Disclaimer: Disclaimer: The Harry Potter Works are not mine. The characters and settings are owned by J. K. Rowling and her respected publishing companies e.g. Bloomsbury.

(1)Perfect Weapon is owned by Black Veil Brides – not me! (2)Always is owned by Bon Jovi – not me! (3)I Don't Wanna Miss A Thing is owned by Aerosmith – not me!

Warnings:Profanity and sexual situations between two men.

A/N: "Normal Speech" ...Parseltongue... 'Mind speak'


Quid Pro Quo

Potions Classroom – Thursday 2nd January - 9:01 AM

The Slytherins and Gryffindors trudged into the room, in which the majority of the class were Slytherins as the requirement to take the class was an O in their O.W.L.S (which surprisingly Harry managed to achieve). Slughorn stood at the front, his stomach wobbling every time he moved, a wide grin on his face (undoubtedly assessing to see any new 'Slugs'), three cauldrons were on the desk and he beckoned the class forward.

"Good morning, everybody," he greeted jovially "On my desk here, I have 3 potions, can anyone name this one?" he pointed to a cauldron full of a slow-bubbling, mud-like liquid; Harry immediately recognised it, and internally chuckled fondly at the memory of Hermione looking like Millie's cat in second year; he raised his hand and Slughorn's grin spread wider.

"Yes Mr. Potter?" he asked, eyes twinkling madly 'Not another Dumbles, Oh God' Harry moaned to himself.

"It's Polyjuice potion sir. It is used to change one's appearance into someone else's, once you add a bit of your desired person into it then it will change colour accordingly," he informed everyone, and Harry noticed with disgust that Slughorn was practically jumping for joy.

"Indeed, you're correct Mr. Potter. 20 points to Gryffindor; now," he addressed the rest of the class. "What about this potion here?" he indicated the middle cauldron, which had a mother-of-pearl sheen and spiralling smoke; Draco's hand went elegantly into the air.

"Ah, Mr. Malfoy." Slughorn said less-enthusiastically; Draco merely sneered at the man.

"It is Amortentia, sir; the most powerful love potion in the world. It smells differently to each potion, to what they are attracted to." he smirked at Slughorn's crest-fallen expression.

Harry sniffed the air and smiled goofily; he smelt: fresh rain, vanilla, cinnamon and the musky scent of Tom's hair.

"Correct, Mr. Malfoy." reluctantly giving the Slytherin house 20 points "And does anyone know what this is?" he pointed to the small vial of golden liquid.

"It's Felix felicis, sir. Also called Liquid Luck; it will grant the drinker good luck for an amount of time. However it should be used sparingly as it can lead to giddiness, recklessness and dangerous amounts of overconfidence," Harry told him nonchalantly; Slughorn beamed again and Harry rolled his eyes secretively at Draco, who snorted and smirked in return.

"Yes. And I will be giving this vial to whoever correctly brews the Draught of Living Death," the professor informed the now, lively buzzing class. "Now take your seats, take out your books, gather your equipment and begin."

Harry took a seat next to Draco and removed his copy of Advanced Potion Making, at the beginning of 6th year Harry hadn't bought any books due to the stressful summer, but instead borrowed any spare copy the school had. And the only spare potions book was an old, ratty copy with scribblings on the pages, however the scribblings proved more useful than the actual instructions themselves, and he kept it after he found himself excelling in potions.

He had however repaired the book to make it look brand new, spelled the notes into his hand-writing so no-one was any the wiser. The book belonged to the 'half-blood prince', and Harry knew exactly who it was s due to the familiarity of the hand-writing, (after seeing it so many times in red-ink). So after some research, he had soon discovered that Severus Snape's father, Tobias, was an abusive muggle who murdered his wife, a pure-blooded witch with the name of Eileen Prince – hence the name Half-blood Prince.

So with the help of Severus' book, Harry soon completed a perfect cauldron of the draught of living death, and was subsequently awarded the tiny vial of golden liquid; and as he was packing his things he discretely passed a note towards the blonde.

We have a free period next. Meet me outside Room Of requirement, 7th floor opposite tapestry of Barnabus teaching trolls ballet in 15 minutes. Bring Greg, Vin, Blaise, Pansy, Millie, Daphne, Astoria and Theo Nott too.

Harry.

Draco nodded and quickly destroyed the note, before striding out of the classroom with his pompous, pure-blood air about him; Harry chuckled softly to himself as he began walking down to the greenhouses, where Nev would be having Herbology.


11:11 AM

Harry realised after the disastrous invading of the Room of Requirement during his DA days, that you had to be extremely specific in deciding a room, before, he had never mentioned that Umbridge or her followers weren't allowed in the room, so Draco was allowed to burst in nearly two years ago.

Harry was opposite the tapestry, pacing the wall opposite, thinking'I need a place to converse and train with ten others of my choosing however Albus Dumbledore, anyone who supports him and anyone wishing any of me and mine ill-harm cannot enter.' He opened his eyes and smiled a wicked smile at the old-wooden door that had just appeared.

"That look doesn't bode well for others Harry," Nev stated from his side; Harry put an innocent look on his face and pouted.

"I have no idea what you're talking about Neville. You make it sound like I'm evil or something." said person snorted and shook his head fondly at the slightly-younger boy.

"Yeah, Yeah, Harry, I believe you."

"What's Longbottom doing here Harry?" asked Draco in a genuine tone not a derisive one, as he walked up to the two Gryffindors with his Slytherin's trailing after.

"Because he is part of our plans," Harry simply said, whilst walking into the room; Neville swiftly following after.

The room had been separated into two parts by an archway, the first you entered was a large area with throws scattered across the floor, a love-seat and two sofas, which is where Harry collapsed onto the floor. The Slytherin's gaped at his undignified behaviour but Neville shrugged and sat on the sofa; used to the other boy's lack of decorum.

Once everyone had settled down into their seats Draco repeated his earlier question "So why is Longbottom here?".Harry acted as if he hadn't heard the question and frowned at Neville, who shifted uncomfortably in his seat; Harry lazily flicked his wand, and Neville went flying into a shocked Theo's lap.

