry. She can't understand what it is about Tom that interests Harriet. He's a jerk. She turns her eyes to the front, sulking and despising again, for the thousandth time this year, that Harriet prefers anyone else to her.
Fortunately Drakonys turns back the moment Harriet holds hands with Tom and they walk towards the Slytherin common room.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
At Hogwarts, it feels like time is passing quickly. More than half of the school year has passed and everything is going well. Except Tom who no longer knows how to control the libidinous thoughts that cross his mind the more he has Harriet in his room. She seems oblivious to the hormonal battle raging inside her boyfriend.
Something she provokes by pure accident.
Especially today and now, with more time on her hands and more exercise done helping her body to have a proper growth spurt.
Tom squints to the right, where Harriet is reading one of those rare books her godfather gave her. Black's Relic or something like that. He rests his cheek on his hand and keeps looking at her, lost in a thousand different ideas.
Harriet has taken on too much shape in too little time. Her bust is a little bigger, her hips too. The uniform looks tight. She has also let her hair grow out a bit. Black curls and waves covering part of her shoulders. Tom has barely told her he thinks it's pretty. He doesn't want her to think he likes it shorter and get stuffy.
On the contrary, Tom really likes any style she tries. Except bald. Maybe there he doesn't like it so much, but who knows! Chances are that even then he would like it. Harriet swings her legs back and forth without paying attention to her boyfriend. Tom furrows his eyebrows a little. Thinking about how pretty she looks has been a problem almost since day one. Because he wants to touch her.
He wants to see her.
He wants to bite her.
Wants to be on top of her.
"Don't bother now, Nagini ." reprimands Tom to the snake. Harriet laughs and gives Nagini a kiss on the head.
"I'm just passing by. I don't do anything else."
Tom is left sulking. His damn snake can pass all over Harriet and it's not bad! She allows it because Nagini is just an animal. He gives an annoyed groan.
"What's wrong?" asks Harriet.
"Nothing." replies Tom.
"Liar." Harriet rolls onto his back and stretches a little. "Is it because of what happened at Christmas? My dad and my godfather are kind of... Intense. Don't feel bad. Really."
"I don't care what happened or that they're offended because I don't like quidditch," he mumbles annoyed. "It's okay-"
"OUH!"
Harriet stands up and looks down at her shirt IT BROKE! At least she can say the button held up. Not so the fabric. She turns red Now how the hell does she get back to Gryffindor? Tom walks over to check and Harriet reddens. The Slytherin frowns. He can't even force it to close. The size is fine, but at the same time it's too tight in the chest.
"I can transfigure one of my shirts to make it smaller and wear it until they send you others," Tom proposes. "When did you grow up here so much?"
"I don't know. By the time I realized it they were like that. It's a bummer. I'm outgrowing everything. It bothers too much." Harriet grumbles. Tom tilts his head. It's usual to see her in her underwear.
"If you wear these, no wonder. The point of the bra is that it also keeps them slightly pressed and they move less." Harriet always wears sports and hadn't had a problem. She didn't have that much of a bust until now.
"Those are awful."
"You'll have to wear them to class at the very least? Or not wear them at all."
Harriet gives a sideways, annoyed groan. They jump out at her so much, it's impossible to walk around with nothing on. She is surprised that Tom comes up to her taking it from each breast. Despite his serious, even grumpy expression, se has a slight crimson flush on his face, embarrassed. Tom bites his lower lip. They are very soft. His hands - which are large - are full. Harriet moans through her teeth at the sudden squeeze. The movement to pull the sports bra away is slow, almost in expectation of her saying no or signaling she doesn't want this.
Harriet lowers her head a little and the lipstick takes over her face, having her bare chest and Tom watching. He analyzes it as he did every time he watched Harriet to draw his conclusions. This one is simple: he brings his mouth close and engulfs the nipple and part of the breast, panting and eyes closed; his hands massage the bulging flesh and Harriet sighs, shivering in a limbo of confused nerves and the abnormal amount of heat conglomerating in her chest. The girl sits on the bed and for comfort, lets Tom enter between her legs. She remains lying on the bed, with Tom bent on sucking on her breast.
Breaking away, Tom kisses between them; the hot, rapid breathing getting worse as he is able to caress his girlfriend's body. So thin and small, but beginning to take shape. Harriet gives a squeal of shock, Tom kissing her crotch.
"I'm really looking forward to it too much," Tom admits, embarrassed at himself. Harriet gives it some thought.
"W-we can do it then. I don't have a problem."
She does.
She doesn't really want to.
It scares her quite a bit.
However, Tom seems frustrated and being older, he must expect some things from her the Right? His unpleasant thought to be read ipso facto. Tom shakes his head.
"Don't force yourself into anything you don't want" Tom grumbles sitting up. "I can...wait. It really doesn't matter."
He hands his robe to Harriet who uses it to cover herself and stares at him Is he lying to make himself look good? Does he really think so? Maybe he does. Harriet scoots closer until she's just inches away from her boyfriend.
"You want to do it with me that badly?"
"Yes. Oddly enough, you're the only person I can visualize myself with that I'd let touch me" Harriet pushes back a lock of hair. She had certainly forgotten how delicate and withdrawn Tom is. He hates physical contact so strongly and with her it happens so naturally. "It could happen later. Or not happen. Who knows."
He's eager and horny, but he doesn't want it to be forced in any way Where would the enjoyment be? Where would be the moment when his and Harriet's magic intermingles. So much has happened by accident, Tom wants to know what it will be like when everything about them is joined. Their bodies, their lips, their magic. At just the thought, he suffers satisfying shivers throughout his body. Harriet shyly approaches.
"I... I don't want you down there. That's all."
"Uh?"
"It's like a... natural impulse. I still don't want that."
Tom wonders what she means by that, but if all she wants is for him not to perform oral sex (or try to), there's no major problem in his opinion. They put their lips together again and Tom pulls the robe aside so he can cup Harriet's breasts. The girl holds his face and ends up sitting with her legs on either side of him.
They kiss often, that's not new; what is, is the pair of opposing magics starting to mix this way. As it gets stronger and more direct, the greater the movement between the two of them. Tom has just removed Harriet's clothes and she, strips him almost completely naked, awkwardly fondling herself on the bed, the pair of first-timers following the common, basic instinct to do this.
Harriet contracts the moan about to come out, one of Tom's lips fingers in her vagina. She catches her breath and scratches him on the back, a louder moan for a second and the third makes her arch. Tom moves his fingers, looking for the way his girlfriend likes it best and when he finds it, he keeps doing it again and again until her loudest squeal, viscous liquid spurting from the cavity.
Legs spread wide and with Tom in between, she suffers a fit of shyness. Surprised at herself for doing this. Tom reddens, clearly embarrassed at his own total nudity. Harriet hugs him under the arms, holding him lying on top. An airless moan comes out and then a loud whimper. Tom exhales and squints, the dark magic growing thicker and colder.
Inside Harriet feels so phenomenal.
He sticks his tongue in his mouth and Harriet tugs lightly on his hair. The sensation is strange, different, new; Tom slowly withdraws his dick and pushes it back in. Harriet gasps and sighs with pleasure. They stare at each other for a while. As if green and lost eyes compete with red and cloudy ones. The speed grows with the minutes. Tom's member sliding in and out of the wet, bleeding vagina. Harriet's moans are constant, as well as Tom's. Both with desperate and anxious gestures, awkwardly caressing each other's bodies. Kisses on the collarbone, on the chest, scratches on the back, sucking the bulging flesh and playing with it.
Harriet notices the rougher, hurried movement. Tom grabs her thighs "T-Tom- Aah, aah, w-wai- AH! AAAH! TOM, TOM." She embraces him with her whole body, not explaining the sudden spark that remain as a force honing every sense.
Their magics being fully coupled.
How it hadn't happened until now.
Tom grunts and whimpers, wanting to get his cock deeper inside her, up to his testicles if he can. It's not enough, not even when he (dangerously) filled her with cum. He pulls her with him, sitting her on top and Harriet still clinging desperately, trembling from the orgasm that keeps happening and seems to have no end, pleasurably beginning the sensation when Tom moves again; hearing him moan is a vibration in her ear and the hands on her buttocks and part of her thighs, only adds to the spectacular effect.
For a brief moment in the middle distance, Tom is able to admire Harriet's breasts swaying harder because of how he lunges at her. He begins sucking on the right one and Harriet squeezes her tight vagina to further rub the swollen penis inside her. Bulging her abdomen and filling more of the bleeding entrances.
It is inexplicable and hallucinating what is happening, that it has been going on for so long and they don't even realize it.
She feels that the air does not enter her lungs and her body does not stop vibrating. Between exhaustion and the dazed feeling that consumes her. Harriet gives a choked moan. Her legs half open, the vagina spilling semen and blood to the bed and soiled thighs, thin and pale. The red and purple marks are not missing, spread all over her body. She still looks very small, even for her age. So a teenager looking older for her age is a bad combination.
She rests her chin on the pillow and vaguely thinks about getting out of bed to go to the bathroom. However, a shadow covers her entire body, large hands on either side of his head and in the same abruptness, the member thrusts roughly into his already dilated and fluid-filled pussy. She sticks out her tongue, drool escaping her mouth in time with more moans. The cock thrusting in and out of her body drags semen, mixed with blood from the tearing; Tom gasps and clenches his teeth, almost unable to breathe. He doesn't know what's happening, only that it feels so good.
Tom wants to keep doing it, indifferent to the pain in his testicles and abdomen. His magic in the same union as his body is so idiotic, so mind-blowing. The black magic that tries to devour the light, accomplishing nothing more than making it brighter and more pleasurable to surround. Tom lies on top of Harriet, never ceasing to ram into her. He sticks fingers in his girlfriend's mouth and massages her breast with his other hand. Harriet whites her eyes and moans louder even as her fingers fill with his drool.
Tom gives an anxious groan, cumming for... Which time is it? He's lost count. He stays as he is, shaking from head to toe.
"Y-you... are cu-cumming... still."
Tom says nothing about it, as he pulls away, his long orgasm filling Harriet's buttocks and thighs with cum. Harriet rolls onto her back, her face red with sudden fever. She lifts one leg and whimpers, viscous fluid half-clearing the fluids inside her. Tom lies on top of her again, just kissing her and though he penetrates her, doesn't move. Harriet strokes his hair and embraces with her whole body.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
"You look different. Like more... Bright? Did you do anything special?"
"No, nothing."
Harriet ruffles her hair, with a strange sense of embarrassment, but overflowing energy. As if she can eat the world all by herself. She sees Tom out of the corner of her eye at the Slytherin table. She questions what he's talking about with his friends. Being that he smiles in a pedantic manner. The reality is that he is getting the same comments as Harriet.
"I've never seen you look so rozagant, Tom," Dhapne jokes and the boy shrugs.
"I slept pretty well." he excuses before shoveling food into his mouth.
Neither of them are going to reveal anything. The more secrecy the better and if they think they're better off? Who knows, maybe they are and that just makes them get anxious to repeat it as soon as possible.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
"W-wait... Wait a minute."
Tom stops and Harriet takes a shaky breath. She tries to normalize her breathing, but can't. Tom lies down next to her, pulling her close to kiss her on the forehead and stay like that for a while. Harriet regains full consciousness, breathing and heart rate. She needed a moment, Tom is too intense and it doesn't bother her that it's like this.
She just needs time to get used to it and rest that urge she has. The cuddles are welcome, they make her a little sleepy, but they also make her feel appreciated. After all, Tom can feel the obvious ribs still, the thighs that don't yet have enough muscle.
Tom is aware of all that Harriet considers imperfections and caresses them as if he is indifferent to them or even more anomalously, feels affection for them as they are part of Harriet.
"Hermione says I shine a lot for a while now."
"The release of hormones helps you grow and that makes you happy. The happier you are, the more you glow." Tom replies in a sleepy voice. Harriet laughs lightly.
"You're always looking for a technical excuse."
"Better than saying you glow because of my penis inside you."
"That's true."
"You like it?" Harriet is left confused. "How does it feel? Do you like it? I should have asked sooner. Much earlier. How awkward." complains Tom, grumpily, and Harriet nods.
"I do like it. It didn't hurt after the first few times" she reports and Tom steps back so they're both facing each other. "How about you, do you like it?"
A sarcastic reply was ready to be said, however, as intermingled as they are, he senses how tense she feels. The fact that it makes her uneasy not to satisfy him. Tom considers it very foolish. It's obvious she does. He wouldn't be so obsessed with getting between her legs if he didn't like sex to begin with.
Or even contact.
For Tom, the less human contact, the better. That's why Harriet shines as the greatest exception to that rule. That's why it's obvious how special she is to him. However, what he knows he feels is one thing, and what Harriet can sense is another.
To avoid any misunderstanding, he gives a simple answer: "Yes, I love it. I wish we were in a closer bedroom." Tom closes her eyes to get some rest. Harriet is so warm that there is no need to have any sheets nearby. Harriet sighs and rubs her forehead a little on Tom's flat chest.
They last another ten minutes like this, saying the occasional inconsequential thing, but the atmosphere remains intimate and warm. Harriet murmurs that she's ready and Tom presses his lips together with her, turning to be on top again. He gradually moves between her legs, enjoying the rubbing against her thighs, the feel of her groin and being inside her.
The fact that the room at the end, becomes a mix of grays because of how much their magics intermingle. He enjoys the caresses on the back and hair, looking into her eyes for a while. He likes the color so much that he sometimes forgets the other things he likes about her.
When he's entwined like this, he feels stupid. His mind doesn't work. It's as if every one of his neurons decides to go on a trip and his intellect goes out like a fire being thrown a bucket of water on. He hugs her, a little anxious and starting to suck on one of her breasts.
He doesn't know what he wants.
He only knows that he feels wonderful here, that he feels complete in a way that he couldn't let go even if he forced himself. Harriet over jumps at Tom's grunt, the way he tenses his whole body and gives her one last thrust. Very hard and a little painful. She strokes some of his curls.
It's overwhelming in an indefinable sense.
"Are you all right? That was... a little strong."
"I'm... fine." Tom mumbles in response. He stays lying on top of her. Harriet strokes his hair, it really helps him calm down.
The room feels colder from the sudden senseless outburst, but he couldn't help it. Anxious, desperate, he has no way to describe it. It's just there, driving him crazy and making him cling to Harriet as if his life depended on it.
The year ends in a flash. The Quidditch Cup goes to Gryffindor on minor technicalities. Among them, Slytherin's team did not work well without hitting other in the worst way possible to knock them down, which caused them to drop almost dramatically to third place instead of second.
The house cup was a tie and due to Drakonys' feud at the beginning of the term, Dumbledore decided that Gryffindor deserved the cup more, as they had maintained a better conduct. Some say it's obvious his favoritism for Gryffindor, others say he's right and the last ones just celebrate not having to put up with Slytherin for a whole year.
Because that would be what would happen the following year if they won.
Overall, it was a good ending. Harriet considers it a school year that went from worse to better. Bad start with her attempted friendship with Drakonys, how brutally diminished she felt, Gilderoy Lockhart was the worst thing that happened in this school.... And then came the good things: her relationship with Tom, them moving up so well and naturally, having more muscle mass and having changed her looks a bit, the quidditch cup, the house cup, getting another safe S in potions and History of Magic.
It all worked out pretty well in the end, much to her own surprise. She feels some butterflies in her stomach. It will be almost two months without Tom around, which translates to no intimate contact at all. Unless he wants to go home, but as unlikely as that is at the moment, all she can think about is that he'll be sending her lots and lots of letters in a very short time.
Is it too intense on her part? Maybe she's being too intense and it's bothering him.
Harriet's mental dilemma is only growing because of things she creates for herself. To think that WELL! He's older! He's more mature than me in too many ways and maybe I'm too childish in contrast.
Tom for his part considers the year a big question mark. He achieved an awful lot that he didn't intend to and also what he intended to, more or less. His relationship with Harriet is a victory in itself, the point they have reached above all else. However, he is overwhelmed by how much he is going to resent not having her warmth at any time of the day no matter how sporadic.
Too much time together and now, apart.
Dependency sucks and he convinces himself that by going back to messaging as the only contact, that will be fixed. He needs it fixed. He's embarrassed? To feel that he needs her warmth, that he craves it so badly.
To think that the cold will become annoying instead of comfortable coming from himself. Being in the orphanage is an experience I would not want to go through again, but it is hopeless. Especially now that there is the problem in the general magic world.
They say goodbye to each other, he feigns disinterest in saying goodbye to Harriet and she continues on her way with Hermione and Ron. Tom notices that she says goodbye to many of them, but knows that none of them are close. Worse, she hears Regulus speak next to him:
"They all say she's a slut."
"Huh?"
"They talk a hell of a lot in the girl's bathroom according to Pansy," he comments with his hands in his pockets. "And one of the comments, is that she sometimes has marks on her body. also that she works out, the stupid moron must think that with that, she's going to fix that she's nothing to be mention." scoffs Regulus with a shrug.
"I thought there were less vipers in Gryffindor."
"I'd say they're more cynical."
Tom furrows his eyebrows and gives a snort Is he serious? He left no obvious marks. Though he remembers Harriet doesn't wear the same underwear anymore, so working out maybe if it shows. She does it in Gryffindor so she doesn't lose the routine. In the girls' dormitory no one is supposed to expose it.
Now Tom is worried about whether the boys know about it. If Ron is so dumb, what's to stop the rest of them from being like that.
Tom doesn't understand the point of all this talk about Harriet. Like there's nothing else to talk about, but it's just rumors going back and forth.
Everyone knows who she is.
Everyone knows what she looks like.
But no one knows her and so only what the cumulus says is the truth.
"How depressing." Tom says in a low, restrained voice, annoyed. Regulus doesn't know what he's talking about specifically.
"Tommy!"
Tom nearly falls over and shoves Bellatrix away, runs his hands through his clothes and looks at her in annoyance What is his obssesion with trying to get on top of her? Bellatrix laughs and rests her hands on her hips.
"Don't be so repellent. I won't be here to join you next year anymore. You should be a little more affectionate." she mentions with a hand on her chest of mock lamentation. Tom rolls his eyes and gets on the train, not interested in anything Bellatrix says.
It's funny, because all the boy in his year orbit around her. Last name, attractiveness, some special interest. Bellatrix Black is the center of attention in any situation. Except for Tom, who considers her a mediocre witch. She has strong magic, but is so disinterested in exploiting it that far from considering it useful, she is a nuisance, disappointment and disgust.
Tom celebrates that he won't see her next year.
That's all Tom thinks about it.
He enters the cabin and sits by the window as usual.
The crowd of imbeciles after Bellatrix irritates him more. Tom doesn't quite understand what they see in her. She has large breasts, yes, face with perfect pureblood features, too, curly and abundant hair Yes! And it annoys the hell out of Tom because it's something Harriet has all of that too and they call her ugly, fat, horrible, pathetic.
Partly Good! They don't bother her. However, Tom wonders what the difference is between the two. Whether it's because he knows her too little or because of her zero interest in other human beings, Tom finds nothing attractive about Bellatrix. Not even with her attempts at flirting and almost getting to something more intimate.
He ran off as discreetly as possible at the time. He saw her being provocative and felt nothing. Absolutely nothing. There was no arousal, it's criminal how little he felt other than discomfort and thinking the contrast with Harriet makes him lose it in his mind.
By accident Tom knows how she was like before and it is lovely to see her happy as she grows older, when she mentions to him that she feels heavier, that her arms and thighs are thicker; Harriet is not happy with her body, she is happy with the progress she is making to make it more beautiful and that, for Tom, is the beautiful thing.
Transitions are precious to Tom. The seasons, the growth of magic and he can transplant that fascination towards Harriet. That it slowly changes to something that defines her is lovely.
Tom wants to see each stage, convinced that the final one will be the most beautiful of all.
. . .
"What does everyone see in her?" asks Hermione, confused at how much people are behind Bellatrix.
She got to know her a little and was a little overwhelming. Her way of being gets on her nerves.
"I don't know," Harriet replies. "And that she's my cousin on my godfather's side." She adds as she finishes boarding the train. She says goodbye to Seamus and Dean, enters a cabin and is followed by Hermione, Ron and Neville.
"It's just that she's cute. That's all they see in her" Ron assures Ron. "In the bathroom we've heard... weird things" he admits with a scrunched up face and Neville nods. "About her chest and about other... things." He swallows hard and embarrassed.
"There must be another reason." Hermione insists.
"That she's a Black. Maybe." proposes Harriet.
"I-it isn't," promises Neville. "Just... She's beautiful to them" he explains vaguely. "No need for further explanation with that... She's also one of those people that everyone in Slytherin knows, so they talk about her a lot."
"Sounds too simple." opines Hermione, disappointed.
"According to Sirius, teenagers are very stupid. That's why it's a miracle Mum married Dad" Ron laughs through his nose and Harriet pulls up her bottom lip. "Besides, it's the same thing with Tom. All the Slytherin-or Hogwarts girls seem to be after him."
"It's different. They don't do stupid things for him."
Harriet shrugs. She doesn't know what explanation to give beyond that it's like that. Hermione has the same bad habit of wanting everything to have a logical explanation: there isn't one. There isn't. Harriet just thinks that somehow she falls into the same group she mentioned.
Because she undoubtedly loves Tom's looks. The difference is that she's heard many think he has muscles, a well-developed torso and arms, that he's perfect in every way and he's not. Harriet knows how thin he is, how flimsy his arms are, that the only mark is on his groin.
They would be sorely disappointed.
Harriet loves reality, perhaps because she never formed such a fantasy.
As the train rolls along, she concludes that what she likes most about Tom on a bodily level is that he doesn't feel insecure about it. Maybe he is modest and doesn't like to take off his clothes, but it doesn't mean that his body bothers him. That confidence with which he undresses in front of her is something that tickles her abdomen; how he enjoys her touching and outlining it.
Tom knows he's beautiful just the way he is and that only makes him more beautiful to Harriet.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
"What's wrong?" Harriet asks as soon as she gets off the train. Sirius hurriedly grabs Hedwig and Harriet's trunk.
"We've got to go. Quickly... Where are Molly and Arthur?" Ron looks around and stammers. He has no idea and neither do his brothers. James curses through his teeth. "Come with me," he points. "Hermione, you too. I told your parents I'm taking you home."
"Why?" stammers Hermione, confused. James grabs Harriet's hand tightly, pulling her along with him.
"I can't talk about it at the moment.... Tom!" The teen turns, a little surprised at this. Regulus looks at him warily. "Do you have a way to reach home fast?" he denies, confused. "Come on, we're all leaving, hold hands, we're going to show up at Godric valley-"
"Now what drama are you with?" asks Regulus. "My family can take you." he assures and Tom looks at them alternately.
"There. Is. No. Time. You also have to leave fast as possible." informs James and Regulus throws back his head Him? Helping him even if it's an announcement? "Sirius is in trouble too and so are the Blacks. Hurry up."
Regulus opens and closes his mouth, he was about to grab Tom to take him with him, but Harriet grabs him first. She pulls Tom to her and to Regulus and Bellatrix's surprise, Tom does nothing to repel her. James disappears in the blink of an eye, with all the Weasleys piling up to see Ron gesticulating.
The two Black's look at each other, uncomprehending and confusion is heightened when Sirius appears in front of them.
"I'll drop you off in front of Black Manor. Get in quickly and don't come out." He warns. His two brothers nod and disappear.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
"Dad What's wrong?"
Harriet feels like she's going to start crying from panic. She hasn't been told anything, all there is since she arrived, is comings and goings of her relatives, Lily conjuring up defenses around the house; the neighbors in the same situation. James took each to their respective dwellings without even bothering to do so in the driveway, but inside the dwelling.
Tom was left in his room.
Hermione in her living room.
Ron, Ginny, George, Fred and Percy in the dining room.
It is evening when James arrives back home and is able to get some rest. Sirius also arrives and followed by Remus. Rested and with a little less stress on them, they approach Harriet.
"There are serious... very, very serious problems in the magical world Okay?" Harriet's lips tremble and unease sparkles in her eyes, the lights go up and down without pause. "There was a murder attempt to the Minister of Magic, but it's being kept secret; they tried to kill Lily, Remus and we know that, if we leave one more minute, they might try to attack you."
"Why?" stammers Harriet in a daze.
"You remember the guy who did you the scar" Harriet nods. "He who is doing all this problem" James informs, grabbing her by the shoulders. "He knows we're the ones who made his charges in Azkaban worse. He escaped from there and if he already attacked Lily, he'll most likely try to come at you again."
A light explodes and Sirius sits down next to her. Harriet feels herself hyperventilate.
She doesn't quite remember that moment, it was so strange. All she knows, is that she hated it from how much it scared her. Also that even to this day, she has a mark on her body because of that person.
"Nothing is going to happen to you, Bambi" Sirius promises rubbing her arm and giving her a kiss on the top of her head. "We're going to protect you. Your dad, Moony, your mom and I won't let anything happen."
"But..."
She chokes on her own breath What if something happens to them? Her dad is head of security in the magic world, her mom is an outstanding witch, Sirius is a special agent, and Remus the usual query Who takes care of them? No one thinks about them.
She doesn't want to be left alone.
She doesn't want to lose any of them.
Harriet is unable to say it, with the feeling that it would be very selfish of her to ask them to stay, very insulting of her to ask them not to leave. As with all his anxieties, Harriet keeps it inside him.
"This vacation you won't be able to go out, I'm so sorry honey" Lily laments and Harriet nods, half crying. "No letters either...we must be isolated. We don't know how much information is out there, what could happen is that the others are targets too."
"Tom...!"
"I already put up a barrier at the orphanage" Remus informs with his hands in his pockets. "And I warned him to get out as little as he can, so he'll be safe. All provisions are in place."
"Even for my family." adds Sirius, teasingly.
"It's going to be okay." promises James giving Harriet a kiss on the head and Harriet hugs him.
Remus smiles slyly, watching tenderly as James clutches her just as tightly. He stands up and is still able to carry her. For today he and Sirius stay over, so it doesn't take long for them to discover that James stayed over with her to help her calm down.
Lily turned on the nightlight that Harriets used to use as a little girl. Small figures of stars and flowers flitted around the room. Giving space for the spoiled little girl they have, she could feel safe as she used to.
Chapter 16: Act. XVI. Bad timing
Chapter Text
"Harriet! Come eat!"
Harriet gets up awkwardly from the floor and shakes out her light blue pants. James has just tidied up the garden chaos they have. Harriet is an earthquake and a thousand things need to be fixed so she doesn't hurt herself. The green-eyed girl spins around from the shadow that covers her.
"Hello."
"Hi," she replies back. She doesn't know him, but if he's in Godric Valley, he's someone good. That's what her dad has told her. That there's a magical shield around the valley. "Who are you?" Harrietasks on the little training broom Sirius gave her for Christmas.
It barely flies half a meter above the ground.
The man smiles, leaning forward. He's someone attractive. Blond hair, heterochromatic eyes, elegant bearing. Harriet balances on her feet and he smiles charmingly. A dark, cold aura about him.
"You have lovely magic Did you know that?"
"Dad tells me that a lot" James frowns. He hears Lily call out to Harriet, but he also hears her talking. So far, he has no imaginary friends and doubts he would decide to create one. He shakes his hands and kicks a mound of debris that should disappear later. "And what's going to be more when she grows up!"
"It's quite right... Magic flourishes in extraordinary beings and said beings, increase their potential" James turns and pales, eyes widening and shivering, "if they live for it."
"HARRIET!"
Though Jamescasts the defense spell, the man disappears, grabbing the girl by the shoulder. Lily who saw barely a glimpse holds on to the wall, ending up falling and screaming. James rushes to get her up, they have to call Sirius and Remus. Harriet is still alive, who knows how long.
. . .
"Why not finish her off?"
"James Potter must learn to take better care of what he loves. And lessons are not learned if they are not shown."
Harriet sobs, hugging her legs tightly and unwilling to see. Her frightened whimper is shocked, the man crouching in front of her. He clicks his tongue three times and strokes Harriet's hair.
"Don't cry, little one," Harriet tries to cuddle closer to the wall. "Maybe this is scary, but no one will do anything to cause you pain."
Harriet lifts her face, sniffling. He smiles slyly, holds out his hand and she looks at the conglomerating black magic. He makes contact with hers and immediately, she feels it retract. He gives a chuckle he doesn't know how to interpret.
"The little Potter... The little black-maned lioness" Gellert enunciates softly. "Sorry for my manners: I'm Gellert Grindelwald. I doubt your father told you about me? Or did he?" Harriet denies. "You know, this didn't have to be this complicated," assures and Harriet notices the woman behind Gellert. She looks ready to attack her. It frightens her. "Your glow is... A true wonder."
"Y-your magic is very cold... and dark."
"Oh, you can see it," Gellert smiles in amazement, a cruel glint in his eyes. "Wonderful... Simply" He takes her by the face. "Wonderful."
He wipes the reddened face and discreetly forces her to her feet. She takes him by the hand and the grossest feeling of her life happens. Gellert's magic trying to envelop hers. She doesn't know how to define it in that moment beyond painful.
A spell passes over them both, it quickly turns to chaos and Harriet is restrained. A silver dagger in her neck and her shrieks for help. James approaches with a group of eight, including Sirius, Remus, Lily and Severus Snape, who despite his wounded pride, decided to help Lily with the only thing she has ever asked of him in her entire life: to save her daughter.
"Let her go!" orders James. Gellert scoffs, tightening his grip on the girl further.
"Or what will you do Potter? There's no way you're going to help her without killing her in the process" Harriet can't breathe properly. James is able to watch as Gellert's dark magic chokes and hurts her. "I gave you an offer, you turned it down and betrayed me. Attente-"
"IT HURTS ITHURTS- DADIT HURTS-HURTS-"
"To the consequences of your actions."
Gellert buries the knife deep enough to make it a scarring wound. He drags the blade across Harriet's forehead, causing her to scream hysterically and tearfully. James disarms him, that doesn't change the lightning-shaped wound in her forehead or that he keeps running away with her clutching it.
Gellert, unfortunately, is a great wizard. One capable of holding a duel with more than eight people while keeping a hostage restrained. The only reason he lets Harriet go is the sudden appearance of fire. Harriet holds her hands to her face, curled up on the floor, not knowing what's going on.
The more spells James casts, the closer he gets, and in the end, James won't let Gellert cast another spell: punches him in the face until he's knocked to the ground; the brown eyes looking orange and just as fiery as the flames the magic inside his body creates. Gellert laughs, spitting blood.
"You think this is going to stop what needs to happen?"
"You-"
"It will happen, Potter, and I'll make sure that everything how much I do... Involve that little girl you love so much.... To the magic so strong you gave her."
Gellert laughs at the rage it generates in James.
He laughed even when he was taken prisoner.
Convinced that he would get out sooner or later and when he did, just for revenge, he would go after the lovely light in James Potter's life.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
"I'm really sorry, but this vacation will have to be indoors."
Tom looks sideways at the man who enters his room. He looks like an alcoholic who lost his family and job at the same time. Defensively, Tom leans over to grab the biggest drink he can find. He could run out the window in case it takes. It is the second floor after all. The man laughs softly.
"Sorry, we're supposed to have met by now.... Remus Lupin" He introduces with a hand on his chest. "Moony, in case Sirius again forgot my name."
"Ah, so it's you" Remus nods. "And what brings you all the way out here. Mr. Potter was quite secretive as well." mentions Tom. According to Harriet, Remus is the calmest of her dad's friends. So far so true.
It's a brooding, long-suffering peace.
"Does it bother you?" Tom denies and Remus sits on the bed. Tom occupies the desk chair. "I was told you are someone mature for your age, so I will treat you in such a manner" he announces, "Do you know who Gellert Grindelwald is?"
"A wizard from many years ago. He was in the first magical war." replies Tom.
"Fifteen points to Slytherin" Remus celebrates discreetly. "The mistake, is that he's not from many years ago, he's very much ensconced in our present" Tom frowns. "He's a very wanted criminal. He's the cause of many problems. Among them, that you should stay here."
"Why, I don't-"
"You were at Christmas at the Potter house and unfortunately, we don't know if you're a target or not," Remus informs. Tom clenches his jaw. "At Hogwarts you're safe, but here? Everything is different" He smiles bitterly. "I placed a barrier around the building. You'll be fine with that. It will prevent anyone with magic from getting near this place."
"This person is the one causing the murders right?"
"I'm afraid so, Tom," Remus replies regretfully. "Just as important as Harriet's scar, he made it" Tom between opens his lips, dumbfounded. Harriet never said how she got it. It is only public knowledge that she has it. "And that's why I must ask you not to try to contact her. We don't want her location to be revealed."
"Why did he does that to her?"
"To this day, it's a mystery."
The teen doubts they don't know, but he's not going to press the issue. Tom clicks his tongue and Remus has to admit that he is indeed as serious and mature as he was told he would be. Nevertheless, there is a childish glow about him. Indifferent to what anyone thinks, he is still a teenager.
"We will try our best to track him down and put him back in Azkaban. Until then, you must stay here."
What a way to ruin a vacation. It's almost beyond belief.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
"Is something wrong?"
"Nothing we need to worry about." assures Lucius. Drakonys looks at his mom and when his dad leaves, she is able to speak.
"Gellert Grindelwald caused a huge attack on the ministry of magic" she announces clasping her hands together and rubbing her wrist lightly, Drakonys goes rigid. "While your father may consider is a... good sign, we cannot let our guard down" she indicates sternly and cautiously. "While he may be an ally to our ideals, we can't trust someone this unstable... I hope you're not surprised that you can't leave this summer.
Narcissa leaves and Drakonys gives a snort. She goes to her room and once there, rests the chin on the palm, squinting at the window. She wonders how they're doing in the Potter house, considering they're Gellert Grindelwald's favorite enemies.
At least that's what her mom explained to her.
She lies back on the bed, placing her hair on top of the pillow so it doesn't get tangled. It will be a lonely summer, nothing new. It'll be like most summers so it doesn't matter if there's a lunatic outside.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
Harriet did his homework fast. Doesn't know if potions is okay, but she tried. She did it in just three days and officially ran out of things to do at home. She has nothing to read, nothing interesting to watch either, and the lack of communication with the outside causes him distress.
Her family returns, but Harriet knows that at any moment they will have to leave again. Sometimes he lets Hedwig loose inside the house, but it is not the same. Harriet has no way to converse with her.
She misses his family.
She misses Hermione.
She misses Ron.
She misses Tom...
She hopes he's okay.
Hopes they're all okay.
Harriet doesn't remember much about Gellert Grindelwald. Just vague, distant moments. She remembers that he caused her displeasure and pain. Not just the physical one, exposed in her scar. It was deeper, as if somehow, she felt imprisoned in the most intimate way possible.
Harriet remembers her black magic. The way it looked. It was just like a thick, dark, almost viscous mist that you couldn't get out of. It happened a long time ago and maybe because of how much it scared her, she doesn't remember it. The only thing Harriet is sure of is that she doesn't want to see him again. That she wants to be as far away from him as possible is her greatest wish.
Also to be far away from everyone she loves. It is most notable among her memories: remembering how destructive it felt to be around him. Like anything within his reach, it could be burned to ashes if he touched it.
What if he disappeared James?
"We saw each other five minutes ago," Lily pats Harriet's shoulders affectionately. "He's on his way over. He went to buy some food. Your favorite don't you want some?" Harriet exhales.
"I'm bored." Harriet says passes on getting off the subject. Lily shrugs.
"We could try something else."
"I want to fly."
"For now, that must wait," Lily notifies and thinks for a moment. "Why not music? Maybe something dramatic. Just like you."
"I'm not dramatic." grumbles Harriet with a frown.
"Potters are dramatic by nature," scoffs Lily, just as James appears inside the house. "They know a Malfoy is coming at them and they think it's the end of the world."
"That is the end of the world" assures James and Harriet laughs. If she sounds like that, then yes she is very dramatic. Now she's embarrassed. "What were they talking about? Other than I'm sure they're happy I brought burgers."
"Really?"
"Yes. Why not? Change up the menu a bit." James proposes with a smile and Harriet stretches in her seat. Yes. That sounds good.
After wrestling some more with the issue that being in her mind too long is going to kill her, they decide to find an instrument that works. They ruled out the piano, also the guitar; wind instruments were never an option and finally came to an almost obvious conclusion: the violin.
Lily considers it dramatic.
James considers it harmonious.
Harriet considers it beaIutiful.
She's seen a lot of violinists. Boring upper-class parties where there are people playing instead of just spellbinding instruments. They all have nice hairstyles, dresses and move in a lovely way. As if they flow with the music.
Harriet thinks that maybe if she knows how to play something like that, she will look prettier. She might even impress Tom. He can play the piano and has heard it a couple of times, mostly in Sirius's apartment. He played one afternoon with everyone there and although there weren't many tracks he could use, he remembered one from memory.
Moonlight sonata.
And the idea of playing it together, makes Harriet excited.
Fortunately there is no one at home during her attempts to learn. James brought a nearby, trustworthy neighbor to teach her. Harriet is stubborn, so it is not surprising that her progress is rapid. Playing simple pieces and reading sheet music is possible. Also a way to keep her mind from focusing on other things.
Touring time is active in the house out of necessity for Lily and James to rest. At the same time, Harriet uses it to rehearse.
The vacation was, in its abstract construction, six months. Longer and more tedious were it not for the fact that she turns her whole mind to rehearsing, rehearsing, rehearsing. When the day of his birthday arrives, he does not avoid the smile of noticing that there are gifts from friends among those of his relatives.
"I was going to try to bring Hermione," Sirius admits, "but I didn't make it. There was activity around her area. The only thing that helped with this, is that her cat dropped it off at a relatively common spot."
"She has a cat?"
"Yes. A kneazle."
"She did it!" exclaims Harriet with her arms raised. Sirius snickers through his nose. Even if the weather tour doesn't affect them, Harriet looks bigger. It helped tremendously the amount of food she ingested during this whole process. Her wider, curvier body, plus the considerable ten centimeters in height that added up.
Her hair down to her shoulders, her locks a couple of centimeters shorter, as messy and wild as ever. A dense black mane that nothing can control.
Harriet is thirteen.
And finally, she looks like a thirteen-year-old girl.
Check her presents: Ron sent rather rustic bracelet, but it's a sibling of one he's going to wear; Hermione sent a set of rings they mentioned from a magazine months ago at Hogwarts; the twins sent experimental sweets and finally there's Tom. His is the largest and heaviest.
Harriet opens it carefully and also makes sure no one reads the note her boyfriend placed:
"I hope everyone at your house has been well. They told me you were just in there, getting bored. I'm sure you'll still have something to tell me about your vacation. See you soon." Atte. Tom.
Harriet smiles sideways and puts it in her pocket before fully opening the gift: it is an enchanted snowball. The falling snow is soft in the small forest and the cutest thing is that among the bushes, a fawn comes out. It jumps out without thinking and Harriet is mesmerized watching it.
"Where did he get it?" asks James, impressed.
"I got him the orb," says Remus. "And that was it. It seems the inside of the trunk he has makes him invisible to the age restriction" He shrugs and James raises his eyebrows. That's dangerous. "It's impressive what magical ability he has" he opines turning back to look at the snow globe. It's the size of a cantaloupe. "Maybe it's a prodigy."
"Charming, with dark magic. From Slytherin." Sirius highlights and James knows where he's going.
It's exactly how everyone has ever described Gellert Grindelwald. Establishing the relationship costs so little, after all, Tom even has a bit of his personality and is expected to do something similar. Gellert's goal is to prioritize magic, Tom's as Salazar's heir, is to prioritize blood. In the long run, they would achieve the same result.
James was already wary of him, but now it's genuine panic. Gellert recruits people. Who's to say he won't go after Tom? That he'll use him to get to Harriet somehow. It's a grand scheme, a bit over the top and at the same time, paranoid. However, as his job demands, he must stay several steps ahead of the threats and predict their movements.
It's one of the avenues, yes, but it feels so likely.
"I'm going to put it in my room." Harriet announces carrying the snow globe carefully.
"Why the tragic face?" questions Lily. "Get a grip for today. It's important."
"I... Just" James clicks his tongue and rubs his face. Lily looks at him quizzically. "I keep thinking about that thing he said? What if Tom is part of the plan?"
"Tom's thirteen and he doesn't know him."
"Maybe he does."
"James-"
"What if he's a risk to our daughter?" he argues quietly, and Lily exposes her annoyance. "And if-"
"James, the only thing you're worried about is the slightest chance that Harriet might have a boyfriend. Stop your unstoppable sense of overprotective daddy from mixing a real threat with your daughter having a relationship." the redhead commands. Harriet rushes to the table to check the rest of the presents.
Sirius brings her a new plush doll. This time, it's a zouwu.
James bought her the boots she wanted.
Lily the stamps she wanted.
And Remus brought an envelope. She opens it in confusion. She doesn't think he made her a poem or something. She reads the first few lines, doesn't understand anything until she gets halfway through and almost knocks over the table. "YOU'RE GOING TO BE A HOGWARTS TEACHER!" Harriet squeals ecstatically and almost knocking him over in a hug. Remus sways, pats her back and smiles.
"Don't think I'll make it easy on you for being my favorite puppy."
Harriet giggles. She loves it when they call her that. It's a very Sirius and Remus gesture. Both used to being in animal forms. To them, Harriet is the puppy of the pack, even if she is a tiny doe who can barely walk on her skinny legs.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
The summer felt eternal. Tom doesn't consider that anything interesting or specific happened, at most, one annoyance after another at the orphanage. The children more unbearable than usual, also the women in charge, the director. In short, he wanted to bang his head against the wall.
At the same time, he discovered that his extendable trunk is more useful than she thought. It has a room all the way down, perfect for storing important things you need to carry around. At the same time, it doesn't matter if he uses magic in there. He checked it out the second week and it was a wonderful discovery. He can practice magic even outside of school.
And maybe it will work to get Harriet into Slytherin easily?
Or get her into the Secret Chamber.
What was Salazar doing down there? Who knows. That having a room is suspicious, in his opinion.
Tom still doesn't understand the choice to put that in a bathroom, for worse, the girls' bathroom. It would be very hard to recognize. If Nagini didn't help him, he would have had to search this year too.
On the platform Tom has impossible not to look around. He noticed many undercover aurors guarding. Tom knows it's them for a reason: their magics over come out. It's a way of defense and being able to cast spells with more speed. He has been discreet about it.
No one is concerned about it. Barely enough. It's clear that none of them is a recognizable target unlike him and everyone who is close to Harriet. Regulus shows up and starts complaining about the long, boring summer. For the first time, Tom agrees with him on everything.
"Were you able to do anything besides hate everyone?" asks Regulus and Tom smiles slyly, giving him a half sideways glance as he tilts his head.
Regulus purses his lips. Tom, for reasons unknown to him, has not had his hair cut in the usual way, so the neat, soft waves fall with one of the locks into his face. Dark hair framing fair skin and bright red eyes. Regulus feels his head going full speed for just a second.
"I never hate everyone at the orphanage enough and never enough of the fantasy of killing them all, Regulus" Tom hisses and straightens up, strokes Nagini's head sticking out of the robe, resting on the student's right shoulder. "I dawdled long enough not to and, here we are." concludes Tom with a longer grin that gives Regulus a shiver.
Regulus averts his gaze. "A-ah... Yeah. Well. Who knows. Maybe Grindelwald will kill them for you."
"I wouldn't know whether to run away or thank him." he scoffs cynically, laughing and Regulus shrinks further into himself, scowling.
Tom looks at him, the feeling of his magic trying to mix with his own. It's pathetic, Regulus' magic is normal, barely outstanding and it gives him a sickening feeling that he's trying to touch him. Especially here, now, for no reason. Tom moves away on purpose and Regulus realizes what he's doing. Belatedly and with more embarrassment on top of it.
He doesn't know what's wrong with him.
"Tom!"
Tom turns in the direction of the voice somewhat less sharp than he remembers and is unable to hide the surprise. Four ice stalactites emerge on the ceiling and although one or two other people see them, no one important does. That is, no one knows that she has just given a burst of magic just to see Harriet.
All summer without seeing her and... She changed.
A lot in Tom's opinion.
She's taller, wider, hair longer. Maybe they're only twenty centimeters apart now. She's wearing jean shorts, black tights that hide her legs, ankle boots and a sweater and a huge turtleneck. Her eyes more intense than she remembers.
"Are you a cow now?"
Tom gives Regulus a dirty look, who doesn't understand the gesture; Tom returns his attention to Harriet. She folds her arms. "I wonder if there will ever be a time when you won't compare me to an animal. I could say of you that you're a lapdog, but it would offend Sirius."
"It's not my fault you're worse than an animal" Regulus chides. "Comb your hair for once will you? And I already know you want to seek attention, bitch."
Regulus enters the train and Harriet contains looking for him to continue arguing. She turns back to Tom and smiles awkwardly, ruffling her hair.
"I managed to gain fourteen pounds. I weigh eighty-four," she comments with a nervous smile. "And you don't know how annoying it is to shop almost an entire closet without being able to get out. It's-"
"You look beautiful."
Harriet freezes and three glasses shatter, embarrassed and shocked. Tom looks at her in disbelief and that gesture she's discovered from him when he's nervous, when it's something he likes, but isn't able to manifest because he doesn't know how to do it. Tom looks down, reddening and stammering.
"Thank you." Harriet replies clasping her hands together behind her back and Nagini hisses. "Hello Nagini." pats her on the head and is unaware of what it is that Tom hears that makes him make such a frightened face
"If you keep looking at her that much, everyone's going to notice. It's already obvious to her that you want to undress her." hisses the snake, who enjoys Harriet's cuddling.
"Shut up, just shut up. No one asked you anything."
"Well! See you at Hogwarts... Or do you want to come with me...?"
"No, nono, see you.... At Hogwarts, in the bathroom on the second floor. Don't ask why, just wait there and- uh-"
"Now that I take a better look, you're bigger too."
Tom averts his gaze and Harriet laughs Does it make him nervous? She didn't think she was going to get this reaction. Harriet had nightmares thinking he was going to dislike her gaining weight and height. Ridiculous thought, but it played a starring role in bad moments at night. Harriet waves goodbye and goes to find Hermione and Ron.
They both notice something.
Tom notices that, leaning against a pillar, there is a pale blond man. Smart clothes, overbearing expression and confident posture, too casual to be a noble pureblood or a Malfoy. He senses his magic, black as oil and with the apparent texture of the same. Instinctively his magic retracts into himself, forming a barrier out of caution.
Tom does not know who it is. He has never seen him and yet he is striking. It is someone who directs glances towards himself. Tom notices that, as he follows his gaze, he is watching Harriet who stands still for a moment.
Harriet senses that she is being watched and out of the corner of her eye she locates who is watching her. She pauses, half-opening her lips and clenching her fists. She inhales and exhales so hard that it's the only thing she hears. All is silent, except for herself. The man bows his head, Harriet feels the urge to pull out her wand and throw him away, but could she? What if he reacts in some way?
Tom is very close. Hermione is on her way here, as are Fred and George, Ron calling out from between them to come up.
Gellert straightens up and makes a melodramatic bow, twirling his hand and before bringing it to his abdomen. Harriet takes a small step back and he, erect, smiles indiscreetly. "You've grown up nicely, Miss Potter," Gellert says.
"Harriet!"
Harriet takes a breath of air and looks up at Hermione. She still doesn't hear her and though he looks in the same direction, Gellert isn't there Did she hallucinate it? Tom for his part tries to find Gellert, but he can't find him either. He didn't even see the instant he vanished. He stops looking out for that, barely on this plane to notice Bellatrix hug him and kiss him on the lips.
"I hope to see you at Christmas."
Bellatrix releases him slowly, smiling. Tom doesn't react in any way, still with his mind elsewhere. Too many trains of thought run through his mind at the same time. One about Harriet, one about that unknown man, one about going to the Chamber of Secrets, finally one about Bellatrix in her insane inability to keep her hands to herself and Regulus. Basically a Black train of thought.
Bellatrix and Harriet have almost the same build Bellatrix is fat? No. She'll use her as an example every time Regulus teases by saying something about it.
Harriet for her part turns, hoping Tom will confirm whether he saw Gellert or not, what she gets is Bellatrix on top of him kissing him. Harriet turns quickly and follows the others without saying anything. Her head hurts.
Chapter 17: Act. XVII. Like One again
Chapter Text
"Hey, you're fatter."
"Ron."
"What? It's the truth."
Harriet rolls her eyes, but doesn't say anything about it. She'll take it as flattery, considering she always looked malnourished. Harriet enters the cabin that Ron said "was occupied", Remus being huddled against the window. Harriet sits up abruptly and leans back against him.
"Harriet, don't both-"
"He's Moony," Harriet notifies snuggling a little tighter. "He's going to be this year's defense against the dark arts teacher." Harriet comments excitedly. Hermione closes the doors and keeps her brows slightly furrowed.
"And he's already asleep?"
"He gets very tired." excuses Harriet and Remus barely stirs a bit in his seat.
The trip of limited to chattering on and on, but they don't speak too loudly so as not to wake him. He should have with Harriet's weight so suddenly on top of him. His lack of consciousness exposes how exhausted he must be. The journey circulates quietly, to the point where Harriet forgets Gellert, forgets what she saw of Bellatrix.
Overall, Harriet is just happy to have Moony here, to talk to Hermione and Ron after a whole summer -extended-, without having been able to do so. They each go to change and when it's Harriet's turn, the train stops and the lights flicker before shutting off for good.
"This time, it wasn't me," Harriet says, straightening up. She rubs her hands together, suddenly very cold "Are we close?"
"Not at all" says Hermione, leaning against the window to try to make out Hogsmade. "There's... no... thing."
She turns away from the window, which fills with frost. Ron sees the same on the glass of the doors. He turns away slowly, joining Hermione and both holding hands tightly. Harriet discreetly moves Remus. The door opens, very slowly. A bony, black hand slides open the wood and glass door.
What peeks through looks just like a specter. A creature with a black veil and an opening that must lead to its lips. Harriet holds her breath, leaning more and more on Remus for how much closer he comes to her.
She chokes.
She feels terribly cold.
She doesn't know what exactly she feels.
Only that her entire mind goes numb and any moment where despair and sadness overpowered her, they leap out as a direct attack on her entire existence. Remus moves quickly, raising his wand and a halo of light shooting out of it. The specter gives a faint growl before hurrying away.
Harriet pulls in air, one hand on her chest and the inability to hold it in.
"Easy. It's over." Remus hugs her and Harriet clings to the other's arms, anxious.
. . .
"The giant will be teaching the class this year."
"He knows about animals. He's naturally an expert."
Knowing that Hagrid will be the Magical Creatures teacher is indifferent to Tom. He doesn't like him, but Tom must admit that he is an expert in his branch. After all, the man walks around with hippogriffs as if they were family. He's hopeful that something entertaining will come of this.
Anyone would think it's stupid for him to choose that subject, yet again, he wants to meddle in all the political issues of the magical world. One of them includes magical creatures, their rights and participation in society. Tom understands that some have more thoughts than others, not to mention the vitality of their existences.
The elves, the veelas, the unicorns. All are useful in one way or another and it's a subject she wants to explore a bit more this year.
If her hormones allow it.
The train comes to an abrupt stop much to the surprise of it. Theodore looks out the window, he doesn't see the town nearby and that they are well ahead on the train. Tom stands up, ready to check, but the cold on the glass makes him sit up again, slowly.
The bony, black, long-clawed hand slowly opens the door. Tom pulls out his wand by inertia. Slowly and carefully, but he does not lift it. He does not give it time. The dark, shadowy specter approaches him. It deliberately ignores the others who stand back in fear.
Tom holds his breath, staring at it and can no longer breathe.
Air does not enter his lungs.
It is the feeling that something colder and more noxious than he is, is touching his soul, is wanting to break it to extract something. As if all memories and notions of joy and warmth are vanishing because it is eating it. Nagini comes out of Tom's uniform and wraps around the wraith, biting it relentlessly and making it go backwards, unable to get it off him because of how huge it is.
Tom holds a hand to his chest. "Tom, hey Tom!"
He passes out, falling on top of Regulus who doesn't try to make him wake up. The wraith is repelled by a strong white light, Nagini is still showing fangs dripping with venom and she crawls swiftly towards Tom, climbing on top of him and showing her fangs to everyone.
"Nagini!" Hermione steps in front of Remus and the snake lets her guard down a little. "H-he can help Okay? H-he came to help."
Nagini curls around Tom, who, with eyes half-open like lips, is still unconscious. the lights return and Tom a couple of minutes later. At the sight of him, confusion blossoms.
"It's okay... It was a dementor. Usually, people screams. You were really brave."
"What are you doing here...?"
"We can talk about that later. Here, eat." Remus offers a chocolate bar and Tom scrunches up his face.
None of this makes any sense and he hates it.
┈ ⋞ ⟨ ✷ ⟩ ⋟ ┈
Drakonys steps off the train, slicking back her straight blond hair, with thin, elegant waves. Everyone chatter about the Dementors' visit to the train. Some say they were attacked, others say it's a lie. Anyway, Hogwarts the epicenter of rumors before even being in the castle.
"I heard Harriet fainted." comments Blaise.
"For a big Gryffindor, she's not very brave." Drakonys scoffs as they walk.
"They're just a bunch of snooty cats!" chirps Emma. "Oh look, it's over there."
Drakonys was about to shout out some ridiculous comment, but the sight of her makes her stand still and silent, lips parted and breath held. The blonde is unable to describe the trembling in her body at the sight of her How did she change so much? At what point did she do it? Harriet feels that every time she looks at her, she is a different person and at each of those stages, she just gets better and better.
Harriet smiles, Drakonys doesn't know at what; her face reddens and she takes a small step back, clenching her hands and unable to control the runaway beating of her excited heart. As his mind fills with silly thoughts about Harriet:
The pretty smile.
The big build and the hair that suits her.
The bright eyes so striking even behind the glasses.
That she's taller.
The particular lioness that Gryffindor, the biggest house and school light.
"She's fat. She looks like a cow with udders now." says Blaise crossly.
"And hair like a bird's nest." snorts Emma. "Not unlike Granger, really. Maybe they both share the hair treatment." She turns to Drakonys and surprise dawns on her. "Drako?"
"Eph- Uh what?" Drakonys stammers in a daze and Blaise looks her up and down.
"Are you okay, is something wrong?"
"No. Nothing. I just got a little dizzy" Drakonys excuses awkwardly, pushing back a couple of strands of her hair. "Let's go quickly, I don't want to have to wait too long for a cart."
The small group just obeys. They walk past Harriet, Hermione and Ron, with Drakonys watching her as far as he can without turning his head. Frowning as they walk away and leave them behind. Harriet didn't even notice Drakonys, more relieved to see Tom well, at best, slightly paler.
"Are you all right?"
"Yes. Nagini took over," Tom comments and Harriet hisses. She would have liked to have seen that. "And you? Remus told me it got to you too."
"It was nothing" Harriet assures nonchalantly. "He gave me chocolate. I feel better." says Harriet and Tom nods. He continues on her way, with Regulus alternately watching them and wondering why the eagerness to seek each other out and talk to each other? Especially Tom's.
He doesn't understand and it bothers him quite a bit.
┈ ⋞ ⟨ ✷ ⟩ ⋟ ┈
The start of the dinner featured a shorter speech for a change. Dumbledore commented on the new additions to the faculty. Hagrid in Magical Creatures and Remus in Defense Against the Dark Arts. If it weren't for Snape, Harriet would consider it her favorite lineup of professors. At dinner, barely paying attention to what is being talked about at the table, she thinks a lot about what happened on the train.
As if her soul is being pulled out of her body.
It won't happen again. The Dementors did a check on the train and from what was understood from Dumbledore, they already did it in the castle. The Azkaban guards did nothing more than make sure that Gellert Grindelwald is not here. The expectation is that he will indeed not appear in this place.
Also highly unlikely, as James explained to him, Gellert never goes near Dumbledore. Respect, a past relationship, fear of his power or whatever happened, prevents him from approaching. A total plus point.
"Do you think Remus takes points away from Slytherin like Snape takes points away from Gryffindor?" Harriet shakes her head, scrunching up her face a little.
"I don't think so. He's too right for that," Harriet estimates and Ron drops his shoulders, disappointed, "but he told me we'll do magic. More than we did with Gilderoy."
"Don't remind me." asks Ron jadedly.
"I still don't understand how Dumbledore thought it was a good idea." complains Hermione. "We lost a whole year's worth of classes."
"Maybe he wanted to expose that he was a fraud," proposes Ron. "It's a very useful trap. Everyone here realized it's not like in his books. They don't sell well anymore. Everyone recognizes him as a liar, not the one who made the books." he adds stuffing his cheek with food. Hermione exposes her unabashed disgust.
"That's not going to change that we lost a whole year of classes" Hermione insists, she refuses to let this issue go. "Not just on a content level, but practice as well. Whatever Remus gives us this year-"
"Hermione, breathe, you're messing up your hair." mutters Harriet under her breath. Hermione of pushes her hair back, brushing away the bits of food she brushed away.
"You're the one worried about it. You should be happy. If we go in that delay, they're not going to force us that far."
"It's quite the opposite!" argues Hermione, Ron shrugs. For him. There's no reason why they should demand more from them. Knowing they come from such a bad background.
Harriet doesn't say anything about it. She'll tell Hermione privately, to avoid further arguments between the two of them. She told Remus about how Gilderoy's classes went and he took it rather badly. They will have a somewhat accelerated, but dense run through of the content they should have seen and then, after three weeks, they will go into third year content.
He also mentioned something about sharing classes with the fourth years, because they must be even worse off and it's dangerous for them to move up a level without being ready. Harriet was fascinated by how enthusiastic Remus was about it. She could tell it was something that made him happier than being on standby waiting for Sirius or James to need him.
More human contact that would make him feel accepted among humans in general.
"Harriet" She turns, cheek round with food and lips glossy with sauce. "Tomorrow we start practice" Harriet chews a couple of times, frowning. "Last year we got lucky. We can't get sloppy." informs Oliver. Harriet swallows with a gulp.
"But just barely-"
"Tomorrow, early," Oliver repeats. "McGonagall and Snape cured themselves. They've already set the practice schedule. Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays are ours in the morning; Slytherin on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw practice in the afternoons," he explains and Harriet turns to stuff her mouth with food.
More than she should.
Ron laughs and Hermione scolds her under her breath. Harriet throws her hair in her face and Ron continues to laugh at it. Hermione is embarrassed. Harriet wants to die and be buried at once.
Tom doesn't stop himself from laughing from where he is, managing to see her in the distance. He'll know what made her panic. He looks at the teachers' table again and squints, not holding out much hope for Remus. He wonders if Dumbledore is simply incapable of fulfilling Snape's request to let him be a Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher.
If that's the case, he's more devious than he thought.
Despite having set his course, he knows he can't go to the Chamber of Secrets yet. He must leave his trunk, make it look like he's just going to sleep; he must also give the talk to the first years and the others. Make sure that this year they do get the house cup no matter what.
Tom has high hopes that Drakonys, this time around, is not going to screw it up with some nonsense. Speaking of her, she suddenly gets very close on the way to Slytherin. Tom ignores her as much as he can, plus the closeness to his personal space annoys him a lot. He's in no mood for this sort of thing today.
"Do you want something?" Tom asks irritably, though it's not noticeable unless you know him. As is the case with Regulus. He laughs and keeps walking. Drakonys plays lightly with the lock of hair on her right shoulder.
"I just wanted to say... nothing like last year is going to happen this year" Drakonys promises and Tom squints. Disgusted. She knows perfectly well how she screwed up. It almost makes it worse. "I've already talked to the others and we're all going to do our best."
"It's the least they can do." informs Tom. His face still serious.
Drakonys is older too. She and Harriet must be the same height by now. Long platinum blonde hair that reaches below her waist. the waves suit her, as does having a light blush on her very pale face. Her gray eyes don't help her stand out.
Tom has always thought of her as a specter. Everything about her is so white that it doesn't look good to him aesthetically.
"I know," Drakonys admits, "but I just wanted you to know that. After all, it's me you threatened to kill last year."
"You want me to repeat it, is that what you want? Nagini can go for your neck to inject her fangs. Just name the time and day, she'll know to come to your room" Tom's lips curl into a sadistic smile. Drakonys feels a shiver. "By the way, I must ask you to stop invading my space. It's disgusting."
Tom continues on his way and Drakonys gives a mumbling groan What's wrong with Tom? Drakonys tried this over-the-top approach with Blaise, Crabbe, Goyle and even Theodore Nott. All four reacted with some embarrassment, some interest in her. Tom simply carried on as usual.
Drakonys doesn't know what to do about it. Lucius insisted she could, but apparently not? As they get deeper into Slytherin Drakonys eats her head off with more ways to seduce Tom. Getting something that works instead of causing more death threats. She questions herself Is there anything Tom likes? Other than murder, threats and dark magic.
She remembers the season.
That spontaneous moment when Bellatrix threw herself at him and he did nothing to stop her.
Maybe he likes that: black hair, pale skin, voluptuous body...
"That sounds like Harriet too." He says quietly to himself, scratching her temple.
If given that description, she'd go for the lioness, not the Black who just graduated. They are related, however distantly, so it makes sense that they would share traits. However, that it's just what Tom likes is a problem.
Her breasts are small. A normal size and maybe they're still going to grow. Her body is slim. She is the ideal weight for her age. Drakonys had never thought until now that she wasn't perfect, but she realizes the detail:
She is too perfect.
Or rather: too standard.
The only things that stand out are her gray eyes and the shade of her hair, but in essence, Drakonys has nothing that makes her stand out. Only her last name, which Tom has no apparent interest in. The more she thinks about it, the worse she feels because her father is going to scold her. Who knows what punishment he will give her, at the price of not getting the heir of Slytherin as an ally for the Malfoy family.
At the same time she feels relief! She tried. That's it. She's done with it. She doesn't have to keep drawing attention to someone who is of no interest to her; instead he could-.
"Drakonys?" Blaise shakes her slightly and the blonde shakes her head lightly. Frowning as she looks away. A scolding echoes in her head.
Stops thinking about Harriet .
. . .
"Why can't I take that bed?"
"Because you have too much stuff and you get in the way."
Harriet gives a grunt of annoyance and the others, rearranging their belongings, made sure to let Harriet have the second bed next to the entrance. Not only does it get morning light - which is why they always have to put the curtain up when you sleep - but it's also one of the first to be seen if anyone tries to peek through the door.
It's happened a couple of times in the past and from rumors from fifth and fourth grade girls, the boys become very indiscreet starting this year. Harriet takes off her robe, shirt and notices the others looking at her.
"How did you get so fat?" asks Lavender approaching. "You're... very, very fat."
"Of course not," argues Hermione with her hands on her hips. "We're just used to seeing her being very, very thin" She defends turning back to Harriet. "I think she looks fine like that... Are you going to cut your hair?"
Harriet doesn't have time to answer. Alicia does it first:
"Don't do it" She hurries to say. "It's going to show your neck too fat, also your cheeks- Harriet, you have to eat less. Your cheeks are hanging."
"Maybe with some exercise it'll take more shape, right?" proposes Lee, which feels like the most tactful comment in the string that keeps falling.
"No. That doesn't fix it with exercise. It's fixed by not eating." Lavender insists.
"I don't think you're going to be able to fly well like that. How much do you weigh?"
"One hundred... and thirty pounds..." Harriet blurts out almost scared of what's to come. Lavender and Alicia hold their hands to their heads and Parvati looks like she's seen a corpse. "I-it's what I wanted. For my height-"
"You should weigh less than ninety pounds. You play quidditch!" fights Parvati. "You're going to make yourself too slow. You're never going to catch the snitch."
"Oh, it's not that bad either. Yes, she will," says Lee with his hands on his hips. "I've read in magazines that the ideal weight for professional players is one hundred and sixty-three to seventy. That's fine, I'm sure that extra weights do her good," she supports enthusiastically.
"They're all one-seventy. Harriet is barely one sixty if we exaggerate. Can't you see how small she is?" says Parvati. Harriet hears a beep, the lights start to get brighter. "We have to sit around you and watch that you don't overeat."
"Ron's making her overeat."
"You've already got a big chest. It's going to be horrible if it's all stuffed jumping up and-"
"Fine! Now! Shut up!" shrieks Hermione losing patience. "No one asked for your opinion! Harriet's fine like this!" turns to her. "Don't listen to anything they say. It doesn't matter."
Harriet forces the smile and nods, averting her gaze to continue on undressing, but doesn't. Harrietpulls a sweater over herself and pulls back the curtain. Hermione lets out a breath and looks at the others with annoyance.
"Y'all are happy now."
"We just wanted to help." justifies Lavender.
"I didn't say anything wrong. This isn't with me." Lee throws up his hands and turns away. "I'll be over here. goodnightss." He hides in his bed, pulling back the curtain.
"Help with what, being just like Drakonys talking about what they don't care about?" Hermione reluctantly closes her trunk and Crookshanks climbs into bed. "I can see why they keep talking about her. They're exactly the same."
She grabs her sweater and heads down the common room. Harriet exhales, pursing her lips. She thought she was fine What if they're right?
┈ ⋞ ⟨ ✷ ⟩ ⋟ ┈
Getting to the second floor bathroom proved especially tricky today. Tom can tell Filch is keeping a longer watch. With new students and seventh years in his possible knack of setting out to roam at night. Tom manages to make it and get in without even raising suspicion of the still awake cadres.
Tom turns off the light on the wand and makes his way to the sink in the middle of the bathroom. He turns on the faucet and leaves the water running. Nagini climbs up to the sink and stands there, curled in on herself.
"Are you sure it's a good idea to show her this secret?"
"Why wouldn't it be?"
"She's a Gryffindor," Nagini mentions. "And this, I know of none other than Salazar Slytherin's sanctum. Also where his closest companion resides" Tom rolls his eyes, straightening up. "As well as the secret, it could be dangerous for her. It could kill her or end up paralyzed at the very least."
"Rekkait will be somewhere else while Harriet and I are in the room. It's not complicated." states Tom, unconcerned.
"Sometimes you forget how silly a Gryffindor can be."
"She's dumb, but not that level of dumb. Just enough to play along with Ron Weasley on stupid things." Nagini sneers. Tom is always going to defend details about Harriet. It's silly of him.
The biggest evidence is how smitten he is.
Harriet arrives twenty minutes later. To have agreed on an hour would have avoided a bit of a wait, but Tom wasn't thinking at the time. Harriet doesn't let Tom think by just existing by being more beautiful than she was last time. It's precisely what Tom likes about her: her evolution, the way she keeps getting better and better.
"You already tell me why the girls' bathroom?" asks Harriet with the invisibility robe under her arm. He notices her downcast and makes a mental note to ask her when they are in the place.
"You remember that ridiculous panic your Gryffindor friends have don't you?" Harriet nods. Tom turns toward the washroom, "Show me the entrance."
Harriet steps back, furrowing her brow and holding her glasses. The sink opens in a way she didn't think possible. Once the whole process is done, she sees only a black hole. Tom holds out his hand and she takes it, flustered and surprised. As they go down the stairs that form with each step Tom takes and fade with each step Harriet took, the entrance closes and all is dark.
Until there are small torches of green fire illuminating everything. Harriet looks around, incredulous Is this place really The Chamber of Secrets? The further they go, the more they have to convince themselves that indeed, it is.
"That wasn't there last time," hisses Tom, both of them stepping over the huge snakeskin. "There's a basilisk inside. That's the monster they're talking about."
"A basi- Alive?!" shrieks Harriet, glasses falling down the bridge of her nose.
"Yes. Very much alive. Her name is Reikkat... I should try to bring her some food, she's starving. There aren't very big rats to eat."
"Ah, and me wanting to think the elves cleaned up very well."
"They do, that's why she's so hungry."
Harriet was inexplicably curious to see the basilisk. She read something very parsimonious about them and it's enormous curiosity. Making a basilisk is such a specific process that she couldn't imagine anyone following it. Beyond the one who made it by accident.
"You can't look at her. Stay away until she's gone." Tom warns loudly and Harriet avoids laughing. "Screaming" Parseltongue sounds like a demon tongue that's going to bring a demon sooner or later.
While Harriet doesn't see it head on, she sees its tail as it goes to hide down one of the passages. They continue to move forward to the end, with Harriet holding his hand for safety. She raises an eyebrow and comments: "please tell me you won't be so cocky as to have a secret lair with your face made of solid stone."
"That's a tempting offer."
Harriet laughs through her nose and follows Tom. It surprises her as the mouth of the statue itself opens to leave a small passageway in view. They enter through it, suffering shivers at the thought of the statue moving. Their eyes widen as they come to what Tom wanted to show: a room. Tucked deep into The Secret Chamber.
"I don't know exactly why this is here, but from the journal I got, Salazar brought lovers here," Tom explains, releasing her for the first time all the way. "That would explain why I exist." he ironizes and Harriet nods.
"Apart from Rowena Ravenclaw... he's the only one with blood heirs." she comments thoughtfully and Tom scoffs. Rowena can't count. Not with her daughter's ghost roaming the Ravenclaw tower.
"Yes... well. This is a kind invitation to meet here too" Tom announces opening his arms and turning to her. "It's farther away, but you can come without having to cover yourself. At most, take care that no one sees you enter the bathroom."
"I suppose so" Harriet leaves the invisibility cloak on the bed and turns around on herself. The room is beautiful and the bed is very comfortable. "Wow. I wish I could say I have an invitation for you." she laments embarrassed.
Harriet feels Tom puts all the effort into getting them to see each other and she does nothing but attend Should she try to find a place? There must be one. Even if it's weird and unspecific. Tom shrugs.
"It doesn't matter. I'm more comfortable this way. I like my plans" Tom admits with a pedantic smile. "Now" He grabs Harriet's face and squeezes her cheeks a couple of times. "What's wrong with you? You look sad suddenly."
"It's okay."
"I know you well enough to know you're feeling down," Tom notifies, seeking to look her in the eye. "If there was nothing wrong, if it was just what happened on the train, you wouldn't be running your eyes at me. What's wrong?" insists making a little expression on her cheeks. Nothing that hurts.
Just emphasize to Harriet that he won't leave her alone until she talks. If Tom lets it go, Harriet won't be comfortable and if she's not comfortable, this isn't worth it. Harriet lets out a breath:
"Be honest do you think: I'm fat?"
"Fat?" Tom repeats, confused and releasing his grip. Harriet pulls up her lower lip and twists her lips.
"They told me I put on too much weight. That I won't be able to play well-"
"Harriet, you were literally going to fall off the shaft because you were too light," Tom retorts without letting her finish. He feels it very stupid. "You need to gain weight. Whether it's for quidditch or otherwise, you're going to disappear. You need to. Your magic burns too much fat without you noticing."
"I know, but..."
Harriet waves her hands, fidgeting and worrying. What if I put on too much weight? What if I put on too many pounds and am not pretty? Unfortunately, her role model is Drakonys. Her age, almost her height, what her mom always says is a pretty girl.
She is thinner.
She also has less muscle.
She feels so awkward and cornered.
Tom makes her raise her hands to chest level, sliding his hands down her wrists to interlace her fingers. His dark, cold magic flows discreetly, faintly; Harriet's, shy and hidden, allows itself to come out to entwine with the dark magic. Harriet suffers pleasant shivers and Tom feels the heat rise up his back.
"You're fine... You were happy until they told you that nonsense" Tom mentions quietly, a faint murmur echoing inside Harriet's head. "You were happy because you want to change, to get to the measurements you want; those will be the ones you see and live in every day..."
Harriet looks up, staring into Tom's eyes. Red and vibrant, almost electric.
"Don't listen to what others say. Look for what you want from yourself and nothing else."
Harriet nods lightly. It's so easy to say, but getting it done will be complicated. Tom is psyched for it. It's unfortunate. However, he's willing to keep insisting until he gets it.
"If there's any value to my opinion on the subject: I think you look beautiful. You look healthier and you felt so... alive early, I loved it," Tom comments. A soft, shy smile on his face. "And I know you're going to gain more weight, also exercise more to have more muscles... I want to see what it's going to be like when you feel comfortable with yourself. I know it's going to be the most beautiful version of you."
Harriet looks down, somewhere between chagrined and with the slight feeling that Tom is warning her something simple: he won't think her the most beautiful person in the world until she feels that way.
Is it support?
Is it pressure?
Is it praise?
Is it a warning?
She doesn't know how to take it, but certainly, he reacted very sincerely at the station. Even here it doesn't change the way he looks at her. When they start to take off their clothes and it's more obvious the change in build.
Tom is more passionate and enthusiastic than Harriet remembers. As if he himself now finds much more to kiss and caress. In barely any underwear, Harriet can't bear to ask.
"I thought it was nice and I wanted it to be a surprise when I came to your room" Harriet admits and Tom pushes her hair out of her face. "Especially since you said you like my back."
"Eventually you show it to me. I'm in no hurry." Harriet gives him a fake smack on the chest.
"Idiot." Harriet laughs.
Tom shrugs and gets a fright when he's put on the bed. Emphasizing the change, Harriet was able to push him off with no problem. Tom puts his hands on her thighs and Harriet removes her bra. She drapes her arm over herself and puts all her hair over her shoulder.
"Your hair looks nice too. Are you going to cut it?"
"No. I want to let it grow out. For a while."
"It's bad because I won't see your neck, but it's good because no one will see your neck" Tom caresses Harriet's thighs. "If you want to do it? Or are you too uncomfortable?"
Harriet turns up her lower lip.
"No. I'm fine. I missed you so much on vacation. Your infuriating pedantry about being the smartest in school." she informs with a sly smile and Tom reciprocates the gesture.
"Ah, me too sweetheart, especially the part where you can't even make soup."
Harriet pats him on the chest and Tom grabs her sides to pull her in, both laughing until their lips meet. Harriet lies on top of him, crossing her legs and holding his cheek. Harriet sometimes thinks about not letting anyone else see her. That only Tom should.
Because he seems to be the only one sincere and concerned that she not hate herself for the way she was born and is. For things Harriet wants to change to fit and everyone else tries to make it the way they want her to be.
Sometimes Harriet wishes only Tom existed and when they are like this, that's what happens.
Harriet is back on the bed, Tom tucked between her legs and his hands on her thighs, caressing them. Breaking the kiss, he moves down Harriet's neck to her breast, kissing and sucking the skin to leave marks. They are faint, wouldn't last more than an hour. Harriet sighs, at ease with the contact and how Tom's magic overlaps hers.
The way they intermingle like a spiral and dance across the room. Tom kisses her on her abdomen, presses a kiss hard on that area and stops, Harriet lifts her head, somewhat confused.
"Can I give you oral sex?"
"Uh... Yes?"
Tom removes her underwear and Harriet can't resist giggling initially. It tickles her to have Tom there. She holds him by the hair and grits her teeth, holding back moans. It feels weird. Not exactly good at first, just weird.
Tom doesn't seem to know what to do himself and that's why he's a little slow on the uptake.
"I didn't think this was so hard."
"Don't mention it to me. I have the same thought about something else."
Tom tries not to laugh. They remember that time they tried the reverse and Harriet was just as lost. It didn't feel bad, but something wasn't working. Tom would say the same thing is happening except that, in his foolishness, Tom explores a little more with his tongue and by pressing it harder on her clitoris, causes Harriet to squeal. She pulls Tom's hair and squeezes her thighs together at his head.
With that Tom knew where to go at least this time. Tom grips Harriet's hips and continues with it, causing his girlfriend to writhe and moan, starting to sweat and with her magic sparking like fireworks bursting every few seconds.
Tom thrusts his tongue into her vagina, rubs his teeth against the tiny clit and squeezes his eyes shut from the hard tugging. Harriet gasps loudly, eyes wide and chest rising and falling.
"I'll take it as it worked."
"Too well." Harriet replies breathlessly.
Harriet grabs his face in a rush, kissing him: Tom rubs his fingers into Harriet's inner cavity. Wet with fluid and the saliva he leave behind. Tom trembles, with Harriet's right hand digging into his boxer and jerking him off. Stroking the whole phallus, squeezing it a little harder and holding the testicles every so often.
It's overwhelming how fast they want it all to happen. A summer that felt longer than usual and them not even seeing each other only made it worse. When Tom penetrates her Harriet is left open-mouthed, sticking her tongue out for a moment and sinking down on the bed. Tom opens his eyes, surprised by the compression.
"Did you... Did you come?"
"Sorry."
Tom doesn't know whether to feel pride that he already made her cum twice or to think that somehow it was Harriet who was most frustrated with the distance. Tom thought it was the other way around or that he's in a bad male puberty moment where only thoughts make him horny. He kisses Harriet on the face and then on the lips, resting his arms on either side of her head.
Harriet slides her hands down his sides and anchors them behind his slender back. They had forgotten how idiotic it feels to be bonded like this. As if their brains are turning to useless jelly.
They don't know how to control it, but the room does. It is unaffected by the cold or the heat of the two magics mingling and desperately trying to become one. Harriet feels a cold burning all over her body, but it is so pleasurable and exciting. She doesn't know how to discover it beyond how much she loves to feel it.
That having Tom inside her doesn't hurt her, it just makes her want him to keep doing it until she can't resist any longer. She hugs Tom closer to herself, with him moaning contentedly and slipping his arms underneath her. Her breasts pressed against his chest just as his groin between her spread legs.
Tom shivers and breathes agitated, his orgasm long and thick inside her. Harriet releases it and brings her hands to her own abdomen. Tom reaches up and holds her thighs, making Harriet bring both legs up to Tom's shoulders to move again.
Harriet's back is slightly raised by the position and with her orgasm approaching, she squeezes the sheets beneath her. She closes her eyes and focuses on her breathing, on her own heart and on how the dark magic continues to invade her.
As if it enters through every pore of her skin, but....
He doesn't try to drown her.
He just embraces her.
He just holds her.
Harriet opens her eyes, with Tom lying next to her. She grabs Tom's cheek, presses her lips together. Tom plays along, not bothering to hold her on top of him in a fluid, imperceptible motion.
Lying as he is he watches her rise, her fingertips brushing his penis to keep it up to penetrate herself. Harriet bites her lips and vibrates fully. She rests her hands on Tom's chest, caressing and scratching it.
Tom watches her breasts sway in sync as she rides up and down on top of him, flexes her knees and is exasperated with pleasure at the slow rhythm. Tom watches his own member move in and out of the cavity; the way the semen comes out in the process.
Harriet goes a little faster, moaning anxiously. "Do you like it?" she asks between gasps and Tom nods, grabbing her buttocks and moving one of his hands to one of her breasts. Tom massages it then plays with the nipple. Harriet rushes up and down almost jumping up and down and Tom moves his pelvis, agreeing as he comes down and makes it harder.
Harriet contracts her whole body, matching her orgasm with Tom's, who breathes in rhythm with her and keeps his eyes closed for a few moments.
As if the sun itself is embracing him and refuses to let go, just as it refuses to burn him in the process. When Tom opens his eyes, what he sees are Harriet's bright, clouded eyes. The girl trembling with a lost gesture. Exasperated and barely noticing Tom sitting up, grabbing both her breasts and sucking on one of them.
Tom crosses his legs and Harriet closes them a little, still having it inside and hard. They rub foreheads against each other.
"So I'm one of the Slytherin mistresses... lover." Harriet mutters lost in a haze. Tom hums a laugh.
"The only one in centuries Do you like the bed?"
"Yes. Though I have a feeling we'll be doing it on the floor too."
"That's what carpet's for."
Harriet lays her cheek on Tom's shoulder. He's noticed that Harriet asks for a short break after the third or fifth time. She doesn't usually try to talk, they both find it ridiculous to do so; so if she does it in a less racy way it's time for that break or call it a night.
Judging by how she holds herself, it's recess nothing more.
"I like the feel of you inside me" Harriet comments in a very faint thread of a voice and Tom circles her back. He really likes Harriet's back. "And touching you too... Feeling your magic in my body. So much that I think I could never let go of you."
And that I'm afraid you might decide to let go of me.
Tom doesn't say anything about it. He doesn't know what to say. It intimidates him to expose so much. To be as vulnerable with her as Harriet is with him. Silence works better than exposing the almost evil thought that plagues his gloom-filled mind.
I'm never going to let you go.
Not even when you want to leave.
Dependence and romance are something Tom fears as much as he longs for. Evidenced in his magic totally covering the girl who confides in him things that make her feel so insecure.
He needs to cover her.
He needs to protect her from everything else that tries to extinguish her down....
He knows the world is inherently cruel. If a light exists, it will try to extinguish it and in its self-centeredness, it thinks that, if it covers her with its darkness, it will protect her from disappearing.
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"Tom, let's do it again" say Harriet taking him by the face to kiss him. Tom questions what was that... Mist? In his mind.
He has no time for that, he also does not remember few minutes later, more focused on enjoying the carnal pleasure next to his girlfriend.
Chapter 18: Act. XVIII. Chilling (kinda)
Chapter Text
"If I tell you something, you don't get mad."
"Tell me."
"I don't have much faith in Lupin as a teacher."
Harriet laughs and sits up, ruffles her hair a bit and takes a deep breath. Tom is left in the clouds just watching her damp hair, breasts with little kiss marks here and there. Harriet adjusts her glasses and Tom tries to control his penis from rising again. He's going to end up dead if he can't resist every time Harriet is near or scantily clad.
"Yes. I can guess why," Harriet admits. "Can you keep a secret?" she flexes her legs and hugs them. She lays her cheek on her knees. "You can't tell anyone. Absolutely no one. Only Nagini."
"Of course."
"Remus is a werewolf" Tom stands up on his forearms, eyebrows furrowed and eyes wide. "That's why he usually looks so bad. The full moon affects him badly and he deals with that on his own most of the time" Harriet relates and smiles faintly. "That's why they call him Moony."
"Moony, Padfoot and Prongs. Most imaginative names." indiscreet scoff. Harriet shrugs.
"Sirius loves it...they had another friend, but he's in jail." Tom can't change his gesture. Each thing is worse than the last. "They didn't tell me why. Just that he's in Azkaban. His animagus transformation was a rat. Wormtail."
"Okay..."
"Anyway: I know Remus doesn't look promising, but he is. The biggest evidence is me. He's been teaching me things since I was a kid. He's a good teacher." promises Harriet and Tom supposes he must see to believe.
"Anything better than Gilderoy." Tom concludes dropping back on the bed. Minutes pass in silence where Tom would propose sleeping here until a not-so-awful hour and pretending they left their respective houses early. Harriet speaks first.
"Let's be Animagi."
"Excuse me?"
"Let's be Animagi. No one's going to find out." assures Harriet and Tom furrows his eyebrows.
"What for?"
"Because it's funny. What animal do you think you are?"
Tom turns to look at her with lowered eyebrows, pursed lips and obvious boredom: Are you serious about that question? Harriet laughs and sways in herself.
"A snake. Hopefully a pretty one. Maybe iridescent scales" Tom wishes that were the case. "I don't know what I would be," Harriet admits, lost in thought. "My parents think it would be a lioness? Sirius thinks a dog pup, maybe a wolf and Remus... Remus thinks it would be a wolf too. Maybe black fur... But they think lion too."
"I think of the lion too."
"I can't," Harriet confesses apologetically. "I feel more and more like a deer every day.... I don't know why they think me something big and strong that can defend itself. That's not me. I don't feel that way."
Tom wanted to contradict that think, but seeing Harriet as she is now, he can totally get the point: she's fragile. Harriet is very fragile. Tom is not even aware to what extent that fragility goes. What he does recognize is that whenever Harriet is in front of him like this, she shrinks back as if to protect herself.
At her most vulnerable, she feels uneasy. Tom takes her by the arm and makes her lie down, hugs her lovingly. "Let's go to sleep.
Harriet nods and snuggles in. Tom pulls the sheet to tuck them both in.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
The year began with no mercy whatsoever. From Quidditch training to the classes themselves. Harriet had never felt as busy as she did now. New classes, complications in every subject, Snape clearly wanting to slit her throat for every step she doesn't follow millimetrically the same, Oliver on the verge of a nervous breakdown, History of Magic being the most insufferable thing in the world...
Overall, Harriet barely has time to exist. Tom is no better. Both with their faces stuffed in books and notebooks because life decided it was good timing. As well as the newspaper announcing a large scale attack in Paris. Dead and wounded of all kinds, but many wizards with their magic drained.
As if it couldn't get any worse.
Nevertheless, there are small pearls of momentum. For example, Hagrid's class. Having to go to the dark forest -or the entrance-, is not a good sign for many. They thought they would see the class in Hagrid's orchard at best. He goes with dead possums on his chest.
"This already looks bad."
"Oh of course it doesn't," Harriet argues. "It'll be more fun than reading from a worm." She tries to put on a good side, but Tom just remains annoyed as do Theodore and Regulus.
"Sure, between beasts they support each other." says Regulus through his teeth. Tom hears him, Harriet doesn't; Tom smacks him upside the head, Harriet wonders why, "but what-"
"I told you to control yourself."
Harriet keeps walking. She takes off her tunic and removes her tie, it's too hot in this part of the woods. She doesn't even know how. Regulus watches them alternately. Tom who stares almost carnally at Harriet for having fewer clothes and Harriet who is ignorant to the look of Adoration? Tom gives her. Regulus doesn't understand what's going on.
Fourth-years also swarm with comments. All referring to the Potter heiress and her body change. Some call her fat, others say she finally looks sexy; in general, they all agree that there is a noticeable change in her despite wearing pants and having cut the ends of her hair. Drakonys also observes her; her legs elegantly crossed and covered by long stockings that protect her skin.
There is also a lot of whispering about her. The by many called Princess of Slytherin. Her doll-like face with more mature features, the shape of her body with nothing childish about it and allowing the imagination to run wild in other ways. Tom considers them all disgusting. Also impertinent. They can never keep quiet.
"This is a bloody waste of time." Drakonys spits in annoyance, turning her attention away from Harriet.
Staring at her bust is strangely hypnotic.
Hagrid returns with a white-feathered hippogriff. For Tom it's curious, for Harriet it's exciting and now Drakonys is still no big deal "Well! Who wants to pet it!". Everyone takes two step back, except Harriet who looks around and snorts.
Harriet follows Hagrid's instructions. Her heart is pounding too hard. First it seems to make him angry, then if he did it right it makes him angry again! And finally she gets the bow. Harriet approaches slowly and rests his hand on his beak. A few seconds pass before Buckbeak bumps his head against Harriet. The girl smiles and caresses him with both hands.
Everyone cheers, Tom included, that he won't end up with a peck at the very least.
"Good! I think he'll let you ride him!"
"WHAT!? HAGRID NO. ONE THING- HAGRID, HAGRID-NO-"
Hagrid slaps Buckbeak and the hippogriff takes off running. Harriet holds on with all her might and her body almost bounces as she takes the last leap and flies. After a little while, with the nerves fading from her system, Harriet is able to let go a little. Buckbeak flies over the black lake and she opens her arms. Harriet's hair blows in the breeze and the creature gives a few squeaks to accompany her exclamation.
When she returns, Harriet is more disheveled than ever and wobbling in herself. Hagrid puts her down and asks quietly. "How is my first day?"
"It's excellent." Harriet replies ecstatically. The other students applaud that she didn't fall halfway through as seemed likely.
"Good! You'll each get a chance to pet a hippogriff!" Hagrid reports with a hand on Harriet's shoulder. "These classes are primarily practical, but it doesn't detract from the fact that you'll have homework to do."
Tom counts on that. Harriet stares at Buckbeak, the creature pressing its head against her shoulder and chest. Not getting to pet the hippogriff's beak in front of him, for Tom, would be a total moment of embarrassment. He is so engrossed in accomplishing this that he doesn't notice Hagrid watching him closely.
Hypogriffs are sometimes often violent towards people with dark magic, so he has to make sure Tom is okay. When the Slytherin gets it and the black-feathered, white-spotted hippogriff rubs its head against him, the half-giant apersonates.
"All right Tom, ten points for Slytherin!" The pedantic grin on Tom's face doesn't take long to appear. "He's tame. He'll let you ride him." His smile disappears.
"What? NO! WAIT! LET ME GO! I DON'T WANT TO BE ON- NONONO-"
Harriet claps her hands together laughing, watching the hippogriff run off and then take flight. Hagrid covers his eyes with his hand, going quite far away uh. It is fortunate that they are so tame and calm today. A true fortune.
Tom for his part feels like his heart is going to burst out of his chest. He holds on tight and dares to pull away a little. The air hits him in the face, but it is clean air and not so cold. He manages to get his eyes used to it and the more the hippogriff hovers, the less the tingling in his stomach.
To the point where Tom smiles. He doesn't let go, he doesn't even try, but he likes the feeling of flying. They pass over the dark lake; the creature splashes and squawks nonstop. When they return, Tom gets off on his own, and if the hippogriff doesn't extend his wing, he would have fallen to the ground.
"Are you all right?" asks Harriet, the first to approach. Buckbeak still behind her. Tom nods, dizzy.
"Yes. I'm fine."
Harriet reaches out to help him, being pushed aside by Regulus. The surprise on her face is obvious. Tom didn't pay attention, still too dazed. Regulus helps him to his feet and Buckbeak snorts, slightly grumpy.
"Ash What's all the drama?" claims Drakonys getting up from her spot and walking over to Buckbeak. "They're no big deal Are they? Giant chicken." scoffs getting a little too close.
"Nono, Drakonys no...!"
Buckbeak, already irritated, rears up on his two hind legs and scratches Drakonys on the arm, causing he rto fall over and squeal in fright. Hagrid throws a dead possum at the hippogriff to distract him and he carries the sobbing blonde.
"I'm going to die! He tried to kill me! That damn animal tried to kill me!"
"Class dismissed." announces Hagrid and there is general disappointment. Tom whites his eyes and lets out a breath.
Why is Drakonys always causing drama? Why always her? All the class with her are like this? Harriet has more patience that I think, mentally assumes. To make matters worse, this is also her fault in Tom's opinion. He has no choice but to talk to her privately afterwards. "Maybe they'll kill him, for being a dangerous animal." mutters Regulus and Tom frowns.
Kill Buckbeak for what? If Drakonys caused all this trouble. there are about fifteen hippogriffs here, none of them did anything wrong because they all kept each other in line. The more Tom thinks about it, the more of a headache it creates for him.
Tom notices Harriet nuzzling Buckbeak's beak, who reached for her again. She gives him a kiss on his beak and rubs his feathers.
. . .
"How did it feel to fly?"
"It was fine."
"Just fine."
"I'm not getting on your broom if that's what you're about to suggest." notifies Tom. Harriet slams the table with a smile.
"Son of a bitch."
"What a compliment, sweetheart." ironizes Tom.
"By the way," Harriet initiates. "Let's meet here for Christmas" Tom raises an eyebrow, curious. "My dad said it's safer to stay here. For everyone; if we want to go out, we can't stay out of the house. So" Harriet pouts her lips and swings her legs up onto the seat. Huge uniform pants and so keeps her wide legs from showing. A blessing in every instant of his life. "Let's stay here."
"Are you sure you can go this long without your dad? Elektra." scoffs Tom and Harriet rolls her eyes.
"Of course I can. You're going to be here. So will everyone else. We'll be able to do things together" she states excitedly. "I've got Moony. It's a small part, but a part nonetheless." Harriet hides the subject well enough.
Being away at Christmas overwhelms her. Harriet wants to see her dad. She almost can't live without him any more than she has to. Harriet convinces herself that maybe this is a good opportunity to detach a little. Just enough for Tom to drop the joke that he has Elektra syndrome.
"Okay. Let's stay," Tom says on a sigh. "Although I hope you're aware that it involves going down there."
"I'm counting on it. It's the best bed I've ever used in my life."
Tom laughs a sly, mischievous laugh before returning to his reading.
Remus's classes are great, too. There's no one who doesn't like them. Remus becomes the typical "Answer that will get you at least one point." Everyone participates in his classes. He is very spontaneous and lively unlike how he seems. With classes, everyone agrees that it becomes easier to ignore his emaciated state.
Watching classes with the fourth years is also peculiar. It means Harriet has Tom next to her. To be like this is to make a point of how contrasting they are. Tom straight, writing everything down and tidy in his notebook. Harriet hunched over, always slouching in her seat and looking away from time to time, notes chaotic and messy.
Uniform badly worn.
Tom impeccably groomed.
Harriet and her tousled hair.
Tom raises his hand slowly, quietly.
Harriet almost jumps off the table and smiles.
Remus has become a fan of seeing them together at a table. It's fun.
Today they have a practical class. Not plentiful, but it's something that exists unlike other times. Remus promised he'll do more when he's done with the backlogged content. The long explanation of what the boggart is, how to beat it, and the comical moment stretches on.
Tom aside, grumpy and having passed on participating. Remus would evaluate him and others separately, he didn't want to force anyone to reveal their fear. He knows it's intimate and it's bad for some. Others see it as insignificant.
Parvati with her fear of snakes.
Hermione with her fear of flunking.
Ron with his fear of spiders.
Neville with his fear of Snape.
Clowns, lions, horror movie monsters or complex magical creatures. Remus tenses up and keeps an eye out when Harriet is in front. He can't think of what her fear might be. The options are horrifying and he wishes they weren't even options to begin with.
Harriet bites her lips, the boggart slow to expose her fear. It's weird in and of itself. Remus was about to ask her to better step back to avoid any awkwardness. However, the boggart finally takes shape, or so it seems initially. It is a huge black cloud with a slimy texture to the eye. It grows with the seconds and Harriet wipes the smile off her face.
She already understands what it is.
She's the only one who does.
Tom straightens up, ready to cast the spell for her. He falls prey to fright when suddenly, out of that mist comes a person. James staggers out, holding his neck at the same time. He takes a couple of steps towards Harriet, who, pulse racing and eyes wide, is breathing through her mouth, hyperventilating. James lets out a thick trickle of blood that splashes onto Harriet's face. A couple of drops and he falls to the floor.
Dying in silence.
Then Sirius comes out, not much better and Remus' head rolls across the floor. It all comes out of the same cloud of darkness and by this time Harriet ends up screaming, holding her hands to her head and falling sitting down to the ground. Everyone in the line became so far behind, she is alone in the middle with that murderous gloom that releases one by one the corpse of her loved ones.
There is also Hermione.
So is Ron.
Then is Tom.
Remus feels paralyzed. A Dementor emerges from it, huge, but from where he stands, he notices that there are threads holding it and a voice echoes as she crawls backwards on the floor.
Come little Potter... little wonder, little girl.
"RIDDICKULLUS!"
Everything transforms into birds and they fly everywhere. Harriet gasps on the ground, still unable to take in what she saw before her. Tom gasps, equally affected. He goes for her, helping to stand up and Harriet immediately hugs him, clinging to him desperately. Remus looks into the closet where the boggart is locked and then towards Harriet.
. . .
"You're afraid of your fears."
"Oh?"
"The boggart knows that a lot of things scare you" Remus holds out the mug with hot chocolate. "It knows it's not about something specific... you fear the fact that everything that scares you, is perfectly real" Harriet looks at the contents of her mug. "The death of those you love, the Dementors... I can assume who I heard at Grindelwald."
"I-I don't remember... anything about him" Harriet admits "I just remember his magic threatening me. I just... I... I don't... I don't know."
"I was actually afraid he was the one who would show up. Believe me, it would have been problematic" Remus says. "He's been trying to avoid showing his face. I don't know exactly why. The point is, he would have behaved as you remember him."
Harriet rubs her face with one hand and exhales sharply, closing her eyes. She doesn't hide what happened with Grindelwald. If asked, she's going to tell. However, it is different from seeing him as a walking reproduction. Harriet is at a point in her life where she doesn't want or need to feel any more vulnerable than she already does.
"I want to be brave, but..."
"You are brave, Harriet. You just don't notice it," Remus assures her. "To have all that inside you and still be willing to face it is brave" Harriet doesn't perceive it that way. "I was also scared it was something indecent. Maybe Quirrell."
"Him I don't remember... hardly at all."
"And it's just as well."
"I want to be scared silly like Hermione."
"You're more complicated than anyone to have such a simple fear." assures Remus with a chuckle. Harriet pouts.
She wants to be afraid of her grades. It would make her life so much easier.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
"Alright Tom... I want you to be honest with me Is it a dangerous fear?" Tom shakes his head. He doubts very, very much that it is a dangerous fear. Beyond his fear of dying - like anyone else - he has nothing interesting.
"No."
Remus counts down and opens the boggart chest. At first nothing comes out and it's good! It means there's no unpleasant surprise. What does come out, surprises them equally. Harriet shakes her head and looks around, like one who is confused and gets out of the chest. She straightens her clothes and sways on her feet, crossing her arms and looking up at Tom.
"Why am I here?" Harriet asks with a pout. "Are you going to screw with me again?"
"Screw...?"
"Everyone in Slytherin enjoys at the expense of annoying me," Harriet adjusts her glasses and rolls her eyes. "You're just like them... What do you want? Why are you here? Get lost."
Remus is slow to understand, but the transmuted boggart keeps talking about the same thing: demanding that Tom leave, that he disappear from her life and her presence, so insistently that it's almost desperate. Although Remus tries to give Tom directions, he notices him hurt and with a nervous gesture.
It strikes Remus as a very curious fear. Very tender. Remus did not think Tom would be so fond of Harriet. Where the Slytherin's greatest fear, is losing the friendship with the Gryffindor.
"Just go away! What do you expect me to cry or what?! YOU FEEL SO PROUD OF MOCKING ME! IT MAKES YOU FEEL BETTER THAT I CRY OR FEEL BAD! YOU'RE AN ASSHOLE LIKE ALL THE OTHERS! FEELING SUPERIORITY AND... AND PROUD AND HATE! BUT YOU CAN'T FEEL NOTHING GOOD! YOU DON'T FEEL ANYTHING FOR ME! YOU DONT LOVE M...!"
"Reducto."
"Tom!"
The boggart flees to the chest, hiding, and Tom gives a snort, clenching the wand in his hand and glaring at the chest. He looks back towards Lupin, who was expecting a different reaction, Riddikulus for a change; he walks over to Tom and rests his hand on his shoulder, receiving a swat immediately.
"I'll try it another time. I can't think of anything funny. I have no imagination." Tom excuses and walks to the exit. Remus folds his arms and looks at him with exhaustion.
Teenagers are so complicated with nonsense. As if it's a tragedy to admit that he's afraid Harriet will consider him a threat or the same as the Slytherin who hate her and ask him to disappear from her life. Once far enough away from the classroom, Tom holds a hand to his chest, taking a deep breath with his eyes closed. Nagini emerges from his clothes, the size of a baby snake. So tiny it's tricky to perceive.
"Are you okay?"
"It's nothing." says Tom quietly. He doesn't want to think about it.
He doesn't want to think that his fear, is losing Harriet or she thinking that he doesn't feel anything for her. In a way, it's dwelling on Tom that confirms another fear. A less corporeal one: dependence on another human. That Harriet is so vital to his existence. He doesn't want it to be so.
He must find a way to eliminate his urge for Harriet. There's nothing wrong with wanting her, but needing her? He must change it. He must fix it.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
"You were just supposed to catch the snitch! That was the only thing you were supposed to do!"
"You're useless."
"We lost the cup."
"You're a mess."
"Get off the team."
Harriet holds her hands to her head, covering her ears in despair. The whole team who won't stop bitching at Harriet for not winning the match against Slytherin. Harriet gives a groan, as her chest hurts and when she opens her eyes, there is no one there. She sniffles and lowers her gaze, pulling her legs up to the bench, she hugs them against her chest.
"Poor child..." Harriet hears to her right, a large, cold hand caressing her head with care and affection. He arranges a few strands of Harriet's hair. "No one really appreciates you..." Harriet squeezes her eyes shut, receiving the kiss on her temple. "No one realizes how much you're worth. They only look at your mistakes."
Harriet leans her face on her knees.
"Wouldn't you like that?"
They whisper in her ear.
"That everything you do... is loved. Be appreciated... Don't you want it Harriet? I can teach you" proposes in a whisper. "What it feels like to be loved by everyone."
She holds her breath and lifts her head with a jolt, what she gets, is a dark mist and she is pushed back, falling to the floor with the mist on top of her. Everything shuts down, everything ceases to exist and Harriet chokes on her own air, rolling around on the bed and thrashing dumbly on either side. Hermione lifts half her body and notices Harriet breathing agitated, sitting up in bed and as if she is choking.
Harriet gets up in a hurry and runs to the common room, then to the bathroom and vomits, not noticing the purple marks on her neck, the black spots under her eyes, her weakness, her magic going up and down; her power unable to stay in one form.
Fluctuating. Desperate to normalize, to stop feeling like someone tried to rip it away in the most painful way possible.
After calming down a bit, Harriet goes to the common room and sits on the single couch in front of the slightly burning fireplace. Harriet breathes through her mouth, her hair and shirt damp, her eyes sparkling and her magic stoking the fire a little to keep away the dreadful cold in her small body.
Harriet doesn't sleep at all for the rest of the morning and pretends to have gone downstairs just a couple of minutes before the first students on their way to the bathroom. Hermione shows up around eight o'clock.
"Are you all right? You look pale." mentions Hermione, concerned. Harriet nods, pretending not to be extremely sleepy and exhausted.
"I'm fine. I'm just really annoyed because we have to go look at potions, that's all." It's a lame, lame excuse, but Harriet has no other options.
Harriet doesn't want to be thought stupid or cowardly for not being able to sleep after a simple nightmare. Indifferent to the realistic effects it has.
Chapter 19: Act. XIX. Thorns in the rose
Chapter Text
Harriet sits reluctantly in her place. She slept very badly, potions has her worried because she doesn't understand anything and the nightmares don't help. Harriet will have to resort to whole classes from Tom. At this point, she is embarrassed with her boyfriend. Harriet exhales loudly and tries to pay attention to the class, but for the first time in all the time she's been here - longer than she'd like - she notices who's sitting next to her.
Usually, Harriet doesn't pay attention to other people. Harriet is more focused on her circle of friends and not on the rumors going around. Pitifully she hears from several in Gryffindor because of Alicia and Lavender. Cho Chang is a sort of celebrity who gets mentioned a lot for one reason: her boyfriend is Cedric Diggory, who can be described as the nice version of Tom. Sort of a competition for who is the most beautiful student of his year.
In Slytherin, it's Tom.
In Hufflepuff, it's Cedric.
If it depends on attitude, it would be Cedric.
If it depends on teenage girls and their crushes, it would be Tom.
Because they all love how mysterious and menacing Tom is. In that aspect alone, Cedric is more boring. However, Harriet is now only focused on Cho Chang and not what makes her the center of rumors and... Has she always been this cute? Harriet is not able to remember. Maybe she has. She has slicked back hair, square bangs and Asian features.
She's cute. She has big cheeks.
"Will you be my partner?"
"What?" stammers Harriet. Cho laughs and points to the board. Harriet notices that it warns a pair work and since all the teachers follow McGonagall's lead, it must be with someone from a different house.
"I don't know anyone from Gryffindor, but everyone says you're nice" Harriet averts her gaze. "So..."
"Uh-yeah, yeah, yeah, sure." Harriet replies awkwardly and smirks. Cho nods and raises her hand to announce that Harriet will be her partner.
Harriet just looks at Cho.
And looks at Cho...
Without realizing that she is doing so.
And without realizing that others noticed.
┈ ⋞ ⟨ ✷ ⟩ ⋟ ┈
"Do you know where Harriet is?"
Ron slams his forehead on the desk and Hermione rubs her brow, irritated. She closes the book and turns to Tom: "she's with Cho Chang over there. Doing some work and losing her eyes."
Tom doesn't understand what she's referring to, he just leaves to find her and remind Harriet that she was the one who asked for help with potions. When Tom gets there he can't help but wrinkle his expression Why is Harriet looking at Cho like that? They don't do homework, Cho babbles on and on about something and Harriet watches her with a smile. An unpleasant feeling arises inside her.
It is as if all Tom's intestines are squeezing together. It is exasperating. His irritation makes him accidentally blow out some candles. The cold makes Harriet look at the clock on the wall and get up in a hurry. Harriet still doesn't see Tom barely a couple of feet away.
"I have a tutoring for Potions See you later?"
"Sure! Have a good evening!" dismisses Cho with a smile. Harriet mentions the subject to her and they dawdle without looking at the time. Harriet walks backwards and stumbles, turning around she bumps into Tom.
"Sorry for the delay." Harriet stammers awkwardly, fixes her glasses and Tom snorts.
He could have mentioned it
He could have told her...
How that whole moment, that simple interaction, screwed him up. That, for him in his esteem, Harriet is flirting and fooling around with someone else. Maybe getting her to not act that way, but more friendly, that can be a misunderstanding with Cho and the peolpe around.
But Tom stays silence about it.
Swallowing his anger because he doesn't want Harriet to know that something like this affected him Why would he have to tell Harrietanyway?
Harriet notices him strangely. More impatient and cantankerous, but she's good at humoring him even with that attitude. Tom usually tells her how annoying his day is, so she concludes that he's stressed and nothing more. There's no problem here.
┈ ⋞ ⟨ ✷ ⟩ ⋟ ┈
Cho is part of the Quidditch team.
She's the team's seeker and that, is problematic.
Harriet was distracted all the time watching Cho and it just beats her how anyone can look so good flying on a broom. She almost got hit by a bludger for being that distracted. Fortunately Harriet managed to get out of her funk and caught the snitch seconds before Cho did. She won the match and for that alone, Oliver didn't scold her.
"You did very well." compliments Cho and Harriet nods with an awkward smile.
"Thanks. You too."
Cho walks off and Harriet groans at the blow to her back. One that goes double. To her right and left the twins with mischievous grins and ready to talk this over with the rest of the team.
"What are you talking about? Cho plays terrible."
"She never sees the snitch."
"It's a wonder she's still the Ravenclaw's seeker."
"Although she found without looking." concludes Fred mockingly and Harriet shoves them both.
"Don't be mean." she complains, not stopping to understand what they're teasing her about. The tone in which they do it.
That clear "you're just saying it plays well because you like her."
┈ ⋞ ⟨ ✷ ⟩ ⋟ ┈
"The match sucked," Regulus says and Tom gives a slight "humm". He wonders when they'll stop talking to him about Quidditch He doesn't care! "Potter stood around the whole match like a stupid detainee watching Chang. If now she's liking women, then the Potter Family is even worse." he grumbles and Tom moves his jaw.
Annoyed.
Irritated.
Jealous.
He closes the book and heads to his room. He rubs his temples and tries to suppress that rage that grows the more everyone talks about it. How Harriet Potter walks like a tame puppy behind Cho Chang's skirt.
There are many things fluttering in Tom's thoughts, among them: what's so special about Cho freaking Chang. Not even her boyfriend is interesting. She's just an ordinary witch. Her magic is mediocre, her grades are mediocre, her friendships are shallow, and she has nothing to highlight. Why does Harriet care so much about her?
Why does Harriet look at Cho so much?
Harriet must only see me with such interest.
Only I matter to create such a crush.
I am Harriet's boyfriend.
Harriet is mine.
Harriet is only mine.
Why does Harriet even look at anyone else?
Nagini hisses and hides before she gets hit by some of the stalactites Tom creates with his uncontrolled magic and a consequence of how much this angers him.
┈ ⋞ ⟨ ✷ ⟩ ⋟ ┈
"Why are you so upset these days?"
"No reason."
Harriet purses her lips and moves a little closer to him.
"Shall I come to your room today?"
"Do you have time?" asks Tom in a hiss and Harriet throws up her hands.
"Yes? I've finished all my homework and there's nothing due tomorrow. Oliver's going to give me a break from training... so..."
"Just do whatever you want."
Harriet opens and closes her mouth What's wrong with him? Tom puts the book away where it goes and leaves in a hurry, causing some things in his path to fill with frost and cold steam. Regulus notices him in a bad mood the instant he sets foot in the common room.
"So what have you got, did we get points taken off or something?"
"Nothing, Regulus, nothing Now everyone's going to ask!?" Tom's mumbled questioning causes Regulus to throw his head back, intimidated and under the impression that Nagini will appear to bite and kill him. "Just hindrances. Pure bloody hindrances everywhere."
Tom has no patience for anyone because... There shouldn't be anyone! He was fine without this feeling, this grotesque, overwhelming feeling. He wouldn't be if it weren't for Harriet and at the same time, he wouldn't be if only she existed. If Cho Chang disappears, as well as everyone else with their annoying eyes, looks and voices.
I want them all to disappear.
I want everyone to shut up.
I want them to close their eyes.
That only Harriet exists.
Just Harriet and me.
Everything would be perfect if it was just Harriet and me.
"Tom."
He turns sharply toward the door, where Harriet is standing. For a moment he looks her up and down and notices one detail: she's wearing a skirt. Her thighs are obvious, though covered by black, translucent stockings. Harriet approaches, but Tom almost runs her over as she approaches; he grabs her wrists, corners her against the wall, and presses his knee into her crotch.
"H-hey... Ca-calm down. I don't know what's got you in a bad mood, b-but we can talk about it later." proposes Harriet.
That's what they always do at their house. James and Lily usually fight and always talk about it later. That way they avoid fighting about the same thing. If Tom has something that's bothering him this badly, Harriet wants to know how to help him. If she has to do something specific that bothering him and she doesn't notice. From her point of view, she didn't so nothing wrong.
Even have an "E" in the Potion's exam Why is Tom so angry? So bitter.
Tom doesn't want to talk.
He doesn't want to give Harriet such a level of control.
Because Harriet would know that she can so easily manipulate his mood and thinking; that she can control his life with one look o smile.
He can't let her notice.
Let alone accept the dependency it involves being this manipulative.
Harriet exclaims and braces Tom's shoulders, now lifted into the air with her back against the wall; legs spread around Tom who holds her up. The atmosphere prevents her from complaining about her torn stockings and underwear alike, it hurts where the fabric is pressed. She tries to speak and Tom prevents her, kissing Harriet on the mouth, sticking his tongue in her mouth and pressing her whole body against the wall.
Black magic is aggressive. It doesn't try to blend in as usual. It's not the usual rhythm. It's an attack. It's as if that magic is trying to consume hers by encapsulating her. Her skin bristles and heats up; it's electrifying and scary at the same time, swaying between unease and taste.
She opens her eyes and vibrates whole, giving a moaning groan as they part. Tom finishes thrusting his manhood into Harriet and for the first time, he reaches a rung of calm. Harriet squeezes him, every muscle in her inner walls closing around his penis from the sudden penetration, from how deep and how hard it was.
Tom is quite rough. His belt jingles with every thrust he gives her. His dick thrusting in and out of her wet pussy, but as hasn't happened in a long time, with some traces of blood on it. Harriet moans differently today, more guttural and high-pitched at the same time, biting her lips. Tom rips open her shirt, pulling down her bra roughly and squeezing one breast as he bites down on the other.
Harriet grows wetter and can't get enough of calling out to him.
Tom stops the hold on Harriet's hips, hands on the wall and eyes on the branded breasts bouncing. Harriet holds onto the dresser to the side, in danger of knocking over the books there. It burns between her legs and the more Tom penetrates her, the more she feels it. The teenager sinks all the way in and at the same time, a large amount of fluid leaps out of Harriet.
Viscous and it soils Tom's pants. Harriet trembles from head to toe, accidentally knocks the books over and Tom lets her slide to the floor. The skirt perfectly conceals the hole in the clothes, the vagina dripping blood, fluid and whitish semen. Nagini steps under Harriet's bent legs.
"Look at all the mess you make. Like you aren't the only one who does this."
Harriet suffers a shudder at the strange smile on Tom's face. Tom realize that it's true, no one else does this with her. No one else can see her like this. He pulls her legs and lifts her skirt to expose the open pussy. Harriet purses her lips to hold back the moan at the penetration. "C-can you do it slower? It hurts."
Even if Harriet fools around with whomever, Tom knows she's not doing it with anyone else. She's not like that. Harriet isn't capable of taking her clothes off with someone she doesn't know and trust. Harriet doesn't show the ecstatic expression she can put on, looking like a slut. The one she has now, stroking his abdomen and enjoying the back and forth of his dick inside her pussy full of semen. The way her breasts bounce and the moans she can make.
It's not enough
That's all Tom thinks, pressing his lips together and being embraced by Harriet. Not just her arms, also her legs and sensing her slight undulation to rub against him, looking for contact or some caring from Tom.
It's not enough.
He insists as they pull apart, with barely any saliva joining them and sweat dampening their hair.
It is not enough.
Tom repeats for the thousandth time, licking and kissing her neck, ending in a big and hurting bite.
It's not enough.
Harriet moans loudly, the contraction throughout her abdomen and the orgasm just as exaggerated as the last, with his pussy sucking Tom's cock.
Not enough.
Harriet kisses Tom all over his face, caresses the back of his neck and neck.
It is not enough.
The green eyes sparkling with lust are not enough. Tom wants it to see only him in each of their versions. To have her like that is the ultimate victory, but even that can't satisfy him. Tom wants it all and just as his magic exposes, he wants to consume it until nothing is left to anyone.
. . .
"The skirt made you horny?"
Harriet doesn't buy the excuse. Tom is aware that it's a very bad one, but in his defense: it's part of the problem. The possibility of just throwing himself into it overwhelmed him in a really bad momant, being angry and jealous. It's not a total lie and that's the important thing. Harriet rubs the bite on her neck. It's going to take a while to heal, plus it forces her hair down.
"Next time just tell me. Don't get all centaur in heat." grumbles Harriet.
"I saw that you liked it."
"I wish it didn't burn right now."
"The moment forgives all," Tom assures Harriet without looking at her. Harriet continues to grumble. "Don't be melodramatic. We've done so much more on other occasions. Your vagina isn't that close."
Harriet purses her lips. Tom refuses to accept that Harriet has a tight vagina. Doing it a lot or not doesn't change that it hurts if they don't play before.
"Quite the opposite, actually." Tom scoffs indiscreetly.
It's his fault, he has to admit: Harriet is open all the time or she should be.
"Believe it or not, it closes and that right there." Harriet points to Tom's crotch. "It's not small or shot. It's not that easy."
Tom rolls his eyes and follows in fixing Harriet's shirt. That's all that matters. Harriet has to get back to Gryffindor and with the torn shirt it would be suspicious.
┈ ⋞ ⟨ ✷ ⟩ ⋟ ┈
"I need two hours."
"Why?"
"Charms homework. It's never-ending."
Before Tom says anything else, Cho appears on the scene.
"Come on, we're not going to finish it in time if you don't hurry!" Cho informs smiling and pulling Harriet by the arm.
"I'm coming, I'm coming!" says Harriet silly and giggling.
Not caring that she should avoid being around too many people, as they would see the mark on her neck and ask questions. Tom reluctantly closes the book and leaves, Harriet notices him doing so, but Cho doesn't let go of her until they reaches the table with the books needed for the task.
┈ ⋞ ⟨ ✷ ⟩ ⋟ ┈
"Hermione!"
Silence.
"Ron!"
Silence.
"Where are they, Hermione! Ron!"
Still nothing. The walls of Hogwarts filled with empty squares and the only light, coming from his wand. Harriet walks until she starts running, calling for her friends, nowhere to be found. "TOM! REMUS! Somebody!"
No matter how much Harriet screams and how much she begs for someone to show up: there is no one. Harriet breathes through her mouth and spins on her heels only to give a scream of fright. A wall that wasn't there suddenly is. Back to the front and what is there? A solid rock wall. Harriet advances to it and places thr hand on it.
"Hey! It's not funny! SHOW UP!" Harriet demands on the verge of tears.
And when Harriet tries to go back, the wall is much closer than before. Closing the space even more. Harriet holds the wand with both hands. She doesn't want to stay in the dark, so she doesn't dare to cast another spell. She is afraid of it.
"Why are you afraid of the dark?" Harriet holds his breath, feeling a hand slide gently to cup her neck, as well as a presence at her back. Human, real, but cold. "If it's your best company" she breathes through her mouth, shivering. "Let me show you what it has to offer... Little lady."
Harriet gives a broken cry, sitting up in bed. Hermione and the others in the bedroom wake up, startled by the commotion. Except Lee Jordan. She just keeps snoring with her mouth ajar. Harriet covers her mouth and gets up, stumbling over everything on the way to the bathroom.
The others in the dorm peek in, grumbling under their breath and finding Harriet vomiting in the toilet. Hermione reaches over, strokes her hair and back.
"Calm down... it was just a dream." Hermione mumbles, her hair in a huge coppery brown tangle.
After fifteen minutes where Harriet almost dehydrated, she preferred to stay in the common room and the others, went back to sleep.
┈ ⋞ ⟨ ✷ ⟩ ⋟ ┈
"Now what's all the bloody fuss about?" grumbles Tom grumpily as soon as he enters Slytherin.
"They decide whether they're going to stay or not. Gotta fill out the list" Regulus comments. Tom's jaw twitches. "Are you going to stay? Or..."
"You said I can go to your house didn't you?" Regulus nods, almost euphoric. "I'm going with you. I want to talk to Walburga." concludes Tom without giving it any relevance and going to his room.
Regulus doesn't contain the smile that news gives him, a lock of hair sticking out of the ponytail he has. Drakonys, who could hear what they were talking about, bites her lips and marches off to her bedroom. She has to talk to tell her dad. After what Drakonys explained to he, he seems to have calmed down? Or so she thinks from the letter.
He told her to keep an eye on what Tom is doing.
┈ ⋞ ⟨ ✷ ⟩ ⋟ ┈
"Why is Hogwarts safer than our houses?"
"Because Dumbledore and Grindelwald repel each other. So he won't come here" states Harriet nonchalantly. "Look on the bright side We get to spend Christmas with no one in Gryffindor! We can bring down some mattresses, order hot chocolate- Ah, we should give presents to the elves."
"How do you give gifts to elves? They just run away when you try to give them something." retorts Hermione frustrated.
"It's simple," says Ron. "Harriet and I figured it out a month ago. If you order them to get some rest and relax, they're going to do it. They're more afraid of seeing you with a disgusted face than they are of carrying out an order" Hermione looks at them disapprovingly. That's so cruel. "We could give them shoes."
"Yes. I'm sure Dumbledore wouldn't mind." states Harriet, unfolds her permission slip to give to McGonagall and the three of them head off to Hogsmade.
Jame sent her more money than usual. That way she can buy whatever she thinks she can for her friends. Harriet is more worried about Tom's gift What can she give him? He doesn't like candies. In that aspect, he's an old man too.
Harriet prays she'll know what's right when they get there and she sees it.
"What's the matter with you? You're clumsier than usual." says Ron with a raised eyebrow. Harriet rubs her face, getting her glasses crooked and then, messes up her hair. Her head hurts like hell and she still has the chills.
┈ ⋞ ⟨ ✷ ⟩ ⋟ ┈
The news comes all at once without any of the three of them seeing it coming: Hagrid must go on trial to defend for Buckbeak. Apparently, Drakonys crying did more than just annoyance and her showing her cast to everyone saying how helpless she was. For obvious reasons, Harriet writes to James about it, hoping that he will help Hagrid with this.
James received the letter and felt that his daughter loves to help everyone she comes across. It's tender and exhausting at the same time.
He organized all the necessary paperwork, got some people in favor and knows there will be favoritism towards him because he is a Potter. When it comes to security, everyone will rather listen to him than Lucius Malfoy.
"Easy," says James patting Hagrid's arm. He's wearing a huge yellow polka dot tie. It doesn't match his fur coat and mountain man clothes. "It's going to be all right."
"I find that hard to believe being that Buckbeak scratched the Malfoy girl," Hagrid admits, looking straight ahead with his mouth ajar. This place is more civilization than he's seen in years. "I didn't think such a little girl would do something so silly."
"Ah, if you only knew. I'm used to it." assures James with a strained smile.
They enter the audience and just as James thought: Hagrid gets all messy and doesn't know how to say anything. He takes the time to do it for him, again: the favoritism he has in this chamber helps immensely. If it weren't for that, Lucius would be smiling to say that Buckbeak is sentenced to death.
With pressure, letters from a few students and support from others, the situation is resolved simply: Buckbeak is not an animal that deserves to be put down, at most, to be supervised a bit more. Hagrid thanks him in a hug, lifting him off the ground and hurrying off with a tender "I have a class to prepare."
"I hope you're happy, Potter" James arranges his clothes, but his glasses and hair are left in disarray. Lucius can't but see where Harriet came from. They are the same. "A wild and dangerous animal is still on school grounds. Congratulations." says Lucius with a wry smile.
"It's not an aggressive animal," James assures him. "It just got out of control. It can happen anywhere. They're barely thirteen years old all of them there." he replies cordially despite wanting to run away. He can't stand it.
Why does he speak with such arrogance? They are barely months apart and Lucius thinks he has over a hundred years of experience and social power. Lucius squints his eyes, perceiving that strong, hot light that James produces with his magic. The well-known trail of light that the Potters have.
One that James inherited to his daughter with far more strength than his own.
"Oh, you think they're just as wild as your daughter" James presses the smile. Don't be mad, don't show it.... "Who attacked my little girl the year before like she was an animal. No wonder you don't care for that beast, having one at home."
"Lucius, I have patience, but don't tempt it, please." asks James shaking his hand and moving forward to go to his office. He has better things to do.
Among them, not causing a fire here. Everyone who works for him knows he can't stand anyone talking about Harriet. For better or worse, he dislikes his daughter being in people's mouths. The others suspect it because of how much he hides her from the public eye. Lucius enters a minefield by taste.
For as his looks passed Drakonys by, so did his innate inability to resist provoking a fight where there is no need:
"For telling you the reality? You married a mudblood and the only result it brought, is a brood that is a beast who doesn't even know how to comb her hair" A passing woman shrieks in horror, with her papers burning and the letters flying over both of them, so do they. "You ruined your family's legacy for nothing."
"I didn't know you cared so much about my family."
"I care about blood purity. Nothing else."
"Oh yeah? What about Severus?" interjects James. "The oh-so-charming friendship you have with him: he's a half-blood too, or are you forgetting? A man desperate to bed my wife, the one you call mudblood" James adds and Lucius doesn't vary his expression or posture. James approaches. "What about the many rumors of your not-so-pureblood companionship? Being married."
"Resorting to rumors? How low."
"Don't insult my daughter again. Your girl is a separate issue, but you are over thirty," James warns between his teeth and Lucius sees his eyes look almost red. As if rage the glow and boil even his soul. "Behave yourself."
Lucius watches him pull away a little. The same bright light he saw at Hogwarts: walking away.
"Your daughter, the bitch who spreads her legs for a professor-"
Some stop, exclaiming in surprise. James inhales and exhales sharply, shaking the reddened hand from such a blow to Lucius' face. A couple of Lucius' acquaintances help him stand up and leave. James twitches his jaw and squints his eyes. The Malfoy's are always so annoying.
He knows that at one point the families got along and then, not anymore. In his case, he doesn't even understand but that Lucius hates him, but he's going to hate him harder than ever if he finds out he's still talking this kind of stuff.
James is not worried about being told anything: he's the head of security in this place.
┈ ⋞ ⟨ ✷ ⟩ ⋟ ┈
Out of curiosity Harriet passes by the enrome board announcing who will stay. In Gryffindor it's just the three of them and the twins. That confirms that they will be doing sleepovers. In Hufflepuff will stay Cedric Diggory and some other people, very few; Ravenclaw the same story, including Cho Chang and when he checks Slytherin...
Harriet doesn't see Tom.
She checks it several times and can't help the strangeness Is there a mistake?
"What with that face?" Harriet turns to Regulus. "Tom is going to my house this vacation" he informs pedantically and smilingly. "Don't you think that's great? Looks like he's finally, finally realized what a little thing your family is."
Regulus leaves and Harriet furrows her eyebrows with worry rising in every corner of her mind. They agreed to stay. Tom wouldn't leave, would he?
Chapter 20: Act. XX. Looking for something
Chapter Text
Harriet enters Slytherin despite the risk it may mean. It is daylight, there are students coming and going. Harriet passes carefully so as not to be noticed by anyone. The only advantage of being short is that she can wear the invisibility cloak without having to crouch or slouch.
Harriet stops mid-stride, dropping her jaw slightly. Drakonys practically on top of Tom. There are details like Tom's book being almost on the ground and him, too meek despite having Drakonys on top of him. Tom reacts soon after, barely getting her off him with a simple, even calm gesture.
Tom pushes his hair back with one hand and closing the book, walks towards his room. Harriet saw Drakonys whisper something to Tom, but because of the distance she couldn't decipher what it was.
. . .
Tom could hardly sleep. The idea of staying with the Blacks no longer fascinates him, what prevents her from stopping that, is that she has no other choice. He is not going to go to the orphanage, that is more than ruled out. On the other hand, he keeps thinking that he needs this time away from Harriet. To make his brain understand that he can't have such intense feelings and desires.
It dawned on Tom that if it bothers him so much that Harriet acts in love with someone else, it's not just because of the obvious feeling of being replaced, but because he has something too intense for her.
It could be love.
The romantic one and the one they talk about in novels, in perfect fairy tales.
Love distracts, consumes time, consumes the person.
Tom doesn't want to be consumed.
He wants to consume Harriet, to have her completely, but not to let her disappear.
Let her disappear from everything else but him.
To be the only center of attention, the only important thing.
To be there...
And not let her abandon him.
Since when did his abandonment as a child matter to him? It doesn't matter! All those emotions didn't matter and now they don't, it irritates Tom almost as much as the jealousy itself. The thousands of twists and turns Tom has to make have him sleepless. As if all his impulses are directed at the same thoughts that satisfy him in his most twisted way.
The idea that after school, beyond all this, Harriet belongs to no one else, doesn't go out to anything else, is alone and only for him being as pretty and bright as she is... It turns out to be the first and most beautiful fantasy he has ever had in his life.
Tom hates it.
His fantasies should be about power, domination, supremacy. There is so much that should be, but isn't. It's Harriet's fault. It's only her fault.
Tom senses a different and unfamiliar touch. At first it brings him bewilderment. Tom is half asleep, does not think well and does not coordinate well either. The most unpleasant contact is between magics. It is smooth, like caressing silk, but it is unpleasant in some way. As if it gives him an allergy.
Tom wakes up enough to realize it's Drakonys. The blonde sways slightly in herself, uncomfortable, but Tom is not aware of it. She says; "you are invited to go to Malfoy Manor during this vacation. Any time you want. " she announces suspiciously shyly.
Tom says nothing about it, going to his room. His head is throbbing and he wants to spear it through. Maybe then the thoughts about Harriet and the emotions it produces will go away too. They will come out through the hole left by the weapon. He startles at the sound the door makes. Harriet removes her invisibility cloak.
"I didn't tell you you could come," mumbles Tom scratching his neck. "Stand down. I'm not in the mood and I don't have the energy either."
"I don't care."
"Ah, how lovely, sweetheart."
"Don't" Harriet gives a frustrated groan. "Why are you leaving?! With the Blacks, really!?"
"Don't talk loud" Tom scolds irritably. "Yes. I'm going to go spend more holidays with them. Investigate how conditional their relationship is to me." replies with no interest in his voice. Harriet opens and closes her mouth.
"We agreed to stay this year!" claims Harriet.
"You wanted to stay." points out Tom.
"And you agreed!" Harriet chides. "I don't understand, what's wrong with you? You act weird, you break promises, I- I just don't understand you. I don't-"
"I just decided to do it" Tom interrupts gruffly. "Stop with the drama. It's just a damn vacation with nothing special beyond consumerism."
Harriet purses her lips. This is the side of Tom that everyone talks about and she didn't know. After all, he had remained cordial. Until now, where he treats her like everyone else.
Different from Drakonys who kissed him out of the blue.
Unlike Bellatrix who kissed him out of the blue.
Harriet feels emptiness in her stomach and the urge to be fully erect.
"The point is, you promised to be here. You promised you would stay with me." Harriet insists. She lets her anger take sides in this.
"I don't know why you come here if you're clearly more entertained by watching Cho Chang and her silky hair in the wind." snaps Tom, setting the books down.
The bad mood between the two is easily perceived. It is the first time that instead of uniting and trying to blend, their magics repel each other. Sparks that go back and forth wildly. Harriet looks incredulous and tense, just short of making something explode from how angry she feels. Tom for his part belittles it, perceives it as something that should be indifferent to him even if it doesn't.
"Excuse me?" is all Harriet says. It's all she reaches to say.
"Is that a lie? You keep looking at her like your eyes are going to pop out of their sockets" Tom informs sitting on the edge of the bed. Nagini stays on the couch near the door and with that, close to Harriet. "You can go ahead and keep at it or dive in head first if you feel like it. It's not like it matters." concludes with a long, cynical smile.
Harriet lets out air and tenses her jaw in such a way that she looks like she's about to explode. Red, tense, angry. She knows that if she doesn't control herself, she could make something important explode and that would be problematic in too many ways.
"Yes. I look at her" Harriet agrees because why deny it? Cho looks simply gorgeous to her and she doesn't know what's going on with her organism, the most hormonal part of her being, that she loses herself at times looking at Cho. It just happens. "What the fuck does that have to do with anything? We said we'd stay for Christmas- I planted my family because we promised to stay!" she claims.
"If it hurts your family so much, get out of here with them." says Tom and Harriet is unnerved that he sounds so calm. So well contained and nonchalant while she can't even manage to keep the lights from being a mess.
"You know I can't How long ago did you agree to leave! You didn't tell me anything!"
"I doubted you'd care if-"
"I GET IT! CHO CHANG IS YOUR BIGGEST PROBLEM IN LIFE!" Harriet squeaks in exasperation and Tom gives a snort of annoyance at hearing her. He didn't think her voice could be so high pitched. "WHAT DOES IT HAVE TO DO WITH YOU DOING THIS WITHOUT TELLING ME!?"
"Don't shout. Don't be hysterical. You're not going to die from not spending Christmas with your family" Tom stands up and advances toward Harriet who tenses her jaw again. "It's only a month. It'll be you, Ron, Hermione and whoever else is staying here. You're not going to notice I'm gone."
"I gave up going to my dad's to stay here- because you told me to! This time- I never get to see my family and I'm wasting time of being with them!" reproaches Harriet and Tom tilts his head to the side, cruel.
"What's it to me, should I care? I don't have a family Harriet, this time is wasted every year" Tom points out disinterestedly. "That you can use it in an equally useless way is not my problem."
"Why is it useless to want to spend time with people I love!? Why-"
"Harriet, snap out of it, you can spend it with anyone and you're not going to die Do you think they care? I'm sure they'd be happy to have more time to have sex since you're not at home" Harriet feels pressure in her chest. It's a warning that she will cry. Hold on, she tells herself. "Or get mistresses Whatever! It doesn't matter. None of this matters. You already decided to be here, stick to the consequences instead of blaming me."
"I'm not blaming you. I'm just asking you to explain."
"I want to go. That's all. What more do you want, what do you want me to write it or something?" scoffs Tom. "Since you insist that I waste my time."
"I'm wasting your time? I'm a wasting of time for you?"
"Right now? Yes. With you I waste too much time."
Harriet bites her lips and tries not to stop to think about it. Not to stress her words any further.
"That has nothing to do with what I claim you: you promised to stay. And not enough with that, you're leaving with the Black."
"I need some time with them. See what happens," Tom explains with his hands behind his back. "It's not the big-"
"Bellatrix kissing you does seem like a big deal to me."
Tom doesn't expound on it. Concern, surprise, nothing. He just stands there with no emotion. For Harriet it's unbearable that Tom wants to make a fuss about looks, when he did that; spending time with Cho is nothing she doesn't do with Hermione or anyone else, kissing is a terrain that for Harriet, is forbidden. It's more intimate. Tom also has no way to wash his hands of leaving Hogwarts. He did everything on his own as if they had no relationship or were just friends who shouldn't honor a pact. However simple said pact may be.
"And Drakonys? The prince and princess of Slytherin together?" croons Harriet with a cynical smile, her green eyes sparkling like a spell ready to assassinate him. "Do I interrupt the picture? I interrupt the harem of snakes you have here made." She insists, opening her arms, and Tom is silent.
"That's not what this is about." Tom replies after what he feels, was enough. Harriet laughs wryly.
"Right. It wasn't that And you know, since you're not interested in talking about anything with me, I'm not interested in hearing about it either."
Harriet puts her invisibility cloak back on. She doesn't want to be here anymore. She knows she's going to react in some way that will embarrass her in the long run. Tom grabs her arm, but Harriet abruptly lets go. Even if he can hide it, he's nervous She saw that? Why didn't say anything? At the same time, it's obvious that doesn't bother her until now.
Because Harriet feels betrayed right now.
Like a full circle moment of her concerns about Tom. Unfaithful and unreliable.
"I, don't, want, to, hear, you." warns Harriet.
Trembling.
She doesn't want to cry here.
She's going to look ridiculous.
"I figured."
"So...?"
"If that's why you're upset, let's give us some time to breathe and then talk it out. When we won't want to gouge each other's eyes out."
Harriet moves her jaw. She doesn't know if this is a hint at what to break up or that it's just to cool her head and hear what needs to be said. Tom didn't deny the kiss with either of them and now he's going to go to the house where Bellatrix lives. Is Harriet afraid he's going to have sex with her? Of course she is! Not just because of the betrayal itself, the clear assertion that Tom does care if she is feminine, if she is that image of a woman; and the truth is: Harriet knows she isn't that and isn't going to become that soon o ever. There is so much in between that it overwhelms her.
The possibility of Tom disappearing overwhelms her. She abruptly lets go and walks out of the room and Tom looks at Nagini, who bares her fangs at him. "You're going to regret this sooner than you think, but I guess the worst part about you, is how foolish you are.
As soon as Harriet is far enough away the tears fall uncontrollably. She had enough not to cry in the middle of an argument. Harriet removes the hood of her cloak and ruffles her thick, shoulder-length hair. Harriet thinks maybe she shouldn't have said anything. That she should have feigned surprise when Tom left and tried to look better when he came back. So he would tell her what it was about Bellatrix and Drakonys.
The two jewels of Slytherin and who have also taken it upon themselves to make Harriet hate every last hair on her head. She takes a deep breath and does everything to calm herself down. Not to be hysterical, not to explode anything, to convince herself that this time is necessary and that... what?
"Harriet?"
Harriet covers herself with the cloak again. She doesn't want to talk to Remus. Harriet runs off and he is unable to make out which way she went.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
"He's going to spend Christmas with the Blacks."
"It's to be with Bellatrix I told you, he's making some evil trap!"
Ron doesn't make her feel better, only increases Harriet's insecurity about it. She leans back from him, hugging his arm and pouts. "At least you're really staying, aren't you?" Ron nods. He and his brothers decide to stay. At home everything is still tense about Grindelwald swarming around. It's much better to stay at Hogwarts and fool around within its grounds. Besides, with Harriet and Hermione, it's better timing for Ron.
"Hardly anyone is going to stay."
"We can have sleepovers in the common room."
"Fred and George have lots of new candy. We can try them."
Harriet nods enthusiastically and when Hermione arrives, she grabs Hermione's whole arm, pulling her two friends together and considering that...yeah. She'll be fine without Tom. It's disappointing, but she'll be fine. Maybe not better than him, who's going to be very entertaining.
Silence is felt in the extreme as everyone leaves. Hermione notices Harriet down. Just sad. She doesn't know how to explain it. Harriet insists she's fine, but it's obvious that's not the case. They talk and fool around a lot, Harriet avoids Remus for no reason and Hermione has noticed her crying at night.
Harriet for her part writes constantly. Even whole scrolls for writing what she should say to Tom when he returns. It dawns on her that they spend too much time together. It consumes him and he has expressed his desire to be independent. Harriet is also trying to erase from her memory all the claims in the tone they were said and ask herself many things.
Act more mature.
Let go of the attachment with his family (more specifically James).
Be more patient
Not expose her bubbling emotions so as not to be hysterical.
These are easy points. She should be able to get it together. Maybe that way when Tom comes back, it will be for real to come back and not to tell her that he thought it through, that they should end the relationship for good. She doesn't want to end it. Harriet doesn't want Tom to leave. The thought of it makes her cry and that's why the parchment is damaged. Her frustration only happens in the bedroom, when no one sees her and no one can tell how bad she feels.
Harriet doesn't want to expose that to them. Especially with how much they mention her smiling. They have her as a bright and cheerful figure, the perfect embodiment of what it is to be a Gryffindor. How can she be crying? How can she be this weak over something that is her fault? A Gryffindor accepts responsibilities head on and Harriet will when Tom arrives.
Harriet questions if everything they've done, she will do with Bellatrix, Tom would do with Drakonys. Maybe he got tired of her and that's why he was so sour in their argument. The thought makes Harriet feel more embarrassed, vulnerable. Tom being Tom as he is, it means he trusts them, as he doesn't let himself be touched by almost anyone.
Harriet concludes that for some time she was special to him, but not anymore. The most fatalistic and dramatic part of her being makes her magnify every little detail in their relationship, in the possibilities of what happens now. Worst of all, she's willing to accept it. If Tom tells her, she'll let it go. That's what mature people do, right? Forget and move on.
That's the only way to move on.
It's hard to be like that when it hurts so much.
Also when she's lonely and can't go to the living room to just hide by hugging James.
"Harriet?"
"I miss my dad."
Hermione pats Harriet on the back. Harriet's boggart is, in part, James' death. Today's newspaper had a story about a larger attack, a raid with aurors and some wounded. Coupled with the attitude Harriet has, no wonder she came to tears over this. She's Daddy's little girl and now that she's scared, he's not around to comfort her.
"It's all right. I'm sure a load will come tomorrow from him saying everything is fine and he hopes you have a merry Christmas." encourages Hermione and Harriet inhales, stopping the crying to Hermione's surprise.
"Yes. I'm sure... I'm sure he's fine. It's got to be okay." Harriet says to convince herself. Eyes watery and limbs trembling. Hermione pats her on the back.
Harriet didn't think this Christmas would be so hard on her emotional state.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
"Dad?"
No one is home.
Harriet comes out and the atmosphere is cold, typical for Christmas time. Nevertheless, everyone is missing. Harriet keeps calling for James, Sirius, Lily, Remus and... There's nothing. The breeze blowing is horrible, almost suffocating from how strong it is. A gust that hits manages to knock her to the ground and although she gets up, she ends up falling again and again to the ground until she can't get up.
Too much snow, she can't move. The layer is too thick.
Harriete opens her eyes, finding herself back in the empty house. She spins around and although she runs to get out again, she stops to notice that there is a present under the Christmas tree. Just one. Harriet moves forward slowly, cautiously, and reads the tag on it.
It just says it's for her. Harriet opens it and feels her soul drop to her feet. The grip on her neck and abdomen stops her from breathing anymore, "Do you like my gift?"
"HARRIET!"
Hermione startles. She was reading a book, waiting for it to get a little later to sleep and Harriet had indeed fallen like lead, sleeping badly almost all these days. She hadn't expected to suddenly start choking, with her magic depleted and spurting blood out of her nose, eyes and even vomiting it up.
If Hermione didn't sit her down, Harriet most likely could have died .
. . .
"Ah~ Ugly sweater Christmas. The best kind of Christmas."
"And ours are extra ugly." mentions George. Harriet giggles, lying on the floor in a pair of sleep pants and the light blue sweater Molly gave her last year.
Hermione sees her every now and then. Harriet asked her not to take her to the infirmary, said it's normal and would ease up in a while. Hermione knows she hardly slept at all and if she's doing so well now, it's because she's gotten so good at living in insomnia. Hermione tries to pretend that everything is fine.
To then tell Harriet's parents to do something about it. As well as scolding her for being so careless with herself.
"We should have brought more food," Ron complains. "This is too little for the three of us."
"Only if we let your bottomless stomach do its thing" Fred points out. "Here, try this one first."
Ron takes the offered candy. Harriet sits down and Hermione takes place next to her. They both notice that George is holding in laughter and discover the reason soon enough: Ron's double chin is growing to a ridiculous extent, hanging over his collarbone. Ron tries to stop it, he can't; his brothers laugh and high-five each other.
"The good part for you Now you have somewhere to have more food! The bad... It's self-explanatory." Harriet falls to the ground. The thing moves like it's half-melted jelly.
"Shut up!" whines Ron in a thick voice and it only makes the laughter worse. Fred and George help her up and offer her something. It's different from Ron's and as she puts it in her mouth, she feels gas in her stomach.
Harriet even burps so hard that her throat vibrates. She covers her mouth and laughs, leaning against George. Hermione shakes her hand. The smell is awful. Despite this, Hermione decides to accept some of the treats and what causes her to spit fire and blow smoke out of her ears.
"No fair! Theirs is great and I've got a dead slime on my face!" complains Ron and Harriet throws up her hands.
"Sometimes you lose in this life." sums up Harriet pressing her finger to Ron's jowls, who looks at her wrong.
They continue to play, though Ron keeps complaining and so Harriet no longer tries to tell him anything, but asks for the antidote. Sometimes Ron does not take these jokes well, although it is very usual for him to make them and he does not stop laughing at others. He never likes to be the victim. It's natural as well as somewhat annoying. Hermione tells him all the time, Harriet just tries to help him.
In the end and after much begging about it, they get it and both decide to go to the kitchen. The food runs out and they eat more without knowing the reason.
"When they let you pull out the Firebolt can I use it?"
"Nope."
"Why not?" whines Ron and Harriet pouts.
"Because I don't want to lend it yet," Harriet sums up. "It will be later. Maybe at the end of the year, when I've won the cup and have to keep it again."
"That's not fair. You have some of the best brooms in the magical world and it pains you to let me at least levitate it for a few seconds." chides Ron. Harriet shrugs.
"I just don't want to lend it out yet I've hardly used it! And my dad did too much to give it to me. Wait a while." Harriet concludes uninterested. They reach the entrance to the kitchen and before they manage to open it, they jump in fright.
"Looking for something to eat, too?" they turn sharply to the right. Cedric Diggory smiles good-naturedly at them. "How did you learn the password? I barely learned it now and from what the elves said, they've been coming for midnight snacks since first year."
"My dad told it to me." replies Harriet.
"I followed her here." Ron points at Harriet and Cedric laughs.
The three of them walk into the kitchen. The elves greet them with lots of food, saying their usual chatter about being happy to meet them and such. Harriet likes that they all have more clothes than the rag they refuse to take off. Shoes, hats, lots of socks, scarves. Remus commented to her that. Dumbledore enjoys seeing what a colorful mess they are because of how happy it makes them.
The trick of ordering them to do what they should rightfully do works very well.
"Pibby still doesn't finish the cakes. They can wait until she's done to take them." proposes the elf with the huge ears and baking gloves.
"What are they made of?"
"Chocolate."
"We're staying."
Harriet sits at the empty table and rests her elbows on her knees. Ron on one side and Cedric on the other. The redhead clears his throat.
"Hey, Cedric, in the hypothetical case that you had a Firebolt and your best friend asked to use it would you lend it to him?" Harriet rolls her eyes and looks at him with boredom.
"Ron, stop-"
"Of course."
"You see!" Ron jumps up, pointing at the Hufflepuff with both hands. "He does understand what it's like to be a good friend."
"Do you have a Firebolt?"
Harriet's eyes widen wider and she looks at him in horror. It was supposed to be a surprise and to make matters worse, the next match is against Hufflepuff. Ron knew he couldn't talk about it. No one but them can know. Even Oliver doesn't know even though he's the Gryffindor captain. Cedric whistles.
"Wow, I knew they were sold out instantly. I didn't think I'd ever get to see one. It'll be interesting" he states with a grin. "You're not forced to lend anything though."
"But if we're best friends, she should."
"Pibby I finish the cakes." announces the elf with three levitating trays. Harriet smiles at her and takes one.
It tastes great. Enough so that the subject passes her by and she can swallow the rage this whole moment gave her. On the way out and in the hallway, Ron asks again.
"So if I can use it?"
"Yes. Ron. Yes you will be able to use it."
Ron quietly celebrates and Harriet ruffles her hair. She has no choice, but she doesn't want everyone to know she has the Firebolt. It's not the time yet. At Cedric's invitation they enter Hufflepuff, there are the others from that house and Cho Chang. Harriet greets her, having her cheeks with some cake crumbs.
"Merry Christmas Harriet." Firebolt awkwardly reciprocates and takes the small gift. It is a writing pen. It has such a thin tip that Harriet knows why Cho gives it to her.
"I promise to make less of a mess."
"You better." Cho jokes.
"I have a present in Gryffindor. I think I'd better give it to you tomorrow at breakfast." Cho nods and Harriet blows out a breath. "Why the hell is it so hot in here?"
"It's not a tower." excuses Cedric and Harriet takes off her sweater to tie it around her waist.
She wears nothing but a sports bra. So acclimated to wearing it with nothing else for exercise, she initially doesn't notice the problem until the stares get a little heavy. Mostly from males. Even Ron, which is weird and off-putting to her.
"We'd better get back to Gryffindor," Ron says taking the sweater off her waist and throwing it over her. "So you can wear the sweater again."
"Besides, they expect us to bring the food."
"Yeahyeahyeah, sure. Get a move on." hurries Ron.
At parting Harriet still has the same feeling that they are watching her and she doesn't know exactly in what way they are doing it. Firebolt feels threatened. The heat won't go away and she doesn't want to smell like sweat. The further they advance through the castle, the more Ron's stares become more accentuated.
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing."
"Ron."
"I thought you were wearing padding," Ron admits embarrassed, and Harriet folds her arms. She ties the sweater around her waist again "Not that..." he circles his own chest.
"You do understand that I'm a girl and this was bound to happen don't you?"
"Yes, but I didn't think so big. It reminds me of those porn pictures my brothers' magazines had" Ron explains. "Don't ever take your clothes off again. Or wear anything that shows."
"Why?"
"In the bathroom there's a lot of talk about you. The others have been betting about it. I thought it was filler, Fred and George that are real, there are even those who say you had surgery" Harriet doesn't understand why they talk about her so much. Objectively speaking, she has done nothing to earn such attention. "Remember that bucket that fell on me three weeks ago?"
"Uh-huh."
"It was to look at you and check."
Harriet scrunches up her face. Ron had suddenly pushed her and all that water had fallen on him and soaked him. She thought it was one of the typical Gryffindor pranks. There were a lot of them. Nothing serious or for any purpose beyond a laugh. Making the quill spit ink before starting a task or putting invisible ink to make it look like everything was erased.
"They also spy in the bathroom. They complain that you're up to your bottom all the time and they can't see anything." comments Ron, distracted and Harriet is instantly shocked.
"And why didn't you say so!?"
"No, well, it's just that" Ron throws up his hands and Harriet stops. "You know. We can't tell on each other. We're friends."
"Who are trying to see me- And Hermione too."
"Who would be interested in seeing Hermione?" teases Ron with nervous dejeuner discreetly enough and Harriet inhales deeply.
"Try not to let them."
"Yeah yeah, I'm trying, but it's a lot of them against me alone." excuses Ron.
Ron looks at Harriet out of the corner of his eye and his face flushes. Unlike Hermione, he has never seen her so scantily clad. Usually Harriet is fully clothed and what little she exposes, has some translucent fabric that does not allow us to fully appreciate. She is different. In first year Harriet would never have been like this and it is strange what she provokes.
Ron knows that it is wrong what others do. It is strictly forbidden to peep into the bathrooms of the opposite sex, but everyone is like that and Ron did not want to feel excluded or less among them, peeping too and almost frustrated not to get Harriet among the others.
They saw Lavender.
They made fun of her small, flabby buttocks.
They saw Lee.
They teased about the hair she has, calling her dirty for it.
They saw Alicia.
That day she fell down and they got to see her spread her legs, so it's the usual joke to make her fall down, she always falls the same way and they can visualize her naked.
They haven't been able to see Parvati.
Neither has Hermione.
And finally, they have not been able to see Harriet.
Ron is present and although he started out of pressure, because of how much they teased him about avoiding doing it, he doesn't know if it's the case anymore and dislikes it. They are his friends. He doesn't want that to happen with them. How much they talk about it overwhelms Ron and in the long run he just falls into being the 'lucky' one who lies about what he sees.
They think that because Ron is friends with Harriet, she exposes those things. Very wrong thinking.
Harriet decides to keep the information to tell Hermione later. Where Ron won't hear. That way they can plan something to keep it from happening again. The general bad feeling passes as they open the presents and continue eating.
Harriet gave them each expansive bags full of Hogsmade treats. Hermione's is the prettiest, looking like a purple casual purse. It fits in her hand and has a thin chain for hanging. She knows she'll use it to carry books everywhere. To Fred and George she included potions ingredients for them to make more experimental candy and to Ron she added a Viktor Krum poster.
The player he's obsessed with.
"We teamed up to give you this!" announces Hermione excitedly.
What did she mean: I convinced them to do this because they had no idea what to give you.
Harriet pouts and then smiles with a shrug. It's a small tree with several owls and colorful birds. They fit in her hand, are plush and if she squeezes them, they grow to be huge.
"Hedwig is going to be jealous that I take better care of this tree than her coat rack!" she whines squeezing one of them and Hermione giggles. Happy that her plan was successful.
Chapter 21: Act. XXI. A failed christmas
Chapter Text
Time at the Black house is quiet. Insanely quiet and he enjoys it. Tom can read, eat, sleep and talk about subjects he can't easily find out about. Specifically about the chamber of nobles and the politics of the magical world. Everyone he asks avoids the subject and it doesn't surprise him, it's generally complicated.
Even so, he likes it a lot. It's where he wants to dive head first. Hearing from Walburga is entertaining to no end. Tom can tell that she and the Black family in general is very dedicated to making social roles endure. She explained the function of each family name and that helped make more sense.
The Blacks are destined to carry on traditions, store information and history. That is why the libraries they own are the largest. The only problem is that their affiliation with dark magic makes them the target of stares and bad opinions. That's where the next detail comes in: the Blacks have always been dark magic. That's where the surname comes from to begin with.
The Malfoy's have a more complicated function: they are responsible for the beauty of magical families. They were once the ones who made clothes, jewelry and other accessories. They were the primordial stylists and that is why they stand out with their beautiful and aristocratic features. It also explains the endless fortune. Everyone sought them out to be the best dressed.
It also explains why they get along so well with the Blacks. They have been united by marriages and business, it doesn't stop them from having a lot of fights over trying to be one bigger than the others.
The Weasleys are more complicated, as they had long ago stopped following that role and are therefore blood traitors -despite being purebloods-. They were once the ones responsible for the country magics, for keeping the land healthy and full of life.
Scamander as the protectors of magical creatures, somewhat neutral due to the magical tendency to abuse more than necessary the resources they can give.
The Lovegoods study myths even for magic itself. Because of this they are branded as crazy and have quirky personalities. Tom doesn't know the Ravenclaw girl who is currently a second year, but according to Regulus, she is crazy.
Lunatic to those in the know.
Crabbe, Goyle and Zabini as protectors to the non-magical world. Always knights in shining armor, innate ability to attack and little else. Tom could only sigh in exhaustion Why would he let himself be protected by someone as stupid as Crabbe? Tom sees himself dead before he knows how to cast a simple disarming spell.
Out of the whole list, what surprised him the most is the Potter's place: the neutrals. They are the ones who must protect wizards from themselves. Whenever there's a problem in the magical world, there's a Potter to solve it.
"No wonder Sirius has become infatuated with one of them" the woman admits glumly, crossing her leg. "That's what they always do" Kreacher, the house elf, takes the tea set for having finished drinking it. Tom crosses the opposite leg. "It's part of the role they must fulfill: calming the conflicted, bringing solutions to their problems, protecting the magic itself from destroying itself."
"Put like that, I'm amazed at the contempt you have for your eldest son. I met him last year." mentions Tom and Walburga gives a snort, her stoic and ever serious face making her quite bitter to even look at.
"The Potters have slowly fallen from grace. First by protecting those without magic, befriending them and ultimately, making a girl with someone who came from muggles" Walburga highlights with intense contempt. "The glitter in their magicks is to keep us from fighting, now it is nothing more than a tool to keep us from our ways, from what is right for magic and the families that have survived so long."
Tom nods softly. He can see what she's saying. He knows James has many, many allies. Families that have made a place for themselves in high ranks within the ministry despite lacking a track record. The innate talent that gets them there. It's climbing from scratch and reaching far beyond aspiration.
And the old families perceives it as a betrayal, as displacing what they have done everything to build while those who enjoy it, keep the best part. It is unfair to them, but not to the newcomers.
White magic that blinds, but also make everyone fall in love. It can be a Stockholm syndrome depending on how you look at it.
"Harriet, that girl is worse than a pest" states Walburga. "We tried to teach her our ways, tried to make her the way she should be, but her father always objected. Saying we were polluting her or forcing her to do things she didn't want to do, when it's what she should be. Not to say she's worse than a wild beast." Disdainful sneer and Tom looks down at the empty tea table.
"She's walking chaos." mutters Tom.
"It is. It's pitiful. If she had a better head she could have been a great help in returning the magical world to its former glory" she laments looking out the window. "I give to James Potter the possibility of her marrying Regulus. That way, the stain of her half-blood could be cleansed" Walburga comments and Tom furrows his eyebrows. "James rejected it outright. He scorned my son as if he were the vermin and not his scruffy brood."
"She has less charm than a goat. It's pitiful how pathetic she can be." sneers Bellatrix as she takes a seat on the couch nearby, sprawled there with a robe snug against her body, pressing her large bust and exposing the curvaceous body.
Tom gives her a brief glance and Bellatrix is pleased with the interest, unaware of what is going through Tom's mind: she looks like Harriet.
The only reason he looks at her, is to compare them and if it wasn't for that, it wouldn't even happen.
"It never ceases to be a shame how so much magic is wasted because her father doesn't know how to put her on a good path" The frustration in Walburga is so great. Tom almost senses what she wanted: to take over Harriet and raise her on her own, make her the same way she did Narcissa or even Bellatrix, maybe a mixture of both. "And Sirius, bewitched as he is, just continues in his pointless rebellion."
"He and James made a chaos."
"A living, breathing one that's going to bury the family name in the worst possible way."
Tom sighs, tastes his lips and a fleeting, emotional, incoherent thought transits his head:
Harriet is the most perfect, beautiful mess that could have been created.
Aside from this display of inter-familial explanations and dilemmas, he learns that whether they like it or not, the Blacks and the Potters have been close for many, many years. A grandmother of Harriet's is, in fact, a Black. Despised by her family, but a Black by blood nonetheless. It's quite funny to see that in the family tree, James and Harriet appear through that line.
They are very much set apart from everything else. It makes sense, but it doesn't take away from the funny.
Nor that Walburga is still gnashing her teeth at how the last two Potters are behaving.
The most abhorrent thing about this visit is that he has Bellatrix on his back the whole time, or at least trying to. He scorns her without any regard and she like a beaten dog returns to the same thing. Tom convinces himself that she is stupid and that it would be easier to put her out of her misery than to put up with her erratic behavior.
There have been no more kisses, no more hugs, nothing. Tom hates having her around. Feeling her pathetic magic around him is pitiful and disgusting. Part of his mind keeps insisting that it is ironic how much he despises her touch and closeness alone, when Harriet is almost the same, only younger and less tall.
And less dedicated to pretending she's an old-fashioned society lady.
It's funny because at Hogwarts the opposite is true. Bellatrix applauded for her charm, for her attitude; Harriet singled out and mocked for the same.
Tom doesn't understand the way humans relate to each other. Not in this aspect. He understands the hunger for power. Tom understands the urge to bring others down to excel. To gain more and more control.
Tom understands it because it's something he did in his freshman year. Embarrassing other students in his year or upperclassmen. All of them mentioning his clothes and supplies that were not the best because of his lack of family. All of them were so humiliated that, to this day, they don't even look at him and are the first to abide by an order from him if he gives one.
Slytherin was under Tom's discreet rule. He took it away from those who had it. It was enough to expose the difference in intellect and strength. That is normal. Tom considers it natural: to destroy the pride of someone superior until he becomes nothing and takes his place.
What about Harriet? Tom doesn't understand. After spending an afternoon thinking about it, he concludes that everyone perceives her as a threat. They all believe that she is someone of power and worse, someone easy to remove from that status.
The reality is... both perceptions are wrong.
Harriet is just like everyone else, she never takes advantage of what last name, that Remus is a second best man, James' position in the ministry. She gets into trouble just like anyone else and it's even comical that trouble follows her around so much that it falls on her.
And the second thing is that she is not easy to throw away. They have teased her a lot, they also make her feel bad, but no one recognizes her as weak. They never see her cry, they always see her smiling or angry at whoever insults her. Even with all the trouble of punshing Drakonys, she was prepared to face whatever came because she is too proud not to show her face.
Tom is called Prince of Slytherin and he is.
