Okay, I've been really good about leaving my notes until the end, but this is really bothering me. I've gotten a bunch of reviews and messages complaining about Tom being very OOC. I would like to point out that he has gotten his soul back and is somewhat connected to Harry's emotions. Of course he is OOC! Sorry for the rant, but I actually did appreciate some of the ideas of getting them together! Let's see where it goes!

Harry was waiting inside the manor when Tom arrived. In fact, Tom apparated in behind him. Harry was sitting on the couch staring into the fire when Tom appeared. He did not make any indication that he had seen the older man arrive and Tom attempted to sneak out of the room without confronting Harry. Just as he reached the door the raven's voice shattered the silence.

"Why?"

Tom sighed and leaned against the wall, "Why what?"

"Why did you come? Why did you bother? Why do you care? Why do I care? Why can't I trust anyone anymore? Why? Why? Why!" Harry stood from the couch and walked over to the wall next to the fireplace never looking at Tom, "You pick."

Tom frowned, "I told you to stay in the Manor. It's not safe for you out there! Do you have any idea the kind of danger you're in?"

Harry let out a bitter laugh, "But see, that's just it. What makes today any different than the last six years? I was fine out there, I always have been."

"You are under my protection! How can I keep you safe unless you stay here!?"

Harry whirled around to stare at the man, "Why do you want to protect me?" He stalked closer to the man.

Tom said nothing and Harry grinned. And not a pleasant grin either.

"Oh, that's right! You don't. It's just my stupid spell interfering with your mind. Don't worry. In a couple of days I won't be in the way. I'll be gone."

"You don't get to just leave!" Tom's voice was soft but powerful.

"I can do whatever I want. Why do you think you're the boss of me? I'm supposed to kill you remember, or you can kill me. Why haven't you just killed me already?!" Harry's voice was a shout and his magic was vibrating through the room.

"As long as you're here in my home, you will do what I say. As long as you are under my protection, you will listen to me."

"It's not your home." Harry's voice sounded tired all of the sudden, "The Malfoy's are kind enough to let both of us stay here. Now, if you'll excuse me." Harry left.

Tom stared at the direction of Harry's exit for a long moment before turning with a growl and slamming open the other door, almost knocking Narcissa off her feet. The woman looked uncertain for a second before abandoning any pretense of having not been eavesdropping.

"What did he mean he'll be gone?"

Tom pinched the bridge of his nose, still finding the gesture to be somewhat strange, "I have no idea. He was just ranting about his problems. I would not take it seriously Narcissa."

He turned to leave but Narcissa's tone caught him off guard. Warning, calculating, and cold.

"You had better take this seriously. Harry and Draco are like brothers now. And I take care of my family."

Tom felt a shiver run up his spine but continued on his way.

(0,0)

Harry was petting Hedwig. Sitting on the edge of the bed, he had forgotten what it was like to have her around to talk to. In many ways she was the best friend he had. No problems, no fights (except for when he had been writing to Sirius with different birds), and no suggestions. She listened and sympathized but never changed.

"I wish these dreams would go away. I feel so confused around Tom now, everything that goes on is messing with my head. Especially since I know where he is from. People from his time would never have approved this, so I doubt he will. Whatever, in two days we can leave. We'll find a place of our own where no one can find us."

Hedwig hooted softly and nipped at his fingers showing her concern. Harry let out a small, sad laugh and fed her a treat from his pocket.

"Here, why don't you go outside tonight?" He opened the window and Hedwig gave him an appreciative look before flying out to settle on the branch he had used for his escape hours earlier, watching for prey.

Harry gave her a small smile as he watched her prepare to hunt. She gave him a soft coo. Harry took that as an order to go to bed and pushed away from the wall to settle in. In a few days he could get out of here. Then he had to figure out how to stop Dumbledore and the Order from killing the man who was no longer Voldemort.

(0,0)

Harry opened his eyes to see that he was in the garden once again. He let out a smile and went to look for Tom. He found him sitting by a stream that he had not seen before. The garden was suspiciously empty this time, but Harry let it go by saying he needed the alone time with Tom.

"Hey." He called softly.

Tom turned to him with a gentle smile and reached a hand out towards him. Harry took it as he claimed a seat next to him on the edge of the water. Tom said nothing. He spent a long moment tracing his thumb over the back of Harry's hand. Granted, they did not usually spend a lot of time talking, but this was starting to worry the young wizard.