"Honestly you two," Harry tutted "You're dating, be all lovey dovey, I mean me-"

"Shut up, Harry. Now please!" begged Neville, hands clamped over his ears "I heard enough last night. I don't need to know what you and the Dark Lord get up to in private!"

"It doesn't have to be in private, Nev," Harry said, smirking at the boy's distressed state and Theo's smug look at having his boyfriend clinging to him.

"Wait," Draco said slowly. "He knows about you and the Dark Lord?" pointing at Neville; Harry merely looked amused.

"Well yeah, he is a Death Eater after all," The Slytherin's (minus Theo) looked gob-smacked.

"Huh?" Draco questioned.

"Eloquent as always."

"Shut up, Potter."

"All right, Drakey-poo" he cooed Pansy's nickname for him; dodging the cushion thrown at his head with ease. "Okay, 'Draco.' Harry conceded and told them all what Neville told him last night.

"Impressive, Longbottom," Blaise admitted "Defying your parents like that."

"They are not my parents!" spat Neville "Merely two people I am unfortunately related to, and I hope they burn in Hell." Theo sooting rubbed circles into Nev's back; effectively calming him down.

"So Theo," pansy whispered, conspiratorially. "You didn't tell me you had gotten yourself a cute boyfriend." she winked at Nev's blushing face.

"That's because he's all mine," Theo laughed, wrapping his arms around Neville's waist; all the girls sighed at the couple and the guys rolled their eyes.

"Okay everyone. Follow me," Harry instructed; walking through the second archway into a large, open space. "We all have 2 hours free and if we skip lunch we will have 3 ½ .And we can call a house-elf for food. But I want to spend this time assessing your individual fighting skills; a bit like DA but focusing on dark curses. First up though; have the dark curse restriction's been removed from your wands?" he asked them all.

The Slytherins smirked and Nev told him his Gran had removed his when he joined, Harry nodded. "All right then, Draco, you're first." he said; shrugging his robes off his shoulders and removing his shirt, leaving him wearing only his leather trousers and boots. Draco visibly paled.

"I'm going to fight you?" he croaked; unwilling to fight a man with power equalling the Dark Lord.

"No, Draco," he replied; soothingly. "I'm going to be training as well. Just put something comfortable on and take out your wand." Draco complied, much more relaxed as he transfigured his clothes into loose-fitting grey trousers and dragon-hide boots.

Harry flicked his wands to the four corners of the room and muttered 'fictus interdictus silva', and where there was once flagstones, there was now earth, roots and twigs. And where there once was clear space there was now dense foliage, towering, ancient trees and over-hanging vines; the air was humid and the other's were starting to sweat in their uniform.

"This," Harry said; throwing his arms to the sides "Is where you will do your training. Today, you will all learn how to avoid curses and use your surroundings to your advantage. You will be followed by 5 dummies of the same power and skill level as you, they may fight with each-other, they may duel with you, or they may all attack you together. I will place a tracking charm on you and a viewing charm so I may aid you if you are in danger; and did I forget to mention there are magical creatures in my forest? No, oh well, I'll give you a tip though." he smiled cruelly "RUN! Your 15 minutes begins now."

Draco blanched and took off in a North-Easterly direction, muttering about a 'sadistic bastard getting a kick out of this.'

Harry sat on a nearby rock, whispered' demonstro Draco.' and Draco appeared on a large screen above their heads; running deeper into the forest. The smaller boy conjured a large bowl of toffee popcorn and set about teaching the pure-bloods about the confectionery, whilst keeping an eye on the blonde, duelling 3 dummies simultaneously.

When 15 minutes was up, Harry collected a bloody, sweaty and tired Draco from the clearing he had been battling in; he had successfully defeated all 5 dummies.

"Stay still," Harry told him as healed the blonde's injuries "You did really well, Draco. I was really impressed by your reflexes and repertoire of spells." as he closed a shallow gash on his leg.

"But I'm not as good as you though," Draco said in a small voice.

"No Draco, you're not." Harry replied softly "But you haven't had to take the advanced auror training programme at least once a week since July, have you?" he replied softly. "Or have had to fight Moody blindfolded, or had to fight aurors glamoured as your dead mother, father and godfather, have you?" an unreadable expression in his eyes.

Draco stared at him with wide eyes. "They – they would do that to you?" he stammered "But why? That's disgusting, immoral and – and, those bastards." he growled and Harry chuckled lightly.

"Yes, they would do that to ensure that their perfect weapon was battle-fit; ready to kill any death-eaters and be killed by Tom. And even if Tom doesn't kill me – which he won't because we're not fighting each-other; I know that they will somehow try to kill me, and blame it on a stray curse or something like that. Dumbles doesn't want either me or Tom to survive this war; he wants us both dead and buried."

"Hey Harry!" Nev called, breaking the depressing corner. "I've come up with a name. Are you ready?" he asked.

"Yes, what is it?" Raising an eyebrow at Neville's wicked grin.

"Dumble's Annihilation!" he declared loudly, amusing everyone in the room.

"All right, Nev you're up next!" Harry shouted, above the loud laughter of the group. "Have you got your wand? Good, now GO!."

~HP/LV~

They were now finishing off their lunches that Harry had asked Dobby to fetch for them; all of Harry's new friends had impressed him with their duelling skills. They had all at least fought 2 dummies simultaneously, and had defeated them all with practically no major injuries (well apart from Crabbe who had ran into a tree and knocked himself unconscious – but hey it could happen to the best of us).

Harry stood from the cushion he had been sitting on, and silently walked towards the training area; the others following curiously after him. Harry dispelled the fake forest charm and conjured eighteen dummies with a wide array of power and skills, and had them surround him in a triangle.

"Stay at a safe distance, if you're going to watch guys. 'M blowing off steam here" he told them in a calm tone; as he placed several protection charms on himself. "Oh, and protect your ears," he warned them, before unknown music, blared throughout the room.

He took the same stance as he had done in Tom's training room; closed his eyes and steadied his breathing before quietly incanting 'Animatum'.