Harriet is thought to be the princess of Gryffindor, better called the Lioness of Gryffindor and even if she doesn't know it, she is.
The particular lioness of the house in red and gold. It's charming.
So much so that despite having a good time here, Tom misses not talking; not sending letters, not seeing her owl arrive. There is nothing at all. It's too quiet and it would be fine if it weren't for worries that weigh heavier as the days go by. To think that maybe when he returns, Harriet won't want to go back to him because of what he told her.
Tom does not understand emotions, nor the way others think when they are dominated by them. So is what he said to her really serious, and can she just let it go? Although Tom doubts, he is not sure. Frankly lost and confused on the subject. Maybe it was serious. So how would Harriet behave? Would she carry on as if it was nothing? Would she send him away and not want to hear from him?
She wouldn't.
I wouldn't leave her.
She's mine.
"All this mental turmoil, I don't know if it's worth it."
"It's worth it," Nagini says and Tom averts his gaze to the snake on the cushion on the table. "Maybe you don't understand, because you're too foolish, but it is worth what makes you happy."
"Happy?" repeats Tom with an incredulous smile. Nagini steps up to his level and bares her fangs. "What makes you think I was happy?"
"That you had never clung to anyone the way you clung to her. How every part of your body vibrates and produces more magic just for the thrill of it" Tom tilts his head back. Just a little, "We humans do everything to be happy, to feel like we have someone in the world who accepts us the way we are."
"We do?"
"It's a blur, I know I was human once... and that someone made me happy, I would chase him wherever he went, helping him to be happy too" Nagini explains and Tom looks surprised. He thought Nagini was a magical snake nothing more, not that she was human once. "I don't know what happened to him, but I know what will happen to you if foolishness is still in charge of your head."
"Foolishness." repeats Tom, mockingly.
"Yes. foolishness. One that tells you to abandon her first because it would hurt you to death to be abandoned."
Nagini snorts, baring her fangs in defense to the shock produced by Tom's magic. It didn't hurt her much. Tom leaves, angry at the exposure of his intentions despite how oblivious they are. Nagini crawls to the wastebasket in the room, knocks it over, grabs all the pieces of parchment and leaves.
┈ ⋞ ⟨ ✷ ⟩ ⋟ ┈
"Nagini?"
Harriet puts on her glasses and looks at the snake. It comes with countless pieces of paper in its mouth. It's funny because they are wet and dirty. While Hermione, Ron, George and Fred sleep, Harriet goes about trying to reconstruct the papers, with Nagini coiled around her body.
Some letters are legible, some are not, but all addressed to her and a constant repetition:
Merry Christmas. I hope you had a wonderful time.
I'm sorry you couldn't be with your family. They miss you as much as you miss them.
I hope when I get back we can talk
Not much else. She doesn't know if it comforts her, depresses her, unsettles her, or what it causes her. The only thing that causes a slight smile, is the fact that he did try to write to her in this elapsed time.
┈ ⋞ ⟨ ✷ ⟩ ⋟ ┈
Tom doesn't know where Nagini went, but he doesn't care. Unaware that she is on her way to Hogwarts, Tom is not really aware of how fast and efficient Nagini is at getting around. At the same time, he spends Christmas at Black's house. It involves a big meal, lots of relatives here included, lots of liquor drinking and he's not exactly adept at handling it.
The Blacks were counting on that.
It's evident in the way the dinner unfolds. Having waited for Tom to enter a state of considerable intoxication to say:
"You know, Tom," Walburga begins. "In the magical world, possibly the whole world, there are none who would support your claim to your place as we do. Those who support the power you can become and who wish to help you in every part of the process" Tom sets down the empty cup. He feels woozy, but still well aware. It's different from the drunkenness he's seen in readings and scene on the street. "Which is why we would like you to consider an alliance with us. The Slytherins" Walburga takes it for granted that Tom will change his last name as soon as he is of age. "And the Blacks."
Tom closes his eyes, a faint smile on his lips and the usually hidden cynicism making a charming display.
"Don't think I didn't know that was your intention, Walburga. I think you could have been more discreet." critique Tom crossing his leg. Regulus bites his lip and Bellatrix giggles indiscreetly.
"That makes this situation easier," Walburga states. "So: what is your answer? To that end, I deem it appropriate that you marry my daughter Bellatrix. She will be a good companion and support. She is also willing to help you endure your legacy" promises the woman. Confident and satisfied. Tom lets out a breath, not wiping away the smile that shows a glimpse of his whitish, near-perfect teeth. "Details more, details less you can married after her affirmative."
"You wants me to marry her?" Tom points to Bellatrix and with that gesture alone, Regulus knows something is going to go wrong. "You know, I would play along except that you think me stupid enough to have a union of any kind with Bellatrix Black" Tom looks towards Bellatrix and shakes his head. "Pathetic witch and more groveling than a common whore."
"Excuse me?" replies Walburga, surprised.
"What I mean" Tom rises from the seat. "It's just that I don't accept mediocrity and lack of talent" Tom's condescension is overwhelming and Regulus mumbles a simple "Tom that's enough" unheard. The offense on the faces of Walburga, Orion and so many others whose names Tom can't remember is satisfying. "It's pathetic to have to say that of everyone here, Regulus is the least sad of you."
Walburga stands up and Tom smiles wider, eyes widening and letting the torrent of dark magic just shoot out. Everything on the table freezes, everyone's clothes fill with frost, glass shatters, stalactites and stalagmites pop up everywhere.
"Do you think I need them?" asks Tom in hisses, he drops his head and the curly hair falls soft. A faint slide down his neck. Restless, glowing, lunatic eyes fixed on Mrs. Black. "They think I really need someone" Tom repeats before laughing in the same tone. "They're bigger idiots than anyone can think."
Tom straightens up and at a slow pace walks out of the room. He avoids the stalactites he created himself, scattered throughout the house. There is not a single corner that has been spared from this and the worst part of the case, is that Tom didn't even let out a quarter of it.
Tom's magic has always been too strong. The real merit is not having it, it's enduring it inside him. Like a black hole, cold and inhospitable that could consume and end everything. That's the part that people don't understand about magic.
That it manifests the will and strength of people.
No one in this house is good.
No one is enough.
They have the social and nothing else.
They are mediocre.
They are pathetic.
They are good for nothing.
Tom plops down on the couch in his room and giggles. Even if it wasn't much, it felt so good to let it out. Almost as good as having sex and that's peculiar. He thinks that maybe if he has more moments like that, he wouldn't need to have sex ever at all. It's good. He won't be dependent on anyone.
It won't depend on Harriet.
It will just be too cold.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?" asks Regulus between his teeth. He hurriedly closes the door behind him, drowning out the complaints and screams downstairs in the living quarters; he approaches Tom, anxious. "My mom's a mess down there Are you aware that...?"
"Regulus, I'm not going to apologize for telling them the reality," Tom informs, shaking his hand. "That they think me stupid enough to accept something like that" He looks up at the ceiling and laughs again. "I know what I want. How to get there, too."
"Tom."
"I can do it on my own. I don't need anyone. Much less people as pathetic as your family," Tom notifies with a chuckle. "Pitiful little vipers. Wanting to teach a basilisk how to bite to death."
Regulus lets out air, shivering in place. Tom gives him an intense look that makes Regulus feel weak in the legs. As if he will fall at any moment. His throat goes dry and his abdomen tingles. Tom as well dressed as possible, his hair a bit messy, the red eyes that never fail to look like the purest rubies there are on the planet.
The magic that fluctuates, graceful and dancing around him like an enchanting mist. Regulus approaches and even with little of his rationing in use, with her physical capabilities at a minimum, he stands over him. Tom's grin widens, with obvious mockery at how Regulus' magic tries to mingle with his own and he is unable to keep up.
Regulus suffers burns from the cold. One on his neck, one on his cheek. Obvious. How many under his clothes? And even with that, Regulus doesn't pull away. He is not able to remove himself or move away from him for his sake.
Regulus doesn't want to.
He wants to stay that way together.
To let himself be consumed if necessary.
Because there is no more beautiful person than Tom and Regulus just falls for him all the time.
He did it in first year, as soon as Tom showed up in the Sorting Hat line. Regulus tried not to look at him too much, but he failed all the time. The more the days went by, the more the months went by, Regulus wondered how he could be a boy, how he could be real. Tom exudes a presence as adult, as ancient and ethereal as creation itself, and he is seductive.
Tom is the most seductive living entity ever put on earth and Regulus is no one. That is why he is never able to withstand temptation and get close, wanting his gaze, his thought and failing almost all the time. Filled with joy at being chosen, at being let close.
Regulus enjoys everything to do with Tom around him. He enjoys being his silly faithful puppy and despite the taunts Regulus has given towards his brother Sirius, who was blinded by the sun that is James Potter.
Regulus Black is blinded and fallen into the bottomless abyss of Tom M. Riddle's darkness.
The most intense cold, equal to that of death and fire in Hades. Regulus follows that way, foolishly and ends up brushing lips with Tom's, interrupted by the hand on his opponent's chest. Regulus' surprise and even panic makes Tom remain smiling:
"I said you're the least sad, not so you're enough, Regulus" Tom informs and Regulus feels his heart beat harder, more painfully. "Because you're just like your sister... A lapdog and wretch."
Tom pushes him off altogether and Regulus remains seated. Tom swings onto the bed, grabs the wand and like an orchestra, makes all his belongings go into his trunk. Regulus opens and closes his mouth.
"We're... friends aren't we?"
"Yes. Assuming such a thing exists."
"I'm someone who supports you. If you have plans, I'm going to help you." Regulus says with a chagrined and nervous gesture. Tom rolls his eyes at him and scoffs.
"I'm no one to stop your pitiful groveling on the ground. It's something dogs are good at, isn't it?" rebukes Tom teasingly. "Following their owners, wagging their tails even when they're beaten and scorned... this house is just a dog's den." Tom concludes as he grabs his trunk.
Tom leaves the Black residence. Without thinking of anything specific. Nagini, Harriet, the Blacks in general. Nothing. He just feels unusually free and he's fine with it. Better than in there, with everyone making powerful attempts to suffocate him in order to dominate him.
"Ummm... How disappointing it ended up being." hums Tom as he walks.
┈ ⋞ ⟨ ✷ ⟩ ⋟ ┈
The knock at the door surprises Lucius, but he sends his house elf to open; he has more guests to attend to and someone arriving at the last minute isn't going to stop him. Drakonys takes advantage of the excuse to be in the antechamber and flee from all the nobles in his venomous chatter. Dobby returns and the confusion is great to see Tom Riddle here. Drakonys sees them alternately. Him and her dad, with the obvious question: why is he here? Tom shamelessly advances to the table, pouring himself a glass of water.
"I'm surprised at your presence here at this hour." comments Lucius with his hands behind his back. Tom drinks the whole glass.
"Yes, I didn't think I'd be here today either, but events came about in such a way as to bring me here" Tom reports, setting the empty glass down. He removes part of his robe and leaves it on the back of the chair. Narcissa, who has just arrived, looks surprised to have the character in her house. "I find it necessary to take up the offer that was very kindly made to me by your daughter at the beginning of the month" mentions giving a nod in Drakonys direction. "If it's not too much trouble." concludes with a pedantic smile.
"I understand you were with the Blacks." mentions Lucius, hiding the offense this causes him.
Who does this little boy think he is? Tom laughs through his nose and leans against the table. Lucius worsens in the way he looks at him. If that wasn't bad enough, he's drunk.
"Indeed, that is very true," Tom states bluntly. "The problem lies in the fact that I believe Walburga Black wants my guts now" he comments rolling his eyes. "Turning down her offer of marital union with her daughter the whore, didn't sit too well with her."
"Hey-"
Lucius gestures to Narcissa. Tom must know that she is Bellatrix's sister. Tom cares little or nothing, however. Drakonys fears that at any moment Nagini will shoot out from between Tom's clothes. Tom seems unstable to him.
"So that happened."
"Pitifully."
"So you think coming here to seek shelter-"
"No," Tom stops and takes a couple of steps closer to Lucius. "You were the one who asked me to be here, or am I wrong?" Lucius doesn't deny it. "Which translates to you also wanting to have some alliance with me. Of what nature, who knows, I may suspect, but it makes it clear that there is interest in my position or the one I may have" That while drunk he draws so many accurate conclusions is chilling in itself. "I don't come here seeking shelter, I come here because it gives me discomfort to go elsewhere and since you are so willing to accept my presence for the sole purpose of gaining my sympathy, here I am."
Tom takes the cup Dobby offers and drinks some of the wine. It is drier than the one he drank. It's going to end very badly. Tom can visualize it. However, it will be much less odious to go through this if there is more of his system numbed.
Lucius squints. It's the first time they've had such a long conversation and certainly, it's amazing how good Tom is at expressing himself, how good he is at twisting the situation in a way that's in his favor. He can imagine many accomplishments he could achieve and he needs that to be on the Malfoy's side...
"All right" Lucius agrees and Drakonys raises her eyebrows Does he really let him in? "We'll talk more in the morning. You can join the celebration if you prefer." he informs and Tom scoffs with a sly smile.
"I suppose it would come in handy." concludes Tom.
It's impossible to count how many important families are here. It's noticeable and even funny that the Potters are conspicuous in their absence. It's a party of powers, but they're not here even though they are. As if it wasn't too obvious the contempt they have for each other. Worse than cats and dogs.
Tom talks to them a lot. He blends in seamlessly. As if he has always been among them. Tom doesn't know who he's talking to. It's a random person. A dense bearded gentleman with a sleek off-white area neatly divided from everything else.
"I have heard that the Slytherin family tree is made up of emeralds. A gem as important and rare as sa is the one that symbolizes their existence." mentions the lord and Tom nods. He has drunk more wine than he should. Even though he is aware, he is also able to know that he should stop now, however, the real effect on him is not foolishness.
It is recklessness.
"Yes. They are emeralds and when everything is exposed, a huge snake is formed. Its scales are the emeralds of that root" Tom informs, crossing his leg and resting his head on his knuckles. "Better seen than described, frankly." he admits.
"Some say that only those who share heritage with the founders, are able to see that" mentions a lady not far away, the delicate champagne glass in her right hand. "We would be incapable of seeing something like that."
Tom laughs indiscreetly.
"Huh, I doubt that's true. Someone was with me and I know they saw it too," Tom mentions shifting his cross-legged position. "Harriet Potter was able to observe it and if that wasn't enough, there was a garnet in her book. Unfortunately I haven't had time to research the subject."
"A garnet? Was it red?"
"Yes. As red as blood from a recent wound." Tom replies and is unaware of how the rumor begins to spread among the nobles.
"How curious. It's been a long time since that has appeared in anyone's family tree." mentions the nobleman, Tom notices trying to get more out of him.
It's "irrelevant" information, so Tom doesn't care to talk about it any further.
"I suppose you'll tell me it's also out of the ordinary to have heard a man when we notice him" The nobleman nods. "Wow, the string of curiosities continues. What fun." Tom scoffs.
No more is said on the subject in the evening. Not for lack of interest, but because of the urgency to put it away and as soon as they leave here, tell everyone who can and is not present.
. . .
"I don't want to-"
"There will be no better opportunity than this."
Drakonys purses her lips and looks toward the door. Lucius's brilliant plan is one that, in essence and that with any of the nobles who were away, would do: go have sex with Tom or leave him to his own devices. Although at the time she said she was capable of that, now that it is reality she is incapable.
If Blaise were here, he would encourage her because it would be putting Tom on her side. Avoiding death threats and all the disasters that the presence of the Slytherin prince implies. She nods with false confidence and goes to her room to fix herself up a bit. The makeup she had on almost completely fell off. Fixing her hair as well.
It's all a process on her behalf. The guests have just left and Malfoy Manor is vacant and dark. Drakonys moves silently towards the room where Tom will stay for the rest of Christmas. Before he knocks on the door, he realizes that his body is shaking badly.
Drakonys takes a deep breath and convinces hereself that this is a good thing, how could it not be? If he is the prince of Slytherin. Besides, he'll be good. He's someone normal. Not some old or weird noble. This doesn't have to be bad. It will be the opposite.
It will be good.
She wants this.
She wants to do this.
Drakonys enters the room, oblivious to touch and what she finds is the room in darkness. Tom's trunk stuck to the wall and him lying on the bed with his eyes closed, hands in his lap, breathing quietly. Drakonys thinks he's asleep and that can go one of two ways: easier or harder. She is supposed to seduce him and doubts that is possible in this state.
Drakonys climbs into his lap and the trembling in his body increases. She puts her hands on Tom's chest. The Slytherin's laughter is heard at the same time Drakonys tries to open the still well fitting clothes.
"Wow, I didn't think I was going to have the same problem twice in one holiday."
Drakonys slowly moves his hands away and Tom opens his eyes.
"I came to..."
Tom raises an eyebrow and waits for what Drakonys can say in that weak, frightened voice. Drakonys isn't able to respond. Drakonys is not able to say the same thing Lucius posed to her. She is simply blank. Drakonys repeats again what has already been said and Tom scoffs, unable to stand the ridiculous situation.
"The only thing I can commend you on, is that you wouldn't be someone who gets favors through sex" Tom comments in a mocking tone. "You're too prideful for that" he accents and laughs lightly. "You're extremely lucky Nagini isn't with me. She would have killed you as soon as you set foot in this room."
Drakonys eyes widen. That's a nice touch. She was so nervous that she completely forgot about Tom's snake. Even inwardly she says to herself: where can she be, why isn't she with him right now? She is also grateful for her absence.
Drakonys doesn't want to die from a venomous bite straight to her neck. If the size and strength of that animal doesn't kill her.
"I-I can... be with you. It can be... be the relationship we have." Drakonys stammers, much more sheepishly than confidently or convincingly. Tom laughs harder and shakes his head. Drakonys gives a startled squeal at the attempt to grab her by the bust.
A simple deception. Exposing how unused and unwilling she is. Drakonys inhales and exhales through her mouth, Tom instead moves on to grab her by the neck and push her away from his lap.
"Don't make me laugh, I couldn't even get me to an orgasm" Tom says dismissively and Drakonys reddens with watery eyes. "Your touch is tasteless and your magic bland. Rather than arousal, I pity how useless you are in that regard."
Drakonys falls to the floor from the shove and Tom lies back down on the bed. He wants to sleep. It seems to be very complicated. What a pity that the Black and Malfoy families are so much alike: they repeat the same nonsense. Drakonys, offended and regaining a little strength thanks to their distance, gets up from the floor and argues.
"If you're such an expert to know why don't you guide me?" Drakonys proposes with some force and Tom turns his head towards her.
"What a bore... I'm not interested in a stupid, stuck-up, virgin girl. Get the hell out of here."
"My first time would be yours."
"And?"
"Look at me!" Drakonys demands exasperated that Tom is so uncooperative. That in her estimation, he's a zero, worse than nothing or rather, nothing at all. Not even that relevant. "Many would like to be in your shoes now!" assures Drakonys. "For my beauty, for my family, for everything. I'm-"
"Pathetic" Tom spits out in an almost incredulous laugh. "There's nothing in you but pretty eyes and hair. Believed that at seventeen she will be sold to a forty or fifty year old lo to spread her legs, bear heirs and do nothing but an ornament at home" he relates without interest, but noticeable relish in the look of dread on Drakonys face. One that tries to dissimulate and cannot. She is aware of her reality. That this is going to be her fate in four years. "Then your body will be deformed, your face will be emaciated and you will be nothing more than the woman who was once pretty and no longer worth it" Tom sits on the bed and rests his elbow on his own knee. "You have nothing" he assures in a hiss, leaning forward. "Just time against you."
A stalactite erupts from the floor, making her recoil to more grows.
"And you're losing it... Wretched Drakonys Malfoy whom no one loves. Not even her father, who would sell her for a few more gallons in his vault."
Drakonys is kick out of the room, Tom locks the door with ice and with that, he knows he will be quiet for the rest of the night. He reluctantly undresses, wears the pajamas he summons from his trunk and lies down to sleep. Forgetting the distaste he got from the unsuspecting touch and magic caressed with an unpleasant texture.
They all feel disgusting and he, beset by the sudden tide around him that wants to possess him at any cost, force him to possess them back. It's terrible. He hates it so much.
Tom hates all that foul gloom.
Tom wants light.
Tom wants that light.
It's not a comfortable sleep, not a happy or peaceful one either. Just falling prey to exhaustion from all the day's work. The rest of him, looking for that warmth to cling to and blend in with.
Chapter 22: Act. XXII. Beloved truth
Chapter Text
"Merry Christmas Moony."
The man hugs her and Harriet squeezes her hands in him. Eager. Remus pats her on the back and then invites her into his office. As cool as usual. Harriet is distracted watching grindylow in a water bubble, moving slowly in the small space.
"Did you have a nice time with your friends?" Harriet replies quietly. She covers the very annoying moment with Ron using the gifts she received, the fun time before and after. "James is worried about you" Remus mentions sitting on the first step to the desk. Beside Harriet and with her hands clutching the edge of the stone step. "It's your first Christmas away from home.
"It was good," Harriet assures, tossing her hair. "It was good to be alone with my friends. We just wore pajamas. We talked about things we don't talk about with adults around." she describes mischievously and Remus laughs, drops his head for a moment and when he lifts it, he looks up at the ceiling. With the rotating calendar mechanics. That way he never misses a full moon.
"I know you like that time, but I have a feeling you came for another reason" Harriet purses her lips, not knowing what to answer him. "And I suppose it has to do with that afternoon I saw you crying in the hallway."
"Maybe... Maybe."
"Harriet..." Remus presses gently and Harriet drops her shoulders, legs straight and hands between her spread legs.
"I just don't know what to do Okay? I thought I could make it on my own, but I can't with myself anymore" she admits stressed. A small outburst Remus hears because he doesn't need to speak yet. "Because I know I'm the problem, I know I'm supposed to fix it, I know I'm supposed to... Do something, but I don't know what that something is! I don't know if what I choose is right and I really want it to be fixed."
Remus sees her gasp. He spoke too fast.
"What's the problem?" demands to know Remus. Harriet slouches, still tense.
"Tom's gone. He promised me we'd stay this year. I thought about us tagging along this year too" she explains neutrally. She wants to make this look like a friendship feud. One she might have with Ron. Remus for his part has his suspicions. It's not like they make it very difficult for him, "but he went WITH Regulus! AND BELLATRIX!" Harriet shrieks with more outrage and again, in neutrality, it doesn't make much sense. Harriet and Bellatrix don't adore each other, but it hasn't been a problem of any kind What's worrying her now? "He broke her promise to me to go with the Blacks."
"That's it?" Remus wants to be sure. Harriet just goes on like a natural disaster in apogee. Remus ignores the cracks in the glass, the torches and candles with huge flames, corresponding to Harriet's bubbling, nervous emotions.
"He hasn't spoken to me this whole time, he told me I'm just wasting my time and basically that I don't understand because he doesn't have parents and I do, but what's that got to do with it!" Harriet claims upset. Remus looks at the torch in front of him for a moment and turns it off with a discreet wave of his wand. It might burn his books. "I'm not rubbing it in his face that I have a family! I want to integrate him! I want him not to be lonely because he's less lonely with me and I thought I was doing it right, but-"
"Is he your boyfriend?"
The question comes out so simply. Remus has known Harriet since she was born and no matter how much of a teenager she is, in her slightly worsened meltdowns due to a brain full of stupid hormones, Harriet doesn't change her natural essence. She doesn't worry and wouldn't start crying in a hallway if it were a random friend. Maybe she'll seek help faster instead of hiding it for weeks. Tom is different. He's special and what adds fuel to the fire is Tom's gift for Harriet's birthday.
It means there's a special relationship going both ways. Harriet opens and closes her mouth and even though she wanted to run away from here, she knows there's no point. Besides, it's Remus. He's the one who vouches for Tom the most. Unlike James and Sirius who judge him only by his dark magic.
And contempt for Quidditch.
That detail is less relevant.
"May... be? Yes." replies Harriet and Remus laughs lightly. "Don't tell anyone."
"As you ask..." Remus muses a little "Your boyfriend decided to leave suddenly on Christmas even with a promise? What do you think really happens?"
"That he doesn't love me anymore."
Remus raises his eyebrow. That seems unlikely to him. Harriet exclaims and brings her hands to her collarbone, Nagini slips out bit by bit, wraps around Harriet's shoulders and hisses. The problem is that neither of them understand her.
"He loves you so much that he hates it. That it makes him feel out of his element. He's foolishly in love." assures the snake. Remus in turn has an opinion:
"It's Tom's Isn't it?" Harriet nods, stroking Nagini's head. "If he left you his pet, I don't think he'd stop loving you."
"He left. After talking to me like I'm nothing. Like I'm anyone in Slytherin." points out Harriet. "And she came alone. It wasn't because he dumped her or wanted to send her."
"That-"
"And Bellatrix! He let Bellatrix kiss him" Remus looks genuinely shocked at that. "He went to her house. He went with that family that hates me and he went with she that is pretty" Harriet gets up and paces, thoughts shooting out without order or a logic. Concerns running free to the advantage of her panic. "He who didn't push her away, who doesn't get hysterical, isn't immature and... And she is beautiful. She's noble, he wants that world I don't get it!" Remus rises from his place. "He stopped loving me because I didn't...!"
Remus stops her and Harriet takes a deep breath, tries not to burst into tears. She hates it. Anything she thinks about Tom makes her cry and she hates it. She wants to feel strong and confident, he was the only thing she managed to do that in. After all, her looks, abilities and other personal aspects were never something that made her satisfied.
Knowing that someone loved her or found her enough in spite of that is what made her happy.
"If he really loves you" Remus starts, tightening his grip on the small shoulders. "If he really does" He emphasizes. "Then there's nothing you need to change. It's not that he doesn't love you anymore, it's that he's a teenager: they does stupid things, including not talking about what really made him leave."
"I don't get it." Harriet admits anxiously.
"People are complicated. It doesn't mean we change to fit them" Harriet sniffles, unable to look him in the face. "Are you two done?"
"I think so."
"What did he say?"
"That he wanted some time to not... Hate us, but it doesn't mean he still loves me." she sobs in anguish and Remus sighs.
Harriet is hell-bent on her fatalistic version of the situation. It doesn't surprise Remus. James was like that: extreme. Once an idea gets into his head, it doesn't come out. No matter how silly and far-fetched, he'll hold it.
"Your problems are real, they're very serious," he says as a preamble, "but there's a certain thing with your magic. It's your dad's fault."
Harriet exposes confusion.
"You being emotional is a threat. He thought you were going to die from some silly fever you had. He was worried until you stopped having a fever," Remus relates shortly. "Your perception always goes to extremes because then it hurts less what's coming. Whether it's that or something less serious," Harriet doesn't know what to think. This confirms that she is dramatic and it helps to be hysterical How does that change?! "When there are situations like that, you have to know that what your head is telling you, is not reality. It's never that bad."
"It may be."
"And maybe it isn't. Maybe Tom is just as sad as you are right now" Harriet sniffles and wipes her cheek with the back of her hand. "Breathe and calm yourself. Don't let the problem consume your mind."
Remus makes it sound so easy.
"What if he really doesn't love me? What if when he comes back he tells me he doesn't love me anymore?"
Remus looks at her with a chagrined leave, pulls her in for a hug and ends up holding her. Harriet clings to him, tucked into his shoulder and Nagini tucked into the baggy clothes. Remus pats her back.
"If he doesn't it doesn't matter. You have many who love you and many who will love you when they meet you... You are a light Harriet, many more will be in love with that light."
She finds it so hard to believe it no matter how much she wants to. He would want to say that she doesn't have to change anything. That she is fine. That others will be able to love her the way she is and there will be no teasing of any aspect of her life.
It's false.
It scares Harriet to think that Tom is the only one who could have loved her and no longer does.
There will be no one else who does anymore.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
"I recommend only one thing: don't take me for stupid. I may not have that much experience, but I do have common sense and it would do you a lot of good not to underestimate me the way you have."
Tom's almost threatening comment comes casually. After wiping his lips with the cloth napkin at breakfast. Lucius mentions nothing, just looks disdainfully at his daughter who shrinks in place. Narcissa moves her jaw and leans forward a little.
"I understand and by the same token I am telling you this: in this house you are a guest and I will not tolerate disrespect to anyone. Heir to Slytherin or not" Narcissa warns in a low, clear voice. "To my husband, my daughter and my family keep them out of your scornful mouth... As long as you keep that simple parameter, you are welcome and undoubtedly, helped by us in whatever you need."
Tom smiles in the middle of sipping his drink. He sets the glass down and rests his arms on the table.
"I like you better than your mother and even your husband. It will be a pleasure." Tom states with an almost gallant leave.
Narcissa has one thing in her favor: she knows how to keep her airs of grandeur down. Lucius, Walburga, Bellatrix and even Regulus speak to her with that superiority she can't stand. They are in social terms, for now, but it doesn't take away from the fact that Tom surpasses them in magic. In what makes them relevant in this world. Neither is outstanding, it's almost pathetic; Narcissa understands that divide. She has better ability than her daughter, also than her sister, though she is inferior to Lucius and Walburga.
She understands her place.
And that's something Tom appreciates. He loves that almost meticulous order.
He'd say he'd rather negotiate with her than Lucius.
The rest of his stay at Malfoy Manor is the same as at Black Manor: quiet, calm, somewhat boring. Drakonys avoids him and even funny to watch as he runs away. Lucius is entertaining, but irritating and Narcissa is also elusive. The three Malfoy's are similar to each other. At the end of the day, Tom spends his time tucked away in the family library or in his room jotting in his diary.
Constant flashes to his mind: I could talk to Harriet about this... that come to nothing. Even if he could work up the courage to send her a letter, he doesn't have Nagini and he doesn't trust an owl given to him by some Malfoy. He's torn up several letters he's tried to write, telling himself how stupid it feels to miss someone so much.
That between dreams he keeps invoking the bright, smiling figure he frankly adores. Gradually, in the inability to sleep well because of discomfort, he just thinks: this cold is very annoying.
Also because of the reminiscence of the unwanted chunk of others. Always in situations where he was bodily vulnerable. Half asleep, drunk, stressed. Tom hates to be touched. The lack of personal space and that urge to have it because he has lived surrounded by annoying children all his life.
Children who, at the time, were older and sometimes did bad things to him that he eliminated from his conscience. Nothing was serious, nothing went to an extreme. However, Tom hates the contact. He remembers it how weak he was back then.
How unprotected he was.
Knowing that even if something had happened, no one would have done anything for him.
And it's different now. Because Tom could explain to Harriet, expose to her the reality of his frustration and displeasure; show her how much she matters to the point of allowing something as simple as holding hands... Tom doesn't want to be vulnerable again, doesn't want to rely on her "protection" or understanding.
Tom wants to be strong.
Tom wants so badly to be.
And it frustrates him that with each passing day it becomes more impossible.
A month like this and Tom realizes he hates being alone. He hates not having anyone to talk to the way they do. Feeling her embrace him, her insistence on sliding her fingers through his hair, her warmth, her entire presence or knowing she'll eventually show up.
Tom misses Harriet too much.
To the point where when it's December thirty-first he doesn't get out of bed all day; waiting for a sign that she's not mad, that she remembers what day it is...
That maybe when he returns to Hogwarts, they can be like he was before even if he doesn't say why he felt so explosive to begin with. Need and hate intermingle in the conclusion that for the first time, Tom wants it to be known that it's his birthday and something will come.
"Huh?"
Tom gets up from the chair he was in and opens the window. His eyes widen in surprise and a half silly grin emerges on his lips: Hedwig with a package in her beak. The owl stops on Tom's arm and he closes the window. The package on the desk and the bird on top of the full-size mirror. It keeps hooting, flapping its wings. It waits for Tom to spoil it as he always does when it arrives.
Tom is too focused on the package to pay attention. He opens it carefully. There is no note. Inside or outside the box. Barely an "H. J. P." To identify that it's from her. Initially Tom finds it hard to believe that's what it is. However, when you take it out it is easily identifiable as a record player. Black wood, silver colored hardware. They talked about it loosely in Sirius' apartment.
Tom really likes music and Sirius's collection pleased him to the point where it was part of the routine in the evenings. Put on a random record and then tell each other if it was any good or not. There's one at the orphanage, with the small problem that it sounds awful and it's always filthy speeches that don't interest him. Muggle politics. Always so useless. He puts on the first record without seeing what it's about.
Just let it play in the background while he's gromming himself. Something that takes forever. Everyone with the slightest knowledge of Tom knows he's worse than a diva. He will never come out with a single hair out of place. Tom hums during the process. It makes it more comfortable.
When the night has come
And the land is dark
Tom sits in the chair and whistles for Hedwig to come down to his arm again.
And the moon is the only light we'll see
No, I won't be afraid
The bird closes her eyes and hoots with delight. Giving soft, playful pecks at Tom's fingers.
Oh, I won't be afraid
Just as long as you standStand by me
"Did you miss me?" asks Tom softly. Hedwig is still with her eyes closed and feathers puffed out.
So darlin', darlin', stand by me
Oh, stand by me
Tom looks down at the record player for a moment and Hedwig flies to the bed, where the curled-up sheet serves as a makeshift nest. Tom rests his hands on the record player.
Oh, stand
Stand by me, stand by me
"How sentimental." Tom mutters before turning off the record player.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
Harriet throws the note in the trash and stares at the gift in annoyance Should she send it? Or should she keep it until knows what will happen. Decided she'll apologize as soon as she gets Tom within a five-meter radius. Drag him somewhere private to say everything she has planned and see what happens. Not a good plan, but she's never been good at them. Not without aids or suggestions.
"He's going to love this thing. He never admits to anything, not even how much she loves listening to music." comments Nagini at the desk, right next to the gift.
Watching Harriet wrap it was funny. She's so unskilled with crafts that it's a wonder she won't use up all the paper. After fifteen minutes of fighting with herself, she doesn't make a note and gives it to Hedwig. Her owl knows how to find Tom better than any hound. She doesn't even have to tell him where to take him.
Harriet doesn't want to over tell him that he is with the Blacks and surely with Bellatrix.
"I don't even know why I sent him" Harriet admits seconds after her owl leaves. Nagini glides over to her and climbs onto her shoulders. "I don't think he cares. It's... Afff, why can't I just be a normal resentful."
"Because you're both terribly in love. It's cute. He finally has someone to love him even though he's so silly," Nagini says and Harriet feels slight relief that she responds. Even if nothing is understood. It's like having a confidant or something. "I wouldn't worry too much: he's probably lying in his bed, prey to the sadness that is having no one after having him."
"Sometimes I wish I could understand what you're saying."
"So do I. Laughing at how silly Tom is would be more fun."
Harriet kisses Nagini on the head and lets her hide in her clothes. She must go to the kitchen to get what they will eat for new year.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
"At least we have time now. Without Harriet around."
"That sounds a little cruel."
"Are you going to deny it?"
"No."
Harriet clasps her hands together, watching from outside the window of the house her parents talk quietly and happily. It doesn't bother her to see them happy. She loves them too much to be bothered by their happiness. However, it is the fact that they talk about fairy tales and enjoy the fact that she is not there that makes her sad.
Harriet bites her lips and tries not to think about it anymore. However, her body is there frozen, forced to keep watching and listening to Lily and James talking about how quiet they can be without Harriet at home.
Saying that she finally gave them some time off from her annoying presence. Harriet supposes it bothers them. After all, she's a good-for-nothing who couldn't stand up for herself, there's a madman on the loose out there looking for her and making her a problem for James if you look closely.
Harriet doesn't want to be a problem.
Harriet doesn't want to lose their love for being a hindrance.
"You would never be a hindrance Harriet" Harriet takes a shaky breath, squeezing her hands tighter. The cold grip on her face, on her neck and how the weight rests on her back. "I could never see you as a loss...you are the brightest light... this world has ever made" She can't speak, she can't ask for help from her parents who are so close. Lily sits on top of James, kissing him, ignoring the window. "And I could appreciate, admire and love it."
Harriet wakes up screaming, rolling over on the couch and ending up vomiting, barely reflexively enough to do so to the right and not on the couch where she fell asleep. Taking advantage of the empty common room. Nagini startles and bares her fangs, startled by the cold presence in the environment all of a sudden, but leaves.
So does some of Harriet's glare. Nagini notices her pale, also faint. Several elves appear, beginning to clean up and Harriet staggers toward the bedrooms. Nagini moves hurriedly, growing to her full size and with that, helping her to sit on the stairs. Nagini stays curled around Harriet, who is shivering and still feels that something bad happened, but is unable to define it.
Harriet whimpers, trying to hold back the crying. Nagini rubs her head against Harriet's wet cheek, wondering what just happened.
Chapter 23: Act. XXIII. Saying sorry
Chapter Text
Christmas felt like forever, sadly, not in a good way. Tom returns with the expectation that Nagini is going to be somewhere in the castle. He starts to worry that she won't show up and thinking about his snake allows him to be less nervous about Harriet. They must talk. That's what he said they would do. Tom tried to give himself strength as usual, consider that maybe Harriet missed him more than he did.
Feel less pathetic about it.
And... It didn't work.
As soon as he walked into the Great Hall for dinner, with everyone back at school, he could see Harriet seat at the Slytherin table. She's talking animatedly with Hermione, Lee Jordan, Ron and the twins. It's endless chatter where Harriet laughs and jokes as usual. Where she glowers as usual. At no point does she turn to look at him. Harriet doesn't so much as glance at the Slytherin table.
"Where were you? We came to think you'd been kidnapped or killed because you were nowhere to be found." Listening to Regulus at this moment, where he only has a head for Harriet, feels like having a fly hovering in his ear.
"I suppose that picture made your mother very happy," he snaps at Regulus. To make matters worse, she didn't think the Black would come to talk to her. "You're worse than a puppy, Regulus. Who knew?" sneers Tom helplessly.
Regulus doesn't say anything. He has no way to avoid this feeling and urge to just go along with it. That maybe something can change, fix itself and work. He tries to see the same thing Tom sees, it's impossible. There are too many people moving. He can barely guess as he looks towards Gryffindor.
What can Tom be interested in there? Nothing. That's why it's strange.
"In your house!?" shrieks Emma. "And you're not his girlfriend!?"
"It's no use. I don't even know why you expected anything." grumbles Drakonys, fixing a lock behind her ear.
Drakonys obviously didn't tell anyone the truth and doesn't plan to tell either. What they believe is that Tom just came to her house and Drakonys didn't try anything to be with him. Nothing very strong at least. She moves her jaw, annoyed at how much Emma, Pansi and other Slytherin girls complain. All complaining about having wasted having Tom in their housing.
If they knew what he was like, they wouldn't be so desperate for this son of a bitch, Drakonys thinks to herself. Not to mention that to her, Tom is no big deal at all. "His chest is too thin, arms too. He sure doesn't have anything down there."
"Don't be a liar. He has a good body."
"And how do you know?" complains another at the assertion.
"I peeked into the boys' bathroom once. They always say he goes alone. So I took the opportunity so I wouldn't have to see anyone else" explains the Slytherin girl with a smile. Blaise looks at her with annoyance and distaste. "And it's... Well how do I explain it?"
"Pretty?"
"Pink-tipped?"
"In harmony with the body."
"Pathetic." snorts Drakonys with annoyance and crossed arms.
"It's big. It wasn't hard, but-"
"It's no bigger than mine. That's for sure. With how malnourished he is, he must be a dysfunctional little thing." says Blaise not wanting to hear about others and their private parts.
Especially from another man. If it was talking about women's breasts, that would be a different story.
"Oh don't be envious. Slytherin Prince is the prince and you're not." rubs the same girl, causing giggles and Blaise smirks before casting a spell under the table.
Flash forward: when she gets up, her pants rip and she's exposed to everyone at the table making fun.
"It's no big deal. Even if the bottom is, chest, arms and legs are pitiful," Drakonys criticizes, resting her chin on his palm.
They chatter more about it. With all of them saying it's a lie, some say it doesn't matter and others get lost in the image of the perfect Tom Riddle. Absolute nonsense. Drakonys for her part loses track of what is going on at the Slytherin table and notices the Gryffindor table, where Harriet is laughing and talking to her classmates. Maybe they talk about their vacations, presents, good times.
She would have nothing to talk about.
She could listen to her talk.
And it would be good...
So good.
At no point during dinner did Harriet look over to the Slytherin table. Not for a single second.
. . .
Not having Nagini feels a little strange. Harriet assumes she's already back with Tom. The anomalous thing is that she left him in the first place. Harriet wouldn't even look at him, she knows they have to talk eventually, but it doesn't mean she's ready for that. She'll just deal with it like other problems in her life.
The next day, in the afternoon, Nagini shows up with a note in her mouth:
"Chamber of Secrets in one hour."
It's a very private place and that no one will notice if she go in or out, she can also wait for herself to get the puffiness out of her face if she feels like crying. Points for that.
. . .
Tom sent Nagini from the room inside the chamber of secrets. Too anxious to do anything else first. On the one hand, he convinces himself that this won't be complicated, then remembers to stay on point, not to ramble, not to over-expose, and to be sensitive enough to make it work. Remembering what he said to Harriet before he left is like a kick in the gut: bullshit.
It hurts in the gut because he knows it was his worst choice of words. Their worst argument yet. He can't even find a way to defend himself. He shouldn't have said any of that. The more he turns Harriet's sentimental and familial mindset around, the worse he regurgitates the guilt of the hellish jealousy he was suffering at the time.
Harriet's arrival throws Tom off balance. Any trace of common sense or a cool head disappears. There is no way. It's unheard of how much he miss just seeing her. The messy hair, the oversized clothes, the green eyes. She opens and closes her hands, some frost forming underneath her guilt of nerves.
"Hi."
"Hi."
How awkward, they think at the same time. Stunned and stymied as he is, Tom doesn't manage to say anything. He wanted to initiate it. He can't. Paralyzed and with a gesture of slight confusion and even annoyance. Harriet takes it as a sign to initiate.
"I'm sorry for what I said."
"Oh?"
Tom's expression becomes accentuated Sorry for what? Of everything possible, this was the thing he least visualized happening.
"It's just... I know I got hysterical and melodramatic" the raven-haired girl explains. "And what not to say pretend I didn't see anything. The Bellatrix thing. I mean, I should have told you that same night or the next to know instead of using it as some sort of trap attack as soon as there was the opportunity" Tom would like to say that maybe that would have avoided that specific problem, but then remembers that he did the same thing with the Cho issue. "And... Uh... I don't mind if something happened with that. I mean, I guess it did, but it doesn't bother me or anything. Just...tell me? I'm not upset about Drakonys either, or what you said about my parents."
Oh no...
That's all Tom wanted to talk about and Harriet won't shut up to let him explain!
"You're right I should be less dependent on them, on being with them. I thought it was normal, but it's not normal at my age and I should change it" Harriet explains, she speaks a little faster and is already engrossed. If she doesn't see Tom, she doesn't lose focus. "An-and about Cho: I don't like her. I see her a lot, but it's not... That I like her. I don't know what to say about that. I don't like her like that. I just think I envy that she's pretty, that she's cute, that she gets to be on the team, have her boyfriend, be neat and everything that I can't be. I-I don't get to be like that no matter how hard I try and I guess I admire that about her. I also admire it about Hermione and all the girls around me."
Gradually the confusion fades and the genuine annoyance remains. It frustrates Tom at this point and his patience begins to wear thin.
"But I will and I will be more mature now. I will be more attentive now. To be more like the others and-"
"I expected everything but all of this. Truth be told, I came prepared for you to curse my whole existence." admits Tom and Harriet lets out a breath, waves her hands and Tom gestures to her. "No, no. Don't say any more stupid things you formed yourself."
Harriet feels her heart pounding and her legs shaking.
"None of this is about you having to change" Tom assures her almost irritably. "It is" He squeezes the bridge of his nose and grabs his elbow, anxious. "This is all wrong and it went in a very strange direction. I wasn't prepared for this." he snorts and Harriet squeezes her right arm.
"Will you break with me?"
"What, NO!" shrieks Tom shrilly, startled and Harriet throws her head back. "What gave you that idea!?"
"H-how did you talk before you left." replies Harriet and Tom brings his hand to his face, drags it to his forehead and mutters to himself:
"This just goes from bad to worse..."
"Listen," Tom asks. "It's not about you changing, that you're not mature, that you're hysterical; it's not even for you to apologize. Actually you didn't even do anything" admits Tom with a nervous smile on his face. The more he realized that detail, the more stupid he felt. "You're perfect just the way you are. Your whole personality, all of you, even your inability to have clean notes, the mole eyes, stubbornness, obsession to Quidditch or understand Potions, you are absolutely perfect." promises Tom and Harriet muses in a cracked voice.
"If that's true why did you treat me that way before? No-"
"BECAUSE I WAS JEALOUS!"
Harriet opens and closes her mouth Jealousy? Of Cho? Now she's the one who's the most lost.
"But-"
"I'm independent. I love being independent" Tom emphasizes with manic leave. "And feeling my perfect life interrupted by a nobody entertaining my girlfriend is not being independent" he clarifies as easily as his mind is capable of formulating. "So is someone else being able to twist my life so easily."
"I didn't want to do that."
"I know."
"Why didn't you tell me it bothered you? I could have been... I don't know? Less... Me. Hermione says it all the time, but I don't know what she's talking about." admits Harriet.
"That's the problem," Tom emphasizes, approaching with that hopeless lunatic expression: huge grin, eyes wide open, hand on his chest. "You're like that. There's no changing it because it's not a bad thing to change! And I hate it when others go along with you."
"You say that as if Cho wants something with me." points out Harriet.
"For me it is the case and I'm choking in my damn guts over the matter." He raises both eyebrows and Tom doesn't even know how to stop his annoyances anymore. How to make them stay inside his head and not come out worse than a bombing. It's just like having broken a water dam: it's all going to come out whether Tom want it to or not. "How do I deal with that? I don't have the slightest idea and that's frustrating. I wanted to try to be me from before I had you in my life and that's not possible anymore because I can't stand you not being around, not having light, I get sick of being alone in my own cold all the time and others trying to invade me with theirs."
They are silent for a couple of minutes. Harriet smacks her lips and asks:
"Bellatrix?"
"I got distracted on the platform. There was something... Literally making me feel at risk of death and I didn't see her coming."
"Drakonys?"
"I couldn't sleep for thinking about what to do to avoid drowning in my temper, I didn't notice her."
Tom reads her mind. It's easy, given what they talk about.
"I didn't do anything with them. On the contrary, it was Drakonys who climbed on me while drunk...it was unpleasant. Going through both places was excruciating." admits Tom.
He'd like to say he got more out of it, but the invasion of space and the contact without permission flatly preclude it. They block out any positive points or experience. Harriet nods softly.
"You were right to be upset about those two events," Tom comments quietly. "It's not something that should happen if we're boyfriend and girlfriend" Harriet lowers her head and purses her lips. "I'm sorry I made you feel so bad. It wasn't the intention at all. The last thing I wanted, is for you to think you're no good just the way you are."
"You think I'm good?"
"The best. The only person I can have around without saying it's putting up with."
"And do you like me?"
"Of course" Tom slides his hands through hers and entwines his fingers with Harriet's. "I adore you like magic. I think I love you."
Harriet looks into his eyes, her magic vibrating and better exposing the chaos inside her brain. Tom never talks about what he feels. The good or the bad. He just keeps it to himself. There are two options for these words: it's manipulation or it's reality.
Tom can't lie now. With their magics mingling. Tom's feels like a stampede that promptly surrounds her, envelops her as if in a protective, desperate, nostalgic embrace. Tom smiles weak and sly, tilting his head to the side. "I missed you so much." whispers Tom, and Harriet ends up giving a sob.
"I still need...some time. To get back-to get back."
"There's no hurry."
"And try not to... Go into crisis again."
Tom raises an eyebrow, confused.
"Why?"
"I'm not feeling well."
Harriet doesn't know how to explain it even if she wanted to, and it frustrates her to no end. There's one less worry, but at the same time how does she deal with her perceived inadequacy of herself? Tom says he loves her, that he adores her, but does he really? Or rather, how long is it going to last?
How long will it take for her to realize that her potential may never be what she expects. That so great he's convinced it is.
"I'm also sorry I said all that stuff about wasting time. I usually feel that way, with a month to spin it, it's clear to me that there is time that is well spent on being rest" Tom pulls Harriet together a little more. "That's fine. And I can wait as long as you need. There's no rush."
Harriet hugs him and sniffles, relief dispersing through her tense body. Even if it's the best outcome of all this, she feels a little uneasy still. She needs time to process and also shake off the resentment at what Bellatrix and Drakonys were in similar situations with Tom. Not because it happened or because she thinks he's lying, just to convince herself that the whole movie was just inside her mind.
As Harriet separates she rubs her face hard and after taking a breath, asks:
"Did something else happen?"
"Regulus tried to kiss me-"
"Regulus did what?" repeats Harriet stunned. She wasn't expecting it and it looks like Tom wasn't either.
"I was drunk, I had just called the whole Black family useless. If you're expecting any explanation that makes sense? I don't," Tom admits, dropping his shoulders. "I called Bellatrix a tramp, Walburga pathetic and made fun of Regulus. It was funny all in all."
"Sounds awful."
"It was... To them. I just had fun."
He did not talk about his discomfort any more than necessary. He doesn't consider it a good time to explain. In part, Tom remains disappointed in himself and his inability to resist telling her that he missed her, that it bothered him, the fact that he can label as love that urge and feeling so great within him for her.
With effort and patience they would go back to the way it was before. He didn't push to hug much, nor to get close. With classes the routine of seeing each other in the library or Tom's room returns. Talking little about anything and so on crescendoed.
He's going to get better. He'll be able to sleep listening to his heart soon enough. Tom knows he can make it.
The dynamic between the two of them is the usual: seeing each other in the library, sometimes in Tom's room, talking about what happened in the day; what bothers them, what doesn't, listening to music on the record player and lying down together every now and then. Tom hasn't dared to play too much, at most to lie on Harriet's thighs because he has a headache. He waits for Harriet to give a sign that this little half-time is over.
Remus detects that something improved or resolved and that's why he hasn't mentioned anything. As he well knows, if Harriet is not in real trouble or about to do something foolish, she will remain deathly silent. It is a bit stressful how equal she is to James.
At this same intermission, Harriet and Hermione told the problem they are having with spies to their other classmates. The plan is ready to be executed and in early February it became necessary to put it into action.
. . .
"Let's go check out the girls' bathroom," urges Cormac McLaggen. Ron throws up his hands and grimaces.
"Or let's go to the kitchen and eat those ribs the elves told me they'd make." he proposes back. He counts Neville, Dean and Seamus in. The three of them are the least likely to join in on that plan.
In Neville's case, he did once, but didn't even end up seeing inside. He ran away as soon as there was even a slight chance of seeing Lee Jordan. For that reason and more Neville is not usually joined in what they do as a group. They consider him a coward and a spoilsport. They also consider him pathetic. How could he not want to see girls? Is he gay? Ron doesn't want to fall in his place, neither does he want to look like the least manly of them all.
They already tell him that for not having anything with Harriet.
"Don't be boring," Cormac complains. "It's warmer now, they're going to use cold water and no steam, we'll be able to get a good look at them."
"And they might see us." points out Dean. Being the obvious in his estimation.
"Hey" Dennis Creevey wraps his arms around Dean and Ron's shoulders. "Don't be this boring. I invited my brother to watch too. It'll be fun. Maybe there'll be a surprise."
"Like what?" asks Ron, lost.
"Ow don't play stupid" he grumbles shoved aside. "In Hufflepuff they won't stop talking about Harriet at Christmas. That her boobs really are huge" he emphasizes and Ron breaks into a cold sweat. "Don't be selfish, share the view a little."
"Don't try. The useless bastard has her for a best friend and he hasn't done anything. He's more of a virgin than the word" Cormac grumbles and Seamus doesn't help but laugh. "Friendship should count for something, shouldn't it? Hermione gives homework, Harriet gives relief" He runs his hand up and down near his crotch and then raises his hands. "You should try instead of chickening out."
"That's not going to happen. Harriet's not interested in me that way." Ron reports confidently about it. He says they slept together at a sleepover at his house and they're going to tease him for the rest of their lives
"It's not that hard! You just go into some empty living room, grab her by the neck, kiss her and get in her lap. All the girls like that."
Ron is almost one hundred percent sure that's not it, but what if it is? The doubt and the urge not to look foolish in front of the Gryffindor boys is stronger than his common sense. He doesn't want to be rejected by them What other friends could he have? Always the smallest of the Weasleys, the clumsiest of the Weasleys, the least witty of the Weasleys. Brother to Fred and George, brother to Percy the most obnoxious Prefect.
He never exists on his own in common knowledge. Hermione and Harriet do. They are the smart muggleborn capable of doing better than anyone in a naturally magical family and the Gryffindor lioness who wins match after match, has black hair and goes around with a smile. They are them. Ron is nobody. At least that's how he feels himself, and it's a burden he doesn't tell anyone. His brothers would make fun, so he assumes his friends would too.
He must stay in this place where he is accepted as someone else and by name. For no reason other than being part of the accepted male population in Gryffindor.
"I hear that in Ravenclaw, girls touch each other," Seamus comments. "They masturbate and stuff."
"They must not accomplish much."
"You can tell hardly any of them have boyfriends."
Ron tries not to pay much attention to the conversation. Neville just reads the Herbology book he asked Harriet for and got during December. She always finds the rare books. Neville doesn't intend to join in this plan and doesn't care either, so ignoring them is the natural thing to do. Sitting on his bed with his nightstand full of little plants that move. Ron has trouble believing what they say
A Ravenclaw student saw a girl masturbating while taking a bath, he went in and helped her, they ended up having sex there. It's so dumb and yet because of the others saying it's real, Ron ends up believing it.
"They must been there in by now," Cormac mutters. "Come on." He gets up and hurries downstairs.
In the end, only Neville and Dean don't join. Seamus is barely convinced, but moving forward on his own. Ron is third in the small scattering towards the female showers. There is the possibility that there are students from other years and so there are upperclassmen. They open the door and as expected, there is almost no steam. The lack of closeness makes them risk entering and with it, build up to see inside.
Harriet is taking a bath, washing the suds out of her hair. It's one of the few times it looks volumeless and she doesn't have glasses. It's a little different, but it's possible to see a little. Ron ignores the person next to him, he doesn't even know him, he only knows he is masturbating in his pants.
"Hermione, I don't have the-"
"You left it there, as usual."
Harriet clicks her tongue, taking the conditioner.
"I can't see anything without the glasses."
"I know."
Again, Ron doesn't know who it is, but taking advantage of the fact that Hermione goes in to bathe, the others are in the same thing and Harriet sees nothing, he approaches. Some invite him to do it, others not to do it. Finally the sixth grader enters the small semi-transparent cubicle. He covers Harriet's mouth with one hand and before he does anything else, it is as if she deflates, just like a balloon; her forehead and face open and Nagini shoots towards the student.
The student obviously screams with fright. The lights go up in intensity, the bathroom doors close and an explosion of colors that begins to make them itch hits them full force. Feminine laughter and multiple giggles approach them, who do not notice that the substance begins to pierce and burn their clothes. Bit by bit.
"That went pretty well." states Harriet with a wide, cocky grin, green eyes twinkling in triumph. All dress up.
"Not so funny now huh?" comments Lavender who hasn't stopped laughing. All present in the same frantic state.
"They're so mean! We weren't doing anything!"
"No?" repeats Hermione with false doubt. "Wow, I didn't know spying on others while they bathe is nothing, I should write that down so they can fix the dictionary. Impressive."
"They're just so stupid they didn't even try to camouflage themselves." complains Ginny folding her arms and disappointed to see her brother there. "They're disgusting."
"Unless they want to get naked and be seen by everyone on their pathetic way back, they should leave now." mentions Harriet and Ron throws up his arms. Half of his shirt is consumed and by the gesture, the others are visible as well.
"Don't think they're so interesting!" shrieks Cormac irritated and abashed. "You're all horrible, we just wanted to see Harriet!"
"And we don't want to see that pitiful little thing over there!" the others cover their faces. Harriet has already lost her shame about it. Cormac's pants and underwear were already consumed enough to see his penis. "So goodbye, good riddance" The boy covers himself and runs off like the others. "Don't bite it, come here."
Nagini purposefully shrinks back to go to Harriet, freeing the student who finally gets a chance to run. Being alone and celebrating the triumph, Hermione mentions something:
"How kind of Tom to lend you Nagini and tell you how to talk to her."
"And for the potion!" adds Harriet smiling. "Hopefully with this, they won't bother anymore."
They don't want to lose points, so this is between them. The males know they will fare worse if they talk about this incident, indifferent to the practical joke. Besides, this is a situation they had to fix on their own. Teenage issues resolved by teenagers.
. . .
Tom patiently notes in his notebook, paying no attention to anyone in the library. It's Saturday, there aren't many people, but those who are there are too outrageous for him. Not even in the farthest corner is he spared from that. Tom hears a hissing sound not far away and the light intensifies almost imperceptibly. Someone sits down in front of Tom and the shiver of Nagini crawling up his abdomen and hiding in the robe, more than exposes who is here
"How did it go?" asks Tom still writing. Harriet laughs as contained as she can.
"Pretty good. I was able to keep up the illusion until they arrived."
"I'm surprised by the fact that your logic worked," Tom admits and Harriet shrugs. She assumed it would happen now. Because of the heat. Ron mentioned the steam thing and took it as a sign, "but it repulses me" Tom sets the quill down in the greenish glass, snake-etched inkwell. "I can't stand teenagers."
"You are one."
"I hate them anyway."
"If you could spy on me, wouldn't you?"
"No. Unless you let me in the bathroom or told me to, I wouldn't think of it." Harriet swings her legs and smiles complacently. Tom exhales in disappointment.
Harriet asked him for help with all the planning for the operation. At first he thought they should rat them out to McGonagall, then when he noticed the points problem he didn't insist. McGonagall is very rude to her own students and would hold nothing back if she found out about this. Harriet asked Nagini to scare one, also something to make a fool of the rest. Even if it was only three people. The most complicated thing was the fake body for Nagini, but it clearly worked.
Tom also gave Harriet the simplest command in Parseltongue. Saying it like that, Nagini could do nothing but obey. She is sometimes an aggressive snake and it wasn't about killing anyone. Just humiliating them.
"Something weird happened," Harriet mentions with her cheek in her palm. "One of them lunged at me. I don't know what he wanted exactly. It's just as well it wasn't really me." she concludes with a chuckle and Tom frowns.
"Throw himself at-"
"He covered her mouth and then brought a hand down," Nagini explains and Tom worsens his expression. "It's pretty obvious to me that he wanted to, but she wasn't close enough to see it."
"Do you remember who it was?"
"Yes. Sixth year. Brown hair, ordinary face."
Tom gives a snort, this wrecks his nerves. Harriet waits for them to finish talking.
"Later I'm going to go talk to Ron. He'll tell me if they plan to make a bad joke back."
Tom nods and discreetly whispers to Nagini: keep an eye on all of them.
The snake doesn't reply to that. Nagini has the same impression as Tom: they're going to get revenge and it will be something between horrible and embarrassing that they can't let go. Somehow it became a combat of seeing who causes more disaster than the other.
┈ ⋞ ⟨ ✷ ⟩ ⋟ ┈
Harriet hops up and gives the password halfway up, thus causing the box to open and being able to enter the Gryffindor house. All as lively and chatty as usual. Even the less social, they have someone to chat with. Harriet lands where Neville is standing with the botany book.
"Is that the one you needed?"
"Yes. Thank you very much" Neville replies with a cheerful smile. "Sorry for the trouble" Harriet shakes her head. "And I'm sorry about the boys...I should have told some of them earlier, but I didn't want to cause a serious problem with them."
"Easy. It's been taken care of and... worry about why you weren't there. If you need anything else, you tell me." Harriet informs patting his shoulder.
Neville doesn't have many friends and frankly, Harriet feels a little sorry for him that so many treat him as dumb or little. Neville has strong magic, he's just clumsy at using it. According to Remus, it's a trust thing When has Remus ever been wrong? Possibly never. Harriet has also dedicated herself to being a friend to him when he needs help. Especially at the level of magical practice, which is where it gets more complicated.
Neville helps her with Herbology. He's a bit intense with the subject, it's his favorite class. Harriet lets him be, she hasn't hidden the fact that it bores her a lot. That's how the friendship they have works. It is a cordial and supportive one in simple needs to solve and others not so simple.
Harriet greets the others and on her way to the bedroom, she sees Ron approaching. She greets him without much thought, being grabbed by the arm and pulled away to a small empty study room inside Gryffindor. Harriet hisses, annoyed by the squeeze on her arm.
"What about it?" asks Harriet. "That hurt-"
"Because of you now all the boys hate me!" claims Ron in a low voice, a whispered shout and Harriet tilts her head to the side. "They think it was me who told you we were going to spy on them!"
"It was you."
"The point is they weren't supposed to know!" complains Ron in exasperation. "They'll never speak to me again. I won't be included in any plans because of you."
"What did you want me to do? Let them keep spying on us?" retorts Harriet a little exasperated.
"Yes!" The surprise is so marked on Harriet face that Ron gives a frustrated groan. "It was no big deal OK? They don't do anything. Seeing doesn't kill anyone-"
"Would you like me to peek into your bathroom and see what you're doing?" Harriet says back and Ron rolls his eyes.
"Why do you have to make a drama out of everything? It was no big deal" Ron insists. "It was just... watching and if you wanted to avoid it so badly, you just had to go in the back so none of us could do it."
"They went into the bathroom." emphasizes the girl.
"They weren't going to do anything! I wasn't going to let them do anything."
"I saw that... Who was he? He was about to do something to me and thankfully it wasn't me" Ron constantly taps his foot against the floor, exasperated that Harriet won't apologize for what she did and agree with him. "I didn't see you do anything."
"Because I wasn't doing anything to you. I wasn't going to do anything. This is all just...what boys do. You're not going to stop it from happening with one joke and you girls like the attention," the redhead justifies. Harriet doesn't even know what face to make anymore. Somehow, she can't expose her full impression anymore. "I asked you to keep the secret and you couldn't It was just a secret!"
"A horrible one that affected not only me, but all the others."
"And what do they matter? I'm your best friend. Not them, who call you a whore when you're not looking" Harriet suffers a slight shudder That happens? "None of them like you or care about you. If it were up to them, they wouldn't have said anything. You know that, don't you? They left you at the point where everyone can see out of the bedroom."
Open and close your mouth. Even if they are like that why shouldn't she help them if it's such a serious problem?
"You protect those hypocrites but me, you leave me as a dumbass. You're a terrible friend" criticizes Ron, accelerated. "I can tell you hang out with a Slytherin. It makes you turn your back on people who do love you."
Ron leaves her there alone and Harriet clenches her hands, anxious. Her heart is beating so fast and her thoughts are racing, what was she supposed to do? Would she really let this keep happening? Harriet doesn't know. She's so overwhelmed. She thought she was doing the right thing, but now Ron is angry.
And for two weeks, the redhead doesn't speak to Harriet, doesn't even look at her. He sits as far away as possible and talks to other people, people he had never spoken to in his life, but who now seem like hi sfriends. Hermione doesn't think it's wrong. Ron needs to get away and maybe know that he did something wrong and disgusting.
Harriet for her part...
"Sorry I told the secret."
Ron stares at her. Harriet clenches her hands and tugs at the sleeves of her sweater, anxious. The redhead shakes his head and walks past her: "you're not really sorry" he criticizes in a low voice and Harriet tries again.
In total he apologizes eleven times.
And Ron only gives in for one reason:
"I'll let you use the Firebolt!"
"Really!?"
Hermione covers part of her face. Sometimes she hates Ron's manner so much. She finds it hard to understand how Harriet overlooks everything with such ease and insistence. It's irritating and even humiliating on her part .
. . .
"Tell me again: why does Ronald Weasley's forgiveness matter?"
"He's my best friend-"
"The one who let others into the bathroom where you bathe" Tom reluctantly puts the book back in its place. "To be seen naked" He puts another one. "And who knows what else he might do" He turns to Harriet. "Don't be such an idiot He's the one who has to apologize to you! You didn't do anything wrong!"
"No one in Gryffindor is talking to him for this."
"So, are you not enough or what?" claims Tom almost furious at this point.
Ron has Hermione and Harriet. They are the best known trio in the school in third year. They are the wonder combo. Hermione the prodigy, Ron the witty and somewhat wisecracking one, Harriet the particular magic bombshell. It's impossible not to recognize them as the golden trio of Gryffindor at this point and even with that, Ron doesn't seem to think it's enough to have them both.
Who seem to be the only ones willing to have him as a friend to begin with.
It annoys Tom more so when it comes to Harriet doing everything to cheer him up, to keep Ron happy. Tom doesn't get it. It's absurd. The way Tom sees it, it should be the other way around. Harriet is everything Ron could ever hope for in an acquaintance. Still, there are countless times when he treats her badly and he'd like to go and fix it somehow.
Tom can't just because it would expose the relationship or imply an interest in Harriet. "We all need lots of friends. Besides, he wants male friends. It's the normal thing to do" Harriet justifies scratching her neck and shrugs."
"I don't want male friends. It's as useless as it gets. They're idiots at this age," Tom complains, folding his arms. "I'm better off with you no more."
"Thank you," laughs Harriet. "And...it's over. It's not important."
Tom rolls his eyes. It is important. If it happens again, he'll have to step in. He doesn't want Harriet sad and distracted by trying to make Ronald Imbecile Weasley is being a bigger jerk than should be allowed. Nagini crawls up his leg and curls around his shoulders.
"One of them will do something. Second floor bathroom. I'm not sure if Ronald knows, but it's possible." Tom frowns and looks up at Harriet who looks over the mountain of books Tom grabbed from the shelves.
"How will they do it?"
"Harriet always goes to the bathroom before she eats. It's something everyone in third year Gryffindor knows."
He gives a snort, this is going to be too easy.
┈ ⋞ ⟨ ✷ ⟩ ⋟ ┈
"Why are you accompanying me?"
"Because I have to wash my hands too. There's more dust than books in here."
Harriet shrugs uninterestedly and enters the bathroom. Even though it was a girls' room, everyone goes in here. It's like a common bathroom. So it's no wonder there are so many Gryffindors in here, either. Tom stares at them, his red, glowing eyes on them and his nervous movement full of fear at the sudden appearance of someone else.
"Tom?" calls Harriet, quizzical of him just standing there.
"You know, we might win the cup this year," Tom mentions, addressing her. "We're pretty evenly matched."
"Well, if Snape doesn't hate us enough, we'll still win" replies Harriet and Tom with an unfunny laugh. "Remus gives a lot of points."
"Yes, but to everyone."
"It makes it fairer."
"It would be terrible if something else suddenly took points away don't you think?" Harriet raises an eyebrow. "You know, like what Drakonys did last time. We lost just because of those three hundred and twenty points McGonagall took away" She gives a brief glance towards them. "I'll admit, I'd love it if it happened towards you guys this time."
"Don't be sadistic" Harriet claims. "Besides, there's no way it's going to happen" She runs wet hands through to flatten her hair. "No one has ever done anything this critical. I kept the Firebolt long enough too."
"Who knows. Nagini is very gossipy. I hear about everything she sees...and she wanders all over the place. She likes your tower."
Nagini discreetly steps out of her robes and immediately says, "They had a potion that caused baldness and another just like the one you brewed, but poorly made, could have caused severe burns. They're hiding it."
"Uh, they have neurons. Lovely."
"Now why are you being so weird?" asks Harriet with a raised eyebrow.
Sure, it's been a while. Harriet thinks the boys left the subject as it was. Not that they were concocting difficult potions all this time just to humiliate her. Tom shrugs with his hands behind his back.
"Nothing special."
Fortunately and as Tom had in mind, they did nothing all year and as expected, the subject was forgotten, as were the harassing stares in the girls' bathroom .
. . .
"Tom Riddle and Harriet Potter."
They both stop on their way to the exit. Dumbledore's call at the end of dinner is odd to say the least. Neither has done anything to merit being called. Harriet gestures for Hermione and Ron to continue, Regulus continues on his way, having had a brief glance from Tom.
"Is something wrong sir?" asks Harriet.
"Yes, Miss Potter... Something is going on, which might not be bad, but which merits you and Mr. Riddle accompanying me to my office."
They take a brief look at each other What did they do now?
Chapter 24: Act. XXIV. Recognition of a snake and a lion
Chapter Text
"A request has arrived from the capital of the wizarding world" announces Dumbledore. Snape and McGonagall present as the respective Heads of House: "where the presence of Tom Marvolo Riddle and Harriet Jazmine Potter is demanded. There are allegations regarding the inheritance of both. In one case sanguine" Look at Tom, "and in the other case, magical."
"Me? But-"
"It's a very serious call" McGonagall warns. "It's been decades since this has happened" She clenches her hands nervously and the unease shows in her expression. "There have been no heirs from the three different houses for a long time and I should mention that from the Slytherin's there has been no word either."
"Quite an... Anomaly." Snape concludes. The man looks surprised and even confused to general strangeness.
"You will have to leave for London in order to undergo a test. Through it will verify if the claim is genuine and valid or if it is just a false alarm." explains Dumbledore.
Harriet looks towards Tom with an easy question: what claim is he talking about? Tom keeps quiet with cold sweat rolling down his back. Neither of them made the claim, it was those nobles in Malfoy house who did. To his mind comes everything he said, how he exposed himself and worse, Harriet to something like that.
Even if it's real, he knows it's not a good time. Not with the news still talking about Grindelwald loose in the world and his apparent vendetta against the Potters. He opens and closes his mouth.
"Why now?"
"It's a process that takes a long time. Both to organize and to verify," Dumbledore clarifies. "From now on they must be close, this in order that there will be no cheating to create a false answer."
"I have not asked for anything. I don't even know about it. There was just that little red thing in the book-"
"Did you see it?" asks McGonagall dumbfounded and Harriet splutters, looking towards Snape, Dumbledore and then her Head of House. "What did it look like?"
"A-a garnet-a ruby-it was red, that's all and the voice-I don't know! I didn't ask for anything and I don't know if my dad-"
"He's the head of defense department" Snape drags in, almost contemptuously. "He's under orders to protect you both from start to finish of the process? And ready for another achievement from his little creature." He adds with a cold, unpleasant smile.
Harriet lowers her gaze and tries to put all the information she has received in order. Too much with implications so heavy that it distresses her. Harriet doesn't know what to make of it. "I'll walk you to get your things and take you to the train." informs McGonagall and Harriet nods, stunned. Harriet gets up and as they leave, Dumbledore asks for a moment with Tom. Snape quietly withdraws.
"It was an accident."
"A rather unfortunate one," agrees Dumbledore and Tom's jaw twitches. "Though I should have said that, at the same time, evidence of the tricks of fate."
"Why do you say that? sir." questions Tom, slightly intrigued. Dumbledore rises from his seat.
"Ah, Slytherin and Gryffindor have always been two very complicated sides. The purest pride, the most unbearable foolishness" Tom rolls his eyes. "What many don't mention is the way the two complemented each other: the bravery of Gryffindor and the caution of Slytherin... No one cared for Godric more than Salazar" he comments as a fun fact. "In every fight, it was Salazar who healed Godric. The only one capable of making him understand. They were a good duo."
"They stopped being one eventually."
"Yes," affirms Dumbledore paused in front of a static picture of the founders. Godric with his ginger hair and Salazar green robes. "Sadly, some things can't last forever, but some things can" He clasps his hands behind his back. "The fondness they had for each other was such that Godric didn't make Slytherin house disappear and Salazar never tried to hurt any boy who was a Gryffindor in spirit."
"I don't understand what you're telling me this for." admits Tom. This is good to know, but nothing that is particularly surprising or necessary.
"Because if indeed Miss Potter is the heir to Gryffindor and its essence, she is in enormous danger" The old man warns solemnly and Tom tightens his hand on the seat. "All those who have been Gryffindor's heirs are no older than twenty, they don't make it any further because their nature prevents them from protecting themselves" Tom doesn't understand how one thing relates to the other. "And that will be in your hands, Mr. Riddle. In your trusty, cold hands."
He lifts his chin and lets out a breath.
┈ ⋞ ⟨ ✷ ⟩ ⋟ ┈
Tom strokes Harriet's cheek. The girl curled up on his shoulder and legs pulled up as she sits. The only ones on the Hogwarts express, back to England. Tom keeps the forehead pressed against the glass, looking up at the night sky and the endless landscape stretching for miles. He takes a deep breath and closes his eyes, Dumbledore's voice still echoing inside his mind.
"Godric had a good heart. He was of a kind and gentle spirit. The world was black and white to him, there was hardly any room for gray. This naivety made him an easy target for deception. Battle after battle deceived by others and the near death that could come, prevented only by Salazar's cunning."
"Godric's death was tragic: a kind and harmless lady who seduces him, arriving at the right time, unaware that there is poison in the wine she bought and gives to Godric. He dies from that poison. One that Salazar could have detected, one that he could have foreseen because the girl had long been approaching Godric and in the streets they were talking. Through the streets filled with the lion's enemies."
"Salazar never forgave himself for the loss of his best friend, for naivety by itself, only brings death; not all are the same, but it cannot be doubted that indifferent to them, that light they possess within them is so strong that it prevents them from seeing the darkness in others. To understand it."
"Salazar loved Godric and Godric loved him.... Their heirs naturally meet and who knows, perhaps they will love each other as well."
Harriet settles back in the seat and takes a deep breath, hugging the plush bird doll in her arms.
┈ ⋞ ⟨ ✷ ⟩ ⋟ ┈
"There's a problem."
James was not prepared to welcome Arthur Weasley into his office. Apart from unexpected, at a bad time. Apparently they had spotted Grindelwald in Spain and he should be leaving in a few minutes to where they were preparing his transporter. The more support there is to capture him, the better.
"Problem? What kind of problem? What other problem?" interjects James on the verge of a nervous breakdown. Arthur looks back for a moment and then at James, leaning against the wooden desk.
"They are invoking an extraordinary session to recognize heirs of the founders" James opens his mouth and gives a soft "Ah". James assume Tom is involved in this. Well proven he has that he's a Salazar heir. That relaxes him. It's not such a big, big deal. Or it wasn't until Arthur adds, "And there are two of them."
"Two? Who two? Do you know? They haven't announced anything to me."
"Because Shakelbolt can't tell you yet. He sent me to tell you" James nods and frowns. This must be more than two weeks away. Otherwise, they would have reported it by now without a problem. It's mandatory, rather. "More than four houses have demanded that the estate of Tom Marvolo Riddle and Harriet Jazmine Potter be reviewed."
James's blood pressure drops What does Harriet have to do with this? He vaguely remembers her mentioning it, but for obvious reasons he didn't believe her How could Harriet be a Gryffindor heiress? Sure, they've been there for generations and even he's been able to see the sword in the Sorting Hat. That doesn't make him an heir. Arthur vaguely explains that those families who demanded such a thing claim that in Harriet's family tree there is a granate.
Sign of Gryffindor and... How did that get there? Why did that get there? Who even told them? It's such bad timing. If that's really going to happen, James can't leave the country and if Harriet does leave Hogwarts he must have her strictly housebound as a precaution. Also Tom. If this rumor reaches Grindelwald, he considers himself screwed.
"In a week's time they'll be summoned from Hogwarts."
"I have to get the house ready, tell Lily... Shit." James rises hurriedly from his seat and Arthur drops his arms.
"It's certainly a terrible time for this."
"Don't even mention it to me." James snorts, grabbing his robe and hurrying out of his office. Arthur looks sideways at the pictures on James' furniture. Several are of Harriet. Pictures from birthdays, to parties, next to Lily.
It's lucky James doesn't have more children, Lily and Harriet are already enough to leave him worried as if he had more than five.
At home, Lily had the same nervous breakdown. Getting the house ready, the guest room ready, and being ready once it was announced to happen. Plus James must protect both characters to be judged. The invitation and order arrives five days later. Both by Tom and Harriet, as the former has no specific legal guardians and they took that role sometime ago for long enough.
"Does anything bad happen if she turns out to be the heiress?"
"As far as I remember, she'll have access to the special Gryffindor vault, right to his clothes, items and within technicality, she's entitled to part of Hogwarts" Lily wrinkles her brow That's a hell of a lot! "As well as to keep it. In the event of a threat on the brink of war, it is her duty to be there to protect the castle, everyone inside and also provide aid to magical beings."
"In essence, a Potter on steroids." James gives a chuckle, you can tell. Not unlike the duty they already have with their last name.
A duty James doesn't want Harriet to take. He wants her being free to do what she wants. To enjoy her life as she sees fit. Artist, athlete, reporter, doctor, whatever she chooses to do she will always have his support.
This could complicate it a bit...
When it's the night to look for them, Tom comes out with her on his back. James stares at them with some irritation. He knows he should control himself, that eventually Harriet will have someone, but for the moment, he doesn't care. James reaches over and grabs her for him. Tom trembles where he is, under the impression that James pushed him, but not sure if it was by accident or intentional. Harriet is sometimes a spider monkey, so it's not unusual for her to cling to James as soon as she feels him.
"What about the trunks?"
"Here." He shows Harriet's expandable bag and James nods. Tom takes his arm and they disappear from the station.
. . .
The ceremony is in four days and James has a feeling there's something "wrong". Something he should know, but he doesn't know. Tom and Harriet are too close. It's almost anomalous and nonsensical. The way they share space or get close is suspicious to him and he hates it. He doesn't consider Harriet to be of age to have a boyfriend. Much less one a year older than her. How to manifest his frustration comes in just separating them discreetly.
Not so discreetly. Nagini noticed, Tom noticed, Harriet thinks he's just playing around.
"Maybe they're boyfriend and girlfriend and haven't wanted to say it."
"Lily, you're not helping." whines James crossly.
"Not helping in letting you be obsessive about it?" he asks mockingly. "Eventually it was going to happen. It's a good thing it was with Tom" James rolls his eyes. He doesn't want to have this conversation again. "He grows his hair out, wears a skirt once in a while, I see an improvement," he says.
"That has nothing to do with it. Having psychosed yourself out with the way Harriet looks is just your problem," James informs James. He also likes to see her with long hair and a skirt, but judging by the dynamic that emerges, it doesn't even have anything to do with Tom looking at her. Just that sometimes she feels like it because her legs look better. "She's thirteen. Doesn't that set off alarms for you?"
"No."
"He could do things-"
"And your point is...?"
"She's too young," James complains a little loudly. Neither of them see Nagini behind the furniture, listening. "It's not the time. He's not the person-what if he does something she doesn't want and gets hurt? Do you even think about all those possibilities?"
"James, I know this breaks your head because you're not a woman, but of it will hurt, it will hurt," Lily notifies and James drops his eyebrows and shoulders. Of course he knows that's the case. Lily doesn't want to see his point. "And you don't think about how it might help her grow up a bit. She needs it."
"Having sex at thirteen doesn't make anyone grow up, at most it causes a pregnancy that shouldn't happen yet" Lily leaves the kitchen shelves closed and turns to her husband. He's emotional, therefore more stubborn and knows this will take a while. "Besides Grow up for what?"
"Harriet should be more mature by now. The mountain of stuffed animals, the clothes, the way she responds. You and Sirius are infantilizing her" he claims and James scrunches up his face. He doesn't consider there's anything wrong with those points. The plush toys are decorative and anyone sleeps cuddling something. Be it a pillow or something with more shape. "She needs to grow up. Understand that she's a woman now and should behave like one."
"I don't understand what it has to do with her being too young for that It's thirteen! At that age I was still teasing Snape about having a horrible nose!" justified James.
"You're a boy. It's not the same thing."
James doesn't see the logic in it and doesn't go looking for it. Harriet is still a child until she turns seventeen. Only then will he consider her an adult who should be mature and express herself better. Lily's way of thinking causes James so much dissonance and he hates it. He gives up the discussion because they will not come to any agreement, at best shouting and that is not ideal.
He goes inside where Harriet is listening to music on the record player Sirius gave her a couple of years ago. She reads a Quidditch magazine and off to the side are magazines of clothes to order. Harriet gets up and once James is settled on the couch, she sits on his lap, pulling her legs up and still fixated on her reading.
She leans back from James, the usual for as long as she can remember. They don't usually have time for this. He is too busy with his absorbing work. He tries to make time, he doesn't always make it. James hugs her and Harriet pouts, half-closing her magazine.
"Are you two done arguing?"
"Did you hear?"
"Just the mumbling? Sorry for making them fight so much."
"It's not your fault," James hastens to resolve. "We just have different views with some things" he justifies and Harriet rolls her eyes. Yes it is her fault, "but having this conversation started, you know you're my girl right?"
"Of course."
"My precious pretty baby." James gives her a kiss on the temple and Harriet giggles.
"Go change your contacts, you're going blind" Harriet teases. "I'm not pretty."
"Of course you are. You're the prettiest little girl I've ever seen" Harriet thinks, you haven't seen Drakonys or Cho, clearly, "sometimes I wish you wouldn't grow up anymore" James mutters under his breath. "That you were always my baby. I remember you were the size of a potato when you were born. Tiny, pink and you could barely breathe" Harriet snuggles into James. "And now you're giant, you have friends, you have people who love you... Eventually someone will come along, I just hope that person loves you as much as I do."
"Maybe I'll stay eternally single and be a daddy's girl until I die."
"My dream come true."
They both laugh and Harriet hugs him tightly. She missed him during December. She missed these moments where it's confirmed over and over again that maybe no one is going to love her as much as James does.
Or maybe they will.
Maybe there is someone who will.
And maybe that person is the one who overheard the conversation, leaning against the wall by the door. Tom picks Nagini up off the floor and heads into the room he occupies, gently closing the door behind him.
┈ ⋞ ⟨ ✷ ⟩ ⋟ ┈
"Is your mom going to buy your clothes?"
"Yes, but she's going to let me know when she's there and show me" Harriet holds up and exposes the small mirror in her hand. Similar to a muggle cell phone, but more immediate and better. It allows you to see what is reflected. "Dad's going with her. It won't be so terrible."
"Let's hope not." scoffs Tom. He doubts it immensely.
Lily will take any opportunity to force Harriet to use what she wants.
He goes on with his reading, not noticing at what point Harriet leaves the room, chooses the dress, a quick decision; she goes down to the lower silver of the house and goes about her business there. Tom is forced to interrupt his reading because of a sound that he thinks, is his imagination.
The record players are off and why would there be a violin playing in this house? He goes down to the second floor to comment to Harriet, finding her with the sheet music on a small tripod and her engaged in playing. Tom sits down on a piece of furniture, hands on his thighs and impressed face present until the last moment.
Being when Harriet finishes the piece and blushes to see him sitting there.
"Since when do you know how to play the violin?" asks Tom with a stunned look on his face.
"On vacation I learned. I got too bored," Harriet expounds and Tom doesn't say it out loud, but Harriet guesses what he's wondering, "It was supposed to be a surprise for Christmas."
"One I didn't have," Tom completes by himself looking away with a bored and defeated expression. Now that's bad timing.
"Well, now you know." Harriet shrugs and Tom snorts, disappointed.
Harriet moves over to the piano they have in the living room so Tom can play too. So far he hadn't done it, he thought it would be a bit annoying to suddenly start playing in a house that isn't his. He already walks on thin ice and is not going to push his luck in that dwelling anymore.
When Lily and James arrive, they hear them both playing. James claps his hands and Harriet is even more embarrassed.
┈ ⋞ ⟨ ✷ ⟩ ⋟ ┈
"You are the sole heir to our legacy. For that and more, you need to be present."
Drakonys nods at Lucius' explanation, who had her summoned from Hogwarts just a few days before that inheritance ritual. She doesn't feel like going. She doesn't want to see Tom be applauded and flattered for an inheritance that everyone already knows about. Boost his ego. With t time she despises him more. An intrusive, almost evil thought crosses his mind, thinking: how will Harriet look?
It's intrusive because she doesn't want to think about it.
Drakonys refuses to think about her.
She expects her to fall and break her face, because of how clumsy she is.
She's also sure she'll be dressed horribly. Surely wearing a huge Beatles shirt and a worn out jean with black boots. Something that chaotic as well as her hair disheveled. She'll look ridiculous. Drakonys convinces herself that Harriet will go in a hideous way for that very important event.
At the same time, she fantasizes Harriet wearing a dress; fantasizes seeing her with a high hairstyle to help with her voluminous hair; a red garment, something that will make her stand out. Having white skin and wearing gold like a true heiress of Gryffindor.
As Drakonys fantasizes about that idea, she fixes herself up. Combing her hair in the best way, having her hair back in a high ponytail, a pair of silver bobby pins; light blue metallic robe that matches her eyes and a simple eyeliner on her eyes to make it stand out more.
She wonders: Harriet will see her among the people?
┈ ⋞ ⟨ ✷ ⟩ ⋟ ┈
Tom finishes getting dressed and looks at himself in the mirror of the huge dressing room he was given. They are in a huge manor house in who knows what part of England. It was almost a kidnapping from Godric Valley to here. There were a lot of people waiting and it was creepy, almost cultish. Even he wasn't aware of how much the subject matter mattered.
"Should I stay in your clothes?" asks Nagini from the ground. Tom runs his hand across his abdomen, smoothing out a couple of wrinkles that formed. "For safety."
"No. I'll be fine. Just stay close by. Keep an eye on what they do." Nagini is none too pleased with the answer. This big and dangerous exposure for Tom has her worried. What if someone tries to touch him?
Tom lets out a breath and turns around, walking out of the locker room and down the hallway. There are still fifteen minutes before the ceremony begins. A very punctual event unlike usual, where a few minutes won't hurt anyone. He taps on the window, filling it with frost and multiple cold patterns just for fun.
Tom hears footsteps approaching and by inertia turns in that direction. Slowly opening his eyes as the female figure plants herself a meter away with her hands clasped together and nervously clenched.
"It looks good doesn't it? I think... It looks good."
Tom feels his face heat up. For a thirteen year old and the height of a thirteen year old, Harriet's body is turned out in a way that doesn't help that it's thirteen, but fifteen. It doesn't help at all that the dress is deep red and her skin is as pale as ivory, contrasting sharply with her equally bright green eyes. The neckline is plunging, a clear sweetheart helped by the large bust; the short tulle skirt is wide and hides her legs which are still a bit slender like Harriet in general. Tiny gold colored heels and a long translucent red cape clinging to her neck and wrists.
"I think you look spectacular." compliments Tom, sincere, dumbfounded.
"My hair says otherwise."
There's no one to comb that hair, so it has only a couple of pearls adorning it. It matches the necklace Lily put on it. Tom puts his arm out and Harriet holds onto it, laughing through her nose.
"I insist, you look spectacular."
Tom doesn't know what's wrong with his brain, his hormones, they just get him to blurt out these comments that show how amazed he is.
"Ummm... Don't say it too loud or they'll hear you and that would be hard to explain."
Tom shrugs and they head into the salon. As soon as there are people nearby, more specifically James and Lily, Harriet lets go of Tom and walks towards them. She takes hold of James' hand instantly, not looking at Lily and the white magic fluctuating. Tom keeps his hands clasped behind his back. Too nervous. Wish he hadn't said anything about this. Even under the impression that he was putting himself and Harriet a target for everyone to fire their assassination spells at. Every noble family in the English magical world is here.
They all want to find out if it is true that two heirs of the founders of Hogwarts are alive. Finally they are announced to come in and the atmosphere, though intimidating, is not enough to upset him. This kind of thing doesn't scare him. Tom is aware of who he is, where he comes from and everyone here is inferior. He's ready for those accusatory and superior looks to turn cowardly.
Harriet for her part can't squeeze James' hand anymore. She is intimidated by all these people watching her. She maintains her haughty and proud posture, ready to do whatever they want from her. They reach the center of the room and James has to step back. Harriet clasps her hands in her lap and Tom behind her back.
"Today we will attest to the heritage of Salazar Slytherin and Godric Gryffindor" announces Jenna Grint. Ministry employee, in charge of recording and attesting to the most important movements of noble, ancestral houses and helping to make their legacies endure. "Starting with Tom Marvolo Riddle, last descendant of the Gaunt line and currently, the only person alive with his blood."
She opens a box and from the box, a huge snake emerges. It delicately crawls towards Tom and threatens him with its fangs. "Stay at bay, I forbid you to hurt anyone in this room. Unless you sense its murderous intentions towards me."
The surprise is great for all present. It was so easy for Tom to respond. The language of snakes said in a low tone, like a secret that no one can initially understand. The snake lowers its head and is instantly submissive.
"Many have it, my lord. Yet none will take action."
"Let them live for now." Tom conclude solemnly and the comments come and go.
That snake was formed to attack fakers and anyone who does not speak Parseltongue. That's how they've caught many a liar after Slytherin's secret fortune. Slowly, the snake returns to the box and Jenna closes it. She sets it aside and points to Tom with her open hand.
"Everyone in this room attests to the magical heritage of Tom Marvolo Riddle, first in name and sole heir of Salazar Slytherin." Discreet applause and ambition shining in Tom's red eyes. Drakonys claps slowly, with an annoyed gesture, among the front rows of people. Next to him, Lucius and Narcissa who exhibit a little more enthusiasm. After all, Tom is an ally of the Malfoy family. Jenna narrows her attention to Harriet. "To demonstrate her magical heritage, Harriet Jazmine Potter has attended. Last descendant of the Potter family name and current heir to its legacy, fortune, and obligations."
Harriet purses her lips a little. Jenna picks up another box. Delicate engravings in gold, she approaches Harriet and shows her inside. Opening it, there is nothing for those who are able to see. Harriet does see something. She takes it in her hand and slowly pulls it out. Godric Gryffindor's sword in its splendor. Harriet thought that was enough.
"She is indeed considerable a Gryffindor. Please return the sword" Harriet obeys, "and now, she must prove that she has been chosen by the magic of Godric Gryffindor."
Harriet doesn't know how to do that.
She can't even think of a way to prove it.
Harriet looks around, awkwardly and as if anyone could give her an answer. Lily squeezes James' arm, worried. If it turns out to be a false alarm, there's a chance Harriet will be insulted or tarnished in magical society as a liar. Secretly, Lily hopes that Harriet is what everyone in this room believes.
Harriet notices Tom for a moment, who nods imperceptibly at her. Harriet takes a deep breath and lets her magic out, closing her eyes and channeling it in front of her and between her open hands. A huge garnet is created, her black hair turning red and unseen, Tom does the same. His black magic condensed into a huge emerald; his hair straighter, longer and with iridescent green highlights. Harriet is surrounded and encapsulated by magic that turns golden and forms a roaring lion; Tom is enveloped and protected by the basilisk that roars just as loudly.
Both figures vanish. Harriet notices that the skirt of her dress is longer, full of golden embroidery with reference to Gryffindor. Even at her neckline, long golden lines following along her arms and shoulders as if hand-painted. Her hair with a golden headband holding it up and matching long, garnet earrings. Red lips and sparkling eyes.
Tom wears a green tunic. Multiple layers with silver embroidery, snakes adorning each fold. In his ears silver and emerald earrings, similar to his ring and bracelet; hair combed back except for a lock to finish the outfit.
"With this we have been able to confirm the magical heritage of Salazar Slytherin and Godric Gryffindor. Currently, the only holders of said heritage are Tom Marvolo Riddle and Harriet Jazmine Potter."
And with that, the presentation event ends.
What follows is a kind of small, refined festivity. The noise is faint, set by magical instruments playing in the background. Harriet doesn't know how to deal with it all. The surroundings are heavy on her, too many people on top of her, watching her, wanting to talk to her, wanting to get close.
They look like Quirrell.
They remind her of the Dementor.
She gives a shriek of surprise when she gets a touch on her back and gropes the man who did it, indifferent to whatever indiscretion that might mean. She moves forward among them, wanting to find James, where is he? He was purposely pushed away to leave her alone and adrift among so many vipers.
Drakonys notices Harriet surrounded, the way they all look at her. Knowing how she feels, knowing how uncomfortable it is how you are suddenly prey to everyone. She walks slowly, hoping to catch up, interrupted by Lucius grabbing her shoulder and leading her in another direction. Drakonys shakes her head, surprised at her own impulses and saying nothing about it.
Beyond scolding herself.
Harriet finds herself on a balcony. Not ideal, but less oppressive than the interior of the evening. She runs her hand down her neck and takes a deep breath. She knows she must go back and be there. In a way it is her role. Nevertheless, Harriet needs strength. Having been so nervous, it is almost murderous for her to demand so much stamina.
"Wonderful girl being more and more wonderful."
Harriet slowly turns her head and feels her breathing hitch. On the other side of the balcony, Grindelwald in his usual indiscretion. Harriet clenches her hands and furrows her eyebrows, her defensive posture barely coming out of surprise. The wizard gives a chuckle, elbows resting on the balcony railing.
"You seem very surprised to see me, but how could I miss a show like this?" Grindelwald asks, opening his arms, and Harriet clenches her jaw.
"Get out of here. My dad is here and-"
"And many of my allies as well" Grindelwald interrupts and Harriet feels her heart pounding harder, the fire in the floating sails growing. "Allies that" holds up the index finger, pretending to speak for a much smaller girl and grimacing at it. "They could send Daddy James Potter to heaven and his little girl would never see him again."
Harriet takes another step back and Grindelwald laughs.
"Very cautious. You're clever," Grindelwald compliments. "Despite being a Gryffindor, you know when to fight and when not to."
"I don't want you hurting my face anymore."
"Oh, come on, if it looks lovely on you, dear."
Harriet freezes Why can't she move? Grindelwald reaches up to her and grabs her face, pushing her hair aside and brushing the lightning-shaped scar on her pale forehead. Grindelwald smiles slyly and lowers his heterochromatic eyes, looking directly at Harriet.
"You are an extraordinary being, Harriet," Grindelwald says with a tone of fascination. "One that only becomes more extraordinary with time..." Harriet realizes it is his magic. It freezes her. It is too cold. It's too enveloping and unpleasant. "I wonder what will happen when you're a full grown woman."
"It's none of your business. You're going to be imprisoned when that happens."
"How much certainty." he laughs. "Although" He pulls away and Harriet is hugely distracted by the way he talks Is he always like this? He's charismatic, he's hypnotic. Explanation to why he has so many people on his side despite what he does. "I must admit there's an enormous amount of waste happening here."
Confusion remains on Harriet's face Waste? Grindelwald laughs lowering his gaze for a moment and looking at her again. Straight into her eyes. As if he wants to fight that way. To see how strong Harriet's will is.
"All your potential is going to waste. No one is elevating it the way you reach the pinnacle" the man explains and brings his hands behind his back. "Albus has turned Hogwarts into a mediocre place and prevents magic from flourishing properly. The biggest crime will be you."
"I thought you wanted me dead."
"I'm more seduced by the idea of your life and your magic unraveling. Seeing the limits we can reach. The wonder of creation" he explains excited and eager, almost like a man with a twisted perception of the world. "I could help you" Grindelwald offers bowing his head and Harriet squints her eyes. "Wouldn't you like to? Become the sorceress supreme of this world...make magic predominate over Muggles and their wars."
Harriet shakes her head steadily. It interests her less than nothing. She has no such fantasies of power.
"Ah, I can even imagine it... The most powerful woman the magical world will ever see" Grindelwald muses and Harriet reaches to move her hands. She forces her body to work. "Training you for it... it would be a total honor for me."
Harriet escapes from there, blending into the crowd and visualizing Tom not far away. Before she reaches him, she is caught in him encapsulating her within the black magic, spinning around in the empty room and beginning to dance. Harriet compunge expression, with Grindelwald crouched to her face, she can almost smell his breath.
Grindelwald's hand squeezes Harriet's waist and holds her so close to his body, even their breasts are against each other.
"In spite of everything, you've developed a lot, don't you think? Maybe it's a sign that you're ready for much more" Grindelwald holds her with one hand, turning her around and taking her again. Harriet tries to break free. "And as with your magic, no one knows how to teach you, no one knows how to treat you the way you need."
"Harriet?"
Tom passes through the crowd Who is she dancing with? He has a hard time telling who it is with that dense dome of magic covering them. Harriet gives constant, annoying sparks, more as a distress signal than as a method of defense. She can't do it. It doesn't work.
"Who is that person?" asks Drakonys to Lucius, who doesn't hide the surprise of discovering who it is, keeping Drakonys' hand gripped and whispering a low, "don't walk away."
"Think it over: you have time to mull it over, until I come again" Grindelwald informs and Tom calls Nagini. She can pass through magic more easily and so doesn't risk hurting Harriet with a spell. The others present seem to notice or rather, stop pretending not to see it. "Just to look for you, my queen."
He stops and gives her a kiss on the knuckles. Harriet takes a furious blush. Grindelwald rests one knee on the floor, taking part of her skirt to join his lips.
"DESMAIUS!"
Grindelwald holds her tightly, both of them evading the spell. With no time for some witty comment, he must repel Nagini who nearly jumps at his throat. The snake coils around Harriet, exposes its fangs in threat and Harriet backs away, tries to lean against the wall and reach some exit.
A wand at her back stops her.
"NO!" exclaims Grindelwald suddenly. Tom manages to move to Harriet. "Don't do anything to her" he orders pointing at the woman who immediately puts away the wand, who could have killed Harriet with a single flourish. Grindelwald throws up his hands and spins around a couple of times himself, finding James. "I wouldn't want the little lioness to be hurt. No one would want Isn't? James."
"Put your hands up and drop the damn wand." commands James.
He had to call for backup because of the suddenness of being excluded and pulled away from Harriet, the fault of a confusion spell he didn't even perceive receiving. Lily at the same conclusion. Arthur, Shakelbolt and a few others were with him immediately. As soon as he could get close, he cast the spell, knowing that it may already be too late and Grindelwald spoke to Harriet.
Who knows what he said to her, and to make matters worse, it must be important. The wizard with heterochromatic eyes laughs.
"You know, I'd been thinking for years about what to do when I got out of Azkaban" he admits and James steps up, ready to attack with a mental countdown, "kill your daughter first, maybe in your own living room or in her room... Truth be told, it's not worth it. What a beautiful light you made" He smiles wide and James begins to recite the spell in a low voice, an angry whisper. Right on cue. "I'll be happy to make her an extraordinary woman."
"AVADA KEDAVRA!"
Grindelwald becomes a trail of smoke, moving everywhere to evade the spells coming out everywhere. Harriet makes a quick barrier around her and Tom. The Slytherin looks around When did this become a battlefield? He doesn't understand anything. His best idea is to run away, he grabs Harriet by the arm and leads her to the nearest exit, even if they have to jump into the garden.
Stopping for the person who appears in front of them. Grindelwald smiles slyly at the sight of Tom.
"The surprise everyone's talking about... I'm not interested in you dead yet either."
It's a jumble of lights and colors. When they open their eyes, they are at the entrance to Godric Valley. They see each other, gasping for breath, their skin crawling with confusion. Harriet squeezes Tom's hand tighter.
"Stay... with me, please." asks Harriet softly, trembling and lowering her gaze.
Tom has to hold her down, Harriet can't feel her legs, as if all the adrenaline is rushing down and she's not able to stand. She feels like throwing up and crying. Too lost, too dazed. Tom carries her to go to the house.
"I wouldn't even think of leaving you." replies Tom in the same tone and Harriet tightens her arms around him.
Chapter 25: Act. XXV. Reconciliation
Chapter Text
There is uproar after uproar in the magical world. It's the natural consequence of what happened. James didn't manage to take anyone to jail, after all, they claimed that his attacks were in response to the panic caused by James' attack. No one got any consequences, not even him, which is a miracle in itself.
On the other hand, Harriet said everything how much she remembered about the conversation and unfortunately there is nothing to highlight other than that she is a target or something. James is going to keep the information for one simple reason: he doesn't want it to come up as a proposal to use her as bait or a double agent to capture Grindelwald.
James knows what will happen if Grindelwald gets close again and he will shed his skin with his hands rather than allow it. It never ceases to overwhelm and frighten him that everyone perceives Harriet as a woman. That they want to do so many things to her for seeing her in such a way. It terrifies him and only increases his desire to keep her locked up at home.
He is not able to do it, his rational part keeps telling him that it is not something he can do. He must be protective, not paranoid. Live with the annoyance until you have a chance to resolve it. In this case, kick Grindelwald in the nuts and get him to stop thinking about a thirteen year old teenager.
The matter concludes in that he must escort them to the train in a couple of days. Not much to talk about in that time. Just sleeping time, occupied by both of them in the same bed as if Harriet were three years old again, clinging to him and muttering a sentence that should have stopped at that point in the line:
"I'm afraid he'll come for me."
Before it was monsters of her imagination.
Now it's real... And it might come for her.
Tom has remained oblivious to the subject. They don't call him and he has nothing to say either. Grindelwald strikes him as a curious and fascinating person at the same time. He is an elegant man, who knows how to manipulate his magic and people very well. Tom would feel admiration if it weren't for several details:
The first, flirting with a thirteen year old teenager couldn't be more pathetic in such a grown man.
Second, it's not clear what he wants, but apparently he needs so much help that he relies on a thirteen year old girl.
Third and last, he can't stand someone who is perhaps just as powerful as he is. He is a threat. One that recognizes itself appropriately. The huge conclusion is that Grindelwald doesn't interest him and the sooner he's imprisoned, the better.
On a more emotional and personal, almost childish note: Tom knows his girlfriend is the prettiest girl in the English magical world, but how dare he try to seduce her? Simply an idiot who thinks she's the only thing worthwhile. In that respect, he's so silly and pretentious.
At night something strange happens and that is that Tom dreams like he has never dreamed before. He is sitting on the bed in The Chamber of Secrets, legs outstretched and hands resting on the bed. Footsteps on faint heel approach, once finished, the flirtatious figure of the girl standing. She wears the vibrant red dress of the ceremony. Harriet giggles faintly, taking a couple of steps closer to the secret chamber and its endless echo.
Tom keeps staring at her. So hard it could hurt his eyes. Harriet takes another couple of steps forward. Flirtatious and playful. Slowly, one by one, she opens the clasps with which they are held at chest height. The fabric falls delicately and steadily. It exposes more and more skin until the torso is exposed, with parts of her arms still covered by sleeves. The skirt still hiding the lower part of her provocative body.
The soft, nipple-lifted breasts with the delicate golden patterns, which look like they were handmade with a thin brush. The black hair falling delicately down her shoulders and framing the round face with slightly pointed chin and button nose. Harriet reaches up to him, grabbing the skirt and lifting it. Tom is unable to see underneath. It's too much fabric, too many layers. She sits on top of him and a moan escapes from the teenager, who slumps a little on the bed.
Harriet rests her hands on Tom's shoulders, moves her hips in a subtle undulation that only hardens the manhood inside the pants. At the same time, it is possible to see that subtle movement in the large, firm bust. Harriet gasps, her swaying getting more and more intense. She pauses, her expression compunctioning and her hands sifting. Tom admires as a dark, green-eyed snake slithers down the firm abdomen, up between her breasts and wraps around the delicate neck.
Tom spins her around on the bed, the endless snake playing with the girl and him, spreading her legs to do the same. Tom discovers Harriet has no underwear on. Her chafed, hairless vagina filled with fluid at encouragement. Under her skirt and clutching her thighs eagerly, he begins to suck the pussy he invades with such relish at every opportunity.
Harriet's moans become obvious, loud and shameless. Tom is able to see through the snake's eyes. He is able to admire how the animal plays with her breasts, squeezing each one as it rubs between them. He squints and swallows Harriet's orgasm whole, as she trembles from head to toe.
Licking his lips and running his hand over his chin, he admires her as she is. Harriet keeps her legs spread and still in her shameless attitude, lifts her skirt. She exposes herself more to him, one hand on her crotch to open the pink, throbbing lips.
He feels almost rushed to open his pants, to invade the cavity that warmly envelops his penis and sucks it in. Lying on Harriet, disappearing the snake to play with her breasts, kissing and biting her skin; moving his hips until causing a too loud clap between the two of them. His groin wet from how much Harriet moisturizes and the girl moaning his name as she pulls on his hair.
It was a dream that didn't end, evidenced in what when he awoke, an erection was well formed between his legs. He covers his mouth and masturbates, with the image vivid in his mind and regretting the horrible turn it all took. Not only for peace of mind, but because he's sure that with how Harriet looked at him, it was his idea to go into the expansive trunk and resume this part of the relationship.
It will have to wait a little longer.
┈ ⋞ ⟨ ✷ ⟩ ⋟ ┈
She sobs non-stop, with both hands on her forehead. Her wound hurts a lot. Bleeding non-stop from the lightning-shaped cut she got. Harriet half opens his eyes, green and watery from the amount of crying.
Someone crouches in front of her, lovingly pushing her hands away from the very small girl. "It hurts, don't-"
Her crying is interrupted by the sudden closeness of the opposite, who grabs her face and runs his tongue over the wound. Harriet twitching and surprised, now facing that person who is licking the crimson liquid still gushing from the wound.
"What a pity, little girl... Does it hurt you too much? Let me fix it."
Harriet squeezes her eyes and lips together, tense, with no options but to let the stranger do that, ending up sitting on his lap and he, places a bandage on her and then the glasses. Harriet holds her breath and her scream is transported to reality, rising up in bed with a jolt, unable to breathe and on the verge of vomiting. James wakes up just as startled. He feels her magic weak.
As if something sucked it out. James pulls her close to himself to reassure her, feeling her terribly cold. Giving soft convulsions. Tom peers over next to Lily, both dozing. Nagini emerges from between Tom's pajamas: "It happened again."
"Again?" rebukes Tom. Lily passes into the room, sitting on the bed next to them and stroking Harriet's back soothingly, help her calm down.
"At Christmas, she had a nightmare that made her vomit, her magic drained and I'm sure there was someone. Wraith-like. I couldn't touch it, couldn't see it either, but I'm sure there was." Harriet hides her face in James, trembling, and Tom heads to his own room, pensive.
┈ ⋞ ⟨ ✷ ⟩ ⋟ ┈
"See you in the summer." dismisses James and Harriet dismisses. She shakes her hand and stands leaning out the window until she can no longer see James. She takes a deep breath, ruffles her hair, and looks toward the cabin Tom is in. There is no one on the train. Only the conductor and he can't come. No trolley lady, no students. There is no one. Just the two of them.
Harriet is wearing oversized jeans, converse and a sweatshirt. She enters the cabin and stares at Tom, who is talking to Nagini and from seeing her, the snake climbs up to Tom's trunk to get in there. Tom crosses his leg, dressed like he's going to a gala. The usual. Hands clasped on her knee and eyes fixed on her girlfriend sitting in front of him.
"I hope nothing changes."
"Hopefully, they stop bothering you."
"I hope so."
They are silent for a few minutes and Harriet stands up. Harriet takes off her pants, remaining in her underwear. Tom analyzes every simple movement and feels shivers, his magic tingling to come out and join the magic rippling flirtatiously in front of him. Harriet swings her feet up onto the seat in front of him, shoes on the floor and bare feet. The boy waits for the signal to what he can touch, that he can approach.
"You really didn't do anything with Bellatrix?"
"No."
"Nor Drakonys."
"Much less."
Harriet lays her head back.
"I want you, if anything happens again, to tell me. If it happened to me, I'd tell you." asks Harriet and Tom nods.
"I'll try."
"I want you to do it. Not just try."
It's not a complicated request or demand. If they are a couple and such an event happens, Harriet feels that she should know. That it's her right. She lays her legs on Tom's, who vibrates at something so simple.
"It's okay," Tom murmurs. "If that's all you ask."
"Yes. I ask for nothing more."
A few seconds more. Harriet spreads her legs wide and Tom takes little or no time to get between them. Harriet pushes his hair away from his face, arching up to see him with his head tucked in there. "There was a spell on the clothes check. It struck me as kind of funny." Tom doesn't give opinions. More than funny, it's functional. Harriet's panties have a little zipper that when opened, exposes the intimate part. Tom swipes his tongue and Harriet shivers in place.
Whether it's because of three months of doing nothing or because this is the best thing in the world, the eager moan doesn't take long to come out. Tom holds her by the thighs, almost in the same way as in his dream, and he goes about pampering his girlfriend's intimacy. More Harriet pulls his hair, he knows better and doesn't stop until he gets the orgasm in his face. Harriet gasps, her head thrown back and her face is covered in sweat, just like under her sweater.
The bra makes her uncomfortable because of it. She feels her skin burning and the fabric hurts her. Tom stands up and pulls down part of his pants. His raised, fat penis occupying his hand, being too much for it. Harriet clenches her hands, anxious and tingling from the orgasm even more intense. Tom masturbates watching her, being desperate enough to orgasm and have the semen come out in its usual disastrous quantity. Abdomen half bare, crotch wet, thighs pale.
There are cleansing spells for this.
Harriet whimpers anxiously, her boyfriend rubs the still hardening penis, teasing her pussy with entering, but not quite getting there. She squeezes the on the seat cushion. "P-put it in already- Tom, put it in" Harriet whimpers and Tom grabs her hips, shoving the member in with a single thrust. It slid in with great ease and Harriet's belly becomes bulging from it. Harriet contains no muffled scream.
Tom just starts thrusting his cock in and out, making her moan steadily and loudly, to the benefit of her orgasm still in its aftermath. Tom lifts her sweater, awkwardly lifts her bra and watches her breasts bounce the harder or softer he thrusts. Tom doesn't hold back moaning and sighing, exposing how much he loves the way Harriet's inner walls squeeze and encircle him.
He rubs her clit with his fingers and Harriet whimpers, grabbing him by the wrist and saying loudly how much she loves it.
Tom clenches his teeth and jaw, giving a couple of final thrusts and gasps with his seed spurting out. He pulls his cock out before he's done, wanting to make a mess of her and himself. He sits back on the seat and breathes through his mouth, his penis spasming slightly and half flaccid. Harriet goes down to the floor and kneeling in front of him, in the most indecent image yet, she holds the member at the base and takes it into her mouth, sucking on it.
Tom grabs her by the hair, his whole body in a fever and getting aroused by just the greenish gaze that won't leave his face. Harriet strokes his testicles, takes his penis all the way down her throat and back. She gasps as she pulls it out and licks the extension, as if with her tongue she outlines each vein. At the same time, with her fingers she masturbates, thrusting in and out with the thick semen on the floor.
Standing up and with her legs on either side of Tom, she sits on the hard member and jumps on it, Tom thrusts at the same time. Tom thrusts his face between her breasts and kisses the skin within his reach.
When they are near Hogwarts, they are still doing it. Harriet with her hands on the window, even her breasts pressed against the surface and Tom standing behind her, his hips between her hands and his member thrusting in and out, watery white semen falling to the floor from so much that it is and no longer fits inside Harriet. Harriet smiles as Tom grabs her by the hair, pulling and thrusting so hard that she feels the crash of his testicles, of his groin against her buttocks.
A goofy, moaning laugh comes out at the same time as the joint orgasm, seeing stars and unable to let go of Tom's magic in any way.
. . .
"Hey."
"Um?"
"You left it all in."
"Yeah."
They both walk towards the waiting carriage. Hogsmade is very lonely. Natural with how late it is. They'll make it to dinner by a miracle. Both holding hands, with Harriet swinging her arm.
"There's semen coming out of my vagina at this very moment" Tom smiles amused and morbid. "And I was horny" They stop and Harriet presses her bust with Tom's arm, who watches her with bright, hungry eyes. "Would you go to the Chamber of Secrets later? Or are you too tired?"
"Nothing that eating can't fix."
Harriet smiles, standing on her tiptoes and giving him a simple kiss on the lips. Tom and his clothes don't let anything show, so Harriet keeps teasing him with sitting on top of him. Let him feel how wet she still is. Let Tom imagine himself penetrating her. Let him be aware that he might do it in a while.
. . .
"You're going to blind me."
"Inheritance ruffled your magic." mentions Hermione amused and Harriet shrugs.
She feels too happy. Like her whole body is full of Felix Felicis. She didn't remember that after making love with Tom -although it sounds more like having sex considering they were on the train-, she ended up so happy and vibrant. She's fatally tired, but even all the trouble and bad feeling Grindelwald left behind vanished.
Or the nightmare she had. Suddenly, none of that exists.
Tom causes everyone to suffer shivers, with his cold, nonsensical magic trying to get to Harriet's any way it can, desperate to stay intimately together to wreak as much havoc as possible. Tom sits down with Regulus, who shivers and drops the cutlery by mistake.
"Y-you're so cold."
"Thank you."
They both eat as much as they can, not getting into any conversation. They are desperate to get back together. Maybe because of the nearly three-month separation that left them in abstinence. It partly shows. It's obvious Tom didn't touch anyone because of how desperate he was and still is. Before making the dessert appear, Dumbledore rises from the table.
"As is well known, among us are two heirs to the founders of this school. On the one hand, heir to Salazar Slytherin...Tom Marvolo Riddle."
The entire table rises to celebrate. There is also an excited reception from Hufflepuff, discreet from Ravenclaw and obligatory from Gryffindor. The only one excited is Harriet, but everyone knows about the friendship she has with Tom. It's natural for her to celebrate. Tom smiles flirtatiously, causing several girls at the table to blush and whisper about it.
Drakonys just looks at him with annoyance. She's not going to fall for his false charm.
"And on the other, the heiress of Godric Gryffindor: Harriet Jazmine Potter."
The uproar in Gryffindor is enormous and the twins, indiscreet as always, lift her out of her seat to put her on their shoulders. Harriet laughs, caught up in the moment, at the same time as nervousness sweeps over her. She doesn't want to be anything special. Why does it keep happening to her?
"So, in honor of this discovery" Dumbledore continues. "Until the end of the year we will have new decorations."
The flags now look bright. With the gold sparkling like gold and the silver on the Slytherin flags. It's a lovely detail, to tell the truth. Harriet wishes the whole shindig would stick to that and not so much in harassing her .
. . .
Harriet arrival in Gryffindor is a party in itself. Everyone congratulates her, celebrates her, they feel bigger and more superior thanks to having an heiress just as Slytherin has theirs. By McGonagall's order it ends early and everyone must go to bed. Except Harriet, who barely notices enough silence and that no one in her dormitory will notice, takes the invisibility cloak and leaves the common room.
Getting to the secret chamber is simple and this time, it's a first. With a couple of minutes away from Tom. He lifts her up, holding her behind the knees and pressing kisses to her collarbone and neck. Harriet hugs him and giggles at the cuddles that tickle a little. Once her back is on the bed, Tom slides his hand down her abdomen, passes under the damp underwear and while caressing her clitoris with his fingers, murmurs:
"I love you."
His magic manages to catch and contain all the chaos that Harriet's magic was about to cause. Tom is convinced that not even on the train was Harriet so aroused and excited, her body bristling and contorting in the green satin sheets. Nor so intent on kissing him, scratching his back; taking all of him inside her until exhaustion won them over.
All because of a simple confession she could have given the year before with no holds barred. It is simple. It's insanely simple. It's the only simple thing.
To know whether he loves her or not.
And indeed, he does love her.
With the only difference being that it will become more intense over time.
Chapter 26: Act. XXVI. Harassment
Chapter Text
"Why is she taking so long?"
"Because she wanted to comb her hair a little."
"What for?"
Hermione gives Ron a bad look. Sometimes she doesn't understand how, having a sister, he's incapable of knowing something so basic. To make matters worse, Ginny usually does her hair differently almost all the time. Ron is the worst case of male sibling anyone can live with and in his case, friend. Her mom told her to be patient, that kids are like that and she should understand.
Hermione doesn't understand it, but she doesn't have much of a choice.
"YES I CAN! I hope she doesn't get tangled up later."
Harriet comes down the last few steps with heavy hops and hiding the trepidation she brings. It's so hot today, at night she was imagining her perfect outfit to wear during her Saturday. Ron turns red and Hermione just compliments the hairstyle: two braids on each side and pinned back with a brooch. They look a little uneven, but nothing remarkable unless you stare.
Most likely that's what you'll see the least of. Harriet's concern comes to what she wears a skirt. It comes to a couple of inches above her knees, black and gold edged; a corset-like strappy blouse that lets her chest breathe, no bra and to it that bounces when she jumps. Big black boots, large mesh stockings and the necklace Sirius gave her two years ago.
She has never, absolutely never, been like this at Hogwarts. Her routine is sweatshirts or huge shirts. They can tell it's the first time they've seen her shoulders and knees or her true body. Harriet holds back the urge to run back to the dormitory and hide: she wants to wear the clothes, not so others can see her. To have the ridicule she'll get and yet, she wants to take the risk.
Maybe feel pretty.
Hermione is in shorts, sandals and sleeveless shirt with a pronounced cut, her hair pulled back in a high bun and a couple of locks framing her face. It's too hot. There is not a girl in any house wearing long pants or sleeves. Hardly any first-years and even they resort to cleavage. Harriet would like to think she won't attract attention. That no one will show up to make fun of her legs or arms.
She sees them as thinner and more misshapen than they are. As soon as they leave Gryffindor and a couple of students look at her, they question where it all came from. She looks nothing like the mental image they all kept of her in first year. Strong, noticeably turned out arms, firm, plump thighs that look tight in her stocking. It's an abrupt change.
Too abrupt.
Hermione who looks at Harriet almost all the time, doesn't sense such a variant.
"Shall we go to Hagrid?"
"He told me a herd of Unicorns is nearby. It's next class. We could go see them first." proposes Harriet and Hermione nudges her.
"That's cheating, we're not doing that."
"Ron, back me up." orders Harriet. Turning her head she notices him looking up quickly. As if he wasn't seeing her before.
"Uh... Yeah, yeah. Sure." Hermione looks at Ron wrong and Harriet nudges him as usual. The usual in how they get along.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
"Bloody hot." complains Tom as he walks out of Slytherin.
Tom hates not wearing sleeves, but no one can stand this heat wave. He manages to pull a tiny ponytail that helps him from melting. Baggy pants, short sleeved white shirt and a couple of open buttons.
"Look at Tom." whispers a sophomore girl, giving her classmate a swat. Another stares at him without discretion unlike the others.
"Let him sweat more, I want to see his back even with the fabric sticking up."
"With the fabric like that it would be super sexy."
Nagini climbs Tom's body and only makes worse impressions. When he doesn't see or threaten anyone, the girls in Slytherin consider sexy the way the animal slithers around Tom. How he is able to control her and moves her so delicately. There is little about Tom that is not romanticized by the female population of Slytherin and as of recently, some of the more reserved male population.
Quieter and more discreet ones who pretend to hate that he is the center of attention for girls of any year.
Regulus tries not to see Tom, though he walks beside him, red-faced and his silly magic trying to get out to go to him. Tom wonders if Harriet will still be in her nun mode even in this foul heat. Partly he hopes she will, that no one will look at her, that no one will know what her body looks like as of today.
At the same time, Tom hopes she won't wear anything black or too big. He wants to have a girlfriend, not a slime-melted Gryffindor.
"Did you do your Defense Against the Dark Arts homework?"
"What do you take me for?" asks Tom irritably.
"I'm just saying it goes on forever even with the deadline they gave you and if you need it, I can give it to you." explains Regulus and Tom scoffs.
"As groveling as ever..." scoffs Tom indiscreetly. "No. I'm perfectly fine. The only thing that takes me longer is History as that one is genuinely never-ending.
"Why the fuck don't they fire that ghost?"
"No one in life is going to know that much, no one hates themselves enough to know about dwarf wars." Regulus laughs through his nose. That's true. No one is going to want to go through that stupidity.
Everyone in the halls is wearing the least warm clothes in their trunks. It's funny that even McGonagall doesn't wear her usual robes. Tom questions whether there are any spells with which to give himself a chill. Even his magic doesn't seem to do the job as it should.
"Hey, I don't know if it's weird, but what did you think of Grindelwald?" Tom rolls his eyes. He doesn't want to talk about it. "My mother doesn't know whether to be afraid or admire him. He's attacked several pureblood families across the planet for disagreeing with him."
"I think he's a madman."
"Huj, that's not saying much."
Tom is left with the word in his mouth. Regulus follows what he looks at, finding Harriet, Hermione and Ron talking. Harriet almost arguing and Hermione at her most motherly as she scolds her. Regulus jumps at the stalactite coming out of the floor abruptly. Tom averts his gaze, the heat in his body getting worse just looking at the outfit Harriet is wearing today.
To say he loves it is an understatement. To say that it makes him uncomfortable is an understatement.
They keep walking, passing one group next to the other. Harriet stumbles and her glasses twist, her eyes fixed on Tom. He never dresses like this and the very thought of pushing him onto the bed makes her gather her legs together uncomfortably. She must clear her mind. She must fend off the damned urge she has to fondle Tom's chest and ear him moan.
"Now what happened to you? Pretending you got sick isn't going to change my mind." Hermione warns with her hands on her hips. Harriet adjusts her glasses.
"Of course I know. I just tripped and my foot hurt... Uh... What if we go that way? It'll be less hot where there are plants." She offers with a nervous smile.
Hermione rolls her eyes and follows her to one of the gardens. The largest and most nurturing one. Tom decides to go under the same logic. The more plants, the less heat and he'll be able to breathe. Plus he can still see her no matter how discreetly he has to. It helps if Theodore and Daphne join in. He shouldn't talk much and can daydream about a thousand things.
Like the animalistic urge to do it with Harriet still clothed, maybe barely get one of her breasts out of the corset if they don't pop out before how hard he rams her on the bed. They are sweaty to the almost disgusting extreme, yet he is willing to accept it just this once. It's so weird to see her like this in the open air and he just thinks he's missed so much in all this time.
The problem? He's aware that everyone thinks something similar.
For a moment he is startled, Harriet sits so that it shows under her skirt, only relieved to note that she has shorts on.
He would have to tear it off as soon as they are alone.
"Calm down, I'm not that dumb or clueless" Harriet claims with her legs bent and spread. She rests her arms on her knees. "So, as I was telling you: my maternal family sucks and I'm not going to change my mind."
"You've barely met them twice in your life TWICE!" claims Hermione. "You have to give them the chance. People change over time. They get better."
"There will be food. Make the most of the food." recommends Ron and Harriet shakes her head with a convinced grimace.
For some reason beyond her understanding, her mother warned her that they're going to Privet Drive for a couple of days, the place where her Aunt Petunia lives and.... Harriet doesn't want to go through that. Her aunt is unpleasant as is her husband and son. The only thing she remembers about her cousin, is that he broke one of her toys to make her cry; also that he cut her hair for the same thing. James is not happy to go visit them either, however, it seems to be a family emergency.
Or something involving Vernon's work. It's the only possible explanation for having a call from that house and family side.
"As far as I remember, my cousin is a pig who lifts girls' skirts and gets sixteen presents every birthday," Harriet says as she tries not to frown too much. "My uncle won't talk to me, my aunt tells me how much I look like Dad, but badly. In the sense of...ugh."
"It might change now that they've had a long time without seeing you," Hermione says optimistically. "Everyone. She's your mom's sister. They must miss each other."
"I doubt that very much. Take me on a trip to France. I'm small enough to be in the bag." assures Harriet with an anxious edge.
"Nope. If you want me in the Quidditch final-"
"If it happen."
"You should go with your aunt and uncle." informs Hermione. Ron gives Harriet a shove that knocks her over.
"Don't say that! If it's going to happen" Harriet sits up and rubs her arm. "It's only a matter of time before your dad captures or scares Grindelwald away" Ron assures her nervously. "People like him don't last long in hiding, so he won't be on the run for long."
"This morning's fifteen dead people think otherwise." ironizes Hermione and Ron looks at her with annoyance. Harriet shrugs.
"I plan to take Tom."
"Why?"
"Because he's my friend. He can be fun. Maybe he'll start liking Quidditch if he sees profess-"
"Sees Viktor Krum!" exclaims Ron excitedly and brightly. "There's no one who doesn't love Quidditch watching him play. He's got the perfect technique..."
Ron goes on to talk about what makes Viktor Krum Bulgaria's star player. It's somewhere between amusing and silly how much he gets engrossed in the subject. Harriet rests her hands on the floor and stretches out one leg. She finally feels something other than her own sweat bothering her.
"Did a cow escape from the farm?"
"Your mom never breastfed you and that's why you're looking for milk Malfoy?"
"Harriet."
Hermione punches her in the arm and Harriet rubs herself. She didn't even know where the joke came from. The blonde turns a thousand shades of red and Harriet looks down a bit Is she seriously looking at her breasts? She thought it was a guy thing. At least she feels less harassed, just bullied on a self-image level. The panic that they might start saying things grows with the seconds.
"Are you going to feed me Harriet?" She scrunches up her face at Blaise. He was obviously going to ask that.
"She went from a matchstick to a cow. How fat she is," Emma complains disdainfully. "Come on. There are better things to do than this."
"Like waiting to be taken to the slaughterhouse and served at lunch."
Harriet gathers her legs, crossed and with a bad feeling in her body. She's so much bigger than Drakonys corporeally speaking. She looks so perfect. With Disney princess body and wearing a dress to match. Wearing a simple plaid summer dress that exposes her arms and shoulders, hair in a high updo. She hugs her legs to herself, not paying much attention to what Ron says. It's her usual hatred of Slytherin. Nothing new. Hermione mutters:
"Don't mind them. You look fine. They're the ones who are thin to spare." she smiles slyly and coyly. That helped a little. Just a little. Enough not to leave to change, not enough to feel that, again, everyone is looking at her and talking about how bad looking she is. Hugging herself in hopes of disappearing from the public eye.
What motivates Tom and his group to feel close? She has no idea. She lies down on the floor and so does he. It seems like a discreet way to have a date and have no one ask any questions. A flirtatious, thin thread of magic escapes from both of them and they join, totally intertwined. It's long minutes like this.
Because of the heat, everyone is thinking the same thing so it doesn't take long for other people to come over here. Hufflepuff, other Gryffindor, some Ravenclaw, Drakonys and their entourage because they explored the whole castle and only here they don't sit in a steaming pot. Everyone is going about their business, glancing every now and then towards the particular group where both heirs are.
Murmuring about Harriet and how much of a departure from what they saw in first year.
"Hey, Harriet!"
She lifts her head and then sits down, legs crossed. Cedric is wearing athletic clothes. A pair of shorts, sandals, and a t-shirt. Harriet analyzes him for a second. He certainly has a lot of charm, but it doesn't put her insides, hormones and brain to the point of out-of-control. Not even for having his arms exercised as well as his chest and legs.
Tom is immediately wary. He doesn't like Cedric. He has the feeling that he is playing innocent to score points with the others. A strategy that doesn't work with him for obvious reasons. Besides, he detects the way he looks at Harriet. Isn't this guy supposed to have a girlfriend? What a jerk.
"I was thinking we could go play for a while. A game for fun nothing more" Cedric offers and she purses her lips, thinking. "It would help in this heat to go full speed through the air."
"Can we use the balls?"
"Yes. Mrs. Sprout gave us permission."
"Huhhh... Yep. I'm interested."
She jumps up and Cedric doesn't disguise his surprise at the bouncing chest. He thought that was impossible, though of course there aren't many with that size in the castle. Harriet adjusts her hair a little and shakes out her skirt. She puts her hands on her hips and looks up at Hermione.
"Are you coming?"
"There should be more of a breeze over there, so anything like that I love." Harriet gives her hand to get up and for obvious reasons, Ron doesn't even have to be asked.
"Should we go too?" proposes Daphne. "It could be fun. Besides, there are clouds over there too."
Tom rolls his eyes. He doesn't want to go to the damn stadium, but other than being less hot and keeping an eye on Cedric, he doesn't see why not.
. . .
"Shouldn't you be wearing protective gear?"
"You offend me."
Harriet adjusts her gloves and climbs into the Firebolt. It shoots off, kicking up dust and dirt. She joins everyone already on their respective brooms. The last match was Slytherin versus Ravenclaw and Slytherin won quickly. Drakonys caught the snitch too soon, barely giving time to make a few points. Next up is Gryffindor against Ravenclaw, so naturally there is no problem with this.
There are no techniques planned yet. Not to mention that Oliver welcomes anything that puts Harriet in practice... More than he already does every day.
Due to his repulsion and boredom, Tom had never seen Harriet play and frankly, it's an interesting experience to admire. He'd seen her fly before, obviously, not so chasing the Snitch and all the evasive maneuvering that means being among players who aren't going to pay attention to others, they have their own business and you have yours. Harriet is also someone who uses strange techniques. From flying upside down to holding on with just her legs if she can catch the Snitch. She is willing to do anything to get it.
It's no wonder she almost swallowed it once.
Four out of three times she caught the Snitch and the only time she didn't, it was because her glasses fell off and she stopped. He's going too fast to push his luck to crash face first into someone. He'd end up breaking the broom too.
"Another try without you going blind?"
"Just to show you that otherwise, you can't beat me." Harriet adjusts her glasses and Cedric tosses the snitch to fly off on its own again. Tom leans back further in his seat.
"Does he still look boring to you?" asks Regulus at the way he settles in.
"Quite."
"He doesn't even look it." scoffs Daphne. It's the first time she's seen Tom this focused. She thinks it's from getting the snitch, not that he's looking at Harriet. Tom shrugs and yawns.
"You're not going to convince me. Shut up, all three of you!" he orders irritably. The only reason he's entertained, is because Harriet makes him entertained. Chasing her with his eyes is fun.
In the end Harriet catches the Snitch again and according to Lee Jordan, together they made a barbaric amount of points. Besides being entertaining to watch because of the lack of rules there were. Harriet approaches the stands and hops down.
"Who's coming with me all the way to the entrance without having to walk?"
Hermione makes her way over and practically jumps on top of the broom at the same time Harriet hops on. He hugs her by the abdomen and they fly to the castle entrance. Harriet is allowed to do that as long as she doesn't fly too high or above Hogwarts. Aside from sneaking off to Hogsmade or pranking inside.
"Should we wait for Ron?"
"Yes. It won't take him long." she replies sarcastically and Hermione laughs. They interlock arms and walk down the school hallway.
"You know? You're so much funnier like that. " Hermione comments.
"Like this?"
"When you're not worrying about what everyone else thinks" Harriet squeezes Hermione's arm a little. "There are more important things than that" opines Hermione. "How to fend for yourself, to outsmart yourself."
"It's annoying to be, but to just be remembered as the one with ugly legs." points out Harriet and Hermione nods.
"Yeah, I know, but anyway... Why should others matter so much? People like that who consume their time on nonsense like that?" asks Hermione. Being that Harriet spends too much of her time on that.
On wishing people would stop perceiving her as what she fears. Harriet shrugs. Harriet wish she could ignore it, she really do, and yet, it's too complicated. Their voices make noise, their stares make her feel uncomfortable and urgent to achieve something that makes up for her existence. The expectations placed on her just weigh heavily and it is impossible to ignore them. As does the social burden they impose.
"Doesn't it bother you to be told about your hair?"
"Yes, but who styles it is me, so unless they pay me for the hairdresser I need to fix it? Let them say whatever they want." Hermione sighs heavily and Harriet laughs.
"I'll find you the hairdresser."
"Harriet no."
"Harriet yes."
. . .
In the evening there is a bit of coolness to the relief of the entire population inside Hogwarts. Tom takes to watching Harriet, who did not change her clothes at any point and therefore continues to flirt at him from a distance in that outfit.
"You guys think if I asked her to have sex would she say yes?"
"Ask what?" Regulus' reaction is the same as Tom's, though the Black heir externalizes it for him. "How fucking gross Do you really want to put it in into that?" Theodore throws his hands up in the air and shrugs.
"I'm just saying it looks good, at least from here. It'd be fun. I like big breasts."
"Like any man."
"Not me," Regulus grumbles at Daphne's mocking generalization. Tom chuckles inwardly How is Regulus going to be interested in breasts of any size? If he's gay. At least that's what he can interpret from him with what happened at Christmas. "I want a person, not a cow. Just look at her, she's too fat. Just awful and ugly."
"I think she looks cute and it bothers you that you don't have a chance" Daphne scoffs. "Actually, none. Most likely the only one with a chance is Diggory."
Strangeness in Tom makes him turn around and point out that Cedric is sitting with one leg on either side of the bench and talking about who knows what with Harriet, who turns every so often to listen to him. He can tell it's the first time they've seen Harriet interacting with another man and have Chemistry? In a way.
Needless to say, Tom hates it Why does it look like that from here, what the hell are they talking about?
"Isn't he supposed to have a girlfriend?" asks Theodore. "A Chinese one, Chang, shit like that" He rests his chin on his hand. "Fucking hoarder. He loves 'em a year younger."
"You're the one who talked about fucking her."
"Just one, not the whole year" Theodore grumbles and Regulus rolls his eyes, annoyed. "Be that as it may" he exhales. "I'm going to ask her."
"She'll tell you no."
"Why?"
"For being gross." asserts Daphne.
"It's just casual sex. Almost everyone with a big last name here does it." Theodore informs making a circle with a finger and Tom scrunches up his face. He didn't think it would work out that way. After all, he's not interested in looking for information on these kinds of topics. "I don't think she hasn't done it with anyone."
"Really, did you forget what she looked like a year ago?" retorts Regulus. "No one would touch her with a stick and now they think that because she's a cow and doesn't wear horrible clothes that make her look like a boy, it's a good idea to try that" It doesn't enter his head that suddenly, all the third and fourth year boys are obsessed with Harriet. They used to be with Drakonys, she seems to have fallen to the background. All because of her clothes today. "She's more virgin than an oil."
"That does seem likely."
"It could be fun."
"What's fun about being with a kid who doesn't know how to do anything?" retorts Tom irritably. Maybe if they knew Harriet was his girlfriend, they'd stop talking this stuff.
At least in front of him.
If only they knew...
If only...
"According to my dad, there's nothing better to teach them what to do," comments Theodore. "You know what to do? Daphne." he teases towards the girl who rolls her eyes with a smirk.
"Of course, your dad taught me" Theodore stops smiling. "And while I haven't gotten Tom to even realize that I'd love a night with him" she informs and Tom maintains the same neutrality and coldness as always. "I've been there. since second year, actually. It was a good time, but my date was so bad."
"Ah. I wasn't interested to know. Much less find out you're a slut." says Regulus.
"For having sex once in a while? Have you had sex? Does anyone care about the second Black?"
Tom shoots Regulus a bad look to get him to do nothing. He doesn't need a scene here. "What about you Tom, do you even want someone to touch you?"
"Yes. There is someone. It happens. Eventually."
The answer takes them by surprise. They thought it would be something ignored or at best, rejected. They can't imagine Tom being touched by anyone with how much he hates it. Tom feels his heart pounding too hard. It was a stupid impulse. Urge to somehow make a mark that he is with Harriet, but at the same time, holding back just enough to keep the name from slipping out.
Unfortunately, this leaves the question up in the air: who is the person who can touch Tom without him threatening murder?
Regulus looks to the right, where Drakonys is talking to everyone in her favorite group. He remembers that he went to the Malfoy house Did he sleep with her? Is she the one he's talking about? She can be. Some mentioned that they kissed before Christmas break.
Many worries in mind that give you migraine and discomfort.
. . .
"What did you say?"
"I want to have sex with you."
Harriet furrows her eyebrows at length. Of everything she expected from Theodore, this is the most absurd. She knows he's the second closest to Tom after Regulus, but beyond that, she knows nothing about him. His magic is subdued, almost watered down though strong. He shakes his head immediately.
"No. I don't want to."
"Why not?"
"Because I don't-"
"It doesn't bother me that you're a virgin or ugly as fuck," he informs with a cocky grin, and Harriet holds back a laugh. If only she knew she didn't have that anymore. "I can guide you through whatever you need. It'll be fun."
"I'm thirteen, I'm not that stupid," Harriet says crossing her arms. "I'm just not interested and that's all. So-"
"I think you're missing a point" Harriet gasps for air at the grip on her arm. It's too strong and hurts her. "And it's just that you're lucky I'm even interested in this with you" Theodore notifies condescendingly and with false pity. "Just because you have big breasts. Beyond drooling at you from afar, no one would want to be with you. With the ugly face and arms you have, it would be like sleeping with a man."
"And I have to assume you love men since you're asking me." Harriet abruptly lets go and continues on her way.
Sometimes she finds it hard to believe how much of a jerk everyone around her can be for things they don't care about. Harriet rubs her right arm and looks at it, as the ladder moves in the right direction, she questions herself: is her that masculine? She sees herself thin. To her she's thin. Not toned enough.
Not the legs.
Not the arms.
She's not enough.
Her view of herself is so disfigured that there is no way to explain to her how she really looks. Everyone looks at her differently. Some say she's fat, some say she's thin; feminine, masculine; chaotic hair, pretty hair; fat arms, muscular arms.
Right now, she'd like nothing more than to know if at some point she'll be fine and they'll stop looking down on her.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
Tom watches Harriet take off her invisibility cloak. She shakes her head and messes up her loose hair. She's still in the clothes she wore all day. As is he. Harriet stands quietly, watching as Nagini slips under the shirt and out through the opening. She accidentally opens one of the buttons. Tom sighs in pleasure, Nagini is cold.
"I don't know which of us is hornier. If her or you" Nagini slowly slides out of her usual hiding place. "The only thing that's certain is that I'm going to go hunt something."
"Don't come back here. I don't want to hear you while I'm busy." grumbles Tom.
"Sure, you're only interested in one voice at the time."
Tom rolls his eyes and before he can say anything, he's left with his back on the bed and Harriet sitting on top of him. His girlfriend wiggles her hips a little, rubbing herself and Tom looks down And the shorts where did they go? "I don't think I can have you around dressing like that another day."
The teenager is surprised and then laughs, shaking his head.
"Funny, I was thinking the same thing."
Harriet breathes through her mouth, her hands on Tom's chest and moving her hips, pressing herself against him. He slowly slides down to caress the skin. Harriet's hands are very hot, so hot that Tom sweats and begins to redden. Harriet is very dedicated in caressing Tom's chest, even pulling on his nipples.
"Theodore asked me to have sex with him" she comments quietly, Tom rolls his eyes. "Saying that I should thank him for the intention, because no one else would ever touch me in my life because my face is so ugly... And that I'm a virgin who doesn't know any better."
"Sometimes it amazes me how many stupid things they say to you."
"From the looks of it, it's normal."
"Stupidity."
Harriet smiles. Maybe that's why she likes Tom so much: he never says things like that to her. Nor to other women as far as she knows. He's only hurtful when he gets angry and even that's complicated. She's curious what would happen. What he would say. Tom grabs her thighs and drags down to cup her buttocks under her skirt.
"You can sit on my face."
Harriet raises her eyebrows and then giggles. The heat has him more honest than usual.
"You want me to stay dressed?"
"I know you want to undress me, but for the moment, you can wait."
Discovering what she was thinking of asking, she merely kneels and crawls up to get on top of his face. Tom is still holding her as before and Harriet gives an exclamation. It still feels funny that someone is there. The breathing, the rubbing, and then the tongue. She squeezes her eyes shut and rests her hands on the mattress, moving a little on top of Tom's face who holds her tighter so she doesn't do it too much.
With two fingers Tom manages to push aside the fabric of the underwear and be able to reach the cavity, his chin and part of his nose moistening; giving slight snorts and digging his nails into the flesh. Harriet moans, her chest rising and falling and the sweaty skin guilt of sweat.
Her magic crushing the Tom, beating him as it seldom happens and rolling furiously.
Tom doesn't stop sucking on her wet, throbbing pussy, scraping his teeth across her clit before sucking it only. Harriet moans high-pitched, with the feeling that the corset is too tight and is going to snap at some point. Harriet squeezes her eyes shut and pushes down her body, Tom gasps, orgasm in his mouth and chin. Harriet barely pulls away, her face and hair damp with sweat.
She remains seated on Tom's lap, erect penis rubbing between the lips of her vagina. She rests her hands behind her, her skirt up, the corset still squeezing her torso and the only thing that's gone is Tom's pants and boxer shorts. She holds back the moan once the penis enters and touches every inch of her insides.
Tom is not going to lie, on this precise occasion, all he does is see how her breasts are squeezed into the stiff fabric. Almost urgent to get out of there. Her hard lunges only worsen that situation and make him dig his fingers into the bed "Wait a minute.... Umm... Just a moment..."
Harriet is too hot. She feels like she's going to die. Tom grabs her arms and rams her again, drawing a cry of pleasure from her. Harriet sticks out her tongue and drool drips from her mouth.
"I-I fe-eel- Toomh, Tom, m-me feel weird- a m-moment- olmhh AH! AAAH!"
Even when the outrageous, liquid orgasm escapes, Tom doesn't stop thrusting his cock in and out, leaving her on the bed with her legs spread wide and still holding her arms together. It's as if his body is so hot that he can't get to a breaking point unlike her, who only sees stars and melts into what she enjoys.
Watching Tom moan on top of her, being so out of control unlike the usual she sees. How if it's one of those rare occasions when the more primal sense is in command and he doesn't think about anything but her. She bites her lips with a smile as Tom finally reaches orgasm. An equally violent climax where she aches from the blow that was the last thrust, but enjoys the copious semen that remains in and out of her pussy.
Tom reluctantly opens the corset and Harriet giggles dumbly, cock still dripping between her breasts and being as if he's fucking them too. Tom holds them tight and together as he slides his cock in, bumping against Harriet's chin. Her hands, hot and even worse, slide down his male thighs. Pampering him. Also down his sides, his buttocks. Tom suffers shivers that give him a little insufficient cooling.
Harriet opens his mouth and sticks out his tongue, thick white semen remains on her skin and tongue, even on the tip of her nose. Tom moves a little more, sliding his cock inside Harriet's mouth and ramming her again. Harriet sucks and gasps, her eyes fixed on Tom and nothing but him.
It makes him realize that the real problem isn't that he's horny in the sense of hot: it's that he's angry. He's angry at the audacity of everyone wanting to touch his girlfriend. Everyone who looks at her and flirts with her.
They don't have this.
They don't have her getting on her back, lifting her ass and moaning with pleasure at it, enjoying the hair pulling and the lunges, filling the stretched, cum-filled vagina. Cedric wouldn't have this even with all the pathetic flirting he does. Theodore would not have him indifferent to his attempts to make himself important.
Harriet is mine.
No one else can touch her
Only me.
Harriet lays him down on the bed, lying on top of him and kissing him on the neck. Tom lets himself be caressed, lets himself be undressed.
"I love you."
Tom smiles wide and lunatic eyed at that simple confession, but one that means so much power.
"I love you too, Harriet."
Chapter 27: Act. XXVII. The dirty side
Chapter Text
Tom doesn't know how to deal with the excitement he feels.
With how aroused he gets every time he has Harriet too close. How she awakens something dirty and desperate inside him. He's heard it too much already. Not just in his thoughts, but among the male Slytherin students as well.
"Did you see Potter? Shit. First her tits come in and then her."
"If she had long hair she'd be much prettier. She'd be ideal."
"Even without long hair and a skirt it's all showing. She doesn't even look like a girl anymore."
"Maybe Creevey has a picture of her from underneath. It would go well with me."
"With that slutty body would she say yes to sleeping with me?"
"Fuck how great it would be to have her here."
It also comes from Gryffindor.
"Did you see her? I told you she was worth getting up early for. Her boobs are gigantic."
"She looks like a porn actress sitting on the couch. Waiting for a penis to go in her mouth."
"They jumped up more than any ball. Gotta try to get her to fall down."
On Ravenclaw.
"Intellect went to her chest."
"Must be a spell. It developed too early...but...I want to stick my face in there."
"If I offer to help, maybe I can at least get to touch her."
Even in Hufflepuff.
"She's looking prettier all the time! And sexier!"
"I told her where her Weasley friend was and I could see her in her pajamas. I wanted to get my hands in there."
"I don't know if I want to squeeze her boobs or her ass. Either one will make me happy."
It's amazing what a couple of years managed to do. Harriet develops and turns so fast that her usual tomboy style goes unnoticed. Everyone notices her breasts, her buttocks; they notice her redder, thinner but soft lips; they notice the big green eyes with thick lashes; the now defined jawline accompanying thin cheeks; the contrast between her pale skin and dark hair.
These are features that Tom has also noticed. That he's attracted to. But he keeps thinking that everyone overlooks precisely what he likes: Harriet herself. Her stubbornness, her face, the confident smile, her pride, but control of pride. The vibrant, glowing magic that wraps her in a continuous embrace and protects her from harm. There is so much to admire in Harriet in so many ways.
Carnal.
Spiritual.
Mental.
Harriet is simply spectacular. And Tom has it all. Sometimes the spiritual, sometimes the mental and right now, the physical.
Tom's hands placed on Harriet's waist and hips, caressing the soft, pale skin; sucking on the breast pressed against his face and feeling his girlfriend rubbing her pelvis; the wet vagina staining Tom's pants and announcing how willing she is. Harriet moves a little, thereby causing Tom to suck on the other breast.
"I didn't know I had a baby."
"It would be great if you'd have milk." Tom assures her momentarily.
Harriet squeals in amusement. Tom raises up on his elbows as she moves down his body. She unzips his pants, pulls down his boxers and Tom's penis is exposed. Harriet jerks him off, occasionally licking the swelling, veiny phallus. Tom breathes through his mouth, panting. Harriet's other hand massages the large testicles. Finally, with her palms on his groin, she engulfs the member to the base; it slams into his throat and fills her mouth. She withdraws it for a moment and puts it back in, bobbing up and down on the hard cock. Tom holds her head to direct her. Harriet looks up and Tom ends up moaning at that.
Harriet's gurgles get louder, with her lips and part of her face crashing guilt from the onslaught. Tom grits his teeth and pulls her hair, cumming. Harriet sucks him off and as she pulls away, she sticks out her tongue, revealing thick white semen. It doesn't matter if they do it the day before, Tom is always like this.
His body doesn't work entirely like any other.
Tom squints, taking the kiss on the lips and feeling his cock being engulfed by the pussy wetter than the mouth itself; he grabs Harriet by the buttocks and drops back, with Harriet moving to the rhythm she likes best. White magic flooding and consuming the cold, black magic. Breasts pressed into Tom's chest and accidental friction between the two abounding.
Sometimes it just matters the body...
They don't talk.
They don't think.
They want to join and that's okay.
Because the only thing said, the only glimmer of reasoning, is to say each other's name.
Adding one thing: "I love you."
Tom smiles slyly, closing one eye and taking the kisses on his face.
"I love you too Harriet."
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
Tom hasn't taken her eyes off Harriet's skirt. It is long, but even with it he can still see her legs. Everyone is talking about it. Everyone's keeping an eye on it. The once misshapen legs now shapely and flesh-abundant from the effect of the tight stockings. It's hard not to see it.
It is hard for him not to want to hold it and want to be between them and with the garment's permission, to join with it as he so enjoys.
The library is almost empty, they go to the usual place where not many people circulate. Harriet, to Tom's surprise, climbs onto the table, sitting with her legs ajar and balancing her provocative limbs.
"So," she sounds her lips. "If I invited you to go to the Quidditch World Cup what would you say to me?" he raises his gaze to her face. The impish grin on the calm, composed face.
I could break it.
As easy as slamming it against the table...
"A simple no. I'm not interested." Tom replies dryly and Harriet shakes her head.
"My dad will give me, Hermione, Ron, Ginny and the twins a tent. I don't know if you know what they're like, but apart from huge, they're locked rooms" the Gryffindor relates. "So if you go, we might even be able to sleep together."
"How indiscreet." scoffs Tom, closing his eyes.
"That's my forte."
Tom wanted to fight that his forte is getting his way, however, he is distracted by how open Harriet is. She smiles almost innocently, rather teasingly. Tom moves closer and she doesn't delay in whispering to him.
"I know you've been watching me all day. If you like it so much, you can look under my skirt."
The malice in the comment and her attitude only make Tom say. "Damn spoiled brat."
He grabs her thighs, kneeling in front of her and tucking between them. He notices Harriet's vaginal lips throbbing, smells the wetness and Harriet puts a hand on Tom's head, sighing in pleasure at his breathing and then, tongue wandering all over her intimate area. Tom caresses her thighs, breaking the fragile fabric and having direct contact with her skin.
Harriet moans, tilting her head and biting her lips. Tom doesn't move the fabric out of the way. He sucks and scrapes his teeth, stimulating Harriet with it alone and enjoying it immensely.
As he gets up, having pulled a wet orgasm out of her that leaves her pussy and panties soaking wet, he looks down at her with that overbearing grin on his face. Happy with what he accomplished and Tom confirms more and more the same; how much Harriet enjoys this twisted side she can cause in him. This human filth she brings out. Tom Riddle's most honest and strongest lust is a consequence of Harriet Potter's brazenness and impudence.
"We can bet something" she proposes with a hand down Tom's pants. She strokes and rubs the dick that got hard just from giving her oral sex. "Depending on who wins."
"Like what?"
"I don't know. Maybe some fantasy you have" Harriet says "Something you especially want from me and me from you."
Several things run through Tom's mind and he falls into a perfect, almost exact one.
"I want to make love to you until I tear the initiation dress."
Harriet laughs covering her mouth. She hadn't expected that. She knew that dress left him drooling, but not this shocked. Harriet hums before squeezing Tom's crotch. Clenching her fist and making him moan.
"I want you to teach me how to say things in Parseltongue."
Tom enters in a similar tune: Harriet moaning in Parseltongue and with that, he is already convinced that it will be no risk to accept the proposal. With the small problem that accepting implies going. Harriet keeps squeezing him and in a whimper says. "All right, I'll go."
"Fine!"
She jumps off the table and takes off doing deer hops. Tom gasps and looks at her wet thighs and torn stockings. Ah, Harriet and that heat in her veins is an extreme case.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
"Tom, Tom, I'm coming, I'm going to..."
She rests her hand on the cubicle and the moan is mute; Tom sucks and continues to torment his girlfriend at the expense of licking her vagina. She's already had three orgasms in a row, so she can't resist them. Standing up and trembling, she embraces Tom who penetrates her from the front. It's a somewhat awkward position that doesn't allow it to get all the way in.
Tom lifts her by the thighs and Harriet wraps her arms around his shoulders, holding back her moans as best she can. No one uses the bathroom on the third floor, but that doesn't mean Filch won't check it and might cause some trouble. She tangles her fingers in Tom's hair, hugging him tighter against herself and he digs his hands into Harriet's firm ass.
As they kiss Harriet stifles the outrage that tries to erupt from her throat.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
Hagrid explains his class with enthusiasm. This time more emphatic on the hippogriff parts. Buckbeak stands meekly in his place, with a mountain of food in front of him. Much of the class is in the impossible book Hagrid asked for, so Harriet is in no great hurry to copy. She has a good memory, too.
Or she usually does when she's not distracted. Up to behind all the students and with Tom leaning on her back. From whatever angles they can see them, nothing happens other than him lightly leaning on top. Unable to see Tom's hand tucked under her skirt, masturbating her vaginal cavity.
Harriet's underwear, as well as Tom's hand, are soaked with everything that comes out. Harriet presses her hand into the bark of the tree and feels it tremble, panting softly and discreetly.
"Good! That would be all for today. By Monday I want your homework complete." Hagrid announces and there is some groaning. They are to draw a picture of a hippogriff and mark the parts, put a little description of each thing.
Tom slowly steps back and wipes his fingers on a piece of paper. He leaves first before Harriet, who blows air out of her hand and waits a few seconds before trying to move toward her friends. Tom smiles on his way, wonders if Harriet will go to the bathroom or something.
During the day they don't have time to see each other again and when they do, it's in the secret chamber. Tom doesn't avoid the pedantic smile at seeing her lift her skirt. He can tell how damp it is and that it seems to have become a bigger mess from so much elapsed time. She opens her shirt, removes her shoes and stockings; she sits on Tom's thigh and rubs herself desperately, moving back and forth with her pussy masturbated by the man's thigh.
Tom tosses his head to the side, receives kisses and gasps from Harriet, who slowly undresses him and vibrates him as she reaches for his cock. "How dirty you are. You've been like this all day." He jerks in place and gasps hot air.
Harriet makes him lie on the bed. The cock hard and raised; his uniform in disarray. She moans as the member slowly enters her, moving down over the hardened, veiny cock. Tom closes one eye, Harriet's pussy squeezes him too tight and it's almost painful to go in and out. He holds her by the hips, giving constant stroking thrusts to his partner.
Watching Harriet from here, he considers what he is least ashamed to let out for her, is this dirty, lustful side. It's worse than anyone would think it is. And just as he holds her by the hips and pulls her hair, having her face down on the bed and dripping with cum, as he finishes he massages her abdomen or thigh as he listens to her talk, responding back with mumbling and the occasional compliment that just pops into his mind.
It gets to be very dirty.
Not so devoid of feeling.
Precisely that is what causes it.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
"You seem calmer."
"Sometimes everything sucks and sometimes everything goes great."
Tom tries to think of a way out of here. Having the invisibility cloak on him isn't enough help. Harriet doesn't move and on the contrary, she looks more static because of the necessity of it. Her pants are so badly buttoned that it would be strange because of the room she is in. They know that Remus wasn't supposed to show up just now.
They weren't going to do anything, but kissing and messing up is part of the "nothing".
"I'm glad everything's okay with Tom" The named raises an eyebrow Remus knows? "And that you're not coming crying back to my room."
"L-let's better not talk about that" she stammers nervously. "December stuff, it's already May. Stage over."
"Yeah, I guess so... Harriet, you know you can trust me with certain things you know?" She nods and gives a fleeting glance to the floor. Tom moves and notices by a book rolling to the right. "That's why I want you to be honest with me. You -"
"Moony no, please. Don't do this to me."
"I just need to know."
"It's all right." she assures red. She doesn't want to talk about it with... No one in her family! Not with how much she does.
And with the amount of perversions she's had done by this point. Remus throws up his hands and approaches. Tom discreetly steps aside, staying behind a more secluded desk.
"I just want you to know that you were put on a contraceptive as a child. It wears off at eighteen."
"Remus." Harriet shivers wanting to melt and the man pats her on the shoulder.
"Part of being a tutor, is embarrassing you. Be careful and don't do anything in classrooms. Got it?" Harriet nods. "I recommend you warn James. He's not going to have a heart attack when he finds out on his own."
"He won't notice."
"Yes he will."
He goes up to the office and Harriet lets out a breath. She grabs her things, Tom's things that were hidden and runs out with Tom following close behind. He takes off his cloak once away and Harriet covers her face with one hand.
"Sorry about that."
"No problem."
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
Drakonys sniffles, nervous and a little scared. She looks to one side, where Blaise dozes peacefully. She turns the head away, whimpering. That felt... horrible. Drakonys shrinks her body and hugs the pillow left tangled in her arms. This was supposed to feel good.
But she's sure she's never felt so miserable as she does right now. Her crotch hurts, it burns; it's so uncomfortable how slimy it feels; her breasts ache, because how Blaise squeezed; her head aches from the tugging on her hair; her back doesn't stop aching like hell. Drakonys squeezes her eyes shut and manages to stifle a moan.
She doesn't want to do this again.
She doesn't ever want to repeat it.
"That was great." says Blaise, who just stands up. Drakonys curls further into the sheet.
"Just fuck off, asshole."
He laughs, naked and unamused about it. Drakonys squeezes her eyes shut and lets out a muted sob.
All day.
All night long.
All the week
The whole month...
And what she would like most of all, is to get rid of the horrible feeling of someone else's hands on her body, of what was inside her and made her bleed. It wasn't fantastic. It wasn't that magical, wonderful moment they talk so much about. She feels her body and her very soul wounded by something so unpleasant.
Remembering Blaise's magic mixed with her own and making everything worse.
She wants to feel like she used to.
To be whole.
And to forget that this will be what she lives through when she comes of age and they make her marry someone.
"Who...? Ah, it's you."
Harriet looks at Drakonys with boredom, rolling her eyes and leaving her there. Drakonys coughs and fails to sit up before vomiting again. Trembling with fear at the thought of imagining the prospects she has...
Them touching her.
Them abusing her.
Them waiting for her to open her legs for them every night.
She leaves the cubicle and advances to the sink. Harriet gently combs her hair and Drakonys arrives to wash out her mouth. She looks at Harriet in the mirror.
"Are you okay?"
Drakonys takes a deep breath and winks repeatedly. That image of Harriet looking at her with concern is an illusion. For the reality, is that it's not even in her direction. She shivers, imagining how her magic would be like in hers.
To feel that light saving her from the worst feeling of her life. Harriet dries her hands and gives up on her hair. Drakonys stutters:
"There's never any light in this bathroom."
"The sophomores broke the torches."
"Yes, but... There's light."
Harriet looks at her quizzically and walks away. Drakonys lets out air and walks back to the front, realizing how her magic is out. The huge dark mist that now predominates because the light is stained.
Harriet has never wanted to stay by her side.
And Drakonys cries," Why can't I have any light?"
