Disclaimer: See prologue.

Guide: "Speech", Thoughts, ~letters and other written things, "Parseltongue"

Warnings for this chapter: It's more or less a filler chapter...However it has some small limes in it.

AN:Sorry for the delay. Life was so busy and stressful in the last few weeks that I could hardly find a calm moment to sit down and write.

FYI, we have about 6 chapters left before the new arc will start, so prepare yourself for some tissue-moments for the coming chapters. But for now enjoy the Flashbacks or as I like to call this chapter: How Harry finally got his make out sessions with Tom. ;)


-~-~- Verbuar -~-~-

-~-~-by StillWatersAreDeep-~-~-

-~-~- Chapter 11-~-~-

"There is a good reason they call these ceremonies 'commencement exercises'. Graduation is not the end, it's the beginning." Orrin Hatch (US Senator)

As I sat in the Great Hall, waiting to receive my NEWTs I couldn't agree more with Hatch's statement about graduation. While it marked the end of my time at Hogwarts, it was also the day which would mark the beginning of my new and much more open relationship with Tom. The day which would bring me one step closer to my wedding day.

But alas, unbeknown to me at that time, it in reality was the beginning of the end. The beginning to my misery which I would experience in the coming months. And all that thanks to one Albus Dumbledore who was scheming and plotting and setting things into motion while I was busy studying for my NEWTs and Tom did his best to finish off Fenrir Greyback and his pack for good.

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Sunday, 27th June 1998, Great Hall, Hogwarts

I knew that it wasn't nice to daydream and to get lost in memory lane as your two friends stood in front of a big audience, giving their graduation speeches. But opposed to everyone else in the room, I'd already heard Draco's and Hermione's speech twice as both insisted that they needed to practice it in front of me or in Hermione's case, someone who'd already heard the Head Boy's speech to ensure that her speech wouldn't overlap with his.

So, instead of listening once again what a great opportunity we now have in front of us, I didn't hesitate to take full advantage of the opportunity to drift away. I remembered how I slowly but surely broke down Tom's defences and talked him into becoming more intimate with me over the last few years―at least in private.

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Flashbacks

Tuesday, 16th August 1994

After the misunderstanding in April, Tom tried his best to meet with me twice a month even if it was only to have a cup of tea with me for half an hour on Sundays, often bringing a pregnant Nagini* with him who was counting they days until she would gave birth. And while my desire to kiss Tom grew with every visit, I was still too afraid to make the first move.

What made it even worse was that I was forced to listen to Nagini and Nagijan talking about how happy they were to soon have offspring of their own, or them just flirting with each other. I couldn't have been any more jealous of Nagijan in those sweet, caring moments between the two snakes as Tom sat beside me on the couch, still treating me like a child.

I'd already spent my allowed two weeks with Tom in the middle of June, but to my dismay Nagini didn't give birth during my stay. It had taken until the middle of August before it was finally time for the babies to come.. When Tom Floo called my house, I and my parents had just come back from a ten days trip to Shrewsbury an hour ago.

"Please, Dad. Can I go to Tom?" I pleaded with my father. He was rather strict when it came to how much time I was allowed to spend alone at Slytherin manor.

"I don't know," he said, unsure what to answer. He feared that if he made an exception to his rule now, I would try to find other reasons to spend additional time with Tom in the future. Like the little snakes needing their father, Nagijan. But on the other hand, my father didn't want to deny me the little visit which would make me very happy.

In the end, my mother solved the dilemma. "How about I accompany you, Harry?" she asked. "I would like to see the snakes too."

"I'm sure Lord Slytherin wouldn't mind," I said, knowing Tom well enough to make that assumption.

"Ask our Lord and if he agrees for your mother to join you, you may visit him," my father decided, happy that I would be happy.

"Thank you, Dad." I thanked him, running back to the Floo to ask Tom, who of course readily agreed to the suggestion.

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"Come on, Mum," I called as I dragged my mother by the hand from the Entrance Hall of Slytherin Manor towards Tom's study.

We would be so much faster if Mum toocould Floo directly to Tom's study, I thought as I ran up the stairs, not wanting to miss even a moment of the birth of the little snakes.

"Are they here yet?" I asked as I pushed open Tom's study door, not even thinking about knocking in my eagerness and ran to the rug near the fireplace where Nagini was resting.

"Soon," Tom said with a smile, finding my childlike excitement endearing, not minding me just barging in.

"My Lord," my mother greeted much more respectfully and in a more grown up manner than mine.

"Can't a snake get some peace," Nagini complained as she noticed that not only I but also my mother had entered the room.

"Tom already explained that Harry could only come if his mother could come too," Nagijan calmly explained to Nagini. He'd stayed with Tom during my family trip as he wanted to be there for his mate when she gave birth.

"Then he shouldn't have come," Nagini hissed between a groan of pain, the contractions finally having started.

"Shh," Nagijan tried to appease her, curling around the other snake's body in a comforting gesture. "We all know that you want Harry here as much as I do."

"Remember to only speak English,"Tom reminded me, laying a hand on my shoulder just as I was about to say something to Nagini in Parseltongue, totally having forgotten that my mother was in the room with us.

"Urgh," Nagini groaned out as she pushed out her first child, which was soon followed by a second one.

"They're so cute," I said as I saw the two little snakes which were nearly as small as my hand.

"Yes, they're very beautiful," my mother agreed.

"Can-Can I touch them?" I asked, barely stopping myself from asking the whole question directly in Parseltongue. Only Tom's tightened grip on my shoulder had reminded me to speak English.

"I'm sure that you can touch the little hatchlings, Harry," Tom said.

"Of course," Nagini voiced her agreement. Now where she finally had her two children near her, all the previous pain from giving birth was forgotten.

Gingerly, I stretched out my hand to caress the two little snakes. "There skin is so smooth. Much smoother than even Nagijan's," I commented as I stroked their skin.

"Careful, Harry," Tom chided. "If you continue like this, Nagijan will become jealous of his own children."

My mother laughed at Tom's comment. While I cheekily answered, "Then it's a good thing that Nagijan can't speak English."

"I'm sure he understands some words," Tom said, not tousling my hair like he would have done if we were alone. With my mother in the room with us, he was forced to behave much more formal and reduce the touching to less intimate gestures, like to gently tap my shoulder with his hand, which made me pout.

An hour later, Mum and I were walking back to the Entrance Hall to Floo home.

"You know, I'd been worried for you," Mum told me. Seeing my perplexed look, she elaborated, "I wasn't sure if you marrying our Lord was in your best interest. While he certainly is a good man, I didn't want a forced and unhappy marriage for you. But now that I've seen you together, it's obvious that he really cares for you and doesn't feel like you're just an obligation to him. And that you also like him?" she asked, even though she was rather sure that I had strong feelings for Tom.

"I do, very much," I confessed to her. "But I still love your treacle tart more," I added jokingly.

"Is this a hint that I should bake you one?"

"Yes," I answered with a big smile on my face which earned me a ruffle of my hair and, two hours later, Mum's homemade treacle tart I loved.

Considering how I behaved during the birth of the snakes and during the two weeks I spent with Tom before, it was no wonder that Tom still saw me as a child. But then, I was barely fourteen years old at that time, so I was still allowed to behave like a child.

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Sunday, 9th July 1995

After the complete failure to seduce Tom during the school year, I tried a new tactic during the summer holidays. Instead of first spending some days with my family, I went from the Hogwarts Express straight to Slytherin Manor.