The first curses came from all three directions; spinning upon the spot, Harry incapacitated three cursers whilst in mid-flight with 'stupefy'. Ducking low and rolling to the side, he avoided a 'Diffindo', 'Entrail-expelling curse', 'Bat-bogey hex'and a'crucio'; and slashing his right wand and silently casting 'Totu ruina'; he effectively 'killed' six of the 'attackers' with flames and shrapnel, however, two strong cutting-hexes managed to get through his protections, and slashed him from his hip bone to calf on both legs; making moving impossible and completely painful.

Hissing through his breath; he brought both his wands down and shouted an extremely dark spell his lover taught him "decipio!".Trapping all the remaining 'wizards' under a magical bright-green net; allowing none of them to move.

Falling upon the floor, he began to heal himself; fortunately the muscle hadn't been torn, but he was losing a lot of blood. He angrily muttered 'viniculum'and 'sano';grimacing at the sensation of his blood-vessels being tied with magic, and his skin re-stitching himself.

Through half-lidded eyes, he vaguely heard footsteps approaching, worried voices calling his name and Andy Biersack singing:

"Here's to your perfect weapon

Crack bones with blind aggression

Like birds whose wings are broken

You'll fly without direction"(1)

'Strangely fitting of my life isn't it? 'Harry mused in his head 'They all try to dictate my life and I just want to be free...'

'Harry?' Tom asked; worried by his lover's disconnected tone.

'Hey, Tom. The only...Good thing that's... Happened to me.' He slurred quietly.

'Harry?' Silence. 'HARRY?'More silence.'Fuck!' Darkness.

Neville rushed towards his unconscious friend; cradling the smaller boy's head in his lap, and paling when he noticed his white complexion."Has anyone got a blood-replenishing potion?" Neville asked frantically but the rest of them shook their heads; stricken with the scene before them.

"Pomfrey would have some in the stock cupboard," Blaise suggested; attempting to be calm. "How about we get Harry's map, cast disillusionment charms on ourselves and fetch some? I mean it's the only thing we can do; we can't trust anyone on the staff, so we cannot actually get him to the nurse."

"It's the only thing we can do," Draco agreed; his face as white as his hair. "C'mon Blaise, we're off." he instructed, walking hurriedly to the door; Blasie trailing after.

Once they were in the corridor, Draco placed a silencing and disillusionment charm on himself and Blaise, whilst the Italian accioed the Marauders' Map.

"I solemnly swear I am up to no good," he hissed quickly; tapping the parchment with his wand. "No-ones in the infirmary, let's go." And they ran towards the medical office to where the potions were kept; continuously checking back to the map. But most students and professors were in their respective classes; leaving the corridors empty.

They had just reached the Nurse's office in the Hospital tower when Draco saw two very unexpected dots appear on the map."Shit!" the blonde cursed quietly; drawing Blaise's attention from where he was unlocking Pomfrey's door.

"What is it?" he hissed impatiently; Draco merely pointed to the two dots.

"Fuck!" the dark-skinned boy paled. "What are they doing here?" he demanded.

"Remember what Harry said," the blonde whispered "Him and the Dark Lord have a mental connection; he probably felt Harry lose consciousness and brought Sev along because he will know what to do with potions."

"Go to them!" Blaise told his best-friend "I'll meet you back up there, we may not even need the potion if Snape's here."

"If you're sure." Draco said before pelting out of the room, and practically flew down the stairs towards the second floor.

He checked the map, it said Sev and his Lord were just in front of him; but the corridor was empty!'They're using disillusionment charms, you dolt!'he silently reprimanded himself. Throwing his arm out, he collided with flesh; and heard an 'oomph!', several curses; Draco dropped his silencing charm.

"Calm down Sev, it's me." Draco hissed, however even to him his voice sounded distressed.

"Draco?" he heard Severus, question.

"Yes, now hurry. Harry's unconscious in the room of requirement. We need to get him; Blaise is getting some blood-replenishing potion, unless you have some?" his voice pleading; jogging in the direction of the stairs.

"I have several -" Severus began but was cut off by a frantic voice.

"Draco, what is wrong with him? Tell me now or you will regret the day you were born!" the Dark Lord demanded; voice rising with every word.

"May I suggest to put up a silencing charm Mi'lord." Draco suggested in a tired voice; without waiting for an answer, he threw his own up. "Basically Harry wanted to assess our dulling skills, so he created a fake forest and watched us duel 5 dummies with the same skills as us. And after I went, he ended up telling us what Dumbledore has been making him do!" he spat "Auror training programme every week, battling experienced aurors, and fighting aurors glamoured as his mother, father and godfather. The sick bastard." Tom listened; his anger growing with everything the younger Malfoy said.

"And after he watched us all, he animated around fifteen dummies, had them surround him and then defeated them all, taking around seven of them out all at once! But towards the end two cutting-hexes struck him in both legs, he healed himself but passed out soon afterwards; we think it's because of the physical and magical exhaustion and blood loss," he finished as they neared the tapestry.

Tom burst into the room; startling the inhabitants from their diligent gaze his lover. He saw the Zabini child, pouring a potion into his sweet's mouth; he hurried to the younger man's side and grasped onto a small, pale hand. Intently studying the other's face face, as it slowly regained colour, as Tom felt a stirring in his mind.

'Harry?' he called softly.

'Uh?' Tom heard Harry say. 'Tom?'

'Yes. You stupid boy.' he attempted to sound angry, but his relief was too powerful.'What were you thinking, my sweet? You nearly got yourself killed.'

'One less job for Dumbles then,' he muttered darkly; willing himself back into the comforting pull of darkness.

"Harry James Potter, don't you darespeak like that again! Don't you ever depreciate yourself again, you depressing, over-dramatic maudlin fool! You said I was the best thing to happen to you! Well your the best thing that happened to me. You make me sane, we share a connection, you make me want to succeed not for the Dark but for you, Ineed you!' Tom pleaded with his younger lover.

'What are you saying Tom?' Harry asked softly; not daring to look at the man who had evoked such overwhelming emotions to him.

'I'm saying that I love you – dammit!' he passionately admitted 'I love you.' he repeated quietly, as if reassuring himself.