Hermione has it.
Ron has it.
Even Tom, the worst Slytherin there is, has a light: he has Harriet's company.
Why can't I have her?
Why can't she shine her light on me too?
Drakonys wipes her face with a hands, still sobbing. She wants to feel that light. Maybe then the pain and anguish will go away?
Maybe then she will stop feeling disgusting and miserable in the darkness wanting to devour her to slowly destroy her.
Chapter 28: XXVIII. Just some time
Chapter Text
He taps his foot against the floor, anxious. He should be happy that Grindelwald is lost in Germany and is going to have a lot of trouble getting out of the country. They instituted a state of emergency and there is a nationwide barrier. Even illegal travel is not possible. It's practically impossible to flee from there. So for the moment James has enough time and peace. He didn't have to ask to cancel the world cup for safety, he has those days off to take Harriet and in general he shouldn't be afraid of coming home and finding something unpleasant.
Exaggeration or not, James is unable to stop having the nightmare of Grindelwald in his house abusing Harriet. Too much planted in James's head everything the man said on that occasion.
There is no other way to interpret "I'll be happy to make her an extraordinary woman". Lily has wanted to fool herself by saying that it is to train her, although deep down she knows what the meaning really is. Back to reality, the train arrives, at the same time Sirius appears next to James and they see the students exiting the train.
"So," Sirius starts. "We wait for her to talk or do we do some loophole where they accidentally Harriet confess."
"Let's wait. There must be a good reason why she hasn't said it and.... Remus asked me not to tell on him." exhales exhausted Sirius laughs through his nose. Sometimes James worries too much about everyone.
Actually, he may have figured it out on his own. Harriet being stuck on Tom isn't something new or secret. Not after a Christmas together and even the pictures Lily has saved. Sirius reaches into his leather jacket and shakes his head a bit, pushing his hair out of the way. A few female students whisper about him. Mainly the ones who don't know him and think he's someone's older brother, fresh out of Hogwarts and came to find that person.
Not that he's Sirius Black thirty-three years old. James gets a few looks alike, but with him it's simpler: he's almost regularly in the newspaper these days for public safety issues he has to announce. Curiously unsafe for him. After the biggest wave of students, Harriet steps off the train. Helping Hermione who comes in dizzy.
"I want to... Throw up."
"Nno here, not on me- Mione please."
James can easily assume what's going on: Hermione ate some jackdaw that tasted disgusting and now she can't stand it. James walks over giggling, pulling a box with a chocolate frog out of his pocket. The girl practically devours it and blows air out of her hand.
"What flavor was it?" asks Sirius amused.
"Puke."
"I ate a shit flavored one."
Hermione makes to vomit suddenly and Harriet grabs her tightly. Sirius laughs at the top of his lungs. Saying that after giving her chocolate goes into his cruelest moments towards a child. The first will always be to have made Harriet think she broke the bike. The poor girl broke down in tears for three days and Sirius wanted a award for pretending to be upset with her.
"The good news is: Grindelwald is trapped in Germany. I don't know many details, but at the moment everything is under control" Harriet quietly celebrates the announcement. "The World Cup continues as before" And she loses her normality. Both she and Ron hugging each other in celebration. "We'll go on game day and stay a couple more days. It will be a long celebration. Whoever wins. Besides, the tents I rented are good."
"What about Tom? Can he go? Wait a minute- Tom!"
James forces the smile and Sirius's eyes widen. If that's not indirect confirmation, he doesn't know what is. They're already aware that he'll be at Harriet's birthday. Having to take him to the World Cup is evidence that she wants to have him with her as much as possible. Obviously the time at Hogwarts is not enough for her. She brings him over arm in arm, with the teenager pursing his lips and looking falsely annoyed.
"Do you really want to go?" Tom exhales with annoyed leave. "Tooommmmm."
"Yes. I do want to go."
"You see!?"
"What's he going for? He doesn't like Quidditch and he's obnoxious." Tom drops his eyebrows. It's so funny that Ron talks about being obnoxious.
"No need to feel pressured." informs Sirius and Harriet releases Tom gently. The Slytherin looks at her for a moment and denies.
"The fireworks are better over there. The worst that can happen, is that the match lasts more than a day." Harriet nods and Sirius just wants to throw him down the train track.
Yes. They're a couple. Damn.
To make matters worse, he's the type to indulge whatever his partner asks for. Sirius can see it won't be easy to get rid of him. At least for a while so he won't do racy things with Harriet. He wants to have faith that his goddaughter is not so hasty. A boy a year older, on the other hand, certainly could be.
"Well... I have a family ticket, so there's no need to complicate things. We'll just say you're a cousin... In theory you are" James grumbles. The ticket sale was four months ago, barely able to buy Hermione's ticket. This announcement comes too late. "Anyway, if there's no extra info…? Fine. We're good to go."
"See you on the thirty-first." dismisses Harriet and Tom nods.
He notices Sirius and James watching him, but pays no attention to it. Nagini giggles, hiding as usual.
┈ ⋞ ⟨ ✷ ⟩ ⋟ ┈
Harriet rearranges her room and leaves the summer homework on the desk. She must have it ready by before her birthday and preferably, before the visit to Privet Drive. She can already see herself with green gray hair because of the stress. Harriet doesn't want to see Aunt Petunia or Dudley, but she doesn't have much choice. She rubs her face and throws herself on the bed, staring at the ceiling enchanted for aurora borealis.
She's a little embarrassed to remember everything she's done with Tom over the past few months. Harriet wonders if he has felt the same, even if to a lesser extent. Harriet also wonders if Tom thinks of her as a whore or something. Everyone says it about Cho for having had three relationships already, being currently with Cedric who is a year older. Tom commented to her that it's the same with Daphne and even Drakonys for her supposed kiss with Blaise after being seen kissing Tom.
The little rumor that they've had sex, started by Blaise himself.
A mess, all in all.
Where she agrees that they're creeps, but the males are champs for achieving contact. He questions whether that's how it always works. Lily enters the room with a tray. Two cups of hot chocolate and some biscuits. Harriet sits down, legs crossed and hair disheveled. She takes the cup and Lily watches her from the corner of her eye. She's changed, a little brighter.
"How was Hogwarts?"
"Awful. The boys are a pain. Even Ron." Harriet replies without thinking. She huffs and then takes a small sip. "Are they always like that?"
"Some more than others," Lily replies before taking a sip. She wipes the corner of her finger before adding, "They stay that way until they're twenty. Hopefully, the ones who aren't such idiots can be idiots as early as thirteen."
"What a bummer."
"Very," Lily admits with a laugh. "Snape was kind of annoying. I remember him spying on me in the bathroom once" Harriet scrunches up her face. Now she can only feel more contempt for him. "It was silly. He didn't do it again. Though I remember him also telling me he wouldn't be interested in a mudblood like me."
"And you're still in contact with him why...?"
"He change enough." Lily shrugs her shoulders in disinterest and Harriet furrows her eyebrows.
Frankly, she doesn't understand.
"Be that as it may. It's best if you don't get close to boys anymore: no friendship is sincere and if it seems so, it's a lie" Harriet throws her head back in surprise. "They're at a time where they're interested in other things. So if they approach, it will be for that."
"You're talking about... Sex."
"Yep. We should get you some other clothes. This one's tight on you... And get the arm routine down." Lily squeezes Harriet's arm and she pulls up her bottom lip. "They're going to look like men's arms."
"Do you think I look like a man?"
"A little."
Harriet drinks more of the chocolate and pops a biscuit into her mouth. Lily taps her chin to stop her from shoving the whole biscuit in.
"Buy some clothes for the visit on Privet Drive. You might like it. It's black and red."
Harriet forces the smile. She doesn't know how to say again that she doesn't want to go and if Lily bought anything, she's convinced it won't be good outfit. In the end it wasn't. It's tight on her chest, on her arms, the skirt is high for her taste. It should be noted that she hates the cut in general. The white, knit collar. It's normal for muggles and Lily says it looks good on her, after torturing her by trying to style it and filling her hair with gel for it.
James hasn't weighed in on anything. He hates "normal" Muggle clothes". The kind that involves stiff fabric and nothing fun to embellish. James is somewhat eccentric, no more so than Sirius, but eccentric. This gray suit and tie are killing him.
"I could have worn something from my closet. It's not indiscreet."
"It'll be for Vernon to infarct."
"That your brother-in-law can't see me wearing a turtleneck sweater and brown coat just makes him secretly gay, honey." informs James teasingly and Harriet almost falls over, wanting to laugh.
Truth be told, sometimes she thinks everyone is in love with her dad so much they stare at him. Or obsessed. Which can be the same thing depending on where you look at it.
"You're keeping this." Lily warns and James groans under his breath. She looks at her hair once again, wearing a plaid cocktail dress. With that done, James takes them both by the hands to appear on Privet Drive.
┈ ⋞ ⟨ ✷ ⟩ ⋟ ┈
Tom stretches out in his seat and looks at the completed assignment with satisfaction. He already has vacation time to study what he needs for those proficiency tests and IQ quizzes. He's fed up, but getting happier every day to be relatively close to his coming of age. He'll run away from here as soon as the magic locator is undone.
Hedwig gives little pecks at the window. Tom opens it and puts his arm out for the owl. She hoots, happy from the cuddling and nibbling on Tom's finger. The teenager pulls a small coat rack out of his trunk so she has somewhere to stand. The letter she brings is a bit heavy.
"I finished almost everything but potions. I understand less than ever. Can you help me with this? I know materials aren't your strong suit, but I checked every book and there's nothing. I'm convinced Snape did it on purpose."
"When this gets to you I'll be at my Aunt Petunia's (I want to kill myself), but aside from hating the clothes I have to wear, they gave me new underwear. This one doesn't make me feeling like I'm going to explode. It's cute. Suspiciously cute. I think I'll go clothes shopping on my own, I'll take more models like this. What do you think (arranging the camera took me hours)?"
Tom blushes. He wasn't expecting pictures of Harriet like this. He recognizes her room. The snow globe, the posters, the stuffed animals. What stands out most is her, giving a couple of flirtatious twirls with only underwear on. Mostly in dark colors that complement her skin. There are eight photos. One of the outfits is lace, Harriet grabs the straps and gently tugs upward, making her breasts bounce.
Tom is embarrassed by how much he scrutinized each one. How can he not miss it, his favorite is a deep, dark green one. It's also worth noting that this one opens in front. Harriet showed it and Tom thought he would see something else: it didn't happen. Harriet just laughs shaking her head and keeps her arms covered.
"How unfair to make me horny like that." Tom complains under his breath.
Another one is red with white polka dots. White with a red bow. Black trimmed with lace for decoration. A strapless one. All have the bottom in the shape of shorts. Practical and impractical at the same time. Tom puts everything delicately in the envelope and places it inside the trunk. He must find where to put it if he wants to see it at some point and have no one find it. He must be very, very careful with this.
He got scared when Hedwig flutters and throws some things around. It's usually a sign that he hasn't seen the whole message. He checks the letter again and realizes that if there is something else inside the envelope, it just got stuck in the doubles. It's another photo, back first, and he furrows his eyebrows, trying to read what's crossed out. Maybe Harriet didn't mean to send this and it got misplaced. Curiosity gets the better of him and he looks through it
Tom turns a thousand colors. Harriet takes off her green underwear and is naked with her back to the camera. It looks like she tried to do something, but got embarrassed and gave up. Black hair below her shoulders covering much of her back, arms forward, rear exposed. Harriet stays that way and given the movement of the image, only her no internal mourning is noticeable.
"Frankly, this isn't fair."
For in moment it crosses his mind that he might do something similar, just to spite her, but how does a man take pictures like that? He's never seen one. Between disinterested in men and because it's not the norm. Still, he's aware that Harriet likes to see him. That she feels constantly seduced and this, might be a way to reciprocate that little need of hers.
As well as making himself feel good. It is enormously satisfying to know that he is with someone who gets turned on just by looking at him. That she gets to feel that level of admiration.
Something no one else feels.
Because she's mine.
Tom scratches his temple and tries to think of a solution. At the same time, with his mind split in half, he must search for the books with the answers to the potions homework Harriet needs. Clearly provoking her is in the foreground.
┈ ⋞ ⟨ ✷ ⟩ ⋟ ┈
Harriet thought being among Slytherins was horrible.
Being among the people of Privet Drive is worse.
Harriet wonders how they manage to be so shallow and annoying. It's boring to be here. She doesn't do much more than sit at the table, waiting for it to be lunchtime and then waiting for it to be time to leave. James isn't much better, stuck in a conversation he doesn't understand and disguises by mouthing monosyllables. He knows nothing about Muggle economics or business. Vernon excused him by calling him the head of a security agency and that, apart from demeaning him a great deal, only got him more questions about that economy.
James wants the earth to swallow him up. Even the booze doesn't make up for this torment.
Lily isn't exactly happy either, but catching up with her sister isn't so bad. She's the best of the three without a doubt. Petunia prattles on about things that have happened in the neighborhood. Certainly more peaceful and everyday than having a murderer after her daughter. Lily envies some of Petunia's tranquility. That her life can be a simple day of envying the neighbor's dress, buying one just like it, and being envied by the rest.
"I see some of the mess got cleaned up," Lily gives a discreet glance. "Although with those arms, I'm surprised it even fits her blouse."
"She's sporty. You know how they are."
"My beloved Dudley tries lacrosse" Lily looks over at Dudley who just watches TV and eats non-stop. He's almost as fat as she remembers him. Just like Vernon, "But he was too good for them. He had to give it up" Lily pretends to understand Petunia's sick adoration for her son. It's so disgusting. She can't even imagine if Dudley will be able to do anything on his own growing up with how spoiled Vernon and Petunia have him. "What about her, any boyfriends?"
"Yes. She already has," Lily says smiling and Petunia stops abruptly. She wasn't expecting confirmation. Petunia expected that like any question about Harriet, Lily would be embarrassed for her daughter. It's a charming hobby every time they see each other: reminding her how mediocre a mother she's been at raising her. "She keeps it a secret. He's a very polite boy. Very attractive, too. He's impressive."
From her purse she pulls the photo and Petunia scrunches up her face more. There's no way her niece could have a boyfriend that handsome. That boy must have some other intention. She can't imagine any other reason why he would be with Harriet. She grasps at the following: they're asleep together.
"That's your house? Both of you together?"
"He stayed for Christmas the year before last. When James and I got home-"
"Alone? In a house?" Petunia's sharp, cocky smile makes Lily freeze. "Ah, what a terrible oversight. Leaving a young lady with a boy like that."
"I don't think what-"
"They're teenagers. You give them a chance and it happens. Especially with girls like Harriet: wayward and careless," Petunia criticizes and Lily clenches her hands, uncomfortable. "Not enough to be a male, she's a dirty one. What a waste of time."
Harriet turns, feeling a piercing look on the back of her neck and realizing it's her mom. She beckons to her and Harriet grunts under her breath. She shuffles her feet and sits down next to Dudley. Petunia goes to greet other guests and Lily tries to control herself from spiking her sister's drink with baldness potion. Those who arrive are friends of Dudley's and sit on the same couch as Harriet.
"Hey and who is she?"
"My weird ugly cousin" Harriet feels a twitch in her eyebrow. How is she not surprised that this is how Dudley introduces her to the others. "Her name is Harriet."
"But, she's not ugly" says one of them. For the first time Dudley looks at her and his strangeness is obvious. Harriet wants to get out of here. "She's better looking than most girls at school."
"What school do you go to?" asks the other, Harriet waves her hand.
"A boarding school."
"Oh, too bad."
"It must be a lot of fun. You live with your friends," says the first. Harriet nods slightly. "And you do whatever you feel like."
"It's not as easy as that, but sort of."
The conversation moves to the garden. James gives them a brief glance and the discomfort he feels is enormous. He jumps slightly due to the sudden caress on his back. The flame in the kitchen grows at the same time. He keeps the cordial smile and tries to decipher who did it. Whether it was the wife or the husband. With how close they are down the shortened hallway and how big Vernon is, it's hard to discern who has his hands free.
It happens the same way it does at every small social gathering: he feels watched. He's been that way since he was a child. White magic attracts people. Moths to the light. A way to blind and obstruct judgment. It's not clear what they want, everyone becomes inherently idiotic and tries to grab it. James suspects that Harriet goes through something similar, that that's why they pick on her: it's the need to take the attention, to have contact whatever it is.
Maybe that's what Lily doesn't understand and James does.
She wasn't being harassed for no reason in whatever space she was in.
James does.
So much so that he feels small now.
And that somehow his magic isn't enough to protect him from how much he's uncomfortable.
Again he feels the hand slide down his back, reach down and grab him by the buttock. He moves quickly, running away from his own impression and goes to the kitchen to pour himself more to drink. "Are you feeling unwell? Mr. Potter" He shakes his head and the wife of whoever was touching him shows relief. James looks down, noticing the closed hand in his.
"If you need anything, you can tell me."
James pulls his hand away and corners with Lily, who is touching up her makeup. She doesn't understand why he's so stressed. The lights in the house begin to go up and down. As much as she begs James not to make a scene, James is co-managed. It's worse in Muggles. They are so sensitive to magic. That's why there are cursed objects and locations where they die prey to some dark magic that tortures them.
It's something they can't see. An invisible energy that tells them what to do. In this case, what is in their brains is to keep it close. To admire him even if he does nothing and is at his worst.
"Honey, I can't stand it here. I'm leaving after lunch." informs James and Lily purses her lips.
"Does it bother you that much?"
"More than you know" James states with hardly any air. "Stay here... Where they're nowhere near me. I don't promise not to cremate them."
"James-"
"They were touching me."
"Who?"
"Him-or her. I don't know."
"I'll guess him. You wouldn't be complaining if it had been her." argues Lily and James gives a tense, almost lunatic smile and shakes his head.
"Believe me I don't exactly care who it was, only, if I don't burn their hand, it's a miracle." informs James and Lily rubs her brow.
"It's fine. No one's coming to talk to us anyway."
"That's the point." feasts James.
"Sometimes you make it sound like the world revolves around you."
"It's not that I want it to, it's that it happens." James retorts through the teeth. "I'd be happier if it didn't happen. It's-"
Unfortunately the whole group moves towards them. Maintaining cordiality is so complicated. Lily notices that really, they're all looking at James. It's almost off-putting on some. Like they are mesmerized by him. She remembers what happened at their wedding and it was such an awkward moment. James' parents even talked to her about it:
"White magic invites, makes everything bodily desirable. Black magic paralyzes, but enchants and seduces. Our family has always been white in nature, that's why we don't live long...everyone destroys the light by wanting to possess it."
Lily clenches the cup in her hands, uneasy. It's something even the therapist they saw for treating Harriet three years ago now mentioned to them: James is much more aware of how the invasion of space feels and how much harder it is to talk about it, how heavy it is to have so many people watching you and it feels so violent.
How if everyone wants to hurt you.
"GET AWAY! JUST-"
Harriet comes rushing back in like a tornado, hurrying up the stairs and judging by the sound, shutting the door to lock herself in some room. The three males rush in, excusing themselves at top speed. James doesn't make it out of this little circle to go see what's going on. The lights in the house go down and up. Harriet's thing. Vernon turns pale and Petunia is the first to ask:
"What's the matter?"
"We were just playing badminton and She got upset. She wouldn't accept that we beat her." complains Dudley and Petunia smiles at her son.
"Easy honey, she's a sore loser."
"Ah, women need to be reminded that sports aren't their thing" Both Lily and James look irritably at the man speaking. "Least of all against a man."
"He's very red in the face."
"I accidentally fell on her and she hit me," explains the other one. "It wasn't my fault, it was hers for getting in the way and being like that!"
They keep complaining and James just notices the basic pattern: they wanted to touch Harriet and were looking for excuses to get it. A light bulb explodes seconds after the comment that makes him lose his patience:
"Guys are so dumb sometimes looking for explanations. She's a cute little girl and y'all wanted to impress her."
"They were touching her."
"That's what boys do. Maybe she wanted to and that's why she went with all of them-"
They shriek at the exploding light bulb and a huge flame in the electrical spark. James eludes them and goes to the room upstairs, leaving Lily and everyone else putting out the fire. He opens the door and finds Harriet sitting on the floor of the guest room. Her skirt is dirty and a couple of threads are untucked from her blouse. She adjusts her glasses and hugs her legs again.
"Whenever someone tells me I'm pretty, they try to touch me and I feel bad... I don't know if I want to be pretty." she mumbles, shrinking into herself. James exhales, leaning back against the door frame.
"You're pretty Harriet. Really."
"You're just saying that because you're my dad."
If they call her pretty, they instantly make her feel uncomfortable; worse if she tries to reject whatever intentions they have. When they tell her she's ugly, they point out everything she hates and enjoy her uneasiness about it. It's becoming so repetitive and overwhelming that she doesn't know what to think or want. The adult straightens up.
"Let's go get some ice cream. Away from here. Sirius is still nearby. We can go with him."
Harriet nods. She gets up and shakes out her skirt. She tries to brush off the remnants of dirt. James comes down the stairs first, opens the door for her to go out, and Lily rushes over.
"Where are they going?"
"To eat ice cream. Before destroy the house."
"James." she scolds quietly.
"We're not staying here. Are you crazy?" James complains in the same tone. "Not with those three unbearable kids and their equally insufferable parents. Stay if you want, we're leaving."
James closes the door and Lily rubs her right temple.
. . .
"Why do people hate us so much?"
"It's not about them hating us" James has trouble getting the gel out of Harriet's hair. He still doesn't even know how much Lily put in it to try to comb her hair. "It's just... complicated. It's a natural response. Like animals. Sort of an instinct."
"Their instinct is to hate us" Harriet grumbles and James knows he's not going to be able to get that idea out of her head. "I feel like there are very few people who treat us right... or treat us normal. I wish I was normal."
"You're already normal."
"It doesn't feel that way."
"Because you and I have the weirdest perspective on life." Harriet snorts again. They hear a horn outside and as they peek out, Sirius leaning on his black motorcycle. He waves, smiling as usual.
James gives up, using a spell that ends up further tousling Harriet's already out-of-control hair. Harriet runs downstairs to throw herself at her godfather. James takes it more calmly, grabbing his coat and finding the other two outside.
"And what happened to her, did a whirlwind almost take her?" asks Sirius teasingly. "It took you too."
"You know, it fluffs up in the heat."
"Did you burn something?"
"I almost burned down Petunia's house."
"And why didn't you burn it all down?" James gives him a baf look and Sirius shrugs. "I assure you it would be nicer" he jokes and Harriet nods in agreement. That tapestry on the walls is hideous. "Well! Where are we going?"
. . .
Harriet really, really likes spending time with Sirius. It's fun, it's exciting, and she feels very comfortable with him. She remembers him being with her all the time. Aunt Petunia once said he's weird, taking care of someone else's child because he doesn't have his own. Sirius never has partners. He only has James. He orbits around him and does whatever he asks of him.
Sometimes Harriet wonders if Sirius is in love with James?
And she doesn't tell him because she cherishes him too much to push him away with that.
That loving him the way he does, he's happy just to have James by his side.
Just like a faithful dog. A pampered, determined puppy.
"Hogwarts in hot weather is death."
"I wore the corset you bought me," Harriet comments. "It looked pretty, even though I got a lot of looks."
"You needed this."
Sirius pulls out a huge bag and Harriet rifles through it, from it she extracts a black leather jacket. Eyes bright and delusional.
"It's got a spell on it so you won't get hot. A guy in Germany makes them" she relates stretching out in her seat. James arrives with the three ice creams, in danger of knocking one over. "If you put it on during heat waves, you'll be better off than everyone else." he promises with conviction.
"Is that why you never take yours off?"
"And ruining my image? If I die, I want to be buried like this." warns Sirius pointing at her and Harriet wanted to smack the ice cream off his face. What an ugly topic considering it could happen.
"If Hogwarts had allowed it, he would have worn leather jackets every day" James scoffs and gives a little startle. "I just remembered: you got mad at Remus because he trash the one you had at the time-"
"He could have kept his claws to himself why ruining my jacket!" whines Sirius losing all the cool air he had. Harriet watches them talk no more. "With what it cost me to get it. My mom loved it! For Remus to ruining it How dare he make my mom happy!"
"Oh Sirius..."
"And then he made me feel bad showing up with the jacket topped and trimmed... Merlin, Remus is so adorable" Sirius covers his face with one hand and Harriet giggles. She knows about that jacket. Sirius still has it. Perfectly preserved. "A year ago he got drunk and apologized to me for it."
"Again!?"
"He never gets over it. And neither do I."
"What a crybaby you are."
"I don't forget that someone stopped talking to me for a week for dropping a drop of ink on his poster of-"
"IT WAS COLLECTION!" claims James before Sirius finishes and Sirius bursts out laughing, leaning back in the chair, if James doesn't hold him he falls over. Harriet smiles, swinging back and forth on her legs.
They keep bringing up all those silly things they did as teenagers that they fought about. Harriet has slight déjà vu. It happens to her constantly with Hermione. Sometimes she stains her books or she picks off some piece of clothing, stuffed animal, whatever. They are silly arguments that in the long run are nothing.
The most serious thing that has happened was fighting over Hermione's perfectionist obsession, telling her how pretentious she was and how stuck up she was about it. In the end Harriet apologized to her and Hermione admitted that it made her feel superior to have better grades. It ended up so simple. So easy.
So much that it makes Harriet think about the issue with Ron and how much she had to apologize for something she didn't even feel she should apologize for. Ron was the one who got into it why is it her fault?
"It melts." Sirius hands her a napkin and Harriet wipes her hand. She hurriedly eats the ice cream so it won't melt any more.
"Can I stay with you for a week?"
"Sure! I've got two months off for, you know, almost losing my head because of a smuggled dragon!" says Sirius excitedly. "We could go to France for a couple of days... Don't tell Lily." he clears his throat and James shakes his head.
"Nothing near Germany."
"We have permission!" exclaims Sirius and Harriet reciprocates.
They stroll down Diagon Alley for a while longer. Harriet wearing baggy pants, a top covered by a huge Nirvana sweater (a gift from Sirius) and her hair disheveled as usual. James and Sirius are still talking. It's like they never get tired of talking and for having stopped to look at a counter, Harriet stays a couple of steps behind.
Watching as the two's magics are quietly and affectionately entwined. Sirius' dark, watery one in conjunction to James' incendiary one. Harriet tilts her head. It's strange, she never sees that bond with Lily.
She comes to wonder if her Dad loves her Mom or it's just a union she still doesn't understand.
Chapter 29: Act. XXIX. Confusion about love
Chapter Text
Harriet had just arranged her backpack with what she would be taking to travel with Sirius. Lily didn't object to Harriet's surprise. She's much calmer. Harriet doesn't know why. She wonders if something else happened on Privet Drive to avoid the usual arguments and unpleasantness.
Even she and James look happier together. Harriet doesn't get much chance to see this around school. It's the usual routine for the two of them together. When there is time or they turn on the time-tutner at home to enjoy their relationship properly. No work wanting to consume them bit by bit.
Harriet begins to hate growing up. When she was little, everything seemed clearer. From the way her parents love each other, to the way they both treat her. She doesn't know what to think of it. Perfect time for leaving with Sirius and perhaps sinking into the depths of a Scandinavian sea that sucks all her existential crises away.
The day before she leaves, a letter arrives from Tom and she feels it heavy. On the one hand, she's terribly afraid it's because of the potions homework Is it that long? She refuses. Luckily for her, it's only forty centimeters of well-specified parchment so she can word it her way. What's really heavy on the letter is that there are FIVE pictures? Stuffed in the envelope along with a note:
"Let's never talk about this. I don't like having picture of me taken. I hate it. I will never go through more embarrassment in my entire life."
With strangeness through the roof, he decides to lock his bedroom door, pull down the blind and leave Hedwig in her treestand to sleep. He throws himself on the bed and after a few seconds of trying to think of what it could be, he pulls out the six pictures that are there.
Harriet bends his head down, looking over the top rim of his glasses. "Did he get drunk again? What happened to him? Who is he?" Harriet wonders aloud to herself. There's no way Tom decided on his own to take sexy pictures.
What made him think of this?
To thank you. Whatever it is.
Again, one of the things Harriet likes about Tom, is how aware he is of his attractiveness, but without becoming smug about it. He likes himself. It's something she'd like to accomplish on her own. Seeing him in this narcissistic display is all Harriet needs to have her own content from her boyfriend.
One who doesn't really appreciate the photos all that much.
The first photo is pretty plain, pulling out an awkward smile and blush. Harriet can tell he's had a bit of a haircut; he fixes his curls, is shirtless and aside from combing his hair a bit, he's smiling slyly. Harriet carefully lays it down on top of her Occamy plushdoll.
Next is Tom taking off his shirt and looking for something in his room. Sober as he is and with barely any clothes on the bed. Harriet rubs her face under her glasses. She looks out of one eye, following the path of obvious dots up Tom's neck.
The next one makes Harriet hide her face for a moment to look again. Tom half lying on the bed and Nagini climbing up between his legs, sliding down his bare chest. Tom smiles confidently at the snake and who knows what he says to her. "If I tell him I like that he's going to do it to annoy me. Maybe that's what happens," Harriet says to herself.
The next one causes the same reaction. Tom on his back, looking to the side and pressing his arms a little, hands clasped behind his back. Harriet throws a stuffed animal on the floor. There's trouble. She starts to have trouble.
Harriet hops off the bed and paces back and forth, pondering if Tom didn't misplace it or something. Because in that picture, he's naked. Nagini isn't enough to hide that he doesn't even have underwear on! Tom sitting on the bed with the full-size snake, up on his lap and effectively covering his crotch, coming up to slide down his shoulders and around his neck.
"Harriet?" Harriet covers her mouth and takes in all the pictures in a hurry. "Your dad and I are going out to buy dinner" Lily warns. "We'll be back in a little while. Did you finish your homework?"
"I-almost..."
"If it's not done, you can't go with Sirius. Finish it before we come back." warns the redhead and Harriet gives a squeak that works just enough. She listens at the door and looks again, glad she hasn't folded any of them. Just pay attention that they have little messages on the back:
1. I didn't know what to do.
2. According to Nagini, it looked good.
3. You like Nagini slithering all over me, or am I wrong?
4. This made me realize that I have no muscles to show off.
5. I'll take it for granted that it's not something you like a lot in men.
6. Did it work?
"Fucking asshole." whines Harriet kneeling with her face pressed into the mattress.
How did Harriet finish her homework and have time to masturbate before her parents arrived? It's a mystery Harriet won't even try to decipher. She spells out pages in her diary to save the photos. That way she makes sure no one is going to see them even by mistake.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
Muggle contests bore Tom. They are all the same. Although at least the one this time, it's bigger. It's an international quiz to measure general knowledge. Considering he's been reading encyclopedia after encyclopedia as if they were novels, any question they asked would be effectively answered.
He's convinced there are some wizards here. Be it among the jury, contestants or audience. The director was like his tutor and doesn't allow questions. Fortunately, Tom's acidic comments would get him thrown out of here. On this occasion, he has a particular goal: he wants money. Harriet is going to have her birthday and he is going to bring her some gift.
He can exchange the pounds for galleons in case he needs them. He would like to give her a new chain for her glasses. He saw one that has very small, but detailed engravings on each bead and thinks it would look very nice on her. Her other option is a new fiddle and have more than one; the last option is a ring collection.
Tom knows Ron will give Harriet something for quidditch, Hermione will have her secret plan as usual and James… a pony. Whatever that man can come up with to spoil his daughter more. No one is going to beat him in that competition.
Anyway: Tom needs the money. Plain and simple.
On the way to the orphanage, having won first place, Tom keeps thinking about the last question there was. It was quite ambiguous, quite weird and he still doesn't know what to think of it. It was the shortest of all.
"There is currently a force that is moving the world dramatically. It is the future and if society's focus is towards this force, there will be no more conflict, loss, destruction or pain."
The other finalist's answer was simple: nuclear power.
Tom's answer was one that caused laughter: love.
Everyone in the place was laughing and Tom didn't even know why he said it. He even took all the time he had. As if his mind went blank for a few minutes and he needed to work his way through it. He muses that at the time, he would have answered the same as his opponent. After all, how would nuclear power not be? Less pollution, more functional, less wear and tear. It is dangerous, but if it were given its full attention, there would be no more electricity problems globally, nor would other resources deteriorate.
It makes all the sense in the world...
And suddenly it doesn't.
The right answer was his, it was love. For Tom it is absurd, for the most rational part of his being. The emotional one, small and barely developed, concludes that maybe there would be fewer problems if people would stop hating themselves and love their own lives more.
The real reason why so much gets worse is because of hatred, bad intentions, disregard for the lives of others, prioritizing one's own. In this, it is the lack of love for many things. It is such a broad scheme that it gives him a headache and in the end he only concludes that it is too philosophical for his own taste.
He won.
That's all it takes.
"Love" as a solution to evils, can now be discarded.
. . .
"Give you money?"
"I need it."
"What for?" asks the woman with distaste in her frown. Tom remains impassive as always.
"I need to buy a gift for my girlfriend." Tom answers without a qualm. It doesn't matter if she knows he has a girlfriend. She's never been interested in what Tom does or doesn't do. It's not like she'll ever see Harriet in person either.
"You have a girlfriend?" she smiles incredulously and mockingly. "Poor stupid thing, I get where she's coming from with the clothes... How old is she? Forty?" Tom furrows his brow What is she talking about?
It takes him a few seconds to realize that she thinks he has an old lady for a girlfriend. The idea is sickening to him. Not only on the obvious part, but to meet a woman who would be interested in dating a fourteen to fifteen year old teenager. He would run away at the first evidence of such a thing.
"She's from school," Tom clarifies through his teeth. "I need my money."
"It's not your money," informs the headmistress. "It's from the orphanage-"
"So you can spend it on gambling instead of changing mattresses, buying better food or as simple as keeping small children from dying of a simple fever" Tom interrupts. "So let's keep it simple: I don't say any of that and you just give me the money I won."
"No cop would listen to you. Not to the kid who runs away every two minutes." She notifies with a believing, confident smile. Tom leans back and crosses his legs.
"Then it's even simpler... Nagini."
The woman falls out of her chair, screaming hysterically. Some of the caretakers come in, thinking something bad is going on, and finding a snake nearly five meters long and fifteen centimeters wide about to attack her is quite dangerous. Tom is still in his stance, with part of Nagini on top of him. Her actual size weighs more than any human can handle, but most of it is on the desk, her massive fangs exposed and venom dripping to the floor.
"YOU CAN'T-YOU CAN'T USE YOUR WIZARDRY OUT OF SCHOOL!" she shrieks hysterically, crawling away. "YOU'D BE EXPELLED! YOU'D GO TO FUCKING PRISON!"
"How rude and disgusting you are" Tom complains aloud, getting up. Nagini is still chasing her. "And to be clear: she's no spell. She's very real. She's my pet. Animal that lives and hangs out with me all the time, even when you take me out of here to those contests that wealthy men and women watch" Tom notifies and she grows paler as do her assistants. "If she killed you, it wouldn't be my fault: she's a magical animal, she'd be gone quickly and no one would know it was her."
"Y-YOU-"
"Give, me, my, money... and Nagini doesn't swallow anyone," Tom promises with a long, cruel smile. The headmistress gets up, in a hurry and runs to the drawer, pulling out the pounds and throwing them in. Tom twists his head. "Don't be an animal. Behave like a lady you are...pick it up, put it in a pile and hand it to me."
She does nothing, throwing more money away.
"Nagini, her leg, hold her."
The snake crawls at such speed that she doesn't have time to avoid it. The woman screams in terror and there is frost forming on the glass. The office is cold as if it were below freezing. Tom takes a couple of steps closer, his hands behind his back. His eyes wide and bright in contrast to the shadow that is the whole of him.
"Didn't you hear me? Pick it up and hand them over to me. If you don't, she breaks your leg."
"JUST TAKE THE DAMN MONE...!"
"Nagini."
The pressure alone scares her more than it should, being that she suddenly pees herself. The disgust on Tom's face has no name.
"Every second, more disgusting." Tom turns to the ones in the doorway. "You, pick it up." orders Tom and the woman stands still, moving only when Nagini bares her fangs and snorts sonorously.
The speed with which she picks everything up is abysmal. Tom holds out his hand, the countless bills lying there. Sparingly, just to keep scaring them, he counts. There are five hundred pounds here and the change to galleons is high in Diagon Alley. He clicks his tongue.
"I'm sure the prize, it was twenty thousand pounds Where's the rest?" Tom doesn't see much cash in the drawer.
"W-we... split it and-"
"Give it to me."
The woman doesn't hesitate to give him his share, three hundred pounds. He walks over to the second, she has four hundred. It's not enough, he can't imagine who the others will be with the money. Tom is going tomorrow, so he gives a simple indication: "I want half the money for the night. Nagini likes to hunt at that time. If she sees them, I'll tell her not to kill them."
Tom calls the snake and leaves the office quietly. Leaving the three women with the pallor of a dead man and praying that no one has spent any of that money yet.
By the end of the night, he had ten thousand pounds in cash. Annoying to carry, but at least it's his without anyone asking and without relying on anyone. Fortunately, it didn't take much more to show Nagini.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
"Wow, it looks like you have Parisian suitors. Ulala."
Harriet pushes Sirius. Truth be told, for the first time, she feels like someone put a modicum of sensitivity into trying to flirt with her. She's been in Paris with Sirius for a couple of days now, and it's been phenomenal. Mainly because here, it's not relevant. In England, she's recognized as James Potter's daughter, heiress to Gryffindor -damned newspaper gossip articles-, and it's impossible to be anonymous. She feels watched.
Here she is just another tourist and that alone relieves her. It's as if suddenly there's no pressure on her. Just having to enjoy the trip with her godfather. Then comes the flirtation: the salesman of a magical flower shop gave her a small bouquet of red and violet flowers, tied with a black ribbon. It perfectly matched her outfit today.
The boy's English was not the best, but the comment was understood: for the pretty green-eyed lady, I hope you have a nice evening in Paris. It will be quite a treat to see your smile again. Sirius watched for anything strange without holding back the teasing about it. Harriet blushed and smiled with some glee. They carried the bouquet back to the room so it wouldn't be damaged and now they walked across the square, Sirius commenting more on it:
"See? You're beautiful. You've already made a Frenchman fall in love!" insists Sirius.
"Not that pretty, but the green eyes help.... Too bad I'm not a redhead." exhales Harriet ruefully, taking long strides. Her pants huge as the white shirt. She wears the leather jacket and in essence, goes just like Sirius. The only difference is that Sirius wears a black shirt.
"I think you're gorgeous like that. It doesn't take one of the rarest features in the population to make you special" Sirius opines and takes a seat on a bench. Harriet plops down. Legs spread and hands in between. "You've got your magic, the way you are.... The way your hair is." Sirius jokes ruffling it and resting his arms on the long backrest.
"It's just... I don't know. You, Dad, Mom, Moony and even Peter were handsome when you were young. Hardly awkward. Instead... Well..." Harriet waves his hand in front of him, pointing at herself.
"It's normal to feel this way... Or so I was told. I used to feel cool all the time" Harriet elbows him and Sirius smiles, lowering his sunglasses and being left with his face to the sky. "It's all about attitude. If you trust yourself, you're the most perfect creature the earth has ever birthed. If you don't, you're just an ugly little worm."
"I feel like the ugly little worm."
"I won't allow it. You're a fucking lioness. The most stunning lioness of them all. No one sports that mane like you."
Harriet laughs through her nose, looks around. There are a few fountains, rowdy locals, groups of witches milling about. She blows a huge bubble that ends up flying upward.
"James just felt ugly when Lily turned him down. I didn't have enough ways to tell him that wasn't the problem. Moony was better about it. I never know what to say to-"
"You're in love with Dad, aren't you?"
Sirius is silent for a few seconds. He sighs and puts his glasses back on his head. There's a strange atmosphere. Serious and even heavy. Harriet had never felt it coming from him. She didn't even know it could get this serious.
"Before you think anything weird: I'm not going to get between James and Lily. It would never cross my mind" Sirius warns and Harriet nods. "And it's... Complicated. That's why it's best to pretend we're not having this conversation."
"Doesn't it hurt? Being close but not... You know."
"Harriet."
"I just don't get it," she admits obfuscatingly. "For as long as I can remember I've seen you together. For as long as I can remember you've been there and... You never seem sad, but I don't know if you're sincere about that or you're faking it because you don't want to intrude" Harriet ruffles her hair and drops her arms. "Why didn't you try to be with him? When he and Mum weren't boyfriend and girlfriend yet."
Sirius shrugs and looks away.
"I know he's not going to reciprocate Why say it? Besides, he knows my feelings. Maybe that's why he was so happy to make me your godfather" Harriet can't find the connection. "He knows I'll love anything that comes from him. It was a bit of a dirty move."
Harriet averts her eyes, uneasy. This response is not one she expected or one that makes her feel good. On the contrary is it a bind or something?
"It makes me happy that he and Lily are getting married, that they're still together. Without that, you wouldn't exist" he mentions with a smile. "And I love you like you have no idea. You made me happy. You're one of the many things about James that made me happy" Sirius admits with a shrug, his smile widening. "You may not think it's a big deal, but coming from the Blacks, there's little harder."
"I love you too, Sirius."
Sirius hugs her and sighs. He will never understand how people can not love Harriet. What can they ask of her that she no longer has. It was the same with James to a lesser degree. There were less people judging him or belittling his accomplishments. The era or the situation is indifferent to Sirius. For him, the normal thing would be to adore them. To love those bright lights that would warm the life of anyone willing to go beyond primal instinct.
To run away from that urge to hoard. It's the biggest difference between Sirius and the rest: he limited himself in watching James shine, in embracing that glow, but also knowing how to stand back and still witness it. Those who try to possess, destroy. He didn't want to destroy the most beautiful thing that happened in his life. He wanted to continue to admire it. Its mere presence made his whole life joyful.
And suddenly another light arrived.
Tiny. So tiny that he was afraid it would be extinguished, but it is still here.
Sirius considers himself lucky and tremendously happy. Even if James does not reciprocate his affection in the way he would wish, he is loved by him, he is loved by Harriet, and he can look up to them with the same affection Why should he be sad? That's what Harriet doesn't understand, but Sirius doesn't expect her to either.
Diría merely makes sure Harriet is happy to reciprocate with what she causes. Worries and problems can be put aside .
. . .
"You make Tom sound like the only Slytherin with two ounces of basic human decency." comments Sirius licking his lips.
"It just seems like it" Harriet gulps and drinks from her orange juice. "Regulus calls me fat all the time, Theodore? Oh, Theodore." She rests her face in her hand. Sirius raises a eyebrow, curious. "Idiot. I already know you're the big deal according to you. I don't care about the rest."
"What did he say?"
"Well that my chest is big and that we should sleep together" Sirius puts on such an expression that Harriet doesn't know if it was a good idea to start telling this to begin with. "That I should thank him and blablabla."
"Nott Right? Uh, he's a jerk. I remember his dad. He wanted to be with all the girls in the class. I heard through the grapevine that he didn't last at all." Harriet tries to keep the juice from running down her nose. "I'm sure his son didn't either. He's not even worth that." belittles Sirius.
"What about you, did you just fall in love with Dad?"
"I consider it more of an unarmed robbery. I just planted myself in front of that door, look to my right" his story comes with so much emotion that Harriet can only manage to laugh with a round cheek of food. "And there was... A lion... The blackest mane Hogwarts had ever seen" She swallows hard so she can laugh. "Shining with the strength of a thousand suns. Suddenly I was blinded and thought: I must follow the light. He said Potter, I said: Oh! To Gryffindor! I want to piss mom off by being a Gryffindor and not a Slytherin! The universe gives signs! So I let myself get kidnapped to Gryffindor."
"Why are you such a clown?"
"My charisma has a way of coming out." Sirius adjusts the collar of his jacket and lies sprawled out on the chair. Harriet laughs and shakes her head as she wipes her face.
"Then you haven't done anything."
"Oh of course I did. I was just discreet and a very good lover in silence. I won't say the name because-"
"YOU DID IT WITH MOONY!" exclaims Harriet quietly in disbelief and Sirius bangs the table.
"He told you right? You bloody idiot, I told him I didn't-"
"No. I only guessed because you wouldn't say the name. I can't picture you with anyone else and not with a woman either. It was either him or dad drunk in the summer."
Sirius shakes his head. That's a good way to get to the solution
"Besides, they're both puppies."
"That has nothing to do with it."
"No, but it's cute." states Harriet with a shrug. "Tom is... Serious. Very serious, but sometimes he's like you: he enjoys teasing others. No matter who he is" Sirius raises his glass with wine. That pleases him. "I know he's obnoxious... And bitter, but" Harriet rests her chin on her palm and looks out the window. "He's very nice. He just doesn't like people to know it."
"He represses a lot Huh?"
"He thinks feeling makes him manipulable and dependent. Sometimes he talks like an old man." grumbles the teenager.
"But he loves you, right?" Sirius asks quietly, and Harriet shakes her head.
"Yes. I'm his only friend because of who he is. Everyone else... They know it's important, so they're close."
She wouldn't want to slight Daphne, Tom's only girl friend, but she gets the impression that she wants to sleep with him nothing more, maybe take it to another extreme later. It's a strange hunch. Regulus is a mystery in being Tom's unofficial shadow, Theodore the same as Regulus and… Everyone in Slytherin falls the same: they must be close to the prince or prove they are the best servant. Harriet perceives Tom's life as a very gray and full of shortcomings.
Made worse by being an orphan.
"I don't understand how some people live with no one to love them. It's lonely, don't you think?" Sirius shakes his head in agreement.
"Yes. Living without being loved by anyone is just like wandering around in death, waiting for your body to stop working" Sirius opines, "but look on the bright side, someone wants that face of eternal contempt and that's you. You won the lottery."
Sirius waits for Harriet to tell him that Tom is her boyfriend, but it doesn't happen. It remains as a friend nothing more. Curiosity as to why they don't reveal anything grows stronger. Eventually they will make a mistake and it will be out in the open. Sirius hopes that, at that point, he won't find out that Tom is doing something shady or bad towards Harriet.
Sirius doesn't know what would be in his own head if that were to happen.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
In the mail he got a shuttle to go to Harriet's house. Tom must admit he's a little nervous. He doesn't know if he should arrive earlier or at the right time. Either option feels strange to him at the same time, he is nervous. Tom doesn't know how she's going to be dressed, let alone if his hormones will be able to stay under control. The last few months have proven that they can't.
Tom leaves his trunk locked, the room locked and hopes no one does anything foolish while he's gone. He decides to be a couple of minutes late. He shows up in Godric Valley and almost at the same time, Sirius arrives on his motorcycle "Hey! You're early!" Tom sees his wristwatch and frowns. He forgot that the watch is almost an hour ahead because of some idiot kid who started fiddling with it while Tom set it down on the desk.
Nagini has never had so many people scared in such a short time. Sirius slips his arm over his shoulder and Tom instantly pushes him away, at the same time Nagini pops out from between his robes, fangs showing slightly.
"Okay, I get it." grumbles Sirius dropping his arm. In his right hand a large, wrapped box.
Opening the door Sirius smiles slyly and flirtatiously as always. Tom raises an eyebrow at the gesture. Every day he becomes more convinced that Sirius is in love with James. The man waves and is noticeably confused that Tom is here.
"Did something serious happen?"
"That a ten year old started playing with my watch." replies Tom, simple and James gives a slight "ummm". He sees it as feasible. Sirius gives Tom a couple of hard pats on the back.
"It's a sign! The dark magic ones arrive together. That way we cool the house down." he jokes walking in. Tom gets irritated, but goes in anyway. Nagini gets down on the floor and starts crawling around.
James hopes she doesn't go to any room or the bathroom. He would pass out. He still doesn't explain how she is able to change size. On Tom and tucked into his clothes, she's small. Like a common snake, barely above average. When it's apart, it's a freaking Austrian snake.
"Do you hate the orphanage that much?"
"As much as they hate me."
Harriet laughs from upstairs on the stairs. On the way down Tom smiles slyly, tilting his head to one side. Again, she's bigger. Her arms look more defined, her hair almost halfway down her back with several small garments adorned with gold rings; her clothes cause Tom trouble.
A lot of trouble.
James doesn't know where that mountain of polar ice at the entrance to the kitchen came from.
It's a red corset, fabric that covers the collarbone and meets a golden choker. There's a huge red stone in the middle. Sleeves above the elbow and full of ruffles. Open back, barely concealed with a translucent tunic. Black pants, ankle boots with some heel. She wears earrings in the shape of a golden Snitch, something ordered among the bushy hair.
Sirius pats James a couple of times to get him to look in that direction. James furrows his eyebrows, the ice slowly melting. Tom looks at Harriet in such an intense way. With genuine, lurid adoration. Like he's willing to murder for her if that's what it takes, or worse, if she asks him to. Sirius is only clear about one thing: Tom fell in love so hard he's not even aware of how much.
"Hermione and the others arrive in half an hour. So let's go to my-"
"Not to your room." hurries James and Harriet looks at him in surprise.
"But there's something I want to show him."
"Just hold the door open. That way you'll know when the others arrive." says Sirius nonchalantly. They both walk up the stairs and he notices James' upset expression. "They're not going to do anything with us here. They're going to keep hiding it. Don't worry."
"Sirius-"
"Really. Besides, I don't think Harriet's come to that yet. As embarrassed as she is to be seen, that hasn't happened." Sirius has a very easy, very simple scheme in his mind as to why that hasn't happened.
To James it's indifferent and he's convinced that if he leaves them for even a minute in a lonely space, something is going to happen. Lily closes the door to the entrance "What's with the water?" she points to the floor and the huge puddle.
"The prince came early to the ball and wreaked havoc when see the princess." Sirius jokes and Lily looks up, James nods and she just gives a couple of chuckles.
"Well, lucky I bought more meat! Tom's snake must be hungry... I'll make them something to drink."
"She won't even make it for me." James holds a hand to his face. Sirius laughs, leaning against him and trying not to fall over.
At the same time, Harriet holds Tom by the cheeks, barely holding air and smearing him with red lipstick. Tom holds her by the nape of her neck and her waist, pulling her to his body and just short of devouring her from how intense he is in kissing her. Breaking away, Harriet rubs the skin mischievously.
"I want to take your pants off." admits Tom through his teeth, stroking Harriet's back.
"Not today." she informs and Tom purses his lips. Harriet plays with his face some more, laughing at his frustration.
Chapter 30: Act. XXX. Ways to be
Chapter Text
When Lily arrived with a tray and a couple of glasses of cold tea, Tom had already cleaned his face. Just in time so it didn't look like they were kissing, but simply talking about the current problem at the orphanage:
"Did they steal money from you?"
"They tried. Nagini convinced them to give it back to me" Tom ironizes with a contemptuous and cruel smile. Harriet furrows her eyebrows and Tom takes the glass. "Thank you." he takes a long sip.
"You're welcome... Harriet..." Lily gives her a discreet gesture, referring to the lack of a bra. Harriet almost chokes, putting the hand to her chin. She shakes her head and Lily looks at her wrong. "There's a visitor today. Put it on."
"It shows, Mom. I can't. It ruins the style."
"Harriet." she insists and Tom pretends not to hear.
"It's at home and everyone here has seen me without a bra what does it matter?" Lily grabs her arm to lead her somewhere else to continue talking about it. Tom rolls his eyes.
They're not going anywhere and even then, he doesn't consider it a big deal. It's a corset, it's holding them up on its own. Nagini climbs onto Harriet's bed and makes herself her size on it. "This bed smells phenomenal. I'm sure you'd love to be up here climbing on it right now."
"Nagini, no stupid comments. Only I hear them."
"That's why it's so much fun."
Harriet returns, waving her hand and Lily walks past, noticeably displeased.
"So..."
"Ignore her, ever since we went to Aunt Petunia's, she's been weird... Oh, Aunt Petunia, such stupid things happened there." Harriet brings a hand to her face and drags it down, dragging her skin. "I hate Privet drive. It's my own version of the orphanage."
"What a way to compare it."
Before Harriet can start explaining the visit in general and the trip she took with Sirius, Hermione and the others arrive. "Why is he here?" Ron's question comes with a snort from Tom, who ignores it and goes to sit on the couch. Hermione and Ginny are the only girls. Despite Lily's insistence that she invite her other Gryffindor classmates, Harriet refuses. She doesn't want them here. She can hear their complaints about her arms, about her weight.
She doesn't want them around unless she has to. Besides, Hermione is the only friend he needs, Ginny is slowly making room in that regard. Ron, Fred and George on the other hand, are the three he considers friends. Ending up in a majority of males in the house.
The gift was joint from the Weasleys. Fred and George did more experiments at home. From Ron, a portable pitch so he can train at home - if Harriet has to isolate herself again or it rains; from Ginny, three yellow, white and black puffles. The funny thing is that they are much smaller than the normal ones.
"A lifetime of avoiding buying them..."
"And they got to her anyway," Lily concludes with a hand to her face. James is repulsed by it. He had one once and squashed it because the animal was eating the snot out of him. "Well... at least her room and trunk will be kept clean." James nods in agreement. That's a bonus.
"They're just as fluffy as your hair." says Ginny.
"They have it just as nice as yours, though. They even have similar eyes. Just as cute."
Sirius smiles tensely Why is Ginny blushing, should he pick up on anything else here?
Hermione's gift is, as usual, the most fitting. It is a huge handful of hair ornaments and even a manual for using the various possible styles. James already knows what his daughter's next hyperfixation will be. Finally Tom's arrived.
"Truth be told, I didn't know if you'd like it more gold or silver, so I bought both sets." says Tom as Harriet loses her eyes looking at each ring in detail. They are sets of five and each one is very different from each other. Some with engravings, animal shapes, gemstones. Overall, he feels it was the best alternative.
Tom didn't like the violins he saw, he didn't like the cases either, he didn't get the chain for the glasses and he liked the rings much better.
"Aren't you supposed to be poor because you're an orph...? O-ouh… ouch ¡OUCH! Why are you hitting me!" claims Ron.
Hermione pouts at him and goes back to checking next to Harriet.
"Thank you so much, they're so pretty. I want to wear them all!" whines Harriet, who finally puts on three of the gold ones. They match her outfit. Tom crosses his leg and smiles triumphantly.
James approaches and hands her a sealed envelope. Harriet opens it carefully, not wanting to tear whatever is inside. The first thing in there, are two train tickets bound for Spain and then, a letter giving James a month's notice.
"REALLY!" Harriet turns sharply to him and James nods smilingly.
"The Minister told me I should take a break after so much stress with Grindelwald, plus I helped prevent four massive attacks. They didn't go to the press, by the way" He adds before they expose that they don't know what he's talking about, "so I decided it's a good time to spend time together."
Ginny and Hermione find the way Harriet hugs him adorable and James is still able to hold her; Lily and Sirius sigh with some laughter, being the usual; Ron stretches his lips; Fred and George take advantage of taking a picture of him.
Tom watches him indecipherably and it is fortunate that none of them see him, you would think that the only thing going through his mind, is displeasure. However, Tom doesn't even know what this is doing to him. A kind of restlessness impossible even for him to decipher. Harriet brings up everything she was given, leaving it on the bed and the puffskins jumping around.
Back in the living room Lily drops off dessert and such before going to the kitchen to talk to James and Sirius while the group is minding their own business.
"But if neither of them can stand them why did they go?"
"Because they were more unbearable than usual this time. Nothing warned us."
"All Muggles who despise magic are unbearable. It's as easy and simple as ignoring that they exist." Recommends Tom swinging his leg and looking as cocky as anyone would expect him to.
Hermione finds his manner of speaking relevant: "Muggles who despise magic." Her parents have always been proud of her for having magic, for being so talented and having so many letters from teachers congratulating her grades. Tom knows them, he's also seen them interact with other wizards and in general, they are fine.
They are the kind of people he would have liked to have around him. That he makes a separation, as clearly racist as he usually is, means that something in him is changing. Even if it's little by little.
"Pitifully I can't." Harriet says, blinking as she takes a drink from her glass.
"Yes, you can. Don't go there anymore." says Fred.
"Or go there and fill it with stink bombs." George recommends and his twin nods mischievously at the idea.
"It smells bad enough with my cousin and his friends" states Harriet, "it was the three of them, they told me to play badminton and I thought Good! At least it's something better than listening to them talk garbage!" she relates leaning back from which chair. "And one of them, that stupid asshole, falls on top of me."
"On top of you?"
"Totally on top of me."
"Okay?" stammers Ginny and Tom squints.
"And he grabs my breast! He squeezes me! And he tells me he's so sorry!" the light goes up in intensity. "I couldn't stand it, I punched him in the face and went to hide upstairs." Harriet covers her face with both hands.
"You would have hit him harder." say Fred and George at the same time. Hermione grumbles something under her breath and Ginny keeps her face scrunched up.
"The good part is that I went for ice cream afterwards." celebrates Harriet, almost overlooking how annoying it was. Tom rolls his eyes. Lily peeks out of the kitchen and Sirius stops James from coming out.
This is not the time to lecture, that he should have told her at the time to demand an apology. Lily focuses on Tom, on the way he's obviously upset by the fact.
"And then you went to France."
"It-was-great," Harriet asserts. "There was someone who gave me flowers" The glasses on the table start to freeze. "He told me I had a nice smile."
"Aha! French boyfriend!"
"No."
"No? Why not?"
"He was cute, but I don't know him at all. I liked the flowers, though."
"Why is it that everywhere you are you seem to turn into a spotlight and the moths come around?" rebukes Tom, rebuffed. Harriet shrugs.
"I don't know. I don't like it. This time it was nice at least...it wasn't...aggressive."
Tom gives a snort. Harriet mentioned it so much: the feeling that those who look at her, want to violate her in some way, as if it is an aggressive, attacking admiration. Despite his irritation, he is calm. It's not like something serious happened. It was not serious. It was a nice gesture that she is, in fact, telling him about.
He would be suspicious of having hidden it.
"Even though!" exclaims Harriet. "A lot of absurd things happen to you there, too. You get robbed, you get put into IQ contests, you're wanted by the police."
Attention turns to Tom completely and the Slytherin doesn't hide his discontent with a fake smile. Harriet always tries her best to fit him in, for the others to know him and consider him someone in the group.
Tom knows it's impossible.
Harriet is hopeful that he will succeed.
The truth is that the twins like him, in some way that is still unexplained. His episode of threatening the orphanage caretakers is the unmistakable sign that Tom is someone who can play practical jokes on both of them. As well as a possible ally in case of an emergency.
"FIVE THOUSAND POUNDS!" shrieks Hermione half-rising from her seat.
"In cash." stresses Tom with a smug smile.
"I can't possibly- No, you must be joking. It's impossible. " she stammers incredulously.
"Where do you think the rings came from?" says Tom and Harriet laughs, swinging her legs up onto the chair and hunching forward. Ginny sips from her tea, watching her out of the corner of her eye.
Arms, face in profile, large chest, back in full view. She blows bubbles in her tea and Fred pats her on the back, advising her to calm down. Nagini goes up to the table where the sweets are and hisses, Harriet fondles her head.
"We could do real hauntings with her at Hogwarts Can you imagine?" asks George. "Hey, Tom wouldn't you like to make a joke? We promise nothing's going to happen to her. They won't even notice it's yours."
"Do you want to do it?"
"As long as I don't have to eat anybody."
"She says yes."
"OK!"
Tom purposely turns away as they go to take a picture of everyone. Harriet pulls him into the second photo, hugging his and Hermione's arm. Nagini climbing up on the back of the furniture and holding Tom by one arm equally.
It was a birthday spent being very happy. Everyone slept in and in the morning, breakfast was just as chaotic. Initially, it is Tom who wakes up first. He makes coffee as Lily told him he could and gives Nagini a piece of meat. The snake stretched out on the table and floor.
James arrives, Tom greets and to his own strangeness, the man's attitude is a very serious, almost repellent one. Tom never sees him like this, though it is also the first time they have been in the same space without Harriet nearby.
"More nobles have tried to talk to you?"
"Yes. Letters come sometimes."
"And what have you thought to do with those?"
"I'm not sure yet." replies Tom, frank. His aim is a bit fuzzy now.
"Ummh."
James sips his coffee and some plates start levitating, as well as breakfast ingredients. Tom analyzes each little magical display. The more he sees of James, the less he is surprised that Harriet has such strong magic. James is overwhelming, the heat he generates is almost unbearable, and he contains his surprise at the small explosion that happens in the candles.
James is not light. Not like Harriet. He is fire. He is a walking bonfire. More aggressive if you bother him. More complicated to get to without permission.
"I recognize the look on your face" James muses quietly, cup to the side and hands on the edge of the brown granite. Tom remains undaunted and impassive. "For as long as I can remember, it's been the look everyone has around me."
Tom circles the mug, realizing that the same attraction that Harriet generates, James generates. If it's insufferable in her, would it be the same with him?
"And I'm just warning you, if you're like the rest, if you're like the Blacks, the Malfoy's or any other noble against my family, you'd best stay away from Harriet" His voice is soft, almost a gentle whisper. His neutral expression makes him look creepy. "I don't want people like you around."
"I'm not a threat."
"Many claim not to be, but when they look like that, I know it's a lie," he informs nonchalantly. "Because everyone who looked at me like that, wanted to hurt me and with her, they've succeeded; I can barely handle it" Tom moves his jaw slightly. "I'm serious, Tom."
"Me too: I'm not a threat." Tom repeats, ending in clenching his jaw and hands. James narrows his eyes.
"Why are you looking at her like that?"
"I'm not looking at her in any specific-"
"Stop...thinking you know better than everyone, Tom," James reprimands and Tom straightens up, defensively. "You look at her like everyone who's ever wanted to kill me. You look at her like Grindelwald."
Tom stands up and though he wanted to argue with it, for it is a lie that he can look like that maniac, not to mention that it irritates him in a way that adults think they know better than him; he couldn't do it. James approaches, threatening him with his presence alone and making him back away in fear that he might touch him.
Under the impression that he's going to melt, that he's going to incinerate.
"I wouldn't hesitate to kill you if it would keep you from seeing her like this" James warns in a whisper. Tom shrinks in place, breathing rapidly. To his own surprise, Nagini doesn't move from her spot. As if he's not being threatened right now. "Stop or get lost."
The man turns away and takes the other cup of coffee at the ready, leaving the kitchen to go to his room and hand it to Lily. Tom takes a deep, shaky breath, Nagini crawls up to him, rising to the teenager's chest height.
"Grindelwald wanted him on his side for a reason. It's something worth remembering."
"And why didn't you defend me then!?"
"He won't kill you with everyone here. He's not that careless. I knew he wouldn't hurt you... Besides, it's not safe for me either" the snake explains and Tom looks at her angrily. "There's something very grim about you, Tom, you can't control it, unfortunately for you."
"That doesn't make me the same as everyone else."
"No. Quite the opposite. You're the only one who controls how to manifest it, despite having such a strange look."
That doesn't relieve him. As he walks out of the kitchen, he bumps into Harriet. Her extremely disheveled hair and crooked glasses evidence that she is barely awake. She awkwardly leans back from him.
"What's wrong with you? You're so cold." mutters Harriet, her magic delicately traveling down her hand to make contact with Tom. He says nothing.
Excusing him with it being early yet and leaving the situation between James and him nothing more.
. . .
"James..."
"You remember Mr. Lennox?" Lily furrows her eyebrows, turning her head towards him. "He reminds me a little of him." James admits with a bitter smile.
"Don't be melodramatic how could it remind you of him?" James looks up at the ceiling. "His magic is dark, like Sirius's; he looked at you like that even at Hogwarts. Doesn't mean he's like Lennox and his bloody inability to keep his hands to himself."
"Maybe he is."
"Maybe not... Listen" She sets the cup aside and lies back down. She turns him to face her. "Trust that he's just like Sirius. Exactly like Sirius: someone capable of gives his life for you and loving you like no one else."
"I have a hard time thinking that." admits James quietly.
Again with the feeling that Lily doesn't understand how serious it is or can be. Lily purses her lips and hugs him. She remembers the event with Head Boy Lennox. He was a friend of the Potter family, had a son a couple of years older than James. There was always good chemistry between families.
Until he cast a spell on James and held him hostage for almost a month, pretending not to know anything. According to James, it didn't go to anything extreme, just wanting to convince him that they should be together, that he could be okay with him. It was a murky situation that ended with him being sent to Azkaban and James being repulsed by anyone who talked too much about his magic.
Easily recognizing anyone who looked at him that way. Over the years and because of his position, he's earned more hatred than that kind of attention. It's a relief. It's something he celebrates. However, to have that problem return to his life and turn on his daughter makes him think a thousand different paranoias.
Quirrell is the perfect evidence that it can happen.
As if Remus has been right since Lily got pregnant...
I worry that she's as enchanting as you are. That they want to tear her apart.
Chapter 31: Act. XXXI. Something dark inside him
Chapter Text
At breakfast time, it's as if nothing happened. James is as smiling and peaceful as ever. Tom is also noticing that when they come together most, it's to orbit around Harriet. As if somehow, it is a priority to make her happy and be there when she would like to have them.
It's a trait somewhere between tender and mysterious. Part of her charm itself.
As if it wasn't obvious that she's the link between them all. Otherwise, they wouldn't even have met.
When it's time to leave, Tom heads to a different place than the orphanage. His destination is Privet Drive. The suburb so square and bland, he is repulsed by it. Tom's face impassive as he walks past the houses. Some people murmur at the sight of him, as they don't know him and anything new around here? It only happens when Petunia invites her sister and family.
Tom arrives at a park. It is very far away, so far that he even walked more than twelve minutes on a road. The place is pathetic, with dead vegetation and unkempt surroundings. No one comes here on a regular basis, unless it's to do stupid things. Which is noticeable with the group of five teenagers.
They throw rocks at organized cans and bottles, talk almost shouting. Tom shoves his hands into the pockets of his black coat and silver embroidery, his hair back and moved by the gentle breeze. The sky turns leaden and smells of rain. Predicting it will come in a short time.
“And who is that?”
The other two turn to look at him and Tom squints. Three of them are as Harriet described. Her cousin fat and big as a wall, but with a goofy expression; a skinny, haggard, light-haired lanky guy to someone with nothing in particular apart from a mark from a ridiculous hairstyle lifted with gel. The other two smoke, squatting not far away.
“Did you miss something? Freak” asks Dudley approaching, Tom tries not to feel embarrassed. Does he think he's threatening? They're the same height, also the same age.
The only difference is that Tom is thin and Dudley, broad-bodied, not exactly the kind of fat guy Tom was expecting.
“Huh? Can't you talk?”
“I can ask the same question, can't understand a word you're saying, incompetent.” replies Tom. Dudley speaks with his teeth glued together a lot, so it's hard to understand him.
“Incompetent? Wow, how refined.” scoffs one, usually they would say ‘asshole.’ Tom gives a soft snort.
“So you missed two friends that time,” Tom mutters under his breath. “I just came to-”
“You're a friend of my cousin's? That would explain you being like that... a sissy” Dudley says with a sneer. “She went to cry to you that she fell?” Dudley doesn't know, any of them, like it getting colder and lightning starting to show, is a consequence of Tom's bad mood. “She went to keep crying.”
“If this is what's in her school, what a waste” One of them, who was smoking, leans on Dudley's shoulder. “I wish there were girls like that at school. There'd be something to see in the toilets.”
“There'd be something to do in the bathrooms.” Corrects the other smoker.
“Yeah, this one must be a faggot. You can tell he doesn't even stick his dick in a doll-”
“That's disgusting,” Tom complains, closing his eyes. “I really don't understand how they talk like that... Anyway, it's not worth wasting time. Who was at the reunion?”
“If you're looking for who grabbed her tits, it was me and what are you going to do buddy, are you going to punch me?” he scoffs holding up his hands and Tom curves his lips in a way that sends shivers down their spine. It's supposed to be a smile, but... Why does it generate so many bad feelings? It's as if nothing else on Tom's face varies.
“Nagini.”
The snake shoots out herself at him, scaring the rest who don't understand how a snake came out from between Tom's clothes. He grabs her by the neck, but Nagini grows to her full size, so there is not enough force to choke her or throw her away. She wraps her body around the teenager's arm and with enough pressure, breaks it.
The cry of pain is long, tearful “Keep squeezing, I want him to bleed,” says Tom, taking a couple of steps closer. Nagini obeys, still snorting and fangs out. Her massive body and enormous strength shatter bone and cause splinters to break flesh.
“YOU EVIL-WICKED WRETCH!”
“HE'S A WARLOCK! HE'S A WARLOCK!”
“You can't do that out of...!”
“Don't, even, say it” Tom warns without even looking at Dudley. “What stupid people: they see a gigantic snake and think I do it with magic. Without the wand, I have nothing to give me away” He turns around and Nagini releases the teenager who writhes on the floor, soiling it with the blood and his arm, like ground meat, goes limp. “Who was the other one...?” Tom mutters under his breath and this one is pushed in front, they don't want to be punished for something they didn't do.
They don't understand what the fuck is going on here! Just that this weird guy controls a giant snake!
“NO! NO!”
He runs away “Reach out, break his leg, his arms, anything, just don't kill him." Nagini crawls in such a way that she grabs him and manages to drag him down with her, as if she were a greater force than already exposed. Grabbing the teenager's legs and twisting them as much as possible and leaving him lying there crying.
Dudley staggers, cowering and cowardly as Tom approaches. With the smile growing on his face as he walks and as he stands there. All his white, threaded teeth exposed in a devilish gesture. Emphasized by the glowing red eyes, with their pupil torn like the snake itself. One that crawls towards Tom and up into him, fouling him with blood and lying next to his face.
“I'd like to say Harriet asked me to do this, but she's too good for that... And personally, I don't want my problems to grow: this is going to stay that way” Dudley nods slowly. “The two of them, crushed by a tree, run over by a motorcycle: use your imagination.”
“Y-yes... yes...”
“And...” Tom lets out air, a hissing laugh escaping his throat. “If I find out that again, something like this happened... I'm going to let her bite you” Nagini's venom drips, the stench it gives off is an acidic, choking one. “And I'll have to amputate your arm, because no one survives more than fifteen seconds. It will take me exactly seven, to watch you suffer and fear for your life, and then watch you squeal like a pig on the floor... Got it?”
“Yhes...”
“Louder.”
“Y-yes! I-I got it!”
Tom turns around and walks to leave on his way back. It's going to be a pain in the ass to catch the bus. Nagini looks back, fixated on the three still standing. One of them picks up a large rock from the ground. “They're going to throw a rock” the snake informs and Tom spins around as they throw it, startling them.
“T-the damn snake talk to-”
A bolt of lightning strikes not far from them and all three fall to the ground, choking. Tom's magic surrounds them and chokes them. The one he threw the rock at, freezing his arm until when it's ice, Tom reaches over and steps on it swinging his foot slightly, threatening to apply more force.
“I thought I'd just leave them alone, I guess they're idiots with nothing in their heads” Tom stomps harder, “worse than apes” He exerts pressure, the ice cracks. “Who shouldn't have even seen my girlfriend.” Tom concludes through his teeth before he finishes breaking her arm.
He looks up, cursing through his teeth at the rain. He leaves them that way, uninterested in them. He has no choice but to get soaked all the way back. He sees Harriet's aunt, the woman stares at him and then pretends not to. As he passes, what he gets is a sneer. Tom doesn't avoid unfunny laughter:
“I wish I'd torn her son's arm off. That way, he'd have a less stupid expression... Damn worthless, useless and pathetic existence.”
Petunia turns sharply, but Tom is far enough away. She thinks she has hallucinated him. She is unable to see Nagini crawl out of the house, an umbrella in her mouth. Tom opens it and continues his walk to the bus stop. His clothes slowly dry, but he sneezes.
“Ah, what a bummer.”
“It was worth it.”
“Sure was.”
Arriving at the orphanage did nothing but cause him discomfort. Too many jumbled thoughts, but not the slightest regret for what he did. In the evening Tom even received a letter from Harriet telling that her aunt was crying for her son, who has a broken arm and hypothermia; his friendships are also serious. Anyway... A successful mission.
After that Tom doesn't have much to hear from Harriet, apart from the fact that she is in Spain for three weeks with James. Stories for another day, for when they see each other for the quidditch final. Hermione has started sending him letters. Tom considers it daring as well as interesting. They are very sporadic and entertaining to answer.
They incite some reasoning. Tom supposes Hermione has no one to talk to in this way. Not someone besides Harriet and a third option is always good. Ron doesn't count for obvious reasons.
The day of going to the final comes very quickly. Too fast. So much so that he feels he didn't have time to process the conversation with James. More like his threat. Tom wishes he had a way to prove him wrong, but remembering Dudley and his friends squealing in pain on the floor precludes that idea.
Tom even feels a little ridiculous trying to battle that specific fight.
Tom is a long way from going back to the orphanage because he doesn't think this is a good idea. He said yes to Harriet out of inertia and the bet, but camping with her, her family and friends? It's been exaggeratedly proven that James doesn't like him, Sirius less so, Remus goes into limbo, Lily is a separate issue; being on a family trip is a dire idea Will Hermione and Ron be there? Worse yet, Ronald Weasley is the worst annoyance ever! Hermione is oddly pleasant and can hold good conversations with her.
Back to the topic Why go? Tom doesn't even like Quidditch. He's sure he'll do a favor by not ruining the atmosphere with his presence, he can teach Harriet Parseltongue and put up with not seeing her in the initiation dress for perversions. Aside from saving himself the trouble. Tom's escape plan is interrupted when he sees the family of four -Sirius is more of there than the Blacks-, approaching him. Harriet just jump in and hug him.
“There you are! I thought for a moment we were going to the orphanage to look for you” and this confirms that Tom couldn't run away "Didn't you bring a trunk?"
“I shrunk it” Tom replies shoving his hands in his pockets. “It's not like I take anything out of there anyway” he huffs in annoyance. “Now to get Hermione?”
“Yup.”
Lily gives a giggle, considering it tender how much Harriet leans on Tom. The boy seems to grow with the minutes. He's a one seventy-nine at the very least. He'll end up being a one ninety. James swallows his own annoyance, taking a deep breath and convincing himself that nothing is wrong. It's just his daughter and his friend. A year older is no big deal. He's not an adult or anything. Sirius nudges him a couple of times, holding back a laugh.
“They're not stealing your girl. Take it easy,” Sirius advises. They start walking. “In the most worrisome or extreme case, just keep them from being alone together in a place. Like tents and other places” James nods. “What distresses you so much?"
“It's... Weird” James says not knowing how to define it. “I don't know. It's just jealousy of Dad maybe. Harriet isn't like that with Ron or Hermione. She's not going to convince me that she's not this guy's girlfriend and I'm repulsed by that.” he admits chokingly. Sirius shakes his head.
“We can always investigate further. In private. See what's going on and take the angst away.”
James doesn't even want to know how the hell they're going to find out that sort of thing, but he leaves it up to them. It won't be anything dangerous at least. Going after Hermione was a little awkward. Her parents still have that fear and confusion towards wizards despite finding them fascinating. No wonder, it's leaving their daughter with people who create lights out of wooden sticks. With the two extra and not knowing anything about the tournament, they disappear to go to where they agreed with the Weasleys. A plain near the family's house and where they are already waiting.
“We're going to the World Cup!” Ron as soon as he sees Harriet he holds hands and they give each other pushes and hugs of excitement about it.
“We're home base. We couldn't miss it!” assures James taking off his coat. It's not as cold here as it is in London
“Very true” agrees Arthur. “On the way to the shuttle must be a friend of mine. Perhaps you know them. Amos Diggory."
“Ah Ah! Yes, yes I know who he is. He's helped me a couple of times” says James. “The more people the better eh?”
“The idea is to spend some family time together. Couldn't be better” estimates Lily. “Harriet, the glasses and the shirt.” Harriet checks herself. Beyond the shirt being stretched and pulled up a bit at the abdomen, nothing wrong. She arranges her glasses and takes Tom and Hermione by the arm.
“I promise it's more fun than you think. The stadium is huge, the screens and presentations are great and the after party is a lot of fun” Harriet knows they don't pay much attention, but she has faith that they're going to have fun. Tom exhales with exhaustion. “AH! DAD! GOTTA GET THE GLASSES!”
“Glasses?”
“They record, store, analyze everything in the game. Serves to do augmentation as well” Ron replies to Hermione. “I've never had one, but they say they're really good.”
“I have five of those at home” whistles James. “My dad took me to the finals in France. I've never cried so hard before. England lost.” he whines and Harriet laughs at his drama.
“Ron's going to cry if Krum loses.”
“Hey...!”
“Krum Oh the great Viktor Krum!” dramatizes George, he and Fred circling around Ron to mock him. Tom smiles faintly. Embarrassing Ron Weasley is something he does enjoy.
They meet Amos Diggory and his son, Cedric. Tom is automatically suspicious of him. His attention on Harriet is instantaneous and although she pays him no attention because of her shyness, the truth is that the male teenager is very obvious. What really captured Tom's attention, however, is something he had gradually appreciated over the years on occasional occasions.
Today it is more evident than ever: how much James adores Harriet. The man's strong and charming devotion to his only daughter.
Harriet takes him by the hand and speaks softly to him, restrained and excited with him responding kind. To take the portkey, he embraced her with one arm and held the dirty boot with the other hand; being there he carries her on his shoulders to help her see as much as possible and does not delay to buy her a scarf with the emblem of the Bulgarian team. Leaving her a tent to be with Hermione, Ron, Ginny, the twins and him, buying her any candy she could fancy, giving glasses to everyone for her request...
There is nothing James wouldn't do to see her happy, to spoil her and treat her like a real spoiled princess. Tom believes that it is because of that great amount of love that Harriet is the way she is. Showing affection with details, with physical contact and being present for others.
That's where Tom gets intimidated and is finally able to shape his panic. Having a father like that, who treats her as the most beautiful and beloved thing in the universe, how to settle for a man who is less? How to accept a relationship where she is not treated with the same level of love. Tom doesn't know if he can do something like that. He doesn't even feel able to work out if he can give love or enough. He doesn't want his relationship to end, unable to accept that there will be anyone in his life other than Harriet. She is the only person who makes him feel whole and he is aware that she is one in a million and one in a thousand years.
Does he deserve that? Is that enough?
James is the one who sets the bar and it's pretty high.
Because he is daring them to try to love Harriet more than he loves her.
“Are you okay? You want to go already?” jokes Harriet and Tom shakes his head.
“So many people it's a little...overwhelming.” Tom replies to get out of the way. Harriet narrows her eyes. Something else bothers Tom, it's obvious he's not going to admit it.
“We'll go to a little more private area. My dad paid for a space since there are so many of us” the girl explains. “So hang in there.”
“You ask a lot of me.” ironizes Tom. He stands back for a moment, genuinely surprised by the magical pyrotechnics. Reading the explanations has nothing to do with witnessing it from so close.
“Huh, look who's here. Chicken Potter, weasels, and a dirty blood.”
Harriet feels a tick in her right eye. Just what needed to happen to ruin her moment. Drakonys looks her up and down with a mocking, disgusted look. Harriet crosses her arms and leans back on one foot, jaw twitching.
“I didn't think you were after me.” accuses Harriet.
“Me? You're not that lucky. We're just going to our bleacher,” Drakonys communicates, putting her blond hair over his shoulder. “What about you guys, did you get lost? You could never afford something like that could you Weasley?”
Hermione holds Ron by the arm. James has just checked and when he notices the small conflict that started between the teens, he walks over. Drakonys takes a small step back “Is something wrong?” asks James. Hands on Drakonys' shoulders make her look up, finding Lucius who, with his haughty bearing, shakes his head.
“Nothing's wrong, Potter... Or is it? Considering you're here.”
“Free time Lucius, I assume you know the term well. Considering you don't do anything.” James smirks and Lucius snorts. Harriet furrows her brow has Lucius always seen his dad like this? It's... odd: awkward, familiar in the worst way. “Let's go to our places. Let's go... Where's Tom?” James looks around. He's responsible for him. Harriet looks for him, too, and by reflex, she grabs something coming at her very fast. She looks at her hand and furrows her eyebrows A snitch? She looks around and realizes that she is being shown on one of the huge screens. Announcing her as the lucky one who caught the snitch being released into the crowd.
“Uh...”
“YOU CAUGHT IT!”
Harriet squeals, lifted up by James and squatting on his shoulders. She laughs and Tom hurries up the steps, not helping but laughing. Out of the corner of his eye he notices Drakonys, silently walking away with Lucius. The girl confused by the euphoric way James hugs and celebrates Harriet. Being that with her, Lucius has never shown such emotion. Whatever achievement she exhibits. They arrive with Sirius and Lily, the former cheering her on and chattering about it.
“Sometimes it seems like Harriet was born under a lucky star don't you think?” opines Hermione sitting down next to Tom. The latter crosses his leg and the aristocratic air he has oozes out even without anything fancy on.
“You can tell it's the effect of her magic” comments Tom. Ignoring how much Harriet talks to Ron about the two teams that are going to play. “Naturally it causes good things. Attraction to that kind of event.”
“Does it happen to you, too?”
“From time to time.”
“Maybe you guys getting together is the effect of magic. Considering you were pretty isolated before and now you have... friends.” Hermione qualifies for lack of a better term and Tom furrows his brow, elbow on the armrest.
“We're friends?”
“In theory.”
“Wow.”
Hermione laughs. Tom's social incompetence is comical from time to time.
The match starts and they must admit that the atmosphere helps a lot to make it interesting. Harriet gets around to explaining every now and then. They don't know the plays the commentator says, so it's just background noise at times. In what little he sees, Tom understands the furor over the Bulgarian team and notes that their seeker, Viktor Krum, has a lot of what Harriet did that time.
He moves a ton and isn't afraid to detach his body from the broom he uses.
“What's he doing?”
“Uh? Look for the snitch?” says Hermione, the confusion obvious in Harriet's question. “Like any seeker.”
“It's just that you're not supposed to- OH NO!”
“NOOOO NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.”
Ron holds his hands to his head and the amount of shouting makes it unclear whether there is joy or panic. Both Hermione how Tom at a loss as to what causes Ron's tantrum and Harriet's hands on her head.
“Context?” asks Tom.
“They had no enough points, even with the Snitch, they were ten points behind.” Harriet ruffles her hair and then covers her face.
Tom muses again that it doesn't matter to catch the Snitch. It marks the end of the game, not winning it, and with that alone, he understands the earlier confusion: Krum went for the Snitch before his team had enough points. At least cause an end. Going off topic: Tom is relieved that Harriet is disappointed at a normal range.
Not like Ron who curses and screams hysterically along with Amos; Sirius and James are more melodramatic than annoying. Ginny, Fred and George celebrate, after all, they were for Ireland. Harriet lays her head on Hermione's shoulder and pouts.
“Let's say you were rooting for England and you saw a win in your first World Cup.”
“Oh Harriet.” laughs Hermione.
Chapter 32: Act. XXXII. A quidditch friend
Chapter Text
"It was a strategy! All those points from Ireland weren't going to be beatable, so-"
"Your eternal love, Viktor Krum, decided to save the match by losing with his head held high!" dramatizes George with his hands on his chest.
"And that only ten points separated them from brutal defeat." continues Fred. Ginny eats from the sofa and Tom tries not to laugh at this.
Anything to make fun of Ron, he'll gladly accept. He doesn't even make an effort to disguise it and since he and Ron get along so badly, it takes a hell of a lot less.
"Shut up, you didn't understand his techniques!" criticizes Ron.
"Better to lose with pride knowing defeat is imminent, than to stretch out a pointless event" Tom opines and Harriet whistles, "It was entertaining to watch, at least it kept me from getting bored. If it went past an hour and a half, I'd leave."
"For what other games have been like, this one was very very short." comments Harriet, stretching out on the seat with her legs spread wide.
"And it could have been won or worse, but Krum avoided it See? Quite the mastermind!" insists Ron.
His defense jabbering at Viktor Krum doesn't end and Harriet doubts that it will. She asks Hermione to accompany her. She wants to buy butterbeer. Lily told her she shouldn't drink, but Sirius gave her money for just that. Harriet wants to get Tom drunk at least a little bit. Maybe it'll be fun.
"This reminds me of the World Cups." says Hermione looking around.
Everyone in high spirits and a bit conflicted. At least there's no one about to fall to fists over this. Overall there's a lot of cheering.
"But with better pyrotechnics." states Harriet confidently.
They both stop halfway through, watching the huge magical fireworks. A dancing Irishman and shamrocks exploding in on themselves every second. Harriet averts her gaze for a moment and notices the slight smile on Hermione's face. Her best friend always so charming discovering everyday things about the magical world. What she has experienced since she was a little girl thanks to her parents.
"I'm glad you're having fun. You look beautiful like that." comments Harriet and Hermione blushes lightly. Harriet's compliments catch her off guard all the time.
It's as if it just come out of her without problem.
"Thank you for inviting me."
"You're welcome" Harriet croons, "We should buy the official posters too. Krum looked good today... Don't you think?"
"Yes. Although I'm a little afraid of him.... You know."
Harriet looks at the stand selling Krum posters and it's genuinely scary. Girls her age killing each other to get one. Harriet grabs her purse and pulls Hermione with her, uses the invisibility cloak on both of them and heads for that stall. No one notices their advance even though they accidentally bump into some of them. Harriet drops the money, takes both posters and walks away wishing the vendor luck.
"He has a very serious face." Hermione mimics the expression and Harriet nods.
"His neck... It's huge," Harriet says in amazement. Hermione laughs through her nose uproariously, "It's the width of his head. It's huge How does he manage that? Even trying my neck doesn't grow Does he do neck weights?" It's a genuine doubt, both still walking while watching him.
"Maybe it's your physiognomy plus exercise. You have a neck like your mom and your dad isn't very big either."
"Shitty genetics. First it doesn't make me a redhead and besides, it leaves me with a gooseneck." Hermione nudges him.
They reach the beer stand. Harriet carefully slips it into her expandable purse and they head back. Due to a long march of fanatics from Ireland, they must go another way. Thinking it is indifferent, they enter the tent and look to go to the other end.
"Who are you?"
"Oh fuck."
Hermione and Harriet stand stiffly where they are. Off to the side, Viktor Krum looking at them quizzically. He doesn't know who they are or how they got in. He's supposed to have someone watching. Harriet and Hermione look at each other for a moment" We just wanted to stop by. Sorry if we disturbed", Excuses Harriet with speed and Viktor gets up. He's wearing light clothes. T-shirt, sweatpants, bare feet. He has a slouchy posture and a severely dark look. He is chilling to look at. His magic dark and coarse, rocky and faintly cold. He seems to have been waiting for something.
"It's over there." he points to an opposite end.
"Oh, thanks," Hermione stammers, "Good game by the way. Good play. It was entertaining to watch."
"Entertaining?"
"Yes. You fly really well. You look like you weigh nothing and it's fun to watch." explains Hermione and Viktor is still waiting for something, looking slightly less grim at less receives what he awaits.
"And you avoided a horrible lose. That was a good idea." adds Harriet.
Viktor clenches his hands, rubs them together, looks uncomfortable. Not out of discomfort, more like wanting to do something, but not sure how. Suddenly it's as if he's shy rather than intimidating. The doubt at his attitude is obvious. Harriet and Hermione would think anything of him except that he's embarrassed to talk. Krum's explanation makes them look at each other.
"The people don't usually... talk. They just yell and get close. This surprises me." admits Viktor after a few minutes.
Harriet purses her lips, she can understand the sentiment of the last. She puts her hands on her waist, glasses drooping and hair messy and voluminous from so much humidity.
"Would you like a beer?"
. . .
Tom is starting to worry that Harriet won't come back Did something bad happen? Nagini crawls into his clothes and Tom prepares to endure the commotion outside to find his girlfriend. Fortunately, just a couple of meters away from the tent, he sees her and Hermione approaching. Both with a butterbeer in hand and chatting. Reaching him, Harriet burps covering her mouth and then offers her drink.
"Do you want some?" Tom squints.
"How many have you drank?" Harriet snorts and looks at Hermione.
"I think that makes five."
"Give me that."
Harriet laughs at the way Tom snatches it from her. He walks back inside. The topic of conversation seems to be the same. Harriet passes out the beers among everyone, Tom barely drinks from his. Beer and he don't get along. If it's not wine -preferably red-, he's not going to drink it with pleasure or speed.
"How many are there?" asks Ron. He reaches into Harriet's purse and pulls them out one by one.
"I bought three dozen, but I gave away four. There should be enough left anyway." hiccups Harriet and adjusts her glasses. She takes a seat abruptly on the couch, almost on top of Tom who slurps air, watching her with annoyance. He almost spills everything.
And to make matters worse she almost sits on him.
"Why did you give away beer?" asks Ginny with an amused smile, "Are you that drunk?"
"I'm not" Harriet states with a raised finger. Her glasses askew and even fluffier hair make it seem otherwise, "I was just being polite wasn't I Hermione? You have to be polite."
"I'm starting to think the warm and the beer are the problem."
"I got this."
Tom causes a small cold snap that would take a while to go away. Ginny stretches out in her seat, pleased. Hermione sits on top of Harriet who hugs her body to her.
"What is this, WHAT IS THIS?" squeaks Ron and Harriet lifts her head, "Where did you get this from!"
"Where else? Viktor Krum signed it. He was very kind." replies Harriet nonchalantly, smiling goofily.
"He offered it to us when we said we should come back. Actually, he was very kind." agrees Hermione and Ron looks close to losing the eyes.
"YOU TALKED TO HIM!?"
"And we had beer with him."
Ginny's beer goes up her nose at Ron's face and continued panic at the news. Tom gives Harriet a fleeting glance, trying to get the picture, or rather not get the picture and contain his own bad temper. Don't let it be chaos.
Why even a mental image?
Nothing happened.
They just talked.
Hermione was there.
Obviously Harriet wasn't going to flirt with Viktor Krum.
Why would a loser and useless loser be important?
If his girlfriend was perfect and could only be with him, who is her equal.
"I can't believe-"
"I do. He told us about his school, that he had to repeat a few years for playing Quidditch, that they don't let him drink butterbeer ever" relates Harriet who breaks off and starts braiding Hermione's hair, "He sounded a bit sad, but he seemed happy to talk to us."
"He must be a bit of a downer. They all go squealing after him. I'm sure he's bored." commented Ginny and Hermione nodded in agreement.
"I was looking forward to that. He was so confused. It was like watching a really big, dazed dog." relates Hermione laughing with a slightly red face.
Ron keeps looking like he's in his last minutes of life. Tom has no opinion on the matter, Ginny, Fred and George continue to tease Ron. Harriet and Hermione talk about something else, with Hermione laughing at Harriet's messy braids. They must practice making hairstyles.
They settle down to sleep around two in the morning. Boys together, girls together. Separated by sections. Small rooms not so small. That way there's no need to fuss for privacy. Harriet changes her shirt to a larger sleep shirt, Snitch print pants and ties her hair in a loose ponytail.
After trying for long minutes to flatten it to no avail. The humidity makes it even more voluminous. As if she needed it.
Harriet turns off the light, takes off her glasses and covers even her head with the blanket. It doesn't take many minutes before she feels a weight on the bed. A very specific one that comes with feeling hands on her chest.
"It took you long enough."
Tom kisses the back of her neck, massaging one of Harriet's breasts. She brings her hand to Tom's crotch, rubbing over the clothes minutes before rubbing underneath.
"There's a problem."
"Um?"
"It's still going."
Tom gives a slight snort. Harriet with period is a total no. They tried it once and apart from getting annoyed by the pile of fluid, it was a bit of a pain to clean up even with magic. In the end it was agreed that they would not try anything on those days of the month. A bad combination because of how hormonal she feels on those specific days.
Doesn't stop them from doing other things. Harriet presses her thighs together, the member in between starting to rub. She purses her lips, heated and bristling. She hears Tom moaning in her ear and the cuddling of her breasts only causes more stimulation.
She's thankful for the spell that keeps her from getting stained or overdressed, because she's sure she'd be a mess after all this.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
"Now what's wrong with him?"
"He's jealous that you guys talked to Viktor Krum and even got an autograph and he didn't." replies Ginny and Ron gives her a bad look.
"Ah..."
"You talked to him?" Sirius exposes surprise, "And how was it, is he as serious as he looks?"
"He's like a gentle giant." opines Hermione.
"He told us a bit about Durmstrang. I thought it would be a bigger place." mentions Harriet.
"That's why Hogwarts is better." concludes James with a smug look on his face.
The day boils down to enjoying the fair around the Quidditch final. There are a variety of stalls, games and demonstrations of magical talents. Ron remained annoyed throughout the day. To such an extent that his brothers ignore him. Harriet took it upon herself to encourage Hermione and Tom to consider this a good experience and she can say that she succeeded.
Upon entering it is a magical animal show. One that for the first time doesn't seem to be mistreating them or getting them smuggled in. At the end of the whole show, all three were left with feathers from the Thunderbird, who allowed himself to be petted on the beak and even hugged. According to the owner, he rescued him and kept him to prevent him from being taken away again.
With how comfortable and friendly he was without going to any cages or being haunted, they believe it.
"Sometimes it sounds great just going around the world seeing magical animals don't you think?"
"That there are so many is overwhelming. Anything you find in a novel can be real."
"Sadly, the real problem is that even wizards have a bad habit of destroying what can't be fix later," Tom comments with his hands behind his back, "Going on a trip to see them should be synonymous with helping to preserve them."
"Like Newt Scamander." says Harriet and Tom nods in agreement.
On the way back they run into Cedric. The Hufflepuff practically kidnaps Harriet to the other side. Tom tries to keep his eyes that way and Hermione distracts him with unpleasant information:
"Lavender keeps saying that Cedric is trying to flirt with Harriet, but I don't think that's what it is. If he has a girlfriend." mentions Hermione, hands on hips.
"Teenagers are useless and stupid at almost everything. Why do you think that's not the case?"
"Because I'd like to think he doesn't pretend to be a nice guy" Hermione admits and Tom crosses his arms. He doubts it. He's a jerk like any other. His perception is entirely based on his wariness of him, "It's so annoying that everyone comes around just because they mean it... Sometimes you just want to have friends nothing more."
"Has Harriet complained?"
"Yes. Especially after she found out we were seen in the bathroom. It's... Annoying." concludes Hermione before entering the tent.
Harriet seems to be going in a different stream to Cedric judging how the two of them are interacting. She talking and seeing other things, he seeing her. Tom is unable to understand the urgency of having more than one such contact. The urge for more codependency. He can barely handle one without feeling like he is unraveling how to be autonomous.
Why seek more?
And worse why seek more having a monogamous relationship?
He doesn't understand people and is overwhelmed by the need that implies: to understand even their biggest weakness to use it against them. He can understand the attraction to Harriet. Whether it's her magic being a magnet or her own beauty and personality. It's natural for people to want that kind of attention.
However Cheating on a girlfriend for being with someone else? Doing it willingly? Cedric isn't an idiot or anything like that. He just chooses to be a jerk. As if there's any more reason to despise him. Tom is perfectly aware that he's being compared to him and... IT OFFENDS HIM! HOW IS HE HIS OPPONENT!? Cedric is ordinary, he's not a prodigy, he only does quidditch well because apparently as a boyfriend he's garbage.
He's not like him why are you comparing him? Tom would say he's a lot prettier too.
Tom hates this nonsense.
"Planning a murder huh? Who we'll gonna killed?"
Tom's irritation rises in level. He removes Sirius's arm from his shoulder and enters the tent. The Black reject whistles in amusement.
"She didn't want to come. She had a party with her family. I asked her to come, but she said that would be more important." explains Cedric, as Harriet asked about Cho.
"What a pity. It would have been fun to be all of us," says Harriet, "Well! Maybe another time. I sent her some letters in the summer. If I had known maybe I would have invited her. My dad wouldn't have cared and my mom would have loved another girl around me."
"You has a lot of male friends." mentions Cedric.
"It happened by accident."
Cedric stares at Harriet and though he tries to approach, Harriet is totally distracted, straight to buying a giant cotton candy. The Hufflepuff approaches again, Harriet offers him of the treat and he takes, pretending that's why he's nearby.
As soon as Harriet finishes eating, she goes to her tent on her way back, inviting him to come in and be with the others.
. . .
Drakonys scrunches up her face, wondering how people are able to enjoy such disgusting food as what is here. It is unthinkable to Drakonys that anyone would enjoy something so disgusting. Even paying more doesn't save it from being better. She decides to ignore the food stalls for her own sake. Drakonys exhales bored and looks over to where her dad is talking to other people.
They are supposed to be leaving, but he doesn't seem to be aware that they are leaving! Drakonys wanders some more along the fairgrounds. She sees some familiar people. James and Lily kissing in public -disgusting-, Sirius and Remus on one of the rides -pathetic-, the Weasleys making a fuss in one of the free areas -miserable-, Cedric and his dad talking to other wizards -irrelevant-, Ginny and Hermione looking at stalls -stupid and boring-, Tom and Harriet...
Tom and Harriet?
Discreetly walks over to see what the two of them are doing together. She's still puzzled that he came to the finale. After all, he's never been interested in Quidditch and must have been bribed to agree to come all this way. Drakonys can't imagine how Harriet convinced him. She pats the head of the Thunderbird who is roaming the fair, barely guarded by a puppy. Tom at her side with a half smile and allowing himself to admire the bird some more.
Parting, keeping another golden feather, they walk away, talking. Drakonys doesn't avoid displeasure by paying attention to Harriet's clothing: a huge black shirt, shorts, black converse and high-tops. Tom wears elegant pants, booties and a green turtleneck sweater. It is so little Harriet looks next to him that it generates distaste in Drakonys.
She notices Harriet's chest swaying -not as much as her mind creates-, her thighs too -again, an errant perception- and Harriet exaggerates when it comes to eating the ice cream she bought -not as exaggerated as she thinks-. Drakonys has a very distant view of Harriet's reality. He sees her dirtier being in this insufferable environment. Being next to Tom, who is a psychopath in her opinion.
At the same time, the normal image, where there is nothing strange or sexualized on purpose, is kept in the back of Drakonys's mind.
Pursuing them is half-hearted. There are a lot of people walking and although they are not in a particular hurry, they never seem to reach their destination. At the end of the fair she sees them approaching the forest and would be watching if Lucius hadn't called her. Somewhat frustrated, she hurries to her father. Before he gets impatient.
"If you gave even the slightest chance, you'd realize it was worth it," she says.
"The Weasleys? Really?"
"Fred and George are very good at what they do. You know that," Harriet croons and Tom gives a disgruntled grunt. They are a mess, but a productive one. They are quite particular and despite not putting up with his sense of humor, Harriet is convinced they could be good friends, "You need more real friends."
"I don't need friends."
"We all need people. Even if it's one person" Tom rolls his eyes. He has her Why depend on even more people? "You're someone very special and charming, Tom" Harriet smiles dropping her head to the right, "More people knowing would be great."
"I am charming, but not in that way." says Tom.
"Silly excuses." Harriet criticizes waving her hand dismissively.
Half-tucked in the woods, unlikely to be discovered, they kiss for a while. It's a quiet touch, something to complement their magics mingling in an anxious way. Ending up sitting with Harriet between his legs and him leaning against a tree.
He keeps thinking he doesn't need anyone else. It's fine the way it is... And it would be better still, if Harriet were alone too.
If they just had each other, everything would be fine. No one bothering her. No one calling for her attention. No one trying to tell her he's a threat.
Just me and her.
"Can you promise me this year that you won't go crazy without telling me why?"
"I can promise not to go crazy, at best."
Harriet laughs through her nose.
Chapter 33: Act. XXXIII. Exposed
Chapter Text
Sirius yawns and walks around the tent, tail wagging from side to side. Harriet never gets up before eight in the morning, so it's safe to go to sleep there. Sirius loves James with all his heart, but his morning spirit doesn't fit into that package.
Sirius pushes the cloth away and jumps onto the bed. He has done the same thing for twelve years, which is how long it took Harriet to have a bed for herself that was big enough. His dog-like screech could well be heard everywhere because of how high-pitched it was. Although his fear is no greater than that of the two people in bed.
Harriet covers her mouth and gasps at her, pushing her hand away and exposing her busted lip. Tom rubbing his head from hitting the wall. Tom reluctantly looks at Sirius and calls out to Nagini "Nono! IT'S SIRIUS! IT'S SIRIUS!" Tom distorts the expression more. Is she serious? Sirius climbs out of bed and changes shape, crossing his arms.
"And me wanting to sleep five more minutes... It seems like that was ruled out here." Harriet looks away, embarrassed. She has her pajama shirt on, but not her pants, and Tom has his boxers suspiciously exposed for anyone to see. "And...? Something to say?"
"Well... Things happen?"
"I'm going for James"
"NO NO NO-"
. . .
"I just can't..."
James rubs his temples. Having this talk in private with so many people accompanying is a mess, they could barely find an empty space for those involved: Lily, Sirius, Remus, James, Harriet and Tom. Harriet doesn't know what to do, as if her giant clothes aren't enough to cover her embarrassment, and Tom can't look more irritated, yet serious and almost indifferent. Not to mention that the atmosphere does not help to be calm. There is a lot of scandal outside.
"Be honest, both of you," James demands. "They've already had sex."
"Yeah." Tom responds almost instantly and Harriet just shakes her head.
"And this is why those tubal ligations in little girls are phenomenal. I told you it was a good idea to put it on." Sirius states, rocking in his chair. He wants to take it a little easier than James. He function as devil's advocate. Lily exhales, crossing her arms.
"How long ago?"
"A few months." replies Tom. Harriet is tempting a date near the end of the Hogwarts year.
It's doesn't make sense lying at this point, but at the same time, she has to know which truth to expose. As far as they are concerned, they recently got back to doing things. Which counts as a valid answer to the question, without stating that they have been doing it since Harriet was twelve. That would cause problems. James clicks his tongue.
"You're not five years old and you know perfectly well about this subject, and that it's not something you should be doing," James points out and Harriet bites her lip. "Not to mention that you've had a boyfriend for almost two years and you didn't tell us anything."
"Because I knew you were going to be angry."
"That's no excuse for not telling me." James insists. This still hurts him. Regardless of what it was, Harriet must have said it. At least that's James' perspective, because his daughter trusts him and how is he supposed to help her if he doesn't know what's going on in her life? Harriet, for her part, has a more accurate way of seeing it.
"You were going to tell me not to have a boyfriend yet and since you don't like him, you weren't going to let him come or be in home on my birthday" she explains and Lily shakes her head. Yes, James would undoubtedly have banned Tom from every possible place. "You also think that he can't be good because he has black magic and talks to snakes. Even as my friend, you didn't like him. If I told you that he's my boyfriend... you blew up the house!" Harriet justifies.
The mental image of her is exaggerated, but not wrong.
"Imagine this happening in Godric's Hollow... most likely there wouldn't be kitchen anymore," Sirius agrees, straightening up. "Rriety, puppy, understand that this is not so... Easy to take" Sirius asks. "None of us think it's good that you jump into something like that at such a young age."
"I'm not six years old."
"We know."
"And I know what I'm doing. It's not like Tom forced me or anything. He doesn't even like people touching him." Tom shrugs. If this helps prevent them from knowing the truth, that is, that they have been sexually active since they were twelve and thirteen, the better.
Plus, it's not something Sirius and James didn't notice on their own: how much Tom hates being touched.
"It's okay. We know that's not the case, but you should have been clear even with the possibility of James getting angry," Lily informs, clasping her hands. "And Tom... Well-"
"No one at school knows about it for the same reason as now: they're going to stare and make stupid comments that only annoy. This isn't their problem because it's not even a problem."
Harriet ends even more uncomfortable and Tom reluctantly leaves. It could be said that, of the trip, it was the worst moment.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
"Hey, I know better than anyone that this is still overwhelming you," Sirius admits and James rubs his temples, stopping what he's doing. Sirius is so inopportune. He needs to finish these reports now. Having Sirius in his office all of a sudden isn't exactly a way to be productive, "but frankly... you just have to let it go. Even with the fight you had, it doesn't seem like Tom did anything wrong."
"I don't care if he did something wrong or not. What I care about is finishing this shitty report and you're making me remember things I don't want to." James replies under his breath. He barely manages to type two words before Sirius speaks again:
"Eventually you'll have to talk to her about it. You're not going to be able to stand not talking about it and she needs your support in this" Sirius informs with an awkward gesture. "It's her first relationship. If she opens up to you, she might talk when things go wrong... especially if she knows you're not against it." he points out.
Harriet knows that in this field, she can't count on anyone but Remus. While the werewolf is a perfect support, he is not James. Harriet needs James and if he doesn't give in, all this could lead to real misfortune. Sirius, as a good friend and godfather, wants to advocate for both sides. Harriet is already very embarrassed as well as sad, hoping that her father doesn't hate her; James is the one who makes the situation difficult by not wanting to talk about it or taking it more personally than necessary.
"I am against it."
"Pretend not to be." solves Sirius, simple.
"Sirius, really, you're not helping me."
"I know," Sirius says with a laugh, "but you need it. Also force yourself to see the bright side."
"What 'bright' side?" James replies in a bored tone. As far as he is concerned, there is nothing good in this.
"Maybe it's a double-edged sword, but the way he looks at her, the love he has for her is quite great... to the point of going to an event he didn't want, watching a sport he doesn't like, being in a fair he doesn't want to be at," Sirius says, having forced himself to see those details in Tom's favor. "I don't know about you, but it gives me a certain peace. It means that the affection is real. It's not just... hormones doing their thing."
James remains irritated. He still has the bad feeling because of the bad experiences. However, what Sirius says is exactly the same as what Lily said, but with different words:
He looks at her like Sirius looks at you.
Sirius is his best friend, a soulmate to have a better term. He has never hurt him and has been present at all the important moments in his life. From his departure, his appointment, his marriage and the birth of his only daughter. Sirius is a clear evidence that dark magic and that strange twinkle in his eyes can be a good thing.
It can be something beautiful and destined to last being that way. Instead of getting twisted or dangerous.
Leaving the office and alone in his thoughts, James continues making an account of the things that Tom has done for Harriet: coming home for birthdays and Christmas, despite getting along very badly with the Weasleys - more specifically Ron -, buying her expensive gifts, using the money that he earns at the expense of winning contests instead of himself, needing it judging by how little he is cared for in that orphanage; being perfectly aware of what Harriet likes, from animals to clothes; having shielded her in front of Grindelwald during the presentation...
When James gets home, Harriet tries out the hair dye Sirius gave her. She having some red locks. Lily has not arrived yet and informed by messenger from the ministry that she will not arrive at night, because of a new class they will be taking to treat complicated magical wounds.
This gives James total time with his fourteen-year-old daughter, who has already had sex, has had a boyfriend since she was twelve, and who hasn't looked at him in almost two weeks, which is how long they have had to talk about the topic.
James makes dinner, cleans up after himself, Harriet washes the dishes by hand - she still does not have permission to use spells to save herself - when everything is ready, she prepares to go to her room to listen to music while reading the magazines that arrived by mail. She has no strength to look James in the face and the feeling that he is going to continue judging her.
Just like everyone else.
James stops her, gently taking her arm and leading her towards the living room to watch television. Even though he sits in place like he always does, she take a sit on the other side. Total silence for twenty minutes watching television and Harriet speaks:
"You're going to tell me to end the relationship, right?"
"No." James says, confused.
"You're very strange." Harriet sucks in air and flattens herself on the furniture, her legs pulled up to her chest. James snorts.
"Bambi, who suddenly appeared with a hidden life: it was you" Harriet pouts. It's not fair that I call her that now. "Come here."
Harriet snuggles up and leans on him as usual when they are in this space of the house. James caresses her hair, carefully untangles some knots, and the silence lasts very little this time.
"You love him?"
"Yes. I love him very much... Very much" Harriet admits after a few seconds. "I don't know. I like seeing him smiling and I also like a lot of things about him." she admits hugging a cushion. James gives a vague ummm. Harriet for her part is not willing to give a list of things she likes about Tom.
That would be too embarrassing. However, one of them accidentally escapes.
"I like the color of his eyes...they're a pretty red. They match his magic, which is pretty too." she says quietly, lost in her thoughts and in her memory.
"And his attitude? What about that?"
"I like it too. He's serious almost all the time, but he's quiet... I like that silence." Harriet responds and James exhales sharply. He manages to remove all of her daughter's hair so that it is not crushed between them. He rests his temple on his knuckles, watching her.
"What's the first thing he said that he likes about you?"
"He said he likes my eyes. They're his favorite color."
James has to admit that he was expecting something like magic or maybe that Harriet is good at it. Not specifically that. Harriet pulls her lips out a little.
"I know you're not going to believe me because you hate him, but... he cares about me a lot... I think apart from Hermione, he's the only one who does," she mentions quietly and James bites his lower lip. "He is the only one who doesn't listen to what others say about me and is interested in what I want to say, also that I am not happy all the time... He really cares about me" Harriet looks up. "Not that I'm your daughter or that he can make fun of me later."
"Why would they make fun of you?" James replenishes lost at this point.
"Everyone does it. They say I'm fat, that I have huge breasts, my hair, my grades, whether I go one place or another; they're all like that."
James narrows his eyes. This feels like bad karma for having bullied Snape in his student years. Maybe that's it. It just proves that Remus was so fucking right about what he warned about before Harriet was born.
"I just need to know that you are with someone who is going to treat you well," James says at the end, with a distressed tone. "It doesn't worry me as a friend because it's... well, friend, there is a certain... distance, but as a boyfriend it can create other situations, there are other contacts, there are other things happening. I wish you had waited longer."
"About being boyfriend and girlfriend or anything else."
"In everything. Even if we say that it's just being boyfriend and girlfriend."
"Dad, at that specific moment I just thought: the smartest, coolest, most handsome guy in Slytherin said he likes my eyes and my smile, I wasn't going to think about anything else, okay?" Harriet grumbles and James throws his head back, laughing.
Being in dad's position has made him forget that sometimes teenayer's things are that banal! The fact that his daughter almost has problems with her identity does not mean that she doesn't has sexuality. She likes a handsome boy! That speaks like a prince, that he is smart, that he is powerful, he is normal with her! And she's still a teenager. James demands Harriet to be aware like an adult that she isn't.
"Yes. He's handsome for someone his age. I won't deny that. He's also tall."
"He is beautiful. I love him."
"I hope he talks like that about you."
"With Nagini? Surely."
James felt a kick. Of course, who are Tom going to talk to? If he has no family and from what it seems, no real friends either. Now that he thinks about it, Tom only has Harriet. He can't even count Regulus into this. Not with how strange the dynamic between the two has been.
"Anything else he said?" James ask to let the topic go.
“Not without sounding like I have six butterbeers on me."
"He has you as the most beautiful student at Hogwarts or I won't let him put a feet in this house again." James warns and Harriet narrows her eyes. That's cheating. Also embarrassing. Harriet doesn't want to tell everything that Tom tells her alone.
James wants more evidence. Just one. Something that exposes how unconditional Tom is. With that, he would swallow his annoyance and displeasure.
"Well... Yeah... I mean... Afff... Remember how happy I was about gaining weight?" James nods. How can he forget? If all the lights in the house and the sun itself seemed to shine brighter because of Harriet's magic when she saw her weigth. "Well, he froze part of the station when he saw me and then he told me that I looked spectacular even though the others said he was too fat... essentially he called them jealous."
"Well, he has won this battle, not the war, he better behave or disappear from the picture. Understood?"
"Understood... What does it mean to behave?"
"That I will consider removing the magical ligation from you if you two keep doing adult things."
Harriet stands up frightened and with her eyebrows furrowed. Her hair moves because her magic fluctuates so much. James lightly pats the top of her head. James just decides to stay calm. This indirect admission of an active sex life is... terrible. He's going to have to get used to knowing that there's some damn stupid asshole doing things to his daughter...or that she's doing things to him- James decides to cut that line of thought right there. He has September, October and November to do it.
Because obviously Tom will come here for Christmas.
And James will have to avoid seeing him with hatred, threaten him again and make sure that he does not enter Harriet's room in the middle of the night... thinking about it: make sure Harriet does not enter Tom's room in the middle of the night either.
Chapter 34: Act. XXXIV. Some talking
Chapter Text
Harriet runs out of the house, trying to tie her hair and meet Tom. The teenager standing in front of the house with a bouquet of flowers in his hand. It's strange? Harriet didn't expect him to turn up like this and if it's a play to win over James, chances are he'll only make his dad's bad mood worse. One that James tried to disguise when Harriet let him know that she was going for a walk with Tom today.
Just walking through Godric's Hollow and spending the afternoon together. In two days they return to Hogwarts, but there is not much time they spend together there, besides the sleepless nights and secret dates at night. Having their own space for a few hours, having revealed the secret to her parents only gives them freedom... kind of.
She feels James looking at her through the window.
Also, a bush in the neighbor's garden catches fire.
"Any reason for the flowers?"
"On your birthday you said that you liked it and that no one had never given it to you. It's a good first time." Tom says with a shrug. Harriet tilts her head.
"It's because of the French guy, right?" Tom doesn't answer. "Well! You somehow guessed that I like spireas. So you're the winner." Harriet jokes, smelling the bouquet.
Tom smiles slyly. That "guessed" was as simple as asking Hermione. She thought it was to prepare some Christmas gift, so, again, no suspicion on her part. Harriet turns and waves goodbye before walking off with Tom.
"He brought her flowers," Lily says with a smile and a hand on her chest. "I'm going to look for a vase. Don't let them die soon... Where are the vases?"
"In the basement, honey, they don't fall down there," James replies and Lily goes straight there. James forces himself to breathe. "They're not going to do it in an open place. At most they kiss. Don't worry, don't worry." he tells himself out loud to conform to this.
Parental jealousy is horrible.
He wants to go back to the time where Harriet was four years old and didn't have to worry about this.
He wants to convince himself that it is normal and that everyone suffers from it, so he feels less exaggerated. He turns to look at the house and wonders if Lily will find any empty vases. He accounts for almost everyone already placed in the house. It's not strange they're all in use, he bought his wife flowers. Lily likes the smell and that the house looks colorful despite being an old structure.
Harriet, for her part, holds the bouquet with both hands. She doesn't want it to be damaged at all. She knows they will wither and she won't even be home when it happens, but she really likes the detail.
"My dad admitted that he hates you."
"Wow. He didn't make a fool of me," Tom says ironically. "Anything else? Maybe curse my ancestors"
"No. He was just worried about what you really feel for me and if you have said 'I love you' yo me." informs Harriet and Tom feel Relief? That's the question.
The only question.
The only expectation.
It's big, very tall too, but...
"I love you."
They stop halfway and Harriet smiles, tilting her head.
"I love you too Tom. It's nice to tell you without being locked up and hidden." she mentions it with a shrug and it's... True.
Being private does not bother them, but having to repress even the smallest gesture of interest that cannot be excused as friendship is tiring. The feeling that Slytherin and Gryffindor are going to explode if this gets out. The favorite and perfect prince with the lioness so named. A simple scandal that they don't want to live with. They already have enough scandal on them
"Maybe... In my last year..."
Harriet didn't know how to react with more than a silly laugh. Tom does not seem to have concerns or doubts that they will continue for the long term. Even in two more years. Harriet also considers it a good time. When he is about to leave, he will not matter for the majority. Hopefully, they'll even have other people to annoy with their excessive interest.
They arrive at a park and lie down on the grass. They talk about what the last days of summer have been like, some extra things that come and go. Nagini stretched out to the fullness of her, the grass here is ten times better than the one at the orphanage, so she enjoys it perfectly.
"I've talked more with Viktor. It's a good experience." Harriet comments.
"Regulus wrote to me a couple of times. An annoying dog." Harriet sees this badly. She can't believe how bad Tom talks about his only 'friend'. "Do you like Krum? Physically." clarifies, curious.
"He's cute, but I don't like his cut." Tom closes his eyes out of inertia and sighs with pleasure at the caresses of his hair. "I think I'm in love with your hair." Harriet slides her fingers through the dark brown, almost black strands.
"I love your hair... It's soft." Tom can't think straight with this going on. His neurons can't handle it.
It is the softest and most loving touch he can receive. He loves to receive it. Especially when he is cold like now, the coat is not enough.
"My birds nest."
"The fluffiest and brightest."
Harriet laughs through her nose.
"Back to Krum... Maybe I don't know him very well, but he doesn't have that."
"That?"
"That."
"What's that?"
"What makes you so beautiful and that I like you so much, is how aware you are of your beauty" Tom opens his eyes. "You are naturally beautiful, but you don't treat it as something hateful. You are just beautiful."
"Wow, you like that I'm a jerk."
"A bit."
Harriet doesn't know how to explain to him that that's nice. After all, she has heard too many stupid confessions from other students. With guys saying "I'm not enough for you" and she thinks it's shit, why wouldn't they be enough? If it is not, why even confess? It is stupid and pathetic, it is diminishing oneself to create pity and then ending up complaining that the other person is insufficient.
She's heard too many Gryffindor seniors complaining about her boyfriends.
Tom does not believe himself insufficient in anything and when he knows that he is, he just goes at it without making a drama. At most, get angry and try to remedy it. It's ten times better than that false victimhood.
"When we get to Hogwarts... Shall we go to the secret chamber?"
"Of course."
Harriet laughs with a shrug. Perfect.
┈ ⋞ ⟨ ✷ ⟩ ⋟ ┈
It's a big ballroom
She wears a dress with a wide, huge skirt and endless layers of gold-edged tulle. Earrings with garnets and gold hang from her ears; her chest is almost exposed by the heart neckline and his neck adorned with a golden snake that spins around it.
Eyes lined with black and gold
Dark red lips.
Her hair was in a complicated hairstyle filled with gold rings. Spectacular braids and unions for the long and messy black hair.
Even as perfect as she looks, there is no one in this space.
She squeezes his hands in her lap, feeling alone.
"May I?"
With Harriet, her eternal companion of her dreams in front of her. He offers Harriet a hand and smiles at her, his head tilted and he curved towards her. Harriet slowly raises her hand and takes the opposite, standing with the man guiding her to the center of the room. Harriet breathes deeply, confusion growing stronger and stronger in her.
"Why do you always want to accompany me?" Harriet grabs the end of her skirt and he laughs, shaking his head.
"Why wouldn't I want to be in the company of such an extraordinary creature like you?" The man questions back.
The music starts playing and they dance. When he spins Harriet around and then receives her, gently holding her waist, bodies of darkness emerge. They dance to the same rhythm, with theater masks on their faces to hide them. Harriet leans closer to him, her chest pressed against him, now able to dance.
"Don't be afraid. Nothing is going to happen to you." He promises and Harriet looks up. She is fixed on the heterochromatic eyes that do not stop looking at her with so much desire and wonder.
Little by little and without stopping dancing, they ended up in one of the corners. Harriet trapped between the walls and the blonde man. He laughs and caresses her collarbone.
"You know that with me, there is nothing you should hide. Nothing that affects you and no one that fails to comply... You are the queen. The one and only queen." The man whispers and as he does so, his hand moves down to Harriet's cleavage.
"I... I'm scared." stammers Harriet. She doesn't know what's wrong with her. Her dreams become so heavy, so dense. She doesn't understand how this works at all.
The feeling that something is enveloping every small part of her body is getting insufferable. He grabs Harriet's face and she tries to clear away the haze in her thoughts. She knows she should admit it, but she can't do it. It's just him.
He is just her knight and her savior in her nightmares. Who she would like to impress by being brave, by being strong. Deserve his hugs, his warmth and protection. He caresses her soft cheeks with his thumbs.
"Everything is fine. I'm here with you, little lioness... Don't hold anything back. Don't hide anything."
Harriet nods and he smiles charmingly. When they hug, Harriet feels his strong grip on her, as her body presses against him and his hands run down her back. He open her dress, leave the zipper completely down and her garment remains loose on her.
"You're not going to like the way I look."
"No? Nonsense. How can we not admire such a beautiful queen with absolute devotion."
Parting from her, Harriet covers her chest with her hands, her dress at her feet and covering her ankles. Harriet's body was plump, muscular and almost naked. His firm but large abdomen, his wide sides, his large thighs; her arms now tense, noticeably muscular. Harriet looks into his eyes, waiting. He admires her with such fascination that it gives Harriet chills.
"You're beautiful."
Harriet's face turns red and she brings her feet together, a clumsy and painful posture.
"The most beautiful woman that could exist."
He caresses from her elbows to her shoulders and Harriet smiles crooked, uncomfortable and confused. He kisses her on the forehead and with his body, covers her from all the shadows that are in the enormous room. Caring for the vulnerable adolescent figure. Harriet lets out a breath and closes her eyes, allowing herself to be embraced.
Letting it be.
Letting... Invade.
But that...
That hurts a lot.
Hurts.
Hurts.
Hurts.
H̸u̷r̷t̴s̵.̶
H̸̱̚ú̷̼ŕ̶͚t̴̪͝s̶͍̀
̴͚̘̓̈́H̵̢̢̀u̵̖̐͛r̵̘̺͂t̵̠͂̓s̵͍͕̉
̶͉̓͐H̶̫̾̈̕Ủ̵͓̘̔R̴̲̣̦͑̾T̷̘̰̓̎Ŝ̴̛̳̉
Ḩ̸́̇͗̊U̴̧͓͇͌̅̈́R̷̛͇̀͌T̵̯̣͙́̍͝S̸͓͑̊
̴̡̢͔͍̲̝̭̒L̵͕̯̲̻̇͂͐̈́̇̅Ě̸̢̞̗̹̗̫̓́̍̾́̔T̶̢̰̤̬͇̈́͒͊̆̈́̚͜ ̴̜̌̓͒̈̎̈̚M̶̨͇̰̮͔̟̤͆E̵͉̻̾̓̾́͌̚͘ ̸̙̟̩̜̼͍̈́͝G̵̨͍͉̰͚͑̍̐̓͠O̷͓͛̚͠͝!̵̛̖̼͎̭̱̝̐̕
̸̡̨͍̠͉̟̝̆͜Į̸̨͕͍̪̞̭̫͕̥́̾̄͌͊̂̑Ț̵̡̣͍̋̾̎̕̕͜ ̷̦̭̯̈́͆̑̎H̴̡̝̪̰̳͇̣͙̿͊̈́̉̋͠U̵̢̧̢̠̙̦̭͎̼̝̎̈́̉̃̈́̈́̊́̾͗͜R̸̡̰̲̃̅͐͗̈́̚Ṭ̸̡̨̣͔̜͚̰͍̥̒̽̓S̸̘̭͐!̸̺̅̿̿
̵̭̗̯̥̲͑͒̔̏̓̉̈́̽̔͐̿̀͊̕͝L̴͙͕͉̘̳̖̯͎̺̒̇̈́̽̑̀̍͊̋̊̿E̶̛̳̮̞̮̗̤̠͉̲̩̪̽͂͑̏͜͝A̶̧̛̛̠̠͓̺̖͚̪̬͇͎̰̘̖̖̓̐͌̆̄̑̐̎̔̓͝V̸͍͇̲̖͖͓̤̣͆͗̾̆È̴̡̺̯͎̣͓̬͚̘͚͕̏ͅͅ ̵̧͈̟͚͚̝̙̦̺̬̺̖̲̂̽̊̃̓̓̂́̓̓͗̊̓͝͝͝ͅM̵̹̖̲̻̦͈͚͆̆E̸̺̘͙̯͕̟͙͂̋́̿̂́̒̎̍̊͋̃͘ ̶̡̨̛̙͓̍̽͊̆͘͝Á̵̢̨̨̧͚̪͍̜̠̲̣̟̺͇͍̂̅̀͂͜͝Ĺ̷̡̧̳̘̫͈̲͍͚̰͓͖̈́̑͂̂̈ͅͅO̸͇͍̗̊̋́͑́̇͝͠N̴̡̢̝̘͚̖̠̠̜͙͚͒̇͂̇̀̔͛̂̆̈́ͅE̷̡̡̗͈̱̬̹̓́̌̈̂̇̂̀̊̂̈́̍̚͝
̶̛̛͖̣̈͂́̅̈̈͒̂̃̍̒̇̃̈́́͑̈̑͒̃͗͋͒́̅͑̚̕͝͝S̷̡̧͍̗̰̟̼̪̪̻̳͈͍̳͎̮̹͚̩̖͇͚̦̦̈́͐͂͑̎̄͛͌̂͂͋̋̋̈́͆̂̚̕͜ ̶̡̨̜͔̬̫̫̣͉͖̭̠͍̺̫͚͕͓͎̥̺͕̱̭͇̖̥̞̮̝̃̎͊͊͑͊͛͐͒̄̋̅̍̒̅̀̎̃̎̀̍͊̓͋̓͛̾̑̄̚̚̕͝͝T̵͍̯̣̙̩̩̱̞̩̠͇̞͛͊̀͂͒̀̈͐̋̉̓͜ ̵̧̨̧̛͙͍̠͕̠̲͎̻̮̘̺͇͈̜̥͉̪͉̬̝͕̭̗̻̀͋̑̄͂̽̓̎̎̀̈̎̑̉̀͋́̇̒͒̈̈́͐̕̚͘͝͝͝͝ͅͅǪ̸̨̛̛͙͕͍̦̲̱̞̥̘̼̋͋̀͛̑͂͗̎̅̃̑̎̽̾͊͗̾̂͂̈́́́̄̒̽͑ ̷̡̡̡̛̫̱͈̖̱͕̘͎̦̦͇̲̦̯̻̜̻͔̙̝̼͚͉͍̭͕̗̙̈̇̂̍̂̃̾́̂̔̃͊̅̊͌͛̓̈́̄̀͑͋̂̅͘͘͜͠͝͝ͅͅP̵̧̼͎̗̪͙̲̻̌̏̿̇̈̋̐̊̒́̊̿͒̕͘͝͠
Harriet takes a heavy, painful breath of air, making loud moans and unable to hold onto anything. The plush dolls fall to the floor and she ends up making a moan so long and loud that she wakes up her parents. James and Lily go to her room, finding her suffocated and almost purple; her body suffering convulsions and being so cold that she seems close to death.
"Calm down darling, calm down." James indicates helping her sit up. Lily pulls her wand out and recites a spell that will release the body from her mental chain, so whatever is impeding her to breathe will stops.
Having done so, Harriet clings to James and ends up hugging him, curled up in him and trying not to cry because of the anguish she felt.
. . .
"Maybe it's a curse and we haven't realized it." Lily proposes quietly.
"We'll have to check it out at Christmas."
Lily nods. It's confusing, they have no way to verify what's wrong. They're going to arrive pretty close in time, but it took Harriet so long to fall asleep that they want to give her a little more time. She is exhausted and they are beginning to worry that she has such recurring nightmares. It would be normal if it weren't for the physical consequences they bring.
Let her magic riot as if there is a real threat.
Making her magic almost disappear for some reason.
Traces of hypothermia...
At nine twenty Harriet wakes up, has breakfast and gets dressed. Half of her hair in a bun, two bangs framing her face, and the volume higher than usual. How would it be different? If she hasn't done anything to down it today. A huge and long shirt covering her up to her thighs, very short pants and converse up to her knees.
Dirtier than ever, accompanied by her dark circles, her entire combo makes her look exaggeratedly exhausted and unappealing. She even notices that she has holes in her shirt and should pull it off, the zipper on her pants got damaged. If it weren't for the fact that she has to going out now, she would start crying out of frustration.
The only thing that sounds good to her right now, is that she's going to sleep with Tom for the night.
┈ ⋞ ⟨ ✷ ⟩ ⋟ ┈
Tom locks the door and walks down the already scandalous hallway of the orphanage. He doesn't know how to explain how these kids never shut up. The principal stops him and he narrows his eyes. Prepared to call Nagini in case the woman gets foolish.
"The key to your room." She asks, stretching out her hand.
"No."
"A new boy arrived. He's your age. He'll sleep with you in that room."
"Where I barely fit in" Tom mentions with his hands behind his back. His room (the matchbox) is small even for one person. He can't imagine putting inside another one. "It's not going to happen. I don't want them touching my room. It stays that way."
"Don't make me leave you without a door, you damn kid."
"Don't make me poison you for being rude."
Tom passes her by. He leaves the orphanage, barely saw the back of someone big and lanky at the entrance. For the sake of everyone here, he hopes they don't knock on his door. The only good thing that could come from this is that they put in a new bed. One with which his back stops agonizing. Even if him have a lot of money, Tom is not going to invest it in this horrible place.
Tom prefers to wait until he has his own home.
Not to mention that at Hogwarts the beds are great. He almost sleeps on a cloud. And when it's Harriet as a pillow or cuddling, it's even better. He will have a good night today.
Chapter 35: Act. XXXV. A different kind of year
Chapter Text
Tom arrives at King Cross and goes straight to the 9¾ station. Scandal reminiscent of the orphanage and therefore, he is more bitter than usual. He sees the Weasleys not far away; the Gryffindor girls talking among themselves, Tom scape from Regulus, Daphne and Theodore. He doesn't have the brain capacity to deal with them at the moment.
He spends some time looking for Harriet, but strangely, she's not here yet.
It is anomalous because she usually arrives early. It's like a custom that his family has. It's surprising that she arrives with ten minutes left before that train starts moving.
"If you have any more problems, remember you can talk to Remus about it." James says and Harriet nods, still looking sleepy and slightly swollen because of it. Tom approaches discreetly, climbing through the nearby door without anyone noticing.
"Okay," Harriet yawns. "I'll send you a letter later... I want... to sleep more." admits sleepily.
She doesn't know why she didn't feel like she rested. She is exhausted. She is completely drained and her own discomfort as she looks makes it worse. James places a kiss on her forehead. Lily one on the cheek and at both of their requests, Hermione helps lift Hedwig's cage, as well as Harriet's trunk and backpack. They both wave goodbye, although Harriet doesn't seem to notice anything.
"Another nightmare?" Harriet nods to Hermione's question. "Well, I came prepared with a mask so you don't leave me blind in the middle of the night. This time, there will be no problem."
Harriet smiles and falls on top of her. "Mione, have I told you how much I love you and adore you? You are the best person this earth has ever given birth to." she dramatizes and Hermione pushes her away, deeming her too silly.
Hermione enters the cabin, leaves the trunks where they'll go and when she looks out of, she doesn't see Harriet anywhere. She assumes that she went to the bathroom in the other wagon. Eventually Ron will get here, he doesn't worry her.
At the same time and inside the adjoining cabin, Tom has Harriet on top of him. The girl lazily taking him by the face to kiss him. Legs on either side of him and kissing him in the calm, but deep rhythm. This is due to drowsiness.
"If I fall asleep, do whatever you want. I just had a bad night."
"What happened?"
"A nightmare" Tom looks away. Harriet's nightmares begin to become more worrying. They take a role in her waking time, "but I think I'll be fine. I'll tell Ron and Hermione I'm going to sleep. Then I'll be fine."
"You don't have to force yourself if you don't want to."
"I just want to," Harriet whimpers. "I want to be on top of you all night and listen to you moan. Plus, I miss your chest."
Tom blushes, caught off guard that Harriet is talking about these things out loud. In that respect, Harriet is indiscreet and it is a bit embarrassing. Tom didn't think she liked listening to him or being on top of him that much. Or saying it correctly: Tom considers that it is not a matter of position, she just likes to touch him on the chest.
Because…? Tom has no idea. He doesn't have a worked chest or anything flashy. It's not like her who, in his opinion, does have something to admire. In the end, it is a part of his sexual appeal and only Harriet understands, while Tom does not. She gives him one last kiss and gets up, adjusting her huge shirt that was torn through one of the holes.
Harriet bumps into the door and rubs her nose. Tom can't resist laughing and she raises her lower lip. "I'm asleep and blind, don't ask for much." she notifies herself before leaving, adjusting her glasses. Tom remains stretched out in his place.
Oh, how Tom wish he could still be here. At least it's good to know one thing: Harriet today doesn't mind having sex with her while she's asleep. It usually doesn't happen, it's very rare, but it has happened a couple of times.
In the event that she is dead tired from Quidditch practice and studying; However, she likes the tingling she feels when she wakes up, as well as the reminiscent touch of it. Harriet usually makes it clear when she wants him to take care of her, if she doesn't say anything, Tom barely hugs or snuggles her.
Drakonys sputters walking down the aisle of the wagon and peeks into the cabin Tom occupies. She never remembers where the bathroom is. This train seems infinite. She throws her head back, surprised by the way the teen is doing. Tom leans his head back a little, with his ass on the edge of the seat and his legs open.
"Wanting something?" Tom asks, irritated by the way she's looking at him.
Like he disgusts her and who does she think she is? Drakonys shakes the head. Nagini comes out from under Tom's sweater, baring her fangs at the blonde who freezes in place of her.
"Nagini, I want her to leave, not die... Still."
"Can you keep your damn snake calm?" Drakonys asks quietly. "I'm just looking for the bathroom-"
"Follow this wagon to the next one and it's there" Drakonys nods. "And about the snake, it stays calm when she's not disturbed."
"I didn't do anything."
"You showed up, it's enough to irritate me." Tom reports and Drakonys moves his jaw.
"At least one snake here will do."
Tom raises an eyebrow and then smiles so that Drakonys feels a shiver of panic: "You're not the big deal that Blaise or your dad has led you to believe. If this is because I didn't have sex with you while I was drunk, it's pretty pathetic. Clearly Blaise Zabini is more dysfunctional than he appreciates with his disgusting way of speaking."
"For not being a pretentious bastard like you," Drakonys argues on impulse. It is impossible not to continue arguing. It's something that just happens. She urges to feel that she wins and until she reaches that, she is not going to shut up. "That's what you mean?"
"At least I have something to show off" he gets up from his seat and Nagini remains in the seat. Tom rests his hands on the frame of the cabin and Drakonys leans back. "Better than fucking a child who shouldn't even know how to open her legs."
He closes the door in her face and Drakonys presses her lips together, red and irritated. At the same time that she walks to the bathroom of the next wagon, Daphne, Regulus and Theodore saw part of what happened and because they could not hear, they have an idea that is very distant from reality.
"Do you think they planned to meet today?" Theodore asks quietly and Daphne laughs.
"It's most likely... Maybe Tom is one of those who likes to be there all the time." She comments smilingly and Regulus wrinkles his face.
"What a stupid thing." Regulus spits with displeasure. He doesn't picture Tom that way.
Opening the doors, he finds Tom in the same lanky but calm posture. He caresses Nagini on his lap, holding the huge snake and enjoying the cuddles. Regulus feels his legs shaking. Tom turns his eyes towards him and smiles slyly, straightening up and crossing his leg, Nagini crawls up his chest and leans on Tom's shoulders.
"Anything you need Regulus? Other than to stop being a lapdog and always in heat." The comment itself makes no sense to Theodore and Daphne, who see them alternately. Regulus opens and closes his mouth, his face red.
"N-no, nothing... I'm going... I'm going to the bathroom."
Tom gives a cruel laugh, petting Nagini more as he runs to where he said. Making fun of Regulus and this attraction he has is the only fun thing about having him around.
. . .
"Were you even able to sleep?" Ron asks, seeing Harriet nod.
"I slept, but I didn't rest. Even sleeping didn't work."
They both laugh at her stupidity and Harriet leans back against Hermione. She is able to fall asleep in just a minute. To make her more comfortable, Ron and Hermione leave her lying on the seat, with the rolled-up robe used as a pillow and another as a blanket. Harriet sleeps soundly and doesn't move the entire ride to school. It's kind of funny to watch.
She's still asleep when they arrive and George does the kind favor of carrying her on his back to the carriage, keeping her sitting there, then all the way to the great hall. It's a surprise that she could be like this until that moment. Not to mention that suddenly, a huge flame erupted from every candle in the place.
"Are we there yet?" Harriet babbles groggily upon waking up.
"Yes. You clearly mean getting to the great hall." Harriet looks around. Surprised at how heavy her sleep was. She brushes her hair out of her shirt and yawns again.
"Thank you for your kindness in helping to preserve my nap." Harriet jokes and Ron nudges her sharply, reciprocated with a shove from Harriet.
She feels much better now. Also that she could do a lot with the energy she has. She keeps moving her leg under the table. Dumbledore's speech is boring as usual, the sorting ceremony ended very late, and overall it's a boring time. Especially since the Gryffindors came last. A huge coincidence.
Just as the miracle of starting to eat was approaching, Dumbledore snatches it away. Nobody complains this time, only when the complete information arrives:
"The magical world has always been one and the schools that teach magic also join together from time to time," says the man, with his hands on his podium. "Before, there was the Triwizard Tournament. A competition that, in these very modern times, is nothing more than a suicidal desire for indifferent and forgettable glory."
"Sounds like fun." Harriet says with her cheek in her palm, not being serious.
"I'd like it more if you let me eat." Harriet laughs at Ron's comment. She is in the same situation. Sleeping the entire travel left her hungry.
"So, together with two other schools in the wizarding world, we have decided to rethink our unit and start a new tradition," Dumbledore announces. Maybe it is the happiest they have ever seen him. "Starting this year, there will be an exchange process between schools. As the main ones, we will be the hosts. Please welcome Beauxbatons and Durmstrang."
They turn sharply at the entrance, stunned. The Beauxbatons students enter first. Those who stand out the most are the women. Bending every now and then and generating sparks in butterfly shapes. Harriet blushes furiously at the look a girl gives her. Maybe she imagines it herself? Although she is very cute.
As soon as they reach the teachers' table, the other batch of students passes by. Dressed in red and brown, they hit their sticks on the ground and sparks of friction arise.
"There's Viktor!" They whisper excitedly and Hermione nods equally. The teenager gives them a half smile and continues with everyone from his school. Ron rests his cheek on his palm, a gesture of reluctance and jealousy for his two friends.
Tom is amazed at the level of serendipity. This is perfectly a mathematical anomaly. "Our guests will occupy two of the common rooms. The Durmstrang students will go to Slytherin."
There is no shortage of applause at the snake table. Tom has no variation. This can go so wrong, it's abhorrent. He has no choice but to give his usual talk to Durmstrang as well. That way, there would be no stupidity. Something tells him that they will also tell them in points what they do.
He wants the damn house cup, thank you very much.
"And the Beauxbatons students will take a place in Ravenclaw tower." Harriet pouts. Why weren't they chosen for this? They won the house cup last year too. All for the difference of two points against Slytherin. In theory, they should be elected. He speculates that McGonagall didn't want to deal with any more students. Not the blame. She knows that everyone in Gryffindor is worse than an earthquake. "They will be present during classes and will be able to participate in all kinds of activities" Dumbledore announces. "And during the Christmas holidays, there will be a dance to celebrate this union between schools. The best thing you can do is think about who your partner will be."
The notice remains a bit up in the air. Nobody pays real attention to it at that moment. Except for one or another very punctual person. Among them Tom, how would he not? If that kind of pomposity is his thing. Durmstrang and Beauxbatons sit at their respective tables and it's finally time to eat.
"We should try to get through the barrier that will form around Viktor and show him the castle," Harriet proposes. "I'm sure he'll like it."
"Or maybe he got dizzy because Durmstrang is only four floors and everyone is sleeping together." laughs Hermione, taking food. It is also a possibility. Ron doesn't say anything the entire meal. Partly it's better given how much he chokes with food this year.
The Gryffindor lioness realizes something: Ron is huge. Harriet is surprised at how huge and tall Ron is. She doesn't deny that he is thin, but his back is very wide and he must be six feet tall all of a sudden. She feels shorter than normal standing next to him.
At the Slytherin table there is a slight division between Durmstrang and Hogwarts. However, some more sociable beings are able to combine very quickly. In addition, the students did not limit themselves to being at the edge of the table, but rather intruded into every open corner of the seats. That's why there's one of them sitting next to Tom.
He is a male. Tall, pale skin, thick black hair combed back. He has a beard thick enough to get a trim. It frames his entire face. Brown eyes, large, aquiline nose. In general, he is someone who is handsome and gives occasional glances towards Tom. The Slytherin dedicated to eating.
"I didn't think that, in this school, there were people with dark magic" his way of speaking is crude and the "r"s are marked a lot. "After all, they say Hogwarts is a place of light."
"You clearly haven't listened to the right people," Daphne scoffs, moving the rice around on her plate. "Few in Slytherin have white magic. Although only Tom has Hell inside his body. Things from our prince."
"You flatter me." Tom says ironically, taking a sip from his glass.
"It is a very great and very beautiful power." Tom turns his head, finding the student slightly leaning towards him. "I'm Poliakov Aleksiev" he introduces himself and smiles slyly. "Nice to meet you, Prince of Slytherin."
Tom snorts and continues with his food. Indifferent to Poliakov and with Theodore, Daphne and Regulus getting strange vibes from the situation.
. . .
"He's Ron. He is the friend we told you about." Harriet introduces and Viktor introduces himself. Ron turns red and mumbles something. What is most understood is "I'm a big fan", causing Viktor to practically ignore him from that moment on. "Tomorrow after breakfast we can show you the palace if you want. Hermione and I know it quite well."
"It would be a pleasure. It's a shame we're not in the same house."
"If you want to sleep well, you're better off in Slytherin." Hermione assures with a laugh and Harriet looks at them alternately. He can notice things.
Many things.
Especially how Viktor looks at her.
"Just be careful in there. It's a little tricky being in there-"
"They're all dark wizards who try to take advantage of whatever you have or whoever you are," Ron says, barely catching Viktor's attention. "Most of them are evil."
"That sounds like home. The vast majority there have dark magic," he says thoughtfully. "Maybe that's why they put us there... I just hope I don't have to deal with anyone."
"Leave that to him" Harriet points towards Tom who is fixing his hair with one hand. "He is the founder's heir. If you have problems with students, tell him. He will take care of it more effectively. It's... An experience."
Viktor takes this into account and leaves with everyone from his school. It's a long road, he knows he has to walk it a couple of times to learn it. Although he supposes that Hermione and Harriet will be able to do him the favor of giving him a map. Having someone here to talk to is more than he's ever had in Durmstrang. He has Poliakov, true, but somehow he's a little less Close? He doesn't know how to explain it.
"Will you sleep with any of them? They're both pretty." says Poliakov next to him. They generally speak Bulgarian. They are not going to waste themselves speaking English among themselves.
"The girl with brown hair is very kind."
"Ah, I'm sure he'll open his legs soon. Like everyone else." He pats him on the shoulder and Viktor very much doubts that it's going to be like that. Hermione clearly isn't that kind of girl. He has nothing against them, other than being tired of meeting them and all of them trying to touch him. He doesn't want her legs spread, really. "I like the one with glasses better."
"Harriet Potter."
"The girl is a harbor lighthouse."
"Yes. She's quite bright."
"Contrary to the Slytherin boy," Viktor raises an eyebrow. He doesn't know who he's talking about. "Some people call him the prince of Slytherin" he points to Tom and Viktor nods. "He's a very conceited bitch."
"Don't look for trouble here, Poliakov. Your dad has no power here. Also, save yourself the trouble."
"This is a walk and I like to live the experience."
Viktor wrinkles his face. This is what he hates about Poliakov and why he has a hard time saying that he is his friend. He has a reputation as Don Juan and in Durmstrang it is very common to see him flirting with anyone who is a year younger or older. Whether he is a man or a woman. That he notices Tom doesn't surprise him. Magic and profile is what Poliakov likes most in a man: tall, thin, confident, dark hair, hairless and dark magic.
Meanwhile, Harriet is what he usually looks for in a woman: short, white magic, big breasts, long hair and light eyes. Viktor would be willing to bet that Poliakov isn't going to get anything from the two of them. He's going to tell Tom and Harriet, as a precaution. How Poliakov always tells him who he has his eye on. He's not a rapist, but he's pretty annoying and Viktor tries to deal with him.
Maybe because he wouldn't like to be in those people's place.
Slytherin feels so much at home that he's chilling. The biggest difference is that instead of snow, they are underwater and see the lake monster. A good change. After Snape's talk, everyone stays in the common room, prevented from going to their rooms. Tom takes off his tunic and straightens his sleeves before clasping his hands behind his back.
"Welcome. Guests and new students" he greets him cordially. Poliakov rubs shoulders with Viktor, who is impressed by the presence Tom has. His posture, his voice, his expression, even his magic. It is similar to listening to an experienced politician and even more elevated than most teachers he has had. "I am Tom Riddle, sole heir of Salazar Slytherin and the person who will supervise that this year, we obtain the house cup. I will make the following points clear" he announces, tilting his head slightly to the side. "Since I don't want mistakes and I don't want to deal with stupidity either."
Drakonys looks away. Why always her? Tom lifts his chin again.
"No fights with Gryffindor, both inside and outside the castle. We are not going to give them the satisfaction another year; we are the house of the snakes, not the magpies, I do not want every rumor in the castle to come out of here so loudly" He knows they're snakes, but they're supposed to hiss, not scream everything. "Sexual relations in your rooms, no spying in the bathrooms again, because I will make sure you have no enjoyment in it and finally: do not disturb our guests. The slightest complaint arises and..."
Nagini comes out from his clothes. The first years get scared and the rest take a step back. Tom gave no orders in Parseltongue. The snake could lunge towards them at any moment. Nagini shows her fangs and lifts herself up.
"It also goes without saying that I will not tolerate any unauthorized touch," Tom adds with a smile that causes chills. As if something is wrong with it. "We are in a school and even outside of it: behave."
Nagini returns to Tom, who makes no sound because of her cold skin in contact with his. They make way for him so he can go to his bedroom.
"I see why he's the prince."
"It'll be fun to get rid of his smug expression."
Viktor doesn't say anything about it.
Chapter 36: Act. XXXVI. Gossip
Chapter Text
Tom is surprised to find Krum in the common room. Everyone is already in the bedrooms to chat at full volume with their friends. The Quidditch player stands up.
"Nice to meet you, I'm Viktor Krum"
"Tom Riddle, nice to meet you too." He corresponds the handshake. Viktor doesn't have the uniform cape. Just the red sweater, boots and pants.
"I'm a friend of Harriet's... You can say it like that, I guess?" Viktor isn't quite sure how to interpret his own presence here, but he will call it the simplest thing and what makes him happiest. Tom nods, considering him a fool for thinking that he is already friends with her. "She mentioned that I can ask you for help when I have problems."
"If they refer to Slytherin people, yes." Tom states and Viktor lets out a breath.
"I don't know if you can…ask them not to harass me" Tom raises an eyebrow. "More than twelve people have already tried to enter my room to talk to me. It's annoying that they suddenly try to touch me and ask for things," Viktor explains and Tom wrinkles his expression, understanding the feeling more than he likes to accept. "I'm aware it will still happen, but I was hoping it would be... less."
"I understand," Tom assures with his hands behind his back. "No problem, tomorrow I will give them the little notice" he smiles cruelly to the side. That can be fun. "Try to blend in with people. Hopefully, they won't bother you so much."
"I'm hoping to spend time with Hermione and Harriet." Tom wrinkles his face, trying to figure out what he said first. He sounded weird? After a few seconds he understands that he means Hermione. "They are… good."
"More than they should."
He continues on his way and Viktor calls out to him, making him turn around.
"Try not to be alone with Poliakov" The warning seems strange to Tom. Especially having seen them talk. He thought they were friends or something. "He's annoying. Very annoying."
"In what sense?"
"He insists until the person he likes says yes."
Tom rolls his eyes and continues on his way, giving a tense thank you. With this said, Viktor can go to his room in peace, locking it and pretending to be asleep so he won't be disturbed anymore. For a vague moment he wonders, Where is Tom going? Snape spoke clearly about the curfew. He should stay here.
Well, he is the prince and he will know what he does to prevent his house from losing points.
. . .
"It's a threat on vacation. You gain a lot of weight."
Harriet swatts Lavender to keep her from pulling on her side. She already knows that she has meat accumulating on her sides, but she likes the way she looks in the mirror. Harriet doesn't exactly want to think about this today. She ruffles her hair and sits down suddenly on the bed, leaving the pair of plush dolls she brought for this period.
"By the waaaay" Lee Jordan stretches, leaning on Harriet's bed and looking towards Hermione. "Do you know Krum?"
"Yes. We met him at the World Cup," Hermione answers, putting the clothes in the drawers. "Why?"
"Will you introduce him to me?" the girl asks with a huge smile and Hermione shakes the head.
"If you want to talk to him, show up yourself." Hermione grumbles and Harriet laughs.
"Oh, come on!" Alicia fights kneeling on the bed. "You can't keep him to yourself. Not Viktor Krum. I'd respect that if you wanted Ron… Because who the fuck wants Ronald Weasley?"
Lavender fakes vomiting and Lee laughs out loud. Hermione just puts down her clothes with annoyance, her expression showing complete and utter boredom. She crosses her arms and Harriet knows a speech is coming.
The last time she took that stance, it was a four-hour talk on elf rights. It's not an experience Harriet wants to repeat.
At the same time, she finds Hermione's defense strange. He has noticed both her and Ron different. Especially Ron. The increase in height and size combined to occasionally glance at Hermione.
"First of all, don't talk about Ron like that; secondly: Viktor Krum may be a celebrity, but he's also a human being. One who specifically doesn't want that kind of attention," Hermione notifies in a condescending and angry tone. "I don't keep it to myself, I respect his privacy and desire not to have friends who seek him out because of his fame."
"Yeah, yeah, whatever, just introduce him. At least tell him my name," Lee insists anxiously. "Don't you see? I want to jump on him," she complains, sliding to the ground. "It made me feel hot just seeing him standing there. Isn't he super handsome? And super strong."
"He's beautiful."
"He became third on the pedestal of beauties at Hogwarts. First Cedric, then Tom, now Viktor" Alicia sighs dreamily. Harriet bites her lip. "Too bad Cedric is left with Cho and Tom is with Drakonys."
Harriet hears her brain making the same sound as a broken record player.
"Drakonys?"
"It's what Slytherins talk about all the time: that they are together and have forbidden encounters out there." Harriet raises her eyebrows and blinks repeatedly. Why would they have that impression? The little she has seen of interaction between the two has been Tom threatening or mocking her. They are very twisted or she is very innocent. "Although it must be boring as hell."
"What thing?"
"Having sex with Tom," says Parvati, sitting on Harriet's bed. "He never laughs, he never flirts, plus he's so thin. He doesn't have a chest at all." She rolls her eyes and waves her hand in a bored manner.
"That's why I've been saying for two years that Cedric is better." Lee justifies pushing her in the leg.
"You guys are so shallow." Hermione complains.
"If they complain about us getting fat, why can't I say they're pathetic?" Lavender argues. "Don't you remember what Cormac said last year?"
"I don't mean that. I mean they don't think about anything other than what boys look like," Hermione clarifies, crossing her arms. "It's because of these things that they don't admit that they feel bad either."
"I can not either." Lavender insists. "Not without being made fun of."
"What if we just got the clothes out of the trunks?" Harriet proposes. With the feeling that this is going to turn into a brawl soon.
Not to mention how uncomfortable the conversation was. She feels like she's going to slip away any moment Tom is anything but boring in bed. She wishes she were already in bed with him.
"Who do you prefer Harriet?" Alice asks suddenly. "Viktor, Cedric or Tom."
"She's going to say Cedric. If the fucking cheater keeps flirting with her. Harriet is already a bitch for going along with him and pretending to be Cho's friend." Parvati hits Alicia, who rubs the area. Harriet gasps with an offended tone and as it weird her, her glasses slide down her face.
"You have to say Viktor. You just have to see it. Not even all those clothes hide everything he has. It's per-fect." Lavender emphasizes and bites her lips, as if she fantasizes too much. Harriet huffs in annoyance.
She's going to pretend that she didn't call her a relationship-breaking whore. She takes off her glasses and cleans them for a moment.
"I... I prefer... My fingers, they never fail" Harriet puts her glasses back on. Hermione laughs through her nose, covering half her face with a hand. Harriet sits on the bed with her legs stretched out. "Now. If you would be so kind as to let me use them-"
"HARRIET!"
She jumps to the side and runs away from all of them trying to hit her with pillows. It is not unusual for Harriet to make indecent comments. After all, she is the last one to speak in these conversations. She doesn't like to participate and the best way to prevent it from becoming chaos, is to distract them.
What she gets with things like that.
Although of course, she had never hinted that she had the slightest contact with herself.
"Do you really use your fingers?"
"Why? Do you want to know?" Harriet asks, adjusting her glasses.
"Curiosity... for homework." Hermione stutters and laughs through her nose and shakes her head.
That she's done it, she's done it, but she likes using Tom's better for that kind of thing.
She'll make sure to have conversations like that with Hermione. Maybe it's good.
When the atmosphere finally calms down and Harriet has the chance, she escapes from the common room. She advances throughout the castle to the secret chamber. Before reaching the room, she realizes that the basilisk is not very hidden today. She takes off her glasses and continues walking to her room.
Without her glasses, she can't see him in her eyes. She doesn't find them. It is the fundamental thing. She gets there and finds Tom reading a book. His legs crossed and one hand on the mattress. He looks up and she drops the invisibility cloak.
"It took you a while." Tom mentions.
"They started talking about who is the most handsome now that Viktor is here" she says and Tom whitens his eyes. "If we could present him, things like that. You know."
"And according to your virginal friendships, who is better?" Tom asks mockingly and Harriet shakes her head.
"They said it would be boring to have sex with you. Unfortunately I have no way to differ because I haven't done such a thing to know." Harriet plays dumb, one hand on her cheek and the other holding her elbow.
Tom laughs through the nose and pulls her closer, taking her arm. Harriet takes hold of his face, caresses his thin cheeks and gently brushes Tom's hair away. She gradually outlines Tom's features. "I think you are the most beautiful." she states in a whisper before kissing him on the forehead. Tom gives a laugh. Silly, almost tender, full of shame.
"It's good to know that's what my girlfriend thinks of me. I was going to feel insecure about it." Tom says ironically and Harriet laughs, hugging him to her chest and ruffling his hair.
"They also say that you have a relationship with Drakonys..."
"That would be boring."
"Uh?"
"I doubt Blaise knows how to do it, therefore Drakonys knows less. I'm not up for that."
"I hadn't done it either when we were together."
"And I hadn't been with anyone. We learned together. It makes it different."
Harriet stretches his cheeks, what a way to save himself from the situation. She locks lips with him, sitting on his lap. Tom doesn't take a moment to start undressing her, wanting to touch her body. She turns to the right, Harriet intertwines her legs on Tom's hips, receiving light thrusts.
Upon separating from her, Harriet opens her green bra, exposing her breasts. Tom takes them in his hands and kisses hee collarbone, then between the tits while he massages them; his crotch rubbing against Harriet's.
. . .
"You sent Krum to talk to me."
"He needs help so he doesn't get messed up too much" Harriet yawns and snuggles into the pillow a little better. Tom keeps his head on his girlfriend's fluffy chest. "He's very calm. I'm sure you get along well with him."
"Better him than Ron," Tom grumbles. Both with their eyes closed. It's a real miracle that neither of them have fallen asleep yet. "And…yes, he asked for help. He also said something strange about his friend."
"What thing?"
"He's annoyingly insistent."
"Wow," Harriet murmurs and yawns again. "Regulus has competition," Tom snorts, stepping aside. Harriet opens her eyes. Without her glasses, she only sees a dark spot on the bed. "Did he hit on you or something?"
"He did flirt with me at the table," says Tom. "I will avoid him at all costs. I hate people like him."
"People... alive." Harriet teases and Tom kisses her palm. Half asleep, thousands of things float in the haze of his mind.
"Do you know why I don't like being touched?" Harriet shakes her head quietly. "Before I had accidental magic, a lot of kids at the orphanage, older kids, liked to touch me." Harriet purses her lips, half standing up. "They said I was very cute and I knew I was" he smiles slyly and cockily, but Harriet notices the soft tremor in his body. "They didn't rape me, but they touched me all the time. Especially my chest and legs."
"At any moment I made you uncomfortable?"
"You? Not at all."
Harriet now feels bad from kissing him so much and pressing him on the chest.
"There was one, a total idiot, who masturbated in front of me while I was bathing. There are only showers for everyone, like a common bath, so it wasn't difficult to see each other" Tom rubs his face with a hands. "They adopt most of them. Some because they were useful for some sports teams, others for minor crimes... He left. I think he raped a girl from his school or something like that."
"And you're... okay? I mean... you."
Tom turns to see her. Her hair is already so long that it covers her breasts without a problem. Her glasses to help Harriet see are off her, so she has nothing on, just her same black hair. The concern on her face makes him feel tenderness.
"Yes. It's not important at this point" Tom states, maintaining his sly smile. "Besides, I like it when you touch me. It feels good. Only because it's about you."