My plan? Make Tom jealous enough that he will have no choice but to claim me as his own. My inspiration? My dear friend Draco. Draco and I would be spending two weeks in southern France at the end of July. As Draco told me what we would be doing on the sunny beach, one thing in particular caught my interest. The good old fashioned game of 'Spin the Bottle'.

So, during our Sunday afternoon tea time, I began to tell Tom about my upcoming trip, trying to subtly make Tom jealous.

"I can't wait for to go to France," I began, not having to fake my excitement. "It will be so much fun to get to know new people, to go swimming, to play volleyball and to spend the nights around a warm fire; joking, talking, playing games," I listed, gesturing widely with my hands.

"Sounds fun," Tom said, smiling into his teacup.

"It will be," I answered. "And to think that Draco thought that I couldn't have as much fun as him," I said, hoping that Tom would ask me to elaborate, which luckily he did.

"He was teasing me that I wouldn't be able to play games like 'Truth or Dare' or 'Spin the Bottle' because people would be too afraid to ask the usual dares of Lord Slytherin's fiancé," I began to explain. "But then I reminded Draco that we would be playing with foreign Muggle teens, so they don't even know that we're engaged and thus wouldn't be afraid to demand things of me.

"And when he pointed out that Nagijan would surely stop anyone but you from kissing me, I pointed out that Nagijan would be staying with you because he would scare the Muggles. So hopefully, with these little hurdles out of the way, Draco and I will finally get our first real kiss during one of the games," I told Tom with a happy grin on my face.

"Don't think that I don't know what you're trying to do," Tom told me straight out.

"And is it working?" I asked cheekily, smiling brightly at Tom before taking a sip of my tea.

"What do you think?" he answered my question with a question of his own, his eyebrow raised.

"That I will get my first real kiss before I turn fifteen," I said with as much confidence as I could muster.

"And who will give it to you?" Tom asked, amused. By now we were both enjoying talking around the crux of the matter. Namely, me wanting Tom to kiss me.

"I don't know. Maybe a cute French boy?" I asked cheekily, taking another sip of my tea for effect.

"Not a beautiful French girl?" Tom asked.

"No, they have cooties," I said in my best 'I'm five years old'-voice, barely able to contain my laughter. Even Tom was having a hard time suppressing a chuckle.

"And if no French boy wants to kiss you?" Tom asked, curiously.

"Then there's still Draco," I said with a shrug of my shoulders, unknowingly mentioning the one person which could light the flame of Tom's jealously in seconds, making him disregard any hesitations he may had.

"Let's ensure that it won't come to that," Tom said, placing his cup of tea on the coffee table and turning his body even more in my direction.

After I too, placed my cup down, Tom took my chin in his hand and leaned in to give me a soft, chaste and far too short kiss on my lips. Apparently even the mentioning of Draco wasn't able to bring all of Tom's walls down.

"Satisfied?"

"No," I said with a shake of my head in the negative. "A kiss is only a 'real kiss' if it involves tongues," I said boldly, encouraged by finally having gotten at least a small kiss out of Tom. If Tom and I hadn't spent so much time together during the previous school year, I would never had gotten the bravery to say this.

All around me people treated Tom with the respect and social distance his status as Lord Slytherin demanded. But during our little chats I was able to get even more comfortable and relaxed, noticing that Tom too was opening up to me. I could speak frankly with him, even call him a bastard without having to fear that it would have negative consequences for me or my family because Tom tolerated—maybe even welcomed—this easy going, open behaviour between us—as long as we were in private.

"And who has told you that a kiss must include tongues?" Tom asked me, bringing me back from my thoughts. "Draco?" Tom asked.

"No, that's general knowledge. I'm sure even Nagijan knows it."

"He and Nagini know nothing else, but kissing with their tongues," Tom commented. Both of us have watched the two snakes making out often enough to be very aware of this fact. Especially since their two offspring were out of their child phase.

"See, you finally admit it too. A 'real kiss' includes tongues," I said triumphant.

Silence.

"Come on, Tom. Don't be afraid and finally give me a real kiss," I demanded.

Tom just sighed. I didn't know whether this was a sigh of annoyance or of resignation. So imagine my relief when instead of telling me to stop whining and to leave him alone, Tom gave in to my demand. He waved his hand at the study door to lock it and then he finally leaned in once more to give me a real kiss.

I can hardly describe how good it felt to feel Tom's lips on mine again. As he pressed his lips against mine far more firmly than during the short peck he gave me before, I felt my cheeks reddening. And after a short moment of just enjoying being kissed by Tom, I opened my lips slightly in invitation. And while I waited to feel his tongue against mine, I tried to copy Tom's motions the best I could for someone as inexperienced as me.

After an eternity, Tom's wet and warm tongue finally came out and touched my lips, making me open my mouth wider. It felt like a thousand butterflies were trying to escape from the confined space of my stomach when our tongues met for the first time. Moaning in pleasure, my right hand gripped Tom's shoulder as I moved even closer towards my fiancé. But all too soon, I felt how the pressure of Tom's lips lessened and how his tongue retreated to his own mouth, gently ending our kiss.

"Satisfied?" Tom asked me once more.

I was still too overwhelmed by the thrilling sensations of the kiss that I couldn't answer.

"I'll take it as a 'Yes' then," he said, a smirk firmly in place.

Shaking my head to dissolve the daze I was under, I tried to get my bearings back. But before I could say anything like "I still want more", Tom had already unlocked the door—a sure sign that he wouldn't kiss me again. At least today. But with at least once having broken through his walls, I was confident that I could get him to kiss me again in the near future.

"Why don't you get ready for dinner?" Tom suggested as he was already on his way out, giving my lap area a pointed glance when I was about to say that I wanted to spend some more time with him.

Looking down, I only then realised that my jeans were spotting an obvious bulge. Turning a deep shade of red, I stuttered out a "Ehm...ye—ah," not daring to look up.

Shit, I didn't see if he was turned on too, I thought when I'd calmed down again. But by that time, Tom had already left his study. Not that his robes wouldn't have concealed it anyway, I thought in resignation and went up to my room to get ready for dinner and maybe have a wank over the memory of the kiss.

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Saturday, 29th June 1996, On the Hogwarts Express

Since starting the summer holidays by staying two weeks with Tom had turned out rather well last year, I decided to do the same this year. My parents agreed in seconds, Tom though was more hesitant to give his okay. In the second week of July he'd been invited to the wedding of the Indian Minister of Magic's son and he'd already accepted the invitation weeks ago. Luckily, I was able to argue my point, telling him that it would make a good impression if he was accompanied by his fiancé. Besides, our snakes were sure to love the warm Indian weather and would love the distraction from having been recently separated from their offspring.

And while Tom agreed with both above mentioned points, he certainly wasn't unaware of my ulterior motives. The first one being to get a luxury trip to India. And the second, more important hidden agenda, to spend two, unsupervised weeks all alone with Tom; the wedding being the only interruption of our togetherness. Of course, Tom could have booked separate rooms for us, but the possessive, overprotective fiancé he is, instead got us an apartment with two bedrooms and only one bathroom.

On the Hogwarts Express I actually wondered if Tom would have only booked one bedroom if sharing a bed with your fiancé would have been socially acceptable for a man of his status. However, two beds doesn't mean that we can't just share one anyway, I thought.

But then, while I'd been able to trick Tom into giving me my first kiss, repeat performances had been few and far between.. So maybe he will insist on separate beds after all, I thought with a sigh, feeling down.

"Why the sad face?" Draco asked me. "I thought you were happy to get some un-chaperoned alone time with your fiancé."

"I am. It's just that I fear that he doesn't see it as such," I told him.