'I love you too, Tom,' Harry replied softly, knowing that tears were forming in his eyes from his lover's declaration.

'Good. Now wake up brat, so I can embrace you. I think it would be slightly bad if I suddenly kissed an unconscious man, wouldn't it?' Warm laughter met his statement; causing the darkest wizard to have ever lived to smile.

Harry groggily raised himself onto his elbows; peering around at the faces around him, he saw relief wash over all of their features. He suddenly found himself in a pair of strong arms, and the smaller man leant into the touch knowing it was his lover; looking up, a pair of lips quickly descended and gently pressed themselves against his own. The Potter let himself lose himself in the delirium induced from the soft lips of the man who loved him –loved him!

Oh Merlin, his heart pounded loudly in his ears, and his stomach was doing flips, and it hurt. It hurt his soul. Someone loved him and he loved them back. Is this what love feels like? Being giddy whenever near the other? Wanting to touch them, whenever they're near? Embrace them? Keep away from them, from fear of being rejected? Keeping away from them because being near them causes you to lose yourself in mind-blowing happiness? And that much happiness just cannot be directed at one person? Feeling euphoric and dismayed at the same time. Feeling oppressed yet free? Comforted and smothered? It was unfathomable, paradoxical, indescribable.

'I am assuming sssso...' agreed Tom in their mind.

'Brilliant then.'

Loud clearing of throats, brought them back to the reality that they had probably been kissing for the past couple of minutes without acknowledging anyone in the room; Harry pulled away, blushing heavily under the gaze of his peers, glare of his ex-potions professor and perverted leer of his lover.

"Sorry guys," he said sheepishly; rubbing the back of his neck.

"It's all right, mate," Theo said, cheerfully. "I Thought that Nev was going to have a heart attack though, and I thought that I was going to have to stupefy him – ouch!" he yelped as his boyfriend hit him repeatedly on the arm; Harry laughed at them both.

"Look, Nev, look!" Theo called, pointing at Harry. "I made him laugh. See I'm helping, so stop hitting me!" the Longbottom paused, looked at the other Gryffindor, and smiled sweetly.

"No. If me hitting you makes Harry laugh, then I think I'll continue." Which made Harry laugh even harder, and even Tom and Snape's lips twitched lightly.

"Potter," Snape said silkily; effectively stopping Nev, who flinched slightly (no doubt remembering all the verbal abuse from Snape in his previous years). "I heard, I have you to thank me for your life; so in return I earn you a life-debt. What would you like?" he asked dourly, with his trademark scowl.

"Well," Harry started, his eyes dancing merrily "Is there a potion equivalent to the muggle drug Viagra? Tom sort of needs it," he said innocently, and Snape actually laughed, whilst Tom playfully swatted him on the head, and the purebloods just looked confused.

"I could maybe arrange something," he replied; his obsidian eyes glittering.

"Severus," Tom warned as Harry continued laughing.

"No, no, Snape, it's quite all right. I guess I'll just have to think of something else. Oh, yeah. Last year I found your old potions book and I was wondering if I could keep it; I mean it's so much more helpful than the actual text, and it just proves that you really are a master of potions."

"Stop buttering me up Potter. Of course you can keep it." he smiled at the small boy. 'Maybe, just maybe I've been a bit harsh on the brat,' Snape thought 'He is cheeky but it's more similar to Lily's bantering than Potter's cruel attention-seeking pranks'

"And you can call me Harry." the small boy added, as he smiled back at the snarky potions master; who couldn't help but smile gently back at him.

"Of course P-Harry, and you can call me Severus."

"How about Sevvy?" the cheeky Gryffindor asked, grinning maniacally at the older man.

"No," he came the curt reply.

"Sev?"

"No," he growled

"Fine. What about Severus-Weverus?"

"What goes through your mind boy?" he asked in incredulity; pinching the bridge of his nose between his potion-stained fingers.

"So I can use it," the Dark Lord's lover stated with a wicked smile.

"Sev would be fine." he grudgingly conceded.

"Yay!" Harry yelled; earning laughs from everyone in the room.

"I don't want to be a party-pooper guys," Pansy said. "I mean we all love seeing Harry and Our Lord together." she waggled her eyebrows suggestively at the boy. "But we have all sort have missed the entire afternoon of DADA – what are we going to tell Shacklebolt?"

"Don't worry guys," Harry told them all, as he stood and planted himself in his lover's lap. "I've been blanking the Order since Christmas Eve, so they will just take it as me rebelling. We'll get a week of detention with Hagrid and 50 points taken; nothing major."

All of them (except Neville) gave him incredulous looks "Nothing major?" Pansy asked in shock.

"I've had worse; detentions with Umbridge weren't pretty. I mean hundreds of lines with a blood-quill do not exactly make the nicest of detentions. Then of course there was that one in 1st year when I met you, Tom, and where Draco screamed like a girl," Harry said, before thoughtdully adding. "Actually that one was just annoying."

The incredulous looks remained upon him; Harry turned in the arms to look at Tom again. "Did you know I have a photo of us sleeping on Christmas day, Tom?" he asked innocently; Tom raised an eyebrow.

"And how did you get this photo?" he asked suspiciously.

"Ah." he smirked "That would be revealing my sources."

None of them attempted to laugh at the Dark Lord about his lack of understanding, for they all valued their lives. "It's quite cute actually," Astoria said, before clamping a hand to her mouth once she realised who she was speaking about.

"I'm not even going to ask, though I may have a talk with the Lestrange brothers" he said idly.

"He's a skilled legilimens guys" the Potter answered the other teenagers shocked gazes "And some of you are really crap at occlumens. Could you sort of arrange to fix that; especially you Draco, I did not need to see that dream you had about a certain boy-" a small hand clamped around his mouth and silver eyes stared angrily into his emerald one's.

"Shut up, now," hissed Draco through gritted teeth; Harry quickly nodded his agreement.

"But let's just say, Draco, that you have a better chance with him than you think, especially about a certain rose-garden at his manor, a picnic blanket, a bottle of red-wine and the sunset," he said simply, smiling as Draco's eyes lit up and a pair of hazel eyes widened.