Harriet moves to his level, cupping his face to press kisses all over the expanse of skin. She ends up tickling him and he is so stunned that he just laughs. This is not something that can happen normally. It's only here. It's just with her. Feeling the magic of her, feeling the calm company of her and the warmth of her so missed; vibrating from the aftermath of so many orgasms followed by feeling and seeing her.
With Harriet everything is different.
To the point that a concern arises in Tom's mind. It's dumb, actually:
What if Harriet is gone?
The emptiness in his stomach at the simple question is disgusting. Gross like nothing else. A simple, but effective nightmare. The worst fear is upon him. Like some kind of plague that he can't drive away:
The fear of abandonment.
He was abandoned by his mother.
He was abandoned by his father.
He was abandoned by the people.
He was abandoned by those who might have been his friends in first years.
He was abandoned by the warm.
He was abandoned by the light.
He was abandoned by the love.
Why else would he be an orphan? If not because no one loved him.
Why else do people flee? If not, the cold and darkness are the only ones that have decided to stay.
Fear abandonment.
He fears that the light will leave again, that it will take away that warmth that he never felt.
He fears that love will leave again.
He fears that Harriet will leave.
"I love you."
"I love you too Harriet."
Chapter 37: Act. XXXVII. Problems here and there
Chapter Text
"Looks like sleeping all day yesterday did you good. You're going to blind me."
Harriet looks at the steps in the book, trying to do her hair in a nice way. She doesn't have any particular reason. She just wants to look pretty or try to. Ignoring Hermione's comment is the best. It's embarrassing to have her magic reflect so much that she had a good night. In the most carnal sense of the word.
As long as no one knows that is for sex, the better.
She finishes and even though it doesn't look like it does in the book, she doesn't dislike it either and leaves it like that. Her bangs are loose, a couple of pigtails on top of her head, braids in the back and several gold rings for decoration. It doesn't go at all with wearing a huge shirt, baggy pants with countless pockets and mountain boots.
Again, she doesn't care. She wants to be comfortable and feel like her hair is nice. She's fine like that for today... and for the two minutes before they tell her how messy and ridiculous she looks.
Harriet hopes she doesn't run into Drakonys. Sincerely hopes she doesn't.
"First we have breakfast, then we show Krum around," Harriet lists as she walks down the stairs to the dorm. "And then… I hide from Oliver, before he wants to start training."
"You know he'll find you. He has a detector to know where you are in the castle."
"That's creepy and disgusting at the same time. Let's pretend you didn't say it." Hermione gives Harriet a shove and the two of them join Ron. "He's scared of Tom. Maybe if I go with him, he won't drag me onto the Quidditch pitch."
"You're not going to play with Viktor?" Ron asks, surprised.
"No. Of course not." Harriet shakes his hand. "Why would he want to do that today? Besides the fact that he's a professional, I don't think he wants to play."
"What's the point of being friends with Viktor Krum if you don't play Quidditch with him?" Ron complains exasperatedly. "Just ask him. You already asked for his autograph. A quick game can't be a big deal."
"I don't want to today," Harriet complains, scratching the roots of her hair. "And I don't even know if I want to ask. He might misunderstand and I don't want that." She frowns, then opens her eyes. "You know what he might love? Buckbeak."
"Really?"
"Yeah. Remember he told us he likes magical creatures. I'm sure he'll love the entrance to the Dark Forest. Buckbeak is always around waiting for us to feed him."
Harriet and Hermione continue to talk about the most appropriate destinations. Apart from the normal ones he would need like the bathrooms, living rooms, kitchen, library and some other garden. Harriet notices that Ron looks quite upset. Even when she asks, he denies having anything.
"Did you sleep badly? Are you upset about something?"
"No. It's okay." Ron huffs, leaving first. Harriet scratches behind her head. Sometimes it's very difficult to understand him.
As soon as they have breakfast, they meet Viktor. He looks much more cheerful than he did yesterday. Which is already quite a lot. Yellow sweater, black pants and hair combed back.
The little hair he can comb.
"Good morning." Viktor waves directly at Hermione. "Is it still okay to show me the castle?"
"Sure. We were thinking about what else to show you," Hermione replies. Harriet presses her lips together in a smile.
Ah, maybe things will happen here after all.
Especially with Ron complaining about everything.
Despite Viktor's clear interest in Hermione, he doesn't leave Harriet or Ron out of his sight. The walk is long and Harriet makes a joke that makes him laugh. The explanations obviously come from Hermione. Probably the only one who knows that kind of thing in the whole castle. Maybe except Tom, who is also able to memorize that kind of useless information.
Viktor tells them a few things about Durmstrang. From the small size and the cold atmosphere there, mainly because of the attitude of everyone there.
"You couldn't attend" As they go down to the forest Viktor says that information and Hermione is surprised. "Muggleborns are not allowed in. We are quite problematic with the issue of blood purity there."
"Just what I needed. A school made up of pure Malfoys." grumbles Harriet.
"They must be pure dark wizards there." Ron mentions.
"Everyone there is a dark wizard" Viktor clarifies. "It's normal. We study the nature of magic as something worth respecting and owning. Not as something evil. I didn't think it was seen that way here."
"I don't think it's evil. It's just cold. That doesn't mean it's evil," Harriet says. "Ron is intense about dark magic, don't pay too much attention to him."
Ron moves his jaw and Harriet nudges him. Ron can think what he wants, but clearly his insistence on the subject is getting annoying. Especially to her, who has so many good dark wizards around her. From Sirius to Tom. Thinking that they are bad because of something that arose at birth, is quite simplistic and silly.
"Well, although I can't go to that school, I can come to this one and so can you. I guess in the end where I came from doesn't matter much," Hermione mocks and Viktor laughs nodding.
"Yes. That's very true."
As they reach the entrance to the forest near Hagrid's house, they find Buckbeak. The hippogriff has a mountain of artifacts next to him. "Boys! How nice to see you!"
"Hello, Hagrid!" Harriet greets. "This is Viktor. One of the Durmstrang boys. We came because he likes magical creatures."
"Well, you're in luck. The pack of hippogriffs is over here." He stands up from his spot, shaking himself. Viktor suppresses his surprise at how huge he is standing. "And the unicorns aren't far away... Buckbeak's already had his hoof trim. For some reason, they don't file themselves."
"Can we touch them?"
"Sure, but very carefully." Hagrid warns. "The star student can show you."
Harriet stands two meters away from Buckbeak and bows. The hippogriff responds quickly and she slowly approaches, sliding her hand along his beak to his forehead and after that, she can pet him under his beak. Buckbeak hoots with delight, his wings slightly drooping and his body limp. Harriet kisses him and smiles at the others.
"Do you want to fly on a hippogriff?"
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
"Nothing yet?"
"Not especially." James rubs his temple and sighs heavily. "It's like the earth swallowed him out of nowhere and now he doesn't even seem to be alive. I'm about to think I'm hallucinating or something."
"It's very real," Sirius says, taking a seat. Legs stretched out and arms open. "I did get some stuff. It's all written down, but I assume you want the summary."
James smiles at him uncomfortably. Of course he wants the summary. If he reads another report today, his brain is going to melt beyond repair. Sirius scratches his head, then exhales. Clearly annoyed.
"We got one of the last safe houses he was in. A German nobleman, very wealthy. He was trying to convince me to join the cause," he says, almost bored. "In the midst of that, I got a more concrete justification for why he might want you and Harriet."
"Now that's new." James rests his chin on his hand.
"He's collecting magic. I don't know exactly what for, I don't have that part, but the magic of the people he's killed is condensed into objects." Sirius opens the folder to show photos. Irrelevant objects, but they move and James can almost see the energy contained. "We confiscated some, the others vanished on their own."
"So you think he's been seeking that alliance with me for years? To take away my magic?"
"I think it's more complex than that." He hands over the photos and James examines them. "Those with impressive magic who don't agree, are locked up; those who accept, are with him... Whatever it is? Sending a spy with him is impossible because he has no rhythm, no method, nothing we can rely on."
A very cruel idea comes to James' head. An idea shared with Sirius when he finds out about this: they could use Harriet as bait. Grindelwald is insanely obsessed with Harriet at this point. At least that's how they both perceive it, remembering his comments and how he protected her at that festivity.
The idea is discarded as quickly as it arrives: he's not going to let Grindelwald get close to Harriet again. Much less is he going to throw her into the lion's den like that.
On the one hand, anyone would say that it's important to use the tools at hand. Harriet is brave and quite risky on her own. If he asked her for this favor, it would help, but James recognizes something else: she's still a child. What happens if Grindelwald manages to manipulate her? Get into her mind and upset her so that she agrees with his ideals.
Harriet has no training whatsoever and being a teenager with problems typical of her age, makes the scheme worse. James can't handle the mere idea of trying it. He dislikes it.
"Infiltrating any of us is a risk. He's not going to fall for that." James complains reluctantly, putting the pictures away. Sirius clicks his tongue.
"The only thing in our favor is that he's still out of England," Sirius points out, standing up. "I'll try to keep investigating as I can. There's more trouble. He's not the only one messing around."
"For me, he is." The candles in the corner flicker. "Especially now that I have to investigate what he can get out of having accumulated magic. What he can achieve with something like that."
"Maybe Lily knows. She'll know from her walks through the Department of Mysteries."
James snorts. Something tells him Lily won't know about this specifically, but maybe by telling her he can get information eventually.
┈
"He wants to become more powerful."
"That's obvious, but why?"
Lily gives a burdened sigh. James is almost obsessed with solving whatever Grindelwald is planning. She doesn't blame him for stress, it's almost impossible for him not to be like this, but at the same time it becomes a repetitive theme.
She puts her arms around his shoulders, swaying a little on her feet. James grumbles.
"The reason doesn't matter. What does matter is stopping him. So don't get upset."
"I get upset because-"
"Because you get upset about everything," she laughs amused, "relax. You'll get it eventually."
The kiss they share begins calmly. Lily knows that if she doesn't get him out of that neurotic bubble, he won't calm down. Usually he doesn't. Grindelwald has been the biggest problem they've ever had. He's the most persistent in James' professional history. He'll solve it. She's convinced. However, and until they can do something about it, she'd like to have her husband calmer. Without the risk of burning down the house, getting sick from somatizing worry, and nothing else existing apart from the two of them.
The calm fades eventually. They barely make it to the couch, with Lily taking off most of James' clothes and James having trouble with Lily's clothes: sweater, shirt, t-shirt, bra. Why so much clothe at home?! His wife laughs at his frustration which ends up breaking the bra.
"Is there another enemy today?"
"Your pants."
Their sex life has always been good. Too good. Lily has never had any complaints about it unlike her sister or coworkers. In fact, she almost finds it ridiculous that they complain so much. She concludes that she was lucky that James learned to do it right with practice.
And she tells him so about herself, jumping on his penis, moaning shamelessly and barely having support on the couch; James massages her buttocks constantly, moving his hips to the same rhythm as Lily. He enjoys watching her breasts swing and the sweat soak the female body.
His bright and hot magic mixes with Lily's. In comparison, much weaker, brighter or more spectacular, but James loves it passionately. He likes to mix it up. Lily manifests herself differently. She's not light, nor is she fire, she's sparks. Similar to what fireworks make when it go off.
That's why they work so well together: James can fan and cause more of those sparks, creating flashes as they mix together and continue doing so.
He surprises her by making her appear on the bed. Lily laughs, hugging him by the shoulders and James kisses her, moving his hips at a fast pace, rocking to rub his skin against hers. Lily keeps pulling at his messy hair and when James kisses and bites her neck, Lily moans in her partner's ear. "I love you, I love you James- umg."
She scratches his back, feeling chills, that the explosive sensation in her abdomen could be about to break free and as she does so, James continues kissing her neck, collarbone, face.
"Do you have a lot of work tomorrow?" Lily asks, barely able to breathe.
"A mountain. And you?" James asks between messy kisses.
"The same."
"We could turn time for something."
Lily laughs and kisses James, about to devour him if she had the chance.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
Tom scratches his forehead with a finger. He gets a lot of letters when she's here. Mainly from every noble family in the magical world that dares to try to get him on their side. There are few that he answers and even fewer that have something good to say to them. Tom needs to see people face to face, a simple piece of paper doesn't interest him. It's not enough. It's vague. Tom doesn't explain how their magic is like. The way they talks. In general, it can be a trap.
Tom refuses to fall for any of them.
"More mail?"
"It never ends" he replies to Regulus. Nagini lifts her head from the bed and the Black heir sits on the edge of it. "I suppose it's better than looking for contacts on my own."
"You have the Malfoys, right?"
"Yes. In some ways" says Tom, still attentive to the letters on his desk. "I must say that I like Narcissa very much."
"Like her?" Regulus repeats with a scornful laugh. "I didn't think that my cousin, being as pathetic as she is, could be interesting to you."
"She's less predictable and boring than Lucius" Regulus shakes his head, he must give her the point on that. "In some ways, it's unfortunate that his daughter is like him. Just as stupid and conceited. It would be less tedious to deal with" The Black heir narrows his eyes. "At least one thing can be taken from her."
Tom thinks that if he keeps Drakonys in check, the Malfoys will be just as peaceful in the long run. Whoever she marries, support and control over the Malfoys is good.
Regulus thinks he's talking about being able to have sex with her when he's bored. If Tom ever feels like it with boredom.
"And the Blacks?"
"With your mother still alive and bothering, there's nothing that would serve me… unless your cousin is a bitch who can follow my whims even if she's married to Lestrange." he sneers indiscreetly. Regulus bites his lip.
In the summer, Bellatrix was engaged and the wedding will be in April. He's not surprised that Tom knows. Rather, it's curious what he doesn't know. Nagini curls up further into herself, wanting to sleep more comfortably.
"I don't think she'll live long… and I'll be heir-"
"Would you do everything for me?"
His jaw moves, tense and anxious. Tom half-turns his chair, looking him straight in the eyes. Regulus nods. Weak, almost hypnotized. Similar to a small dog following a human who barely gave it a glance. Tom lets out a mocking laugh, returning to the cards. He tosses the last pair into the trash.
"Good thing I have a dog."
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
"I don't know how we did it! But we did it!"
Harriet is proud that she made it all the way before it got too late. It gives her a chance to see Tom, continue to run away from Oliver, and write a letter to her parents. All before dinner time. Perfect. Ron's sudden absence catches her attention. As well as making her formulate a hasty plan.
"Ron must have gone to the kitchen. I'll go get him. Don't wait for me."
Harriet waves goodbye and hurries off, leaving Hermione and Viktor alone. The Bulgarian clenches and unclenches his hands, wondering if she did this on purpose? Hermione seems to think the same, glancing at him.
"Well, actually, I have to start reading some stuff-"
"I can come with you."
"I-it's just that... it'll be boring."
Viktor doesn't say much, he just sits there, watching her. Hermione gets used to it over time, muttering out loud every now and then and even forgetting that she still has him with her. They were there until it was time for dinner.
. . .
"Hey! You got lost out of nowhere!" Harriet finds Ron as soon as she steps into Gryffindor. The redhead keeps an annoyed expression. There are barely a few people in the common room. Upperclassmen she doesn't know.
"I don't think you cared too much."
Harriet decides to ignore his attitude. Maybe he's hungry.
"Of course I did. We were having a good time together... I left Viktor and Hermione alone, I'm sure that-"
"She and he are your best friends now? Thanks for letting me know." Ron reluctantly gets up and Harriet is left speechless. She chases him out of inertia, it's the usual thing.
It's what Harriet usually does when she sees or hears him upset.
"Hey, what's wrong? I thought you were going to like spending time together, that we'd become friends with Viktor," she says as she chases him. "He wants friends."
"I don't think he likes me. He's been ignoring me all day just like you," Ron reproaches. "Because you clearly don't care about me anymore."
"Of course I do! What are you talking about?"
"About you leaving me out all the time!" he claims angrily and Harriet squeezes her hands together. "First you went with Hermione and met him, he gave you both an autograph and even his address so you could send him letters. You went with Hermione! She doesn't give a shit about Quidditch! It's our thing." Ron points at himself and then at Harriet repeatedly.
"It was a coincidence. We didn't even ask for his autograph. He just gave it to us," Harriet recounts. Even now it wouldn't occur to her to ask for something like that. Harriet wants to be friends with Viktor because they're so similar. Not because he's famous. "And I offered to go out for beers."
"You didn't!"
"Yes I did, but you were busy crying about Bulgaria losing and you didn't listen to me."
"The point is that you left me out, Hermione has an autograph from the best Quidditch player in the world and it's worthless to her; all you two talk about is him and instead of doing what anyone would do they just replace me! Instead of playing Quidditch with him!" he argues exasperatedly and Harriet shakes her head.
"The point is to be his friends. Really. Not just... Play Quidditch. He does that every day already. Even I don't do it every day!"
"First you make me look bad with all the Gryffindor boys and now you're just... You're just as stupid as the other girls! What's wrong with you?!" Ron claims outrageously. "You weren't like this before!" Harriet purses her lips. She doesn't consider herself to have changed, does she?
She has, but it's a subtle change, as well as a significant one: trying to please everyone so they're happy around her. As if that makes up for her existence in their lives. It works for better and for worse, but she herself doesn't notice it. Ron doesn't either, he just knows that something has changed, he doesn't know what, much less does he care. It's nothing more than the urgency to point it out so that Harriet can go back to how she was before.
When she prioritized him. To Quidditch. To their friendships. To being one of them and everything else instead of being on Hermione's side all the time.
"I haven't... changed. I'm still the same as before."
"No," Ron contradicts. "You're not. Apart from being a bad friend, you're a hypocrite. Just as much of a victim as everyone else."
Ron pushes her out of the door and Harriet remains awkwardly still in her place. She lowers her head, bites her lip and puts her hands to her hair, trembling and wanting to undo her hair for no reason. As if somehow, her hairstyle bothers her, her hair, knowing all the clothes she has in her trunk, reminding herself that she is a woman.
With the exception of Hermione, Ron thinks that girls in general have false friendships. That they usually stab each other in the back without mercy. Not to mention that they are contradictory apart from making themselves the total victims of the story. She thought the same. From day one in childhood, Harriet thought so. They told her she had nice hair and then made fun of her behind her back. The same with her legs that were always thin.
Her self-esteem problems come directly from them
Maybe that's why it caused her so much rejection to be even remotely similar at the same time that she wanted to be accepted by them.
At Hogwarts, the boys accepted her and it felt genuine. There was no teasing or commenting, just reality. Still, everything has changed so much these past two years that she doesn't know where or how she's comfortable anymore. Because the boys reject her too. They see her in a way that makes her feel threatened and insecure, that she has to keep her guard up. What is she supposed to do? Her head throbs and she goes to the common room, forcing herself not to cry. It's another thing that happens too much these days:
She cries a lot.
And she feels stupid. Why cry about this? Ron is right. She should have looked for him or insisted that the three of them go together, meet Viktor by accident and there would be no problem! The three of them with an autograph and the Bulgarian as a friend.
She rummages through her things and gets the autographed poster. She rolls it up and walks quickly to the entrance of the male dormitory. She knocks on the door and Ron opens it.
"You like it more than me, don't you?" She offers it to him with a nervous smile. Maybe this will calm him down and he won't think she wants to leave him aside. Ron looks at it, then at her and takes it reluctantly.
"Manipulative bad friend."
He closes the door in her face and Harriet bites her lip, anxious and trembling.
. . .
"Did you give it to him?"
Harriet nods, moving her food around on her plate and having barely touched it. Hermione sees Ron in the distance, talking animatedly to all the Gryffindor boys sitting around him. He displays the autographed poster by Viktor Krum and shows it off without explaining how he got it. Hermione shrugs Harriet off by the shoulder.
"He gets angry about everything, but it doesn't mean you have to give him something you wanted."
"It's okay. It doesn't matter. It's just a poster," Harriet argues, shaking her hand without interest.
"You should ask Viktor for another one."
"No. He's going to think mean things and I really, really don't want him to think we're talking to him because he's famous," she emphasizes exasperatedly. "I know what it feels like to be approached for something they want."
Hermione looks at Ron again, not understanding what's going on here and now. Harriet rarely talks about the fights they have, Hermione just knows they happen because she's less cheerful than usual.
"How's everything with Viktor?"
"He just stood there all that time watching me read. It was kind of creepy."
"I think he likes you."
Hermione blushes and Harriet giggles quietly.
"You're not a fan, you're smart, you're pretty. The inevitable happened: the magic of love forming." she says dramatically, moving her hands as if attracting the scent of something. Hermione gives her a shove and Harriet laughs, clutching her stomach.
"Don't be silly. He doesn't want that." Hermione says.
"I'd say the opposite."
"How do you know?"
"Only you being the one involved, don't notice those "ask me for the stars and I'll give them to you" looks." Harriet forces a deep voice and Hermione holds back a laugh. "Relax. He wants to spend time with you. If it evolves... The big winner! A tall, big, handsome guy, who speaks Bulgarian, Turkish, English; he's famous without letting it go to his head and he's not a believer wanting all the girls around him to take them to a dark corner. That, my friend, is the lottery."
Hermione was about to put her face in her mash. Harriet tells a fairy tale that she highly doubts is true. She's not Cinderella or Sleeping Beauty to have a perfect prince appear out of nowhere.
"Let's focus on something else. Preferably Cedric flirting with you. That way I feel less embarrassed." Hermione asks, resting her arm on the table and Harriet shakes her head.
"Nope. Would you change Krum or stay Granger?"
"Harriet!"
Hermione takes off her glasses and Harriet laughs, trying to get them back but giving up, accidentally mixing food and pretending that ketchup tastes good in the sweet chicken sauce.
"Is something wrong?" asks Emma, noticing Drakonys distracted and staring at something, she just doesn't know what.
Drakonys shakes her head, continuing with his food and looking away. All the while watching Harriet talk to Hermione. There are few times she has seen her without glasses. It's a little strange, but it doesn't look bad on her. Her hair is down and messy as always helping to give her face a better shape. Drakonys tries to push those thoughts out of her mind.
She devotes herself to eating. To nothing else.
. . .
"Do you think I've changed?"
"Like everyone growing up. Why do you ask?" Tom asks. Harriet turns face down on the bed.
"I don't know. Just a concern."
She puts her book aside and turns off the lights. Harriet settles into her spot and hugs Tom to sleep. The Slytherin plays with her hair for a few minutes, managing to fall asleep. Tom hopes she means it when she says it's nothing. He highly doubts it.
Chapter 38: Act. XXXVIII. What he think (is wrong)
Chapter Text
Classes at Hogwarts with Beauxbatons and Durmstrang are an experience in themselves. The order in which they see the content is different, so there are times when they know too much and others when they know nothing. It becomes a two-choice roulette. Because they brought from multiple years, everyone has the chance to see at least one exchange partner.
Unfortunately they don't get any chance to see classes with Viktor. He's in fifth. Nor with Beauxbatons' bright and beautiful star, Fleur DeLacour. However, Harriet's clumsiness serves as much for good as it has for bad in the last four years of her life.
"I'm sorry." Harriet stammers sadly. She adjusts her glasses and hears an awkward laugh from the other side.
"No problem. This place is a maze... I'm lost." she admits, turning around. Harriet recognizes her for being the ultimate adoration of all the men in Gryffindor since she arrived.
Including Ron, who drools just by having her near him.
And she is... pretty? Very pretty. Gorgeous. It's incredible how beautiful she is. Her magic itself seems beautiful to Harriet: it's like seeing a river of light flowing around her.
"Fleur, right?" She nods, still smiling. "What class do you have?"
"None, I was going to the common room and now I don't know where I'm going" Fleur admits, looking around. "I thought it was just going up the stairs, but the stairs moved" Fleur explains and Harriet understands the feeling so well. Her first year summed up in a complaint. "I hope I'm not bothering you."
"Oh, no, I'm done for today, but I have to hurry if I want to get something... Are you hungry?" Fleur nods, embarrassed. "Let's go to the kitchen. Then I'll take you to Ravenclaw and give you a way to not get lost."
The French girl nods and follows her closely. Harriet mentions a few unmissable landmarks. From paintings to armor to some oddly shaped window and the nickname. Fleur makes a mental note of all of these and waits to have a piece of paper handy to write it down. Both for herself and for her sister. She'll be here for a year. She won't be lucky enough to have someone drive her.
In the kitchen, the elves fill them with plates full of sweets of different kinds. "They usually do these experiments of which one tastes good. Only the teachers eat them and pass them. If you get there on time, you can eat before them," Harriet says, taking a cake with purple frosting that the elf told her is made of grapes.
"Oh!"
"Elves love to cook. Treat them nicely," Harriet asks, dropping her head to one side.
"Of course. How could I not?" Fleur responds, taking pastries from the tray that an elf offers her.
"Hey, you're really pretty," Harriet comments in a loose tone, some chocolate on her lips. It's like the thought is escaping her head. Having experienced what happened with Cho, she wants to try not to be stupid around her, even though her head is telling her to look at Fleur with adoration for… some reason? Is this normal? "I actually thought you'd feel a little tired. Because you're sick of all the guys at school chasing you." She rolls her eyes and Fleur laughs through her nose. Such an honest comment all of a sudden.
She knows that women don't like her very much. They perceive her as a threat. After all, every guy she meets is enchanted by her. The way Harriet takes it is a very sweet one. She's understanding and thought she'd only have it with her sister.
With this, she has hope that maybe she can get more friends who understand even if she doesn't feel the same way.
"Well, I'm part Veela," Harriet's cheeks plump, and a flame shoots out of the fireplace. "So I might go through that. Not because I want to."
"That explains the… fwussshhhh."
Fleur covers half her face and turns away, laughing in the most horrible way of her life at Harriet's dramatization, which included getting her hair covered in chocolate and now screaming in panic while asking for water. Fleur slams the table and manages to swallow everything she had in her mouth.
"Something like that!" Fleur agrees, and Harriet nods. "It's annoying," she admits a little calmer. "Because they don't listen to me when I talk to them. It doesn't happen with women, but this past year, it's been one fight after another because they think I'm going to take away their boyfriends and options and all that."
"A lot of fighting over guys who might be horrible. None of the ones in my house are any good."
"RIGHT?! AH! YOU UNDERSTAND ME!"
Harriet blushes at the kisses on her cheeks. She didn't see it coming. Now, more disheveled than ever, she feels like she's playing a half-fool. Or totally foolish. Her face flushed and an abnormal heat formed in her belly, as well as her heartbeat quickened. Fleur thinks otherwise, Harriet makes her feel very calm. Partly because of her magic and on the other hand, her pleasant presence and spontaneous dialogue.
She doesn't even find the red face strange. At most! Even more tender!
"Did they show you the castle?"
"No. I think they tried, but there was only babbling."
"We can go see if you want. There are unicorns at Hagrid's house."
Fleur nods enthusiastically.
. . .
"Mione, Fleur Delacour; Fleur, Hermione Granger. She's my best friend."
"Ah! Nice to meet you!"
Hermione doesn't know how Harriet, as shy as she is, makes friends out of nowhere. Especially since they come from the most unexpected places. First Tom, now Fleur. It's a long way. Not to mention getting the most stunning beauties the wizarding world has to offer in this century. She accepts the greeting and Harriet clasps her hands.
"Fleur told me she'd like to have people to talk to, because they generally hate her: she's part veela, her charm overwhelms her." Hermione sighs. That sounds annoyed. "So… new friend!" She cheers somewhat nervously.
"Yeah. New friend." Hermione puts her hands on her waist. "At least she's not obsessed with quidditch. That's a huge plus." Harriet pouts. "What's Beauxbatons like?"
"Not as big as here…"
Because of the expectation of this exchange, it's fine for students to sit at different tables. So it's normal to have Viktor at the same table as Fleur. She spends the whole dinner talking about the workings of her school and to her surprise, Viktor doesn't seem to be affected by her charm.
At least not too much. He does glance at her at times, which is perfectly normal for his behavior. He's too distracted by the existence of Hermione. How she talks, how she laughs, how she moves her hands, even how she eats. Harriet makes slight gestures to Fleur who gets the message soon.
The four of them are in perfect harmony even though two of them haven't known each other for very long.
"He looks silly, don't you think? Foolishly in love."
Tom doesn't have an opinion on the matter. There are several curious people around Viktor about Harriet and Hermione and that he looks for them back. Many talk about having seen him and Hermione in the library alone. Some mention that they even kiss there. Tom highly doubts it. Most likely Hermione just reads and ignores him -which is true-. However, it's amazing how much is said in the halls that isn't true.
Hogwarts is the hall of gossip. It's the only reason it's so big.
And so a basilisk can roam around wherever it wants.
"Falling in love itself is silly," Daphne says. "It's complete nonsense."
"There are books that say love is a power. The greatest of all." Tom rolls his eyes at Theodore's comment.
"There's no such force as love," Tom says, setting his cutlery down on the table. "Not that it's worth admiring. It's an illusion created by weak people seeking to join another."
"Wow, shame on whoever marries you," Poliakov jokes. Tom crosses his leg and rests his elbow on the table.
"Getting married is another silly thing that's not worth it in this century. Unless you're desperate for control and power that you don't have," he elaborates and Daphne holds back her laughter. Tom is always so extreme in his detachment.
He will be the first to defend that it is not necessary to have anyone to be happy.
Although of course, he will also say that it is not necessary to be happy.
"So you don't have a girlfriend," Poliakov asks, more of an affirmation.
"No."
"A lover?"
"By definition, neither."
"Wow, who would have thought. A prince so conceited and handsome, alone like any poor man in the village," jokes the Bulgarian. Theodore almost chokes on his food. Regulus eats in silence, almost ignoring the conversation for his own good. "Wouldn't you like to try?"
There is silence throughout most of the table. Drakonys gently beats her chest and frowns. Is this guy so stupid as to propose something like that to Tom Riddle? In the middle of the dining room? She knows there are ridiculous people, but she didn't imagine he would be so suicidal. Regulus notices Drakonys' face. It seems somewhere between expectant and incredulous.
Tom looks the student up and down. He's not ugly. That much is clear to him. Not to mention Harriet... the idea of the invasion of his personal space, rather than pleasure, disgusts and annoys him. He purses his lips slightly and looks up, saying with absolute disdain and contempt:
"With someone as pathetic as you? Who is not even important in Bulgaria… No. I'm not interested. On top of that, more used than a urinal in a bathroom." he concludes bored and Poliakov opens his eyes wide.
Daphne ends up bursting into laughter and Theodore wrinkles his face. Tom makes anyone who annoys him feel miserable and Poliakov doesn't seem to know how to respond quickly. He expected something more comical, perhaps dry. Not directly insulting.
"Wow, I'm a bathroom." It's the only thing he can manage to say
"Of course. Everyone leaves their waste on you and everyone uses you. You're like a public toilet and that's disgusting." Tom looks at him sideways, boredom on his face. "Before you say that kind of nonsense, at least think about your position in the world. You clearly don't know it."
"I-"
"You're so stupid that you think anyone will say yes to you."
"W-well-"
"And they do it just because you're usable, as soon as they do, they throw you away… Public toilet and cigarette butt. Either way: disgusting." Tom sighs in disappointment. "Seduction is another ridiculous way to survive. Only the desperate use it. Explains a lot."
Drakonys can't help but laugh cruelly. He's seen Poliakov here and there, harassing the fourth, fifth and sixth graders indiscriminately. He knows he's handsome, he knows how to talk, but seeing him destroyed by Tom is the most gratifying thing that's happened to her this month.
It's even worse because everyone looks at Tom when he speaks. It's entertaining and mesmerizing the way he expresses himself. He never loses his temper and never swears. A kind of elegant mockery. The food disappears to make way for dessert.
"Well, Tom, after this," Daphne says, laughing, Poliakov mute and sitting uncomfortably in the same spot next to Tom, "I can assume that you'll never fall in love or something."
"No."
"Are you going to die alone and sad?"
"I was born alone and crying. There's not much difference."
"How depressing," Theodore says with a sigh and scratches his neck. "Who knows, maybe you'll fall in love. Maybe love will convince you."
"Love is like a drug. It's useless, it only makes you stupid." Tom chooses a dark chocolate candy and chews it slowly, looking at the table with his arms crossed and discomfort on the surface.
Love is… stupid.
It's like that contest and its stupid philosophical question. Love isn't strong, it's not what would change many things. It's just a reaction of the human brain, which craves stimuli that generate serotonin. That's all. There's nothing much to it. It's the same with magic.
Love leaves you adrift. It makes you weak. It makes you dependent. It makes you stupid. The more he tries to think about it, the more contradictory it becomes with the small sentimental part in him. One that strikes back with the same force as all his common sense.
. . .
"Poliakov left out of the great hall almost crying. What did you do?"
"Nothing special." Tom mutters quietly.
Harriet keeps him leaning on her thigh, caressing his hair and part of his face. She gives a soft giggle and Tom opens his eyes. The scarlet irises staring into the pair of emeralds and diamonds. The more he looks at her, the more he feels his own words bouncing around inside his brain.
“There is no such force as love”
Harriet bends her back completely to be able to kiss him on the forehead, laughing shortly after.
“Not that it is worth admiring. It is an illusion that weak people create looking to join another.”
“The first trip to Hogsmade is soon. Maybe we can spend some time together there… I miss you a lot. We are very overloaded with homework.” Harriet laments in a low voice and a weak smile on her face.
“Getting married is another nonsense that is not worth it”
“Do you want to?” Tom nods softly and Harriet lies down, taking a deep breath. "This Christmas I'm going to be allowed to go shopping for my clothes. I thought we could go together. I know you'll help me pick out."
"Your dad will want to kill me. He'll think I'll see you in the dressing room."
"He already knows you've seen me naked. I'll have to bear it." Tom can't help but laugh at this.
James is going to burn if that happens.
"I was thinking maybe we could invite Viktor and Fleur for New Year's... they'd be there for your birthday. Wouldn't you like that?" Tom frowns a little. "I know you don't like having a lot of people around you, but... maybe... it's because you haven't had the right people around you. People who love you or respect you without being afraid of you."
Tom half opens his eyes.
"Wouldn't you like that?"
"I was born alone and crying. There's not much of a difference."
Harriet looks at him doubtfully. Really waiting for his approval before she makes any plans. It's Tom's birthday. She wants to make him happy on that day. Tom takes her hand and gives her a kiss on the palm.
"Okay."
Harriet smiles brightly and magic makes her hair ruffle, the light in the room rise, as well as a soft, comfortable warmth that is not there down here. He sighs in pleasure, keeping his hold on her.
"Love is like a drug. It does nothing but make you stupid."
"I love you."
"I love you too Harriet." Tom murmurs in a weak, but tender and soft voice. As if it were a small confession from that small part of him that barely knows it exists.
That it makes him feel happy and that maybe his reason is wrong. Love exists. The one he has for Harriet and the one she feels for him is real and strong. That's all that matters.
Chapter 39: Act. XXXIX. Unwanted Attention
Chapter Text
"None, but none of you understand?"
"Tom, the only maniac who understands this is you."
Harriet's kind information makes him rub his brow. Tom doesn't even know why he's surprised. Harriet came with Neville, Hermione, Viktor and Fleur to study a topic they have in common within potions. Snape decided to do it this way so that the students from third year onwards would know that, since the program is undergoing too many changes and in general, it has been a mess.
Among them, not knowing a basic potion capable of changing the color of the hair, another for the eyes, the nails, parts of the skin. Each year has a different area. Fifth has the hair, fourth the eyes, sixth the skin and seventh the body in general, mentally deciding what the effect of the potion will be.
The problem is that this involves too much study of color, of light, a lot of things that are not taught naturally here. Therefore, most are lost and unfound. Harriet decided to leave it all in the usual method: Tom will know how to explain it to me without leaving Gryffindor without points. Hermione joined in, Neville too; Fleur and Viktor were curious to meet Tom.
And here they are.
"I accept this time, because it's actually more complicated. Just, this, time."
Viktor has a strange image of Tom. On one hand, he knows that he is friendly thanks to Harriet and that he has really stopped the irritating women and fans of Slytherin from bothering him; however, Poliakov was quite affected by the verbal attack and has been a little strange these days. Less confident and calm. It is a bit of everything and in general, it is difficult to understand this person.
With the difference that Viktor hadn't seen him like this. The way he explains is very good, but he focuses on Harriet. Even when Tom sees others, he always unconsciously directs his gaze to her or supervises that she understands. Not to mention that he sees Tom's magic. It's like it makes a dome around Harriet and keeps her close.
"So, in theory, if I wanted to change the color of my glasses, could I do it?"
"Considering that the essence and manifestation of your magic is light, you could. Only in theory and with enormous control, making your magic materialize as light."
"Ufff." Harriet brings a hand to her face and Tom smiles slyly, returning to his book.
"That's why the ingredient is sun seeds. They have light and with that, when mixed together, they help generate that variation in the color scheme." Tom nods at Hermione's explanation. "Neville, do you have that plant? We could practice making this on our own. It's not a potion that takes a lot of time."
"It doesn't last very long. Snape won't notice." Tom assures
"Then we can make it."
"Thank you very much! We've been wondering all day. You're very-"
"W-wait. He doesn't like contact. It makes him uncomfortable."
"Oh! Well, thank you so much!"
Fleur blows him a kiss and Tom nods, waving goodbye. Harriet just stopped Fleur from jumping on him. Tom has avoided looking at her since he found out she's half-Veela. He's seen the general reaction to her and doesn't want to be lumped in with her. Tom doesn't even know how she ended up being friends with Harriet.
He vaguely wonders where Ron is. He hasn't been around Hermione and Harriet for weeks.
"Better this way." Tom whispers, opening the book he was reading before they came.
┈
Slytherin generally squeals, unsure of the cause of the huge stalagmite that popped out of the ground. Tom looks away and Harriet bites back her laughter. "I think it'll wear off soon."
Harriet has blue eyes.
Tom can't tell if that little change turned him on or not.
"Let's hope so. Before Snape sees it."
"Thanks for the help earlier. Everything went perfectly. Maybe we'll get an S for the first time." She puts her hands in the pockets of her huge pants and smiles excitedly. Tom nods, still shy about the color change.
Something Drakonys finds extremely strange. Why the ice? Why with Harriet? She doesn't understand anything at all.
┈
"Do you need something?"
Harriet knows that he is Poliakov, Krum's friend and a bit of a Don Juan. The rumors about him are not exactly pretty. Allegedly, he has been seen having sex inside the bathrooms. She doesn't know how true it can be. It's the danger of everyone spreading gossip and lies so constantly and carelessly. The bearded student shakes his head, smiling charmingly.
He is attractive, but... Not her type. Maybe because Tom encompasses everything she likes in a man.
"Not at all, I was waiting for someone, but it seems like he won't come." Harriet nods and thinks about continuing on her way. "You play Quidditch, right?"
"Yes. I'm a Seeker."
"Just like Viktor," Poliakov laughs. "Since I was left hanging, shall we play for a while? I'm his usual partner, so I could give you advice."
Harriet feels her eyelid twitch. She knows how to play and if she wants advice, she asks for it.
"I have other things to do. Now-"
"I insist. You never know if you'll be a professional player and..."
Poliakov talks too much. It seems like it never ends and they end up at the Quidditch stadium eventually. Harriet wants to say that she appreciates the explanations, but she doesn't and even when she has made some comments to leave, Poliakov insists that she stay. Harriet is naturally passive despite everything. She puts up with what others want to say until the end.
Unless they insult her, she is not so passive at those times.
After what she feels like wasted time, she wanted to run away, again caught by Poliakov and he didn't release her until he returned to the starting point where some friends were waiting for him. Harriet barely escapes.
"Have you fucked her yet?"
"Not yet, but it will happen eventually. She's perfect for that."
"You can't tell with all that clothing." Poliakov laughs, continuing the path with his Durmstrang companions.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
Tom picks up his books, irritated by Poliakov's proximity. He thought he had been very clear on the subject, but he must be as stupid as a Troll. He shivers spontaneously, angry that he touched him even on top of his clothes. If Tom controlled himself from throwing him to shit, it was because they were at the library and he must maintain some decency.
Although if Poliakov does it again, Tom does not promise to have such patience.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
"You are a very pretty girl."
"I think you are the only one in this school who thinks that." Harriet mocks. She does not know how to get rid of him. She has had him glued to her for the last hour or so and it is... Unbearable.
"Then they do not have very good tastes in this school!" Poliakov says and Harriet for the first time, wants to go back to her magic history homework. "In fact, I'll do you the favor of proving it."
Harriet squeals, covering part of her chest. Poliakov with a very quick spell made her change clothes. She went from her huge blue long-sleeved shirt and worn jeans, to a summer dress. It's extremely tight and not enough with the cold weather, the mere idea of students seeing her legs right now terrifies her.
Today she simply doesn't feel like using this or capable of being outside like this. Harriet gets up from her spot, grabbing her things in a hurry. Poliakov intercepts her, hugging her and swinging. He squeezes Harriet in his arms, pressing to feel her breasts. Harriet squeals and Poliakov lets go of her out of similar fear.
Suddenly everything was burning. Harriet breathes heavily and speeds her pace through the castle. She wants to get to the common room and change. Poliakov grabs her by the back, spins her around a couple of times and on the ground, with her glasses crooked and dizzy, he grabs her face to kiss her. Those who are there point out the event and most of them, don't even recognize that it's Harriet because of the dress and that, because of her abrupt changes, she doesn't even look like her.
Harriet pushes him and causes strong, constant flashes. The torches become more vivid and if it weren't for the burning sensation on his lips, Poliakov would have kept trying to go deeper.
Her glasses fall and he screams: THEY'VE STOMP ON THEM!
"What's going on here?"
Harriet squeezes her face. She tries to see. The only thing that is distinctive in her poor level of vision is the dark, dense mist. Poliakov grabs her by the back, just below the breasts and lifts them in the process.
"We were just talking. It's okay, dear prince." Poliakov answers with a friendly gesture.
Not understanding Tom's cold, fixed gaze. The red eyes that hide so many things and right now, they can't suppress such enormous annoyance. Tom takes a brief look: Harriet was wearing different clothes today and not only are the glasses an anomalous detail, but also the intensity of the light here, which nobody is looking at because they were almost blinded by so many flashes.
"We're leaving now. Until-"
Poliakov remains completely silent.
┈
"Several invitations have arrived, but none are particularly striking to me. Nothing beyond the Malfoys, I must say." Tom sighs, still a little fed up with the amount of correspondence he has. It's a good thing the owls don't get tired or ask for payment.
Because he'd be in debt for life.
He has at least five letters a day, which is already a lot for anyone.
"You also need to have some useless allies. Numbers sometimes beat quality and since there isn't much quality either," Tom grumbles at Regulus' comment. He's aware that it's true, but it irritates him beyond measure. "Why don't you try the Potters? Since You're so intent on remaining... In good terms with Harriet."
"Because they have no interest in and don't use the Chamber of Nobles."
"It's a support whether you like it or not. What matters is that they can back you up when you need it," Regulus points out and Tom rolls his eyes.
He doesn't want to ask James for anything. That would be like pointing a gun at himself. He puts the letters in the backpack Regulus has and keeps walking. He's leaving for Slytherin, Tom wants to find Harriet. He has to help her with another potions assignment. Snape is noticeably more intense than usual.
He has taken away up to a hundred points in one class. Remus returned almost all of it in his class that comes right after and there is a small fight between them. Due to the intensity that the torches take, Tom knows that he is close to his girlfriend and stops for a moment because of the very... unpleasant scene.
Why is he touching her.
Why is he hugging her.
He has no right to do that.
He walks towards the pair that struggles.
Harriet is mine.
Don't touch her.
She is mine.
Don't touch her.
Tom grits his teeth, frowning and walking faster. Poliakov kissing her and Harriet pushing him away, only succeeding when a very strong flash.
Tom barely hears what Poliakov says, he doesn't remember having spoken. Harriet doesn't look well. Besides, he saw her at breakfast in different clothes. The simple statement that he is going to take her away, makes Tom's magic react. Agitated and cold as hell. Long and huge ice stalactites on the floor and walls, pointing directly at the Bulgarian. Tom grabs Harriet by the arm roughly, taking her with him.
Nagini, in her smaller size, manages to grab all the remains of the glasses and take it away. Poliakov is held and rigid in a space so as not to cut himself. Until someone come to help him. The ice did not thaw even a little in twenty minutes.
┈
"Are you sure it doesn't bother you?" Tom shakes his head and Harriet straightens the turtleneck sweater. It is still a little big and long, but it is perfect for this moment. "Thanks for the help. He hasn't stopped bothering for like... three weeks."
"The same thing happened to me... Tell McGonagall. I'll tell Snape." Harriet nods. Tom grabs her face, looking into her eyes. "Are you okay? Did he do something else to you?"
Harriet rests her cheek on Tom's right hand, shaking her head, answering in a low voice and closing her eyes, glad to feel Tom's magic surrounding her. The dark wizard continues to analyze her. He detects nothing in her other than discomfort, so she's not lying. Tom hugs Harriet tightly a few moments later, his hand on her broad back and another on her head, between the raven-black curls and waves.
Tom closes his eyes, taking a deep breath. His racing heart and restless magic, doing everything he can to cover the girl, so that she's not seen by anything. As if that could be done in the secret chamber.
Tom breathes deeply, trying to calm himself, not knowing how to control the enormous annoyance inside him. Can he even call it annoyance? It's more than that and he wouldn't know how to name it.
It irritates him.
It unnerves him.
It bothers him.
It...
How dare he touch her?
Does he think he can do something to her?
She's mine.
She's mine alone.
Only I can touch her.
No one can do that to her.
No one should do that to her.
"Tom" Harriet calls. "Are you mad about the kiss?"
"No. I'm mad in general."
Harriet sighs. As they pull away, Tom gives her a kiss on the lips and stares. It's so clear that something's bothering him.
"Has he done anything to you? Like trying to touch you and stuff."
"Nothing beyond leaning on me. I think I've been pretty patient with him." Harriet giggles through her nose. Still, Tom hates contact so much, so she can imagine how uncomfortable it was for him. "We can stay here for a while. I doubt anyone will notice we're together."
Harriet nods and goes to pick up one of the many books they've left on the bookshelf in the room. What's different about this time compared to the other, is that Tom has her leaning against him instead of the other way around.
Did she enjoy reading while leaning against his chest? Yes.
Would she repeat the experience to get to this point? Not at all.
Is she going to complain about Poliakov to McGonagall, so he doesn't come near her again? Indeed.
Is she going to mention that he's bothering Tom too? Of course.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
"There's been other students telling me about it," McGonagall says, noticeably irritated. "Do you know of any other problems? Miss Potter."
"He's also harassing Tom Riddle a lot. I know it hasn't been... much, but Tom told me because he's uncomfortable and I think he'll tell Professor Snape."
"Still, thank you for telling me, Miss Potter." She clasps her hands together. "It's every student's duty to report bad behavior or situations that may be upsetting... Are you okay? I understand that it's a little difficult for you."
"I'm fine. Tom helped me. Don't worry." Harriet says with a smile and McGonagall nods kind. She pats her on the shoulder before leaving her office. Harriet stares at the two cups on a shelf.
McGonagall is the teacher she trusts the most (Remus is family so he doesn't count) and she'd say Tom does too. McGonagall is totally impartial, but she does show favoritism to her house when it's warranted, that is: celebrating the cup, wanting the Quidditch cup, cheering and tutoring students who are getting bad grades.
They are under her charge and just as Snape favors Slytherin in everything, she helps Gryffindor more than any other house.
Harriet adjusts her sleeves and rests her jaw on her palm, letting out a sigh. She is very happy to be in Gryffindor, regardless of everything... she doesn't see herself in any other house.
Happy to have McGonagall as her homeroom teacher.
The issue of Poliakov is half resolved. McGonagall and Snape's warning was not only severe, it also caused him to be removed from his almost all his classes so as not to be near Tom, he is forbidden to go near Gryffindor tower - being there where most complaints have about him -, and the warning that if he comes one more complaint: he would be returned to Durmstrang instantly.
Poliakov is extremely irritated. Of course he didn't expect this and Viktor can't laugh anymore about it. "I told you to stop doing such horrible things! Not only do you not have your dad to save you from everything, people here aren't desperate for your attention."
"Wouldn't you help me?"
"No." Viktor snorts.
"I could help you with that nerd you're looking for."
Viktor gives a disdain look and walks away, not wanting to deal with him for the rest of the school year. He's very happy with Harriet, Fleur, Neville, and most of all, Hermione. Why ruin it for a friendship he barely considers as such? Alone in the common room, Poliakov snorts and continues what he was doing: playing with a magic sphere that counts the times it is caught in.
He is surprised when he suddenly grabs the ball and his hands freeze completely. In front of him, Nagini grows larger and shows her fangs. Poliakov freezes in place, cold hands on his neck and the thick magical mist covering him.
"You could try to scream... or give away that Nagini is here... but the truth is, there are other people who talk about it and nothing happens" Tom shrugs. It's a lie. No one has said anything about Nagini and if they have, Snape hasn't taken interest in the subject. It's like an open secret, "because Nagini is not poisonous... that's what they think."
Poliakov holds his breath, scared of the animal's roar.
"They think she's a simple messenger snake. Constrictor. Not poisonous... Can I tell you the funny part? She's different. She has fangs capable of tearing your arm off if she wanted to" Tom smiles cruelly at the image that seems so satisfying to him. "And her venom kills in fifteen seconds... It makes you sweat, hallucinate, your flesh swells, oozing pus and blood; it escalates so fast to your nervous system that you forget who you are, where you are and it just hurts... and hurts... like hell..."
Poliakov groans, as his legs are encircled by Nagini and she is pressing so hard, that she could easily break them. Tom leans towards Poliakov's ear.
"She killed a boy from my orphanage" the smile on his face widens. "He tried to touch me while I was sleeping... he was with his pants down, vomiting foam, turning into a rotting corpse. He had spasms all over his body and when he stopped moving, it was the second sixteenth... his skin was falling off and Nagini took him out of the room. She wouldn't let me see him. She is very protective of me."
Poliakov ends up shrinking himself, thinking that Nagini would bite him in the face; Tom stops the snake, grabbing it by the neck. He knows Nagini is angry and he can't stop hearing her demanding letting her kill him.
"If I hear one more complaint from you or see you even near anyone in Gryffindor, especially Potter, I'll make her go with you to Durmstrang and that room back there will be the last thing you see." Tom concludes in a soft, almost tender voice. Nagini climbs up Tom's arm until she's coiled around him.
"You should have let me kill him! What he wanted to do to you! What he's talked about with his friends! HE'S GOING TO DO THINGS TO YOU THAT I DON'T WANT TO ALLOW! TO HARRIET TOO! LET ME...!"
"I don't want you to be killed for doing something like that. Don't worry, if he tries, I promise you'll be able to kill him on the way to Durmstrang. Not here." Tom looks at Nagini's head, who continues to grumble and complain.
Poliakov is stunned, rigid in his seat and not moving, afraid that the snake will come again and kill him. Tom, for his part, lies down on his bed. Nagini grows to her full capacity, lying on the bed and on top of Tom.
"Why did you warn him? There is no need."
"It's better this way."
"Of course not... What are you trying to do? Show dominance? Are you still upset about Harriet?" Tom doesn't have any opinion on the matter. "You don't have to write everything in your diary. You can talk to me. As you emphasize so much: only you understand me."
Tom remains silent, running his fingers over Nagini's head and part of her body, enjoying the cold, scaly texture.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
Everyone is talking about the same thing: Harriet kissing Poliakov, who is surely her lover because she is desperate, that they saw her wearing a dress to seduce him, Tom was the one who prevented something like that from happening because Poliakov would take her to Slytherin...
Everyone is talking and talking about the subject...
While Drakonys fantasizes about the subject.
What was the dress like?
How were they really spending their time?
Were they really kissing? How does it feel?
It was an exasperating moment for not being able to get those very specific and strange questions out of her head. Harriet is not interesting. Drakonys also doesn't care if she's a slut, just like all the girls in Gryffindor who spread their legs for that pathetic guy.
She doesn't care.
...
... ...
... ... ...
"That damn idiot wanted to take me to Slytherin or the bathrooms."
"Just like everyone else," Drakonys says. "At least he has good taste. It's a nice dress."
"Don't give him any credit."
Drakonys takes part of the skirt. Pink and silky sheen. She looks up, finding Harriet amused as she leans slightly towards her. Drakonys looks away from her eyes, feeling mesmerized and hopelessly lost. Drakonys moves how gaze down to Harriet's chest, the heart neckline making the fluffy bust visible.
Harriet takes Drakonys' hands, leading it to her chest and making her touch it. "Don't just stare." The whisper makes Drakonys' skin crawl and when she looks up again, Harriet is a little closer to her. A few centimeters from her face, she can feel her breath and her magic vibrates from rushing against that light exposed in front of her.
Exposed to and for her and no one else.
"Are you there? Where did you go?"
Drakonys blinks quickly and stammers, getting up quickly from the table to go to the bathroom. Emma laughs indiscreetly and Blaise gives some explanation of what Drakonys was fantasizing about: "she was dreaming that she was riding in my penis. That's why she was so overwhelmed."
"There's not much to ride." Parvati whistles and the boy looks at her badly.
Drakonys locks herself in the bathroom stall and pulls down her underwear, wiping herself with toilet paper and instantly wrinkles her face. Why is she so wet? Why does that fantasy have her legs shaking and her face red? Drakonys curses and complains under her breath, doing everything to clean herself and sitting on the toilet, cover her face with both hands.
Doing everything she can to remove the image from her mind, as well as the imagination of: how it would feel to have those breasts in her hands, feeling the light air of the Gryffindor lioness's breath.
Chapter 40: Act. XL. Learning to dance (in the flow)
Chapter Text
I don't know how to express how annoyed I am to think about the same thing over and over again. Harriet is my girlfriend. Harriet is my light. Why do all the useless, not-special people think they can take her over!? Being that she's superior to anyone. That she's much more than anyone can aspire to. Not only her magic, her soul is overly superior to what they can posses, but they insist on wanting to take her and steal her as if she were theirs.
I hate it so much and I'd like to repress that feeling, but I can't. It's so overwhelming that my emotions are stronger than my common sense. I think: this is ridiculous, I'm not going to get angry about something that didn't happen and that was already solved. But no. My brain insists on throwing up the same image of that fucker kissing her and forcing her to do that.
[Ink stain and almost torn page]
┈
Interest and love manifest themselves in this way, right? To hate the harm of others and to express concern, to know their state. It's a good thing, but I still feel so bad about it. It's something that would definitely transform me in what James and Sirius say so much about me. I want to kill Poliakov. I want to kill Cedric Diggory who flutters around like a disgusting fly and useless to existence.
Nagini could take them both out. Easily. She's a constrictor snake and being a Maledictus, no one will notice that she's magical beyond lengthening or shortening her overall size.
No one knows how her venom reacts. Only me! They could both be rotting meat in their bedrooms and no one could accuse me of anything because 'I didn't do anything'. It be fault of a unknown animal. A threat that no one knows about. It would cause trouble, true, but they wouldn't cause trouble for me anymore, they'd stop hanging around Harriet trying to get her light, to steal her warmth.
They're just like Quirrell, they're just like Grindelwald: disgusting, filthy presences who don't deserve what they're so desperate to get.
┈
A part of me insists that I shouldn't kill anyone. That I shouldn't threaten anyone. After all, it's a bad thing, I know it shows wickedness and violence, but how am I supposed to control the rage inside me? Of knowing that things are happening to Harriet and me? Do I just stand there? Do nothing or try to fix it.
She says it's okay. She always says it's okay, but I know it's not. Because she keeps everything like a fool who thinks it won't be okay, that she's going to be annoying or dramatic for expressing herself. Everyone is talking now about how she's an exaggerator, that everyone saw her kissing Poliakov, that she was very happy talking to him in one of the school gardens. All false, as always.
When her cousin and his friend bothered her, I warned them and did all that. It wasn't bad. Nobody noticed that it was me and I didn't kill anyone. I just hurt them. I haven't done anything bad to her so I'm not a threat. To her or to anyone who doesn't try to take her or break her.
Why do they want to break her? Why do they insist on ruining everything? It's just like in the orphanage. Children who break toys and don't let others enjoy it. It's like the instinct to destroy everything that is good, fun and beautiful wins over them. They are worse than animals without the ability to contain themselves and I don't want to be the same.
Even if my intention is good, I must be better than them...
I know I'm better than them. Just removing an obstacle. Why would he make me the same as them?
┈
Nagini told me everything Poliakov talked about with his friends. It's disgusting. I know there are many people (mainly Slytherin girls) who want to have sex with me. The idea disgusts me in itself. I don't know why I'm so uninterested in sex unless it's with Harriet.
Back to the point: Poliakov talked a lot about me, about the things he would do to me and he escalated a lot in how unpleasant I felt. The more I think about it, the less I understand where the pleasure is in the humiliation he wants, in how forced it is. If Nagini told the entire truth (which I don't doubt, she's not one to exaggerate events or conversations), he sees me more as a prostitute than a human being, much less ME who am the heir of Slytherin and the best wizard of my generation.
He sees me as a simple sexual outlet.
It's disgusting and I just wonder how it's possible that it's even worse with Harriet? Where her magic only seems to be a reason to have the lights on and be able to see her naked. His friends talked a lot about her, about what he would do, about what it would be like to lock themself in a bathroom with her, pull her hair, beg to be mounted and [tab]
It's disgusting. It's so disgusting and in part, it's one of the few things that makes me celebrate that Harriet wears huge clothes all the time: they can't imagine her properly and it's unbelievable that now, it bothers me that they even think about her. That they are perverts in their imagination.
For them, Harriet and maybe any girl they like, is a prostitute and nothing more.
┈
I had the most disgusting nightmare of my life and I don't know how to erase it from my mind, how to get rid of the anger that caused me to even formulate it. Having me dream what they talked about so much about Harriet is... disgusting.
Grindelwald was there too for some reason, it just made it more disgusting. It's like everything agrees to make me feel empty in my stomach and repulsed by any living being other than myself, Nagini and Harriet.
┈
"Tom, everything okay?"
Harriet notices him irritated and grumpy. She thought everything would be calmer now that Poliakov is warned. Tom keeps stroking her hair and reading a book of charms. Harriet takes the book from his hand, getting an irritated look from her boyfriend.
"I've only had a few nightmares."
"Really bad?"
"Not as bad as yours if that's what you're asking."
Harriet sits up and ruffles her hair with her hand. She's barely wearing a bralette and a pair of huge pants. It made her hot and since there is no shame between the two, she doesn't care about being like this in front of Tom.
"You can talk about it with me" Harriet comments, caressing Nagini who proceeds to climb on her wide abdomen. "Talking about it is good to get rid of anger, worries..."
"Ironic that you say that. Any other advice that you don't follow and want to give me? Sweetheart." Says with a smile that Harriet hates and loves at the same time.
She loves it more when he does it and she is on top of him.
"What I mean is, if it's something simpler or... The point is that you can talk to me about it. I talk to you more than you think." Tom laughs, throwing his head back. Ah, teasing Harriet is so fun.
"It's nothing new. It just irritates me that those who are sexually attracted to me, see me more as meat than anything else" explains in low voice, without saying everything else, his desire for violence and death. "Have you ever thought about killing someone?"
"No," Harriet replies and holds Nagini up. Tom narrows his eyes. Why does Nagini insist on getting between Harriet's breasts? He hates her doing that, "I just want them out of my life. I wish I could get Drakonys away permanently." she huffs in annoyance. Tom sighs.
Of course, Harriet will never go that far and that's what he finds most terrifying about himself...
that he would probably kill for her.
Or rather, he's perfectly capable of killing for her...
"Huh?"
Harriet laughs, grabbing his face and giving him a kiss, moving on top of the teen. Tom holds her back, reaching to open her bra. If Harriet wants to comfort him this way, he's not going to say no at all. In fact, it's something he feels necessary to get rid of the disgusting feeling, as if someone else has touched him the way Harriet does.
Or trying to imitate her.
Because really no one could touch him the same way: with that longing, affection and care.
Nagini manages to escape from between them and gets under the bed, laughing indiscreetly. Tom turns Harriet to leave her on the bed, letting her take off his sweater and opening her legs wider to receive the pushes between them.
┈
"Did I ever tell you how Nagini got here?"
"No. I was making possible mental stories."
Nagini climbed back into bed, since it was all over and why not? It's more comfortable sleeping next to Harriet being a living heater. Tom runs his fingers on the snake's body.
"She came in through my bedroom window when I was four," Tom murmurs, "she bit my would-be roommate. He was half naked, I guess he wanted to rape me. He was fourteen." Harriet wrinkles her face. She hates hearing stories about Tom's childhood. There seems to be no good thing. "I remember hearing him suffer from swelling and dying, but Nagini covered my face, so I didn't see him die..."
The snake lifts its head and sticks its tongue out at Tom.
"She left the body in the hallway and everyone thought what happened: a snake bit him. They never knew what kind" he laughs lightly and pats Nagini on the head. "At first I was scared and told her to go away, but she was in the gardens the whole time, watching me. In the end I let her back into my room. I felt better with her and inside."
"That's nice" laughs Harriet. "She always protects you."
"Yeah... I couldn't live without her."
"I couldn't live without you either, Tom."
Harriet finds it funny that Tom says he doesn't know how to love or that he doesn't need anyone in his life, when in reality he's always had Nagini to watch over him, to love him, and it's obvious that he loves her. The reality is that Tom will probably die of sadness if Nagini is missing one day.
When it's mid-November and the smell of Christmas knocks on the door, something happens that everyone had almost completely forgotten: the announcement of dance practices. No one has the Christmas ball in mind. It will be two nights before they leave for home, having delayed it a few days to have more time with the guests from other schools.
This puts everyone in a rush, having to order their formal clothes from their parents and have it arrive before the big day. If not clothes, money to buy the clothes at Hogsmade.
"I've been to more balls than I can remember and none of them have gone well" Harriet murmurs as McGonagall explains. "I hope this one isn't a disaster."
"I don't think so. It'll be just for students. You'll be fine."
Harriet nods and convinces herself that yes! This should be fun. No adults bothering, no super required etiquette, friends to talk to instead of dancing or maybe dancing without feeling like she's a plucked duck with no grace at all. Eating until you're tired, drinking punch. It could be the opportunity to have a perfect night with all her friends including Tom! And hopefully, feel pretty at a social event without anything ruining it.
Grindelwald isn't going to show up here.
There won't be any sudden attacks.
Just music, food, a nice place, nice clothes and trying not to get consumed by the noise around.
"In the girls there's a beautiful swan. Waiting to spread its wings..."
"From Harriet and Hermione comes everything but a swan." Says Ron. Harriet pulls at the sleeves of her robes, somewhat nervous.
Now that she thinks about it, who is she going with? Since early at breakfast, she heard that uneasiness from everyone.
Tom...
Tom isn't going to invite her.
The certainty saddens her, but seeing Ron dancing with McGonagall successfully appeases her. She gives the twins a nod, "Don't let me ever forget this," and they give each other a thumbs up, gladly keeping it forever.
McGonagall urges them to find a partner to dance with, and both she and Hermione are left adrift. Panicking, Harriet takes Hermione by the hands and holds her waist once with everyone else. She shrugs, embarrassed, and Hermione shakes her head.
"You're not that bad of a dancer."
"I don't dance, actually."
"Wait a minute. Let's change."
Hermione grabs her waist and pulls her a little closer. She guides the pace better and Harriet tries to match her as much as possible; the muggleborn mutters one, two, three to guide Harriet's steps, keeping up the tempo. McGonagall doesn't say anything about it. She doesn't think it's a bad thing for this to happen. After all, if the boys aren't going to come closer, the girls don't have to sit around doing nothing.
Harriet smiles awkwardly, glasses askew. She hasn't stepped on Hermione and seems to be doing it well. Hermione notices Harriet squeezing her a little tighter. When it's time to pick up her partner, Hermione assumes they won't, not expecting Harriet to grab her by the waist and lift her a good eight inches off the ground. Hermione laughs, spinning around with Harriet still holding her. Ron snorts in the distance, not wanting to see how they're having so much fun. He was going to go for Hermione, but Harriet caught her first. The music ends, they curtsy and clap. Harriet lets out a breath and slumps over Hermione, letting out a sigh.
“Don’t ever disappear. I can’t live without you.”
“I know that very well,” she says, patting Harriet on the head. Ron snorts one after another, stretched out in his seat and waiting for one of them to come closer. They don’t. They continue practicing together, with Harriet watching and watching Hermione with her usual, very strong affection.
┈
"I'll assume that everyone here is capable of holding a ballroom dance." Snape analyse them carefully and most of them, more out of shame than ignorance, look away. "I will not allow you to sully the name of this house by not knowing how to behave or how to move forward... Tom."
The student stands up and stands next to Snape, hands behind his back and straight as usual. Snape looks through them all again and concludes who is the best option.
"Drakonys."
The blonde curses mentally. She stands up and walks towards him. Tom takes her hand, her waist and brings her closer, leaving a distance of exactly five centimeters between his body and hers. Snape gives a simple lesson:
"No touching below the waist, nor do I want any of you to bring their chests together if they are in a couple. I will be... watching... All... Of you..." Snape warns through gritted teeth. He knows the bad habits that many boys have here and does what he can to keep them at bay, in that, Tom is very useful. He knows that he intimidates them and he is not going to stop him. Everyone in this house lacks discipline. Who better than the child prodigy for that? "They must move with grace, with finesse, and without... stepping on... anyone."
Snape turns on the record player and Tom starts dancing with Drakonys. The murmuring begins. Because of Tom's lack of interaction with... anyone! They consider the way he sees Drakonys to be intimate, it is intense and sentimental. Partly it is, but not in a good way:
He threatens her, warning her not to even think of stepping on him, because he will make Nagini strangle her while she sleeps.
Drakonys remains calm, she has been dancing almost all her life. It would be embarrassing for herself not to be able to do it now. She is able to keep up the pace at all times. When she must turn, when Tom and she join hands and do a slow, delicate turn, changing and raising her hand a little higher.
What makes this more complicated is that Tom is very tall. At least in contrast to her, who is almost a head shorter. At the end of the track, she bows with her robes and Tom with his hand on his abdomen.
"Find a partner and practice" Snape orders. "We will repeat this for an hour every afternoon until all of you know what to do- Zabini, what did I say about distance?"
The dark-haired boy steps away from Emma, who had shown the discomfort that had arisen on her face. Tom sits down. He's already made his presentation. Why should he continue? Drakonys sits next to him.
"My dad told me he'll send you the clothes."
"Hmm, I'm glad he's consistent." Tom answers without looking at her, analyzing that no one does something stupid. Mistakes can happen, but don't touch where they shouldn't. Mostly those in his class are idiots with more hormones than brains.
And he hates them.
Almost all of them.
Regulus and Theodore control themselves. It's all he needs.
"Are you going to invite someone?" Tom turns to her and raises an eyebrow.
"I have no interest in bringing anyone."
"Strange, I thought you'd want to be with someone. Dancing and all... Since you're such a fan of these events." Tom snorts and crosses his leg. Drakonys is envious of how natural he is in the elegant place.
As if he doesn't even have to try.
"Touching sweaty, clumsy bodies isn't my thing." Drakonys shakes her head, that's true. "Maybe I'll invite someone inside the ball, not before it... What about you? Will you go with Blaise Zabini?"
"No... well, I don't know. So far, only he has invited me."
"In a few hours, there will be more."
"Obviously. They all want to be with me."
She doesn't know how to interpret Tom's laugh. Is it mockery? Is it genuine? Is it pity? Confusing. The only thing certain, is that she wonders who Harriet will go with. She's convinced that no one will invite her...
Maybe she won't even go.
Drakonys lowers her head a little, thinking about how she'll look in formal clothes. What will it be like to see her dressed up for the first time in her life? All the time so disheveled or plain. She sighs at the thought of Harriet Potter looking like the pureblood daughter she is. Being the elegant little lioness she should be.
Drakonys bites her lip. Dress? Suit? Hair down? Hair up? With what? Red? Black? Gold? Her mind races through so many different outfits and in each one, she's brighter than the last. Drakonys brings her legs together, squeezing them tightly together and lets out a hot breath.
Her mind travels to wilder terrain. Where Harriet leans over her, climbing onto her lap, a cross-neckline that allows her bust to be seen halfway, to breathe and remain like smooth, soft skin. To have her leaning on top of her and look straight into her green eyes. Contoured with kohl, grey shadow that makes them look more hypnotic.
Draco?
Drakonys shakes her head and looks where she is, being the room and she lying on the bed, hugging a pillow. Drakonys looks at Emma and blushes. When did she come here? She doesn't remember.
"You suddenly disappeared. You had no mercy on me." Emma whines and Drakonys sits up.
"I got dizzy."
"I wish I was dizzy from dancing with Tom Riddle, not Blaise Zabini and his restless hands." Emma whines and Drakonys can't hold back a scornful laugh:
"Better than Crabbe and Goyle with their sweaty hands." Emma wrinkles her face and nods before laughing equally.
Tom for his part is not curious to know what Drakonys was thinking to leave with such a dreamy face. As if what crossed her mind was more than wonderful.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
"Hello."
Harriet wipes the sweat off her face, wearing a huge sweatshirt and sweatpants. Taking advantage of the common room to exercise is the best way to do it in peace. Ron's presence surprises her, considering they haven't spoken in almost two months. He awkwardly and shyly picks up a magic chess board.
"Do you want to play?" Ron asks before pursing his lips and looking down. Harriet laughs, nudging him on the shoulder.
"Let me change first. I stink."
"You do." He agrees, smiling. Harriet walks up a couple of steps. "Th-thanks for the poster. I really... like it a lot."
"No problem." Harriet whistles happily and enters the girls' dormitory to get some more clothes.
┈
"Suddenly, everything's fine."
"Yep."
"Just like that?" Harriet nods. "Did he apologize for being such a jerk?" Harriet shakes her head. "Harriet, please..." Tom runs a hand over his face.
"It doesn't matter! It's all right now!" she justifies hastily. "It's not the end of the world. He felt bad, he told me, I understood, he feels better now. Everything's fine!" she assures and Tom stands up to go to her. His arms crossed and his brow furrowed.
"He's manipulating you. He's insulting you and you're not realizing it - or rather, you're ignoring it on purpose." He corrects himself immediately, impatient and disgusted. "You're a Gryffindor, the only heir; also the only Potter heir: make yourself respected."
Harriet lowers her gaze, intimidated and somewhat embarrassed by Tom's scolding. He snorts, shaking his head.
"That guy makes you feel bad more times in a row than he should" he replies irritated. "If he's a friend, the most basic concept: that shouldn't happen. Much less come back to you without apologizing for something he did wrong."
"He didn't do anything wrong-"
"Neither did you."
"Tom."
"Even if I have to come up with an excuse, I'll be the one to talk to him if he does something like this again."
Somehow, it sounds like her dad and it's very strange. Harriet doesn't know how to deny him this, somehow Does she want it? Maybe because it's a way for them to expose what they have and that's something indirectly desired. However, thinking about how Ron would react causes her some fear.
Harriet would say it's a bad idea, she would also be angry for not telling him sooner.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
"But I don't know how to keep Tom out of this because somehow, I think he wants to get involved. It's nice that he wants to defend me, but I don't need him to defend me. I'm okay. I can do it alone. I can always do it alone. When haven't I been able to do it alone?"
Remus keeps a smile that's somewhere between friendly and slightly amused. Harriet and her mental turmoil is lovely to watch. It's teenage worry at its finest. Better than her anguish over possible deaths, a terrorist attack or worse. Remus stops her in her mental crisis that has suddenly become silent.
"You know Harriet." He offers her chocolate and she takes it. "Sometimes we have trouble noticing problems in the people we love." Harriet takes a bite and Remus rests a cheek on his palm. "Even when they hurt us or are bad for us."
"But-"
"It's not that people are bad. It's just that they make mistakes, but letting that mistake go, will make them keep making those mistakes," Remus explains to calm her down. "What Tom asks of you is that you don't let Ron's mistakes go."
"It's just that... I should have brought him! I should have insisted."
Remus narrows his eyes. He notices a pattern here. It's the Fifth? Or the sixth time Harriet blames herself for things that really, couldn't be controlled. It was fate or at worst, other people's decisions, situations out of her control. Excusing Ron and Tom - mainly Ron - is so natural for her that it's...
Worrying.
Very worrying.
Remus pulls her close and hugs her, with Harriet immediately reciprocating. Remus kisses her on the head and strokes her arm.
"It's okay, pup, don't be so upset." he asks simply. As simple as he can and maybe with that, Harriet will be able to calm down.
"I want the dance to go well." Harriet murmurs.
"It will... Have you been invited?" Harriet shakes her head. "There's still time," Remus assures. "And don't forget that you can dance with me anytime."
Harriet laughs, pressing her cheek against Remus.
Chapter 41: Act. XLI. No invitation
Chapter Text
"Will you go to the dance with me?"
"No."
Daphne pouts. More than six people have invited her at this point, all of them given a maybe; she has tried to convince Tom to go with her, but he always answers with a no. As always, her prince in denial and so grumpy. There have been other brave ones and from the rumors she has heard, those brave ones have been strongly criticized by others of that entourage of Tom fans.
Those who consider that he shouldn't go with someone. He is the prince who cannot be with anyone.
The invitations come and go in a way that irritates Tom a little. It is as if there is no silence anywhere he goes. Barely in his room and in the chamber of secrets. Beyond that, it is an echo made up of 'Will you go to the ball with me?'
Tom lost count of the people who have offered to go. The main one is Daphne, who doesn't give up, several Slytherin girls, one or two from Ravenclaw; some Slytherin boys. Tom has said no to all of them. The lack of interest is bigger than him.
For periods of time, he asks himself: Why not invite Harriet? It's no secret that they are friends. Tom would say that it is the main reason why Slytherin has kept a distance with her these past two years. Besides, they are heirs of the founders. That has its weight, right? Naturally they should spend time together.
Then Tom thinks about how annoying everyone will be and he loses interest. He assume someone will invite her. Even if it is Ronald Weasley in his infinite uselessness to do things right. Anything but Poliakov, Theodore, Blaise and Cedric. Even so, it is not as if she should be with her partner all night. They can dance. It will only be necessary to avoid public entrance and in front of everyone.
After that, they can do whatever they want.
Will she wear a dress or a suit? A suit for sure. He'd be lying if he said he wouldn't prefer a dress.
Mostly for less than innocent reasons.
This reminds Tom that he has to collect the prize for going to the Quidditch final. Let Harriet wear the initiation dress! That will make him very happy. Maybe he can take advantage of being at her home for Christmas. Use the expandable trunk at night.
"Where did you go?" Theodore mocks, sitting at the same table in the common room. Tom shakes his head.
"Nowhere." He goes back to reading his book, before being asked the same question again.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
"Roger Davis... I don't know. Doesn't ring a bell. Sorry."
"He's cute," Fleur says with a smile. "And maybe we can talk... if he doesn't get too stupid. I hope not. I have to get ready a lot, though. It'll be a problem."
Harriet giggles through her nose. It's adorable to listen to Fleur and her distress. If she's any prettier, her date to the ball will totally lose herself in the Veela charm. It could be quite an experience. Harriet wonders what it's like to be asked by someone even if she doesn't want to go with that person.
No one has. There are three weeks until the ball.
Does it surprise her? No. Does it disappoint her? A little. She hasn't wanted to bring it up with Tom. It's obvious he's not going to. However, the more Harriet thinks about it, the more she wishes he would or at least tell her he won't.
She's seen some girls asking him. She's a little jealous.
"Who are you going to the ball with?" She shrugs at Cho's question. "Maybe you can ask someone. Waiting for them to... It's a pain." She laughs indiscreetly and Harriet grumbles.
"I don't know who to ask. I want it to be a perfect night, but with one bad choice, it might not be."
Cho laughs at how dramatic it sounds. Harriet slams her forehead on the desk. She hates this. Uncertainty is the worst thing that can happen in life.
┈
"So... Who are you going with?"
Suddenly there is no more topic in the castle. Harriet closes the huge potions book and leans against it. Ginny in front of her with a blush on her face. She blows one of the strands of hair that is falling in her face.
"No one."
"You haven't been invited?" Harriet shakes her head. "Oh... er... W-well, I was just thinking that maybe-"
"Shit, Oliver's going to kill me! Ginny, sorry, talk to you later." Harriet rushes to the Gryffindor exit. She spent too much time reading about potions. Ginny nods and curses under her breath. That was so close.
Harriet, for her part, tries to tie up her hair as she runs to practice. As soon as they told her this morning, Oliver is worried as if she's never flown in her life. Of course, he's nervous because they have a celebrity -Harriet doubts Viktor will see them-, and he wants to show what they can do.
Their captain is so stupid sometimes. On the way, and by accident, since she can't see, she bumps into someone. "Sorry!"
"Why do you have the damn glasses if you can't see anything? Potter."
Harriet turns and lets her eyebrows fall, still with her hands in her hair. Why? It's the only thing she wonders. It's as if Drakonys doesn't know how to keep quiet. In any encounter they have, she is not capable of not making comments. Exposed by her tirade to come:
"It's not enough to be the most ridiculous and poorly groomed girl in school, clumsy and useless" the blonde complains quickly. "I bet anything that no one has invited you to the ball"
"I'm amazed that those are your priorities and that you can't stand to fight" Harriet complains exasperatedly. "I have better things to do Malfoy."
"Sure!" she exclaims out loud. "Like going to the dark forest to see if at least the centaurs are interested in you. Not going to happen! Not with those horrible clothes, horrible chest and rotten hair!" she exclaims as loud as she can. Harriet forces herself to continue walking almost running. "DAMN HORRIBLE FOUR-EYED COW! I HOPE THE CENTAURS KILL YOU BY RAPE YOU!"
Drakonys gasps, notices that she is shaking and doesn't know why. Not even the reason why she started saying all that. Her head is hot, her eyes are red, she waits for Harriet to stay here to continue arguing. Saying the most serious and cruel thing that causes something from her. That allows her to have Harriet's full attention... Why didn't it work?
Harriet should be here right now.
Harriet should be here still arguing with her.
Harriet should only be paying attention to her.
Why does everyone matter more!? What else does she have to be in order to gain that attention that Harriet refuses to give her!?
She doesn't understand it.
She doesn't know it.
She hates it.
Drakonys takes a deep breath, calming her magic that crystallized behind her. She clenches her fists and continues on her way, forcing herself to calm down.
Harriet, for her part, arrived at the stadium, put on her pads, the chain for her glasses and started flying. She didn't have time to put on her sports bra and she only has a huge black shirt, as well as baggy pants and tennis shoes.
"Where's your uniform!?"
"Are we training or not?!" Hsrriy demands between gasps.
Oliver looks at her badly. It was like that the whole practice. Harriet is noticeably distracted. She took a long time in the plays, she also took a long time to catch the Snitch. She doesn't understand what's wrong and although she notices it when she finishes, it's just not clear.
"Everything okay?" Fred asks on the way out.
"Don't let Oliver bother you. He's more unbearable than usual," George excuses. Which is true. Harriet shakes her head.
"It's nothing. I was just thinking about other things" answers Harriet trying to take out her ponytail. In the end she only manages to get the rubber band tangled in her hair and she's left halfway out, with a better part of it held on. It looks messier than usual. "I'm hungry."
"We are too."
"Let's go to the kitchen."
"Go on, little lion." George urges with his arm around Harriet's shoulders.
"Let no brother of ours go hungry."
Harriet laughs through her nose and keeps her gaze down. 'Brother'. Boy. They see her as just another boy. Maybe others, the ones who aren't idiots willing to spy on her, think the same. Maybe they all see her as a boy...
Maybe that's why not even one person has offered her to go to the dance.
Even if they turns them down, the vast majority of girls have had an invitation. Harriet doesn't know what to feel about it.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
Ever since they got back to Hogwarts, more specifically from the train, Ron has noticed that Hermione is pretty and she's a girl! He's also remembered the times she's helped him in the past and because of that, his mind has been very full of it. Thoughts that he's too embarrassed to admit.
Not to mention that they make him grumpy. Viktor hovering around Hermione is a pain and Harriet encouraging it to happen is even worse. Ron feels replaced by his two friends, who should be more interested in including him than spending time with Viktor Krum.
Neither of them were supposed to be fans of him. Why all the interest? The one who should take Hermione's place is him and the one who should spend time with Hermione is him, not Viktor. It's a complicated and hateful tangle of thoughts and emotions, he's embarrassed by how much he cares, how much he almost cried alone because his friends prefer a stranger over him, that Hermione prefers to make eyes at a stranger over him, that Harriet doesn't listen to him because she's with people he hates (Tom and Viktor to be more specific); it's so embarrassing that he's not going to say it out loud.
Although the most distressing thing these days is Hermione, just thinking about how Harriet insists on spending time with Viktor, with Tom, with Hermione, but not with him and it's infuriating! Harriet didn't apologize, she just threw the signed poster in her face - he's happy to have it, he doesn't plan to give it back - as if that were a way of making up for ignoring him.
And that she doesn't apologize.
In the end and as he misses her, having seen her sad at times attributed to his absence, Ron decides to just get closer. This time he can let it go. They started playing magical chess and talking as usual. As if nothing happened and Ron is happy about it.
The only thing left is for Viktor to stop being around Hermione all the time. With that, everything will be good and normal again. It becomes more urgent with the preparations for the Christmas ball. Everyone is looking for a partner, he knows that some of his friends already have one, Harriet and Hermione have not been invited by anyone.
Ron is thinking of inviting Hermione, when he is ready. There is still time.
"Hey, Ron, who are you going to invite?" asks Cormac, curious.
"I don't know yet" says Ron scratching the back of his head. "I mean, there are still pretty girls available... aren't there?"
"There are girls, but not exactly pretty ones" Cormac mocks. "Hermione and Harriet are the ancient singles" he says ironically, "there is also a group of Hufflepuffs. There is Hannah Abbot..."
They make a long list and all that remains in Ron's head is that, as he thought and knows, Hermione has not been invited by anyone yet. He has time. No one will. No one can stand her and although she is pretty, she is annoying.
Harriet... well, no one thinks Harriet is pretty! She is like another boy. She will surely be alone in this matter. Anyway, if he goes with Hermione, the three of them can be together...
It's not like they want to dance. He doesn't want to. He doubts they do.
Although the embarrassment will be greater for them.
"Some seventh years think this is a good time to have sex" comments Dennis, "maybe it is a good opportunity. There will be punch, the teachers will be there too and they won't notice."
"Maybe if I invite Harriet, she will thank me that way." Cormac mocks, although he will already be going with a Hufflepuff girl a year younger than him.
"I don't think so, she is too prudish... Or not Ron? Do you think it will work?"
They turn to look at him, Ron shrugs and shakes his head, wrinkling his face.
"Nah, Harriet wouldn't do that. She's not like other girls, she did have a dad who told her not to do those things."
"Girls are better without traumas. She doesn't- well, she has what happened with Quirrell, but she's better with the trauma anyway!"
The discussion turns to: Is it better with girls who haven't had a dad or the ones who have a dad in their lives? Ron doesn't intervene too much, having lost interest and feeling uncomfortable with the conversation. They talk horribly about all girls and although girls are annoying, this kind of conversation is... unpleasant.
He hates it.
Ron doesn't usually participate. It's enough to be there and for them to think he agrees. It makes Ron less alone since his friends leave him for someone else.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
Fleur considers Harriet to be someone with a very beautiful presence. The magic around her gives her a beautiful charm that she hasn't seen in anyone else. She is able to perceive it more easily thanks to being part Veela. She can see that white magic that flows like water and at the same time, particles of light.
Fleur has a hard time understanding the rumours that are going around, saying that Harriet is an ugly girl and that she looks more like a boy, but sometimes, talking about her breasts or her legs that are too big.
Fleur is not someone who can relate easily to other people and this kind of thing escapes her. She doesn't like them either. She reflects a little on the dilemma and concludes that maybe that is why she likes Harriet so much: both of them live around criticisms and comments that seem to exist only to make them feel bad.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
"It is a very nice suit."
"It had to be. Otherwise, the Malfoys will be a failure in too many ways." Harriet laughs and Tom adjusts the scarf that comes with the dress robes.
What she likes the most, along with the sleeves. They are long, they cover Tom's hand and the edge is wavy. They give him that eccentric and discreet look that characterizes him so much. He takes off his suit and notices Harriet lost in the clouds of her mind. He approaches her, wearing only a sleeveless shirt and loose pants.
"What are you thinking about?"
"Nothing special."
Tom watches her. He tries to formulate the best way to get information. He starts with something casual.
"We'll be able to dance at the ball. A lot. Snape told me that we have to dance a piece both of us because we're the heirs of the founders," says Tom, who sits next to Harriet. "It'll be after dinner. Near the middle of the event."
"Ah. That's good," Harriet murmurs. "Although." She scratches her head and finds her hair tie tangled in a lock of hair. "I don't know if I'll go." She smiles uncomfortably and pessimistically.
"Why wouldn't you go? You already said you would."
"I don't know if I'll be okay there. That environment... it's not my favorite." She excuses herself, though it's a fact.
Not the real reason she's hesitating these days whether to go or not.
"This should be more fun. You know how to dance. You won't be sitting down all the time."
"Maybe so."
Harriet sighs and stretches in place. Tom had the impulse to ask her to go together and with that, it served to understand Harriet's attitude. Tom opens and closes her mouth, tries to move the words around in his mind and then tells himself: it's not a big deal. It's not like she's that sad or that it's that important. It's just a school dance. They're both going. What's the need to invite Harriet or excuse the subject? None.
Harriet can dance with whoever she wants. She's free to choose and it's almost impossible for anyone to want to dance with her. She's not tied down to anything. It's better to go alone. Like with many things in life.
"What about Remus?"
"Oh right, he told me he'd tag along."
"See? You won't be sitting down."
Nagini snorts loudly. Sometimes Tom is so stupid and blind because he feels like it.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
Everything is still in a huge display of nervousness. Invitations come and go, most of them to the girls they consider prettier and more popular. Girls who dare to go for the boys. It's quite chaotic. Tom has received around twenty proposals this week alone, ignoring the many in previous weeks. Obviously there is more anxiety because the ball is in a week and a half. He has successfully ignored all of them. Harriet on the other hand has not received any, as well as Hermione and Ron.
Although that doesn't mean that there isn't interest in the first of that small list.
"Hermione? As far as I know: no. No one has invited her."
"It's just been a long time."
"Go tell her. She's almost certain to say yes." says Tom, returning to his book.
Viktor came to ask if he knew of Hermione with any date. Tom gets the impression that Viktor has been wanting to ask her out for a long time, but he's a bit shy. Plus, it doesn't help that Harriet is glued to her like a bumper sticker. It's funny because if Viktor asked Harriet for help, this wouldn't be a problem anymore.
The Bulgarian tries to be brave about it, to get himself to say something so simple. However, it's hard because he wants Hermione to agree. To be able to be together all night, maybe confess that he's starting to have a lot of feelings for her.
It's a long list of things that have him petrified.
"Girls like people who are confident. Normal ones," Tom says loosely. He highly doubts that Hermione is any different from Harriet in that regard. "If you just ask without giving speeches or saying stupid things that diminish you, it'll be fine."
"Okay. Okay."
Viktor leaves and Tom turns the page of the book. Regulus sits to the side to read as well.
Chapter 42: Act. XLII. The best invitation
Chapter Text
—What I don't understand is why I have to go out of my way to go. To ask someone to go or even dress up. —Ron complains as they walk down the hall to the Great Hall.
—Well... There'll be a lot of food and music. —Harriet says shrugging her shoulders.
—There's food every day. Why do I have to endure a ball.
—Everyone has to endure the ball, Ron. Just... enjoy the festive air. The union between the schools...
What Hermione presents as a reason to enjoy the Christmas ball, only makes them disconnect. Having lived through several, Harriet is not very enthusiastic about the subject. She imagines that Tom is still jumping with excitement in his room. He with his superficial pomp.
Ron for his part pretends to be annoyed and disinterested in the ball, almost trembling because today he intends to ask Hermione to go together. It's the right moment because there is less time, most of them already have a partner and have mentally prepared themselves enough. He sees her chattering about the importance of the ball, but he doesn't really pay attention to her. As almost always when she talks about things she knows and wants to expose them.
They enter the scandalous great hall. Many are asking for dates. There is a noticeable hurry among all. The boys are mainly the ones who approach. Some are rejected vilely, others with indifference, a good part with a simple "No." There is a wide range of options. She scratches her head and exhales, resting her cheek on her palm.
Harriet thinks that apart from many things, she would like Tom to invite her. Even if it means exposing herself a little. Why not? Explode everyone's minds with the event. In the end, although the adrenaline of the possibility fascinates her, it does not compensate for the fact that later they will be bothering her or calling her names for going out with Tom.
Hogwarts is a nest of vipers in its entirety. She would like to just go through the world without worrying about anything. She looks at Hermione. Imagines that Viktor wants to invite her. Hermione is impatient, hoping that Ron will invite her as he would normally do and it seems to be the most likely thing. Why is Hermione waiting for Ron? At what point did these two start noticing each other? She has no idea, but since Ron doesn't do anything, she assumes that she's just imagining it.
Hermione for her part knows that Ron has been looking at her and Neville told her that Ron asks a lot if anyone has asked her to the ball. She hopes that it will happen. Ron is her friend and maybe this will strengthen them and give her certainty as to why he looks at her from time to time.
Harriet doesn't expect anyone to come to invite her, she's already given up on the subject. On the one hand, with how harassed she feels, she's afraid that they'll think otherwise. On the other hand, she's not pretty enough to get anyone's attention. Hearing horrible rumors and her head full of dirty comments makes her feel unhappy with her appearance.
At the end of the day, with his own and Hermione's restlessness, without thinking about Ron, Tom or Viktor, he spontaneously says the following:
"Mione, will you go to the ball with me?" Harriet turns in her seat and spreads her arms on the table. A cheerful, even flirtatious smile on her lips, her eyes shining behind her matching glasses.
Hermione blushes and stammers, it is not the first time that Harriet has offered her slightly strange invitations or joked about being girlfriends. Her crush on Cho Chang even comes up at this moment. Her face turns redder, as if for the first time she really notices Harriet. The muscles of her arms, exposed by the black T-shirt, the large bust exposed by the V-cut of the T-shirt; the legs just as firm as her arms, but hidden under huge trousers.
Along with her, there is silence in the Great Hall. It's unusual with so many invitations coming and going, but having caught who said who, everyone remains silent, curious. Soft murmurs go here and there. No one expected that.
"B-but you two are girls," Ron complains, suddenly panicking, feeling a chill run up his spine. Incredulous and not knowing what to do to make his friend shut up. Why is she stealing his moment and his possible date for the dance? Harriet shrugs.
"McGonagall didn't say that you couldn't go with people of the same sex," Harriet defends without interest. "Besides, this way we go with someone we love very much and we have fun," she says smiling. Hermione sticks out her lips a little.
That's also true.
Harriet continues with the plan of making it fun. Maybe Tom won't invite her, she should have fun anyway. Everyone can have fun together! And she wants to go, but she doesn't want to be alone. She knows what she would face if she doesn't have a partner.
"Listen, I know you're desperate because no one has invited you, but don't you think this is pathetic?" Ron shifts uncomfortably in his spot and Harriet looks at him with annoyance. The redhead hopes that pointing out the absurdity of the matter will help Harriet regret it or leave here. "I know there aren't many boys who are going to invite Hermione, but it's- you know, stupid, it's very desperate." He laughs awkwardly and nervously. He rubs his hands on his pants to dry the sweat.
His mind works slower than his tongue, which only spouts stupid things. His heart beats very fast and he can't stop thinking: Why can't Harriet just keep quiet!?
"Do you think no one would ever want to invite us?" Harriet replies, offended that it's Ron who is fighting this by making use of how little they are attracted to boys. It's something they already know, but him rubbing salt in the wound is not exactly necessary. "Really?"
"No- I mean, it's just that, well, you know how they are and they know how you are. It's- I mean, normal." He trails off, feeling a kind of burning in his lungs. "They've always thought you were ugly and that hasn't changed." He clears his throat, grimacing and internally asking Harriet to shut up and give up. "Very much." he concludes, looking away.
"Ron-"
"And Hermione is unbearable sometimes- most of the time. It's obvious. It's normal that they don't want to invite them even to annoy her."
"And that's how she dug her grave." Fred says.
"One galleon says Harriet leaves." George murmurs. Both of them on the other side of the table. Like everyone else, attentive to the conversation.
"Five says they both leave and go to the ball together."
"Done." Fred says, Seamos, Dean, even Neville and Ginny join in at once.
"Are you serious?" Hermione replies and Ron shrugs.
Hermione sounded more hurt than Harriet would like. As if with those comments, he was letting it be seen that he wasn't planning on inviting her. That he was hiding behind other people's opinions to say that he also thinks they're ugly or that no one would be interested in taking them to the ball.
"I just can't believe it," says Harriet. He moves his jaw and stands up. Before saying anything else, Hermione links her arm with hers. Her lips tremble, her voice too, but her grip on Harriet is firm.
"Let's go to the ball together Harriet. At least we'll have more fun this way," concludes Hermione and takes her with her. Harriet ends up smiling and raising her arm in a gesture of triumph. Ron is stunned, standing uncomfortably in his place.
"WELL DONE RON! A CHAMPION," mocks Fred, clapping as the others take out the money they must give him.
Viktor shifts where he is, uncomfortable.
┈
"He's an idiot."
Harriet strokes Hermione's back, worried that she's on the verge of tears. Hermione takes a deep breath and lets out a stifled moan.
"Why does he stare at me so much then? Does he think I'm ugly?"
"You're very pretty, Mione, he's just dumb. He's a boy. According to my mum, they're stupid at this age."
Hermione sniffles, nodding. Better to leave it at that. It hurts less that way.
┈
"You- OH! WHY DIDN'T YOU DO IT BEFORE!?" Harriet puts her hands on her hips and Viktor remains slouched. "I thought maybe you didn't want to go, I got carried away too."
"Would she have said yes to me…?"
"Of course she would!" Harriet exclaims. "I think she likes you a lot," she says with a smile, "but you need to be a little more direct. You know. Say more. I understand that she's pretty to look at, but you can talk. She likes to talk." Viktor nods, with notes in mind. "And you can still ask her out." He sways on his feet. "We're all friends, right? We're going to spend the night together having fun." Harriet smiles and Viktor feels shivers all over his body.
There's something about Harriet that's…
Simply beautiful.
He couldn't define it. Maybe it's her light.
It makes him happy to be friends with this light. To be illuminated and accompanied by it.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
"Why are you so worried?" Lily asks, surprised by how anxious James is. Her husband hasn't stopped turning on the lights in all the rooms of the house.
"Sirius left England two weeks ago to look for Grindelwald. There hasn't been any kind of sign yet" Lily sighs in exhaustion. She can't deny that he's right to be worried. "Some people in the office are starting to say that I should be afraid that he won't come back or that he's a spy of Grindelwald."
"Sirius lets them kill him rather than betray you" Lily mocks, sitting on the bed. "Besides, it's an option you should start considering, right? Being a double agent" James rubs his brow, irritated, "if he makes it to a month, worry, but for now" Lily shrugs. "Have a little faith in him. He's a very capable wizard. I hope you don't forget that."
"I know he's very capable, but anyway... Why would it take so long? He already had the place and time for the meeting." Lily looks away. That's true. Sirius did have everything triangulated, it's strange that it takes so long for him to give any signs of life at least.
She trusts that Sirius will be fine… and that James won't burn down the house out of worry.
Chapter 43: Act. XLIII. "What you desire"
Chapter Text
Chasing Grindelwald to Qatar has been one of the strangest things yet. Sirius can tell the man is jumping around the globe like he's crossing a street. Annoying every wizarding world in his reach.
Very few are actively following his ideals. Not to mention that they are relatively weak nations. It's the only consolation that James and Sirius have. The latter, stuck in Qatar in the hopes of ending the problem. Making Grindelwald a distant and useless memory in people's minds.
It's the only reason he accepted this mission even though no one asked him to.
Ever since he received the information about Grindelwald's meeting with his followers, Sirius knew there was a strong chance it was a trap or there was an error in the information. Either option is going to send him into a hysterical and annoyed fit. He wants to be home for Christmas. He promised Harriet he'd be there. Also that he'd help her with Tom's birthday present. It's very important. He also wants to hear how the dance went.
It'll be probably great.
He's jealous of Remus, he'd like to be there and dance with his goddaughter, see her enjoying time with her friends and boyfriend.
Sirius arrives at the meeting. Unfortunately, it's what he expected, but not a trap. He's stuck in the huge space full of people, he can leave if he wants, but without reinforcements and having the first chance to understand Grindelwald. Why not?
Besides, it might be the best chance: he chases Grindelwald to wherever he's staying and kills him there. He doesn't think there's a bigger problem.
Or try to take him to a place where they can imprison him. He'll try to kill him. He doesn't even try to hide it.
"Magic... is the most wonderful thing that has ever emerged in our world" says Grindelwald, standing in the middle of that huge stage all the way down to the stands. Similar to a coliseum and he, who entertains the assembled mass. Sirius stretches out in his seat, resting his arm on the back of the seat. "An extraordinary event that has no explanation other than magic itself," he says with a sly smile. "Not everyone has it. Only some are lucky. Two wizards together do not certify power, there are Squibs; two muggles together do not guarantee another muggle, there are muggleborns." He takes a few simple and casual steps, with his hands behind his back. "The only thing that is certain is that those who possess it, those of us who are here: we are special... we are superior."
His voice is hypnotic and his way of speaking even more attractive. Sirius gives a slight sigh. Everyone here looks like people so eager to have something in the world... All this discourse sounds phenomenal. Someone who suddenly points at you and tells you what you want to hear: you are not just another point in creation. You are different, you are extraordinary...
You are special.
"So as all of you will understand that being like this, it is strange how we hide!" replies Grindelwald to the people. "It is we who must hide in corners, in hiding places, taking care of every last detail so that the Muggles do not notice, but why?"
He gives the floor to someone who raises their hand: "they could end the magical world."
"Yes, it is true" Grindelwald agrees, "but why should we give them the opportunity?" Sirius narrows his eyes. "Or rather, why do we allow them to continue being a threat to us?" he asks the rest. "They are dangerous, but... they are not superior" He points with a confident gesture. "They are a wild animal that destroys everything in its path. The oceans, the skies, the forests; they destroy animals, vegetation, themselves" emphasizes Grindelwald stopping in the center of the stage. "If that is the case, why do we continue to be under them? Why are we hiding?"
He pauses and although it seems like a place to ask, he just offers in a flirtatious and optimistic gesture: "Why not exterminate the threat before it becomes fatal?"
Sirius contains his annoyance. He knew it would come to that. It's what seemed most likely. Still, his annoyance doesn't come from that ultimate end. It's normal, almost natural. What really makes his tempers flare is that none of those present argue. None of them seem to realize how horrible it is. Insinuating the mass murder of innocent people who don't even understand why they will be killed. It gets worse with a simple statement:
"However, we are not barbarians," he says with supposed sadness, sporting a small pout. "We are not Monsters," he emphasizes with a giggle. "We will leave a small group alive. The harmless one. The one necessary for the magic to continue its course and for us not to have problems. Family trees are a whole problem." He causes some laughter and takes his wand out of his sleeve, giving an elegant flourish.
A cloud of smoke begins to form in the air. Sirius straightens up and leans on his knees, observing carefully what emerges: several people, among them James, Harriet and Tom. They are the main ones. He recognizes the rest, but is not sure. The cloud of smoke with so many faces and that of James and Harriet closer to Grindelwald.
"These creatures, more than extraordinary and wonderful, live among us." He points out with admiration in his two-colored eyes, a huge and fascinated smile. "Deceived by this world that enjoys submitting to muggle needs and not the needs of magic. The energy that makes us superior." Sirius discreetly descends to the next step. He needs to see all the faces. Know who else is relevant to Grindelwald, go get them to safety and convince them that no offer from him will be good. "They are vital. They are magic telling us how it is. Full of light, full of darkness; the purest power is in these people." Sirius recognizes a few more faces.
Still, the clear emphasis on the Potters makes him nervous. He takes a seat again, quite apart. Grindelwald still does not notice Sirius' presence. More attentive to making his point than to paying attention to those who listen to him.
If it is not absolute fascination and loyalty to his cause and him, he is not interested.
"Eventually we will need them with us. Open their eyes to the world that should be ours, to how much they can help us." The clouds of smoke slowly fade away and Grindelwald clasps his hands behind his back. "To all that they can... be. Just like all of us who are special. The true dominant species of this world."
"What about those who stand against it?"
"Well," Grindelwald takes several steps, gesturing pleasantly, "obstacles to progress have always been present. Unfortunately, even wizards tend to reject changes for the better. That resistance to the unknown is normal, but sad at the same time. If they are such a threat, we have no choice but to," Grindelwald waves his hand, "push them aside."
Some faces fade away, the cloud is no longer there.
"but magic-"
"Nothing is lost. Trust me." he smiles, confident, standing a few feet away. "Even hindrances can be useful... Muggles are, even if they are the biggest hindrance," he says ironically, drawing a few laughs from most of them. Sirius moves his jaw slightly.
No one here is against it. Even with the questions answered insanely, implying mass murder or destruction, people are happy. They are convinced of what Grindelwald proposes. Sirius is still not very clear about his approach. There is something he is hiding. It is not just about dominating the magical world and displacing the Muggle world.
It is something bigger and more dangerous, but he has not revealed it. He is very discreet about it. Sirius realizes it only because he is used to dealing with people like him. Everyone else here, wizards and witches with normal, ordinary lives do not see that they are only being tricked by a charming dark wizard. Sirius assumes that his goal is very complicated and could cause the death of all his followers. Maybe forbidden magic or some extravagant machinations. It would explain his appearance, perhaps. Not even Dumbledore was able to stay young despite his longevity and friendship with Nicholas Flamel.
When Grindelwald goes on a retreat, Sirius hides and shapeshifts, turning into a dog to discreetly chase him. It's thirty minutes of walking through the city after him. Some trusted wizards around him, some falsely friendly greetings, and finally a huge building. A muggle hotel. Sirius shapeshifts into an alley and appears inside the hotel. He puts his hands in his jacket pockets, waiting fifteen minutes.
He goes to the reception desk and talks to the girl at the counter. All the signs are in English, so he can assume he doesn't have to speak Arabic. Which is one of the languages he's tried the least. "Excuse me, can you tell me if Gellert Grindelwald is in that hotel? I'm a co-worker."
"Yes. He's in the Penthouse. Would you like me to let you know...?"
Sirius discreetly stuns her. Nothing more than a dizziness where when she reacts, she looks around. She thinks she hallucinated him. Sirius goes up in the elevator and after checking which of the penthouse rooms it is, he appears inside at once. He suffers a slight shiver. There doesn't seem to be anyone here, but he feels watched.
Grindelwald in a corner, pouring himself a drink. "I didn't think you'd drink such a muggle drink like that."
"They know how to make liquors. I have to give them credit for that," Grindelwald answers without even flinching. Sirius narrows his eyes, suspicious of her calm reaction. "I'm glad to see you, Sirius," Grindelwald mentions with a smile and glass in his hands. "We've never had a chance to talk." His calm and even flirtatious gesture irritates him.
"I don't like wasting time," Sirius says, taking his wand out of his sleeve, approaching him, "the useless hunt is over. It's-"
"How is James? Still ignoring you for being with a wizard who doesn't suit him?"
Sirius frowns and Grindelwald laughs, taking a couple of steps closer; happy to have paralyzed him with his comment. Slow, cautious.
"There are a lot of rumors going around England. All about how strange is your friendship with James Potter... something tells me that light blinded you and you haven't wanted to leave there." Sirius clenches his jaw. There's something in the air that doesn't let him attack. Instinct maybe. He doesn't know exactly what it is and it just makes him nervous. Grindelwald shakes his head. "I don't blame you, it's fascinating. James is an anomaly. I've never seen a wizard make fire like that. That it's so bright. Hotter than a bonfire of cursed fire."
"I don't care about any of the useless chatter you have in mind," Sirius warns, pressing his wand to Grindelwald's neck, having just gotten to him in a hurry, furious that he talks in such detail about James. As if he looked at him in too much detail. Grindelwald keeps a slight smile. "All I care about is-"
"James. The only thing you care about is James Potter and the mere mention of him, gets on your nerves." The dark wizard points out and Sirius felt like hitting him, irritating thoughts coming up from having him so close and insisting.
Remembering that several years ago, he was harassing James to convince him to join his cause. The one who was so troublesome. James never gave in. Not even a little, though, it was a real pain that had him paranoid and vigilant of everything around him. Sirius just hates the idea that Grindelwald was that close.
That this person is talking to him.
That this person tried to upset him.
That this person existed around him.
He hates it.
It bothers him.
It's an absurd and unpleasant discomfort, like a parasite that spreads and lives in his insides.
To think that he was so effective in his spying, so capable of noticing these details...
Sirius just want to kill him for that and nothing else. I would be very happy to kill him.
Some thin, icy flakes begin to fall softly, snow forming on the ground.
"I've never had the chance to see your magic in action. This is the first time I've seen snow."
Grindelwald staggers from the blow to the face. He wipes his lip and Sirius grabs him by the clothes, indifferent to the clumps of snow and flakes that appear in the air. He points at Grindelwald again: "Why are you draining people's magic?"
"Wouldn't you want James for yourself? James. All to yourself."
The question throws him off. Grindelwald chuckles. His cheekbone red and slightly purple; Sirius presses the wood into Grindelwald's neck, threatening to stab him with the wand. He thinks quickly about how bad it would be to do that, how bad it would be to just take him to the nearest prison and leave him there lying there. Grindelwald breathes out the question again:
"Wouldn't you want James for yourself? I can give him to you. Let him not think of anyone but you."
"Why the fuck are you talking so much?"
"Because I want you on my side. It's not hard to tell... just like you noticed that if you make a wrong move here, you die."
Sirius snorts, letting go of him reluctantly with a furious gesture. So that's what's going on. It's irritating. There must be at least five people here, but if he doesn't know where they are, it's impossible to avoid them. Sirius doesn't make a strategy other than to flee. In a hurry, he only considers the possibility of infiltration in the near future. Maybe he convinces Grindelwald that he has managed to cajole him with the proposal he has.
It is annoying and complicated, but he doesn't see many options. He wants to achieve something besides having the "basic" information of how he attracts followers.
"How many people do you think there are?"
"More than five, less than fifteen."
"There are twelve people," Grindelwald informs, raising a finger and swaying before smiling. "Such good dog instincts on your part," he praises mockingly.
Sirius hisses.
"As I was saying," Grindelwald continues. "I don't expect a creature as... extraordinary as you, to work like all the others. You are more important and marvelous than any of them." He doesn't touch him, but Sirius resents the touch of his magic, that he is even close. As if Grindelwald had caressed his hair without touching it. Not to mention that it's unpleasant, like a slimy, suffocating mass just to look at. "You're the best of the Black heirs. Even better than your parents. You're different."
"So?"
"I understand that to convince you, I must give something of equal caliber. The only thing that interests you: James Potter." Grindelwald opens his arms halfway. A vague and slightly amused gesture. "Your affection for him is no secret, nor is it that you'd be fascinated to take Lily Potter's place."
"She's my friend, too."
"A thief you force yourself not to hate," Grindelwald corrects, passing by Sirius. He walks just like in that meeting. Slow, pleasant, hypnotic. "Because otherwise, you'd be far from what you really want."
"Unlike you, I'm not a degenerate who pretends even to his loved ones," Sirius complains, arms crossed. "And even if you were right, I wouldn't-"
"I have more than six extra decades of knowledge. Altering a few memories isn't a big deal," Grindelwald says nonchalantly. "That Lily doesn't exist... that the place she possessed, has always been yours... I'm the only wizard in the world who could grant you that wish," he says, turning to him. "You are the snow surrounding the bonfire that is James. You could put it out, but you love you glow so much that you admire in silence; indifferent to the fact that the fire destroys you, hurts you... that masochistic love can have a purpose if you want it to... if you ask me to." Grindelwald promises in a whisper and Sirius shakes his head.
"I thought you wanted Lily too."
"She's a clever woman, but she's of no use to me in the bigger scheme." Grindelwald stands a few inches away from him, suddenly grabbing his jaw, "the best Black heir is, on the other hand, a perfect ally."
He blow Grindelwald's roughly, with an unpleasant shiver throughout Sirius' body. The direct contact of his magic makes Sirius tremble. Grindelwald takes some distance.
"James is important. Very important. Not only his position in general, but also his magic. As you must well suppose: no one has a glow like that. The strength to burn more than hell itself. He is special."
"More than anyone."
"In your world there is no one else."
Sirius sweats coldly, wanting to sound doubtful, unconvinced, but he could be.
"So what do you say? Do you want what you want most?"
"I'm not stupid enough not to notice that you have avoided talking about Harriet" Sirius says suspiciously and Grindelwald smiles strangely. Until now, he had not seen that gesture. Not long ago at least. Just since the last time he was after Harriet. "What will happen to her?"
"She has a special role. I don't want to ruin that surprise."
Sirius laughs in disgust.
"Then there's no deal."
Grindelwald shakes his head.
"How disappointing..."
"I won't let you do anything to my goddaughter-"
"You're spoiling a goddess on earth in the worst way possible," Grindelwald criticizes. Sirius begins to lose patience. Disgusted and annoyed. "Her magic is so different. So unique... there hasn't been a light like that for over a century. She should be doing better things."
"Is being your whore doing better things? You fucking piece of shit-"
"I don't pretend to have her with that intention."
"Yeah, sure."
"It would be fun to torture James and make him come from me, but it's not my immediate aspiration." Sirius says quietly: 'But it is your aspiration'. Grindelwald sighs in wonder, lost in his mind full of fantasies. "I want her magic and her... if you love her so much, like she was your own daughter, I can promise that she won't suffer at all from this process," he assures with a hand on his chest. "I'll take good care of her... All while you take care of James by fucking him."
A couple of spells are fired in his direction. Non-lethal. The stunner hits Sirius in the back, but he's able to disappear and appear in the next room. Sirius shakes his head and tries to ignore the general pain, as well as the dizziness and shaking. He breathes heavily and sees a couple of witches approaching. Both walking elegantly and with their wands pointed at him.
"You should improve your manners, Sirius," Grindelwald opines. "It's rude to try and hit someone while they're talking."
"You just talk so fucking much. You look especially hittable."
"What a curious way of saying what you'd like to do to James... I imagine there's its charm- Did it ever happen? That there was something between you and him... Or were you ever an option to begin with?" Grindelwald scoffs and Sirius hisses.
Clearly he won't be able to get anything out of him today. Who knows if he ever will. Before disappearing, Grindelwald says. Something else:
"Your magic is dark for a reason. Stop fooling yourself: you want to consume that light and you will. Whether it's because it was given to you or because you destroy it. It's part of you destiny." he says convinced.
Sirius disappears, cursing as soon as he's in the alley outside the hotel.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
He gives a pained hiss, still resenting the trip, the little fight. It sucks. Hearing the front door only makes him snort again. James who rushed in to see him.
"You almost gave me a heart attack! Why didn't you tell him anything!? Are you okay? Were you able to find him? Are you okay?"
Usually it makes Sirius happy to see James, but right now it's not the best idea. Not with so much going through his head. Mainly the strong crisis that the certainty that Grindelwald gave him generates. As if he knew, as if he could predict it... that this darkness in him, this cold magic, would be capable of something so horrible. He has never felt so uneasy about himself as he is now. James snaps his fingers in front of Sirius' face, making him wake up.
"Hey... Did something bad happen?"
"Nothing important. A couple of spells on top of it, that's all."
James takes a breath, sitting next to him. He takes his hand, squeezing it in his own and Sirius frowns deeper.
«Your magic is dark for a reason.»
"Let's talk about what happened later. We can go for a drink if you want." James suggests softly and Sirius shakes his head.
"I'd rather stay here... There are decorations."
"I put some up. You know Harriet is coming here and I wanted to help you. I know you'd be really tired to start with." James justifies.
«Stop fooling yourself: you want to consume that light and you will.»
Sirius stares, James talks. The smile and the calm he transmits. His foolish gesture. The excuse that he came here to check if I arrive or not, to calm the anxiety by decorating for Christmas. Typical James and now it makes Sirius feel miserable and despicable at the same time. As if he really is a monster that could destroy whoever is in front of him.
"I can make something to eat."
"No... no. Just... stay there."
«Whether it's because it was given to you or because you destroy it.»
His magic and James's flourish, submissively intertwining with each other. The snow embraces the fire and the fire melts the snow. It's a nice feeling. Lovely. It makes Sirius feel calm. James notices the sudden fluctuation. That kind of blizzard. Snow starts to appear in the place.
"Is something wrong?"
"No..."
«It's part of your destiny»
"It's nothing." Sirius says, leaning on James' shoulder. The man doesn't say anything, he just finds it curious and strange. Sirius never lets himself get emotionally affected on missions.
Something happened.
James hopes that Sirius will trust him enough to tell him.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
Remus and Peter are fast asleep.
Barely a butterbeer and they couldn't stand it anymore.
Sirius stares at James, who with a red face and sporadic hiccups doesn't shut up. Drunk and absorbed in talking to him. Sirius crawls until his forehead is pressed against James', breathing deeply. The smell of liquor in the warm atmosphere of the Room of Requirements. James laughs stupidly, rubs back with a silly smile.
"What's wrong? Why so close? You're not a dog now." James laughs and Sirius gasps, his magic coating him.
Wanting to intertwine this light that is so trusting and loving, he reciprocates his attentions. He ends up joining lips with James. The teenager with half-open eyes and crooked glasses. As they separate, Sirius stares at him. He takes off James' glasses and joins lips with him again, pressing against the wall and holding him clumsily. James shivers in place, the cold growing with the seconds. Sirius barely lets him breathe, moving on to kiss and bite his neck, James stammers something that makes Sirius stop.
"What a weird dream." James hiccups and leans back against Sirius. "I don't know if Sirius does those things."
Sirius slowly rests his cheek on James' shoulder, feeling like crying. James doesn't even realize what's happening, at the same time he doesn't know how he's risking himself by doing this.
In the morning, James tells it like a super strange dream, genuinely clueless about what it really was. Sirius kept that lie going, afraid that James would get angry with him and say that he is just like everyone who approaches him with hidden intentions.
He doesn't want to end up like those people: far away and hated for being terrible...
He doesn't want to lose James.
But he can't stop wishing with all his might, almost praying for a miracle, to be able to have this light for himself and never let it go.
Chapter 44: Act. XLIV. Before the dance
Chapter Text
"I can't believe it!"
Emma and Blaise can't stop laughing from the bottom of their lungs, Crabbe and Goyle in a similar state. The humor comes from nothing else but imagining how ridiculous Hermione and Harriet will be going to the ball. It's the most absurd thing they've seen all day.
"They're so desperate," says Emma, blowing air into her hand.
"How could I not be? Nobody wants to see that bird's nest," says Blaise, ironically. "We can make some jokes. Not even Tom would notice."
"We could throw away the fertilizer in the greenhouse," suggests Crabbe.
"What do you think?" he asks, taking Drakonys by the arms. He gives a gentle shake. "Should we- Drakonys? Hello?"
The blonde gets up from her seat and slowly retreats to her room. In her mind she keeps repeating the same thing over and over:
"If she had chosen me from the beginning, I would have been the one to accompany her to the ball."
She enters the bedroom, climbs into her bed and draws the curtains. She hugs the pillow and continues to wander in that alternative reality. Harriet waiting for her at the Slytherin entrance, wearing a ball gown and her hair in a high ponytail. Just there with a shy expression. Holding her hand, helping her up the stairs and maintaining a nervous, but tender, tremble.
"You look beautiful today."
Upon arriving, showing off to everyone that she is her date. Starting the ball and telling her "just look at me and try not to step on the dress" to joke a little, receiving a nervous laugh from her. Spending the whole night talking, without letting go of her arm, without letting go of her hand.
All that could have been the reality...
One that Harriet did not choose.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
"With Hermione?"
Tom's question comes out so incredulously that Regulus thinks for a mere moment, that he actually cares. Tom hides his confusion. Harriet didn't say anything about it. The subject has been relatively ignored in general. Why invite Hermione? Eventually someone was going to invite her. It doesn't make sense that it won't happen. Although at this point and with the ball so close, it was most likely done by people desperate for not having a partner.
Being one in her own right.
"Yeah. I don't know if that's more pathetic or going with Ron Weasley" Regulus mocks, taking a seat. "Two women should be forbidden from going together. It's ridiculous" Tom doesn't have time to comment on the subject. It's funny that Regulus is the one who complains about that. "At least there's an awareness that no one would invite two little things like them. They retreated into themselves."
"Ummmm."
"It's pathetic anyway," Theodore says. Tom holds the cup of hot drink that the other hands him. "Don't let anyone invite you."
"It could happen. Now it won't." Daphne says with her hand on her cheek.
"No one, absolutely no one, would want to have them as a couple. It's common sense."
In the whole conversation, she didn't say anything.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
He stacks the books and prepares to place them in their respective spaces. His mind wanders to how he didn't expect Harriet to do what she did. It came out suddenly. Just an impulse. She's impulsive by nature, but it's not something that was seen coming. Not by Hermione at least. She knows that she has a certain bias in her favor and yet, who would have thought that this would happen?
She reflects that it makes her much happier that it was Harriet who invited her instead of Ron. There will be no arguments during the ball, she will be able to dance a lot -Ron confessed that he does not plan to stand up-, she will wear a pretty dress that will be praised without fail, as well as her hairdo, she will have someone to talk to. It's perfect! Much better than it would have been with Ron!
As she walks back and forth between the tables, she notices a folded piece of paper. She recognizes Harriet's handwriting even without seeing the signature on the bottom edge.
"We've talked about it and everything's fine. Just follow your heart. I second the motion."
She doesn't know what he's talking about. "I'll ask him later," Hermione says quietly, putting the paper in her pocket. She continues what she's doing until a recognizable figure appears."
"Hello Viktor," Hermione greets as she puts a book on her shelf. "Have you decided to suffer through the history of magic yet?" she jokes with a sly, restrained smile. Viktor shakes his head.
"I came to see you."
"Oh... Why?" Hermione puts the last book down and Viktor, as if he hadn't been having intense internal discussions, asks,
"Will you go to the ball with me?"
The question comes out softly, so easy it almost makes him feel stupid for not being able to do it sooner. Hermione opens and closes her mouth, puts the books back, and then curses under her breath. Before she tells him she can't because Harriet already invited her and said yes, she remembers the paper in her pocket.
Did Harriet know about this? She points outside, then at Viktor, and so on for several seconds.
"You and Harriet…?"
"We talked about this. She told me that if you wanted, you could come in with her, but after a certain point, you could only dance with me. There's plenty of time." She repeats almost the same thing Harriet said. She agreed and loves the idea. Why not? "And that I can dance with her too... that we're friends."
Hermione can't resist laughing. Of course, Harriet, as usual, makes these kinds of plans out of the blue. She nods, runs her hand through her hair and shakes it in a nervous, but excited way.
"Yes. "Yes, I would like to go with you, Viktor." she answers and it's the first time she sees him smiling in such a way. Bright, excited. The Durmstrang student approaches Hermione and takes her by the face, joining his lips with hers.
It's not what she expected.
It doesn't bother her at all.
When they separate, she laughs embarrassed and gives him a soft push on the shoulder.
"I'll let you go just this once." she warns playfully. Viktor nods.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
"REALLY!? I HAD TO STAY TO SEE THAT!"
"Don't be a gossip Harriet."
"Everyone in this school is. I have the right." Harriet lets down her hair which looks even bigger as a result. It gets wet down her still wet back. All her pajamas get wet. "A-s ... Maybe Ron didn't tell you, but Viktor did. I consider this the ultimate victory."
"Of course I did," Hermione exclaims. She sits up in bed with Crookshanks on her lap. "I just can't explain the way he looked at me. He was so…" She waves her hand back and forth, lips pursed and eyebrows furrowed. "Strong!" And suddenly he comes closer. I was just thinking, "Let whatever I think, let whatever I think, read the mood! YES YOU CAN!" She laughs excitedly and euphorically. Harriet rocks back and forth.
"I do have a question, though. Do you like Ron?"
Hermione shrugs and shakes her head.
"No. I just… I thought he liked me and that's why I thought he would ask me out. "That would be a moment of fireworks and huge romance." Harriet sighs. Ron is so obtuse that that would never happen, "but I was wrong," she admits, a silly smile appearing on her lips. "And Viktor seems to want to take the reins of my romantic life."
"A terrible decision."
"Harriet."
"You should guide him. He's so shy. I understand his embarrassment."
"Oh yeah? Do you like someone?"
"Maybe." Hermione narrows her eyes. "Haven't you noticed my deep love for you? Mione, I would die for you." Hermione reaches for a pillow and throws it at his face. Sometimes she wonders if there will ever be a time when Harriet won't turn her attention away and be honest.
From the looks of it, that will never happen.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
"You invited Hermione."
Tom's statement makes her a little uneasy. He looks at her strangely. As if the glint in his red eyes is one of slight suspicion. Harriet licks her lips and approaches the bed in the large room.
"Yes."
"You know? "Sometimes I'm surprised at how inattentive you are," she confesses, placing her hands on the bed. "Considering that you know the people in this school and these actions only cause them to talk more and worse about you."
"Nothing I do is going to be right and for once I want everything to be perfect," Harriet justifies. "It's going to be fun going with Hermione. While you do your high society things with the Slytherins, I can have fun with my best friend."
Tom clicks his tongue. It's not about what he does. It doesn't matter. There will never be any rumours out there that interest him. In general, everyone is too stupid. He also doesn't care what they might think beyond the respect they owe him.
However, Harriet is so prone to listening to what others say about her, that she has a hard time understanding how she exposes herself to so much useless talk. Going with a woman, going with Hermione Granger, going without a man to take to the ball…
She is frankly stupid.
Or very brave. As far as she knows, no one has dared to go with someone of the same sex. Only her.
"How simplistic." Tom sighs with a disappointed tone. Harriet crosses her arms.
"I'm sorry to disappoint you for not being a schemer or having my own plans." Tom turns to Nagini, listening to her laugh and how she moves around, enjoying the little discussion.
"Everything would be so much simpler if you admitted that you are jealous that she is going to have a date... or that she prefers Hermione over you." the snake mocks and Tom was tempted to throw her out of the room. If only to annoy her a little.
"Whatever" Tom replies, returning to his girlfriend. "Don't expect the others to say nothing."
"At least I won't go alone."
"Why does it matter?"
"It does."
"Considering what's already been said, I don't think it's worth it."
Harriet bites her lip. She'd rather whatever they say about going with Hermione than be the only girl without a date. Viktor was going to ask Hermione anyway, but her? No one had a choice. Not even Tom. She wasn't going to put up with that level of separation and rejection, not to mention the taunts that would come.
She can imagine it. From calling her ugly, wild, unkempt, and pathetic for not being anyone's choice.
Maybe Tom doesn't understand because he's the choice of too many people, not to mention his gigantic inability to understand other people's feelings.
"Sometimes I wonder if you really understand what I feel," she admits in a low, pitiful, sad voice, and Nagini stands up from her spot. "It's… Forget it."
Tom gets up from his spot and walks over to her. He unties her tie, starts to open her shirt and pulls it down, exposing the teen's bare torso. Harriet raises her arms a little, making it easier to expose her upper body. When Tom removes her bra, she covers herself with her arms.
"No, I don't really understand most of your thoughts. It's frustrating."
Harriet giggles. At least she admits it.
"Do you understand that I love you?"
"Yes."
"And do you understand why you love me?"
"I think you do."
Tom holds her, having her leaning back on himself. It's a strange situation. A little tense in his point of view. However, it's part of the process of continuing to shape what he has inside him and what was formed with Harriet's presence, what can be classified as love and is so difficult to pinpoint.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
"I know everyone here is super excited for the Yule Ball, but I need you all to pay close attention. This class is one of the hard ones," Remus warns as he arranges the desks around the room so they're out of the way. The light murmurs carry some laughter at the comment, "and one of the important ones... As you may recall, these past few weeks we've been talking about the nature of magic and its different manifestations."
Harriet turns her attention away. It's so hard to focus when there's a constant chill running up her spine. It's familiar, and that's what's strange to her.
"So, I decided to ask one of the most outstanding students in the school for help and to be able to better explain this aspect: Tom, please come forward."
Harriet clenches her hands and tugs at the sweater she's wearing. That makes more sense. It's not hard to notice how happy Tom is with this presentation. Being named the best and most notorious of the students. His ego catapults beyond the limits.
"As you can see, his magic is dark" Remus tells and Tom exposes a little of himself to support him. "Usually, the dark nature comes attached to the cold. It is one of the easiest ways to know the nature of each person" He stands to Tom's right. "The biggest difference is the ability they have to manifest it in its most raw state. Tom."
He closes his eyes for a few seconds, there is not only a large amount of frost on the ground, but also an almost symmetrical block made of ice that gives off cold.
"His magic is uniform and manifests as ice. It's that simple" Remus points out. "However, although it may seem untrue, it is very rare for something like that to happen."
"In what sense?" Ron asks, confused.
"The most basic of darkness is ice, frost, etc. The dilemma is that very few have that purity of manifestation. Some make glass, others plants that grow in the cold. In general, it's more varied" Remus explains, putting a hand in his pocket. "Anything that emerges in the gloom can be there. Therefore, no magic is the same. In Tom's case, it is so authentically dark, that it creates the most basic of gloom: cold, ice, petrification."
Tom closes his eyes again and although Remus is momentarily surprised, he does not complain about the blue flames that ignite. Lavender reaches out her hand, when she touches him, it is cold instead of hot. Even so, it causes a burn. Harriet shakes her head slightly, embarrassed that she has lost herself in her mind by seeing him.
"Very well Tom, ten points to Slytherin" Remus laughs and Tom dismisses the fire as a precaution. "On the other end, I need Harriet to come here."
He looks at Hermione for a moment, fearful, she gently pushes him forward. He stands next to Tom and takes a deep breath. The long, similar explanation to the one he made before, switches the terms and makes the obvious clear: the purest manifestation of white magic, is light. Simply light. One that is warm, but blinding; kind, but offensive if he needs to.
"Harriet, condense your magic into a single point to keep us from going blind."
He puts his hands together and closes his eyes. Slowly, a small spark forms on his palms. It is the first time that anyone in that classroom or in the school in general, is able to see Harriet's magic so uniformly. It is just light. There is nothing else to it. Tom stares.
It is not that he has not seen it, actually. And done something better: felt every little impulse that force can cause. When it goes out it is a spark that startles everyone present.
"Okay Harriet, ten points to Gryffindor," Remus announces. "I want everyone to demonstrate the nature of their magic and the house that does it the fastest by majority gets fifty points."
Slytherin feels pressured by having Tom there, watching them. As if at any moment, Nagini will come out from behind his collar and attack them. On the other hand, the Gryffindors are just excited. The usual. For obvious reasons, Harriet doesn't count anymore. Remus notices that as he stands there, Tom calmly moves his magic towards Harriet, being reciprocated in an intimate closeness that blends into an almost perfect grey.
She gives a discreet giggle. No one notices and the only one who does thinks she's simply hallucinating.
Hermione got it relatively quickly, her magic is a soft and comfortable light, perfect for reading books; Ron creates sparks that could set things on fire, but not too strong; The surprise was Neville, who was able to grow countless plants on the wooden tables. Most of the Gryffindors were quick to congratulate him for considering it impressive.
In Slytherin there was no such luck in demonstrations, they could demonstrate it, but not give anything interesting. Only Drakonys got to that: making crystals that were cold to the touch, but that only took elegant shapes.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
"James, it's the Yule Ball."
"She wanted the suit. I wasn't going to send her something that she wasn't comfortable with. She made it very clear that she wanted a suit."
Lily judges him severely. Another special occasion where Harriet will be wearing men's clothes. She wanted that photo in a dress so much, that she might go take a photo with Tom and look like a princess. All to find out that her husband sent her a feminine-cut suit. As far as she knows, it's a somewhat new fashion in the United States, many actresses do it.
Let them do it if they want, without spreading that here. Why is their daughter allergic to dresses!?
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
"I'm starting to consider that a more fitting interpretation of you is a peacock. You love to show off so much." Nagini jokes affectionately.
Tom makes sure that everything in his outfit is well placed and in order. He loves that it's green. It's quite dark and somewhat iridescent, perfect with the expected discretion. Part of his hair is combed back and the other, towards his face with the waves and curls looking charming.
The robe has the detail of elaborate and elegant snake embroidery. Both on the bottom and on the wide sleeves. He can't help but smile with excitement at Nagini's comment.
Yes. He loves to look good. He loves to feel like the royalty he knows he is.
He didn't get to wear it all, much less comb it properly the day he showed it to Harriet, so he's curious about her reaction. She likes to see him this way, too.
Or rather, she enjoys seeing him happy, and that's most noticeable when he's put hours of effort into grooming himself. If he had feathers, he'd undoubtedly be a peacock. "Would you like to come along? You could have some punch and I'll feed you."
"I'll be down before you start dancing." I don't want to get dizzy… I want to see you when it's time to show your heritage." She slowly climbs up Tom's arm, Nagini shrinks as much as possible. "I want to see you be superior to everyone else."
Nagini crawls out from Tom's neck and curves to face him. Tom considers Nagini to be the closest thing he's ever had to a mom. She rejoices in his accomplishments, scolds him when he's stubborn, and generally, though she teases a bit, tries to keep him on his toes. Not to mention being fiercely protective of him.
She's his guardian in the best sense of the word. He strokes her head and she hisses in pleasure at the contact.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
She shakes her hands, eager and happy with how she looks in the mirror. She tied her slightly less fluffy hair back. A simple ponytail and over the shoulder. She asked her dad for a very special model of suit. She has the The structure of a male one, true, but the robe is similar to a skirt. It has wavy fabric and large sleeves, as well as being a different color than the entire suit. In her case, it is red.
It also has faux fur on the shoulder. In that way, it is a bit like Durmstrang, but it also reflects Gryffindor because of the lion's mane. Long earrings, rings on her fingers, painted lips and despite her blindness, she manages to line her eyes with black and make them a little bigger and more striking.
It had been too long since she felt so proud of her appearance. So happy with how she looks.
She wonders if Tom will like it.
"Well, I think I'm done."
Harriet gets up quickly and smiles nervously, very anxious. Hermione fixes one of the curls on her shoulder a little and walks restlessly towards her friend. She smiles shyly and stands on her toes for a moment.
"So? What do you think?" Hermione asks anxiously. Harriet takes his hand and kisses his knuckles.
"You look lovely. Much more so than usual."
Hermione laughs embarrassedly and takes Harriet's arm. She's wearing a very elegant suit. She's slightly disappointed, as she wanted to see her in an evening gown. At the same time, aside from asking too much, she finds it shocking how well this outfit looks on her. That somehow, Harriet is a knight in shining armor or a prince who will take her to the grand ball. Out of place or not, as she waits for the stairs to rotate into the necessary position, she rests her head on it, also part of her body. Harriet is surprised, but doesn't say anything about it
"Hey, don't forget that you have to dance with Krum too." Hermione giggles through her nose. "He was the saddest little dog when he asked me if I would really take you to the ball."
"You don't mind me leaving you alone?"
"Nope. Nor covering up if you decide to go with him somewhere else. You know, look at the stars, enjoy a room. You name it." Harriet plays dumb and Hermione laughs loudly. Her grip tightens.
"Thank you for being my best friend Harriet… also for existing."
She feels a little out of place, but at this point in her life, Hermione doesn't think she'd be as happy without her here. With the way she is and the way she expresses affection for her. Harriet is someone so special in her eyes, it's hard to think how anyone else has noticed that. Ironically, there is someone, only she doesn't know it yet. Harriet wonders if Tom will come or not. As long as Hermione is with Krum, she might be able to be with him for a while.
If he isn't busy with someone else. Drakonys, for example. She'll probably try to hog him all night. She tries not to think about it, it was well agreed upon, but her insecurity makes her waver on the matter. Still, it's not something Tom should know.
Her stupid concerns she can keep to herself.
┈
Several people in Gryffindor applaud them when they arrive, Harriet takes advantage of the last stairs to carry Hermione. The Quidditch team, the twins, Neville, Seamus and Dean applaud him at the same time that Hermione is embarrassed, but laughs at the joke. He puts her down once they arrive and goes to where they are taking the photos. Obviously he couldn't resist having photos with the twins too. Lupin couldn't escape this and to everyone's surprise, Tom came to make an appearance.
He didn't say anything, just a gesture and Harriet nodded. Tom enjoys a tickle throughout his body, noticing the shine in Harriet's eyes as she looks at how he is dressed. He stands next to her in a calm movement. One that eludes the emotion of seeing her so well in that outfit that represents her perfectly.
Without being totally feminine.
Without being totally masculine.
An in-between that makes her smile in confidence and excitement.
Sometimes Hermione is frightened by the fact that these two can communicate so easily. She even suspects that out of all of them, he is the only one who doesn't have such a joking attitude, but rather anxious and happy. Several people are greatly surprised when Tom smiles. He leans his head against Harriet's and sways as she does, who laughs indiscreetly and ends up hugging him. It would be a good photo, perhaps the best.
"Did you invite anyone?"
"No. What a pain."
"You're the real prince of Slytherin. Why not?" Harriet asks. Once they are apart and in the entrance waiting for the party to start.
"No one caught my attention. I prefer to come alone." He shrugs and Hermione notices something strange in the atmosphere, but doesn't say anything. "At some point we can dance - we should dance... you know how to dance, don't you?" he asks with a mocking smile and Harriet looks offended.
"Of course I can dance."
"I'll be with Krum later. So you can be with Harriet by then," Hermione offers quickly.
"Krum… AH! WHERE IS HE?! YOU HAVE TO TAKE A PICTURE WITH HIM."
Harriet quickly disappears, she has to find him. Tom covers his face with his hand, amused by his reaction. Hermione finds it cute too. Harriet manages to find him, bring him back and get the photo. Just a few minutes before McGonagall announces the start of the evening.
Hermione takes Harriet by the hand again and takes a deep breath, with an indelible smile on her lips. Just like Harriet, Hermione has high expectations for this evening.
Chapter 45: XLV. During the dance
Chapter Text
Once inside, some stay at bay, mainly those without a companion. Among them, Ron, who stays at the very back. He can see Harriet and Hermione anyway. It's almost hard not to. He slouches against the wall and keeps his lips pursed, annoyed.
Ron still can't believe Harriet would push him aside like this. Putting Hermione first, putting Viktor Krum first as if he'd been with her since first year and not just a few months ago. It's so unfair and so stupid. He moves his jaw a little and lowers his gaze.
Hermione holds Harriet and the girl looks nervous. She hopes she doesn't step on Hermione's robes. She did so much to get ready. "You'll do fine."
Harriet laughs at Hermione's whisper. Always so kind to give her faith. Tom quickly invites a seventh year girl, Ravenclaw. She doesn't know her name. She's wearing very elegant black dress robes, shiny stones. Short hair and surprised expression, but not unbearable like the Slytherin girls nearby, almost begging for him to invite them. For Tom, it's enough to prefer her. She accepts, taking his hand, her thoughts racing with shock, thinking: the prince of Slytherin invites me to dance with him. She walks next to him, joining the dance that starts the second they set foot inside.
Harriet sticks out the tip of her tongue, looking down every now and then and struggling to keep up. She's very nervous, but at the same time, amused and anxious to have gotten this far. Hermione keeps a very steady pace and is meant to be a guide in case Harriet gets confused.
Hermione is surprised that Harriet lifts her up and again, she is amazed: Harriet has a lot of physical strength. They hadn't rehearsed this at all, they had just joked about it on the first day of dance rehearsal. Harriet raises her eyebrows and laughs shortly after.
"Anything you expect or wanted, I can do it."
Hermione blushes, her eyes wide. Harriet knows very well what he said, what she meant. She can't help laughing, which echoes a little in the noise of the ball.
Viktor asked a Durmstrang girl to dance, who was also at a distance. Ron doesn't move from his place, embarrassed by the mockery of his older brothers, even Ginny who is with Neville. Drakonys dances with Blaise, occasionally glancing at where Harriet is dancing and laughing with Hermione. Her head throbs at how ordinary and ridiculous Hermione looks in that pathetic dress.
Harriet in that suit that only makes her look like a transvestite man.
A string of absurd insults accumulate to prevent Drakonys genuine and not hurtful thoughts from coming to light: the suit looks good on Harriet, it's her style at its best; she knew how to comb her hair, she knows how to move within the limitations of clothing, she knew what makeup to wear.
It's the most perfect look in line with what Harriet usually wear. Harriet looks better than ever and all that grooming is for Hermione Granger, who he chose as her best friend.
Not Drakonys.
Hermione Granger was the great chosen one to have Harriet's friendship, attention, gifts, visits, glances, the invitation and ultimately she is the one who receives everything from Harriet...
Why?
She is a mudblood.
Hermione doesn't deserve so many things and much less should she increase.
Why did Harriet choose her?
It's not fair.
It's stupid. Just like Harriet.
It's a small part of the internal storm. The music piece ends, there is a change of rhythm and dance. Going and coming everywhere with more energy, changing partners every now and then and although it was an accident, Harriet and Drakonys are together.
"We should be scared." Hermione asks and affirms at the same time, she ended up with Tom.
The boy clicked the tongue.
"For her own good, she won't do anything stupid." Tom says on behalf of Drakonys. Hermione doesn't know what to make of it. Either a defense against Drakonys or a threat to her. Either complicates the perception.
Harriet gets nervous. "Don't step on me Potter, I'll kill you." Drakonys warns through clenched teeth. Harriet hisses in annoyance, she already knows she shouldn't step on her. Drakonys's formal robes are white. Elegant and discreet in her usual style. So delicate that if she steps on them, it will tear.
"Don't hold me so tight." Harriet says worriedly. During the change, Drakonys doesn't let Harriet go and stays with her despite the supposed moment of changing partners. Harriet lifts her by the waist, making Drakonys open her eyes in amazement, coming closer together once she is on the floor.
Harriet presses her lips together, blushing from the pressure between their chests. Drakonys bites her lips and feels like her heart is going to explode. Harriet is so warm, she is so bright. Her body feels so soft. Drakonys doesn't want to let go, doesn't want to release her. Drakonys gasps, turning around and coming back to join her. The song ends and they bow. Harriet shakes her hand and Drakonys lets go, backing away. The blonde runs away to Blaise to his surprise.
Harriet jumps at the grip on her arm. "Did Drakonys do something to you?"
She shakes her head. Hermione is obviously worried about her. Hermione hugs her and Harriet reciprocates. The next piece starts, Hermione starts it, leading her to where Tom and Krum are waiting. It's a group piece, so it helps indirectly. Fred, George, Angelina, Ginny and Neville join in. It helps take the pressure off, just dancing together in a purposely awkward way because of the tradition.
It's been almost two hours of dancing and by the time dinner is served, Harriet can't feel her legs.
"That was great," Hermione says between gasps. Harriet groans. She doubts she'll be able to move tomorrow. She hopes Tom has the energy to carry her. She won't have the energy to do more. He'll probably be fine with moving her however he wants. "Where were you?" Hermione asks Ron, sitting next to Harriet. "I didn't see you-
"Oh, you looked for me. How nice. How thoughtful." Ron smiles fakely, rolling his eyes and then becoming apologetic.
"What's wrong? I just wanted to know-"
"You didn't want to know, you were too busy with Krum and the enemy."
"Enemy," Hermione repeats, incredulous. "What do you think...?"
"Shall we eat?"
Harriet pushes the plates towards them, thus fleeing from the argument that was about to happen. She has high hopes that Ron will improve his mood. She's not going to lie: she completely forgot about him, especially since he didn't even want to join in the group dance. Viktor and Hermione talk at length, and it is at this moment that Harriet knows that she used up all her social skills for the night.
Maybe Drakonys took it from her with just one touch. Malfoy like some kind of energy vampire.
"Did the elves get inspired today? The food tastes better than usual."
Harriet nods in agreement, wanting to stuff her mouth with food, but keeping up a bit of appearance for once. Food has never tasted so good. She wants to think it's just the excitement of the day. Not that indeed, elves can be even more perfect at cooking. She's going to kidnap one home, so when her parents are away and it's her turn to cook, she can ask the elf for it and also talk to him.
A perfect plan, without fail in any way.
Maybe she'll have to order the elf to relax, but nothing she hasn't already done.
"From now on you're going with Viktor," Harriet comments after wiping her mouth. "I'll manage." She shakes her hand in disinterest. She's not going to dance that much. Nor will she be invited. It's been proven before.
Much less will it happen now that everyone judges her to come in a suit and not a dress.
"We can all three be there," Hermione cuts herself off, sensing the bad reaction from Ron's face. "All four of us," Hermione corrects with a slightly nervous laugh. "It should be fine. We're friends."
"I'm not friends with Krum. I don't make my friendships have to separate." Ron says before stuffing his mouth with food. Harriet looks at Hermione and Ron alternately.
"Well, you and I can dance while Hermione is with Viktor," Harriet suggests with a tight smile. "You haven't danced all night. You were just in that corner being sad because you didn't invite anyone."
"It's not my fault they all hang out in groups."
"You could have asked for help-"
"You guys? Yes. Sure."
Harriet bites her lip and finishes her meal. She shakes her head a little. She can't let it go to her head. Everything has to be okay. She'll just ask Ron to dance when the time comes and that will fix everything. The meal ends, but before they move anywhere, McGonagall calls everyone's attention. Tom sits up straight in his spot, legs crossed and heart pounding.
Expectant because he knows what's coming.
"With dinner over, it's the most important moment of the ball," McGonagall announces, hands clasped together. Half covered by the elegant emerald green sleeves. "Among us we have two of the heirs of Hogwarts. Now they will show us the harmony dance that the founders created with the school" McGonagall smiles excitedly and proud to be the head of house of one of said heirs. "So please everyone stand up and the heirs, come to the center"
Harriet almost chokes on her drink and hurries to stand up to go to her place. She had forgotten this. Tom arrives at his place with his charm on full display. The silence is total, because no one really knows what is going to happen here. Seeing Harriet and Tom interact is at least peculiar. The friendship they have is peculiar in itself. Tom closes his eyes and places his hands in front of him, Harriet does the same.
Little by little, the magic of both takes shape and color. Harriet's hair moving because of the magic that surrounds her; Tom's hairstyle barely maintained despite the same. The magic covers them. The red lion and the green snake. Both threatening each other. When it returns, it turns into a huge emerald and a huge garnet that shoot out to the stained glass window at the end of the great dining room.
There are murmurs of wonder when they see them: Tom with his hair over his shoulder in a long ponytail, his robe longer and green with iridescent diamonds. Black gloves, emerald cloth, one on the black tie with a chain posed holding the robe. His red and vibrant eyes fixed on his companion.
Harriet with her hair full of gold and garnet rings that gather in a bun behind her head and loose in great volume behind her back. The red robe just like Tom's, the black gloves longer than her elbow -although hidden-, fur on the collar of the robe and making more the effect of a large black mane. Her black suit now with a red gradient on the pants and high heels.
They walk towards each other and Harriet does not repress a smile at this. They join their hands and bring the right hand to her own chest, bowing. The music starts and they hold each other in the appropriate way.
"Do your legs not hurt? I'm beginning to think that Hermione wanted to tire you out on purpose." Tom jokes, following the rhythm of the music and counting the time left to lift Harriet by the waist or spin her around.
"Who do you think you're talking to? I can do it all day."
An ironic smile appears on Tom's lips, enjoying the double meaning. Drakonys licks her lips and presses her hands together. Why do they look so close? Why do they look so comfortable? Why does it look like the world they are in is different and only theirs? As if no one can interfere. She trembles in her place, with an indescribable feeling in her chest as they dance and enjoy it. How Tom lifts her by the waist naturally and carefully, smiling when they separate and come back together.
The huge and excited smile that never stops adorning Harriet's red lips and her green eyes sparkle with emotion. Fixed on Tom. Trying to compete on who does it with greater intensity, who is more determined to make the other their world and only source of strength.
A meter away, they hold the robe and play with it, turning a little on themselves and their hand at chest height; They approach with long strides, Tom takes her by the hand and spins her on the balls of her feet and despite being a stumble, somewhat dizzy, it is not noticeable that she could have knocked Tom down with her. Harriet laughs without stopping and Tom holds her, spinning together with the end of the piece. Viktor extends his hand to Hermione, who accepts without thinking and they are the first to enter for the next piece.
Although Harriet was thinking of leaving, Tom holds her. A slight warning that this piece will also be shared, as he has long waited to do so. Shortly after, Neville and Ginny enter, then Drakonys with Blaise, watching Harriet and Tom, more specifically Harriet with her huge smile and blossoming emotion, exposed in the restless magic around her.
For Tom this is a dream come true. With his taste for this kind of events and social acts, it is like living the best fantasy. The most fascinating thing is that it is real Harriet. Not a simple fabrication of his dreams. Looking straight into her eyes, their magics discreetly manage to join together and dance almost to the same beat as both of them.
It feels eternal and short.
Real and unreal.
They end with a bow and Tom would like to hold her again, even kiss her, but his own prudence manages to avoid going that far. This is a nuisance for Nagini, who watches everything from a safe distance and without the teachers noticing her presence. Tom watches Harriet leave, like a little star moving through the crowd of people. He gives a light sigh, thinking to calm himself: eventually we will be together, when the party is over. What's the hurry?
Harriet, for her part, fanning herself with her hand, looks for Ron. She wants to help him stop being isolated out there. Besides, maybe that will get rid of his bad mood. She realizes where he is, saying things to himself and imitating as if he were inviting someone. She hurries towards him.
"Come, let's dance." Harriet takes him by the hands. Her gesture is somewhere between shy and a little exhausted from all the dancing in the three hours or so that have passed. Ron seems suddenly frightened.
"No, are you crazy?" Ron abruptly pulls away, embarrassed. There are some Gryffindors and Slytherins watching, which embarrasses him. "Why did you come?"
"Because I saw that you want to participate, so I came for you." Harriet doesn't understand what's happening to him. Ron leaves, grumpy for no reason in her opinion, and leaves her there alone. She hears some murmuring:
«Not even being an heiress makes the Weasels believe her enough. How pathetic.»
"Do you want to dance with me?" Harriet stutters, turning abruptly. "Your hair is super pretty by the way. It was before and now it's more." she says, covering her smile and shrugging her shoulders.
"Thanks." Harriet nods softly, with a slight smile, and goes with the Ravenclaw girl. Black hair, tousled with some decorative pearls, delicate touch, black evening gown with rhinestones that makes her look like a starry sky. She was the one who danced with Tom almost at the beginning of the Christmas Ball.
Those are a very pleasant few minutes. The quietest of the night with a stranger who tells her how pretty she looks. Something that until now, it hadn't happen It's been a while and it makes her feel so good.
Ron pours himself a drink, takes off his robes and sits watching Harriet, who after dancing with the Ravenclaw girl, is relegated to the side, with no one to approach or invite her. The center of attention is undoubtedly Tom. Like a peacock showing off. Ron drinks the punch, grumbling under his breath, encouraging himself to go and be the one to ask Harriet to dance. It should be him. Not her.
How damn embarrassing. Especially with the others watching. They would think he is stupid and pathetic for being asked to dance by a girl.
"Do you want to dance?"
Harriet tries to identify if she knows this person. She assumes he is from Slytherin. He has a snake medal on his chest. It is a clear sign. Even so, his face does not sound familiar. He must be from some higher year. Sixth or seventh. Maybe that is why she has never seen him.
"Heiress?" He asks, almost chivalrous and joking.
Harriet opens and closes her mouth. His heterochromatic eyes have a mysterious and sinister shine that makes Harriet scream inside herself not to accept.
To run away as far and as fast as her body allows her.
She stammers, somewhat surprised: "Slytherin?"
"Yes. Fifty points for Gryffindor" he mocks with a hand behind his back. "Does it prevent us from dancing?" Back straight, hand behind his back, chin up and a slight mockery with his haughty gesture.
"No... no, not at all. I just don't... recognize it" Harriet stammers, shyly. The other laughs. "I thought they hated me there and that this wouldn't happen on its own."
"Oh, no, I don't hate you. I'm incredibly curious about you" he says sincerely and without changing his posture. "Magical heiress, that means you're an anomaly. A huge, unexplainable wonder."
Harriet blushes and feels her hands sweat.
"Ah... that... that's... weird."
"Not at all."
Harriet shivers and takes the offered hand, unconvinced, but not very able to think. On the one hand, he's the only man who's approached her, which makes her feel less pathetic for not being like the rest of her year or house, who have partners and dance or have someone to talk to; not to mention that she's the only girl who had no male attention at all. It makes her feel less... Pretty? Valid? Existing? She doesn't know what uneasiness this causes her and what annoyance in contradiction. On the other hand: she doesn't want to make a bad impression by rejecting this person even if she doesn't know who he is. The student enters the dance floor with her and holds her with obvious strength. Tom sees the person from afar. He knows everyone in Slytherin by face, so he finds it anomalous. He must be a Slytherin, like all the notable dark magic wizards at school. "Regulus" he calls and the Black turns around a couple of seconds later.
"Do you recognize that student? The one dancing with Harriet." Regulus has a hateful and repulsive comment on the tip of his tongue: Is Tom really asking him to find out what Harriet does or doesn't do? However, confusion takes hold of him for the same reason as the other.
Who the hell is this person?
Theodore and Daphne don't know either.
He becomes the great mystery of the night.
"Is there something about my face?"
"He has strange eyes."
"Oh, heterochromia. Yes, it's a rare trait. Just like green eyes." Harriet snorts and the other lifts her by the waist. "Does it bother you?"
"I'm just saying that it's weirder. Don't try to make me feel bad." Harriet claims in a low voice.
"Sorry, sorry," he laughs amused. "So, we can say your magic is rare," Harriet purses her lips, there is literally nothing rare about it, "so strong in such a small package. I doubt you would survive anywhere else. You would probably be hunted down, captured, and torn to pieces instantly."
"Where...?"
"Anywhere."
"Maybe he's from Durmstrang?" Daphne murmurs.
Tom opts for the easy option: ask Viktor for help. The Bulgarian stopped everything he was doing, trying to locate who he is, but he doesn't recognize him at all. Hermione doesn't either. Ron, for his part, ignores the situation. Why did Harriet agree to dance with a stranger who is surely a Slytherin?
Harriet thought the dancing would be ready once the song was over, but he doesn't let go, in addition to the discreet bond on her body towards him. It's like feeling a slimy and unpleasant rope keeping her tied to him.
"You're the Heir of Gryffindor, but even so, you're quite shy," he mentions before picking Harriet up by the waist again, causing the bright red robes to swirl into a large halo. "That's strange."
"I'm just like that."
"So, maybe with fewer people, you'll be more comfortable."
"Of what...?"
"I'm interrupting. Sorry."
Remus separates them and without giving any reason, takes Harriet aside. The student in question blends in with the rest, preventing them from knowing or trying to find out who he is. Remus examines her superficially. "He didn't do anything to me, he was just... strange," Harriet assures. Tom breathes a sigh of relief, discreet and pretending not to try to find the stranger.
"We don't know who is he. Be careful if he comes closer," the werewolf says, and Harriet nods, confused. There doesn't seem to be much trouble around. She stands in a corner again, doing nothing. She plays with the sleeves of her robes without further ado. She looks towards the exit of the great hall, noticing the mysterious student standing there.
He makes a simple gesture: "follow me."
Curious, anxious, she decides to go after him. She has her wand in her pocket, she can defend herself if it's really necessary. She chases him through a couple of corridors of the castle, looking in every corner to try to find him. She even ruffles her hair, irritated that he disappears. She continues walking until she is taken, imprisoned against the rock wall. She breathes heavily, her mouth covered and the wrist of her predominant hand, held. The glasses on the ground a meter away from them.
"Just as careless as Gryffindor. There is similarity in something else." Harriet frowns, irritated and confused by the physical strength of this unknown person. She can't manage to kick him, they are too close together, she can't even fight back. "However, heir or not, magic matters, right?"
Harriet freezes, the dark magic surrounding her, imprisoning her. The air doesn't get into her lungs. It's not just a bond, it feels like he's absorbing her soul. Dizziness begins to take over her body, unable to stand completely. He laughs lightly, but in wonder.
"Just taking a tiny bit of you, you're unable to stand. The smallest surface, barely scratching." Harriet feels like crying so badly, with the cold, slimy magic forcing its way into her existence, pounding relentlessly to find her soul and spirit. He can't, he just rams incessantly. As he said, scratching the surface. "Such a tender, weak body. You're adorable."
He uncovers her mouth, Harriet barely able to keep it closed. She doesn't know what she feels, only that it's unpleasant and getting worse with every passing second. She grits her teeth, opening her eyes wide, a moan coming from the back of her throat.
It hurts.
It hurts so much.
Like a bit...
Like a thrust...
Like he entered and broke her, leaving that horrible slimly sensation.
She looks into his eyes, choking and moaning deeply. She feels the clothes imprisoning her, hurting her just like everything else.
She falls to the ground, sliding down the wall, stammering and shivering. He crouches down, grabs Harriet by the arms and doesn't stop applying pressure. "It... hurts," she moans, on the verge of tears. Wanting to vomit and the anguishing feeling that there's something inside her hurting her, making her body hurt as much as her soul.
Harriet doesn't know how to describe it.
It's a destructive force, fracturing her purest essence.
Invasion of the most private and intimate for to appropriate it, to steal it and make it seem like it was never hers, taking it away from her.
Something of hers that begins to feel so broken, so shattered that it is not possible to restore it.
She doesn't even have all the pieces.
He is taking it away.
With his cynical and huge smile on his lips, the glint of satisfaction in his eyes.
Harriet feels her soul destroyed.
She is stained.
There is something... dirty about her now.
An oil stain on the soft and delicate white surface of her existence.
A mark that exposes what this person did to her, almost a sign of belonging to someone who does not know her identity and much less has permission to make such a mark.
"You are such a candid and precious girl, Harriet." She receives a kiss on the forehead. It is familiar in a way that she cannot explain, as well as the feeling she has experienced before this moment and that only tears her apart even more.
The student leaves her there, sitting firmly and trembling, with a trickle of blood coming out of her scar as if it were an open wound.
Harriet hugs herself, shivering, not understanding what happened, but with such a terrible feeling of being broken that it makes her cry harder in the solitude of the long, almost eternal hallway.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
"Where's Harriet now?" Tom asks quietly, not finding her anywhere. A couple of minutes after searching for her, he finds Harriet near Ron, just steps away, his brow furrowed, his whole body tightening.
"You're a horrible friend."
"I'm telling you-"
"You invited Hermione! You knew I would invite her when I was ready!" Ron claims, not even caring that Harriet is shaking, pale and barely breathing, that her makeup is slightly smeared and there is a red stain running down her face, resembling blood. "You help Viktor like he's your best friend!" he hisses, leaning towards her. The size difference makes it seem like he wants to intimidate her.
Ron is almost one head tall and his body more square. Skinny, but big.
"I-I... I just-"
"And now you're dancing with a Slytherin! As if you can't stand being around them! I get it, you're a fake and you're a bitch, because you couldn't even help but go do things with that person." Ron's complaints rise in level and more people turn to look at what's going on, "You don't even know who he is or what his name is!"
"I-I'm trying to say that- Listen to me...!"
"Let me go! You're the fucking worst!"
Ron pushes Harriet away and leaves in a hurry. Harriet is shaking from head to toe, her vision dark, her head and chest throbbing as well as her entire body battered. She notices that everyone nearby is mumbling and whispering about it. Making her almost cry in front of them all.
Feeling like they can see what that boy did to her, even if she doesn't even understand what that nameless, faceless person did to her.
"Did she just come from having sex? What a slut."
"Look at her, she's out of breath."
"They fucked her to the core."
"Her suit is dirty."
"She wanted to pretend she wasn't going to open her legs."
"Her pants are torn."
"She's a whore, that's obvious."
Tom rushes to help her to her feet. She's swaying, off balance. He senses something strange, but can't figure out what it is exactly. He helps her sit up and calm down a bit. She's teary-faced and breathing heavily. "Fucking idiot." Tom raises an eyebrow. Does she mean Ron? He hopes so, he'll celebrate it very much if that's the case. Nagini curls up under the seat, guarding the trembling girl.
Tom leaves her there, drawing the attention of Neville and Ginny to stay with her. He has to say goodbye to Slytherin and pretend to leave, take Harriet's invisibility cloak and lead her to the Chamber of Secrets. This discretion was not planned before. It only arises now, as he does not want to talk worse about Harriet. To prevent the rumors from growing and becoming more absurd, painful and agonizing.
