WWA Chapter 25
February 22nd, 1998
It was one of those February days; one of the ones where the sun was out and shining but it was absolutely freezing. A brutal, dry cold that punched you in the chest, and you could feel the ice forming in your lungs as you breathed in.
But even though the wind was strong and the air was frigid, it was beautiful. The sun was shining on the freshly fallen snow, casting everything in a cool, but pleasant light.
Harry was making his way over to the Shrieking Shack to meet up with Tom before they headed to the Three Broomsticks to meet with Hermione. He hadn't had a chance to really communicate with Tom since their last meeting at Kensington Palace so this way they could go over anything of note.
Hmmph. Harry had actually spent more time with the painted Tom in the last two weeks practicing his Occlumency. As much a he hated to admit it, Painting Tom, while not a good teacher, knew his stuff and was capable of, eventually, getting the lesson learned. Harry improved in leaps and bounds and he could now prevent a Legilimens from reading his surface thoughts.
Painting Tom had said that with a few more weeks of work that he would be able to fend off a minor attack on his subconscious, which, for that Tom, was high praise.
The wind whistled through the trees and a heavy gust pushed Harry forward. A path had already been cut through the snow leading up to the Shack. Given that it was before noon, it was only going to be Tom up there. No nerds looking at the historically haunted building this early in the morning.
He doubted that even Hermione would get up before noon for that.
An ominously cloaked figure was leaning up against the fence, watching the path that Harry was now treading. Given those long legs sticking out of the cloak Harry knew it was Tom, so for him, it wasn't really that ominous. Although, if he hadn't known it was Tom, he would have been pretty sure someone was about to get murdered and soon.
Harry trudged up through the snow, kicking it in the air, leaving it to flutter around them. He leaned against the fence with Tom, dropped his voice an octave lower and said the best pick up line ever, "What's a sexy King like you doing at a haunted hovel like this?"
Tom snorted and dropped his hood. "If we had more time I'd drag you inside it and make you scream, be it the ghosts inside or my prick."
Harry's cheeks flushed violently and he felt like the canary that the cat ate. "Well," he said. "I was feeling a bit cold before but now I'm even colder."
"Oh?"
"All my blood went rushing to my groin."
Tom laughed and pressed up against him, their bodies flush with another. "It's been a mere fortnight since we last saw each other Harry, are you really that lonely without me?"
The back of Tom's gloved hand pressed against his crotch, rubbing the growing length beneath Harry's robes.
Harry shuddered and buried his face into Tom's shoulder. "I am. So lonely without you."
"Were we not outside and it was not freezing at the moment," Tom pressed a kiss against Harry's ear, "I would happily relieve you of your tenseness right now."
Harry snorted, the huff of air coming out as steam, "You'd fuck me in the snow?"
Tom chuckled, "I was thinking that I would suck your cock, only thing that would really have to get cold is my knees."
Already Tom had deftly taken off his glove and reached his hand through the opening of Harry's robes and into his trousers, gripping and stroking his length. Harry's knees felt weak. They were out in public and Tom should not risk being caught in flagrante like this but...
He bit his bottom lip and pressed up harder against Tom, rocking his hips with Tom's strokes. "You'd do that?"
"If it was a few degrees warmer, yes, but for now, I hope you can enjoy an illicit hand job." Tom's thumb was teasing the tip of Harry's cock, using the precum as a lubricant before pumping his cock. "I can't wait for you to graduate Harry. I want you to be at Kensington Palace with me. I want to fuck whenever I want and not be beholden to the inane rules of Hogwarts."
Harry moaned and turned his head to kiss Tom deeply, licking his lips, "I want you to fuck me. I want you to bend me over your desk and take me. I need you to. I've never felt whole until I felt your prick inside of me." He could feel Tom's erection pressed up against him as he spoke.
Tom squeezed Harry's prick hard in an almost death vice for a moment and Harry spasmed slightly. "Only you. Only you can make me feel this way." Tom grunted and pressed his lips hard against Harry's in a deep and hungry kiss.
Harry shuddered. He was so close, and while logic said he should be worried about painting a nice splatter of white on the inside of his pants, he just couldn't. "Tom, I'm going to cum..." he whispered, pressing his face into Tom's shoulder.
Tom's voice was low, almost imperceptible. "Do it. You deserve it. Cum for me."