"Tom? What's wrong?"

Tom sighed and adjusted their positions. Dropping Harry's hand he slid an arm around the boy's shoulders and pulled him closer so that he was resting his head on Tom's shoulder. The other hand claimed one of Harry's. Tom pulled it up to place a kiss on the back of the hand he held captive.

"Tom?"

"You're leaving."

Harry frowned, "Yes. I have to, find some place where I don't have to be anyone special."

"You don't have to be that way around me. Why are you leaving me?"

"Because you judge me and don't trust me to take care of myself. I'll be fine."

"Yes. But you won't be with me."

"Tom, I can't stay. I need to stop Dumbledore from ruining more lives."

"No!" Tom pulled him even closer, placing a kiss on his temple before tucking Harry's head under his chin, "You can just stay with me, we'll deal with him together."

"Tom. I can't."

"Harry, please. Don't leave me."

Tom lifted Harry's head again and pressed a light kiss against Harry's lips.

"Please."

"Don't. I have to go. There are things I need to do."

Another kiss, harder this time. More passionate. Harry moaned into the kiss, Tom began to pull back.

"I love you, Harry Potter."

One last chaste kiss and Tom pulled away. Standing up the man gave Harry a small smile full of fear, love, and pain. Then he walked away.

"I love you, too, Tom."

The man shook his head, "Then don't leave without telling me, don't leave me alone again."

"Tom I have to."

Tom turned away from Harry's words and disappeared into another part of the garden.

"Tom wait!" Harry scrambled to his feet chasing after the man who had come to mean so much to him.

Harry raced around corner after corner. He stumbled over branches and vines, bodies of magical creatures blocked the way. He turned again and found himself tripping over a vine of Devil's Snare. He fell and fell and hit the ground hard. He felt himself pulled to his feet and slammed against cold stone. He looked around and saw Voldemort standing in the graveyard surrounded by his Death Eaters.

Voldemort's evil laugh filled the air along with a flash of green light. He glanced over to where he should find Cedric's body. But it wasn't Cedric. There lying with his eyes open and looking at Harry was Tom Riddle. Harry turned to face his murderer and looked into twinkling blue eyes behind half-moon glasses.

(0,0)

Harry sat up in a cold sweat. Panicking he ran down the hall towards Tom's rooms. Down the stairs and around the corner Harry reached the door panting hard. He peered into the room, surprised that there were no wards protecting the man inside. Stepping through what appeared to be a sitting room he found a slightly open door.

Peeking through the crack Harry saw the peaceful face of Tom Riddle complete with a soft breath and the rise and fall of his chest. Harry sighed in relief and stepped away from the door. Without hesitation he walked from the room shutting the door behind him.

Instead of going back to his room, Harry walked towards the library. There was no way he was going to be able to sleep after that nightmare. He pulled a fiction novel from the shelf and settled into one of the comfy chairs in the room.

When Draco went looking for him after breakfast the next day, he was found in that same chair. Glasses askew and mouth hanging open slightly. The book was lying upside down on the ground. Draco spotted the dark circles under his eyes and with a knowing smile for his best friend, he called a house elf to take Harry back to his room without waking the exhausted boy.

(0,0)

Harry woke up in time for lunch. He dressed and walked down the hall before realizing that he should have been in the library, not in his room. He was still pondering it when he walked into the dining room and looked at three familiar blonde heads. And no brown hair in sight.

"Have a nice sleep?" Draco broke through Harry's thoughts.

"Yeah, did you find me in the library?"

Draco smirked and cooed: "You looked simply adorable!"

Harry rolled his eyes and the Malfoy heir laughed. Lunch was simple today, just Caesar salads. The conversation flowed almost easier than usual do to the two Malfoy males, being unable to speak comfortably in Tom's presence. So the meal passed quickly with Harry paying little attention to the conversation. Harry managed to avoid asking about Tom, but was thankful when Narcissa did it for him.

"Lucius? Where's Tom? I thought he said he would be joining us…"

Lucius finished his bite and turned to his wife, "Yes, well, apparently after breakfast some of the Death Eaters were getting antsy to go on a raid."

"I'm guessing you mean Bella." Narcissa sounded amused.

Lucius blushed slightly and nodded, "Of course the Dark Lord would not let them until his plan is set so he set up a practice of sorts where they are dueling each other and eventually someone will duel him."