It takes him a long time. McGonagall is waiting for him to be present. He is the heir of Slytherin, he must be here for the entire evening. Tom does not care at this moment, urgent to leave and understand what happened as soon as he took his gaze off his girlfriend.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
Hermione barely feels able to breathe. Her face is red and her body is burning hopelessly. A louder exclamation escapes him, digging her nails into Krum's tense back. She hears his soft growls and gasps, as she feels him buried deep inside her... moving in and out, rubbing her insides as their restless magics mingle.
Hermione presses her lips together and holds back her moan, closing her legs around Viktor, he goes limp on top of Hermione, taking a few seconds to recover and face Hermione. Only a little of her makeup is still present, as is her hairstyle. Viktor caresses her cheek before kissing her on the lips.
Hermione stares at him. As he fixes his cloak, he pulls up his underwear, his damp, flaccid penis covered again. Viktor takes a towel and hands it to Hermione. She dries herself slowly, he searches for her shoes, underwear, and then sits down next to her.
"Are you okay?" Viktor asks. He strokes her neck with one hand and Hermione lets out a long breath.
"Tired." It's all she says and Viktor can't help but laugh, "but very okay."
Viktor leans down to kiss her, still rubbing her neck lightly, giving her time to calm down.
Not to mention that the little caresses she receives send an unfamiliar shiver through her.
"Have you done this before?" Hermione asks quietly.
"Yeah, a couple of times. Does it bother you?" Hermione shakes her head.
"It doesn't bother me... I'm just worried I didn't do it right." she admits, somewhat embarrassed. Not knowing why she even said it.
In her mind it sounded more tragic than said out loud.
"It was great. I'd be very happy to do it again if you want."
Hermione blushes and blows air into her hand, giving a long, nervous exclamation. Telling Harriet this is going to be very complicated. Although she will most likely melt from embarrassment before she can admit that this happened in her bedroom, in the bed where she sleeps all school year.
Returning to the ball was a little embarrassing, Hermione feels judged, but it is far from reality. She finds weird Ron standing off to one side with Dean, Seamus and Cormac. They're talking animatedly. Harriet is on the other side, alone and looking depressed. She steps away from Viktor to go to Ron. Viktor goes to get punch.
"Hey, what's up with...?" Ron gives Hermione a light push, breaking the contact she made with his arm.
"Don't touch me. Are you done being bitches?" Hermione throws her head back, blinking in confusion.
"What are you talking about? I-"
"You went to do that with Viktor, like some whore," Ron judges with distaste. "You're both disgusting." He criticizes and Hermione doesn't understand what he's talking about.
"What's wrong with you? You act like suddenly, we're your enemies." Hermione claims.
"I know you're not good friends."
"Ronald-"
"Anyone is more important than me! Go on and be fucking sluts if that's all...! OUCH! WHAT!?" Ron complains about the blow to the head.
"Ron-Ron" George rests his elbow on Ron's shoulder. "That's not how you talk to your friends." the redhead says through clenched teeth, with a tense smile.
With the clear panic that his younger brother, stupid or not, should respect his friends more. Even with how pranksters and annoying they can be, it would never occur to them to say that to a No one! They consider a friend. They are not surprised that Harriet and Hermione are not with Ron as much this year with how insulting and explosive he has been. It is complicated. Not even among themselves they can stand him these months.
They also do not find it strange that Viktor does not want to form a friendship.
"Honestly, Ron, what is on your mind?" adds Fred. The mocking tone is there, but also maintaining seriousness. Ron pushes them away.
Irritated that everyone seems to be against him. Even his brothers want to make him look like the wrong one. Place that Harriet and Hermione occupy.
"Don't bother me. You're fucking with them too, or what!?" complains Ron, exasperated, because even when he is the displaced and right, his brothers do not support him.
"He is drunk."
"He got drunk on punch."
"What is he talking about?"
"His nonsense."
"I hope he likes it a lot, because he will not listen to anything else." Hermione walks away, furious. Ron snorts and laughs as Cormac imitates Hermione.
Viktor arrives with Harriet offering her a glass of punch. She declines and clasps her hands together. Viktor sits next to her. Harriet glances over. She can only notice a couple of scratches at the base of Viktor's neck.
"They left the curtain down so the mess wouldn't be visible, didn't they?" Viktor nearly chokes on his drink. "I'll take that as a yes."
"Are you mad?"
"No. Just... overwhelmed. That's all." Harriet mutters, eyes downcast.
"Is something wrong?" Hermione arrives at the same time she asks herself the question.
"The usual... nonsense."
Harriet doesn't feel like talking about it. It makes her feel overwhelmed. They talk, try to include her, but she remains silent or monosyllable-like. It doesn't stop them from going off dancing or flirting. She stays put without a problem.
Harriet doesn't feel like being here. Fortunately, at some point, some of them start to retreat. She is surprised by the slight tug on her arm. It takes her a while to understand that it is Tom. She follows him without thinking, almost in a hurry to leave all this behind.
Harriet doesn't go past the stairs. Ron stops her, Hermione just as close.
"Where are you going? To keep fucking around with someone?" Ron demands. "I know there's someone there covering themselves with the cloak." He points out and Tom felt like sending Nagini to scare him at least.
Maybe biting him on the foot would give him time to save him and not die. Although he wanted it to happen.
"Leave me alone, what do you want to prove so badly?" Harriet lets go abruptly. Tom lets go and climbs a couple of steps as a precaution, crouching down more to avoid being exposed. "What's wrong with you!? STOP INSULTING AND YELLING ME!"
"I only told you the truth" the redhead defends. "And not only that, you go away and you're like the other girls! You act like a girl!" Ron claims, exasperated, making it seem like it's terrible, unthinkable, unacceptable. The tragedy that has happened this year has caused so much between them. Harriet grits her teeth as she speaks:
"I'm, a, girl."
"You know you weren't like that! They get horrible with age!"
"Why do you always ruin everything!?" Ron runs away, avoiding Hermione to catch him. Harriet continues to climb and runs away without any apparent direction. Just wanting to get away from here.
She hates this place.
She hates the whole damn ball.
She just wants to fade away so that everything inside her stops hurting.
Chapter 46: Act. XLVI. After the Dance
Chapter Text
Tom follows Harriet's step, reaching to take her by the arm, hiding her in the invisibility cloak; he covers her mouth and forces her to stay still. Harriet breathes fast, staggering and Tom manages to lean his back against the wall. A few seconds for her to breathe and think better. Don't let the little hysterical crisis make her feel worse.
"Nagini, go to Gryffindor." Tom orders and the snake comes down from under the robes, sliding over him and into Harriet, on purpose to give the girl a loving squeeze and let her know that she is leaving. Two minutes is what Tom considers enough for Harriet to be able to walk without staggering and not seem on the verge of a nervous breakdown or not being able to breathe.
He leads her to the bathroom and therefore, to the chamber of secrets.
As soon as they are inside, they take off the invisibility cloak. Tom gasps softly. Harriet runs her hands over her face and a pair of gold rings fall out of her hair.
"Come on." Tom prompts. They both walk the long, dusty path to the chamber, the room. Harriet lets out a soft breath.
"Don't… ask- tell me anything about this, okay?"
Tom gives a soft hmm, he knows she's referring to Ron and the whole shouted conversation at that moment. Tom didn't have it in mind to say anything. Not with how unstable she looks. It's counterproductive. It's not the time for sure. At most, he had it in mind to swear a lot of things. Harriet throws her head back, taking a deep breath.
"Harriet."
"Ummm?"
"Why are you feeling bad? What happened before you got to the dance? What did you want to tell Ron?"
He doesn't approach Harriet, keeping an appropriate distance so as not to intimidate her, and also to make her express her concern. He perceives her bad, strange. Something happened to her and it wasn't just what Ron said or did. That only caused more stress than Harriet already had on her.
"It was… nothing, I think. Just…"
Harriet voice breaks, shrinking into herself. Tom gives an exhausted sigh. He sits down beside her and hugs her, allowing her to hide, just shield herself from being vulnerable. That which Harriet sought in Ron and was rejected. Tom kisses her on the head and rubs her shoulder affectionately. The shy and scared magic giving soft touches, thus avoiding being invasive.
Thirty whole minutes like this, comforting her. Tom realizes that he won't be able to know today what happened, but he will keep an eye on her. Maybe when it is less recent, Harriet will want to talk about it without running out of tears.
At the same time, leaving Harriet this sad until he finds the reason and with it, the solution…
Just like Ronald Weasley's insults…
Tom makes Harriet get up and take off her robes. For Harriet it doesn't make much sense for Tom to check her clothes. The teenager takes out the dark wooden wand and begins a long process of changing the shape of the whole outfit. Tom keeps every thought in order. Focusing on the fabric's constitution, which he wants to transform it into.
The pants are now a tulle skirt, many layers that give volume. The shirt becomes a bodice similar to an old European style dress, almost romantic; long sleeves and open at the end, dense fabric from the fusion. He makes some braids in her black hair, cleans the smeared makeup and among so many things that Harriet has left in this room, it is possible to put some makeup on her.
"What are you doing?" Harriet asks, confused at this point, but unable to interrupt all her effort. Tom makes a camera appear and places it in front of her. "I don't understand what you're doing," she admits confused.
Tom concludes and puts his wand in his robe.
"If they have the right to ruin your night, I have the right to fix it."
Harriet can't resist laughing through her nose, hugging him by the arm. They align themselves better with the camera and the session is long. The photo Tom likes the most is the one where he's hugging Harriet from behind, resting his chin on his girlfriend's crown, smiling widely (something he never does) and she too, holding him by the arms and causing some magical sparks.
Harriet likes two: one where she managed to pick up Tom and he can hardly believe it. The second is Tom, wearing her glasses and getting dizzy almost instantly.
Although Harriet would include the last one, where Tom holds her like a waltz and they both spin around, with Harriet laughing as they do. Maybe she likes it so much because it looks like a photo she's always loved of her parents. It's in the living room. She wonders if Tom knows about that photo.
Or if she can put this one next to it. It would be nice.
Tom made musical instruments appear and start playing and the two of them dance there, talking about some fun thing about the Christmas ball or totally unrelated to the event. What they'll do for Christmas, a little about next year…
"I have something planned for your birthday." Harriet announces.
"Oh? James will let you have two minutes alone with me?" Tom says, mockingly. They hold hands, right and left; spinning in place.
"Yeah. I told him he doesn't trust me and he freaked out." Harriet laughs at the mere memory. "Do you want a clue?"
"You can't keep a secret," Tom mocks.
"Yes I do," she reproaches, "but I thought "That way you'd be more excited about your birthday."
"It's just any day."
"It's important to me."
Tom shakes his head, sighing with the small smile still present. "Give me the hint."
"It's something you said you wanted this year."
Harriet loves Tom's confused face. Sure, there are a lot of things he wants, at the same time, he doesn't want to give himself too much steam with something too far-fetched. The worst part is that Harriet will be left with the satisfaction of knowing and he'll be mulling it over until the moment she gives him that gift.
He's surprised by Harriet's hug. It's too strong and sudden in his opinion.
"Thanks for cheering me up."
Tom hugs back with confusion on his face. It stuns him that it worked so well. He doesn't know how to do such a thing. Not effectively and emotionally… or in any way. Harriet's magic is calmer and closer now.
"I love you." Harriet murmurs and Tom presses his cheek to Harriet's head.
"I love you too."
Harriet steps back a little before joining lips with Tom. The music will continue playing, the spell has a long list and it's not a bad thing in the environment either. He holds her face, deepening the loving contact, excited for it to happen. Tom thought she wouldn't want it today. Tom consumes Harriet's air, energy and strength as she clings on to keep from falling.
He pushes her back, slow and clumsy steps until he reaches a piece of furniture and gets between her legs. The heavy skirt doesn't stop him from pulling her up little by little, putting his hand until he reaches her crotch, caressing over her underwear.
"You're too dressed." Harriet sighs, turning her head away and letting Tom suck her neck in long, hungry kisses.
"I'm barely touching you and you already want me naked."
"Because you're gorgeous and you're too dressed." Harriet justifies with a laugh, releasing hot air in company of the wetness in what Tom does.
"I can say the same."
Harriet exclaims, her skirt lifted and her legs exposed. The stockings skin-colored and fastened to her thighs. Tom laughs at this, slipping his fingers under the elastic and curling his fingers, gently dragging the fabric down. He half-closes his eyes, covered by the skirt as he dedicates himself to sucking and licking the female vagina; clinging to her spongy and warm thighs. Enjoying the smell, enjoying the taste and everything that reaches his senses.
His tongue wanders over the vagina, stimulating it at the same time as he eagerly consumes. Tom moves up a little between soft threats of biting the delicate and sensitive skin. Harriet hunches over, moaning in pleasure, mouth open and eyes closed, with the only thing on her mind being the very particular sensation that Tom can cause.
She exclaims loudly, closer to climax as Tom clamps her legs together, drinks the liquid that emerges from his attentions and penetrates lightly with his tongue. Harriet makes him stay completely stuck to her, to consume what he caused.
Coming out from under the skirt, Tom licks his lips and Harriet trembles without air. "Tom, I want to keep feeling you inside." She moans anxiously, advancing slightly towards him, taking his leg. Tom smiles slyly and meanly.
"I see it in that you're soaked all over with your desperate vagina-"
"Tom!" An anxious moan.
"Well-"
"Hup!"
Harriet blushes and squeezes between her legs. She fell down. In a very clumsy and foolish way. Tom can't help laughing, caressing her head. Harriet closes her eyes, the caress becomes more pronounced. Harriet sighs and allows him to continue doing it, eager for this simple contact. Tom rubs, staring at her with a morbid sense of superiority.
Tom's magic creates something: a snake. The dark, magical creature, with its cold, pitch-black skin, slithers across the floor until it reaches Harriet, climbing up her leg and chest. In hot breaths, Harriet turns her head to the right, licking the fabric of Tom's suit and focusing on the bulge that has formed in this time.
The snake is the one who tears the bodice, passing underneath and thus slowly exposing the white, feminine skin. Harriet makes no effort to cover herself. Tom continues to caress her head, fondling her scalp.
The snake passes between the semi-exposed breasts. Slowly and provocatively rubbing its cold scales. The fabric of Tom's pants is wet with saliva. Harriet gives a soft exclamation when the bodice is finally torn, entirely the fault of the snake that does not stop intruding between the tight fabric.
The material rips little by little, eventually exposing Harriet's bra and breasts. Harriet sucks with her eyes closed until she opens the other's pants. Her face flushes as she gets closer to the member. Harriet looks up, her slightly drooping glasses not allowing her to fully see Tom's face, who smiles twistedly in excitement and thousands of tremors attack his body at the sight.
Tom grits her teeth, giving a slight tug on the black hair to bring her closer and Harriet doesn't resist, putting a hand on Tom's hip to pull down the boxers; the snake coils around one of her breasts and climbs up to her delicate neck. Harriet half-closes her eyes, now with the half-hardened manhood in front of her.
She licks the tip almost at the same time as Tom caresses her head.
"I'm starting to think you want to use your mouth" Tom says almost breathlessly. "Do you want that?"
Talking embarrasses her in the situation. So she just continues licking the penis. It swells with more contact with her lips and makes her own crotch burn. She caresses the snake and moans by accident. Tom makes her stand up and brings her together in a kiss, Harriet takes his face, vibrating more and more as the snake slides almost taming her spongy breasts. Tom's penis wets the thick skirt of the dress.
So desperate and accelerated that she pushes him further until she climbs on top of him on the bed. Tom goes up and moves her skirt aside, enough to see. The fabric is out of the way and so his manhood rubs against the soft flesh between her thick thighs. Harriet moves slowly, rubbing his member against her opening without actually penetrating it; the snake has just opened her bra and Tom grabs Harriet by the thighs.
"Do you want to be inside?" Harriet asks in a sigh.
"The question offends me, Sweetheart." Tom answers in an irritated tone, but with a smiling expression.
"I think I'm the only one who wants to."
"Harriet-"
"Come on, ask me a little." Harriet insists, almost jumping on top of Tom, who is breathing heavily and sweating by this time.
"You're such a brat."
Tom's hands travel to Harriet's waist, he raises her and moves her forward and thus, lowers her on his penis. Harriet is fully seated, with the cock inside her. She holds back a moan, hunched inward; the snake hisses, showing its fangs. He lifts her up a little and just with that slight movement, Harriet shivers. She rests her hands on Tom's chest.
Going up and down in a constant swing, the phallus rubbing all the internal and external flesh. The union of her body with the other's, their magics beginning to tangle with each other. Tom clenches his teeth, moving his hips at the same time. Harriet's interior so hot and wet around him. Humidity that grows and the hole that sucks him with more force the more he buries himself.
Accidentally, but full of anxiety, Tom generates more snakes. One on each of Harriet's thighs, who moans and exclaims when these with his cold skin rub against her. They manage to bite her, without injecting poison, just stimulating her nerves to the limit. He raises half of his torso, takes one of the nipples and pulls it with his teeth; Harriet embraces Tom's head, more eager to move her hip the way she likes.
She scratches at Tom, still in the fabric. She pulls away, gasping for air. Tom licks his lips and lets out a hot breath. “Someone’s having a good time.”
He goes to Harriet’s neck, licking and biting it, turning the girl over onto the bed. He lifts her thighs, exposing them from her skirt, the snakes like leather straps that keep moving across her pale skin.
Tom shivers, still watching the snake in Harriet’s breasts, the way it massages them and makes them look even bigger. In his thrusts, they bounce, he sees Harriet moan. Her green eyes clouded with pleasure, her face flushed all over. Harriet lowers her hands to her crotch, feeling Tom’s groin hit.
“Tom… it feels so good.” Harriet throws her head back, ecstatic. Tom leans down, sucking on the bust he likes to sleep and play with at the same time. Moving erratically to continue linking his body with Harriet's, claiming her again as if it were necessary.
As if that were the case, he cleans the stain that is on her.
As if that were the case, he eliminates the evidence that could have been left by that unknown person who marked her for a few minutes.
Tom moans tensely and trembling, Harriet receives him on her chest, caressing his hair and relaxing her body. Tom's semen still coming out and filling her.
In a different nebula, Harriet turns to try to move in bed, screams in fear at the sudden attack and is left with her mouth open, penetrated again and Tom grabbing her hair.
She moans loudly, holding his hip and head, the hot liquid that accidentally gushes from her vagina with each thrust received, the member entering and leaving. Tom pants, sweating with his hair disheveled and damp with sweat. He moves the skirt out of the way, pushing one of Harriet's buttocks aside and squeezing it. The snake slides in without any difficulty, entering the second cavity, playing with it and causing confused cries and tremors of delighted delirium.
Tom pulls her hard, digs his nails into her buttock and presses himself fully into her, reaching an orgasm just as intense but less lengthy. Harriet trembles, her gaze lost and her heart racing, with weak legs unable to support her and as soon as her vagina is empty, the thick liquid falls to the bed and down her thighs.
Harriet rises on her arms and gathers her legs, stunned and distant.
"Tom" she whimpers, "come here, come-"
She pulls Tom up onto the bed, kissing him as she undresses him, caressing him. Tom, in a similar state, undoes the knots and discards what's left of Harriet's clothes, eating her mouth in such anguish that he doesn't even calm down when he falls off the bed, joining their chests, magics and as if again, he enters the female body.
Tom takes off Harriet's glasses to avoid breaking them and at this point, sight is a sense that is somewhat forgotten. From everything, Tom feels better and better with his eyes closed.
Prioritize touch and taste.
Prioritize the body that he wants to consume without control.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
The first time Tom opens his eyes, he finds Nagini's face. It looks like a tender smile. He gives a soft kiss to the reptile that opens a space in the bed to sleep with them. Tom notices that Harriet is snuggled up somewhere else.
"Hey." Tom stammers, disheveled, naked, marked; he tries to pull her closer, but receives a flash that momentarily blinds him. As well as making him wake up.
Despite this, sulking and stubborn, he drags Harriet to move her. He positions her so that it is possible to hug her while sleeping. Harriet instantly curls up, to the point that Tom is lying on her breasts. He closes his eyes and takes only seconds to fall asleep, his mouth half open. Nagini curls up in her giant size, tucking them in before falling asleep on her own. She will wake up in a few hours to go to Gryffindor, continue pretending that she is Harriet asleep.
And so no one will notice that she is not there and has not been all night.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
"What happened last night?"
Harriet tries to undo the knot in her hair, almost impossible to pin down. She drops her arms, exhausted. She glances at Tom, who is already dressed and groomed, standing in front of her with his arms crossed. There is barely any evidence of his tiredness.
"I don't want to talk about it." Tom purses his lips and looks away.
"At least go talk to Lupin about it, if it makes you feel so uncomfortable," he suggests with concealed annoyance.
After all, he is also her godfather. It may be a situation that calls for more tact. He admits that he doesn't have much of that. Still, he hopes that Harriet will say something to him, and if possible, before Lupin, Hermione or any other available option.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
"So…?"
"I don't know."
They giggle, holding hands and lying on the bed in their room. Drakonys turns her head, her grey eyes examining the profile of the girl beside her. Her hair thick with gold and garnet rings.
"Hey…"
"I'm sorry I didn't dance with you a bit more."
"Never mind." Drakonys murmurs. Harriet turns her head and laughs at the blonde's sleepy face.
Harriet climbs on top of Drakonys, caresses her face and looks her straight in the eyes. Drakonys moves her hands slowly, making her way to Harriet's bust. The Gryffindor girl lets her do it. That and anything else Malfoy wants. Her chest, her face, her stomach, her buttocks, her thighs. Eventually, they change order. Drakonys on top of Harriet. She listens to her soft giggles and comments until he says:
"Don't be so shy, you can take my clothes off if you want."
The echo in her head becomes more and more incomprehensible, but her body guides itself: her hands open buttons, zip; undo knots and reverses; slide the fabric over pale, spongy skin. When Drakonys straightens up, she finds Harriet half naked on the bed.
Drakonys holds her bust with her hands, putting her head between them and enjoying its texture, its smell; she goes on to bite and kiss them enthusiastically. Harriet opens her legs and with that, it is possible to caress her, to feel the area that is noticeable.
Harriet takes Drakonys's face, bringing their lips together and she is stunned by this, but responds without thinking. Anxious, desperate for-
Drakonys opens her eyes wide and sits up. She looks around. All the girls are still asleep. She runs her hand through her head and then through her hair, which is a little stiff from the spray she used to comb it.
Drakonys curses under her breath. She lies down again to sleep, her face wrinkling as the seconds go by and finally opens her eyes again, overwhelmed without understanding why. Drakonys is dazed, with heat, with pressure in her abdomen and a different tingling, almost… Good? Wonderful, rather. Drakonys brings a hand to her crotch and gives a weak moan, muffled between her teeth.
Realizing how much the area tingles, the viscous fluid in her underwear and that it feels… strange.
Drakonys has never felt like this.
Indifferent to everything she has done with Blaise.
Drakonys shivers with curiosity as she continues to touch herself. Caressing her intimacy insistently and suddenly, having a flash of her dream. Fantasizing about Harriet beneath her, letting herself be undressed and touched.
«Drakonys.»
Drakonys covers her mouth with her other hand, curling into herself and feeling her abdomen compressed, her pussy dripping and her mind only sinking deeper into her fantasies, her magic making her clothes, sheets and bed crystallize.
«Drakonys.»
She vibrates, hallucinating that what she feels is Harriet against her, returning to her dream self and having a release that makes her gasp hot air, shivering with pleasure.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
"I thought you'd sleep more."
"I should say that."
Hermione punches her arm and Harriet laughs weakly. She rests her cheek in her palm and takes a sweet roll. She's not hungry at all. She feels like she's floating and crashing at the same time. She blames that student and Tom. It's confusing. She tries to find him, but he's not among the Slytherin or Durmstrang students.
Was it real?
Did she imagine it?
Maybe everything bad last night was just a dream.
Yeah, it must have been-
"Too tired Harriet? Did you go back to that guy from Durmstrang?"
It wasn't a dream. Harriet rubs her face under her glasses, almost knocking them off. She looks at Cormac in boredom. All the boys in her year, together laughing at her. Neville is the exception, sitting at the table eating and glancing sideways.
"And you? I assume you were with someone or something, you are so unbearable and pathetic." Harriet questions, irritated and without much patience. Hermione tries not to look up. The sparks from the torches are extremely dangerous.
"Jealous? Did you want us to accompany you?" Cormac asks with a hand on his chest and giving a couple of pushes with his pelvis. Harriet looks at him with absolute disgust.
"What for? I'm sure you don't last long and I couldn't feel anything because if they talk too much, it means: you wouldn't know what to do…" She looks down at Cormac's crotch. "I know your dick smaller than my finger." She raises her little finger. "How boring. Even with my fingers I have more fun."
The girls at the table burst into laughter, causing embarrassment in the boy. After all, Cormac makes fun of everyone regardless of what they are. Fat, thin, small chest, big chest, etc. Getting a little of what he does feels good. Harriet snorts, rolling her eyes.
"Have a good life with your hand. It's the only thing that won't tell you off for being boring."
The girls crowd around, whispering. Hermione exhales in annoyance. It doesn't make her mad, but objectively, she'd rather Harriet not get into this kind of fight. Although it doesn't surprise her either. It's rare that Harriet stays quiet or doesn't fight. The Gryffindor boys crowd around somewhere else, with some laughing at Cormac and that detail.
When they both finish eating, they meet up with Viktor, who waves cheerfully. Clearly beaming at how the night went. On the way out they bump into Ron. The redhead purses his lips and stares at them. Harriet rubs her temple for a moment before saying, "I'm sor-"
"You really are just like all of them now, aren't you? An annoying bitch."
Harriet gasps for air and watches him enter, incredulous and twists her head, leaving alone.
┈
Drakonys spends the entire breakfast with her mind elsewhere. More specifically on the dream she had about Harriet. When she enters the large dining room, her thoughts about it are heightened.
Because of the clothes Harriet wears, she only dreams of the same thing that was in her fantasy. Would her breasts be that big? Would her legs be that fluffy? Would her crotch be that hot...?
"They say she spent the night with the boy from the dance" Emma comments, but Drakonys is still in her particular dream. "They won't stop talking about what a slut she is."
"Nothing that hasn't been said." Drakonys mutters.
Emma expected another answer and the blonde watches Harriet, absentmindedly. She comes back to reality by seeing her leave in a bad mood, in addition to the redhead's attitude. She gives a snorts in disgust.
"Not even a fly will come near him and yet he rejects everything. He couldn't be more stupid," Drakonys complains through clenched teeth. She hates Ron Weasley more, but that contempt never exceeds that which she feels for Hermione Granger.
Chapter 47: Act. XLVII. Tears of confusion
Chapter Text
Remus wasn't there for the most awkward moment of the ball. He had to leave. A little overwhelmed by the approaching full moon. Harriet's arrival at his studio is somewhere between expected and worrying. Remus thought she was coming to talk about the strange boy, the one no one knows where he came from, however, it's a totally unrelated matter and one he didn't expect.
"Did Ron tell you all that?" Remus asks, stunned.
Sometimes, with all the arguing they do, it reminds him of Snape and Lily's friendship. Where he left her in a bad light in public. From calling her a mudblood to saying she was worthless. One of the main reasons they haven't remained close, not even friends. Just a couple of acquaintances.
Remus doesn't know if he would feel sorry or not if that happens with Ron. Harriet is always very happy to talk about what she does with him. He would say he's that best friend that's necessary to have. At the same time, his behavior these past few months has left a lot to be desired. Whether or not to be on his side is a dilemma he doesn't have now.
Not with Harriet so stressed out. Talking fast, anxious, tense; doubtful of whether her feelings are valid and something else she doesn't dare to tell him. Remus doesn't want to push. He's very bad at being rude to people he cares about. Especially in the pre-Moon or post-Moon state.
"What does it make you feel? What really hurts you?" Remus asks gently.
If the problem is Ron...
If the problem is the teasing...
If the problem is her image...
He wants to be sure of the problem so he can advise her.
He wonders if Tom knows about this. Probably not.
"I just don't understand why if he's my best friend he said those things to me, he made me feel... so bad. I-I don't understand it, I don't-"
Remus presses his lips together and exhales, patting the teenager on the back, she looks like she's on the verge of bursting into tears. Remus takes a breath and turns her around a bit to face him. Harriet needs a lot of eye contact for her to understand the true weight of what he's talking about. She's just like James in that regard. If she doesn't face him head on, she'll never understand.
"Harriet, you have to understand one thing." Lupin doesn't know if it's his place to have this talk with her, but for now there's no option. He can't delay her going home in less than two days. "Boys... they have a lot more room to grow. They have more time to do stupid things, make mistakes, think about it, regret it. They have... even more than their twenties. Boys will be boys, as they say." Harriet feels her eyes water, coming to the conclusion that Remus wants to make. "It's not like that with women."
She lets out a sharp breath with a groan.
"You have to grow up fast, you have to understand fast and know how to handle the lots and lots of spoiled brats around you," Remus replies. "Being talked down to, being treated badly, being made to feel bad. It's something you have to deal with because girls grow up faster, they became women and they understand faster... or at least that's what they say" he smiles calmly and lovingly, "but the truth is you need time too. The reason why this hurts you so much is that you try to give him a good justification and objectively he doesn't have one. It drives you crazy not to find one."
The whole explanation came loaded with little and stupid justifications. Ron couldn't dance, Ron feels left out, Ron feels bad and Remus can't stop thinking, what does that have to do with him embarrassing you and insulting you the way he did? Harriet looks more overwhelmed.
"No?"
"No. Ron is angry about a silly thing that he caused himself for being a teenager" he assures unconcerned. He knows that Ron rejected Harriet to dance, also that he had plenty of opportunity to ask Hermione or Harriet. Ron is the typical teenager who sabotages himself, but blames others. "And his only way of not feeling guilty, like a child, is to blame someone else: you." Harriet purses her lips. "And everyone points the finger at you because you 'caused' it. If you weren't involved, it would be Hermione's fault. Boys never accept their guilt."
"And what am I supposed to do?" she asks, restless and lost. "He's my best friend, I know he's not bad, I also know he'll apologize eventually but," Harriet moves her hands, anxious and restless, "I'm afraid it will happen again, that I'll feel like this again because of him. I-"
"Harriet, you're fourteen and you worry like you're twenty. Your boyfriend, your grades, your future, your family image... you're fourteen," Remus emphasizes with a gentle shake. "If they can be boys, you can still be a girl. Keep it simple. Just make it yours. Whatever you feel. What do you want?"
Harriet rubs her arm.
"Keep him away until he truly apologizes." she replies after a few minutes.
"Fine," Remus says, patting her shoulder. "Remember: boys will always be boys, but that doesn't mean you have to put up with anything they do. Nothing." Harriet nods and looks down. "And there's nothing wrong with crying. It's not dramatic. It's not wrong with feeling hurt either."
Harriet sniffles and covers her mouth with her hand. She doesn't know how to deal with this and until now, she hadn't realized that she's very stressed out. Harriet wanted the ball to be an escape where she could be happy for a while. Her best girl-friend, her boyfriend, her best boy-friend, her new friends. She wanted to be happy and nothing more, but she spent more time trying not to lose her nerves, temper and emotions; trying to see everyone happy, which was almost all the time. She could barely be calm with Tom, who made her happier in thirty minutes than the four hours of the party.
She wants to be a pride for her family, to be someone who deserves the Potter surname like others deserve their own surnames. Black, Weasley, Malfoy, Riddle.
She wants to get the best grades so that no one says she is useless.
She wants to show her effort so that her achievements are not tied to giving sexual favors or bribes.
She wants to discover who she is. If she is a woman, if not, what she really likes for her own body.
She wants to achieve being worthy of being the heir of the Peverells, to be the Heir of Gryffindor.
She wants to make Ron, Hermione, George, Fred, Seamus, Viktor, Fleur happy.
Harriet feels so inadequate.
So incapable.
And she's ashamed to cry about it, because it would be exposing that feeling.
Harriet curls up in Remus like she's done all her life. Just like she does with Sirius and James these years more than ever. Somehow, only with them does she manage to make everything evaporate and exist only by herself. Let the sadness flow freely to rest and resolve itself. Remus hugs her back and closes his eyes, letting time pass.
"You know, when we found out you were going to be a girl, I warned your dad one thing," Remus begins to relate while stroking Harriet's black hair: "she's going to be surrounded by idiots like you were or even worse. You have to take it seriously or you're going to ruin it. I think I scared him," Remus admits with a laugh and Harriet laughs back, "but... I think the problem is that the world is crueler now. You're a small light in a very big abyss." He presses her against his chest. "Even if you do everything right, you cry so much and suffer so much."
He exhales disappointedly.
"You have to remember that we love you, okay? Nothing else matters. Not even if you make mistakes. We love you just the way you are and that won't change. Do you understand?"
"Yes, Moony." She answers awkwardly and hoarsely. Remus takes his wand and with a spell, something shoots out towards his hand.
"Your dad gave this to me last year. He told me if I saw you sad, to give it to you."
Harriet takes the small necklace. The gold chain and pendant are cute. When she opens the locket she finds a picture of herself and James. She's sure she was six years old the day it was taken. She remembers that they spent the whole afternoon playing Quidditch. James broke the rules just to let her win and have fun. Both of them covered in dirt and sweat, in the garden of the house. On the cover, a small engraving: "To my little fawn. Never forget how perfect you are just for being born."
"Moony."
"Umm?"
"Do you think I'm perfect?"
"Since you were born."
She puts on the necklace before hugging him again.
Tom has told her she's perfect. Just like her dad, godfather, and uncle have. They see something in her and she doesn't know if it's true, if she should take care of it for it to continue existing, or if she even does, considering what that stranger did to her yesterday. The only thing that's certain is that it brings warmth to her chest and makes her slide her magic in a calm current of peace.
"Tom's not stupid. Not always."
"Ah, there's always one like that. In my generation, that was me," Remus comments mockingly and exhausted. Only Merlin knows how much he suffered putting up with the stupidity of his peers. Harriet laughs. She can accept it.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
"How do you feel?"
Harriet smiles slyly, Tom left the library just to come and ask. It's sweet of him.
"Good. I talked to Moony. I think I've run out of tears," Harriet exhales embarrassed. "My dad sent this. Nice, right?" She shows the necklace with an excited tone. Tom checks it and when he sees the inside he frowns. "What's wrong?"
"I'm still amazed at the genetic makeup in your family. You look just like your dad." Tom replies, impressed. The only difference is the color of the eyes.
"And according to you, I'm pretty. Do you think my dad is pretty?" Tom thinks carefully about his answer:
"He's an attractive man. The way those traits translated to you, it's perfect."
Harriet gives him a push after letting out a laugh. He obviously know how to phrase the statement in a poetic and confident way. Tom shrugs with a smug smile. Harriet cocks her head.
"And do you want to come with me and my family for Christmas? Sirius promised me that he would spend time with him this year," she clarifies before Tom asks. "There's a guest room there, so there wouldn't be mosquitoes at your door. You know."
Tom frowns a little. It makes him uneasy to spend so much time with Harriet's family. James still dislikes him as much. Maybe worse than before, because he knows the relationship between him and Harriet. He feels like he would ruin Christmas if he goes in there.
He is partly reassured that this is not the case. He has already been with Sirius. He is much calmer and more informal. Or at least he was before this relationship.
At the same time, he doesn't want to be in the orphanage, over the years he feels more uncomfortable than irritated. As if every time he is there he has the weight of some concern and there is no one to ask. Remus is very neutral, which is why he can get along with him and many questions have been directed at him.
In some way, having a family now weighs more. It is for no other reason than feeling accompanied for the first time in his life and not wanting to go back to the previous one. He has pending whatever happened to Harriet, his birthday and that apparently he will have a gift that is still mysterious...
"As for me, I would love to, but I don't want to bother too much." Tom replies restlessly and Harriet pouts.
"Well... I can talk to my dad. Ask him not to be so aggressive."
"I doubt he can avoid it. So many years of pampering a child and knowing that there are people around who would take her away even a little, must be driving him crazy."
Harriet pouts. Sometimes she is surprised by how much Tom plans for the long term. He is convinced that they can last a lifetime. It is such a romantic thought that it does not seem like his. Also how emotionally accurate it is. As much as he denies it, Tom is very emotionally capable. Maybe he does not realize it himself.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
"You missed Theodore humiliating himself in front of Fleur," Regulus comments when Tom sits down. The teenager rolls up his sleeves so as not to dirty his shirt. He laughs mockingly and Theodore pretends not to hear anything. "It was a lovely moment."
"He lives from one humiliation to another. I don't think it would be much different," Tom says, sarcastically, and Theodore blushes. "I left when there was only nonsense left."
"As refined as ever," Daphne helps herself to the plate of biscuits. "Did you hear what the Hufflepuffs did? They literally fell off the balcony trying to impress Durmstrang."
"Fifth years from Gryffindor tried it too," Regulus mentions. "And the Durmstrangs ended up throwing up from all the punch they drank."
Tom is almost amazed at the amount of events that can happen in one night and space. He's thankful that it doesn't have to do with him or his girlfriend. Tom glances at her out of the corner of his eye. He knows she's overwhelmed. It shows. This isn't where she wants to be, and if she is, it's because her hunger was stronger than her tiredness. He sees some laughter among the other girls and the boys retreating to their own corner.
Tom is going to enjoy that Ron isn't around.
Tom smiles slightly as he feels Nagini crawling up his abdomen, tucking herself under his shirt.
"Nothing about that student. He disappeared."
"Well," Tom murmurs, stroking the head of the snake that emerges from his clothes. "Thanks for looking for him."
"Where are you staying for Christmas?" Regulus asks. "My mom doesn't hate you anymore. She's over it."
"I still hate her and I don't want to be bitter for a whole month." Tom pours some onto his plate. "I'll go with the Potter family."
"What a pain with the Potters." Daphne teases.
Regulus frowns. Daphne says it jokingly, but it's very true. He studies Tom, sees his eyes and attention on Harriet. The usual. The hateful, pointless routine. Tom clenches his fist when he hears Ron speak. Regulus just thinks that maybe Tom sees Harriet as a pet.
Yeah.
That makes sense.
Much more so that he considers her a friend.
┈
"Are you going home for Christmas?"
"I can't. There's no way I can go to Bulgaria." Hermione scrunches up her face, regretting asking. Obviously he couldn't, "but I got the offer from the Potter family to stay with them." Viktor informs and Hermione holds back her excitement.
"That's great! This year I'm not going to travel with my parents, so we can spend Christmas together and- uh, I'm sorry." Hermione blushes. She usually can't read Viktor's expressions. She thinks she's annoyed him with her excitement.
The truth is that Viktor is happy that Hermione wants to be with him on this eve. He's scared of her apology and that she thinks she's making him uncomfortable.
"Don't apologize, I'm happy that we can spend this time together too." Hermione is shy.
She approaches him and gives him a kiss on the lips before continuing her search for books to take home.
┈
Harriet keeps her eyes closed, but she can't sleep. Her whole body shakes uncontrollably. She wishes the disgusting feeling would go away, but unfortunately it doesn't. It only gets worse the more she thinks about it. Harriet opens her eyes, frustrated and wanting to curse with all her might, repressed inside her chest.
Harriet doesn't want to and can't tell Tom yet. She's unsure of What he will say, what will he think about it... It's frustrating to have concerns that feel ridiculous to a certain point and then there's the possibility that Tom thinks she's stupid for agonizing over something that didn't even happen.
That guy didn't rape her. Why does she feel so bad? Like something inside her is so destroyed and tainted...
It's incomprehensible.
She doesn't know how she'll take it.
She doesn't want to know either.
"Harriet!"
She jumps in place, looking around. The sudden light is going to blind her. She doesn't have glasses on either, so she only sees a blur of brown hair and light everywhere. "Viktor just told me he's going to be at your house. Can I come over for a few days to be with him? I'll ask my parents for permission, but please help me. You can't say no to- Here."
Hermione has to give her the glasses. Harriet goes deaf sometimes when she doesn't have her glasses on. After all, she doesn't know where she's looking and she can't focus on what she should. Sitting up, her hair a huge, tangled mess, Harriet hears Hermione's request again.
"Do you think your parents will mind that you have a boyfriend?"
Hermione grimaces, swings her hand, and sits up on the bed, pulling both legs up.
"Well... I don't think they'll mind me having a friend, but I do have a boyfriend who's four years older than me... and I had sex with him." Harriet raises her eyebrows mischievously before laughing and Hermione snorts. "I don't want it to get complicated. You know they're pretty open about wizards. They'll be happy about the part about me having friends, but not the rest."
"Why not? It's isn't like you weren't going to have sex every... Or were you planning on not having sex?"
"It's not that. It's just that... You have to understand that we're fourteen and that's not appropriate," she says sternly. Harriet rolls her eyes. If Hermione found out she'd been having sex since she was twelve, she'd surely have a heart attack and scold her for hours. "Much less with a person who is older than me, who is a foreigner, who I have only just met-"
"But your magic and his mixed, right?" Hermione stops short of words. Lungs full of air and a somewhat anxious expression. "You mixed that magical part of you... Didn't you?"
Hermione nods. Harriet takes her hand, interlacing their fingers and making her magic come closer to Hermione's. Letting them intertwine delicately.
Hermione's warmth and soft light contrasting with Harriet's absolute brightness. "When you do this with a person, when your magic is able to comfortably adapt without burning or hurting... it's a reason to rejoice. It means that your own soul and essence are able to couple, are able to do even the unimaginable to unite and protect each other," Harriet concludes in a murmur, lost in thought.
"Are your parents like that?"
"Yes. Mom and Dad can do it anytime... Daddy is fire, Mom is sparks. Like fireworks" Hermione whistles, that sounds beautiful. "What is Viktor's magic like?"
Hermione takes her time explaining. Almost too much for anyone. With Harriet listening attentively and amused by her enthusiasm. Viktor's magic is, as no one is surprised, dark magic. Its coldness manifests itself in air. Like a cold blizzard. It's not something that is surprising or that can combine so well with Hermione's magic which is heat and dim light.
At least that would be the first thought and mistake.
But Harriet makes a clear scenario: a room full of books, a desk with an open book, a small and weak light illuminating the writing and in front, a window where a faint blizzard can be seen. Cold, but not murderous or dangerous. Just friendly. Just like the light in the middle of that room.
Put like that, it makes a lot of sense and Harriet is glad that it is a fact how much Hermione likes it.
"Whatever," Harriet hums. "Don't worry so much. We won't tell them anything- not even my parents, they'll be unbearable, but in the long run, don't torture yourself trying to hide it," Harriet advises, shrugging her shoulders. "It's your life and you decide when to have a boyfriend."
Hermione cocks her head. Harriet talks like she knows a lot about the subject, even though she doesn't have any close friendships with a partner. Cho could be a case, but as far as she knows, she doesn't talk much about her relationship with Cedric. A somewhat complicated and tense one, it should be noted.
"And you? Would your dad let you have a boyfriend?"
"I think he'll put him in jail first, analyze him for a couple of months, and then tell me I can't have a boyfriend because he was in prison." Hermione tries not to laugh. It's a bit of a curious scenario. Harriet rests her chin on her palm, huffing. "I don't know how my mom would take it."
Harriet doesn't quite understand if Lily is happy about her dating. Part of her seems to say yes. Part of her seems to say no. Like Lily doesn't think she's good enough to have a boyfriend. It bothers Harriet that even her own mother doesn't think she's good enough for her boyfriend. Like Tom is her son and not her. Hermione snaps her fingers in front of her.
"What's wrong? Is it because of Ron?"
Harriet scrunches up her face, grabbing the sheet to cover herself and lying back down. "Don't talk to me about him. Fucking traitor. Fuck him."
"Harriet." Hermione scolds, punching him on the arm. Harriet writhes in bed.
Hermione wonders if she's going to be upset for long. After all, there's already a pattern of forgiving Ron no matter what. She hopes not. Ron has to apologize to her too. She's not just upset, she's hurt. She didn't think he was like the other boys in her year. Who don't do anything else but to insult them and be cavemen with the girls. In general, this internal war divided by gender seems absurd to her.
Being a boy or a girl does not change anything. They are still students, classmates...
Hermione lies down on Harriet to doze for a while. Form different mental planes to tell her parents that she is going to be head over heels in the Potter house. Maybe convince them to spend Christmas together and also New Year.
She notices Harriet's involuntary tremors a little. It's very constant and evident. She is still curious about whatever happened when she was absent from the Christmas ball.
Chapter 48: Act. XLVIII. Complicated environment
Chapter Text
Hermione just grumbles. Harriet is nowhere to be seen. It's overwhelming in itself. She was supposed to be with Tom in the library, but she didn't see them in any room or at any table. Now, walking down the corridor and trying to guess her whereabouts, she bumps into Tom.
"Do you know where Harriet is?" she asks directly and Tom raises an eyebrow, tilting his head. "She's not in the library, nor in the common room. She said she'd be with you."
"She was with me about an hour ago," Tom informs and Hermione snorts, scratching her head.
"Thanks."
Hermione doesn't say anything about having him trailing behind her. She assumes it worried him. Tom, for his part, was honest: they were there an hour ago. He picked up books he wanted to take over the holidays, they kissed for a while in the Chamber of Secrets and Harriet was supposed to be heading to the Gryffindor common room. He said he was very tired.
And it showed.
They both jump at the sudden sound. Like a scream, a pained exclamation. Hermione runs. "Harriet!" Tom rushes when he hears it. The Gryffindor falls to her knees next to her best friend. Lying on the floor, her glasses far away, her body pale, sweating profusely and her skin cold. Tom sees someone running away. He assumes it's the mystery student from the ball.
" Nagini ." She crawls at full speed and at the turn of the corridor, she pounces on him. Barely an instant before the student disappears. Tom gasps. No one at Hogwarts can do that.
Only Dumbledore.
He returns to Hermione, who has Harriet on her lap. She seems asleep, having small convulsions and feeling cold. He moves Hermione away to pick up Harriet, heading for the hospital wing.
┈
"It looks like her magic was drained from her body. At least a little," Remus says. Harriet is lying on the stretcher, a sleeping spell keeping her calm. "Did you see anything?"
"The person disappeared," Tom snorts, and Remus is equally confused.
Once Madame Pomfrey leaves, Nagini slides down to entwine herself with Harriet. " I'm not leaving her all night. I'll bite anyone who dares try anything, " Tom translates as she hisses and Remus laughs.
"There'll be a witness in case anything happens. That's reassuring… Let's not tell James about this yet. I’ll talk with him later, okay?" Remus asks, and Hermione replies.
"But he should know. It's-"
"Believe me, James gets upset just as easily, if not more easily, than Harriet. We don't want any bonfire in London or Godric’s Hollow." Hermione grumbles and looks at Harriet.
She seems to be just sleeping. Nothing bad is happening. She wishes she knew what happened.
At night, a sleep spell falls over the entire hospital wing. Long footsteps approach one of the few occupied stretchers, where Harriet is still lying. The person strokes her black hair, arranging it on the white pillow. Harriet breathes deeply and he laughs.
"See you soon, little lioness. Very soon."
He kisses her forehead and Harriet half opens her eyes. She can't see anything. She doesn't have her glasses on. However, she makes out the human figure in front of her. Blonde hair and pale skin. Her eyelids feel heavy and she simply goes back to sleep.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
"Are you sure you're okay?"
"My head just feels like it's throbbing, and my legs are like jelly," Harriet complains, stretched out on the train seat. Hermione makes her close her legs so she can sit more comfortably. Ginny laughs at the sight.
"I think that's hunger."
"Maybe," Harriet grumbles. "I'll convince Dad to get us something before we go home. I don't want to eat there," she whimpers.
Neville peeks out timidly and Harriet motions for him to come in and sit down. He's carrying a plant in his hands and a book under his arm. Ginny helps him keep from dropping anything. Neville trembles like a scared animal and holds out one of the pots. Harriet takes it, uncomprehendingly.
"I-it's a hop sprout. It's good for sleeping. I thought you might like it," Neville explains, and Harriet makes a small circle with her mouth, looking at the sprout. It's cute. Like a miniature tree.
"Does it need a lot of sun?"
"Yes."
"I'll put it in my window. Thanks, Neville," Harriet smiles and Neville nods shyly.
While Harriet falls asleep, the twins and Krum pile into the carriage, chattering away with the other students inside.
"My mom wants to go to one of Grindelwald's meetings. It seems he's likely to come to England," Tom flips the page in the book he's reading. Regulus, Theodore and Daphne are chattering away as usual. "She's obsessed with the idea that we should ally ourselves with him."
"My family's in the same boat," Daphne comments boredly. "I don't see why. He's just another lunatic who wants to kill everyone. Muggles aren't my favorite, but killing them, what's the point?"
"Their decline isn't so bad," Regulus opines and Tom looks up from his book.
"His reasoning works, his methods leave much to be desired. Now, let the subject die."
"You met him," Regulus mentions and Tom feigns dementia, returning to the book. "What's he like? Wouldn't you be interested in going? My mom wanted you to go with us precisely for that reason. Being who you are…"
"I'm not interested in listening to nonsense. Gellert Grindelwald isn't that great," Tom concludes.
He doesn't believe he'll actually come to England. He can't risk it. He's not that stupid. On the other hand, he's reluctant to interfere further.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
James tries to keep his crisis as low as possible. He'll have two teenagers stuck in his house and he won't be capable of controlling them. He should have said no. Sirius is free now that he's back from his mission. He's thinking of asking him to be in Godric's Hollow as soon as possible, but Sirius is… Sirius. Lily doesn't help. Why is he the only one worried about this? His fourteen-year-old daughter having sex with her fifteen-almost-sixteen-year-old boyfriend.
A rather extravagant one.
The train arrives, the students are getting off and as usual, Harriet is with Hermione. Unlike usual, Viktor is there and Ron is going down much further along with some other kids, chatting animatedly with them. Harriet jumps on him, almost knocking him over. "Wow, someone's a big girl," James comments playfully.
Harriet laughs and, as she gets out, she adjusts her glasses. She looks bigger because of her baggy, oversized clothes. Her hair is loose and she has rings on her fingers. Baggy pants full of pockets and sneakers.
"Did something happen with Ron?" The group approaches. The twins get out and surround Harriet. "Are you f—?"
"He's tactless," George begins.
"He's a failure," Fred continues.
"He has no understanding of place or situation."
"We've banned him from the best group."
James felt dizzy. He hates it when the twins do that; they know it and do it anyway. It makes them happy to annoy the Auror. Luckily, Harriet blurts out the simple, easy thing. The most basic and necessary explanation for James to understand the distance:
"He called me a slut at the Yule Ball."
"He did what ?"
Fred and George can't help but laugh at his reaction. James puts a hand to his face and tries to calm down. He's Arthur and Molly's friend. He can't make a fuss, nor can he complain and swear... He can go complain to them directly and call Ron out on it! How wonderful!
"Tell Molly and Arthur I'll be over to talk to them this weekend," James announces. Fred and George nod. They know they should be on the lookout for that.
They'll be happy to see Ron get scolded. He genuinely deserves it. Even Ginny, Percy, and Billy are upset. Their brother in Romania found out thanks to sending him a letter and responding as quickly as possible via instant messaging (using a very expensive and not widely used method due to its experimental nature).
Billy is the most incredulous that his youngest brother would do something like that to his best friend.
Charlie is convinced the twins are lying.
"Are you really going with them?" Regulus keeps his face scrunched up. Tom sighs. He feels overwhelmed with so many Weasleys, so many people. Still, he appreciates Viktor's presence. He likes him more than Ron. It's a good trade-off.
"They're not trying to tie me down with a marriage, and I don't want to massacre everyone there. So... yes."
Regulus is less than pleased with that answer, not to mention disappointed and offended. Tom and his strange soft spot for Harriet is the worst and most unpleasant mystery he's ever had in this life. Not even understanding his older brother has been as complicated as Tom's.
Regulus leaves and Tom heads off toward the large group saying goodbye to Hermione and the twins. James gives him a strange look. For a moment, James fantasized that Tom wouldn't come. Saying he forgot. Feigning dementia somehow.
Not having to deal with him in any way for a while, maybe that way he'd hate him a little less.
"Is Sirius here yet?" Harriet asks. It snaps James out of his reverie. "He said he'd buy me clothes and help me with things I want to do. He said he'd be here by Christmas."
"He's at his house. Then you can go there… and you can stay there for a few days, if you want." The three of them look curious. James gives a nervous laugh, sucking in air. "I'm sorry about the mess you're going to see now. We ran out of time! So we were sorting through the house, clothes, all that stuff," he says specifically to Viktor.
With Tom, it doesn't matter if he sees the chaos. They're already so aware of it that he's, unfortunately for James, an unofficial member of the family (or almost official by derivation). Viktor nods and James whistles. He's just as serious as he looks in all the photos he's seen of him.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
The house in Godric's Hollow looks like it's been demolished. The walls, furniture, decorations—everything in disarray. Tom raises an eyebrow, still judging the inopportune moment to do this kind of cleaning and rearranging. A remodel and renovation. Lily pokes her head out from under a mountain of clothes. So huge it covers her.
"Hey! Welcome!" she exclaims with a nervous smile. She manages to escape the enormous mountain of fabric. "Sorry for the mess. I haven't cleaned it all in years. It's vacation, so I decided to take advantage of it," the redhead excuses. "And you're Viktor Krum. Just as handsome as in the photos." Viktor shakes Lily's hand. "It's nice to meet you in person. I'm Lily Evans."
"The pleasure is mine. Thanks for having me."
"Tell me on Monday, when this is a house again," Lily says, hands on her hips. "Tom, Nagini should be careful. We accidentally broke some of the little bottles and until we can get everything out, we can't fix them."
Viktor and Tom are thinking the same thing: aren't she and Harriet going to say hello? Lily walks past and Harriet doesn't say anything either. She's not in the mood to talk to her. Not only will this process be a nuisance, she just wanted to sleep in her room after so much time. Feeling like it would help her feel better. Maybe decide whether to tell Tom, her dad, Sirius; she checks the pile of clothes near the stairs. James leads them both to the only complete part of the house: the guest room. It's neatly divided in half.
"Better not leave too many things behind. In case they want to run off with Sirius tomorrow," James says, leaving them alone.
"Are they always like this?" Viktor asks, and Tom nods, leaving his coat on the bed. The pair of trunks suddenly grow at the foot of the beds.
"Usually a little less messy."
Viktor doesn't dislike it. He thinks they're kind and that anyone who treats him like a normal person will be appreciated and perfect. Meanwhile, just as Tom assumed would happen, he goes downstairs to find Lily and Harriet arguing. Most of Harriet's clothes are in the pile of debris and broken things.
"I like my clothes! They still fit, and they're mine!" Harriet complains, picking up the items as she goes.
"They're so old. How are you going to wear those? Don't you think your boyfriend dresses phenomenally and you don't?" Lily scolds, her hands on her hips. "I'll buy you new clothes."
"No! Not you! And I want my clothes," she insists, barely able to grasp them, "just as they are."
"We have to get rid of some that are too old," James says. "We'll do it together... the three of us—except for the underwear. That's your business, but you still have to throw some things away."
James knew this would be a huge complication. Lily and Harriet are still a problem when it comes to clothes. They'll never get along if this keeps up. James is worried it will escalate too much. Especially with guests here. Tom on the stairs, unsure whether to continue or go to the bedroom and pretend he didn't witness any of this.
"You need so much more. I can't believe you have all this and you'd show it off," Lily replies contemptuously, throwing more and more things into the pile.
"Mom." She shrieks, glasses askew, face red, panic inaudible.
"How do you expect to keep your boyfriend if you don't look pretty?"
"Lily," James scolds through gritted teeth.
"Is it so complicated that someone likes me the way I am?!" Harriet argues, trembling.
"Darling, no man, unless he's gay, likes his girlfriend to be another man."
Part of the wall explodes. Harriet grabs more of the clothing and leaves, pushing James in her path. The man drops his arms and Lily immediately shakes her head, anxious and a little nervous.
"I told you we were going to do it, we had to do it without her here."
"There wasn't enough time. We removed the spell from the structure—”
"You should have started there!"
Lily groans. There are too many things they still have to do and clearly, even if they help them, it will be impossible to accomplish. James checks to make sure it isn't damaged and considers it genuinely able to hold on. At the same time, he hears a squeal.
"WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU DO TO MY ROOM?!"
"I think I’m going to thrown this-”
James snatches the bag from Lily's hands, convinced it's full of posters and other things Lily didn't consider appropriate for Harriet.
He had avoided going in here. He's surprised to find bare walls, the almost empty bookcase, the closet with a few things, the least manly of what stayed here even during the school year. Among the things clearly missing are: the Golden Snitch, her picture with the whole team, the watch collection, leather gloves, other photos, and above all, the mountain of plush toys she's been collecting most of her life.
"It should be here, don't panic," James announces, leaving the expandable plastic bag on the bed.
Sitting beside her, he sorts through the clothes. What should go, what shouldn't; he fixes the posters and other broken objects. He glances occasionally at his daughter, whose face is sad and red from holding back the urge to cry.
"Relax, it won't end. I'll throw it in the trash when you leave with Sirius tomorrow," James informs with a chuckle. It doesn't cheer her up. She's still just as tearful and gloomy, the light going up and down, threatening to explode something.
He'd say that if Harriet doesn't cause another explosion or let out her thoughts, it's to avoid another disaster.
"I know it's annoying, but there are some things that have to be let go because they're old. You have to make room for the new stuff... more posters, clothes, shoes, stuffed animals..." James enlists, "maybe we should have waited for you, but you'd say you want everything to stay.”
Silence.
"Is something wrong? You can tell me if it is... if you need help." James senses some change. Still nothing. "I'm here for whatever you need, Rriety… Bambi." He presses a little.
"I'm just upset they took everything out," Harriet excuses blandly. James doesn't believe her, but insisting doesn't work.
It doesn't take long for them to finish, leaving the mountain of what's left. James sees what they're going to throw away. Nagini climbs onto the bed and curls up around Harriet, who sniffles and ends up crying a little, stroking the snake. James peeks out, without going back in. He sees his daughter petting the snake that hisses right at her red face.
"Tom couldn't care less whether or not you are what she wants you to be. Don't worry," Nagini pleads, even though Harriet can't understand her. The girl nods, sniffling.
Imagining what Nagini is saying, she feels a little better.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
Dinner went considerably better. It's noticeable that the mood has lifted. Viktor feels very welcome, eating and listening to James and Lily talk about work, the disasters and plans for Christmas Eve. Among them, the insane number of outings. Many of which included Hermione.
Beyond wonderful.
Being unofficially adopted by the Potters is the best thing that could have happened to him.
"We're going clothes shopping... lots of clothes," Lily mentions, and Harriet stuffs her mouth with food. "Preferably everything on monday. We'll go to Central London, then to Diagon Alley."
"Sirius mentioned he'll buy you what you'll wear for Yule and New Year's Day. Choose expensive things." Harriet covers half her face, hiding her smile. James winks at her and returns his attention to the guests. "We have a budget for you two too, so don't limit yourselves too much," James advises.
"I don't remember if I mentioned it, but Sirius is my godfather," Harriet says after swallowing hard. Lily makes a face. "He's really cool. I'm sure you'll love meeting him, and he'll love you. Although he might be a little loud at first because he likes to play."
"Will he insist too much?"
"Nah."
Viktor nods. As long as that's not the only thing anyone thinks or talks about with him around, he can be very calm. Harriet continues eating and furrows her eyebrows, noticing Lily's gestures. She rolls her eyes and continues eating. Tom does what Lily was asking: make Harriet put her hair out of the way, about to get dirty with food. The girl gasps and laughs.
"You should cut-”
"NO!"
Tom gasps, looks around and feels his face burn, Harriet bites her lip, blinks repeatedly and Viktor feels like he's missing something. Tom clears his throat, gets up from the table and leaves, pretending he didn't scream at the mere possibility of Harriet cutting her hair. James whistles, looking up at two enormous ice stalagmites in the roof. Lily returns her attention to her food.
"It was just a suggestion," she says quietly.
┈
James peeks up every so often, nervously. Tom and Viktor are in Harriet's room to help put up all the posters, the plush toys that survived the massacre and generally speed up the process that could take forever due to her own laziness and general bad mood. He hears her laughing and chattering with them, enough to reassure him that nothing strange is going on in there.
Still, two men in his daughter's room… he wants to pull his hair out.
"If everything stays the same as before, no one knows. Not even Viktor. They wouldn't risk anonymity," Lily says nonchalantly. "And Harriet isn't like that either. Don't be so exaggerated." She punches him lightly in the arm. James glares at his wife.
"They're still teenagers. What if they want to experiment? We did and we almost got Sirius in this bed." He points with both hands and Lily stutters.
"And whose fault was that?!”
"Sirius? Who else is it going to be?”
Lily takes his arm and closes the door. Harriet peeks out of her room and goes back inside. Viktor finishes putting up the two missing posters and Tom is organizing the books on the new bookcase installed. Harriet ruffles her hair. "I think they've gotten over their paranoia."
"You're their daughter. It's normal," Viktor shrugs. Nagini climbs onto the bed and curls up, hissing with delight. Viktor is frightened by how big the animal can grow.
"Ooohohoh~ believe me, it's not normal. Whatever she says, it's just to make me feel like shit. Although I suppose it's common for a lot of people." She rolls her eyes in annoyance and Tom gives a laugh without humor. "Thanks for helping with this though."
"No problem."
Harriet takes a deep breath, lowering her gaze and remaining absorbed in it for a few seconds that feel long. She hadn't thought the discomfort would grow once she got home. This whole remodeling and cleaning business took her by surprise. She twists her head into a grimace and squeezes her face, an unpleasant chill creeping up her spine.
She brings her hands to her face, breathing deeply..
"Are you scared? What are you so afraid of? You know better than anyone that I couldn't hurt you... not even a little... little green-eyed lioness."
Tom narrows his eyes. Harriet running to the bathroom after causing a flame to explode is a bad sign. Viktor checks a few things, allowing the Slytherin to go find the lioness. Tom finds her in the bathroom, vomiting. He sighs, rolls up his sweater and ties back her hair so it doesn't get dirty.
It takes a while, and when he's finished, Harriet washes her mouth, wets her entire face, part of her shirt, and hair. Tom leans against the wall, waiting for her to finish before saying, "I know this has to do with what happened at the ball and before we came. Don't you want to say what happened?"
It sounded more aggressive than he intended, but it doesn't change the fact that the question is there. Harriet moves her jaw and takes off her glasses to clean them.
"I still can't... work out what happened," she admits, and Tom snorts. That's even worse. "Give me a couple more days, okay?"
Tom nods slightly and Harriet takes his hand, rubbing it a little affectionately. She's not about to try to kiss him after being sick, so this is as affectionate as she can be for the moment. Tom doesn't comment, letting it happen. Let the shy, glittering magic intertwine simply. Almost weakly.
"I'm not going to have a 100 percent chaste Christmas," Tom grumbles, and Harriet laughs.
"I'm not going to stop you from trying, and you can do it if you're discreet enough."
Tom feels directly challenged and before Harriet realizes it, she'll be face first into the pillow with her legs spread.
┈
She raises her head at the knocking on the door, groaning in annoyance and disgust at seeing Lily. The redhead comes in and closes the door, grimacing. She didn't think her own daughter would give her such a welcome. She sits down on the bed and Harriet continues reading her magazine.
"I know you're a little angry, but I want you to know this is for your own good." Harriet still doesn't look at her. "You have more space now. You'll have new clothes. You can also try new things. Staying stagnant isn't good."
"You're stuck telling me I'm a failure, and I don't see that changing."
"Harriet," Lily admonishes, and Harriet reluctantly puts down the magazine, sitting on the bed.
"What? There isn't a single thing—one thing—I do right. If it bothers you so much, don't look at me, ignore the fact that I'm there. I'd appreciate it so much more," she informs in a weary tone and Lily snaps her fingers in front of her, telling her to look her in the eye if she's going to be that impertinent.
"Don't act like a spoiled brat," Lily admonishes. "There's nothing I won't do that isn't for your own good. To help you become a woman who can stand on her own two feet. Are you going to have stuffed animals forever? Are you going to wear the same clothes forever?"
"Those were my things. I decide whether to throw them away or not.”
"Not when they're taking up space in my house and you're still a little girl who can't even stop wearing a shirt that's over six years old," Lily informs. "It doesn't fit you anymore. You're too big. Don't you see yourself?”
"Those were my clothes!”
"Those were trash.”
"BUT IT'S MY TRASH! I...!"
"Don't raise your voice at my." Harriet feels her whole body tremble. "You need to grow up. Do you want to be a little woman who has sex with her boyfriend? Who's careless to the point where her family sees her? Is that what you want? So, no old clothes, no baby stuff, no acting like a spoiled brat who can't even dress herself." Harriet starts to get lost inside her own head. She doesn't want to hear her. She doesn't want any of what she's saying. It's so... "Your new clothes should be appropriate for your age, for who you are. Tom will surely appreciate that you dress well all the time and not just once a year," Lily quips, believing she's caught up in a pleasant moment with her daughter. "Also, trying out some things with your hair... I saw in a magazine that-”
"Why do you hate me so much?"
Lily remains silent, surprised and hurt by the question.
"I don't hate you, Harriet. I could never-”
"You do hate me," Harriet mutters. "You'd do anything so I wasn't your daughter... For me to be the way you want me to be."
"That's not true. You're misunderstanding me," she assures, stroking her hair. "I'm just guiding you. It's what parents do. You're going to be a beautiful gal, with a happy relationship." Lily carefully fixes her hair and laughs affectionately. "You're going to realize these changes are for the better."
She talks about makeup.
She talks about dresses.
She talks about bras that flatten her chest.
She talks about hair straightener.
She talks about hundreds of things Harriet doesn't want. It's a monologue Lily thinks is great, one that Harriet accepts and understands after so much explanation. Even when she goes to tell James, she thinks everything is fine and would still think so if it weren't for the man's grimace.
"Are you sure you're talking about our daughter?"
"Changes happen."
"That's not Harriet," James emphasizes, taking off her glasses. "She doesn't care at all about anything you just said. Something tells me she let you talk so you'd leave her alone." Lily snorts, adjusting her in bed, "Besides, none of that is Harriet. It sounds like anyone but her."
"It could be her."
"Why would you want her to change?"
"It's a good change," Lily insists, and James rubs his face.
"When it comes to Harriet, you're unbearable," he says clearly, and Lily turns her back on him, saying,
"It sounds like someone else to me."
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
"Why are you covering them up?"
Harriet continues to hug his chest, breathing slowly, but her heart racing. Rough, masculine hands slide up her arms, a light touch announcing their presence. Harriet shudders.
"Um? Why are you hiding them?"
"No... I don't want you to see me."
The giggle makes her press her lips and eyes together, shrinking into herself.
"Are you embarrassed? Oh, I understand, I understand. Exposing yourself can be embarrassing. Especially for a gal as pretty as you, but," the voice is right in her ear, and she feels the hot breath against her skin. "Don't be afraid, little lion..."
A little pressure on her arms makes Harriet whimper.
"You shouldn't be embarrassed."
He makes her slowly open her arms.
"Not with me."
Harriet sobs, and the man in front of her gives a soft gasp. "You are so beautiful, Harriet... Incredibly..."
She sucks in her breath, feeling his lips press below her collarbone and his hands cup her breasts.
"Perfect."
She wants to yell, to cry, but she feels so... drowned.
At the same time, James get out of his room, looking for a glass of water and check that nothing it's out of order. Meaning: Tom is in the guest room. He is. Viktor too. So everything it's okay. Still, he goes to see Harriet. Paralized for a moment, because of the cold air, Harriet pale as a corpse and her magic disappearing like a blown candle. He just enter, closing the door behing him. James picks Harriet up, laying her on top of him. This time she didn't scream, she didn't even move, just a little, trying to fall out of bed and wake up. However, if he didn't come to check her up, he wouldn't have noticed. He presses her against him, kissing the top of her head. "Everything's okay, Bambi. Everything's okay," James promises, his voice cracking.
Sobbing in panic at the mere thought that she could have died tonight and the last thing that happened was that she was crying. Disappointed and hurt.
Chapter 49: Act. XLIX. Individual problems
Chapter Text
He parks the bike and takes off his helmet, shaking his head to fix his hair. Sirius hums as he walks down the pebble path to the entrance. He knocks on the door and blows up his gum, popping it as soon as it's opened and smiling broadly at the person on the other side. "I came for my goddaughter and found a lion. Look at the size of that mane."
Harriet hugs him and Sirius spins her around, kissing her face and head as he squeezes. Harriet wraps her legs around him and Sirius takes a few steps inside. Tom remains completely silent, and Nagini laughs at him:
" He's her godfather. You can't be jealous that he has her legs on his hips. " Nagini mocks deliberately. Tom snorts.
"When I need your opinion, I'll ask for it," he says through gritted teeth. Nagini continues to laugh. Sirius sets Harriet down and whistles, resting his hands on his hips.
"Mr. 'Bulgaria's best player' is really here," Viktor greets, introducing himself upright and a little irritated. Sirius gives him an enthusiastic handshake. "Sirius Black, in case you need a nice jacket, piercings, tattoos, or a better hairdo." He winks and clicks his tongue. Viktor is amazed at how electric his presence is. "And you, at least say hello. Aren't you all proper and classy?" says to Tom.
"Good morning." Is all he says and Sirius snorts, waving his hand in disdain. James barely looks awake when Sirius tackles him, slapping him on the back, ruffling his hair and pushing him into the kitchen to talk. Harriet sits next to Viktor.
"Would you rather stay here?" she asks discreetly, and Viktor shakes his head.
"I'd rather go. I think it might be... entertaining. His magic isn't repellent."
Harriet nods slightly. It's a good thing Viktor wasn't intimidated or found Sirius annoying. She goes to sit with Tom, crossing her legs and continuing to paint her nails black. Tom glances at her occasionally, curious. He's never seen her paint her nails before. He can't even imagine why she's doing it now.
"The three of them? At my house? The hormone party," Sirius quips disdainfully. "The deal was Harriet. It's not my problem that they're going all out with the house," Sirius complains, sitting down abruptly. Lily has just poured coffee into a cup.
"The three of them will be better off with you," Lily assures him. "Besides, you already told Harriet you're going to buy her some clothes and go for a walk. They came with her... Deal with it," she concludes mockingly.
Sirius clicks his tongue in annoyance. He doesn't want to be babysitting three people, then four, with Hermione joining them overnight. He's a little restless today, feeling like something bad might happen. Harriet is only one person and she's small; Sirius can handle hers. Tom and Viktor? It's too much. Even worse if he has to take them back to his apartment. He rubs his temple and snorts. "Are you at least going to give me a nice present for this?"
"My love and friendship for another year," James dramatizes, and Sirius puts his hand to his chest.
"Oh! So thoughtful! So well thought out!" Sirius continues and James laughs, tilting his head. "Okay, okay, I'm taking the lil’ pack with me. I'll make sure to get Harriet drunk and have double the fun with them."
James chokes on his own saliva and the stovetop almost reaches the ceiling.
"SIRIUS!"
"I'm joking, I'm joking. Don't take it that serious, Prongs." Sirius cackles at James's panic. Lily clears her throat and all James has to do is leave. The redhead takes a seat and Sirius finishes the coffee from the enormous mug. "Now what did I do wrong?" he mumbles. Sometimes he feels like he's Lily's son, with how much she takes this authoritarian stance.
Sometimes it's funny.
On days like today, it annoys him.
"I know you're going to buy Harriet some clothes and I know it's not usually... complicated, but I want you to try to take feminine clothes." Sirius puts a hand to his face. "I managed to get rid of more than half of her closet this year and it's time Harriet... got the look she should have. The one that's appropriate for her age."
"Don't involve me in your fight with your kid. It's not my problem."
"I need your help. She listens to you! She ignores me most of the time, and-"
Sirius raises a finger, interrupting. "Why do you think she ignores you? Because all the damn time, you want her to be what you want. Don't you care about what she wants?" Sirius argues, and Lily looks like a fish out of water.
"Of course I love her and care about what she wants, like keeping her boyfriend for instance. One who won't last if she keeps being horrible with messy hair, smelly metalhead clothes and total sloppiness," Lily points out and Sirius looks at her with deep disdain. "You and James refuse to see that you're hurting her by not correcting her.”
"Everyone finds their style on their own. I assure you," Sirius confirms with a scowl.
"Harriet decided to be a boy, or rather, you taught her to be like that," Sirius points to his chest. Now it's his fault?! "I just want you to do something good with what you can achieve and... buy skirts, dresses, blouses; try to make sure your goddaughter, for once, has a closet that matches who she is.”
Sirius gives a laugh, laughs without grace, shakes his head before seeing her again.
"Sometimes I struggle to understand how I'm more aware of how to raise your daughter than you are."
"Excuse me?!"
"Whatever she wants to do about how she looks is her fucking problem and you don't get to decide for her," Sirius complains through gritted teeth, accelerating and causing a few snowflakes to start falling. "And if her boyfriend leaves over something as stupid as that, then he wasn't a good option."
"Tom is the only normal friend she has, he's the only good option, and even then, you're determined to make her lose him."
"It's not the 30s! She doesn't need a relationship! Or will be the one who got married right out of school." Sirius stands up from his chair. "Stop trying to control her life. She's not a doll, she's not a pet: she's someone who makes her own decisions about her appearance."
"She's not you," Lily argues, standing up. "She's not a rebel without a cause who needs to escape."
Sirius feels a throbbing in his head.
"She's not like me, but you're just like Walburga and I'll be so amused when Harriet doesn't want to see you again as soon as she turns seventeen." Lily's expression, which had ranged from calm to disgust and annoyance, turns to one of disbelief and surprise. Sirius comes out of the kitchen and looks at the three teenagers talking to each other. He brushes back his hair, optimistic that this was the bad thing it was supposed to happen.
"Go get your toothbrush, we're leaving. Before we get dusted to death," he encourages, clapping a few times. Tom closes his book and Nagini climbs up his chest and onto his shoulders.
"Are we going on the bike?" Harriet asks, resting her chin on her palm.
"Yeah. They'll go by portkey. Let them throw up while we get there."
Harriet gives a long laugh and Sirius winks, sitting down next to her.
┈
Sirius isn't worried about Viktor or Tom. The latter has already been to Grimmauld Place, so he can get in without a problem. Harriet has just gotten ready to leave when Sirius is approached by James, pulling him aside to talk without Harriet noticing.
"She had a nightmare last night."
"That explains why she's a bit off... And you're half dead." She looks him up and down and gives a cynical laugh. "I know exactly how to deal with this, that-”
"She didn't scream last night, she didn't move, she didn't..." James bites his lip, hitting his forehead with a closed fist. "If I didn't notice, she could have died last night." Sirius wipes the smile, his spirits sinking completely. "She wasn't even awake when I got here. She didn't notice anything," he says through his teeth, anxious, desperate.
"I'll be attentive, I promise... Hey," Sirius gently shakes James' shoulder and searches his gaze. "Nothing bad is going to happen, okay? It was just a scare."
"My daughter almost died last night in front of me and you want me to stay calm," he reproaches anxiously, "it's not enough that Lily is unbearable with the same old shit, like whether she needs electroshock therapy..."
James continues to unload.
Sirius can only think that he wouldn't do any of that...
He adores Harriet just the way she is; he can make her laugh; she's one of the people he turns to when he's distressed and James can freely talk about all his anxieties.
"Why can't you have him?"
He tenses. Why Grindelwald's voice? Why that specific question?
"I'm sorry for bothering you."
"Don't worry... Ready? Your wig's going to come off if you don't tie your hair up." Sirius hurries to the bike, wanting to get away from James as quickly as possible. To escape these threatening, terrible thoughts he shouldn't even be having. Harriet sticks her tongue out at him, gathering her hair to tie it up. "Let's hurry back to the cool, youthful house. Let's leave these two boring people here. Before they infect us."
"You're the same age," Harriet mocks.
"Spiritually, I'm younger.”
"Bodily, no, I see gray hair."
"WHAT?!"
James bursts out laughing at the same time Harriet does and Sirius calms down a few seconds later, smiling at seeing them so happy and radiant... At seeing them being his shining stars in the middle of the blizzard.
"What's stopping you from having him?"
"I'll channel my strength so that all the gray hair is here," Sirius plays with the lock of hair that falls in his face, "and it'll be the best style in the world. You'll see," he warns with false sternness.
Harriet laughs, hugs James to say goodbye and climbs onto the bike, hugging Sirius from behind. Lily waves goodbye from the doorway, but Harriet doesn't even turn around for a moment.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
By the time they arrive at Grimmauld Place, Tom has already settled into the room he occupied last time, as well as instructing Viktor where to stand. There's a marked difference between Tom with James and with Sirius. There's less respect and caution toward Sirius; he'd say it bothers him, if not for the fact that he avoids much interaction with him. He's still on probation. Sirius isn't a fan of the idea of someone touching his goddaughter.
"Good," Sirius tosses his jacket onto the couch, leaving him in a white T-shirt that exposes his tattooed arms. "We'll go to Diagon Alley today to pick up a couple of packages that took me two months to collect. You can buy whatever you want, just say it's under the Black account." Tom narrows his eyes Does that mean Sirius can take from the family account? He's not sure if it counts as theft. If he can, it's because no one has bothered to take him out of that bank account. "Tomorrow, when the grown-ups finish the worst of their house, we'll buy some clothes... Or in two days. Or today. Whatever."
"Can Hermione come?" Harriet asks. Sirius had hoped she wouldn't ask for her. "You have to ask her parents' permission, but..."
"If she's staying over, it's in your room." Harriet nods quickly and sneaks a look at Viktor. "We're leaving in twenty minutes... Or an hour, I'm sleepy." Sirius yawns as he leaves.
"He's... Quite-"
"Immature?" Tom finishes.
"Cool," Harriet says at the same time.
"Different from usual." Viktor concludes and Harriet laughs a little, patting him on the back.
"Let's finish tidying up you room."
They finally left an hour later. Sirius was still half asleep and annoyed at having to go get the mail. He still doesn't understand why they don't just send it directly. It's much more practical. Harriet had to remind him that his house, with a Fidelio, makes mail impossible and those packages are likely older than he thinks. Which isn't a mistake.
Tom and Viktor leave, while he stays with Harriet and takes a brief look at her. She's wearing an oversized white shirt, a black corset that squeezes her waist, her hair loose, gigantic trousers with several decorative chains, boots and a leather jacket tied around her waist.
They look very similar.
So much so that Harriet looks like his daughter.
The only difference is their eye color, glasses and the fact that her hair is like a giant mane. The similarities are made more evident by a single act: both of them making a gesture of total disgust at Lucius, Narcissa and Drakonys walking towards them.
"Pretend you don't know them."
They were about to pass them, stopped by Lucius, blocking their path. Harriet rolls her eyes and crosses her arms, not noticing Drakonys staring at her.
"I didn't know you'd returned from your... mission, Black."
"I didn't know you're still making my cousin's life miserable. Look how sad you've made her," Sirius muttered with false pity and Lucius maintained his smug expression. "Do you want something? I'm busy."
"It's come to my attention that no one at the Ministry is talking about the assassination or capture of Grindelwald." Harriet bites her lip, glancing sideways at her godfather. "What happened? Did you fail again?"
"I thought it wouldn't be of interest to you, Malfoy. Considering you're the first to cause trouble when I need permission go out to hunt him down." Sirius evades the subject. He doesn't want to think about Grindelwald today. Especially with Harriet by his side.
"And you got permission for what? To fail again," he sneers condescendingly and Sirius clenches his jaw. "It's a shame our security department is so deficient. There's a terrorist on the loose, and they can't do anything against him. It's genuinely depressing. Clearly, Potter can't do anything right. From the Ministry," Lucius turns to look at Harriet, "to making his own daughter look presentable."
"Your shit-sniffing face isn't presentable to, but no one day some," Harriet spits out, bored.
Sirius bursts into laughter, looking at Harriet in shock. The girl's expression is irritated and defiant. Lucius falters slightly, moving closer and...
He senses it.
Exactly the same as James.
That powerful energy.
The light that could blind anyone and drive them mad.
Only Harriet is even stronger.
So much so that closing his eyes isn't enough to escape."
Lucius sneers and turns to Drakonys. "They're exactly the same: a disgrace to the blood... I thought she couldn't possibly be as pathetic as you described her."
"Didn't you know she was a bitch all night at the ball? Have you told your mom yet?"
"Shut up," Harriet barks.
"Oh, right, even she thinks you're pathetic and horrible. Shame on you, Potter," Drakonys mocks. Sirius is tempted to disappear, but it would be humiliating to escape.
"And you? Did you tell your daddy you messed with Zabini, or doesn't he know his perfect little girl is stupid bitch?" Harriet points out, and Drakonys tenses, his lip trembling before attacking:
"Rumors? Really? You told your godfather you were sucking dick on a Durmstrang student? That you came back from the ball looking like a wreck."
"I KNEW IT WAS YOU WHO MADE IT WORSE...!"
"Let's go," Narcissa urges, not wanting to deal with this now. Not even in a public place. Drakonys snorts, walking with her chin up and ignoring Harriet. Sirius keeps hold of her arm, unsure if she might try to attack the blonde girl.
Drakonys gives her one last once-over and Harriet does the same. The blonde with her hair in a high hairstyle, light makeup, a knee-length skirt in the color of her vest, tights, a long-sleeved white shirt, a pompous fur coat and black shoes.
Drakonys squeals, turning sharply. Her back is covered in dirt. There's a flowerpot on the floor, a few people laughing and no sign of the two people they were arguing with a second ago. "DO SOMETHING!" she demands of Lucius, and he simply wipes it away with magic.
Too caught up in the magical light before him, burning in different forms, each more striking than the last. At the same time, Drakonys is trembling with rage, her thoughts becoming more and more abstract.
Harriet, for her part, laughs and receives claps of victory, while Sirius cackles like her. It was a fortunate moment of mutual understanding. Harriet took the flowerpot, scooped out the dirt, and threw it at Drakonys with enough force to hurt her. Sirius made them disappear and now they're inside the post office.
Even with this moment, Sirius recognizes that Harriet isn't well. Whatever happened at the ball is clearly a problem and it saddens him that she won't speak to him directly about it.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
Tom goes through each book carefully; deciding which to take and which to leave is the toughest decision every time he enters a bookstore. Fortunately, Viktor is in the same process of sorting and doesn't have him waiting on the sidelines like a confused puppy.
Sirius took Harriet with him because of the clothes; he can already imagine another long night of tidying up.
"Are you really not worried about how she looks?"
"No."
"It's time you talked to Lily. So she'll stop being so annoying." Tom puts the book back in its place and walks closer to the wooden shelves.
"I was planning on doing it before we returned to Hogwarts. Right now, it would be problematic. James is already a nuisance, and having an irritable Lily would just add fuel to the fire." Tom replies, and Nagini gives a small laugh.
Tom is someone who is too prone to correcting what bothers him or putting it aside so it doesn't bother him personally. It's quite simple. It's also worth noting how superficial he is. In all of this, it's strange how little he cares whether Harriet dresses up or not. In his mind, when that happens, it's important and very sexy, so it's not necessary all the time. There's a certain beauty in her carefree style. Perhaps in the way her magic vibrates around her, revealing how comfortable she is. The only annoyance it has caused him is that sometimes, it's hard to take off her trousers...
And on a family level, Lily speaks for him, or rather: uses him to get what she wants. If there's one thing that irritates Tom, it's people taking advantage of him for purposes that don't concern him.
A small shiver runs down his spine and when he turns, he finds someone equally searching the books. Focused on the highest, dustiest shelves. At that moment, the man turned to him: square face, half-moon eyes, expression lines, elegantly combed gray hair. His clothes look old-fashioned, but refined.
"Are you looking for something specific?"
"Not really." Tom returns to the bookshelf, reading the spine of each volume.
He ended the interaction, not expecting the man to approach him with his hands in his coat pockets.
"You have dark magic. Pretty strong," he mentions slowly, staring at him. "And you seem very proud of it." Tom narrows his eyes, feeling suspicious of how communicative this stranger is. "It's something very rare in areas like this. Where those kinds of traits aren't exactly appreciated."
Tom looks to the side: some shoppers in the store watching him cautiously. He snorts in disinterest. "Those kinds of opinions don't interest me."
"A clever boy, I see." He gives a small, affable laugh. "This was on the back of the store. Maybe it'll be of some use to you."
Tom takes the book the stranger offers him. It's not enough that it's huge; it seems older than any other in the bookstore. The cover has a long series of symbols he doesn't recognize despite his study of runes. Another language, perhaps? It's the same on the inside. He also senses energy oozing from the pages, and it's unpleasant. Like an intrinsically evil or unknown presence he can't quite understand.
"Unfortunately, the nature of our magic is impossible to fully understand. Thanks to the destruction of the books," he recounts, his hands in his coat pockets, "our demonized and reclusive existence... Who knows, maybe someone proud of their darkness, like you, can be the one to prove that in this world of light, they have never truly been superior."
"The problem isn't that they think they are superior," Tom closes the book. "But that those in control are the most pathetic magics," Tom points out with a bored and disgusted expression.
"Even so, in a world where dark magic is in charge, can't you imagine? Being the main ones and the Muggles, below."
"That doesn't relate."
"Of course it does. The light has been so weak, it's made us withdraw... To be the ones who hide. As if it were a shame," Tom purses his lips, irritated, "but like I said, maybe it's something we can change. If anyone has the strength to do it.”
Tom continues staring at the book, a little dazed and with mixed feelings. The stranger reaches out, about to grab his shoulder. Nagini is dizzy and unable to control her own body and attack him if he makes contact. Viktor walks over to where Tom is and stands in front of him almost immediately. "Do you need anything?"
"No... I hope it helps you."
Tom doesn't even bother to raise his head or say anything. Viktor watches to make sure he leaves, or at most, isn't around anymore.
"Do you know him?" Viktor asks.
"No."
"He's very strange," the quidditch player opines and Tom lifts his head from the book. "Something about him wasn't right. Besides the earring he had."
"Earring?"
"Grindelwald's symbol. Maybe it was one of his followers."
Tom was tempted to put the book down just for that reason. He doesn't want anything related to that person. However, intellectual curiosity won out. He wants to translate it, understand it. Maybe there's something important here. A new expression of his magic he hasn't been able to explore or didn't even know existed.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
Her dad became strangely self-absorbed after the encounter with Harriet and Sirius. Drakonys appreciates it. The topic of his "relationship" with Blaise was left hanging, then forgotten. She doesn't have to worry about it. She's still angry that Harriet brought it up How dare she? Does she want to ruin her life or something?
Drakonys reminds herself that Harriet doesn't care. She's a selfish idiot who couldn't care less about hurting others, who ends up crying and arguing over the slightest thing. She combs his hair slowly, thinking the same thing. Pointing out every ridiculous or untidy detail about Harriet today. The fact that she resembled Sirius, like some kind of ridiculous clone. She could use it to her advantage later. She's so masculine and her godfather so effeminate, it makes no difference. She's sure the others will find the comparison funny, and then—
Her hair looked very soft.
I think her bust is bigger. I'd like to lie down there.
Sleeping on her chest must be heaven.
She was smiling so happily before we saw each other. I wish she hadn't changed her expression when I arrived. It would have been nice to see his smile.
Drakonys shakes her head, stunned by her own stream of thoughts. What's wrong with her? She thought it was a Hogwarts situation, not something that would be repeated in her own house, in her room.
"You know, for hair that straight, it takes you a damned eternity to comb it."
Drakonys gathers her arms, shy, watching Harriet advance in her direction. Wearing the same clothes she'd worn in Diagon Alley. Her enormous hair gives her volume and presence despite her small stature. When she reaches it, she crawls onto the bed, staying behind Drakonys and combing it.
"Too long. It gets tangled even if you think it doesn't," Drakonys grumbles.
"I dare you to try to comb my hair," Harriet mocks.
She's a bit abrupt. Drakonys complains from time to time. She tries to understand how blonde hair is like this. Drakonys feels her lips dry, her whole body heats up, from her face to her legs. Her clothes get in the way, she sweats from all the steam and how the room is filled with light it's never had before.
"Ready. Now-”
Drakonys turns, eager and desperate, joining Harriet's lips and knocking her down onto the bed. Harriet, half surprised and half scared by the suddenness, does nothing to reciprocate. Drakonys's hands go to her puffy chest, playing with the soft flesh and thrusting her pelvis in desperation to feel her warmth easing her.
The warmth she brings.
Harriet closes her eyes, reciprocating the eager kiss and sliding her hands down his thin, petite body. A light vapor trail begins between them. She blames Drakonys for trying to throw all her magic at her, but it's not enough to contain the light and heat Harriet manifests. She's too strong.
Too bright.
Too hot.
Harriet laughs at the blonde. Drakonys tore her shirt and now has her sucking on one of her breasts, massaging the other and rubbing against hers.
Narcissa peeks into the room, noticing her daughter asleep in the bed, panting loudly. She thinks it's a nightmare, so she just closes the door and leaves. She'll talk to her later. Mainly to stop getting into pointless fights with the Potters. Not because they're causing a real problem, it's just that it's a waste of time and she doesn't understand what obsession her husband and daughter have with that family.
It's as if they're trying any way they can to get their attention.
"Where is Lucius?" Narcissa asks the house-elf.
"The master is in the bathroom. He asked not to be disturbed," the creature replies and Narcissa rolls her eyes.
┈
He's panting constantly, moaning in a low, stifled voice. His eyes are closed, her lips parted. His hand is a mere blur from how fast he moves it on his cock, masturbating anxiously and having already left a small puddle from the first orgasm. His fingers are full of semen and some of the seed that had rolled down his manhood.
Lucius throws his head back, letting out an avid moan, moving his legs, opening them a little wider. His mind filled with James Potter's daughter in Diagon Alley.
Her large breasts. Would they bounce if she jumped on him? Would they even fit in his hand?
Her legs. Would they be thin? Would they be big? Would they be soft?
Her mouth. Would it be small? Would she choke...?
Lucius grits his teeth and slumps in his seat, semen spilling from his penis and dripping onto the floor. Lucius breathes deeply, still with his eyes closed, holding his penis, fantasies flying through his head. Imagining himself taking off her clothes, extinguishing that conceited and impertinent flame, extinguishing that light with his own body.
He moves his hand again, almost at the same speed as before, panting eagerly, imagining himself pulling on her black hair and watching his cock slide in and out of Harriet's filled pussy, listening to her pathetic whimpers and their bodies slamming against each other.
┈
Lucius is… weird today. Narcissa doesn't know what exactly is wrong. Only that he's too insistent and nothing she does seems to be enough. He's already in a bad mood, given that when he decided to leave the bathroom, he just locked her in the room and started undressing her.
His hand goes inside her underwear and then his fingers in her vagina. Right now, on her back with him between her legs, displeasure takes over with each thrust. Very hard, just an uncomfortable movement inside her. It's also uncomfortable that he bites her breasts and doesn't even try to be in a less uncomfortable position.
"Shit, this isn't working.”
"Excuse me?"
What's wrong with him? Narcissa doesn't even have time to complain, her lips and teeth clenched, hee head thrown back. Lucius moans with pleasure, penetrating his wife's ass and resuming his accelerated rhythm.
"I have to take you to the doctor, Narcissa, so he can close that cunt so it's useful again."
Indifference and discomfort are the only things exposed.
Not so much the desire to cry from embarrassment.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
When they return to the apartment, Sirius notices that Harriet is lost in thought. Tom hasn't put down his giant book and who knows where it came from. He doesn't pay much attention; he's been able to talk to Viktor and he's made the atmosphere pleasant. Sirius almost regrets that Harriet is with Tom and not Viktor.
They have dinner, tidy up the mess they left in the living room and then go to their own rooms. Viktor is exercising, Tom is reading other books he's halfway through and Harriet is in her room. Sirius knocked on the door, asking to enter. Harriet is sitting on the edge of the bed, looking constipated and nervous. Sirius sits down, slaps his thighs, and asks.
"What's wrong? Is it because of the idiot snakes earlier? They don't know shit about us. They just sit there criticizing... Drakonys is going to get fat or skinny as hell. Trust me." He winks at her, and Harriet doesn't react. She takes a deep breath before asking,
"Sirius... Do you think I'm ugly?"
The man sighs, hanging his head. Of course, this question was going to come up regardless. He had hoped it wouldn't. He clears his throat, his strength draining away, noticing Harriet suddenly crying. He sits down next to her on the bed.
"Are they bothering you a lot at Hogwarts?"
Harriet bites her lip, looks away and then her nails. The paint is textured from not having dried properly.
"Everyone's calling me a whore now," she tries to rub off the edges of the paint. "That my breasts are too big… and that I'm ugly as fuck."
"Your breasts are great. I mean, natural? You're lucky because not even James's mom had breasts like that," he says eloquently. Harriet isn't impressed or feels better. Sirius exhales and stretches his legs. "Listen, Rriety." He brushes back her hair and tenderly wipes her cheek. "Sometimes you just have to… let those things go. Just don't listen to them. They're wasting their time. You literally live inside their minds twenty-four seven," Sirius jokes with a soft smile. "You have to... own that. Just take it and enjoy Mount Everest on your chest."
"I can't ignore it when there are... so many voices." The light brightens. "When there are so many people watching me." The room feels uncomfortably hot. Sirius exhales, a little worried by the teenager's expression, somewhere between distressed and angry. "Everyone saying horrible things about me. If my chest is too big, if I went to have sex with the guy from the dance, if I'm cheap, if I have no talent, if I'm just a fucking failure who won't cover up everything you, Mum, and Dad did—I'm not... I'm not good enough as a Potter. HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO IGNORE THEM WHEN THEY WON'T LEAVE ME ALONE?!"
"Is everything okay?"
Harriet rubs her face and Tom steps inside. The light in the apartment suddenly exploded. It could only have been Harriet. She's the only one with light magic here. Sirius gestures for Tom to stay back. Nagini goes to the bed, climbing up Harriet's sniffling lap and she wipes her cheek. Alone again, omitting the snake, Sirius places his hand on his goddaughter's back.
"You are enough, Harriet. You are strong, you are smart, you are capable." He makes small, loving circles on her back, while Harriet is still sniffling and sobbing silently. "There are people who enjoy making you feel bad. That's... a fact, but you have to be stronger than them.”
"I don't want to be stronger. I want them to stop bothering me," she argues, her voice cracking and Sirius feels as if his head is ringing. As if Remus is a terrible omen from the afterlife.
"Do you know what scares me most about Harriet being at Hogwarts? That there will be people like you were. I hope she's not the victim. Although I wouldn't be surprised if karma comes her way."
He curses inwardly. Why is Remus always right? He kisses Harriet on the head and hugs her. "You don't have much of a choice… but if it gets really bad, hit them. I promise you won't be in trouble."
Harriet lies back. It's not what she wanted to hear, but it's comforting enough. Sirius thinks vaguely about what he talked to Lily about this morning. Must they be bullies of his goddaughter too? She can be if she wants.
"The clothes we picked out today are great."
"Mum's going to hate it."
"Ha~ Who cares what Mum says?" Sirius mocks, making Harriet laugh, even if only a little.
Just enough to let him know that his goddaughter's mood can be saved.
┈
All the children asleep and in their rooms, Sirius can now take the time to check the mail he went to get. He's not expecting anything in particular. Some old Quidditch magazines, quibbler, sample packs of fun products he could use when he sees Lucius again, letters from some contacts giving him information that's good to have.
A letter with no address.
He left it for last, opening it with a yawn and tossing aside the empty envelope. He read the main letter, which immediately made his face crumple:
"Did you know about the time James Potter was kidnapped? Of course you did. How could you not, being her faithful little dog on her lap? I imagine that situation worried you a lot. That you were on the verge of losing your mind when you realized your light was no longer there... what I'm sure you and James don't know, is that there is documentation about it. Mr. Lennox has kept this memento for some years and I thought sending a small copy of it would be a good thing."
"I also want to take this moment to prove that nothing happened to Harriet while she was in my care. They're very different situations, but I admit I'm curious. What does this make you feel? That your lights can come and go into anyone's hands and you can't do anything.”
For a moment, he didn't want to look at the photos. There are too many, and part of him refuses to look. Are they bad? Are they good? Should he tell James this? A stupid, almost masochistic impulse makes him take one of the photos and he feels his heart sink.
James said nothing happened.
James said he remembers what happened.
Does James remember this? That he was naked in this guy's bed and he was taking pictures of him, touching his neck and shoulders.
Does he remember?
Some are worse than others. In some, he's just sitting on a couch, in the middle of a living room, grinning foolishly at the spell he was under during that captivity. The worst and the one that makes him create snow on the dining room table, is the one where James is pressed against the man's crotch, his cheek rubbing against his obvious erection.
Sirius brings his hands to his face, taking a deep breath and trying not to lose his composure; he does so almost instantly because of the photo of Harriet with Grindelwald. The girl sitting on the adult's lap, who hugs her and kisses her on the head, as if he doesn't realize she's crying.
He packs everything away, intending to throw it into the fire. A couple of details hit him: Lennox left Azkaban a few months ago; he's banned from Godric's Hollow; these are copies, so the photos still exist and that man has them; James probably doesn't know he was released because it's not important, nor did anyone warn him...
He rereads the letter, finding it changed:
"You can have the original photos if you come for them. You can also kill Lennox if you want. It's your decision."
And an address.
Sirius crumples everything, moves around the room, removing decorations and other Christmas items as if that might relieve him. He doesn't even know what he's doing. He ends up in his room with the letter, the photos, a headache and cursing that his hunch was right.
Chapter 50: Act. L. Enjoying winter
Chapter Text
Harriet shifts in bed, a little annoyed by the feel of the sheet. Nothing in particular or meaningful. She jumps a little, startled by the feeling of something on her foot, relaxing, assuming it's Nagini and letting the snake intrude between the sheets. It wouldn't be the first time. It's clear she thoroughly enjoys sleeping in a warm space and not the ice floe that Tom is if he sleeps too deeply.
It's not Nagini.
She's sure it's not Nagini.
She's much thinner, and her scales feel different. Harriet rolls onto her back and lifts the sheet. The snake slithers, coiling not only around her thigh but also around one of her breasts. Its head is slightly less flat, its eyes are red and the cold it gives off suggests it's a snake Tom created.
Harriet strokes it a little and laughs. "How silly he is.”
Harriet thinks it's no big deal at first, it's just one and even though the grips are odd, she's indifferent.
Until there's another...
And another...
Harriet gasps, one of the snakes tucked under her clothes, rubbing her crotch, causing shivers, tickles and tremors throughout her body; two grab her breasts, moving as if massaging them and one even bites her, sinking its fangs in. She squeezes her eyes shut and moans, curling up on her side in bed.
One of the snakes slithers into her hand.
Another circles her neck.
Bites on her thighs.
The ones that just slither up her body, caressing her.
Harriet covers her mouth with her hand, moaning a little louder as it enters her pussy slightly, just a bit before exiting; the snake rubbing its scales between her slimy lips throbbing.
Harriet presses her face into the pillow, compressing her entire body and gurgling with pleasure. Part of the snake enters her, just teasing and masturbating her, every second a little more goes in and out. She puts her fingers in her mouth, sucking them and curling into a small ball, reaching down, stroking around where the snake penetrates and playing a little with her own flesh.
┈
Sirius heard a sound and had the worst thought. He's not in the best mood for anything other than sleep, but Harriet has the door closed. He went to check the room where Tom and Viktor must be, separated by a wall, and... They're both there! Sirius makes sure Tom isn't a mirage. Even Nagini is here, the snake annoyed at being woken up.
Sirius scratches his head. He figures his goddaughter has time for herself too. He didn't think she'd be so brazen as to do it and that it would be heard—
" You're a dog now, in case you think all that noise is weird ."
" Sleeping like this is wonderful... Oh! I understand you like this! " Sirius sticks out his tongue and wags his tail. " I thought I only understood cats ."
It's complicated to understand Nagini, but it's manageable if she doesn't say much.
" You understand me because I'm a Maledictus. I was human once ," Sirius stops wagging his tail and Nagini's face widens, " and right now, I don't want to talk, I want to sleep. Do I have to bite you to make you go away? "
" You're both bitter, no wonder ."
Sirius leaves and hears sighs. When he changes form, there's nothing. He scratches his head; he won't sleep like a dog again if there are more people here. Clearly, he's hearing things he shouldn't. Although, it's the only way to rest after the stress of that letter.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
Harriet yawns, eating breakfast slowly and peacefully. Her magic vibrates peacefully and pleasantly. Perfectly warm for the cold winter air. Tom is in a similar state: calm, relaxed, almost ecstatic. Sirius glances from side to side. He knows Tom didn't go into Harriet's room. To think they're like this because of sex is very unfair and pervert on his part.
He decides to limit it to the fact that they slept very well.
Tom, for his part, still has chills all over his body. The most gratifying ones possible. He had many plans since Hogwarts; the book he received yesterday only helped his proposal a great deal. Tom knew he could manifest snakes with his magic alone. It's not like a spell. It's more like letting his magic go and letting it take shape according to his thoughts.
What the book helped the most was allowing him to control those snakes at will, to feel the same things they did, to see the same things they did, and to manifest those feelings in his own body. He was so deeply asleep, it was like having the chills and relaxation of an orgasm still alive in his entire body.
"Can we go to take Hermione? Her parents won't let her go out here alone... or they'll go all the way to the house, not here. It'll be very awkward if she's alone with Mum and Dad." Harriet asks without even looking at Sirius, too dazed.
"Are you going to share a room with her? This isn't a resort," Sirius grumbles. He woke up in a bad mood, feeling last night's letter hit him in the face again. Harriet shrugs.
"It's okay. We sleep together sometimes at Hogwarts.”
Viktor finds it normal.
Tom hates it.
And he hates having such a stupid feeling as jealousy. As if he didn't sleep with Harriet regularly in the Chamber of Secrets.
Harriet is so lost that she doesn't ask why Sirius took down the decorations.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
Hermione keeps glancing out the window. It took a whole day to convince her parents to let her stay with the Potters. Not because they don't trust them, they just thought that with Hogwarts all year round, Hermione would want to spend more time with them. Especially now, on Christmas Eve. It wasn't just effort and emotional manipulation, it was also a series of treaties that would make history itself envious.
Hermione hopes that having promised to attend work with both of them won't stop her from getting her homework done on time. It also makes it possible for Harriet to be the one who comes to a sleepover and not use her home. She'd say the worst part is that she promised to attend a summer school to keep up with her Muggle studies.
Math, chemistry, physics, that sort of thing.
If she cried when she had all her classes thanks to the time-turner, this will be a new reason to cry.
But it's worth it! It's taken two days to get her head around a tiny problem: Viktor lives in Bulgaria and even works there. It didn't dawn on her until now. Her time with him will be limited and who knows if the relationship they build has the capacity to last? Thousands of critical thoughts have accumulated in her mind about it:
She had sex with a guy older than her, whom she'll probably never see again and will forget about her.
She had told him very intimate and important things.
They've only known each other for a few months and she already came this far.
She's excited, as if it will last forever, even though statistically, it's destined to die.
Harriet told her she's going for it, but she comes from parents who were high school sweethearts . For her, this can't just last, it's also the most normal thing in the world. Not to mention they're a magical family and they handle things differently. What matters to them is magic above all else (sort of). If her magic is akin to Viktor's, she should stick with it, but given all the details above, it's almost a definite no! Hermione thinks about-
"They're here!" Any responsible, rational thought jumps to some dark corner of her mind. She rushes down the stairs to open the door.
In walks a black dog.
Then Harriet.
Hermione's parents squeal in surprise when Sirius shifts. The man tosses his hair and looks around, tapping his wand a few times to clear the snow and dirt he's left on the floor.
"I'm back from a murderous mission. The less people see me in specific places, the better," Sirius clarifies loudly and the couple pales, what did he just say? "So, where's your suitcase?" He hugs Hermione in greeting, patting her back affectionately; she points to the trunk. Sirius starts talking to the Grangers while Hermione hugs Harriet.
"My parents are destroying the house, so we'll be with Sirius for a couple of days," Harriet informs Hermione, then says quietly. "You and I are going to share a room, so we can make a plan. Help me convince Tom."
Hermione nods discreetly and remains holding hands with her roommate. Harriet leans back, swaying on her feet.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
Hermione and Viktor greeted each other with the effusive manner she'd hoped for. Harriet expected at least a greeting, but Tom is focused on his new book. Nothing more. It'll be his new obsession for the whole month. That's pretty clear. Sirius left them alone at Grimmauld Place, using the excuse that something came up and he needs to check on them immediately.
Tom had the impression he was being watched and indeed, he had the two Gryffindors and the Bulgarian staring at him. Harriet approaches and sits on the armrest of the sofa. That already guarantees she's about to ask for something.
"I'm not going to give lessons or teach anything," Tom informs, returning to his book. Harriet snatches it from his hands.
"We need your help with something else," Harriet informs. "Hermione and I share a room. You and Viktor ‘share’ a room. I wanted to know if you could switch places for tonight so they can be together."
Tom scrunches up his face, then looks them up and down. Hermione blushes. Put the scenario like that, it's pretty obvious what they'll be doing. Tom snorts.
"I don't like sharing a bed."
"It'll just be for today. I promise I won't kick and I can stay on the corner of the bed... or on the couch!" Harriet proposes, clasping her hands. Typically, Tom despises contact. Naturally, he wouldn't want to share a bed.
This act of just being friends is pretty convincing.
"I like my bed."
"You'll like mine."
Harriet laughs a few seconds later and Tom rolls his eyes. Hermione doesn't know how to intervene in this conversation without looking like a pervert.
"I can give you my books. I'm graduating this year. I know you'll find them more useful than I will." Viktor's suggestion comes out of nowhere and Tom raises an eyebrow.
"Are they in Bulgarian?"
"A couple. The rest are in English. There aren't many Bulgarian translators. Not that they do it well and we end up blowing something because of a bad transcription." The Bulgarian concludes and Tom rests his temple on his knuckles.
He should be more complicated to be convincing, but Bulgarian books not only offer a different curriculum, they also explore dark magic much more. He needs them. Maybe that will help him understand this book he's struggling to decipher.
"Don't be so complicated, say yes," Harriet prompts, and Tom snorts.
"Fine."
Harriet winks at Hermione and she smiles, taking Viktor's arm as they head up to the next floor. Once they're alone, Harriet leans against Tom and whispers, "I suppose there won't be a snake infestation today with you there."
Tom smiles slyly, taking his book back and returning to his reading. Harriet picks up a magazine and sits on the other sofa.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
"Oh! James! Come in, it's so nice to see you." Molly greets him, warm and cheerful as always. James greets her and goes into the long apartment.
James notices Ron practically running upstairs. Potter greets Arthur, who's come to greet him, and the three of them sit on the sofa. The twins lean out for a moment before going up, laughing and talking to each other. James settles down a bit on the sofa.
"Wow, this sofa is great."
"They left it at the Ministry! It was cursed!" Arthur enthuses. James laughs; it was the only way. He sits up more comfortably.
"George told us you'd come over or talk to us about Ron," Molly says. A teapot and cups arrive on the coffee table. "We noticed him a bit cold towards Harriet. We were worried."
"Yes, there have been... problems," James sighs. "I'll be honest: I hope Ron is grounded and there are consequences." Arthur and Molly look shocked and confused. "Ron was very rude to Harriet, and I wouldn't bother if it weren't so serious," the head of security clarifies. "He called her a slut, a whore, yelled at her in front of everyone, and-”
"RONALD WEASLEY!" Molly screams. So loudly that James feels it bounce off his head. He forces himself to continue.
"And he's also had a bad attitude toward her," James continues. "There's been a bit of a fight between them about this. Harriet hasn't wanted to tell me everything about that night, but even Tom has said something that has gotten through. Just like the twins," Ron arrives, shuffling, eyes downcast and walking like a man condemned to death. He's trembling, scared, almost panicking. Ron presses his lips together and shifts slightly where he stands. "It's worth noting that I don't appreciate this happening to my daughter from a friend, from someone I let into my house," he narrows his eyes at Ron.
The redhead can't help but shrink back. Molly is beside him, hands on her hips, expression stern. She waits for an explanation. James wouldn't come here to lie or make a scene for nothing. They're friends! They trust each other that their children will be just as respectful of each other! Ron manages to say: "Everyone thought and said it—"
"What do we care?!" the woman argues immediately, without letting him finish. "Do you think that's why you should treat others so badly and insult them so horribly?"
"She treated me badly first," Ron accuses.
"Fine, tell me what Harriet did and I'll talk to her about it," James says defensively, but prepared to bite his tongue if necessary.
"She dumped me at the whole dance," Ron complains and James holds back a roll of his eyes. "She was with everyone except me, then she went off with some guy no one knows who he is and came back all... ridiculous with her clothes all bad and weird—Everyone saw her! She just go fuck with someone!" Ron says hurriedly.
James is thinking fast. He'll have to ask Remus about it, Harriet too. Maybe Tom. He makes a mental note and returns to Ron. "Harriet... Did she ignore you?" he persists, puzzled and wanting to argue.
Because he can't lose control with a teenager, even if he's talking about his daughter like that.
"Yes! She…!"
"He's lying!"
"Liar Weasley."
"Harriet didn't ignore you," Ginny says in a bored and weary tone. Ron gasps, tense. Why are his brothers getting mixed up in this? Especially the twins, who look pleased that it's going to be an even worse scolding. "She went to the dance with Mione because no one invited them, then with anyone who asked her to dance. Even with Drakonys," she grumbles at the redhead. "She asked you to dance and you said no in front of everyone. You let everyone laugh at her."
"Harriet was right there and they had to drag her out to dance. She was a bit embarrassed. She was the only one there waiting."
Arthur, James and Molly turn to Ron, who opens and closes his mouth. "I didn't—I had to ask her!"
"And you didn't?"
"He didn't! Harriet did it!" Fred and George reveal in chorus.
Arthur raises a hand to his face and Ron blushes, embarrassed by his brothers' exposure. He tries to say something, but James stops him, speaking sternly with what appears to be contempt in his eyes.
"I understand that this upset you, that you have a lot on your mind, but what I will not accept or excuse is you insulting my daughter like this," James warns and Ron shifts uncomfortably and sweatily. "Until there's a sincere apology and effort on your part, I don't want you coming back to my house, nor do I want you anywhere near Harriet." Ron feels his face burning and his eyes water. James turns to the twins. "Thank you for telling me the truth and helping Harriet. I'm sorry for the inconvenience," he says to Molly and Arthur. She shakes her hands.
"Not at all! I'm sorry... Ronald, apologize to Mr. Potter, now," Molly orders.
James just waits, but he doesn't take it well. He knows it's not genuine. Just a threat. By the time James leaves, with both parents wanting to die of embarrassment, the stream of complaints coming out of Molly is unbearable. The strangest thing is that Arthur is also involved in this. Ron can't shrink back any longer, disappear from this place and the eyes judge and mock at the same time.
Even when it's over, Ron doesn't feel free. He hides in his room and tries to calm down. Fred and George aren't helping.
"We like spending Christmas with the Potters, so it would be great if you apologized," George says.
"Is there ever a time, just one, when you'll be on my side? Is it so hard?!" Ron exasperatedly cried. "You're supposed to be my siblings and you act like she's more important!"
"We're her friends too," George shrugs, while Fred leans against the doorframe. "We'd support you if you weren't such a jerk. Insulting her isn't right, you idiot."
Ron feels more frustrated alone. They're never on his side. Harriet is his best friend, much closer and more important than the two of them and yet they still make him feel wrong for having been betrayed and pushed aside by Harriet. "I know you insult her too, even if it's in secret."
"Of course not!" Fred complains, his expression suddenly offended. "Just because you're stupid enough to play along with everyone else doesn't mean we're the same." he walks up to him and shoves him in the shoulder. "Stop pretending you're a victim or that we're as stupid as you. We like to have fun, not be idiots."
"Even less so with a friend."
"Seriously, you prefer those losers from Gryffindor than Harriet. She's the only one who always puts up with your shit."
"She and Hermione are the only ones who really love you and you're acting like an asshole," George chides and Ron realizes he's crying. His head hurts, and the embarrassment is made worse by being like this in front of his brothers, who are definitely going to make fun of him for this. "Besides, it's not their fault you're a coward who didn't ask them to the ball."
"I was going to!"
"When will the dance be over?" George mocks, and Ron sniffles.
"You're too stupid," Fred snorts, disappointed and bored.
When he's alone in his room, Ron rubs his face hard, wanting to stop crying and knowing he's going to get another scolding from his mother not too far in the future. On the one hand, he despises that Harriet cried to James about it. Couldn't she just keep quiet? Although in hindsight, maybe it was his brothers who opened their mouths. Sure, he's not proud of what he did or said at Hogwarts and he was going to apologize for not talking to her there! But for his parents to scold him? For James to come and expose him in front of his parents?
Ron doesn't understand why everyone is against him when he didn't do anything wrong. He did the same thing as everyone else and they're not getting all this crap. Harriet went off with that stranger, came back all disheveled. What else was he supposed to think? If not, the same as the others—
"Don't be dramatic." He's surprised to find Ginny standing in the doorway of his room. "They didn't ask you to donate a kidney or drop out of school, you just have to apologize to Harriet and Hermione. You'll never have any more friends if you don't," his younger sister asserts and Ron throws a cushion at her.
"I didn't ask for your help! Get out of my room!"
"I'm standing by the door, you idiot," Ginny says, crossing her arms and leaning forward. "What did you think? That you were going to insult her and nothing would happen? The fact that she's so stupid as not to hate you for being a crybaby is something only she can handle. Others aren't like that."
"I didn't do anything wrong. Why does everyone think...?!”
"Can't you see it?!" Ginny argues, her expression incredulous as she enters the room. "You act like Cormac and the others are your real friends when they push you aside, never talk to you, or even care if you're in problems. They're not your friends! Your friends are Harriet, Hermione, Neville, Tom, us !" Ginny exclaims, exasperated. "All of us who truly love you even though you're an idiot.”
"All they ever do is think they're better than me. It's always like that."
"You think so, it's not our fucking problem," she snorts without interest, looking at him with pity, making Ron cry more. "Harriet shouldn't forgive you. You're the worst friend anyone can-”
"SHE LEFT ME ALONE! I'M HER BEST FRIEND AND SHE INVITED HERMIONE! SHE WAS WITH EVERYONE BEFORE ME AND THEN SHE LEFT...!"
"THIS IS WHY NO ONE TAKES YOU SERIOUSLY!" Ginny says over him. "Because you just repeat everything everyone else in Gryffindor says! The ones who aren't enough with insulting me were also watching me in the bathroom and YOU DIDN'T DO ANYTHING!" she claims, her eyes watering and her face red. "YOU KNEW I WAS THERE AND YOU JUST LET THEM IN TO SPY ME NAKED!" Ginny squeals, her voice cracking. "You let them insult me! You always let them make fun of me! It didn't even bother you when they cursed me to spit slugs or to fall down!"
"It was just a joke."
Ginny pushes him and if she doesn't hit him more, it's because she has enough self-control.
"I hope they don't forgive you and you stay with your fake friends. They're all you deserve."
Ginny leaves, tearful and hurt. Ron can't see the difference between this and the jokes Fred and George play on a normal day. Despite their complaints, he can't see why everyone is against him.
┈
"They told me you did something horrible at school." Ron can't believe they asked Charlie for help with this. It's unbelievable. Although he prefers it to hearing another scolding from his mother and his father's disapproval. It's been a long time since he'd seen Arthur truly angry. "I deal with dragons, and I think you're the biggest pain they'll ever see."
"They're all complaining about me like I'm the only one who did something wrong, or like I'm the only one who thinks that way," Ron grumbles, speaking into the communication mirror where he can see his brother covered in soot and wearing dirty clothes. Probably a dragon threw fire to his face. "Everyone in Gryffindor says the same thing, and-”
"Tell me from the beginning. All I understood was that they came to scold you for calling your best friend a whore. I didn't know that was a form of friendship anymore."
Ron takes his time telling his brother everything and Charlie slowly scrunches up his face, which is a bad sign for the teenager. He expects the same thing and yet, what he receives is a sentence that makes his entire body freeze:
"Do you think you're the center of the world, or that everyone's going to wait for you? Life moves on, if you think they'd wait until the last second for you to invite them, you're more out of touch than I thought." Ron bites his lip and looks away. "You have to understand one thing, Ron: what you see of yourself is one thing and what other people think of you is another. Did they really leave you alone?
"Well... they sat with me at dinner, and Harriet asked me to dance."
"Good, good. Why didn't you accept?”
"I should have asked her! I'm not going to be the only one who thinks the ugliest girl in...!"
"Ron," Charlie immediately scolds. "If you really think like everyone else, why is she your friend? You don't respect her at all." Ron remains cowering where he is. "You don't seem to care either... I know at that age you're embarrassed by a lot of things and want to be part of the group, but what's wrong with your group? Why must you be with others? Seeking his approval at the expense of the affection of those who have looked up to you and loved you since first year.”
Ron feels like crying again. Charlie talks to him for a while, maintaining the same tone, without knowing why his brother burst into tears. It was the same all night, where the tangle of thoughts could easily drown him.
Saddened.
Upset.
Confused.
Surprised…
Nervous about whether this really has a solution. He wants to talk to Harriet, Hermione too, he wants to get back with his best friends…
Why is everything so complicated?
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
"Hogwarts is wilder than ever."
James grimaces and Lily brushes back her hair thoughtfully. It doesn't surprise her that Harriet was so overwhelmed and emotional if all that happened. Remus's letter cleared up some of the gaps in the ball situation. Lily still finds it hard to believe that Ron insulted her. She’s relieved to know that at least Molly has other children who aren't like that.
"Hey," Lily turns her attention to James, who sits in front of her. "When Harriet gets back, I'll take care of everything to do with her room and clothes." Lily snorts, resting her forehead on her fingers.
"Let's not start again—"
"I'm saying the same thing: let's not start again where you want her the way you want her. It's not going to happen. She's fourteen now. Maybe she'll change, maybe she won't… just let her be here, with us, feeling okay, in peace. Can you?
Lily gets up and walks away, offended and annoyed by the way James says it. As if she's torturing Harriet and not guiding her to be a normal girl.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
Lennox is missing. Sirius checked to verify that he's out of Azkaban and has a magical block on James and Godric's Hollow. So, at least there's some caution. Sirius doesn't remember if he was a good wizard. A very capable one could break through those defenses. He hopes not. He's lucky the gang of teenagers at home are so wrapped up in their own affairs that they don't notice his bad temper. As well as the usual work attitude.
He heard at the Ministry that James has unfinished business over there. Sirius has no doubt he'll have a letter soon explaining it (complaining). When he goes to sleep, he's grumpy and remembers that his only reason for sleeping in dog form is so he can sense if Harriet suddenly decides to die in her sleep.
Hermione will be there; he trusts she'll be able to pull her out of the killer sleep. She does this when they're at Hogwarts.
Thanks to his absentmindedness, a thousand thoughts, a plan to talk to James and a desire to sleep, the change of rooms was successful. It's been agreed that they will change rooms at seven in the morning, because Sirius wakes up late, but it's best not to take any risks. Tom continues reading, even lying next to Harriet, who stares at him, her glasses already in the nightstand.
"I suppose it's the best book of all."
"It's confusing. I'm having a hard time deciphering it."
Tom sets it aside, slightly frustrated. The lights go out and he faces Harriet. It can't be the same as always. Harriet can be very loud. Their lips meet, eyes closed and their moods calm. Their magics slowly flow until they meet and intertwine. Harriet slides her hand under Tom's trousers, eliciting a sigh of pleasure from him.
She rubs his cock, somewhat tight in her palm. Tom throbs and shiver constantly, trying to fight it by surrounding and pressing against the bright white magic that casts a pale light throughout the room. Tom half-opens his eyes, the white mass almost consumed by the darkness. They break the kiss, and Tom moans, pressing his forehead to Harriet's.
The Gryffindor presses her legs together, the tingling of anticipation moistening her pussy with slight contractions. She half-opens her eyes. He's very cold and seeing the dark magic prevailing in the room causes frosted glass and cold steam.
Tom kisses her cheek, moving to her ear, and finally getting on top of Harriet. Harriet masturbates him until she directs him to her opening and Tom penetrates her. She holds her breath, sighing once he's all inside. Tom bites her neck and hugs her, moving his hips.
It's a slow rhythm, enjoying Harriet squeezing him inside and the warmth forcing him to let his magic flow even more. Harriet chatters her teeth, holding onto Tom's shoulders and moaning as softly as she can, pressing her lips together. Slowing it down makes her feel so full, with Tom pressing his whole body on her.
Tom feels very cold.
Even though he's sweating and letting out air between gasps, it's cold.
And so he clings to Harriet even more tightly, wanting to feel and steal her warmth, to consume her for himself the more he possesses her. In orgasm, Tom stays still and in the same position, crouching over his girlfriend, her legs wrapped around his hips. He lifts himself for a moment, Harriet wrinkles even more, trying to see him, but without her glasses it's impossible.
Tom lifts her pajama top, exposing her fluffy breasts; he lifts Harriet's right thigh and presses his lips to it, kissing her again. Harriet takes his head, gasping as she enjoys Tom's closeness.
They both stop when they hear a crash, glance at each other and go back to their business.
┈
Hermione laughs, apologizing, and Viktor laughs back. Hermione exclaims softly, holding Viktor's shoulders and back, sitting on top of him, who is half-naked.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
"In case they haven't fixed everything yet, we can go to Diagon Alley for lunch."
Sirius wonders if it's his idea that Hermione and Harriet seem to be shining brighter than usual. He supposes having a sleepover with no one else in the room is better than at Hogwarts. Plus the girl talk that surely took place. Tom and Viktor are the same as the day before. Quiet, not paying much attention to anything and Tom engrossed in his mysterious book. Sirius would like to say he has the same mood, energy and strength.
Today is going to be a tough day.
Chapter 51: Act. LI. Fire of worry
Chapter Text
"Thanks for having them with you. I think my head was going to explode from so much going on at once." Sirius nods with a forced, obvious smile. "I had more work in the office. Apparently, there's a group causing trouble in London and I need to fix it. As if there aren't bigger problems." James rolls his eyes in disdain.
"It's always your fault and your responsibility too. No wonder," Sirius says without interest. "Hey, I need to talk to you about something, alone. Don't even let Lily hear. It's your business."
"Okay? Mr. Mystery," James mocks.
Harriet watches them go upstairs and then into her parents' room. She snorts slightly, wanting to know the secret. Sirius doesn't usually hide things from her (or so she believes). She turns and returns to Viktor, Hermione and Tom, sitting down reluctantly. The pair are too engrossed in their conversation to notice Harriet grumbling.
"You're obsessed with knowing, huh?" Tom sighs and Harriet looks at Nagini, then at Tom and smiles.
"Aren't you curious too?"
Tom grumbles and Nagini laughs.
┈
"At least the Fidelio works as it should. It would be dangerous if he knew where you live," James says, seeing no reason to make this a secret from Lily. To Harriet on the other hand it's totally normal. "I'd love to understand what his obsession with recruiting us is. By now, we're less of a nuisance being dead and yet he persists in trying. He's really optimistic about it." he points out with annoyance and Sirius exhales. He asks himself the same question.
"His ideals are quite strong."
"And that makes him a lunatic."
Nagini slips under the door, shrinking down to the smallest she can and camouflaging herself in the corner of the room. Strapped to her neck is a small ear. Part of the spy kit the twins gave Harriet for product testing.
"Anyway, that's not exactly what I wanted you to know about. It's... more messed up than that." James laughs, doubting there's anything more horrifying than receiving correspondence from Grindelwald himself. "These came in the letter. It said they were a copy."
His hand trembles; a part of Sirius didn't want to hand those by over, didn't want to talk about this. His common sense and his overthinking led him to conclude here. It only takes a moment for James to understand the nervousness. He frowns, confused by what he's seeing. "I don't understand. Where did it come from..."
The fourth photo, when they start showing nude photos, James freezes completely, losing color in his face and causing the room to heat up. Sirius tries to balance himself so he doesn't faint, starting to sweat almost instantly.
"What's this? Where did it come from?" James asks, his voice cracking, his expression pained and his pulse fading. Sirius throws away his jacket and fanns himself with one hand.
"Lennox got out of Azkaban a few months ago." James looks at him for a moment, shivering; when he returns to the photos, he seems about to cry or faint from how labored his breathing is. "And I guess he's on his—James, you're going to kill me, please—"
Now he feels like he can't breathe, too hot. Sirius screams and throws water on a couple of papers that catch fire on the table. James groans, clutching his head and gagging, running to the bathroom to throw up. Sirius goes with him. Taking advantage of the situation, Nagini crawls over to where the photos were lying and grabs two of them. There are so many of them, it won't be obvious that two are missing. There's also no way of knowing how they disappeared.
James takes a long time to calm down, having an anxiety attack, sitting in the bathroom feeling like he'll die at any moment because he can't breathe. Sirius makes sure he doesn't burn down the house, sitting in front of him and holding his hands.
"Breathe slowly. We've been through this, we'll go through it again. You're okay, Padds, you're fine," Sirius promises slowly, making sure James regains his composure and doesn't lose control. "You're home. Lily is here. Harriet is here. I'm here. Nothing bad's going to happen to you. Breathe... Slowly... And let it out..."
"M-my chest hurts… I… I…"
James can't stop his crying, head throbbing and body tense, it hurts a lot. Everything feels so bad now.
"Yes? What else are you feeling?"
"I-I feel... Like s-something's going to come and... And I can't..."
"Breathe and keep talking, Padds. Don't forget to breathe and don't force yourself. It's okay."
Nagini watches intently, resenting the almost hellish heat James brings to the room. Ten minutes were enough to calm him from his anxiety attack, but not to make the anxiety go away. Sirius can't say this is the first time he's seen James like this and it's the part that irritates him the most.
The first was years ago, when he was taken from Lennox's house.
The second was when Harriet was kidnapped by Grindelwald.
Despite his explosive nature, James is able to control his emotions so as not to start a wildfire and have the urge to shrink away. Unfortunately, those two situations pushed him to the limit and he couldn't bear it. Right now, anxious and worried, Sirius won't let go of his hands.
"I didn't know he got out of Azkaban."
"Me neither. I did some research and he's far from here. The magical barrier is still up, so he has no way of getting here either." James breathes deeply, still shaking, "but I don't think it applies to the Ministry. You should take the rest of your vacation until I can—”
"You said they're copies... Are more photos out there?"
Sirius opens and closes his mouth before dropping his head. He finally nods and James gives a strange, almost destroyed groan. A mix of fear, panic, shame and rage.
"I can handle this. You don't have to worry. I promise I'll sort it out." Nagini moves a little closer, keeping herself flush against the wall. James sobs, barely keeping himself from bursting into tears again. "You know I'd do anything to help you."
Sirius smiles softly at him and James nods between sobs, taking deep breaths. Sirius hugs him and pats his back, resting his cheek on the other man's shoulder. James is ablaze. All his defense mechanisms are on full display. The touch hurts; he'll probably walk away with a burn, but Sirius doesn't care. He's never cared about consequences when it comes to being there for him.
"Was I this bad before? Why is this happening to me?"
Sirius tightens his grip. Sometimes James torments himself with that: thinking that because he bullied Severus at Hogwarts, he deserves to be punished. Remus is the first to say that even with everything he's done, it doesn't justify going through things as horrible as a kidnapping, constant sexual harassment and having it happen to his daughter.
That Harriet is bullied at school is, at best, a horrible irony of fate. Beyond that, why? They were practical jokes, but nothing life-threatening and he even saved Severus! That time he was trying to out Remus as a werewolf. James knows he was a bad person, that he did harm and he regrets it, which seems enough.
Severus hates him and the feeling is mutual, but even in dangerous situations, he'd be willing to help.
Sirius doesn't see the point here. He doesn't understand how any of this could possibly be fair.
"Are you going to tell Lily?"
"Yes, but later. Not right now... I don't want to talk about this."
"Right... Uh, there was this photo too. I guess he wanted to be as annoying as he could be."
James looks at the photo for a few seconds and burns it between his fingers. Not even the ashes remain. Sirius whistles; that was incredible. James hugs his legs and bites his lower lip. "Lennox liked my magic... What if he likes Harriet's too? If he sees her—if he goes to the Ministry—”
Thousands of grim thoughts start to form and Sirius swallows down the rest of the letter. James is so stressed about so many different things, it is a bad idea to add anything else. He can't even guess how he'll react.
"You trust me, right?"
"Yes. Why the sudden question?"
Sirius shakes his head, feigning dementia about it.
┈
Just having understood the conversation is saying too much. The lack of context makes the topic even more complicated. Harriet tries to think of the surname Lennox, but nothing comes to mind. Tom doesn't have much to work with either. He's read the name several times. A relatively well-known wizarding family that had ties to the Potters in the past. Not much more.
Nagini returns once the conversation is over. The snake returns to its full size and to both of their surprise, regurgitates something. Harriet is the one who takes it, as Tom wrinkles his face and judges his snake for doing that. "There were many others, but I don't think it was safe to have taken them all. I assume this provides context." She stands up slightly.
Tom is startled that Harriet looks like she's about to cry. He leans over and crumples. The two photos Nagini took are of James lying on a stranger's bed, with a mirror making it clear who's watching him and, worse, what he's doing. Harriet drops them and clutches her wrist tightly.
"Hey, hey," Tom goes to sit next to her. Harriet whimpers and lowers her head. "Calm down.”
"I-it's just... My dad... How did someone did that to my dad?" Her glasses fall down the bridge of his nose and Harriet feels everything in her head going into overdrive.
That's why he was crying.
That's why he felt sick...
That's why Sirius hid it so much.
Harriet gives a small groan, his body aching, as if the stain inside her makes it more vivid and more hurtful. Before Tom can insist that there's no need to cry, Harriet stammers something:
"He did something to me... At the dance." Tom's scrunched, offended expression deepens, as does his standing up. "I... I-I couldn't go away or… punch him away, and..."
Did James go through the same thing?
Does he know what she feels?
Harriet looks at Tom standing in front of her. "Did he touch you? What did he do?"
Harriet sobs, not knowing how to respond. Nagini climbs onto the bed and lifts part of her body onto the hesitant and anxious teenager's lap.
"Hey, hey," Tom snaps his fingers in front of her, who is lost in her own head. Harriet barely seems aware of where she's sitting. "Harriet, answer me," Tom demands.
"I-I couldn't... move and... it... it hurt... it m-made me- it's just…”
She lets out a broken sob with her hand on her chest, with the sensation of the stain inside her, burning and wounding her. Tom isn't satisfied. He knows Harriet isn't going to give him any more explanations because she doesn't even understand what's going on. Besides, he's upset about it. It can't be very different from what happened with Quirrell, and well, she had the same attitude at the ball.
Perhaps it was the same, but not the same approach. He moves to lock the door and return to her, coating her with his magic and finding... Something? On her. He cups her face, kissing her cheek, her ear and moving down to kiss her neck. Harriet squeezes her eyes and lips shut, held in this grip and anxious to push him away.
She hopes that this way, the wound will stop hurting. Nagini takes the pair of photos and swallows them again. There can be no evidence of this.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
Lily senses a strange atmosphere in her house. She'd say she can't go grocery shopping without everything seeming out of control and she doesn't know why. Viktor and Hermione are in the garden, Sirius is still here because he still senses him nearby and she assumes he's entertaining James.
Because she's sure Harriet and Tom are in her room. She decides to do a little spying to find out what's happening in each space: Hermione chattering to Viktor, who's listening attentively and meekly, with a look of unique fascination; Harriet and Tom are about to start activities...
Is she interrupting them? No.
Should she? Yes.
Is she going to scold Harriet later? Yes.
Is it important right now? Not really.
Sirius comes out of their room and looks like he's been walking in the desert. She assumes there was an argument. Why else would James lose control and let his magic cause this? Sirius looks at her with a suspicion he hasn't had in a long time. She remembers it from Hogwarts. In sixth or seventh grade. He's clearly jealous that she's the one with James and not him. It confuses her. Lily thought they'd outgrown it.
"Did something bad happen?" Lily asks worriedly and Sirius moves his jaw.
"James will explain it."
Sirius ignores her and Lily gasps, looking around the room and then at Sirius. She enters and immediately wants to get out. Why is this a sauna? She goes to the bathroom, where, in contrast, it's a little cooler. James is in the tub, still dressed and immersed in cold water… almost hot water. He sits on the edge of the tile, pushing his hair away from his face and taking off his glasses.
"Is everything okay, hun?" Lily asks quietly and James leans back against her.
"I don't want to talk about it right now... Maybe later. When I don't want to explode," James murmurs and Lily strokes his hair tenderly.
"Okay, is it really that serious?" James nods, and Lily sighs. "Okay, okay."
James closes his eyes, dozing against his wife.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
"Don't be mad at me," Harriet asks, even though Tom hasn't said anything to her the whole time, even though they're still in the same room. "It's... complicated." She plays with Nagini, who lets herself be petted and stroked. A way to ease the tension. Tom snorts irritably, continuing with his own business: trying to read the book he bought at the beginning of the vacation.
Harriet bites her lip. Why is it her fault for not knowing how to explain herself? She doesn't even understand why Tom would be upset with her. Aside from being confused and overwhelmed, she hasn't done anything! Harriet almost wishes she were to blame for something in all of this.
Tom, for his part, is too upset to speak. He doesn't want to be more hurtful than he normally is. It comes out unintentionally. Not to mention that he has that twisted, cynical part of himself demanding more.
Demanding to know if she recognizes more details about that person.
A detailed explanation of what happened.
If it was rape, in what form it was.
The damned, horrible envy that someone else made contact with Harriet's magic in a way no one but him should have.
No one else can do that.
No one can.
She's mine.
She's only MINE.
WHY DID SOMEONE ELSE PUT THEIR HANDS ON HER!?
HOW DARE HE MARK HER!?
SHE'S MINE!
SHE'S MINE!
JUST.
MINE.
"Tom," Harriet calls and he turns to look at her. "Can you at least tell me if you're upset with me? Yes or no."
"No."
"Fine!"
Harriet jumps up and leaves the room. Checking if James has left, if Sirius is still here; Tom stops her on the way, putting his arm around her hip and dragging her back to sit. He judges her for a moment, wearing that pedantic, irritating expression of his. Harriet snorts, leaning back on the bed.
"Now what? Are you in jealous boyfriend mode…?" She asks irritably.
"I want to give you a friendly warning that until we find out what the hell happened, you're going with Nagini or Hermione," Tom informs and Harriet rolls her eyes. "The last time you had the audacity to go out on your own, we found you lying on the floor, convulsing and with your magic so low you were on the verge of a coma," he reminds her and Harriet stutters.
"That was just plain curious."
"Oh yeah?”
"You can't control whether I go out alone of Gryffindor or class," Harriet points out. "No need. I'll be fine. Whatever happens." She shifts a little, restless and anxious. "I don't want you without Nagini either. She's your companion." The snake climbs onto Tom's shoulders, coiling there. "I'll be fine," she insists.
"Why are you being so stubborn and dumb?" Tom grumbles through gritted teeth. "You'll do as I say and that's it, you're not going to argue with me."
"Wow, calm down, daddy,” Harriet mocks. “I can just walk out the door," Harriet shrugs disinterestedly. "There's no way you're going to make me do anything at Hogwarts. Not without people noticing what we have going on." She adds with a smug smile and Tom gives her a dirty look.
Annoyed that she's holding it against him that because of that, he can't be obvious about his closeness to her. That's why he's talking about Nagini as a companion for her: he can't go himself. Something that's eating him up inside. It's that nasty internal mess that, if he were anywhere else, he'd already have Harriet by the throat and forcing her to accept by making her have more orgasms than her conscience could handle.
Harriet is satisfied with the lack of reaction. Part of her likes that Tom is dominant and jealous—it's sweet! Because he doesn't usually show it with words. It's just being distant. However, the controlling part isn't exactly good. She hopes he doesn't take it too seriously.
"You'd rather be abused by someone else than listen to me? Is that it?" Tom crosses his arms, looking at her with disdain.
"It's not—Why…? No," Harriet stammers, standing up. "It's not about that. It's about me not wanting to live with a sentry or be locked in the common room like there are monsters waiting to eat me."
"You're... so stubborn and stupid," Harriet sneers, crossing her arms equally. "You're a light. Everything wants to devour you. No matter what. What part of that don't you understand?"
"I can defend myself."
"Not against this. It's crystal clear you can't." Tom smiles condescendingly. The light brightens.
"If you're so worried about it, come with me," she challenges, leaning very close to him. "If you're really worried about it, you'd take it into your own hands, wouldn't you? Whether it reveal this little secret or not."
Tom clenches his jaw, pressing down his smile and leaning down. Why does Harriet want to fight this? She's doing it for her own good. It takes him a couple of seconds to realize that it's all an almost unconscious provocation. That Harriet is pushing him to that delicate barrier that is their secret relationship.
"You're really trying to get on my nerves, Sweetheart."
"It's part of my job, considering I have the most arrogant and pedantic boyfriend in all of Hogwarts. Not to mention controlling."
Tom snorts, shaking his head. "I can be worse."
" Oh no ."
"I doubt it."
Tom chuckles, his eyes narrowed and Harriet shrugs. Tom is controlling, but he can't do it with her. Not with the difference in houses, schedules, year, the secret relationship dynamic. That's a fact. Tom just thinks that when they return to Hogwarts, it will be a lot of fun.
┈
"Don't eat him up! Have some decency!"
Hermione nearly has a heart attack at Harriet's appearance. She tucks her hair behind her ear and Viktor raises his head, lying on the floor with Hermione on top of him. Harriet giggles indiscreetly, her hands in the pockets of the coat she's carrying. Hermione clears her throat and stands up, dusting off the snow on her clothes.
"For a moment, I thought it was your mom," Hermione grumbles.
"Oh, would you have any decency with her? You should respect that it's my house, too," Harriet mocks and Hermione exhales, shaking her head.
The muffled note, which is doing everything in its power to hide the fact that something is worrying her, Hermione signals to Viktor and links arms with Harriet, starting to walk out of the garden and, in doing so, take a stroll around Godric's Hollow.
"Did something else happen?"
Harriet bites her lip, looks around and leads Hermione to the side, the snowy garden with its stone path. They walk far enough away from the house to be comfortable. Besides, Nagini isn't here.
"Do you think it's my fault that bad things happen to me because I'm alone?"
Hermione purses her lips and brows, even though she predicts a long conversation interspersed with scolding, it's precisely what Harriet wants to hear. Hermione is always honest and gives her opinion without holding back.
"No one should attack you in the first place, Harriet. It has nothing to do with whether you're alone or not, but if you know there's trouble, you should try to get help. Don't go for it alone," she expounds with a pouty expression, using that insufferable childish tone that imitates a mother. "No person should be attacked, that's all there is to it."
"Tom thinks I'm very stupid for not wanting to be with someone all the time if bad things had happened to me," Harriet explains. Hermione sits down on a bench, and Harriet tosses her hair. It's started to snow and it's covered in flakes.
"It's... It's a good argument," Hermione agrees, "but it's not about being scared all the time. Not everyone is a danger. You can be alone without fear of being attacked," she corrects herself and gasped, shaking her head. "Is it because of what happened before we left Hogwarts? Were you talking about that?"
"No. We were talking about the ball."
Hermione remains silent, waiting for Harriet to tell her. Her friend takes a while to find the words.
"Don't tell my mom, my dad, Sirius, Remus. No one." Hermione nods. "The guy at the ball were… strange. He talked to my in a weird way. He talked like someone I know, but I don't know who he is. I know him from my dreams. I'm sure of it."
"But they're nightmares, Harriet."
"I know, but he was there, he's real," Harriet emphasizes and Hermione exhales, disapproving and worried. "I don't remember my dreams, but I know he was there and I think I wanted to understand who he is," Harriet clarifies, "that's why I chased him and..."
"So?" Harriet rubs her thighs together, her face awkward and red from the cold. "Did he do something bad to you...?" Hermione asks, her voice cracking.
"Remember what I told you about magic? That it bonds and is akin to one another," Hermione seems close to tears, nodding along. "He did that. Still... I feeling him. There's a stain I don't know how to clean. It's just inside, and... It hurts."
Hermione hugs her and Harriet leans back. With her, there's no need to explain so much. It's the same thing she told Tom, but with less of anguish. It reassures her that they both know. She considers that maybe it will make her feel better. That even with the information, they don't perceive her as "dirty" or "broken”. She leans back a little more into Hermione.
It's funny, because with Tom, she felt hurt, ashamed, pathetic, and stupid. As if her emotions were overpowering her. With Hermione, she feels frustrated, angry that it happened. That she allowed it to happen. In both cases, there's a strong current of guilt for not having prevented it. For followed him and fallen into that trap.
Harriet just wishes the stain disappear.
And forget this horrible feeling.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
" Avada Kedavra ."
The spell slipped so smoothly that Sirius didn't know it could be so simple. He took the backpack from the foot of the corpse. Inside, the original photos he was looking for. He left the warehouse, following the address Grindelwald had set if he truly had the strength to do something against Lennox.
He was tied to a chair.
He asked for Sirius’ help.
He could have done something else...
But right now, watching the entire backpack burn in the cursed fire, all Sirius could think about was James. Now he's safe again. He won't have to worry about Lennox showing up or these photos being exposed to public scrutiny. Sirius doesn't care that he played along with Grindelwald. Not this time.
Protecting his light is more important.
Chapter 52: Act. LII. Unexpected pain
Chapter Text
Romeo, Juliet & Cinderella
Tom went downstairs to get a glass of water. In the living room, James is sitting on the sofa with Harriet on his lap. They're talking in low voices, very low. Tom can't make out what they're saying, but he doesn't interrupt or try to find out. He goes upstairs without being noticed.
"Do you think what I did was wrong? I thought it didn't matter. Because he's my friend."
"I think he's going through some things," James answers quietly, "but that doesn't excuse him for treating you badly. Until he apologizes, until he understands what he did, don't let him be close to you again. Do you understand?" Harriet nods slowly. "Our attention, effort, love and caring can't go toward people who treat us badly or think so little of us. You should stay with the people who love and care for you." James kisses her temple and Harriet smiles slightly.
"Okay. I'll try to keep it up." James tucks her hair behind her ear. "Do you think I'm pretty?"
"Yes. Of course... Do you think you're not?"
"I don't know what I think about it. It's all very strange."
James gives a small snort. At least she's honest about it. Harriet tries to imagine Ron being scolded. It must have been fun. Surely the Twins were joking. At the same time, she feels sorry for him. Ron hates being teased by his brothers. He's the main target of sarcastic comments and envies them for being on the Quidditch team.
There are no vacancies, so he has no way of getting in too. It's complicated. Ron never says how he feels about many things and Harriet blames herself for not noticing that maybe Ron is just too shy and should have asked. Being shy herself, knows it's tiresome.
Harriet wishes everything were easier.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
"Didn't they go for the clothes?"
"There's still a week to go. Why the rush?" Sirius says, and Lily grimaces. "We can go today. Or do you have something to do?" he suggests nonchalantly.
James makes a small grimace. He doesn't feel like going out. He'd rather stay and update Lily on the situation. Another one, for a change. At the same time, he doesn't feel like being stuck in his room. An unpleasant feeling runs through his body.
The need to walk and think about other things.
The most banal and distracting thing.
"It's a good idea, don't you think, dear?" James asks and Lily shakes her head. It's not like she has much choice.
Harriet finishes first and goes upstairs to get dressed. Tom is second and goes up as well. He peeks into Harriet's room, finding her wearing oversized trousers, a white button-down shirt, and a black leather jacket. Harriet pulls her hair out from under it and shakes it to ruffle it.
"Are you feeling better?" "It's nice to see you asking more lately," Harriet comments with a giggle. "Yeah... I'm fine. I needed to say it, but it felt stuck in my throat." Tom leans against the doorframe, arms crossed. "Although I admit there were things I didn't tell you. Because I knew it would upset you."
Tom snorts, assuming she told Hermione. Harriet summarizes her reason for following this person: she thinks she knows him and has seen him in her dreams. To Tom, it's stupid, idiotic. A complete risk.
"If he shows up again, I'll go to the other side," Harriet concludes.
"At least you have a little self-preservation," says Tom. Harriet sits up in bed and purses her lips.
"I don't remember the rest. It kind of hurts." Harriet rubs her chest and Tom squints. "I just remember that he was there. For a moment, I thought it was just a dream and not reality, but Ron doesn't insult me in my sleep."
"Do you dream about me?”
"I dream that you smile a lot and like Quidditch."
Tom wrinkles his face, and Harriet laughs, swinging her feet.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
"What do you think?"
Harriet stares at Hermione. She reacts to the gesture she makes. She tries on a dress with a purple skirt and a black top. It has a brooch on the left side.
"Good! It looks great on you."
Hermione laughs, satisfied. Harriet returns her attention to the clothes she is about to try on. Discreetly, she touches and measures her thigh. With so much stress and trouble, she hasn't been able to exercise as she needs. There are some clothes she likes. They are pretty and she'd love wearing them.
However, Harriet is afraid of not looking the way she wants. In the mirror, she sees herself thinner than she is and to make matters worse, her bust makes her feel awkward in her own eyes. The clothes she wants aren't tight, just normal and what if they don't fit? Frustrated, she grabs the clothes just as Hermione leaves.
"Aren't you going to try them on?"
"I'll find something else."
Hermione sits down to wait for her, huffing. Hermione doubts Harriet will find anything she'll like more.
"Do you want to go waste time in a doctor's office?
"Harriet's going through a lot, and... I just want to make sure she's okay."
Both Sirius and James watch Harriet throw everything aside and rummage through it again. James puts a hand to his face. Convinced this will be slow, given how much Harriet struggles with what she wants and what she fears. It's not hard to notice she wears oversized clothes more than usual.
A few months ago, she was a little more experimental and bold. Now, the less detail she gives her legs, chest or arms, better for her. Even if he's against Lily's approach, James recognizes that Harriet is taking hiding to the extreme. It's not for pleasure, it's for necessity , and perhaps it's a good time to return to a psychiatrist.
Try to appease or dispel her worries.
Sirius notices James is anxious. Focusing on other matters helps him deal with his own problems. Despite this, it generates a lot of heat. The people passing by can't stand it. It's fun to watch them complain. Sirius leans toward James and says:
"Lennox won't be bothering you anymore and the photos don't exist."
James turns sharply to him, looking at him in confusion and Sirius laughs and shrugs.
"What did you do?"
"I told you I'd take care of it and I did. You can stop worrying."
James opens and closes his mouth, astonished. Initially, he assumes he's lying and tries to calm him down somehow. However, Sirius isn't one who usually lies to him on matters like these. James stutters and Sirius laughs, arms crossed.
"The danger is over. Calm down, little Prongs."
James takes a deep breath, looking ahead. Sirius briefly checks on his goddaughter. He spells out what Harriet really wants, but she doesn't take it for being low-cut or exposing something she doesn't want. It's very complicated, that's the worst part.
Meanwhile, Viktor and Tom are in the men's section of the store. A saleswoman is attentive to Tom, who asks more and more questions about sizes, materials and so on. Viktor is stunned by the character's demanding nature. Although he remembers he's the Prince of Slytherin, it's strange that Tom behaves like royalty.
"I don't like it." Viktor looks at the saleswoman with the same impression she looks at him. It's quite a comical scene. Viktor decides not to go through with it. He runs away. He'd be better off with Hermione. Here, he doesn't know whether to go along with Tom or stand there listening to the different materials, the density of fabrics. It's kinda embarrassing.
At the same time, Harriet approaches. She laughs at the disdainful expression on her boyfriend's face. "Nothing here is enough for your standards, uh?"
"I hope the Malfoys send the clothes as agreed," Tom complains, examining the sleeve of the sweater. Harriet exhales, shaking her head.
"Can you help me? I can't decide on anything, and the mirror is against me."
"Hmm? I'm sure with your body, anything looks good on you."
"The mirror says no," Harriet argues.
Tom rolls his eyes. Sometimes Harriet's insecurities are so dumb and tiring for him. They're beyond absurd. He decides to help her and force her to choose something besides the oversized boots she picked out.
"Should I try the blue one? It's pretty."
"No. Green."
Harriet rolls her eyes. For Tom, there are only three colors, with barely a fourth. Black, red, and green. White barely fits into the scheme. Shopping for clothes with him is synonymous with staying within that spectrum. He sees his own clothes, which are black with some red details this time. He likes the dragon prints on the jacket on display. It's close to a snake.
Harriet loses focus. There are some enormous boots she'd love to have; in that brief moment, she and Tom part ways. Each with their own interests.
Tom hoping to find some stylish ankle boots to match the jacket, the only acceptable thing in this store.
Harriet hoping there's a white T-shirt so she can wear the jacket Sirius gave her and beg him for the enormous boots.
She realizes her boyfriend is nowhere to be found. She walks around looking for him; everything is ridiculously tall. Since when are wizards in England tall in the first place? Or even Muggles. This store is co-ed. Discreetly, obviously. Since Muggles tend to be more refined and less stuck in the fifteenth century, she usually looks for clothes in Muggle shops. Besides, they're cheaper. She finally locates Tom near the entrance, holding a book.
"Love, did you find anything you liked? I have to find Sirius first; I know there won't be enough for-"
"Excuse me?"
Harriet takes a couple of steps back, frowning. Who is this man? He looks just like Tom! Or rather, Tom looks just like this man. He must be forty, maybe a little younger. Dark, slightly curly hair with a delicate curl at his forehead. Short and sophisticated, like the rest of his appearance. Where blood-red eyes should be, there are simple hazels. Soft, almost gentle. Light expression marks in his eyes and from his smile. This person looks her up and down.
"Sorry, sweetheart," he replies wryly, leaning slightly toward her, "but you're too young to even try."
"No... uh... w-well..." He raises his eyebrow and seems amused, still smiling slyly. "I'm looking for my boyfriend." Harriet can't help but feel something's off. She just can't understand what. "And... I'm sorry."
"Ummm... I'll assume you dress up better normally. You have a very pretty face for style so..." He waves his hand, searching for the word as he looks her up and down. "Pathetic.”
Oh, he doesn't even know her and he's already talking to her about this.
It seems a bad joke
"And having a boyfriend means taking a little more care. Or you do other things very well.”
Yes. This is a bad joke.
"You're as much of an idiot as you look, sir," she mumbles and the other laughs discreetly. "My boyfriend looks like you, but less of an twat for no reason. Have you seen him?" Harriet asks, arms crossed.
"No. Sorry to disappoint you."
A few seconds pass and Harriet snorts in annoyance.
"What's your name?"
"Why do you want to know the name of a ‘twat’?"
"Just," Harriet gives an exasperated groan. "Give me your fucking name and I'll leave you alone. I don't have time." Harriet keeps up a bad face and the other, as narcissistic as he seems, can't resist laughing at her. It's funny. She wonders what shabby corner he came from.
"Thomas Riddle. Nice to meet you, scruffy girl."
Harriet throws her head back, eyes wide. What did he just say? The grab on her shoulder startles her and Tom snorts in annoyance. "Why did you come all the way here? Everyone's... they're..." Tom wrinkles his face as he processes the other's presence.
Who, likewise, looks surprised. His cynicism faded and his face pale.
"He has the same name as you," Harriet says foolishly, pointing at him.
"Same?" The adult repeats. "Are you Tom Riddle?" He looks him up and down for a moment. "Huh, who would have thought it. You were supposed to be dead… and it would be lovely if you stayed that way." He narrows his eyes with a wide, tight smile. Tom tightens his hand on Harriet's shoulder and she shudders. She blames Tom's magic, which is starting to spread.
"I thought you were dead—"
"Likewise. Considering your disgusting mother didn't have a pound in her pocket, it's a miracle you didn't die… Where have you been?" Tom doesn't answer. "An orphanage, maybe? That must be it. I suppose even in death, that filthy woman is still a nuisance," Thom asserts irritably. He looks down at Harriet. "And you? Do you have any idea what kind of repulsive human being gave birth to the guy you call boyfriend?”
"II think we'd better—"
"A rapist. A disgusting creature who should have stayed where she belonged: in the pit of shit and cockroaches," he says, clasping his hands and turning back to Tom. "At least you don't have her eyes, not entirely. I guess she did something right... do yourself a favor: stay away from him. Before he does something you don't want."
The man steps away, though not without surprise and disgust at everything that has happened. Tom exhales, his eyes restless and his body shaking. He exhales too forcefully and if it weren't for Harriet grabbing him, he would have fallen backward. He coughs and moves away, walking quickly toward the magic section. He crosses the wall, passes through the clothes and eventually enters a changing room, hiding.
He rubs his neck and then his chest, where his heart is beating uncontrollably. Tom doesn't notice the tremors and sweat in his body. So deep that it dampens his clothes and then freezes them. Tom freezes the changing room with his out-of-control magic. Desperate to protect himself, but from what? He's unable to understand his involuntary reaction and to make matters worse, he starts to hurt himself. Accident.
Tom rewinds in his mind the fact that his father is still alive and that the idea of his death is more pleasant; the contempt with which he speaks of his mother and how he claimed he didn't even know of his whereabouts. How is that possible? Weren't they a couple? He's a Muggle, but from what they've said about the last Slytherins (Gaunt), they were in a bad situation.
And what does Thom mean by raping him?
What really happened…?
"Tom."
He pokes his head out of his arms, breathing through his mouth, his paleness making him look tired and sickly. Harriet leans closer and hugs him, stroking his tense, frost-covered back. Tom rests his cheek on Harriet's shoulder, letting out small, confused sobs.
"I-I'm not... I-i don't come from something... bad, do I? S-she didn't love me... but s-she wasn't bad. I'm not bad."
He despises his mom and dad for leaving him (now even more so his dad for being alive), but he never considered the possibility of something like this. The idea of being the result of a horrible act is unheard of for him.
Which, by implication, is something horrible.
What if that's why he's incapable of loving?
And if that's why he's incapable of understanding others...
Because he's the result of something abominable.
"Maybe she was bad," Harriet says, "but if it was, it doesn't matter. You're my Tom." She strokes part of his hair lovingly. "Wherever you come from, you're my pretty, elegant snake. The prettiest of all."
She kisses the top of his head and Tom sobs a little louder. No one has ever called him theirs . He's never been claimed by anyone when he feels like nothing in life.
Until this day, he thought the idea of not having parents was indifferent to him, just as it was irrelevant if he never saw them; it also didn't matter that he had no one to turn to, but in less than fifteen minutes, everything turned out to be different and he appreciated more than ever having someone for himself. That despite the contempt, there is a person who does care about his existence and, unlike the rest, believes he deserves affection.
Not respect.
Not hate.
Not disgust
Just... Love and care.
┈
"What happened here?"
James is startled to find Harriet leading Tom by the arm, the teenager lacking his usual snobbery and pretension. Sirius doesn't even dare joke about it. It's so weird to see that he's starting to think something bad has happened.
"He feels sick. Can we go to Sirius's?"
"Have you already mark out what you want for Christmas?" Harriet shakes her head. It was a bit rushed, but she managed it. "Okay... I guess that's all right then," Sirius shrugs. He doesn't mind. "I'll pick them up tonight. When the Ministry releases me."
Harriet nods and leads Tom by the hand. James prefers to ask later whatever's wrong with him. Judging by the looks on some people's faces, it was pretty obvious.
Sirius took them with him to Grimmauld Place. He's barely put the Christmas decorations back up. "Will you help me redecorate? While Tom sleeps on the sofa watching our hard work.”
It didn't take much confirmation. Tom sits on the sofa, hugging a cushion Harriet places on top of him. Despite not being naturally distracted from such big problems or worries, the mess Harriet and Sirius make makes him notice a thousand mistakes in how they place the decorations.
Too much red on one side.
One side doesn't have many lights.
The gold is next to the silver instead of the red.
He wonders why they don't do it with magic. Why make life so complicated?
"Look at him, judging everything we do," Sirius points out,ñ and Tom snorts.
"Because it's horrible and messy."
"That's part of the charm," Harriet assures.
"Of course not.”
"It is for us!”
"The point is that everything is decorated! And that it looks organized. There's no order, not even in the lights."
"Now we'll leave it like this just so you hate it more," Harriet informs, and Tom purses his lips. She laughs and plays with the red curtain in her hand.
