A/N: I've been reading a lot of tropey fluffy fanfic, and just really really craved one for Tomarry. This might be slightly OOC (I mean, Tom's just...really...nice) but this is fluff and this is what I want haha. Hope you enjoy! =) And happy early valentine's!
It was weird going to a Hogwarts without Riddle.
They weren't friends. Riddle was a Slytherin, and he was a Gryffindor; they hardly even had time to interact.
But every interaction was still sharp in his memories…the Yule Ball in which they weren't dates, but Riddle had spun him around anyway…the day the older student had walked into Potions to talk to the Professor and ended up fixing his potion for him by casually throwing in the correct ingredient…the way Harry would always meet Tom's eyes when they were eating meals in the Great Hall.
Harry had a giant, raging crush on Riddle, and he was absolutely sure Riddle knew it.
Though, to be fair, it wasn't a hard thing to suspect considering half the school had a crush on Riddle. There were always a throng of fangirls following him around, and Harry had only Hermione to thank for not being one of them.
(She knew about his crush, and pitied him throughout the last four years where he had pined endlessly after him.)
But this was a new Hogwarts. Riddle wasn't here, and that meant Harry could finally get over his stupid crush. It would be fine, and easy, and maybe this year would be the one where he finally found a boyfriend.
He thought it would be easy to get over his crush. Riddle didn't haunt the hallways of Hogwarts anymore, but his name was still there. Sometimes, his name would even pop up in the Daily Prophet; it was mind boggling how someone who had just graduated could join the Ministry and have his works published in the same year. But Harry wasn't too surprised; this was Riddle they were talking about after all.
Harry wished he could see Riddle again, but he knew it was a pipe dream. Riddle had no reason to return to Hogwarts, and even if he did, Harry had no reason to seek him out. They weren't friends.
As such, he was surprised to see Riddle in the Three Broomsticks when they were out visiting Hogsmeade. He was with two older wizards, and he wasn't laughing (Riddle didn't laugh, really, but his smirk was customary enough that witches fainted for it anyway) and Hermione slid a knowing gaze over at him.
Harry couldn't tear his eyes away, he was too busy drinking in every last detail of Riddle's silhouette. It had been so long since he had last seen it; Riddle's hair had grown longer and now some of it rested over his brown eyes and it looked so good.
"Go talk to him," Hermione said. Harry startled out of his admiration of Riddle and realized that the group of them were leaving. This was to be his last chance if he wanted – Hermione gave him a slight shove and he stumbled forward.
He glanced back at her balefully, and when Hermione just waggled her fingers at him, he dashed off, desperate to catch Riddle before he disappeared.
It was snowing and the ground was slippery, and although he called out Riddle's name, he nearly fell as he went too fast on the ice.
Riddle caught him.
When he looked up, there was amusement dancing in those brown eyes.
"Potter?" asked Riddle, and his hands were warm on his arms.
Harry opened his mouth to speak, and realized he was far too close to Riddle to even muster up a single, coherent thought. "Hi," he said, and closed his mouth, too flustered to even ask how Riddle was doing.
Riddle was staring at him as if he knew exactly what he was thinking, and then the corners of his mouth quirked up in a smile. "Do you miss me at Hogwarts?"
His heart quickened, and he swore his cheeks felt hot. "Um," he said, biting his lip hard, and Riddle's smile was slowly turning into a smirk.
"You know you can send me letters," said Riddle, and Harry nearly squeaked when Riddle gripped him a bit tighter around the arms to add emphasis to his words. He then leaned forward, his voice a caress as he whispered, "I always reply."
Harry now knew his face was aflame and he stumbled backward, Riddle letting go when he did.
There was a long moment in which Riddle stared at him inscrutably, and then there were the sound of the older wizards calling Riddle's name. They must be leaving.
Riddle looked annoyed at the interruption, but he stepped away anyway. "See you around, Potter," he said, and turned to catch up to his coworkers.
Harry stood there until Hermione came out with butterbeer, her eyes fond as she gently pulled him back into the warmth of the store.
He wrote a letter.
He had it done for a week, just sitting on his desk, and it took him a long while to work up the courage to go up to the Owlery.
There were a gaggle of girls giggling there, and it wasn't hard to overhear.
And when he did, his heart dropped.
They were sending letters to Riddle.
Is this what everyone did?
He stared at the letter in his hand, his atrocious handwriting spelling out Riddle's name in the front. He wondered if he should just rip it up – Riddle was surely just being kind, wasn't he? He had never even seen Riddle interact with those girls, and they were sending him letters…
Before he could second guess himself any longer, Hedwig took the letter into her beak. He stared in shock, and almost as if she can feel his hesitation, she turned, her snowy white wings wide and beautiful against the sky. His mouth dropped open as Hedwig shook her tail feathers at him, and then she was off.
The Ministry was a short fly from where they were. It wouldn't be long before Tom got his letter…
He wondered how long he would have to wait to get a reply.
He got one the next day.