They spent the rest of the day in the room, happily laughing with and at each other. However as all good things must end eventually, an extremely reluctant Harry walked out of the room, in order to show Tom and Sev the One-Eyed-Witch passage which would lead to Honeydukes cellar, whilst ensuring that the corridors were clear with the map. Severus quirked an eyebrow at the sight of it; no doubt remembering the insult it gave him 4 years prior, and Harry placated him by assuring that it would do the same to anyone without the password.

When they finally reached the secret passage, Tom pulled Harry into a deep, searing kiss which left the younger man breathless and quite hard.

...Don't worry, my love; we can still speak in our minds...Tom hissed at his lover; holding him close to his chest.

...I know, Tom; but I'm just going to miss you, so much...Harry replied, dejectedly; idly playing with the the hair at the base of the older man's neck.

...I'm sure I can find a way for us to rendezvous...Tom smirked; thinking of several things him and Harry could do when they meet, many of them involving the younger chained to his bed.

...Stop being perverse, Tom...Harry scolded gently; Tom sent Harry a knowing look, tilting his head into the crook of his younger lover's neck.

...Don't be a hypocrite, love. I know what you dream about...he hissed; causing the younger man to flush a furious crimson. ...I Love you, Harry, my sweet...he told his green-eyed lover; who smiled and pressed a kiss against the elder-man's cheek.

...Love you too Tom, now get going...Harry instructed, swatting the Dark Lord on his arse, and in return he claimed Harry's lips again.

"See you soon, love." Tom said gently from the entranceway; Harry nodded in return; smiling sadly as the passageway closed.

'Still here love' Tom chuckled in the younger one's mind 'Now get to bed; you need your sleep; especially if the Old Fool will interrogate you tomorrow.'

'Don't worry Tom' he assured his lover as he walked towards his common room. 'I'm heading there now and all of us know the cover story, so stop worrying. And you should go to Bedfordshire too, love; you've got all of those Death-Eaters in the morning." Harry smiled benignly.

'Yes, love. I'll see you soon.'

'I know, Tom, I know.'


7th Year, Boy's Dormitory – Thursday 9th January – 08:34 AM

Harry woke from his slumber because someone was calling his name whilst shaking him; he opened his eyes to find a red-haired youth in his face.

"What do you want Ronald?" Harry sneered at him; walking towards the bathroom but was stopped by the young Weasley barricading the door.

"Where were you yesterday, mate?" he cried in a worried voice. 'Good actor,' Harry remarked to himself. "You, Nev and all the 7th year Slytherins were missing; we were worried they took you to the Dark Lord or something, Harry. We were so worried!"

Harry suppressed a chuckle and locked his green eyes to blue one's. "Oh, so now you suddenly care about us? Now that is funny, weren't you the one trying to curse me in the corridor on Monday for being gay? Or was that just your identical twin that none of us have seen?"

"I'm sorry for that Harry, I really am. It's just that you're gay, it's so weird, please, please forgive me!" he pleaded with the smaller boy.

"So, I'm weird? Finally the truth," Harry said coldly, and pushed past Ron to enter the bathroom.

~HP/LV~

He was wiping the sweet, sticky, juice of a nectarine from his fingers with a napkin, when a first year Gryffindor girl came up to him; recognising her as Colin Creevey's little sister, he turned in his seat to smile. Seeing that she had the older boy's attentions, she shifted uncomfortably, and attempted to hide blush by staring at her shoes.

"Professor Dumbledore, asked me to give you this." she said, bashfully; holding out a slip of parchment.

"Thanks, Emily." he smiled at her as she blushed more deeply, and scurried off to her older brothers.

He glanced at the parchment, and quickly scanned the contents.'Oooh, goody!' he exclaimed sarcastically. 'The old codger wants to meet me in his office in 5 minutes.' He looked at the food in front of him, and began eating a piece of toast.

'Shouldn't you be going then, love?' Tom commented, amused at his young lover's behaviour.

'All the best people are fashionably late.' Harry informed his lover, whilst taking another bite of the toast.

'Is that so?' Tom snorted at his sweet's blasé attitude.

'Yep!' He glanced at his wrist-watch. 'Let's see. It takes around 5 minutes to walk to his office and I have 1 minute 'till the appointment. That would only make me 4 minutes late. Hmmm? What should I do to kill time?'

'You could talk to the Slytherins.'Tom suggested; riveted by the younger man's behaviour.

'Yes, I could. We could start a conversation, about oooh I don't know.' he sighed dramatically 'You, yep, we'll talk about you, you can listen in; and then I'll laugh at their horrified expressions once they realise your there. There we go! Brilliant plan!' he decided; walking towards the Ice Prince and his friends.

'And they call me evil.'Tom snorted.

~HP/LV~

Dumbledore's Office

Dumbledore angrily exhaled for the tenth time since he had woken up. He had been waiting 20 minutes for Harry Potter – his weapon – The-Boy-Who-Lived-To-Die-For-The-Greater-Good, to arrive in his office. Emily Creevey, a nice, reliable girl had given the note to him; so where was he?

He went AWOL yesterday afternoon, along with the Longbottom boy and the entire seventh year Slytherins; Dumbledore thought that the Dark Lord had him and he was worried. Not because Harry could have died, no; because he had to die in a public place, die a martyr and the sad, grieving grandfather would then kill the second Dark Lord the world had seen, and he would then be deemed the saviour!

It had taken him over sixty years for this plan to come into fruition, once he realised Tom was Slytherin's heir he turned a blind to his expeditions to the restricted section, his hatred of muggles, and the abuse from the muggles; not forgetting, confronting him towards the end of his education and denying him his hope of a 'respectable' occupation as a Hogwarts professor. Yes, he had created a bitter, lonely and powerful man; a suitable Dark Lord.

