"I won't be here during the weekend, I have some things that I have to take care of so I won't be coming around in the evening." Harry nodded in understanding, "Alright I'll just work on some papers and have Mort over for tea. Do be careful, I'll see you soon." Harry said placing a kiss on his lovers lips.
Albus Dumbledore would admit that he felt a mixture of relief and jealousy coursing through him every time he spotted the unconventional pair. Hadrian and Tom made a beautiful but unexpected couple. Two completely different personalities that shouldn't have found comfort, much less affection in one another. And yet they seemed to work well. It was only for this reason that Albus allowed himself to believe that Tom might hold some genuine affection for the seer.
The idea that Tom might actually feel something close to love or affection brought much relief to Albus. For surely a man who can love must have some goodness in him. The jealousy had much more to do with Dumbledore's own tragic love story than that of the new couple. Nonetheless he managed to feel genuinely happy for the two young lovers, this however did not mean he would not have a quick word with Hadrian. Albus felt it was his responsibility to at least warn the professor about some of Tom's less charming attributes, and what better day to do this than when Tom happened to be going of for the day?
Tom pulled of his hood as he found himself inside his manor, dark eyes took in the sight of his friends and followers. "My Lord." they greeted in reverence. Tom waved his hand in dismissal and they all took a seat a few moments after Tom had sat on his throne.
"I have news for all of you. First I would like to address the rumors of my involvement with Hadrian. I am indeed seeing him and I plan on keeping him, forever. He's mine and none of you will hurt him or attempt any type of foolishness without grave consequences. Secondly, Gellert Grindelwald also happened to attempt to court my lover at the same time I was and he didn't take Hadrian's rejection well. As you might have guessed he will most likely be seeking to invade us out of spite and perhaps in hopes of trying to take Hadrian from my side. It won't work of course, but I want you all to keep an eye out for any unusual or suspicious activity that might be connected with Grindelwald's movement. Any questions?"
"Will we be meeting him, your future Consort I mean?"
Tom hesitated for only a second before answering slowly, "Yes. I plan to introduce him to all of you. He is a seer, as some of you might not be aware of, and there is a possibility he might already know of us and of what I do. So there won't be much of an introduction on his part. Nonetheless expect to meet him soon and I hope none of you disappoint me with your behavior or lack of dueling practice." the last was said in a deliberately sharp tone, it was both a warning and a command.
Tom nodded in satisfaction at their response before making himself comfortable as he listened to the reports of his men.
The meeting was short when compared to the other meetings held before, but Tom didn't mind, he was eager to get back to his partner and he immediately handed out tasks to his men. He asked Lestrange and Malfoy to remain behind as he dismissed the rest.
Clearing his throat nervously Tom asked them both to take a seat. "I wish for Hadrian to officially meet you both before anyone else." Tom said. "I was thinking that a meal in my gardens might be adequate."
"Of course!" "We would love to! But why not at a restaurant?"
To Lestrange and Malfoy's astonishment, Tom blushed slightly before smiling sheepishly and answering. "That might not be a good idea. When I took him out to eat we ended up being the cause for the food fight reported in the Daily Prophet."
Abraxas straightened, "But it was reported that an old married couple started it!"
"Ah well, you see, Harry was trying to stab his baby tomato when it went flying of his plate and hit the oddly silent married couple. After that, chaos ensued and we escaped with food on our persons. I happened to have one of the greatest times ever but I would like to avoid another incident similar to that one. A nice normal and peaceful meal would be much more welcomed."
The two men chuckled softly before nodding in agreement.
"I must admit," began Darius Lestrange, "I did not expect you both to end up together. Hadrian is an interesting character, a wild spirit, and very unpredictable. He has the amazing ability to both stand out and blend in, he would make a formidable enemy and an even better ally."
Tom twirled his wand in thought. It was true, Harry had an amazing talent to bend situations to his benefit, through blending in or capturing everyone's attention. If they had gone to school together as students, then perhaps things would have gone differently for both of them. Tom wasn't sure how he would have handled the man. In his school years he had been arrogant and knowing Harry, the man would have probably enjoyed antagonizing him. Tom liked to think that he would have eventually realized how amazing the boy was and would have eventually come to adore him as much as he did today. But then again he might have realized this too late and would have found Harry slipping through his grasp.
Tom was just glad he had met Hadrian, it pained him to think of a life without having met the raven haired man. With a sigh he rose from his chair, "I'll send you both an invitation with the date and time of our lunch date. I really appreciate you both doing this for me. I must get going I left Hadrian alone and he tends to get into trouble whenever he is bored."