Harry moaned as he came, Tom's hand pumping furiously as he milked every last drop from Harry.
They stood there, pressed together as Harry caught his breath, Tom taking in Harry's scent.
"Let— Let me do something for you." Harry turned his face and kissed him, "If you cast a disillusionment charm I can.. I'll suck you off. Let me do that for you," he said breathlessly.
Tom chuckled and withdrew his hand from Harry's pants before licking it clean of Harry's seed. "You're so wanton."
"Only for you..."
Harry was kissing his neck. Something about Tom just intoxicated him completely. He heard Tom mutter the disillusionment spell under his breath and he dropped down, Harry's knees buried in six inches of snow.
It felt warmer and he was forced to assume that Tom had also cast a warming charm around them, no need for him to get his prick frozen off.
He pressed Tom's robes open and extracted him from his pants before engulfing him completely, burying his face into Tom's abdomen as he swallowed him.
Tom's hand snaked way into his hair, gripping his curls tightly as he held Harry's head in place and began to thrust deeply into his mouth and throat.
Harry gripped Tom's thighs, slowing his pace minutely but still letting him take the lead.
Merlin, Tom was so hard and Harry loved it. He loved that he could make this tightly coiled man lose control. Even when he was being throat fucked and couldn't breathe he loved it.
Tom pulled out and a bit of spittle dripped onto Harry's lip from Tom's cock. "Sorry," Tom muttered.
Harry chuckled and took a few breaths before licking the underside of his prick from base to tip slowly. "I love how you taste."
He looked up at Tom, enjoying the look of a man nearly out of control.
Harry's hand slipped to the base of Tom's prick, holding it tightly as he took him in and deepthroated him again, bobbing his head along his shaft before pulling him out and sucking on the tip.
"Cum in me, I want to taste you," Harry muttered before delving back down.
That was seemingly enough to push Tom over the edge, he grabbed Harry's head again and came in his mouth. Harry drank it down greedily and licked Tom's prick clean of any residue.
Tom stepped back and tucked himself back into his trousers and tidied his appearance. "Better get up before you get frostbite on your knees."
Harry chuckled and was in the middle of sweeping his one leg around when he paused, "Oh, Merlin..." he whispered.
Tom raised a brow, "Are you okay?"
Harry let out in a strangled tone and looked to Tom for help. "I think I glued my dick to my zipper via cum and the cold."
Tom's eyes went wide and he was clearly trying to stop himself from smiling, but the edges of his lips were twitching upwards before he turned away and let out a hysterical laugh. He curled forward and grasped his knees as he let out a series of barking laughs that sounded like a dying zebra.
Harry sighed. He wasn't going to be getting help from him. He worked to fish his wand out of his pocket. He would have to remoisten his crotch with hot water and then a scouring charm.
A quick augmenti followed by a hot air charm and he was able to stand. A scouring charm and a drying on followed and he was no longer Harry dick-frozen-to-zipper Potter.
He brushed the snow off his knees and the bottom of his trousers and turned to Tom, who had since stopped making noises and was furiously gasping for breath, tears in his eyes.
"You done yet?" Harry asked.
Tom took one look at him and doubled over again, his normally pale face flushed red.
Harry stood there, hands on his hips as he waited.
Tom wiped at his eyes and stood up straight before a hiccup escaped from him.
"Oh no," he muttered and hiccoughed again.
It was Harry's turn to laugh as Tom grew more flustered with each hiccup.
"Nice. Very kingly. Regal hiccups."
"Oh shut up," Tom said between hiccups.
Harry made his way over to him and slapped Tom's back. "Let's hope you get rid of these before we see Hermione."
"Give me a second. I can make it stop if I hold my breath," Tom said before immediately tightening his face up.
Harry shook his head and waited, hearing the little sounds as Tom tried suppressing the hiccups.
Time to just get this little briefing over before they went off to recruit Hermione.
"So, let's see, since we got distracted, I'll just tell you a bit about what's been going on," Harry said. "My father and I have exchanged a few letters. Just little pleasantries and no political talks and talking about dinner at my mom's apartments. Draco is a prat and Hermione has been buzzing with excitement about today but has sort of been avoiding me for the last week. What you been up to?"
Tom's face was nearly as red as his eyes, he looked like a rabid squirrel with those puffed up red cheeks.