Harry's fork was floating just outside of his mouth. He slowly retraced its path and set it back on his plate.

"Do you think that he was allowing spectators?"

Lucius gave him a curious look, "All of the Death Eaters are, so I assume so."

Draco gave Harry's excited smile a pointed look, "Let me guess, you want to go watch?"

"Definitely. Do you think he would mind?"

"Showing off to his greatest enemy? Not a chance. Let's go."

Draco and Harry were out of the door in a flash, running down the hall towards the room that Tom had temporarily converted into a dueling space.

As Harry followed Draco inside he was transfixed by the way the room looked. The high arched ceiling reminded Harry of the Great Hall. Actually that was what the entire room looked like. Except this area was darker and more ominous even as it was filled with the multi-colored lights from various spells being cast from wands all over the room.

Harry automatically let his eyes trail towards where the head table would be. And sure enough he found Tom sitting in a throne that was high above the rest of the room. Harry was fascinated by the ways the lights lit up Tom's face in sections highlighting his cheekbones one second and the graceful line of his neck the next.

Tom's eyes moved to his and Harry looked away hoping that Tom wouldn't see the blush on his face. A concern frown crossed Tom's. Draco looked between the two and rolled his eyes. He dragged Harry up towards Tom's seat and pulled him until he was standing right next to the throne Draco on the other side caging him in. Seconds later a curse 'missed' its target and flew towards Harry.

Harry moved to dodge it at the same time that Draco pushed him out of the way. Harry overbalanced and found himself falling onto the throne. Tom reached up a hand and steadied the raven.

"Thanks." Harry whispered and turned to look at Tom.

"Are you alright?" Tom asked lost in Harry's eyes.

Harry nodded and swallowed unsure if he would be able to say anything. One of the death eaters cried out and the moment shattered as both eyes looked away. Draco cursed under his breath as Harry stepped back to his original spot. All three of them looked at the commotion in front of them.

Lucius and Macnair stood holding one struggling Bellatrix. Rodolphus stood by her side looking uncomfortable. Bellatrix fought as the pulled her up to the dais stopping in front of Tom. Tom glared at her and Bellatrix froze, ducking her head obediently.

"What were you thinking?" He hissed and Harry barely repressed a shiver at the sound.

"My Lord, you must be under a curse! Why else would you allow the Potter child into your home?!"

"He is as much a guest here as you or I. The Malfoy family have given him their protection and I will not dishonor them and sully traditions by betraying that trust."

The cold voice sent many of the death eaters into a panic as they began to fear that the peace they had been enjoying was at an end. Harry missed all of that. Too caught up in Tom's words. The only reason he was protecting him was because of the Malfoys. He was surprisingly upset by this even though he knew he shouldn't be.

"You think that I am naïve enough to fall for a curse or spell that someone would place on me? Do you have that little respect for me?!"

Bellatrix began to protest but Tom raised his hand. He turned to look at Lucius who obediently dropped his eyes.

"Take her to a guest room. Take her wand and keep her there. Do not allow the house elves to bring her anything but simple meals and water. Until she can learn to respect me, she does not deserve to be among my elite."

Bellatrix's cry echoed through the room and Draco turned to see Harry's response but the boy's eyes were unfocused. Draco snapped his fingers in front of his eyes and Harry startled back before looking at him.

"Sorry, what?"

Draco frowned, "Did you even see what Tom did there?!"

"Oh, yeah. It was great."

Draco groaned, "Forget it. Do you want to duel?"

Harry blinked at him for a long moment, "Each other?"

"Uh yeah?" Draco rolled his eyes.

"Okay, you think Tom will let us?"

"You ask, he's still scaring me a little."

It was Harry's turn to roll his eyes, "Chicken."

Harry turned to Tom and called his name, he tried several more times, but no response. Harry frowned and tried something else.

"Tom?" The parseltongue apparently caught his attention.

"You speak?"

"No you're imagining it." Both men let out a small smile, "Draco wants me to kick his ass in a duel again. Any objections?"

Tom full out grinned now, "Be my guest."

Harry forced out a genuine smile. "Alright, Draco, we're on."

Harry finally realized how quiet the room had gotten. He turned to face the blonde who was staring at him.

"Draco?"

"I totally forgot,"

"Forgot?"

"That you were a parselmouth."

"Well it has been years. What does it matter?"

"You know, I don't think I would have dumped you so fast. Do you know how hot that was?!"