After a reasonable reign of terror, his original plan was to kill the man himself, but a prophecy was made, a child would come who would make him lose and the Dark win. He couldn't have that, no! So he rewrote the prophecy and had it leaked to the Dark Lord, and in fear, Voldemort killed the family and attempted to kill the child; but something happened, the child survived and the Dark Lord seemed to have vanished! The child dubbed 'The-Boy-Who-Lived', was removed from his parents ruined house and placed with the mother's magic-hating relatives, where he was beaten, starved and deprived of love. Then afterwards, the Grandfather rescued him from them and all the boy wanted to do was impress him – a subservient weapon.

The boy was a teenager though, it was to be expected that he would rebel against the only authority he has, so Dumbledore wasn't too worried; the child would still die, and his plan was still in action. A knocking at the door, roused him from his thoughts; he called for the visitor to enter, and Harry walked in, 25 minutes late.

"I'm sorry sir, I got talking to my friends and lost track of the time." he said, flasing an apologetic smile to the Headmaster.

"It's quite all right m'boy." Dumbledore said jovially, his eyes twinkling, as a benign smile stretched across his face. "I understand perfectly well, you are a teenager and have your childhood to live, but are these friends the 7th year Slytherins? I always thought that there was an animosity between you and them, and I'm worried that you and your house seem to be at odds."

"Yes sir, my new friends are the Slytherins, Draco and I came to a truce on the train-ride on Wednesday and we're getting on splendidly. And my house." he paused, a sad smile on his face. "Well they've shown how loyal they are; they've abandoned Neville and I because we do not like the fairer sex. They are rather prejudiced, however I thought that in the magical world same-sex couples were quite normal and accepted, but it seemed like I was wrong when it came to the 7th year Gryffindors."

"That's sorry to hear m'boy, you and Ronald have always been such good friends." Harry covered his snort with a cough. "But all the Slytherins you are friends with, all have Death-Eaters parents, aren't you-"

"Sorry sir," Harry interrupted, coldly. "But it hasn't been confirmed that their parents are Death Eaters, and the son shouldn't be blamed for the mistakes of the father."

"Of course m'boy, I'm sorry for implying-" the elderly wizard attempted to explain, however he was cut off by the young Potter.

"It's quite all right, sir. I apologise for my tone."

The Headmaster inclined his head in acceptance, before leaning forward in his seat. "Now, Harry, the reason why I asked to meet is because off your disappearance yesterday, along with Mr. Longbottom, Mr. Malfoy, Mr. Crabbe, Mr. Goyle, Mr. Zabini, Miss. Parkinson, Miss. Bulstrode and the Greengrass sisters. Where were you m'boy, we were so worried," he said; a look of concern, plastered upon his face.

"Sir, can you promise not to blame them. It was entirely my fault. We all had free lessons until the afternoon, so we went to the Shrieking Shack for some studying and relaxation. But I promised Eadirc – he's my boyfriend, sir, that I would meet him. We haven't seen each other since Christmas, and we really wanted to meet. I'm sorry if it was inappropriate, but he doesn't attend Hogwarts and he lives down on the coast and we don't really want to wait until Hogsmeade every time to see each-otherm" he said, glancing everywhere but Dumble's eyes. 'I see that he's apologetic and still loyal to me – brilliant.'

"So just before lunch, I was going to go into Hogsmeade – because it is a bit pointless for me to go to DADA but my friends tried to stop me. They told me, I had to go back to lessons, that it was against the rules to leave, so I – umm – I -" he trailed off, looking to all involved shame-faced.

"What did you do, Harry?" Dumbledrore asked gently.

"I cast petrificus Totallus on them! I'm so sorry for it sir! It's just that I was so desperate and afterwards they were all ignoring me, so I spent breakfast trying to explain why I did what I did. And they said they had forgiven me, Theo and Nev are dating and they said they would do the same, if they could only see each-other every couple of months. I'm so sorry sir! Go ahead and punish me sir, I'm really sorry!" Harry passionately said, finally raising emerald orbs to pale-blue ones; forcing fake images to the front of his mind to convince the elder wizard even more.

"It's okay m'boy; I can see how much you regret your actions. But I'll still need to punish you." Harry mutely nodded. "Two weeks of scrubbing cauldrons and 40 points from Gryffindor."

"All right sir, and I'm really sorry," Harry said, rising from his chair.

"I see that, Harry. Now get to your lesson."

"Yes sir," Harry said; jogging down the spiralling staircase.

'Ah, my love. You are one of the most amazing actors that I have ever seen.' Tom complimented, inside his lover's head.

'Of course, I am.' Harry replied. 'People see what they want themselves to see, and the old fool wants a dutiful weapon. So a couple of reverent looks, bowed heads and apologetic voices and he'll believe that I am his saviour of the wizarding world. Or should that be martyr of the wizarding world? Because it's obvious he doesn't intend for me to survive.' Harry said venomously.

'And that's why we will destroy him and everything he stood for, love. Show the world that their Light leader is nothing more than a disguised dictator, then we'll kill him; and darkness shall fall for the Light,' Tom placated the younger man.

'I'll enjoy that.' Harry sighed wistfully.

'As will I, sweet. As, will I.'


Saturday 14th February - 7:49 PM

Since their first training session, the new group of friends had been meeting in the Room of Requirement either every Wednesday or Friday, when they had free-time. Every time they met, Harry would spell the forest and have them train; they all could now defeat all of the dummies in under ten minutes, with little injuries and Harry was impressed and proud of them all.

But Harry hadn't had chance to sneak away from the castle, and meet Tom since the day he rushed over a month prior. Of course they had their mental conversations most days whenever they weren't working, but Harry felt he needed the physical contact, just for a kiss, a hug even. So Harry had been looking forward to this day for weeks now, as Tom had told him they were to meet.

So following Toms instructions of wearing something smart-casual, he wore unbuttoned sea-green robes over form-fitting black slacks and wife-beater; sacrificing his usual rock boots for lace-up ankle ones. Striding through entranceway underneath his invisibility cloak, he made his way down the path to where he could apparate away.

~HP/LV~

Arriving outside of Gringotts bank he attracted the many stares of the public, but instead of giving into his urge to AK them all, he plastered on a nervous smile and waited...but not for long.