"Oh, come on, Harry. Nagijan wouldn't have reported to you that he smelled Lord Slytherin being aroused if he hadn't been turned on by looking at your 'holiday' pictures from France," Draco argued.

It had been my blond best friend, who'd insisted that we take some photos of me glad only in my tight swimming trunks, dry and wet, and mix them in with the usual, less porn-like pictures and give the whole stack to Tom in the hopes of getting a positive reaction out of my fiancé. Draco also wanted to take some pictures of the teens I kissed during our games of 'Spin the Bottle' to make Tom jealous again. But I told him that it would be just too much. The boys and girls I kissed had no meaning to me other than that they helped me practise my kissing skills. So I saw no reason to keep their images. They'd already served their purpose long before I met them by making Tom jealous enough to give me my first kiss.

"I'm sure he wouldn't throw you out if you laid out naked on his bed," Draco suggested, bringing me out of my thoughts.

"No, he would just walk out and sleep in the other room," I answered. And say that I should get dressed before I caught a cold, I mentally added, remembering the incident two years ago when I'd walked into the room clad only in a towel and Tom told me just that.

"I wouldn't be so sure about it," Draco answered, needing to have the last word.

Nothing more of important was discussed in the compartment Draco and I shared before we reached King Cross Station shortly before 5pm, where our parents were already waiting for us.

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Sunday, 30th June 1996, Dehradun, India

Due to the five and a half hour time difference it was already shortly past midnight on Sunday when Tom and I arrived via Portkey at our hotel in Dehradun in northern India. Luckily, Tom's arms around my hips prevented me from landing face-first on the marble , we had to listen to Nagini and Nagijan complain in our ears about how much they hated International Portkeys.

While I'd already took a two hour long nap during the train ride to London, and it was only 7pm back home, I was utterly exhausted and wanted nothing more than to fall asleep in my temporary bed.

Next time, I'll just ask my mum to pack my suitcase for me instead of rushing to do it myself in under two hours, I thought as I lay on the soft bed five minutes after our arrival.

Last year, I'd just taken my Hogwarts trunk with me to Slytherin Manor. But as the climate in India was very different from the Scottish weather, I went from Kings Cross to my home, picked out clothes for a significantly warmer climate than Britain, repacked my toothpaste and similar items from my school trunk to my suitcase, ate some dinner and Flooed over to Tom in time to not miss the Portkey set for 7pm.

"You better get some sleep, Harry," Tom told me as he entered my room. "We'll be meeting the Indian Minister at ten tomorrow, so breakfast will be served at eight thirty."

"Hmm, okay," I answered sleepily, making Tom walk towards where I lay on the bed to shake my shoulder and then shove me into the bathroom.

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"Wake up, sleepy-head," I heard Tom's voice say to me, giving my shoulder a slight shake.

"I don't wanna," I mumbled.

"Should I douse you with water?" my fiancé threatened.

"No," I answered, turning around to face Tom, but still keeping my eyes closed. "But you can give me a kiss..."

"A real kiss," I complained when he only kissed the top of my head.

"You're insufferable, you know?" he asked rhetorically before he finally gave me the wake-up kiss I wanted.

"And you sound too much like Severus," I said when the kiss ended, finally opening my eyes.

"But he doesn't give you good morning kisses, does he?" Tom questioned in good humour, already on his way out of my bedroom, leaving me with no other option but to get up.

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Five hours later, Tom and I finally walked out of the restaurant where we met the Indian Minister of Magic and his wife. And even though Tom had cast a complex and not well-known translation spell so that I could understand what was being said and even take part in the conversation if I wanted to, I was bored out of my mind. Mainly because Tom and the Minister were talking about nothing but politics and the Minister's wife wasn't inclined at all to converse with me.

The only real form of entertainment I had were the comments Nagijan and Nagini made. But as Tom still insisted that we keep my Parseltongue ability a secret, I was forced to control my reactions, less I start laughing at an inappropriate time. So after lunch was over I instead entertained myself by watching Tom and I had to admit that Tom in business mode was hot. He was all dominant and no nonsense.

"So," Tom began as we walked in the general direction of our hotel. "What do you want to do? We could either go sightseeing or use the remainder of the day to get the rest of the inconvenient businesses out of the way so that we can enjoy the rest of our stay."

"I have the feeling that you would prefer the later," I answered.

"Hmm," Tom verified my assumption. "But I'm still asking what you want to do."

"Let's get the boring stuff done," I said. The day was ruined anyway, so why ruin tomorrow too if it could be avoided. "What is it that we have to do anyway?" I asked.

"Clothes shopping." I just groaned. "Don't worry," Tom said with a laugh. "We just have to buy you some nice clothes for the wedding, nothing more," he pacified.

"Are the shops even open? It's Sunday after all," I pointed out as we entered our hotel.

"In this district the shops are open 24/7," Tom said, giving me a look that screamed 'Didn't you noticed on our way back here?'

"Sorry," I said, sheepishly. "I was too busy watching how well the Muggle and magical world are integrated here."

After getting dressed in more casual clothes, Tom renewed the cooling charms on both of us and we headed back out towards the clothing shop Tom wanted to visit, letting our snakes stay at the hotel as they wanted to spend some undisturbed alone time together.

"No Potter-red," I demanded, hating how bad the colour suited me.

"Since you are not the bride, you're not going to wear anything red, pink or orange. Maybe a nice blue?" Tom asked.

"Can't I wear Slytherin-green?" I asked, nearly missing the smile which hushed over Tom's face when he heard my suggestion.

"Since we're not married yet, no."

"But I wear it all the time at Hogwarts," I argued.

"That's different. You wear it with all of your other housemates in reference to Salzar, not me."

"How about Malfoy green then?" I asked.

"Certainly not," Tom said in a stern voice.

"But I want us to have matching clothes," I pouted as I followed Tom into the small but elegant shop which was full of cloth of every kind. "And you'll be wearing your family colours. So if I can't wear Slytherin-green, Malfoy-green is as close as I can get."

Tom sighed.

"How may I help you today, Lord Slytherin?" the middle-aged shopkeeper asked, surprising me that he knew Tom by name.

"My fiancé needs an outfit for the Minister's son's wedding," Tom said, making the shopkeeper turn his attention to me.

"Any preferences?" he asked me.

"Something to match my fiancé's attire," I demanded.

"But not green," Tom added authoritative.

"Hmm," the man said, thinking. "Not even some small green accents?" he asked Tom.

"No, that would be acceptable."

"How about a nice beige silk, cut similar to your own outfit with green embroidery?" he suggested, moving around to get the silk he was speaking of.

"It's better than nothing..." I muttered under my breath, taking what I would get.

"Come here, Harry," Tom called me over to him and the shopkeeper.

"The light colour will go nicely with your tanned skin," Tom said, holding the cloth against my bare arm.

As the shopkeeper excused himself to get a collection of green yarns for the embroidery, Tom whispered into my ear, "The light colour with the green accents will suit you. Besides, this way you'll look more like my fiancé than someone who wants to copy me."

"Really?" I asked. I hadn't thought about it this way.

"Yes. Just wait and see when we're wearing them," he said as the shopkeeper returned to us.

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Wednesday, 10th July 1996, Dehradun, India

Ten days later I had to agree that Tom was right. Just to prove his point, he had me dress in one of his spare Indian style, Slytherin-green outfits and stand beside him in front of the mirror in my room. Because of our similar hair colour, it really looked a bit like I was trying and failing to pose as a 'Mini-Tom', the effect made worse by Tom's clothes being too large for me.