Harry rolled his eyes and Tom's tightened.

"Get out there before I change my mind." Harry rolled his eyes completely missing the possessive tone.

Soon the two Slytherins found themselves facing each other and all of the other death eaters watching. Lucius had apparently become their official starter from where he stood.

"Ten paces."

"Wands at the ready."

"1…2…3!"

Both boys stood silently for a moment. Harry moved his wand, no words coming from his lips.

"Protego!" A shield appeared in front of Draco, but no spell came. Frowning Draco turned his own curse on Harry.

"Diffindo!"

The spell froze inches from Harry before disappearing. Several of the audience gasped and Harry grinned. Then he started to move. Step by step he and Draco moved. Dodging and blocking, returning fire. Finally Harry seemed to get distracted. Draco took the opportunity and cast a binding curse. Everyone watched as the curse passed right through the young body. Everyone stared in shock until Draco stood straighter.

"Concede, Draco?"

Harry Potter stood behind Draco with his wand placed against the side of his throat. Draco spun to look at Harry only to have the body bind curse knock him to the ground. Harry grinned in the now silent room. Suddenly a laugh cut through the silence.

All eyes turned to Tom where he sat in his chair looking at the two boys who had just finished. Harry thought to end the spell on Draco even as he considered why Tom was laughing. Eventually the man seemed to get control of himself enough to explain, although that did not mean he would.

"I do believe that is enough for today, we will continue tomorrow." And Tom left.

(0,0)

Harry spent the rest of the day with Draco. Nothing fancy, apparently the twins were busy and Draco had declared today to be just for them. They played Seeker's games in the quidditch pitch for hours until their hands were basically stuck to their brooms. Then Draco took Harry on a flying tour of the grounds showing him all of the blonde's favorite hide outs. They had gone inside only when Narcissa had sent a house elf to fetch them for dinner.

Dinner had been with Tom again but the two young wizards were too distracted to say much to anyone besides each other. Their conversation was now focusing on what was the best dessert. Harry was standing firmly behind treacle tart while Draco was upholding pudding's side of the argument.

Narcissa looked at the two boys with fondness and cast a smug grin at the 'Dark Lord' next to her who was altering between jealous glares and appreciative smiles even as he struggled to keep his eyes away from the two boys. Desert was brought out and enjoyed by all even if it had only been a chocolate cake.

Draco then dragged Harry up to his room and they spent the rest of their evening chattering about their fellow Slytherins and gossiping like old ladies. Technically they were playing chess, but seeing as Harry got his players handed to him in pieces more often than not- 'playing' did not seem to be quite the right word.

As eleven o'clock approached Harry made the excuse of being tired and slipped off to his own room. Quickly he changed into his pajamas and sat down at his desk to write a letter, Hedwig was more than happy to deliver it for him. He spent the half-hour after he got ready staring at his clock and it counted the minutes. The numbers switched for the last time and Harry heard a clock somewhere chime.

For the first time in six years Harry wondered if anyone remembered. Harry fell asleep with tears as the twelfth strike sounded.

(0,0)

"Harry?"

All eyes turned to look at the boy who had been surprisingly silent since he sat down for breakfast. Green eyes looked up into Lucius' grey eyes and held a question.

"Are you okay?"

Harry gave a wry smile, "Never better. Just a little tired. I didn't fall asleep until close to midnight, then woke up early for some strange reason."

Maybe not so strange, to be honest Harry had been hoping to receive some letter or something. At least from Hagrid, he was not expecting it- just hoping. Of course no letter had come so now Harry was disappointed and running on too little sleep. He did not think that Draco would know his birthday, but the blonde hadn't even asked when Harry had given him a present a couple of days before the school year ended.

"You sure?"

This came from Tom. Harry turned wide eyes towards him and gave a small smile, "Yes, I'm fine."

Tom's next words were cut off by the entrance of a familiar owl. Draco smiled and leaned back expectantly but the twin's owl stopped in front of Harry. Harry noticed the parcel tied to its leg and shook his head for even thinking that the Weasley twins would forget. He took the card and the package with a smile and thanked the bird with a piece of food from his plate. The owl took the moment to hop over and nip Draco's ear affectionately before flying out the window.

"What is it Harry?" Draco asked, getting a reproving glare from his mother.

"Nothing, I'll open it later."

