A New Beginning: 4
* Author's Note: This Story is in fact called A New Beginning…I realized that I had accidently labeled the top of the others chapters differently*
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters of places created by J. K. Rowling, and I do not make any money off of this.
Tom hustled to his room and opened one of the drawers under the wardrobe to find underwear and socks piled neatly within it. Another one held swim and athletic wear, and the one under it was empty. He gently put his trophies in it. The one to the right of the top drawer had about three pairs of pajamas in it. He took a pair of blue striped bottoms out and a white t-shirt and changed into them. Then he went into the bathroom and washed his face and teeth so he could just turn the lights out when he got settled in bed. Afterwards, he went back to the bookshelves and studied the multitude of books.
Harry or someone else had a knack for organization. The shelves seemed to be categorized and the books were alphabetized by title. While only one case held books, Harry had obviously spent a ton of money to buy so many. There was a biography section, a history section, three shelves full of fiction, and the bottom shelf was devoted to Quidditch and some place called Hogwarts. Tom assumed that some of the books were only from the Wizarding world because he didn't recognize some of the strange names. After looking at his selection, Tom grabbed a book called Hogwarts: A History and climbed into bed.
Downstairs, Harry was busy filling out all the papers that he would need to show his relations to Tom in the magical world. He had contacted the ministry before he left to get the child and gotten the papers necessary so he could get the adoption certified as quickly as possible.
Harry threw some floor powder into the fireplace and stuck his head inside.
" Hey, Hermione, can you stop snogging Ron for two minutes and help me out here?" He called out, looking at the hotel room couch that Ron and Hermione were currently snuggling on.
" This is only the first time today…What's wrong? Is Tom ok?" she asked, looking at the fireplace as Ron looked at Harry in concern.
" Tom's fine. The problem is his adoption papers for the magical world. I have no idea how to transfer some of this stuff. Can I just come in so you can take a look for yourself?" Harry asked.
" Yeah sure, will Tom be alright by himself?"
" He'll be fine." " Tom, I'm going to floo down to my friend's place really quickly. I'll be gone for about an hour. Will you be alright?" Harry yelled up the stairs. He heard a muffled yes and flooed into Ron and Hermione's room.
An hour and a half later, Harry landed back in his home. Thankfully, Hermione had figured out what to do with the papers and helped him finish them so he could owl them to the ministry in the morning. He looked at his now soot covered clothes and then up the fireplace, promising himself that he would get Dobby and Tom to help him clean it the next day. After he showered and changed into his pajamas, he went into Tom's room to put the boy to bed.
Harry almost laughed when he walked in. Tom was lying in his bed, snoring softly. Hogwarts: A History lay on his face, his small nose kept his page marked. Harry was glad to see that the child had put his pajamas on before getting in bed. He was also glad Tom didn't notice the mattress pad that Ron had placed under his sheets. Harry didn't think he could take an argument over the thing after the tiring day he had. Harry gently removed the book from Tom's face, making sure to mark his place with a bookmark. He then tucked the covers over the boy and hesitantly placed a small kiss on the boy's forehead. He then turned out the lamp by Tom's bed and closed the door. Harry then slipped into his bedroom and fell into a deep sleep.
It was about two hours later that Harry woke to a startling scream. Grabbing his wand, Harry followed the sound into Tom's room. The child was thrashing in his bed, tangled in his sheets, as mangled cries escaped his throat. Harry was almost afraid to approach him; usually it was him who woke people up with horrible nightmares, not the other way around. After placing his wand on Tom's bookcase, Harry turned on the lamp beside Tom's bed and sat down next to the child.
Harry knew from experience that any sort of physical touch in this stage would only frighten the child more, so he called out to the boy until Tom's eyes opened and tearfully looked up at him. Harry thought Tom would reach for him or at least acknowledge him, but the boy just stared at him with glazed eyes that were haunted by his dreams.
" Tom, Tom, it's ok, it's ok." Harry cooed as he lifted the child into his arms and sat him on his lap, wincing as he noticed that the boy had wet himself. He hugged the child to his chest, rocking back and forth on the bed as he tried to comfort him. After a while, Tom suddenly threw his arms around the older boy, burying his head into Harry's shoulder, and allowed himself the comfort of Harry's presence as he cried.
Harry rocked the child for what seemed like hours, his heart breaking in empathy as he heard Tom's cries. This is probably the first time that Tom had been held like this and been allowed to show his emotions; at the orphanage, Harry suspected that the matron woke Tom up and calmed him down as hurriedly as possible so she could get back to sleep herself. He was almost certain that Tom was never allowed to cry as long as he needed to. As Harry held the boy, he remembered how he felt after horrible nightmares at his age. No one had ever tried to comfort him or show him that they cared; his Uncle Vernon only came in to bellow at him to stop waking the house up. If he failed to do so, he would have been beaten and left without food for the next day. These memories alone helped Harry forget for the moment who Tom would have grown up to be and see him for the mere child he was as he rubbed the boy's back and whispered soothing things in the Tom's ear.
Tom hated himself for waking up a sobbing mess in the middle of the night like a bloody three year old. He hated himself more for wetting his bed, even though he was asleep when he did so. And He hated himself the most though for failing to refuse Harry's comfort. He liked to think of himself as independent and mature, a boy who could survive with no one. Yet he had fallen into the temptation of Harry's arms because, just once, he wanted to experience the feelings of security and the warmness of one that cared for him. No one had before. So, despite what his pride ordered him to do and the humiliation he felt, Tom unwillingly wrapped his arms around Harry's neck and wept.
Harry finally felt the boy's sobs die down as he continued to rub circles on his back. Since Tom's face was still hidden in the crook of his neck he managed to free one arm to wandlessly clean his sheets. Since Tom was still adjusting to magic and in an incredibly vulnerable state, Harry didn't to let him see magic until the morning. He figured that it would be more calming for Tom to live as he had all his life. Harry then picked Tom up and grabbed another pair of underwear and pajama bottoms. He carried him into the bathroom and sat on the toilet, standing Tom up in front of him. Tom continued to bury his head in Harry's neck as Harry took his soiled bottoms off. He then quickly transfigured a tissue into some wipes and gently cleaned the urine off the boy's bottom, then finally redressed him in clean clothes. Tom's face reddened in humiliation; he never let anymore know directly when he wet the bed. He assumed that they noticed when they found the pile of dirty sheets in the laundry area, but Tom never told anyone when he had an accident. He avoided eye contact with Harry as the older boy slipped his hand into his and led him back to his bedroom.
" Do you want to talk about it?" Harry questioned softly, his eyes looking at Tom's worn face. Tom forced himself to look up and, to his surprise, wanted to tell him. Harry had already seen him in naked from the waist down and had comforted him when he was sobbing like a toddler from a nightmare. He might as well tell him about the dream. Yet he couldn't; he had killed the red haired girl in the picture that hung in Harry's hallway. He couldn't tell Harry. So he just shook his head.
Harry bent down and placed another kiss on the boy's head and left to leave when he barely heard Tom's voice.
"Can you stay until I fall asleep again…please?" Tom whispered as his pride chided him for looking so weak and helpless. Yet Harry came and sat down on his bed, stroking his hair until he fell asleep again.
Tom looked much less stern when he acted like a child, Harry noted, more like someone his age. He didn't look like a potential serial killer; he looked like a child who had endured too much in his short life. Tom wouldn't even be going to Hogwarts in the fall; he would be going to the local primary school for wizards until the next year. Tom, much to Harry's relief, fell asleep quickly. Harry stroked the boy's dark hair once last time and then silently went back into his room to catch up on his sleep.