When I finally stood next to him in my beige outfit, the effect was the complete opposite. While it was clear by the identical cut that Tom and I belonged together, I was my own person who complimented Tom.

"See, I was right," he said, giving me a short kiss; to my delight on my lips instead of my hair like he usually liked to do. The days we spent as two friends exploring the city and the surrounding area had lowered his usual walls enough to be more intimate with me than back home, where everyone knew who we were and watched us with critical eyes.

"Now, let's get your hair done," he said, walking towards my bedside table to pick up my hairbrush.

Settling down on the bed, Tom opened my messed up braid and then brushed out my hair, which was reaching my armpits now.

"I didn't know you knew how to do a French braid," I commented.

"I'm a man of many talents," was Tom's answer, making me wonder if there was intended innuendo present.

"Isn't the embroidery a bit over the top?" I asked, to divert my attention. It wouldn't do me any good to over-think Tom's last comment.

"For British standards, yes. But for Indian conditions there's still room to improve. I assume that the groom will wear something where the chest area and the back is also embroidered," Tom explained. "Besides, here it's customary to spend a rather large fortune on ones wedding. So if the groom can't even afford more detailed clothes than us, then he should have waited some more years. Though, politically, it would be to my advantage if the groom's clothes are less outstanding than ours," Tom said as he finished the braid.

"Is that why you chose an unusual cut?" I asked. During the last few days I'd noticed that the button-facings on the men's shirts on the streets went down in a straight line, while ours were curved to the left.

"It's one reason. I mainly chose it for the better freedom of movement it gives. With this cut, sitting cross-legged is more comfy. Which reminds me, if you still want to walk to the wedding location, we need to leave in the next ten minutes."

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I had to admit that the wedding celebration was very interesting. I especially loved how the couple had to walk around the bonfire seven times for the wedding to be valid. The best part about it was that leading each lap around the fire symbolised that that person would be in charge for that year of their marriage. The bride led the first three rounds and the groom the remaining four laps.

And while the difference in years showed that in the end it was the groom who was in charge of the marriage, the women here in India were still better treated than back home in the UK. Opposed to me, they weren't marked as their fathers' and later their husbands' property and seen as nothing more than broodmares and submissive housewives.

At least Tom doesn't treat me any different because I'm a Foreas, even though he still sees me like a child more often than I'd like, I thought, glancing at Tom who was sitting beside me, his attention on the couple walking around the bonfire for the last time.

Two hours and five speeches later, the bride's family was lamenting the loss of their daughter as it was tradition while Tom and I stood together in the long line of well-wishers waiting for our turn to present the newly-weds with our wedding presents; mainly gold jewellery for the bride.

The following dinner was delicious, if slightly too spicy for my personal taste. Opposed to the boring lunch I had to sit through on my first day here, my table neighbours were happy to talk with me or to watch the evening entertainment with me, making small comments about it every now and then. And since the only two politically important persons who were seated at our table were more or less Tom's friends, Tom didn't have a problem to give me the majority of his attention without having to fear negative consequences.

In short, I really enjoyed attending the wedding with Tom―at least until three o'clock. Then all the remaining guests, which were basically everyone who didn't come to the wedding with small children in tow, were asked to go outside for a firework show. And as we all enjoyed the last sparks of the fireworks, the female members of the groom's family suddenly started to throw colour powder at us unsuspecting guests, covering our robes in pink, red, yellow, blue and green stains.

"Thank Merlin that we left our snakes at the hotel," I said to Tom as I unsuccessfully tried to clean my glasses.

"Knowing them, they wouldn't have dared to throw anything at us if we had our snakes coiled around us," Tom answered, cleaning up my glasses with a wave of his hand.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome. Shall we dance?" Tom asked as the band started to play the first of many songs to come.

"Only because it's you who's asking," I said, still not liking dancing. But with such a graceful partner like Tom, following him around the dance floor was easy and I could easily enjoy myself, dancing for hours.

It was 5am when Tom and I finally decided to call it a night. Tom had wanted to Apparate us, but as the sun was just starting to rise, I wanted to enjoy the colourful sky and walk the twenty minutes back to our hotel. Eight minutes into our walk, the sky was starting to darken. And not three minutes later, it was raining cats and dogs.

"And that's why the Indian wedding season is in winter and not in the middle of the monsoon season," Tom said as we started to run the rest of the way; the Muggles on the streets preventing us from just Apparating back to the hotel.

Six minutes later we were both totally drenched, standing in the lift, ascending to our apartment.

"I really need a shower. All the colour powder has run down my body, beneath my shirt and who knows where else," I commented as the lift's doors opened.

"You're not the only one," Tom answered, opening our door. "You can go first," he added as he closed the door behind him.

"Or we can just shower together," I suggested, hopping that Tom having been more intimate with me than usual in public today was a sign that he would also be more touchy than usual in private. Just as Tom was about to reject my suggestion, I quickly added, "It's not like we'll see something we haven't seen before."

This was more or less true. Tom had seen me in nothing but my underwear when I was changing into my wedding attire this morning. And in the last days, I had more than once seen a topless Tom coming out of the bathroom in the morning. However, I had to admit that I was still more than curious to see what he looked like in his birthday suit. If his chest is anything to go by, it should be a very arousing sight.

"Besides, I really could use someone who gets the colour powder off of my back," I said as I made my way towards the bathroom, trying to throw the come-hither look over my shoulder.

I took Tom following me into the bathroom as his silent agreement to the suggestion. But only when I started to take off my sullen clothes, mourning that they most likely were ruined for good, did I realise that it wouldn't be easy to stay unaffected by Tom's closeness and especially nakedness. I didn't even know if Tom would appreciate my arousal over him. Just keep you gaze above his waistline, I instructed myself.

Tom, the sly man he is, bid his time by adjusting the shower temperature. Only when I only had my boxers left, did Tom start to take off his own clothes, deliberately turning his back to me. I didn't know if he did it because my cheeks were already red of embarrassment as I started to feel self-conscious with only my boxers left, or if he did it to protect his own modesty as long as possible, or if he was having second thoughts.

Copying Tom, I turned to face the big shower, un-braided my hair to win time before I pulled off my last article of clothing and stepped under the spray of warm water, my back still facing Tom.

"Let me," Tom said just as I picked up the bottle of shampoo to clean my hair.

"Okay," I said, not daring to turn around to face him. Tomnakedis standing right behind me, was all I could think about as he took the shampoo bottle out of my hand.

As Tom massaged the shampoo into my long hair, I started to relax, which in turn made me realize how tired I actually was. "Here you go," Tom announced before I could fall asleep in the shower.

"Thank you," I said, turning around for the first time and coming face to face with his breastbones. Don't look! I reminded myself. But as feared, my eyes had a mind of their own and moved lower, taking in Tom's fit but not too muscular chest, and then they followed the dark trail of pubic hair down to his cock, where they were glued for what felt like hours but must have only been five seconds in reality.

I won't deny that I more than once have imagined what Tom's penis would look like. But since all I had to compare it to was my own cock and the quick looks I got at the other boys' in the showers after Quidditch practice, my images were restricted to still not fully grown penises. So while the length was around what I'd seen before, even if it was towards the longer side, none of the boys' cocks were as thick as Tom's. And his wasn't even fully aroused yet so it would still grow even bigger. And this will fit into me? I wondered.

Before I could think more about it, the cock I was staring at twitched, making my eyes look up towards Tom's face. "You know that you look ridiculous with the pink and orange hair?" I asked the first thing I could think of to cover up my previous, unabashed staring.