"How you doing there buddy? Still got those hiccups? You going to faint there, pal? You want me to give you mouth-to-mouth when you collapse in the snow?"
Tom squinted at him before waving his hand and taking a deep breath, "I'm fine. I'm fine. They stopped. I think... I'm glad you and your father are talking." He leaned backwards and cracked his back. "Yes, let's talk."
"How's the Prophet investigation going?" Harry asked and they began to head down towards Hogsmeade. "I'm assuming Bella torched it."
Tom groaned. "You know, when it happened, I thought that it was ultimately a good thing that we would be able to spin to our fortune, and it's been nothing but a pain in the ass. Witch Weekly has hired some of the Prophet's best writers, increased their publishing dates to three times a week, opened up their topics and have essentially become the Prophet, and now I have to have a subscription to WW and have to read their completely unfounded accusations that I ordered the Prophet burned down."
Harry blinked, that was a lot to unpack. "Oh. Wow. Witch Weekly... is taking a stance that's not about Celestina Warbeck's new marriage?"
"Or the fact that she wore sandals to an event," Tom muttered.
"I have to say I didn't expect this from Witch Weekly."
"And it's only been two weeks," Tom grumbled, he definitely seemed like he needed to vent about this, "It's like the editor had been waiting to make political statements for years. The Prophet was generally easy to apply pressure on because we owned shares, but Witch Weekly is still privately owned. Morgana's tits! Why did Bella have to burn it down?!" Tom angrily kicked at the snow, sending a small wave up into the air.
Harry chuckled at how petulant Tom was being. In all honesty, it was a serious issue but his reaction was worth it.
"Nothing you can't handle though," he reassured.
Tom sighed. "True, I'd just rather not."
They walked in silence. Harry smiled as he watched Tom walking, his perfectly coiffed hair with snowflakes in it and his bottom lip stuck out in a serious pout. He imagined this was how Tom looked as a moody teenager, stalking the halls of Hogwarts or on his way to Hogsmeade.
"When's the coronation?" Harry asked, hoping to take Tom's mind of the Prophet.
"I was aiming for March but the Weasley's, of all people, dug up one of the history books which had some stupid traditions that need to be followed which has pushed it to end of May." Tom sighed.
It seemed like while they had succeeded in getting Tom in as King-to-be, they were now having to deal with the devils in the details.
"Well, at least I'll get to go to it! I'll be out of school by then," Harry said cheerfully, slipping his arm through Tom's, linking them.
"That is the one plus side I did see to it," Tom acknowledged.
"You waited this long. You can wait a few months more."
Tom chuckled. "True. I think I see Miss Granger in the window."
Hermione had secured a circular booth at the window of the Three Broomsticks and already cast an anti-eavesdropping charm around the table by the time they arrived.
Hermione sat on the outer edge near the door, Harry in the middle and Tom on his other side.
There had been a few looks as they had made their way to the front door of the tavern, people watching Tom and Harry as they walked through town. Thankfully no one had really looked when they had entered, given that the Three Broomsticks was so crowded constantly.
"Miss Granger, it is nice to meet you again," Tom said, nodding his head towards her.
"Your majesty," She said stiffly. Her expression was blank and rigid and she kept looking to Harry.
"Let's just reinforce this a bit. Don't want anyone listening in," Tom said, strengthening the anti-eavesdropping charms around them.
"So, this is it," Harry said cheerfully, "Two months after you asked Hermione, I got it to happen." He looked to Hermione and then to Tom. This was the moment where they would recruit Hermione to their cause and she would realize that Tom wasn't completely evil.
"You're completely evil and a massive hypocrite," Hermione blurted out, glaring Tom down.
Ah, fuck.
Tom's eyes glazed over and he sat back. "Well, I guess you better lay out your cards Miss Granger. I assume there will be no rebuttal in my defence."
"No, there will not!" She slammed a book on the table and Harry felt like his eyes were going to pop out of his head.
Tom's diary.
The one he had left in the Chamber of Secrets.
Ah fuck.
Time had slowed completely.
How?
"You told me how to find it," she replied.
Merlin, had he said that out loud?
"Yes."
Okay, time to stop.
"Harry, be quiet," Tom said, his voice low. Dangerous.
Harry snapped his jaw shut.