His heart was hammering as he opened the letter, his hands shaking as undid the seal and pulled the single piece of parchment out of the creamy envelope.
Hermione peered over his shoulder as he read.
He was interrupted halfway by another student, her whispering easy enough to hear despite the low tones. "Is that Riddle's handwriting?"
"Shh," whispered her friend, "It's not any of our business. And he's Harry Potter, we have nothing to be worried about."
He flushed at her words, covering the letter away from any other peering eyes. He was about to stash it away when the other girl continued, her tone whining as her friend slowly pulled her away.
"But he never answered any of our letters."
Hermione's gaze was knowing when he finally gained the courage to look back up again.
When he asked, Riddle dodged the question.
But Harry knew; he was the only one in Hogwarts that Riddle was writing back to. At least, the only one of his fans. Harry knew he still exchanged letters with some of the Slytherins; though, this was different. But he wasn't quite sure if Riddle knew about his crush; their letters were more formal, and sometimes curt if Riddle seemed to have something on his mind.
He didn't mind Harry's ramblings, but selectively picked the things he wanted to answer. It was fitting of Riddle's character, and Harry was amused enough by it that he couldn't help spending his nights writing back long letters.
Still, they hadn't seen each other in person since Hogsmeade. Their next Hogsmeade visit was scheduled for Valentine's, but even then, Harry couldn't muster up the courage to ask if Riddle was free.
They weren't dating, after all. Harry was sure that Riddle was probably just humoring him in the first place; if he asked, he would just make a fool of himself. It was easier to keep rambling on about endless topics – specifically Quidditch and that was one subject that Riddle usually chose to ignore – and wonder about how Riddle's day had gone.
It was always a curt "It went fine" but it still warmed Harry's heart anyway. He hoped the Ministry was treating Riddle as well as Hogwarts had.
On the day of Valentine's, Hogwarts was awash in pink and white. Hedwig looked right at home when she swooped down with Harry's customary letter from Riddle.
Instead of a response, there was magnificent cursive decorating the parchment.
Happy Valentine's, it read, and the y of his name looped downward to join with the H. It was beautiful, and done with a red ink…Riddle had done it on his own. There was a neatly wrapped package of chocolates contained in the envelope.
He turned the letter around, looking for some clarification that it was from Riddle, but there was nothing. Harry knew it was from him though; no one else would bother to send him chocolates.
Because…
He put on his best smile, turning to the witch that had interrupted his breakfast. Hermione was giggling to herself to his side, but he didn't pay her any mind as he tried his best to take the girl's chocolates with grace.
"Thank you," he said, and the witch squeaked in response, her whole face turning red before she dashed away.
"I really hope there's no singing gnomes today," said Harry, his voice dark, and Hermione patted his shoulder. They both knew that his wish was hopeless.
The first one showed up at the end of breakfast, and Harry only hoped his face wasn't as red as the girl's was earlier.
Hogsmeade was a welcome relief. The girls had already seemed to give him their chocolates and were now content to trail behind Hermione and him. He wondered if they would muster up the courage to speak to him, and when they followed him into Honeydukes, he turned to face them. He raised an eyebrow, and the girls tittered, but didn't approach him, instead going to whisper to themselves in front of a chocolate stand.
He frowned, but when Hermione looped her arm into his and tugged him away, he let her.
They were perusing the more interesting choices the store had to offer, when they came upon a stand. It had chocolate wrapped in the Hogwarts house colors, but instead of the customary ones, these were intertwined with other Houses.
The Gryffindor and Slytherin ones looked to be untouched, and there was really no surprise there. He grinned, reaching out and picking it up, unable to get Riddle out of his mind now that the gold and green were in front of him. He knew why they didn't use red; it would have looked like Christmas and he doubted that was what the designers wanted.
Briefly, he wondered what Riddle's face would look like if he got him this. If he would scoff at the idea of Gryffindor and Slytherin merging…or if he would react like Harry did when he saw the chocolates this morning…
Why did Riddle send him chocolates? He didn't sign his name, but Harry had been reading his letters for the better part of the school year. He had to know that Harry would know they were from him.
"Harry?" Hermione's voice broke through his thoughts and when he looked up, she was frowning at him in worry. "Are you alright?"
"He gave me chocolates," he said, in lieu of an answer, and Hermione blinked at him. "I should give some back?"
Hermione stared and then nodded, slowly. "Are you going to send them to him?"
"No," he said, his heart racing. The Ministry wasn't too far; Harry should be able to find Riddle before dark if he hurried.
It wouldn't be right. He wanted to see Riddle's face when he gave him the chocolates; he wanted to confirm his suspicions that maybe this schoolboy crush wasn't as hopeless as he had first thought.
Getting to Riddle's office in the Ministry was the easy part.
The hard part was finding the wizard. He was nowhere to be seen.
And there were whispers all around him, eyes on Harry as he fidgeted in front of Riddle's door.
He wondered where Riddle could be; in all his letters, Riddle never seemed to have a specific schedule so Harry absolutely had no idea where he could be.