A loud thump resounded through the classroom as Harry's forehead met his desk. Groaning the man allowed himself a few moments to whine and stamp his feet before straightening and grabbing his quill in determination, internally he prayed for a distraction.
A knock on his door had him immediately dropping his quill and rushing to open it, happy that his prayers had been answered. "Headmaster Dumbledore!" he exclaimed in surprise.
"Hadrian my boy, can I have a word with you?" Harry nodded and allowed the man to come in. The dark haired man quickly strode to his desk and with a sweep of his arm pushed everything of his desk before taking out a tea set, not caring about the sheets of paper and broken ink-pots he had been the cause of.
Albus blinked at the monstrosity in front of him. A tiny teapot, no bigger than his palm, and two huge teacups sat in front of him. Hesitantly he took the huge teacup, he found himself needing to use both his hands to lift the cup to his lips, his eyes widened upon seeing the seer lift the cup with one hand, his pinky sticking out slightly as he sipped the hot liquid.
Harry placed his cup down elegantly, internally snickering as he watched Albus have trouble with his own cup, and opened his desk drawer, rummaging inside he pulled out a platter of cookies and set them down. "What did you need Headmaster?" he asked sweetly.
Albus smiled, his face strained as he was forced to take a bag of Harry's animal shaped cinnamon cookies that were handed to him. He had given the boy a warning about Tom and his dark ways. Warning him that Tom wasn't a good person and had much darkness in him, but with Harry's love, Tom was sure to change. Albus wasn't sure Harry had heard a word of what he had said. The boy had spent the whole time stuffing himself with cookies, biting the head of each cookie before eating the legs and leaving the body for last. He could have sworn he heard tiny cries of help as Hadrian chewed on the cookies. It had been disturbing to watch the boy play with his food.
Harry had felt no need to listen to Albus, as soon as the man had said, "I must warn you about Tom…" Harry had stopped listening. He had spent the rest of the time imaging that the animal cookies were alive and had fooled around with them. Harry had made no move to kick Albus out though, he was just glad he had an excuse to not do his paperwork. It was with sadness that Harry handed Albus a bag of animal cookies and watched him leave.
It was only a few minutes later that Harry remembered the talent show. With a cry of triumph the Master of Death ran out of the classroom to chase after the Headmaster.
Harry skipped down the halls, singing at the top of lungs and twirling around. "Headmaster!" he called out in excitement as he spotted Albus' colorful robes. "I've just had the most marvelous idea! Why don't I help put on the talent show!"
Albus paled, "No!" he blurted out. "I mean" he quickly tried to amend, "that sounds nice but I would like this to be a student run event." Harry pouted before narrowing his eyes, "You don't think I can handle it do you?! Well I can assure you I can most definitely help put on the show. Why, I could even be one of the participants! Watch, I can totally try out!"
Albus could only run after his professor as he rushed of to who knew where. It wasn't that he didn't think the man couldn't handle it. It was that the man was bound to do something crazy and over the top and frankly, his divination professor could be rather frightening when he made his mind to do something.
Harry laugh under his breath as Albus ran after him, green eyes widened upon spotting Tom and without much thought Harry launched himself at the brown eyed man.
Tom caught Harry with a small oomph, his own eyes widening upon spotting Albus Dumbledore stopping a few feet away from them as the old man tried to catch his breath. "Do I want to know?" he asked as he placed a kiss on Harry's parted lips.
"I did nothing." Harry replied before allowing Tom to dip his tongue inside his mouth, deepening their kiss. Parting reluctantly Tom smiled bemusedly, "Well we have a lunch date with Abraxas and Darius next week. You feeling up to it?" "Of course! I can't wait."
Albus let out a sigh of relief, he didn't know what Harry had planned to do before he bumped into Tom but Albus was going to count his blessings. As long as the man was kept entertained then he would stay out of trouble and hopefully out of Albus' hair.
"Am I going to be formally meeting your Tom as well Master?" Harry tripped over his chair in surprise, Mort having frightened him by his sudden appearance. "What do you mean?" Harry asked warily as he shuffled the parchments on his desk.
"Well aren't you meeting Voldemort's friends this weekend? Doesn't that mean that I should meet the mortal as well. After all this relationship seems to be serious. Or am I wrong young Master?"
Harry glared at the entity, "Of course it's serious!" he stated angrily. His anger quickly deflated upon the realization at what Mort was hinting at, biting his lip he looked at his friend, a lost expression on his face. "I—" he began only to be interrupted by his lover's entrance. "Harry!"
Harry turned to Tom, noting his wide eyes and pale face. Frowning he asked, "What's wrong?"
"It's Albus bloody Dumbledore!" Tom said in frustration, "He's setting me up to look a like a Dark Lord, like the very incarnation of evil!"