"That's why we're taking a shower," Tom said as he put some shampoo into his hair. His tone sounded slightly forced in my ears, as if he had to concentrate on not letting his voice reveal how aroused he felt. But maybe this was just wishful thinking on my part.

"Let me wash your back for you," I asked, wanting to finally be able to touch my fiancé, which was another reason why I offered to shower together.

Tom hesitated in washing his hair. "Please?" I more begged than asked.

"Okay," Tom gave his agreement followed by a sigh and then closed his eyes as he returned to massage the shampoo into his hair, like he just agreed to a great burden.

Picking up the flannel and the shower gel, I moved around Tom to reach his back and then began my self-proclaimed task. I moved the flannel in slow circles from his shoulders down his back, stopping above his pelvis. "I didn't know that you had freckles," I commented, using it as an excuse to touch his bare back with my fingers as I traced the line of small freckles and moles on his lower back.

"Harry," Tom said in a warning and slightly breathless tone.

"Yes?" I asked as Tom washed off the remainder of the shampoo from his hands.

"Don't start things we cannot finish," he said, turning around to face me.

"Who says that we cannot finish this?" I asked, caressing the area around his hipbones with the same soap covered fingers that had caressed his back. It took all of my courage to be this bold but I was sure that the end result would be worth it.

"My morals," Tom whispered in resignation, leaning forward to give me a kiss on my forehead, caressing my left cheek with his right hand.

"But you don't have a problem with kissing me," I stated, though it came out more like a whine.

"It's complicated," he said after a short pause, leaning his head back against the tiled shower wall. "I promised myself that I wouldn't do anything with you until you're of age. But it's hard to not give in to your wishes," he admitted. "So I tried to find a middle ground I could live with."

"So let's find a new middle ground together," I suggested, taking a step forward to give Tom a kiss.

"Harry," he said, softly putting his hands on my shoulders to keep me at a distance before I could get near his lips.

"I'll be sixteen in three weeks," I stated. "Isn't this old enough to at least do something?" I pleaded, placing my hands on his chest. "It's not like I'm saying that we should go all the way. Besides, what difference does a year make?" I asked. Tom's admittance that it was hard for him to not give in to me gave me the strength to press on. "Let's just let ourselves go and enjoy the moment. If it becomes too much for either of us, we stop. Okay?" I asked.

"You're not making it easy for me, are you?" Tom asked rhetorically.

"No," I said cheekily.

"Let's wash our hair out first," he said.

"I won't let you distract me," I told him decisively.

"And I don't want to have to stop because of soap that ran into my eyes," Tom answered, taking my confidence down a notch.

So much about coming across as an adult who knows what he's doing, I thought disappointedly, complying with Tom's demand since he did have a point. I even washed my body so that Tom couldn't use any remaining colour powder on my skin as another excuse to stop.

"You still have a green spot on your lower back," Tom said as he finished cleaning off.

"Here?" I asked, trying to get a look at my back.

"No, I bit lower."

"There?"

"Here, I'll wash it for you," Tom said, holding out his hand for the flannel.

Did he rethink his earlier words? I wondered as I felt the flannel being placed so close to the crack between my ass cheeks that it could hardly be referred to as the lower back. Finger me please, I pleaded in the privacy of my mind. To my disappointment Tom's fingers touched my shoulder as his other hand placed the flannel into my still open palm.

"There you go. Now rinse out your hair," he commanded and I complied, wanting to start exploring his body as soon as possible. But with as long as my hair was, rinsing it took me a good two minutes. Two minutes, in which I had my eyes closed in protection from the shampoo. Two minutes, which Tom used to, unnoticed by me, sneak out of the bathroom.

"Tom!" I yelled angrily when I didn't see him anywhere. I had been so eager that the only thing I could feel now was fury.

"Sweet dreams, Harry," he called back, presumably from his bedroom.

"You promised," I accused, placing a towel around my waist and marching towards his bedroom.

"No, I didn't. But we can talk about finding a new middle ground once we both have gotten some sleep. If you want," he said in a calm voice, which irritated me even more.

I tried to open his door, but as expected it was locked. "You bastard," I screamed at the door, giving it a kick for good measure. But not a moment later I regretted what I did. Behaving like a five year old Draco on a temper tantrum wouldn't get me where I wanted to be.

Taking a couple of calming breaths, I let my back rest against the closed door and I said in a calmer voice than before, "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have reacted like this. I was just... just so disappointed when you left me standing there," I admitted. "I know that I said that we would stop if it became too much for either of us. And obviously doing anything more than kissing is too much for you. I respect that," I said the last part with a heavy heart and then moved away from the door to go to my room, hoping that Tom would forgive me for my previous outburst.

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"Good morning, sleepy-head," I heard Tom's voice greet me before I felt his soft lips against my own.

"Morning," I mumbled, before the event from the early hours of this morning came back to me. "I'm sorry," I immediately said.

"It's okay, Harry. You were exhausted from staying up so long, so you weren't really yourself," Tom said in a gentle voice, caressing my hair.

"But," I began, but Tom placed a finger over my lips.

"Sshh. It's alright, Harry. I shouldn't have agreed to the shower in the first place. Besides every teenager is allowed to have an outburst or two," he said.

"No," I disputed, placing a hand on Tom's leg to stop him from interrupting me again. "If I'd behaved more like the adult I want to be, I wouldn't have tried to pressure you to do anything with me. So, if the offer still stands, can we talk about finding a middle ground?" I asked, gingerly.

Tom laughed. "Of course it still stands. Let's enjoy lunch in bed first and then we can talk about it."

"Lunch?" I asked, bewildered, completely missing the self-satisfied look in Tom's eyes when he talked about the offer.

"It' nearly 12pm," he said. "Now move over so that I have some room too." It was only then that I noticed that Tom too was still in his pyjamas.

After a silent lunch consisting of juice, some fruits and sandwiches, we carefully began to talk about our physical relationship. Somehow, having been naked in the shower, trying to seduce Tom had been far easier and less embarrassing than talking about what we both wanted or were ready to give was.

In the end, Tom had been the one we gave in more than me. But then, I was the one who wanted to exchange handjobs while kissing had already been an admission on his part. However, I couldn't say that I was unhappy with the outcome of our negotiation. I got him to agree that we would kiss more often in exchange of keeping any exploring of naked skin above the waistline as well as keeping our hands away from each other's groin area―clothed or not.

"Let's test out this new middle ground," I said, turning my upper body around so that I was facing Tom directly and gave him a kiss.

"You're insatiable," Tom said when the kiss ended.

"And you made a promise," I countered, glad that I'd insisted on the pinky-swear for old time's sake.

"I did, didn't I?" he said as he leaned in, dominating the kiss, making me lie back on the bed with him on top of me, his weight resting on his forearms.

As we kissed, my hands moved to his hair and then wandered down his back to his pyjama-clad ass as Tom's lips wandered to my neck.

"No touching under the waistline," he reprimanded me.

"No, we agreed to no naked skin to skin contact below the waistline," I said. "Since your ass is still clothed, I can touch it all I want," I stated, squeezing the firm globes in emphasis.

"You little Slytherin."

"The Hat didn't place me there just because I was your fiancé," I said, grabbing his hair with my free hand to place his lips back to mine.

It wasn't long after that that I felt myself getting hard. After a few more minutes of heated kissing and letting my hands freely roam over the skin of his upper body and his clothed ass, I was close to orgasm.

"Please," I said, needing to feel some friction. "Please, Tom," I pleaded once more, using my hands to press his body down to mine.

"Ughn," I groaned when I finally felt his body on mine, getting the friction I desired.