'I'm behind you, e dashura.' he heard Tom murmur in his mind. Harry whirled on the spot and was faced with a familiar smug smirk on a familiar face with something not quite right. Instead of dark brown, wavy hair which rested just below his ears he had straight light-caramel shoulder length hair and instead of his aristocratic nose he had a thinner shorter one. 'Call me Eadirc Renishaw, my sweet.' Came the amused voice of his lover.

Harry complied with enthusiasm, wrapping his arms around Tom's neck, kissing his cheek and crying out "Eadirc, I've missed you!" Tom chuckled, loosely holding Harry round the waist and pressing a chaste kiss to his lips.

"And I you loçkë, and I you." 'Eadirc' agreed, they heard several gasps, sighs of misery and adornment, alongside the click of a camera. "Shall we be going then, my sweet?" he asked, stretching out his hand to his lover.

"Will you tell me where we are going?" enquired the younger man; a smirk met the question "What am I thinking?" laughed Harry "Of course you won't. It's a surprise. You like them."

"You know me so well," Tom stated; holding Harry's hand, as he led him through the staring crowds, towards a part of the shopping district Harry had never been before.

Harry gazed in wonder at the broad pathway. Floating orbs of white-light illuminated the way, whilst bistros, cafes and restaurants were scattered either side of the path. Trees adorned either side of the walkway, leaning towards each-other as if embracing, to create a leaf canopy. Tom stopped just before the end, walking into a warm restaurant named Amore Eterno; they made their way towards the maître d', who politely smiled at the couple, before his eyes widened and lingered on Harry's scar.

"Umm...How can I help you sirs?" he asked attempting to retain his professional persona; Tom just smiled charmingly back at him.

"Two, under the name of Potter, kind sir." the man barely glanced at his sheet before he feverishly led the way towards a small alcove. They sat at a two-seater table made of warm mahogany; candles flickered and danced across the table top, illuminating the sticks of purple bougainvillea which were protruding from a glass vase, whilst it also cast soft shadows across their faces.

"This is nice." Harry beamed at his lover making the other's heart flutter and groin inflate, his peridot eyes sparkled with warmth and affection, and Tom couldn't help but smile back at his loçkë. But he quickly turned his smile to a smirk; Harry narrowed his eyes. "What are you so happy about?" questioned the smaller man.

"I see your hair hasn't been tamed from the last time I saw you e dashura." Harry flushed with embarrassment, reaching a pale hand out to attempt to flatten it but Tom caught it with ease, Harry sent him a confused glance. "Don't tame it. It's just like you. If you were tame your spirit would be broken. Besides," he smirked again. "I like you wild." Harry flushed again and stomped on Tom's foot.

'You're so adorable e dashura.' Tom smiled at the younger man who was giving him death glares.

'I'm not adorable!' He protested.

'Fine.' Tom conceded 'Ruggedly handsome. Completely sexy. So fuckable. I want to be buried balls de-'

'I take it back! Iam adorable.' The smaller man practically screamed through their link, cheeks red and hair wild, Tom felt his southern regions react.

"It is true though loçkë," the wine-eyed man informed the younger; leaning forward to place his elbows on the table.

"Yes well. You're not half bad yourself," Harry told him, a smirk settled on his cherry lips as his emerald gaze raked his lover up and down. His charcoal-grey robes were buttoned half-way, hugging his chest perfectly before flowing out to finish at his ankles; showing his lean legs in tight black trousers and loafers. 'No. You're better than half, your a millions time better than that,' breathed Harry. "But I don't want you ego to increase any more, or else your head won't fit through the door."

"Ha bloody ha. Harry." Tom scowled, and Harry simply sent an innocent look; wide green eyes and pouting lips. "You don't play fair." Harry just sent a blinding smile and held Tom's hand on the table, and despite Tom's complaints he didn't withdraw from the touch.

The waiter came and asked for their orders, Harry just let Tom order for him, happy with whatever his lover picked. Which happened to be pasta in an arrabbiata sauce with a bottle vintage Porto Pocas, with tiramisu and coffee for afters; their food arrived within a minute of ordering. Harry smiled appreciatively at the food and his lover, spending the remainder of the meal in contented silence; stealing affectionate gazes over the candles and the random comment of the food over their link.

Tom waved the waiter over to their table, after they had spent twenty minutes holding hands and chatting over inane things. He paid the man and gave him a five galleon tip (which he gratefully accepted); Harry smiled at him and asked him to send his compliments to the chef, which the waiter also excitedly agreed to.

Tom unwound their entwined hands, and wrapped his arm around the smaller man's shoulders instead, whilst Harry wrapped his smaller arm around Tom's waist.

"And what now, Eadirc?" Harry asked as they walked down the pathway yet again, oblivious to the cameras that had started flashing since leaving the restaurant.

"Stop trying to guess the surprise e dashura." he reprimanded with a smile before Harry felt a pulling at his navel

~HP/LV~

Muggles weren't aware of it, but Hyde Park, London was actually twice the size of the plotted land; this being because Wizards cordoned off half of it hundreds of years ago and cast muggle-repelling charms so they could never wander in either.

This is where Tom had brought Harry, small orbs of blue light decorated several large oak trees and the path winding through them. The Dark Lord led his lover down this path towards music that could be heard wafting on the light breeze, and as they got closer to the source, Harry recognised the piece as an Muggle song he once heard Vernon loudly complaining about once.

Harry glanced at his smiling lover and furrowed his brows in confusion.

"Yeah, I will love you, baby, always

And I'll be there, forever and a day, always

I'll be there 'till the stars don't shine

'Till the Heavens burst and the words don't rhyme

I know when I die, you'll be on my mind

And I'll love you always."(2)

'Tom?' Harry asked, as they came across a deep-red velvet sofa amidst a sea of red orchids, and on a dais not too far off was a band Harry vaguely recognised playing the song. Tom didn't reply, he just pulled Harry onto his lap as he settled into the comfortable lounge.

"Happy Valentines Day, loçkë," Tom said calmly, smiling at his lovers gaping mouth; chuckling softly to himself, he gently reached out a hand and softly closed it.

"T- Eadirc?" Harry asked, confusion still laced his voice. "All this...for me?" He felt as if his heart would implode from the mere thought of Tom being so romantic.