Tom folded his hands in front of his face. "So," Tom said. "Miss Granger, tell me about what you think is happening here."
She sat up straight, a triumphant look on her face. "I found Corvinius Gaunt's journal in the Room of Requirement. Harry gave that away, once I thought about the fact that it was in Hogwarts I knew it could be summoned via the Room of Requirement. I had also seen him with the Ashwinder's and recreated that once I found the entrance in the girl's bathroom thanks to Gaunt's journal.
"But, I didn't need to even go into the Chamber of Secrets! The journal was more than enough. You're a member of the Gaunt family. Banished from the Sacred 28. They would never allow one of those inbred monsters on the throne even if they were descended from Slytherin.
"It gets worse though. Your father is a half-blood! Was your mother a muggle too? And now you're being made the bloody King of magical Britain on the funds of purebloods, imagine how they would feel if they knew that their King was a half-blood or less! Merlin, you even live in your muggle family's mansion!" She had turned to Harry, her face a rictus of rage, "And you knew all of this Harry and you're still on his side!"
"Hermione, just, no. Stop," Harry whispered. "He has his reasons—"
"No, you stop, Harry!" Hermione said. "Why won't you just stop acting like a puppet to your blood supremacist boyfriend and stand up for what is right!"
Tom hadn't moved, he wasn't even looking at Hermione anymore but at the window, his gaze intense.
Hermione shook with anger. "You're encouraging your own oppression, Harry! Your mother's and mine! Everything he stands for is wrong!" She turned back to Tom. "So, Mister Riddle, you have two options, you either step down and fade into obscurity, or I publish the copies of my research in any publication that will take them! You have a day to make the announcement or I will end you!"
She slammed her hands on the table, stood up abruptly,and stomped out the door.
Tom hadn't moved an inch.
"Tom!" Harry nearly shouted, panic was blooming in his mind but the man's gaze hadn't shifted since before Hermione's dramatic departure.
He watched in what seemed like slow motion as Tom took an empty mug from the table and quickly slammed it over a bug that was crawling along the window pane.
He heard the quick unbreakable and sealing spell that he cast over the cup before Tom turned to Harry.
"Tom, what was tha— What do we do?"
Tom pursed his lips into a thin line. "I looked into her mind, Harry. She won't believe whatever you have to say, even if it is the truth... I need you to go to Hogwarts and find out if she's told anyone or sent her findings out. If she has, let me know to whom and I will have it dealt with. You will need to cast a memory charm on her. It will have to be very strong."
"Wha—but Tom, I've never done that before… It's Hermione."
"You can do it." His gaze was still on the mug. "You must."
Harry didn't move. He wasn't ready for this.
"Go. Now!" Tom commanded harshly and Harry bolted out the door after Hermione.
Tom looked down into the mug, turning it in his hands. "Well, Miss Skeeter, that was quite the earful?"
The beetle smacked up against the side.
Harry's feet pounded against the snow, sending it flying. He could see her in the distance. Hermione was half a kilometre from the gates of Hogwarts.
She had about a minute head start but he was already gaining on her.
Merlin, he should have brought the invisibility cloak with him, but it wasn't like he thought Hermione had found almost everything out! If only she had found out that Tom hated purebloods as much as she did!
The path to the school was mercifully clear of other students as he chased her, what was going to happen couldn't be seen or heard.
Harry sped up until he was less than 50 meters from her.
"HERMIONE! WAIT!"
She whipped around and her wand was pointed at him, aimed dead for his chest. Her face was flushed, and tracks of tears stained her cheeks. "I can't believe you, Harry!" Hermione cried, distressed. "He's a complete hypocrite and a monster and so are you! How could you discover his past and agree to serve him?!"
Harry raised his hands up, level with his head, hoping to calm her down. "Hermione, you didn't let him speak! You just went off half-cock—"
"I WENT OFF FULL COCK!" she shouted, green sparks shooting from the end of her wand.
"Look, he's not evil. He hates the purebloods too!"
"You're lying!" She shot a curse at him. "Stay away from me Harry!"
She turned on heel and ran for the castle again, passing through the gates.
Harry barely thought about it, hardly realized that he was doing it, but it flew from his wand and struck her in the back.
"Imperio."
Hermione went still.
"Gather all your evidence against Tom and meet me in the Room of Requirement," Harry ordered, voice shaking.