Moments later, I came. "Uhh...That was...great," I said, still not fully down from my high.

"Good," Tom said with a quick kiss to my lips and then got up from my bed.

"But you haven't come yet," I said, pointedly looking with a red face at the bulge in his pyjamas.

"I'm not at an age anymore where frottage is enough for me," he stated from the doorway. "Why don't you take a shower so that we can get ready for our meeting with the priest?" he suggested, not waiting for an answer.

On my way to the bathroom, I had to walk by Tom's bedroom door and as my blood hadn't fully found its way back to my brain, I suddenly got the brilliant idea to eavesdrop on Tom in the hopes of hearing him wank. But alas, Tom must have cast a silencing charm on the room since I didn't hear any sounds at all.

It was only when I was finally under the cold spray of the shower that I realised how stupid the idea of eavesdropping had been. What would I have told Tom if he had opened the door in that exact moment and found me with my ear pressed against his door? I thought. Shit, he could have even taken back our new agreement, I belatedly realised. Thank Merlin that I didn't get caught.

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The priest Tom and I met that afternoon, was someone we'd talked to during the wedding. When he'd heard that we both possessed a snake and that Tom was a Parselmouth on top of it, he'd invited us to visit the temple where he worked. Apparently in India there was a yearly festival called Nag Panchami in honour of snakes and he oversaw the local celebration. I'd been more than curious to learn more about it.

Ninety minutes of walking around the temple and its surrounding garden, hearing stories about the festival, I asked Tom, "Can we come back here for the festival?"

"I won't be able to see it this year," he said. "But if you want to, we can both come next year."

"Really?"

"Yes. It can be your birthday present."

"Thank you," I said, hugging Tom and once we were back in our apartment, I added some thank you kisses, making good use of my newly gained liberty to kiss Tom in private as much as I wanted.

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Sunday, 13th July 1997, Potter house

So, the following summer holidays Tom and I once again planned to take a trip to India to see a Nag Panchami celebration in person. I wasn't only excited to see the festival, but also eager to once again spend some unsupervised alone time with Tom. Especially since I would be seventeen and therefore of age, so there would be nothing to stop Tom and I from taking our relationship to the next level.

However, this year it had been my father who was hesitant to let me go to India with Tom. But luckily Sirius had been able to talk him around. Apparently Dad feared that with me already being of age at the time of the trip, Tom and I would do things he wouldn't approve of.

"If you don't allow him to go with our Lord, he'll just go flying after Tom to India by himself," Sirius said.

"I would still have to approve of that," Dad countered.

"No. Harry will be of age and therefore free to do as he pleases. Unless, of course, you want to make use of the old laws where Harry is your property until he marries and becomes his husband's property." That definitely shut him up.

"Good, with that out of the way, let's check out the two water parks I'm considering for Harry's birthday party," Sirius said eagerly, making me hurry out into the garden before I got caught eavesdropping. Knowing Sirius, he'd be angrier about the surprise of the location being ruined than about anything else.

Out in the garden I found my mother reading one of her romance novels under her favourite tree.

"Hey Mum, do you know who Sirius invited for my birthday party?" I asked her.

My godfather had not only taken charge of choosing the location but also everything in regards to my birthday party. And somehow I doubted that he invited Tom if he planned to rent a water park. Lord Slytherin in swimming trunks. That is certainly something only I would dare to ask of him.

"Our family, the Malfoys and Lestranges, the Longbottoms, the Weasley twins and your Quidditch team," she answered my question.

"What about Tom? And Hermione and Luna?" I asked.

"As far as I know, Sirius invited none of them."

"But you can still invite them," I said.

"I'm not sure if Lord Slytherin would want to come..." she trailed off. "But we can certainly invite Misses Lovegood and Granger."

"I'm sure Tom will say yes if I ask him," I said. "Can I Floo over now to ask in person?" I asked her eagerly.

"He really is important to you, isn't he?" Mum asked with a smile.

"He is. So can I go?"

"As long as he gives his okay and you only stay for an hour," she said, then added when she saw my pouty look at the mentioning of the time limit, "You know how strict your father is about this."

"Yeah," I said. "See you in an hour." And I was off, not wanting to waste a second.

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"Hey Tom," I greeted my fiancé who was also out in the garden, reading a book.

"Hello Harry," he greeted back, marking his place in the book before he placed it on the side-table. "I didn't know that you were coming over today."

"I just got permission from my mother," I explained, not having bothered to ask Tom beforehand if I could come to his house, instead just having Flooed over straight away.

"What's the special occasion?" he asked curiously.

"I overheard Sirius talking about where he wants to hold my birthday party. And when I ask my mum if you were already invited, she told me that you weren't. So I made it my mission to personally invite you to come in all of your half-naked glory."

"Half-naked?" he asked, raising an eyebrow in question.

"Apparently Sirius wants to rent a water park so you'll have to show up in swimming trunks," I explained, making myself comfortable in Tom's lap.

"And what if only you are allowed to see me in such a state of undress?" Tom asked me playfully, placing his hands on my hips.

"Ah, Tom―the closeted romantic," I crooned in a super-sweet voice and then gave him a quick kiss which turned into a two minute tongue fight.

"But seriously, Harry. Have you thought about the reputation I need to uphold as Lord Slytherin?" he asked.

"You don't need to worry about that with my extended family," I said. He was very close with all of them, especially Severus.

"And what about your friends?" he asked.

Draco and Neville counted as family and I was sure that Hermione and Luna wouldn't say anything and the Weasley twins would joke about it but only in the presence of the people who already knew about it. The remaining members of my Quidditch team were a completely other matter, especially since they were Slytherins; always eager for blackmail material.

"Can't we just cast a Secrecy Spell?" I asked.

"Hmm," Tom said, thinking about my suggestion. "If it is an indoor water park, it would be possible."

"You would have to ask Sirius to choose an indoor park then. But you'll come, yeah?" I asked.

"If the Secrecy Spell can be cast, yes."

"Great," I said with a big smile on my face. "With that solved, let's spend the remainder of my hour in a more pleasant matter."

Tom just chuckled. "Last time I checked, you'd already used up all of your O's." Ah yes, the annoying credit system of his.

"If I'd known that you would insist that I only get a full make-out session with you in exchange for three Outstandings in my tests, I wouldn't have dropped Divinations."

"It's not my problem that you are not as academically inclined as I was at your age," was Tom's answer.

"We can't all be as ambitious as you, Mr I-got-thirteen-O's* in my NEWTs. Besides how do you think I can get grades during the summer holidays?"

"Aren't you a Slytherin who has a godfather for a teacher and another godfather whose husband is one?" he asked me with a raised eyebrow.

"Of course. And I'm sure that both of them will be thrilled when I tell them that I need them to test me in order to get my hands all over you. Maybe Severus will even quiz me about which poison he used to kill you," I said cheekily.

"Nah, Severus wouldn't kill me," Tom answered offhandedly. "Make me puke for a week maybe, but never kill."

"Do you want to test it?" I asked playfully, getting up from his lap.

"Maybe next month," Tom said, guiding me back down into his lap. "For now I'll let you cash in your end of year grades instead."

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Thursday, 31st July 1997, Sandcastle Waterpark, Blackpool

Seventeen. Finally! was my first thought when I woke up on my birthday. And the day got even better, especially the afternoon in Blackpool's Sandcastle Waterpark. I just stepped out of the changing area when I saw the twins ambush Draco.

"So, tell us Draco," Fred began to ask, laying an arm around Draco's shoulder.

"How is it to date your ex's younger sister?" George continued, throwing his arm over Draco's other shoulder.