"Of course it is. I do not see anyone else here," he easily replied, whilst pulling a rectangular box wrapped in silver paper from his robes. "Open it, e dashura," Tom lowly commanded, and Harry eagerly complied; reverently unwrapping the present and gaping at the contents. Laying on protective padding was a leather strip with the most, unique and beautiful pendant Harry had ever seen. Two snakes: one obsidian black and one opal white, head-to-head, tail-to-tail, encasing a polished sardonyx heart.

After several moments of a silent and unmoving Harry, Tom grew worried. "Do you not like it?" he asked suddenly nervous; Harry instantly whipped his head towards his lover, eyes sparkling with unshed tears and mutely shook his head.

"It's beautiful Eadirc. Perfect." he whispered hoarsely; pulling his hair out of the way so Tom could place it around his neck.

Once he felt the pendant rest over his heart, he wrapped his arms around his lover's neck and pressed a slow, loving kiss on Tom's lips. "Thank you Eadirc. I've got you something too," He simply said, pulling a smaller, green box from his robes and thrusting it into Tom's hands.

"You didn't need to Ha-" Tom began, but was stopped with a chaste kiss on his lips.

"Of course I did, silly. I. Love. You. Why wouldn't I show you how much I do on Valentines day?" Tom looked away, a faint pink tinge to his cheeks; he distracted himself by opening the present, which contained a bracelet of two intertwining pieces of black leather clasped together with a silver celtic-knot.

He met green orbs 'What spells are on it?' he asked curiously, after recognising the faint throb of Harry's magic thrumming through the leather.

'Well an invisibility one to start with as we can't have people seeing Voldie with the same bracelet Eadirc Renishaw wears can we? And numerous protection charms, not that I don't think you can't protect yourself or anything.' he hurriedly continued 'It just reassures me that I can at least help you, when I'm not near. It will warm when poison is near and can instantly throw up a strong shielding charm when needed, and I'm just going to be quiet now.' he finished, looking at his clasped hands.

"I love it Harry," Tom told his loçkë, pressing his lips to the shaggy mop of ebony hair in front of him.

"That's good to know," he murmured as he waved his wand idly.

Tom was about to ask what he was doing when he felt the sofa expand so that the cushions were wider, and he felt himself being tugged down. Harry was laying on his side, elbow resting on the cushions to support his head, emerald eyes fixed on his lover's. Tom reciprocated the movement and they were soon gazing into the other's eyes, hands held together, sharing soft kisses to the music as the sky darkened.

"Don't wanna close my eyes
I don't wanna fall asleep
Cause I'd miss you babe
And I don't wanna miss a thing
Cause even when I dream of you
The sweetest dream will never do
I'd still miss you babe
And I don't wanna miss a thing"(3)

"I love you Eadirc"'Tom' Harry whispered, after several tender kisses.

"And I love you too, e dashura," Harry smiled, and pulled his lover to his feet as they walked toward the band and thanked them for their services.

"Well then, my sweet. I think we should go home," Tom suggested to his smaller lover, who agreed so Tom apparated them straight into his chambers; where he soon had Harry against a wall, passionately kissing him, before pulling away.

'Follow.' Tom ordered, sauntering into the bathroom, removing his robes along the way; Harry complied, also pulling his clothes off himself. He was naked as he entered the room and stopped at the sight. The only light came from the candles outlining the sunken bath, the flames illuminated his lover's pale skin as he reclined in the cinnamon and vanilla infused water.

Harry greedily drank in his lovers appearance, the taught skin over tight muscles, long, lean legs, dark-chocolate, wavy hair and beautiful wine eyes clouded over with lust.

...Harry...Tom hissed and the smaller man's cock twitched in response ...I'm going to make love to you all night. In this bath, in our bed, anywhere, everywhere. I'm going to worship your very soul...

Harry merely nodded, his senses electrifying in anticipation. The sights, sounds and smells increased his arousal tenfold as he stalked toward to bath-edge. He lowered himself into the waiting arms below, and the touch of hot, wet skin touching his own, brought his erection to painful measures.

...I want that Tom. I want you inside me, making love to me. Now...he stated; swiping his tongue across Tom's lips, gaining entrance instantly.

Harry slowly mapped the contours of his lovers mouth, swallowing the moans escaping the elder man with gratitude. He broke the kiss to straddle Tom, groaning as tender, heated flesh met its counterpart, whilst the elder man's arms rose to lovingly caress Harry's sides and hips. Kneading the round cheeks of his ass, he latched his mouth onto the sensitive area between Harry's throat and shoulder.

...Tommmm...breathed Harry; face flushed, lips swollen and hair debauched as he leant forward to lick the salty skin of his lovers shoulder. 'I want you.'

Tom quickly complied, preparing his lover gently. Harry groaned into the crook of his lover's neck, he had missed this. The gentle and passionate loving of his Tom. After a couple of minutes, Tom withdrew his fingers and locked eyes with his loçkë, Harry grasped his lover's hardened member and slowly pushed down, wincing as the pain took hold and breathed deeply to steady himself.

He continued pushing down, so slowly! The feeling of being gradually filled him, like coming home after so long away. Bliss. And larger hands gripped his hips and lingered for permission and with a mere nod, Tom thrust upwards, burying him to the hilt.

And Harry watched Tom's face with avid fascination, watching as it relaxed with rapture when he felt warm, tight walls tighten around his arousal.'Yes. Like coming home.' Tom agreed with awe, and Harry thought he could die right there and not regret anything, ecause of this one emotion they both shared, both brought from the other: contentment.

And Harry could already feel the tightening in his lower body, warning him for the upcoming explosion. So Harry met the long, slow, torturous strokes of his lover with vigour and smiled at the sweet nothings whispered in his ear, and as he came and colours flashed across his eyes, he had one word on his lips, one person in his head: Tom.

And once Tom had released his seed inside of his loçkë, and their sweaty bodies embraced, sated for a moment, they needed not whisper any declarations of love for they already knew what the other would say.

And needless to say their night was long.


Updated: 17/07/12

9372 words (sans: disclaimer; warnings; A/N).