He frowned, and then reached out, wondering if just maybe the door would be unlocked.
There was a tingly feeling in his hand, and then the knob was turning. He slipped in a second later, grateful to get away from prying eyes.
And stopped in his tracks, because there was a literal mound of chocolate in front of him. It almost reached the ceiling, and Harry stared at it, slack-jawed, wondering just how many chocolates had come from Hogwarts students.
Then he looked down at the chocolates in his hand, wondering just how silly he was to come here, unannounced, to drop off chocolates. It would just be one of the many.
But he had come all this way. He had to give them to Riddle somehow. He didn't have to sign his name, but perhaps…just like him, Riddle would see the intertwined House colors and know that it was from him.
He was about to put it on the desk when the sound of the door turning alerted him. He was too frozen to turn, and when the door clicked shut, he still couldn't muster up the courage to turn around to face the newcomer.
He hoped it was Riddle.
Suddenly, there was warmth against his back and an arm across his chest and around his shoulders. Riddle was – Riddle –
He stammered, his heart beating a mile a minute, and he looked up into brown eyes.
"Are you trespassing?" asked Riddle.
"No!" he blurted out, and Riddle smirked at him, his eyes glancing up to look at the mound of chocolates in front of them.
"Trying to steal all my chocolates, then?"
Riddle was – Riddle was teasing him. He wondered just what kind of alternate reality he had landed in to have Riddle in such a good mood.
"I – " he frowned, and then closed his eyes, trying his best to get over his nerves and just give the older wizard his chocolates already.
When he opened them, Riddle was staring at him in silence. There was a long pause, and then Harry turned and brought up his hands, almost flinging the box of chocolates straight into Riddle's chest.
Riddle's hands immediately flew up to hold onto Harry's, and Harry didn't even try to get away, despite the way Riddle's hands were making him flush.
"For your chocolates," he said. "You know, equal exchange and all that."
"Oh?" asked Riddle. "Is that all it's for?" He looked pointedly down at the box, and Harry bit his lip, knowing what it looked like; the intertwined House boxes were absolutely meant for couples, and they weren't one.
"I think I …" he trailed off, unable to say the last few words, and then he glared up at Riddle. "You sent me chocolates! What were those for?"
Riddle let go of his hands abruptly, taking the box of chocolates from Harry. "What do you think they were for, Harry?"
Riddle had just used his first name. He flushed; it had felt so right to have it coming from those perfect lips. Enough so, that at first Harry missed the way that Riddle was suddenly getting closer.
"Friendship?" he squeaked out. "We're friends?"
"It's because I like you," said Riddle, and then he was awfully close, close enough that Harry could see how long his lashes were. He was mesmerized.
And then the words settled in, and his pulse skyrocketed. He stumbled back in his shock, and hit the desk.
The already precarious mound of chocolates came tumbling down.
There was a long, pregnant silence.
"I like you," continued Riddle, almost as if the chocolates had never fallen. He got closer, crowding Harry up against the desk. "And you like me."
There was a second where Harry stared, dazed, at Riddle's smug expression, and then he glanced down, too shy to continue looking. When he did, he saw the chocolates scattered across the floor and the desk and his heartbeat stuttered.
"Why?" he blurted out before he could talk himself out of it. "Why me? When…" he trailed off, gesturing around at the fallen chocolates.
A stormy gaze took over Riddle's expression before he suddenly waved his hand, banishing all the chocolates until only Harry's remained. Harry stared, shocked at the casual display of power, and then yelped when Riddle helped him up so he was now sitting on the desk with Riddle in-between his legs. Harry was shaking.
"Why?" asked Riddle, and his voice was soft, but easy enough for Harry to hear because of their proximity. "When you've chased me for so long; did you really think I wouldn't notice your little crush, Harry?"
Harry knew that Riddle had known about his crush, but hearing it out loud still made him flush in embarrassment. When Riddle's smirk only grew, Harry got even more flustered, and he raised his hands, covering Riddle's mouth.
"Stop," he pleaded because he didn't think he could take Riddle listing out why he liked him if it included the last four years in which he had stared endlessly at Riddle. If Riddle noticed he liked him, there was no way he hadn't noticed the way Harry had pined after him.
Riddle seemed content to let Harry do as he wanted, his arms moving to encircle Harry.
"Okay," said Harry, after a long second, "You're right. I like you. A lot. Since my fourth year."
Riddle tilted his head as if to say he knew, and Harry withdrew his hands, scowling.
Riddle looked like he was barely holding back laughter so Harry, although trembling, reached upward to grasp Riddle's face. Riddle looked down at him, a smirk playing on his lips, and then Harry pulled him down to meet him in a kiss.
A/N: I haven't posted on in a long time; there are a lot of other small, more explicit stories on my account on ao3. The author name is also whitedandelions, while the smut account is wetdandelions. For more accurate updates, please follow me on whitepinkdandelions on tumblr! Please review and favorite! =)