Draco went to protest but Narcissa cut him off, "Of course, dear, but why not at least read the card now?"

Harry tried to protest but Narcissa's polite insistence was impossible to ignore. He gave in with a sigh and opened the letter. Narcissa prompted him to read it out loud and Harry collapsed in on himself as he read the words.

"Dear Little Brother," He blushed at that, glad that they still thought of him that way even if he and Ron were no longer friends, "Happy seventeenth!" He heard the gasp and blushed a little darker.

"We hope you were not worried about this. As clearly all of the important people remembered. Anyways, have a great day and enjoy your presents! Laughs, Gred and Forge."

The room hung in silence as Harry's voice faded with the last words. Harry waited looking at his plate until the silence grew too much to bear. He looked up at the faces, Draco and Tom looked embarrassed, Narcissa seemed horrified, and Lucius looked exceedingly uncomfortable.

"Look, it's not that big of a deal. I wasn't too worried about it. I seriously wasn't expecting anything."

Still no one spoke so Harry stood and tried to excuse himself from the now suffocating silence.

Narcissa stopped his retreat, "Why didn't you say anything?"

Harry looked at his feet and mumbled his response as he moved out the door, "No one asked."

Harry was gone and the room was filled with knowing looks and embarrassed smiles as they realized that no one had asked. Several of them decided they were idiots, after all his birthday was given in the prophecy that Snape had passed on. Or at least enough to know when it was coming.

Narcissa was the first to recover. She coughed lightly and wiped her hands on her napkin. She summoned a piece of parchment, a quill, and some ink without her wand. They appeared in front of her. She took a sip of water before turning her eyes on the three men in the room.

"How are we going to make up for this?"

And so the discussion began. Names were tossed out, ideas suggested, themes suggested, and discussion. In the end it was Tom's suggestion that won out, much to the surprise (and pleasure) of the Malfoy clan.

(0,0)

Harry stared at the package from the twins and the letter he just got from Neville. Apparently he had a good birthday the other day and was apparently glad that Harry was still alive. The Order was concerned that Harry still could have been converted (they had to get something right every once and a while) and were reluctant to let anyone else know that Harry was alive.

Harry had replied with a thank you and then subtly implied that he would be glad to let everyone else know. The package from the Weasley twins still remained unopened. Harry was slightly worried about what it contained, the twins were kind of known for their practical jokes after all. More than that, he was worried that it would cause more tension between him and the rest of the household. Not that it really mattered anyway, he was planning on leaving tonight after all.

Sadly he packed in a few clothes to make leaving quicker and easier tonight; or at least that was what he was hoping. Harry sat on his bed until lunch came around and decided that going down and pretending he did not care would be the best option.

Unfortunately it appeared that no one else did either. The dining room was empty as was the garden. He called on Doni to find out where everyone was and was informed that they were going over plans and were unavailable for lunch. Harry sighed and asked Doni to bring him something in his room. Harry took is Firebolt out into the back for relaxing break.

Harry returned to his room and hurriedly ate his lunch. He decided that now would be a good time to sleep, get rest before he made his grand escape tonight. Just as he crawled into bed Hedwig appeared with a school owl.

He glanced at the parcel the owl carried and its messy scrawl and gave the poor owl an understanding smile. Who knew how heavy Hagrid's rock cakes could get over long distances. Sure enough he found a pile of rock cakes along with horrible cake and a card. He smiled at the messy handwriting and wrote a quick note of thanks to the man.

That done Harry curled up to sleep before his big night.

(0,0)

Doni popped into the room an hour or so later in order to deliver the message of dinner to the boy, upon finding him asleep the house elf gave something similar to a smile. Soon enough she was whispering into Narcissa's understanding ear.

"He is asleep," she told the curious men, "We'll see him in the morning."

Tom looked concerned but eventually was drawn into the conversation. As the group moved into the sitting room, no one heard the alarm go off upstairs or the young man packing his things and slipping out of the house. In fact, Harry's disappearance went unnoticed until almost twelve hours later.

When Narcissa, Lucius, Draco, Dobby, Severus, Hagrid, the Twins, and Tom stood in the garden waiting for the boy to follow the elf down to them. When the shaking elf showed up with a carefully written note panic ensued.

Alright, that was a lot easier than I expected to write. I still need ideas as to how to get them together although I have gotten a couple of suggestions that I really like! Please tell me what you think! Love you guys you have made this a fantastic experience.