He had cast an unforgivable curse.
He had imperiused his friend. Ripped her free will from her and made her a puppet.
If anyone ever found out, he could go to Azkaban, next to no questions asked.
This was his first real crime. The rest he was probably an accomplice of some sort, but this he had a hand in.
This was his hand, the spell from his wand.
It felt wrong. So wrong.
He stared at Hermione's tracks through the snow. She was already in the castle. He followed behind and made his way to the Room of Requirement.
The room Harry summoned was dark with large wooden chairs, one of which he threw himself onto.
He dropped his head between his knees and took a series of deep breaths, hoping to stop himself from hyperventilating.
It had all gone wrong.
Everything was wrong.
She was supposed to listen to him and Tom.
She was supposed to realize that they were right.
She was supposed to join them!
She was supposed to trust him!
The door opened and Hermione made her way in with a large stack of brown, sealed envelopes that she dropped on the table in front of him, before sitting across from him.
Her bright eyes were dull and unseeing.
Unthinking.
Docile.
Harry's hand shook as he pulled out the chocolate frog card.
The older Tom was looking at Harry with, if it was anyone else, could be compassion.
It may have been pity.
"You heard everything?" his voice was on the verge of stuttering.
The painting nodded, "I've unfortunately been listening from the sloppy blowjob until now."
The side of Harry's mouth twitched, but tears threatened to spill from his eyes. "Can't... can't I just keep her imperiused? Make her loyal to Tom with the spell, but have her act like herself?"
He didn't want to obliviate her. He didn't want to rip part of her out and lock it away.
"No," the painting said flatly. "The risk of her breaking free of the curse is too great. You are going to have to obliviate her. You need to find out who she has told."
Harry didn't look at her when he asked, "Hermione, who knows what you know about Tom?"
"No one." Her voice was monotone.
He was surprised.
"Have you sent these to anyone?" Harry took one of the envelopes, opened it and began to flick through the papers.
Copies of the journal and diary. Pictures of the Chamber of Secrets. A report she had written detailing her findings.
"I hired two solicitors; one is Archibald Venturius, the other was Antonia Yang. They both received sealed packets and if anything was to happen to me they were to deliver them to the press."
Damn.
Harry clenched his fists, "Will they return them to you if you send a letter?"
"No. I told him to retain them indefinitely."
Harry bit his lip and looked to the card, "What do I do?"
"I can handle it," the painting said. "Destroy her research, and once you're done, erase her memory."
The painting was halfway out of the frame when Harry stopped him.
"Wait, how— how do I— how is the spell done?"
The painting rolled his eyes. "Just think of the subjects you want her to forget, say the word obliviate and the movement is roughly the shape of a lumpy lightbulb."
Harry whispered, "Okay."
The painting left the frame.
"Incendio." He whispered and lit the pile of research lit aflame.
A resounding crash came from the other side of the table, Hermione had fallen to her knees and was now glaring at him through her bushy hair.
Complete and utter contempt in her eyes.
"Bastard!" she growled and bolted out the door.
Harry scrambled out of the room behind her, his feet struggling to find purchase. His instincts jumped into action as he aimed his wand and cast, "Petrificus Totalus!"
The spell hit her square in the back and her legs locked straight together, her arms slammed to her sides, and she tipped forward, falling.
Unfortunately, she was at the top of the stairs.
Harry watched in horror as she tumbled down the stairs. He could hear the constant thudding of each impact on the steps. He ran, only to find her crumpled at the bottom.
He looked around the area, no students, no teachers and no paintings.
Thank Merlin.
Harry shook as he cast the diagnostic spell on her. In the back of his mind, he noted that it was fortunate that no one was here, either in Hogsmeade for the day or at lunch. A few broken bones but that was all; she was unconscious but she was alive.
That was all that was important. He wouldn't be able to live with himself if she died because of him.
He touched the back of her head where blood was beginning to pool.
"Oh god..." He waved his wand and focused on the subjects he needed gone, "O-Obliviate." Harry whispered, wiping her memory of the knowledge of Tom's real self.
Merlin, help him.
He took a deep breath.
"HELP!" he shouted, "HELP! THERE'S BEEN AN ACCIDENT!"
AN: Hey lovelies, please let me know what you think of this one! 3