"Is it weird?"

"Or scary?"

"Or just very thrilling?" the twins offered, when Draco didn't answer right away.

"Or cre-" George began to ask, but Draco decided to interrupt.

"Let's just say that it is much, much easier than dating Pansy's best friend months after you broke up with her."

"Don't tell us that you and Daphne broke up because Pansy got angry with her?" Fred asked.

"Oh, you poor little dragon," George said, ruffling Draco's hair.

"Shut it you guys," Draco said in a raised voice. "I'm with Astoria now and that's it." He shook off their arms and walked over to me.

"You do know that I wondered the same thing?" I asked him.

"And I don't ask you what you do with your fiancé." And with that the matter was dropped and I turned my attention to Draco's parents who just stepped out of the changing rooms.

Over the next half an hour all the remaining quests arrived, though I'm sure that Severus regretted being fashionable late. The reason? Of course none other than one Sirius Black.

As Sirius had already checked out this water park before, he knew perfectly how to prank his least favourite person. So, as soon as Sirius had walked into the water park, he'd made a beeline for the HMS Thundersplash that was conveniently located just opposite the changing area. After casting a little charm that multiplied the fire range of the water canon by a tenfold, he waited for his victim to arrive.

Before Severus could say "Happy Birthday" to me, Sirius drenched him from head to toe in water, only barely avoiding getting me wet too.

"BLACK!" Severus screamed in rage and started to chase after Sirius. I just hoped that neither of them would slip on the wet floor and break their neck.

"Ah, that's why Sirius said that we shouldn't bring the presents inside the water park until later," Tom suddenly spoke up from behind me, spooking me in the process.

"Oh, hello Tom," I greeted my fiancé as I turned around to face him, being sad that I couldn't give him a kiss too.

"Happy Birthday, Harry," he said, giving me a kiss on my cheek that made me smile happily. "I see that nearly no one from your Quidditch team came."

"Yes, the Oenslager siblings are on a family trip and Goyle and Crabbe declined. They said something about not being able to enjoy the water park with two of their professors around, even less with you also being here," I explained. "So only Matthew Greyson came, besides Draco."

"My Lord," my father interrupted. "How nice that you could come."

"Of course, James. I wouldn't want to miss the seventeenth birthday party of my fiancé," Tom answered and allowed himself to be walked over to the 'adult'-section.

Having nothing better to do, I walked over to my Ravenclaw friends, Luna and Hermione. With them being in a different house, I saw them less than most of my other friends but I was always enjoyable to spend some time with them.

As I came closer, I overheard their talk.

"Not that I'm complaining, but one would think that for a coming of age party a less childish location would be chosen," Hermione commented. "But then, Mr Black still behaves himself very much like an eight year old," she added, looking over at the shallow where my godfathers were standing, trying to get each other wet.

"Oh, I think that he chose this location with more than one ulterior motive," Luna answered in her dreamy voice, catching Hermione's and mine attention.

"What do you mean?" Hermione voiced the question we both had.

"Come, he obviously chose it to get Professor Snape wet. And Mr Black has certainly gotten a kick out of forcing both Professor Snape and Lord Slytherin out of their heavy robes," Luna said. "And I think you won't deny that it has it perks. All the guys are only in their swimwear," she added, looking in the direction where Tom and Lucius were talking.

"Yeah," Hermione agreed. "Who would have thought that Professor Snape not only had a sinful voice but also a sinful body?"

I didn't need that image, I thought and decided against approaching them right now and instead joined Draco, Matthew and Neville in trying out one of the slides.

It was two hours later, the adults finally having braved the waters an hour ago, when Sirius approached me and made me agree to a dare.

As inconspicuously as I could, I sneaked up on Tom who was currently enjoying the small waterfall of the Typhoon Lagoon. From above him, I sprang down into the water and ducked Tom under water, winning my dare with Sirius.

Had he really thought that I would have a problem with this? I wondered and then let Tom emerge.

"Oh, you're so going to pay for this," Tom said and ducked me in requital.

It wasn't long before the semi-concealed area we were in made us lose some of our self-control and the fight turned a bit more headed and touchy. During the fight, Tom even asked me if he had gotten the correct part of 'half-naked glory' or if he should have shown up in just a muscle shirt instead. This made me choke on my own saliva and just as I got my breath back, Tom dived me under.

Luckily the touching stayed at the borderline of what very closed friends would do when my father coughed above us to get our attention. Using Tom's temporary distraction, I ducked him under one more time and then climbed out of the Lagoon, running away to safety.

"Harry James Potter," I heard both men yell after me. I just laughed and signed to Sirius that he owned me twenty Galleons.

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Wednesday, 6th August 1997, Jodhpur, India

This year, the Nag Panchami festival was held on the eighth of August, so Tom and I had decided to Portkey to India on the fourth, giving us enough time to rest from my birthday party while at the same time leaving enough days to get used to the different time zone before the festival started.

While last year we had been lucky enough to only catch the start of the monsoon season, this year it was already in full swing when we arrived. Though that didn't stop Tom and I from exploring Jodhpur, the 'Blue City'. When we were both out in the city, we enjoyed ourselves. But as soon as we were alone in our apartment we both became very aware of the sexual tension between us.

We both knew that with me now finally being of age and us currently being far away from my parents and other hindrances, this was the perfect opportunity for us to get even more intimate. The only problem was that neither of us wanted to take the first step. However, after two nights of getting nothing more than a long and heated good-night kiss I started to feel the pressure of how our alone time together was running out. And obviously Tom was still as hesitant to initiate something more as he'd been last year.

So, on the third night when Tom again only kissed me at my bedroom door and then turned to leave for his own room, I called up all the Gryffindor courage my parents had hopefully bestowed upon me and asked, "Won't you spend the night with me?"

"Harry," he said in the same tone of voice that he'd used in the shower nearly a year ago.

"I'm of age now," I stated.

"I know," Tom said, with a smile-smirk.

"So," I said as I took hold of his left hand, "stay the night in my room." And then I softly pulled on his hand as a sign for him to follow me into my room. "Please?" I added, when he didn't move an inch.

"You do know that we can't go all the way?" he asked me in a calm voice, brushing a stray strand of my hair behind my ear.

"I know," I answered calmly. "I don't want to go that far anyway. Even just sleeping in your arms would be enough," I admitted honestly.

"Then we'll do just that," Tom said and finally allowed me to drag him into my bedroom. While we didn't do anything more than we had already done, simple touching and kissing according to the restrictions we agreed on last year, being able to fall asleep in the embrace of Tom's arms was one of the best things I ever felt. It made me feel so cherished and safe and most of all loved. And waking up next to Tom was nice too, especially since instead of cuddling my pillow I could just cuddle up to Tom instead iand fall asleep once again.

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Monday, 11th August 1997, Jodhpur, India

The following nights, we moved the good-night kiss from the bedroom door to my bed, which certainly had its advantages, especially the prolonged time of the kissing session and the good-morning kisses I now also got to enjoy. However, as nice as this all was, I still desired more. And as Tom apparently wanted me to set the pace, I spent the bus ride to and from Mandore coming up with good reasons for us to get more intimate.

To my personal dismay, the argument which I thought would work best was 'I don't want to be a totally innocent, blushing virgin on our wedding night, being a virgin will be bad enough'. Besides making it clear that I hadn't forgotten that I wouldn't be able to have 'real' sex with him, it would also hopefully incite enough guilt in Tom to submit to my demand.

So, as we once again were making out in my bed that night, I tried to start the conversation with letting my hand purposefully wander under Tom's pyjama pants, both of us having forgone our pyjama tops after the first night.