┈
"Can you help me with a favor?" Sirius nods, putting the beer bottle aside and tossing his hair to one side. "Some things happened today with Tom." Sirius wipes his hands. Fixing the bike for Christmas is a problem and he hopes Harriet doesn't ask for anything too complicated. He glances at the stairs. Tom wanted to go upstairs and sleep for a while, presumably because of a headache. "And I think my dad will go crazy if I tell him."
"It's probably no big deal."
As Harriet explained the subject at hand, Sirius's face contorted. It was such an extraordinary situation that he almost believed she was making it up, but Tom wouldn't be so upset if it were fake.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
Sirius sighs and wonders: Why did I agree to do this? He walks with his hands in the pockets of his leather jacket, appearing on the porch of the enormous house surrounded by beautiful green fields. He knocks on the door and an elderly woman opens it. Sirius immediately notices her critical eyes. She reminds him a bit of his mother, or worse, his grandmother.
"Can I help you?" asks the woman with gray hair and elegant clothes.
"Good morning, ma'am. My name is Sirius Black. I'm looking for Thomas Riddle... Is this the right address?" he asks, intimidated. The last thing he expected was having to find a lost clone of his mother.
"Yes, this is the Riddle family estate," she agrees. "Why are you looking for my grandson?" Sirius clasps his hands. So she's Tom's great-grandmother.
"I need to talk to him. It's important. He talked with my goddaughter yesterday and it was an... upsetting experience. I'd like to know what happened," he excuses, having no idea what to say. He doubts that evoking Tom as an abandoned son is the best idea.
She hesitates, but in the end, lets him pass. Sirius sits in the living room. It's a pompous house. Typical of the English bourgeoisie. Adorned with hundreds of flowers. In five minutes, the man appears alone. Sirius can't restrain himself to say:
"Shit, exactly the same. I hoped not." Thom frowns, still smiling arrogantly.
"And your mouth is as dirty as it looks." Sirius shakes his head.
"Sirius Black," he introduces himself. "And Harriet's godfather. The girl you saw yesterday." Thom gives a contemptuous laugh.
"My grandmother told me about it; if she hadn't, I wouldn't have come to see you." His tone is calm, discreet with the aggression and suspicion evident in his coppery gaze. "So? What are you doing here? I did absolutely nothing to that girl." Sirius snorts.
"I came to find out what happened. After all, some very ugly things were said without context, and there's a child that's the problem." Thom narrows his eyes.
"Why should I? You—"
"I'm part of the wizarding world's security department." Thom looks confused. "Did you know that Merope Gaunt came from an important wizarding family that fell into disgrace?"
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"She has a wizard son. I'm authorized to do this," he says quietly.
Thom yells as Sirius, shapeshifting, lunges at him. He walks around him and, upon reverting to form Human, conjures a teapot with his wand, as well as a cup and biscuits. They move from the dining room to the coffee table. Sirius transfigures the sofa he's sitting on. Thom's pale, wrinkled face amused Sirius greatly.
The Black heir wonders if all teachers face this when they announce the wizarding world to a Muggle family.
"Just to be clear: it's a society hiding in plain sight. Your son is a brilliant wizard, by the way."
Thom opens and closes his mouth, disturbed. It takes him a while to recover and say:
"I don't have a son."
" Your clone in my house says otherwise. I have evidence in my favor, genius," Sirius says with an annoyed and irritated tone.
"All I understand is that this explains what that disgusting tramp did." Sirius doesn't have an opinion on the matter. "She kidnapped me for a year and a half." He straightens in his seat. "One day my family lost sight of me. They said I just ran off with Merope Gaunt and never came back," Sirius begins to formulate a hypothesis, "I remember vague things. Among them, saying that I loved her and wanted to be with her. None of it was true. When my body responded again, I threw her as far away as I could and ran away."
"I see... I know what she did: she used a love potion," Sirius informs, and Thom wrinkles his face. "It's a potion that makes you fall in love with whoever made it- it's better to say that's a potion to obsessed someone, similar to love. Most likely she didn't give you the dose in tome and that's why the effect ended."
Sirius notices he's disturbed. That this explanation makes the time Thom was kidnapped worse, amplifying the abuse that even gave rise to a child. Sirius understands the contempt there is toward Tom. At the same time, it's cruel to label him as being just like his mother, considering Thom hadn't even met him in person until yesterday.
"I'm so sorry, really," Sirius admits, empathetic. "We can work together and you can separate the event," he suggests in good faith. "On the other hand, your son Tom—”
"He's not my son.”
"His resemblance, his blood and your own history say otherwise."
"I'm not interested in any of that. That child shouldn't have been born—shouldn't have been conceived in the first place," he corrects himself hastily and irritably. "I have no responsibility for something she did without my consent."
"I understand the rejection, but he exists. He's lived almost his entire life in a filthy orphanage," Sirius advises, unsure how to handle the situation. "Maybe not bring him with you, but maybe—"
"If you want to devote yourself to him so much, if you're so interested, keep him and stop bothering me." He stands up abruptly. "I'm not interested in anything that has to do with her, her world. I don't care about any of it!"
Sirius jumps up from his seat to chase him. He's surprised by how large the house is. He almost runs into Thom's back and the lady is standing not far behind him.
"Well? What did he want?"
"He just wanted to know about my disappearance. For a follow-up."
"Oh! I thought no one knew about that. We were forced to believe you were dead."
"Yeah, well," Sirius stutters. "My goddaughter told me about the conversation, I did some research; it was 15 years ago, I saw the report, I got curious, I'm... filling in the blanks." He makes something up. The topic distracts her from her suspicions.
"I'm glad! That nasty woman kept bothering us even when Thom was able to return." Thom is too respectful to interrupt her or try to shut her up. "She kept shouting about being married, that they were a family." She shakes her hand contemptuously. "Even saying strange things: curses, insults, threats, about how the snake they created would be destruction, silly and paranoid stuff like that."
Sirius gasps and Thom snorts softly.
"Yes, Gran, I think that's enough."
"In case you need anything else to destroy that wretch..."
Thom snorts and mumbles that he'll see her out. They're at the door and certain that she can't hear them, Sirius takes his arm.
"Where was she yelling? Have you or your family had any trouble? It could be a real curse." Thom narrows his eyes, intimidated and barely able to process the entire conversation.
"Really?"
"Maybe it's affecting why you feel so intimidated or irritated."
┈
Sirius wants to cry: this is horrible. The curse is very large and he doesn't think this is the maximum size. He takes his wand from his boot and starts to cast the spell to break the curse. He hopes there's no need to call anyone to clean the area. It would be very annoying. As he does, Thom blanches. It's a black mass that reminds him of too many unpleasant things. Little by little and with effort, it dissolves.
It's very slow, and also eerie. The half-rotten wooden fence and dried vegetation make a curious path to the house.
"Someone died?"
"Excuse me?"
"This is a deterioration curse. It will slowly kill the target," Sirius specifies. "Was anyone present?"
"My parents and a couple of my cousins passed away. She came during a party we were having, my family has been dying slowly these years. My grandmother and I are the only full blood that lasts… the others are second cousin, but some of them died too" Thom announces quietly, very slow, trembling in his place. Sirius snorts.
"It's just too bad this wasn't fixed sooner."
It takes him a full hour to clear away the remains. He's happy that Grandma didn't die in all this time. He now remembers why he hates this job and tries to avoid it as much as possible. Thom, although haughty, looks pale and tired.
"About Tom..."
"That kid's not my problem.”
Sirius doesn't He can't insist this time. Not to mention he doesn't like fighting losing, repetitive battles.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
"It's not that different."
"Did they knock down the walls?"
"Well... no."
"Then you don't know what suffering is," Harriet dramatizes and Hermione can't resist laughing, giving her a shove.
"Walls down. It looked like a war zone," Viktor says, "but it's a nice environment. Warm."
"With a living cauldron for a host, it's hard not to be warm," Tom says from his sofa, reading his book on dark magic.
"My dad isn't a cauldron," Harriet chides. Tom looks at her over the top of his book.
"The streetlight says so."
"You're a refrigerator, and we didn't said anything about it."
"Because that just shows my power."
Harriet throws a cushion at him and Tom hits it with his book. Sirius doesn't know if he wants to disrupt this peace they're holding. He doesn't have much choice, unfortunately. "Tom, I need to talk to you. I'll give you any book you want if you don't look that way at me."
Tom rolls his eyes, closes his book and goes with him. Harriet leans over to see where they'll talk. She gives a small snort, wanting to know what happened. Why doesn't Sirius take her too?
Sirius would like to be gentle, not give too many details, but at the same time: he knows Tom will understand quite well, as well as need him. Tom is too complicated for his taste. Too much for a teenager.
"I went to talk to your dad," Sirius announces. Tom looks at him with annoyance. "And some things... happen. It's a little complicated," Sirius brushes back his hair and rests his arms on his knees, "but I don't think you should feel personally attacked. I confirmed that nothing is your fault."
"Oh, right, that fixes everything," Tom quips, shaking his head.
"What happened was complicated. The truth is, your mother was a very... complicated woman. She made a mess of things and naturally, he hates her." The more he summarizes and softens things, the less Tom likes it. Sirius knows he's suspicious. "He doesn't want to see you because you remind him of her. The good part is, he's fine with you staying with me."
Tom raises an eyebrow and regards him suspiciously.
"You could not go back to the orphanage or have any problems with it... even keep the name or become a Black," he suggests with some excitement. "You'd stay here for the summer, you could arrive for Christmas... well, everything could be simpler-”
"I don't want to."
While it disappoints him, Sirius can perfectly see the reason for the refusal: Tom doesn't want to do anything his biological father wants. Ideally, to stay alive to annoy him more than for the desire to live.
"Well, in case you're not so stubborn, the proposal is still there," he warns and Tom snorts. "And I know... it's asking too much, but try to understand, okay? The reason he hates your mother."
Tom recognizes that it's not fair to judge a man on that basis. All this time with Harriet makes him recognize that those experiences can be more than capable of creating horrors in a person, in their very essence, but...
What does he have to do with it?
If she was so dangerous, why didn't Thom save him from her?
Thom wished death for Tom being born and Tom can only wish the same for him.
┈
"Thinking the same thing?"
Tom maintains a grim face, unlike his usual indifference or serenity. The confidence that overwhelms anyone around him. Harriet snorts, kicking snow. She knows Tom agreed to go for a walk because he didn't want to stay inside the house, but this mood is unbearable.
"Sirius told me a bit... Are you sure you don't want to stay with him? He's almost always working, so it would be like being away from the orphanage," Harriet adds and Tom shakes his head.
"There are two years left. Doesn't matter."
"Actually, it's three because Muggles are there minors until they're eighteen." She corrects, thinking she hears him say "shit”, but she's not sure. Tom is never bad-mouthed, so she doubts it even more. "You should just agree."
"He doesn't want to-”
Harriet stops and stares at him. She always locks eyes with him even though he doesn't. He'd rather spend three more years in an orphanage, all because that person gave him some kind of approval for him to be adopted.
"He doesn't have the right to decide for me, give permission, anything," Tom complains. "As far as I'm concerned, he's still dead."
"Good! Let him be dead," he celebrates with a bored expression. "Don't let him be important or make your life miserable."
Tom gives a mocking, irritated laugh. "Sure, so simple."
"I'm trying to understand what you're feeling, instead of just exploding and being stubborn," Harriet complains. "You can't not feel this. It hurts and you don't accept it.
"What's the point? It's-”
"You're still human, Tom—it's not about whether it's useful or not. It's just how you feel." She gives him a weak shove. "Just accept it."
Harriet walks a few steps ahead. Nagini steps out from between Tom's clothes. "She's right. Naturally, your senses and emotions are causing a stir inside you."
" Can you stop being on her side for once?" Tom complains, and Nagini presses a little forcefully.
" I supporting you in stopping being a heartless rock, or worse, a jerk." Nagini chides, " nothing could kill you more painfully than restrain this feelings.”
" What can you know?"
"I just know I don't want to see you destroying yourself. There's nothing wrong with suffering and accepting it."
Nagini slithers toward Harriet. Tom watches them go, almost unable to hear her words of support. So much noise and so much anger inside his head, so only…
-̶̣͔̖̅̋̆-̴͓̇-̷̟̓̓-̵͕̗̅-̵̨̬̮̃͠-̶̣̟̊̏͝-̴̨͊̿ͅ-̸ ͍̙̞͊̕-̶̥̲̑-̸͎̏͋-̸̢̱̊͝-̵̲̰̇́̑-̸̢̖͔̇̏̂-̴̰̖͐͒͒͜- ̵͉̻̗̋-̷̞͗͂͐-̴͓̠̙͂̎-̵̹̙͙̆-̷̫̬̈́-̵̛̯̰̔-̸̡̜́͠-̴̻̒-̸̘̲͂̏̂-̸͖̍͑́-̶͔͌-̴̡̮̖͒͋̽-̶̨̰̓ͅ-̷͉͇͒̈́̍-̵̳̕-̶̺͂̓-̸͗̓ ͎̩-̶̀͘͜ͅ-̷͚͕̒͋-̵̬̮̒̕-̶̩̥̇ͅ-̵̹̮̜̃̚-̶͖̉̽͝-̶͍̖̝̑-̴̺̙̔̊-̴͖̝͘-̶̨̞̏-̴̨͖͐̕-̵̤̭̎́̊-̶͎͑͑-̶͕̀-̸̧̮̺̈-̷͑͑͜-̷ ̜́͛̐-̸̮̅̀̐-̴̡̐̒-̵̧̀-̸̤́-̴̢͠-̸͖͐-̴̡̒-̸̈͜-̴͖̒-̸̼͝-̵̜̆-̵-̸-̴-̶-̷-̸-̶-̸-̶-̸-̴-̶-̸-̵-̵-̶-̸-̵-̴-̷-̴-̷i want him dead. Dead. Dead. Dead. Dead. Dead. Dead. Dead. Dead. Dead. Dead. Dead. Dead.
He's startled by the fact that Harriet's back and to make matters worse, she seems scared of something; she almost runs up to him, taking his hand. Tom doesn't hold back his dark, rampaging magic. She softens guys dark magic, hugs Tom despite the lack of reciprocity.
"You have me... Me . Don't forget that."
Tom says nothing for a few minutes, leans on her shoulder and lets himself be carried by her and nothing more. Tom listens to her and that noise fades into his head.
"Maybe I'm a bad person," Tom muses softly.
"Just because your parents were bad doesn't mean you are... I don't think you are," Harriet opines.
"I'm only good to you," Tom points out. "You're very blind about that."
"Being good to one person will lead to you being good to others, even if you don't know it," the Gryffindor heiress muses. "Just as I'm not totally good."
"Yes, you are," Tom argues, his expression crumpled, eyes still closed.
"I hate your dad, I hate your mom, I hate the people at the orphanage, I hate everyone in Slytherin: they all make you look like a... monster." The hug breaks and Tom opens his eyes, only to stare directly at her. "You're not. You're so much better than they can understand and I wish they'd go away so you'd stop doubting yourself and what you can achieve."
They go back to the house and to a room. It is filled with cold and Harriet doesn't fight it. It's not annoying, not aggressive, just enveloping. Like a hug from Tom.
"I was born from a love potion. Maybe that's why I can't feel it."
"I'd say you're pretty good at it."
Tom chuckles through his nose and spreads a smile, the cold even stronger in the room.
┈
"So that's what it is! Don't stop for me, my dog's luck makes me see everyone in this situations."
Sirius passes by, waving his hand and covering his eyes. Hermione fixes her hair and straightens her clothes. Viktor clears his throat and settles where he is. They stare for a few seconds and before they can get close again, thinking they're alone, Hermione squeals in fright.
"Hey, aren't you a little old for her?" Sirius squints at him. Viktor shakes his head, pretending he's not three years older and considered an adult. "Um... okay, okay, don't do things that will get me in trouble."
Hermione covers her face with her hand, trying to catch her breath and in the end, she tries not to laugh, just like Viktor. The two decide not to get carried away by their excitement so they have time and no one staring at them. Hermione goes upstairs to find Harriet and finds her... in a weird situation, with Tom.
He's lying in bed, holding Harriet around the waist, his head on Harriet's thighs. She's stroking his hair, silent and allowing herself to be consumed by the dark magic that makes her shiver with cold. Hermione has never seen them so close. Yes, they are, but Tom maintaining contact? Or rather: seeking contact. It's so anomalous.
Hermione stays a few more moments, capturing what they say to each other:
"Do you still feel very bad?"
"I don't know what I feel. I think it hurts."
Harriet giggles.
"You know what pain is. Don't play dumb about it, Riddle."
"I'm sorry my lack of feeling seems fake to you, sweetheart."
"Sweetheart?" Hermione wonders, scrunching up her face.
"Do you want to be alone…?"
"Don't go," Tom interrupts quickly. "I don't want you to go. I don't want to be without you."
Harriet gives a small, resigned sigh, shaking her head with a smile. Hermione slowly backs away and grimaces. What's going on in there with those two? It's best not to ask. She doesn't want to be invasive. Harriet is that close to everyone; she just didn't think Tom was one of them.
Chapter 53: Act. LIII. Pretending peace
Chapter Text
Tom would like to feel calm, but going over the same thing feels inevitable. So obnoxious and he'd like to stop. It gets significantly worse with every question they ask about it or when they try to open the subject.
Christmas Day doesn't just pass as an irritating day, just like night, an owl arrives at the apartment, and it's for him. Therefore, it can't be anyone other than his paternal family.
"What a strange time for a letter," Sirius opines. "Well, anyway, let's start with the presents."
Tom didn't see anything, going up to the second floor. The adults look at each other, Harriet's expressions of concern. Viktor comments: "Some soul woes are silently understood."
Hermione nods in agreement and Harriet forces herself to give him this time of calm. Let him continue to digest what he feels.
┈
Tom finds a small box by the bedroom door. Inside, a silver ring coils around his finger, resembling a metal snake. A simple note saying Merry Christmas and hoping he's well. Tom puts on the ring, sits on the couch and takes the letter:
“Dear great-grandson: Nice to meet you, I'm Margaret Elizabeth Riddle, current head of the Riddle family and one of the few remaining survivors.”
“A few days ago, after pressuring my grandson, I received the news that you're alive. For years, I've come to terms about your death, along with the terrible woman who was your mother. The greatest twist of events is your survival and that our paths crossed against all the odds. Whether it's fate or coincidence, the fact is that you're still alive and since the blood that still runs through your veins is Riddle’s family blood, I request your presence at home to discuss various matters. All related to your future.”
Sincerely, Margaret Elizabeth Riddle.
Tom rubs his face with his hand and takes a deep breath. This feels like a joke from a bad show. He looks out the window and considers just ignoring it. He can burn the letter and no one will be able to force him to go. Even though they know he received it, no one read it.
There are so many possibilities, and yet, the only thing he can decide is the one that bothers him the most.
┈ ⋞ ⟨ ✷ ⟩ ⋟ ┈
Harriet sneaks glimpses of Tom, who couldn't be more tense. His jaw is clenched, his back is straight and his expression is irritated, disguised as seriousness. They've decided (Tom decided) to go to Riddle's manor, as Tom's great-grandmother had requested. Harriet is almost certain this place is three times her home. It hasn't felt small until now. James knocks on the door. A butler opens it and, after a surprised glance at Tom, lets them in. The Potters-Evans+Blacks aren't sure how ideal it is to have come as an impromptu escort. However, they have temporary custody of Tom, so their presence is almost mandatory.
Harriet didn't want to leave him alone; that justifies her presence.
They reach the living room, where Thom and Marguerite are. James stops abruptly. Surprised by how identical father and son are. Almost a carbon copy of each other. Aside from the barely noticeable wrinkles, Thom has soft eyes. More human, actually. Harriet notices the woman standing up, her expression stunned and her spirit soaring.
"You really are my grandson!" Marguerite exclaims. Tom looks at her with contempt. "It's incredible," she turns to Thom, "all these years... and it never occurred to us to investigate."
"What does it matter?" Thom complains. "He's a damn monster, you shouldn't have-"
"He's my great-grandson. Our blood runs through his veins," Margarite explains, turning to Tom, who snorts.
"I wish that weren't the case." Nagini gives him a light squeeze on the abdomen.
"Another Tom," she mutters, a few inches from Tom. "With an undeniable resemblance... Who are you?" Margarite chides, clasping her hands and addressing James specifically.
"Temporary guardians of Tom and this is my daughter, Harriet." She waves, receiving a dismissive nod. Marguerite judges, from the thick, messy hair to the baggy shirt, lack of bra, leather jacket, oversized pants and dirty shoes, "they study together at a special boarding school."
"Special?"
"We'll explain later," Lily promises. "The thing is... we didn't want Tom to spend New Year's, Christmas and his birthday alone." The redhead smiles kindly. "So this time he's spending it under our guardianship."
Marguerite judges Sirius harshly. She expects him to explain why he's here now, when he came days ago as a random person. She turns to Harriet. "So, friends..."
Thom rolls his eyes. "She's his girlfriend. Something he clearly shouldn't have. He's going to end up killing her."
"Thomas," the woman chides.
"Just... Get him out of here!" he demands through gritted teeth. "You saw what he is, now you know the truth, just-"
Harriet notices. Stressed, anxious, the anger and annoyance that hide the pain of something so big inside him. It feels a little absurd and ironic at the same time. Tom and Thom despising each other, while behaving exactly the same.
"Stop whining. This child is your blood, our blood and you should be ashamed of yourself for not bringing him here as soon as you found out," the woman demands. Thom clenches his jaw. "For years, you were denying marriage to marry any woman, to have an heir and continue with the bloodline. because you “can’t” be intimate with any woman." Sirius can't handle the discomfort. "Fortunately, there's someone."
"Don't do it, please."
"I will."
Sirius would like to complain. Thom is on the verge of a nervous breakdown he can't hide as he would like. The Black heir is shocked at how deeply the abuse has affected Thom. Almost castrated. Unable to get over it and unable to have another relationship. Forced or not by his title and family necessity. Marguerite makes it clear what she will do:
"You will be part of our family," she announces to Tom. "Where you will possess both the Riddle fortune and the territories. Divided between you and your father." She points at him with an open hand. "You will be my primary heir."
Tom doesn't look surprised. More like bored. He fully expected it.
"I thought my parents died and I prefer to stick with that idea. Rather than be with a guy who calls me an error and a waste," he points out obviously. Margarite gives a distressed sigh.
"They're both equally stupid."
"He's not my dad."
"He's not my son."
"Amazing," Sirius laughs, unable to stop himself.
"I need to talk to you alone."
"We'll go this way, excuse me." Lily pulls Sirius and James along. Harriet runs off on her own. Tom doesn't need her here right now. Thom leaves, closing the door behind him. Tom continues his dismissive gesture toward his great-grandmother.
Marguerite sits down and invites him to do the same. Tom stands next to the seat, looking at the surroundings. It's very, very elegant and he likes it, which is why he hates it: he doesn't want to be comfortable or happy in any way.
"Your mother was a wretch. Not just her appearance, but also what she caused… Thomas, unfortunately, hasn't been able to produce an heir. He's so damaged that he's useless as a man and in keeping the family alive," Marguerite recounts without any bitterness in her contempt for her grandson. Unlike how she spoke to Sirius. "I refuse to let his incompetence let this family disappear and the nation will be left with what we've grown for generations."
"I'm not interested in any of that," Tom says, indifferent.
"Do you prefer a miserable life as an orphan? Relying on another family for a little of decency?" Marguerite points out. "I have a feeling you're smarter than that."
"I have more resources than you think."
"We never have enough resources, never enough," Marguerite assured. "All the preparation in the world is never enough," she insists, sipping the steaming cup of tea the butler brought. "I even find the poor choice of bride indifferent. What an unprepossessing girl." Her snorts and complaints irritate Tom. The worst part is her attempts to be superior to him.
As if she can criticize his life being just a decrepit old woman.
And although Tom hates to admit it, he senses that she's shrewd, similar to Narcissa Malfoy.
"You're a really nice young man, with manners and good etiquette, to my own surprise. I doubt that in the grand scheme of things, you won't be able to continue the family. That's what interests me most. Not to mention the growth of the fortune in question," Marguerite comments.
"I'm not interested in any of that; it's pathetic trying to save a ship with more than half of it underwater," Tom points out. "Not to mention I highly doubt the possibility of other heirs in the picture. If you were really that big and important of a family." Marguerite smiles amusedly, shaking her head. "I don't believe your excuse for having me as an heir."
"It's not about physical terms. We have a lot of bastards still roaming around the Riddle fortune and land, but fleeing the curse of the bitch that was your mother." Tom rolls his eyes. Of course, she has to insult her in that disgusting way. "So do other grandchildren, quite a bit older than you, and a few great-grandchildren, but they're all disgraces," she sighs, mockingly disappointed at the same time. "You, on the other hand..."
"Do you care that much about your grandson?"
The only thing Tom senses here is that Thom is what got his this potential inheritance. Marguerite doesn't let go of her contempt for Merope. He understands it; he also despises her even though he hasn't met her. Still, does Marguerite want him to be the heir? Being that she's the mother?
"Thomas is my most beloved grandson. He always was so… bright, so charming. This family loved him for that. That’s why it hurted so much his disappearing and when he came back as a shell of his old self. Now he’s totally useless to this family, but he's the heir because I can’t let him without anything, he’s my precious grandson. And you're very similar." Tom wrinkles his face. "He was slightly more smiley and flirtatious, at least before your mother kidnapped and abused him, treating him like a sex toy, a man of her class... but that clear contempt for others: exactly the same.”
"I don't care."
"Obviously." Marguerite sets the cup on the table.
They sit in silence for a few minutes. A fight of mutual analysis. See who falters first. Tom lightly touches his arm and Nagini emerges from his sleeve.
"Accept. Anything that gives you money or more stability is good."
"I don't care."
"She talked to snakes, or so it seemed," Marguerite points out. Tom ignores the comment and Nagini emerges completely, wrapping her body around Tom's shoulders.
"Respect outside and inside the magical world. It's better... than losing a treasure and advantage that came to you on its own."
Tom doesn't want to, even though his scheming side wants to say yes. Marguerite just thinks of ways to get him to agree, what can convince him to continue the tradition, to keep the Riddle name existing, also to stop pressuring Thomas further. His poor and traumatized grandson can no longer bear the pressure of having another heir and the fear of dying from the curse that haunts them.
Courtesy of Merope Gaunt.
"Is your pride of abandonment stronger? Or the image you have?" Margaret chides, snapping Tom out of his reverie. "That girl is quite pathetic—"
"Don't talk about her," Tom orders patiently.
"As if worse: no money, no property, living off other people's charity, gifts and alms," Margaret exclaims. "Do you really want to stay like this?"
Tom causes the fireplace to go out, the tea in the teapot to go cold and the glass to frost over. Just like the walls.
"Of course you don't have to live here, but at least you'll have somewhere to go without going back to that orphanage and you'll have something to show off at that boarding school where you're being educated. You'll have something, even for that girl you have for a girlfriend."
Marguerite smiles condescendingly.
┈
"This place is huge," James says, amazed. "It almost makes sense."
"That Tom is a prince? Of course," Lily laughs. "I hope Tom accepts and doesn't go back to the orphanage. It would be better than being there."
Harriet rolls her eyes at her mom and steps aside, letting them talk about whatever they want. Moving through the halls, looking at paintings and ornaments, she runs into Thom. She can tell he's… stressed. His anxiety makes him pale and sweaty. The moment he sees her, he snorts. "If you want anything, ask the butler. He'll help you."
"I was just walking," she murmurs, staring at him, being obvious. "Are you okay?"
"Great, sweetheart," Thom quips, Harriet sneers. Of course, they're both exactly the same. Thom takes a deep breath, leaning against the wall.
Harriet leans against the wall in front of him and lets her magic flow. Considering that he's very much like her: agonizing over something that comes back to hurt out of pure psychological torture. Thom slowly relaxes, breathes calmly and manages a soft, cynical smile.
"So this is what he was talking about with magic and warmth, umm..."
"I don't like leaving acquaintances agonizing."
"Acquaintances?"
"You're my father-in-law," Harriet quips.
Thom mocks: "He's not my son."
"He is: whether you like it or not."
Harriet stays there, comforting him. Thom manages to calm down, looser and breathing calmly. He stares at the teenager, feeling like he understands what's making Tom notice her. It's not the way she lives or looks. She's just... Lovely. It feels so good to be around her. She's... Calming.
It's peaceful.
It's bright .
"You should stay away from him," Thom says quietly and Harriet snorts, rolling her eyes. "He's nothing but darkness and all the evil that can exist." Thom settles into his place. "If that's the case, you should leave him and try to get somewhere safe."
"You don't know him, so I don't know what you're talking about."
"It's like her. Believe me. It's better if you stay away."
Harriet shakes her head.
"I know she did a lot of bad things, but Tom is different. He isn't someone who would be capable of something like that."
Thom assumes Harriet is very innocent. Tom steps out of where he's been, his expression of contempt unmatched by Harriet's magic coddling Thom. He approaches her and Harriet raises an eyebrow. "What are you doing?” he asked.
"Keep him from fainting."
Tom snorts and walks straight past. Harriet follows him, laughing at Nagini, who hisses and sticks out her tongue, flirting a little.
"Think about it carefully." Harriet barely glances at Thom.
In the living room with the others, both families and the butler gather at the entrance. Marguerite looks more than happy. Harriet joins James out of habit. Tom's mood is clearly bad.
"Tom decided to accept being part of the Riddle family." Thom closes his eyes and bites his lip with obvious regret. Marguerite opens her arms. "For the next few months, we'll be sorting out the paperwork... Until then, there's no problem with you living with this family."
"Will he come live here when the process is finalized?"
"No," Thom breathes a sigh of relief. "He decided to stay at the orphanage. I don't know why." Marguerite jokes. Of course it's out of pride. Wanting to escape as much as possible.
It'll only be two more summers, or even less than that. Tom doesn't plan to live near these people. Not even see them again if he can help it. If he agreed, it was because of Nagini who convinced him. Her and her insistence that he take advantage of the unique opportunity.
"Oh... well... Good!" Lily exclaims, uncomfortable and barely discreet about it. "I'm glad you could come to an agreement and now you can be a family." Tom looks at Lily with utter disdain.
"I want to make a couple of clarifications," Margaret announces, and Lily nods. "If this escalates into something more," she points to Tom and Harriet. "We'll have to discuss the name issue. Also, the heir. There must be at least one."
James and Lily are stunned and attacked at the same time. What's she talking about? Thom presses the bridge of his nose. He knew his grandmother would say something like that. Tom notices Harriet is equally surprised and confused. Stuttering, wanting to say something, even if it's silly and out of place. Surprisingly, it's Sirius who starts the fight:
"It doesn't going to happen. Either way, this girl." He takes Harriet by the shoulders and shakes her. "She's the last Potter heir. So if it does happen that she has children, it'll be Potter."
"I've never heard from that family; it's more important for the Riddle name to stay afloat."
"They're more than vital, important, nobility, royalty," Sirius insists, almost growling.
"Sirius," James complains through gritted teeth.
This topic feels inappropriate for both parties. Harriet because of the expectation, Tom because of what's expected to continue, both of them who could break up at some point in their lives. Thom clears his throat and takes his grandmother by the shoulder, pulling her back slightly.
"This isn't the time for that. Perhaps at another meeting. A lot has already been discussed and agreed upon today," Thom suggests. "Since there's no way around it." Marguerite gives in, but not very happy about it.
"Let's go," Tom demands. James gestures for him to wait a little longer.
"By Ministry directives, we're required to make this explanation. Given that you have a minor attached to your family and attending Hogwarts as a student," James announces, rolling up his red shirt. Marguerite furrows her eyebrows in confusion and Thom barely controls his nerves. "Tom belongs to the English wizarding world."
James takes his wand from his pocket and with a simple flourish, transmutes flowers into the empty vase. Marguerite holds onto Thom, gasping for air. Incredible at what she sees, blinking again and again. She gives a squeal of horror. Sirius has transformed into a dog and is barking, coming toward her. All to scare her on purpose.
Maybe give her a heart attack.
The information that Tom talks to snakes only brought looks of confusion and suspicion. In the end, they left with much more than they bargained for.
┈ ⋞ ⟨ ✷ ⟩ ⋟ ┈
"Worried?" James nods and Lily laughs softly. "Look on the bright side… at least he has something going for him. Knowing him, cynical as he is, it must be a dream come true. No matter what he says or says otherwise."
"He was very irritated. I doubt it's that much of what he wants," James says.
He doesn't like Tom—in fact, he wouldn't want to make a big deal out of it—but James is a very empathetic person, unfortunately. Tom was extremely uncomfortable and unhappy. He doesn't understand why he should accept Marguerite’s proposal. Tom is very strange in that regard. Lily strokes his face and James snorts.
"I felt like I was talking to Lucius Malfoy. I'd like to get that bother off my chest," James grumbles.
"It's the Muggle version," Lily agrees. "Which would make him and Snape faint if we introduced them."
"I don't have the patience for something like that."
Lily kisses him on the cheek and then on the lips, sitting on top of him.
┈
Sirius moves his head, enjoying the rhythm of the music. He's still satisfied with having scared Marguerite. It was the best part of the morning. It leaves some time to calm things down. Both Tom's and James's. He feels like the only one who understands how much he despises meddling in politics. The whole engagement thing made him so exasperated. He noticed how he bristled at the whole thing.
Or well... Lily must have noticed it too.
She's probably aware of the subject too...
He gives a huff of annoyance, sitting up in bed. He knows he shouldn't feel this way. It's a silly thing he got over years ago. This ridiculous, almost childish jealousy toward Lily. He’s not seventeen anymore and it's already understood...
He just wish...
"Uh?"
The owl flies into the room and surprises him. It's carrying a letter and he wouldn't think it was odd except for one detail: he doesn't recognize the bird. It's not from the Ministry, from a friend, some secret contact. Usually there's a magical signature, but this bird is barely a messenger animal. Nothing more.
As he reads the paper, his face wrinkles.
"Greetings, Sirius Black.
I'm glad you're enjoying your vacation in England. I wouldn't want you to miss out on some quality time over the holidays. It would be sad if you didn't see Harriet, or even more tragically, James.
I was glad to hear you took the opportunity to get rid of Lennox. I hope it shows we can work together.
Thinking about it makes me regret even more that our conversation was so aggressive. I want nothing more than to understand each other, to show that we can be allies and good friends. To work amicably. We can achieve what we want without getting in each other's way; on the contrary, by being on the same side.
I want you to know that my offer still stands. You can accept it when you feel confident. When you realize you no longer want to be a guard dog, far from the person you watch over and help out of unrequited love.
Keep the owl. Send it with your reply when you’re ready.”
Sirius reluctantly throws the paper away and barely manages not to hurt the bird. It’s not responsible for his desire to strangle Grindelwald. He takes a deep breath, runs his hand over his face, and inhales as much air as possible.
He needs to think this through carefully and, unfortunately, talk to James about it. It will be an awkward conversation and he has to know what James thinks. Uncomfortable for Lily and even worse: Harriet.
With the conversation they've already had, it certainly won't be easy. Her goddaughter is very upset about the subject of Grindelwald and being targeted by that madman. They already had the problem with Tom at Christmas. Nothing more is needed this month.
Sirius concludes that he can wait until the New Year. Clearly there's no rush and at least with this, he'll have time to not worry. If Grindelwald waits for his direct answer, he'll let him think for as long as he needs. Sirius lies back in bed and closes his eyes. He couldn't have had the fun and happy day he wanted.
┈
Tom hasn't said anything this whole time. He's somewhere between taciturn and annoyed. Harriet takes a deep breath, sitting next to him. Nagini stays to Tom's right.
"Do you want to talk about something?" Harriet suggests, shy and awkward.
"Why were you talking to him?" He was more direct than Harriet would have liked. She scratches his head and adjusts his glasses.
"He was about to faint. I just helped him." Tom snorts in annoyance. "I know you hate him and don't want to see him again, but I just wanted to avoid delays and trouble," Harriet explains.
"You can let him die if it’s a posibility." Tom gets out of bed.
"I won't speak to him again. If that makes you feel better."
There's no response.
Tom is bothered by the lack of control he had over everything what happened. He could have handled it, but in the end, Marguerite won. Harriet actively interacting with the person who calls him the worst human being alive only worsens his mood. He furrows his eyebrows at the back hug. "It's kind of funny, you know? That in every way possible, you're a prince."
Tom has no interest in being one in the Muggle world.
Nor is he interested in his immediate family.
Tom considers himself an anomaly. An heir of Slytherin from the depths of the unknown. He doesn't want to be associated with the Riddles, with Merope...
He's Tom Marvolo Slytherin as soon as he can.
┈ ⋞ ⟨ ✷ ⟩ ⋟ ┈
"Very dramatic," Hermione says thoughtfully, "but I don't know how to handle it. I don't hate any of my family." Harriet snorts.
She decided to tell her best friend about it, if by chance she has any way to help her boyfriend. Tom hasn't said much since yesterday; she's worried about how pensive he is. Hermione scratches her head.
"I think it's something he needs to go through on his own," Hermione says and Harriet purses her lips. "It's part of his path, it's his life and his family. It doesn't have anything to do with you."
"I feel bad leaving him alone."
"Some people enjoy that solitude."
Harriet grumbles, digging her hands into her leather jacket.
"You can't be a part of everything, Harriet," Hermione admonishes.
"At Hogwarts, they can talk shit and have me in every corner; I’m in everything even if I don't want it, but I can’t be in this. This is just bullshit," Harriet laments, and Hermione laughs as she judges her.
Harriet genuinely wants to give Tom his space, but it's not hard to tell he's not right. Something's bothering him and since Tom is inept at handling his emotions, Harriet fears it might spiral out of control. That there might be sensitive spots being attacked that Tom won't acknowledge.
Chapter 54: Act. LIV. Needing the explotion
Chapter Text
Not having a family was normal. The simplest thing. I live in an orphanage and unlike all the others who only cried for not being chosen and not having a new home, I knew I had a greater destiny than being taken in by people desperate for a family. People willing to care for the mistakes and discards of others who couldn't prevent a conception.
Even before my magic, I knew I was more than that. The snakes confirmed it. Nagini confirmed it. My magic, which made everyone tremble and want to come closer, it proved I was right all along. I am so much more than all those mediocre, insufferable children can aspire to or even imagine.
Those who are tied to ridiculous ideals and filled with useless emotions.
I thought I came from wizards. It was meant to be. I am a Slytherin. It wasn't: my father is a Muggle. Being a half-blood was a blow I learned to handle. Unlike my fellow purebloods, I have far more magic, greater understanding and ability. A half-blood surpassed them. Just as I have more power than they could ever have. They would need to be reborn to obtain it.
These are facts, conditions, with which I can exist in peace. With which I need not worry. My magic is strong and great, unmatched. So much so that it has been praised by Grindelwald. Someone who has lived for over a century and recognizes extraordinary magic just by looking at it.
Yet I cannot understand how someone could call me a mistake. How could I be a mistake? How am I a monster or a disgrace? I am more impressive than anything that has ever been created. Even for a half-blood, I am different. Very different.
" You've been writing a lot lately ." Tom pauses his writing, noticing Nagini in his lap. " You know, whatever concerns you have, you can talk to me about them. I'm here for you. For anything you need."
"It's nothing important," Tom denies, returning to the journal and quickly picking up the pen. "I'm just... getting things out of my mind."
" That's important enough. Is it about that miserable man?" Tom doesn't respond at all. " He and that old hag can rot in hell, you don't have to worry about a thing..." Tom. He turns to look at her and Nagini stands to his level. " Remember, nothing matters more to me than you. You're my whole world. I'm your family ."
" I know you're my family."
"Then stop thinking about them. Don't think about them again."
Although the snake slithers back onto the bed and Tom orders her not to listen, Nagini is worried about him. Seeing him rage and complain. Tomorrow is his birthday, yet he still seems so upset. Near nightfall, Nagini only listens to the order:
Stay here and don't leave the room for me.
Nagini gives a grunt of utter contempt, hitting the mattress and growing larger. She wants to go with him; whatever is going through his mind, it can't be good if he doesn't want her to accompany him. It's not about him being with Harriet, either. Unfortunately, Nagini has no choice but to stay here.
┈
Harriet can't find Tom anywhere. Nagini is here, but apart from her, there's no sign of the Slytherin! It's funny, because she wanted to be on the lookout so she could wish him a happy birthday as soon as it struck twelve. If she touched the bed, she would fall asleep and she'd miss the opportunity.
The snake gets out of bed, slithers to the desk and hands Harriet Tom's diary. " He was writing right up until he left. He wouldn't tell me anything. He just ordered me to stay here ."
"Sometimes I wish I knew what you were saying," Harriet says. She flips through the diary; the most recent entries are long. All in the same vein: anger and annoyance over the Riddles.
Today's is especially long. It matches how taciturn and private he's been all day. Harriet stops at a specific point and Nagini touches her arm, then points to it. Harriet reads it aloud and Nagini looks sad. Harriet strokes her head.
"Where is he? He's-"
Harriet stammers and pulls out her wand.
" Revelio ."
Is Tom aware of his own chaos? Perhaps not. Pages filled with ink and angry words that don't even end. So out of his mind, he didn't even delete the journal entry. The pen flies, just following the mental tangle, concluding with a simple comment:
" He's the one who belongs in the valley of death, and I'll make sure he is. That way, he'll stop insulting me by calling me a mistake."
Harriet leaves Nagini on the floor and runs off. She has find one of those reusable portkeys.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
Թող դա գաղտնիք մնա Աստծո և մահկանացուների աչքերից
(Let it remain a secret from the eyes of God and mortals)
The transparent dome closes and Tom exhales. He's around the large dwelling and part of the front territory. Not very large. It doesn't need to be. Despite his measured movements: this barrier that prevents him from being discovered using magic as a minor, the ability to return home without problem and having a plan in mind; reasoning isn't what It takes over.
His pride does.
His anger.
Tom advances to the Riddle mansion, entering after casting a simple spell on the lock. On his way to the second floor, the butler notices him. He says nothing and Tom ignores him equally. He heads to the bedrooms, opening each door. All of them empty with made beds and paintings of their former inhabitants.
People who died from Merope Gaunt's curse.
Tom reaches Marguerite's room and all he does is soundproof it. Just like the rooms he passes through, sending the spell into the servants' quarters...
He reaches Thomas's room, who is sleeping on his back. His room is tidy and refined, with an open journal on the desk, several family photos scattered throughout; a bouquet of flowers on the opposite nightstand, an open window and a closed closet. Tom stands by the bed, staring at him.
Thom wakes up, finding the dark presence with glowing red eyes like a demon on the ground. "What are you doing here? What the…?"
" Crucio ."
Thom screams.
Writhes.
Convulses.
Bells.
Curses.
Wails.
A faint smile spreads across Tom's face. Satisfied to see him suffer and for the curse to grow stronger and stronger. He stops and Thom takes a deep breath, tries to coordinate his escape, to run as far away as possible; Tom makes a flourish. " Wingardium leviosa ."
Tom slams Thom against the wall, then against the ceiling and finally throws him out the window. He laughs, watching him whine and cry for help. It's pathetic. Desperate and useless all at once. Tom makes his way down to the garden. His smile fades at Thom's babbling. "I knew you were just like her. A fucking monster, unh-”
" CRUCIO !"
Thom screams again, writhing. Tom presses the curse. He repeats it over and over again to make it more powerful and more effective. He stops who knows how long later, panting; the dark sky, his dark magic and the mist only make his red eyes glow like a predator ready to destroy everything.
Thom vomits and can barely coordinate moving to the side to avoid choking; spasms, convulsions and uncontrollable sobs. Tom leans slightly toward him. "Are you done?"
"M… mn…”
"Mmmmm?" He repeats, smiling mockingly.
"Mo… mo… monst-er…”
Tom's smile fades. Tom clenches his jaw and points his wand, the tip of it starting to form a green glow. He barely manages to breathe the first few letters when he's pushed aside, almost collapsing. Even though the green light fades, what he finds is an equally green gaze:
"Don't do it.”
Why is Harriet here?
Why did she come?
How could she get here?
Harriet shivered. The cold in this place was immense and hugging Tom was burning with how frozen he was. Harriet looked at Thom on the floor. Covered in cuts from the broken glass, sickly pale and clearly hurt. Harriet hugged Tom closer.
"Let's get out of here."
"You get out of here—"
"You're not going to kill anyone!" Harriet broke away from him to take his arm. "Let's go home."
"If you don't want to look, just turn around." Tom abruptly broke away and returned his attention to Thom.
Harriet rushed to stand in front of Thom, covering him. Tom gasped, his expression horrified and offended. Why was she defending him? What does it matter to her whether he kills him or not? It's absurd. Harriet shakes her head. She's still struggling to accept that Tom is here doing this. That he mustered the strength to kill a person.
"Are you crazy? You can't-”
"Get out of the way."
"No! You can't kill him!" Thom rolls over onto his stomach, convulsing from the attacks. "He…”
"HE SHOULD BE DEAD BY NOW! GET OUT OF THE WAY! NOW!" Tom orders, hysterical. Harriet isn't supposed to be here. Thom isn't supposed to be alive right now. Harriet shakes her head.
"You're angry, but that won't be solved if-"
Tom pushes her aside with a simple spell and Harriet hits the floor. She shakes her head, adjusts her glasses and quickly gets up, a little uncoordinated and preventing Tom from killing Thom. The Muggle clings to Harriet's arm, whimpering and hyperventilating. She hears him babbling. "P-please help me. Please-”
"I said get out of the way," Tom repeats and Harriet slowly sits up.
"I'm not going to let you ruin your life over a tantrum."
"Tantrum?" Tom repeats, a crooked grin on his face. He lets out a breath. "A tantrum," Tom says again and gives a laugh Harriet can't define, standing up. "You think I'm throwing a tantrum.”
"You're going to kill someone…!"
"HE'S A MISTAKE! HE'S THE DAMN MISTAKE! HE'S TELLING ME I SHOULD BE DEAD WHEN HE'S THE ONE WHO SHOULD DISAPPEAR," Tom points out, not calming down one bit. Thom clings desperately to Harriet, babbling the same thing over and over again. "SHUT UP AND YOU, GET AWAY."
Harriet shrieks, almost falling to the ground. A cold gust knocks Thom far away. Harriet shivered, seeing the ground covered in snow and ice, icicles sprouting out of control and Tom's skin covering in frost, making the atmosphere more tense, dense and dark.
The only thing that stands out is Harriet, who looks like a small candle about to be extinguished by the blizzard.
"Tom—"
"Everything will be perfect when he's gone. It's how it was always meant to be.”
Tom passes her, intent only on killing the crying, dying man. He stops at the back hug. "You're not a mistake. You never were. Don't prove otherwise... don't be what he expects."
Tom inhales and exhales sharply, feeling Harriet on his back, breathing heavily and holding him tightly. Tom knows he's not the mistake here. He knows it. Harriet, for her part, is only thinking about how much it affects Tom to feel like he's not the image he created of himself. Perfect and unique. It's much more than simply feeling attacked by an insult.
Tom is exploding because he can't stand this annoying situation anymore. For the first time in his life, he feels this way.
"He should be dead," Tom insists, his voice now shaking. Thom manages to lift himself up in his arms. "He's dead. Just like her. They're both dead." Tom points his wand at him, his voice breaking. "There's no one. Neither of them are here. I am... I'm all that's left. I'm the only one who exists." His hand trembles and his expression turns to one of tears, his cheeks and eyes reddened and watery. "I'm the best that could have been... left... I am... Why am I a mistake?"
Tom cries, not knowing if it's sadness, anguish, confusion, anger, frustration. Hundreds of doubts swirling uncontrollably inside his head. Endless complaints with no reason to exist. As well as hundreds of demands.
He didn't ask to be born, yet he's blamed for it.
He hasn't done anything wrong, yet they look at him as if he did.
He didn't ask for anything, yet they demand from him as if he owed them.
Merope took it upon herself to be a monster to Thom and he became a monster to Tom. In the blink of an eye, they became a curse that doesn't let him breathe. The shame and disgust that come from a person like Merope; the realization that to Thom he is a mistake and a waste, that he's still alive, seeing him with such contempt.
Tom was happy thinking he was the last remaining Slytherin, the last remaining Riddle family. So unique that they gave him the last name despite being an orphan waiting for a family. A kind of pristine miracle to admire in the wizarding world, perhaps in the Muggle world. However, that's not the case. A half-blood, the product of a love potion, rape, a man who hates him as if it were his fault and his entire life as a miserable orphan.
He sees Thom and thinks of everything he went through because of him. For leaving him with Merope. If he'd done anything, he wouldn't have lived in the orphanage, starving, sharing tiny rooms, fighting over old clothes and being bullied by older children.
He feels so small.
So weak.
So miserable.
It's not fair.
Tom doesn't want to feel this way.
Thom has no right to make him feel this way.
"You're not a mistake, love. You're not."
Tom lets out a sob, his body weak and tense, almost desperate for Harriet to keep talking. For her to repeat it a thousand times until it can't be a lie. Tom groans, taking a breath and when he lets it out, he staggers. Thom manages to stand up and gives him that same look that revolutionizes every negative emotion inside him.
It's disgust.
It's hate.
It's contempt.
It's superiority.
It's fear.
It's pity.
It's disdain.
It's...
It's wanting him to die and disappear .
Harriet lets go of Tom little by little, standing in front of him and before asking them to leave, Thom speaks. "You're a damn mistake. I should have killed you before she left."
" Avada -”
They both jump. Thom backs away. Tom clutches his red cheek. "Isn't one curse enough for you?! WE'RE LEAVING! NOW!" Harriet yells. She snatches the wand from his hand. Tom's skin burns; the slap scrambled his brain for a second. Thom stammers, "D-don't go with him. It's a-”
"Shut up, I don't want to hear anything from you, I don't want to see you. Go away! I'm not interested in your pathetic whining! You fucking twat."
Harriet pulls Tom with her. They escape the crumbling dome and the blizzard makes her grunt. Thom runs back into the house, leaving both teenagers exposed. Harriet chatters her teeth and pulls Tom back. Unfortunately, they have to walk to a chimney.
She curses herself for not bringing her broom. They could be flying home right now. If she even knows where she's going. It takes them almost twenty minutes to find somewhere to hide while the worst happens. Harriet is irritated by Tom's spoiled brat face.
"Are you going to say something?"
Tom moves his jaw.
"You slap me."
"And you almost killed someone."
"It still hurts.”
"My ass hurts too because you threw me out after trying to stop you from being a murderer. Is that better?"
Tom looks away and Harriet clicks her tongue, crossing her arms. She's annoyed that despite everything, Tom would get so worked up again and come so close to killing someone. It's clear Tom is terrible at self-control. His mind races back to last year's stupidity. His contempt To emotions, it's nothing more than the recognition of how much they control him. Negative ones above all else.
Does he hate being dependent? Cut off contact.
Does he feel blinded by his family's reality? Kill the one who caused that concern.
"Do you want... to tell me something? Aside from a complaint."
"Why did you save him?"
Is it jealousy? Is it annoyance? It could be anything and Harriet has no patience for either option. She shrugs and looks outside, where the snow is falling even harder than before.
"I told you. I don't want you to be a murderer. You're better than that." Harriet shakes her hair, full of snow and slightly frozen. "Besides, I know you well enough to know you're not like that."
"Like that?"
"So irrational. What would you achieve by killing him? What would happen if you were discovered? You'd go to Azkaban, they'd break your wand and you'd lose everything," she summarizes with a snort. "I don't need to be a genius to know that."
"No one would have noticed."
"Are you sure?"
Tom remains silent. No one would have noticed... although in hindsight, the butler saw him, would surely have informed Marguerite and who knows what that would have triggered? His head throbs at the thought. He leans back and rubs his still-red cheek.
"You're not a mistake..." He looks up at Harriet, who's still staring at the doorway. "Even if your start was shit, if you came from something so bad and troubled: you are you. You are so much more than your parents' union. You are the Prince of Slytherin, aren't you?"
Harriet looks back at him. Her vibrant green eyes put him at ease. Tom sighs, a note of shame creeping into his face and spirit. Harriet reaches out her hand, and Tom gently slides hers into his.
"Although I understand how it hurts. I know what it feels like to think you're a disappointment.”
Despite their different approaches—Harriet feels inadequate and a failure, while Tom is a mistake and an abomination—the common thread is that they come from people who, whether they like it or not, carry a lot of weight. Harriet would give anything to have Lily's approval, to feel that her mother accepts her on her journey of understanding and the insecurities that shape her way of life. Tom would do anything to not be viewed with disgust and contempt by Thom. Even if he doesn't care about him and keeps his distance, he recognizes him as someone who was vital…
He's the first person to want him dead with such fury. Thom sees him as an evil entity, worse than a destructive parasite. He's not interested in being loved by him. He's interested in ending that contempt for him.
"Why does something like this hurt? I don't understand. I don't care either."
"Maybe because deep down, you wanted me to be different."
Harriet lovingly rubs Tom's knuckles. She wonders if he noticed in his own diary. She assumes he was so wrapped up in his anxiety, which he wasn't.
I'm special. I'm unique. I thought if I had my parents, they'd be proud and happy to have me. How could they not be? That's what I always thought, watching children being adopted or rejected, with parents gossiping about their poor existence that needs someone else.
He should be proud of me.
Why isn't he happy that I'm perfect? What does he call me a mistake?
Tom longed to be loved by his biological parents if they were alive. His dad is alive and… he hates it. His ideal fantasy was shattered very quickly and very loudly.
"Don't do something like that again."
Tom nods slightly, almost scoldingly. Harriet snorts softly.
"Happy birthday."
"Thank you."
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
Fortunately, no one noticed they were gone. There are signs and they're very rare, but James and Lily can't wrap their heads around the mere thought of everything that really happened. The funniest thing is that Tom still has the bruise on his cheek. As obvious, if not more so, than it should be. He blames it on how pale he is.
It's remarkable how dejected he is. Not only is cold around him, it's also evident in his lack of judging others with his gaze. No one dares to ask and that's normal: the only person close to him is Harriet. Hermione would say she's the only person who genuinely loves him.
She gave him a fantasy book. Part of a series that, if he liked it, she'd give him the other parts. Tom is very grateful for these thoughtful gestures from Hermione, but he doesn't express it too much. Aside from the congratulations, he receives a box with a ball inside. Sirius digs his hands into his pockets and Harriet rocks back and forth on her feet. She's suspiciously dressed and tidy: baggy pants, big boots, a turtleneck sweater and her hair in a high ponytail that marks her face.
"It's a portkey. Your gift isn't right here."
Tom snorts. He doesn't feel like going out, but he doesn't feel like staying in the room either. Without much choice, he changes, grabs a coa, and then the portkey, disappearing from the living room.
"Where did they go?" Hermione asks, curious. James and Lily exhale simultaneously. Harriet told her she had a more than perfect gift for Tom, but she kept it a secret, even for her. Sometimes she's surprised by Harriet's ability to hide information.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
"We have until... seven to get back. There's a lot to see in that time."
Tom blinks repeatedly, extremely surprised: they're in France. Not only that, but also in front of the Louvre. Harriet takes his arm, encouraging him to walk. Tom had mentioned to her at some point that he'd like to go to France, both for Muggle-related reasons, such as museums and places, and for the magical places that are never widely described. It all remains rumors and gossip from others who have been able to go. Clearly, it didn't occur to him that Harriet would take it personally and now they're here to celebrate her birthday.
Sirius stays out of the way. He doesn't want to be a third wheel and all it takes is for him to keep a close eye on them, in addition to keeping an eye out for any eventuality. The walk through the museum is phenomenal. Sirius took advantage of taking photos of them without them noticing, using a camera that Arthur called "instant." Small and pocket-sized.
It works well for the moment.
Harriet is a little bored; Tom takes forever between paintings, but she hides the feeling. It's her boyfriend's birthday and she's not going to die by being here for a couple of hours. Thanks to his Muggle upbringing, Tom has tons of facts about every painting or painter that interests him. It's the most striking part of the tour: listening to him speak with his fascination, hidden behind a serious and indifferent expression.
"If you hadn't been a wizard, what do you think you'd do?"
Tom grimaces. It's the worst and most hurtful question he's ever been asked. The idea of existing without magic is repulsive in itself. The distant and terrible hypothetical gives him a migraine, but he manages to answer:
"Doesn't change the fact that I like politics. That's what I'd do," Tom says and Harriet groans.
"How boring."
"Now we're talking about Quidditch?"
Harriet nudges him and Tom gives a full-throated laugh. The first he's ever given and Harriet takes it as an achievement.
Two hours later, with Tom complaining about people watching The Mona Lisa, they head to the entrance to Magical France. Tom doesn't see how it's a secret entrance, it's so obvious. It makes Platform 9¾ look inconspicuous. Sirius is quite direct: he leads them to the equivalent of Diagon Alley, where there seems to be a festival. A clear New Year's celebration.
" This brings back some strange memories."
"Have you been here before?" Tom asks, puzzled. Nagini claims to have lived in a forest for many years.
" I think so. It's not very clear. I can barely recognize that I remember anything ," Nagini admits, overwhelmed and dazed.
Feeling like there's so much more here, she doesn't want to be there. Even so, she simply leans on Tom's shoulder, in plain sight. The walk through the festival includes seeing magic they haven't been able to witness until now. From giant bubbles, different fireworks, forms of dance and entertainment, to strange food that Tom absolutely wouldn't touch.
The animals were what undoubtedly captured both of their attention. From Kelpies performing tricks inside huge water bubbles to a Zouwu that threw itself on the floor to be petted and played with.
"Due to issues with the mistreatment of magical creatures and Newt Scamander's insistence, they managed to make the environment more... friendly to creatures like that," Sirius says, a hand on his hip. "Although smuggling is still as high as ever."
"Aren't you going to do anything?"
"It's not my jurisdiction. Besides, they don't seem to be in danger."
Harriet maintains a silly, hopeful smile: five occamys are in her arms, rubbing against her chest. The only reason they're leaving is because Nagini is scaring them. Along the way, Tom stops by a specific stall: it sells snakes.
"They're potion ingredients," Sirius informs. "I don't know s-”
" He's an heir."
"He wants us to help him?"
"Can you get us out of here?"
"I don't want to die."
All the snakes in boxes, baskets and cages head toward Tom, who finds all the noise irritating. He cocks his head slightly in displeasure and Nagini silences them easily. Tom reaches out his hand and one of the many snakes slithers subtly up his arm.
It's a silver snake, with an iridescent, almost purple sheen; one blue eye and one gold eye, a double tail tip and enormous, fully retractable fangs. It's quite large; it weighs his arm down from holding it.
"That's a pretty one," Harriet says. "Are you going to keep it?" she asks amusedly. "So Nagini isn't alone all the time."
" I don't need company like this ," Nagini complains and Tom gives a laugh, tilting his head. He senses something... odd about this animal. He doesn't know exactly if it's the energy it emanates, being a magical animal, or the fact that it's genuinely strange. He didn't know snakes could have heterochromia.
" It's a strange snake. I received the shipment recently, but they were all taken for their skins. Their scales are silver. If you take off the skin, you can do a lot of things with it," the vendor says. Sirius sucks in a breath. He doesn't know if that's exactly what Tom wants to do. " They come straight from Bulgaria. You won't find one like that for a long time ."
"Do you want it?" Sirius asks directly. Tom nods. He likes the skin. Besides, he has a very clear idea of what he can do with it. "Oh well... one less dead snake," Sirius quips, taking the money out of his pocket.
Once they're apart, Tom says to Nagini. "Go tear down the whole stall. Let them all escape." The snake obeys, diving down and hiding for a few moments so dhe can knock over the cages, break the baskets and let the snakes swarm in all directions. It creates a small racket that Sirius doesn't notice, but Harriet does and laughs.
Tom is more of a troublemaker than he'd like to admit. Which is funny in itself.
They arrive at a square where a group of artists are playing and people are dancing. Sirius gives them a push and Tom holds Harriet to guide her. Both because of the distraction, the embarrassment of doing it wrong and because dancing has never been her strong suit. Sirius takes several photos of them. He manages to capture Harriet and Tom smiling. It looks a lot like a photo James and Lily have. It will be a nice contrast.
"Are you enjoying your birthday?" Harriet asks, and Tom tilts his head, smiling slyly.
"All this to show off that you'd give me a nice gift."
"Of course," Harriet agrees and Tom laughs. Sirius raises his eyebrows, surprised by the kiss they exchange.
He thought they wouldn't dare to do it in front of him. He bites his lip, clutching the camera in his hands. It reminds him too much of James and Lily. He’d say even better than them. Whether it's a contrast or there's a very peculiar harmony between them. As if something around them says it must be this way.
Worries flood his mind. All a consequence of Grindelwald. His goddaughter can barely be happy, she's barely enjoying her adolescence, a functional relationship... he doesn't want this to end. He doesn't want her to suffer anymore. He has to end the threat of Grindelwald at all costs.
He reacts when Harriet and Tom return. Harriet looks at the photos and shows them to the Slytherin, who maintains a slightly smiling expression.
"Let's make a deal," Sirius proposes. "You promise to be back at this point in… two hours.” He looks at his watch and calculates the difference with England. “I won’t say I left you alone, clearly giving permission for this” he points at them whole, “to happen.”
“Really!?”
“You expected a responsible adult? From me?” Harriet shakes her head and Tom grimaces—that’s a very good point. Nagini climbs onto Tom’s shoulder. “I’ll go get a drink, maybe get someone to play with, whatever. I’ll see you back here at six-thirty,” he warns and with that, he leaves, shoving his hands in his jacket pockets.
“Your family is full of people who love spoiling you.”
“A bit,” Harriet admits, laughing.
Sirius keeps a close eye on the area. He doesn’t chase them, but he does make sure they don’t leave a safe perimeter. Still keeping an eye out for anyone dangerous in the area. Tom and Harriet, for their part, stroll along, talking a little more freely, without any possibility of Sirius overhearing them and feeling a flicker of responsibility.
"I haven't figured it out yet, but I think it might be useful," Tom says thoughtfully. "That barrier to not detect spells, the soundproofing... there's a lot there I could use however I please."
"Can you show it to me?"
"If I can figure it out. I've only done two or three things. I don't understand much of anything," Tom complains, and Harriet snorts in annoyance. "And I don't know if you could."
"Why not?"
"It's dark magic."
"The worst that can happen is something explodes," Harriet dismisses, unconcerned about it. Tom wouldn't want to drag her into that.
He has a feeling it's not a good idea.
The two of them stumble upon a place with music playing. They go down the stairs, entering discreetly. The music playing is comfortable, trays floating back and forth. They take a table at the back, ordering Butterbeer and continuing their conversation. They glance occasionally at their watches, just to be safe.
Otherwise, there'll be a black dog howling in the streets of Paris.
"I was thinking I'd go talk to your dad," Tom scrunches his face. "I'll ask him not to say anything, to keep it a secret and not to insult you again."
"I don't want you to see him."
"I'm not going to force you to go any further than necessary and I have no problem telling him he's an asshole," Harriet says. Tom crosses his arms in disgust. "Listen to me: I'm doing this to help you. I know you wouldn't want to, but it's... for your own good."
"Can you at least take Nagini?"
"Yeah. No problem." She agrees and Tom exhales, moving his jaw. "I hated the way you looked," Harriet says quietly, making Tom look at her again. "I thought he'd never see you this sad... and broken. I hate him for making you feel so bad." Tom bites his lower lip. "And I hate him for what he almost did to you."
Harriet brushes back a strand of hair and rests her cheek on her palm. Her vibrant green eyes stare into the red ones that hide sadness.
"You refuse to understand that's part of who I am. Dark magic is naturally destructive. It's-"
"You're not," Harriet argues, reaching out her hand and having Tom take it. "You are something much more beautiful and greater than that… and I know that if I take care of you, you'll still be the Tom who's truly worth it, the one you want to be."
The white magic makes him tremble, feeling it slither like a snake over his skin, and then it's like a huge weight. A lion that envelops him and suppresses the darkness inside him. Harriet smiles, tilting her head.
"You can promise me that the next time you get so upset, you'll talk to me first. Okay?"
"I'll try."
"Good!
Harriet approaches and sits on him, kissing him on the mouth. Tom hugs her hip, reciprocating the touch. Harriet shudders, feeling a strange sensation. As if they're watching her? She assumes it's paranoia. There's no one here watching them for any reason.
She intertwines her fingers in Tom's hair, moving a little on him and satisfying her craving. In this brief time they have to enjoy his birthday.
Chapter 55: Act. LV. Meetings, nightmares, excuses
Chapter Text
Despite everything, Tom can say he really enjoyed his birthday.
He wonders how Harriet took it so well that he tried to kill someone. He thought she'd feel threatened and horrified if she found out. Not that she'd forgive him or overlook the incident so easily; almost victimizing him when he was the aggressor in the attack. He's also surprised that she takes the issue of dealing with Thom so seriously.
As if he needs to be defended from him.
It's strange.
Tom doesn't love the idea; he'd say it disgusts him, but he doesn't have the patience, energy, mental capacity or desire for that discussion with her. He acknowledges it's a loving gesture on her part; it doesn't change the fact that he'd prefer the two of them never see each other.
The surprising thing is that the Weasleys showed up that night. Just like at Christmas. The difference is that this time, they stayed all night and Ron came. The look on his face could have been a gift in itself. Tom had hoped Harriet would cut him out of her life completely. He doesn't want to put up with him anymore.
Unfortunately, that's asking too much.
So he has to settle for how it all played out, plus Hermione and Harriet's sneering looks.
"Hello."
Silence for a few seconds. Ron taps his thigh and Harriet blinks constantly. "Is that all?" Hermione gasps, eyes wide, arms crossed. Ron presses his lips together, hunched over and staring at the floor.
"You called us annoying bitches and all you're going to say is 'Hello'?" Hermione argues almost immediately, incredulous. Ron presses his lips together, reddening.
"Why did you come here?" Harriet asks. James warned her not to come any closer unless Ron apologizes. She notices James nearby, discreetly monitoring the conversation. Ron sways on his feet.
"Because I wanted to be with both of you."
"Oh, that's odd. I thought you weren't interested in being with insufferable girls, who are whores who just spread their legs," Harriet complains. "That's what you said with the others, wasn't it?"
"Yes, but-"
"You admit it," Hermione exhales.
"Why would I deny it?" Tom rolls his eyes and puts a hand to his face. Hermione gives another gasp and seems about to leave. Ron finally gets the urge to speak, "W-what I mean is: I miss you. You're my best friends. I want to be with you... you're... you're the ones who matter the most." He squeezes his arm and Harriet continues with a bored expression. "With you guys, I don't have to pretend things I don't like. With you guys, I can do anything and I know you won't think I'm stupid." Ron licks his lips and looks at them both. "I miss you so much."
Ginny wants to intervene and at the same time, she doesn't want to help Ron. She wants him to fix what he did. She's surprised that Ron hasn't apologized yet.
"And I want it to be the same. I really do."
"Before you screw it up again," George coughs and Fred laughs. Ron gives them a bad look.
"So you can insult us again?" Hermione demands. "So you can snub us in front of everyone like we're the worst friends you could ever have. Is that why you want us to go back to the way we were?" She looks close to tears and Harriet takes her arm.
Hermione lets out a soft sob, putting her hand to her face and trying not to cry. She's still waiting for Ron to say he's sorry and he doesn't! On one hand, she's touched when he says she's important, that he misses her. It's just not enough. Not with how insulted and hurt she felt by his snubs at Hogwarts the last few days.
Not to mention how hard he went to humiliate them about the whole ball thing.
"I want us to be friends again. Like before. I promise not to do any of that." Harriet moves her jaw and the light in the room slowly rises. "I won't talk to other Gryffindors. Just you—and Neville, Dean, and Seamus. They don't get along with others. I promise nothing like what happened will happen again." Ron turns briefly to Ginny, who lowers her gaze. "I'll be a better friend." Ron walks quickly toward them, wanting to take their hands and Tom stands up on an impulse. "I'm going-”
"Step back," Tom says in a low, slow voice.
Although for a moment Ron was angered by Tom's intervention and wanted to tell him not to interfere, the cold, red gaze of his opponent intimidated him, combined with the magic surrounding him and the height difference. Even if it was just a little, Tom is still taller than Ron.
About a year older.
Ron takes a couple of steps back, and Harriet pats Tom. "It's okay."
Hermione looks back and forth between them, confused. Tom doesn't get involved in these conversations; he's not interested. Not even out of annoyance. The most he does is walk away or ignore his surroundings. He also notices that he's standing right in front of Harriet, arguing with her in a low voice.
"Are you going to forgive him again?"
"It's not your problem."
"Yes, it is when you're being stupid."
"Is everything okay here?" James peeks out and Tom seems a little annoyed, sitting back down on the couch, arms and legs crossed, with Nagini climbing onto his shoulders.
"Yeah, it's okay," James nods slightly and returns to where he was. Harriet turns her attention to Ron. "Just one more stupid thing and you're gone. Understand?"
Ron nods with a shy smile. Hermione wipes her eyes a little and straightens the skirt of the dress she's wearing. Ron finally reaches them, hugging them. It's not entirely reciprocated, but it's enough for today. Tom tries to hide his deep disdain and contempt because Harriet, even in her annoyance and offense, continues to apologize for him.
In the emotional aspect, his girlfriend is tremendously stupid.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
"Are you here to torture me more?"
"No. I came to prevent it from happening again."
Thom rubs his temple and has a couple of nervous twitches. Harriet bites her lip. She's hoping to end this quickly; otherwise, they'll find out she ran away from home and she could end up in a super boring situation with her parents. Especially James, who now more than ever seems on the verge of a nervous breakdown. Harriet pushes back a strand of hair that's fallen in her face and escaped from her updo.
"Listen, kid, I'm not going to-”
"Listen to me, it's easier," she interrupts,. and Thom looks at her with deep disdain. "I know Tom hurt you badly, almost killed him and it was horrible. He's unforgivable, but I want you not to say anything about it." Thom gives a wry laugh, rubbing his face. "It was just a mistake."
"Like you said: he almost killed me."
"It wouldn't be a problem if you stopped insulting him." Harriet admits it's ridiculous, though: she came here as devil's advocate. "You two hate each other. You're going to see each other as little as possible and I want you to stop being such a jerk to him," Harriet demands. "That way there won't be any more situations like this."
"Are you going to stop it?"
"I already did it once, didn't I?"
Thom moves his jaw. This is the most absurd thing that could happen to him. He stares at Harriet for a few moments. He thought it was a superficial situation. A relationship destined to fail. Yet here she is: defending an attempted murder and proposing some kind of truce. A thought escapes Thom's mind:
"He doesn't deserve you."
Harriet flinches. "Excuse me?"
"You're too good for him," Thom states quietly. "Too good, too kind, too understanding, even of people you don't know... He's a monster, you saw it," the nobleman points out and Harriet shakes her head, frowning. "He manipulates you into speaking up for him."
"I came here alone. He didn't ask for anything."
"And you're defending him against something indefensible."
"He's my boyfriend," Harriet explains, and that conviction weighs heavily on Thom's chest.
"He's the greatest danger you can be associated with... Stay away from him. For your own good.”
It's not an order.
It's a request.
It's a plea .
Harriet doesn't plan to listen. Their meeting was effective: Thom agreed to be reserved with his opinions and avoid Tom as much as possible. It'll be a matter of talking it over with his grandmother and not trying to make them close. Harriet was satisfied with this result.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
The crowd... It's complicated.
Harriet tries to move forward. To move among the people, but it's too hard to move forward. Harriet walks against the current. Thousands of people without identity or purpose prevent her from moving forward, from reaching... Home? She doesn't know. Maybe. It looks like her home.
Yes. It's her home.
That thing so far away from where she's and she's trying to go to, is her home.
Harriet gives a small exclamation of surprise. One shoe comes off. She bends down to pick it up and only sees how, amidst the footsteps of the crowd, she is dragged away. She is stepped on, kicked and stands up again, gasping for air and groaning. She tightens her expression, using her hands to open the gap between the people, so close and dense like a uniform mass she cannot break.
Her expression crumples, shifting in the bed. Harriet lies face down and clenches her hands on the sheet. Her magic glows and grows stronger, fighting with something that isn't there.
Not visibly.
She loses her other shoe.
Her jacket.
Her hair tie.
Her shirt.
Her pants.
"LET ME THROUGH!" Harriet demands, making all the effort she can. Her body is heavy, every muscle aches; she stumbles and almost falls, almost gets swept away by the current. She whispers, murmurs, speaks, exclaims, and screams.
Her glasses fall off, so she can hardly see anything, and she squeals out in horror as her bra is ripped off. She covers herself with her arms, squeezes her eyes shut, and fights with all her might to escape this current that's trying to drag her away and absorb her.
She suffers small spasms, rolling onto her back. Silent, discreet, unstoppable: a shadow that looks like a deformed, slimy mass, passing over the sheet until it passes through. Covering the body that starts to pale, tremble and sweat.
It covers Harriet's mouth.
It passes under her clothes and condenses on her chest.
It's close. She's sure it's close. Harriet holds back the urge to cry in frustration. She stops abruptly, feeling that she's completely naked. The current has stopped and she feels all the eyes on her. That now, those featureless faces have eyes and they're all directed at her. She shivers, looking up for a moment.
There are only faces.
There are only eyes.
She doesn't see her home, she doesn't see a horizon.
Only more and more people watching her.
She has a convulsion, her magic fading as it covers that black, viscous mass that doesn't let her breathe, that tries to pierce her skin and reach her very spirit.
Harriet screams, her hair pulled; then it's her arm, her shoulders, her legs, knocked to the floor with more and more tugs that could tear her apart, they're so strong. Bruises spread across Harriet's skin and scratches that become serious wounds the more they insist.
She demands that they let her go.
She demands that they leave her alone.
She demands that they not look at her.
She demands—
" LET ME GO !"
Her scream is long, loud, high-pitched, and different. Like the howl of a wounded, yet defiant predator; like the bellow of a running deer that refuses to die. At the same time, a light as bright as the sun itself shoots up.
Harriet clutches her neck, choked; the mass takes root in her chest and enters her mouth. The more contact it makes, the greater its size and strength. Absorbing the light, it causes shadows to appear all over the place:
Hundreds of eyes fixed on the sleeping teenager.
Harriet shivered, rising with her arms, corpses dissolving into thin, pale dust; several feet away, people with burns all over their bodies, some without arms or legs.
Those farther away had something as terrifying: sightless eyes, laughing in confusion, because, what happened? A second ago, they almost took their adoration. Why can't they see her now? Harriet convulsed, on the verge of vomiting. Grunting gutturally, she struggles to stand, but lacks the strength to do so; her black hair whipping around in the ever-flowing magic, burning anyone who even staggers in her direction.
She drags herself with her arms, inhaling and exhaling violently.
She gasps for air, feeling an unpleasant, immense weight on her chest. The dark mass, like a shadow materialized in a deep, viscous material, slowly rises, forcing her mouth open and absorbing the light that pours out.
The magic that tries to defend itself, but can only be pulled. Her body slowly thins, as well as visibly losing health.
"The little lioness wanting to attack... You did very well, Harriet."
She looks up, finding the face she can't keep in her head once she wakes up. The man kneels in front of Harriet, removing his coat to put it on her. Harriet holds it tight instantly; she accepts her glasses and continues, gasping for air. The man smiles slyly for a moment.
"I thought the light couldn't hurt. It's-
"Get away from me."
He withdraws his hand, and Harriet looks around. The people still moving clumsily. Blind, smiling, lost. She returns to the stranger, tightens her hand on the coat.
"I want you to go away."
"Really? Do you want to be alone?"
"Yes. I do. Go away," Harriet orders, her voice shaking.
The absorbed energy grows stronger, brighter and Harriet starts to shake, clutching her chest and scratching herself, pulling at her pajamas in the process. She wants to shake off this unpleasant feeling; regain some if her health, regain her strength, but she can't wake up.
Feeling even more trapped than before, more suffocated than before.
"You're lying." He reaches out and cups her cheek. "Because if I do it, I wouldn't-”
"I SAID GO AWAY !"
The explosion is similar. Even stronger, and there's nothing there. Just him and her. Harriet tilts her head, confused that he's still there. That he hasn't vanished. Her face is grabbed and she's staring into his heterochromatic eyes.
"See? You don't want me to leave... I get it. Look around. Do you really want to be alone?"
Harriet shivered, and though she wanted to demand he leave, to keep screaming, she felt the ground beneath her swallowing her up. Harriet tugged at her arms, but couldn't free herself. The man pulls her closer and whispers directly into her ear:
"Don't be afraid. I won't do anything bad to you."
She lies still in the bed, filled with cold steam, the window freezing like everything around it, including her, which fills with frost and ice.
┈
Tom grunts in annoyance. No matter how hard he tries to decipher the book, it's as if it refuses to let him do so unless it's in parts. He doubts it's cursed. He concludes that the best alternative is to experiment at Hogwarts.
Tom had nothing on his mind when he went to sleep. He just went to sleep without thinking about anything in particular. In the middle of the night, with an unpleasant feeling running down his spine, something happened that doesn't usually happen: he's dreaming.
Tom knows it's a dream because it's a small space and his favorite tea literally appeared out of thin air. There are snakes everywhere, candles floating irregularly and giving off small sparks. He's not someone who usually has lucid dreams, he doesn't even dream often.
"It's a nice mental space." Tom frowns. Who is this man? "Very organized. No wonder: that way, the information is more accessible.”
"Who are you?"
"It's your dream. Tell me who I am."
Tom snorts. In theory, that's true, but why would he dream about someone else? Besides speaking something he doesn't understand: the shape of the mind. It's a territory he hasn't been able to explore. Not only because of a lack of time, but also because of a lack of material that would allow him to explore it. It catches his attention that he's searching through the books. One after another.
"What are you looking for?" Tom asks, getting up from his seat. The gray-haired man puts away the dense, dark-covered tome.
"Nothing in particular."
Tom chases after him. Upon passing through the only door, he discovers that there are stairs leading down and down, walls lined with books and small candles dimly lighting the way. They become fewer and fewer as they descend and once at the bottom, they reach a wall covered in writing.
"Can you go in?"
Tom stutters, and as he places a hand on the wall, he feels like he's been shot in the head. He raises both hands to his face, groaning in anguish and shaking his head. The other doesn't try to do the same. He watches him. Very intently. Waiting for something. Tom rests his forehead on the floor.
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Y o █ m █ s █ n o t █ n d █ r █ t a █ d i t y e t
Y o █ m █ s t n o t u n d █ r █ t a n █ it yet
Y o u m u s t n o t u n d e r s t a n d i t y e t
Tom feel like he might throw up. Facing the wall again, he's able to read part of what's written there:
Threshold that cannot be crossed
Magic that must not be used
Darkness that must not be handled
Secret that must be guarded
Soul that must never be desecrated
"Do you understand it?"
Tom turns for a moment and returns to the wall. Why does he understand now? What happened? He covers one ear, listening to something unpleasant, yet distant and hurtful. He is grabbed by the shoulder. "Do you understand it?" the man repeats, and Tom gasps.
"Who...?"
"Do you understand it?" he insists and Tom doesn't respond.
He is grabbed by the neck and slammed against a wall. The man takes his wand and before he brings it to Tom's temple, a distant, yet close sound echoes between the walls.
A scream.
A howl.
A bleat.
A roar .
Tom sits up in bed, breathing heavily and holding a hand to his chest, stunned and shocked. Nagini climbs into bed, looking at him with concern and curled up in front of Tom. "Did you have a nightmare?" Tom wipes his forehead and breathes through his mouth.
" Something... like that—just... It was just a nightmare ," he says with a exhausted voice. Nagini rises a little higher.
" You can go get something from the kitchen. Maybe something to eat ," the snake suggests. Tom quickly rejects it and before lying down again, determined to sleep, an unpleasant chill runs down his back. Tom's head throbs and he has a powerful feeling that something is happening.
Tom gets out of bed, the enormous snake chasing him. Tom raises his fingers to touch Harriet's door and the cold coming from the other side alerts him. He turns the handle: it doesn't work; he lunges with his body, pushing hard. Nagini grows fully enlarged and strikes so hard that she manages to break part of the wood.
It lets out cold steam and the sound of frozen wood makes whatever's happening inside even more anomalous. " Nagini, again ."
The snake growls before striking again and finally breaking down the door. What Tom finds is different from what it should have been; no ice, no extreme cold, nothing. It's as if they broke the door for fun. Both he and Nagini saw the same thing, so he has backup. The only thing out of the ordinary and what disturbs him, is that Harriet is lying with her eyes half-open.
She's barely breathing.
Pale.
With dark circles under her eyes.
Tom approaches and can't touch her. Harriet suffers a convulsion and howls in pain. Her back is arched, her veins bulging and her magic weak, trying to protect her. Tom doesn't know how to handle this. It's the first time he's seen this reaction.
"Go for them them! Now! Now!"
Nagini slithers swiftly into James and Lily's room, where they're sleeping soundly after having to deal with Ministry matters that morning. James is first startled by the giant snake at the entrance to his room, then darts out like an arrow at Harriet's screams.
Lily does the same, somewhat belatedly.
Hermione and Viktor hear the screams.
Tom tries to stop Harriet from screaming, but it only gets worse. Harriet bursts into tears and can't even bear to be touched by Tom: he's too cold. James picks her up and tucks her into bed. "Calm down, Bambi, calm down. Everything's okay."
Tom would like to stay, but James won't let him. It's so clear he's unnecessary here.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
"Is it safe to leave her asleep?"
"We don't know, but we have no choice. Keeping her awake only makes her moody and sick," Lily replies. She closes the door to the bedroom where Harriet sleeps in an weird position. She reveals that she sleeps peacefully. Without the problem of in the early morning.
Hermione is beyond worried. It's never been this terrible before. She's afraid it might happen again at Hogwarts and she doesn't know what to do. The redhead tucks a strand of hair behind her ear.
"I'll try to get here early. If there's any problem, you can contact me through the mirror on the dresser in the living room," Lily informs and the three teenagers nod.
They overheard the small discussion about how both James and Lily would try to find an explanation, a solution, or a miracle in the Department of Mysteries. They have no choice but to leave Harriet with her classmates. They'll be back to Hogwarts tomorrow and both parents would like to find a solution.
Alone, they peek back into the room.
"What do we do if it happens again?" Viktor asks. "They won't get here that fast."
"I think we can handle it," Hermione says, lacking confidence.
" Stay with her. Let me know if she wakes up or if anything else happens ," Tom orders. Nagini comes into the room and lies on top of Harriet.
The morning and part of the afternoon pass uneventfully. The three of them peek into the room every so often to check that everything is okay, even if Nagini is keeping watch. Around two o'clock, Harriet finally wakes up. She's not rested at all. On the contrary, she seems more tired than usual. Barely a few seconds pass before Tom is already at the door.
"Good morning," Harriet mumbles, putting on her glasses. Tom snorts.
"Remember what you dreamed?
"Not a... bit," she exhales in frustration and flops sideways onto the bed. Tom crosses his arms. This is so frustrating.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
"You make me feel lucky it didn't happen while she was in my house." Sirius quips, unamused and James shakes his head. It's a fact he feels that way.
"I find it hard to believe that in centuries of books and knowledge, there's nothing on this," James complains.
Trying to find anything in the Department of Mysteries is as complicated as it sounds. He's been in here for an hour, with Sirius and Remus helping, but nothing has come of any help. Remus spoke to a couple of doctors who specialize in sleep spells or curses: none of them knew what to tell him and were reluctant to look. Afraid they wouldn't know what to do and end up compensating for a practical error.
Sirius had no better luck in his home library or with contacts with other doctors who specialize in the mind. No one understands what Harriet has. James is stubborn and determined that the information must reside somewhere. He highly doubts it hasn't happened before.
"Maybe we're taking the wrong approach," Remus suggests, and James stops what he's doing. "We've looked in dreams, the mind and even magical creatures. What about curses?"
"I tried that too. There's nothing remotely like it," James says, and Remus clicks his tongue. "I'm sure it's a dream-bound curse, but I haven't been able to come up with anything that names it, solves it, explains it..."
"To recap: they're nightmares that drain her magic, right?" James nods, pulling out a huge tome and kicking up dust in the process. "Maybe it's several different things at once. Draining magic, someone entering dreams and preventing the person from coming out of the trance before it's over," Sirius suggests.
"I hope that possibility involves helping me find and fix it."
They both snort slightly; this is going to take forever.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
"The bed let you go, huh?"
Harriet snorts, hugging Sirius. She moves on to Remus and finally James. There's no greeting for Lily, even though she's just arrived too. Hermione greets everyone cheerfully; Viktor barely nods and Tom waits patiently for them to say if they know anything.
The topic is suspiciously forgotten. Whether for lack of solutions or one option they don't want to reveal, Nagini sneaked into the room when everyone else had gone inside, leaving the minors outside.
"I'm going to do a quick view, okay?"
Harriet is uneasy about the idea of Remus in her head. She hopes he doesn't see anything she does with Tom. That would be the worst moment of her life.
" Legèremens ."
Remus feels himself bouncing around Harriet's head. He struggles to understand what he sees. So much light, so many jumbled thoughts, so many fragments of unrelated memories, all finally falling into Harriet's mind. As messy as she is. There's a long array of Golden Snitches flitting about, broken mirrors that, even in their fragments, deform his body in a thousand different ways.
Harriet's thoughts and memories manifest themselves in the Snitches. He saw a couple of things he shouldn't have. He's sure that if James witnesses his twelve-year-old daughter kissing Tom, there will be a tragedy with someone seriously injured. On the other hand, the more he explores Harriet's mind, the more dense and complicated it becomes. There are stairs that go up, down, back and forth; by pure luck, he falls into a dirty, oil-soaked space that slowly spreads out into the hallway.
Roots can be seen on the walls and stairs and it even absorbs several of the Snitches. It looks like a parasite consuming its path. It disturbs Remus that a person emerges from another door.
"Oh, I didn't think any of you were any good at Legilimency." Remus takes a couple of steps back. The same distance that person takes. "The werewolf... No, you're no good for the cause. You're just another nuisance."
Remus sucks in his breath: when he touched the wall, roots and black stains started to sprout. He hears Harriet's moans and sobs all around. Snitches breaking and lights being absorbed by that gray-haired man.
「I don't know what else I'm supposed to do to show them I can do it」
「I want everyone to shut up」
「Why is nothing enough?」
「Stop staring at me」
「He says it's fine. It must be fine. He wouldn't lie」
「I just want to be pretty... I want to be enough」
「Why they insult me? Why? Why?」
「I feel like I'm fading away」
Remus shakes his head slightly, and James gestures to him. What did he see? The werewolf snorts, shaking his head. "I didn't find anything very different from what should be there. There are nightmares, bad thoughts and other things, but nothing beyond that.”
James would like to do it himself, but he admits he's not that good at doing it cleanly. He could end up damaging something in Harriet's head.
In the end, with no other options or time, they conclude that she must go to Hogwarts, still with the doubt. Unfortunately.
Chapter 56: Act. LVI. Challenge started
Chapter Text
When they arrived at the train station, Ron and all the other Weasleys were already there. Ron was quick to make a beeline for them, nearly knocking them over in the process. Tom didn't hide his profound disdain for the situation, stepping aside to head straight for the train and hide in a booth until they go to Hogwarts.
Or he might have, had McGonagall not stopped him.
He's never seen her outside of Hogwarts until now. It's an anomaly.
"Do you have a moment, mister Riddle?"
"Yes, professor." He gives a small bow and McGonagall leads the way to one of the train cars. Tom doesn't even wonder what she's doing here. He thought she was one of those teachers who spends the whole year holed up at Hogwarts.
In the wagon are Severus, Remus, Professor Sprout and Professor Flitwick. Remus greets him with a small smile, unlike Severus, who might as well be dying of boredom in his place. Tom has trouble not thinking about all the things Sirius has said about "Snivellus".
Tom calls it pathetic how bitter he is about his fight with James. Especially considering they're on friendly terms now. If there's trouble, they'll help each other, which is the most impressive thing. He clasps his hands behind his back.
"Good, mister Riddle. We brought you here because of his request to participate in all the elective and extracurricular subjects available at Hogwarts," McGonagall explains and for a moment, Tom doesn't remember requesting it. That was over a year ago, and he thought he wasn't chosen. After all, he hasn't heard from anyone. "After much discussion among ourselves, including Professor Lupin as an extra vote," she points at him with an open hand. "We decided to accept his request.”
"With all due respect: I'd be two years behind in Divination, Muggle Studies, Arithmancy... not to mention all the extracurriculars I couldn't enroll in due to a lack of students or lack of time," Tom points out, sounding more frustrated than he'd like. McGonagall nods in agreement with his request. "And even if I wanted to take the opportunity anyway, I won't have time to catch up—it would be too complicated."
"The four Heads of House agreed to teach the necessary content during the weekends," Severus informs. "Taking into account the schedule that can be established, it will take a matter of two months to be in on track."
"Even with that, how am I going to cover all the classes at the same time?"
The fact that he can list which classes interfere with another only solidifies one fact: he can do anything he wants. McGonagall takes a box from the table and opens it in front of Tom, who frowns. He recognizes what it is: a time-turner.
"It will be complicated, but I have no doubt that, just like Miss Granger, you can handle it," McGonagall states proudly. "You see, the reason we delayed deciding on your request is because of the implications it would bring. A time-turner is not only dangerous, but also a very delicate artifact that must be special-ordered from the Ministry.”
"If you use it, you'll go back to the point where you used it. So you can be in two, three, even a hundred places at once. It all depends on how well you can manage your schedule," Remus explains, and Nagini squeezes Tom's abdomen, hoping he won't take it. He already has enough school and responsibilities. Adding this to the mix seems like a terrible idea. "Preferably, you should only use it at school."
"Not to mention it's an artifact intended for use by colliding classes. Nothing more," Professor Sprout points out. "The mental fatigue can be quite severe."
"If I sleep between each interval, the fatigue won't be there."
Remus laughs. "In each generation, there's a prodigy and that turns out to be you," he points out, amused.
"So you want to take it?"
Tom picks up the silver time-turner and stares at it, giving it a twisted smile for a brief moment. He has a very clear idea of what it can do.
┈
" You shouldn't have taken it ," Nagini opines and Tom rolls his eyes.
" I'll be able to handle it. Besides, I have you. You can help me with that in the rare case I somehow lose count ."
" Are you planning on creating a thousand clones of me too? I don't want to end up with a queasy stomach from paradoxes," the snake complains and Tom ignores his pet. Regulus, Daphne, and Theodore don't take long to appear. The three of them are going about their usual routine whenever they meet with Tom: talking and hoping he'll join in at some point.
┈
"Why is your trunk heavier than ever?"
"Sirius bought me some clothes," Harriet says, a hand on her waist. "A surprise, according to him. Now I'm afraid he'll be covering for my mom and the first thing that comes out of there will be a dress." Harriet scrunches up her face and Hermione grumbles.
"You look good in a dress."
"My legs say otherwise." Harriet slumps down in the seat. Hermione in front, Ron to the right and Neville timidly enters a few minutes later. Viktor joins in, speaking in Bulgarian, apparently arguing with someone before coming here.
Ron shifts uncomfortably. He tries not to think anything of Viktor sitting with Hermione on top of him. The small space has four seats, not five, much less six, when Ginny joins, talking about a friend who's brought radish-shaped earrings.
"Study? For the O.W.L.s? Why?" Ron stammers, frightened.
"Because it's the O.W.L.s and even if we have them next year, we still have to prepare for our prior knowledge, right Harriet?" The girl points to herself, grimacing, looks at Ron, then back at Hermione.
"Mione... It's in June next year."
"We could start a study club." Harriet slides into the seat, and Hermione taps her a couple of times with her foot. "It'll be fun. You can bring Tom."
"He has the O.W.L.s this year. He won't have time," Harriet grumbles, rubbing her brow. "Besides, I think I have enough studying Potions. Snape is more annoying than ever," she whines.
"It's the same as always and it's not that difficult."
"Yes, it is!" Harriet and Ron complain.
"A study club sounds fun. It could be done on weekends," Neville opines, and Ginny nods enthusiastically.
"Luna can come," she points to the blonde, who's in a world of her own. "She's very good at Divination and Magical Creatures."
"Harriet will be the Defense Against the Dark Arts expert," Hermione suggests, smiling. Harriet pouts and slumps her shoulders. It's obvious Hermione dictates her life sometimes. "Which class do you want, Ron?" she asks cheerfully. Ron stutters and looks at Neville.
"Which are you taking?"
"I'm good at Herbology."
"The best. Hops? It's by my window, it grows beautifully and I cut its leaves like you told me to. The one day I didn't make tea with those leaves, I had the worst nightmare of my life," Harriet reports, overwhelmed. "I'll make a whole garden."
"I have more interesting plants we can talk about," says Neville.
Harriet laughs and Neville smiles to himself, hunched over and amazed at how included he's here. Hermione gives Ron a gentle shove. "What are you going to do? Come on. Pick one," the student encourages.
"I'm not that good at teaching anything," Ron grumbles. "I hate Transfiguration and Charms, I'm terrible at them. It's-"
"What are you talking about? You passed with 'Exceeds Expectations,'" Harriet argues, resting her arm on Ron's. "You know how to do it perfectly, but unlike me, you don't have Hermione in your ear telling you to do your homework." Hermione laughs and winks at her. "Choose one of the two. Come on. It'll be fine."
Ron keeps his lips pursed, nervous. He ends with: "Charms…"
"Then I'll be Transfiguration," Hermione concludes cheerfully. "Then you tell Tom to take over Potions."
Harriet highly doubts her boyfriend wants to take on another responsibility.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
Unsurprisingly, the Hogwarts welcome is as boring as you'd expect. Harriet wonders if Dumbledore takes his time writing welcome speeches and that's why they're so long. She concludes the real problem is that they're coming back from a long travel and are already too hungry to pay enough attention.
Tom gestures discreetly to her from the Slytherin table. Harriet gives an indiscreet chuckle, eating animatedly and smiling.
"Didn't he bother you again?" Regulus asks discreetly, glancing briefly at Poliakov, the Bulgarian who's chattering away to Viktor. Tom shakes his head.
"I hope he hasn't forgotten what he learned. I'm bad at training stupid dogs, I have no patience for them," Tom jokes.
"I heard him say he wanted to try Harriet again." Tom stops eating and gives Daphne a bad look. "Maybe it was a lie, but he said it."
"As if that frigid chicken would change her mind," Theodore grumbles and Tom gives a smug laugh.
"Frigid or smart enough not to use the village bicycle. It means, you." Theodore looks embarrassed and offended. "Either way, it doesn't matter. The boys at Hogwarts are being insufferable, thinking everyone wants to have sex."
"Wow, I thought only the girls noticed," Daphne laughs. "What about you? Not interested?"
"No. It's a waste of time."
┈
Tom roughly opens the shirt, kissing between the soft breasts and causing Harriet to giggle a few times. "You're not going to cheat, undress too."
Harriet removes his waistcoat, tie and shirt and pull him against her chest, kissing him on the lips. Her chest pressed against Tom's chest, feeling the skin and cold magic in constant contact. Tom kisses her cheek, neck, shoulder and struggles with her trousers, ending with Harriet sitting on the bed and getting between her bent legs.
Harriet also manages to open his trousers and let them fall, directly masturbating him and making Tom moan. Hearing him like that and feeling him in her hand makes her moist.
She gives a small gasp of surprise at the snake that forms from Tom's magic, rubbing itself over her body and surrounding her breasts. Tom moves down, taking her by the thighs and placing his face between them. He snorts and thrusts with his face and Harriet moans and arches in pleasure. He starts to lick and move, without removing the gray panties she's wearing today.
It annoys her.
He plays with her a little, wanting more contact, wanting his tongue right there.
Harriet has two orgasms in a row, one from the stimulation and the other from Tom's smug little smile, still down below. When he finally removes her underwear, running his tongue along the length of her soaked, slimy vagina, Harriet gasps, clenching the sheet in her hands.
A shiver runs down her spine, the result of Tom surrounding her in his cold magic, eager to touch her, to mingle with the warm, different light. Tom sucks, eyes half-closed, hands clenched in the worked flesh.
Waste of time...
Waste of time...
It's a waste of time...
It's the best waste of time.
Harriet hugs him by the shoulders, sitting in front of him with her legs on either side. Tom kisses her, wrapping his arms around her waist and caressing her.
The best part about The Chamber of Secrets is that nothing that happens outside exists.
┈
"Hermione wants us to start a study club and you'll be the one taking potions." Tom scrunches up his face and Harriet shakes him by the arm. "It'll be fun. Not too different from what happens most of the time... Besides, we'll all be doing something. I'm Defense Against the Dark Arts, she's Transfiguration, Ron—"
"If I'm going to be the evidence for Defense Against the Dark Arts, the only magic you'll be showing is cleavage."
Harriet stutters and punches him in the chest. Tom lies back on his stomach, satisfied.
"Are you going to be there?"
"Considering the O.W.L. is breathing down my neck and revising isn't bad, yeah," Harriet lies back in bed and curls up on her side, looking at Tom. "I just hope it's actually studying. Otherwise, I won't be staying there."
"I've got that in mind," she says with a shy laugh.
Tom takes her hand and rubs the back of it with his thumb. They sit in silence for a few minutes, on the verge of sleep. Harriet presses her glasses dangerously close. She doesn't want to be blind and has the feeling they'll keep talking. What Tom questions takes her by surprise:
"Are you going to do what I asked? Considering it's a study group, you could," he comments quietly, and Harriet crumples.
"About not being alone at any time?" Tom nods. "I'm not going to bother having someone with me all the time. You can't make me, either."
Tom chuckles. That's funny.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
Everyone in the dorm lets out a squeal, including Harriet. As soon as she opened her trunk, clothes shot out everywhere. She didn't think it would fill up to the point of bursting. They help her gather everything up and put it on the bed. The mountain is not only enormous, but the clothes themselves are quite nice.
Loose-fitting sweaters, but not as big as the ones she'd worn the previous months; long-sleeved shirts in different colors, a couple of jackets and mostly sneakers. The clothes are not only very simple, but they're also an extra size. Harriet raves about the sleeves. Almost all of them are wide and have very nice billowing patterns.
"Why so many new clothes?"
"It's a gift from my godfather," Harriet replies to Alicia, who pouts. "Because they threw away almost all my clothes, so he told me he was going to buy it. Because my mom would make a mess."
"It was horrible. They should have thrown it away sooner," Lavender opines and Hermione rolls her eyes, simply making sure nothing's left on the ceiling or on the beds.
"It's obvious a man picked it out," Alicia grumbles, looking with disdain at the similar items. Very few are in feminine colors or cuts.
It's the most neutral thing you'll find in a store. Harriet pushes everyone else aside, glowing with excitement at what's in the back: long Converse. Sadly, the old ones no longer fit her and they're also ripped at the sides. Having a spare is what most exposes Sirius as the one who did this.
He's the only one thinking about keeping her as out of place among wizards as possible. His rebelliousness will remain permanent.
Harriet also finds her leather jacket, along with another one with several patches: a Golden Snitch, a roaring lion, "Golden Girl!", a stag with large antlers, a coiled snake. She hugs it, excited to wear it every chance she gets.
Hermione wonders if Harriet has realized how much she mimics others when it comes to dressing. Sirius is her clearest example. She'd say the problem here is that Harriet doesn't know what she really wants and keeps navigating that idea.
Hence the accessories, sporadic makeup, elaborate hairstyle...
"I think it'll look great on you."
Harriet smiles at her and Hermione mimics the gesture. She helps her fold everything so she can put it away. Harriet pointedly ignores what she notices suspiciously at the bottom of the trunk. A wrapped package with a note: "Don't tell your dad I gave you this. He'll hate me."
She'll go through it when she's alone.
There was a lot of talkabout what they did at Christmas, the fact that Hermione is clearly in a relationship with Viktor Krum, more or less...
"Looks like Cho and Cedric broke up." There are a few gasps of surprise. Harriet glances occasionally at her watch. She doesn't want to take that long, but until they're asleep, she can't go to The Chamber of Secrets. "She was crying before we left, and today she wouldn't talk to him. They're... distant."
"That's weird," Lee says. "Nothing bad was happening before; they even went to the ball together and were together the whole time."
"No one can claim the prince of Hogwarts and be that simple," Lavender opines, playing with her hair. Harriet frowns.
"What are you talking about?"
"Cho isn't pretty. Her face is huge, and she's boring. Like any Ravenclaw," the Gryffindor states, stretching out on her bed. "Cedric probably wanted to play for a while and threw her out as soon as it stopped being fun. Besides, she was stupid enough to go along with it."
"If he used her to play, why is it her fault?" Harriet complains. Lavender rolls her eyes.
"Aww, you're going to defend your girlfriend now," Alicia mocks.
"She's not my girlfriend," Harriet complains immediately. "I just think you're really stupid if you think it worked out that way. They were a couple. They broke up. I don't think it's rocket science."
"I think Cedric wasn't paying attention to Cho and that's why they broke up," Lee opines and Harriet shakes her head. "Cedric keeps staring at you. He's always on your toes.”
"Of course not."
"He is!"
"It's just that you're with Tom all the time," Hermione says. "And the two of them don't get along. Cedric tries not to get close," she comments uncomfortably and Harriet stammers. Really? She never realized that. "Although it's not like it matters. Just because Cedric is interested in you doesn't mean you're interested in him... Or are you interested in him?" She leans toward Harriet.
Curious.
Confused.
Remembering what she saw at Christmas, how Harriet and Tom were in the room...
Maybe Harriet likes boys who are older than her and Cedric falls into that category. Tom is a friend, she's stressed that endlessly, so what about Cedric? Harriet grimaces at her, shaking her head.
"I'm not interested... I don't think Tom cares either. He doesn't care for many people," Harriet clarifies and in the absence of anyone else close to Tom, it's assumed that any comment Harriet makes is a fact. "Or rather: if he's a Quidditch player, he's not interested."
"Tom is so boring," Lee complains. "I still don't understand what people see in him," she grumbles irritably. "He's just an idiot who thinks he's all that great—just like his girlfriend. He and Drakonys are the same, just in different bodies."
"Are they still dating?" Lavender asks.
"Did they ever start dating?" Hermione chides. Harriet remains silent throughout all this. She doesn't know how obvious it will be if she defends Tom or tries to intervene. "Just because it looks like it doesn't mean they are and at Christmas, he didn't make the slightest effort to see her or say anything. Not even send her a letter."
"The Slytherins say they are," Lavender replies, resting her chin on her palm. "It's the only source we have… besides the glances they give each other."
Harriet frowns. What glances? Aside from the fact that Drakonys tries not to upset him and makes sure Tom doesn't get angry with her. The rumor, almost confirmed as a fact yet to be confirmed (Hogwarts and its gossip...), that helps keep the relationship a secret...
She hates it.
Why the hell is Drakonys?
Why couldn't it have been any other Slytherin girl?
The argument turns into: Tom being attractive, Tom being boring, Tom being the worst boyfriend available, Tom and Drakonys as a couple, Tom being more handsome than Cedric; Cedric being a better person than Tom; Viktor being more muscular than Tom and Cedric; Tom being more elegant; Tom being overrated...
Harriet swallows down any complaints and annoyances, but it's evident in her expression and constant snorting. Hermione doesn't know why she's angry. Whatever it is, it has to do with Cedric or Tom. Harriet, for her part, just wishes they'd stop asking so many questions about Tom and belittling him or drooling over him.
She suddenly feels like she's surrounded by thieves.
"Learn to masturbate and stop talking so much nonsense."
Hermione almost chokes and looks at Harriet in shock. The teenager hides behind the bed canopy, ignoring the others' complaints. She lies on her back, grumbling. She wants to go to The Chamber of Secrets with Tom. All this talk about him, the good and bad points...
It only makes her think how much she wants to ride him and listen to his moans. It's a hugely positive point that none of them know about.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
"Did something bad happen on vacation?"
Drakonys shakes his head. Emma glances at her and although she wants to question her further, she chooses not to. Since they boarded the train, she's been acting distant and absent-minded. As if whatever's on her mind is far more important.
For her part, the Malfoy heiress wishes she could understand one thing: why her legs are shaking and her heart is racing at Harriet's presence. Even worse, at the distant image of Harriet existing. It's overwhelming at a glance; everything in her head has gone numb and even now, stuck in the Slytherin dormitory, it's the only thing that floods her mind.
Harriet boarding the train, talking animatedly with Hermione.
Harriet getting off the train in her uniform, with Ron resting his arm on her shoulder.
Harriet eating a bit of everything at dinner.
Harriet talking with the Weasleys.
Harriet walking away down the corridor. Towards their common room...
Why that light isn't mine?
Drakonys puts a hand to her head, surprised by her thought, filled with longing, envy and yearning. "Why? How?" She shakes her head and runs her hand over her face, groaning in frustration. She lies down on the bed, lowers the canopies and lies on her side.
Sleep will solve everything.
"You're very demanding."
"You don't need that Mudblood," Harriet scolds with her simple gesture of disapproval. "Nor do I need blood traitors—"
"It's not about blood. It's about them being my friends," Harriet says, leaning toward Drakonys. The blonde girl is pouting, chin up. "I'm a half-blood. Are you going to despise me too?"
"It's different. You're so much better than them," Drakonys assures her. Harriet takes a breath to argue, but her face is grabbed and pulled closer to Drakonys. "And you're mine."
"I don't think so." Harriet smiles provocatively, impertinently. Drakonys knocks her to the ground and Harriet laughs, shaking her head.
A long dream.
A very long one.
More than perfect.
Although confusing for Drakonys, who feigns dementia and lack of knowledge, which drives so many thoughts toward her worst enemy.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
"Hi, Harriet. I didn't see you."
Harriet sits down next to Cho. Finding her crying halfway to the library wasn't her initial expectation. The girl abruptly wipes her face and rests her arms on her knees.
"Are you... okay?" Harriet asks, somewhere between nervous and confused. Cho slumps her shoulders and looks away.
"Cedric broke up with me."
"Oh." Somewhat awkwardly, she puts her arm around Harriet's shoulders, pulls her close and rests her cheek on her head. Cho sobs again, holding Harriet's arm tightly and wanting to stay there until she has nothing left to cry about. Harriet feels a chill run down her spine. Accustomed to it, she assumes it's Nagini and doesn't say anything about it.
She stayed there for a while until Cho felt like getting up. She accompanied Cho to the bathroom to wash her face, fix her hair and finally, led her to Ravenclaw Tower. Cho hugged her, grateful for her company, even if it was spontaneous and took up so much of her time.
On the way to the library, Harriet can't help but wonder why they broke up. She didn't want to be nosy or reckless by asking. The only thing that's certain is that she now has a strong sense of contempt for Cedric. It's a shame; he was fun to talk to. She's just convinced she'll hate him and that she wouldn't be able to pay attention to him because of this.
"Miss Potter." Harriet sucks in a breath and stops, turning slowly. "I see you're up to your usual routine: doing nothing," Severus says in his particular way of expressing himself: slow, almost threatening whispers and a judgmental look. "Although I suppose you get a bonus point for not trying this this year."
"What thing?"
Severus wrinkles his face a little more and Harriet clears her throat, straightens her jacket and shifts uncomfortably.
"Come with me, Potter," Severus snorts.
She stutters and tries to say something so she can just leave. However, she prefers not to lose points this early. She accompanies him all the way to what seems like an endless closet filled with different boxes, baskets and the like. It smells bad in some places, good in others, but the general conclusion is that it must be the potions cabinet. Harriet still doesn't understand what she's doing here.
"I expect an accurate accounting of materials by the end of the week, before the classes begin" Severus warns, about to leave.
"But why me?" he hisses. Severus tilts his head.
"Whether or not it was a prank someone played on you: your name was on the list of volunteers to help me outside of class," Severus says and Harriet blanches. Who hates her enough to do that? "And since her performance in Potions is so miserable, I thought it would be a good idea to familiarize yourself with the materials," he concludes with a pedantic smile.
He leaves her alone and Harriet snorts in annoyance. She goes into the closet and walks around to see how long she'll be stuck in here all week. She considers asking Ron for help. Maybe he'll be less difficult and his friend would take pity on her.
The closet's height is almost five meters high and about fifteen meters deep. There's no human way to finish this in time. Even with a Quick-Quotes quill to help (there were no restrictions on that and it'll hold up). As Harriet turns around, she screams and almost falls to the floor in fright.
"Unless we start now, we won't have this ready in a week," Tom points out and Harriet stutters. She's sure he wasn't there a second ago.
"When you...? Why are you here?"
"Volunteering," Tom answers simply. Harriet gasps and points back:
"You signed me up?" Harriet asks through gritted teeth. Tom smiles cynically, his eyes narrowed.
"Of course. Not only will it help you get along better with Snape, but is also good for your potion abilities." Tom clasps his hands behind his back and leans toward Harriet. "Not to mention you dared to imply that I can't stop you from being alone. Let's see how true that is." He smiles condescendingly and Harriet crosses her arms. Annoyed and irritated.
She no longer has a choice, but she's sure Tom is going to lose this. She doesn't have enough time. She's startled when Nagini pops out from under Tom's clothes. She lifts her sweater and finds Tristan, the snake Tom adopted for Christmas. It sticks out its tongue and squeezes a little deeper into the woman's abdomen. Tom chuckles. "Let's get started, that way we'll have at least a quarter done before lunch."
Harriet reluctantly takes the notebook and pushes past him on the shoulder. Tom remains amused and satisfied.
Chapter 57: Act. LVII. Tom, Tom, Tom, Tom, Tom...
Chapter Text
"Potions volunteering? Nobody does that!"
"And I saw why! I have to take stock of everything in the potions storeroom!" Harriet complains, almost pulling her hair out. "It has to be ready by the weekend, before classes start in case anything else is needed."
"I'm sure there should be a spell to make that faster," Fred says, taking a bite from his plateful of food.
"Or we could make one," George suggests and Fred points it out, both with the same satisfied grimace. Harriet rubs her temples. She doesn't want to leave the Great Hall. As soon as she does, she'll have to go back to that closet.
It was too many hours of counting leaves and she hates it. The only good thing was that Tom came with her. Still, she's a little annoyed with him. Why does he feel entitled to sign her up for this kind of thing? He has no say in what she does.
"Look on the bright side," Harriet judges Hermione immediately. What can possibly be the bright side? "Perhaps this will show Snape that you're not what he thinks you are: a lazy person who doesn't understand anything. He could-"
"Snape hates me for the mere fact that I'm James Potter reborn. It has nothing to do with me being 'lazy', that's just an excuse" Harriet argues quickly. "And if I were in Slytherin, maybe he'd hate me less, but no, Gryffindor like Dad and since he's a bitter bastard who doesn't-"
"Have you finished accounting for the storeroom yet? Potter." Harriet bites her tongue and rests her cheek on her palm. "I don't think you should waste your time here, with so much to do," the professor points out and Harriet drops her head.
"I'm still having lunch... waiting for dessert," she makes an awkward excuse and Snape snorts before leaving. Harriet groans profusely, banging her forehead on the table.
Tom laughs from where he is, a gesture that is exceedingly strange to everyone there. Tom laughing? The apocalypse is approaching. It's the most likely thing for everyone. It's so out of the ordinary. Tom raises an eyebrow at Daphne, who looks like she's about to have a heart attack.
"Something wrong?"
"No… do you?" She asks back. "I've never seen you laugh before."
"I can do that. It's just that you're so boring," Tom announces, cutting the food on his plate.
His good mood lasts all day. All week, as long as it takes to complete the task: counting the materials in the potions supply closet. It was a funny moment for one reason: Snape couldn't make the kind of acidic comments he wanted. It would be an insult to Tom and it's the last thing he wants to do, so Harriet is safe for this one occasion only.
On the other hand:
"I'm glad to have your help from now on, Miss Potter," Harriet gasps. From now on? What? "I hope you'll stay after classes; your help will be greatly appreciated," Snape announces before retreat. Harriet tries to argue, but fails. She turns to Tom and points her finger at him.
"Get me out of here."
"No."
"Tom Marvolo Riddle…!"
"You've got a good spot occupied now," Tom comments, tilting his head. "With the Potions professor. So… you won't be alone out there," Tom concludes, smiling and Harriet rolls her eyes, her jaw moving.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
"Ah! Potter!" Harriet stops halfway to the exit, backpack in hand. Trelawney approaches, hunched over and as lunatic as ever. Ron remains just as still. "You don't have to go, you can help me right now."
"I can what?" She furrows her eyebrows. Trelawney tugs at her arm, leading her back into the classroom, "but I-"
"Yes, yes, I know, don't be embarrassed. All the girls who volunteer get free time when they help me clean up." Harriet looks at Ron, pleading for help in some way. The redhead tries to think of a way to get her out of this mess. Certain and convinced that Harriet didn't sign up for volunteering. The faster they get out of this classroom, the happier they are. "I'm sure your partner will be here soon."
"Partner? What partner? Professor, I don't-"
Harriet and Ron both gasp, startled by the sudden presence of Tom, who's at the other end of the room and has dropped a chair. Harriet shivered and her cry didn't come out. “Oh! Tom, there he is, boy. I knew you'd be here soon. I could see it's only a matter of time before you and Harriet get together.”
"Ron," Harriet says quietly. The redhead runs away, and Harriet groans.
"Is something wrong?" Trelawney asks and Tom stands next to Harriet.
"Nothing. Nothing's wrong."
As soon as Trelawney turns her back on them, Harriet hits him on the head and Tom hisses in pain, but still smiles. "Don't be so aggressive, Sweetheart."
Harriet grunts before walking away to the other side of the room.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
"Why are we training so hard? The next game isn't us." Harriet complains, resting her forearms on the broom.
“Because Oliver is more neurotic than ever,” Fred replies, and Harriet rolls her eyes.
She was almost kidnapped after History of Magic. She had an hour off, but now Oliver decided she had better practice. So did the whole team. They're allowed. to skip class and make up for it with the other class.
Oliver is on the verge of a hysterical fit and just because of that, no one refused. They just put on their uniforms and climbed onto their broomsticks. Harriet swings her feet, a little bored that nothing's happening. The Snitch is nowhere to be seen. She quickly cleans her glasses and when she thinks she's seen it, what she sees is Tom reading.
Beside him, a huge pile of books. More than usual. She scrunches up her face. Why is he here? Why did he come here to read? He even hates the environment. Tom is too focused on his reading to even turn around. Harriet was tempted to go over, but couldn't, having to focus on the Snitch that appeared.
Every time Oliver appears out of nowhere to demand they practice, Tom is sitting on the bleachers. She wonders if he has something to do with it.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
“Ah! Miss Potter!” Harriet freezes at the exit of the classroom and inwardly prays that it isn’t what she thinks. Hermione and Ron remain equally still. McGonagall approaches with an excited and satisfied expression. “You can wait for me outside; I have a lot to do and I’ll definitely need your help.” She clasps her hands and Harriet gives a nervous laugh.
“Of course, Professor.”
“And don’t worry, unlike Professor Snape, I’m going to reward you with points,” McGonagall clarifies and Harriet nods with the same forced expression. When the emerald-robed teacher steps aside, Harriet turns slowly and painfully to face her friends.
“Why do you keep volunteering for all the teachers who need help?” Ron asks quietly and Harriet would like to know the same thing. “I think this is the first time in years someone has accepted.”
"That's precisely why I can't tell her I didn't put my name down," Harriet stammers, somewhere between embarrassed and shy.
McGonagall is one of her most beloved teachers, also the one she can go to if she has problems. Turning her down now feels like kicking her. She leaves listlessly and almost falls over in fright; Hermione screams and covers her mouth and Ron also exclaims, saying a vague ‘Where the fuck...?’ Tom looks at him with disdain.
"I'm sure you can speak less rudely," the fifth-year student opines. Harriet rubs her face with a hand.
"You fucking..."
McGonagall takes the word out of her mouth:
"I see Mr. Riddle has arrived. Very well! Follow me." Harriet suppresses a grimace and shuffles along. Hermione and Ron wave goodbye.
"See you in the common room!" Hermione says and Harriet waves her hand. "Poor thing, this joke is way too heavy-handed." Ron snorts.
"Slytherins can't pull pranks," he says and Hermione shakes her head. It's hard to say no. "Do you want to go somewhere?"
Without Harriet, he's had a little time alone with Hermione. It's been quite good. A little overwhelming from the constant reminder that she's a girl and she's been prettier lately. Hermione shakes her head, adjusting her bag on her shoulder.
"I promised Viktor we'd spend the afternoon together. Sorry, Ron." The redhead slumps his shoulders and purses his lips. "See you later in the common room," she promises, patting her shoulder and leaving.
Ron exhales heavily. "What a hassle..."
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
"Are you going to sign me up for every volunteer opportunity available? How do you have the time?" Harriet holds on to the stair railing. It started moving and now it won't stop where it should. Tom is in front of her, leaning on the rail. "It's a pain. Even for you."
"You said I couldn't control you at Hogwarts and I'm proving you wrong," Tom informs her. Harriet rolls her eyes and looks away. "Not to mention that this way I'll be sure you won't be alone and have another mysterious attack happen to you."
"And I suppose you're also trying to leave me with no time to study or do anything."
"Don't be dramatic, Sweetheart."
"Don't fuck with me now, Riddle," she orders irritably.
“Nice choice of words”
Tom gives a pretentious laugh. The stairs stop and they start up. Tom pulls her by the arm, leading her into the semi-dark hallway, kissing her. Harriet takes him by the head, almost pulling his dark hair. Tom leans her against the wall, lifting his right thigh to rest it on her hip and get between her legs. When they pull away, with Harriet ready to kiss and bite him on the neck, she complains, "Because of you, you damn idiot, I can't go to the Chamber of Secrets."
"That's the only downside to the plan," Tom agrees, letting them do it.
"Hey!"
They both stare at the painting with annoyance and a little fear. Harriet grabs Tom by the arm and they run off before the painting gets any worse.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
Fortunately, the Sprout volunteer is Neville. The only one who volunteered. Harriet came to the greenhouse because Neville asked her to. It was an opportune moment. She'd barely left class when Neville explained the problem:
He needs a lot of light because they're dealing with Devil's Snare. For light, Harriet is the best choice hands down.
"What do they use this thing for? I'm pretty sure it's not safe." Harriet doesn't refrain from giving the thick-rooted plant a few pokes with a stick.
"It's a good way to be safe," Harriet shakes her head; that makes sense. "Some things in the castle have it. Professor Sprout keeps an eye on it and asked me to help her look after it."
Harriet rests her cheek on her palm. Neville doesn't need much help. His clumsiness vanishes here. If he doesn't become a magical botanist, she'll feel a bit cheated by the signs of life. Neville continues to give Harriet a long lecture on safety plants. She doesn't intervene much, but listens attentively.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
Harriet had intended to go and get lost for a while in one of the Hogwarts gardens. Just lie down, sleep on the ground and enjoy the cool weather. Before it turns into complete shit in the summer. Her walk is interrupted by Hermione and Cho.
"Do you have time?" Hermione asks.
"Honestly, I-"
"The Defense Against the Dark Arts exam is this week and we need help studying," Cho says without letting her finish, showing her the enormous book they're supposed to be using. "You always understand these things better. Can you help us?"
Awkward babbling that ended in an affirmative and her plan to sleep in the garden turned into studying in the garden. After a while, she doesn't know why they asked her here. Clearly, they can easily master it. In the midst of her unease, the three of them gasp in surprise.
Tom appeared out of nowhere, sitting in the adjacent tree and clarifying: "It's still a curse. Unless you really want your target to crumble to dust, it won't be strong enough."
"WHERE DID YOU COME FROM?!" Harriet demands and Tom shrugs.
"I've been here the whole time."
Hermione puts a hand to her mouth and Tom gives her a look that says, Don't say anything . Harriet rubs her face, accidentally dropping her glasses. Cho laughs at how frustrated she looks. "Don't worry. Cedric does the same. I guess it's a trick from upperclassmen.”
"Yeah, a trick they don't teach yet," Hermione agrees nervously. Tom grimaces at the comparison with Cedric.
"I guess Cedric at least didn't scare you."
"How sensitive," Tom snorts, moving on.
Harriet lifts her shirt, slaps Tristan and just like that, the snake drops to the floor, almost running away to lie down on Tom. Hermione and Cho glance at each other and seconds later they feign dementia.
Some friends have their quirks and if having snakes under their clothes is their way of getting along, they don't have to comment.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
“Oh! Harriet!”
Fleur reaches her, almost jumping up and ending in a hug. Harriet blushes and lightly pats the French girl on the back. Sometimes it's overwhelming that she's so affectionate. On the other hand, it also surprises her that she's away from the castle. She usually stays there and is with the other Beauxbatons students, with her sister among them. The answer to that detail comes naturally:
“I was curious about this place. You said there's an impressive candy store and it might be good to bring my sister later”, she explains, clasping her hands. “So I hope you can guide me.”
“Yeah, sure.”
She thought about going alone to buy candy without anyone knowing. Lately, she's been craving things at one in the morning and going to the kitchen at that time is difficult. Elves sleep too, after all. After twelve, it's a little unfair to bother them. On the other hand, the other girls in the dormitory are likely to ask for some if anyone points out she has sweets. It should be a secret. Fleur takes her arm and the two of them walk together all the way to Hogsmade.
It's quite annoying when all the boys are being stupid with Fleur. That's the good part about coming with her: they don't try to be any more dumb than usual. Generally, Fleur stays to see everything there is at Hogsmede. She has trouble saying some things in English, since they are very specific French expressions. It's fun and they try to decipher each other.
At the sweet shop, Harriet gives her several sweets that Fleur is curious about, but doesn't have the money to buy.
"Love potion?"
"Mione says it's a very, very watered-down version of the potion. It's to find out what love tastes like," Harriet replies. Fleur sniffs the small pink bottle and furrows her eyebrows.
"It doesn't smell like anything."
"So you don't have a crush," Harriet laughs. Fleur puts it under her nose and Harriet grimaces.
It smells like... Ink.
Books.
Winter.
Candles.
"Nope, not at all."
"Too bad. I thought you and Diggory had a thing. He looks at you a lot, and it's different from when boys look at me."
Harriet snorts. Suddenly, everyone is convinced she has something going on with Cedric. Ironic given the two words they've exchanged in the past month since they've been back in class. Partly because she's angry with him and Cho has been sad ever since.
She's startled by tapping on her right and being offered a glass. She snorts, taking it and Fleur greets Tom. The Slytherin doesn't look at her much and Fleur appreciates it greatly.
"I didn't know you could bring out the beer."
"Not usually, but there are ways to get it."
Harriet shrugs, taking a sip and offering it to Fleur, who eventually burps and Harriet laughs and pats her on the back.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
Thanks to her volunteering, McGonagall granted her permission to fly her broomstick outside the stadium. A way to de-stress. She really likes flying and yet, she hasn't had enough time to do it.
On her way to the black lake, firebolt in hand and walking alone to enjoy this time, she bumps into Viktor. "Would you like me to show you how to do the trick?"
Part of her wanted to say no. She can figure it out on her own; another part thinks it's safer with someone in case she falls (she always gets dizzy trying it); the last part of her says, Why not? Viktor came straight to offer it to her. Not to mention she's been almost desperate to learn how to do those tricks.
Eventually, they're on the shores of the Black Lake, practicing tricks. Viktor is pretty bad at explaining, but good at demonstrating.
"You should gain a little more weight for more stability," Viktor opines and Harriet groans.
"Believe me, I've been trying all this time." Viktor laughs.
"I think you could play professionally soon. I recommend doing it when you're finishing school. That way it's less of a hassle and you have a life." Harriet nods, still unsure of what to do with her future. "I could recommend you to the team I'm on. Several members will be retiring in a couple of years."
"That would be great," Harriet smiles excitedly.
"But," Viktor warns. "You should practice other positions. Just for safety's sake. You can't always get into the position you're aiming for." Harriet pouts slightly. James was a hunter and when she covers that position, she's very good at it.
She concludes that she can ask Oliver to practice as a hunter during their many training sessions. Since he wants to have her in the air every chance he gets when he sees her yawn.
Harriet notices that not far from the lake, Tom is reading a mountain of books. Harriet hasn't wanted to ask him why so much studying. It's what he's doing most of the time these days. On the other hand, how is he here? Did he know they'd be here? She grumbles and Viktor reaches her, both of them flying upside down.
"You and he don't tend to separate much, do you?"
"Sometimes, he seems like my shadow," Harriet agrees.
Tom looks up, Nagini comes out of his robes. "How long has it been since you saw or spoke to her?"
"That's a good question, but for now, I don't want to ask myself."
Nagini laughs. The consequences of Tom's mental games are starting to take effect.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
Two months of classes and Harriet hasn't had a single day alone. Not only because she runs into anyone who invites her to study, join them, eat, whatever; she also has Tristan on her all the time. The snake appears out of nowhere and to avoid the snake being confiscated, she remains silent about it.
It's not uncomfortable. Not as uncomfortable as Nagini, who is noticeably larger and heavier. However, what does happen is that she knows Tom is doing it to keep her "accompanied" or under surveillance. Getting him off her is impossible, Tristan bares his fangs. The damn animal knows when to do it so she'll stop trying to get rid of him, it even knows when she really needs to be without him.
For example: he doesn't go with her when she practices Quidditch, nor to the bathroom, or when she goes to sleep and only to sleep; she tried to go to the kitchen quietly and discreetly. There was Tristan! Waiting at the Gryffindor entrance to climb on top of her and keep her company.
It's also been a while since Tom told Harriet to go to the Chamber of Secrets. He'd like to ask what's keeping him so busy, but he's quite neurotic. She'd say he doesn't get enough sleep. It reminds her a bit of Hermione last year. She was an unpredictable beast for several weeks. Fortunately, she calmed down by Christmas.
And back to the subject of Tristan: while it bothers her a bit that she can't be alone, sometimes having him on her has its advantages.
“WHAT IS THAT CRAP…!?”
Harriet strokes the snake's head and then reaches out for it to emerge from her robes. She puts both hands on it; it's too heavy and she pulls it closer to Cormac, who squeals and backs away.
"A snake. It's very venomous, so..."
She winks at him and Tristan bares his fangs, moving his body slightly to further threaten the Gryffindor student. Several others laugh at the shock. They were silent, curious if Cormac might pull the prank on Harriet by cutting her hair down her back.
As soon as he touched her hair, Tristan shot out a threat. Ron can't hold back his laughter and puts his arm around Harriet's shoulder. "It's not so bad having a Slytherin friend if they give you a guardian snake." Harriet nods and leans back against him. Tristan hides again and they both leave the common room.
Scared to death. when Tom appears from behind one of the pillars. Ron whispers to Harriet.
"How does he appear out of nowhere? He's just like Hermione."
"I don't know. They won't tell me."
"They both are so selfish."
Harriet nods and Tom approaches with his hands behind his back. "Shall we have lunch?"
"Sure."
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
"If your ability to review information is as good as following instructions, I'm assuming those exams will be poorly marked."
Harriet swallows her complaint. She takes a deep breath and lets Snape take care of everything she's already marked. He's assigned her to help him with the simple subjects he's assigned to first and second years. Tom takes over the other assignments. Snape has the most responsibilities. Since he has to keep an eye on which potions mature the longest, he's the one who makes Remus's Wolfsbane Potion, making sure no one's disturbing the dungeons.
It almost explains why he's so bitter all the time.
Harriet rests her temple on her palm and continues with what she's doing. Crossing out what's right, what's wrong, noting that there's spilled ink on the parchment. Her hand trembles, feeling Severus behind her, judging even the smallest details.
She doesn't know if it's annoying.
She doesn't know if it's tiresome.
She doesn't know if it's sad...
His snort makes her grip her quill and bang her fist on the table. "I expect them to be finished by the end of the day, Potter."
Tom glances sideways, a little worried by the way the light in the empty hall rises, like the flame under the cauldron of Snape's brewing.
"I think it's going to burn." Tom opines and Severus narrows his attention at the cauldron. Incredibly for him, he still finds something to criticize:
“Just as much of a troublemaker as her father, I see,” Severus snorts. “I hope you learn to control your magic, instead of affecting everyone around you and being an attention-seeking nuisance.”
Harriet takes a deep breath and slouches further down on the desk. Tom clicks his tongue in equal annoyance.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
Harriet was about to eat something, lying in some castle garden. She couldn't because Ginny appeared out of nowhere, holding hands with a blonde girl. Harriet found it odd that she used her wand as a hairpin. She was wearing trousers with colorful patches, orange-striped tights, an oversized gray sweater, an orange vest and a white shirt underneath. Her earrings look like two enormous oranges and Harriet vibrates at the sensation.
Her magic is white and... soft. Very soft. Like light reflecting off crystals, creating circles on a wall; like clouds absorbing sunlight. Harriet blushes and the light around the three of them grows accordingly. The blonde smiles, inclining her head. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Harriet Potter. Luna Lovegood."
Harriet shakes her hand, stammering a greeting in return. Ginny doesn't know what to make of that reaction. She's only seen it happen a couple of times: the first time with Cho and the second time when Tom arrived at the Yule Ball.
"You're very pretty," Luna comments. "That's strange. I thought you'd be hideous." She looks away, staring into space. "Everyone says you're ugly, but I think you're pretty. That's strange. Everyone is so strange."
"They're all idiots," Ginny comments and Luna laughs.
"They see different things… and they like to bother others. They're like Nargles," she whispers to Harriet, who furrows her eyebrows.
"What is a…"
"Talk about that later," Ginny interrupts quickly. "We're going to have a picnic and paint some old coats. Do you want to come?" she suggests, showing off her enormous backpack and the basket of food.
Harriet lifts the backpack onto her shoulder and walks beside them. Luna talks a lot, her head elsewhere and Harriet feels like she's floating. Luna has reached a level of peace she wishes she had. They find a good place to sit, arrange everything and start with their plans.
Harriet considers herself a failure at drawing and is more of a mess than a drawing. Luna, on the other hand, is very good. She draws different constellations, plants and planets. Ginny laughs at how clumsy Harriet is, leaning as close to her as possible. Happy she agreed, happy to be here with her and Luna. It's like a dream afternoon for the youngest Weasley.
"I see art isn't your strong suit."
None of them knocked the paint over by a miracle. Harriet looks up and finds Tom leaning toward her. Harriet grumbles and blows in his face. Tom gives a pretentious little laugh, hands behind his back, eyes twinkling.
"Oh, it's Tom Riddle. Everyone says he's impressive... He just pops out!" Luna points out with a grin. Harriet shakes her head.
"He's just a conceited, pretentious fool."
"He can still stay if he wants."
Tom sits down, and despite his sneer, he doesn't have much luck painting. In his defense, he normally draws in pencil and is good at it. Painting on cloth is more complicated and disastrous.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
“What is that shitty sweater?”
Harriet doesn't say anything to Drakonys. She's particularly pleased that Luna gave her a sweater. It's very old and It has a few patches, but she told her she decorated it with her in mind: little fireflies everywhere and flowers. It's a rather chaotic garment and she knows people have been looking at it strangely all day.
However, after the surprise at the gift, she was filled with appreciation for the detail. She felt compelled to wear it. It's as big as it needs to be so her bust doesn't stand out. Therefore, it's perfect. With her hair down and worn jeans, it gives a disheveled look.
Something Drakonys picks up from a radius of more than fifty meters.
"A gift from a friend. Two things you don't have," Harriet replies without even looking at her.
Drakonys grits her teeth and barely pulls out her wand, thinking it might soak her or make her vomit slugs for a while, when Tristan pops out from between Harriet's clothes. She turns to look at her, squinting.
"Don't mess with me. Go be miserable somewhere else,” Harriet hisses and advances toward the stairs. Drakonys takes the same few steps.
"Who do you think you are, to talk to me or look at me like that?" Drakonys demands. She raises her voice as the words come out. Why isn't Harriet looking at her? She should be looking at her. She should be paying attention to this argument. Why hasn't she been getting her attention lately? "You weren't satisfied with being a Mudblood! It's wasn't enough to be a stain, you're horrible."
She still hasn't turned around.
"You look more pathetic than ever, Potter."
Nothing.
"Are you not blind, but also deaf?!"
Harriet strokes Tristan's head.
"HEY...!"
Tristan bares his fangs. He prevents Drakonys from pulling Harriet's hair or trying to rip her sweater. Drakonys shivered in place, on the verge of exploding with rage. How dare she ignore her like this? It's times like these when they should fight. It always happens.
Why is Harriet ignoring her?
Why doesn't Harriet look at her?
Why doesn't Harriet give her even a bit of her attention?
Look at me
Look at me
Look at me
LOOK AT ME!
Harriet turned around, her teeth chattering. Drakonys's magic gushed forth to get what it wants: to get closer to the light that tries to deny its existence. It turned her into a blizzard filled with sharp hail. The staircase finally stopped and at the entrance to the hallway, Tom stood with his hands behind his back.
"Do you need something? Drakonys.”
The blonde took a few steps back, her magic withdrawing. Harriet has just stepped up and takes Tom's arm. Don't let him drag on the situation. Drakonys clenches her hands on the railing before groaning.
It's not fair.
This isn't fair.
Why just him?
Why him ?
It's not fair.
That's not fair.
"Did she do something to you?"
"Ruin my afternoon."
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
She can say with absolute certainty that the strangest thing she's experienced with Slytherins this year is Daphne, Theodore and Regulus coming to help her with her homework. She doesn't fully understand why they're approaching her. Of course, it has something to do with Tom; she's just overwhelmed by the fact that he has this level of control over them. With Regulus, it's "normal" if he's still in love. Which is doable, given how much he stares at Tom and how her magic gets all worked up by having him around.
"I can study alone," Harriet grumbles. She can't get any more direct than that to kick them out. She's already told them they can leave and she'd prefer that.
"Tom threatened that Nagini will give us a hug, so we're staying," Daphne jokes. "Besides, we're having a lovely time here, aren't we?" Regulus makes a face of utter contempt.
"The only thing I have here is the most annoying light ever." Harriet rolls her eyes. "I don't know why-"
"I know why you're here listening to Tom."
Is it blackmail? Probably, but nothing has given her more satisfaction today than seeing Regulus tense up and look like a deer in headlights. Daphne and Theodore assume it's a family issue. Harriet stretches in her seat and yawns. Tom is overdoing it with this.
"I'm going to assume he's off in some corner with Drakonys, doing more fun things," Theodore complains quietly.
Regulus raises an eyebrow. "What's with that worried look on her face?" Harriet seems to have heard some terrible news.
"With Drakonys?"
"We think they're secretly dating," Daphne whispers with a mischievous smile, leaning across the table to speak directly to Harriet. "They're always staring at each other. Tom moved in with her family a year ago and he has an agreement with Lucius Malfoy. That's only possible if he can sell her like a cow."
"And there's no better suitor than the only living heir of Slytherin," says Regulus, slouching slightly in his seat and not looking at Harriet's face.
"I thought Tom didn't like anyone touching him," Harriet comments and Theodore snorts.
"I assure you, the place he likes to be touched most is his dick. Especially if it's Drakonys." Theodore smiles slyly and mockingly.
"He liked it with Bellatrix too, but I guess she didn't have as many opportunities because she's crazy," Regulus opines.
"Maybe he doesn't have anything to do with her," Harriet opines, playing with her quill. "He always tells me how it bothers him that they lose points, that she thinks she's superior to him, I think Nagini hates her." She licks her lips. and shrugs. "Maybe they see something that isn't there."
"Opposites attract. Not even Tom is made of stone. I know because I heard him in a bathroom once." Harriet scratches her head and wants to run away. Did they hear them in the bathroom? She'll never let him even see her if so. "He's so indiscreet he went into the girls' restroom," Theodore mocks.
Harriet curses inwardly. Only Tom got out because he was so stubborn. He didn't want the Invisibility Cloak. The only one who got out unnoticed was her.
"Uh! It must be quite fun. A lot of domination. She probably pulls his hair and stuff," Daphne comments, with a very specific mental picture. Harriet never wanted to go back to study so much.
She doesn't think Tom is cheating on her. That's absurd. It's just irritating that everyone thinks that. Not to mention the comments that it makes sense, that they're great together, that they're the best couple anyone could have.
Fucking idiots.
┈
"I can study alone."
"Tom said we should be here with you, so."
Harriet rolls her eyes. She doesn't like having them around. She notices several people walking past, murmuring. Mostly Gryffindor students. She's startled when Theodore reaches out, putting his arm around Harriet and looking disdainfully at a Hufflepuff student.
"Have any fucking trouble? Do you need something?" The boy mumbles awkwardly. "Get lost. You and your friends."
"You can't kick anyone out of the library. It's a common area."
"No?" the Slytherin tempts.
The group of five hesitates and leaves discreetly, grumbling loudly and with a scolding from the librarian. Harriet raises an eyebrow and returns her attention to Theodore, who shrugs.
"You have a match soon. You don't want to get injured, do you?"
Harriet gasps, furrowing her eyebrows as she turns to the other three. She hadn't thought about that. The match is against Hufflepuff, who could win the cup if they beat Gryffindor. Daphne winks and Regulus snorts in annoyance.
"Just break your glasses. You're a damn mole."
"A mole who wins more than Drakonys and that's why Slytherin doesn't have the cup," Harriet boasts and Regulus shakes his head.
"I never said Drakonys was a good Seeker."
"But you're implying I'm bad because I need glasses. At least I'm not a lapdog."
Regulus can't complain. “It's not hard to tell you're just like a dog, Regulus.”
He bites his tongue, and Daphne can barely contain her laughter. Tom takes the seat next to Harriet. The stack of twelve books falls on the table, effectively covering Regulus. Tom maintains a slight, mocking smile, picking up one of the books to study.
Harriet deliberately knocks it over and grimaces, looking elsewhere.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
All of Gryffindor is blocking her path now. Someone told them the Hufflepuffs are trying to attack her and make them lose the match. Needless to say, even McGonagall is keeping an eye out for this. She's very much enjoying having the Quidditch cup in her office.
The only good thing that's happened is that Tom finally called her to the Chamber of Secrets. Harriet went like a bullet as soon as the other Gryffindors fell asleep. Of course, it was fast. With today's academic load, it would have been a miracle if any of them had the energy left.
Tom was already inside, stretching and complaining to Nagini.
"You know, I counted the number of hours of solitude I've had in these two and a half months." Harriet carelessly throws her jacket aside and goes over to Tom. "And it's exactly two." Tom holds her gaze, stroking Nagini's head. "Because someone always appears and then, coincidentally, you appear."
Tom laughs so that Harriet's brow furrows further. Tristan steps out from under the stretched shirt, passing between Harriet's breasts.
"Do you think this is funny...?"
"Of course I do," Tom agrees, crossing his leg. "I warned you that I didn't want you to be alone, to avoid risks and you thought I couldn't handle it." he shrugs. "Of course I can."
"What did you do?"
Although she wanted to blame him from the start, how did he do it? Harriet can't believe everyone just agreed with him. Not to mention that none of the people who approached him are "friends" of Tom. The only exception is the Slytherin group he "socializes" with.
But Cho? Fleur? Neville? Ginny? Not at all. Not to mention the twins and countless other characters who appeared for each day he would go out. The other concern is: How does he know where she's going and who to send? It's all so premeditated that it made her feel uneasy.
Not to mention the creepy appearances of her boyfriend.
"Nothing to worry you about," Tom asserts. "Now you still think I can't control what you do?"
"This whole process, just to contradict me."
"No, to show you I have a lot of self-control."
Harriet moves her jaw and looks away, roughly grabbing Tristan to pull it out, reluctantly placing it on a nightstand. Tom stands up and cups her face.
"It's for your own good. I made sure you were comfortable, didn't I?" Harriet rolls her eyes and snorts in frustration. She wasn't happy with Snape, nor was Trelawney; she can barely count her time with McGonagall as good. "And you didn't faint, you weren't in trouble... it was for your own good," Tom insists with a condescending smile.
"I still don't like it," Harriet informs, pushing him away rather roughly. "I want to breathe. I want to go out into the garden and sleep alone for two minutes. I love Ron and Hermione very much, but I need my space. Same with the others."
She has the feeling Tom isn't listening. He's more focused on taking off her shirt, leaving her hair loose and touching her. She's trembling and vibrating; his magic feels different too. It's a constant thrusting and grabbing.
More like when they're already having sex, not when they're just starting out.
"Hey," Harriet takes hold of his wrists before he grabs her breasts. "Did you hear what I said?"
"I heard it, but I'm not going to listen to you, I don’t care."
Harriet's voice is still on her lips and Tom joins hers, almost pulling her into an anxious, desperate kiss. He pushes her onto the bed, getting between her legs, holding her wrists above her head and between her legs, thrusting through their clothes.
He kisses her cheek, then her neck and Harriet wonders what's got him so anxious. Unless it was a way to annoy her too, he would have asked her to come sooner if he was so eager.
"Tom, love, are you okay?"
"Yes, why did you ask?"
Tom hisses, in pain. Harriet tugged at his hair with her teeth. She cups his face and plays with his cheeks, looking into his eyes. "You look... tired," Tom snorts, not wanting to talk about it.
He's dead tired, but he's also hornier than a centaur.
"You're not coming between my legs until you tell me what's wrong," Harriet warns. "There's a lot that doesn't make sense here."
Tom wrinkles his face and looks away.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
In his indecipherable book, which for some reason is now legible, he found some very good spells. The first one he tried and now he's almost obsessed with it, is the Obedience Curse. It's similar to the Imperius Curse, but more subtle yet stronger. It's about influencing people to do something.
He “encouraged” Hermione and Cho to want to study with Harriet.
He “encouraged” Fleur to go with Harriet to Hogsmade.
He “encouraged” Ginny to invite Harriet to a picnic with Luna.
He “encouraged” Viktor to go to the lake with Harriet.
With Neville, it wasn't necessary. That was going to happen.
Drakonys is a damn nuisance…
Regulus, Daphne, and Theodore move wherever he says.
In general: everyone added was under his command. He knew it would be like that when, by nightfall, he'd already heard everything and went back in time. The time-turner's mechanism became a bit complicated after the first few days.
Too many versions of himself. He uses his journal to keep a map so he doesn't cross paths with himself, as well as to note who to send with Harriet. He also added hours so he could sleep. Exhausted and consumed not only by the love issue, the classes want to eat him alive. He can master it; it's just a matter of time. Because he must dedicate at least an hour to each subject. He's already caught up, which makes his life halfway easier.
It's the only reason he was finally able to call Harriet to the Chamber of Secrets. He no longer has to waste away in books and can return to her comforting warmth.
He feels like he's about to die from the cold he's accumulated in his room. Having a version of himself who hasn't stopped studying for what? A month? His neurons are scrambled and nothing would make him happier than Harriet hugging him, talking to him about anything and everything, her magic enveloping him equally.
It's maddening how much he needs her to feel like he's not going to lose his mind...
At the same time, all this arrangement? It made him feel the sickest and greatest satisfaction. Five months ago, he would never have accepted feeling something like this, but now that he has it, Tom doesn't know how to let it go: he's fascinated by the control he has over Harriet.
Controlling where she goes out.
Controlling who she goes out with.
Controlling what she does.
Controlling whether or not she's alone.
Tom found himself laughing like a madman at noticing his own thoughts. Each one more hysterical, complicated and terrible than the last. If he can control who she goes to and from, he can also control where she goes, when she goes, he might even influence people to stay away from her…
Harriet can be just mine.
Mine.
She's mine.
And she'd only give me attention.
She'd be happy with me alone.
She—
“I want you to get out of your head.” Harriet shakes him a little, still holding him with both hands. Harriet looks him straight in the eyes and Tom does the same, dumbfounded by the look of such a bright and beautiful green. "And, focus, only, on, me ," she emphasizes, turning in bed. Sitting on top of him. "Nothing else but me . No tricks. No lessons. None of that. Me ."
It's the most ironically selfish request Harriet could ask for. As if it weren't that way. With Tom’s head full of thoughts about her, so many that he can't stop paying attention.
Harriet takes off her bra and Tom sees her breasts gently bounce; her small hands slide over his youthful chest, seeking to remove the closed shirt; her restless hips swaying flirtatiously to tease him. Tom almost drools, barely able to move his hands. He grabs Harriet's buttocks and massages them, silently admiring her.
Harriet leans back, pressing part of her breast against Tom's face. The teenager is quick to take one into his mouth, sucking. Now on his side, with Harriet's thigh on his hip, pressing his fat crotch against hers. Harriet strokes his hair and sighs with pleasure at how desperate Tom is. The only thing that makes the whole show worthwhile.
"Put it in now." Harriet finally has him on top of her, kissing deeply and eagerly. "Come on, put it in." she insists eagerly.
Tom crouches on top of her, moving to rub and nothing more. The kiss breaks a little abruptly. "I thought you were upset with me, sweetheart," he says with a smug smile.
"And if you don't do what I say, I'm leaving," Harriet warns and Tom feels a shiver run down his spine.
Harriet's magic abruptly retracts, and she shivered away from his touch. Her laughter vibrates in her throat. Harriet pulls down his underwear and gasps, closing her eyes as the hardened penis slowly slides into her pussy. Tom gasps right into her face, thrusting his tongue into her mouth and fully engaging her.
This heat...
It's been the most desperate two (three) months without this heat.
Harriet hugs him with her arms
With her legs
With her magic
With her inner walls
With her lips
Harriet feels like she's just fallen into an Antarctic trench, the icy water stabbing her body like thousands of needles and the worse it gets, the darker it gets.
"I want it harder, harder- Ah!"
She pulls Tom fully against her, knees bent and ankles pressing against his thighs; the sound of his moans accompanied by the clash of their heated skin and flesh. Tom feels bigger, denser; everything inside her burns and throbs with excitement to continue feeling it.
She moans long and high with the last thrust, accompanied by a grunt and groan from Tom; a blow like a blow and her body completely tense. Harriet barely stirs, feeling the abundant semen fill her in an almost inhuman way.
Tom leans against the wall to stand up, pulling out his limp cock. Harriet spreads her legs wide and exposes her pussy with her hands: pink, throbbing and with the viscous fluid oozing out in abundance. Tom furrows his brows slightly. His belly, his testicles and his entire abdomen are burning and Harriet masturbating in front of him only excites him even more.
He holds her by the thighs and rests his cock between her swollen lips, beginning to rub himself so he can invade her, satisfy her. Harriet moans loudly, her breasts bouncing and her face contorted in an expression of immense pleasure.
A snake runs along the woman's thigh.
A snake runs between her large breasts.
A snake runs along her collarbone and neck.
Harriet smiles, biting her lip as Tom enters her again; feeling his hands on her body and the cold, scaly skin that slides over her, pampering her.
It's barely the second round...
Harriet is expecting to know how many times that will be.
Chapter 58: Act. LVIII. Study club
Chapter Text
"Harriet... Harriet! Come back to earth!"
Harriet lets go a full glass of juice and swears softly, flailing her arms. Ron can't help but laugh, barely covering himself. Hermione chides her quietly. She dries with a napkin, removes her robes and considers staying in the shirt underneath.
"Where's your head at?" Hermione demands through gritted teeth.
Harriet doesn't respond, flying back to where she was so happy last night.
Harriet feels like she could shoot lightning bolts from her fingers at any moment. She vibrates and trembles, a weary smile on her face. Harriet turns clumsily on her back. She moans hoarsely, high-pitched: Tom strokes her hip down to her swollen abdomen and presses. Harriet gasps and whimpers, feeling the fluid spurting out of her.
Twelve times? Maybe thirteen. Tom had so many orgasms, tripling Harriet's, that he couldn't say how long they've been here and how much they've done. The only thing that's absolutely certain is that Harriet feels on cloud nine.
Better than flying itself.
Tom lies back in bed, barely able to stay awake, plopping down on the bed and about to fall asleep. Harriet climbs on top of him, kissing him lazily and sleepily.
"For your next evil plan, don't keep me waiting... Or your balls will be stuck inside my pussy, just like your cock." Tom vibrates from head to toe. Harriet licks his ear and speaks directly. A flirtatious, husky whisper. "Or explode from how much you're putting in."
She ends up biting him and not only that, but penetrating herself again. A quiet moan, almost a sigh, makes him hug her. Harriet curls up and exhales. She wants to sleep like this. The semen isn't going to come out, and it feels too good. It's silly; if she were less sleepy, she wouldn't even think about it.
Is she ashamed of everything they did? No.
Is she ashamed of sleeping with her boyfriend's cock inside her? No. Not at all.
Is she ashamed of having done it again this morning...?
"Since when do you like this in the morning?"
"Since you kept me stressed and without contact for two months."
Tom rests his hands behind his back, making a great effort to thrust into Harriet on his lap. She holds onto his slender shoulders, rests her forehead on Tom's and closes her eyes to feel him better. Tom moans without shame. Harriet’s pussy is so soft, so warm inside, squeezing him as if he hadn't stretched her all night, even leaking semen from a few hours ago.
He grits his teeth and Harriet grabs his face, wanting to see his face as he reaches his orgasm. She kisses him on the lips, almost knocking him back onto the bed.
As they pull away, Harriet stands up, stifling her moans. Tom laughs, tilting his head: semen spurts onto his limp, vaginally wet cock. It also drips down Harriet's thighs. Tom inserts three fingers into her and Harriet does nothing but tremble like a scared animal.
"You don't have time to bathe, do you?"
She had to rush to be in Gryffindor and get dressed for breakfast. Although Tom did her the favor of cleaning her halfway with a spell, it wasn't complete. It's not just her memories that have her lost in the clouds. The plug in her pussy does too. Keeping her from becoming a mess. She keeps closing her legs, rubbing herself and squeezing it inside her.
"Harriet."
"I'm sleepy." A clumsy excuse. Hermione still looks at her with disapproval.
“We're starting the study club today. Tell Tom. I'll start and then we'll discuss who's in charge next week.”
Harriet nods stupidly. She gets up from her seat and walks silently, head down. Tom mimics the action, except he's going to the dungeons.
┈
Harriet covers her mouth, leaning against the wall. She inserts and removes the plug, rubbing it against her clitoris whenever she can. It feels wonderful. She's in the shower and has locked the door so no one can interrupt her.
She lets out long, heavy breaths, finally falling to the floor. She doesn't want the feeling to ever go away. She feels not only energetic, but also happy and like she could float without any spells. Harriet leans her cheek against the wall and scrunches her face as she opens her eyes.
Now she has to go study. She just can't have anything good in life without it being ruined.
┈
Tom looks at his hand with deep annoyance, dripping with almost liquid and transparent semen. He doesn't know what kind of fever dream he's had. The only thing that's certain is that he wants to sleep for more than six hours. Out of inertia, he does the math and he could do it! He wasn't in his room all night, so there wouldn't be any problem.
" Stop thinking about the time-turner ," Tom rests his head in the tub and looks at Nagini, curled up in the bathroom doorway. " Clearly, using it so much affected you in some way. Maybe it's not magic that should be used so frequently ."
" I can handle it. It was just stress ," Tom explains, sinking a little into the tub. " Besides, I don't overuse it. If I were, there would be many more versions of me walking around now ."
" Fortunately, they're not here. " Nagini moves forward and raises part of her body to the edge of the tub. “ I am stronger than you and I'm still dizzy. Rest on the weekends. You can do that now that the leveling is over ." Tom clicks his tongue and looks away.
Nagini slithers up and coils around part of Tom's body, looking into his eyes, his skin wet and glistening with water. Tom runs his fingers over the scales and Nagini hisses.
" You've already done so much more than anyone else. You don't have to push yourself harder to prove you're perfect ."
It's not about proving it.
Tom wants to confirm it to himself.
He wants to feel in control, confident. Tom closes his eyes and sighs, sleepy. He doesn't realize he's falling asleep in the tub. Nagini keeps his head out of the water. She's surprised by how much time has passed; Harriet is here. The girl throws the Invisibility Cloak aside and takes a bench, sitting behind Tom to finish washing his hair.
Tom wakes up from feeling her, flinching and frowning up his face. Too surprised to distinguish her. Tom relaxes at the sight. Harriet with a high bun, a striped sweater in various shades of red, oversized pale jeans and worn-out Converse; she's lined her eyes and looks a bit uneven.
She's wearing the necklace Sirius gave her four years ago.
"Why did you come?" Tom asks, letting his hair be washed.
"Because you were taking a while to show up and because you were acting really weird yesterday." Tom gives a long "umm," closing his eyes. "I wanted to make sure you were okay. Besides making up an excuse."
"For what?"
"Hermione wants us to start study club today." Tom groans softly, shaking his head a little. "I'll tell her you have too much to do because of your O.W.L. and can't join today. You should show up next week, though, because it's potions."
"I'll go, give me a minute," he grumbles.
Harriet leaves so she can let him dress without any problem. Tom rubs his face with both hands. He can sleep after being there. Squeezing in a little more studying won't be a problem.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
"Well!" Hermione exclaims, excited that everyone she expected is here.
Harriet, Ron, Tom, Viktor, Ginny, Neville, Luna and Nagini.
Hermione really wasn't expecting her here, but she's staying with Hedwig in this room, which she asked permission to use on Saturdays.
Fleur, Cho, Cedric (the atmosphere is somewhat awkward), Daphne, Regulus and Theodore also came.
Fleur for fun.
Cho out of interest.
Cedric, Daphne, Regulus and Theodore because it might be useful for their upcoming exams.
"Harriet," she turns to her, who was playing with a quill. "You talk."
"Why me?!" she demands in a low voice and Hermione pulls her up from her seat so she can stand in front of the others.
Hermione knows that at least half of the people present are here for Harriet. So it's better if she takes the reins. Harriet shifts uncomfortably and can barely think of what to say. It's a rehash of the explanatory speeches Hermione gave to justify the existence of this "club”.
"The exams are going to kill us, so... going over all the information we have is a good idea." She opens her hands and Regulus grimaces, looking at her with disdain. Fleur just giggles, rocking back and forth in her chair. Luna seems the most out of it. “We'll start from first year to fifth... or whatever we can find. It's okay to bring things we haven't covered in class... Hmm." She's constantly high-fiving and looking around. "We'll also do practice."
"How will we do that with magical creatures?"
"We just have to ask Hagrid's permission ahead of time. He's happy for us to go there," says Harriet, noticing she's trembling.
She doesn't like speaking in front of people. She'll complain to Hermione later.
"We'll do an order that can change," Harriet says, flipping back a lock of hair. "Transfiguration first, then Potions, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Charms, Herbology, Magical Creatures, History of Magic, and Astrology. Someone's in charge. Mione will do Transfiguration, Tom will do Potions, I'll do Defense Against the Dark Arts, Ron will do Charms—"
"Weasel can use his wand? That's surprising." Regulus mocks. Ron gets up from his seat.
“Do you have a problem?”
“I don't have any, you're just useless.”
“Quiet, Regulus. When you bark that much, it irritates me.” Tom looks at him out of the corner of his eye, stern and annoyed. Regulus shuts up and moves his jaw. “Sit down.” He orders Ron, who reluctantly slumps down, his expression grim. Harriet clears her throat.
“If anyone has anything to add, they can, but without going over who took the subject, please.” She presses toward Regulus, who remains silent. “So… let's begin.”
Hermione takes charge and they can say they saw first year in a single day and in just three hours. Hermione had the decency to condense everything, without beating around the bush like always. Harriet would say this is the first time she's understood what she's addressing. There are some additions in Transformations, either by knowing it from relatives or having found it in other books.
The one who made the most use of this was Tom, who suddenly started spouting a long, drawn-out scientific rant that Hermione could barely understand. Ron and Harriet lost focus not long after, not to mention Ron fell asleep.
Tom couldn't get any more annoyed at this sight.
"How the hell did we change the matchstick into a needle?"
"I didn't even remember we'd done that," Daphne admits, just as surprised as Theodore. It's like an old memory they haven't dusted off yet.
"That's easy to do, so I thought we could try this:”
Tom writes on the board a spell that no one has heard of and the description makes it even more surprising: transforming any inorganic matter into a rabbit and not only can it maintain its shape, but also something that even he himself didn't understand from the book.
Using the most basic tools they have for transfiguration, they ruled out Neville, Ginny or Luna being able to do it. They're not that skilled at transfiguration and they wouldn't be able to hold on if something bad happened. Since he brought it up, Tom will be the one to test it. They took a piece of wood and...
The spell works.
It turned into a rather large and fat rabbit.
The problem was this: it started to turn over like a piece of clothing. Hermione almost ran out and threw up; Daphne, Theodore, Regulus, Ginny and Fleur clutched their heads with various expressions of disgust; Ron clutched his head in exclamations of horror; and the others fled the unpleasant scene.