Harry let out a sigh as he approached his lover. Wrapping his arms around the man's waist he gave him a quick peck on the lips before tugging him towards the armchair. "What exactly did he do, luv?"
Tom placed Harry on his lap as he took a seat. Burying his nose into his lovers neck he inhaled sharply, allowing himself to relax. Removing his face from Harry's neck, Tom leaned his chin on his lovers shoulders before answering Harry's question. "He's using my heritage against me, saying that as Slytherin's Heir I am attempting to finish my ancestors work. He also used the fact that I own a basilisk against me."
Tom allowed Harry to comfort him as he thought of a way to keep his reputation intact and from being dragged through the mud. "Don't worry too much about it. I have a plan." Tom blinked in surprise and looked into his emerald eyes, "You do?"
Harry flicked his forehead, making Tom jerk back before looking at him in surprise. "I'm not just a pretty face Tom. And I hope you haven't forgotten that I'm a seer." Harry said, pouting slightly.
Tom immediately backtracked, "I didn't mean anything by that!" he exclaimed. Tom wasn't stupid, he had observed enough relationships to know that one wrong move could make his boyfriend give him the silent treatment for days!
Harry only hummed, his eyes narrowed before he pushed himself to his feet. "Well then I need to meet with a certain reporter! I'll be back in let's say three hours or so." Tom immediately grabbed Harry's wrist, "Wait I'll go with you. If you don't mind that is."
Harry grinned, "Nah, it's cool. I'll just speak to her in private, I want it to be a surprise for you. Come on, we have to hurry."
The two men made their way to the Ministry of Magic and headed towards the Records and Archives Department. Tom smirking as Harry waved around a parchment that allowed them to access the archives. The dark lord didn't question how Harry had managed that, his seer was full of mysteries and questions better left unanswered. They spent very little time in the archives, with Harry seeming to know exactly what he wanted and where it was located they were in and out of there in an hour. Upon questioning his lover, Tom only received a smug smile but no other response. He decided to enjoy the ride and followed Harry as they made their way out of the Ministry.
Tom raised an eyebrow in surprise as he was led to the Daily Prophet building, he silently admired as his boyfriend talked his way all the way up to the editor's office. Tom smiled in amusement as Harry gave him a quick kiss before slipping into the room. The Dark Lord Voldemort did not mind waiting for the raven haired man to work his magic. He took a seat and waited patiently, inwardly wondering what exactly Harry had planned.
A few moments later his lover emerged with a wicked smirk on his lips. Tom was leaning back against the wall, and immediately straightened, eyes shining with curiosity. Harry noticed the many looks Tom was getting from the female and male workers, his lips curled up in amusement upon noticing how Tom had eyes for no one but him. Harry was more than pleased. Tom was a handsome man, but his true personality was a bit more abrasive and dark than many were comfortable with it. Fortunately for Tom, Harry happened to enjoy the darkness that Tom possessed in him. It made the dark lord an interesting figure, one that could capture and keep Harry's attention.
Tom inwardly smiled in amusement as Harry wrapped a possessive hand around his arm and leaning forward to give him a quick kiss. Tom gave Harry a knowing look, eyes filled with mirth as Harry dragged them out of the building once more. "I expect I will be seeing the results of your efforts tomorrow in the morning newspaper?"
"Yes. I expect you will enjoy the article very much, you might even want to frame it."
Tom hummed in response, placing his hand on Harry's waist as the man chattered away, oblivious to the look he was getting from a blonde male reporter. Tom shot the man a glare mentally imprinting the blonde's man's face into his mind, just in case he continued to express interest in his Harry.
"Can I get a hint?" Tom asked. Harry rocked on his feet pensively, "Alright. Let's just say Albus is a hypocrite and leave it at that."
If Tom didn't have such great control over his mask he was sure his mouth would have been hanging open in a very unattractive way. "Wait! You can't just say that and walk away!"
Harry smirked, "Well you did ask for a hint. I guess you'll have to wait until tomorrow."
"You evil man." Tom said, amusement bleeding through his tone as he watched his lover walk away. Harry turned around and winked salaciously at him, Tom found himself chasing after his lover, hoping to cash in on the silent promise the wink gave; momentarily forgetting about one Albus Dumbledore.
A/N: You wonderful and beautiful people! Thanks for being patient and encouraging and thank you for all your lovely comments. I read every. single. one. of. them. And they always make me smile and continue to inspire me.
I enjoy reading your reactions to my writing so thanks for commenting on them! And no I haven't seen a Very Potter Musical, but I'll make sure to do it!
Cheers, *holds up a glass of wine* and here's to quicker updates!