"Harry," Tom said in a warning tone, stopping our current kiss.

"Please, Tom. Me being a virgin on our wedding night will be bad enough on its own. I don't want to be a totally innocent, nervous, and blushing virgin on top of it," I told him, but still pulled my hand away from his pyjama's waistband.

After hearing me out, Tom rolled off of me and lay on his back next to me. Closing his eyes, he seemed to at least consider my words.

"I can understand why you feel that way," he suddenly spoke up after a minute of silence.

But...I thought, waiting for the rest of the sentence.

"And the best solution to overcome your nervousness which I can offer you right now is to show you how I would start our wedding night," Tom said, only at the end turning to face me. "But..."

Ah, here it comes, I thought, anxiously waiting for his next words.

"...I want you to carefully think about what you are asking for. Whatever we may do here, you won't get a repeat performance back home. And what one doesn't know, one can't crave," Tom said, once again looking at the ceiling.

Tom had taken the time to think over what I'd said, so I showed him the same courtesy and let his words sink in, mulling their implications over in my mind.

As soon as we were back in Britain, due to Tom's position as Lord Slytherin, we wouldn't be able to do anything more daring than the kissing sessions we shared in the last year, less we were caught. Would I be able to withstand another year of just kissing when I knew what being more intimate with Tom felt like? I didn't know. However, what I did know was that if I didn't grab this opportunity right now, I would spend the next year berating myself for having given up this one time chance.

"One can only appreciate the things one has lost," I said in answer.

"Is this your final decision?" he asked, changing his position so that he was now laying on his left side, facing me.

"Yes," I said, convinced.

"Stop means stop. For both of us," Tom said before he once again lay atop of me and kissed me with everything he had.

As we were both soon overcome by lust, Tom began to whisper into my ear, "On our wedding night, I'll first kiss a line down your neck, as I slowly take off your shirt."

And he did just that, letting his hand trail down my chest in replacement of unbuttoning my shirt. "Then, I'll play with your nipples as you fumble with the buttons of my shirt," he said in a husky voice, turning me on even more. It didn't even bother me that he describe my actions as fumbling.

"And when my shirt has finally joined yours on the ground, I'll take off both of our pants before I'll let my hands wander down your happy trail," he whispered into my ear as his hands did as he described. "And take off your boxers, fully exposing you to me," he said, pulling down my pyjama pants.

I was embarrassed to see that there was already pre-cum on my hard cock. But Merlin, did Tom's talking turn me on.

"And finally I would prepare you, before I entering you," Tom said, his voice having gone even huskier at the sight of my naked body.

I could hardly stop myself from saying, "Please do."

"But since this isn't our wedding night, you'll have to be content with this," Tom said, giving me a kiss just as I felt a lubricated hand touching my cock, giving me a fantastic handjob.

Shortly after, I started to moan into our joined mouths, and a while later I felt a pillow being pushed under my lower back, raising my hips. And then a lubricated finger was circling my entrance, smearing lube around my hole as Tom's other hand still stroked my penis.

"Please," I begged and Tom gingerly slipped his finger into me.

I squirmed and moaned as Tom's skilful hand gave me a handjob while now of his fingers were exploring my opening, spreading me and caressing my prostate and all the while Tom kissed my lips, my neck and my collarbone.

When one of Tom's fingers inside me moved past my prostate and explored my Foreas' opening, I was so overcome by sensations that I came with a shudder, sputtering my semen all over my abdomen and Tom's hand. I didn't even notice how Tom licked at his fingers to get a taste of my sperm.

"That was great. Thank you, Tom," I said when I'd finally caught my breath and opened my eyes again.

"There's no reason to thank me," Tom said and kissed me and then called a wet flannel from the bathroom to clean us up.

"We're not finished yet," I said as Tom disposed the flannel on my bedside table.

"Aren't we?" he asked me playfully.

"No. I still have to take care of your not so little problem," I said as I pressed with my hands against his naked chest, making him lie down on his back.

Trying to copy Tom's earlier actions, I began to kiss my way down his body, taking great pleasure in how reactive his nipples were to my ministrations. When I finally had gotten to the point where I took his pyjama pants off, I couldn't help myself and once again stared at his manhood, which due to his arousal was even larger than I remembered.

"Beautiful," I said, as I leaned down to kiss the tip. While I'd originally planned to pay Tom back with a handjob, it felt too weird to ask Tom if he could please cast a lubrication charm on my hand. So, since my mouth was already on his cock, I spontaneously decided to try out giving head.

Beginning with some kisses and licks all over his length to get it at least slightly lubricated, I marvelled at the feeling of Tom's penis getting even harder under my ministration. I then took the upper part into my mouth as my left hand enveloped the rest of his large cock, stroking it. Sucking and licking at the sensitive tip, I felt encouraged and proud when I heard Tom's hoarse moans.

After a while though, I felt how my tongue began to tire, so my left hand wandered down to play with Tom's balls while I doubled my efforts on his cock. In the end, I needed to let go of his cock and balls with my hands, as I needed them to restrain Tom from chocking me with his thrusting hips. And then, I felt how his cock pulsed in my mouth, making me nearly choke on his sperm as Tom screamed out my name in pleasure.

I felt like the Cheshire Cat as I liked the last drops of Tom's semen from my grinning lips. And at that time I didn't even know that Tom would wake me up with a blowjob the next morning.

"That's a great way to wake up," I said, breathlessly. Tom just smirked at me.

"I thought that I would repay the favour, especially since you already were adamantly poking my thigh with your arousal," he explained.

"Yeah, I'd been dreaming about last night," I said, a bit embarrassed about the things I'd done while asleep. Hopefully I hadn't humped him too badly. "Though, didn't you say that there wouldn't be a repeat performance?" I wondered.

"I said 'you won't get a repeat performance back home'. As we're still here..."Tom trailed off.

I grabbed him by the hair and snogged him long and good. Already imagining what I could do to and with him before we had to go back home. By the end of our two weeks, I certainly couldn't say that I was nervous about the wedding night any longer.

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End Flashbacks

Sunday, 27th June 1998, Great Hall, Hogwarts

I wouldn't mind it at all if our honeymoon trip would once again take us to India. Maybe this time we can explore the southern part instead, I thought with a happy smile on my face.

As I finally returned my attention to the stage, I was surprised that Draco and Hermione had already finished their speeches and instead Dumbledore was standing in the spotlight, giving his talk.

"To accomplish great things, we must not only act, but also dream; not only plan, but also believe*," he said full of fervour. "And remember while your NEWTs will open doors for you, it is your friendships that will keep them open. So now, after seven years of studying and laughing with your friends, come up here to receive the keys to your dreams," Dumbledore finished his speech.

And one by one, Professor McGonagall called out the names of the graduating seventh year students to present them with their diploma.

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pregnant Nagini: While the majority of snakes lay eggs, there are some species in existence who give birth. And since Nagini is a special, magical snake, I decided that she would not lay eggs like the common snakes.

Wedding outfits: I uploaded a sketch of their wedding outfits on my deviant art account. (Link see profile page)

thirteen-O's: On Pottermore, JKR said that sometimes Alchemy was also taught at Hogwarts, so overall there would be 13 classes available instead of the 12 Hermione had in third year.

"To accomplish great things, we must not only act, but also dream; not only plan, but also believe."Citation by Anatole France, French writer. It sounded so much like something Dumbledore would say that I had to use this citation.

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Next: The wedding which will be update in August. Until then, feel free to read my Drabble "Paved with good intentions".