Harriet gasped, tense, awkward, not knowing what to do beyond keeping her eyes wide open and her heart in her throat. Her skin prickled from the cold in the room. When it finished, the rabbit was completely turned over, moving without a problem. As if its muscles weren't out.
"It's not what I expected, but…" Tom skims the parchment with the spell written on it and looks at it again, "it worked pretty well."
"Pretty well? Pretty well!? CAN'T YOU SEE IT!" Ron exclaims, pointing with both hands. Tom shrugs. "IT'S…!"
"It's a magical animal. Never mind… Nagini."
Ron jumps back. Nagini darted toward the rabbit and engulfed it, devouring it noisily. Tom jots down the remaining spell and looks at the others. Almost surprised by their reaction. Harriet backs off a bit, judging him. He gives a small snort.
"Next time, at least warn us about the horror show," Daphne requests. One of the few times he's seen her upset.
"It's not that bad," Tom states, looking back at where Nagini barely left a bloodstain.
They decided to ignore that and continue. Aside from practicing spells and getting Neville to master them (it was a real problem with wand and confidence), they were done for the day.
Tom went peacefully to sleep.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
Being scared of Potions revision is something all Gryffindors go through. It's a shared traumatic experience, regardless of age or gender. Just the house. As tragic as it could be, Tom made use of this trauma with Harriet as a student: making it as simple and basic as possible, that way he didn't feel like he was wasting time explaining it.
The first-year content was very simple and it was also easy to prepare in a single day. No one needed to stay longer than twenty minutes, so they were able to make all the potions.
They were able to skip to second year, and that's where a problem arose: they wanted to try a potion that, supposedly, could be made at that level. Simple, it's nothing more than a way to make sweets.
It worked better than expected.
Not so with a potion Tom selected while rummaging around for this very class. It's fifth-year content: Wit-Sharpening Potion.
They didn't expect it to explode in their faces.
"Okay, what happened?"
"Harriet touched the cauldron, that's what happened."
Harriet gives a fake laugh. Hair tousled, smoke in her face and glasses dirty, as well as crooked. Tom pushes his hair back and, like the rest, peers into the depths. The potion, which should have been almost transparent, looks like petroleum that keeps burning and moving.
Tom taps his chin. "It shouldn't explode. It's not a complicated potion—"
"Harriet really made it explode," Ginny points out and Harriet gasps. Now what did she do? "The fire started to grow and that's why it burned."
"I didn't do it on purpose," Harriet stammers, embarrassed.
"That's why you always ruin potions," Hermione says and Harriet snorts. Regulus snorts.
"Can't you control your magic for a few minutes so you don't ruin it?"
"At least my magic shows," Harriet says in return.
"Let's start again," Tom suggests, ignoring the discussion.
Tom starts to formulate a theory: Harriet did everything right for that potion and if it weren't for turning the heat up too high, it would have been perfect. The same thing happens at home, where everything ends up burning. He knows that the more nervous she is, the more magic she expels and that's what causes these reactions.
Maybe she's never been bad at potions, maybe she gets nervous and that causes the disaster in the first place. There's no way to prove it for now.
The potion could be made and having finished all the review work... Tom brought up a potion from his personal book. He made it without any problems. So much so that even Neville found it simple. The ingredients are varied and very complicated. No one asks how Tom managed to get them (he mail-ordered them from the Malfoys).
The problem is that once he's finished and has everything ready in the cauldrons, Tom does what the instructions say: cools it and drops it. The problem is what happens when that happens: the black mass of the potion takes shape. A kind of semi-human skeleton that crawls along the floor and heads towards the nearest person, which is Theodore.
The teenager falls to the floor at a certain point and the figure finally takes shape. With claws, a tail and even wings forming. Coming to more life.
"Don't attack him!"
Hermione's command makes it stay still and sit down. Theodore runs as fast as he can until he's far enough away. Tom checks the notes and tilts his head.
"What exactly is that potion?" Daphne asks uneasily.
"I don't know, the name was crossed out, although that explains why it called for animal blood."
"You said it was pulp."
"It's the same thing," Tom dismisses casually.
Harriet scratches her head and turns her attention back to the creature in the potion. Tom pulls out his wand and makes a simple flourish: "Reducto."
The creature explodes, as if it was never there.
┈
"That guy is crazy," Ron states through gritted teeth.
"He just wants to try different things... too bad he doesn't know what they're about before he tries them," Hermione opines and Harriet grimaces.
Not knowing what to say to this, Ron makes her jump in place. "Can you tell him not to come next week? He's going to bring a real Dementor into the classroom. I'm almost sure of it. He's crazy. Not even the others are as crazy as he is."
"He wouldn't do something like that. Besides, he'd tell me," Harriet says. "I'll just ask him not to expect to do experiments like these."
"Yes, that should do it," Hermione sighs and Harriet shifts uncomfortably on her feet.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
Unsurprisingly, Harriet didn't waste time on theory or reviewing much of what was written. After all, she didn't do it herself. Too busy with so many other things. What she did make sure to do was create a schedule of spells to practice. Theory is Hermione's job. She gave her what she thought would be important and she had to summarize it.
They'd discuss it after all the spells they had left to cast.
The first-years were exceptionally easy. A curious thing happened: Harriet stayed with those who couldn't cast the spell properly or at their best.
Neville doesn't move his wrist well.
Luna didn't move her wand very much at all.
Ron didn't say the spell well...
The best way to test some of them was to duel again and it went as well as could be expected. The classroom ended in a cloud of smoke as Neville and Ron faced each other. It was fun, though.
"Don't kill me," Harriet clarifies to Tom, who, by chance, ended up as her partner. Tom giggles.
The others turn their heads at each spell that flies between them. Constant sparks and lightning bolts shoot out from either side. Tom starts to cast spells they've never heard of before. Each one stranger than the last and Harriet is good at repelling them. She feels hot and cold at the same time, like the lights flickering up and down.
It's as if their magic is fighting wildly.
The duel ends abruptly with what sounds like a curse: " Alta vision tenebris !"
It hits Harriet square on the head. She drops her wand, falls to her knees, her eyes completely black and falls sideways. Tom tenses where he stands. The first to rush to her is Cedric, followed by Hermione, Cho, Ron and Ginny. Tom furrows his eyebrows, staring at his wand for a moment and then at Harriet, who is inhaling and exhaling sharply, breaking out in a cold sweat.
"Harriet?! Are you okay...?!"
"What was that spell?" Regulus asks. Tom hisses.
"It only gives you nightmares. It's not harmful," he dismisses, grabbing his own wrist and hiding the whiplash of panic from having hit her with it.
Cedric tries to carry her to the hospital wing, stopped by Nagini, who moves swiftly, wrapping herself around Harriet and baring her fangs at Cedric. The Hufflepuff doesn't flinch, barely leaning back.
Tom rushes over and kneels beside Harriet, who is now occupying a space on the floor. "Don't you have a counterspell?" Hermione stammers, frightened. Tom shakes his head.
"I'm no good with counterspells."
"And you couldn't have said that before?!"
Due to pressure and much arguing, they left Harriet where she is. Tom is certain the effect isn't permanent. It took half an hour, but Harriet came around and was left with the worst headache of her life.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
Herbology was a special session.
Neville took them to the greenhouse and spent three hours talking about different plants, spells, and care. It was a pretty good process, including a group project he has to maintain in the classroom: a gravity plum tree, courtesy of Luna. The idea is to keep it alive and grow to its full potential. In theory, if they can maintain it, they can handle almost any type of tree, since most require similar care.
Tom didn't add anything to that session.
Harriet didn't comment on it.
The topic itself hasn't been touched on all week.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
“Are you okay?!”
Daphne can't help but laugh as Theodore, who's on the verge of tears. Regulus is almost frozen. Ron grins with complete satisfaction, resting his fists on his hip and right ankle, carelessly playing with his wand.
Hermione and Harriet exchange a discreet fist bump. Just as it was from the beginning, Ron started out shy and almost ashamed to say anything, driven only to get rid of Regulus's smug expression, to show him that he can do a lot and more than he said.
It was fun.
No one dared to cast any spells on Tom. Not just because Nagini was present, just out of a natural sense of self-preservation.
Regulus tried every way he could to get Ron back in the moment, but he couldn't.
Hermione, Harriet, Luna, Ginny and Fleur had a fun time. Fleur was the most enthusiastic, as this is also her favorite area.
"What's that?"
"A mini black hole. If I make it any bigger, we'd end up dead."
Harriet appreciates that Tom was more careful this time.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
"We've come to interrupt your very interesting Study session with a big surprise!" George announces, Fred at his side with an equally wide smile. Tom looks at them with profound boredom, Harriet with curiosity and both Ginny and Ron hope this isn't a moment of jokes.
History of Magic is going to kill them and unfortunately, only Tom remembers everything they've seen in class. He and Hermione, but Hermione didn't want to take on that role.
"We've come to show..."
"Weasley's Wizard Wheezes!"
They leave a couple of boxes on the table and out of curiosity, as well as to escape History of Magic, everyone checks out whatever it is. Tom is the only one who doesn't join the motion, returning to his reading and focusing on that.
Amidst some joke articles and some candy, Ginny waves the pink bottle. "What's this?"
"Amortentia."
"Love potion for connoisseurs."
Tom tenses and turns sharply, judging the small pink bottle. Harriet sneaks glances at him, making sure nothing awkward is happening here. Ginny scrunches up her face.
"But it's supposed to be banned."
"Yes, yes, it is, but that's not the best version."
"It's a milder version. It only lasts 24 hours," Fred informs, leaning against one of the crates. "Although it can also depend on the person's weight... and other things. We don't recommend grabbing it or use it for now."
"Their height."
"How much they drank."
"How much they ate."
"Two days maximum." they conclude simultaneously. Ginny keeps the bottle in her hand, bites her lower lip and looks at Harriet cautiously.
Everyone focuses on Hermione, who was bitten by a book. Not noticing the redhead keeping the Amortentia.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
"Harriet... Don't you think Tom is... A bit dangerous?"
She looks at Hermione, Ron and Ginny alternately. She slumps her shoulders and snorts. Hermione doesn't know how to talk to her about this and wishes she didn't. However, she feels it's very necessary at this moment. She hopes Harriet understands their point.
She also made sure to approach her when she's finished exercising. She's so exhausted that she won't try to escape, just as she can't sleep: she hates going to bed sweaty without a bath. She can't sleep! Ginny keeps her head half-bowed and tries not to look at her too much. Harriet's wearing a sports bra, tight shorts, and a small, light skirt. She can see her toned arms, her wide thighs, even her taut stomach...
She could have this image in her head for the rest of her life.
"Yes, it could be, but it's not that serious." Harriet shrugs.
"It is," Ron emphasizes hastily. "There isn't a club session where someone doesn't almost die because of him. Everything he does is with black magic—"
"That's his magic. He has the right to try things that are in keeping with his nature." Harriet argues stubbornly and Hermione shakes her head.
"The problem is that means something could explode or one of us could get hurt," she corrects. Harriet moves her jaw, sitting with her legs half-open. "I think... We should try not to do what he brings or—"
"Or him not going at all. Unless it's all theoretical. He's dangerous.”
Harriet purses her lips. The three of them think Tom is dangerous and she's not going to say that Tom is the most harmless person in school, but leave him out? The worst part is that if they talk about this, it's just to get her to talk to him.
Yes, Tom shows up with creepy spells and potions, she can't deny that. She just doesn't think it's fair to kick him out for it. She doesn't even want to tell him not to try it again. At most, she wants him to do more research so that no more scares like that happen. Hermione knows Harriet won't do anything. Tom is just like Ron in that regard: they can make the worst insults and Harriet still wouldn't be able to stop their behavior, to see the harm in it.
She hopes he'll at least ask him to be careful.
"Part of the point is that it's fun. They're not play spells," Harriet mumbles, gathering her bathing things.
"Yes, but it's black magic. Black magic is dangerous," Ron emphasizes and Harriet rolls her eyes. Hermione pokes him in the ribs. The issue isn't the magic, it's Tom's lack of care and judgment in using it.
Harriet goes to take a bath, unaware that Tristan overheard the entire conversation and is leaving for Slytherin.
┈
"I wasn't even going to tell you. I know you don't care what they think."
"You also think I'm dangerous. You've thought that since that night."
Tom stares at her. Waiting for any excuse she can come up with. He remembers very well the look she gave him at that moment. The one who couldn't hide the fact that he terrified her. In the study club, it was fear of what he might do. Tom waits patiently for her to be honest and tell him so to his face. Harriet rubs her hands together and shakes her head. "I know you can be dangerous, but that doesn't mean I want you to stop being there."
Tom snorts, rolling his eyes. Harriet takes his arm and pulls him closer. Her green, submissive eyes look into the attacking, furious red ones. Tom wanted Harriet to defend him. To say something more decisive. Deep down, he recognizes it's a stupid expectation: Harriet doesn't argue with anyone unless she's angry. She's too shy and hates confrontation.
Part of him hates it. He was being insulted and she didn't stand up for him more fiercely. At the same time, a string of possibilities pops into his head. From ways to stop her going there and it's just the two of them, to finding more time where he doesn't have to make sure Harriet will accompany him to try this kind of thing. He doesn't want to do it without Harriet.
To show what he can do.
To show what his magic can do…
Harriet has known Tom has been upset for a long time and isn't sure why.
"Your beloved friends want to get rid of me and you're fine with that," Tom demands through gritted teeth. His voice is low and hissing.
"I want you there, with me," Harriet clarifies, deeply judged by Tom. Somber and expectant. “We can try those things alone. In the Chamber of Secrets.”
"Joh, how are you going to escape them?"
"I'll tell the truth. It won't be-"
"Do you think they're going to let you?"
"They're not my parents, and I haven't even listened to them," Harriet argues and Tom laughs. Smiling slyly and twistedly.
"You don't listen to anyone."
He kisses her forehead and Harriet snorts, looking away.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
Drakonys has seen Harriet come and go with her friends. Now she's never alone. Not only that, now she joins them for study sessions...
There's Regulus Black.
There's Theodore Nott.
There's Daphne Greengrass...
There's Tom Riddle.
Drakonys doesn't understand. She has all these terrible people around her, but she's still determined to say she's the worst person around. That she hates her. It's not fair. Drakonys will never stop saying that none of this is fair.
Chapter 59: Act. LIX. Options and pressures
Chapter Text
"Did you realize you smell like shit? How thoughtful of you."
Lucius gives Sirius a bad look, who stands with his hands in his jacket pockets and chewing gum. The elevator stops and the Black exits, leaving the aristocrat behind. He blows a bubble and walks down the long corridor where people are coming and going. Some holding papers, some appearing; paper airplanes everywhere, it's a very overloaded environment.
Sirius reaches the last office, opens the door to the closed space and closes it behind him. Sitting reluctantly in the chair in front of the occupied desk, where documents are being sent back and forth, a quill pen is writing a memorandum,and the office's occupant is speaking through a pipe that connects to the enormous communication service he has installed.
"No, I will not attend any of today's hearings. With the risk at hand, much less and I don't have time for that." James waves his wand, charming another quill pen to start writing that. "I am not needed for such a thing. Send someone for me. I have better things to do," James complains angrily and takes the paper that flies into his hand. "If there are any complaints, tell that person to come and do all my work."
He closes the pipe and goes to the next one. Sirius rolls his eyes. He admits he came at a bad time. James has no existence in the first five hours of the morning. Everyone wants, needs and must talk to him. Arrange his appearances, meetings with teams, attendance at trials of people who want to get out of Azkaban, trials of people who should go to Azkaban or to less terrible prisons...
Receive reports from agents who went out on missions.
Send agents on different missions.
Monitor that the Aurors are okay and if they need help of any kind.
It's just a matter of time before James explodes with so much on his plate. The worst part is that his job is even heavier because of Grindelwald causing havoc everywhere. Or rather, his followers causing chaos in his honor.
When finally there are no more notifications of more communications coming in, James abruptly moves to the desk, picking up a quill and he starts signing the permits, deeds and letters.
"What's wrong?" James asks, not looking at him. Sirius gives a weak laugh.
"I can see five more gray hairs." James stops and rests his face in his hand, twisting his glasses. "Honestly, the vacation was worthless. You're worse than ever."
"I have more than a dozen English and German wizards, their magic drained, barely alive, in the hospital wing; they're pushing me harder than ever to get something done," he clarifies through gritted teeth, brushing back his hair, "because in the words of my dear Lucius Malfoy: I'm doing nothing and someone capable must take the lead. He said it to my fucking face when I went to see the Minister yesterday!" James complains, exasperated, and Sirius doesn't hide his annoyance. "The only good thing is that he couldn't really do anything."
"Obviously. Everyone knows there's no one more capable than you to stay here," Sirius says, standing up and leaning back against the desk. "If London hasn't burned a bit, it's because this cauldron." Sirius gives James a gentle shove, “won't explode."
"So funny."
"Speaking of Grindelwald," Sirius sits down and lowers the curtains, also making sure the office is soundproof. "We have a situation."
"Is this because of the letter he sent you…?"
"No. Something else." Sirius shakes his hand and James groans in exasperation. "Listen… At the end of the mission I went on, some things happened."
James looks at him with a mixture of concern and interest. Sirius explains in detail what he saw during Grindelwald's talk, the general atmosphere. It's not exactly surprising; at most, it increases concern. James doesn't want to be, or for Harriet to be, a direct target of attention. There will always be the unhinged fanatic who wants to score points and believes that getting what the leader wants will be their way to gain the highest favor.
What's altering his brain chemistry is the very personal conversation Grindelwald and Sirius had. He doesn't understand how he could have known anything about either of them. Even if it's a rumor, the certainty with which Sirius assumes it and Grindelwald must, is worrying.
"Have you... talked it to anyone?"
"Only Harriet, who asked me once. You know I don't want to talk about it," Sirius replies, honest and uncomfortable. James bites his lip. "I don't know how he knows with such certainty. It's just that and he's clearly trying to manipulate me with that."
James moves his jaw and stands up, taking a couple of steps around the office. Unaware that he's headed to the fireplace, where the framed photos of his family and friends are, some of him and Sirius from when they were younger and even from two years ago.
It's his place to rest or eat lunch when he's locked away here. He feels comfortable and calm. Even talks to Lily through the fireplace. The more anxious James is, the more time he spends there and Sirius recognizes it.
Like almost everything that James can do.
"Why don't you stop feeling that way about me?" James asks, digressing. Sirius shakes his head.
"Because I don't want to. I don't need to."
James exhales sharply, feeling a suffocating and cold inside that he can't handle and it hurts him. It would be foolish of him not to acknowledge what Sirius feels. He's known it for a long time. It's something that even made him ask Sirius, if it was too complicated and painful, to step away because he didn't want to hurt him. Sirius is one of the people James cares about most and hurting him is inconceivable.
Sirius stays… he's always there.
And it mortifies James that because of that, Sirius could be a target. Become his weak spot.
James can't reciprocate his feelings. He just doesn't feel the same. It's been like this from the beginning, even when he tried to figure out if there was something there. The way Sirius looks at him has been the same since Hogwarts: Sirius is the soul he loves the most, but not his soulmate and more. Does that make sense? James doesn't know. It's confusing. Very strange. James adjusts his glasses and keeps his hand on his chin, thinking. Sirius comes closer, swinging his arms and clapping along. He stays next to James.
"Don't worry about it now, it's not important," Sirius says softly. "That's-"
"It's the reason he told you about Lennox."
Sirius's words catch in his throat. James exhales sharply and takes off his glasses, needing to tear his face off to feel a little less anxious. On one hand, he hates that Sirius hid this information for over a month, on the other, he's relieved he did it because this anxiety and his daughter at home might have been the worst combination.
"He wanted to test you. If you really cared that much and you gave him what he wanted."
"I don't regret it," Sirius asserts, half stubborn and half firm. "The only thing I regret is that I didn't kick his balls." James glares at him. "Grindelwald or not, threat or not, I'd do anything for you. You know that."
"And that's what has us in trouble. One where you've also become a target," James criticizes and puts his glasses back on. "This... It wasn't supposed to happen."
"Whether it should have or not, it's a fact and we couldn't hide it. Even if it wasn't you, he knows that Harriet and I are close," Sirius adds and James looks even more stressed. "He wants us on his side. He's desperate to get Harriet too."
"That's not new news."
"My plan is."
James looks at him with a raised eyebrow.
"Let's take advantage of this opportunity." Sirius places his hand on James's shoulder. “Let's pretend we're on his side. I convince you to go, you give in because I'm your best friend and your daughter's godfather; we keep a low profile and after establishing every important point, including his ultimate goal, we kill him.” Sirius concludes and James snorts.
"Don't drink during the day. You think you're funny." James pushes Sirius aside and heads to his desk.
"I am talking seriously, believe it or not. It's a great opportunity," Sirius emphasizes behind him. "If you go voluntarily, there won't be any problems. We can negotiate to keep Harriet out of the picture until she's seventeen— there are still details to smooth out, but you get the picture." Sirius sits down at the desk.
"Grindelwald told you he'd manage to 'convince' me to be 'yours.' What will you do with that?"
"We just have to pretend. It's not much different from how we normally are." James takes off his glasses again, this time to keep his face in his hands and lets out a scream that makes the fire in the fireplace explode. Sirius whistles; he hasn't seen that happen in this space in a long time. It must have been very useful to have cast a spell on everything so it doesn't burn.
┈ ⋞ ⟨ ✷ ⟩ ⋟ ┈
In the distance, Lucius sees James walking with Sirius at his side. The two of them talk about what seem like important topics until James laughs. He does so openly, almost uncontrollably. Lucius tightens his grip on his walking stick, disdain evident in every fraction. He doesn't know what or why something here angers him. Perhaps because it's profoundly stupid, or disgusting that Sirius is so obviously in love with James.
It's pathetic.
It's disgusting.
It's—
"Ah, the biggest viper who has nothing to do than fuck others’ lives" Sirius says, crossing his arms. "Still upset that you were humiliated you at Christmas?" He grins pedantically. "I thought you'd be less spiteful. Demanding people's heads."
"The heads of people incompetent when it comes to keeping us safe, Black," Lucius clarifies, turning his attention to James.
Who stands there with a bored expression, hand on his hip and a bored look on his face. His brown eyes with an obvious, calm flame behind them. The warmth of the space in response to his presence. Lucius admires him for minutes that are eternal in his head, not in reality. They're barely a few seconds.
"I don't see you doing anything except pacing around looking like you smell shit," Sirius says contemptuously. "So... Best spare us the headache."
Sirius notices how Lucius sees James. It's impossible not to notice…
Sirius wants to hit him. He wants to react in some way, but he knows he can't. It would end in a problem that is not only boring, but also useless, which helps Lucius to be against both of them. Sirius doesn't want to cause James any trouble.
Although the Muggle method isn't considered within the Ministry of Magic. Not explicitly at least. Should he take advantage of this loophole...?
"There have been rumors that Grindelwald contacted you, Lucius. What's the truth in that?" James inquires, interrupting Sirius's violent thoughts. Lucius sneers, his usual calm and arrogant expression.
"What a grave accusation from you, Potter."
"I'm not accusing you, I'm just asking a casual question. Taking advantage of the opportunity," James corrects and Lucius shakes his head.
"I wouldn't be able to affiliate myself or my family with a madman like that."
James watches him walk away and Sirius insults him softly.
┈ ⋞ ⟨ ✷ ⟩ ⋟ ┈
"He may not prioritize blood purity, but it's a fact that we can achieve that end when we rise above the Muggles." Walburga places her cup on the tea table. The parlor at Malfoy Manor is filled with the Black family's visit. "Cowards, conformists and traitors are preventing us from taking our place."
"I know," Lucius says. "I'd just like to have a meeting with him myself. Out of... curiosity." Narcissa nods slightly. Bellatrix rolls her eyes.
"Mother's smarter than you. She's already told you what's necessary, just accept," she complains, standing up. "Besides, maybe with your brain power you can convince Tom that this is a good idea. He's reluctant because… Just because."
"Grindelwald is a direct threat to him, as he doesn't want to follow orders. At the same time, he's a born leader. Naturally, he despises him," Narcissa points out, "but it's only a matter of time before he realizes it suits him. I wouldn't worry about him."
"You should. With the Potters poisoning his ear," Walburga looks especially annoyed at the mention of it. "They're not just ruining their own family name, my son and that animal of a daughter, they're going to ruin the only remnant of Slytherin. The purest and most important. He must be on our side." She emphasizes through gritted teeth and Lucius nods.
"I wouldn't worry so much, Walburga," Lucius states and her frown deepens. "Dark magic is dark magic. It's only a matter of time before that little light submits." Lucius crosses his legs and leans back in his seat. "Not to mention that Grindelwald wants someone specific."
"Harriet isn't that big a deal. I don't know what he's after from her," Bellatrix complains.
Lucius doesn't respond. He knows what Grindelwald wants. It's the same thing he wants from James. It's easy to understand, just painful to the Blacks' pride. Lucius knows they met with Gellert and although they're a strong ally, Sirius is Grindelwald's true interest when it comes to the Black family. James and Harriet are his greatest obsession. He's sure he can accomplish something interesting if they reunite.
Maybe make demands...
The possibilities are so many that he gets lost in his mind, thinking about it.
┈ ⋞ ⟨ ✷ ⟩ ⋟ ┈
Lily kisses him on the cheek and goes to the kitchen to prepare dinner. James sorts through the mail. A few invitations to events, magazines he'll leave in Harriet's room and finally, a letter from his daughter. He peeks into the house, making sure Lily isn't around and opens the about.
Cedric and Cho broke up. Everyone says Cedric wants to be my boyfriend, but now I hate him because he made Cho cry. Why is everyone spreading so many rumors? I don't know what's true and what's not anymore. I'm a little overwhelmed by it. Is it bad that I hate Cedric for this?
Mione wanted to start a study club because the O.W.L.s are next year, but it's next year. Next year! I don't understand why so soon. I want to sleep, and I can't because Tom has me tied up in volunteer work, and Mione just wants to study every minute. Remus says it's good. Is he always this boring? Study, study, study, study.
I know you're probably going to say no: Can I get my ears pierced? I promise it's just my ears. I have tons of earrings and I know I could wear them if I had the space. It'll just be two in each ear (don't tell Mom). I promise I'll do whatever you want if you say yes.
And can you send me some underwear? Sirius forgot to put that in the trunk and it's barely enough.
Love you! Please let me get my ears pierced.
James sighs, shaking his head. He wouldn't want that, but he doesn't see a valid reason to refuse. He'd be totally against it if it were a tattoo. He goes upstairs to get the clothes, gather them in the package he'll send tomorrow. James adds a couple of sweets and stuffed animals. He knew he should have kept an eye on Sirius. He must have overstuffed her trunk. But at the same time, how could he say no? He barely pays attention. He's like a second son sometimes.
When it's dinnertime, the subject comes up. "Harriet wants her ears pierced. She asked me not to tell you," James mocks indiscreetly and Lily laughs through her nose, shaking her head.
"You see? You're overindulging her," she says with mock annoyance. "Just piercing the ears?" James nods. "I guess it's fine... As long as it's just her ears."
"Just the ears," James confirms and Lily shrugs.
"Then let her do it... I hope she doesn't want to do it with a Nagini fang. Sometimes Harriet is such a dumbass daredevil.”
"A true Gryffindor," James boasts.
After the meal, James sends the dishes to the kitchen. Neither of them likes washing dishes, so it's what they always do with magic. Except for Harriet, who has to do it manually. James is left thinking. Part of him wants to talk to Lily about Sirius's "idea”, get her opinion and be on the same page. At the same time, he thinks silence is best.
He doesn't want a situation where Lily is uncomfortable with Sirius. It's only happened a couple of times. Both times, Sirius was very open about his feelings and Lily got worried, since Sirius was very important to James and there was insecurity about fidelity. They were able to work it out after a long talk.
That Sirius essentially wants to take advantage of a threat and fake a relationship could complicate things too much. James doesn't want to risk it. On the colder, less personal side, Sirius proposed it as a secret between the two of them. If Lily knew, it would put her at risk. He doesn't intend for that plan to be implemented, however: James wants to be cautious in case a miracle happens and he feels compelled to carry it out.
The very roots and branches of the plan have him nervous. The thought that Grindelwald knows what happened to Lennox is overwhelming.
"Do you want to talk about something?" Lily asks.
James sighs, swirling his glass with barely a trace of wine in it.
"Honestly, I wouldn't want to." Lily has heard the same thing too many times. Since December, James has been under pressure and nervousness. He's waited for him to talk and would like to insist, but he's never seen it that way. "It's... Complicated."
Lily nods, and James looks to the right. The fireplace, paintings, photos, one of Harriet's Snitches...
"Lennox got out of Azkaban, was with Grindelwald and had pictures of me from when he kidnapped me, but I don't remember anything I did in those pictures."
Lily feels James hit her in the mouth. He spoke quickly, without seeing her, lost in his head; as if the words came out at once and her brain refuses to accept that he said it. The redhead shivered, her hands clenched on the table. "What was in those pictures? Where are those pictures? Where is Lennox?" she managed to ask, filled with unpleasant shivers and a disbelieving expression, mixed with panic. James didn't answer her.
James didn't want to talk about it anymore.
Lily looked down. "Can you at least tell me that..."
"Sirius killed him. In December."
Lily clasps her hands and stands up, hugging James from behind and burying her face in his shoulder. James is still staring at the fireplace. The fire makes him feel a little calmer. It's his element, naturally. Still, the real reason is that he's too embarrassed to look at Lily's face. Feeling pathetic for letting it happen, for being so scared of a ghost.
It's ridiculous.
Too ridiculous.
And he wishes his wife didn't know, yet he needs to tell her. Secrets between them don't go well. They end up angry when that happens. Besides, this is too important not to tell her.
"Does Harriet know something?"
"No. I don't want her to know."
Lily nods and sniffles, affectionately rubbing James's hand. For the rest of the night, James hasn't spoken to her, looked at her, or even slept with her.
┈ ⋞ ⟨ ✷ ⟩ ⋟ ┈
"I'm amazed they gave you permission."
"Sirius would have said yes, but that would be using the last resort as the first option."
Hermione sighs, slightly against Harriet getting her ears pierced. There's nothing in the regulations against it, it just requires parental permission if it's done while at Hogwarts; it also requires that they be avoided in the mouth and nose for health reasons, as those are more delicate and should be done with a parent (in cases where they're culturally used). McGonagall wasn't impressed that Harriet had permission, much less when she arrived with the helix rings.
McGonagall just sees Sirius Black and that freaks her out. She hopes Harriet never gets there.
"Now, hide very well so Oliver doesn't make you train between now and dinner." Ron laughs.
"And so that the Hufflepuffs, don't try to throw your down the stairs.”
Harriet snorts and walks faster. The three of them are in their own private world. Drakonys sees her moving forward. She notices the piercings and purses her lips, wanting to dispel the image quickly forming in her head. The thought of caressing her ear, making the earrings jingle...
"I hope for your sake you're not thinking of doing anything stupid."
Drakonys hisses, crossing her arms and Tom continues on his way. Regal to his point of interest. Some Slytherins who were watching spread the (erroneous) rumor of Tom and Drakonys talking intimately in the hallway. An indecent proposal near the castle gate. Exaggerated the more it passes from one student to another.
Chapter 60: Act. LX. Special
Chapter Text
Gryffindor won the Quidditch match by a wide margin. Harriet waited until the perfect moment to grab the Snitch. She chased it, just like Cedric, but blocked him as much as possible so he couldn't grab it and finish the game. Once they reached the 200 points Oliver suggested, she grabbed the Snitch and they won by 240 points.
Still, Harriet is annoyed. It doesn't feel like a complete victory. Whether it's her having hallucinations or paranoia, she has the strong impression that Cedric let her win.
Or maybe she expected more effort from him.
"You're the only person who's upset that someone let you win," Fred says and Harriet rolls her eyes.
"It upsets me because I did everything I could to keep him away."
"Then you just did very well," Fred opines and Harriet rolls her eyes again. The rest of the team leaves the locker room. Harriet stays to finish dressing. She tied the pads very poorly and it was difficult for her to undo the knots.
Cedric enters the locker room after knocking on the door. Harriet doesn't pay much attention, taking off her shirt, boots and pants. "You played very well today."
"Not you," she says bluntly and Cedric smiles shyly, shrugging his shoulders.
"I didn't do it on purpose. I have a headache and if I didn't fall off the broom, it's a miracle," he excuses and in his defense, it's true that he has a terrible migraine. "Besides, there was someone blocking even the most complicated directions to turn abruptly. How do you do that?"
"Having a coach who won't leave me alone for two minutes," Harriet explains, scratching her head.
"And you did that flip."
"I've been practicing for the past month."
"You see: everything is in your favor to win. I'm sorry I wasn't in better condition to face you," Cedric says ruefully with a small smile. Harriet snorts. That makes her feel a little better. It was just luck. A perfect coincidence.
"We should have a separate game. Where you play well, for a change," Harriet suggests, crossing her arms. Cedric nods enthusiastically.
"Waiting until next year would be too long. Besides, I'm still not sure I'll be playing on the team."
"You're the captain."
"I can't pass my exams with my butt on a broomstick."
Harriet shakes her head, it's a point. She ruffles her hair and Cedric watches her discreetly. He vividly remembers last year: Harriet in a sports bra, oblivious to how distracting her bust is. It's still distracting now, until she puts on a red and black patterned shirt; her wide thighs hidden by worn jeans. She ends up tying her hair back in a high ponytail.
"Would you come to Hogsmeade with me this weekend?"
Harriet looks him up and down.
┈
Using the time-turner on the weekends to get more sleep has been the best idea of all. Especially having two places to sleep. One detail Tom didn't expect was having gone further back at some point.
Harriet asked him ‘if he was still upset’. They haven't spoken today. Quidditch still doesn't matter to him and he wanted to sleep. Only now is he going to see her. Tom closes his book, sensing her close and now standing up, he realizes she's coming in the distance, next to Cedric Diggory.
That's not what bothers him specifically. Harriet doesn't respond much; she seems almost bored and uncomfortable. What bothers him is hearing a Hufflepuff group pushing and laughing among themselves, not far away from his location. He approaches discreetly, leaning against one of the pillars in the entrance and clearly hears the topic of conversation:
"Did she say yes?"
"Cedric is crazy. Who wants to be with that thing everyone's already used?"
"He's purer than all of us put together. He's just in love."
"She's cute. She just always looks like a boy," another Hufflepuff opines. "I hope he did get the date. He's already been able to talk to her. That's more than he's done in two months."
"She's always busy."
"Gryffindor golden girl."
Cedric almost trots over to his friends, who greet him and celebrate raucously a few seconds later. Tom doesn't have to hear it from him to know what Cedric said. Harriet reaches Tom, backpack slung over her shoulder and a small pout. "Do you think it'll take long for your explanation tomorrow? Cedric—”
"You're not going out with him."
Harriet furrows her eyebrows.
"Why not?"
"I don't want you to," Tom says bluntly in a bored tone. Harriet stutters.
"I already told him I'm going. Besides, it's just to clear some things up."
"I'm not interested. You're not going," Tom emphasizes, placing a hand on his hip. "What do you think? That you can go out with other men and that's it.”
"I want to know if the rumors are true or not. That's all," Harriet explains. "My dad told me it's best to be clear about that."
"I said you won't go and that's final."
"I'm not your daughter and I'm not a dog," Harriet states, annoyed. Tom snorts and storms off.
Now he sees why Harriet told him that.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
"You're such a bitch!" Alice exclaims, laughing and shoving, "but you'd be a real, real dumbass not to take that opportunity."
"The prince of the castle is inviting you to lunch, a walk. It's perfect!" Lavender says, squealing excitedly, to small applause.
"But it's just that I-”
"We have to get you ready for that day! There must be something nice around here."
Harriet tries to speak: she can't. Everyone in the Gryffindor dormitory seems about to celebrate her "date" with Cedric. She was talking to Hermione and the other girls of Gryffindor hid to listen to the conversation and came out of hiding before Hermione could offer any advice or opinions.
It's quite infuriating, actually.
"You're so lucky," Alicia assures, almost jumping in place. "Since Cho, he hasn't gotten close to anyone. Now I'm absolutely sure he broke up with her to be with you."
Harriet makes a face of disgust. That sounds horrible. She plans to talk to Cho before dinner. Ask her opinion and let her know what happened. She's still pretty hurt, barely recovered from time spent with friends. Harriet doesn't want to be a traitor or a back stabber.
The way they paint her here.
"Cho became boring and now he wants you."
"That sounds horrible," she opines. Harriet grimaces.
"Don't need to be this interested in—"
"Uh! This dress is nice." Lee gives it a little shake and Harriet grimaces. She's thinking of it for a date with Tom, not Cedric! "You could wear—"
"No! Not that one!" Lavender snatches it from her hands. "He's going to think it's an easy first date and showing her boobs? No." She throws the dress away and Harriet snorts in boredom, not knowing how to interrupt. Hermione remains silent, with a bored expression. "Of course he likes them, but it's too much for a first date."
"And you're going to think he wants anything other than that?" Alicia mocks.
"The real question in all this is: who asked your opinion?" Hermione inquires, taking a heavy breath, standing up. "Let's go somewhere else."
She pulls Harriet by the arm, barely able to keep up. They leave the others in the dormitory, frozen and shocked. The conversation moves to one of the Hogwarts gardens. Hermione clears her throat and says bluntly, "I think this is the worst idea you've had so far."
"I want to tell him straight to his face that I'm not interested."
"You don't do that on a date."
"He said it was a walk in Hogsmade."
"That's called a date, Harriet."
Harriet pouts and furrows her eyebrows. She just wants to get it all straight. Even if Cedric tries something, she pushes him away or ignores him. Harriet doesn't see a problem with it. Hermione looks more exasperated than she'd expect.
"He could take it really hard and he's an older student, Harriet. He can be dangerous," she opines, flustered. If her mom has made one thing clear to her, it's that upperclassmen seek out younger students to dazzle them. Cedric is handsome, good at Quidditch and remarkably outgoing. Like Tom, Harriet could end up smitten and with someone interested in her like that, she's scared that it could lead to something bad or harmful. "You should try to make it happen here. With people around. If he takes you drinking in the Three Broomsticks, it could be bad.”
"I thought only Tom would be this dramatic."
"He did the same thing with Drakonys. Of course he knows when it's weird."
Harriet quickly looks away and Hermione notes the irritated attitude. It may be Drakonys, but she's noticed that whenever she brings Tom into the equation, Harriet becomes evasive and surly. When it's just Drakonys, she rolls her eyes or makes some witty comment. At the same time, the Christmas moment comes up.
"Whatever." Hermione shakes her head and takes a deep breath. "Try to get him talking in a square. Somewhere save where people can see you." Harriet snorts.
"I don't think he'll be as bad as Quirrell, but if you insist."
Hermione feels reassured enough by that comment. Harriet making a disgusted noise and Tristan emerging from her robes solidifies her confidence. At least she'll have a method of defense in case something goes wrong. Harriet wouldn't want to distrust Cedric; he hasn't done anything to her and she hasn't spoken to him much, but she can't help but think he's a little strange because of outside comments, like how he dumped Cho and that sense of camaraderie for the Asian girl.
Cedric is banned and that's not going to change.
┈
"Have you gotten over your bad mood?"
Tom exhales a little loudly. He'd say yes, but he's still pretty irritated about the topic. Whether it's the uncontrollable paranoia attacking him, mixed with the adrenaline of control, or the lack thereof, he decides on something more optimal:
"Let's talk in the Chamber of Secrets. I don't like satellites."
Harriet turns in the same direction. Some students pretend not to pay attention to them, that ghosts circulate. It's a bad place: very open to anyone who passes by. She snorts and fixes her hair.
Tom heads off to the dorm. He looks in his book for a solution to the problem. Maybe erase Cedric's memory and let him keep the intellect of a slug. Preferably, something that won't take too long. Nagini stretches out on the bed, curious about Tom's bad mood, as well as his rapid pulse.
" Did you use the Time-Turner ?" Tom gives a vague " umm ," flipping pages. " I told you to rest. You're very frantic... Did something bad happen? I was doing what you asked, so I didn't have a chance to be near you ," the snake reports.
" Harriet and Diggory are going on a date ."
Nagini stands up slightly.
" Why ?"
" To clarify things or something. Nothing convincing or decent ," Tom notes irritably. So many pages and nothing that could serve his purpose. It even happens that some pages are not fully readable. With black blocks. Similar to censorship or withholding information. He'll worry about that later. " I told her she won't go, now she's arguing about it because she's stupid ."
" I can keep her in the Chamber of Secrets ," Nagini suggests. She doesn't like Cedric and anything that jeopardizes the relationship is a no.
" Insufficient. It must be... "
Tom wrinkles his brow and tilts his head. Nagini climbs onto Tom and reads over his shoulder.
"The Old Man's Test"
Dance of nature, of creatures and magic. Ritual before the old man, ancient as the very creation. Blood that is needed, soul that is sought and harmony that is tested in the breeze.
The fullness of emptiness.
The satiety of hunger.
The fire of ice.
The day of night.
If in █ █ █ █ █ doesn't end, █ █ █ █ █ was achieved...
Tom stares at the drawing on the sheet of paper. It looks like a Celtic symbol. Those who could be considered the first wizards to truly use their magic consciously. The Greeks were very experimental and didn't record even a quarter of what they did. The Celts did, dedicated to spells, rituals and myths. Even if he doesn't understand more than half of it, he can assume a multitude of details...
Among them, perhaps, this is a way to solidify his relationship with Harriet. To show themselves that this is not only normal, but also perfect. If they harmonize or are compatible despite being opposites, it would end the doubt that seems to hover around them.
Tom as a possible murderer and devourer of light.
Harriet as the light incapable of realizing the danger of darkness.
Tom gently closes the book and rests his chin on its border, thinking.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
"Does it bother you?"
Cho shakes her head and Harriet smiles slyly, sitting next to her on the steps leading to the great hall. Harriet strokes her back and Cho rests her cheek in her palm. "I don't mind if you want to go out with him. He wasn't really mean to me... Just don't..."
"I'm not interested in going out with him. I just want everything to be clear," Cho nods with a small smile, "but I also didn't want to go see him without you knowing. It felt weird. Besides, I think I hate him for making you feel so sad these days."
"That's normal when people break up."
"Maybe I hate him." Cho laughs and leans back against Harriet, snuggling up. Harriet initially doesn't know if she should hug her or do something else. She remains rigid in her place, letting her be. Ginny sees them and although Harriet doesn't notice, the only Weasley girl stares; she hurries to the dining room, thinking a thousand things at once, her magic flaring anxiously. Generating ripples of light, similar to neon lights.
After dinner, where she felt at ease talking to Cho, Hermione not judging her and Ron talking about something other than Quidditch, she was able to go to the Chamber of Secrets. Tom was already there, talking to Nagini. She throws herself onto the bed in her underwear and waits for Tom to continue their viperous meeting.
"The Forbidden Forest is very dangerous. We don't know what that specific ritual will do and I can't look after both of you at the same time. I'll find a more refined and safe place for this." Harriet braids her hair to pass the time. She finds it odd how much Nagini hisses and gasps. It's usually a very soft sound and it almost sounds like a basilisk at this point.
"I know what I'm doing. Nothing serious will happen. I know where to go."
" The only one who walks through that forest every day is me. I recognize the dangers and eventualities that could happen ." Tom crosses his arms and furrows his eyebrows, irritated that Nagini won't let him continue with his planning as he intends. " By the time you wake up, I'll have a fantastic place. I'll guide you there tomorrow."
" I don't need it. Stay in Slytherin ."
" I can bypass orders to ensure your well-being, so you can't stop me ," Nagini mocks, slithering under the bed. Tom tries to grab her, but she grows larger and climbs over the bed, even Harriet, who's laughing.
She leaves silently and Tom groans in annoyance, gritting his teeth. Harriet sits up in bed. "Trouble in snake heaven?"
"Nothing important," Tom jokes. He rubs his temples and brushes his hair back. Harriet discreetly bites her lip. Tom has only trimmed the ends of his hair and it's already starting to fall over his shoulders. "Tomorrow, after your... big adventure with that idiot, you're meeting me at Hogsmade. We'll do a ritual."
"Ritual?" She repeats, raising an eyebrow. "What ritual?" Harriet crosses her legs. Tom sits up in bed.
"It's called 'The Old Man's Test.'" With that name, Harriet hopes she doesn't end up like an old woman. "It's about opposing magics."
"So... what does it do?"
Tom doesn't answer her and seems determined to stay quiet all night. Harriet ñ crawls over to him and unbuttons his shirt, one by one. She caresses his exposed skin and her magic glides flirtatiously. Tom sighs contentedly, feeling a sudden flush of warmth in his chest and back. Harriet strips him down to his underwear and cuddles him to sleep, snuggling into his back and breathing on his neck.
┈ ⋞ ⟨ ✷ ⟩ ⋟ ┈
On the way to the castle entrance, Harriet hopes he doesn't give the wrong impression. Hermione didn't give her the wrong look, so she assumes her clothes are fine. A red dress above her knees, black pants underneath, worn Converse, and the leather jacket with patches on the back. Eyeliner and hair in a loose braid over her shoulder.
The dress is old. Her mom gave it to her a couple of years ago and wasn't mad that she wouldn't wear it because it was too big. Harriet can almost say she hates it because it would show everything she wants to hide. Okay, it was a mixed bag of impressions. The first was that if her head would stop distorting things, she'd look fine; the second was that she'd like to wear just the dress and go somewhere with Tom.
That's for another time.
She runs into Cedric and he offers her his arm to walk. Harriet walks along, pretending not to have noticed. The walk to Hogsmade is filled with conversations. Quidditch, a few struggles with subjects. Cedric hates Snape too, but his time in Potions is less bumpy. What were his first years like? Cedric tries to get Harriet to talk, but Harriet isn't interested.
They reach the Three Broomsticks and once inside, it's almost immediate that a Butterbeer is in front of her. Swaying slightly in her chair, Cedric sips from the tankard without concern.
"There are a lot of rumors about you everywhere and... I wanted to know if they were true." Cedric wipes his mouth and rests his arms on the table. "That-"
"I don't like girls younger than me. It was a coincidence. I'd never dream of going for a first-year girl," he says quickly. Noticeably annoyed. Harriet sniffs. That's another common rumor from Cedric haters. Too common.
"I suspected that one, don't be that worried," she laughs softly and waves her hand. "I wanted to know if you had feelings for me and that's why you've been more attentive lately."
Somehow, the atmosphere becomes awkward. Harriet assumes the worst:
"Yes," is all Cedric replies.
Harriet snorts, resting her cheek on her palm. Cedric clears his throat.
"You're... very different from the others, in many ways, actually. I thought maybe we could spend more time together and try," he suggests with a shy, cautious tone. Harriet doesn't know how to hide the discomfort she feels at this moment.
She hoped that wasn't Cedric's intentions. She really prayed it wouldn't be like this.
"Honestly, I'm not... I'm not interested in a relationship. Especially not with a friend's ex," Harriet snorts bluntly and Cedric laughs, "also with a person who I'm a little upset about. I'm just not interested."
"Are you really talking about Cho or because Tom hates me?"
"He doesn't care that much for you, but I just don't want a boyfriend," Harriet says as exasperatedly as she can. Especially funny considering she has one. Cedric grimaces at her.
"Tom hates me and with how close you are to him, I'm sure you've noticed," Harriet shakes her head, feigning dementia and Cedric leans his elbow on the table. "I know he'll be the valedictorian of my class, but," he rolls her eyes in disdain, "I can't see him as anything other than a self-important conceited little brat. Who thinks he's the complete Prince of Hogwarts, not just Slytherin."
"In theory, it is," Harriet opines, taking a swig of beer.
"So you're the princess of Hogwarts."
Harriet almost spits out her beer and has to wipe her chin, as well as her nose. She's gone all the beer. She coughs and hits her chest. Cedric laughs, animated and touched by the obvious embarrassment.
"I'm hoping I can change your mind."
"No, thank you."
Harriet can tell that Cedric doesn't take her seriously, no matter how much she rejects him. Finishing her beer and with him paying, Harriet decides to run away. She's intercepted a couple of meters away. Cedric hugs her from the right, almost from behind and kisses her soundly on the temple.
"I'm serious: I'm not interested in having a boyfriend." Harriet pushes him away a little roughly; Cedric is still close behind.
"And I know I can convince you otherwise... Come on." Cedric takes Harriet's arm. “We can talk a little more—”
Cedric backs away, startled by Tristan emerging from Harriet's jacket. A few feet away, Tom approaches with his arms crossed. He's wearing a loose-fitting black shirt, matching green satin pants and dress shoes. He's carrying his tunic over his arm, just like Nagini's on his shoulders. Tristan flinches slightly and Harriet takes it to make sure the snake doesn't actually bite.
"See? He hates me." Cedric laughs nervously. Tom looks at him with boredom.
"Hating takes effort and I don't waste it on magic so pathetic as yours," Tom informs him, looking at him with contempt. Like someone who sees a mere bug. "Harriet, let's go."
"She's with me-"
"We're done. I told you no and I want to go. So... Goodbye." Harriet hurries to walk away. Tom gives a satisfied laugh and follows her.
"I see that went great," Tom says ironically and Harriet rolls her eyes.
"I don't want to talk about it. What did you say we'd do?"
Tom waits until they're out of Hogsmade to link arms with Harriet. They leave the path, entering the wooded vegetation on either side, further and further away from any previously familiar area. Harriet follows, trusting him that he knows what he's doing. Why wouldn't he? She's more curious about whatever they need in the middle of nowhere.
Tom stops when Nagini points it out. It's a very small clearing between trees that flourish thanks to the season and the magic in the land. Harriet gasps that they're pink trees. She's sure Neville could tell what kind. Black, tightly curved trunks.
They close in, forming an almost enclosed space around them both.
"It's a pretty place."
" Much better than any horrible place in the Forbidden Forest ," says Nagini, boasting about her discovery. She drops to the ground and stands in the middle, raised to Tom's stomach level. " Don't you think so?"
" Brighter, cleaner, and more aesthetically pleasing, that's for sure ," Tom agrees. He takes the shrunken book out of his pocket. It grows in his hands and he reads the instructions. It doesn't say how to check that it worked. "I need to draw something on the ground."
Harriet pulls off a branch and gives it to him. Tom draws a huge triangle, then a circle, and finally, a line that crosses inside the triangle and circle. Harriet watches him mutter under his breath as he writes. It look like runes, but much more rudimentary and strange than what she remembers.
"Where did you say you got that book?"
"I bought it in a bookstore in Diagon Alley." Harriet finds it stranger every day that this is a fact.
That book has too many strange and dangerous things in it to have been in a normal bookstore. As well as the chance that it ended up in Tom's hands. He finally finishes and leaves the book on top of a rock, with Nagini coiled around it in case it gets damaged.
"I hope this doesn't pull out my intestines."
"I hope so," Tom replies.
They both stand inside the circle, divided by the long strip. "You must let your magic out... and try to keep it in one place." Harriet nods and takes a deep breath.
As their magic flows, the different writings on the ground light up. The sky clouds over, the trees grow and close like a dome, the ground hardens like solid rock. Tom squeezes his eyes shut, feeling his magic being pulled from his body, as if forcing something to materialize. Harriet groans and tries not to fall, the same powerful sensation on the verge of making her scream.
The leaves of the trees fall and rustle everywhere. It's a glance that Tom realizes that not far away, walking like a watchful predator: there's a man. Covered in a hood, he could very well be older than Dumbledore. The breeze that blows through is resonant, intense, brutal. When the entire symbol and writing fills with magic, the space gives off a strong glow.
They both hold their hands to their chests, coated in their magic that seems to absorb them. Next, they are both. Harriet in a white, almost transparent robe, a silver tiara on her head, adorning her black hair that reaches below her hips; tangled earrings that double as his necklace. Claw rings in her white silver hands and silver marks patterns painted in her face.
Tom wears an open robe, a wide V-cut and flowing fabric, similar to a black toga. His black hands are decorated with gold claw rings, just like his earrings and necklace; careful patterns on his face.
Bright green eyes are fixed on vibrant red eyes.
They place a hand behind their back, clasping their wrists and music plays. The old man walks slowly, attentively, and both teenagers turn at a slow pace.
You were raised by wolves and voices,
Every night I hear them howling deep beneath your bed
They said it all comes down to you
They listen to the chant, they listen to the music. Almost ceremonial, guiding every movement. The female voice begins, similar to Harriet's, even though she doesn't even move her lips. There's a certain flirtatiousness in the way they move.
You're the daughter of sightless watching stones
You watch the stars hurl all their fundaments
In wonderment, at you and yours, forever asking more
A male voice, similar to Tom's, remains attentive to Harriet. They both spin, dancing as the music requires and joining once the voices sing in unison.
You are that space that's in between every page, every chord and every screen,
You are the driftwood and the rift, you're the words I promise I don't mean
Harriet stops, only allowing Tom to dance and when he finishes, she does the same.
We’re drunk but drinking, sunk but sinking
They thought us blind we were just blinking
All the stones and kings of old will hear us screaming at the cold
They stand still, facing each other and Tom brings his hand up to Harriet's pale face, risking scratching her.
Remember me I ask. Remember me I sing
Give me back my heart you wingless thing
Harriet pushes him away; Tom grabs her wrist and holds her close.
Think of all the horrors that I
Promised you I’d bring
I promise you, they’ll sing of every
Time you passed your fingers through my hair and called me child
Witness me old man, I am The Wild
Despite the abrupt movements and the apparent lack of care between them, they don't even scratch each other in their harmonious, fast-paced dance. Flirtingly blending with a ballroom dance that isn't just that. It's more intimate, more special and different. Tom, sitting on the floor, watches Harriet dance, playing with her skirt.
You are the son of every dressing up box,
And I am Time itself, I slow to let you play
I steal the hours and turn the night into day
He stands up, taking her by the arm and spinning her around as she sits down. Harriet hugs her legs and rests her cheek on her knees, backing away only because of Tom who embraces her.
Day by day oh lord three things I pray
That I might understand as best I can,
How bold I was, could be - will be - still am, by god still am
They stand up, their chests beating in sync, their expressions fierce and the air vibrating, the old man still watching and the tune straining its strength.
Fret not dear heart, let not them hear
The mutterings of all your fears, the fluttering of all your wings
Welcome to the storm, I am thunder,
Welcome to my table bring your hunger
They throw their hands up and let them go, lowering and joining one chest with the other, dancing like a waltz where Tom spins her, lifting the skirt of her white tunic.
Think of all the horrors that I
Promised you I’d bring
I promise you, they’ll sing of every
Time you passed your fingers through my hair and called me child
Witness me old man, I am The Wild
They gently slide to the floor, foreheads together, hands clasped, eyes closed.
Remember me, Remember me, Remember me, Remember me
Remember me I ask. Remember me I sing
When Tom opens his eyes, Harriet pounces on him: caresses his face, strokes his shoulders, caresses his chest.
Think of all the horrors that I
Promised you I’d bring
I promise you, they’ll sing of every
Time you passed your fingers through my hair and called me child
Witness me old man, I am the
Tom turns sharply, leaving her lying on the floor with him on top of her. He caresses her face, her neck, her chest and presses his hands. About to scratch her, about to hurt her and when he tried to take his hands away...
Think of all the horrors that I
Promised you I’d bring
I promise you, they’ll sing of every
Time you passed your fingers through my hair and called me child
Witness me old man, I am the
Harriet grabbed his face, pulling him to the floor and joining their lips. The magic in the air stirs even more and even though they separate, returning to where the lines divide them, the power in both of them persists. They both fade into darkness and light. So intense that no human could understand. It moves away and they're both lying on the floor, gasping in pain. Harriet, with her glasses thrown away, writhing.
「I see the harmony in the light and the dark. It's truly impressive」
Tom lets out an almost shrill moan, spitting blood. The old man disappears and Nagini quickly crawls toward Tom, trying to calm the nervous breakdown he's suffering. He ends up fainting and when she goes to Harriet, who was having convulsions, he finds her exactly the same.
The snake leaves quickly. She has to find someone to help them. Without her noticing, a necklace forms on both of their chests. Tom's is similar to a locket, with a light that moves like a tiny firefly inside; Harriet's is like a jar where darkness slips like water into the small space.
┈
Hermione is not a particular fan of Nagini and both she and Ron were worried about Harriet. The snake appearing, climbing on top of her and trying to force her to walk made her assume something was wrong. Hermione, Ron, Viktor, Ginny, and Fleur follow Nagini, who makes them run.
"Since when are snakes so fast?!" Ron complains, sweating from running. It's a long way. Almost too far and they're approaching a nearly terrifying stand of trees.
"It's a magical snake, Ron! Can't you see it even grows?!" Hermione complains.
"It's still the strangest snake I've ever seen!" Ginny comments and Fleur laughs nervously.
She thought she was the only one.
They pass through the trees. Nagini reaches Tom, who is sitting, trembling and pale. His eyes and nose are bleeding and he looks like he's about to faint again. Nagini uses her entire body to keep him barely upright. "Are you okay? What's wrong? What do you need?" she asks worriedly.
"Harriet!”
Hermione, Ron, Ginny and Fleur go straight for her, who arches and spits out blood. Crying it and staining all of her.
"We have to get them to the castle."
"Don't... Don't touch her..."
Tom places his hands on the floor. He sees strangely. He doesn't know who's here. He only sees lights, some brighter than others, trying to take her away. The sound of her spitting even more blood startles them and Harriet lets out a moan of pain, blood oozing out in her tears.
"To the castle! Quickly!"
Ron carries Harriet on his back. Initially, he couldn't hold her, letting her fall awkwardly to the ground. The touch alone burned him. Viktor had a similar problem with Tom; he's so frozen it's like holding a piece of iceberg in his hands.
Despite the difficulty, they are able to get them to the hospital wing. Although it takes them a while to get there.
┈ ⋞ ⟨ ✷ ⟩ ⋟ ┈
"There doesn't seem to be any good reason why they had such a severe reaction," says Madam Pomfrey. Dumbledore keeps his hand above Harriet's chest. Tom is awake, shivering, but unable to understand the words around him. "I've never seen anything like this before."
"I'm afraid I have. What surprises me is that they were able to do it and be relatively intact," Dumbledore comments. McGonagall takes a couple of steps closer, worried.
"What did they do?" Professor.
"A very ancient and very dangerous ritual. Had they done it wrong, they would be dead." Dumbledore takes a couple of steps back. "And had they failed, the injuries would not only be severe, the scars would be eternal." He leans slightly towards Tom. "I must say I can hardly contain my surprise. However, this reaction is not surprising. It's a very complicated and exhausting process. Fortunately, I'm here... Miss Pomfrey.”
The nurse approaches.
"Keep them under constant surveillance. For this week, they must remain here: unconscious so as not to suffer further fatigue," he tells the doctor, who nods as he speaks. "They must ingest potions that allow them to restore their physical energy, lost blood and two specific processes," Dumbledore adds, holding up two fingers. "For Harriet, she must be kept hydrated and not overheated; for Tom, it's imperative to maintain his warmth, otherwise, he could end up freezing or dying of hypothermia."
He gives a few more instructions, ending with putting Tom to sleep. McGonagall approaches, looking at the pair of students with concern. She wonders how it has happened so many times that they are both in trouble together.
"If it's such a dangerous and ancient ritual, how did they even get there?" the professor asks. Dumbledore clasps his hands in his lap.
"Fate is a funny thing, though it ceases to be when it twists to... benefit others." That's all Dumbledore says, and McGonagall remains equally uneasy.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
Leaving the hospital wing put a small distance between them. Harriet feels nervous. She wants to ask Tom to stop using that book until he can fully understand it. At this rate, it's only a matter of time before they kill each other or someone else. It saddens her that her boyfriend would take it as a complaint or an attack, perhaps an insult to the nature of his magic.
However, she's not afraid of his magic, but of those spells that make it dangerous. As if Tom wasn't already pretty erratic these days. Harriet could have kept his head in the clouds for longer if he hadn't been hitting the ceiling in the dungeons.
And Snape stands there with a sour face, in addition to that clearly disdainful gesture.
"I see Miss Potter is still unconscious." Harriet tries not to look at him. “That being the case, I doubt teaming up with Weasley is good for everyone's well-being," he mutters, looking around. A clear hunt for a victim. Harriet curses inwardly. "We all know how mediocre and destructive she can be."
Harriet lashes out at him when Snape isn't looking.
"Uh, surely Miss Malfoy can stop her from destroying the classroom."
She slams her foot on the table and gasps. "Why with her?!"
"So you won't be mediocre for once."
"I don't want..."
Drakonys looks away with an equally frustrated grimace. It's been obvious to everyone that Severus enjoys teasing Harriet. Pathetic enough for those who look critically at him. It's funny, though, that he's putting his own house at risk by pairing her with Drakonys. There's not a single person on the teaching staff who doesn't know how troubled and problematic the interaction between the two is.
This is almost certain to end in an explosion.
Minute one, it's a disaster. The two are arguing in the quietest voices they can. Harriet can feel Snape breathing down her neck, doing everything he can to make her feel nervous and pressured. At the same time, Drakonys is also watching her the whole time, to the point where he seems to want to ruin everything so she can blame her for the potion's failure.
Drakonys, for her part, tries to concentrate. She even avoids insulting her because that would lead to a fight. Snape also watches her, even if to a lesser extent. The fact that Harriet is her mate has arrived in Slytherin and Tom has been keeping an eye on her just the same.
Why is everything going so fucking wrong? It seems like a bad joke on everyone's part.
"Just put the damn ingredients in the order I told you," Drakonys mutters through his teeth.
"You didn't give any order."
"Apart from being blind, are you deaf?"
"Just tell me again!"
Some people in the classroom laugh at the sight of them arguing so much. It's very funny.
And on the way out, when she's complaining about the subject with Emma, Blaise, Crabbe and Goyle, she hears Hermione speaking in the distance:
"What do you mean you can't think?" Hermione says exasperatedly. Drakonys stops, scrunching up her face and turning her head away.
"I'm... my head is pounding. Nothing stays inside. I'm still forgetting everything," Harriet mutters exhaustedly and Drakonys looks away.
"It's because of what that guy did to you," Ron complains, almost anguished. "It wasn't enough that you were in the hospital wing for a week, now your mind is elsewhere, you're dizzy, you can't even remember what we talked about five minutes ago." They start walking toward the stairs to leave the dungeons. "He's dangerous."
"It was an accident."
Drakonys shakes her head, irritated and walking away from everyone, to the surprise of her own group. The Gryffindor trio doesn't notice them, continuing on their way. Drakonys gives an exclamation of genuine frustration, hiding behind a wall. She covers her face and feels like crying, shivering; the surroundings fill with frost and cold, filling the walls and armors.
Why does Harriet excuse Tom? Why does she understand him? Why does she forgive him? Why does Tom deserve to stay there after almost killing her? Why does Harriet accept Tom, but not her?
She doesn't understand.
She doesn't understand.
She hates it.
Drakonys takes her face from her hands and realizes she's crying. She doesn't know why, only that her tears freeze and fall to the floor like tiny droplets of ice.
Why couldn't she have been the one she chose as her friend?
And why does it hurt so much after four years? Why does what Harriet Potter does or doesn't do matter so much?
B̵͙͎͖̻͘ḙ̵̃c̴̻̭̑̽̎̌å̶̡͕̗͉̽u̵͓̫̟̣͌̆͝s̷͇̭̊͋e̴̤͈͐́ ̶̺̝̠̲̏̃y̸̝̞̅́͝ō̸̘̥̫u̴̥͕̗͎͂͋̆͠ ̴̺̰̖̙͊̈́w̴̹̳̞̭͊̾́̚ą̷͖͋́͑͝ṉ̷̥̥̓͜t̷̢͒͜ ̸̹̙͕͌̏̀t̴̟͂ẖ̴̠̐͘ä̵̮͎̗́͜t̶̮̾̎ ̶̛̺͖͂͂̑l̷̫̣̱̓͛i̵͍͐͛͑̕g̶̬͖̬̪̊͌h̶̏ͅt̶̹͙͈̻̅͌.̴̡͙̻̈́͆
̵̮̋͒̈́̽ͅ
̵̬͕̱̭̿̋͘Y̷͍͔̊̾͌õ̸̡̮̀͂ũ̸͕̓͋̿ ̵̰͆̍̚w̸̨̜̩͋̇͂̈́͜ä̶̛̛̝́͠ņ̴̟̪͍̓͌͘ṫ̴̤̭͇̉͒ ̴̰̒h̷͙͓̾́̇̅ĕ̷̢͓r̶̲͎͖̰̈́́ ̷̻̝̯̥̍̈t̷̙̬͇͉̑̌o̵͓̻̻̎ ̵̞̝͋b̶͉͇̥̺̉̕̕e̸̮͚̲͚͌̉ ̸̨̮̗̀́͆͝y̸̧̳͈̽͘ͅö̵̮͊ú̵̡̦̩͑r̴̼̠̓̓̿̂ ̷̥̯̖̝͑̿͠ĺ̸̢̺͇̰̈̌ị̷̀g̴̛̛̯̥͗h̵̡̦̠͊̈́̐t̴͙̲̗̳̒͛͐̍,̴̥͔̋͆
̸̨̛̩͖̾̕͝
̷̬̮̅͌̈b̵̧̠̻̪̊̏ü̷̠̫̥͂͝t̵̬̒ ̸̹̟̜̗͝ḯ̷̖t̴̟̰́̎̄'̶̲͙̭̦͝s̸̟̦̟̃ ̵̮̦̭͖͂̈̎ą̷̬̠̄ ̵̯̣͙͐̀ḷ̵̛͉̻̇̑̉͜i̵̟̱͐̇͜g̵̨̬̠̓̈́͛͝h̵̰̗̤̥͋̽̒̍t̶͍͐̔͝ ̴̖̯̎̿t̴͙͇̓h̵̦̲͍̟̎̚a̸̤̤͇̦̋t̸͕̆͋̍ ̷͉͚̈̍d̷̖̲̣̈́̓o̷̥̔͌̃ḛ̴͈̪̀̒̉s̶̺͍̍̆n̷̘͗͑͘'̵͖̼̭̓̆̿t̷̨̳͂ ̷̢̃̍̚͝ǎ̶̦͕͖̍̂͘c̴͔̱̔c̸̦̓̐͝ȩ̴̟̯̙̋̆̐͝p̸̩̟̰̍̇̋t̷̺͎̘̋͒̚͝ ̵̢̢̪̬̈́̾̅ỳ̷̻̣̃̏ö̴͓͋͝u̴̼̘͝ ̴̙͋̆ä̸͕̜̮̺́̔s̴̩̳̍ ̵̛̜͉̿̐̃h̵̨̟̅̍͝e̶̝̱̋͝͝r̷̛̙̅͆̂ͅ ̷̩̜̤̪̉d̶̡͓̪͉̋̐ǎ̴̦̐r̴̬̥̬͐͆k̸̖̦͔̏̑̈͛n̶͉͖͓̱̈́e̷̱̞̅́̔̄͜s̶̥̈́̓̐s̶͎̏̀͋.̷̳͕̲̐̐
̴͍͌̈́̿
̸̨͇͙̇́̚T̷̖̳̾̍̒̽h̵̲̦̃͐a̸̹̺̍̈́͐t̶̡̮͇̃ ̴̗̰̜͍̌̆r̵͓͙͔̊͗͘ͅe̵̫͍͆j̷̳̩̔͐ḛ̶̡͎̅̈́̇͘͜c̵̖̆͌̀̉t̸͓̫̮̓̓ȋ̴̟̮̰́̈́̚ŏ̷̬̫͎͝ń̷̢̪̀́̄ ̶̡̛̩͇̏̃̕i̵̢̾͒͒s̴̨̧̪̊͝ ̴̢̢͈̙͂̑͝w̴͓̩̤̔̿͒̅ĥ̶͕͠à̸̧̧̫̄t̶͈͊̒̐͗ ̵̼̪̿h̵͎̗̗͇̍͌̔ŭ̶̡̲̠̐͜ȓ̸̭̺͇̪̀t̶̞̚͝s̸̡͕̿̀̊.̶̳̄̍
She exhales, closing her eyes and resting her head on her outstretched arms. Not wanting to hear that fog in her head, that distorted voice, but which becomes more understandable the more she questions the same thing...
More and more, Harriet continues to do the same thing to Drakonys: hurting her without even knowing it.
Chapter 61: Act. LXI. Frontal attack
Chapter Text
When she woke up in the hospital wing, there was a bouquet of flowers on her table.
The next time she woke up, Cedric was sitting by her bed.
When she was let out, Cedric was there too and he led her to Gryffindor.
Every morning, he's at the Gryffindor entrance, waiting for her.
He's given her flowers.
Chocolates.
A sweater.
...
...
How does she make him understand that she's not interested in any of this attention or him? His insistence is starting to unnerve her.
"I can go to my common room alone, Cedric. I don't need you, and I don't want anything to do with you."
Cedric laughs, shaking his head and Hermione rolls her eyes. She's heard her say the same thing over and over again, but Cedric insists. Hermione must say that the problem isn't Harriet, who lost her patience a couple of days ago. The issue is that Cedric won't accept rejection! Is Harriet taking advantage of gifts? Only because Cedric threatened to throw it away if she didn't take them.
The sweater is the only exception because Harriet really liked it. Still, she was quite blunt in her comment.
"You can give me any gifts you want. I'm not interested and I'm not going to change my mind."
"Maybe I'll just accept that you say no if we go on a date and-"
"Cedric, please give up. She doesn't want anything to do with you," Hermione says, exasperated at witnessing this every time. It's barely been two weeks and she's just about to scream of frustration.
"That's why we should go on a date."
Cedric has to leave because a couple of Hufflepuff students are asking for help with something. Harriet rolls her eyes in disinterest and continues trying to finish her History of Magic homework.
"Why don't you accept so he'll stop bothering you? Besides, he's given you tons of gifts," Ron points out, leaning back on the book-lined table. Harriet snorts in boredom.
"Because I don't want to."
"He's nice, he's clearly interested in you and at least he's not a psychopath— Ouch." Harriet smacked her with a book and went back to her own business.
"Harriet doesn't have to go out with him just because he's nice," Hermione says reproachfully.
"I'm just saying it's a bit mean to say no when he's this nice," Ron opines. "You just stopped talking to him. You're a bit... overreacting."
Harriet ignores Ron for her own good and his. It seems absurd to her and at the same time, she doesn't want to think about it. Does she really owe him something? Even if she did, she already has a boyfriend! A date with him would be disrespectful and stupid on so many different levels. She prefers not to think about it anymore and continues with her homework. At least her head has decided to work properly. Doesn't mean the task is any easier.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
She crosses out everything on the parchment, crumples it and throws it away before letting out a weary groan. She's the only one still doing this shit, doing a work that doesn't want to be done. Otherwise, she can't explain why it's so difficult. Harriet rubs her face, accidentally pulls her hair and then looks to the side, where Tristan is yawning.
"You can go to sleep. I'm not leaving here," she says, stroking the viper’s body.
Tristan sticks out his tongue every now and then and Harriet stares into his eyes. She didn't believe it was possible for a snake with heterochromia to exist. She feels like his gaze is trying to penetrate deep inside her.
It's...
Creepy.
She snorts, gets up and goes to the bathroom to shower. She ties up her hair as best she can, takes off her clothes without thinking and finally, just stands under the shower for a while. Turning around, she realizes Tristan is there, staring at her.
She turns around again, rolling her eyes.
┈
"I know you're using him to spy on me, but try not to let him spy , will you?"
Harriet leaves Tristan in Tom's hands. The Slytherin is confused, looking at his girlfriend and then at the snake coiling in his hands as always. " What did you do?"
"I watched her like you asked me to. That's all. I didn't do anything wrong... I feel something constantly, but I don't know what it is," Tristan replies and Tom scratches his head.
This isn't the first time the snake has mentioned it. Nagini doesn't detect anything. No one notices anything, but according to Tristan, there is something wrong. Some kind of evil presence surrounding Harriet.
He'll assume the snake is a dumb snake. Strange with his heterochromatic eyes, but dumb.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
Harriet is having those almost planned situations again, where as soon as she's freed from a responsibility, she already has company swarming around her.
This time are Ginny and Luna, so it's not bothersome. She assumes Hermione's hanging out with Viktor in some corner. She'd like to say the same, but Tom still isn't communicating beyond the occasional glance or sudden appearance. Does she find that odd and worrying? Yes.
At the same time, Harriet isn't sure how to approach him. Especially since it could all be Cedric's fault and his inability to accept that she rejected him.
"My dad says boys don't know what 'no' means, so they're like confused kneazles when they hear it," Luna says and Harriet snorts. Ginny wrinkles her face and waves her hand in disdain.
"They know what it means, they just think that under pressure they'll get a yes . They're that stupid," Ginny contradicts. "I guess you don't like him. Even though all the girls of Hogwarts seem to stir their hormones for him.”
"I'm not interested. I don't want a relationship. Especially not with him, because I hate him," Harriet complains. "When I'm with Cho, he doesn't come near me. Maybe if I stay close to her, he'll stop being such a pain," she plans exasperatedly.
"There's no need. He'll give in eventually," Ginny says hurriedly. Harriet doesn't have time to contradict her: weight on her back, breath on her neck and an indiscreet kiss on her temple. A shiver runs through her body and her magic flashes, making both girls cover their eyes.
"Shall we go out tomorrow?"
"No! I told you I don't want anything with you!"
"It'll be fun," Cedric promises with a smile. Ginny rubs her eyes, barely able to see them. Harriet moves her arms away from Cedric and faces him.
"We can go to Madam Pudfoot's Tea Shop. That—”
“If someone told me you forgot to speak English overnight, I'd believe it. So many rejections and you don't understand a single one… I thought being a Hufflepuff was pathetic enough, Diggory.”
Cedric frowns, somewhere between irritated and confused by Tom's intervention in the conversation. Harriet is surprised to see him and also surprised that he's intervening. He usually stays out of any problem that doesn't involve Slytherin. It's a rather unusual situation. Cedric answers:
“Do you need anything?”
Tom snorts, reality trying to escape from his throat. He suppresses it as much as possible.
“Apart from instructions to humiliate myself: no, I don't need anything from you, Diggory,” he replies, clasping his hands behind his back. “Harriet, come here.”
“We’re talking—”
“I'm not talking to you. Get lost,” Tom says without even seeing him. He moves forward as Harriet moves with him.
He's angry at everyone. Or at least that's what his expression says. Cedric steps in their way. As if he's saving her? From Tom or something. Tom looks him up and down with disdain and deep disgust. Almost incredulous that Cedric has the audacity to bother him. He knows he's naturally stupid and must think he's a hero at this point, but he didn't think he'd be this stupid.
"The last time she was alone with you, she ended up in the hospital for two and a half weeks, almost dying for no reason," Cedric points out and Tom narrows his eyes. "You're untrustworthy. Like anyone with magic like yours... let's go." He takes Harriet's arm and she abruptly lets go.
"I don't want to talk to you about anything. I already told you no. How many more times I have to tell you that I don't fucking want anything with you?" She says through gritted teeth. "And who do you think you are?" Harriet can't help but hate that Cedric thinks he can boss her around or dictate who she's with or not. This has already progressed to an absurd level. She continues on her way, saying a quiet goodbye to Luna and Ginny before continuing with Tom. Tom gives Cedric a condescending, mocking look.
┈
"Are you mad at me?"
They didn't say anything to each other the entire way to the Chamber of Secrets. It's the sure sign of his partner's bad mood. Nagini emerges from Tom's clothes and he rubs his temples, forcing himself to say what he thinks and "feels”. It's more accurate to say that his thoughts become a disgusting, unbearable tangle inside his head and something stirs in his chest. He wishes he could understand.
"Not with you. With him," he clarifies and Nagini curls into herself, proud of Tom for being clear. "He's unbearable."
"I've pushed him away the whole time and he won't go away!"
"I know."
Harriet sways uncomfortably in her seat. She's relieved that Tom isn't upset, yet her unease drives her to keep asking. Hoping that Tom will take pity on her and remain open about his thoughts.
"I think you're upset with me because I asked you not to do any more of the weird stuff in your book of evilness," Harriet sucks in a breath. "And that's why you haven't talked to me."
"I was just catching up on my classes."
The excuse has some truth to it. Being unconscious for so long has messed up his mental schedule and now he has to go back to the almost endless sessions to make up for lost time, as well as the extensive reviews to catch up. On the other hand, Tom admits to being annoyed by Harriet's refusal to continue experimenting.
She tries crazy things with Ron and Hermione all the time. He'll try not to let it be a risk, but it still seems unfair. What happened last time was an accident, or rather, a detail that wasn't legible in the book.
"At least I can... see you in the library?"
"No."
Harriet scratches her head and Tom rubs his temples.
"I don't have the temper for that. When I'm free, we'll meet. If Diggory insists, I'll put a curse on him somehow to make him go away."
"You'd be expelled... Never mind. Not to that extent. I'll keep rejecting him until he tires," Harriet concludes. Tom snorts.
"If you say so."
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
Ron ignores the Gryffindor boys as best he can. Since Christmas, he hasn't been able to talk to almost any of them. Limited to Neville, Seamus, and Dean. Since he warned the rest that he doesn't want to get involved in their schemes to upset the girls, they've given him the silent treatment. It makes him feel somewhat isolated, but he doesn't realize it most of the time. Harriet and Hermione have become his friends 100% of the time again, so he isn't alone in Gryffindor.
Now he has no choice. He makes a face of discomfort while waiting for them to come down from the dormitory. When they do, he's a little surprised by their appearance. Hermione is wearing a denim dress and a light yellow blouse, messy hair and brown ankle boots. Harriet is wearing black dress, a white shirt underneath and long Converse shoes that cover her entire calf. She's wearing a small red headband sticking out of her thick, black hair. She's also wearing red cherry-shaped earrings. Maybe too big.
"Why did you all dress up like this?"
Harriet grimaces. She has no idea. Hermione literally forced her to dress like this. She organized her clothes last night. Hermione smiles. "I wanted to dress like this today. I've been planning it all week."
"Sounds like a date... Should we get some chocolate frogs?" Harriet suggests and Ron nods in agreement.
"Of course not! It's just-"
"A date with Krum. Don't hide it," Harriet suggests, walking past. Hermione is embarrassed at being so obvious.
┈
She senses something off about Viktor. She just doesn't know what. They found him in Clock Square, waiting with the others to be allowed out into Hogsmade. Viktor is... Unnaturally sleepy and taciturn. When Hermione is with him, he's usually more active and attentive.
"I discovered a place. We should all go," he says sharply, interrupting what Hermione was saying. Again, strange behavior.
"Everyone?" Hermione repeats, surprised, "but-"
"It'll be more fun this way," Viktor says and Hermione's speechless.
"Off to Hogsmeade! All students with permission can leave..."
Viktor walks toward the exit. Harriet approaches Ron. Hermione expected a compliment on her outfit, a glimpse of the secret plan she promised yesterday, a new spell to fix clothes...
Did she bore him?
Did she do something wrong?
"We go in, eat a crumb of bread and run out," Harriet informs quietly. "Don't worry."
"But what if I get hungry?"
"Let's go somewhere else," Harriet says through gritted teeth, tugging at Ron's arm to stop him from insisting. Hermione purses her lips and looks down.
She hopes this works.
The walk to Hogsmede is awkward. Even Ron, in his absentmindedness and disinterest, finds Viktor strange. Insisting that they all go together to that place he keeps mentioning. Not even when they're already there. Harriet tried to run away after tasting the tea they ordered.
Viktor won't let her go.
Viktor doesn't act like Viktor.
"You have to stay here," Viktor presses. "That's just how it is... Fun. Keep eating." He pushes the plate toward Harriet. She elbows and kicks Ron.
The redhead gets the message instantly: he devours everything in his path and stands up with his cheeks full. He makes a circle with his fingers and Harriet almost knocks over her chair when she gets up. Hermione looks like she's about to cry.
"Harriet!"
She sucks in air, curses under her breath and Ron saves her from Cedric trying to kiss her face. Anywhere. At the same time, Drakonys enters the yellow-walled establishment. Her contempt and disgust were evident on her pale face, framed by strands of blond hair.
"Ron and I are leaving now. Goodbye."
"Give me a moment to-"
"No! I'm not interested!"
Hermione snaps her fingers at Viktor, who stares at the point of a pointless stalemate. As if he's not inside his own head. The argument continues until Drakonys intervenes.
"Stop pretending you're not desperate for this attention," the blonde says.
"Do you have any fucking problem, Malfoy?" Harriet challenges, impatient and red-faced. The lights, incense and candles are growing brighter. Drakonys sneers as she takes the teacup that floated into her hand.
"Yes. The Gryffindor whore who acts tough after spreading her legs- FUCKING BITCH—”
Harriet snatched her tea, so her white dress is stained and hot.
...
...
"I think I ate too much," Ron stammers, dizzy, and moments later, he collapses to the floor. Several students also fall or hit tables, Viktor among them.
"Viktor?!"
Drakonys scrunches up her face and breathes through her mouth. Everything is blurry and opaque. She doesn't even feel the tea that was thrown on her. She tries to lean against the counter and ends up falling, hitting her head.
Harriet wobbles in place, her vision blurred, wanting to get out of here and in the end, she just collapses like all the other students.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
“ I think you’re being too hasty instead of being your usual critical self ,” Nagini opines, leaning back next to the book Tom is reading and making notes in a notebook. “ I don’t want to see you hurt again, Tom. I’m really worried about you taking such big risks .”
“ Most of the spells and rituals here are for hurting others, not whoever has the book. Don’t worry so much ,” Tom dismisses without interest. Nagini gives a long sigh. She wishes Tom would stop being so stubborn.
They spend a couple of peaceful hours in the room. Just reading and taking notes. Nagini dozes. Without orders to follow Harriet, it's Tristan's job to look after her. She might have continued in the same way if not for Tom, who suffers a violent spasm and freezes. Nagini stretches and although she moves closer to Tom's face, he stands up and constantly feels his chest until he coughs, closing his eyes and leaning against the wall.
He pulls a necklace from his chest and the unpleasant sensation fades. He looks at the necklace in confusion. Nagini leans closer. "I don't know where that necklace came from. I thought I imagined it; you haven't taken it off at any point."
Tom examines it briefly and the flickering light inside makes him remember what he read after leaving the hospital wing: if the ritual is successful, an earthly bond will be present and through it, it's possible to perceive the person with whom the affinity was achieved.
" Something's wrong with Harriet."
"I know she went to Hogsmede ," Nagini adds. Tom picks her up from the floor and rushes out of his room, carrying the necklace.
He can track her with this. He must leave the school first and with that, he'll be able to Apparate to where she is... If he doesn't distort before then.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
Harriet wakes up coughing and rolling over. She rests her hands on her chest and is almost chocking. She picks up her glasses and looks around. Hermione, Ron, Ginny, Luna, Cho, Viktor, Cedric, Drakonys and several other students are on the floor, relatively close together. It's like a line. The closest is Drakonys, who grimaces and starts coughing. Harriet staggers to her feet.
"W-what's...?"
Drakonys groans in pain before moving to the side, where she vomits, not too much. She shivered and gave small moans. Harriet scans her surroundings, glasses askew and lips pale. It looks like a cemetery or the entrance to a forest in the process of drying out. With dark trees without many leaves and a few small stone buildings. All the lights are on inside. Harriet holds her head for a moment, breathing deeply and forcing herself to remain calm.
James told her that, if a situation like this arises, she must send a signal or find a safe exit. The sooner the better and avoid her captor noticing. The problem here is that everyone else is here and she can't just leave them stranded here.
"What's going on here? Potter," Drakonys stammers, sitting, unable to move. The feeling of her stiff, aching body is unpleasant.
"I don't know," is all Harriet can manage to say.
She finds her wand on the ground not far away. She barely manages to walk over and pick it up. Heist doesn't have time to cast the spell. A small, instant warning that will let her family know she's in danger. She's never used it. Her dad and mom do. It manifests as a magical bird that appears wherever the person is.
She couldn't complete it because her wrist was held. Harriet grits her teeth and leans back.
"You'll have a chance to see them later. For now, let's focus on us, okay?"
Harriet abruptly breaks free from his grasp and Gellert laughs at her reaction. His blonde hair and heterochromatic eyes are exceptionally striking even in the dim surroundings. Harriet falls to the floor awkwardly and gasps, feeling the scar on her forehead ache.
"Don't worry, nothing bad will happen," Gellert whispers, as some people begin to move the bodies on the floor. "I've told you countless times that I'm not going to hurt you. I would never dream of it."
"Oh yeah? This is the second time you've kidnapped me and the first time you slashed my face," Harriet criticizes through gritted teeth, trembling.
"I didn't know your potential then. A small mistake on my part," he acknowledges with a hand on his chest, "but we can have that talk later. For now, I need you to stay still."
Harriet squeals. Moldy rock rises from the ground and holds her firmly. It prevents her from moving. Gellert advances toward Drakonys, who has stopped breathing from nerves and panic. The man looks around with a pained and irritated expression.
"It's a shame Tom Riddle wasn't here. It would have been simpler..." He turns to look at Drakonys. "Heiress Malfoy, a pleasure to meet you. As lovely as you've been described," Gellert comments, walking toward her, who is sitting, held by the back of her neck by someone behind her. "Unfortunately, you don't have much to offer. Just an ordinary aristocrat." he crouches in front of Drakonys, who is trembling with watery eyes, pallor, and a heart about to burst, "it will only take a moment."
"M-my dad can- he-"
Her stuttering is almost as loud as Harriet's moans, trying to free herself from her spot; Gellert takes Drakonys by the hand and dark magic starts to flow from the blonde. The frost and cold that affects the surroundings, but not Gellert. Drakonys's veins and skin blacken, her moans growing louder and louder with each passing moment.
Harriet notices someone approaching with a crystal sphere and within it, Drakonys's magic starts to accumulate. She shivered, with a jumble in her head. She hates Drakonys, she'd rather never see her again, but for Gellert to kill her at the cost of draining her magic? Not even her hatred for her allows her to see such a thing. Much less feel joy or carefree.
Harriet is convinced Drakonys can say the same about her. They get upset over silly things. Nothing life-threatening. Not even in their most extreme moments.
She doesn't want Drakonys to die.
She doesn't want her magic to end up in Grindelwald's hands.
Harriet doesn't want to just be carried away while he kills all her friends.
She doesn't want to lose Ginny.
She doesn't want to lose Luna.
She doesn't want to lose Fleur.
She doesn't want to lose Viktor.
She doesn't want to lose Ron.
She doesn't want to lose Hermione.
Harriet ends up screaming, with so much magic pouring out of her that Gellert’s follower must protect themselves or get hurt. Gellert makes a delicate flourish, allowing the smoke to dissipate, and with it the residue of light.
The ground shows a huge, long burn, the enchanted rock melts little by little; Gellert releases Drakonys, who inhales and exhales in violent gasps, trembling with her eyes wide open. Her skin is covered in ice, her body thinner, wasted.
Gellert gestures to his followers. Harriet can't just disappear.
"There's no need to be so aggressive. I don't want to be more extreme with you," Gellert says loudly. "As I've told you before, I just want to help you, lioness. It's for your own good."
Silence.
...
...
...
Gellert furrows his eyebrows. Where did she go? That—
Drakonys gasps, stunned that Harriet came running out of nowhere and punches him in the face, throwing herself at him and hitting him again. Her skin is red, her hair, glasses and clothes are in disarray; smoke is coming out between his teeth. Gellert manages to block her fist, but Harriet immediately bites him. Gellert pushes her face away and Harriet covers herself with the invisibility cloak.
Gellert moans softly in pain, both from his face and from the bite. Just seconds later, the small magical bird flies off at top speed and Harriet reveals herself: standing in front of Drakonys, pointing her wand at Gellert. The blond man laughs, tilting his head, blood running from his nose.
"Ah, for this, you're a worthy Gryffindor. The brave, silly little red lion."
Harriet clenches her jaw and Drakonys leans closer to her. She wants to feel... Warmth. She's dying from the cold. Drakonys whimpers, resting be forehead on Harriet's, who doesn't change her position, nor does her warmth or her light in the pitch-black night.
Chapter 62: Act. LXII. A great fear
Chapter Text
James congratulates everyone he meets. The raid was a success, to his own surprise. They managed to catch fifteen known followers of Grindelwald. Some are even guilty of various crimes, such as murder and threatening the secrecy of wizarding society. The only problem is that some aren't from England, so they can't be prosecuted.
A couple of French people, a few Americans.
He enters his office, stretching and taking a seat near the fireplace. He could go home, but he prefers to spend a few minutes here. In case assistance is needed. The threat these people pose is that they know very powerful and sophisticated spells. That's why James likes to help agents on missions.
And who knows, they might still need him. A couple of people are approaching, he senses it. The first one to enter takes calm steps, the second one takes heavy steps and they clearly point to boots. He opens his eyes and tilts his head. "Tell me you didn't come to scold me."
"We came because your wife is worried and busy," Remus informs with a cordial smile. Sirius have a more mocking and mischievous one. "Not to mention ensuring you get home to sleep." Remus takes a seat in the chair next to him and James chuckles, slumping a little further.
"I should say that in the future. Considering she's now studying ancient magic and one day she'll be speaking to me in Ancient Celtic," James jokes. Sirius sits down with a jump, crossing his leg and rocking back in his seat.
"Worst case, you'll end up with elf ears. It won't be so bad." James throws his head back, laughing. "How did it go?"
"Good. We caught them all. Now it's a matter of starting the interrogations," James concludes simply. "Shouldn't you be at Hogwarts?"
"It's the weekend, tomorrow is the full moon. I'd prefer a hole in the ground to hide in." Both James and Sirius frown upon this. “Has your daughter told you about her new teenage problem yet? Or her not-so-teenage problem?”
"Did something happen to Harriet?" James becomes rapidly alarmed, standing up and looking distressed. Remus exhales.
"Let's talk about it tomorrow. When you're not raging with hysteria."
"Now he definitely won't sleep all night," Sirius mocks.
James runs his hand over his face. Just what he needed. Any satisfaction with what he did is gone. About an hour passes when an owl flies straight into his office. Remus takes the letter, reading it; at the same time, an Auror walks through the door. Hurried and distressed.
"Sir, the prisoners—"
"James, we have to go," Remus says. Sirius raises an eyebrow, looking at him strangely. He's suddenly pale and trembling. He can't imagine what's on that paper that made him so upset.
"What's wrong with them?" James questions, heading for the door and ignoring Remus in the process.
"Th-they're exploding...!"
James stutters. "Exploding?" Now that he notices, there's blood on his clothes. "James! We have to... JAMES!" Remus instantly chases after him, dropping the letter aside. Sirius exhales, picking up the pair of papers and immediately screwing up his face at having detailed the second piece of paper first.
It was a photo of an unconscious Harriet and Grindelwald's hand, recognizable by some exposed tattoos, cupping her face. He caressed her lips and even stuck his thumb in her mouth.
"DAMN IT, JAMES!" Sirius barks, almost hysterical, barely able to stay still enough to read the letter's short message and run after the main Addressee.
"Your little lion is asleep. I wonder if you can get here before she wakes. If you do, congratulations! I won't hide her for that long. If you delay, I can't promise you'll see her soon. Not even if you come willingly."
James is too overwhelmed with his victory turned into failure. He can't hear his two friends. He reaches the cells at the same time someone explodes. He whips out his wand, causing the remaining four to cover their mouths.
"Sir..."
"They're forbidden to say anything!" James says, weaving through the bloody remains on the floor. "What did they say? What could that word be?" he questions the group of one man and two women. All three are equally stunned.
"Grindelwald, magic, I-I don't know," the women stammers. James helps her with a cleansing spell. "It could be anything." James turns to the Auror who informed him of this.
"Get a curse analyst and someone who knows—"
Remus arrives, taking James by the arm. "We have to go right now."
"How to handle this kind of problem. Don't let them say—"
Sirius appears, leaning against the doorframe. "JAMES! WE HAVE TO GO."
"Nothing more until it's resolved." His ability to ignore everything else when there's a problem right in front of him is admirable. The Aurors find it both comical and strange. They've never seen Sirius or Remus so distressed. They seem out of their depth. Sirius strides in and slams the letter next to the photo, sticking it against James's chest.
He narrowly avoids letting it fall and there's a flash in each light due to his reaction.
"I need you to move before our pup ends up in that son of a bitch's room."
James stutters, breathing heavily and they're both surprised that his nose is bleeding. It's only happened once in the past and that was after a party where Lennox had been pushing him too hard. It's a pattern for James to bleed from his nose when he feels overwhelmed.
"Gather a team and... I-I'll go get Lily."
James lets go of Remus and disappears. Both Remus and Sirius look at each other, having exactly the same impression: James needs a second alone to compose himself and then go to his wife.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
"Do you think we'll summon some deity to try to verify the veracity of these writings?" Lily laughs, shaking her head.
"Something tells me that won't happen with us... Is Frank coming for you?" Lily puts on her coat and Alice Longbottom maintains a curious, friendly, genuinely cheerful expression.
"Yep. He's waiting for me in his office... I'm sure he's going to tell me everything that happened up there. The raid and all that stuff your husband did." Lily purses her lips. "James should take more vacation time; I always see him looking more tired and annoyed than anything else." She comments, adjusting her hat.
"Until Grindelwald is imprisoned or dead, I doubt it will happen," Lily says, disappointed. "Although if he's done for today, maybe the four of us can go out to dinner."
"There's a new restaurant. They managed to grill dodos," Alice says.
"Wow, I can't wait to extinguish them again."
They talk animatedly and at length until, in the black-tiled hallway, James runs up to her. Lily couldn't even properly ask him what's wrong. Lily thinks it's all nonsense or exhaustion from her partner until she sees the photo and then reads the message. The words catch in her throat and unease fills her body; she whimpers, looking up at James.
"We have to go. Now."
Lily nods quickly, taking James's hand and disappearing. Alice blinks repeatedly. "What happened?"
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
"There's a report of a store that suddenly disappeared; bodies of adults were found lying around," someone from the communications and investigation team announces. Sirius is with Lily to help her calm down a bit, Remus is doing the same and James is desperate for as much information as possible. He forces himself to calm down and not jump all over the place. "They say the store was almost full with students."
"What about the school?"
"They did a quick check and about twenty students are missing. They sent out a distress signal. Among the missing is your daughter, sir," the woman points out and James nods.
"He couldn't have gone that far with that many students. Not even with help," James concludes. He also assumes that if Grindelwald sent that photo, it's meant to get there. He's not going that far. He wants to be found. Located, at the very least. Seconds before announcing the departure, a glowing, magically constructed bird appears in front of James. He parts his lips, reaches out and makes the creature land.
"Grindelwald"
"Graveyard"
"Grindelwald"
"Everyone to Hogsmede!"
The Aurors obey, disappearing one by one into the chimneys. The bird vanishes.
"If she sent that, that means she's okay, right?" James nods at Lily's comment, deluding himself about reality. Harriet is fine. She could have hidden herself and sent that distress call.
His daughter is fine…
She's going to be fine.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
Hogsmade doesn't have a graveyard. Not a faraway one, at least. Combing the entire area to find Grindelwald gets harder with each passing minute. It feels like an eternity and James's heart is in his throat with nerves. While Harriet is at risk and is his priority, he's distressed that so many students are involved. What could Grindelwald possibly achieve with this? Manipulate him? Did he seek them out for something?
"Tom?"
He turns to Sirius, who has found the teen behind a tree. Nagini is noticeably coiled around him and not as friendly as usual. The teen looks sweaty and tired. James approaches quickly, a little intimidating by accident.
"Are you okay? Did you escape?"
"Escape...?" he repeats, furrowing his eyebrows. "Just... I left the castle—if they're here, something bad happened," he concludes, lowering his voice. “I have to-”
"Go back to the castle. It's very dangerous, Tom," Remus admonishes. "Come on, before you end up hurting yourself," the professor prompts. Tom hisses, looking at him with disdain. He keeps walking forward and Nagini bares her fangs briefly. If they try to make him go back, she'll bite them.
Contrary to insisting, James follows him. He knows something. It's obvious he knows where he's going. Not to mention there's a strange, unpleasant vibration in the air. Tom vanishes out of nowhere, as if space itself has swallowed him up.
"There's a barrier here," Lily announces.
"Call everyone back. We have to break it."
Sirius nods, shapeshifting to run faster and find the other Aurors. Lily, James and Remus begin to conjure the breaking of this enchanted space. One that only allows access to permitted people. James isn't going to risk entering and then not being able to leave, or even worse: ending up knocked out as soon as he enters.
Tom collapses to the floor, groaning in pain. Nagini positions herself so that he won't be hurt and the default spell won't completely defeat him. She's a magical snake. These things don't affect her.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
Grindelwald exhales, laced with laughter.
"Why go to such lengths to save a person you hate? Who you clearly want—"
"I don't want her to die. I'm not a duffer like you," Harriet spits and Drakonys presses her lips together, her eyes watering and her body trembling. "The only person I want dead is you."
"And you can do it?" Grindelwald mockingly taunts, waving his hands. Harriet can't stop staring at him. "Did they teach you that spell?"
"I can make you explode."
"Wonderful."
Gellert is exactly five steps away, looking just as battered as the teenager.
"You couldn't do that. It's not in your nature to do something like that," he accuses softly, and Harriet clenches her jaw. "You're too pure to kill. You can barely do any harm, bonnie," Grindelwald giggles. Harriet huff.
"K-kill him, it's Avada Kedavra, just kill him," Drakonys demands faintly. Gellert laughs softly, almost elegantly.
"That's the clear difference between the two of us... You know, Harriet, what I want to do doesn't mean any wizard should die," he remarks with elegant flourishes. “It's not about diminishing our presence or even leaving the fittest" his smile becomes weak, almost nonexistent. “It's about taking our place and stopping hiding. And I know that with you, I could do it.” He reaches out to Harriet.
"You almost killed her in front of me and you think I'm going to believe you," Harriet inquires through gritted teeth.
"These are consequences for intervening, instead of allowing our supremacy to take its place," Gellert corrects. "Your Muggleborn friend isn't going to die, much less suffer: she's extraordinary. Your little “friend” Tom isn't going to either... You should think about’hem. Wouldn't you want them to live in a world where their magic can flow freely?"
Harriet shakes her head. That's not going to be what's going to happen. Gellert continues with arguments that... are very valid. The restrictions of secrecy are unbearable, the fact that everything has to be scrutinized, the people who go to jail for silly secrets, children who suffer accidental magic in Muggle families who believe the worst. How for years they've been treated like demons or possessed by one.
Gellert does everything to convince her.
Harriet keeps denying it...
She keeps stalling.
Harriet knows her dad is going to come and save her. He'll come. Her dad will come.
She has to look away; some students react, others squirm; she fidgets, returning to Grindelwald. His followers, who are holding students back and pointing a wand at her. "Don't force me to make it complicated. It doesn't have to be," he says with a smug smile at the end, raising his hands.
Harriet shakes her head and Gellert allows them to attack her. The spells come and go, with Harriet barely able to repel them or attack back. She's equally relieved and frustrated that they're fooling around with her. A clear gesture of mockery for acknowledging that she can't do any more. Her level is very low compared to everyone here.
Harriet gasps, looking back for a moment. Tristan shot out like a bullet into a man's face, who grabbed the snake and tossed it aside. Tristan slithered toward Grindelwald, who grabbed it under the head. "Thank you for your service," he said ironically, tapping it a couple of times on the head and Harriet didn't have time to pay attention to that. It wasn't until he killed the animal by tearing it in two with his bare hands. Harriet moaned at the stinging spells hitting her. Soft, like someone pinching an animal to force it into a cage or force it to surrender its efforts in a rage.
Drakonys felt on the verge of fainting, exhausted and miserable. She could barely see. She clung to Harriet for dear life.
A male voice startled Harriet and just a few feet away, Cedric was breathing heavily, wand in hand, constantly casting spells. He managed to reach Harriet. Hermione and Ginny tried to get up to help, but their whole bodies trembled. It barely responded. Cedric arrives next to Harriet, taking her and Drakonys by the arm.
"Don't move."
Harriet stammers: Cedric knows how to Apparate. Unlike Tom, he had his birthday early and thanks to his good academic performance, he was allowed to take the classes even though he turned sixteen, not seventeen. Tom was upset by this. Although he began practicing it on his own without a problem. Right now, it's the most prized skill.
And that's indeed what Cedric has in mind: disappearing with both of them, announcing their whereabouts and begging for them to save everyone else.
" Avada Kedavra ."
"NO!"
Cedric's grip weakens and his weight falls on her. Harriet holds him as best she can and tries not to fall. She shivered and stammered, Cedric's body slowly falling to the ground. Sparks of magic blinded some of those present. Harriet generated more heat and stared at Cedric on the ground.
Inert.
Cold.
"Too bad, he had potential. At least enough magic," Gellert opines, which feels like feigning grief for having killed him, "but that's what happens when you keep resisting your destiny, bonnie" Gellert accuses, moving closer. "To be with me so you can reach your full potential, to rule this world—"
"GET AWAY FROM—" Gellert roughly grabs her wrists with one hand, wraps his arm around her, and cups her face, forcing her to see where Hermione, Ron, and Ginny are standing with wands pressed to their necks.
Chapter 63: Act. LXIII. A broken light
Chapter Text
Ginny had a couple of convulsions on the floor and the next thing she saw was a flash of green along with a scream. She spun around, finding Harriet carrying Cedric's dead body. Ginny forced herself to move, to try to help her. Just like her brother was doing. Whatever was happening, they had to help each other! Grindelwald's voice sent shivers down her spine, just like everything around her.
Ginny gasped, her hair pulled, forced to kneel and a witch's wand held at her throat. She struggled to breathe and managed to notice Harriet, pinned down, almost suppressed by Grindelwald.
Harriet didn't know what to look at, what to do, how to behave. Her head was blank and her impulses only led to constant, stinging flashes. Some of them seem indifferent to Grindelwald, who presses his hands tighter around her:
"Let's do it another way, since you're so stubborn about understanding, Harriet," Gellert mocks, giving her a light shake. "You stop acting like a spoiled brat, come with me and I'll make sure none of them end up dead."
Harriet lets out a broken sob, pulling at her hands and unable to free herself. Hermione manages to say, "Don't listen to him, Harri-" The wand is pressed against her neck again. Ron hisses constantly, in pain from the constant tugging at his hair. He's bigger, keeping him subdued is more complicated.
"First it'll be Ginevra," Gellert says, making her take a few steps forward. "Then Ronald." Harriet lets out a stifled sob. “And finally, Hermione... I'll make sure you see the light escape from each of their eyes," he whispers directly into Harriet's ear. "It's a fascinating experience, isn't it, bonnie? How darkness takes over a being and you'll never be able to see it ever… again."
He kisses her temple and Harriet suffers an unpleasant chill, with Grindelwald's magic enveloping her. He wants to paralyze her with this and...
She doesn't want to feel it.
She doesn't want to.
She can't—
A spark so strong that several people are thrown, some are burned, others scream through their injured eyes. Ron helps Hermione to her feet and then Ginny. All three are equally stunned and feel like a wave of heat hit them so hard they're burned. Harriet barely manages to fall to a sitting position, red-faced and with parts of her skin, clothes and hair singed.
"Using such pure, strong magic hurts you. You'd know if you had a good instructor, little lion." Harriet turns sharply to Grindelwald. How is he intact? It should be the same as the rest. "Let's make it worse then... Imperius ."
Viktor convulses before standing, wand in hand and pointing it at Hermione, Ron and Ginny. The three of them immediately run, dodging the destructive curse. Harriet can't stand, her vision blurring and her stomach swells.
Grindelwald is startled by a sudden blow to his side and wonders where it came from. Drakonys is nowhere to be seen. Hidden, she's trying to gather enough magic for a decisive attack. Grindelwald continues his search and...
What he finds is Nagini bursting out of the earth, launching herself furiously at him.
Tom rushes in to Harriet, kneeling in front of her. He grabs her face and Harriet's eyes are sniffling, watering, one more bloodshot than the other, and the burns obvious. "James is coming here. You'll be okay," he says hastily, forcing her to stand up, but even she doesn't have enough strength to do so. Harriet groans and grabs onto Tom.
"I-I can't get up-"
Harriet falls unconscious for a few seconds, barely reacting. The Slytherin hears Hermione and Ginny's shrieks. Ron manages to grab Victor's wrist and does everything he can to avoid a Killing Curse. Tom points his wand at Viktor: " Unlimfie ."
Viktor stops making any effort, shakes his head and looks at them in confusion, bordering on horror. Hermione smiles inertia, relieved.
Grindelwald manages to throw Nagini off him and when he casts a spell at her, the magic bounces back. Nagini bares her fangs. “ Are you forgetting that doesn't work on me?! YOU...!”
「CREDENCE」
Nagini throws herself at him again, but misses the bite. Grindelwald steps on a rock to avoid her. Tom manages to get Harriet to her feet and is surprised by the extra help he receives.
"Why is she so heavy now when she was going to be blown away before?!" Drakonys whines.
The three of them hide behind a rock, shortly after which Hermione, Ron, Ginny and Viktor approach. All four are panting and sweating uncontrollably. Harriet throws her head back, wailing desperately. Tom throws an arm in front of Harriet when Grindelwald appears, sporting an almost demented grin.
"You always manage to escape, huh? Little lion" He jokes and looks at the others. "One last-."
Harriet takes Tom's wand from him, points it at Grindelwald and shouts. “ EXPELLIARMUS !”
Grindelwald flies out and at the same time, the sky seems to shatter and trails of white lights appear everywhere. One second later, black trails start to emerge, fighting. Tom takes his wand back, blocking the spells that could accidentally affect them. Drakonys clings to Harriet's arm, while she's trembling and barely conscious. Everything is blurry and confusing.
Viktor manages to do the same as Tom, even pushing past the wizards who are clearly enemies.
"HARRIET!"
She stirs a little, crawling to see her dad. She smiles unconsciously and Drakonys lets go, surprised by her own momentum. James rushes over to her. Remus and Lily arrange for the other students to be transported out of harm's way.
Their path is abruptly interrupted by Gellert, who appears behind Harriet, grabbing her by the hair and holding her back. James causes violent sparks, similar Lily's, who immediately rushes to his side.
"Let her go."
“I’m about to kill her, she’s managed to stress me out so much today by being a bloody brat,” Grindelwald says with a strained, exasperated laugh. “You’re here rather early. You surprise me, James.” Harriet groans, the wizard pulling her hair harder. “Any other ridiculous requests?”
“Do you think it’s any good to take her?”
“Of course I do. She’s the star of this epic play,” Gellert informs and James furrow his eyebrows. “I’ve only confirmed time and time again that she’s what I need… What everyone in our world needs,” he states, looking back at Harriet. “I’ll make sure she’s ready for that moment.”
“NO—” Harriet can’t feel her head. It’s a nasty tangle. Grindelwald pulls her in, James too, all three of them flailing in the process of disappearing. Harriet doesn’t know where they land; not far is the only certainty and she instantly spits out blood, screaming hysterically about her arm, streaked with missing chunks of flesh. James curses under his breath, having a similar problem and barely a meter away. Gellert laughs animatedly, untouched. He leans forward, watching the Potter pair suffer.
"I'm no good as a nurse, but I have several... They'll fix them." He turns to the right, where Tom stands with Nagini at one side. The boy, with cold red eyes fixed on him. "You're cordially invited to come, Tom." The student raises his wand and makes a simple flourish as he pronounces:
" Infinite Tenebris ."
The spell is as fast as a lightning bolt, impacting Grindelwald. He sucks in his breath, the confidence and calmness on his face vanishing. His eyes blacken completely and he raises a hand to his face, unable to breathe. Tom drops his arm and watches him stagger until he disappears.
Tom thinks that with luck, he'll die wherever he lands. "THEY'RE HERE!" He raises his voice to get attention. Sirius is the first to arrive, hurrying over and kneeling beside Harriet. Lily arrives shortly after, heading straight for James and starting the healing procedure.
Tom approaches, keeping Nagini at his side.
"I need you to help me," Sirius informs and Tom nods quickly. "She's scalding. It's only doing more damage to the partition. She needs to be cooled off."
Harriet moans again; Tom's abrupt touch hurts her. Remus barely glances over before hurrying off. They need to get them in a way that doesn't cause them to be hurt any further.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
"It's quite nostalgic to be here again."
Lily nods at the comment and gives a soft sigh, staring up at the ceiling of the Great Hall. The Aurors are dining, as are the students. Dumbledore thought it would be appropriate, as well as allowing them to stay and rest for the night. The castle would provide a more than perfect space for them.
They're both too distraught, but the enchanted ceiling is reassuring. Harriet and James are in the hospital wing. James is feeling better; Madame Pomfrey is almost an expert at healing the split, so it's a matter of a couple of hours before he can get up.
Although it's a fact that he'll need a few days off to recover.
Harriet is a very different story.
Her body temperature is too high and only Tom manages to keep his magic at bay. It's clear she doesn't recognize that she's no longer in danger. The burns will also take a long time to heal and another scar will likely remain.
All the other students are fine...
Or almost all of them.
Sirius gets up from the table and Lily continues with her meal.
"Professor McGonagall! It's good to see you!" Sirius croons on his way to the hospital wing. The woman smiles and walks over, giving him a hug and patting him on the shoulders.
"I'm glad to see you haven't changed much, Mr. Black."
"Enough so you don't forget about me."
"As if that were possible to do such a thing."
Sirius smiles and continues on his way.
┈
"Be careful. They're still children."
The Aurors nod and leave to comply with James's request. He gets up from the stretcher, sore and slow. Watched by Tom, who is standing to the side. Once up, he sits on Harriet's stretcher, where she pets Hedwig.
The owl arrived suddenly and hasn't stopped hooting. James takes Harriet's hand. "Rriety-"
"Is Cedric okay?"
Tom rolls his eyes and looks away, his legs and arms crossed. James shakes his head and hands Harriet's eyes tremble. Hedwig flutters to a stop at the head of the stretcher and Harriet brings her hands to her face, crying perhaps too hard.
"I'm so sorry, Rriety." James hugs her gently, stroking her hair.
Sirius arrives at the hospital wing, coddles his goddaughter, congratulating her for being strong enough to do what she did. To his own surprise, it was Drakonys who told them what happened. She told them how Harriet was the one who saved her from being killed and how she practically repelled Grindelwald.
At the cost of him playing with her and hurting her. Hermione gets up from her stretcher to go over there, sitting on the other side and trying not to cry as well. Once James moves away from Harriet, Hermione says, "It wasn't your fault. None of what happened was your fault. I don't want you to think about that. I know you are doing it."
"Yes, she's so stupid to think about it." Tom says quietly. Sirius sighs, arms crossed.
"Don't bother her with that now. No one can scold anyone."
"For now, they're still in shock from the event," Remus informs, his hands tucked into his trouser pockets. "Rest for today, okay?" he asks with a kind smile. Harriet lets out a broken sob.
"It's just... That- I-"
"Rest," James emphasizes and Harriet tries to wipe away her tears.
Chapter 64: Act. LXIV. "I can't breathe"
Chapter Text
"It would be best if you stayed here. You can barely walk."
Harriet doesn't answer, taking the crutches Madame Pomfrey left her. Tom doesn't understand Harriet's stubbornness. She acts as if she suddenly has no coherent thoughts. James and Sirius keep repeating that it's the shock. She still hasn't been able to process the event. After all, she was the only one who was almost completely tortured throughout the entire ordeal.
They even warned him to try to keep her in line. The likelihood of her doing something stupid is high. Even if Tom wanted to, he recognizes that what Harriet wants to do isn't harmful to her health or intrinsically bad. Tom would just prefer that she stay in the hospital wing.
He walks beside her. Including speed. Going down the stairs is the slowest and most exasperating part. By the time they finally reach the top floor and can walk straight ahead, they encounter students talking in low voices. Some point at her, others go on about their own business. The occasional Auror is still present despite two full days having passed. Tom holds Harriet, who almost trips.
"It hasn't even started. Don't rush it," Tom orders. Harriet moves her jaw and continues walking. Regulus joins them, looking at Harriet strangely.
"Shouldn't you still be lying in the hospital wing?"
"You will be if you start keep being a fucking bugger," Harriet warns without even looking at him. Regulus snorts.
"She survives and thinks she's important, fucking tramp.” Regulus snorts, narrowing his attention at Tom. "Why don't you just leave her? Wasting so much time."
"That's my problem, Regulus. When I want your useless opinion, I'll ask for it," Tom warns, sternly, his reddish gaze on him. The Black heir lowers his gaze. "Something important happened?"
"They interrogated everyone. Beyond that, nothing," Regulus replies. "Luckily, they didn't ask me anything."
"Oh?"
"I'm not going to sell out my family," Regulus complains, almost impressed that Tom doesn't understand. "If they know my mom agreed to be part of his movement, they'd take everything from us, take us to Azkaban."
"Maybe just them and you'll be left out for talking," Tom points out. "Standing up for your family and allies is important, but if they sink you with stupid things, the best course of action is... Let them sink and float away," Tom compares disinterestedly and Regulus shakes his head. "You should know that, Regulus."
"Sometimes I forget you're colder than an iceberg," Regulus murmurs. "I'm not going to do it. Drakonys wouldn't sell out his parents either." He brushes his hair back and crosses his arms. "That-"
"Are you okay with what happened?"
"No."
"Then rat them out, keep everything and that's it."
Regulus watches him enter the Great Hall. He moves forward a couple of seconds later, thoughtful and upset in equal measure. Everyone settles into the seats facing the front. This is different from usual. Black banners decorate the Great Hall and the mood is as sad and quiet as one might expect. Harriet sits at the front. McGonagall approaches with a loving smile and claps her hands.
"Did you feel you should come?" Harriet nods. "You're very sweet, Miss Potter."
The professor leaves. Hermione, Ron, Ginny, Luna and Fleur arrive. Even as they surround her, the seat to her right is taken by Tom. She occupied it with her crutches to mark it. Dumbledore arrives in a sad and gloomy mood. This is different from how they usually see him. Taciturn and seemingly unsure of what to say. As his speech begins, Harriet tightens her grip on her crutches.
"These have been sad days, days filled with uncertainty and, above all, pain. A loss we cannot undo," Dumbledore says, his voice strong, but he looks tired. "Our Minister of Magic has asked me not to tell you the truth. Not to give details of any kind. However, both I and the head of the Department of Security, James Potter, believe the same: all of you deserve the truth." He takes a couple of steps forward. "The loss of the student Cedric Diggory is the fault of no one other than Gellert Grindelwald. A person with such a destructive core and devoid of humanity, who was capable of such a thing."
Harriet bites her lip.
"He is also responsible for so many of our students being injured," Dumbledore adds. "Lucky, brave... those who lived through a traumatic and devastating experience," he qualifies, glancing at Harriet. “I ask, please, that you ask no questions, that you do no more harm... Ah, as headmaster, nothing saddens me more than to be at a funeral inside Hogwarts," he says with slight eloquence, "that we have lost a brave and honest student, a light extinguished by a vast and loveless evil." Dumbledore stops pacing. "Despite everything, I hope that we are able to honor Cedric's memory. To remember him as our capable companion, a good player, a good student, a good friend... To remember everything he was in life and allow him to live on through us."
Tom ignores the entire conversation. He doesn't care. He knows it would be mean or cruel to say it, but he isn't at his most patient. It's just a matter of time. At the same time, he knows Harriet feels guilty about this. As if Grindelwald wouldn't have killed him anyway.
Tom crosses his arms and dozes with his eyes open.
The funeral continues and there's a minute's silence from everyone.
"It's... almost surprising no one else died," Ron comments uncomfortably. Harriet shakes her head. "Or ended up more injured than we could have been."
"I absorbed everything for you," Harriet jokes acidly.
"Considering you're the only permanent patient in the hospital wing..." Hermione nudges him and Ron barely asks. "Shall we get something to eat? I can carry you on my back."
"I can go myself," she declines, offended. "Let's go eat. I think I could eat a cow."
They walk in silence toward the kitchen. Tom moves with them like a ghost. He keeps a cautious, prudent distance. They go through first and Harriet stays at the painting door. She tightens her hands on her crutches and Tom takes her arm.
“Are you...?”
“I can't... breathe.”
She sits on the floor, the crutches at her side. She tries to inhale and exhale, but her lungs feel closed, unable to hold even a breath. Tom strokes her head and Harriet buries her face in her knees.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
James admits he's shaking, that this isn't the best time to be pacing. Lily would kill him if she knew he left the house. She strictly forbade him and Sirius decided to be the guard dog. He must be hysterical right now, wondering where James is.
However, James needed to get out and, more importantly, to be here. The pretext of being head of defense helps a lot. He was able to enter Hogwarts without any problem, even requesting a private interview. Having Tom in front of him is awkward. For both parties, it's a disgrace. They don't say anything. Tom stares at him, almost daring him to say something revolting. James is noticeably subdued, lost in his thoughts and impulses, all commanding one thing:
"Thank you for coming. For being there."
Tom raises an eyebrow, somewhere between curious and confused. James looks away and focuses on the lit fireplace. The flames crackle and dance in disorder. Just like the screams in his head:
「MY BOY」
「WHY IS MY SON DEAD WHILE YOUR GIRL IS THE HEROINE!?」
「Cedric... my boy…」
He remembers Amos screaming.
He didn't stop, having Cedric's body and the warning that it would be prepared for burial.
Those howls of agony for his pride, his greatest joy, the light in his eyes…
James knows it could have been Amos and the thought has him so overwhelmed, so terrified that he freezed. He hasn't thought straight these past few days and he wants to take Harriet home. Hide her and Lily until he finds Grindelwald. Still, he recognizes it's a bad plan. Extreme and one that would only traumatize his family further in the long run.
He wants to do it right.
He wants to keep them safe.
Still, the only thing he can do now is this: thank Tom for showing up. Show that his relationship with Harriet isn't just a whim. It's far stronger and more important than either of them could have assumed.
At the same time, he senses it... Overwhelming. How are they so close? How is Tom capable of throwing himself into such a huge risk? It's a school relationship that began when he was twelve or thirteen. It's unheard of for him.
And a part of him desperately wants it to stay that way. That Tom never leaves, so he can be sure that Harriet won't be alone.
"I don't like you and I would be very happy if the relationship between you and Harriet were different," he confesses quietly. "However, I recognize what you've done, as well as the strength you had, the sincerity of your words... That you showed me that you're not just another Dark wizard." James settles into his seat and although he doesn't fully show it, he notices a glimmer of satisfaction in his eyes. "Thank you."
Tom nods slightly. He acknowledges that this isn't a good time for a sour comment.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
"I'm sorry for Tristan."
Tom shrugs. It saddens him a little. He gathered the remains and burned them, leaving it in the dark lake. Better than throwing it away as waste. It makes him feel remorse. He should have sent Nagini. She wouldn't have died and it's a fact that much could have gone better from the start. Not that it makes sense. Tom can't change the past and judging by the lack of entries in his journal, he hasn't used the time-turner.
That's irremediable.
Harriet talks to him. They walk to the dark lake to spend some quiet time, without curious glances, without prying eyes, without indiscreet people, without disturbances. Harriet has returned to her normal mood. She talks about what's on her mind, leaves long silences, adjusts her glasses, walks without crutches. It almost seems like nothing has happened.
Tom notices the difference that the others don't: her eyes lack luster, with something irreparably broken in her. He notices it, but he doesn't knows how to change it.
They don't make it to the black lake, not even down the hill. Harriet puts a hand to her chest tightens, breathing deeply, almost desperately. They barely made it across the entire bridge. She sits down on one side of the bridge and Tom stays beside her. Nagini steps out from under Tom's clothes and wraps her arms around the teenager. The closest thing to a hug she can give here.
"We should go to the hospital wing. You're always out of breath," Tom suggests. Harriet has trouble breathing in class. At least, that's what he's heard Hermione say. He doubts she's making it up.
"It's not... Physical. I just feel like I'm not breathing."
Tom clasps his hands behind his back. He waits patiently for her to recover. Harriet takes his arm, gently tugging at him to sit with her. Tom complies, a little annoyed because he doesn't want to dirty his clothes. Harriet hugs her legs and takes a deep breath, looking up at the somewhat cloudy sky.
"Can I ask you something?" Harriet asks.
"As long as it's not like I'm flying off on the firebolt, yes," he jokes. Harriet laughs and intertwines their fingers.
"Even if it gets too difficult, stay with me."
Tom turns to look at her, puzzled by the request. He hasn't done anything to make her think he'll leave or that he's thinking of leaving her. Harriet brushes back her hair. Messy and barely combed enough.
"Would you do it? Even if it's complicated."
"I like complications."
Harriet laughs and sways from side to side. Eventually, they spend the afternoon sitting there.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
"What are they?"
She loses what she was going to say. Distracted by the giant animal in front of Luna. A horse with enormous black wings. Just like the rest of its body. Its presence is not only terrifying, it's also extremely cold. Luna pats the nearest one a couple of times.
"They're Thestrals," the blonde replies and Harriet approaches cautiously. "Only those who have seen death can see them," she informs Harriet.
She frowns, looking at her.
"Do you...?"
"My mom," Harriet shudders. Nothing terrifies her more than the thought of her parents leaving her, dying. Death itself scares her. Witnessing it would add an extra layer of anxiety. "She was a very capable and experimental witch. One of those experiments went wrong... So now it's just my dad and I," she concludes and Harriet shifts uncomfortably.
"I'm sorry."
"Don't worry. It was a long time ago... Not for you, though. Are you okay?" Harriet doesn't answer and Luna returns to the Thestral. "I heard you were very worried about everyone. That you helped us even when everything looked bad."
"I'm not a hero. I just couldn't stand Grindelwald's nonsense," she says hurriedly. She despises being treated so importantly. As if she did something extraordinary. The only thing that can be considered so is the way she punched the Dark Wizard in the face. Otherwise, it's infuriating.
"I think you're a good person," Luna opines and Harriet exhales, "but with everyone else. Not you. I think that's why he brought us all." She takes a couple of steps back and stands next to Harriet. "Because he knew you're a good person."
Harriet looks down. Yes, maybe that's what happened. Harriet pushes her hair back from her face and rolls up the sleeves of her loose sweater. She reaches out and gently strokes the Thestral's head. It reminds her of Tom. It's something she'll find funny from now on.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
"Are you sure you don't need to go to the hospital wing?" Hermione asks, her voice cracking.
Harriet is crouching on the floor, shaking her head and leaning against the wall. Hermione rarely leaves her alone, as if she's about to leave the castle or even try. Hogsmede outings are prohibited and walking in the corridors has a curfew.
Hermione seems on the verge of a nervous breakdown. It's hard to say who's worse off from the whole experience. Hermione avoids her own distress at the expense of worrying about Harriet or the classes that have just started again.
"I'm fine. I'm just having trouble breathing," Harriet gasps. It's as if her lungs stop opening from one second to the next.
Ron becomes defensive: Drakonys suddenly approaches and although they share disgusted glances, her expression softens as she tends to Harriet. Hermione also doubts her presence.
"I need to speak to Potter. Can you move away, or are they hopeless parasites?" the blonde asks, her hand on her hip.
"Yes, we are his parasites. Go away," Ron orders reluctantly and Drakonys rolls her eyes.
"You get lost, Weasel."
"Ron," Hermione grabs him by the shoulder before he tries to do anything stupid. "Let's just go, okay? Come on." Ron snorts and straightens his robes. "We have things to do." He helps Harriet to her feet and before moving forward, the two stare at each other.
Green eyes against gray. Harriet shifts uncomfortably. She mumbles awkwardly. "Give me a moment, okay? I'll catch up."
Hermione and Ron look at each other, half worried and half confused. In the end, just a few seconds later, they have no choice but to leave them alone. Drakonys snorts arrogantly at Ron and Hermione. Pleased to have won, she returns to Harriet, who pushes back her thick hair and adjusts her round glasses.
"What do you want?"
Drakonys snorts, Gasping for air, she stands up straight with her hands behind her back and says, "Thank you for saving me, Potter."
Harriet blinks repeatedly. Of all the things she could have done, this was her last option. Drakonys realizes how much she's trembling. She doesn't know which part of Harriet he sees. Her face, her eyes, her lips, her hair, her neck, her bust, her restless hands. Finally, she falls on her eyes. The vibrant, electric green that seems like magic in itself.
"You and I don't get along. I've told you a thousand things and... Well," she interlaces his fingers, chest puffed out and chin lifted. "Despite those disagreements, you decided to help me."
"All I had was human decency," Harriet dismisses. "Listen: no problems, no arguments. We can fight again, or we can't fight again. Honestly."
"Anyway, thanks for helping me and standing up for me." Drakonys wanted to sound annoyed, proud and begrudging. It doesn't come out that way. It's simply a thank you and that's the most anomalous thing. Harriet decides not to make a big deal out of it. She simply concludes that at least Drakonys won't be an eternal pain in her ass. "And... I admit I was wrong. You're a good witch."
Harriet raises her eyebrows and gives an unconscious laugh, tilting her head. "You hit it hard in all of that, huh?"
"Tell someone and I promise you'll be in the hospital wing for another two weeks," the blonde warns, tense and embarrassed. Harriet nods and extends her hand.
Drakonys shakes it and freezes. Her magic is restless and faster than she is, moving straight toward Harriet's magic. Enveloping her and being entwined back. Drakonys exhales, tightening her grip on Harriet and her, barely a trace of a smile.
Drakonys's magic hurts her. It feels like millions of needles stabbing into her skin at once. Trying to grieve her. Drakonys's lips tremble before pressing them together, her magic now anchored to Harriet's. Embedded in thousands of needles that hurt the other.
I don't want to let her go.
I don't want to.
She's my light.
I can keep her.
I want this light.
She can be my light.
I want her to be my light.
She's mine.
Mine.
Mine.
Mine
She was always meant to be mine.
If I like her so much, why can't she be mine?
As they pull away, Drakonys squeezes her wrist and hurries away. Harriet shakes her hand, hissing in pain, finding Hermione and Ron a few feet ahead.
"She hit you?"
"No. Just... Let's go." She cuts off, walking ahead of her friends.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
Harriet has continued to feel down. Tom notices it and doesn't know how to fix it. He likes her light. He likes it when it's her. The shortness of breath has started to improve, but not the nightmares. They've increased in strength. A violent assault on the lioness's sleep schedule.
At first, Tom decided it was best to leave that to Hermione or Ron. He knows they're better at it and they've been with her day and night since the incident. Still, it's not enough. He should have seen it coming. Too much responsibility on others. One that's his, Harriet, is his girlfriend. Tom took matters into her own hands and came up with a phenomenal solution.
"Tell me we're not going to the hospital wing this time," Harriet says. A mixture of mockery and pleading. She doesn't want to go again this year. She's already slept enough on that uncomfortable stretcher.
"This time I took the time to do more research and reference other texts," announces Tom, who guides her through the Chamber of Secrets. Harriet walks with her arms crossed and a bored expression. She doubts it's true. "It's painless. At most, it'll make us sleepy in the end."
"Just sleep," Harriet emphasizes and Tom nods.
They reach the main chamber of the chamber, in front of the statue of Salazar that leads into the room. Tom sets his robes aside and Harriet awaits her boyfriend's latest occurrence. Tom takes his wand from his sleeve and starts with delicate, gentle flourishes, reciting a long, complicated incantation.
It ends with a spark that hits the ground, forming a huge circle that encloses them. Immediately afterward, a light bursts forth from Harriet's chest. She tries to touch it, resulting in a doe of lights forming in front of her. It trots around her. Made of stars and northern lights.
Tom approaches Harriet, who is confused.
"It's a ritual that physically manifests who you are," Tom says, raising his arm to let her pass. It becomes more detailed with the passing minutes. Now they can truly say that it's a doe. "The way your soul manifests..."
The doe stops in front of Harriet, who opens and closes her hands, anxious. A little surprised and sad.
"Kind, free... Full of intuition and adaptable to any difficulty," Tom recounts. Harriet reaches out to the doe. "Full of light... Fragile."
She touches it and the lights start to fall.
“In some regions, they believe it's the animal of the day. What do you think?” Harriet giggles.
“It doesn't change what it is—”
It's strange that there's another light. She touches it, expecting the same thing and is greatly surprised by the figure that emerges. Huge, strong: a lion with a giant mane that ripples like water. It constantly bares its fangs and prowls around, predatory and cautious.
"The book said not many have double representation," Tom comments. "Funny." Harriet giggles and the lion slowly fades away.
"Aren't you going to do it?" Tom simply recasts the ritual. It's not complicated. He'll want to sleep afterward, but it's the least serious thing so far. They weren't surprised that it was a snake. It's enormous, almost as big as the basilisk sleeping peacefully not far from this spot.
Its mouth opens like Nagini's and Tom tilts his head. He knows what the snake means...
Vanity.
Wisdom.
Cunning.
Night.
The cycle between life and death.
"They said the snake represents immortality," Harriet comments, following the snake's eyes. "And also sexual desire." She laughs with amusement and Tom exhales.
"It's a natural enemy of the lion.”
“I think we've known that since Slytherin and Gryffindor, don't you think?" Harriet quips and Tom frowns at the energy animal.
Wisdom is another point.
As are exploitation and malice.
It knows more negative aspects than positive ones about the snakes. He's surprised that when it vanishes, it reverts to a sphere. He touches it, confused and a little scared of what might emerge. They both crouch down, the figure leaping over them both and now trotting gracefully in front of them both.
Harriet smiles unconsciously and Tom's jaw drops slightly: it's a stag. Huge, with intricate, raised antlers. It bows before them both and as it stands up, its round chest and enormous antlers are the most striking features.
"You have a stag too!" Harriet hurries over. "We're like my parents! We're soulmates!" she celebrates incredulously, filled with joy. Tom finds it unbelievable. He thought they were extreme opposites and natural enemies. Not that they would ever somehow coincide. Not to mention the different symbolisms between the female and the male. While the female usually represents fertility and wisdom, the male represents leadership and strength.
Close to the sky with his antlers that tear through it. When he finishes, Harriet takes his hand and they walk to the bedroom to sleep for a while. It will be a comfortable nap.
Chapter 65: Act. LXV. Feeling guilty
Chapter Text
"It seems Miss Potter can evade a worldwide persecuted terrorist, but she can't mix a simple Sharpening Potion well."
Harriet scratches her head and tries not to tremble. To remain calm and collected. Drakonys doesn't have any opinions, simply taking charge of the preparation and thus preventing Snape from being so critical of the final result. She's never felt his gaze in the back of her neck like this before. It's unbearable and she has to watch her own tremors so as not to ruin it. She thought it was dramatic, but it's true that Gryffindor and Harriet in particular, suffer from Snape.
"Cut the remaining ingredients," Drakonys says and Harriet nods.
She cuts it.
So does her finger.
The potion turned out well.
Drakonys got an E.
Harriet got an A and almost half a split finger.
┈
"It's like he hates me more every day," Harriet complains, walking with Ron and Hermione on either side. "I don't know why, it's just that it is and I don't know what I'm supposed to do to stop it."
"You could tell McGonagall. This is... So unfair," Hermione says, exhausted. "No teacher treats you as badly as Snape. Maybe she can help you."
"Again? They'll think I want to dump all the teachers because they all do something to me. Besides, I don't want to give him the satisfaction." Hermione rolls her eyes. Harriet chooses the worst moments to be overly proud. "Besides... It's... Ugh, at least I'll pass. That's all that matters."
"And it'll be a better grade than mine. You'll be fine," Ron says nonchalantly. Hermione judges them harshly. "Fred and George came up with a plan to annoy Snape. Are you in?"
"If I didn't have the shitty volunteering and his greasy nose on the back of my head, I'd say yes." Ron shrugs. "Not this time, sorry… Still, what are they going to do?"
"We shouldn't be involved in plans like that," Hermione opines, being completely ignored.
"They've finished the pimple pills. The plan is for him to eat one. His nose is going to explode from all the pus," Ron laughs, malicious and secretive. Hermione shows disgust, Harriet a crooked smirk.
"Please do it when I can see."
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
"You can't do this either? Potter.”
Tom glances sideways. Irritated that Snape is almost on top of Harriet. It could be considered harassment. Not just because of the contact, but also because of the unnecessary closeness between them. Harriet manages to be okay. It's almost a miracle she hasn't screamed by this point. Snape snorts, walks away and returns to his business. Harriet exhales and continues with what she's doing:
Checking the essays for hasty writing, plagiarism, in short: the filtering work so that Snape reviews only the authentic work. Tom, on the other hand, checks the superficial assignments. Those with specific answers and simple selection. He would much rather do what Harriet is supposed to do. A bad coincidence.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
Harriet holds the piece of meat steady, feeding the Thestral. She's come here so many times that the pack already recognizes her. She sighs with a small smile. Thestrals are adorable now that she comes to see them. It's once in a while and she enjoys it. Usually she's with Luna, but this time she chose to come alone.
It's almost unheard of that she can be alone.
Not Hermione.
No Ron.
No Luna.
No Ginny.
No Tom.
No one.
Just herself and her thoughts.
Harriet giggles with delight, reaching out and stroking the adult Thestral who's been seeking her cuddles. She plants a couple of kisses on its muzzle and steps away. She waves goodbye, taking long strides out of the dark forest.
Along the way, the pack of hippogriffs that were playing and jumping stop when they notice Harriet. She gives the necessary curtsy to keep them from all charging at her. She's surprised that they all bow simultaneously, without fail. She smiles, stretching out her arms and Buckbeak steps out between them and goes to meet her.
"Long time no see," Harriet says softly, stroking him between his feathers. Buckbeak butts his head against hers, hooting.
Harriet is confident enough to climb onto its back and head off through the forest, with the hippogriff carrying her for a while. Harriet stretches her arms, breathing deeply and enjoying the ride.
She doesn't know how long it lasted.
She doesn't know if she'll get in trouble for this.
She doesn't remember if she has anything else to do.
She's just happy and doesn't need anything more. Harriet kisses Buckbeak goodbye on the ground. The hippogriff dropped her off at the entrance to the school bridge, so she doesn't have to walk far to start her return to the castle.
She's surprised to find Viktor standing near the entrance gates. The Quidditch player stands up straight once he sees her. His haughty, strong demeanor hides the panic and shyness in his gaze. Harriet pushes back her hair. It's messy, like her glasses and clothes, some dirt stuck to her face and her hands are covered in blood and smell of raw meat.
It's not her best moment.
"Can we talk?"
"Uh... Yeah, yeah, sure," she nods nervously and Krum directs her to one of the available benches. The sky looks rainy. Harriet tries to clean her hands and arrange what doesn't need a mirror.
Viktor has avoided her all this time. Actually, he's avoided everyone. She knows he barely goes to her classes. It doesn't surprise her. After all...
It was his fault they were kidnapped. Everyone involved looks at him warily, even Hermione admitted she doesn't know what to make of him right now. Harriet is uncomfortable, forcing herself to understand that Viktor didn't do it intentionally. He was cursed. He would never have done something like that and she's more certain of it thanks to what he says:
"I'm so sorry for everything I caused," Viktor says and Harriet stretches her legs halfway open. "I know it's not... An excuse, but I wanted to say it and apologize again," he clarifies and Harriet nods. "The night before, I... I don't know what came over me. I couldn't sleep. All I could do was repeat where I was supposed to take them and that I was supposed to keep them there. It's..."
Harriet notices he's flustered. Viktor is burned and terrified to have been a hostage inside his own body. That he was moving under the will of another and could do nothing to free himself. Shame and guilt make him tremble and he feels like he shouldn't even talk to Harriet.
To Hermione.
To Fleur.
To Tom...
He has no right to speak to them after being an accomplice in this situation.
"In the blink of an eye, everything was over and," Viktor exhales, clasping his hands together, "I really didn't want anything to happen."
Harriet nods and pats him on the back, letting him have a small vulnerable moment and not be overwhelmed by guilt. "Did you know what you had to do?"
"Get you there. It was all about getting you and people you cared about."
Harriet exhales. This is infuriating.
"Let's go to Hermione. She's waiting for you to talk to her. It's your time to start." Harriet says as she stands up.
“I thought she wouldn't want to talk to me anymore.”
“If you don't really apologize, no.”
Viktor nods slightly and they walk together into the castle.
His apology to Hermione wasn't much different. Nor did it need to be. What it added up to was an apology for having ignored her both that day and during halftime.
“And you? Are you okay?” Hermione asks, holding a book and resting it on her stomach. Viktor shakes his head. Hermione exhales and puts the book aside, hugging the Quidditch player, who immediately does the same.
Harriet smiles, pleased that this is over. She takes Ron's arm to encourage him to leave so he doesn't see this. Because she knows it doesn't make him very happy, she hopes Ron doesn't complain about it later.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
"I hope your excuse of dizziness and shortness of breath isn't the reason you don't have your essay ready, Potter."
Harriet rubs her face. Drakonys had to finish it and she's the one who left it who knows where. The blonde can't say it. Snape gave her that look where he demands she be quiet and worries her as much about her grade as she does Harriet. Drakonys acknowledges that Harriet did her best and it was fine.
The only problem is that she left the parchment in her room. That's it! She could run down there and get it. It wouldn't even take five minutes. For her part, Harriet knows that no matter the excuse: Snape will find a way to blame her. Call her irresponsible and useless.
"Stay until after class, Potter," Severus orders and Harriet moves her jaw. She rests her chin on her palm and snorts in irritation. Severus turns to look at her instantly. "Fifteen points less for Gryffindor."
Harriet rubs his face under his glasses, nearly knocking them off and Snape continues his walk around the classroom. Drakonys tucks a strand of hair behind her ear and can't bring herself to say "sorry."
┈
"I know you think your status as a hero and survivor gives you the right to do whatever you want, but such arrogance has no place in my class," Severus says with annoyance and a monotone voice. Harriet opens and closes her hands, looking away. "Although I also suppose it's inevitable for you to want attention."
"It's the last thing I want and you've already failed me. Can I go?" Harriet asks. Severus turns to her and snorts.
"Irritating arrogance and impertinence. I wonder where it comes from," he says ironically as they move closer. They stand a short distance apart. Harriet looks at him defiantly. She's in no mood to put up with Snape and his secret war against her. Annoyance mixed with indifference.
Severus watches her. He analyzes the light swirling with tireless energy before him. He hates this light. Lily is a constant, enchanting spark, the kind that slowly illuminates your existence and your path; Harriet is so strong it's blinding and hurtful. Watching her is like having James in front of him, burning effortlessly.
Harriet is the result of James wanting to be more important.
Putting himself forward as if it were the best thing in the world.
Severus's magic, dark and hazy, like a mist in a cold, damp town, becomes aggressive and Harriet decides to leave. There's nothing more to say. She doesn't need to be here either. "I didn't say you could leave, Potter."
"Fuck you!"
The next thing that happens is she's taken from the shoulder, then her neck, slammed against the wall next to the door. Harriet stares at him in shock. The pain in her head and back is only lessened by the lack of air. Not only is she struggling to breathe, Severus is preventing her from breathing.
"Do you think it's that simple? That you can walk all over anyone just because you receive a couple of scratches?" Severus reproaches, furious. His dark magic is doing everything it can to surround Harriet and diminish her, attack her mercilessly, just as it keeps her here. "That because you're James Potter's daughter, you have the right to be a useless, stupid, spoiled girl who can do whatever she wants without consequences."
"I… can't… you-"
"You're nothing more than an arrogant, pretentious, idiotic girl incapable of doing the simplest things, living off a fame that isn't yours," he spits, leaning towards her. "You're nothing more than a miserable failure, just like James Potter—"
"LET GO OF ME!"
She manages to push him away and free herself. Harriet takes huge gulps of air, sounding choked. She runs her hand down her neck and yells again. "FUCK OFF, YOU FUCKING MORON! MOM DIDN'T WANT A FUCKING LOSER LIKE YOU! GET OVER IT!"
He made it personal.
He brought up her school life.
So she can insult him with that!
"Potter!"
Harriet manages to escape the classroom. She hides while she catches her breath. Not even two minutes pass before Tom is there, sitting next to her and patting her back. Helping her catch her breath.
Chapter 66: Act. LXVI. Let it go a bit
Chapter Text
Hermione scrunches up her face and tries to decipher where she is. Too sleepy to understand. She's forced to react by so much movement and something clinging to her. Initially, she's scared and her chest hurts from the panic. She thinks she's somewhere else and only dreamed of being at Hogwarts. Hermione opens her eyes quickly, panicking; she's relieved to see it was just a scare and what caused her to wake up is that Harriet is now lying in the same bed.
Her friend curls up; she's also brought a stuffed animal. Hermione grumbles, annoyed at being woken up. She hits her with a pillow and settles into sleep. It takes Harriet only seconds to join her. It's very uncomfortable, but they end up asleep.
It's not the first time this has happened.
Lately, Harriet keeps moving into Hermione's bed.
She's afraid of sleeping alone. It's ridiculous, but not even Hermione rejects her. Scared too. The nightmares they have are very strong, very offensive; at least this way, they can sleep well.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
"You're more grumpy than usual."
Harriet snorts. She can't say no. Between her almost constant sleep deprivation, Snape, volunteering and so many other things on top of that, she wants to yell at everyone who even says hello to her. She has no patience, nor the nerve capacity. Her lungs remain in the same state of crisis.
She only calms down when she manages to get out to the Forbidden Forest and spend time with the Thestrals, or hippogriffs. For a moment, she wonders what's bothering her so much, besides the general pressure around her and the fact that Cedric Diggory keeps dying in her dreams, complaining about her not helping him or doing anything for him. The answer comes in a curious way:
All this time, she's been staring at Tom. Sitting quietly at the Slytherin table. Hermione tries to get her to react, but nothing happens. Except Harriet causes spark after spark in the candles floating above the Gryffindor table. Harriet sighs, resting her chin on her palm and biting her pinky finger, crosses her legs and hurriedly moves her foot.
Oh.
Oh...
Ohhhh...
"Are you okay?"
Probably ovulating and needing all the serotonin I haven't had since my boyfriend has been stalking me but not touching me, is Harriet's long, irritated thought, including: I’m horny as fuck. A thousand solutions emerge, one after another.
If they had more sex, she wouldn't feel lonely; she'd be more cheerful and bright; she'd forget about so many of her problems. What wouldn't be fixed? And that's where the paranoia kicks in: Does Tom not want to do it for some reason? Does Tom not like me this way anymore? Have I done something wrong since Christmas?
"Why is she looking this way so much?" Regulus notices Harriet. Tom too, but has been purposefully ignoring her for his own good.
On the one hand, he's very busy with homework. Nagini pointed out that the more he uses the time-turner, the more maniacal he becomes; mapping time is fun for him, but exhausting and a new activity to accomplish. He tries not to laugh or feel satisfaction about Cedric being dead, nor to make fun of Harriet's depression about it; she's still physically affected and he's not going to risk having to go to the infirmary in the middle of an intimate encounter.
Nevertheless, he's on the verge of despair. It hurts his pride how much he needs Harriet right now. He wants to unite their magic, unite their bodies, not let go for a full day if possible. His head has filled with one fantasy after another.
Leaving her trembling, legs spread and covered in semen.
Her sucking his penis while watching him and masturbating.
Masturbating her with snakes, leaving every part of her untouched.
Masturbating with her breasts.
Wear dresses and lift up her skirt, revealing her wet pussy, eager to have him inside her.
Have her dressed up like she'd been at an important party and leave her a mess.
A thousand fantasies he could fulfill. Even the most bizarre ones that might arise along the way. He snorts in frustration, surprising Regulus, who looks him up and down.
"Are you upset?"
"He's upset because his girlfriend isn't paying attention to him," Daphne croons, mockingly amused. Tom frowns. "Can't you see they've been ignoring each other for weeks?"
"What girlfriend?" he asks, confused. Did he say something without realizing it? His defensive posture makes Regulus nervous. Does he have a girlfriend?!
"Drakonys, obviously."
Tom lets out a distorted, graceless and deeply disgusted laugh. "The day I want to get romantically close to that thing, it's because I'm either on the verge of death or bankruptcy: I'm nowhere near either of those."
Tom gets up to leave, giving Drakonys a disgusted glance before leaving. Harriet inhales sharply, looks away and plays with her food, crossing her legs.
"Harriet—"
"What?" she sneers. Ron throws up his hands and Ginny nearly chokes on her drink, laughing with a hand covering her mouth.
"I was just going to ask if you're going to practice today or if we're doing something."
"Define 'something.'"
"I-I don't know."
Harriet grimaces and doesn't respond. Now she's even more paranoid, frustrated and tense. That odd "glance" from Tom to Drakonys only serves to make her more tense. Ron looks at Hermione and she gestures at him. He also has no idea why she's so grumpy. They can only assume it's from not sleeping well.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
From the beginning, Sirius intended to send Harriet a gift. Something to help her cheer up and start working on the impact the whole event had. What's prevented said gift is that he's been incredibly busy these past few days. The Ministry is in turmoil and it would be wrong to say there are no vipers in this burrow.
There's too much fighting over Grindelwald and he's convinced his family is part of that entourage. Sirius just doesn't have conclusive evidence to accuse them or try to disprove their involvement. Bellatrix and her husband are also a pretty big problem. He never thought his cousin would be so... peculiar. She's crazier than ever, to put it bluntly.
James can barely keep up with maintaining that they must go after Grindelwald, in addition to maintaining the search with the highest possible level of expertise and agents specialized in magical combat.
It's been a while before he catches a break and decides to go shopping for the gift of ‘teenage mental stability’. First, he buys a plush toy in the shape of a thestral. Harriet wrote to him that she can see them and that it's reassuring to be with them... Evidence that her goddaughter is having a mental breakdown midway through her school year. Next came more clothes, except they're the ones she rejected for two reasons:
She doesn't want Lily to get the wrong idea.
She doesn't want to be exposed at Hogwarts.
It's a curious duality. Even he was surprised that Harriet secretly wore blouses like those. They have a low neckline, they're delicate and pretty, but she rejected them with excuses: Mom will buy me more things if she sees I like them, they'll make fun of my big breasts, they don't suit me because I'm not pretty.
Sirius doesn't understand teenage trauma, much less female trauma.
On his walk, thinking maybe the gift is already good enough, he passes a store that makes him have thousands of mental debates. The first one: Would it be too indecent of him? He's her godfather. Buying her lingerie is a little strange. Even more so sending it. While he's debating this, he enters the store. There are only women and it's hilarious that they stare at him.
As he looks, he continues on the same page and the conclusion is one worthy of his lack of concern: with this, maybe she'll have fun with Tom, it will make her feel pretty, it would be sexy, an incentive. James would kill him to know that he supports this relationship to continue being so intimate and sexually active. That's a fact.
Sirius buys a white one.
A red one.
And a green one.
The awkward laugh that arose from seeing the indiscreet holes at the bottom is matched only by his lack of concern when he bought it and put it in the expandable bag. He's sure his goddaughter will have a good time.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
“Is there something you want me to do?”
“Why ask?”
“It's just that you're distant.”
Tom turns the page of the book and looks up. Harriet ruffles her hair and looks away. The Slytherin exhales, shaking his head. "I'm very busy. That's all."
“Oh…”
Tom doesn't think much of it. He wants to think it's about spending time together. After all, he's not totally isolated from her point of view. The next day, it was a matter of endurance. Harriet showed up wearing a skirt and although everyone jumped at the chance to comment on it, Tom was having his own moment of crisis.
Convinced that Harriet did it on purpose to provoke him, why doesn't she just say what she wants? That's the weird thing. He'd say no; he wants to finish everything he has to do, but at least this way he knows what's on her mind! Sitting in the great hall, he can't help but stare at her.
Thinking about sticking his head under her skirt and eating her pussy until she's a mess.
How easy it is to rip her underwear and get to her vagina.
Masturbating her until she can't speak anymore.
Let what falls from between her trembling legs be the semen he left inside her...
Tom fixes his trousers, hiding his discomfort at the erection forming. He uses his tunic as a cover. Embarrassed that this is happening to him here. Harriet leaves the tunic on the bench, sits down awkwardly and Tom nearly chokes with shock at how close she's going to show more than her legs.
"She's not even hiding the fact that she's a bitch anymore. That's-"
"Go fuck her if you're so obsessed with seeing her."
Theodore blinks repeatedly in surprise. Regulus opens and closes his mouth, like a fish out of water. Tom's quick, almost hysterical comment caught him off guard. Tom rests his head on his hand and looks to the side. Daphne whispers to Theodore. "The fight with Drakonys hit him hard." Theodore nods in agreement. To them, Tom is staring at Drakonys.
In reality, he sees a stalemate. Harriet notices what's climbing onto the bench and although Ron squeals in horror, falling to the floor, Harriet just pats the magical snake.
Harriet mostly ignores him and Tom stands there, careful that the skirt doesn't expose too much.
"Isn't it going to bite me?" Ron asks, his voice nasal and his face cowardly.
"No. She's just trying to be annoying," Harriet jokes, feigning dementia about it.
Harriet still wears a skirt.
Three days out of seven, there's a skirt.
Tom is more irritated than ever by this.
"Tom—"
"What do you want?"
Harriet tilts her head and pouts, feigning pain. The Slytherin sees her face, both of them in the library full of students, but apart. Tom has created an atmosphere so cold that no one dares to approach. The windows are filled with cold and the light can barely stay on.
Harriet leans on the table. "Are you still busy?"
"Yes. Very busy. That—”
His eyebrow twitches and she lifts one leg onto the corner of the table, her skirt rising, her thigh on display. Harriet grimaces.
"Why are you so busy? There are no exams yet. You should- Tom" He snaps his fingers and gets him to look at her face, lowering his attention to her disheveled shirt and loose tie. Part of her bra can be seen. Harriet adjusts herself, lifting her bust a little and snapping her fingers again. "To the face-"
"I'll be eyeing your face when your breasts and legs stop calling me, sweetheart," Tom says through gritted teeth and a ferocious grin. Harriet rolls her eyes.
"I can go to the Chamber of Secrets today, shall I?"
Tom brings both hands to his face and, more exasperated than he's ever seen her, says:
"I'm busy. Very busy. I can't go wasting time in the Chamber of Secrets," he complains through gritted teeth. His eyes look like they're about to pop out of their sockets. Harriet snorts, standing up. "When I can get there, I'll let you know. Until then: don't bother me and put on some damn trousers."
"So caring and affectionate," she says ironically. "I'll go get Snape to abuse me. Like every Slytherin in my life."
Tom wanted to demand that she put on trousers again, but he can't. He forces himself to return to the book, while being so careful and taking his desperate hormones out of the equation.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
"Are you planning to accuse me of being a rapist? Miss Potter."
Harriet doesn't comment, continuing with what Snape asked her to do. Especially not her. Tom wasn't called here today. Even though this volunteering is his fault. Snape says something that stops her abruptly:
"I suppose after your indiscretion at the ball, it's only natural to expect the same from every other male in the castle."
"Indiscretion?" Harriet repeats and Severus looks at her with disdain.
With disgust.
Harriet trembles, pressing her lips together.
"Wearing a skirt like that and having your shirt open like that is a clear invitation to the male population," Severus opines, lifting the hood of her robes with his wand. "Since no one thinks of you as a heroine anymore, you resort to less decorous methods of attention."
"I only meant to wear a skirt," Harriet defends.
"And spread your legs so everyone can be between them. Always attracting attention. Now for-"
Harriet pushes him, irritated, horrified, surprised; she pushes him again and this time, Snape grabs her wrists, giving her a small jerk that loosens one of her shirt buttons, leaving her equally dizzy. Severus roughly releases her and Harriet instantly covers herself.
"That's pretty pedantic behavior for an attention-seeking whore. I hope for your sake you didn't do anything indecent before coming here, or that you're planning to do it later," Severus warns through gritted teeth and Harriet feels close to tears, trembling. "Perhaps that's why your skirt is so high." She looks down and Harriet tugs at her skirt.
It falls just above her knee, just a little. Just like all of them. It's no higher. Tom distorts the image in her mind and even if she's careless, it's impossible for everyone to clearly see her body.
She also wears robes. It makes her feel safer...
Or it did.
Frightened by Severus's disdainful glare, who wants to make her feel like she's made a mistake, like she's a dirty woman.
Or a grown woman, for that matter.
"Next time, have some decency, Miss Potter."
Severus walks past her and Harriet whimpers, closing her robes and crossing her arms.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
"Is something wrong? Puppy."
Harriet shakes her head, checking the box Remus handed her. Hedwig is resting, so Sirius sent a package via Remus's owl. The werewolf leans in beside her and asks again in a soft voice, "Did something wrong?"
Harriet drops the package abruptly, rubs her face with her hands, risking breaking her glasses; she pushes back her hair and exhales sharply. Remus waits patiently for her to speak:
"Snape keeps saying... that I'm just like Dad, that I'm a conceited idiot, that I'm useless, a pig, stupid girl." She stands up reluctantly and Remus follows her with his eyes. "He also told me I'm a slut for wearing a skirt—I'm a whore, according to him! That I want to provoke everyone!"
"Professor Snape said that?" Remus can barely contain his shock and disbelief. It seems unbelievable and yet he doesn't believe Harriet would lie about something like that.
"I know he hates me because Dad was insufferable and because Mum didn't want him, but I have nothing to do with it!" Harriet says exasperatedly. "I'm just... existing and he wants to bother me."
She just doesn't get it. She wish she did. Remus pats her back before hugging her. Harriet exhales. Remus isn't one for confrontation, so she assumes he won't say anything about this.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
She ties up her hair and opens the package. She takes the enclosed letter. Hermione reads in the next bed, intent on her reading and nothing else.
«Hey Lil’ pup! I hope you're having a better time than I am. Everything here is upside down. It's unbearable. I figured things are still tough, so this must be a way to reward you for putting up with it. Plus, it's never the right time, so a gift for my (only) favorite goddaughter.»
«I recommend not looking at the bottom if there are people around. It's private. Thank me later. Try not to overuse it.»
«Sincerely, Padfoot.»
Harriet discreetly looks around. Hermione continues reading. Lee Jordan is writing a letter. She digs deep and sucks in her breath to notice what it's about. She unwraps it from the paper it's wrapped in and hurriedly stuffs it into the trunk, just like the letter.
"Mione!" The other looks at her over the top of her book. "Sirius sent me some clothes. Come see them with me." She closes the book and gets out of bed.
Fortunately, Lee left the room and they are alone together. A perfectly comfortable moment of whispering about the clothes. Harriet recognizes that they are the same ones she saw at Christmas. She's amazed that Sirius is so attentive.
Hermione helps her put everything on. Baggy clothes are sometimes a problem. She tends to wear everything oversized, so Harriet is sloppy with details. She giggles. "Are you going to adjust my boobs too?"
"Sorry."
Harriet squeezes her breast and Hermione exclaims before laughing, pushing her away. Harriet giggles at herself in the mirror: a black skirt that falls below mid-thigh, a sleeveless tank top with a turtleneck in red, orange, blue and green plaid.
A blue sweater with a square neckline, small sequins dangling from a ruffled hem.
A black sleeveless top with pearls and a red skirt with a black belt, along with matching pants.
What looks like a sports bra and a new leather jacket.
A huge pastel pink sweater to wear with something underneath.
Lots of T-shirts.
"This looks lovely on you!" Hermione says, excited.
It's red. Very bright. It exposes her shoulders, her collarbone, almost a corset that perfectly outlines her large bust. The thick fabric is intricately embroidered with lions. Hermione fixes it and they both stare at each other for a moment.
Their magic sparks with a startle that scares them both. Hermione blushes bright red and Harriet babbles awkwardly. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, it was just a... Little surprise." Hermione steps away and practically makes everything more uncomfortable: she takes the book, opens it and sits on her bed...
The book is upside down.
Harriet snorts and goes to change.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
Tom thought that once Harriet stopped wearing a skirt, he'd be safe, but no. In fact, it's much worse this way! Because he's always fantasizing about her wearing a skirt! Tom doesn't even know what made her change her mind so quickly. Harriet hasn't wanted to talk to him and Tom can't help but despise anything that interrupts his ability to spend time with his girlfriend until they both pass out.
It's the most exasperating situation he's been in for a while.
He's starting to despise having so many classes on his plate. He definitely wouldn't have any problems if it weren't for that.
"Problem at the Ministry? What's going on now?"
"Diggory's dad made a scene. It's been a tragedy," Regulus says, rolling his eyes. "My mother said everyone's divided. There's one side for Grindelwald and the other against. They're the majority. At least for now. She thinks it'll change in time."
"Then she's stupider than I thought," Tom says, rolling his eyes and Regulus nods in agreement. "Are you interested in following Grindelwald?"
"I like some of his proposal, but what happened here..."
Tom gives a laugh without humor. Of course, Regulus worries about being a victim. He supposes it must bother him a little that his mother doesn't think about his well-being. Supporting a genocidal maniac who could kill him at any moment. Anyone who sees the weak execution of Grindelwald's plan is appreciated. Tom sits on the bench and crosses his leg, squinting.
"The whole system is falling apart because we're so weak at the core," he mutters softly. "And no one has had the strength or the ability to fix it... it's so absurd and pathetic." Tom tucks a strand of hair behind his ear.
"Do you think you can fix it?"
"If I became Minister, I'm sure I can achieve it and Grindelwald would be nothing more than a madman shouting nonsense in a town square," he declares smugly and Regulus leans back against the bench. “This war between us and the Muggles is absurd because we're not united. It's not a world we share. We're separate. Just not enough.”
“If you want to screw Muggleborns and those who want to stay with their pathetic Muggle families, I'm with you,” Regulus laughs and Tom shakes his head.
“It's about taking magic, keeping it and forgetting about Muggles. That's what I want.”
Tom wondered: Why wasn't he in an orphanage for magical children as soon as his accidental magic became apparent? Or since the registry listed him as coming to Hogwarts. He had to suffer those eleven years in the orphanage, forcibly fitting into a world that wasn't his.
The wizarding world relies so heavily on the Muggle world, as if it needed it and he hates that codependency. If it were up to him, he'd make a reflection of how useful the Muggle world was to separate them. Complicated, extreme, it would surely have its detractors, but it's the best.
Magic must be prioritized.
It must be kept alive, safe, without the risk of Muggles continuing to crush and ruin everything.
"Do you plan to be the Minister eventually?"
"Do you think having connections means I'm going to remain a simple nobleman speaking in the Ministry chamber?" Tom mocks, looking at him with a mordant, smug smile. "The English wizarding world, the wizarding world in general... it's just a matter of time before it's mine."
He says it with such conviction, telling more things he's had in mind. Some extreme, some less radical, but all of them become extremely fascinating. They seem like the most logical thing in the world just because Tom is saying them in that tone of voice, with those relaxed and elegant expressions of his. He exhales and looks away. "You know you can count on me for those things. Without fail."
Tom chuckles, shaking his head. Good to know he has a lapdog to rely on. In the distance, he sees Harriet, talking to Hermione and Ron at the same time. She's wearing her usual oversized clothes and Regulus snorts.
"Are you going to be annoying?" Tom asks.
"I find it hard to accept that there's a person who looks in the mirror, notices how pathetic and awful they look, but doesn't fix it. Damn shitty cow."
"Go milk that cow if you're so obsessed with it," Tom rebuked. He's discovered that embarrassing Regulus helps him keep those stupid comments quiet.
It's a way to train his dog. A more than brilliant method.
"Does Cormac have a girlfriend?"
"A Hufflepuff girl, second year," Hermione says quietly and Harriet rolls her eyes. "I've seen them kissing in the corridors a couple of times."
"How pathetic is that? Looking for someone two years younger because no one in your year or above likes you," Ron says and Harriet laughs equally. Said like that, it sounds even more pathetic and ridiculous. "He and the others in Gryffindor were planning to lift your skirt. I heard them in the bathroom before we left."
"So why didn't you tell us sooner?" Hermione asks.
"Because no one's wearing a skirt today," Ron defends himself. "Besides, I told Ginny! And she changed. That's what matters, isn't it?"
Harriet pats him on the back. Yes. That's all that counts. Starting slowly isn't a bad thing. Ron has told them that he's a little scared of being alone outside of Gryffindor. Since he's not close to them, they've become very mean and mocking. Just like they are with Neville.
Inside the dormitory, everything is fine. They talk to each other as usual, but outside? It's different. They're a near-murderous bunch that Ron doesn't want to see. Intimidated that it might get complicated or embarrassing. He's still nervous about being outside that group of so many other boys, but he's reassured that everything is back to normal with Harriet and Hermione.
"I was thinking we could start Study Club again next week," Harriet and Ron hiss simultaneously. That sounds like a lot of work and neither of them wants it. “And I thought I could make some nice invitations to let the members know," Hermione suggests.
"That's a really nice idea, Mione."
"Just—"
Harriet nudges Ron and he groans, rubbing the area. Fortunately, Hermione doesn't notice. She spins on her heel and smiles at them. "Well! Viktor's going to help me and we'll be together afterward. See you guys later!" She hurries off and Ron purses his lips.
"They're boyfriend and girlfriend. Just let them be." Harriet gives him a shove to keep him walking.
"Why did you put them together?" Ron asks irritably. "They'll never see each other again after the end of the year and you don't know him THAT well."
"I just thought it was a good idea."
"I'm not a good idea?"
"Do you like Hermione?" Harriet is flustered by the sudden clarification. Ron snorts, shakes his head, scrunches up his face.
"No! No, no, of course not. She's insufferable. I couldn't." Harriet takes this as an excuse; Ron keeps muttering excuses, "but why wouldn't you have tried it with me?"
"Because Mione's not for you."
"But-"
"You two fight more than you talk," Harriet says, rolling her eyes. "You would have been insufferable. That's why it would never have crossed my mind." Ron makes that face again and Harriet wants to shove him in the face to make him stop. As if he's throwing a tantrum over nothing.
They enter the Gryffindor common room and stand there talking about other, less important things or attackers in general.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
If someone tells Harriet someone deliberately damaged all the uniform trousers, she'll believe it. She doubts it happened by pure chance. She had no choice but to wear a skirt all day and everything was fine until it was time for Potions.
Drakonys is lost in the clouds.
She almost cuts her hand, almost lights the cauldron too soon, mixes up the ingredients, her application time; Harriet can't explain why she's so distracted today. She's not usually this clumsy. That's supposed to be her role in this duo.
Drakonys, for her part, is focused on a specific place: Harriet's skirt, desperately demanding that she finish up. Seeing her knees and just a little bit of thigh isn't enough and she's watching when she gets up.
It's a bad time to be so out of place, considering Snape is orbiting as always. "I hope your inability to avoid attracting attention doesn't affect your work this time, Miss Potter."
Harriet stirs the cauldron, her expression bored and her desire to argue barely suppressed. She'd meant to ask him to do her laundry since she so desperately wants her to stop wearing the skirt.
She recognizes the stares and chooses to ignore them for her own peace of mind, though it's complicated given how aggressive those stares feel.
Drakonys storms off as soon as the class ends, without having said a word all hour. Hermione and Ron leave a little early, waiting for Harriet outside and when she's finished gathering her things, she feels a slap so hard between her buttock and thigh that she gasps, along with a tug to lift her skirt.
She turns sharply, hitting Cormac in the face, who falls to the floor and catches himself. Harriet gasps, her fist red, one knuckle covered in blood.
"Fifty points from Gryffindor," she hears Severus say and at first she sees it as Normal! Because Cormac did something stupid. What follows is what makes her squeal. "Next time, just face the consequences of being an indecent girl, Miss Potter."
"ARE YOU FUCKING SERIOUS?! HE—"
"He did what you expected. Now, get out of my classroom," Harriet gasps, incredulous. "And ten points less from you."
She reluctantly grabs her things and rushes out, with Hermione and Ron trailing behind her, asking what happened.
┈
If there's one thing that amuses Nagini, it's Tom acting all proper, responsible and serious. Of course, it helps him stay focused on what he needs. However, now he's stubborn about his priorities. Yesterday, he achieved a pretty significant balance and can afford to have free afternoons and evenings again. He also uses the time-turner more than he should.
So, he's electric.
He's manic.
A frustration bomb that needs a touch to explode.
Nagini listened to him complain endlessly that Harriet doesn't wear a skirt anymore, that she wants to provoke him and he can't give in to that, that he really doesn't need sex that much and that's fine.
...
...
...
He wakes up with erections, dreams the same thing over and over, fantasizes about a thousand things that excite him even more than his eighty-hour day. Nagini is sure about one thing: if this kid doesn't stick his cock in Harriet soon, he'll end up jumping on her somewhere and that's a real problem.
Nagini decided to do her part: she soiled Harriet's pants and bras too, leaving only the sports bras. There's a Potions volunteer today, so the time alone would do its part. She would help with the matter.
" Are you planning on running away from your girlfriend until your balls explode? " Tom keeps his head on the list. Nothing else. If he sees Harriet, he loses. " She smells like hormones too. She's desperate for you to reciprocate."
"That's fine."
"Tom," Nagini squeezes him and the boy hisses in pain . "If you're not going to do anything, I will."
Tom turns to look at her, his face grim and confused. The snake gives a cruel laugh, opening its jaws and sticking out its tongue.
" I know Harriet will appreciate my help... And I've already heard it so much, I want to too ."
Half true.
Half lie.
She's been listening to this little girl moaning for almost four years, also intruding on their privacy. Nagini is still a living being with sexual urges and she doesn't like snakes. Unless Harriet rejects her, which she doubts, she can play with her. Which Tom finds sacrilegious, ordering under his breath, "Don't you dare."
Nagini laughs and at the sound of jars, Tom turns to Harriet. The Gryffindor, cursing under her breath, rests her chin on her palm and breathes a little. The long, black stockings that cover her calf are a nice touch.
He wants to tear them.
And he wants to get under that skirt in every way possible.
He barely manages to hide his jump at Snape's appearance. It is quick to return to what it was reading and marking; Severus turns to Harriet, who has just finished tidying one of the many shelves of classroom ingredients.
"I'll assume that annoyed look on your face is because you didn't get what you wanted, Miss Potter."
Harriet gives a long, drawn-out groan, her shoulders slumping. Severus leans closer to her and Tom judges out of the corner of his eye. Did something happen earlier?
"I don't think your routine is working with Tom."
"Do you mind leaving me alone?" Harriet asks irritably. Severus snorts.
"I suppose no Potter can control his impertinence."
"And you won't stop bothering me because you're pissed off," Harriet says through gritted teeth and Severus frowns. "I'm busy. Excuse me—"
"Potter." Tom stands up. "This is the last time I'll put up with another one of your rude comments."
"And I don't have to put up with you calling me a whore. So stop bothering me," Harriet says back.
"Professor Snape," Tom calls and the man turns around reluctantly. "We're done for today," he announces, hands behind his back. The professor snorts and gives Harriet one last disgusted, pretentious look. He stalks off to the Potions teacher's lounge. Harriet scratches her head and reluctantly grabs her bag. Tom follows close behind.
"What's with him?"
"He's a piece of shit every chance he gets."
"Harriet," Tom presses.
"He's just another bully! A pathetic, miserable one!" Harriet says, hastily and slightly hysterically. Tom purses his lips. "He doesn't give a shit. He's just an idiot, so—"
"Telling McGonagall and Remus is the best solution."
Harriet rolls her eyes in disdain and continues walking. Tom traces her back: the loose white shirt, the skirt swaying from side to side, her stockings, her calves...
"He's not the first or the last to think that, for wearing a skirt, I'm a bitch. So it doesn't matter." It's not about annoyance or escaping this anymore.
It's that it bothers her and hurts her pride to make Snape see that he won. To see him as if he went crying to other teachers to resolve a situation that is a staged war between the two of them.
"Would you rather put up with him treating you like this?" Tom refuted.
"I just have to tell him to fuck off. It doesn't matter," Harriet says through gritted teeth.
"Then, your brilliant plan is to ignore him-"
"Don't keep contradicting and bothering me. I'm not in the mood and I feel like a desperate whore because we haven't done anything in almost two months and depression is going to eat me alive."
Tom freezes for a few seconds at the lioness's long, exasperated and urgent complaint. By the time she's finished speaking, he's already walked toward her and covered her mouth, pushing her up against a wall.
As they meet, Harriet wraps her arms around his shoulders, grabs his head and pulls at his hair. Tom presses his entire body into her and as he breaks for air, Harriet screams, "I swear I'll break up with you if this is the only thing we're going to do."
"Are you that desperate?"
"I don't think I'm any worse than you."
Harriet bites her lower lip. Tom is adorable when he's embarrassed. Realizing he's the most desperate about this is a small jab, a small victory. Harriet pulls him back together to continue kissing. Tom grabs Harriet's thigh, even though she's raised her leg to his hip. He thrusts into her through her clothes and Harriet moans.
They pull away when they hear stone breaking and, looking up, notice one of the ceiling blocks with a crack. Blame it on the cold and heat colliding.
Tom grabs Harriet's arm and quickly pulls her with him. They walk the short walk to Slytherin and taking advantage of the fact that no one is here at this hour, he can shove her in. Harriet doesn't argue or call on common sense.
She wants sex.
She's going to get it.
Screw the precautions.
When she enters Tom's room, it's a miracle he doesn't tear any of her clothes, another that they make it to the bed and finally, that Nagini can go unnoticed.
Ah, how glad she is that everything was still okay.
┈
She smooths her hair a little, but not too much. Viktor hugs her from behind and pulls her close again. Hermione laughs, pleased with the kisses on her back and shoulders. The Bulgarian slides his lips to the reddened nape of her neck and licks the warm flesh.
"Let's do it again."
"No, we have to go to dinner," Hermione pats his hand a couple of times and Viktor releases it. "Maybe tomorrow," she suggests, standing up. "After classes and before I have to study."
Viktor nods and looks at her admiringly. Hermione puts on her pants, then her socks and shoes; finally, she puts her hair in a ponytail in front of the mirror. When she turns to say goodbye to Viktor, the Bulgarian is yawning, upright and barely wearing his shirt. It's impossible for her not to look down. Viktor tilts his head.
"We can do it again," he suggests, given the intense stare from her partner. Hermione shakes her head. Both in denial and to break her delusion.
"No, not today. Tomorrow." Viktor laughs at the sight of her running. A part of him is extremely calm...
Hermione seems to enjoy this much more than he does.
┈
Harriet is barely able to coordinate her thoughts, actions and consciousness. The body reddened and shiny from so much sweat, yet trembling uncontrollably: the black magic surrounding her mercilessly, massaging her to its liking and desire.
Harriet hiccups softly, her teeth chattering, her green eyes shining brightly despite their cloudiness. She tries to sit up in bed, her damp, unruly hair plastered to her back and part of her face, as well as crushed by the hand stuck in the strands. She sticks out her tongue, breathing deeply and moaning.
The pressure is released and she is turned onto her back. Harriet keeps her legs open and lowers her gaze, attentive to the hardened cock that rubs between her soaked, open pussy. She chatters her teeth and opens her legs wider. Her thighs are red and full of bite marks; her groin and hair are smeared with the semen that fills her insides.
Tom grabs her from the sides, squeezing the bulging flesh. Stress, worry, or whatever's happening, it's making Harriet wider. Tom would say she's finally at her ideal weight and size.
...
...
He couldn't love it more.
At the point of adoration.
His hands move down to her abdomen, spongy and firm from regular exercise; the difference is the bulge he's caused by pushing more and more of his seed in. Harriet throws her head back, moaning at the Slytherin's dedicated massage. Tom licks his lips, pressing his fingers into the warm flesh.
He loves the way it feels.
Just like her thighs.
Denser than her breasts.
He anchors his hands on Harriet's hips and slams his cock into her vagina, which immediately clamps down violently around him; Harriet gasps, arching and clenching the sheet beneath her. Tom lifts her hips and his rough thrusts bounce her breasts, covered in saliva and barely perceptible bites.
The chaos of fluids that surge through Harriet during her orgasm only makes him laugh, tilting his head, moaning in pleasure at this wonderful sensation he hadn't experienced for too long.
Fantasizing isn't enough.
It's never enough.
Nor is finishing inside Harriet and filling her even more, watching her vagina release his semen as it throbs, opening and closing in anticipation of his cock again.
Not far removed from what's happening.
Lying on his side, Harriet climbs on top of him, penetrating herself and taking a deep breath of relief. She lies on top of him. Her breasts pressed and swollen against his chest, her hips restless and accelerating, rising and falling in a phenomenal undulation. Tom grabs her buttocks, spreading them and kissing Harriet indecently.
It's more of a fight between their tongues and mutual sucking. Harriet jumps and moans, losing track of the world. Tom opens her feminine buttocks wider, where the magic snake enters and exits, coiling the rest of his body around her right thigh.
"Keep moving, you're doing great, sweetheart."
Sounds like a good thing.
Like a compliment.
Like a plea.
There are many things and Harriet only obeys because she wants Tom moaning, for him to thrust into her too and for it to be a more intense sensation. She feels full and the snakes slithering through her body cloud her mind even more.
She's happy.
She's very satisfied...
It's a phenomenal feeling.
┈
"Harriet, where is she?"
"I thought she was with you."
Ron and Hermione are equally confused. Where did she disappear to? She usually takes advantage of free time to exercise and then go to the Forbidden Forest. Likewise and from the looks of it, no one has seen her in hours. Not until she went to volunteer, more precisely.
Hermione concludes that she's with Tom. It shouldn't be anything serious. Besides, she'll be around for dinner.
┈
"We still have to go to dinner..."
Even though Harriet says that, she makes no effort to move. Tom is almost lying on top of her, using her nipple like a pacifier and sucking on it. He's a very big baby. Harriet yawns and snuggles further into the bed and Tom hugs her. He wants to enjoy this until Nagini gives the signal that they should (and can) leave.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
"Did anything good happen?" Harriet can't contain her confusion at the question. Hermione rests her chin on her palm. "I think you're going to blind me. You're so bright."
"And you're hot, too," Ron adds, fanning himself with a napkin. Harriet feigns dementia: "I was able to sleep well."
The food appears. She squeezes and closes her legs. Not only does his groin feel like it's burning from doing so much, it's also still full. She didn't have time to go to the bathroom and neither did Tom, so they're both a little uncomfortable.
Tom uses his robes to cover himself, unable to control his restless and obviously erect cock. He thought turning his back to the table would be enough, but awareness of Harriet's condition makes him want to drag her to the Chamber of Secrets and stay glued together all night.
Make up for lost time, so to speak.
"What do you think?"
He raises an eyebrow at Regulus. A clear order: What are you talking about? The Black heir wipes his lips before speaking.
"Gryffindor's points are at rock bottom. So we'll win the cup this year... Unless Dumbledore acts up again." Tom rolls his eyes. The Headmaster's favoritism in that regard is very annoying.
At the same time, Severus is to blame for his Don't give in to such tedious scenes. Taking points away left and right.
Tom eats slowly. Very slowly, but less slowly than the others in their chatter and other distractions. He notices the lights dimming slightly and with that, he acknowledges that Harriet has left. Tom gets up from the table and discreetly glances toward Gryffindor.
Hermione and Ron are still there, arguing about something. He leaves silently and only just outside the Great Hall does he quicken his pace. It doesn't take long to find Harriet on the way. Not only is she in a hurry, she's also moving a little clumsily.
Trying to keep her legs together at all costs.
Tom catches up with her and grabs her shoulder, pulling her into a picture-less, dimly lit hallway, right behind a lamp. "I have to go to Gryffindor to—"
"Make a mess."
Harriet clings to Tom's arms, moaning, tense and surprised. Tom hiked up her skirt and slipped his hand under her underwear, three of his fingers invading the soft, damp cavity that soils his fingers. Rubbing the flesh, staining the clothes further and spilling what Harriet has inside.
"Are you just going to leave all this over there?" Harriet forces herself to keep her mouth closed, not to scream or moan loudly. At any moment, someone could walk by and perhaps that's what causes a more intense reaction.
Her legs give way, her drool escapes and Tom identifies the orgasm that soaks her crotch even further. Harriet exhales hot air and tries not to fall.
Tom slowly lowers himself with her, slamming his fingers in again and again. The wet, indecent sound echoes in the stone hallway.
"You're not going to clean anything," Tom speaks in her ear and they both end up sitting on the floor. Harriet takes in deep breaths. “You're going to stay like this... And you're going to the Chamber of Secrets in, one, hour." Harriet trembles. Tom licks her ear, speaking between gasps and sighs. "If you take too long, I'm going to punish you."
"P-punish-"
She scratches him on the shoulders, her eyes wide and gasping for air. Tom put aside his soiled underwear and opens his trousers, thrusting hard into Harriet. He grabs her face under the jaw and plunges his tongue into her mouth. He presses the Gryffindor against the wall and doesn't wait for anything before moving.
Harriet's legs are on either side of his hips, slack and bent; footsteps can be heard in the distance, as well as people talking. Tom breaks the kiss and covers Harriet's mouth with his hand. He looks straight into the green eyes that are a demand for more movement, more force than is appropriate.
Some in the hallway are complaining about the cold.
Others say that in that hallway, it's too bright in one spot and you can't see anything.
Some people comment on strange noises.
In the end, no one noticed anything.
┈
In Gryffindor, it took them ages to fall asleep. Harriet walks quickly under the Invisibility Cloak. She's already late when she gets to the bathroom, the walk to the Chamber of Secrets delays her even more and by the time she gets to her bedroom, she's twenty minutes late.
Tom seems especially amused by this. Harriet takes off her sweater, removes her pants and walks forward in only her underwear. She kisses Tom before sitting on him. Between pretending she wasn't late and wanting to continue, Tom stops her.
"I'm not going to do anything until you get everything out... That's what you get for being late."
"But—"
"Come on, sweetheart, clean it up."
Harriet grimaces, somewhere between anxious and desperate. Tom makes her sit on the floor and Harriet uses her fingers. She presses her lips together and tries to squeeze all the viscous fluid out. When she raises her head slightly, she sees the Slytherin's semi-erect cock in front of her.
She breathes through her mouth a few times and begins to lick it. Salty, hot and hardening with each lick. She takes it all the way into her mouth and moves back and forth, gagging. She holds onto Tom's thigh and raises herself slightly on her knees.
The floor is covered in semen that continues to drip from Harriet's vagina and thighs. Tom grabs her by the hair, increasing the speed at which he moves. Harriet sucks him hard, his cock deep in her throat and her mouth full.
She holds on with both hands and vibrates; the candles in the room are burning brightly and are contained within enchanted crystals. As he pulls out of her mouth, his still-erect cock hits her face, leaving Harriet with part of her tongue sticking out, the white seed sliding out.
He pulls it out with his hand and Tom laughs. "Very well."
Harriet knocks him down onto the bed, kissing and biting his neck as he penetrates her. Tom strokes her back, strokes her hair and moves his pelvis to match hers.
┈
"I hope craziness doesn't mean you're going to ignore me again."
"I was free yesterday, but—"
Tom sucks in a breath and hisses in pain. Harriet grabs his balls and squeezes them, glaring at him. Partly because she doesn't have glasses and partly out of annoyance.
"Don't. Do. It. Again."
She lets go and leans against the side of the bed. Tom leans in a little. "Why are you so busy?"
"Nothing in particular."
Tom pulls her by Her abdomen and presses her against him.
"What's wrong?"
"I told you," Harriet criticizes. "We didn't do anything, I felt bad and this makes me feel better."
She doesn't want to go into details. She feels imminently better. Not only is her body relaxed and her magic weakened, but there's also a feeling of joy she hasn't had in a long time.
But...
What's this anguish that presses mercilessly?
Tom notices Harriet tense and stops breathing, raising her head slightly. She tries to look around, but knows no one is there. Just—
Sad because someone died because of you? Poor little lion...
Looking for joy in someone who was glad of that death.
Harriet turns and curls up in Tom's chest. She's going to ignore it. They're ridiculous voices in her head because of the strange feeling. Nothing more.
Tom doesn't ask any more questions. He supposes that's the good thing about Cedric dying: Harriet openly desperate for sex and to feel better. To be in his company. He's still overwhelmed by how much he let himself go. That his mind was entirely focused on the most intense satisfaction of carnal desire.
Wanting to keep Harriet filthy with himself. Being him and nothing else that changes the shiny, clean image of the Gryffindor heiress. Also making her beg, desperate, leaving decency anywhere but in her mind.
Not to mention the urgency of controlling her time. Of making her obedient. He'd worry about those base instincts tomorrow. For now, he can't feel his body and needs to sleep.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
"Hello, Severus."
Remus enters the Potions professor's office. He maintains a calm and friendly expression. His usual one. Severus glances at the calendar sideways. The full moon was a couple of days ago, so there's no reason for Remus to seek him out.
While he doesn't hate him the way he does Sirius and James, the suspicion is inevitable. He can't get along with anyone from that group that made his life so miserable during his student years.
"Do you need anything? Lupin.”
"Nothing in particular. I just wanted to talk to you." He takes a seat and stretches a little. "You know, being two people who can understand each other without fighting or without involving anyone else... For your sake and others." Severus remains impassive. Almost bored.
"I suppose the girl you three spoiled so much went to cry in your office."
"I'd like to say yes, but Harriet is more complicated than that," Remus laughs, interlacing his fingers. "We wouldn't be having this conversation if I didn't insist on hearing from her."
"And yet she told you."
"How does a teacher harass and mistreat her? I think she should have said it before, but she's very stubborn and proud.”
"She's Gryffindor."
"The most worthy representative."
They are silent for a few moments. Severus remains defiant, almost waiting for whatever Remus might say. He's never dealt with him before. Lupin was the most distant of the Marauders, as well as the only one who stayed away from major problems.
What he says surprises him:
"Learning this about you is... Disappointing," Remus admits, interlacing his fingers in his lap. "You're a brilliant wizard. You could easily replace me, perhaps better; I couldn't do the same. You're extraordinary at Potions," Remus says honestly and Severus doesn't hide his astonishment. "It would also highlight your goodwill, even if it's a little more... Secret," he says ironically, "which is why it's so hard for me to imagine someone like that fighting with a fourteen-year-old."
"Fight?"
"So to speak," Remus shifts his crossed leg. “Teasing her like you're just another student, holding your anger over something that happened years ago—"
“Is all this to defend them? Your inseparable and insufferable friends.”
“No. They were shitty to you and I can't deny that. Just as there's no denying that you almost got me expelled.”
“You almost killed me and let them do whatever they wanted. You knew if you intervened, you'd lose that little status you once had,” Severus quickly accuses and Remus smiles weakly. A mixture of guilt and mockery. “You come here pretending to be pacifist, mature… You're just pretending you're better than them.”
“I know I am,” Remus assures, shrugging. “The only thing I actively did, I couldn't control. It doesn't make me any good, but it does make me less bad.” He tilts his head slightly. “Although it's very curious that you leave out the fact that this all started because of you.”
“Me?”
“Someone else is feigning dementia.”
Severus will never accept that his constant back-and-forth with James started because he insulted James on the train, the first time he went to Hogwarts.
«Gryffindor is the house of idiots.»
«That's where brainless troglodytes come from. You're going to be one of them. You look stupid enough on your own.»
«Are you so imbecile that you can't control your magic? At least everyone in Gryffindor is going to end up dead because you're going to burn them.»
It's not one of Severus’ shining moments.
"It brings me back to where I started: Is it worth continuing on like this? Or thinking that Harriet is the same."
"It's exactly the same reflection of James Potter," Severus spits out disdainfully.
"She reminds me a lot of Lily: problems seek, stubbornness drives them and they are unable to leave unless they are seriously hurt.
«GET AWAY FROM ME! YOU'RE A FUCKING PIECE OF SHIT! MUDBLOOD!»"
«Severus moves his jaw and Remus sighs.»
"Harriet was... Very explicit and if McGonagall or Dumbledore knew the comments you make, the reason you're taking points away and how you treat her, you'll be out of this school for sure… or in very, very thin ice," Remus states, crossing his arms. "Take this as a warning: don't upset her again. Be as insufferable as you like to your students, but this war must end. Grow up a little," he advises, standing up.
Severus speaks when Remus is already at the door. "How does it feel to see someone you love go through what you caused?"
"Like seeing my worst enemy in the daughter of love who never was, never will be and lost herself in the face of grandeur."
Severus parts his lips and looks at him in shock. Remus gives a brief farewell before leaving the office. He wants to think that with this, Severus won't behave so childishly with Harriet again.
He'll tell Sirius. He hopes his reaction will be calm.
Chapter 67: Act. LXVII. A good time
Chapter Text
They've had more opportunities together. Even if it's just once a week. Harriet sees it as the perfect balance. The return of normalcy. Wanting to pretend nothing bad happened. Just being happy in the small moments. Impossible to achieve when she's sleeping alone or during the sudden shortness of breath throughout the day.
Various insecurities that feel like a pain in the back...
Among so many things, she'd forgotten to show Tom what Sirius sent. Something extremely important. Tom found the invitation to Gryffindor odd and even more important, a surprise in the gift Sirius suddenly sent.
"Too bright for you?"
"Too much."
Tom has the impression there's an orange filter in Gryffindor Tower. Everything is so bright and warm that it's hard to see. The place is as large as it should be, decorated with the house colors and insistent candlelight. They're obviously magical candles, otherwise this place would have burned down long ago.
He goes to the girls' dormitory. Harriet's bed is the most obvious. Even if the house-elves tidy it, they leave the plush toys as decoration. Tom knows Harriet has given some stuffed animals to the elves, saying it's a secret that they are free and can continue working without fear.
Dealing with elves is a hassle that only Hermione wants to put herself through.
"I honestly have no idea why Sirius sent me so much. I imagine it's to make me feel loved," she jokes as she unpacks all her godfather's gifts. Tom leans back against the bedpost.
Harriet takes off the shirt she's wearing today and puts on the blouse that bares her shoulders and collarbones. The sleeves hang loosely and the red color only accentuates Harriet's pale skin. Tom goes over to adjust the garment a little and, out of habit, fixes her hair as well.
"This was Hermione's favorite."
"Sometimes I feel like she's more your girlfriend than I am."
"She's my girlfriend." Harriet jokes, smiling and Tom shakes his head.
She tries on one piece after another. Tom likes them all. It's clear Sirius is well aware that they would suit Harriet. Although one of the blouses stands out for its flirtatious air. Joke or not, it's a dark green satiny color, with a very deep sweetheart neckline that lifts the bust, sleeves from wrist to elbow and an almost completely bare back.
Harriet is convinced this is the "I have a boyfriend" effect. She notices Tom is anxious and her latest revelation only makes him blush, completely flushed. For a brief moment, the heir of Slytherin sees Harriet's bare back, knowing nothing is covering it and he could easily grab her. Harriet has just put on her bra. It's all lace and matching and the bottom has a special hole for her vagina.
She can't believe her godfather sent this or even bought it.
"I can assume this is what you wanted me to see," Tom jokes.
"You're guessing quite right."
Harriet lets go of the bed curtains and sits on top of Tom, who supports himself with his arms and instantly holds her by the waist. The kisses are intense and somewhat halting; Tom enjoys caressing Harriet, as if it produces pleasurable electric shocks inside both of them.
Discreetly, he moves his hand to Harriet's crotch, caressing her vaginal lips and clitoris, so insistently that vaginal fluid begins to flow. Only then does he insert two fingers and Harriet stiffens for a moment. Tom kisses her everywhere: her neck, her collarbone, her shoulders, between her breasts, her abdomen, her thighs. He loves the way she looks and showing it is easy. Harriet sighs and moans with pleasure at the attention and opens her own cavity when Tom pulls his penis out of his trousers.
She sighs with pleasure, receiving him on top and inside her. Tom takes one of her breasts under the fabric and starts to suck it, moving.
The calm start is very common. Their magic and body initiate contact, the problem arises once they connect. Harriet believes Tom's already large penis is growing inside her and her vagina tightens to feel him better. Tom believes Harriet blushes in parts of her body and even gets wetter. It's disastrous and the garter belt is the best they can have.
Because he can't resist cumming inside her. A primitive, animal instinct to fill her belly until he has no more balls. The passage of time also evaporates and they continue without thinking of anything other than merging as much as possible.
He grabs the headboard of the bed, with Harriet whimpering; her legs wide open, receiving Tom's strong, fast thrusts. She sticks out her tongue and moans outrageously, her breasts spilling out of the garment and bouncing with each thrust. She stifles the moan of pleasure and presses the pillows beneath her. She breathes deeply and Tom's penis, still erect and hard, releases semen that stains her thighs between her legs.
She inhales and exhales sharply. Tom watches her intensely, eager to continue doing it. Indifferent to the havoc they're wreaking in the room. He sits on top of Harriet, his penis sandwiched between her large breasts, tightly pressed around the phallus and constantly pounding with Harriet's tongue. It doesn't take long for Tom to reach orgasm and splatter her face.
Harriet turns her back on him and raises her hips, opening his eyes and moaning as the cock re-enters her vagina. The more he does this, the more semen he releases and by repeating it, he makes it bubble out. Tom presses his chest against Harriet's back, grabbing her breasts and thrusting hard.
The coupling between the opposing magics only makes them feel even more alienated; they want to continue until they faint and nothing else matters. With her leg raised, lying sideways and Tom behind her, Harriet holds him by the hair and places one hand on her crotch.
"Harriet? Are you here?"
Tom pauses for a moment, reaches for his wand and charms the curtain so it can't be opened.
"Yes. What's wrong?" Her raspy voice sounds like she's been asleep. Not like she's been through five hours of intimate activities, sucking her boyfriend's penis until she's tired.
"Ron's asking for you and I was worried about not seeing you anywhere. Were someone bothering you?" Tom furrows his eyebrows. Bothering her for what? "If you need help or anything, you know you can trust me."
"I know. No one bothered me. I'm o—" Harriet purses her lips. Why does Tom have to put it in now? "kay, wait ,” he goes back inside. Harriet pats him a couple of times on the arm. "I-Im okay... I'm just sleepy. I studied potions and I got exhausted."
"Oh, okay... really. Are you okay?"
"Yes. I'm just tired. I'll come for dinner."
"Okay. Although I hope you'll stick to that instead of getting lost in the dark woods."
“Uh-huh.”
Tom thrusts his penis in and out slowly, so there's no way to notice what he's doing. The curtains are very thick and there's no way to see the shadows. Once Hermione leaves, Tom gets on top of Harriet.
“Why are they bothering you?”
“What do you think?”
" Just look at you, you're a whore."
"It's no big deal. She's still just as ugly, but with cow tits."
Tom is irritated that so many people take Harriet's physical change that way. He grabs his face.
“You're beautiful and it doesn't matter if you have big breasts. They look spectacular on you.”
He thrusts his tongue into her mouth and Harriet closes her legs around Tom's hips. She has to admit that it makes her feel good. It's the only opinión he cares about.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
“Have you already charged for the service? Potter bitch.”
She snorts and continues on to the Great Hall. She takes a seat with Hermione and Ron, who looks at her disapprovingly.
"You should wear something else so they don't say mean things to you in the corridors."
"She can dress however she wants," Hermione replies.
"I'm not training or anything that prevents me from dressing like this. I can wear this if I want. That's why I received it," Harriet grumbles. It's not her fault everyone is more concerned about her breasts than anything else. It's not even a cut that differentiates them that much. It just exposes her shoulders. "Besides, it's summer, they sweat."
"Put on some paper."
"You're a dumbass, Ron."
"What? I'm just telling the truth. Unless she likes being called that."
Harriet rolls her eyes and looks toward the Slytherin table. Tom is reading and indifferent to the conversations at his table. She ignores the other random taunts. It's obvious they didn't notice the green blouse. They wouldn't leave her alone for a second with that one. She's busy eating and nothing else. Tom looks up and sees Harriet. Her hair is swept back and falling around her neck, her blouse exposing her shoulders, collarbone and bustline. She looks beautiful. Simple and charming.
"She must charge. There's no way she won't."
"Ask her privately and share the information."
"She can't charge more than a Galleon with those horrible legs."
"Maybe she'll do it for free. She'll know it's a favor to be with—"
"They'll be with Snape if they keep talking about child prostitution."
Tom's voice resonates softly around the table, like a loud echo where everyone bows their heads and says nothing more about it. The worst part about hiding their relationship is that no one has the decency to hold back when it comes to talking trash about his girlfriend.
How she dresses, her breasts, her face, her legs; what they would or wouldn't do to her if they cornered her. It's unpleasant and because of this, Tom becomes more and more paranoid about Harriet.
He decided not to move around on his own anymore, forcing himself not to be so controlling. He was direct: he asked her not to walk the halls alone. It was the best solution. Harriet agreed on the sly, just to avoid a fight or insistence.
Tom knew that his girlfriend, being so stubborn, wouldn't listen, so the plan of keeping her company holds. Nothing that isn't written in his diary to maintain continuity and not go crazy.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
She's fed up with everyone, so she decides to take her books and go to the Hogwarts grounds. At first, it's hard for her to adjust. Since the incident, Drakonys avoids being in open spaces. It reminds her of the kidnapping and that GrIndelwald nearly killed her.
The stress and exhaustion also prevented her from being among her friends. Drakonys looked for any excuse to get away from them and not endure the unbearable rant.
Drakonys sat down, settled in and spent a long time with her own business. Calm, focused. Nothing to hinder her life for a moment. Drakonys sighed, bored by the history of magic and looked up. She looked at the sky and worries began to bubble in her head.
Sometimes it bothered her to try so hard. After all, once she got married, she wouldn't do anything. Just like Narcissa. Her mother lived like an accessory to Lucius; that would be her destiny. What was the point of studying so hard? She wouldn't have a job, she wouldn't have any responsibilities other than opening her legs whenever her husband fancied...
Drakonys shuddered and scrunched up her face. What an unpleasant situation. She gathered her things and quickly entered the palace, wanting to take a bath to wash away this disgusting feeling. The idea of a man touching her is so...
Repulsive .
"In Gryffindor, there's no orange filter as soon as you walk in!"
"Your eyesight is damaged from being in Gryffindor for so long."
Drakonys raises an eyebrow. She watches Tom and Harriet walk by in the distance. The odd thing is they're holding hands. There aren't many students around here. Just a few, almost all of them are somewhere cooler. It's quite hot today.
"I always go to Slytherin. Why is it so bad that you go to Gryffindor?"
"Because it's not just your bed there."
"As if..."
They disappear from sight and Drakonys wonders what that conversation was about. She knows they're close; in fact, it's no secret to anyone at Hogwarts. She's just surprised by the way they spoke to each other and what they talked about.
It's strange.
Very strange.
As Drakonys turns into the hallway, the same one they came down, she realizes they're still there. Tom is leaning in, whispering something in her ear and holding her waist. Drakonys frowns and takes a couple of steps back. Tom straightens, still holding her waist. Harriet slaps him a couple of times on the cheek and smiles, saying something to him.
Drakonys nearly chokes when dhe sees her slap him on the buttocks and Tom just smiles wider, muttering something under his breath. Harriet laughs and walks on again. Drakonys blinks repeatedly, his bewilderment impossible to contain.
What did she just see?
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
"Why do they always give her things?" Ron asks, puzzled and offended that his brothers would give Harriet a huge box. It bears the insignia of the brand they've been developing over the past few months: Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes. Joke and imaginative merchandise.
Harriet can barely carry the box and almost falls to the floor because it's so big.
"Because she's our main sponsor," George announces, leaning against a wall.
"She should have a sample of what her money is achieving," Fred explains. Harriet shrugs at Ron.
"It's a good plan, isn't it?"
Ron exhales heavily. At least it's not just because she's her. Harriet, for her part, doesn't know how to explain that she doesn't need any of this. She gave them the money because they asked for it and explained it in a very long presentation. It was a moment full of charisma and fun. James also thought it was a good idea, so he raised his daughter's allowance.
A daughter who seems to have a shark mentality.
Fred and George have put their resources to good use. The number of items they've prepared so far is enormous. More than they've breathed in. It explains why they've been "quiet" lately. McGonagall appreciates it and prefers to pretend there won't be chaos when they both spring into action again.
Their products sell primarily to Gryffindor and Hufflepuff. They haven't made it into Ravenclaw yet and they doubt Slytherin will be interested. It's a shame, considering there's more money.
"How did they manage to shrink the puffskins even more?" Ginny asks, curious about how tiny they are. Put in a fishbowl so they can't escape.
"Nagini helped us with that. She can write and she told us a way to curse things to make them shrink and stay that way." Ginny slowly backs away. In hindsight, she doesn't want to know.
"Tom's snake. Does it write?" Hermione repeats, surprised.
"She helped us when we had the bathroom incident. Nagini can do anything," Harriet says nonchalantly. Hermione crosses her arms.
"Snakes don't understand or obey humans. Much less write. That's not normal," Hermione criticizes.
"She's special. That's all, Mione," Harriet belittles. "I'll tell you how it goes!" she exclaims to the twins, who are giving off a thumbs-up. Only Ginny and the twins remain in the abandoned bathroom, refurbished as if it were a branch of Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. The redhead girl squints at something very peculiar.
"What are those?" Ginny points to the bottles emitting pink steam. George plays with one of them and shows it to her.
"Amortentia, or liquid love, the new version," the redhead announces and Ginny takes the bottle. "We thought about putting them in chocolates, but with all the trouble, everyone forgot about Valentine's Day," he grumbles frustratedly.
"Yeah, a Lost business... Although we can still do it,” Fred suggests and George smiles. Ginny turns it over in her fingers.
Love potion.
The one that makes people fall in love.
"Is it real?"
"It's just very watered down, more so than the draft we show the last time," Fred clarifies. "That way the effect isn't permanent. That would be terrible. Not even we would do that." He laughs.
"I mean, it would last for a while... What? A day? Two days?" Ginny doesn't even look at them. Attentive and interested in the potion.
"Fred was in love with Hannah Abbot for three days. It shouldn't last much longer." His twin gives him a dirty look and George leans on Ginny's shoulder. "Why so interested? A real boyfriend this time?"
Ginny rolls her eyes and Fred wants to think so. The last thing they saw was his sister nearly drooling with every breath Harriet takes. She looks overcome. At least that's what it seems to them, not taking into account that they've been very busy and haven't been able to see the interaction unfold.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
"What's wrong? Did something explode in the box?"
Harriet lost her smile as she read the letter with instructions and names for each item. She searches a bit and finds the final version of the bottle of Amortentia.
She purses her lips and gets up from her seat. She goes to the Gryffindor bathroom and pours the contents down the drain. When she returns, her two friends look confused and curious about her behavior. Harriet takes Hermione's arm. "It's a girl secret and you didn't know anything about it because you were an idiot all last year."
"But..."
Ron drops his arms and lies back, frustrated. That's so unfair. Once in the girls' dormitory, Harriet closes the door tightly and sits next to Hermione on the bed. At one point, Harriet asked Tom if he'd mind if Hermione knew the whole problem and he was very emphatic that only Hermione could know.
After all, she's the only one who knows how to keep her mouth shut and won't reveal the intimacies that had him so worked up.
"If for some reason you end up with that bottle of Amortentia in your hand, please don't let Tom see it," Hermione raises an eyebrow. "Don't talk about it too much either... It makes him very uncomfortable."
"Why?"
"Remember the letter that arrived at Christmas?" Hermione nods. "His paternal biological family sent it. They want him as their heir. They've been wealthy and noble for many generations" so far, Hermione just thinks Tom is lucky that both of his family lines are just the way he likes them "but his dad hates him. Loathes him. He told him he wants him dead."
"Ow... What does Amortentia have to do with it?"
"Tom's mum gave Amortentia to Tom's dad. She kept him kidnapped for about two years," she says quietly and Hermione is shocked by every word. "He hates him because he has 'the same eyes.'" Harriet remains tense and anxious. "Tom had... A small hysterical fit over the news. The possibility of love potions around him would upset him."
"You should tell him the twins are selling it. That way he'll be warned, at least."
Harriet nods and Hermione exhales.
"Knowing something like that... It must be horrible."
"Yes. I don't know who's worse. Tom or his dad, Thom-as." Hermione puts a hand to her head. "They even have the same name. They're the same. I mixed them up in a shop at Christmas."
"Now I wish I could see him," Hermione admits and Harriet laughs.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
"Amortentia?" "Yes. I threw it away, but it's bound to be one of their brands. You should watch yourself. With so many fanatics in your nest," Harriet jokes.
Tom looks even more irritated than he thought. It doesn't surprise her. Harrier sits down next to him and takes his hand, leaning a little closer to his face. "Nothing bad is going to happen. You wouldn't fall for something like that... Nagini wouldn't let it happen. You don't accept gifts from anyone either... you'll be fine."
"I don't have magical immunity, sweetheart."
"No, but Nagini wouldn't let you eat anything with that potion mixed in," Harriet emphasizes confidently. "You don't accept gifts from anyone. Much less candy."
She knows it's much more complicated. Tom doesn't want to know about that potion or have it within a radius of more than six counties. It's still unclear what he feels, perhaps resentment that, due to its use, he's incapable of feeling. It makes him perceive himself as defective in some way.
"Is everything okay?"
"Nagini will kill anyone who tries to give me that."
Harriet gives a small laugh and Tom wanders into his thoughts. The love potion made Thomas Riddle impregnate Merope Gaunt; the description isn't love itself, it's obsession. The very idea of imagining whoever gives the potion to someone in such a state is... disgusting. Even if it were Harriet, it's losing the autonomy of his body.
Being locked in his own head terrifies him.
So does being in that state and someone touching him. Harriet gives his hand a loving squeeze. "Don't worry. They won't do anything wrong. Everything's fine."
Tom snorts.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
Harriet received chocolates last night. She doesn't want to share them, so she put them away until it got late enough. Normally, Harriet would share, it isn't something out of the ordinary for her However, with only five of them, she doesn't want everyone in the dorm to start being a nuisance.
Not to mention that, even though it's a gift, it's a bit ugly in her opinion. Harriet doesn't know why Ginny gave it to her; she just accepted it and expressed gratitude.
After midnight, in the common room, she eats all four chocolates, planning to give Hermione the last one. They're delicious. Harriet assumes it's some experimental product the twins were making and they didn't have time to give it to her.
Harriet hiccups and covers her mouth. There's a strange feeling. Strange thoughts also run through her head. She can't stop thinking about Ginny Weasley, as if she's the only thing that exists in this world. Where is she? She wants to see her. She needs to see her. Harriet blows air into his hand and lets out a distressed moan. Why isn't Ginny here?
The redhead peeks cautiously. First, she checks that no one else is around, then checks that Harriet has eaten the chocolates. She fixes her hair and clothes a bit and dabs her lips to spread the glitter evenly.
As soon as she enters her field of vision, Harriet moves like a bullet toward Ginny. She cups her face and kisses her immediately. Ginny blinks repeatedly, surprised that it's so automatic, but not disdainful in the least. She can barely breathe and her magic sparks uncontrollably, attacked and surrounded by Harriet's pure light.
The kiss is intense and knocks her off her feet. Harriet sits on top of her, moving her hips, about to slide her hands inside Ginny's clothes to move on to something much more intense.
A bad idea, a terrible idea, but Ginny doesn't want it to stop or end. She reaches for her breasts and Harriet moans, barely distancing herself and pressing her lower body even further.
"You're too dressed up," Harriet complains. Ginny massages her soft breasts, only letting go to remove the sweater she's wearing.
A gasp and a small thud bring silence to the common room. Harriet moans, the snake suffocating her. Nagini bares her fangs and grows as large as she can, coiling around Harriet. Ginny shivered. What's the snake doing here? Harriet is knocked unconscious by the pressure and Nagini almost bites Ginny. The redhead runs away.
" Two minutes unsupervised and this happens?!" Nagini demands, trying to understand what happened.
Harriet wouldn't do something like that. Especially not with Ginny Weasley. Harriet never pays attention to her. Nagini notices a strange, almost unpleasant smell that isn't normal for her. She investigates the common room a bit, leaving Harriet lying on the floor.
She reaches the box with the remaining chocolate and the smell grows stronger. Just like the one Harriet was holding when she went to tell Tom about Amortentia.
" That makes more sense... Let's go to sleep ."
Nagini does her best to move Harriet into the bedroom, lift her onto the bed and tuck her in. It's the most complicated thing she's done in a long time. It was worth it when she snuggled up.
Harriet woke up a couple of hours later. First a headache, then a feeling of suffocation that made it hard to breathe for a while, the feeling that she'd had the strangest dream in the world: kissing Ginny and finally assuming it was Nagini's fault for squeezing her while she slept.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
"A nightmare?"
"No, just a stomach ache."
Ginny peeks occasionally, somewhere between shy and scared. Harriet doesn't seem to remember anything and she's also in perfect condition (aside from the heartburn). On the one hand, she'd like to tell her brothers about how it all went down, but they'd know it was Harriet's and would question her about it.
She doesn't think Harriet would be thrilled that she did something like this. Not yet, at least. Maybe there's a chance this will all work out. It's about trying harder and Luna can help her achieve that. She always has good ideas.
"I think... I'm going to throw up-"
"NOOO."
Ron runs off with Harriet, who's about to throw up. Ginny snorts and hunches over; it seems the potion doesn't get along with Harriet... or that she mixed it with bitter chocolates.
She'll look into it later.
Chapter 68: Act. LXVIII. Last details of the year
Chapter Text
The start of O.W.L.s and N.W.W.s has arrived. Harriet admits that Tom can barely keep up with all the classes he's taking. She finally figured out his schedule and only ended up more confused. How does he watch six classes in one hour? When she assumed he has a time-turner, it's as if everything that's been happening since they returned in January makes sense.
Now she can see exactly what's going on.
She doesn't want to stress him out or annoy him, considering he has more than twenty classes to take, so she decides to leave it at that. At least for now. Harriet also has her own exams to worry about.
And Snape is more unbearable than ever. The insults haven't happened again, but he does harass her and watch her every move during class. She's afraid of what it might mean for the final exam.
"What are we going to do if Snape watches us during the exam? I forget how to think whenever he's around," Ron whines as they walk through the corridors. They were in a bit of a hurry to get to the common room.
"We just have to learn to ignore it and learn to think. It's obvious he's going to fail us even if we do well," Harriet grumbles.
"I don't think he'd dare do something like that. Even if he hates us enough," Hermione opines.
"You're getting your hopes up way too high," Harriet snorts.
"I was thinking we could focus on Potions tomorrow at Study Club," Hermione suggests, leaving her books on the sofa. "That way at least the theory won't go so badly. The practical..."
Harriet rubs her face with her hands. It's the first time she's been so stressed, to the point where she has a few pimples on her face and arms. It's the first time it's happened and she hopes it doesn't happen again. Although she'd rather do this than lose her hair.
"What's with the dead-on-the-wall looks?" asks Ginny, who's just passing them.
"Snape." They chorus and the redhead grimaces. By now, everyone is convinced that Snape hates Harriet so much that the only class affected by his bad mood is the one she's in. So it's a safe space for all the other classes. It's still impossible, but not to the extreme they're experiencing.
“I brought this, would you like it?”
Ginny shoos Ron away so he doesn't eat any more chocolate than Harriet or Hermione. Not to mention this is nothing more than a test to see if Harriet is allergic (whatever happened to her last time) to this specific chocolate. It's only a few minutes later before she notices she's sick.
“My stomach—”
“DON'T VOMIT ON THE BOOKS!”
“THANK YOU FOR TAKING AN INTEREST IN MY HEA…!”
Ron helps her stand up and tells her to vomit into one of the common room bins. Ginny makes a mental note: it's the chocolate, not the Amortentia. Lucky! All that's left is to be in a situation where Tom's snake doesn't decide, appears and everything will be just as he expects.
Praying Harriet doesn't remember anything.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
"You're calmer during exams than when you don't have exams."
"It's a very specific period of time and my time of rest and leisure is coming up," Tom explains, noting in the diary what he did, when it happened and starting with the time-turner's turns. "Not to mention that everything has been going very well," he adds with a smug smile. "Aside from the unbearable fantasizing about every brightly lit space, I don't have to be stressed."
" You could fail all your exams. Hasn't that occurred to you?" Nagini mocks, directly in front of him and Tom raises an eyebrow. "It might not be as perfect as you think. After all, you're more wrapped up in Harriet's lap than in the exams.”
"The point of finishing the exams early is to be with Harriet without worries."
"She'll be studying," Nagini points out and Tom shrugs.
"I should help her study anyway. Make sure she doesn't give in to the panic that Snape represents." Nagini snorts, always looking for an excuse to decide his behavior is okay. "I have the impression you want to tell me something, dear. What's wrong?" he asks, putting out his hand and Nagini leans back.
"I'll tell you when you're done with your exams. That way I know you won't be angry, nor will you lose focus... it's bad," Nagini warns. "And it's about Harriet." Tom rolls his eyes . "I can go with her. Unless you feel you're in danger in any way."
Tom thinks about it for a moment.
"These are the last few weeks of Durmstrang here. Poliakov has been somewhat active among the Slytherin students,” Tom comments. “Do you think she’s more likely to end up in trouble?”
“Yes. Definitely. I might not be able to accompany you with the time-turner, but I’ll be able to tell when the trouble starts.”
Tom exhales, shaking his head. “ñNow what foolish thing has Harriet gotten into? Nagini wouldn’t mention it if it wasn’t important, if it wasn’t something that serious. That’s why it seems so strange to him that she prefers to tell him afterward. Taking it in her figurative snake hands. Tom gives her permission and she rubs herself against his cheek.
“As soon as you finish the exams, I’ll tell you what happens… watch out for Poliakov.”
"I always do it," Tom affirms, smug.
┈
The students leave silently and Tom is left alone with Poliakov. The Bulgarian maintains a small, confident smile. Tom considers him a stupid man. He made it very clear that he doesn't have a free pass to be an idiot to others in this house, not even to each other.
"Don't you understand English?" Tom inquires. "I thought I made it very clear that no one is allowed to go near you."
"You said I couldn't go near the girl with the big breasts. Nothing about the others here... Hogwarts has a good catalog," Poliakov opines. Confident and animated. As if Tom standing in front of him isn't a potential threat.
"I'll give you exactly five minutes to get on your knees and admit how stupid you are."
"That sounds sexy."
"Nothing more disgusting than using the bike everyone rode," Tom points out with obvious disgust. Regulus enters the common room and finds the scene in progress.
"You know, my greatest aspiration before I leave this place is to take off your pretentious little boy face and spread your legs."
Tom couldn't be more disgusted by this. He notices Regulus a few feet away. "Did you come here to study?"
"You seem to be busy," Regulus points out.
"No," he turns to Poliakov. "I'm not."
He takes out his wand and the flourish is barely noticeable. He seems to have done nothing. Tom smiles in a way that sends shivers down Regulus's spine. He never sees him do that and he senses it... Dangerous.
"If you keep bothering me in a week, Nagini will be your traveling companion," he announces as a farewell. A clear warning. Poliakov laughs, unconcerned, thinking that Tom is only a threat, but no action.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
"The exams are bad, but not to the point where you're stressed like this," Viktor says, speaking in Bulgarian. Poliakov rubs his entire face.
Messy hair.
Dark circles under his eyes.
Tired eyes.
Noticeable exhaustion.
"I haven't been able to sleep a shit," he complains, rubbing his face with his hand. He stumbles as he walks and Viktor stops him from tripping.
"What's wrong with you?" Viktor insists. Unless he's completely stopped sleeping, Viktor can't imagine how Poliakov could be so bad.
Poliakov snorts, rubbing his face again. He hasn't been able to sleep at all these days. He has horrible nightmares and even when he doesn't have them, it's impossible to sleep. As if his body refuses to rest.
It's the most exhausting situation he's ever been in. Hermione approaches, holding several books and wearing a big smile. She's talking to Viktor. Poliakov can't hear anything they're saying, but he finds Hermione's voice so irritating that, through his aching head, he spits out:
"You can just shove your dick in her mouth and make her shut the fuck up," he demands of Viktor. The Quidditch player looks at him with a mixture of disbelief and offense.
"Fuck off," he growls, grabbing Hermione's arm to drag her away so they can continue talking. Poliakov babbles and curses before moving on. Tom laughs, amused to have seen what happened.
"He's even stupider than usual. What did you do?" Regulus asks, interested. Tom looks at his wristwatch and resumes walking.
"Nothing."
Regulus knows it's a lie. Tom did something to him. That's why he's so amused and satisfied to see Poliakov be a mess all over. At the same time, he won't do anything to help him. He's not worth it. He also has O.W.L.s to worry about, not some insufferable Durmstrang student.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
Harriet is completely confident in her Potions exam this time. She's studied like a madwoman, knowing every term, every measurement, every tiny detail necessary. She paid attention with Tom, she paid attention with Hermione, she did everything in her power and when it came to writing the answers on the parchment, then making the potion: she felt confident in her achievement. She did everything perfectly well! Maybe there were little flaws here and there in how she wrote it, but it's all there.
She has extreme faith in that.
Even in the potion. It wasn't that complicated. Just a peace potion she wanted to drink straight from the cauldron to calm herself. Maybe bathe in it and stop being such a maniac.
With all this string of certainties and convictions, she can feel a part of her brain breaking when Snape calls her and shows her the exam parchment, saying:
"I know you think you don't need to try hard because everyone will give you what you want, or worse, that you're an undiscovered genius, but" Severus gently swings the parchment "the reality is, I've never seen a more pathetic exam in my life." He places the parchment on the desk. "And a worse-made peace philter."
"Say you hate me and swallow your ridiculous nonsense," Harriet replies without thinking. Snape raises an eyebrow.
"I see your impertinence knows no bounds."
"Nor how angry you are," Harriet argues. "What I did is fine. Like it or not. Give me an A if you want, but I passed."
"Such confidence for someone who can't—"
"I passed!" Harriet repeats aloud. "I did well in my exam and the potion! Do you really like making my life miserable?! It's quite pathetic, professor," Harriet concludes through gritted teeth and Snape huff.
"One hundred points-”
"One hundred!?”
"You're coming to my office to insult me and behave like a brat, Potter, it's lo-”
"Don't fuck with me! You called me and you're failing me."
"You deserve to fail for this poor exam. Study and maybe you'll be minimally decent in the field of Potions," Severus recommends with a barely perceptible cynical smile on his face.
Harriet grabs her backpack and goes straight to find McGonagall and Remus. This time, she's sure she doesn't deserve any of this and Snape isn't going to trick her.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
She didn't expect Dumbledore to be involved, but it's a bonus.
"It's poorly written," Severus insists.
"Although it's outside my area of expertise, I can tell you that Miss Potter is putting in a lot of effort," McGonagall says. Severus hasn't stopped judging Harriet. Like a little brother who feels betrayed by his sister. Harriet remains silent, waiting for this problem to be fixed. "What's wrong? Severus.”
"The illegible handwriting, misplaced words and-"
"All three of us can read it, Severus. None of us see the reason for such a poor grade," Remus chimes in. "Nor why insult her and cause a scandal. Not the first one."
"Have there been more problems like this?"
"He tried to choke me." Severus looks like a defiant cat. One that knocked over a glass in front of its owner and isn't interested in the complaint. McGonagall gasps, stunned.
"Did you physically assault her? A student?" Severus reproaches McGonagall. Dumbledore looks especially disappointed.
"You leave me no choice but to doubt your teaching and professional abilities, Severus," Dumbledore says and the man clenches his jaw. "This behavior is inexcusable and merits a sanction of the wizarding child protection system. Are you aware of that?”
"The matter doesn't reach that level of seriousness and warrants it." He returns his attention to Harriet. "It's nothing more than a desperate scene for attention. She has the strong necessity to be the center of attention."
"Professor McGonagall," the headmaster calls and she nods. "Harriet will hand over all your past assessments and reconfirm the grades, in case something similar to this has happened," the gray-haired man indicates and Harriet smiles excitedly. She acknowledges that it won't be much more, but she might have the same grades as Drakonys this time. "I also want you to conduct a more detailed examination of the situation. That way, we'll know how to discipline our dear Professor Snape." He sounds somewhat sarcastic. "On the other hand, Harriet, I hope you understand that you cannot insult your teachers. Even if they behave so badly towards you. You must seek help. Like now."
"I know. I'm so sorry. It won't happen again," Harriet assures and Dumbledore smiles mischievously.
"I know it will happen. A lion like you can't resist temptation," he mocks indiscreetly and Harriet grimaces, offended. "You can go now… All the points Professor Snape has deducted for you will be returned. Also to Mr. Weasley and Miss Granger."
Harriet beams with excitement. She grabs her bag and runs out of the office. Dumbledore gives a small laugh as McGonagall shakes her head, rolling up the parchment. "James Potter could have made a little more effort not to pour his entire personality into it."
"Oh, I differ on that, Professor," Remus chimes in, his hands in his pockets. "This school would be on fire if she were anything like James. Luckily, she didn't take after either of us," he jokes and McGonagall agrees.
Lily was well-behaved, but she knows how much fuss and arguments arose in the common room over her. A very stubborn and determined girl, almost conflicted and that she could keep it within the limits of what was permitted. Lily was capable of picking a verbal fight with anyone. She even knows about the times she fought with James out of nowhere. Harriet, on the other hand, is reactive; unless there's an impulse, she'll stay reading magazines or talking to her friends.
Of the three, James is the most problematic and Harriet the calmest.
"Severus..."
The man moves his jaw slightly. This is going to take a long time.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
"That exam is over and it was at the same time as runes," Theodore argues. "There's no way you're going to take it."
"Your lack of understanding and imagination, despite being a wizard, is lamentable," Tom opines, climbing the stairs to the castle's main hall.
"It's just witchcraft," Daphne quips. Tom gives a mocking laugh.
"Of course. Just-"
The four of them stop abruptly, as does everyone else. The students' attention is on the enormous hourglasses with the house points. Slytherin and Gryffindor are arguing, Ravenclaw is on the verge of taking Slytherin's place and finally Hufflepuff is barely catching up with Ravenclaw. Everyone's eyes are on Gryffindor's hourglass. The points rise like the red sand, piling up over Slytherin's hourglass.
Tom gasps and looks around. All his housemates are just as confused. How could something like this happen? How does Gryffindor have more than two hundred and ninety extra points?
Tom assumes Dumbledore gave them to someone, but who? To get such a points boost. Outrageous laughter and hurried footsteps are heard from the second-floor entrance.
"See?! JUSTICE.”
"Why didn't you do it before?!"
Ron picks up and shakes Harriet, who ruffles his hair and giggles excitedly. Tom frowns. Now is when he needs Nagini.
"Did she give Dumbledore a hard-on or what?"
"She sucked him off so hard that- FUCK! TOM!"
He taps his shoulder with his wand, fed up with Regulus and Theodore's vulgarity, as well as their sweary comments about his girlfriend.
"Keep… your mouths… shut," Tom warns through gritted teeth. "Both of you," he emphasizes, looking at them alternately. Regulus presses his stomach. Tom's stinging spells are like a knife wound.
Harriet runs down and slaps him so hard that Tom casts a stinging spell on her as well. It's noticeable that it was softer.
"We got all the points Snape took away from us back and... I passed Potions with flying colors!" Harriet announces excitedly. Tom puts a hand to his face.
Who would have thought that another obstacle for Slytherin on their way to winning the House Cup would be Snape and his overwhelming inability to let go of Lily and James Potter? Harriet continues laughing, running down the rest of the stairs to meet the Gryffindors to celebrate: another year with the House Cup.
The exams have just passed in a quiet and peaceful time. Nothing has been said about Snape, not even an official version. Some say he'll be expelled from school soon, others that he'll be demoted to Mr. Filch's position. A million things that have only worsened his general mood. Now he's reactionary, even toward Slytherin.
For snakes never cease to be impertinent.
Tom sees the possibility of removing the time-turner from around his neck after six months that have become more than a year. To say he's buzzing with anticipation is an understatement.
He wants to stay in the Chamber of Secrets for two full days. Perhaps use the time-turner there, unconcerned that Harriet will end up annoyed at him for hiding it and using it to keep her under control.
Two days, three days, a full week of the two of them enjoying the time they didn't have.
He knows she's in a good mood. Between what happened with Snape and the smooth end of exam season, she's radiant and calm. She's still having trouble breathing, but not much more.
What halted his plans and expectations was noticing different and multiple entries in his diary. Some even warn him to be very careful and follow the instructions to the letter. Therefore, there's a doppelganger of him giving very precise instructions.
Time.
Place.
Date.
Person.
Object.
What could be happening?
The most striking thing is the last detail in the large list of instructions:
"June 1st. Place: castle entrance. Time: 5:00 PM. Appearance time: 5:10 PM; go through the west corridor to avoid the collision, walk to the east corridor to use the time-turner."
The detail written in large letters makes him frown:
"Talk. To. Nagini. Before. Five. And. Ten."
Naturally, he wouldn't do something so exaggerated if it wasn't necessary. Therefore: wait to see what Nagini will say.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
"What's this?"
"So you can talk to me," Hermione feels her body tremble and her heart about to burst. Viktor dressed in his Durmstrang uniform and coat. "I'll be waiting for you, my love ." Hermione stammers.
Viktor cups her face and, to the surprise of everyone present, kisses her on the mouth. Hermione laughs awkwardly, hugging him and squeezing his broad back. Harriet takes a picture of them and Ron grimaces.
"Do you really want to?"
"I'd stay here if I could. I'll visit you as soon as I can," Viktor promises and Hermione nods, foolishly hopeful and unable to contain her excitement.
Viktor wants more than the little flirtation they've had for over half a year. He's sure they can keep it going.
After all, he also spends a lot of time in England when he plays with the Quidditch team. It'll just be a matter of being vigilant with portkeys and voila! He'll visit Hermione eventually. When he can. There are other methods of communication, too. He's willing to make it work.
Hermione could bounce off the castle's pillars and walls with excitement.
Harriet says goodbye to Fleur, receives her mailing address and a promise to meet again someday. Considering she has the "ease" of traveling, it's just a matter of time before they meet again. With that, the invited schools finally leave. The school feels a little emptier because of it. Nagini is a little annoyed.
She would have liked to go threaten Poliakov, but she supposes it can't all be so fun.
"Well, the year's almost over," Ron quips, walking up to the railing. Seeing Beauxbatons flying in the distance and the Durmstrang ship sinking into the water, "but we survived."
"I hope next year isn't so horrible," Harriet laughs.
"Please," her two classmates say simultaneously.
Hermione finds it strange that Nagini is emerging from Harriet's clothes. The snake yawns and lies back on Harriet's hand, receiving her cuddles. She's noticed her all week and it's strange that she's there. As if she's watching out for anything. Tom was so wrapped up in his exams that she barely saw him. That's why it's even stranger that Nagini isn't with him.
"Hey," the group turns to Ginny. "We're going to celebrate that the exams are over and there's only one more week left. Are you coming?"
"Will there be food?" They both exhale heavily. Of course, that would be Ron's concern.
It's a small Study Club celebration. The certainty that they did well on their exams thanks to the revision here. Most of the praise goes to Hermione. Harriet leaves the celebration to go to the bathroom. Too much bootleg Butterbeer. One of the twins' best deals.
Ginny catches up with her on the way. "Do you think Hermione's all right now that her foreign boyfriend's left?" The mocking question gets a laugh.
"She'll be fine. She has a lot to do and loves sending letters," Harriet dismisses. Ginny nods and takes a box from her pocket.
A relatively small gift. It's obviously chocolate. Harriet gives it a dirty look. She doesn't want to throw up or have stomach problems again. Discovering that dark chocolate doesn't agree with her is quite an unexpected discovery.
"The twins gave it to me. They say it's not sour and comes from Venezuela," Ginny comments and Harriet takes the box. Nagini tenses, her gaze sharpening. She detects a strange smell...
"Thank you."
"You're welcome."
Ginny watches her open the box and clasps her hands together. It's just a couple of feet from the bathroom and at a complete crossroads. Harriet stops to open the package better and barely manages to bring it to her mouth.
"Harriet."
"Hmm?"
"Do you have Nagini?"
Harriet nods and reaches for Tom. The snake pops out of her sleeve. Ginny shifts uncomfortably in her seat, worried. Nagini snorts, her fangs showing slightly. Tom half-closes his eyes, then widens them.
"The chocolate has Amortentia in it," Nagini announces.
"Is something wrong? We're celebrating a successful study club," Harriet says. "I'll be right back, I'm going to—"
Tom stops her from eating the chocolate and smiles, tilting his head. "I'll keep it for you while you go to the bathroom." He snatches the box from her and reluctantly puts it away. Harriet rolls her eyes. She doesn't have the patience or stamina to fight this right now. She trots to the bathroom and Ginny follows her, glancing nervously at the Slytherin.
Tom discreetly slips into another hallway and pulls the time-turner out from under his robes.
" All week, he's been trying to give her chocolate with Amortentia and I've managed to keep it at bay. Although the first time, they were already kissing." Tom stops spinning and clenches his jaw. "I knew you'd be mad. That's why I didn't tell you."
Nagini hisses, in pain. Tom's magic is hurting her. He's just completed enough turns to go back a week and a day. He grabs the snake by the underside of its head and presses down. Nagini hisses and threatens in response.
"You had to tell me," Tom hisses.
"You would have made a scene! A total tragedy. Now you have the time and the means to think through your next move” Tom continues to shiver, his bright, violent eyes fixed on the snake. “I'm sure we were meant to be at this point. You did everything to stop what was happening.”
“Start talking before I lock you in a cage for a month,” Tom warns. If he orders her to, Nagini wouldn't be able to get out. It's a horrible punishment. The snake knows he couldn't.
He's simply hysterical about the news. The mere mention of Amortentia has him on edge and wanting to vent his frustration somehow. They make a long and detailed list of places and situations they must intervene in, as well as gauge the timing of the interventions and finally, record them in Tom's dairy.
He locks himself in the Chamber of Secrets to carry out the mission. He creates magical snakes with one motive: to take Ginny Weasley's supply of love potion and prevent her from putting them in various sweets. All of them are Harriet's favorites or aren't going to give her a stomach ache.
A macabre idea flutters through his head. The idea of killing Ginny and pretending it was an accident. His problems with Cédric were solved because Grindelwald killed him. Why would it be any different with Ginny? It's the best solution. The easiest and least tiring.
She wants to steal Harriet from him.
She wants to put her under the effects of a love potion.
She wants to hurt his Harriet.
Tom won't let it happen. He'd rather die than allow it.
It's relatively simple. Everyone's away for exams and other things. He always has the opportunity.
The opportunity to seize Amortentia and leave her like a madwoman, believing she had the potion and realizing it's gone. In the absence of any scolding, warning, or message from her siblings, Ginny assumes she hasn't used it.
Because if she had, she'd remember Harriet giving her that kind of attention. Besides, it would have been obvious to others around her.
"What's the point of using this shit?" Tom wonders quietly.
Amortentia only creates obsession, not real love. What's the point of giving it to a person? It's conclusive proof that there's no love and the consequences that will follow as soon as the effect wears off sound irritating.
Tom struggles to understand why some people are so desperate not to be alone. It's absurd.
"It's the closest thing they'll ever get to the love of the person they love. The difference for you is that Harriet loves you," Nagini explains. "If not, you'd be in the same situation."
"A very bold assumption on your part," Tom mocks, throwing the flask of pink potion into the fire. "I don't mind being alone."
"Now then. Imagine if Harriet stops loving you and leaves forever," Nagini suggests and Tom gives her a look that's clearly a no-no on the subject.
Even in an imaginary scenario, she's not allowed to say it. Something the snake finds very funny. It's precisely making the point. Tom might not dare use a love potion, but there are hundreds of different tactics at his disposal. Not to mention even crueler and forbidden ones.
Tom is frustrated about something else: he thought he could be with Harriet after the exams and he's holed up here secretly acting as a bodyguard! It's very unfair, very frustrating and it's one of those situations where he thinks more than he should.
He thinks about sex all the time.
He thinks about things he'd like to do to Harriet.
About things he'd like Harriet to do for him.
Tell her about what he's read and won't upset her or find questionable...
How desperate he is to be with his girlfriend knows no bounds.
The anticipation of the precious moment of getting back to what he was doing is a moment filled with joy. Not just for Harriet, but also for his subtle and perfectly planned way of ensuring Ginny doesn't try this foolish thing even once more.
He reaches the point where he should be, having the same chocolate as a week ago, but without the potion. He was able to extract it after a while of practice. He leans against the wall opposite the bathroom entrance, his eyes red and alert for the prey to emerge from its little den.
┈
"Ginny, come here a moment."
Ginny peeks into the stall and blushes. Harriet takes off her sweater and tries to fix her loose bra. The redhead stands behind her, closes the garment with trembling hands and Harriet turns around. "Your breasts are enormous."
"Not that big," Harriet says, taking the sweater.
"Of course they are. No one fits in these clothes."
Harriet makes a face that goes unnoticed. "I'm very thin. That's why they look big, they're not really."
"What's your cup?"
"D... Sometimes E."
"Y-you think that's not enough? I'm barely a B."
"They're not that big. Just round." Harriet doesn't want to think about this.
The more people mention something about her body, the worse the feeling becomes. After all, she can't stop seeing herself deformed in the mirror. That her bust is too big and her body too thin, with the impression that she looks ridiculous. She wishes she were like the others: flat or with a small bust.
She envies Hermione's and Drakonys's size. Not to say it looks a lot less troublesome to look good in.
She pulls her hair out from under her sweater and leaves the bathroom. Ginny stands to one side, flustered for some reason. She takes the chocolate from Tom and eats it without thinking. Ginny leans out and constantly bumps into Harriet as she walks. Harriet doesn't say anything, barely helping her from falling.
"Are you feeling all right?"
"Yes. Why wouldn't I be?" Harriet asks back. Ginny shakes her head, spluttering and wondering if she didn't put anything in the chocolate. Can you get a potion out of it? She's confused. Harriet walks into where the study club is celebrating and Tom takes Ginny by the arm, pulling her back a few steps.
"Try... anything like that again... and I'll make sure you die in pain," he warns softly, leaning into the redhead's ear as she tenses. “And if you dare complain, I'll tell everyone what you tried to do... Even worse. Nagini is the only witness.”
Ginny turns to him, pale and trembling. Nagini sticks out her tongue for a moment, her eyes fixed on her. Ginny narrows her gaze at Tom, whose eyes are filled with cold and violence. Tom tightens his grip on Ginny's arm.
"You're nobody, Ginevra. Just a stupid girl, barely more capable than Ronald and more pathetic than him, trying to use a love potion," he sneers condescendingly and Ginny's eyes water. "Now get out of my sight before I hit you."
He abruptly releases her and Ginny staggers before running away, crying. Tom straightens his clothes and hair and passes by where the club is celebrating.
"And Ginny?"
"Common room. She's dizzy," Tom excuses and Luna tilts her head.
"That's weird. She was fine... I'll go find her." The blonde skips off. Tom isn't worried. Ginny can tell one truth about all this:
Harriet is never going to notice her.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
"If you weren't so stubborn, you could stay at Sirius's house. The fireplace has a connection there. You could go to my house without any problem," Harriet chides.
"I don't need Sirius. Nor anything Thomas thinks is necessary," Tom replies, turning the page of his book. Harriet rolls her eyes.
"Obviously an orphanage is better."
"If he's not around, can I come to your house on vacation?" Ron asks and Harriet nods. Hermione is essentially grounded to spend the summer with her parents and attending classes. The most that could happen is they'd have a sleepover at Hermione's house.
Something she'd already threatened rather than offered.
"I hope next year isn't so horrible... The O.W.L.s are going to kill me."
"Everyone."
"We should have the study club next year," Hermione suggests excitedly. "It'll be just as fun."
"Fun spending hours of my life with more than ten people staring at me because they don't understand a simple peace potion," Tom grumbles and Harriet laughs, giving him a shove.
"Don't be bitter, Tommy. It'll be fun." Tom looks at her with enormous offense and disgust. He hates being called that. Harriet barely noticed.
And whenever Tom is bitter, she calls him that. She'll use it a little more often.
It's her own "sweetheart."
"Whatever it is... Let's make this our last terrible year at Hogwarts and let the rest be the best," Hermione suggests, hugging Harriet and Ron by the shoulders. Harriet pulls Tom into the hug, ignoring his annoyed face and the cold burn.
"Let's start with a good summer, then."
The year is over.
Harriet wants to convince herself that this will be the last time she has a terrible school year. Grindelwald is missing; there have been no more deaths. Everything should be all right now and she can enjoy her time, as well as her boyfriend and her friends.
Ignore the stain on her chest.
Ignore the shortness of breath.
Ignore the nightmares that persist.
Chapter 69: Act. LXIX. A good summer
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
It felt so good to come home. Her room just as she left it at Christmas, her bed a thousand times more comfortable than her Gryffindor bed; all her clothes, her plush toys. In short, her little beloved paradise.
Harriet puts everything from her trunk in the closet, barely organizing it so the clothes don't wrinkle so much. Harriet also took the time to check her plant. It's in perfect condition and she plans to send a photo to Neville. Show him how much it's grown and how well it's positioned.
"Good, good, goood," she hums excitedly, skipping over to what they left on her desk: her violin.
She searches through sheet music and although it takes her a while to adjust, tune the instrument and not get overwhelmed by nerves, she's able to start playing. She closes her eyes with a soft smile. It's the simplest melody she has. It's also beautiful. It makes her happy to play it. It's—
「Avada Kedavra」
Harriet strums the violin strings and opens her eyes wide, gripping the violin in her hands. She bites her lip and frowns.
She supposes not everything can be so good.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
Tom throws away several letters. Gossip about the nobles that doesn't interest him. He's overwhelmed by the amount of mail sent to him here. It's unbelievable that they're unaware that he lives in an orphanage. That's the upside of courting the favoritism of such bloodthirsty nobles who want nothing to do with the Muggle world.
"Are you the little boy everyone's talking about?" A person leans out of the bedroom door. Perhaps Tom's age, he vaguely remembers them saying he'd have a roommate whether he wanted it or not.
Everything in the room is as it should be. There was no sign of forcing at the door and everything looked perfect. So, the director of this place was smart enough to follow Tom's orders. Tom continues with the letters, indifferent to the teenager.
"Hey, weirdo! Are you deaf or something?" the crewcut teenager chides. "I said get out. I like this room better. Give it to me." Tom delicately puts the letter away and continues with his own business.
"Why listen to a bug?"
He realizes Harriet sent him a letter. They barely saw each other this morning. He assumes they activated the time-turner at her house and she's bored. "Hey! Damn freak!" The letter isn't very long. In a few seconds, he's already read it:
"My parents are exhausted and want to spend more time with me, so I've been stuck at home for a whole month. It's not so bad. We play a lot, watch TV, I've practiced my violin again and I also did this! I hope you like it!"
He sets the letter aside and barely takes out one of the photos inside the envelope.
Harriet, wearing lingerie, her hair down, modeling a bit for the camera, finally laughing. Tom smiles slyly and chuckles. He'll have to leave her a snake to see what she does. He's startled when someone snatches the envelope from his hands.
"Oh? What's this? Your girlfriend? She looks like a slut."
"Give it back to me."
"Don't be selfish. They don't let magazines in this dumpster, so at least I have something to do with—she has huge tits!"
Tom manages to retrieve the envelope, sealing it and putting it in his pocket. A wry laugh escapes his lips and then, in absolute seriousness, he warns, "Get lost... Get out of my sight... Before I lose my little resistance.”
"What are you going to do, mate?" The teenager shoves him and Tom's eyes widen. "Cry for your dead mommy?" he mocks condescendingly. "Or tell the useless old hag who runs this shit hole. Come on," he pushes Tom again. "What are you going to...?"
He feels his breath cut off.
His entire skin stiffen.
The most intense cold he's ever felt in his life attacks him and...
It's as if it touches something inside him, as if it's trying to freeze and break him.
Tom looks at him coldly, maintaining his distance and a disgusted expression on the figure. "Don't you dare touch me again, you beast."
"What's going on here? What's all the commotion about?" One of the orphanage employees appears. The children are very upset. More than usual. Tom maintains his haughty and cold demeanor.
"They brought in another misfit," Tom replies. He turns around to go to his room.
"Don't turn your back on me, you damn sack of...!"
In a swift movement, Nagini climbs up Tom, coiling around him and then opening her jaws wide. The boy falls to the floor in fright and Tom strokes Nagini, who snorts.
" I can't go away for two minutes to eat a mouse, because you clearly attract all kinds of bad guys ," Nagini complains. Tom gives a laugh without grace.
" Of course, dear. I'm a magnet for this kind of person, unfortunately ."
Tom closes the door behind him and carefully stows the letter. When he's in a better mood and inside his expandable trunk, he'll go through the photos more closely. Right now, he wants to sleep. Tom takes off his clothes, puts on light pants and a white shirt with long, flowing sleeves. Nagini grows fully grown and when Tom is already in bed, she lies on top of him.
Watching the door as a precaution. Making sure no one tries to get in and hurt her conceited little boy.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
"You didn't misuse my gift, did you?"
"No. When and where."
Sirius has the slight impression that Harriet is lying, but it won't be held against her. At least she admits she did use it and they both know exactly what that means. On the other hand, Sirius doesn't want to know about her goddaughter's sex life or waste time on it.
He's been teaching her how to ride the motorcycle for a while now, with the promise that he'd give her one when she's of age and has finished her studies. At that point, Lily won't be able to make a big deal about it. She's fallen a couple of times, but for Sirius, it's part of learning to ride a motorcycle.
"Have you thought about what you'll do when you graduate?" Sirius asks. "If you're really good at dueling, I can give you a letter of recommendation for the Auror department," he suggests, leaning against a tree. "That would be fun."
"I don't need the letter; I can get in on my own," Harriet grumbles, counting each step of the way to ride the motorcycle. "And I don't know yet."
"Next year, they'll give you vocational tests. You should keep something in mind," Sirius recommends. Harriet shrugs. She'd leave it to the last minute. She'd still have two years to go before then. Why rush it?
Besides, Harriet is not sure she wants to follow her parents' path. She doesn't know if she has the stomach for what she might see, what she'd have to do and worse: the tremendous amount of stress that would befall her. The only Auror she's ever seen relaxed is Sirius. Who is different and peculiar in his own right.
Harriet wishes she had that much control over his emotions. Although, of course, he's much older. He's had more practice.
When they finish practice, Harriet's face, hand and clothes dirty with mud and dirt, Sirius takes the time to shake her a little. In the end, he cups her face and stares at her tenderly. Sirius adores his goddaughter. He really does. Her eyes are something he'd never stop looking at.
They're different from Lily's: so much more intense, more alive, more magical . There's a different spark in them and that's what weighs most heavily on his soul. The knowledge that Harriet is a light just as precious as James and could lose her at any moment.
May fate tear her from his grasp without mercy.
"I love you so much, pup," Sirius says tenderly before giving her a hug. Harriet smiles, pleased and excited.
"I love you so much too, Sirius." He kisses the top of her head and Harriet squeezes him a little tighter.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
"You guys scare the hell out of me."
Sirius puts on his sunglasses. The fact that the Potter family is so wrapped up in exercise makes him incredibly bored of being in this house. On the one hand, it's funny how much Lily complicates her life with strange exercises. On the other hand, it's a welcome sight because James has expanded his routine, causing him to be sweaty, panting and, in short, perfection for Sirius as an observer.
Last but not least, is Harriet. His goddaughter, her hair tied back tightly, red as a tomato and barely breathing. Sirius wonders how he managed to get her size right. Harriet has more muscles than he realized. Her arms are very defined, her abdomen, although soft, is firm, her thighs are a threat to creation and her overall build is good. Very good.
At first glance, anyone might think she's a professional gymnast or track and field athlete.
"Your life of eating junk and smoking is what scares me," James counters and Sirius snorts, pushing back his hair and resting his hand on his hip.
"I'm protecting my integrity and energy by not doing any of this... And you," he points at Harriet. "Little girl. If you wanted to leave everyone behind, you already did. Do you want to carry Tom to bed yourself or what?”
"Sirius."
"I already did it once."
James is stunned and Lily is stunned with a hand to her chest. Harriet flinches with a shy, awkward giggle. It just slipped out. Sirius just laughs. It's a hilarious image he didn't think he needed and now it'll live rent-free in his head.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
Lily can't help but laugh. James is fast asleep on the couch. Harriet has been playing the violin for a while now and she's clearly doing it brilliantly. It's rare that James can rest so well randomly around the house. She arranges him a little on the couch so he doesn't get a sore back or neck later. Lily pecks him on the lips and James grins stupidly in his sleep, curling up.
Lily goes upstairs and enters the room and Harriet barely opens her eyes. Lily gives her a couple of signs, letting her know that she sounds fantastic. Harriet smiles and continues playing animatedly.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
She knows it's very late, but she wants to get rid of her homework and the best solution is to ask her mother for help. She might be able to answer her question. She could ask Tom, but the time it would take for him to answer would only delay the end of this torture. Before Harriet can knock on the door, she hears sounds from inside the room. She's not sure what it is and the possibility makes her blush.
It's not the best time to interrupt.
Harriet snorts and shuffles back to her room. Hedwig is asleep on her coat rack and her Potions homework is mocking her by simply existing on the desk. Harriet turns off the light and put on her pajamas. She has no choice but to wait until morning.
Meanwhile, inside the room, Lily is barely breathing. James kisses and bites her breast, speaking between gasps. "Is everything okay, darling?" Lily nods and pushes him away slightly, giving herself the opportunity to roll over onto her stomach.
She sighs with pleasure at the feel of James inside her and he slides both arms underneath her. One cupping the spongy breast, a little smaller than his hand and the other playing with her prominent clitoris. He kisses Lily behind her ear and she moans contentedly, lifting her hips slightly, feeling a curious sensation throughout her body.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
"Are you sure you have everything?"
"Dad, I'm spending over seven months at boarding school. I know what to pack when I'm staying somewhere else," Harriet demands and James raises his hands.
The two of them turn to the kitchen, where Lily is vomiting in the wastebasket. James coos, walking over to rub her back and help her stand. “You can stay and rest today, love. Celtic magic can wait,” he says, half sweet and half joking. Lily gasps and rests her hands on the counter.
“I’m fine. I’m fine,” she exhales heavily. “Although more sleep sounds great.” She laughs suddenly. James kisses her cheek and grabs a glass of water to get rid of the bad taste in her mouth.
Harriet plays with Hedwig, waiting for them to finish their time so her dad can take her to Hermione’s house. They’re having a sleepover today. She finally has a day off and her parents have let her stay at their house.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
“Have you seen each other yet? That was quick.”
"His team trains a lot here in England and since he's of age, there's no problem with him using magic. They've only been on short escapades."
"Oh, how lucky you are... So how was everything? Was there any action?"
"Don't be indiscreet."
Harriet laughs, that means yes. Viktor and Hermione are still as fit as ever. She looks at her nails, short and slightly chipped at the edges, but polished. Hermione wanted to experiment to see what it would be like with her nails like that. If it's bothersome, if it lasts long enough, if it looks good on them.
Harriet feels clumsy. She can barely keep up with putting on eyeliner or lipstick. Which she doesn't do at the same time because it feels too much. It would be like walking like a clown.
"I know it's awkward, but... Did you ever see Cedric?"
Harriet chokes on her own saliva and rocks back. "No! Of course not. Why do you ask that?" she stammers, stunned. Hermione shrugs.
"I thought maybe before it became unbearable, you'd fantasized about it... You were weird with Cho too," Hermione explains. "Then a bit with Cedric."
Harriet desperately wants to tell her she has a boyfriend and that she's Tom, which is why she doesn't think about other people. However, a secret is a secret and it's not as vital as the Amortentia and Tom issue. Therefore, it's kept a secret.
"It's just that I didn't like Cedric."
"No?"
"No. Too big. I like thin people better. Thin and... soft, you understand? Not thin thin, but thin ." She blows at her nail polish and Hermione half-closes her eyes. That rules out Viktor, but oddly enough: it brings up Tom as an option. Also Regulus, Theodore, the boy from the Yule Ball.
If it starts with women too, there's no end in sight and she dares to ask:
"Do you like women?" Hermione asks curiously, putting another coat of paint on her right hand. Harriet continues to blow on it, thoughtful.
"I don't know. I think... I think so, but I'm not sure." Harriet rests her chin thoughtfully on her palm. "Because I wouldn't mind kissing a woman, but I wouldn't like to do it if I didn't love her very much. I couldn't kiss... Luna, Ginny, Cho, or Fleur," she snorts.
"So you'd kiss me?" Hermione teases.
"Of course I would," Harriet laughs, "but you have a boyfriend." She snickers and thinks : I have one too and I think he'd throw me down the stairs if he found out I kissed someone else voluntarily or not.
Hermione blushes and continues with what she's doing, trying to ignore the possibility that her friend might get physical with her. It's a little overwhelming. At the same time, it flatters her. It means she's the most important to Harriet. Even more than Ron, whom she dismisses as a brother and would never even think of anything like that.
It's one of her most selfish satisfactions: knowing that she's her best friend's favorite in return.
"There's a family reunion next week," Harriet rolls her eyes. "It'll be nice because I love my grandparents very much. They're doing well. They send me letters sometimes and also gifts like earrings, postcards and stuff, but," Harriet lets out a long, exasperated groan, "Aunt Petunia and Dudley will be there."
"Your idiot cousin?"
"Unfortunately."
"Who do your grandparents love more?"
"I'd like to think they love me more than him."
"You'll be fine."
"I'm going to die of boredom," Harriet snorts and looks at her nails. She touches them tentatively and whistles. They're pretty good. She's almost tempted to let them grow long and paint them black.
"Maybe you could stay a- OW! NOOOO!” Hermione squeals. The painting was ruined because she ran her hand through her hair. Harriet laughs, stepping back. Hermione's mother leans in and takes a couple of photos of them.
Happy to see her daughter so happy with someone else for the first time. Harriet is the first friend she's brought and the first she's connected with like this. She hopes this lasts a long time.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
Fortunately, the idiot kid hasn't bothered him again. Tom had already finished all the homework he had for this summer, so he has the perfect amount of time to read and interpret the book of his headaches.
In addition to making the most of his new notebooks. Filling them with the spells from that book and making them more accessible in case any aren't so... Evil.
And then showing them to Harriet.
During this process and perhaps in the middle of summer, Hedwig arrives at his window. Tom strokes the snowy owl and lets her perch on his shoulder while he reads the letter.
"My mother's side of the family is having a small reunion in a few days and I wanted to know if you'd come with me. It'll be really boring; my aunt will be with my cousin and I don't know if her friends will be there. My dad hates these gatherings, but my grandparents will be there and we don't want to let them down. We hardly ever see them. They love wizards. They're still fascinated that Mom is a witch."
"It also happens that my mom told our entire Muggle family that I have a boyfriend, so they'd like to meet you. I understand if you don't want to go. I don't want to go either. Dudley is going to be a nightmare and my uncles are going to make the most inappropriate comments imaginable."
"Still, since we're family, you might want to be there and that's why I'm suggesting it. Send Hedwig with the answer."
"I love you so much, Tommy. I hope you liked the photos."
Tom rests his hand on his palm and thinks. It sounds like a nightmare, but it'll be fun to find out what Dudley will do if he sees him again. If he dares to bother Harriet in any way. Same with her uncles.
Terrorizing that branch of the Evans family sounds wonderful. Besides, showing off in front of mortals is his specialty. It makes him feel so good. Special and above others.
The door opens and although he initially thinks he didn't close it properly—almost impossible because he can't rest without the door closed—what happens is shocking.
A bag of something brown hits the wall, spilling onto the bed, the trunk and almost reaching him. Hedwig flaps her wings in fear and Nagini pops out from under the bed, startled. Tom hastily covers his nose, gagging.
"Here's a present, freak!"
Tom manages to get out without stepping on anything and sucks in a breath as a hot liquid hits him. He moves his jaw and looks to his right. A large group of teenagers is running down the hallway. He coughs and appears to be sick.
He hears laughter from all around. The younger children are laughing and pointing at him. Even the orphanage staff are in the same mood. It increases when they see him shuffling to the bathroom.
Tom splashes water on his face and steps into the shower without thinking. He wants and needs to wash away the unpleasant stench and if he doesn't cry from pure surprise mixed with disgust, it's because his rage is getting the better of him. Nagini makes sure no one is around and approaches Tom when he's undressing, squatting in the white shower with water still falling.
"Do you want me to eat someone? I can make as many people disappear as you want," Nagini offers.
"No... There's no need ."
Tom brushes his hair back and exhales cold breath, a breath that suddenly fills the bathroom, leaving only the scalding water. The blackness of the magic is so intense, filling every corner of the place.
This will be a good summer.
He'll make it one of his best summers.
He's done his homework, he'll be able to research his book, he'll see his girlfriend, he'll annoy his girlfriend's maternal family, he'll make sure he makes love to his girlfriend on her birthday...
It's going to be a good summer.
Add all of that to the consequences for those who just violated him this time.
Notes:
ohmyfucking god
tHIS WAS SUPPOSED TO BE A FUCKING T W E N T Y CHAPTERS FIC
THIS IS OUT OF CONTROL.
But i love it with all my heart
Just to be clear: this fic its intended to be the first part of a trilogy and will end with Harriet's seven year. The second part will be about her and Tom out of Hogwarts and other things + Grindelwald :D
Thanks for be here uwu I really appreciate the attention, the comments, i didn't expect this fic to have this much attention, I thought it'd only have two or three people reading hhjsabshjsa
bye bye, see you 1st september with two chapters uwu
Chapter 70: Act. LXX. A Big celebration
Notes:
Happy back to Hogwarts!
Chapter Text
Tom draws a symbol high enough. It's strange. It looks like a gridded scribble, somehow. Filled with more symbols around it. Tom places them all over the orphanage, causing more laughter and signs.
Now the freak is scratching the walls.
Between it being so high and the fact that he made it so impossible to cover it up, Tom isn't worried about whether anything will be done about it. His room is cleaned of fecal matter mixed with dirt and the bullies are getting a reprimand.
Tom gets money. Therefore, the headmistress doesn't want anything bad to happen to his memorization skills, his humor and his intellect. Tom writes a simple response to Harriet and sends it with Hedwig, making sure to give her a treat to make up for the scare.
In the dining room, during dinner, Tom notices the nasty and hateful looks of those who caused all the trouble. He finishes the food quickly. It's not much, as always. He feels something hit him on the head and turns to the person who did it: the same one he's been doing all these times. Tom smiles slyly, staring at him.
"What's wrong, freak? Do you like me?" he asks irritably and mockingly. Tom clasps his hands behind his back.
"No. I'm amused by the insolent nature of creatures inferior in status and intellect. It's... Truly fascinating, the low and pathetic level they can sink to," he says in an amused tone, head tilted to one side. "I hope you and everyone in this orphanage have a good night."
Tom gives one last chuckle and leaves, leaving confusion and murmurs in his wake. Tom gets into his trunk and, once inside, pulls his wand from his jacket.
The flourish is smooth, extremely quick. The symbols on the walls light up in a flash and with that, it's done. Tom sits down and crosses his legs, picking up the book to continue reading. The marked page displays a title in large, ornate letters:
Corruption of Dreams and Destruction of Hopes.
Doing this to an entire orphanage is tantamount to a curse. He doesn't mind involving children who had nothing to do with this prank. Tom wants everyone else to suffer for the shame and disgust they inflicted on him. Just as he did with Poliakov, for being an unpleasant teenager; just as he did with Ginny, for being a daring and abusive teenager.
Now everyone in this building is doomed. It's something that gives him particular amusement and satisfaction. The rewarding part will be finding more subtle ways to internally destroy those he hates. Even the spell on Grindelwald was phenomenal. It's a shame he can't yet use magic outside of Hogwarts and use it more often.
Could he go to jail for attacking Muggles? Theoretically, yes. In practice, it's enough to blame anyone. After all, these spells aren't cast anywhere and a person his age wouldn't be capable of such a thing.
He's good at getting people on his side.
Even if it becomes a problem, he'll win that fight.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
James senses a strange energy throughout the orphanage. He just can't figure out what it is. Or whether it's good or bad. After all, it's one of those environments that tends to be depressing and heavy on its own. Not because of any magical influence.
He and Harriet had to go inside to find Tom. He's going to take his things to stay at the house for a couple of days and it's best to shrink everything down so it's easier to move.
It's his first time inside and James has to say it's horrible. Most of the children are outrageous and almost all of them have dark circles under their faces and palpably tired. The staff can barely cope with them all.
It's the most overcrowded orphanage he's ever seen. That makes it even more impressive that Tom has a room to himself.
Remus was the only one who'd ever come here and he didn't flaunt the experience.
"You should think about going with Sirius. It avoids all... this." Harriet is overwhelmed by the racket, the smell, the feeling. It's the worst space she's ever been in.
"Next year, I'll never come back. I don't need anyone," Tom says confidently, closing the small trunk. Regulus gave it to him and it's perfect for occasions like this.
A short outing where he'll only have a day or two in someone else's home. Harriet rolls her eyes.
"You're so stubborn."
"Nothing not to love, sweetheart."
James shudders and grimaces. His daughter flirting with her boyfriend in front of him is so strange. He notices there seems to be a mark on the wall, but assumes it's from some insect or just dirt. He's promised himself not to suspect or think badly of Tom.
He's his son-in-law and more importantly, someone who saved his daughter's life. He should trust him a little more. Even if it's not too much.
James should also avoid his absolute disgust with the relationship.
James shrinks the trunk and Tom walks ahead of them both to leave. Nagini peeks out from under Tom's clothes and they both greet her. " Oh! Harriet lined her eyes. Have you seen it? You should say something to her ."
" I will as soon as James is no longer around, " Tom announces casually. He stands in the hall at the entrance to the main hall. Where everyone usually sits to rest and occasionally have interviews with potential parents. "I hope when I get back, my room, my things, even the walls will be as I left them... Or will they cause any problems?"
There's no response. Tom chuckles and continues on his way. Harriet gets to his pace and speaks in a low voice. "Did something happen?"
"I'll tell you later."
James doesn't know what to make of Tom, the way he spoke, the way he smiled. Like it gave him satisfaction to see all those children shrink and almost cry. Did he do something wrong to them? James takes a brief moment to speak with the headmistress, who gives him the appropriate permission to take the teenager out temporarily.
"Tom is very, very troubled. He hates everyone here. He's like a serial killer in the making. The other kids want to play with him and he just pushes them away,” James is sure this is a twisted version of reality, but it has traces of truth in it. “You should be careful. I wouldn't be surprised if he tries to rape your daughter or kill you at home. He thinks he owns everything.”
“Did something specific happen?”
“Just kids playing.”
James takes the permission and walks lazily. Now he has to keep an eye on Tom to find out what's going on. What a pain.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
"Are you ready yet?"
"We have to be there by two and then we'll teleport away, Mom! Stop being a fucking cow!"
"Who are you talking to like that, Harriet Jasmine Potter Evans!?"
Harriet gives a long grunt and Tom straightens his jacket. It's a Muggle event where they should look as Muggle-like as possible. Elegant trousers, dark green ankle boots, a white shirt with delicate sleeves and a snake-embroidered waistcoat. It looks like he's going to at least a wedding.
He helps Harriet zip up the dress she'll be wearing today. Harriet shifts uncomfortably. Her clothes aren't bad; they might be to her liking, except the print isn't horrible: a turquoise dress with pink and yellow flowers, a long-sleeved white shirt and black boots.
"I feel like a donkey," Harriet complains softly.
"You look beautiful," Tom says and Harriet smiles, encouraged and reassured by that small comment.
"Thank you."
Lily enters the room, in a bad mood and doing something that, to Tom, is sacrilege: doing Harriet's hair. To say she's in control of Potter's hair is an exaggeration. It's mission impossible for anyone; all those hair swirls refuse to cease existing, no matter how many pounds of hairspray and cream are used.
Tom thinks Lily is very excited for some reason. Rushed and on edge. She combs Harriet's hair into such a tight ponytail that it's clear how uncomfortable she is.
"My head hurts."
"You're just being dramatic."
Lily leaves and can be heard almost shouting at James. James comes in here and seems to be running away from his wife. His hair is slicked back and it's just as uncomfortable to look at him.
"Why hide that they're from the Wizarding world? This is absurd,” Tom says, crossing his arms. James exhales sharply.
"It's because Petunia, my sister in law, is a piece of shit and it's best to avoid the bad atmosphere with her and her husband," James replies. It's the first time he's seen him in such boring clothes. Beige trousers, a blue shirt, a tie and black suspenders. He looks ridiculous somehow. "Before we appear there, we'll lose our hair. Be ready." Harriet nods, scratching her head.
Her scalp hurts. It's unbearable. When they're in the living room, checking that they haven't left anything behind and everything is in order, James taps Harriet with his wand. The stiff hairstyle disappears. The teenager sighs in relief and Lily tenses.
"Why...?"
James quickly takes her arm, making them all disappear and reappear several feet from the Evans house. Enough so that no one notices them or that they saw them appear in the middle of the street.
"JAMES!"
"Darling, it's just hair, don't worry so much. Just go. Go on, go on.' He pushes, trying to get her to move. Lily stands up and the problem begins.
“For once, can you be on my side? Why do you always have to do this to me?” Lily demands, almost hysterically. James raises his hand.
“We're dressed how you want and going to your parents' house on your terms. Is it so hard not to have hair like stone? Pretending were not a capillary disaster.” James argues. “Our hair is like this! It hurts to force it so much!”
“It's just one afternoon. One bloody afternoon, but you can't even do that for me.”
“Your sister's the problem, not me. Your parents never have a problem with me or my damn hair.”
“It's a family reunion! They're people without magic!”
“What does that have to do with my hair? Don't you like it or something?”
“It's not about that. Don't change the subject.”
“You're making it seem like you're ashamed of everything we are because your sister a nutter and a is shit to us.”
Harriet has just put a couple of braids on each side of her head and Tom helps her tie them in the back. He also adds a couple of flowers to decorate it. Somehow, the discussion turns to her and the awkwardness in the air worsens.
"Haven't you seen Harriet? It's been a long time and she's going to arrive looking like a tramp again, like a bloody mess. And I know if my parents invited people, they're going to make fun of me again because I can't have a normal daughter who, for once, looks like a nice and cute gal.”
"Why do you worry so much about those people?" James asks worriedly. "They're no one to us and Harriet's fine. Don't you see her? It's the clothes you picked out. That's all-"
"It isn't! It just isn't! Because like always, you do what you want and won't let me dress her up like a real girl!" Lily claims, red-faced with a tantrum. Harriet squeezes her arm and starts walking.
"I know if you could, you'd trade me for someone else. I'd trade you for a mom, too."
"Harriet!" James calls. Tom chuckles, keeping pace with his girlfriend.
Lily gasps, shocked and watery-eyed, her body shaking. She clasps her hands and presses her lips together, crying. James looks at them alternately and groans in frustration. He cups her face. "She's not serious. She's just being a teenager. Don't worry."
He hugs Lily, who clings back.
"There's... There's something important I'll say at dinner. That's why I wanted you all dressed up."
"Darling, your concept of 'dressed up' in Muggle terms is going to blow us away. Don't worry so much about this nonsense. You never do. You don't have to pretend things you're not," he assures, pulling away from her and Lily bites her lip, anxious and worried.
Harriet takes a deep breath, trying not to cry over the situation. Tom takes her hand and intertwines their fingers. "It's no use worrying about it. You know your mother is like this... You don't have to see her again once you're seventeen."
"Even so... I wouldn't want it to be like this. I would want it to be like it was before. When she didn't hate me for... For not being a doll to dress up however she wants and that's how she wants it.” she says in a broken voice and Tom strokes her with his thumb.
Harriet doesn't hate Lily. They have an extra complicated relationship and even though Harriet is distant, she loves her very much. She's her mother and despite everything, she loves Lily. It's almost toxic, given that Lily hurts her so much and never stops; there never seems to be the slightest acknowledgment of the feelings she hurts.
On the other hand, Harriet is desperate to win her affection. That maybe one day she'll wake up and see her as beautiful, with only affection and not that trace of annoyance she always has. The adults arrive when they are barely two meters away from the door. Lily knocks and an elderly woman opens it.
"Oh, darling! Long time no see!" she exclaims as she hugs Lily. Tom can only see with acidity the difference between the Riddles and the Evanses.
The house, the clothes, the behavior. Even with that, the house isn't bad. Large, two stories high, with a garden, a car parked in the driveway, a garden full of flowers. He'd say they're upper-middle class. She greets James with the same enthusiasm and when it's Harriet's turn, the warmth and light she gives off proves one thing:
"Look how big you're! What a beautiful missy you've become, Rriety!"
Harriet hugs her grandmother tightly, smiling excitedly. When they separate, Harriet moves away a little to attract Tom. "Uh, who is this handsome little boy?"
"He's Tom Riddle. He's someone important at school, but we can talk about that inside," Harriet suggests. "This is my grandmother: Rose Evans."
"So they're all flowers." The fact that Harriet's middle name was called out just before they arrived makes the theme even more evident.
All the Evans girls are named after a flower.
"Yep."
"Nice to meet you, ma'am."
"How refined," she says with a mischievous smile. “Come on, come in. Oliver is preparing lots of food for everyone.”
The house is the same as outside: tidy, well-kept. There are several pictures and photographs everywhere. Tom is surprised to find a couple moving. One is of Lily and James at their wedding and the other is of Harriet, a few months old, waving. It's funny that even then, she didn't have thinning hair or even the slightest bit of straight hair. They go out into the garden and Tom is intimidated by how big Harriet's grandfather is.
He looks more like a lumberjack than an old man who only watches television at home. Full of gray hair, but with streaks of red. His greeting with Harriet is equally effusive and when it's his turn, Harriet adds the missing bit of information:
"He's my boyfriend of a year."
"Wow! You've found a very handsome mate! Oh, but how could he not, with such a pretty girl?" Oliver shakes Harriet into a hug and then pulls Tom into it.
He holds back his anger so as not to be disrespectful. Besides, they're his girlfriend's grandparents. He doubts Harriet would appreciate him making a scene in front of them or insulting them. He smooths down his clothes once he's released and clasps his hands behind his back.
"Are you a wizard too?" Tom nods and the lady lets out an excited squeal. "Can you do anything? It's just... It's always been fascinating. Ever since they told us why strange things were happening with Lily, it's been an adventure." Harriet nudges him. Stop smiling so pedantically at her grandmother, who's just an enthusiast.
"By decree of the secret and minor age, he's too young to use magic," James comments.
"Too bad..."
"Nagini, come out and say hello."
He half-extends his arm, introducing the snake. Both old persons squeal in terror. "She won't bite. I can talk to her. She grows and shrinks as it pleases and I can command her whatever I want," he explains calmly. Nagini sticks out her tongue and makes herself as small as possible, remaining as thin as a pink boa constrictor.
Oliver takes the plunge and Nagini climbs up his arm until she's on his shoulders. Nagini doesn't put her body around his neck for safety. "Bring the camera. Bring it. Bring it."
Tom laughs smugly and Nagini yawns, lying back as they arrive with the camera. Harriet's maternal family is easygoing. At least the grandparents, who are more important. Along with the camera arrives Petunia, her husband and son. Tom gives a malicious, barely perceptible smile to Dudley, who pales in recognition.
Tom expected nothing less.
"Did you see? Harriet has a boyfriend!" Rose exclaims and Petunia looks Tom up and down.
"Is he a… ‘different’ person too?"
"Of course!"
"Joh, just like his mother, getting a man who doesn't suit them." Is all Petunia says. Harriet moves her jaw and takes Tom's hand.
"Let's get something from the kitchen."
Nagini slides down from Oliver's shoulders, bids him farewell with a nod and follows the pair. Oliver can barely contain his excitement and Lily is besieged by the same old things: how's work going, how's the wizarding world doing, what new surprise will there be this time? James answers a lot, given that Lily is more distracted than usual during these interrogations.
Besides, his in-laws love to hear him talk, unlike his sister-in-law and brother-in-law, who put up with his usual attitude because they're in front of the Evans’ parents.
"Your mother was the lucky one in every way: a decent husband, a comfortable life and genes that don't scream how unfriendly she can be," Tom comments. Harriet leaves a couple of crystal glasses on the counter. "If your aunt ever has a heart attack, it'll be all because of so much jealousy."
"Even before magic, they didn't get along. Aunt Petunia is quite... rigid," Harriet shrugs. "Mum just enjoys her magic. She doesn't do anything beyond that."
"Something your aunt can't have and she's jealous. It's simple. Muggles are very resentful toward others in better circumstances." Harriet sneers and snorts.
"Try not to talk like that here, will you?"
"I'm only referring to your insufferable aunt. Not your grandparents, who are objectively better." Tom justifies and Harriet shakes her head. She supposes she'll have to settle for that.
They leave the kitchen and run into Dudley, who's already eating something. The boy looks Harriet up and down, a look of contempt and disgust before saying, "Get out of the way, freak."
"Just walk to the right," Harriet grumbles and Dudley pushes her as he passes into the kitchen. His mocking chuckle fades and he finds himself face to face with Tom.
The Slytherin stares at him coldly. Straight in the eyes, with Nagini gliding elegantly on his slender shoulders. Harriet barely manages not to spill anything or fall. Her glasses end up crooked on her face.
"How's your friend doing?" Tom asks quietly. Dudley pales, sweating and awkwardly moves to the side to avoid him. Tom hisses a laugh and turns back to Harriet, checks that nothing's happened to her and they go to sit in the living room.
"Do photos bother you?"
"No. Why?"
"My grandma's going to want to take some pictures of us," Harriet says, sipping juice. "So you should be prepared. They'll just be normal photos." She warns and Tom shakes his head. It's not like he's bad.
"That reminds me. Do you have the photo from the dance?"
Harriet takes the expandable backpack and digs around for a while before pulling it out and showing it to him. Tom gives an involuntary laugh, tilting his head. Harriet leans back on Tom's shoulder.
"I liked dancing with you. It was fun... most of it."
"I wish it happened every year. Then next year, I'd make sure everything was okay," Tom comments, handing the photo back. Harriet puts it away and makes a face at him.
"And that you're hopelessly controlling. Just like this whole year," Harriet exhales, sounding exhausted and Tom gives a satisfied laugh. "Did they give you a time-turner? I don't understand how you managed to do everything you did—Dumbledore's congratulations make me think that's what you did."
"Sweetheart, I'm going to be the greatest wizard history has ever seen," Tom affirms, confident, boastful, almost vibrant. "And to do that, I must start by being the best student ever to graduate from Hogwarts. I'll be the only one who'll take every class available and not give up in the process."
"At least don't ignore me again for losing your mind in so many classes, will you?" Harriet asks directly, but not too domineeringly or commandingly. Just enough to make it a request somewhere between exhausted and yearning. Tom leans closer and pecks her.
"I'll make a timetable for you."
"That's so kind," Harriet laughs and kisses him equally.
Both surprised to hear a photo. Harriet climbs onto the couch, embarrassed and babbling. Rose proudly looks at the remaining photo and shows it to her. "How cute they are. You have a lovely boyfriend, Harriet... they should come over more often. Including the snake. Does she eat meat?”
"Yes."
"I'll go get her something to eat," Rose announces, leaving the photo in Tom's hands. He pointedly ignores James from a distance. The man is disgusted by how affectionate he's being.
No room for complaint. It's just little kisses. He acknowledges that he did more enthusiastic things at that age, when his relationship with Lily was just getting back on track. He tells himself it wasn't so bad. At least Lily is his age, not a year younger. He returns to the conversation so as not to be rude to his father-in-law.
Rose arrives with a plate full of meat and Nagini thanks her by giving her a small squeeze on the wrist. "It's the only place they don't fear me even with my fangs bared. Let's keep coming back every chance we get." Tom translates what Nagini says and Rose strokes her head, causing hisses and a yawn.
"What's her name?"
“Nagini.”
“You're a very cute snake, Nagini.”
Harriet laughs at her retreating. She finds it adorable how embarrassed she was. Tom pauses for a moment, wondering if this feels like a casual family gathering. A quiet affair, which may involve tension and disagreements over undesirable people, but there's one thing that makes it good and happy.
This being spending time with the Evans women's parents.
When it's time for lunch, James leads the conversation alongside Lily. It's a constant discussion about life at the Ministry of Magic. Harriet also speaks, recounting details about Hogwarts and almost enticing Tom to chime in as well.
Nagini has another plate of meat, placed on a high table they've moved closer to the dining room so she's not isolated. Tom takes it upon himself to explain that she's not a pet, but a companion. On the other hand, he can almost swear Petunia and Vernon are about to explode with rage.
They haven't been able to say much. Just the occasional sharp comment, saying that James hasn't achieved much, that Lily is just playing at work and that Harriet won't achieve anything because she doesn't go to real classes. He's managed to contain the anger and violence that this generates in him. The warm atmosphere is maintained thanks to that.
"So how has everything been for you, Tuti?" Rose asks with a loving smile.
"Oh, more than perfect, Mum. Vernon was able to buy a new car for our vacation, we fixed up our whole house—"
"Was it torn down? We even had to tear down the walls."
"We just needed to change the wallpaper." James slumps a little in his seat, sometimes forgetting that not everyone is like him and Lily. "And my sweet Duddy decided to take up boxing."
"He'll kill anyone, he's so fat," Harriet says quietly, through her teeth, stuffing food into her mouth. Petunia slams the table, causing a start.
"My Duddy isn't fat! He's just a big boy! He's still growing. At least he's not a skinny freak like this kid... What did you say you do?" she asks Tom, who looks at her coldly.
"I'm not interested in sports. I prefer politics."
"Politics," Vernon mocks. "Whether floating stones have more rights than normal stones."
"Politics that decides whether ignorant, abusive Muggles can take a wizard child into their care. For example, if he'd been born a wizard, he would have had an extremely sad and horrible life with you," Tom explains, pointing at Dudley and causing Vernon to blush. Harriet gives Tom a little kick to get him to drop the subject. "Although of course, I don't know how much you understand about politics."
"Much more than a kid who wears Merlin's clothes."
"At least I have clothes that fit me." A slight cynical smile spreads across her face. "And I'm not dependent on a pittance."
"Jah? You have nothing..."
"Actually, he's the heir to one of the ancient families of the English wizarding world... He has a vault full of gold, maybe four or five times the size of this house," James informs and Vernon stares wide-eyed and rigid. Lily clears her throat.
"When he comes of age, he'll have that fortune, probably a place in the Ministry. Tom is very good at what he does and will surely make the wizarding world a good place," the redhead opines and Harriet nods slightly. Tom remains happy and satisfied.
"And what about your parents, Tom?" Rose asks, curious.
"They died."
"So he lives in an orphanage?" Petunia makes a strange face. A mixture of disgust and cynicism, a tremendous satisfaction that things are going badly for Tom.
"Usually—"
"Actually, his dad's alive," Harriet says hastily and Tom kicks her.
"But he lives in an orphanage."
"Not all the time. He mostly stays with us," James says.
"Hah! Obviously, no one wants a freak kid in their house," Vernon laughs, his red face now glowing. Tom moves his jaw discreetly, holding back his annoyance. "Although I can imagine what that person looks like: probably a raging alcoholic."
"Thomas Riddle II... And his grandmother is Marguerite Riddle IV."
Tom gives a cruel little chuckle, pleased with how pale he is. They're here now. Harriet purses her lips slightly. "He's the main heir. So he's also rich in Muggle terms."
"Then I suppose a girl as ugly and masculine as you cursed him, because you clearly don't deserve such a good match—"
"Petunia!" Rose scolds. "I don't want to hear any more insults and disrespect from you or your husband toward a guest. Have some decency! We raised you better than that." demands the woman, who had wanted to keep her complaint to admonish her privately. Not at the table. Petunia looks at her mother, scandalized.
"Just because you've been amazed by their abnormalities doesn't mean they're—"
"Petunia," Rose presses and the woman falls silent.
Lily shifts uncomfortably in her seat. James thinks something's wrong, apart from the fact that, as usual, Petunia and her husband want to insist that because they're wizards, they're an aberration of nature. He takes her hand and Lily takes a breath, calling for attention with barely distinguishable words.
"I have something important to tell you. Everyone." Lily squeezes James's hand in return. "And I wanted to wait for this moment to make it... More special." She smiles at her parents and then at James. "I'm pregnant."
The stove explodes.
The light bulbs explode.
Rose and Oliver gasp, the woman covering her mouth with both hands.
"R-really...?" James stammers, stunned.
"I had a test yesterday, I'm four weeks along."
Tom tilts his head. Curious about who's going to kill Lily first. James or Rose, who then skips off, squealing with joy. He shifts his attention to Harriet, who doesn't seem to know whether to be happy or sad, the torrent of thoughts running through her head very dense, but finally she turns to him, shaking him.
"I'M GONNA HAVE A BROTHER!"
Then she goes to hug Lily, which may very well be the longest and most affectionate hug they've shared in a long time.
┈
"Your grandparents could go to jail if someone sees you out here with a beer in your hand." Harriet laughs and takes a long gulp from the bottle.
Her grandfather gave it to her. The celebration and conversation about it are very long and, frankly, bores her to tears. Including some friends of the family so the house is full and all of it is about the pregnancy. She preferred to go out into the garden. That way, she can have another beer from the kitchen without anyone noticing. Tom sits next to her at the small garden table and Nagini stretches out on the ground, enjoying the damp grass.
Tom crosses his legs and interlaces his fingers. "Is something bothering you?"
Harriet takes a long gulp from the beer and plays with the bottle.
"You were thinking about my mom... That maybe she'll have the daughter she wanted all along and I'll be just trash." Tom raises an eyebrow, a very specific thought. "You know she's not very proud of me."
"It could be a boy."
"I know, but even so... I'm nothing like what she wanted and" Harriet adjusts herself in the seat, sliding down and opening her legs a little wider, forgetting the dress "maybe this baby is."
Tom exhales and asks, "Would that be so bad?"
"No, no... It doesn't matter. After all, what difference does it make if she doesn't love me anyway?"
Harriet finishes her beer and leans back on the table. She inhales sharply and her eyes water. Tom finds it ironic and even ridiculous how much Harriet torments herself for Lily. The desperate way she tries to get her approval even when it's impossible. The redhead is unable to accept even the slightest thing from Harriet. She wants her to be something different and Harriet can't handle that expectation.
For her part, she just wishes that insecurity would vanish. She wants to cry because she would be so happy to have her mom love her, to be proud. She hasn't been close these past few months, but how can she be? It would show how vulnerable she is, how desperate she is for at least a trace of affection and not her mother's constantly accusatory glare.
Harriet wants the same love she receives from her father.
She wants her mother to love her for who she is...
But Lily hates her.
Every second she becomes more convinced that Lily hates her.
Now with a baby on the way, the anguish is stronger than ever. If it's a girl and if it's what Lily wanted, it's a fact that she'll never receive the slightest bit of affection or attention. She'll be the eldest child and the biggest disappointment; if it's a boy, it'll be the youngest and what Lily expects from a boy .
There's no way to win.
"Don't worry about her. You don't have to worry about someone who doesn't see your potential."
Harriet rubs his hands on her legs and stands up. Tom crosses his opposite leg. "I'll get another beer. I'll be right back." Tom watches her leave and Nagini climbs onto his lap.
" You two are equally insufferable: you both fall apart inside, but you never explain anything. Indifferent to the obvious ," the snake complains and Tom slaps her hard on the head. It makes her dizzy.
Harriet takes out a beer, opens it, takes a long gulp and listens to the conversation in the hallway, Petunia and Lily whispering.
"Let's hope this baby isn't a disaster like that savage you already have," Petunia criticizes quietly.
"Harriet isn't a savage."
It's... Different. Not ideal, but not bad. Just different. Harriet leans against the wall and takes another sip of beer, staring at her polished nails, but with a small rim that's already fallen off.
"Oh, yes, different," Petunia quips. "She's a savage, an abomination. Her hair, her face, her chest, that she's the same as that loser you married... With any luck, that child will be normal."
"That wouldn't be luck," Lily argues.
"One less freak in this family."
"My family isn't freaks and I won't allow you to talk to them like that. It's not my fault that your life is miserable and you're jealous of not being born with magic. It's not my fault that happened this way, Petunia," Lily says, exasperated, her voice getting faster and faster. “If it bothers you so much, I promise I'll disappear from your life forever so there won't be any freaks, but it'll be permanent and not even Mom is going to convince me to see you again.”
Lily walks into the kitchen and is surprised to see Harriet leaning against the wall, drinking beer. She sighs wearily. "Don't drink so much. It could hurt you."
"If you say you're going to throw up every two minutes, I'll believe you, but I'd rather not follow that recommendation," Harriet jokes and Lily laughs, shaking her head.
"Don't tempt me. This champion in here might want to kick you," Lily warns playfully as she slaps her flat stomach.
Harriet finishes her beer and goes to get another. She stops halfway out of the kitchen. "We're not freaks... We're just... Us, right?"
Lily can see the expectation in her daughter's eyes. Almost desperate for confirmation of that fact. Lily nods with a faint smile and Harriet has just left. She joins Tom in the garden and he uses his natural magic to cool the beer even more. Lily rubs her stomach again.
Thoughtful about many things, among them, that it's been a long time since she saw her daughter happy with her and today, even though she showed it, she still ended up this way: almost depressed. Lily bites her lip and sees James approaching.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
"Darling, why are you so nervous? Do you want to go to the doctor? Start planning the room? I think we'll have to knock down the walls again," James laughs.
Lily notices he's just as happy as when she announced she was pregnant with Harriet. It's a wonderful feeling to have that energy and excitement from her husband. They hadn't talked about having another child, much less with so much going on, but having reached this point feels good.
Or it should.
"It's not... It's not that."
“So?”
“I just don't feel them” James raises an eyebrow, half confused and half irritated. “It's like I don't…”
Lily doesn't finish the sentence. One that makes him think the worst.
“Do you think you had an abortion? You really don't...?”
“I mean, I don't feel magic. It's not like Harriet” she rushes to explain and James exhales, relieved. “With her, I felt warmth, I felt her magic vibrating, I felt... That it was there. With this baby, I don't feel anything” she complains frustratedly, running her hand over her flat abdomen. “And... What if they're not a wizard?”
“Love, sometimes magical babies aren't magical bombs from the start” James assures his wife nonchalantly and tenderly in her anguish. It's more than justified. “Harriet was an exceptional case” the memory is still unsettling. “Let's do something better.”
He makes her get up and walk to the couch. Once there, he whistles, attracting his owl, Lyon, to his arm.
"I'll tell Molly, Alice and Sarah to come over, talk about their pregnancies so you can feel a little more secure," James suggests and Lily can't help but laugh. "I'll bring everyone some food. Then I'll buy dinner. Maybe some nice Chinese food from the village forty minutes away. Last time, almost a year ago, it tasted good... Harriet! Tom! Come down and clean!"
"Why aren't you using magic?" Harriet yells from upstairs.
"Because you promised to clean so you could go to the movies! Come on!" James insists, pacing around the living room, making the letters write themselves.
Lily rests her chin on his. Even if her worries are well-founded... Having James like this is a dream.
Chapter 71: Act. LXXI. Looking for the strength
Chapter Text
At the two-week mark, Lily is calmer; she can sense the baby's magic. Much less strong than it was with Harriet. She still considers it her most fascinating experience. Sometimes she struggled to think of Harriet as a baby. It was like having a little ball of energy inside her body that could laugh, cry and sleep as an independent entity.
As if, even before birth, Harriet was fully alive and displaying her humor.
From their conversation, she knows this isn't normal. Hermione was similar. She caused a bit of chaos and wonder at the same time, creating starry dreams, a feeling of confidence and luck. Overall, a marvel. All of Molly's children, on the other hand, were a different experience.
The twins were a constant false alarm, also kicking and the impression of laughter; Ginny was a subtle sensation; Percy, Charlie and Bill took almost five months to manifest anything and Ron was the least noticeable of the group. Which was a relief for Molly and she was very grateful for it. Neville wasn't much different.
There's just one problem: Harriet can't control the insecurity that's attacking her. She wants to convince herself it's all in her head, but she hasn't been told anything about her birthday. If they're going to stay here, she can invite people over, they're going to travel, they're going to eat. Her dad is totally distracted and a little hurtful. Harriet blames the habit of constantly reminding her of her birthday a week in advance.
She's embarrassed that she sounds spoiled, or that maybe they're already thinking about it, but haven't told her. Her ability to choke on a glass of water is impressive. Today, stuck in the Burrow for a sleepover with Ron, she expressed her concerns.
It was a bad idea.
"When you have a younger brother, you don't matter anymore. So now your dad's going to forget about you too." Harriet grimaces and Ron stretches out where he's lying. "It's not about you anymore, it's about the baby. Besides, you'll be fifteen years older than him."
"So what?"
"You're going to be the nanny by default. You're a helper, not a daughter anymore," Ron mocks and Harriet snorts, abruptly sinking down onto the bed.
Ron notices her breasts through the loose, but almost transparent, shirt; he also notices her large body, so worked out and kept in shape. Harriet's features have become more mature. Her eyes are slightly longer, her jawline is pronounced and her hair is hip-length.
"I don't think it's like that. My parents wouldn't do that," Harriet says uncertainly and Ron snaps out of his reverie.
"Your mom already ignores you. Why wouldn't your dad? Having siblings is a pain," Ron grumbles and Harriet bites her lip.
Even more nervous than before.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
"A baby? Now?"
James finds Sirius's reaction odd. He thought he'd be happy, not that he'd seem somewhere between surprised and worried. With a spell, he arranges the papers and the furniture in the office.
"I know it's a long way between Harriet and this baby, but it won't be a problem," he assures, smiling. Sirius continues to cross his arms, looking uncomfortable, tapping his feet lightly on the floor. "Besides, it was a surprise to everyone. Not even Lily expected it."
"How could both of you not expect it? You two have always been careless. How many pregnancy alerts have there been?" Sirius is convinced they were secretly looking for it. They never take care of themselves and they don't even try to do anything magically. It would be so simple and yet, they seem to avoid it. "Are you sure this is a good time?"
"Of course it is. Harriet is old enough to not need help with anything basic, we can redo a new room, Lily's job doesn't require much effort and-"
Sirius raises a hand, silencing him.
"I need you to land on this, moment, on this problem," Sirius clarifies brusquely and annoyed. "Is it a good idea to have a baby now ? Grindelwald's still around, we have to take the most drastic measure of all." James slowly stops smiling. "Is this a good time for you to think about a baby?"
"Lily wants it, I can't tell her to abort it. She's already made up her mind."
"She can decide whatever she wants, but what are you going to do? How do you plan to handle it? If we delayed this matter so much, it's because you were nervous and it seemed like we'd finally get somewhere," Sirius emphasizes, "but that wasn't the case. Grindelwald's still around, he already killed a student under Hogwarts's nose and was on the verge of raping, kidnapping and who knows what else, my goddaughter." He taps his chest and James finds it irritating that he says it like that. As if Harriet is more his. “This isn't the fucking time for this.”
"This plan of yours, this extremism—"
"It only works if we play dead. No one can know we're alive, much less play along." Sirius approaches James and his cynical, half-mocking expression disturbs the Chief of Defense. "What are you going to do with that baby that you won't be able to see in the process and won't be in the room?"
"Why would it take us so long? Why can't Lily know?"
"As soon as we're there, they'll be watching her. If she's calm, they'll know it's a trap," Sirius explains, almost frustrated. "No one, not even the two of them, can know. It must be that way. So you should take your mind off "a sweet time-out " if you want the baby safe. As well as the teenager who's a target."
"Sirius, don't make my life more miserable than necessary."
"Me? I'm trying to help you! Wanker," he complains through gritted teeth. "So you can have the happy family you imagine. Grindelwald can't be on the map. That's a fact."
"Your plan to infiltrate us involves taking advantage of the fact that you're... In love with me. Are we even going to follow that?" Sirius flinches slightly; of course he's thought about that and he doesn't like any of the possibilities. "Not only pretending to be dead, but also being unfaithful to my wife."
"You'll be under a spell, I suppose. Doesn't count."
“Sirius.”
“By the way, lots of thoughts about the baby, but I haven't heard anything about Harriet turning fifteen. Learn to think about several important events at once.” James closes his eyes and hisses; he'd forgotten. He's been scheduling a thousand things: fixing the house, buying things, talking to Lily about the baby in general. “So divide your brain into three: Do I want this baby to live well? Do I want to hunt down the most important criminal in history? What cake do I bring on July 31st?” Sirius pats him on the shoulder, laughing. James hisses; Sirius knew how to spoil his joy.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
James leans against the doorframe, watching Harriet play the violin. It still amazes him that she could learn. It's not a talent he'd imagined. Like singing. She does it from time to time. The violin lessons came with vocalization and breath control. Overall, it makes him happy that his daughter is so versatile.
Good in her classes.
Good at sports.
Good at music.
She's bad at drawing and also at doing things on time or controlling her temper, but that's normal! He doesn't know if anyone can be perfect at everything.
Still, to James, his daughter is perfect. More than perfect. The smile he had fades. Thinking about what Sirius told him in the office: the infiltration plan. Is it a good idea? Is it the only possible option? He's considered it and, in doing so, has fallen into potential trouble spots.
Grindelwald isn't going to trust them quickly, so important talks, key points and participation wouldn't be for them. On the contrary, they would be on probation and who knows how long that might take. It also comes into question whether he'll go under the excuse that Sirius brought him, an excuse Sirius might not be able to maintain.
His best friend may be a good actor, but he's never seen him sustain a lie for long. Not of this caliber, at least. He should also support him. Maybe feign repulsion or pretend he doesn't know anything. Grindelwald used him as a prize for Sirius if he chooses.
He'll be watching them...
The issue of feigning death also has many ramifications. He has to arrange a will, leave his vault, the house, belongings, heirlooms and so on in Lily and Harriet's name. No one should try to fight them. The title of head of the family falls to Harriet and she'd end up with a guardian in case of an emergency between the great families. Who will that guardian be if Sirius also pretends to die? Arthur? With so much on his plate? Remus will be at Hogwarts. He won't have time for that.
Leaving Lily alone for who knows how many months. Can she turn to her sister and moving in with her parents? It's an option, but not ideal. Not one Lily would want. She wants her life as it was. Let it be like her first pregnancy.
...
...
...
What would become of his little girl?
How could he pretend to be dead without it affecting Harriet?
She has Tom, of course and also many friends to lean on, but if he's seen anything about her, it's that she's very elusive. She hides when her distress is greatest and this? What would happen to her? What would happen to Lily? How would she come back later, telling everyone what he did and that included sex with Sirius?
Or even Grindelwald if things get too twisted.
How does he do it?
He's probably going to abandon them for months. A crazy plan that, to be honest, is the best possibility he has within his grasp. Grindelwald would be dazzled by finally achieving one of his goals. He'd let his guard down from time to time and they could end this whole problem once and for all.
It would only mean sacrificing a few months of his life.
A few months without his wife, maybe not even seeing the baby born.
A few months without his daughter, without knowing anything about her and being left with the image he has here in front of him: her like a beautiful, shining light, but small in size and everything wants to devour her.
Destroy her.
Consume her.
"Dad? Are you okay?"
James wipes his cheek and laughs. "You play so well now. You even put magic into the strings... It's very beautiful, Bambi."
Harriet smiles, puts the violin aside and goes to him, hugging him tightly. James does the same back, biting his lip and squeezing his eyes shut. What am I supposed to do...?
"Do you want anything for your birthday? Bring your friends, go on a trip... Whatever you prefer. Sorry I forgot."
"Okay. I knew you'd remember eventually," she laughs, swaying inside herself. "Can it be anything? Tom and Hermione? Can they be there?"
"Don't you want Ron too?"
"Nah, he said some horrible things that made me paranoid. He's grounded."
James laughs. Pleased that Harriet is starting to take action on Ron's behaviors that make her feel bad.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
Tom crosses his legs and sees Harriet in the distance, playing animatedly with Hermione. This year's birthday plan was a water park. Lily and James are also doing their thing, barely a month pregnant; there's no risk that will stop her from having just as much fun. Tom, for his part, is calmly sitting in a chair, keeping watch.
He doesn't like swimming pools, or even wearing short, open clothes to get into the mood. However, it's his girlfriend's birthday and he didn't want to ruin her day or reject the invitation. She took him to France and although museums bore her, she spent those three hours with him.
Love and relationships are a bit of a sacrifice, he supposes.
Harriet runs up to him, takes his arm and gives him a shake. "That slide is great! Come on. Before the line gets too long."
"If I wanted to go into water full of urine, I'd go to the ocean. At least it cleans itself, sweetheart," Hermione reaches them. "I was going to get something to eat."
"You'll go after the slide. Come on!" Harriet presses and Hermione laughs. "Don't tell me you're afraid of a slide. I didn't know you were afraid of it, Tommy."
His eyebrow twitches. "I'm not scared of slides. I'm not five."
"Then let's go," the soaked Gryffindor encourages. Tom gives an exasperated grunt.
"Leave him alone, he just doesn't love you enough to play in a perfectly clean and fun water park," Hermione says, feigning embarrassment. She pulls Harriet away from Tom and the Slytherin feels his nerves fray.
Not only are they mocking him and asking him for disgusting things, they scold him and to make matters worse, Hermione takes his girlfriend with her. He groans, leaving her important items in his backpack and following after them, who are giggling among themselves, reveling in their triumph.
"Looks like they did it," Lily jokes, watching them from a distance. James finds Tom's hateful expression amusing. Like a sulky puppy.
The line isn't very long; the only bad thing is that he can hear a couple of flies buzzing around his ear. To put it mildly. He listens to the chatter of two women he doesn't know, isn't interested in and keeps pointing at him. His disgusted expression only gets worse when one of them lightly takes his arm.
"Hey, handsome," one of them greets. Tom looks her up and down: dyed brown hair, a swimsuit bordering on a bikini and bright pink nail polish; blonde hair in a messy bun, an even smaller bikini and perky breasts. "What's your name?"
"I'm sixteen, get lost."
They both flinch and Tom snorts, turning to Harriet and Hermione, who are staring at each other.
"Has this happened to you before...?"
"More than you'd imagine," Tom grumbles through gritted teeth. "What?" he demands of the now giggling pair behind him.
"We wanted to treat you to something to eat after the slide, would you like it?" Tom looks her up and down. Does she like being treated badly or something? Usually, being rude once is enough.
"Lunch? Do you have any money? Or do you think sucking the cook's penis will get you something? What, those flabby breasts and angry face are worth?" The flirtatious banter in the air fades as he continues. Both Harriet and Hermione gasp. They've never seen him so aggressive and cruel. "Although in your case it's worse, because you're so insecure that you stuck a piece of plastic inside you to pretend there's something... So, no, I'm not interested. Get lost."
"YOU'RE A...!"
Tom freezes the floor and she slips and thumps. He gives a cruel little laugh, moving forward without interest. Harriet catches up with him.
"That was pretty intense, wasn't it?"
"If I had a pound for every time women in their twenties and thirties tried to flirt with me, I'd be a lot richer," Tom mocks. "Unfortunately, they just won't leave me alone."
"Still, it was a bit... Harsh."
"I'd never tell you guys if that's what you're worried about," he informs as he walks. The three of them sit at the start of the enormous slide.
"Next time, don't be so obnoxious."
"Depends."
Tom grits his teeth as they take the plunge. It's almost vertical and the free fall isn't good for his stomach. He hugs Harriet's arm and can barely hold his breath as they tumble into the pool. Harriet comes out of the water with a gasp and a smile. She jerks his hair back, Hermione throws it over her shoulder and Tom is the last to pop up.
His hair draped over his eyes like a curtain, but still revealing his nose and mouth. Harriet laughs and brushes his hair back from his face. "See?! That was fun!" She jumps into his arms and Hermione tries not to overthink it.
How Harriet moves to lightly take his head.
How Tom holds her by the waist and then her back...
“You're lucky it's this birthday.”
“I know!”
They're weird. Very weird.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
Something miraculous has happened: several children have been adopted. Tom is grateful for it. Less fuss, less hassle, more food if he feels like going to the kitchen for a snack. Little kids, mostly. It's funny how children six and under have the best chance of being adopted.
Nobody wants a teenager, much less one nobody else wanted.
The influx of adults entering the orphanage has increased. How could it not? They've taken him to competitions and contests to advertise and make money. Everyone is amazed and hopeful of having an equally smart child. Assuming they get that kind of education here. Poor fools.
Today in particular, he wanted to read outside the orphanage. From what he sees, all those adults coming and going. Some asked for an interview, but he refused. He refuses to let them adopt him and that's enough to stop the process from starting. His reading is going very well until he notices something bothering him.
A man stares at him.
Tom crosses his leg, raising an eyebrow at the man, maybe forty years old. The man stares at him and it's unpleasant. He looks back at his book, uninterested in the person. Just another idiot. Nothing new.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
"We're not really going to die. What's all the paper for?"
"Because I'm not going to let anyone try to take my inheritance from my family," Sirius rubs his brow. "The Blacks are going to be the first to be vultures and I won't allow it."
"I left everything in Harriet's name, even my underwear is hers as soon as we do this, but these permits—"
James glares at him, demanding he shut up and Sirius throws up his hands. He doesn't like seeing James so dejected and neurotic. It's so obvious that he's consumed by worry. They've already arranged the wills, the signatures at the bank, the vault entry, various technicalities.
And even with that, James continues like a madman, doing paperwork and magically signing them. Sirius knows they have to be careful, but how much more careful can he be? He understands he's not in his shoes. He doesn't have a wife and no baby on the way, yet Harriet is his goddaughter. He sees her as a daughter and is worried about her. That's why he decided to leave everything to her. Even when he returns to life, he doesn't plan on taking her away as his heir.
He'd even give her his last name if he didn't hate it so much.
"James," Sirius stops and the man bites his lip. "It'll be worth it. We're going to make it,' he promises with a weak, affable smile.
“I hope so,” James says quietly. He's just signed the last remaining papers and rubs his face. He looks at his watch. *I'll go get Lily. I'll take her to dinner.”
“Then I can come over to your house to watch movies with Harriet.” Sirius drums his hands on the desk before getting up to leave.
“Sirius,” he calls and he turns around. “Haven't you considered the possibility of us being discovered and killed for real?”
“Oh, please, they couldn't kill you.” James looks confused. “I won't let them do anything to you. Leave it to me, Prongs,” he says confidently. James rests his chin on his hand, his gaze blank and his spirit troubled.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
“Is something wrong, darling? I've seen you a little... sad these days.”
James shakes his head, smiling ruefully at his wife. Lily reaches out and gently tugs at a strand of hair. They both laugh and James kisses her knuckles.
"I love you."
"An I love you, a fancy dinner, really," Lily jokes and James laughs, wanting to cry.
Wishing everything would be easier.
Chapter 72: Act. LXXII. Day of work
Chapter Text
"Ready?"
Harriet nods and steps down from the windowsill. Her plant is growing like crazy. Neville praised it. Harriet writes constantly about it. About other things, too. It's a pleasant conversation. She fixes her hair as she passes by the mirror. It has two thick braids that meet in the back, barrettes that Hermione gave her and a thin fringe that frames her face.
She's wearing smaller-than-usual trousers, as well as a slightly oversized sweater. It's not Hogwarts, so she won't get anyone's attention in the corridors. No one will say anything. At least she hopes so. James watches her from the corridor, chuckling. He thinks it's sweet how his daughter dresses up. Those final touches.
Checking that her eyes are neatly lined, that her blush is evenly applied, that she has her earrings, her necklace and her rings. She still gives an impression of being carefree about her appearance, but infinitely more polished.
He knew it would only be a matter of time before she became interested in these things.
"Can I see the smuggled animals?"
"I can't promise that," James says, stepping into the fireplace and Harriet pouts. Seconds later, they're at the Ministry.
James offered to accompany him to work. That might mean being holed up in his office all day, but she came prepared: magazines, the violin, the miniature puffskin and other things to keep herself busy in case James is too busy. Which is almost certain. He's the head of the department, after all.
They don't make it to the office; almost everyone keeps them there. "You grow so much! It's been a while, haven't you seen you?!"
"James, you kept your daughter under wraps. The last time she came, she was the size of a cupcake."
"What year are you in now?"
"Wow, someone decided to make a radical change."
Harriet has never felt so surrounded as she does now. James gives a nervous laugh. Of course, he brought her here often as a child and with Hogwarts, those moments are over. Besides, several of the Aurors haven't been here in a long time. Naturally, Harriet as a proper teenager is surprising. Not to mention the dramatic physical change she's undergone.
Her weight gain, muscle definition and long hair. The only thing that's stayed the same is that she's short. It'll be a miracle if she reaches 5'6."
"Don't push her. Show some compassion." Harriet takes James's hand. "Come on. Leave all those questions until lunchtime." Harriet squeezes his hand. Does her dad think she has that much social capacity? He's very wrong if he thinks she'll be able to do that.
She's already anxious and they've barely arrived.
"Where's Mum?"
"The Department of Mysteries. It's downstairs. Maybe you can go there in a bit. When I've checked that there's nothing dangerous there. Sometimes they do strange tests with ancient spells or very powerful relics," James explains. Harriet nods. She sits next to him and reads the files with him. Most of them are boring and make James yawn.
Comments come and go. Her dad seems to be able to remember thousands of things without any problem.
"Do we have a role in the wizarding world? As a family," she mentions, puzzled by the invitation to join a gathering of noble families. James shrugs.
"For many, many generations, the Potters have been charged with ensuring the safety of England's magical balance." James brushes back his hair with one hand. "They said we had a strong sense of duty, that we would prevent wizards from killing each other... it's funny, but eventually we'll end up in a position where we look after others."
"Are you talking about the bone-regenerating potion?"
"Yes."
Harriet purses her lips and brows. She knows her ancestors have had a curious pattern of creating something or being the ones who prevent a large-scale tragedy. She doesn't see herself in that group. It's practically impossible. James shrugs.
"It's said that as long as there's a Potter in the wizarding world, no danger lasts forever. To me, that's an exaggeration," James dismisses with a laugh. "The Blacks store information, the Goyles are the defenders of the Muggle world—there are several, but I didn't learn those." Harriet can't imagine Goyle defending anyone. He'd rather hex himself. "And if I remember correctly, the Malfoys are in charge of aesthetics."
"Don't fuck with me."
"Harriet."
"It's just not fair. How do they expect me to surpass the damn thing with aesthetics in her blood," Harriet complains, indifferent to her dad's bad looks. "No matter what I do, I can't beat her at it and..."
Being honest about her competition with Drakonys is liberating. Much better than pretending it isn't. James exhales, shaking his head. "You two are very different, Bambi... and there's nothing wrong with you. You're changing bit by bit. I'm sure people prefer your style to hers. Only boastful, purebloods are so obsessed with elegant clothes, even for sleeping.” James mocks. Indiscreet and amused. Harriet snorts.
"I want to win. It doesn't count if only Gryffindor supports me."
"Tom's going to support you... Doesn't he really prefer you dress like a girl of nobility?” he asks curiously. Tom is very refined and judges everyone. Still, he views Harriet with adoration. Whether she wears the most urban or casual clothes he can find.
Harriet smiles, tilting her head.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
It's funny how much Tom hates seeing girls in almost masculine clothing. They usually wear it oversized or in a way that he finds ridiculous. The thing is, he knows it's a hypocritical trait. Because Harriet dresses like that and every once in a while, it's the sexiest thing that can happen.
The idea of discovering what those oversized pants hide.
Ripping the shirt that hides her round breasts.
Leaving her with just the leather jacket on while he watches her jumping all over him.
It's a huge hypocrisy that Tom won't stop. He simply loves it in his girlfriend. Of course, he doesn't detract from dresses, skirts and above all: the shape defines. These are his truly out-of-control situations. Harriet in a ball gown is the sexiest thing life can throw at him.
"Fantasizing about Harriet again?" he feigns dementia with Nagini, who clearly mocks him. "Funny how your whole body ignites just thinking about her. Abstinence doesn't suit you," the snake jokes.
"Is there any mail?" Nagini laughs. What a weak attempt to prevent further discussion of the subject. She leaves the letters on the desk and climbs onto Tom's lap to read with him.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
Harriet stares at the elevator doors. Standing awkwardly and clumsily at the bottom. When James said the Department of Mysteries was downstairs, she didn't think it was that far down. She's about to reach the basement. The elevator stops, to her utter annoyance. The person who gets in catches Harriet's eye for one reason: all her clothes are pink. A pretty pastel shade, in an old-fashioned and distracting outfit. She's a lady of her height, which means a lot.
She looks at the doors again, hoping to get there quickly. It sends a chill down her spine to see the woman turn. Her mouth is elongated and her eyes bulging, resembling a toad.
"Where's the young lady going?"
"Department of Mysteries. My mom is there," she answers in a low, timid voice. She looks at her up and down.
"For someone who's moving alone within the Ministry, your attire leaves a lot to be desired." Clasping her hands together and batting her eyelashes, Harriet gives her a blank look. What's she talking about? "I'm afraid next time, you should make an effort to look presentable. The Ministry isn't just any alleyway that allows this kind of lack of decorum."
"I just came to see my-"
"It doesn't matter what you're here to do," she interrupts, walking toward her, almost intimidatingly. "Because I'm sure... That the only thing you didn't come here to do... Is sell yourself like you usually do."
"Excuse me?"
The woman uses her wand; with a small movement, Harriet feels something suffocating her. She touches part of her chest with a grimace: now her sweater is a turtleneck. Harriet stutters and the woman clasps her hands together with a sigh of relief.
"Now at least you look like a slightly more decent girl. I know your mother will thank me for it." The elevator doors open and the woman leaves with a smug expression.
Harriet stammers, confused and irritated by what just happened.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
“A woman in pink clothes… Ah, Dolores Umbridge” Harriet is surprised by the disdain with which her mother speaks. Lily was kind enough to reverse the transfiguration on the piece of clothing. It's not her strong suit, but it's not a complicated process given how little was done. “She's the head of the Department of Misuse of Magic. It's a pain in the ass.”
“She told me I'm a whore.”
“Really?” Alice replies with a hand to her chest. Harriet shrugs.
“That's why the clothes.”
“She always thinks she's superior to everyone else,” Lily says contemptuously. “She also thinks she's the purest blood, when in reality she's half-blood and her father was the most loved janitor for many years,” she adds, arranging Harriet's clothes. “I don't know how many times she's tried to screw up James’ reputation or work and failed. If we're talking allies, James has a lot more people inside the Ministry. She's... An envious, manipulative eccentric fucking bitch.” Lily coughs discreetly and Harriet laughs.
“She talks ridiculously.”
“She's fucking insufferable.”
Having finished the special conversation, Lily gives her a brief tour of the Department of Mysteries. It's not possible to enter all the rooms, not even for her, so it can't be a complete tour. Harriet stops, listening for something.
「The light came」
She walks slowly toward the door. Lily still doesn't notice Harriet staying behind.
「And darkness followed」
Harriet stands in front of the entrance, breathing deeply. It's almost magnetic to go there.
「They can't be separated. No one can separate them」
She takes the door handle and turns it slowly.
「Her role—」
“Harriet, you can't go in there.”
Harriet takes a deep breath. She looks at Lily, then at the door and releases the handle. The redhead looks at her strangely, grabbing her shoulder. She's confused and a little agitated. She leans down to be a little closer to her level.
"Did something bad happen?"
"N-no… Just…
I heard something, but it doesn't matter. It didn't make much sense," she excuses, ignoring the involuntary tremors. Lily glances at the door.
"This is the room of prophecies. Normally, they don't get much attention, but they're all stored there," she informs Harriet, who nods awkwardly. "Some come true, some don't; some aren't even understood. In general, they're some of the strangest things in the wizarding world."
"And why can't you go in?"
"Because when a person hears a prophecy, they're very likely to do everything they can to fulfill it or prevent it and that causes it to happen." Harriet grimaces. That sounds dangerous on so many levels. "So it's best to keep them sealed. Sometimes they're heard by neutral people. That way you know of a cataclysm that seems feasible."
"Hogwarts exploding, for example?"
"Exactly."
Harriet looks back at the door. If that's what's inside, why was she listening to it? Is there a prophecy near the door that started beeping like a radio or something? Harriet doesn't understand. It's very confusing. He keeps walking beside her mother, thoughtful and confused in equal measure. Maybe she'll tell Tom about it. He'd surely find it entertaining or curious at the very least.
He and Hermione hate divination, so they'll definitely do a thorough investigation into it. Either to disprove that possibility or to verify how strong people's willpower is for things like that to happen.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
“How did it go?”
Sirius raises his hands; he doesn't see why James should be so angry with him. He can't imagine what that audience between heads of household was like, if he left in such a bad mood. He sees Harriet approaching in the distance, listening to Lily explaining something to her. Harriet waves at him as soon as she notices him and runs in his direction.
Accidentally colliding with Lucius. The blond man stares at her, his grip on his cane tightening. "I guess all that magic and a pair of glasses don't fix the problem, because she can't see anything."
Harriet steps aside and both her parents and Sirius come to her aid. Lucius gives a small snort with a cynical smile.
"Now you're going to torment another child who isn't your daughter?" James asks angrily, holding Harriet by his shoulder and his daughter leaning on him.
"Torment?" Lucius repeats. "I'm afraid that, unlike you, I'm capable of raising my daughter properly. In addition to helping her have a better future than yours will have." He looks back at Harriet. "The Potter name is definitely lost."
"I didn't know about your interest in my name or my family," James quips.
"Saving her future is a funny way of saying you're treating your daughter like a mare and selling her off to get pregnant as soon as she graduates," Sirius comments cruelly. "I hope you have the decency not to show her naked in the process."
"Sirius," Lily scolds.
"What? It's the truth. Everyone knows he's looking for the best person to sleep with her as soon as she sets foot outside Hogwarts," Sirius emphasizes, seeing nothing wrong with it.
Although Sirius is the one talking, Lucius is paying attention to James and Harriet. As if he can't take his eyes off them. Almost desperate to provoke a reaction from them. He's not interested in Lily and even less so in Sirius. He could argue with him all day and they'd be indifferent. However, what he really wants is to keep tempting the pair of lights to explode.
To make it a scandal even if they're standing in the middle of the Ministry corridor."
"The biggest difference is that Drakonys has suitors. This… "Little girl," on the other hand, is lucky enough to be harassed or attempted to rape. No one will-”
"He's just as insufferable! That's why no one likes you and you just think like idiots!"
Lucius stiffens at Harriet's surprising comment. Sirius almost falls over laughing and Lily covers her smile with her fist. James takes advantage of Harriet's impertinent reaction to avoid reacting aggressively. Lacking the patience or humor to endure what Lucius is saying and indifferent to his doing so, he wants to annoy him. It's an insult and James wants to hit Lucius; he wants him to regret it somehow.
"You all hate each other. You're miserable people who only think about money and love making life miserable for someone who has everything you don't. You're pathetic. Go fuck yourself and get raped," Harriet says without thinking, rushed and tense, too nervous.
Because she's heard it too many times.
She's thought it too many times. And she doesn't want to. She doesn't want to remind herself that if it weren't for Tom, she wouldn't have anyone; she'd only have those who have a perverse interest in her, like Quirrell or the others who bully her; strange, sick people and that would be the only way anyone would be interested in her.
She doesn't want to hear it from Lucius.
She doesn't want the Malfoys making fun of her and her romanticless life.
"Well, it seems that even in her words, she's a very out-of-place child."
"The pink toad," Harriet mutters, looking to the side.
"Any more problems? Umbridge?" James questions and she shakes her head, staring at him. Hardly blinking.
"No problems, Mr. Potter... none." She looks down at Harriet, "although I must say, I'm very curious to know what your daughter will be like when she has better manners and etiquette. It's a shame that such a brilliant child should be overshadowed by a lack of decency." Umbridge takes Harriet's cheek and tugs at it. Harriet hisses through her teeth. "I suppose with so many commitments, you don't do a single one of them well. You do your job poorly, does your job as a father poorly... it's inevitable. You're biting more than you can chew."
"Do you do anything?" Lily asks angrily and Umbridge barely turns to look at her. "Because as far as I remember, all you've done in these years is free all the defendants James brought to court."
"Coincidences."
"Very specific."
"Are you implying something? Mrs. Potter."
"Yes, clearly, but you're an expert at playing stupid," she replies with disdain and mockery. Umbridge turns to Harriet, leaning slightly toward her.
"We're going to have a lot of time together soon. I hope the meetings will be less agonizing than these, Miss Potter... and I promise you'll come out a lot better after each meeting," she assures and Harriet's face scrunches up further. What is she talking about? "Excuse me," she says. Lucius watches her go.
As does the discreet gesture she makes. He grips his cane more firmly and gives Harriet one last look. "You haven't changed a bit: a mini-beast who disgraces the name. A real shame on the Potter family. Excuse me."
"Yeah yeah, get lost," Sirius huffs. Harriet exhales and runs her hand irritably over her altar. "Shall we get something to eat? My stomach is rumbling."
"I need something sweet," Lily says.
In the end, the four of them go to eat. Harriet is left feeling bitter. Why would she talk to Umbridge? Unless she's here every day, there's no way that's going to happen and she's not at Hogwarts. Just assume she's crazy.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
"What did you talk about at that meeting?"
"It's... stuff about families, surnames and boring stuff I'd rather not have to go through," James says, dismissing the significance of the event in question. "Did you see anything interesting with your mom?" he asks with a soft, kind smile. Harriet nods, leaning back on the sofa.
"The Prophecy Room had something playing. I heard it, but Mom said I couldn't pay attention to it."
"Yeah, that weird fate stuff," James snorts. "And Umbridge... Do you really dislike her?"
"She made me another sweater because she said I looked like a slut." Harriet rolls her eyes and James wonders how the entire Ministry could have agreed to insult his daughter. "Dad," Harriet jumps up and walks toward him. "Is something wrong? You just have been a little... distracted lately. You also seem worried and sad."
James stares at his daughter. The long hair, the colorful, loose sweater, the vibrant green eyes, the round glasses, the pale skin. He remembers her as an adorable little baby unable to move on her own; he remembers her jumping in the garden, flying on the practice broom; he remembers her playing with Lily's clothes and painting herself without her knowing, imitating her and putting everything away before she realized it.
"It's just stress," James says softly. Harriet walks over and hugs him as James asks. The man wraps his arms around her so tightly and in such a way that Harriet feels like the arms of saying goodbye to Hogwarts, but even sadder.
As if they'll never see each other again.
James fights back the urge to cry. He's counting down in his head and he doesn't know how he'll handle pretending to be dead. James doesn't know how she'll take it, if it'll make her feel alone, if she'll feel abandoned; he has to trust that Tom will take his role. That he'll be the protector Harriet almost desperately needs.
Sirius won't be able to be a support for Harriet as always.
Remus will also be out of the game this time...
There are so many things going on and he can only hold her tighter.
"You know I love you so much, right?"
"Are you really okay?" Harriet asks, her dad's voice cracking.
"Yes. Everything's fine."
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
There's this annoying old woman who wants to make me a society lady. It's terrifying. I didn't think anyone could feel like the head of the Christian Inquisition and be in the wizarding world at the same time. She dresses all in pink and has a face like a toad. If you ever came to the Ministry, you'd probably hate her just the same.
I hope you never meet her.
Something weird happened. Some weird things happened. There's a room full of prophecies in the Department of Mysteries. That place never ends. It's like infinity. There are prophecies in that room. Mom told me that if you listen to them, you'll cause them to happen by trying to avoid them. It's like filling yourself with psychological terror. It might be interesting to study, since you want to know everything about all branches of magic.
The other weird thing that happened is that my dad is very tense and nervous these days. I think it's because they talk a lot in the family chamber, but he doesn't tell me what. I don't think he told Mom either. Today he hugged me as if he was going somewhere, as if he didn't see me never be again. I know you think I'm being dramatic, but that's how it felt and it scares me a little.
Especially after what I said to Lucius Malfoy. He's not like my dad. It's like he doesn't love Drakonys and that's why she's so insufferable, stupid and ridiculous (or at least it was more like that when nothing had happened at the Hogsmede graveyard).
I don't know why my dad is so upset and I don't want him to be. He feels distant. It's very overwhelming for me.
Everything at the Ministry felt like the worst burden of my life.
┈ ⋞ 〈 ✷ 〉 ⋟ ┈
"Hey, hun, you're a bit anxious. Is something wrong?" Lily asks, tilting her head.
James shakes his head and finishes his plate. There are still plenty of weeks until he has to leave, but he had the urge to go out to dinner with Lily today. Admiring her while she talks, while she eats, while her magic is discreet and enchanting fireworks in the air.
It's something very beautiful.
Just like Lily.
Walking down the street, strolling, enjoying the time together. Thinking of nothing else. At least that's how it is for Lily. She's happy about the date, James, everything.
"Did something bad happen?"
"Nothing you have to worry about," he assures, feigning nonchalance. Lily kisses him on the lips and smiles at him.
"We're going to a hotel."
"We have a soundproof room."
"The hotel is more romantic," Lily jokes and James lets himself go, with a mischievous little smile.
He must pretend normality.
He must pretend nothing bad is happening or about to happen.
Even if his head hurts and it's almost impossible to contain the anguish it causes him.